Rocket from Infinity Read Online Free

into his son’s face. The older man’s expression did not change, but his look was still eloquent. It reflected his love for the only precious thing he had left—his son.
    â€œYou all right, boy?”
    â€œI’m fine, Dad. But what about you?”
    â€œLook, son, I’m too tough an old warhorse to—”
    â€œDad, I want the truth. That load of shale—”
    The old man scowled. “I can’t prove anything. I was in a kind of dangerous spot. I was checking some old diggings out in the cluster to see if they’d been really worked or just bled—skimmed off.”
    â€œYou were alone?”
    â€œUh-huh. And the load of shale I got just might have shaken loose from above, but—”
    He stopped, still scowling.
    â€œBut what?”
    â€œI climbed out on my own power but I was a little dizzy. I’ll swear I saw a ship pulling away, but no, I can’t swear it. It might have been an asteroid rolling out of position in the cluster.”
    â€œWell, you’re still alive. I guess we’ll rate that as our good luck—and call it an accident for want of proof.” The frown was gone now. “Not too disappointed at having to come back?”
    Pete sat down on the edge of the bed and made a fake pass at his father’s bearded jaw. “Cut out that kind of talk. It’s great to be here. I was getting bored at school.”
    Joe Mason accepted Pete’s white lie, but was not fooled by it. “Won’t be long,” he rumbled. “I’ll be on my feet in a couple of weeks—”
    â€œWant to bet?” Betcha cut in.
    â€œShut up, you old space rat. I said two weeks. Pete can call it a vacation. We’ll operate light. You can carry me into the Windjammer and we’ll just cruise around and protect our interests.”
    â€œWhat’s this about a Brotherhood meeting you want me to attend?”
    â€œOh, that—It’s important because there’s been too much piracy going on lately. We’ve got to do something about it.”
    â€œThe Federation patrols—”
    â€œThose bureaucrats? They’re so wound up in their own red tape they could watch a bleeder stripping a mine and not make a move until they radiophoned Earth and got a go-signal from those chair-warmers down there. In the meantime, we’re being robbed blind.”
    The Federation men, Pete fully realized, weren’t as bad as his father painted them. They were just on uncertain ground because, while the Federation backed the Brotherhood in spirit, there were no clear-cut laws to guide the patrol ships. They were authorized to make arrests on the basis of certain specific complaints of a criminal nature. But moving on their own discretion could lead to all sorts of complications.
    â€œAll right, Dad. I’ll take in the meeting and report back to you.”
    â€œYou do that, son. And if any action is brought up to move against pirates, you vote aye, understand?”
    â€œSure, Dad. I’m going to take a shower now. And maybe I will have a bite to eat.”
    â€œYou could o’ taken your shower on the Harlem,” Betcha grumbled, “and used their water instead of ours. The tanks are low.”
    â€œOkay. I’ll wash my face instead. How many crewmen are left?”
    â€œTwo,” Joe Mason said. “The other six went off to other jobs.”
    â€œTwo of ’em still squatting in the crew quarters because they’re too lazy to hunt for work,” Betcha growled.
    Pete turned to leave the bedroom, shaking his head in good-natured frustration. It seemed the crew members couldn’t get a unanimous vote of confidence whatever they did.
    He washed and ate a cold snack and got ready for the meeting.
    * * * *
    The Mining Brotherhood had established a headquarters on Parma as being the largest centrally located planetoid in that section of the Belt. A supply base was also located on Parma and