by Keith Laumer
beforelocking up. The best I could hope for was to lock the door before theyreached it.
I drew my Browning and started for the door. They saw me and one reachedfor his needler.
"Don't try it," I called. I concentrated on the door, reached it, swungit closed, and as I threw in the lock a needler cracked. I whirled andfired. The man in the rear had stopped and aimed as the other two cameon. He folded. The other two kept coming.
I was tired. I wanted a rest. "You're too late," I said. "No one but theCaptain goes in there now." I stopped talking, panting. I had to rest.The two came on. I wondered why they struggled so desperately after theywere beaten. My thinking was slowing down.
I suddenly realized they might be holding me for the crowd to arrive. Ishuffled backwards towards the cross corridor. I barely made it. Two menon a shuttle cart whirled around the corner a hundred feet aft. Ilurched into my shelter in a hail of needler fire. One of the tiny slugsstung through my calf and ricocheted down the passage.
I called to the two I had raced; "Tell your boys if they ever want toopen that door, just see the Captain."
I hesitated, considering whether or not to make a general statement.
"What the hell," I decided. "They all know there's a mutiny now. Itwon't hurt to get in a little life-insurance."
I keyed my mike. "This is the Captain," I said. "This ship is now in astate of mutiny. I call on all loyal members of the Armed Forces toresist the mutineers actively, and to support their Commander. Yourship is in action against an armed enemy. I assure you this mutiny willfail, and those who took part in it will be treated as traitors to theirService, their homes, and their own families who now rely on them.
"We are accelerating at two and one-half gravities, locked on acollision course with the Mancji ship. The mutineers cannot enter theBridge, Power, Control, or Missiles Sections since only I have thecombination. Thus they're doomed to failure.
"I am now returning to the Bridge to direct the attack and destructionof the enemy. If I fail to reach the Bridge, we will collide with theenemy 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 tookadvantage of their hesitation to cross back to corridor A at my bestspeed. I paused once to send a hail of needles ricocheting down thecorridor behind me, and I heard a yelp from around the corner. Thoseneedles had a fantastic velocity, and bounced around a long time beforestopping.
At the corridor, I lay down on the floor for a rest and risked a quicklook. A group of three men were bunched around the Control Section door,packing smashite in the hairline crack around it. That wouldn't do themany good, but it did occupy their attention.
I faded back into the cross passage, and keyed the mike. I had to givethem a chance.
"This is the Captain," I said. "All personnel not at their actionstations are warned for the last time to report there immediately. Anyman found away from his post from this point on is in open mutiny andcan expect the death penalty. This is the last warning."
The men in the corridor had heard, but a glance showed they paid noattention to what they considered an idle threat. They didn't know hownear 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. Irecognized them as members of Kirschenbaum's Power Section crew. I keyedagain as I moved on toward the lift at the end of the corridor, glancingback as I went.
"Corley, Mac Williams, and Reardon have been shot for mutiny in the faceof the enemy," I said. "Let's hope they're the last to insist on myenforcing the death penalty."
* * * * *
Behind me, at the far end of the corridor, men appeared again. Iflattened myself in a doorway, sprayed needles toward them, and hopedfor 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 therear, 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. Ihad an advantage over them; I was fighting for the success of themission and for my life, with no one to look to for help; they were eachone of a mob, none eager to be a target, each willing to let the otherman take the risk.
I was getting pretty tired. I was grateful for the extra stamina andwind that daily calisthenics in a high-gee field had given me; withoutthat 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 analmost unbearable effort. With only a few feet to go, my knees gave; Iwent down on all fours. Another batch of needles sang around me, andvivid 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 thelock 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 againstthe lift door, and loosed a stream of needles against the side of thecorridor, banking them toward the shuttle. Two men rolled off theshuttle in a spatter of blood. Another screamed, and a hand waved abovethe bumper. I needled it.
* * * * *
I wondered how many were on the shuttle. It kept coming. The closer itcame, the more effective my bank shots were. I wondered why it failed toreturn my fire. Then a hand rose in an arc and a choke bomb dropped in ashort curve to the floor. It rolled to my feet, just starting to spew. Ikicked it back. The shuttle stopped, backed away from the bomb. A jet ofbrown gas was playing from it now. I aimed my needler, and sent itspinning back farther. Then I turned to my lock.
Now a clank of metal against metal sounded behind me; from the sidepassage a figure in radiation armor moved out. The suit was self-poweredand needle proof. I sent a concentrated blast at the head, as the figureawkwardly tottered toward me, ungainly in the multi-gee field. Theneedles hit, snapped the head back. The suited figure hesitated, armsspread, stepped back and fell with a thunderous crash. I had managed toknock 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 startedagain.
I heard the armored man coming on again. The needler trick wouldn't worktwice. I kept working. I had almost completed the sequence when I feltthe powered grip of the suited man on my arm. I twisted, jammed theneedler against his hand, and fired. The arm flew back, and even throughthe 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. Istaggered away from the door, dazed with the pain.
I side-stepped in time to miss another ponderous blow. Under two and ahalf gees, the man in the suit was having a hard time, even with powerassisted controls. I felt that I was fighting a machine instead of aman.
As he stepped toward me again, I aimed at his foot. A concentratedstream of needles hit, like a metallic fire hose, knocked the footaside, 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, Icouldn't keep my suited assailant from crowding in with me. Already hewas 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 noone was shooting; I guessed they had realized that if I were killedthere would be no way to enter the vital control areas of the ship; theyhad to take me alive.
* * * * *
I made it past the clumsy armored man and started down the corridortoward the shuttle. I
moved as slowly as I could while still eludinghim. He lumbered after me. I reached the shuttle; a glance showed no onealive there. Two men lay across it. I pulled myself onto it and threw inthe forward lever. The shuttle rolled smoothly past the armored man,striking him a glancing blow that sent him down again. Those falls, inthe multi-gee field, were bone crushing. He didn't get up.
I reached the door again, rolled off the shuttle, and reached for thecombination. I wished now I'd used a shorter one. I started again; hearda noise behind me. As I turned, a heavy weight crushed me against thedoor.
I was held rigid, my chest against the combination key. The pressure wascracking my ribs and still it increased. I twisted my head, gasping. Theshuttle held me pinned to the door. The man I had assumed out of actionwas alive enough to hold the lever down with savage strength. I tried toshout, to remind him that without me to open the doors, they werepowerless to save