he door before they
reached it.

I drew my Browning and started for the door. They saw me and one reached
for his needler.

"Don't try it," I called. I concentrated on the door, reached it, swung
it closed, and as I threw in the lock a needler cracked. I whirled and
fired. The man in the rear had stopped and aimed as the other two came
on. He folded. The other two kept coming.

I was tired. I wanted a rest. "You're too late," I said. "No one but the
Captain goes in there now." I stopped talking, panting. I had to rest.
The two came on. I wondered why they struggled so desperately after they
were beaten. My thinking was slowing down.

I suddenly realized they might be holding me for the crowd to arrive. I
shuffled backwards towards the cross corridor. I barely made it. Two men
on a shuttle cart whirled around the corner a hundred feet aft. I
lurched into my shelter in a hail of needler fire. One of the tiny slugs
stung through my calf and ricocheted down the passage.

I called to the two I had raced; "Tell your boys if they ever want to
open that door, just see the Captain."

I hesitated, considering whether or not to make a general statement.

"What the hell," I decided. "They all know there's a mutiny now. It
won't hurt to get in a little life-insurance."

I keyed my mike. "This is the Captain," I said. "This ship is now in a
state of mutiny. I call on all loyal members of the Armed Forces to
resist the mutineers actively, and to support their Commander. Your
ship is in action against an armed enemy. I assure you this mutiny will
fail, and those who took part in it will be treated as traitors to their
Service, their homes, and their own families who now rely on them.

"We are accelerating at two and one-half gravities, locked on a
collision course with the Mancji ship. The mutineers cannot enter the
Bridge, Power, Control, or Missiles Sections since only I have the
combination. Thus they're doomed to failure.

"I am now returning to the Bridge to direct the attack and destruction
of the enemy. If I fail to reach the Bridge, we will collide with the
enemy in less than three hours, and our batteries will blow."

Now my problem was to make good my remark about returning to the Bridge.
The shuttle had not followed me, presumably fearing ambush. I took
advantage of their hesitation to cross back to corridor A at my best
speed. I paused once to send a hail of needles ricocheting down the
corridor behind me, and