THE COSMIC COMPUTER

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"My name's Yves Jacquemont," the man with the gray beard said. "I'm a
retired hyperspace maintenance engineer; I had a little business at
Waterville, buying, selling and rebuilding agricultural machinery. This
gang found out about me; they raided and burned our village and carried
me and my daughter, Sylvie, away. We've been working for them for the
last four months, tearing Captain Nichols' ship down and armoring her
with collapsium."

"How many pirates are there here?"

That started an argument. Nobody was quite sure; two hundred and fifty
seemed to be the highest estimate, which Conn decided to play safe by
accepting.

"You get us out of here," Yves Jacquemont was saying. "All we want is a
chance at them."