“Well, backward or not, they don’t have what it takes,” Aikens said acidly. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have \ work to do.”
“Yes,” Vorgens said, rising from his chair, “so do I.” ^ The Star Watchman hurried through the narrow passageways to the dreadnaught’s communications center— that compact jumble of molectronic transceivers, coders. viewscreens and recorders. Altai was there, talking quietly with the two technicians on duty. The techs seemed happily amazed at the chance to talk to a young, goodlooking girl. As Vorgens stepped through the open hatch, though, they both shot out of their seats and stood at ramrod attention.
“Stand easy,” Vorgens said. Then, he asked Altai, “Did you reach Clanthas?”
‘Tes. Merdon had already called him, and advised him to abandon the city. Clanthas refused. He’s organizing the people of Katan. They’re going to fight for their city.”
“Good, we’re going to help them.” ” **What … what about Merdon?” she asked. js “Can he be reached by tri-di?”
Altai shook her head. “I tried a few minutes ago. He’s left the factory, where he had set up headquarters.”
Vorgens rubbed his temple thoughtfully. “In that case,” he said, “we’ll have to go out and find him.” He turned to the techs. “Get Sergeant Mclntyre and tell him to have an aircar ready for us in ten minutes.”
“Yes sir.”
The Mobile Force had three aircars, used mainly for scouting. They took off vertically on jets of air blasted straight downward—somewhat similar to the method used to raise the groundcars above ground level. The aircars lifted for several hundred feet, though, and then the jet engines swiveled and moved the craft forward. Stubby wings provided all the necessary lift, and the craft could sprint at twice the speed of sound, when required.