Suddenly someone was shouting into the mike, incoherently. I caught
words, cursing. Then Chilcote's voice, "Captain," he said. "Captain,
please come quick." There was a loud clatter, noise, then only the hum
of the mike.
"Take over, Clay," I said, and started back to the cargo deck at a dead
run.
* * * * *
Men crowded the corridor, asking questions, milling. I forced my way
through, found Kramer surrounded by men, shouting.
"Break this up," I shouted. "Kramer, what's your report?"
Chilcote walked past me, pale as chalk. I pushed through to Kramer.
"Get hold of yourself, and make your report, Kramer," I said. "What
started this riot?"
Kramer stopped shouting, and stood looking at me, panting. The crowded
men fell silent.
"I gave you a job to do, Major," I said; "opening a cargo can. Now you
take it from there."
"Yeah, Captain," he said. "We got it open. No wires, no traps. We hauled
the load out of the can on to the floor. It was one big frozen mass,
wrapped up in some kind of netting. Then we pulled the covering off."
"All right, go ahead," I said.
"That load of fresh meat your star-born pals gave us consists of about
six families of human beings; men, women, and children." Kramer was
talking for the crowd now, shouting. "Those last should be pretty tender
when you ration out our ounce a week, Captain."
The men milled, wide-eyed, open-mouthed, as I thrust through to the
cargo lock. The door stood ajar and wisps of white vapor curled out into
the passage.
I stepped through the door. It was bitter cold in the lock. Near the
outer hatch the bulky cannister, rimed with white frost, lay in a pool
of melting ice. Before it lay the half shrouded bulk that it had
contained. I walked closer.
They were frozen together into one solid mass. Kramer was right. They
were as human as I. Human corpses, stripped, packed together, frozen. I
pulled back the lightly frosted covering, and studied the glazed white
bodies.
Kramer called suddenly from the door. "You found your colonists,
Captain. Now that your curiosity is satisfied, we can go back where we
belong. Out here man is a tame variety of cattle. We're lucky they
didn't know we were the same variety, or we'd be in their food lockers
now ourselves. Now let's get started back. The men won't take 'no' for
an answer."
I leaned closer, studying the corpses. "Come here, Kramer," I called. "I
want to show you something."
"I've seen all there is to see in there," Kramer said. "We don't want to
waste time; we want to change course now, right away."
* * * * *
I walked back to the door, and as Kramer stepped back to let me precede
him out the door, I hit him in the mouth with all my strength. His head
snapped back against the frosted wall. Then he fell out into the
passage.
I stepped over him. "Pick this up and put it in the brig," I said. The
men in the corridor fell back, muttering. As they hauled Kramer upright
I stepped through them and kept going, not running but wasting no time,
toward the bridge. One wrong move on my part now and all their misery
and fear would break loose in a riot the first act of which would be to
tear me limb from limb.
I travelled ahead of the shock. Kramer had provided the diversion I had
needed. Now I heard the sound of gathering violence growing behind me.
I was none too quick. A needler flashed at the end of the corridor just
as the lift door closed. I heard the tiny projectile ricochet off the
lift shaft.
I rode up, stepped onto the bridge and locked the lift. I keyed for
Bourdon, and to my relief got a quick response. The panic hadn't
penetrated to Missile Section yet.
"Bourdon, arm all batteries and lock onto that Mancji ship," I ordered.
"On the triple."
I turned to Clay. "I'll take over, Clay," I said. "Alter course to
intercept our late companion at two and one-half gee's."