noon
He jabbed at a button . `` All ships ' Duty Officers ; scramble communication circuits . This is the Admiral . Top Secret Orders ... '' * * * * * Shortly before noon the four-hundred-odd ships lifted out of Sennech 's frosty atmosphere , still ignoring the furious demands from the radio . Fully armed , they could n't be stopped . Tulan 's viewer gave a vivid picture of the receding fifth planet . The white mantle of ice and snow was a backdrop for blue artificial lakes and the dark green of forest-strips -LRB- hardy conifers from Teyr -RRB- alternated with the lighter shades of surface farms .