by Ray Cummings
XII
I was taken wholly by surprise. There was an instant when I stoodnumbed, fumbling for a weapon at my belt, undecided whether to run orstand my ground. Miko was no more than twenty feet from me. He checkedhis forward rush. The light from an overhead tube was on him: I saw inhis hand the cylinder projector of his paralyzing ray.
I plucked my heat cylinder from my belt, and fired without taking aim.My tiny heat beam flashed. I must have grazed Miko's hand. His roar ofanger and pain rang out over the turmoil. He dropped his weapon; thenstooped to pick it up. But Moa forestalled him. She leaped and seizedit.
"Careful! Fool, you promised not to harm him!"
A confusion of swift action. Rankin had turned and darted away. I sawGeorge Prince stumbling half in front of the struggling Miko and Moa.And I heard footsteps beside me. A hand gripped me, jerked at me.
Over the turmoil, Prince's voice sounded: "Gregg Haljan!"
I recall that I had the impression that Prince was frightened; he hadhalf fallen in front of Miko. And there was Miko's voice: "Let go ofme!"
It was Balch gripping me. "Gregg! This way--run! Get out of here!He'll kill you with that ray!"
Miko's ray flashed, but George Prince had knocked his arm. I did notdare fire again. Prince was in the way. Balch, who was unarmed, shovedme violently back.
"Gregg! The chart room!"
I turned and ran, with Balch after me. Prince had fallen or beenfelled by Miko. A flash followed me from Miko's weapon, but again itmissed. He did not pursue me. Instead he ran the other way, throughthe portside door of the library.
Balch and I found ourselves in the library. Shouting, frightenedpassengers were everywhere. The place was in wild confusion, the wholeship ringing now with shouts.
"To the chart room, Gregg!"
I called to the passengers, "Go back to your rooms!"
I followed Balch. We ran through the archway to the deck. In thestarlight I saw figures scurrying aft, but none were near us. The deckforward was dim with heavy shadows. The oval windows and door of thechart room were blue-yellow from the tube lights inside. No one seemedon the deck there. And then as we approached, I saw further forward inthe bow, the trap door to the cage standing open. Johnson had beenreleased.
From one of the chart room windows a heat ray sizzled. It barelymissed us. Balch shouted, "Carter--don't!"
The Captain called, "Oh you, Balch--and Haljan--"
He came out on the deck as we rushed up. His left arm was danglinglimp.
"God--this--" He got no further. From the turret overhead a tinysearch beam came down and disclosed us. Blackstone was supposed to beon duty up there, with a course master at the controls. But, glancingup, I saw, illumined by the turret lights, the figure of Ob Hahn inhis purple-white robe, and Johnson, the purser. And on the turretbalcony, two fallen men--Blackstone and the course master.
Johnson was training the spotlight on us. And Hahn fired a Martianray. It struck Balch beside me. He dropped.
Carter was shouting, "Inside--Gregg! Get inside!"
I stopped to raise up Balch. Another beam came down. A heat ray thistime. It caught the fallen Balch full on the chest, piercing himthrough. The smell of his burning flesh rose to sicken me. He wasdead. I dropped his body. Carter shoved me into the chart room.
In the small, steel-lined room, Carter and I slid the door closed. Wewere alone here. The thing had come so quickly it had taken CaptainCarter, like us all, wholly unawares. We had anticipated spyingeavesdroppers, but not this open brigandage. No more than a minute ortwo had passed since Miko's siren in his stateroom had given thesignal for attack. Carter had been in the chart room. Blackstone wasin the turret. At the outbreak of confusion, Carter dashed out to seeHahn releasing Johnson from the cage. From the forward chart roomwindow now I could see where Hahn with a torch had broken the cageseal. The torch lay on the deck. There had been an exchange of shots;Carter's arm was paralyzed; Johnson and Hahn had escaped.
