 What would've happened if Captain Llud tried to turn around and change course from Earth?
That was the Doppler effect as the star's radial velocity changed relative to the Quest III , as for forty hours the ship had decelerated. He said, with a touch of tolerant amusement, "What did you think might have happened to Earth? He had already set up on the calculator a course that would carry them to Earth. That was the foreshortening along the time axis of a space ship approaching the speed of light. "One light-day out from Procyon, the thirty-third day by ship's time since leaving Earth. If Procyon had possessed a habitable planet, we could have returned after an absence of not much over twenty years Earth time.
 They probably would've been shot at and the passengers would've died eventually with low resources.
 They probably would've been shot at and the passengers would've died eventually with low resources.  They would've tricked one of the ships into housing all of the passengers and flying home on that ship instead of the Quest III ship.  They would've been left alone by the Earthen ships and accepted once they discussed matters some more.  The Earthen ships would've trapped and invaded the Quest III ship and held the passengers hostage.