The trouble started when the Arcturus Queen was four billion miles out of Earth, heading for the star after which it was named. It pulled clear of the solar system using conventional drive, then switched into subspace. A few minutes later the ship shuddered perceptibly, and an authoritative voice came reassuringly from the public address system. "Passengers will please remain in their seats. We are temporarily cutting the subspace drive due to mechanical difficulties which have developed. There