Carter was as confused as I. There had simultaneously been anencounter up in the turret. Blackstone and the course master werekilled. The lookout had been shot from his post in the forwardobservatory. The body dangled now, twisted half in and half out thewindow.
We could see several of Miko's men--erstwhile members of our crew andsteward corps--scurrying from the turret along the upper bridge towardthe dark and silent radio room. Snap was up there. But was he? Theradio room glowed suddenly with dim light, but there was no evidenceof a fight there. The fighting seemed mostly below the deck, down inthe hull corridors. A blended horror of sounds came up to us. Screams,shouts and the hissing and snapping of ray weapons. Our crew--such ofthem as were loyal--were making a stand below. But it was brief.Within a minute it died away. The passengers, amidships in thesuperstructure, were still shouting. Then above them Miko's roarsounded.
"Be quiet! Go in your rooms--you will not be harmed."
The brigands in these few minutes were in control of the ship. All butthis little chart room, where, with most of the ship's weapons, Carterand I were entrenched.
"God, Gregg, that this should come upon us!"
Carter was fumbling with the chart room weapons. "Here, Gregg. Helpme. What have you got? Heat ray? That's all I had ready."
It struck me then as I helped him make the connections that Carter inthis crisis was at best an inefficient commander. His red face hadgone splotchy purple; his hands were trembling. Skilled as Captain ofa peaceful liner, he was at a loss now. But I could not blame him. Itis easy to say we might have taken warning, done this or that, andcome triumphant through the attack. But only the fool looks backwardand says, "I would have done better."
I tried to summon my wits. The ship was lost to us unless Carter and Icould do something. Our futile weapons! They were all here--four orfive heat ray hand projectors that could send a pencil ray a hundredfeet or so. I shot one diagonally up at the turret where Johnson wasleering down at our rear window, but he saw my gesture and droppedback out of sight. The heat beam flashed harmlessly up and struck theturret room. Then across the turret window came a sheen ofradiance--an electrobarrage. And behind it, Hahn's suave, evil faceappeared. He shouted down:
"We have orders to spare you, Gregg Haljan--or you would have beenkilled long ago!"
My answering shot hit his barrage with a shower of sparks, behindwhich he stood unmoved.
Carter handed me another weapon. "Gregg, try this."
I leveled the old explosive projector; Carter crouched beside me. Butbefore I could press the trigger, from somewhere down the starlit deckan electro beam hit me. The little rifle exploded, broke its breech. Isank back to the floor, tingling from the shock of the hostilecurrent. My hands were blackened from the exploded powder.
Carter seized me. "No use. Hurt?"
"No."
The stars through the dome windows were swinging. A long swing--theshadows and patterns on the starlit deck were all shifting. The_Planetara_ was turning. The heavens revolved in a great round sweepof movement, then settled as we took our new course.
Hahn at the turret controls had swung us. The Earth and the Sun showedover our bow quarter. The sunlight mingled red-yellow with thebrilliant starlight. Hahn's signals were sounding; I heard themanswered from the mechanism rooms down below. Brigands there--in fullcontrol. The gravity plates were being set to the new positions: Wewere on our new course. Headed a point or two off the Earthline. Notheaded for the Moon? I wondered.
Carter and I were planning nothing. What was there to plan? We wereunder observation. A Martian paralyzing ray--or an electronic beam,far more deadly than our own puny weapons--would have struck us theinstant we tried to leave the chart room.
My thoughts were interrupted by a shout from down the deck. At acorner of the cabin superstructure some fifty feet from our windowsthe figure of Miko appeared. A radiance barrage hung about him like ashimmering mantle. His voice sounded: "Gregg Haljan, do you yield?"
Carter leaped up from where he and I were crouching. Against allreas
on of safety he leaned from the low window, waving his hamlikefist.
"Yield? No! I am in command here, you pirate! Brigand--murderer!"
I dragged him back sharply. "For God's sake--"
He was spluttering; and over it Miko's sardonic laugh sounded. "Shallwe argue about it?"
