“You did?”
Glancing up at the girl, I found her eyes upon me, darkly intense, yet queerly serene.
“Laserphones don’t function well in the anomaly.”
“A call from Commander Ken Star—we told you he was coming!”
His dun-colored eyes rolled triumphantly at me.
“When you hear about that call, you’ll let us in your precious station. You’ll thank us for coming back, and keep us safe while you send help to Ken.”
“We’ll see,” I said.
“Let’s hear about the call.”
“I don’t trust people,” old Habibula wheezed.
“That’s why I took a mortal risk to bug Scabbard’s cabin and the laser room, so that I could eavesdrop on the ship’s phone.
That’s how I heard the signal.”
His slaty eyes rolled at me.
“The call came on the distress channel,” he panted.
“Faint and fading, but the laserman pieced it together.
Commander Star was on the laserphone himself.
Said he was headed here on the Quasar Quest—just like we told you.”
He paused to puff, squinting as if judging my reaction.
“But the survey ship’s in trouble,” he wheezed again.
“Caught in the spreading anomaly.
Space-drive out. Rockets dead. Drifting into Nowhere.
Commander Star was calling for help, but he got none from Scabbard.”
Old Habibula must have seen my unbelief, because his smooth moon face grew pinker.
“We’re telling you the blessed truth.”
His hollow voice lifted belligerently.
“Scabbard was scared—maybe he ain’t as tough as he looks.
He’d been drinking, but he took the laserphone.
He replied that we were already too near Nowhere.
Our own geodynes were stalled. We had no rocket fuel to spare.
He said he’d report the call, if we got back to sector base. But he refused to render aid.” Old Habibula stiffened defiantly.
“That’s why we left his stinking ship.
I conferred with Lil.
We knew you’d want to help Commander Star, and now we’ve come to bring his distress message to you.”
His dust-colored eyes blinked alertly at me.
“Ain’t that enough to satisfy you?” he whined impatiently.
“Now will you let us inside your precious station?”
“Not yet.”
I stood frowning doubtfully.
“Why did Scabbard let you leave his ship?”
“He didn’t.” Old Habibula grinned.
“He’d got too drunk to care.
I told you I’ve a certain craft with locks, and Lil can be persuasive.
We gathered up our cargo, and commandeered the escape capsule, and left Scabbard sleeping.” He drew a rasping breath.
“Now you’ve got to let us in—and send help to poor Ken Star!”
“If all this is just a hoax, it’s a pretty clumsy one,” I exploded.
“A liar ought to do better. I don’t know what to believe—but hi any case we have no ships or men left to waste on rescue attempts.”
“Please, Captain Ulnar.”
The girl spoke from the capsule, her vibrant voice urgent, yet queerly serene.
“If you do hope to escape the shame of the Purple Hall, we have brought your chance.
You must take us hi!”
I stood for a second looking at her.