The Solarian fleets were forcing the flight. Mephisto's fleet was obviously running to their base. That meant, to the Solarians, that at midway, there must be a turnover maneuver so that Mephisto's fleet could decelerate for their landing. Then they would catch up, for the velocity attained by Maynard's outfit must be forced down. The Solarians were not trying to effect a Mephistan landing, but were after the other fleet. They would not turnover at mid-point, and then they could catch that fleet of pirates that stayed just out of range. XXIII. Turnover came, inevitably. Maynard's fleet flashed up to the "fix" in space and began the end-swapping job. Solarians watched, gloating. Maynard _was_ going to turnover! The gap closed. Terra and Ertene alerted for action, and the entire personnel of the combined fleets went on double-watch. No one knew how much stuff Maynard's men had developed. Vortex projectors sowed toroids that floated with Guy's ships. In and about the pirate fleet, the huge vortexes of energy roamed, covering the fleet by sheer number. Torpedoes directed against the toroids prematured. MacMillan fire entered them, and added to their total energy. Other toroids flung into them merely added to their number. And the very number of them made operations in the combined fleets difficult. The space pattern was never intended to fight into a massed effect. Ertene and Terra spread slightly, opening up a hole. Through this hole flowed the toroid-covered Mephistan fleet, and Maynard's men were behind. Turnover was completed, and with the indifference to the Solarian fleet that was maddening, Maynard gave the order to decelerate for landing on Mephisto. Solarians fell behind--below, now, for they were dropping onto Mephisto, the deceleration creating a false gravity. They crammed on the deceleration too; not to do so would have put them far beyond Mephisto. They crammed on all they had, and it was just enough to stay below Maynard's fleet-- Just outside of range. The men in the combined fleets of Ertene and Terra writhed in hatred. Mars, unable to keep up with the man-killing gravities, laughed nastily--she thought that the fun would have been over before her slower ships could join. But though amused, Mars was none the less angry. Her men in her ships were killing themselves to keep from arriving too late. They knew now that the big fight would be around Mephisto. * * * * * It takes but a minute to tell, but it was days and days in the action. Men slept and changed watches and went through the tiresome routines of space travel across the System. And ever before them was the specter of Maynard's fleet, just out of range. It maddened them, and it made them sacrifice a few fighter ships that tried to run ahead, into the other fleet. They were lost, every time, without doing any damage.