door partly back
in its tilted frame, scrambled through into the cabin.

Not enough was left of Hovig after this span of time to be particularly
offensive. The generator lay in a lower corner, half buried under other
molded and unrecognizable debris. Dasinger uncovered it, feeling as if
he were drowning in the invisible torrent pouring out from it, knelt
down and placed the light against the wall beside him.

The machine matched Graylock's description. A pancake-shaped heavy
plastic casing eighteen inches across, two thick studs set into its
edge, one stud depressed and flush with the surface, the other extended.
Dasinger thumbed experimentally at the extended stud, found it
apparently immovable, took out his gun.

"How is it going, Dasinger?" Miss Mines asked.

"All right," Dasinger said. He realized he was speaking with difficulty.
"I've found the thing! Trying to get it shut off now. Tell you in a
minute...."

He tapped the extended stud twice with the butt of the gun, then slashed
heavily down. The stud flattened back into the machine. Its counterpart
didn't move. The drowning sensations continued.

Dasinger licked his lips, dropped the gun into his pocket, brought out
the lock opener. He had the generator's cover plate pried partway back
when it shattered. With that, the thunder that wasn't sound ebbed
swiftly from the cabin. Dasinger reached into the generator, wrenched
out a power battery, snapping half a dozen leads.

He sat back on his heels, momentarily dizzy with relief, then climbed to
his feet with the smashed components of Hovig's machine, and turned to
the door. Something in the debris along the wall flashed dazzlingly in
the beam of his light.

Dasinger stared at the star hyacinth for an instant, then picked it up.
It was slightly larger than the one Graylock had carried out of the
Antares with him, perfectly cut. He found four others of similar quality
within the next minute, started back down to the lock compartment with
what might amount to two million credits in honest money, around half
that in the Hub's underworld gem trade, in one of his pockets.

"Yes?"

"Got the thing's teeth pulled now."

"Thank God! Coming right down...."

The Mooncat was sliding in from the south as Dasinger stepped out on the
head of the ramp. "Lock's open," Duomart's voice informed him. "I'll
come aft and help."

* * * * *

It took four trips with the gravity crane to transf