As soon as he could operate the lock Cloud went through it. He knew that Darjeeb could not have boarded the scout, since her ports were locked. He hurried to his control room and scanned space. There the Nhalian was, falling like a plummet. There also were a dozen or so space-ships, too close for comfort, blasting upward. Cloud cut in his Bergenholm, kicked on his driving blasts, cut off, and went back into the lifeboat. “Safe enough now,” he thought. “They’ll never get out here inert. I’m surprised he jumped—didn’t figure him as a suicidal type.” “He isn’t. He didn’t,” Luda thought, dryly. “Huh? He must have. That was a mighty long flit he took off on, and his suit wouldn’t hold air.” “He would stuff something into the holes. If necessary he could have made it without air—or armor, either. He’s tough. He still lives, curse him! But it is of no use for me to bewail that fact now. Let us make plans. You must put out the flame, and the leaders of our people will convince you. . . .” “Just a second—some other things come first.” He fell silent. First of all, he had to report to the Patrol, so they could get some Lensmen and a task force out here to straighten up this mess. With ordinary communicators, that would take some doing—but wait, he had a double-ended tight beam to the laboratory. He could get through on that, probably, even from here. He’d have to mark the lifeboat as a derelict and get these people aboard his cruiser. No space-tube. The women could wear suits, but this Luda. . . . “Don’t worry about me!” that entity cut in. “You saw how I came aboard. I don’t _enjoy_ breathing vacuum, but I’m as tough as Darjeeb is. So _hurry_! During every moment you delay, more of my people are dying!” “QX. While we’re transferring, give me the dope.” Luda did so. Darjeeb’s coup had been carefully planned and brilliantly executed. Drugged by one of her own staff, she had been taken without a struggle. She did not know how far-reaching the stroke had been, but she was pretty sure that most, if not all, of the Dhilian fortresses were now held by the enemy. Nhal probably had the advantage in numbers and in firepower then upon Lune—Darjeeb would not have made his bid unless he had found a way to violate the treaty of strict equality. Dhil was, however, much the nearer of the two worlds. Hence, if this initial advantage could be overcome, Dhil’s reenforcements could be brought up much sooner than the enemy’s. If, in addition, the vortex could be extinguished before it had done irreparable damage, neither side would have any real advantage and the conflict would subside instead of flaring into another tri-world holocaust.