Rip turned up the volume in his communicator. He tried to sound calm, but the shakiness of triumph and excitement was in his voice. "All Planeteers. We have the Connie snapper-boats. Koa, bring your men here." He felt someone working on his arm and turned to see Corporal Pederson, his face one vast grin in the glare from Dowst’s belt light. "Koa didn’t need me," he said. Rip grinned back. "Nunez," he called. "How are things at the cave?" "Sir, this is Nunez. Two Connies were prowling around, but they didn’t see the entrance. Then, a minute ago, they turned and hurried away." Rip considered. "Koa. How many Connies have you?" "Four, sir." With the five he and Dowst had taken, that meant four still at large, and from Nunez’s report, some Connie yelling had been going on. The four certainly knew by this time there were Federal men on the asteroid. Unless something were done quickly the four Connies would be shooting at them from the darkness. He ordered, "All Planeteers. Kill your belt lights." The lights on the Connies they had just taken still glowed. Dowst was putting a patch on the Connie Rip had stabbed. He waited until the private had finished, then said, "Turn out the Connie lights, too." If he could get in touch with the Connies, he could tell them they were finished. But using the snapper-boat radios was out, because the enemy cruiser would hear. The cruiser couldn’t hear the helmet communicators, though, because they carried only a short distance. The cruiser was close enough so that a helmet communicator turned on full volume might barely be heard, although it was unlikely. He couldn’t stick his head in a Connie helmet, but he could talk to a Connie by direct communication and have him give instructions. There was complete darkness with all belt lights out, but he groped his way to the Connie Dowst had been patching, felt for his helmet, and put his own against it. He yelled, "Do you hear me?" "Yes." Then, "Why did you patch me?" It was a perfect opening. "Because we don’t want to kill you. Listen. We have all but four of you. Understand?" "Yes. What will you do with us?" "Treat you as prisoners. If you behave. Get on your communicator and tell those four men to surrender. Tell them to come to the boats, with lights on. Tell them we’ll give them five minutes. If they don’t come, we’ll hunt them with rockets." "They will come," the Connie said. "They don’t want to die. I will do it." Rip kept his helmet against the Connie’s, but the man spoke in another language, which Rip identified as the main Consops tongue. When he had finished, Rip told his Planeteers to have weapons ready and to keep lights off. Time enough for light when the Connies were all disarmed.