Blish,James – And all the Stars a Stage

hands: Deep Station is launching … Census?… Field officers, supersede

previous orders. On blue signal, yield both Assegai and Boomerang and fall

back toward Javelin. Fall back toward Javelin, we will be last off…

Attention Quarrel, cycle airlock and begin countdown; we won’t need you for

personnel.”

The line of fire bulged inward toward the Javelin, and then toward the

incomplete ships. Then there was an even deeper bulge toward the Quarrel.

“Field officers, blue signal will be on count of zero. At the signal, yield

the field and board the Javelin’s lift. One minute allowed for boarding,

repeat one minute. Counting toward blue signal: five… four… three …

two … one … zero, Signal Bluel Signal Bluel”

The line swept inward on all sides-and then suddenly it disappeared

utterly. There was no longer even a part of it to be seen. Instead there

were only the torches and vehicle lights of the mob, pouring inward toward

the three ships they thought they had gained. In a barely perceptible

flickering of smallarms fire, what little there was left of the stand-by

And all the Stars a Stage 79

crew funnelled toward the lift shaft of the favelin, trying to disengage.

“Census, I have pips for twenty-one survivors and a load estimate of

eighteen on the lift. Conflrm, please…. All right, nineteen now. Time’s

up-. Lift crew, haul them…. Absolutely not. Quarrel will leave in six

minutes exactly. If we wait for three stragglers, all twenty-one will die.

Haull”

A minute went by. The mob continued to concentrate around the bases of the