“I’m sorry, sir. He just went down to the lock.”
‘What about his adjutant?” Sirocco asked.
“Gone forward to the outer lock.”
Sirocco looked worried. “Look, there is a force on its way forward to occupy the nose. We want to avoid any senseless bloodshed. Those locks must be kept open. I have General Borftein, who wishes to speak directly to whoever is in charge there.”
“I can speak for them,” Chaurez said. “You can ten the general that the news is good.”
Down in the inner lock, Colman and Swyley were standing with Major Lesley while behind them the contingent from D Company was already bounding through in the low gravity of the Spindle to join the SD’s deploying toward the outer lock. “You took a hell of a chance, Sergeant,” Lesley said.
“Fifty-fifty,” Colman answered. “It would have been ~zero the other way.”
“You think pretty smart.”
“We’re all having to lean how to do that.”
Lesley held his eye for a second, then nodded. “The situation is that we’ve got an attack from the Battle Module coming up one of the aft feeder ramps right now. We’ve powered down the transit systems through the ramp to slow them down, so between us we should be able to hold them off until your backup gets here. How long should they take?” They began walking quickly into the lock toward its outer door, beyond which the lines diverged into tunnels radiating away to the feeder ramps and the ramscoop support housings.
“How far have they penetrated?’ Colman asked.
“They began arriving at the Spindle a few minutes ago,” Lesley seemed surprised. “How come you didn’t know?”
“It’s been kind of. . . an unorthodox operation.”
Ahead of them, Jarvis had positioned soldiers to cover all of the tunnel mouths, with the strongest force- concentrated around the outlet from the feeder ramps along which
the SD’s from the Battle Module were approaching, and he had retired to a sheltered observation platform from which he could direct operations with a clear view into the tunnel. Lesley, Colman, and Swyley moved behind a stanchion where Driscoll and a couple more• from D Company were crouched with their weapons. A few seconds later the soldiers all around tensed expectantly.
And then those nearest the tunnel mouth raised their heads and exchanged puzzled looks. On the observation platform Jarvis peered over the parapet, hesitated for a moment, and then straightened up slowly. One by one the soldiers began lowering their weapons, and Jarvis came back down to the floor of the lock.
An SD major with a smoke-blackened face and one of his sleeves• covered in blood emerged unsteadily from the tunnel mouth; immediately behind him were four more SD’s looking disheveled and one of them also bloodstained around the head. Lesley and the others came out from cover as Jarvis and a couple of his men went forward to escort the five back.
Lesley and the major obviously knew each other. “Brad,” Lesley said. “What in hell’s happened? We were expecting a fight.”
“There’s been one in the Battle Module,” Brad told. him, sounding out of breath. “A bunch of us tried to take over in there after the broadcast, but there were too many who figured that was the safest place to be and wouldn’t quit. It was all we could do to get out.”
“How many of you are there?” Lesley asked.
“I’m not sure.., maybe fifty. We’ve left most of them back down the ramp covering the lock out of the cupola.”
“You mean the way’s clear right down to the Battle Module?” Colman asked.
Brad nodded. “But Stormbel’s people are in the cupola. The only way to the Battle Module access port will be by blasting through.”
Lesley turned to Jarvis. “Power the tubes back up and get sop~e more guys down there fast. Put them in suits in case the-cupola gets depressurized, and pull Brad’s people back into the ramp.”
“We’ve got a section already suited up,” Colman said. “Are those cars running?” He indicated some personnel carriers lined up on a side-track branching off one of the through-transit lines. Jarvis nodded. Colman turned to Swyley. “Get the section loaded up and move them. on down the ramp.” Swyley and Jarvis hurried away.