Read Online Stainless Steel Rat 11: The Stainless Steel Rat Returns by Harry Harrison - Free Book Online

breakdown and the records were wiped.”
    “We’ll just have to play it by ear.”
    She smiled. “I hate to say it, Jim, but I suddenly realized that I have had it with our pleasure planet sojourn. It will be a relief to see a new world. To deal with whatever problems come up.”
    The nature of the problems we might face was obvious when a small and wicked-looking knife appeared in her hand. She tested the blade delicately with a fingertip, frowned slightly and went into the kitchen. She returned with an atomic sharpener, which put a molecule-wide edge on the blade. Then smiled cheerily as, with a quick swipe, the blade cut a good chunk out of the metal table. “I think Floradora will be fun!”
    We clinked glasses happily—smiling at each other at the same time.
    T HE DAYS PASSED SWIFTLY AS the end of the first Bloat approached. But the air seemed to smell sweeter—despite a certain lingering memory of the farmyard, although the constant topping up of the reaction mass tank did tend to improve this. The thought of more interesting and attractive times to come made the food taste better, the drink stronger, the future more appealing.
    We were just finishing our evening meal when Captain Singh’s voice crackled from the speakers.
    “Boss Jim to the bridge. Unbloating has begun.”
    Angelina smiled and we even held hands as we climbed the stairs. We didn’t know what to expect from this new world, but we did know that life was sure to be more interesting in the very near future.
    “That’s the primary,” Kirpal said, pointing to a star in thecenter of the screen. “I’m holding position here while I get off a signal to Interstellar Emergency.”
    Angelina declined a visit to the communications room and went to see after Pinky. I followed Kirpal and watched while he switched on comm power.
    “It will take a short time to align . . .”
    I don’t know if it aligned or not, but there was a brief thudding sound. Followed by a great gout of flame that blew the front panel off. Smoke billowed out as alarm bells sounded throughout the ship.
    I dived for the rear wall and tore a fire extinguisher from its mounting, pulled the pin and sprayed the opening with suppressant powder. The fire roared, fizzled and died just as Stramm burst in waving an even larger extinguisher. He doused the last bursts of flame and smoke, then took a flashlight from his utility belt and peered inside the blackened opening. Then, muttering guttural curses, he reached in carefully and removed a blackened, twisted box.
    “Very ingenious.”
    “More of Rifuti’s work?” I asked.
    “Obviously. A Bloat detector connected to some explosives. It wasn’t activated until the Bloat was switched on. The transmitter would work fine until then. But now, after our Bloat, it exploded nicely.”
    “No communication . . .” Kirpal said hollowly. “Let’s hope there is a transmitter on Floradora.”
    Drenched in gloom we went slowly back to the bridge. Angelina was waiting there with Pinky.
    “Trouble?” she asked seeing our dark expressions.
    “Lots of it,” I said, bringing her up to speed about the latestsabotage. Pinky sensed our mood, shivered and retreated to the corner. Kirpal went to work
    “I have directed a low-power Bloat field towards the planet. We’ll be in orbit around it in a few minutes.”
    The primary grew larger even as we watched, then moved slowly off center.
    “The planet has been detected and we should reach it as soon as the Bloat ends.”
    There was slight tingling in the air and a slight pop as the Bloater Drive shut off. A distant spot grew to a disk then loomed large and filled the screen. Blue skies and white bands of clouds.
    “Looks quite nice,” Angelina said.
    “We’re getting strong television signals on a number of stations,” Kirpal said. “Let’s see what they have to say.”
    He thumbed a button and loud martial music boomed from the speakers. It died away to the background as a harsh male voice