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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..35c6d80 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #63856 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63856) diff --git a/old/63856-0.txt b/old/63856-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d6722df..0000000 --- a/old/63856-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1618 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of S.O.S. Aphrodite!, by Stanley Mullen - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this ebook. - -Title: S.O.S. Aphrodite! - -Author: Stanley Mullen - -Release Date: November 23, 2020 [EBook #63856] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK S.O.S. APHRODITE! *** - - - - - S.O.S. APHRODITE! - - By STANLEY MULLEN - - No wonder that signal stabbed out into the - icy void. For it was a ship of hate and evil, - and ISP patrolman Steve Coran trusted only - one person--after strapping her in her bunk! - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Planet Stories Summer 1949. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -On the high metallic wall across the street was a big sign: VENUS -TRANSPORT and a smaller sign which read CONTAMINATION AREA--KEEP OUT! -Steve Coran turned away from the window and faced the ISP official -across the desk. - -"From the time you leave this office, you'll be in deadly danger," the -official said. "We aren't dealing with sporadic cases of space piracy. -This is a well-organized group of saboteurs, pirates and assassins -backed by a ring of powerful and unscrupulous men, some of them in -high places. They have more on their minds than mere looting. They -have certain political objectives--and will stop at nothing to cause -unrest, even war or revolution, to gain their ends. Fishers in troubled -waters...." - -Coran laughed harshly. "Doesn't sound like a rest cure. Why'd you pick -me for the job?" - -The official opened a file drawer and riffled the cards. "You were -recommended by the Ministry of Transport. I confess that I was dubious, -because of your record. However, you were transferred from the -Mars-Jupiter sector for the one reason that you're not known here. Any -of our regular security agents or the ISP men would be recognized at -once. Our original idea was to place you aboard a rocket transport as -a crewman to spy out the weak links in our defensive measures. But a -matter of graver importance has come up. The assignments will overlap, -but we can no longer give you official backing." - -"You'd better bring me up to date," Coran said bluntly. - -"The pattern is usually the same. Barratry. Three of the Venus -transports have been deliberately wrecked and looted. Of plutonium, -for the most part. Members of this criminal group have infiltrated -the crew. Even trusted officers have been forced, by blackmail or -other methods, to aid the plotters. We can trust no one, not even the -captain." - -"I see. What is this other matter you spoke about?" - -"Two days ago we arrested a man. The charge was barratry. We had -no name, only a heliophoto from Venus. In his possession we found -documents relating to political matters of vital importance. Release of -the information contained in his portfolio would be disastrous at this -time. It could cause chaos, perhaps even war." - -Coran grunted. "Such documents have no right to exist." - -"I agree. Unfortunately, this one does exist. And it's no longer in -our custody. A woman, obviously an accomplice, got a blaster-gun to -him. Two ISP men were killed, and the prisoner escaped. The documents -went with him. I don't have to tell you that both of these fugitives -must be apprehended or killed. And those papers must be brought back or -destroyed. That's your job." - -"I don't like it." - -"Tact isn't your long suit, is it, Lieutenant? You weren't asked if you -liked it. With two black marks against your record, you can't afford -an opinion. One more and you're through as an officer in the space -patrol--" - -"I don't like working out of uniform." - -"--and I wouldn't count too much on a friendship with Paul Jomian, if I -were you, Coran. He's through here ... even if he was kicked upstairs -into the transport ministry. We no longer approve his methods. His -rough-shod, undisciplined methods may get by in a frontier civilization -like that of the outer planets, but nowadays we require efficiency and -complete co-operation in the ISP. The time is past when an ISP officer -can forget to change his uniform and go without shaving for days at a -time." - -Coran's eyes glittered. "There was more to Paul Jomian than gold braid -and pretty uniforms. He was a man. And he got things done so a lot -of you pretty-boys could sit on your fat chairs and keep your hair -unmussed. For your information, those black marks on my record are for -tearing apart superior officers who made cracks about Paul Jomian. Do -you want me to turn in my badge?" - -The official smiled poisonously. "That would be the easy way out for -you, Coran. What's the matter--the job too tough for you?" - -"I can't stand the smell of perfume around here. And the jobs don't -come too tough. Relax, big shot. I'll run your stinking little errand -for you. But it's the last one. When I hand your two-vikdal bad man -over to you, I'm through. Make out my resignation that way, and I'll -sign it before I leave." - - * * * * * - -The official laughed and stood up. "Resignation accepted--upon -completion of assignment. You're a hard case, Coran. Up to a point, -you're even right. But you don't belong any more, not in this part of -the universe. It took pioneers like you and Jomian to bang the holes in -our fishbowl world, but we need men with dull routine minds to bring -order into it. Unofficially, I'm sorry to see you go. Nowadays a man -conforms or he gets out." - -"Skip the bouquets and the funeral oration. What's the layout on the -job you want done?" - -The official threw a file card across the desk. "There's the man you -want. The picture won't help you much, since he'll probably be wearing -a plastic face-mask." - -Coran glanced at it and shrugged. "Not much to go on. Any other leads?" - -"Yes." The official glanced at his wrist-chron. "We know that he will -be on the Venus transport X-1143--the _Aphrodite_--which leaves in -three hours. Probably the woman, too. Whatever happens, they must not -reach Venus alive." - - * * * * * - -Coran caught an implication in the words. "What do you mean 'Whatever -happens?'" - -"The _Aphrodite_ is an emigrant ship. It's a government secret that -she's carrying plutonium for the power plants on Venus, but we're -afraid the information may have leaked out. You may as well know that -we're on the spot. It's too late to cancel the shipment without serious -economic repercussions. And we haven't found any way to protect the -passenger-carrying ships. Even if we armed them, which is against -Interplanetary Law, they're too slow to run and too unwieldy to -maneuver. Too much mass." - -"What about convoy?" - -"We tried that last time. The ship was disabled and driven off-orbit. -Then a group of fast cruisers of unusual design showed up. The space -patrol drove them off and gave chase. It was a trick, of course, to -decoy our ships into space, then the main body of pirates moved in and -cleaned out the ship." - -Coran laughed. "When you're catching rabbits you have to be smarter -than the rabbits." - -The official flushed. "We're handicapped by lack of ships and lack -of competent personnel. This is your chance to be smarter than the -rabbits. The man you want is obviously a member of the same group. If -there is trouble, he will try to contact his friends. It's up to you -to find him first, and if you fail that, to make sure that he does not -escape or turn over the documents to anyone else. We'll have an ISP -squadron following six hours behind the _Aphrodite_. If you need help, -get a signal to them--by helioflash, if you can. I suggest you find the -man first, and through him, locate the woman. From there on, you know -what to do...." - -"It's a dirty job. Even with frosting, it's simple butchery--no trial, -no evidence. Now I know why the Martians consider an ISP man just a -hired thug." - -"That's all he is. You have your orders and, whatever your private -opinions may be, I'm sure you'll agree that lives are unimportant when -we're playing for such stakes." - -"Lives never are when politicians start dealing from the bottom of the -deck," Coran snarled bitterly. - -The official shrugged. "I wouldn't know about that. I'm just a yes-man. -You can discuss it with Paul Jomian--your politician friend--when you -see him. He'll be on the _Aphrodite_." - -"Have you figured out how I'm to get on the _Aphrodite_? If she's -an emigrant ship, they'll take only married couples. The altruistic -Company wants settlers to colonize Venus and build up their plague-spot -plantations for them." - -"That's your problem. Marry someone if you have to, or hire a fake -wife. It's been done. Anything, just so you don't give away your -official position. Now get going. You've less than three hours till -take-off time." - -Coran bent over the desk and signed his resignation with an elaborate -flourish, put an inked thumbprint beside the name, then stalked to the -door clothespinning his nose between thumb and forefinger. "That's time -enough to blow this stink off me," he said carelessly, wiping the inky -thumb on his uniform jacket. - -The official laughed. "You're right. It does stink." - - * * * * * - -Steve Coran was conscious of the girl merely as an obstacle between -him and the ticket window. She was young, expensively dressed and too -well-groomed, with blue-white hair, a haughty manner, and an icy stare -in her violet eyes. - -"I was here first," she said coldly. - -Coran bowed mockingly. "I don't like you either. Besides, I never hit -a lady in public. I hope this won't lead to one of those shipboard -romances." - -The beehive activity of the ticket office slackened as take-off time -drew near. Coran studied her back as she stood ahead of him in the line -and repressed a desire to pinch her and find out if she were real. The -weasel-faced clerk was tired and his tone of long-suffering patience -had worn to a thread of annoyance. - -"I've told you before, miss. I can't sell single tickets--the company -rules do not permit any but married couples aboard an emigrant -transport. We feel that unattached women are trouble makers in a -frontier society." - -The girl made an arrogant gesture. "It's important. I must get to -Venus. I don't care what it costs." - -"Don't tell me. See the manager. I don't make the rules. Third office -on the left. But you'd better hurry. I've only one double passage left." - -Coran tapped the girl on her shoulder. She glared at him. "Take a tip -from me, babe. See the boss. If he's a man, you'll get the tickets." - -As she left the line, he pushed to the window. "I'll take those two -tickets, bud." - -"Do you have your marriage certificate?" - -Coran reached through the window, snagged a coat lapel and had the man -dragged half through the window in a flash. "Now I'll talk, punk, and -you listen. Because I don't have a ring in my nose, don't get the idea -I'm not married. Do I get those tickets, or do you give up mirrors for -the next six weeks?" - -The clerk looked at the gnarled fist under his nose and gave a wild nod -of his head. "You get them." - -The steel fingers relaxed and the clerk slid back inside his cage. -"I'll report this," he stormed, shaking himself like a wet animal. -"You'd better have your papers when you try to get past the purser." He -handed out the tickets. - -The girl followed Coran from the office. "I'll give you a thousand -vikdals for those tickets." - -Coran grinned savagely. "Not even if you said please." - -"Please, and two thousand." - -"Stop it--you're getting near my price. Besides, they wouldn't do you -any good. You need a husband to go with 'em. Take the express rocket -next month. It's a shorter orbit and you'll only lose two weeks." - -"You take it then. My business won't wait. Three thousand." - -Coran whistled. "What's your problem?" - -"None of your business." - -"Have it your own way. My business won't wait either. Now, if you don't -mind, I'm in a hurry. I've less than two hours to find a honky-tonk and -get myself a bride. I don't suppose you'd know where the nearest dive -is. No, you wouldn't." - -He turned away toward the elevators, but the girl clutched his arm -desperately. "Six thousand.... It's all I have." - -Coran stared at her. "I'm sorry for you, but you'd have to kill me to -get these away. And I'm hard to kill. I'll make a deal though. I'll -sell you half of my double for three thousand. You'd have to marry me, -though." - -"_Marry you!