Continue writing the following text: when the surrounding space was flat enough , the profit could cruise up near to lightspeed ; but any local disturbance -- a nearby mass large enough to make a significant dent in spacetime , say , or another ship with a similar reactionless drive -- and she was forced to creep along at a mere fraction of c. hesperus groaned . on the scanner , a single blip had appeared . a ship , warping into issoar behind him . he slammed his hand against the console , and jabbed a finger at the
scanner