Two days later, the X-69--the fast, experimental ship of Special Weapons--dropped down to the Grand Port of Kandoris. A score of heavy trucks, loaded with equipment, waited for the cargo ports to open; and big, lumbering sections of construction framework were being moved in toward it. The man who floated down the drop chute from the equatorial air lock was Kiffer Samm. A ground taxi was waiting for him, and it started to move even before Kiffer closed the door. Within minutes, he was in Roysland Dwyn's office. He pulled up a chair, sat down, and said: "Well, I'm here." "An astute observation," said Roysland. "Who knows to what depths of scientific thought you may reach with such cosmos-shaking revelations as that?" "A mere nothing," said Kiffer; "I might add that the X-69 is here, too. How long will it take to get the stuff mounted on her?" "A couple of hours. I made sure that Allerdyce would have the necessary equipment ready when you landed. We'll take off as soon as she's loaded." Kiffer frowned at Roysland, then looked down at his fingernails. "You don't need to go along." "Why not?" Kiffer kept looking at his nails for a full five seconds. Then he looked up and said: "Look, Roysland, suppose what you suspect _is_ true. Suppose that it isn't an enemy weapon, but a backfire from the _aJ_ guns. If so, then we'll be mindjammed when we test out the fleet's weapons. And we can't afford to have you in that condition." "I know it," said Roysland, "but there's no other way I can get the data. Besides, Bilford is having some success with using microwaves on the patients; there's reason to believe that the condition is temporary." Kiffer shrugged and spread his hands. "O.K.; if that's your orders--" He let his voice trail off. Then: "But I still don't like it. Look at it from my viewpoint; if I'm knocked out, I can depend on you to figure out a way to bring me out of it. But if you're out, too, what's to become of me?" Roysland laughed. "That's the best reason you could have given. Thanks. But I'm still going." * * * * * It took just a little more than two hours for the Space-fleet ordnance crews to replace the _aJ_ projectors on the X-69. Roysland's theory was simple. Although the _aJ_ guns might be responsible for the mindjamming effect, it was obvious that they didn't cause it every time. It was possible that there were slight differences in the backwash of radiation--slight differences caused by variations in the projectors themselves. The weapons of the _Bedevin_ and the _Killiver_ went into the turrets of the X-69; if there were any basis for the theory, at least two of those guns would be responsible for the mindjamming effect. The X-69 left Kandoris VI at 0500 hours, aimed herself for the vast void of the Lesser Rift, and cut in her no-space generators. The drive slammed her abruptly up past the velocity of light and into multiples thereof.