_" There was a word of loathing in her tone. - -"It's been done. I'm on my way out now to look up a floozy. I'll even -marry her, if she's dope enough to want it that way. I don't like the -idea any better than you do, but I'd hock grandma's false teeth to get -to Venus. Forget I mentioned it. If I'm to be stuck with a dame for -four months, it might as well be a flamethrower as an icicle." - -He buzzed for the elevator before she called after him. "I--I've -changed my mind." She was pale, with a look of suppressed fury about -her. "I guess I'd do even that." - -Coran laughed wickedly. "Don't flatter yourself. You're just a ticket -to Venus to me. Meet me at the marriage bureau in half an hour. We -haven't much time, and you'll have to be psychographed. We really -should know each other. I'm Steve Coran." - -"I'm Gerda Mors. In half an hour." - - * * * * * - -The purser stopped at a door marked No. 200. He was a young, -inadequate-looking man. - -"You won't have to carry me over the threshold," Gerda said crisply. -She went inside and shut the door. In shocked silence, he re-checked -the sheaf of papers in his hand. - -"She's shy around strangers," Coran explained. "When do we take-off?" - -"In five minutes. We're making these emigrant runs under very crowded -conditions. All passengers are expected to remain in their own -staterooms most of the time. A certain amount of exercise is permitted, -of course, once free flight is attained and the A-orbit corrections -made. Until then, we recommend that everyone remain out of the crew's -way. The safest place during acceleration is in bed." - -Coran winked ponderously. "I'll make out all right. One thing, though. -I believe I have a friend on board. Am I permitted to examine the -passenger lists?" - -"Of course, they're public property. See the captain. His office is up -near the bow, just aft of the control rooms. But wait till we're out in -space." - -Coran knocked and entered the stateroom. Gerda was brushing her hair. -She glanced up irritably. "This is my room," she told him shortly. -"Find yourself another." - -He laughed grimly. "The psychographs warned we were incompatible, but -you'd better get used to me. It's 146 days to Venus, and we've only -this stateroom between us. They practically lock us in, you know. We're -going to be very good friends or most uncomfortable before we reach -Venus." - -Angry sparks shot from her violet eyes. "Did you know all this before?" - -Coran nodded. - -"You are a swine, aren't you? It won't do you any good. I'll tell the -captain we're not married. I'll say it was all a fake, the certificate -was a forgery, that you're a...." - -"Go ahead. I wish for your sake it would help, but they'd only check -and find out it was genuine. Even if it weren't, you'd only be forced -to go through the ceremony again. The rules are very specific to cover -just such situations." - -Fear and anger blended unpleasantly in her voice. "I'll think of -something...." - -Warning alarms blared through the ship. Ripples of soundless shock -stirred the bulk. - -"We're getting under way," Coran warned. "You'd better come to bed." - -"I'd rather die," she said sullenly. - -"Suit yourself. But it's pretty unpleasant." - - * * * * * - -The rocket transport left its runway at an angle of 45 degrees, -slanting up into the Sahara night with a blossom of pink-white flame -flowering round its stern jets. A series of jarring vibrations smoothed -to a muffled burr. The girl was flung heavily to the floor and lay -there beside the porthole of fused quartz, retching feebly as the -acceleration built up. Outside the port, what seemed the flank of a -titanic mountain of moonlit sand fell rapidly astern. It tilted at an -incredible angle. - -Coran hunched himself off the bed and crawled to her. Gerda grimaced -weakly and struck at him, then lapsed into unconsciousness. He picked -her up and carried her to the bed, dumped her like a limp sack and -clasped the straps about her. She did not rouse. - -Her purse lay where she had dropped it. Coran went through it -methodically. A small blaster-gun of the type women thugs carry -in their handbags. It appeared to have been used recently. Four -Lumipencils. The usual cosmetics. A pillbox with a poison label. And, -in an ivory frame, a small colorphoto miniature of the man whose face -was on the Security Headquarters dossier card. Coran neutralized the -charge in the blaster and set it on safety, then carefully replaced -everything. He wished he had a pocket magnascope to study the miniature -in detail, but that could wait. He must check the passenger lists and -find out where Paul Jomian's room was located. Paul should be warned, -so that his surprise at seeing Coran would not give the show away. - -The girl stirred and moaned feebly. Coran found the emergency -medical locker and forced an anti-acceleration capsule between her -tight-clenched teeth, following it with a water concentrate capsule. -She would be wildly thirsty when she came out of it, and real water -would have some unpleasant effects during A-shock. He leaned over and -checked the straps. They were tight enough so she would never get out -of that tie without help. Her eyes blinked open and she stared at him -in panic. - -"Just relax," he cautioned. "And don't get impatient. I'll be right -back. Have to see a man about a...." - -He went outside and made his way with difficulty up the bleak passage -forward. The distorted gravity made walking extremely difficult. Once -outside the main gravity field of Earth, artificial gravities would be -turned on. Until then, only an experienced spaceman could get around -safely. Coran was grateful for the rigorous training of the ISP. - -A staccato bark of unintelligible verbal commands came through the -half-opened doorway of the control room ahead. The captain's office -should be somewhere about here. On Coran's right was a closed door -marked CAPTAIN. Coran knocked twice without receiving any answer, -then tried the door. It slid easily open. He stepped over the high -threshold. Lights were flaring and dying away as if the generators were -running unevenly. He peered about him, and at first the Spartan-like -accommodations seemed unoccupied. He wondered if he should sit down and -wait for the captain. A second look convinced him he would have a long -wait. - -Sprawled forward, half across the desk, was the captain's body. The -upper part of his head had been blown away by a blaster-gun, evidently -fired at close quarters. - -A cry behind him swung Coran around. In the frame of the opened doorway -stood the purser, mouth open, pointing at the dead man with a trembling -finger. Instinctively, Coran started for the door. The purser sprang -into action, leaped on Coran and caught him in a surprisingly strong -grip for so slight a man. Coran made no attempt to struggle. In a -moment the office was full of people. The burly first mate pulled the -purser away from Coran. - -"What is all this, Hamlin?" the mate demanded. - -Coran had taken time to study the identification files on all -the _Aphrodite's_ officers at headquarters before coming aboard. -He recognized the three officers instantly as Harriman, first -mate--Hamlin, the purser--and Nalson, the navigator or astronaut--but -was careful not to give himself away. - -"I heard a sound in the captain's office, and when I came in to -investigate, I found him," Hamlin explained. "The captain's been -murdered." - -Mate Harriman looked Coran up and down. "Where's the gun?" he asked. - -"How should I know? I just came in a minute ago. He was like this when -I got here." - -Harriman drove a fist into Coran's mouth. "Come now, you don't expect -us to believe a yarn like that. Where is that gun?" - -Coran spat blood from his mangled lips. "I don't know anything about -it. The purser can tell you why I wanted to see the captain." - -Hamlin spoke up. "I told him to wait till we were out in space," he -snapped. "He said he wanted to check the passenger list." - -"I demand to see the first mate," Coran said. - -The words seemed to recall Harriman to his duties. "I am the first -mate," he said. "I haven't time to bother with you now. I'll take care -of you later. Throw him in the cells till we get out in space. I'll -have to take over for the Old Man." - - * * * * * - -Coran was hustled roughly to the lower part of the ship and flung into -the cramped quarters of the transport's brig. He settled back on the -bunk and tried to straighten things out in his mind. - -"At least I got a room to myself," he mused grimly. This was going to -complicate things. - -His wrist-chron had stopped, so he had no way of telling time, but they -fed him four times and he slept twice before they came for him. Two -crew men waited in the passage while Hamlin came in and sat down. - -"You're in a bad spot, Coran. It's customary in cases of civilian -infractions of ship's rules to appoint an officer as counsel for their -defense. I'm yours. Sorry you got pushed around, but you were lucky -at that. Harriman's a pretty tough character. You'd have got worse if -Nalson and I hadn't been there. He's been disciplined for brutality -before now. They're giving you a hearing in the wardroom. I'd suggest -you co-operate with me by telling me anything that will help with your -case. I don't mind telling you your story's too weak to hold up. I'll -do all I can for you, but you'll have to help." - -"What am I supposed to do?" Coran grunted. - -"You might tell me the truth. We know the captain must have been killed -just as the ship took off. Otherwise, someone would have heard the -shot. If you could prove you were somewhere else at the time--" - -"I was with my wife. She'll bear witness for me." - -"It won't do, Coran. I should have told you that your wife is ill and -won't be able to testify. I found her myself, strapped to the bunk in -your cabin, Martian plague! I called the doctor who examined her, then -quarantined the cabin. We left concentrated food and water, warned her -not to leave, then locked and sealed the cabin. No one can see her." - -Coran went cold with anger. "Someone must really be trying to foul me -up," he raged. "She couldn't have the plague--she's never been off the -earth." - -"Your papers read that you just came from Mars," objected Hamlin. - -"I did. We were married just before the ship left. If I were carrying -the plague, I'd have it myself. She couldn't have it--" - -Hamlin laughed nervously. "I wish you could convince the doctor of -that. He's been taking blood tests of me ever since we left her. I'm -sorry for you, Coran, but she has it. I saw the grey rash myself. It's -horrible, horrible...." - -Coran's mind worked like lightning. She had said she would think of -something. Something to keep the stateroom to herself. There might even -be a more sinister motive than that. After that picture of the man -he wanted in her purse, he could believe anything of her. Maybe she -even knew about him. She was faking, but how? How, since she had been -securely tied when he left her? Had he started his quest at the wrong -end? She must have been the woman accomplice who had got a gun through -the security police guarding the prisoner. - -"What am I charged with?" he asked. - -"Deliberate murder and plotting against the welfare of the ship. If the -officers agree on your guilt, you can be put to death immediately. They -put you through an airlock. The regulations have to be pretty stringent -on a space-ship." - -Coran stood up. "Let's go up and get it over with," he said. "We'll see -about your regulations." - -Manacled between the two brawny crewmen, a sullen Coran rode up in -the elevators. Outside the wardroom, the group stopped while Hamlin -knocked. "I wish you'd let me help you," he said in a final attempt. - -Coran shook his head. "I know what I'm doing." - -Hamlin shrugged. "I hope you do." - - * * * * * - -The assembled officers stared at Coran curiously. His lip was still -bruised and swollen. He stared insolently at the group and tried to -thrust all other considerations out of his mind. The girl and his quest -would have to wait. His immediate hurdle was to get out of this mess. - -Harriman wet his lips and opened the hearing. - -"I won't waste words when we all know why we're here. There is no need -for formality in a hearing of this kind. The captain of the _Aphrodite_ -was foully murdered, and this man who calls himself Stephen Coran was -found standing over his body. There was no gun in the room and none on -the prisoner. Coran's papers seem to be in order. They show him to be a -prospector from Mars, en route to Venus, but may be forgeries. That can -be checked. His wife is in quarantine, and will be unable to testify -one way or the other." - -Coran broke in. "I demand to hear the formal charge against me." - -"As acting captain of the _Aphrodite_, I officially charge you, Stephen -Coran, with the wilful murder of Captain Joseph Shalm, late master of -this ship. Also, since the murder must have taken place at the exact -moment of take-off, with the deliberate intent to delay and endanger -the safety of the ship and all the lives on board." - -"Good. Now I make formal demand that my wife be called as witness to -the fact that I could not have been in the captain's office at the time -of take-off." - -"You heard me say that your wife is in quarantine. She will not be able -to testify. If you have anything else to say in your defense, speak up." - -"I make no defense. Since the court is so obviously prejudiced, I -will stand on my civilian rights as a technicality. This court has no -jurisdiction over me. The most you can do is to confine me to the area -of this ship until a charge can be brought against me in the admiralty -court on Venus. Also, under Security Law No. F 1720, since the one -witness I asked to have called in my defense has not been brought to -court, I demand that the whole proceedings be dropped as illegal, -unjustified, and prejudicial to civilian rights. Since I obviously -cannot escape from the ship, you cannot even require the customary bond -for reappearance." - -Harriman's mouth dropped open. "Do you expect to get away with this?" - -"More than that." Coran grimaced unpleasantly. "I wish to file charges -with the nearest official of the ministry of transport that I was -mishandled and held under restraint without formal charges being -brought against me. If there is such an official on board, I demand to -see him." - -Nalson, the astronaut, hid a smile behind his sleeve, then leaned -forward and whispered earnestly to Harriman. Harriman nodded, then -turned to consult with the ship's doctor. - -"Is this your doing, Hamlin?" the acting captain rasped sourly. - -The purser shifted uneasily. "No, sir. But, since the prisoner chooses -this defense, I have no choice but to repeat his demands, officially. -There is an official aboard, Paul Jomian of the transport ministry. I -suggest you send for him and turn this hearing over to him. He will -have whatever authority is necessary to deal with it." - -In momentary desperation, Harriman glanced round the room at the circle -of faces and saw that Coran had him over a barrel. The hard-faced -navigator, Nalson, spoke up. "Better send for Jomian. In theory, -we have the right of assessing the death penalty, but in practice, -it's not so simple. The admiralty will review the case and, if your -foot slips on some technicality, you might even have to face the -disintegrators yourself." - -Harriman gave in and sent for Jomian. - - * * * * * - -A red bulb flashed and the buzzer sounded, then Paul Jomian stepped -into the wardroom. He was a lean man, greying into his late fifties, -with the bleakness of outer space in his eyes and a face badly scarred -by spaceburns. His eyes stared as they fell upon the manacled figure of -Coran standing in the center of the harsh-lit stage. Steve Coran stared -back at him with insolently expressionless face. - -The difficulty was rapidly explained by Captain Harriman in a -monotonously leveled tone of repressed fury. Jomian studied the -prisoner with politely casual interest while the harangue went on. When -Harriman finished, the transport official considered briefly before -giving his verdict. - -"Well, gentlemen, much as I sympathize with your feelings in this -matter, I'm afraid the