Rip Foster Rides the Gray Planet

Rip walked into the squadroom with a copy of the orders in his hand. After one look at his face, the Planeteers clustered around him. Santos woke those who were sleeping, while...

_Sagittarius_, constellation of the Archer, and _Aquila_, constellation of the Eagle, had given the two Federation patrol cruisers their names. The Eagle was commanded by a toug...

From the corner of his eye Rip saw Dowst’s heavy space boots and knew the private was right with him. As they drove down, one of the Connies stepped a little distance away from...

The _Scorpius_ could have taken direct hits with little or no major damage from a hundred rockets of the kind Rip had used, but Commander O’Brine took no chances. When the alarm...

To move the asteroid into a new orbit, they were going to fire nuclear bombs. Most of the highly radioactive fission products would be blown into space, but some would be drawn...

Rip rechecked his space suit before putting on his helmet. The air seal was intact and his heating and ventilating units worked. He slapped his knee pouches to make sure the spa...

The snapper-boats came out of the darkness of space, leaving a glowing trail of fire. They were not graceful. Rip could see no beauty in their lines, but to his professional eye...

The deputy commander and the safety officer got untangled and hurried to their posts with no more than black looks at Rip. He got to his feet, his face crimson with embarrassmen...

The Planeteers looked at Rip. He was in command, and they expected him to do something about the situation. Rip didn’t know what to do. The rocket launcher, their only weapon, w...

Rip ran for the snapper-boat, feet moving as rapidly as lack of gravity would permit. He called instructions. "Santos! Turn the launcher over to Pederson and come with me. Koa,...

A thousand miles above earth’s surface the great space platform sped from daylight into darkness. Once each two hours it circled the earth completely, spinning along through spa...

Commander O’Brine had not exaggerated. The residue of carbon and thorium on the blast tube walls was stubborn, dirty, and penetrating. It was caked on in a solid sheet, but when...

Sergeant-major Koa had made no comment since notifying Rip of the call from Terra base. Now he asked thoughtfully, "Lieutenant, can the Connie launch boats this close to the sun...

Trudeau held tight to the launcher, but the rocket racks opened and spilled attack rockets into space. They flew in a dozen different directions. Trudeau gave vent to his feelin...

Back on the asteroid, the Planeteers started laying the second atomic charge. Rip selected the spot, found a near-by crystal that would serve to house the bomb, and Kemp started...

The long hours passed, and only Rip’s chronometer told him when the end of a day was reached. The Planeteers alternately worked on the surface and rested in the air of the landi...

A mighty hand reached out and shoved Rip, sweeping him through space like a dust mote. He clutched his propulsion tube with both hands and fought to hold it steady.

There were two things Rip could see from his hospital bed on the space platform. One was the great curve of earth. He was anxious to get out of the hospital and back to Terra.

The _Aquila’s_ chief physician listened with polite interest, but he shook his head. "Lieutenant, you simply are not aware of the close call you’ve had. Another two hours withou...