CHAPTER THREE - CAPTURE AND DRIVE!
Commander O'Brine had not exaggerated. The residue of carbon and thoriumon the blast tube walls was stubborn, dirty, and penetrating. It was cakedon in a solid sheet, but when scraped, it broke up into fine powder.
The Planeteers wore coveralls, gloves, and face masks with respirators,but that didn't prevent the stuff from sifting through onto their bodies.Rip, who directed the work and kept track of the radiation with agamma-beta ion chamber and an alpha proportional counter, knew they wouldhave to undergo personal decontamination.
He took a reading on the ion chamber. Only a few milliroentgens of betaand gamma radiation. That was the dangerous kind, because both betaparticles and gamma rays could penetrate clothing and skin. But thePlaneteers wouldn't get enough of a dose to do any harm at all. The alphacount was high, but so long as they didn't breathe any of the dust it wasnot dangerous.
The _Scorpius_ had six tubes. Rip divided the Planeteers into two squads,one under his direction and one under Koa's. Each tube took a couple ofhours' hard work. Several times during the cleaning the men would leavethe tube and go into the main mixing chamber while the tube was blastedwith live steam to throw the stuff they had scraped off out into space.
Each squad was on its last tube when a spaceman arrived. He saluted Rip."Sir, the safety officer says to secure the tubes."
That could mean only one thing: deceleration. Rip rounded up his men."We're finished. The safety officer passed the word to secure the tubes,which means we're going to decelerate." He smiled grimly. "You all knowthey gave us this job just out of pure love for the Planeteers. Soremember it when you go through the control room to the decontaminationchamber."
The Planeteers nodded enthusiastically.
Rip led the way from the mixing chamber through the heavy safety door intothe engine control room. His entrance was met with poorly concealed grinsby the spacemen.
Halfway across the room Rip turned suddenly and bumped into Sergeant-majorKoa. Koa fell to the deck, arms flailing for balance--but flailing againsthis protective clothing. The other Planeteers rushed to pick him up, andsomehow all their arms and hands beat against each other.
The protective clothing was saturated with fine dust. It rose from them ina choking cloud, was picked up, and dispersed by the ventilating system.It was contaminated dust. The automatic radiation safety equipment filledthe ship with an ear-splitting buzz of warning. Spacemen clapped emergencyrespirators to their faces and spoke unkindly of Rip's Planeteers in thesaltiest space language they could think of.
Rip and his men picked up Koa and continued their march to thedecontamination room, grinning under their respirators at theconsternation around them. There was no danger to the spacemen since theyhad clapped on respirators the moment the warning sounded. But even alittle contamination meant the whole ship had to be gone over withinstruments, and the ventilating system would have to be cleaned.
The deputy commander met Rip at the door of the radiation room. Above therespirator, his face looked furious.
"Lieutenant," he bellowed. "Haven't you any more sense than to bringcontaminated clothing into the engine control room?"
Rip was sorry the deputy commander couldn't see him grinning under hisrespirator. He said innocently, "No, sir. I haven't any more sense thanthat."
The deputy grated, "I'll have you up before the Discipline Board forthis."
Rip was enjoying himself thoroughly. "I don't think so, sir. Theregulations are very clear. They say, 'It is the responsibility of thesafety officer to insure compliance with all safety regulations both bycomplete instructions to personnel and personal supervision.' Your safetyofficer didn't instruct us and he didn't supervise us. You better run himup before the Board."
The deputy commander made harsh sounds into his respirator. Rip had him,and he knew it. "He thought even a stupid Planeteer had sense enough toobey radiation safety rules," he yelled.
"He was wrong," Rip said gently. Then, just to make himself perfectlyclear, he added, "Commander O'Brine was within his rights when he made usrake radiation. But he forgot one thing. Planeteers know the regulations,too. Excuse me, sir. I have to get my men decontaminated."
Inside the decontamination chamber, the Planeteers took off their masksand faced Rip with admiring grins. For a moment he grinned back, feelingpretty good. He had held his own with the spacemen, and he sensed that hismen liked him.
"All right," he said briskly. "Strip down and get into the showers."
In a few moments they were all standing under the chemically treatedwater, washing off the contaminated dust. Rip paid special attention tohis hair, because that was where the dust was most likely to stick. He hadit well lathered when the water suddenly cut off. At the same moment, thecruiser shuddered slightly as control blasts stopped its spinning and leftthem all weightless. Rip saw instantly what had happened. He called, "Allright, men. Down on the floor."
The Planeteers instantly slid to the shower deck. In a few seconds thepressure of deceleration pushed at them.
"I like spacemen," Rip said wryly. "They wait until just the right momentbefore they cut the water and decelerate. Now we're stuck in our birthdaysuits until we land--wherever that may be."
Corporal Nels Pederson spoke up in a soft Stockholm accent. "Never mind,sor. Ve'll get back at them. Ve alvays do!"
Rip Foster Rides the Gray Planet Page 3