prisoner is within his rights. Even if the -circumstances are somewhat unusual, we have no choice but to release -him. However, in view of the possible menace involved to the safety of -the ship, I recommend that he be under constant surveillance by some -competent and responsible officer, preferably the one appointed for his -defense, who will see to it that he has no opportunity to perpetrate -further violence. Once Venus is reached the man can be turned over to -the proper authorities." - -Coran broke in roughly. "Does all this monkey talk mean I'm free?" - -Harriman was maliciously official. "I'm afraid it does. But don't try -anything funny. Hamlin, Nalson, I'm detailing you two to watch over -Coran in shifts. Don't let him out of your sight, day or night. If -he attempts to steal a lifeboat and escape, or makes the slightest -untoward move to hinder the operation of the ship or molest anyone on -board, shoot him--that's all. Since he has no room, he will share yours -for the remainder of the voyage." - -Hamlin got a key and released Coran from his manacles. - -Jomian glanced at him with an odd expression. "If you don't mind, -Coran, I'd like a word with you in private. If the captain has no -objection." - -Harriman was curious, but nodded. "Are you sure you'll be safe with -him?" - -Jomian smiled. "That's my worry. Send your men to my cabin in an hour. -After twelve years in the Space Patrol, I'm used to handling bad boys." - - * * * * * - -Nine days out the _Aphrodite_ ran into trouble. - -Proximity alarms blared wildly. It was only a small asteroid, not more -than a quarter of a mile in diameter, just a jagged piece of rock and -fused metal. But it came out of a direct line with the sun, moving -fast, and discipline had been dangerously lax on the _Aphrodite_ after -Harriman took over command. - -At 9:05 ship time, there came the sound of a rending crash up forward, -followed by a nauseating sense of shock and withering waves of motion -energy transformed into heat. Fortunately, the collision was a glancing -one, but enough. The _Aphrodite_ was a shattered wreck. Her bow and -the control room were carried away bodily, and only the spacetight -bulkheads of the waist saved the passengers and crew from instant death. - -At 9:20, feeling far off course, leaking air dangerously from sprung -seams, the doomed transport and the asteroid circled each other like -wary wrestlers awaiting an opening. Sooner or later, as the initial -force of the spin died down, they would crash together in flaming -holocaust. In the meantime, everything that could be done was being -done. - -Orders went out to abandon ship. Of the original complement of four -hundred and eighty passengers and crew, nineteen were dead or missing, -and eighty others more or less seriously injured. The heaviest -casualties were among the rocket crew and officers, some of whom were -fatally burned by premature atomic discharge. Rocket jets were set -roaring at full capacity in a vain effort to break the wreck away -from the deadly vicinity of the circling asteroid. Surviving crew -members labored heroically to load and launch the lifeboats from three -airlocks, two of which were so badly jammed as to be almost unworkable. - -The forward compartments were a scene from inferno. Coran, who had been -with Nalson in the chartroom when the crash occurred, picked himself -out of the jumble of broken lockers and scattered metal-leaf charts -and crawled through the glare and heat to a pitiable huddle of pulped -flesh pinned beneath the wreckage of a berylium table. Nalson's skull -was fractured, blood pulsed from his ears, and he was gasping out his -life as Coran pried the table off him. His eyes seemed bursting from -his head. - -"No excuse for wreck," he got out. "I'm ... Security Police. Sent me in -case you fumbled. Watch Harriman ... Hamlin." - -A spurt of blood from his mouth and nose stopped his words. The -navigator spat savagely. "Think ... Hamlin's ... the man you want." His -lips moved weakly, then hung open as he died. - - * * * * * - -Using a leg of the ruined table as a wrecking bar, Coran pried open the -door and got into the passageway. A blast of sickening heat rushed to -meet him. Forward was a lurid glare of white hot metal, and he could -hear air shrieking through the leaks where seams had started. He fought -his way aft to a bank of elevators, but they were hopelessly jammed. - -Descending the spiral stairway, he encountered Paul Jomian. - -"I thought you were gone," Jomian said. "The entire forward part of the -ship seems to be carried away." - -"It is. I'm hard to kill. Nalson's dead. And so are the men in the -control room." - -A kind of exhilaration moved in Coran. The endless waiting and -watching, under constant surveillance, had gotten on his nerves. He -was not used to intrigue. Now that a need for his kind of action had -arisen, he felt better already. - -Jomian's left arm had compound fractures above and below the elbow. -It hung useless at his side, with splinters of bone thrusting through -mangled skin and flesh. Coran broke open a locker and gave him -emergency first aid, binding the limb with metal splints. - -"That'll hold it till you can get it cared for. You'd better get to the -lifeboats. I'm going to find my wife. As I told you, she may be in this -racket, but I can't be sure. In any case, she's my responsibility." - -"Can't I help?" Jomian asked. - -"Not now. If I make it, we'll discuss it there. If not, you can take -a message for me. There's an ISP squadron six hours behind us. Get a -helioflash to them. Tell them to come a-running. I've an idea they'll -find something interesting." - -"I'll get word to them," Jomian promised. "Take care of yourself, boy." - -The door of stateroom No. 200 was still locked and sealed. Coran opened -a locker and got out a wrench to work off the lugs on the lock. A voice -from behind jarred him. - -"I've been looking for you," Hamlin sneered. "I thought you'd be up -to something." In the dimming and flaring light, Coran got a glimpse -of the blaster-gun in Hamlin's hand. Coran's fingers tightened on the -wrench. He spun around and hurled the wrench in one motion. Hamlin -pressed the trigger, but the wrench spoiled his aim. Coran dodged under -the gun and dragged him down in a flying tackle. The gun went rattling -down the corridor. - -"Come away from there, you fool," Hamlin screamed as he broke away. -"D'you want the plague?" He edged toward the gun, but Coran cut him -off. Both lunged for it. Coran got it, but before he could use it, -Hamlin kicked him in the stomach. He rolled on the floor in agony. -Hamlin kicked again viciously. Coran fumbled with the gun. - -A warning alarm sounded. The boats were about to leave. - -Coran got his breath back. "Help me get her out. She has no more plague -than you have. Besides, she's your--" - -"You're mad," Hamlin shrieked. "They'd never let her into the boats. -I won't risk the lives of innocent people on your sayso." He leaned -across Coran to snatch at the gun. Coran clawed at his face and layers -of plastic came off in his fingers. Hamlin screamed as the stuff came -loose from his flesh. Then he turned and ran. - -He darted up the companion stairs. By the time Coran could reach the -gun, it was too late. The man had vanished to the upper deck. - -Coran got to his knees and aimed the blaster at the jammed lock on the -stateroom door. The mechanism and half the door disappeared in ravening -violence. The shock knocked Coran flat. - -Gerda stepped through the shattered doorway. - -"What's going on?" she wailed hysterically. It was apparent that she -had been crying, although she had tried to efface the marks. - -"Never mind that. We've got to get you out of here. Are you all right?" - -She laughed wildly. "Of course I am! Has everyone gone crazy? You look -a fright. D'you want to carry me, or should I carry you?" - -"Get to the lower decks. Find the doctor. Show him you're not sick. -And hurry--the lifeboats are leaving." Coran made a vague gesture and -slumped weakly against the wall while spirals of nausea raged through -him. She was halfway to the companion stair before she noticed that he -was not following. Coran had fainted. - - * * * * * - -Cold water splashing in his face revived him. His head was nestled in -her lap. - -"What are you doing here?" he raged. "If you don't hurry, it will be -too late." - -She answered with quiet assurance. "Listen, tough guy, you didn't have -to come back for me. D'you think I'd leave you to save my skin after -that?" - -Coran shook his head to clear the mist of dizzy weakness, and she -helped him to his feet. - -"Let's get going," he urged. "If the lifeboats leave before we reach -the airlock, you'll really be in a jam." - -With the girl's arm tight around his waist to support him, he managed -to make it to the sally-port. The airlock door was closed. - -"The boats have gone," he said. He sat down hopelessly on a casket-like -metal toolbox. - -"Maybe someone will come," she said. - -"That's what I'm afraid of," he snapped. - -"In the meantime, I think we need some coffee ... if I can find an -unopened can." - -Coran waved toward a locker where supplies were kept on clipshelves. -She found a can with built-in heat unit and opened it, pouring coffee -for them. He sipped his slowly, while she gulped down a scalding draft. - -"You seem very calm about all this," Coran said grimly. - -"Hysterics won't help. Besides, you seem to be expecting someone. What -did you mean, that's what you're afraid of? Who would come back?" - -"Don't you know?" - -She shook her head in bewilderment "How should I know? I'm a stranger -here myself." - -"You may as well stop playing innocent. In case you don't already know, -I'm an officer in the space patrol. This wreck was deliberate, planned -by some of the crew. There are two possibilities. Either they'll come -back and try to salvage the plutonium cargo, or they have confederates -waiting in space to close in as soon as the ship is abandoned. I don't -look forward to either one." - -"You act as if I knew something about all this," Gerda said irritably. -"I don't know why you should think so, but you're way off the track. -Why suspect me?" - -"How can I help it, with that picture in your purse, and that phoney -deal you pulled by playing sick?" - -Gerda flushed, whether from anger or guilt Coran would have given much -to know. - -"I don't know how you know about that," she answered evenly. "I--I -can't explain about the picture, but the other I had nothing to do -with. While you had me tied up, someone came into the room; naturally -I thought it was you coming back. I was still dazed from shock and -only half awake. First thing I knew, a man in uniform had jammed a -pillow over my face. I thought he was trying to kill me, and nearly -smothered. He rubbed something on my elbows and down the cords of my -neck, then left. It seemed like a nightmare. I blamed you vaguely till -I remembered the gold braid on his sleeves and knew it must have been -a ship's officer. Later, an officer came in with the doctor, who took -one look at me and seemed scared to death. Too scared to examine me. -They wouldn't listen to anything, just untied me enough so I could work -loose eventually, left some stuff, and locked me in. That's all I knew -till you let me out just now." - - * * * * * - -Coran considered. "It sounds plausible. I'd like to believe you, but -that photograph is too damning. You'll have a lot of explaining to -do ... if we get out of this alive." - -"What about the photograph? What's he wanted for?" - -"There's another one of him in the Security Police headquarters. He's -the man I was sent to get. Both ISP and the Security Police want him. -The original charge was barratry, but--" - -"What's barratry?" she asked. - -"It's the deliberate wrecking of a ship, for the insurance or to -salvage the cargo illegally. I don't know what your connection is with -this man, but--" - -"It's very simple," she said. "He's my brother. I knew he was in -trouble, but didn't know it was so serious. Our family broke up years -ago. Mother married again. That was fifteen years ago. I was ten, and -Ken was thirteen. We took our stepfather's name, but Ken and he never -got along very well. Ken ran away to Venus when he was seventeen. -Mother died a year ago. I--I wanted to find Ken and help him. My -stepfather had him traced for me and we found out he was in trouble -with the police. I thought if I could talk to him, maybe he'd give -himself up, take his just punishment, and we could start over again -together. Ken's all I have left. He's not bad. A little wild, but not -bad." - -Coran stood up and stared into the black gulf of space through the -visiplate. He felt a sudden bleak distaste for his profession. - -"I'm afraid it's a little late for that," he said gently. "He's wanted -for barratry, murder, and perhaps treason. The penalty for any one of -them is death. I'm sorry." - -Gerda sat silently, brooding over the information. "You think I'm going -to cry, don't you? And you hate emotional women. You can relax. I think -I've known all along that it was hopeless. It does hurt, but I'm beyond -crying any more." - - * * * * * - -Far out in the void a clustered blur of faint, needle-sharp lights -etched itself against the star-patterned darkness. Space-ships, coming -up fast under rocket power. Coran glanced quickly at the wall-chron. It -was too soon for the space patrol. Even under full acceleration, they -could not make it in less than three hours. - -"I'll have to trust you," he said grimly, "Brace yourself--company's -coming." - -Gerda snapped out of her black reverie. - -"What are you going to do?" - -"We'd better work out a plan of action." Working like mad, Coran dumped -the contents of the metal toolbox onto the floor. With a wrench, he -smashed the hand-operated controls which worked the airlock from the -interior of the ship into a tangle of twisted machinery. Then he -scooped up the rest of the tools and threw them down a waste disposal -chute. - -"Get inside the toolbox," he ordered. "Try it once to make sure you -can raise the lid from inside. Then keep out of sight. When they get -here, I'll try to draw them away into the after part of the ship. If -I succeed in drawing them off, you slip out and get into the airlock. -Close the door and lock it from inside. If I manage to circle around -and get back here, I'll signal you with three soft taps on the door, -followed by three hard ones. Don't open for anyone else. It'll take -them over an hour to cut through