“We’re going to break contract—­” he said aloud and that shook the other two, knocked some of their assurance out of them.

“How about that?” Rip asked Ali.

The acting-engineer nodded.  “We have fuel enough to lift from here and maybe set down at Terraport—­if we take it careful and cut vectors.  We can’t lift from there without refueling—­and of course the Patrol are going to sit on their hands while we do that—­with us Posted!  No, put out of your heads any plan for getting back to Sargol within the time limit.  Thorson’s right—­that way we’re flamed out!”

Rip slumped in his seat.  “So the Eysies can take over after all?”

“As I see it,” Dane cut in, “let’s just take one thing at a time.  We may have to argue a broken contract out before the Board.  But first we have to get off the Posted hook with the Patrol.  Have you any idea about how we are going to handle that?”

“Hovan’s on our side.  In fact if we let him have the bugs to play with he’ll back us all the way.  He can swear us a clean bill of health before the Medic Control Center.”

“How much will that count after we’ve broken all their regs?” Ali wanted to know.  “If we surrender now we’re not going to have much chance, no matter what Hovan does or does not swear to.  Hovan’s a frontier Medic—­I won’t say that he’s not a member in good standing of their association—­but he doesn’t have top star rating.  And with the Eysies and the Patrol on our necks, we’ll need more than one medic’s word—­”

But Rip looked from the pessimistic Kamil to Dane.  Now he asked a question which was more than half statement.

“You’ve thought of something?”

“I’ve remembered something,” the Cargo-apprentice corrected.  “Recall the trick Van pulled on Limbo when the Patrol was trying to ease us out of our rights there after they took over the outlaw hold?”

Ali was impatient.  “He threatened to talk to the Video people and broadcast—­tell everyone about the ships wrecked by the Forerunner installation and left lying about full of treasure.  But what has that to do with us now—?  We bargained away our rights on Limbo for the rest of Cam’s monopoly on Sargol—­not that it’s done us much good—­”

“The Video,” Dane fastened on the important point, “Van threatened publicity which would embarrass the Patrol and he was legally within his rights.  We’re outside the law now—­but publicity might help again.  How many earth-side people know of the unwritten law about open war on plague ships?  How many who aren’t spacemen know that we could be legally pushed into the sun and fried without any chance to prove we’re innocent of carrying a new disease?  If we could talk loud and clear to the people at large maybe we’d have a chance for a real hearing—­”

“Right from the Terraport broadcast station, I suppose?” Ali taunted.

“Why not?”

There was silence in the cabin as the other two chewed upon that and he broke it again: