And it was clear they were prepared to take no chances with the outlaws.  In spite of the passiveness of the Queen’s men, their hands were locked behind them with force bars about their wrists.  When a quick search revealed that the three were unarmed, they were herded onto the riser by two of their captors, while the other pair remained behind, presumably to uncover any damage they had done to the Tower installations.

The police did not speak except for a few terse words among themselves and a barked order to march, delivered to the prisoners.  Very shortly they were in the entrance hall facing the wreckage of the crawler and doors through which a ragged gap had been burned.  Ali viewed the scene with his usual detachment.

“Nice job,” he commended Dane’s enterprise.  “They’ll have a moving—­”

“Get going!” A heavy hand between his shoulder blades urged him on.

The Engineer-apprentice whirled, his eyes blazing.  “Keep your hands to yourself!  We aren’t mine fodder yet.  I think that the little matter of a trial comes first—­”

“You’re Posted,” the Patrolman was openly contemptuous.

Dane was chilled.  For the first time that aspect of their predicament really registered.  Posted outlaws might, within reason, be shot on sight without further recourse to the law.  If that label stuck on the crew of the Queen, they had practically no chance at all.  And when he saw that Ali was no longer inclined to retort, he knew that fact had dawned upon Kamil also.  It would all depend upon how big an impression their broadcast had made.  If public opinion veered to their side—­then they could defend themselves legally.  Otherwise the moon mines might be the best sentence they dare hope for.

They were pushed out into the brilliant sunlight.  There stood the Queen, her meteor scarred side reflecting the light of her native sun.  And ringed around her at a safe distance was what seemed to be a small mechanized army corps.  The authorities were making very sure that no more rebels would burst from her interior.

Dane thought that they would be loaded into a mobile or ’copter and taken away.  But instead they were marched down, through the ranks of portable flamers, scramblers, and other equipment, to an open space where anyone on duty at the visa-screen within the control cabin of the spacer could see them.  An officer of the Patrol, the sun making an eye-blinding flash of his lightning sword breast badge, stood behind a loud speaker.  When he perceived that the three prisoners were present, he picked up a hand mike and spoke into it—­his voice so being relayed over the field as clearly as it must be reaching Weeks inside the sealed freighter.

“You have five minutes to open hatch.  Your men have been taken.  Five minutes to open hatch and surrender.”

Ali chuckled.  “And how does he think he’s going to enforce that?” he inquired of the air and incidentally of the guards now forming a square about the three.  “He’ll need more than a flamer to unlatch the old girl if she doesn’t care for his offer.”