that door from in here. You'll have a -gambler's chance." - -"Good luck," said Gerda softly. She climbed into the toolbox while -Coran recharged the blaster-gun and stuffed his pockets with extra -ammunition. - -Gerda raised the box lid slightly. "It works, Steve," she said. "Take -care of yourself." - -He grinned. "One thing more. When you're into the airlock, get into a -space-suit and get one ready for me. They're on racks at the left side, -inside a locker." - -She nodded. The lid slammed down. - -Coran re-arranged the stowage of boxes in the next compartment into a -series of defensive barricades, then crouched beside the half-opened -door of the sally-port. He had not long to wait. - -The airlock door swung open and three rough-looking men in space suits -came cautiously through. They were followed by a dozen others not -wearing the heavily-insulated space armor. The pirates must have run a -gangway tube between the ships and fastened it with magnetic grapnels. -The outer doors of the airlock would open automatically as the pressure -equalized. He wondered if Gerda would have sense enough to close and -bolt the outer as well as the inward doors. It was too late to worry -about that now. - -Coran took careful aim and fired his blaster beam into the crowd of -men. Four were killed by the first discharge. The others broke for -cover. Blaster beams interlaced, and the room jarred with repeated -concussion. Men poured through the opened airlock door. The temperature -rose sharply with the release of energy. The pirates rushed the door -and Coran was forced to fall back to his line of barricades. - -He retreated cautiously, firing as he went. From behind the last of his -barricades, he burned down three of his foes, then broke and ran for -the engine-room shaft, leaping across it to the spiralled stair. Just -as he reached the upper loft of engines a beam cut down the shaft. He -dodged behind a massive generator, but three blaster beams concentrated -on it. The force of their tripled discharge tore it from its moorings. -Artificial gravity combined with its mass to send it crashing into a -tangle of the intricate machinery below. - -To avoid being crushed, Coran was forced to plunge down the second -shaft. He lost himself in the spiderweb of inner support beams. The -pirates scattered and climbed into the maze of beams, probing with -their blaster rays as shadows moved uneasily in the eerie darkness. The -lumibulbs waxed and waned as the unsteady current fluctuated. - - * * * * * - -Further and further Coran led them, always away from the sally-port and -the airlock, darting chance beams at his pursuers whenever opportunity -presented. He had the advantage of knowing that they were all enemies. -Their forces were divided and confused. In the weird and uncomfortable -lofts of the engine-room, clear targets were impossible. - -A wild half-plan occurred to Coran. He headed in the direction of the -main engine-room switch box and with his beam burned out all the fuses. - -Pit-like darkness enveloped the lofts as the lumibulbs went out. It -was touch and go sliding down the long beams in the pall of utter -blackness. He reached a catwalk, and cautiously made his way toward the -elevators. Once he collided with a heavy body and a man swore savagely. - -He missed the elevators, but by some miracle found a hatchway leading -to the cargo holds. Sliding through, he cut down the intensity of his -blaster beam and melted the plastic and metal hatchcover into a fused -mass. That should delay them a few minutes. He scuttled down a deserted -passageway and began climbing flights of stairs. If he could only find -his way back to the sally-port from this other direction. He came -suddenly into the room of his hasty barricades next to the sally-port. -It was occupied. - -Two men had been left behind as guards. He caught them unawares, and -burned both down with one sweep of his beam. - -The sally-port was empty. The box lid lay on the floor and the airlock -door was closed tight. - -With the butt of his blaster, he tapped out the signal on the airlock -door. - -There was a smooth hiss of releasing metal parts and the airlock door -came open. He slipped through and slammed the door, spinning the -lockbolts tight. - -"Thank heavens, you made it," Gerda said. Pale and shaken, she handed -him the heavy space-armor. "I was afraid you'd run into those others in -the next room. They almost caught me. I had the lid half-raised when -they came into the sally-port to check." - -"Put on your helmet," he ordered roughly, as she handed him the -fishbowl-like contrivance. - -She laughed. "The air's bad in here. I could hardly breathe, and I -didn't know how to work the valves in the helmet." - -Coran swore briefly, then adjusted her helmet and put on his own. He -set the microphones and the space communicators. - -"I shut the outside door," she complained. "I even bolted it, but it -won't stay locked." - -"It's automatic," he told her. "When the air pressure's equal on both -sides, it opens. I'll show you." - -Just as he reached for the controls, the door came open with a violent -crash. Hamlin stood framed in the doorway, blaster gun in hand. - -"I hadn't counted on you, Coran," he said. The gun did not waver. -"Don't reach for that gun." - - * * * * * - -Coran relaxed and stared at his opponent. "You look quite different -without the plastic mask," he observed. Hamlin was older than he had -looked in the photographs, but noticeably the same man, despite lines -of strain which did not show in either picture. - -Hamlin smiled wolfishly. "My pictures don't flatter me, do they? The -problem is what you've done with my men. You are becoming a nuisance, -Coran. I'll have to kill you, of course, but I'd like to know how you -managed this switch." - -Coran was playing for time. "I'll make a deal with you," he said. "I'm -curious to know why you pulled that Martian plague stunt with Gerda." - -Hamlin laughed. "I recognized her at once, even though she had changed -since I last saw her. Ten years is a long time when you're kids, but -I'd seen a picture of her since then. When I saw you with her, I knew -you were up to something. I wanted to keep you away from her till -I could deal with you. The rest was easy, just a little grease and -aluminum powder. The doctor was scared to death...." - -Gerda was staring at her brother through the space helmet. "You did -know me, Ken?" - -Hamlin shot her a contemptuous glance. "You little fool," he snapped. -"You should never have come here. I don't know what I'm going to do -with you." - -Gerda cringed as if he had struck her. "We'll have plenty of time for -old home week later," Hamlin went on. "Now tell me what's happened to -my men, Coran. I haven't much time to waste on you." - -Coran bit his lip. "I just lured them into the engine-room and tangled -them up in the lofts, then blew out the lights. It was a good trick -while it worked. Some of them got weeded out on the way." - -"Now it's your turn, Coran," Hamlin said brutally. His finger tightened -on the trigger. Gerda stood looking from one to the other with a look -of anguish on her face. "Don't do it, Ken," she said, moving in front -of Coran. - -"Stay out of this, Gerda," Coran warned. - -"I'm not kidding," Hamlin said, "if you get in my way, I'll kill both -of you." - -Coran struck her helmet so heavily she fell against the wall. In the -same movement, he lunged at Hamlin. The blaster beam raked the ceiling, -and in that confined space concussion was unbearable, even inside the -space suits. Coran's blow knocked Hamlin through the doorway into the -connecting tube. Coran swung about and caught up his gun. - -[Illustration: _Coran struck her aside and lunged at Hamlin._] - -"Don't shoot, Steve," Gerda wailed. - -The shock of the first blaster discharge had loosened the magnetic -grapnels which held the ships together. The pirate's craft began to -drift away, tearing loose the end of the tube. - -Hamlin was on his feet, trying to fire his blaster, but the charge was -burned out. It only flickered feebly. He leaped the widening distance -between the ships and went up the side like a spider, gripping the -shell of the _Erania_ with the magnetic soles of his space-boots. Coran -climbed round the doorway and went up after him, gun in hand. - -Hamlin had disappeared round the curve of the hull. It was rough, -dangerous work climbing round the outer shell of a space-ship. One slip -meant a plunge into the awesome emptiness of the void. Gravity was -practically non-existent, but the grip of the soles was slight, and -only one foot could be moved at a time. - -From the vantage point of his cover behind a dead rocket tube, Hamlin -waited. He knew that his time was short. Off across the black gulf of -space three flakes of gleaming light resolved themselves into fast -patrol cruisers, racing toward the derelict _Erania_. Coran had not -seen them, but came on steadily, determined to see his assignment -through. Hamlin waited, gun resting on the rocket tube, hoping for a -clear shot. Mad with hatred, he blamed Coran for the failure of his -whole life, and was viciously resolved to take his enemy with him. - -The patrol ships moved in close and warped alongside the _Aphrodite_. -Men in space suits poured out of the access hatch and guns were trained -on the rocket tube behind which Hamlin held out. - -Sick fury possessed Hamlin. With the gesture of a trapped rat, he -rammed his blaster-gun up the vents of the rocket tube. If he could -ignite the remaining fuel, they would all blow to Kingdom Come in a -roaring atomic holocaust. - -Coran saw his intent and stood up to fire. His beam went wildly into -the darkness as he lost his balance and toppled into space. Another -beam whipped out from the patrol cruiser and caught Hamlin full force -as he stood up to fire into the tube. - -He vanished in a glittering cloud of particles, dispersed instantly by -their own radiation. - -Lines with magnetic grapnels looped out and snatched Coran reeling him -back to the patrol ship like a grotesque fish. For three days, he lay -unconscious from space-shock.... - - * * * * * - -Back on the Moon, at Luna Station, three people were waiting for the -Martian Express to take-off. - -"You see, Steve, Gerda's really my daughter," Paul Jomian explained. -"Her mother divorced me fifteen years ago, and a year later married -Gartan Mors. She took the children, of course, and Mors raised them as -his own. Gerda was young enough to conform but Ken was always wild. He -took it for three or four years, then ran away to Venus. Gerda always -idolized him, but really she scarcely knew him. If anyone's at fault in -all this, I am the one to blame. I was a stubborn fool, and Nell could -never stand my job." - -Gerda offered her hand to Coran. "I hate long goodbyes," she said. "I'm -sorry about everything. I--I don't really blame you for Ken's death. -Goodbye, and good luck." - -Steve decided it was safe to play out a fond and corny farewell. He -took her hand lingeringly. "Don't worry about things, Gerda. I know -how you feel. It wouldn't have worked out anyhow. Just let me know -when you get the divorce. Let's break this up. I thought that I hated -Mars-station, but now that I'm through with the Space Patrol, I can't -wait to get back." - -Paul Jomian put his arm around his daughter as they watched Coran turn -and wave before climbing aboard the express cruiser. On Coran's face -was the smug complacency of a man who has neatly avoided being stuck -with a dame. He grinned and vanished up the gangplank. Jomian muttered -something inaudibly. - -"You're a sucker to let a man like Steve get away ... for any reason," -he told her. "Such men are hard to find, and still harder to hook once -you've found them." - -"I know it," she said firmly, though tears brimmed in her eyes. "But I -just couldn't love the man who'd killed my brother. I couldn't." - -"That's the biggest mistake you ever made. Steve didn't want me to -tell you, but he didn't shoot Ken. His beam went wild." Jomian nerved -himself for an ordeal. "I killed him." - -"Why didn't you tell me--_why_?" she wailed. - -"I should have told you before, but I couldn't. I didn't want you to -hate me, now that I'd just found you." - -Gerda clung to her father fiercely. "I couldn't hate you, dad. But we -mustn't let him go. I might have a chance to win him, but how can I if -he's on Mars and I'm here?" - -"I'm afraid that's out of our hands. Steve doesn't know it, but he's -not through with the space patrol. They refused his resignation. He's -just been appointed commander of the Mars-Jupiter sector. Do you think -you have the guts to be a spaceman's wife?" - -"I _know_ I have. But how'll I ever convince Steve? You heard him. He -said it wouldn't ever work out." - -"That's your problem. He's a stubborn man." - -Sudden determination shone in her face. "And I'm a stubborn woman," she -called back, blowing her father a kiss. She reached the gangplank just -in time to grab it and be dragged up with it. - -Jomian grinned. "She's my kid. I'll bet she trims his wings, the rat." - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK S.O.S. 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Aphrodite!, by Stanley Mullen. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -.caption p -{ - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0; - margin: 0.25em 0; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - - - </style> - </head> -<body> -<pre style='margin-bottom:6em;'>The Project Gutenberg EBook of S.O.S. Aphrodite!, by Stanley Mullen - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this ebook. - -Title: S.O.S. Aphrodite! - -Author: Stanley Mullen - -Release Date: November 23, 2020 [EBook #63856] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK S.O.S. APHRODITE! *** -</pre> -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>S.O.S. APHRODITE!</h1> - -<h2>By STANLEY MULLEN</h2> - -<p>No wonder that signal stabbed out into the<br /> -icy void. For it was a ship of hate and evil,<br /> -and ISP patrolman Steve Coran trusted only<br /> -one person—after strapping her in her bunk!</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Planet Stories Summer 1949.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>On the high metallic wall across the street was a big sign: VENUS -TRANSPORT and a smaller sign which read CONTAMINATION AREA—KEEP OUT! -Steve Coran turned away from the window and faced the ISP official -across the desk.