The _Sagittarius_ loomed closer, decelerating with a tremendous exhaust. The Connie couldn’t have failed to see it, Rip knew. He was right. The Consops cruiser suddenly blasted more heavily, rushing in the direction away from the Federation ship. The direction was toward the asteroid. And at the same moment, the _Aquila_ flashed above the horizon, also decelerating. The Connie was caught squarely. A suave voice spoke on the universal band. "This is Federation _SCN Sagittarius_, calling the Consolidation cruiser near the asteroid. Please reply." Rip waited anxiously. The Connie would hear, because every control room monitored the universal band. A heavy, reluctant voice replied after a pause of over a minute. "This is Consolidation cruiser Sixteen. You are breaking the law, _Sagittarius_. Your missile ports are open and they are pointing at me. Close them at once or I will report this." The suave voice with its hint of French accent replied, "Ah, my friend! Do not be alarmed. We have had a slight accident to our control circuit and the ports are jammed open. We are trying to repair the situation. But I assure you, we have only the friendliest of intentions." Rip grinned. This was about the same as a man holding a cocked pistol at another man’s head and assuring him it was nothing but a nervous arm that kept the gun so steady. The Connie demanded, "What do you want?" The two friendly cruisers were within a few miles of the Connie now and their blasts were just strong enough to keep them edging closer, while counteracting the sun’s pull. The French spaceman spoke reassuringly. "My friend, we want only the courtesy of space to which the law entitles us. We have had an unfortunate accident to our astrogation instruments, and we wish to come aboard to compare them with yours." Rip laughed outright. Every cruiser carried at least four full sets of instruments. There was as much chance of all of them being knocked off scale at once as there was of his biting a cruiser in half with bare teeth. MacFife’s voice came on the air. "Foster. Switch to Federation frequency." Rip did so. "This is Foster, Commander." "Lad, it’s a pity for ye to miss the show. I’m sending a boat for ye." "The sun will get it!" Rip exclaimed. "Never fear, lad. It won’t get this one. Now switch back to universal and listen in." Rip did so in time to catch the Connie commander’s voice. "... and I refuse to believe such a story! Great Cosmos, do you think I am a fool?" "Of course not," the Frenchman replied. "You are not such a fool as to refuse a simple request to check our instruments." The _Sagittarius_ commander was right. Rip understood the strategy. Equipment sometimes did go out of operation in space, and Connies had no hesitation in asking Federation cruisers for help, or the other way around. Such help was always given, because no commander could be sure when he might need help himself.