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The view that greeted Akio
as he emerged
was impressive, to say the least. They were
evidently moving along through space at a
low rate of acceleration. The prisoners'
cage was attached by a cable to a structural
boom, something like a giant bar joist. Next
to it, 20 yards further along the boom, was
a strange space vehicle like none he had
seen before. On the opposite side of the
prison module he could see his own cruiser.
Visible perhaps a mile away, on a
parallel course, was another similar rig.
Hanging from one extremity of that boom
was Captain Hawkins' cruiser, and at the
other end was one of the pods of Astro's
material. Various loose freight was also
attached along the boom, and a squat
propulsion unit occupied its balance point.
Motioning for Akio to follow, the
vacsuited figure who had been waiting for
him as he emerged jumped off into space,
aiming toward where the boom attached to
the propulsion vehicle. Akio had many years
of experience in space, but he had never
done anything like this while under
acceleration. These people from Zeefour
were truly creatures of the void. He
commended his soul to his ancestors, and
launched himself in a similar manner,
steeled to accept whatever fate might deal
him. The little man whom Akio was following
caught the cargo boom easily and arrested
his flight. Akio endeavored to do the same,
but started to swing right around the boom
as he attempted to check his motion. The
little fellow steadied him, and then they
both pulled themselves along a railing
around the nose of the alien ship, making
for its entry hatch.