</p> - -<p>"From the time you leave this office, you'll be in deadly danger," the -official said. "We aren't dealing with sporadic cases of space piracy. -This is a well-organized group of saboteurs, pirates and assassins -backed by a ring of powerful and unscrupulous men, some of them in -high places. They have more on their minds than mere looting. They -have certain political objectives—and will stop at nothing to cause -unrest, even war or revolution, to gain their ends. Fishers in troubled -waters...."</p> - -<p>Coran laughed harshly. "Doesn't sound like a rest cure. Why'd you pick -me for the job?"</p> - -<p>The official opened a file drawer and riffled the cards. "You were -recommended by the Ministry of Transport. I confess that I was dubious, -because of your record. However, you were transferred from the -Mars-Jupiter sector for the one reason that you're not known here. Any -of our regular security agents or the ISP men would be recognized at -once. Our original idea was to place you aboard a rocket transport as -a crewman to spy out the weak links in our defensive measures. But a -matter of graver importance has come up. The assignments will overlap, -but we can no longer give you official backing."</p> - -<p>"You'd better bring me up to date," Coran said bluntly.</p> - -<p>"The pattern is usually the same. Barratry. Three of the Venus -transports have been deliberately wrecked and looted. Of plutonium, -for the most part. Members of this criminal group have infiltrated -the crew. Even trusted officers have been forced, by blackmail or -other methods, to aid the plotters. We can trust no one, not even the -captain."</p> - -<p>"I see. What is this other matter you spoke about?"</p> - -<p>"Two days ago we arrested a man. The charge was barratry. We had -no name, only a heliophoto from Venus. In his possession we found -documents relating to political matters of vital importance. Release of -the information contained in his portfolio would be disastrous at this -time. It could cause chaos, perhaps even war."</p> - -<p>Coran grunted. "Such documents have no right to exist."</p> - -<p>"I agree. Unfortunately, this one does exist. And it's no longer in -our custody. A woman, obviously an accomplice, got a blaster-gun to -him. Two ISP men were killed, and the prisoner escaped. The documents -went with him. I don't have to tell you that both of these fugitives -must be apprehended or killed. And those papers must be brought back or -destroyed. That's your job."</p> - -<p>"I don't like it."</p> - -<p>"Tact isn't your long suit, is it, Lieutenant? You weren't asked if you -liked it. With two black marks against your record, you can't afford -an opinion. One more and you're through as an officer in the space -patrol—"</p> - -<p>"I don't like working out of uniform."</p> - -<p>"—and I wouldn't count too much on a friendship with Paul Jomian, if I -were you, Coran. He's through here ... even if he was kicked upstairs -into the transport ministry. We no longer approve his methods. His -rough-shod, undisciplined methods may get by in a frontier civilization -like that of the outer planets, but nowadays we require efficiency and -complete co-operation in the ISP. The time is past when an ISP officer -can forget to change his uniform and go without shaving for days at a -time."</p> - -<p>Coran's eyes glittered. "There was more to Paul Jomian than gold braid -and pretty uniforms. He was a man. And he got things done so a lot -of you pretty-boys could sit on your fat chairs and keep your hair -unmussed. For your information, those black marks on my record are for -tearing apart superior officers who made cracks about Paul Jomian. Do -you want me to turn in my badge?"</p> - -<p>The official smiled poisonously. "That would be the easy way out for -you, Coran. What's the matter—the job too tough for you?"</p> - -<p>"I can't stand the smell of perfume around here. And the jobs don't -come too tough. Relax, big shot. I'll run your stinking little errand -for you. But it's the last one. When I hand your two-vikdal bad man -over to you, I'm through. Make out my resignation that way, and I'll -sign it before I leave."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The official laughed and stood up. "Resignation accepted—upon -completion of assignment. You're a hard case, Coran. Up to a point, -you're even right. But you don't belong any more, not in this part of -the universe. It took pioneers like you and Jomian to bang the holes in -our fishbowl world, but we need men with dull routine minds to bring -order into it. Unofficially, I'm sorry to see you go. Nowadays a man -conforms or he gets out."</p> - -<p>"Skip the bouquets and the funeral oration. What's the layout on the -job you want done?"</p> - -<p>The official threw a file card across the desk. "There's the man you -want. The picture won't help you much, since he'll probably be wearing -a plastic face-mask."</p> - -<p>Coran glanced at it and shrugged. "Not much to go on. Any other leads?"</p> - -<p>"Yes." The official glanced at his wrist-chron. "We know that he will -be on the Venus transport X-1143—the <i>Aphrodite</i>—which leaves in -three hours. Probably the woman, too. Whatever happens, they must not -reach Venus alive."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Coran caught an implication in the words. "What do you mean 'Whatever -happens?'"</p> - -<p>"The <i>Aphrodite</i> is an emigrant ship. It's a government secret that -she's carrying plutonium for the power plants on Venus, but we're -afraid the information may have leaked out. You may as well know that -we're on the spot. It's too late to cancel the shipment without serious -economic repercussions. And we haven't found any way to protect the -passenger-carrying ships. Even if we armed them, which is against -Interplanetary Law, they're too slow to run and too unwieldy to -maneuver. Too much mass."</p> - -<p>"What about convoy?"</p> - -<p>"We tried that last time. The ship was disabled and driven off-orbit. -Then a group of fast cruisers of unusual design showed up. The space -patrol drove them off and gave chase. It was a trick, of course, to -decoy our ships into space, then the main body of pirates moved in and -cleaned out the ship."</p> - -<p>Coran laughed. "When you're catching rabbits you have to be smarter -than the rabbits."</p> - -<p>The official flushed. "We're handicapped by lack of ships and lack -of competent personnel. This is your chance to be smarter than the -rabbits. The man you want is obviously a member of the same group. If -there is trouble, he will try to contact his friends. It's up to you -to find him first, and if you fail that, to make sure that he does not -escape or turn over the documents to anyone else. We'll have an ISP -squadron following six hours behind the <i>Aphrodite</i>. If you need help, -get a signal to them—by helioflash, if you can. I suggest you find the -man first, and through him, locate the woman. From there on, you know -what to do...."</p> - -<p>"It's a dirty job. Even with frosting, it's simple butchery—no trial, -no evidence. Now I know why the Martians consider an ISP man just a -hired thug."</p> - -<p>"That's all he is. You have your orders and, whatever your private -opinions may be, I'm sure you'll agree that lives are unimportant when -we're playing for such stakes."</p> - -<p>"Lives never are when politicians start dealing from the bottom of the -deck," Coran snarled bitterly.</p> - -<p>The official shrugged. "I wouldn't know about that. I'm just a yes-man. -You can discuss it with Paul Jomian—your politician friend—when you -see him. He'll be on the <i>Aphrodite</i>."</p> - -<p>"Have you figured out how I'm to get on the <i>Aphrodite</i>? If she's -an emigrant ship, they'll take only married couples. The altruistic -Company wants settlers to colonize Venus and build up their plague-spot -plantations for them."</p> - -<p>"That's your problem. Marry someone if you have to, or hire a fake -wife. It's been done. Anything, just so you don't give away your -official position. Now get going. You've less than three hours till -take-off time."</p> - -<p>Coran bent over the desk and signed his resignation with an elaborate -flourish, put an inked thumbprint beside the name, then stalked to the -door clothespinning his nose between thumb and forefinger. "That's time -enough to blow this stink off me," he said carelessly, wiping the inky -thumb on his uniform jacket.</p> - -<p>The official laughed. "You're right. It does stink."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Steve Coran was conscious of the girl merely as an obstacle between -him and the ticket window. She was young, expensively dressed and too -well-groomed, with blue-white hair, a haughty manner, and an icy stare -in her violet eyes.</p> - -<p>"I was here first," she said coldly.</p> - -<p>Coran bowed mockingly. "I don't like you either. Besides, I never hit -a lady in public. I hope this won't lead to one of those shipboard -romances."</p> - -<p>The beehive activity of the ticket office slackened as take-off time -drew near. Coran studied her back as she stood ahead of him in the line -and repressed a desire to pinch her and find out if she were real. The -weasel-faced clerk was tired and his tone of long-suffering patience -had worn to a thread of annoyance.</p> - -<p>"I've told you before, miss. I can't sell single tickets—the company -rules do not permit any but married couples aboard an emigrant -transport. We feel that unattached women are trouble makers in a -frontier society."</p> - -<p>The girl made an arrogant gesture. "It's important. I must get to -Venus. I don't care what it costs."</p> - -<p>"Don't tell me. See the manager. I don't make the rules. Third office -on the left. But you'd better hurry. I've only one double passage left."</p> - -<p>Coran tapped the girl on her shoulder. She glared at him. "Take a tip -from me, babe. See the boss. If he's a man, you'll get the tickets."</p> - -<p>As she left the line, he pushed to the window. "I'll take those two -tickets, bud."</p> - -<p>"Do you have your marriage certificate?"</p> - -<p>Coran reached through the window, snagged a coat lapel and had the man -dragged half through the window in a flash. "Now I'll talk, punk, and -you listen. Because I don't have a ring in my nose, don't get the idea -I'm not married. Do I get those tickets, or do you give up mirrors for -the next six weeks?"</p> - -<p>The clerk looked at the gnarled fist under his nose and gave a wild nod -of his head. "You get them."</p> - -<p>The steel fingers relaxed and the clerk slid back inside his cage. -"I'll report this," he stormed, shaking himself like a wet animal. -"You'd better have your papers when you try to get past the purser." He -handed out the tickets.</p> - -<p>The girl followed Coran from the office. "I'll give you a thousand -vikdals for those tickets."</p> - -<p>Coran grinned savagely. "Not even if you said please."</p> - -<p>"Please, and two thousand."</p> - -<p>"Stop it—you're getting near my price. Besides, they wouldn't do you -any good. You need a husband to go with 'em. Take the express rocket -next month. It's a shorter orbit and you'll only lose two weeks."</p> - -<p>"You take it then. My business won't wait. Three thousand."</p> - -<p>Coran whistled. "What's your problem?"</p> - -<p>"None of your business."</p> - -<p>"Have it your own way. My business won't wait either. Now, if you don't -mind, I'm in a hurry. I've less than two hours to find a honky-tonk and -get myself a bride. I don't suppose you'd know where the nearest dive -is. No, you wouldn't."</p> - -<p>He turned away toward the elevators, but the girl clutched his arm -desperately. "Six thousand.... It's all I have."</p> - -<p>Coran stared at her. "I'm sorry for you, but you'd have to kill me to -get these away. And I'm hard to kill. I'll make a deal though. I'll -sell you half of my double for three thousand. You'd have to marry me, -though."</p> - -<p>"<i>Marry you!</i>" There was a word of loathing in her tone.</p> - -<p>"It's been done. I'm on my way out now to look up a floozy. I'll even -marry her, if she's dope enough to want it that way. I don't like the -idea any better than you do, but I'd hock grandma's false teeth to get -to Venus. Forget I mentioned it. If I'm to be stuck with a dame for -four months, it might as well be a flamethrower as an icicle."</p> - -<p>He buzzed for the elevator before she called after him. "I—I've -changed my mind." She was pale, with a look of suppressed fury about -her. "I guess I'd do even that."</p> - -<p>Coran laughed wickedly. "Don't flatter yourself. You're just a ticket -to Venus to me. Meet me at the marriage bureau in half an hour. We -haven't much time, and you'll have to be psychographed. We really -should know each other. I'm Steve Coran."</p> - -<p>"I'm Gerda Mors. In half an hour."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The purser stopped at a door marked No. 200. He was a young, -inadequate-looking man.</p> - -<p>"You won't have to carry me over the threshold," Gerda said crisply. -She went inside and shut the door. In shocked silence, he re-checked -the sheaf of papers in his hand.</p> - -<p>"She's shy around strangers," Coran explained. "When do we take-off?"</p> - -<p>"In five minutes. We're making these emigrant runs under very crowded -conditions. All passengers are expected to remain in their own -staterooms most of the time. A certain amount of exercise is permitted, -of course, once free flight is attained and the A-orbit corrections -made. Until then, we recommend that everyone remain out of the crew's -way. The safest place during acceleration is in bed."</p> - -<p>Coran winked ponderously. "I'll make out all right. One thing, though. -I believe I have a friend on board. Am I permitted to examine the -passenger lists?"</p> - -<p>"Of course, they're public property. See the captain. His office is up -near the bow, just aft of the control rooms. But wait till we're out in -space."</p> - -<p>Coran knocked and entered the stateroom. Gerda was brushing her hair. -She glanced up irritably. "This is my room," she told him shortly. -"Find yourself another."</p> - -<p>He laughed grimly. "The psychographs warned we were incompatible, but -you'd better get used to me. It's 146 days to Venus, and we've only -this stateroom between us. They practically lock us in, you know. We're -going to be very good friends or most uncomfortable before we reach -Venus."</p> - -<p>Angry sparks shot from her violet eyes. "Did you know all this before?"</p> - -<p>Coran nodded.