I stood up. "What do you want to say, Miko?"
Behind him the tall, thin figure of his sister showed. She wasplucking at him. He turned violently. "I won't harm him! GreggHaljan--is this a truce? You will not shoot?" He was shielding Moa.
"No," I called. "For a moment, no. A truce. What is it you want tosay?"
I could hear the babble of passengers who were herded in the cabinwith brigands guarding them. George Prince, bare-headed, but shroudedin his cloak, showed in a patch of light behind Moa. He looked my wayand then retreated.
Miko called, "You must yield. We want you, Haljan."
"No doubt," I jeered.
"Alive. It is easy to kill you."
I could not doubt that. Carter and I were little more than rats in atrap. But Miko wanted to take me alive: that was not so simple. Headded persuasively:
"We want you to navigate us. Will you?"
"No."
"Will you help us, Captain Carter? Tell your cub, this Haljan, toyield."
Carter roared, "Get back from there. There is no truce!"
I shoved aside his leveled projector. "Wait a minute, Miko. Navigatewhere?"
"That is our business. When you come out here, I will give you thecourse."
I realized that all this parley was a ruse of Miko's to take me alive.He had made a gesture. Hahn, watching him from the turret window,doubtless flashed a signal down to the hull corridors. The magnetizercontrol under the chart room was altered, our artificial gravity cutoff. I felt the sudden lightness: I gripped the window casement andclung. Carter was startled into incautious movement. It flung him outinto the room, his arms and legs flailing.
And across the chart room, in the opposite window, I felt rather thansaw the shape of something. A figure, almost invisible but not quite,was trying to climb in! I flung the empty rifle I was holding. It hitsomething solid in the window. In a flare of sparks a blackhoodedfigure materialized. A man climbing in! His weapon spat. There was atiny electronic flash, deadly silent. The intruder had shot at Carter:struck him. Carter gave one queer scream. He had floated to the floor;his convulsive movement when he was hit hurled him to the ceiling. Hisbody struck; twitched; bounced back and sank inert on the floor gridalmost at my feet.
I clung to the casement. Across the room of the weightless room thehooded intruder was also clinging. His hood fell back. It was Johnson.
"Killed him, the bully! Now for you, Mr. Third Officer Haljan!"
But he did not dare fire at me. Miko had forbidden it. I saw him reachunder his robe, doubtless for a low-powered paralyzing ray. But henever got it out. I had no weapon within reach. I leaned into theroom, still holding the casement, and doubled my legs under me. Ikicked out from the window.
The force catapulted me across the space across the room like avolplane. I struck the purser. We gripped. Our locked, strugglingbodies bounced out into the room. We struck the floor, surged up likeballoons to the ceiling, struck it with a flailing arm or leg andfloated back.
Grotesque, abnormal combat! Like fighting in weightless water. Johnsonclutched his weapon, but I twisted his wrist, held his armoutstretched so that he could not aim it. I was aware of Miko's voiceshouting on the deck outside.
Johnson's left hand was gouging at my face, his fingers digging at myeyes. We lunged down.
I twisted his wrists. He dropped the weapon and it sank away, I triedto reach it but could not.... Then I had him by the throat. I wasstronger than he, and more agile. I tried choking him, I had his thickbull neck within my fingers. He kicked, scrambled, tore and gouged atme. Tried to shout, but it ended in a gurgle. And then, as he felt hisbreath stopped, his hands came up in an effort to tear mine loose.
We sank again to the floor. We were momentarily upright. I felt myfeet touch. I bent my knees. We sank further. And then I kickedviolently upward. Our locked bodies shot to the ceiling. Johnson'shead was above me. It struck the steel roof of the chart room. Aviolent blow. I felt him go suddenly limp. I cast him off and,doubling my body, I kicked at the ceiling. It sent me diagonallydownward to the window, where I clung.
And I saw Miko standing on the deck with a weapon leveled at me!