"What the hell," I decided. "They all know there's a mutiny now. It
won't hurt to get in a little life-insurance."
I keyed my mike. "This is the Captain," I said. "This ship is now in a
state of mutiny. I call on all loyal members of the Armed Forces to
resist the mutineers actively, and to support their Commander. Your
ship is in action against an armed enemy. I assure you this mutiny will
fail, and those who took part in it will be treated as traitors to their
Service, their homes, and their own families who now rely on them.
"We are accelerating at two and one-half gravities, locked on a
collision course with the Mancji ship. The mutineers cannot enter the
Bridge, Power, Control, or Missiles Sections since only I have the
combination. Thus they're doomed to failure.
"I am now returning to the Bridge to direct the attack and destruction
of the enemy. If I fail to reach the Bridge, we will collide with the
enemy in less than three hours, and our batteries will blow."
Now my problem was to make good my remark about returning to the Bridge.
The shuttle had not followed me, presumably fearing ambush. I took
advantage of their hesitation to cross back to corridor A at my best
speed. I paused once to send a hail of needles ricocheting down the
corridor behind me, and I heard a yelp from around the corner. Those
needles had a fantastic velocity, and bounced around a long time before
stopping.
At the corridor, I lay down on the floor for a rest and risked a quick
look. A group of three men were bunched around the Control Section door,
packing smashite in the hairline crack around it. That wouldn't do them
any good, but it did occupy their attention.
I faded back into the cross passage, and keyed the mike. I had to give
them a chance.
"This is the Captain," I said. "All personnel not at their action
stations are warned for the last time to report there immediately. Any
man found away from his post from this point on is in open mutiny and
can expect the death penalty. This is the last warning."
The men in the corridor had heard, but a glance showed they paid no
attention to what they considered an idle threat. They didn't know how
near I was.
I drew my needler, set it for continuous fire, pushed into the corridor,
aimed, and fired. I shot to kill. All three sprawled away from the door,
riddled, as the metal walls rang with the cloud of needles.
I looked both ways, then rose, with effort, and went to the bodies. I
recognized them as members of Kirschenbaum's Power Section crew. I keyed
again as I moved on toward the lift at the end of the corridor, glancing
back as I went.
"Corley, Mac Williams, and Reardon have been shot for mutiny in the face
of the enemy," I said. "Let's hope they're the last to insist on my
enforcing the death penalty."
* * * * *
Behind me, at the far end of the corridor, men appeared again. I
flattened myself in a doorway, sprayed needles toward them, and hoped
for the best. I heard the singing of a swarm past me, but felt no hits.
The mutineers offered a bigger target, and I thought I saw someone fall.
As they all moved back out of sight, I made another break for the lift.
I was grateful they hadn't had time to organize. I kept an eye to the
rear, and sent a hail of needles back every time a man showed himself.
They ducked out to fire every few seconds, but not very effectively. I
had an advantage over them; I was fighting for the success of the
mission and for my life, with no one to look to for help; they were each
one of a mob, none eager to be a target, each willing to let the other
man take the risk.
I was getting pretty tired. I was grateful for the extra stamina and
wind that daily calisthenics in a high-gee field had given me; without
that I would have collapsed before now; but I was almost ready to drop.
I had my eyes fixed on the lift door; each step, inch by inch, was an
almost unbearable effort. With only a few feet to go, my knees gave; I
went down on all fours. Another batch of needles sang around me, and
vivid pain seared my left arm. It helped. The pain cleared my head,
spurred me. I rose and stumbled against the door.
Now the combination. I fought a numbing desire to faint as I pressed the
lock control; three, five, two, five ...
I twisted around as I heard a sound. The shuttle was coming toward me,
men lying flat on it, protected by the bumper plate. I leaned against
the lift door, and loosed a stream of needles against the side of the
corridor, banking them toward the shuttle. Two men rolled off the
shuttle in a spatter of blood. Another screamed, and a hand waved above
the bumper. I needled it.
* * * * *
I wondered how many were on the shuttle. It kept coming. The closer it
came, the more effective my bank shots were. I wondered why it failed to
return my fire. Then a hand rose in an arc and a choke bomb dropped in a
short curve to the floor. It rolled to my feet, just starting to spew. I
kicked it back. The shuttle stopped, backed away from the bomb. A jet of
brown gas was playing from it now. I aimed my needler, and sent it
spinning back farther. Then I turned to my lock.
Now a clank of metal against metal sounded behind me; from the side
passage a figure in radiation armor moved out. The suit was self-powered
and needle proof. I sent a concentrated blast at the head, as the figure
awkwardly tottered toward me, ungainly in the multi-gee field. The
needles hit, snapped the head back. The suited figure hesitated, arms
spread, stepped back and fell with a thunderous crash. I had managed to
knock him off balance, maybe stun him.
I struggled to remember where I was in the code sequence; I went on,
keyed the rest. I pushed; nothing. I must have lost count. I started
again.
I heard the armored man coming on again. The needler trick wouldn't work
twice. I kept working. I had almost completed the sequence when I felt
the powered grip of the suited man on my arm. I twisted, jammed the
needler against his hand, and fired. The arm flew back, and even through
the suit I heard his wrist snap. My own hand was numb from the recoil.
The other arm of the suit swept down and struck my wounded arm. I
staggered away from the door, dazed with the pain.
I side-stepped in time to miss another ponderous blow. Under two and a
half gees, the man in the suit was having a hard time, even with power
assisted controls. I felt that I was fighting a machine instead of a
man.
As he stepped toward me again, I aimed at his foot. A concentrated
stream of needles hit, like a metallic fire hose, knocked the foot
aside, toppled the man again. I staggered back to my door.
But now I realized I couldn't risk opening it; even if I got in, I
couldn't keep my suited assailant from crowding in with me. Already he
was up, lurching toward me. I had to draw him away from the door.
The shuttle sat unmoving. The mob kept its distance. I wondered why no
one was shooting; I guessed they had realized that if I were killed
there would be no way to enter the vital control areas of the ship; they
had to take me alive.
* * * * *
I made it past the clumsy armored man and started down the corridor
toward the shuttle. I moved as slowly as I could while still eluding
him. He lumbered after me. I reached the shuttle; a glance showed no one
alive there. Two men lay across it. I pulled myself onto it and threw in
the forward lever. The shuttle rolled smoothly past the armored man,
striking him a glancing blow that sent him down again. Those falls, in
the multi-gee field, were bone crushing. He didn't get up.
I reached the door again, rolled off the shuttle, and reached for the
combination. I wished now I'd used a shorter one. I started again; heard
a noise behind me. As I turned, a heavy weight crushed me against the
door.
I was held rigid, my chest against the combination key. The pressure was
cracking my ribs and still it increased. I twisted my head, gasping. The
shuttle held me pinned to the door. The man I had assumed out of action
was alive enough to hold the lever down with savage strength. I tried to
shout, to remind him that without me to open the doors, they were
powerless to save the ship. I couldn't speak. I tasted blood in my
mouth, and tried to breathe. I couldn't. I passed out.