</p> - -<p>"You are a swine, aren't you? It won't do you any good. I'll tell the -captain we're not married. I'll say it was all a fake, the certificate -was a forgery, that you're a...."</p> - -<p>"Go ahead. I wish for your sake it would help, but they'd only check -and find out it was genuine. Even if it weren't, you'd only be forced -to go through the ceremony again. The rules are very specific to cover -just such situations."</p> - -<p>Fear and anger blended unpleasantly in her voice. "I'll think of -something...."</p> - -<p>Warning alarms blared through the ship. Ripples of soundless shock -stirred the bulk.</p> - -<p>"We're getting under way," Coran warned. "You'd better come to bed."</p> - -<p>"I'd rather die," she said sullenly.</p> - -<p>"Suit yourself. But it's pretty unpleasant."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The rocket transport left its runway at an angle of 45 degrees, -slanting up into the Sahara night with a blossom of pink-white flame -flowering round its stern jets. A series of jarring vibrations smoothed -to a muffled burr. The girl was flung heavily to the floor and lay -there beside the porthole of fused quartz, retching feebly as the -acceleration built up. Outside the port, what seemed the flank of a -titanic mountain of moonlit sand fell rapidly astern. It tilted at an -incredible angle.</p> - -<p>Coran hunched himself off the bed and crawled to her. Gerda grimaced -weakly and struck at him, then lapsed into unconsciousness. He picked -her up and carried her to the bed, dumped her like a limp sack and -clasped the straps about her. She did not rouse.</p> - -<p>Her purse lay where she had dropped it. Coran went through it -methodically. A small blaster-gun of the type women thugs carry -in their handbags. It appeared to have been used recently. Four -Lumipencils. The usual cosmetics. A pillbox with a poison label. And, -in an ivory frame, a small colorphoto miniature of the man whose face -was on the Security Headquarters dossier card. Coran neutralized the -charge in the blaster and set it on safety, then carefully replaced -everything. He wished he had a pocket magnascope to study the miniature -in detail, but that could wait. He must check the passenger lists and -find out where Paul Jomian's room was located. Paul should be warned, -so that his surprise at seeing Coran would not give the show away.</p> - -<p>The girl stirred and moaned feebly. Coran found the emergency -medical locker and forced an anti-acceleration capsule between her -tight-clenched teeth, following it with a water concentrate capsule. -She would be wildly thirsty when she came out of it, and real water -would have some unpleasant effects during A-shock. He leaned over and -checked the straps. They were tight enough so she would never get out -of that tie without help. Her eyes blinked open and she stared at him -in panic.</p> - -<p>"Just relax," he cautioned. "And don't get impatient. I'll be right -back. Have to see a man about a...."</p> - -<p>He went outside and made his way with difficulty up the bleak passage -forward. The distorted gravity made walking extremely difficult. Once -outside the main gravity field of Earth, artificial gravities would be -turned on. Until then, only an experienced spaceman could get around -safely. Coran was grateful for the rigorous training of the ISP.</p> - -<p>A staccato bark of unintelligible verbal commands came through the -half-opened doorway of the control room ahead. The captain's office -should be somewhere about here. On Coran's right was a closed door -marked CAPTAIN. Coran knocked twice without receiving any answer, -then tried the door. It slid easily open. He stepped over the high -threshold. Lights were flaring and dying away as if the generators were -running unevenly. He peered about him, and at first the Spartan-like -accommodations seemed unoccupied. He wondered if he should sit down and -wait for the captain. A second look convinced him he would have a long -wait.</p> - -<p>Sprawled forward, half across the desk, was the captain's body. The -upper part of his head had been blown away by a blaster-gun, evidently -fired at close quarters.</p> - -<p>A cry behind him swung Coran around. In the frame of the opened doorway -stood the purser, mouth open, pointing at the dead man with a trembling -finger. Instinctively, Coran started for the door. The purser sprang -into action, leaped on Coran and caught him in a surprisingly strong -grip for so slight a man. Coran made no attempt to struggle. In a -moment the office was full of people. The burly first mate pulled the -purser away from Coran.</p> - -<p>"What is all this, Hamlin?" the mate demanded.</p> - -<p>Coran had taken time to study the identification files on all -the <i>Aphrodite's</i> officers at headquarters before coming aboard. -He recognized the three officers instantly as Harriman, first -mate—Hamlin, the purser—and Nalson, the navigator or astronaut—but -was careful not to give himself away.</p> - -<p>"I heard a sound in the captain's office, and when I came in to -investigate, I found him," Hamlin explained. "The captain's been -murdered."</p> - -<p>Mate Harriman looked Coran up and down. "Where's the gun?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"How should I know? I just came in a minute ago. He was like this when -I got here."</p> - -<p>Harriman drove a fist into Coran's mouth. "Come now, you don't expect -us to believe a yarn like that. Where is that gun?"</p> - -<p>Coran spat blood from his mangled lips. "I don't know anything about -it. The purser can tell you why I wanted to see the captain."</p> - -<p>Hamlin spoke up. "I told him to wait till we were out in space," he -snapped. "He said he wanted to check the passenger list."</p> - -<p>"I demand to see the first mate," Coran said.</p> - -<p>The words seemed to recall Harriman to his duties. "I am the first -mate," he said. "I haven't time to bother with you now. I'll take care -of you later. Throw him in the cells till we get out in space. I'll -have to take over for the Old Man."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Coran was hustled roughly to the lower part of the ship and flung into -the cramped quarters of the transport's brig. He settled back on the -bunk and tried to straighten things out in his mind.</p> - -<p>"At least I got a room to myself," he mused grimly. This was going to -complicate things.</p> - -<p>His wrist-chron had stopped, so he had no way of telling time, but they -fed him four times and he slept twice before they came for him. Two -crew men waited in the passage while Hamlin came in and sat down.</p> - -<p>"You're in a bad spot, Coran. It's customary in cases of civilian -infractions of ship's rules to appoint an officer as counsel for their -defense. I'm yours. Sorry you got pushed around, but you were lucky -at that. Harriman's a pretty tough character. You'd have got worse if -Nalson and I hadn't been there. He's been disciplined for brutality -before now. They're giving you a hearing in the wardroom. I'd suggest -you co-operate with me by telling me anything that will help with your -case. I don't mind telling you your story's too weak to hold up. I'll -do all I can for you, but you'll have to help."</p> - -<p>"What am I supposed to do?" Coran grunted.</p> - -<p>"You might tell me the truth. We know the captain must have been killed -just as the ship took off. Otherwise, someone would have heard the -shot. If you could prove you were somewhere else at the time—"</p> - -<p>"I was with my wife. She'll bear witness for me."</p> - -<p>"It won't do, Coran. I should have told you that your wife is ill and -won't be able to testify. I found her myself, strapped to the bunk in -your cabin, Martian plague! I called the doctor who examined her, then -quarantined the cabin. We left concentrated food and water, warned her -not to leave, then locked and sealed the cabin. No one can see her."</p> - -<p>Coran went cold with anger. "Someone must really be trying to foul me -up," he raged. "She couldn't have the plague—she's never been off the -earth."</p> - -<p>"Your papers read that you just came from Mars," objected Hamlin.</p> - -<p>"I did. We were married just before the ship left. If I were carrying -the plague, I'd have it myself. She couldn't have it—"</p> - -<p>Hamlin laughed nervously. "I wish you could convince the doctor of -that. He's been taking blood tests of me ever since we left her. I'm -sorry for you, Coran, but she has it. I saw the grey rash myself. It's -horrible, horrible...."</p> - -<p>Coran's mind worked like lightning. She had said she would think of -something. Something to keep the stateroom to herself. There might even -be a more sinister motive than that. After that picture of the man -he wanted in her purse, he could believe anything of her. Maybe she -even knew about him. She was faking, but how? How, since she had been -securely tied when he left her? Had he started his quest at the wrong -end? She must have been the woman accomplice who had got a gun through -the security police guarding the prisoner.</p> - -<p>"What am I charged with?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Deliberate murder and plotting against the welfare of the ship. If the -officers agree on your guilt, you can be put to death immediately. They -put you through an airlock. The regulations have to be pretty stringent -on a space-ship."</p> - -<p>Coran stood up. "Let's go up and get it over with," he said. "We'll see -about your regulations."</p> - -<p>Manacled between the two brawny crewmen, a sullen Coran rode up in -the elevators. Outside the wardroom, the group stopped while Hamlin -knocked. "I wish you'd let me help you," he said in a final attempt.</p> - -<p>Coran shook his head. "I know what I'm doing."</p> - -<p>Hamlin shrugged. "I hope you do."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The assembled officers stared at Coran curiously. His lip was still -bruised and swollen. He stared insolently at the group and tried to -thrust all other considerations out of his mind. The girl and his quest -would have to wait. His immediate hurdle was to get out of this mess.</p> - -<p>Harriman wet his lips and opened the hearing.</p> - -<p>"I won't waste words when we all know why we're here. There is no need -for formality in a hearing of this kind. The captain of the <i>Aphrodite</i> -was foully murdered, and this man who calls himself Stephen Coran was -found standing over his body. There was no gun in the room and none on -the prisoner. Coran's papers seem to be in order. They show him to be a -prospector from Mars, en route to Venus, but may be forgeries. That can -be checked. His wife is in quarantine, and will be unable to testify -one way or the other."</p> - -<p>Coran broke in. "I demand to hear the formal charge against me."</p> - -<p>"As acting captain of the <i>Aphrodite</i>, I officially charge you, Stephen -Coran, with the wilful murder of Captain Joseph Shalm, late master of -this ship. Also, since the murder must have taken place at the exact -moment of take-off, with the deliberate intent to delay and endanger -the safety of the ship and all the lives on board."</p> - -<p>"Good. Now I make formal demand that my wife be called as witness to -the fact that I could not have been in the captain's office at the time -of take-off."</p> - -<p>"You heard me say that your wife is in quarantine. She will not be able -to testify. If you have anything else to say in your defense, speak up."</p> - -<p>"I make no defense. Since the court is so obviously prejudiced, I -will stand on my civilian rights as a technicality. This court has no -jurisdiction over me. The most you can do is to confine me to the area -of this ship until a charge can be brought against me in the admiralty -court on Venus. Also, under Security Law No. F 1720, since the one -witness I asked to have called in my defense has not been brought to -court, I demand that the whole proceedings be dropped as illegal, -unjustified, and prejudicial to civilian rights. Since I obviously -cannot escape from the ship, you cannot even require the customary bond -for reappearance."</p> - -<p>Harriman's mouth dropped open. "Do you expect to get away with this?"</p> - -<p>"More than that." Coran grimaced unpleasantly. "I wish to file charges -with the nearest official of the ministry of transport that I was -mishandled and held under restraint without formal charges being -brought against me. If there is such an official on board, I demand to -see him."</p> - -<p>Nalson, the astronaut, hid a smile behind his sleeve, then leaned -forward and whispered earnestly to Harriman. Harriman nodded, then -turned to consult with the ship's doctor.</p> - -<p>"Is this your doing, Hamlin?" the acting captain rasped sourly.</p> - -<p>The purser shifted uneasily. "No, sir. But, since the prisoner chooses -this defense, I have no choice but to repeat his demands, officially. -There is an official aboard, Paul Jomian of the transport ministry. I -suggest you send for him and turn this hearing over to him. He will -have whatever authority is necessary to deal with it."</p> - -<p>In momentary desperation, Harriman glanced round the room at the circle -of faces and saw that Coran had him over a barrel. The hard-faced -navigator, Nalson, spoke up. "Better send for Jomian. In theory, -we have the right of assessing the death penalty, but in practice, -it's not so simple. The admiralty will review the case and, if your -foot slips on some technicality, you might even have to face the -disintegrators yourself."</p> - -<p>Harriman gave in and sent for Jomian.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A red bulb flashed and the buzzer sounded, then Paul Jomian stepped -into the wardroom. He was a lean man, greying into his late fifties, -with the bleakness of outer space in his eyes and a face badly scarred -by spaceburns. His eyes stared as they fell upon the manacled figure of -Coran standing in the center of the harsh-lit stage. Steve Coran stared -back at him with insolently expressionless face.</p> - -<p>The difficulty was rapidly explained by Captain Harriman in a -monotonously leveled tone of repressed fury. Jomian studied the -prisoner with politely casual interest while the harangue went on. When -Harriman finished, the transport official considered briefly before -giving his verdict.