"Yeah, I know," cut in the Captain's voice. "All but a few that the Venusian renegades--the pirates--got off with before then. Well--we're going down. Corey's found a place not too far from it where he can set the giro down, or says he can." "If that's a pirate ship, Cap, be careful!" "Don't worry. We're armed. And the ship's pretty smashed up. Probably at least kayoed whoever was in it. Well, keep your key open and I'll call you back. We're down." Mart found the shipment chart and began to check off tonnage. That much he wanted to get out of the way before--but something was gnawing at the back of his mind. It took him a moment to trace what it was. Of course. The workman who was waiting for the Director was wearing tinted glasses. Tinted glasses on Callisto! It didn't make sense. The sun, half a billion miles away, gives only a twenty-fifth of the light that falls on Earth. Even when that light is augmented by Big Jupe, it isn't--Yes, it was the first time he'd seen tinted glasses in Comprotown. Curiously, he turned to glance at the seated workman. But the carrier wave of the desk communicator hummed and he forgot his visitor as Captain Wayne's voice boomed in. "Dispatcher Wells. Captain Wayne calling Dispatcher--" "Okay, Cap. Go ahead." "We've examined the spaceship. No one's in it, hurt or otherwise. It's a single seater. A pirate ship all right." "You sure? How can you be certain?" "Aside from the fact that it would have no business around here if it wasn't, the papers are a give-away. There's a whole sheaf of them. Reports on the Ganymede jewel shipments mostly. And a full set of data on our own little world, Mart. If there's a Venusian around, he sure knows his way." "Dope on Callisto? What kind?" "A detailed map of Comprotown, showing every building. A full schedule of freighter hops both ways to Jupe and Earth. Details of shipments. That sort of thing." "Holy stars! But why should a pirate be interested in ore?" "Don't imagine he is. Or in Comprotown, either. I'd say from the papers, it was precautionary information. We don't keep our operations a secret here. He could have picked it up from any magazine article describing Comprotown in detail. "But I still don't see--" "The Ganymede jewel shipments, Mart. I'd say he was bound for Gany and his ship went blooie while he was scudding past Callisto. He got pulled down here and just barely made a landing he could walk away from. I'm afraid there'll be trouble." Mart whistled. "Well, the Director's due now. He'll want a search organized and--Wait, here he is. Tell it over again, Cap, and you'll be reporting direct.... Listen to this, Director." * * * * * The tall slender figure of Director Barrow stood impassively beside Mart's desk and listened to a repetition of Wayne's report. Not a flicker of expression passed over his gaunt face. As Wayne finished, the Director asked, "Is he armed? Anything taken from the ship's equipment, Captain?"