He heard the quiet, efficient "zzap" sound of
the airbot's disabling beam, but apparently not directed toward him
yet. Desperation powered his legs and they pumped at peak speed. He
didn't know where the others were or what they were doing. Someone else
was racing behind him but he didn't stop to find out who it was.
It was not cowardice that inspired his flight, but the desire to
preserve the team. Scattering and flying gave a slight hope that some
of the men might escape the relentless search of the airbot-or at least
put off the inevitable. The rotation of the asteroid provided
artificial gravity, but it was low enough to enable the men to move
quickly, covering a lot of distance as they ran.
"Zzap. Zzap," he heard again, more distant this time. He came to the
end of the aisle and had to slow to keep from slamming into the wall in
front of him. He reached out his left hand and grabbed the corner of a
crate to help him execute the turn. As he made the quick right angle
twist at the end of the row of crates, he glanced behind him with his
peripheral vision. Joe was close behind him and several yards farther
away were two of the miners. Even as he looked, he saw the airbot fly
over the crates into the aisle he had just cleared, missing the ceiling
by less than a foot.
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