</p> - -<p>"Well, gentlemen, much as I sympathize with your feelings in this -matter, I'm afraid the prisoner is within his rights. Even if the -circumstances are somewhat unusual, we have no choice but to release -him. However, in view of the possible menace involved to the safety of -the ship, I recommend that he be under constant surveillance by some -competent and responsible officer, preferably the one appointed for his -defense, who will see to it that he has no opportunity to perpetrate -further violence. Once Venus is reached the man can be turned over to -the proper authorities."</p> - -<p>Coran broke in roughly. "Does all this monkey talk mean I'm free?"</p> - -<p>Harriman was maliciously official. "I'm afraid it does. But don't try -anything funny. Hamlin, Nalson, I'm detailing you two to watch over -Coran in shifts. Don't let him out of your sight, day or night. If -he attempts to steal a lifeboat and escape, or makes the slightest -untoward move to hinder the operation of the ship or molest anyone on -board, shoot him—that's all. Since he has no room, he will share yours -for the remainder of the voyage."</p> - -<p>Hamlin got a key and released Coran from his manacles.</p> - -<p>Jomian glanced at him with an odd expression. "If you don't mind, -Coran, I'd like a word with you in private. If the captain has no -objection."</p> - -<p>Harriman was curious, but nodded. "Are you sure you'll be safe with -him?"</p> - -<p>Jomian smiled. "That's my worry. Send your men to my cabin in an hour. -After twelve years in the Space Patrol, I'm used to handling bad boys."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Nine days out the <i>Aphrodite</i> ran into trouble.</p> - -<p>Proximity alarms blared wildly. It was only a small asteroid, not more -than a quarter of a mile in diameter, just a jagged piece of rock and -fused metal. But it came out of a direct line with the sun, moving -fast, and discipline had been dangerously lax on the <i>Aphrodite</i> after -Harriman took over command.</p> - -<p>At 9:05 ship time, there came the sound of a rending crash up forward, -followed by a nauseating sense of shock and withering waves of motion -energy transformed into heat. Fortunately, the collision was a glancing -one, but enough. The <i>Aphrodite</i> was a shattered wreck. Her bow and -the control room were carried away bodily, and only the spacetight -bulkheads of the waist saved the passengers and crew from instant death.</p> - -<p>At 9:20, feeling far off course, leaking air dangerously from sprung -seams, the doomed transport and the asteroid circled each other like -wary wrestlers awaiting an opening. Sooner or later, as the initial -force of the spin died down, they would crash together in flaming -holocaust. In the meantime, everything that could be done was being -done.</p> - -<p>Orders went out to abandon ship. Of the original complement of four -hundred and eighty passengers and crew, nineteen were dead or missing, -and eighty others more or less seriously injured. The heaviest -casualties were among the rocket crew and officers, some of whom were -fatally burned by premature atomic discharge. Rocket jets were set -roaring at full capacity in a vain effort to break the wreck away -from the deadly vicinity of the circling asteroid. Surviving crew -members labored heroically to load and launch the lifeboats from three -airlocks, two of which were so badly jammed as to be almost unworkable.</p> - -<p>The forward compartments were a scene from inferno. Coran, who had been -with Nalson in the chartroom when the crash occurred, picked himself -out of the jumble of broken lockers and scattered metal-leaf charts -and crawled through the glare and heat to a pitiable huddle of pulped -flesh pinned beneath the wreckage of a berylium table. Nalson's skull -was fractured, blood pulsed from his ears, and he was gasping out his -life as Coran pried the table off him. His eyes seemed bursting from -his head.</p> - -<p>"No excuse for wreck," he got out. "I'm ... Security Police. Sent me in -case you fumbled. Watch Harriman ... Hamlin."</p> - -<p>A spurt of blood from his mouth and nose stopped his words. The -navigator spat savagely. "Think ... Hamlin's ... the man you want." His -lips moved weakly, then hung open as he died.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Using a leg of the ruined table as a wrecking bar, Coran pried open the -door and got into the passageway. A blast of sickening heat rushed to -meet him. Forward was a lurid glare of white hot metal, and he could -hear air shrieking through the leaks where seams had started. He fought -his way aft to a bank of elevators, but they were hopelessly jammed.</p> - -<p>Descending the spiral stairway, he encountered Paul Jomian.</p> - -<p>"I thought you were gone," Jomian said. "The entire forward part of the -ship seems to be carried away."</p> - -<p>"It is. I'm hard to kill. Nalson's dead. And so are the men in the -control room."</p> - -<p>A kind of exhilaration moved in Coran. The endless waiting and -watching, under constant surveillance, had gotten on his nerves. He -was not used to intrigue. Now that a need for his kind of action had -arisen, he felt better already.</p> - -<p>Jomian's left arm had compound fractures above and below the elbow. -It hung useless at his side, with splinters of bone thrusting through -mangled skin and flesh. Coran broke open a locker and gave him -emergency first aid, binding the limb with metal splints.</p> - -<p>"That'll hold it till you can get it cared for. You'd better get to the -lifeboats. I'm going to find my wife. As I told you, she may be in this -racket, but I can't be sure. In any case, she's my responsibility."</p> - -<p>"Can't I help?" Jomian asked.</p> - -<p>"Not now. If I make it, we'll discuss it there. If not, you can take -a message for me. There's an ISP squadron six hours behind us. Get a -helioflash to them. Tell them to come a-running. I've an idea they'll -find something interesting."</p> - -<p>"I'll get word to them," Jomian promised. "Take care of yourself, boy."</p> - -<p>The door of stateroom No. 200 was still locked and sealed. Coran opened -a locker and got out a wrench to work off the lugs on the lock. A voice -from behind jarred him.</p> - -<p>"I've been looking for you," Hamlin sneered. "I thought you'd be up -to something." In the dimming and flaring light, Coran got a glimpse -of the blaster-gun in Hamlin's hand. Coran's fingers tightened on the -wrench. He spun around and hurled the wrench in one motion. Hamlin -pressed the trigger, but the wrench spoiled his aim. Coran dodged under -the gun and dragged him down in a flying tackle. The gun went rattling -down the corridor.</p> - -<p>"Come away from there, you fool," Hamlin screamed as he broke away. -"D'you want the plague?" He edged toward the gun, but Coran cut him -off. Both lunged for it. Coran got it, but before he could use it, -Hamlin kicked him in the stomach. He rolled on the floor in agony. -Hamlin kicked again viciously. Coran fumbled with the gun.</p> - -<p>A warning alarm sounded. The boats were about to leave.</p> - -<p>Coran got his breath back. "Help me get her out. She has no more plague -than you have. Besides, she's your—"</p> - -<p>"You're mad," Hamlin shrieked. "They'd never let her into the boats. -I won't risk the lives of innocent people on your sayso." He leaned -across Coran to snatch at the gun. Coran clawed at his face and layers -of plastic came off in his fingers. Hamlin screamed as the stuff came -loose from his flesh. Then he turned and ran.</p> - -<p>He darted up the companion stairs. By the time Coran could reach the -gun, it was too late. The man had vanished to the upper deck.</p> - -<p>Coran got to his knees and aimed the blaster at the jammed lock on the -stateroom door. The mechanism and half the door disappeared in ravening -violence. The shock knocked Coran flat.</p> - -<p>Gerda stepped through the shattered doorway.</p> - -<p>"What's going on?" she wailed hysterically. It was apparent that she -had been crying, although she had tried to efface the marks.</p> - -<p>"Never mind that. We've got to get you out of here. Are you all right?"</p> - -<p>She laughed wildly. "Of course I am! Has everyone gone crazy? You look -a fright. D'you want to carry me, or should I carry you?"</p> - -<p>"Get to the lower decks. Find the doctor. Show him you're not sick. -And hurry—the lifeboats are leaving." Coran made a vague gesture and -slumped weakly against the wall while spirals of nausea raged through -him. She was halfway to the companion stair before she noticed that he -was not following. Coran had fainted.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Cold water splashing in his face revived him. His head was nestled in -her lap.</p> - -<p>"What are you doing here?" he raged. "If you don't hurry, it will be -too late."</p> - -<p>She answered with quiet assurance. "Listen, tough guy, you didn't have -to come back for me. D'you think I'd leave you to save my skin after -that?"</p> - -<p>Coran shook his head to clear the mist of dizzy weakness, and she -helped him to his feet.</p> - -<p>"Let's get going," he urged. "If the lifeboats leave before we reach -the airlock, you'll really be in a jam."</p> - -<p>With the girl's arm tight around his waist to support him, he managed -to make it to the sally-port. The airlock door was closed.</p> - -<p>"The boats have gone," he said. He sat down hopelessly on a casket-like -metal toolbox.</p> - -<p>"Maybe someone will come," she said.</p> - -<p>"That's what I'm afraid of," he snapped.</p> - -<p>"In the meantime, I think we need some coffee ... if I can find an -unopened can."</p> - -<p>Coran waved toward a locker where supplies were kept on clipshelves. -She found a can with built-in heat unit and opened it, pouring coffee -for them. He sipped his slowly, while she gulped down a scalding draft.</p> - -<p>"You seem very calm about all this," Coran said grimly.</p> - -<p>"Hysterics won't help. Besides, you seem to be expecting someone. What -did you mean, that's what you're afraid of? Who would come back?"</p> - -<p>"Don't you know?"</p> - -<p>She shook her head in bewilderment "How should I know? I'm a stranger -here myself."</p> - -<p>"You may as well stop playing innocent. In case you don't already know, -I'm an officer in the space patrol. This wreck was deliberate, planned -by some of the crew. There are two possibilities. Either they'll come -back and try to salvage the plutonium cargo, or they have confederates -waiting in space to close in as soon as the ship is abandoned. I don't -look forward to either one."</p> - -<p>"You act as if I knew something about all this," Gerda said irritably. -"I don't know why you should think so, but you're way off the track. -Why suspect me?"</p> - -<p>"How can I help it, with that picture in your purse, and that phoney -deal you pulled by playing sick?"</p> - -<p>Gerda flushed, whether from anger or guilt Coran would have given much -to know.</p> - -<p>"I don't know how you know about that," she answered evenly. "I—I -can't explain about the picture, but the other I had nothing to do -with. While you had me tied up, someone came into the room; naturally -I thought it was you coming back. I was still dazed from shock and -only half awake. First thing I knew, a man in uniform had jammed a -pillow over my face. I thought he was trying to kill me, and nearly -smothered. He rubbed something on my elbows and down the cords of my -neck, then left. It seemed like a nightmare. I blamed you vaguely till -I remembered the gold braid on his sleeves and knew it must have been -a ship's officer. Later, an officer came in with the doctor, who took -one look at me and seemed scared to death. Too scared to examine me. -They wouldn't listen to anything, just untied me enough so I could work -loose eventually, left some stuff, and locked me in. That's all I knew -till you let me out just now."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Coran considered. "It sounds plausible. I'd like to believe you, but -that photograph is too damning. You'll have a lot of explaining to -do ... if we get out of this alive."</p> - -<p>"What about the photograph? What's he wanted for?"</p> - -<p>"There's another one of him in the Security Police headquarters. He's -the man I was sent to get. Both ISP and the Security Police want him. -The original charge was barratry, but—"</p> - -<p>"What's barratry?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"It's the deliberate wrecking of a ship, for the insurance or to -salvage the cargo illegally. I don't know what your connection is with -this man, but—"</p> - -<p>"It's very simple," she said. "He's my brother. I knew he was in -trouble, but didn't know it was so serious. Our family broke up years -ago. Mother married again. That was fifteen years ago. I was ten, and -Ken was thirteen. We took our stepfather's name, but Ken and he never -got along very well. Ken ran away to Venus when he was seventeen. -Mother died a year ago. I—I wanted to find Ken and help him. My -stepfather had him traced for me and we found out he was in trouble -with the police. I thought if I could talk to him, maybe he'd give -himself up, take his just punishment, and we could start over again -together. Ken's all I have left. He's not bad. A little wild, but not -bad."</p> - -<p>Coran stood up and stared into the black gulf of space through the -visiplate. He felt a sudden bleak distaste for his profession.</p> - -<p>"I'm afraid it's a little late for that," he said gently. "He's wanted -for barratry, murder, and perhaps treason. The penalty for any one of -them is death. I'm sorry."</p> - -<p>Gerda sat silently, brooding over the information. "You think I'm going -to cry, don't you? And you hate emotional women. You can relax. I think -I've known all along that it was hopeless. It does hurt, but I'm beyond -crying any more."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Far out in the void a clustered blur of faint, needle-sharp lights -etched itself against the star-patterned darkness. Space-ships, coming -up fast under rocket power. Coran glanced quickly at the wall-chron. It -was too soon for the space patrol. Even under full acceleration, they -could not make it in less than three hours.</p> - -<p>"I'll have to trust you," he said grimly, "Brace yourself—company's -coming."</p> - -<p>Gerda snapped out of her black reverie.</p> - -<p>"What are you going to do?"</p> - -<p>"We'd better work out a plan of action." Working like mad, Coran dumped -the contents of the metal toolbox onto the floor. With a wrench, he -smashed the hand-operated controls which worked the airlock from the -interior of the ship into a tangle of twisted machinery. Then he -scooped up the rest of the tools and threw them down a waste disposal -chute.