"You can probably save your crew, take to the boats and reach a Commission base. But your nice battleship will be _ganz kaput_. Is your game worth that candle?" "You're totally insane! Releasing such a thing--" "Oh, not permanently. There's one more switch on each boat, connected to the meteorite evasion unit and controlled by a small battery. When those batteries run down, in about twenty hours, the 'pilots will be turned off completely. Then we can spot the scoopships by radar and pick 'em up. And you'll be free to leave." "Do you think for one instant that your fantastic claim of acting legally will stand up in court?" "No, probably not. But it won't have to. Obviously you can't make anybody swallow your yarn if a _second_ missile gets loose. And as for the first one, since it's failed in its purpose, your bosses aren't going to want the matter publicized. It'd embarrass them to no end, and serve no purpose except revenge on Jimmy and me--which there's no point in taking, since the Sword would still be privately owned. You check with Earth, admiral, before shooting off your mouth. They'll tell you that both parties to this quarrel had better forget about legal action. Both would lose. "So I'm afraid your only choice is to find that missile before it goes off." "And yours? What are your alternatives?" Hulse had gone gray in the face, but he still spoke stoutly. Blades grinned at him. "None whatsoever. We've burned our bridges. We can't do anything about those scoopships now, so it's no use trying to scare us or arrest us or whatever else may occur to you. What we've done is establish an automatic deterrent." "Against an, an attempt ... at sabotage ... that only exists in your imagination!" Blades shrugged. "That argument isn't relevant any longer. I do believe the missile was released deliberately. We wouldn't have done what we did otherwise. But there's no longer any point in making charges and denials. You'd just better retrieve the thing." Hulse squared his shoulders. "How do I know you're telling the truth?" "Well, you can send a man to the Station. He'll find the scooters lying gutted. Send another man over here to the _Pallas_. He'll find the scoopships gone. I also took a few photographs of the autopilots being installed and the ships being cast adrift. Go right ahead. However, may I remind you that the fewer people who have an inkling of this little intrigue, the better for all concerned." Hulse opened his mouth, shut it again, stared from side to side, and finally slumped the barest bit. "Very well," he said, biting off the words syllable by syllable. "I can't risk a ship of the line. Of course, since the rogue is still farther away than your deterrent allows the _Altair_ to go, we shall have to wait in space a while." "I don't mind." "I shall report the full story to my superiors at home ... but unofficially." "Good. I'd like them to know that we asterites have teeth." "Signing off, then."