</p> - -<p>"Get inside the toolbox," he ordered. "Try it once to make sure you -can raise the lid from inside. Then keep out of sight. When they get -here, I'll try to draw them away into the after part of the ship. If -I succeed in drawing them off, you slip out and get into the airlock. -Close the door and lock it from inside. If I manage to circle around -and get back here, I'll signal you with three soft taps on the door, -followed by three hard ones. Don't open for anyone else. It'll take -them over an hour to cut through that door from in here. You'll have a -gambler's chance."</p> - -<p>"Good luck," said Gerda softly. She climbed into the toolbox while -Coran recharged the blaster-gun and stuffed his pockets with extra -ammunition.</p> - -<p>Gerda raised the box lid slightly. "It works, Steve," she said. "Take -care of yourself."</p> - -<p>He grinned. "One thing more. When you're into the airlock, get into a -space-suit and get one ready for me. They're on racks at the left side, -inside a locker."</p> - -<p>She nodded. The lid slammed down.</p> - -<p>Coran re-arranged the stowage of boxes in the next compartment into a -series of defensive barricades, then crouched beside the half-opened -door of the sally-port. He had not long to wait.</p> - -<p>The airlock door swung open and three rough-looking men in space suits -came cautiously through. They were followed by a dozen others not -wearing the heavily-insulated space armor. The pirates must have run a -gangway tube between the ships and fastened it with magnetic grapnels. -The outer doors of the airlock would open automatically as the pressure -equalized. He wondered if Gerda would have sense enough to close and -bolt the outer as well as the inward doors. It was too late to worry -about that now.</p> - -<p>Coran took careful aim and fired his blaster beam into the crowd of -men. Four were killed by the first discharge. The others broke for -cover. Blaster beams interlaced, and the room jarred with repeated -concussion. Men poured through the opened airlock door. The temperature -rose sharply with the release of energy. The pirates rushed the door -and Coran was forced to fall back to his line of barricades.</p> - -<p>He retreated cautiously, firing as he went. From behind the last of his -barricades, he burned down three of his foes, then broke and ran for -the engine-room shaft, leaping across it to the spiralled stair. Just -as he reached the upper loft of engines a beam cut down the shaft. He -dodged behind a massive generator, but three blaster beams concentrated -on it. The force of their tripled discharge tore it from its moorings. -Artificial gravity combined with its mass to send it crashing into a -tangle of the intricate machinery below.</p> - -<p>To avoid being crushed, Coran was forced to plunge down the second -shaft. He lost himself in the spiderweb of inner support beams. The -pirates scattered and climbed into the maze of beams, probing with -their blaster rays as shadows moved uneasily in the eerie darkness. The -lumibulbs waxed and waned as the unsteady current fluctuated.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Further and further Coran led them, always away from the sally-port and -the airlock, darting chance beams at his pursuers whenever opportunity -presented. He had the advantage of knowing that they were all enemies. -Their forces were divided and confused. In the weird and uncomfortable -lofts of the engine-room, clear targets were impossible.</p> - -<p>A wild half-plan occurred to Coran. He headed in the direction of the -main engine-room switch box and with his beam burned out all the fuses.</p> - -<p>Pit-like darkness enveloped the lofts as the lumibulbs went out. It -was touch and go sliding down the long beams in the pall of utter -blackness. He reached a catwalk, and cautiously made his way toward the -elevators. Once he collided with a heavy body and a man swore savagely.</p> - -<p>He missed the elevators, but by some miracle found a hatchway leading -to the cargo holds. Sliding through, he cut down the intensity of his -blaster beam and melted the plastic and metal hatchcover into a fused -mass. That should delay them a few minutes. He scuttled down a deserted -passageway and began climbing flights of stairs. If he could only find -his way back to the sally-port from this other direction. He came -suddenly into the room of his hasty barricades next to the sally-port. -It was occupied.</p> - -<p>Two men had been left behind as guards. He caught them unawares, and -burned both down with one sweep of his beam.</p> - -<p>The sally-port was empty. The box lid lay on the floor and the airlock -door was closed tight.</p> - -<p>With the butt of his blaster, he tapped out the signal on the airlock -door.</p> - -<p>There was a smooth hiss of releasing metal parts and the airlock door -came open. He slipped through and slammed the door, spinning the -lockbolts tight.</p> - -<p>"Thank heavens, you made it," Gerda said. Pale and shaken, she handed -him the heavy space-armor. "I was afraid you'd run into those others in -the next room. They almost caught me. I had the lid half-raised when -they came into the sally-port to check."</p> - -<p>"Put on your helmet," he ordered roughly, as she handed him the -fishbowl-like contrivance.</p> - -<p>She laughed. "The air's bad in here. I could hardly breathe, and I -didn't know how to work the valves in the helmet."</p> - -<p>Coran swore briefly, then adjusted her helmet and put on his own. He -set the microphones and the space communicators.</p> - -<p>"I shut the outside door," she complained. "I even bolted it, but it -won't stay locked."</p> - -<p>"It's automatic," he told her. "When the air pressure's equal on both -sides, it opens. I'll show you."</p> - -<p>Just as he reached for the controls, the door came open with a violent -crash. Hamlin stood framed in the doorway, blaster gun in hand.</p> - -<p>"I hadn't counted on you, Coran," he said. The gun did not waver. -"Don't reach for that gun."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Coran relaxed and stared at his opponent. "You look quite different -without the plastic mask," he observed. Hamlin was older than he had -looked in the photographs, but noticeably the same man, despite lines -of strain which did not show in either picture.</p> - -<p>Hamlin smiled wolfishly. "My pictures don't flatter me, do they? The -problem is what you've done with my men. You are becoming a nuisance, -Coran. I'll have to kill you, of course, but I'd like to know how you -managed this switch."</p> - -<p>Coran was playing for time. "I'll make a deal with you," he said. "I'm -curious to know why you pulled that Martian plague stunt with Gerda."</p> - -<p>Hamlin laughed. "I recognized her at once, even though she had changed -since I last saw her. Ten years is a long time when you're kids, but -I'd seen a picture of her since then. When I saw you with her, I knew -you were up to something. I wanted to keep you away from her till -I could deal with you. The rest was easy, just a little grease and -aluminum powder. The doctor was scared to death...."</p> - -<p>Gerda was staring at her brother through the space helmet. "You did -know me, Ken?"</p> - -<p>Hamlin shot her a contemptuous glance. "You little fool," he snapped. -"You should never have come here. I don't know what I'm going to do -with you."</p> - -<p>Gerda cringed as if he had struck her. "We'll have plenty of time for -old home week later," Hamlin went on. "Now tell me what's happened to -my men, Coran. I haven't much time to waste on you."</p> - -<p>Coran bit his lip. "I just lured them into the engine-room and tangled -them up in the lofts, then blew out the lights. It was a good trick -while it worked. Some of them got weeded out on the way."</p> - -<p>"Now it's your turn, Coran," Hamlin said brutally. His finger tightened -on the trigger. Gerda stood looking from one to the other with a look -of anguish on her face. "Don't do it, Ken," she said, moving in front -of Coran.</p> - -<p>"Stay out of this, Gerda," Coran warned.</p> - -<p>"I'm not kidding," Hamlin said, "if you get in my way, I'll kill both -of you."</p> - -<p>Coran struck her helmet so heavily she fell against the wall. In the -same movement, he lunged at Hamlin. The blaster beam raked the ceiling, -and in that confined space concussion was unbearable, even inside the -space suits. Coran's blow knocked Hamlin through the doorway into the -connecting tube. Coran swung about and caught up his gun.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p><i>Coran struck her aside and lunged at Hamlin.</i></p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"Don't shoot, Steve," Gerda wailed.</p> - -<p>The shock of the first blaster discharge had loosened the magnetic -grapnels which held the ships together. The pirate's craft began to -drift away, tearing loose the end of the tube.</p> - -<p>Hamlin was on his feet, trying to fire his blaster, but the charge was -burned out. It only flickered feebly. He leaped the widening distance -between the ships and went up the side like a spider, gripping the -shell of the <i>Erania</i> with the magnetic soles of his space-boots. Coran -climbed round the doorway and went up after him, gun in hand.</p> - -<p>Hamlin had disappeared round the curve of the hull. It was rough, -dangerous work climbing round the outer shell of a space-ship. One slip -meant a plunge into the awesome emptiness of the void. Gravity was -practically non-existent, but the grip of the soles was slight, and -only one foot could be moved at a time.</p> - -<p>From the vantage point of his cover behind a dead rocket tube, Hamlin -waited. He knew that his time was short. Off across the black gulf of -space three flakes of gleaming light resolved themselves into fast -patrol cruisers, racing toward the derelict <i>Erania</i>. Coran had not -seen them, but came on steadily, determined to see his assignment -through. Hamlin waited, gun resting on the rocket tube, hoping for a -clear shot. Mad with hatred, he blamed Coran for the failure of his -whole life, and was viciously resolved to take his enemy with him.</p> - -<p>The patrol ships moved in close and warped alongside the <i>Aphrodite</i>. -Men in space suits poured out of the access hatch and guns were trained -on the rocket tube behind which Hamlin held out.</p> - -<p>Sick fury possessed Hamlin. With the gesture of a trapped rat, he -rammed his blaster-gun up the vents of the rocket tube. If he could -ignite the remaining fuel, they would all blow to Kingdom Come in a -roaring atomic holocaust.</p> - -<p>Coran saw his intent and stood up to fire. His beam went wildly into -the darkness as he lost his balance and toppled into space. Another -beam whipped out from the patrol cruiser and caught Hamlin full force -as he stood up to fire into the tube.</p> - -<p>He vanished in a glittering cloud of particles, dispersed instantly by -their own radiation.</p> - -<p>Lines with magnetic grapnels looped out and snatched Coran reeling him -back to the patrol ship like a grotesque fish. For three days, he lay -unconscious from space-shock....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Back on the Moon, at Luna Station, three people were waiting for the -Martian Express to take-off.</p> - -<p>"You see, Steve, Gerda's really my daughter," Paul Jomian explained. -"Her mother divorced me fifteen years ago, and a year later married -Gartan Mors. She took the children, of course, and Mors raised them as -his own. Gerda was young enough to conform but Ken was always wild. He -took it for three or four years, then ran away to Venus. Gerda always -idolized him, but really she scarcely knew him. If anyone's at fault in -all this, I am the one to blame. I was a stubborn fool, and Nell could -never stand my job."</p> - -<p>Gerda offered her hand to Coran. "I hate long goodbyes," she said. "I'm -sorry about everything. I—I don't really blame you for Ken's death. -Goodbye, and good luck."</p> - -<p>Steve decided it was safe to play out a fond and corny farewell. He -took her hand lingeringly. "Don't worry about things, Gerda. I know -how you feel. It wouldn't have worked out anyhow. Just let me know -when you get the divorce. Let's break this up. I thought that I hated -Mars-station, but now that I'm through with the Space Patrol, I can't -wait to get back."</p> - -<p>Paul Jomian put his arm around his daughter as they watched Coran turn -and wave before climbing aboard the express cruiser. On Coran's face -was the smug complacency of a man who has neatly avoided being stuck -with a dame. He grinned and vanished up the gangplank. Jomian muttered -something inaudibly.</p> - -<p>"You're a sucker to let a man like Steve get away ... for any reason," -he told her. "Such men are hard to find, and still harder to hook once -you've found them."</p> - -<p>"I know it," she said firmly, though tears brimmed in her eyes. "But I -just couldn't love the man who'd killed my brother. I couldn't."</p> - -<p>"That's the biggest mistake you ever made. Steve didn't want me to -tell you, but he didn't shoot Ken. His beam went wild." Jomian nerved -himself for an ordeal. "I killed him."</p> - -<p>"Why didn't you tell me—<i>why</i>?" she wailed.</p> - -<p>"I should have told you before, but I couldn't. I didn't want you to -hate me, now that I'd just found you."</p> - -<p>Gerda clung to her father fiercely. "I couldn't hate you, dad. But we -mustn't let him go. I might have a chance to win him, but how can I if -he's on Mars and I'm here?"</p> - -<p>"I'm afraid that's out of our hands. Steve doesn't know it, but he's -not through with the space patrol. They refused his resignation. He's -just been appointed commander of the Mars-Jupiter sector. Do you think -you have the guts to be a spaceman's wife?"</p> - -<p>"I <i>know</i> I have. But how'll I ever convince Steve? You heard him. He -said it wouldn't ever work out."</p> - -<p>"That's your problem. He's a stubborn man."</p> - -<p>Sudden determination shone in her face. "And I'm a stubborn woman," she -called back, blowing her father a kiss. She reached the gangplank just -in time to grab it and be dragged up with it.</p> - -<p>Jomian grinned. "She's my kid. I'll bet she trims his wings, the rat."</p> - -<pre style='margin-top:6em'> -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK S.O.S. APHRODITE! *** - -This file should be named 63856-h.htm or 63856-h.zip - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/8/5/63856/ - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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