A. Van Vogt - Rogue Ship

It was here in the first officer's apartment – according to Lesbee – that the Space Patrol headquarters had been established. Other patrol men occupied various adjoining cabins.

Two groups of three men were sent into that area with master keys and with instructions to attempt total surprise and show no mercy to any of the new men on the ship.

Gourdy and the remaining two men went cautiously on to the captain's cabin. Using another of the numerous keys Lesbee had made, Gourdy softly unlocked the outer door and tiptoed inside... A minute later, two sleepy, startled women stared up at him from the beds in the master bedroom: his own wife, Marianne, and the woman, Ruth.

One of the other men had gone into the second bedroom. This individual now reported that it was occupied by Ilsa and Ann.

– No Hewitt. Never had been! Why hadn't Lesbee told him-?

Gourdy felt an intense but momentary rage. His emotion yielded to urgency. He left the women and headed for the detector instrument.

All the apartments he scanned were occupied.

After a few minutes of hastily searching for Hewitt, he realized that such a survey would take too long. As a final check, he switched to the dormitory in the lower part of the ship. It was deserted. So they were probably all back with their families.

He sought and found the button that flashed on the interior of patrol headquarters. It was a grimly satisfying scene: two dead men in pajamas. A woman lay sobbing on one of the bodies.

Flicking over to the cabins, one by one, he saw with total delight that his men had made a victorious sweep... In two of the apartments there had been fighting, the surprise evidently not complete. In one room, one of his own henchmen lay dead. But across from him was a dead stranger.

These two cabins were in shambles.

Jubilant, rubbing his hands with his absolute joy, Gourdy stepped out into the main room. The two men were standing nervously out in the corridor; he could see them through the door. The four women had put on dressing gowns and stood in a tight little group near the door of the main bedroom.

His women. Soon.

'Well, ladies,' he said, grinning widely, 'looks like I'm going to be captain again.'

Silence greeted his words. After a moment, the glum expressions on all four women's faces irritated him. 'By God!' he said, 'I'll kick you all out of here if you don't show a little interest!'

Tears came into Ruth's eyes. Then a sob escaped her lips. It was like a signal. All four women started to cry.

Gourdy went into an instant, towering rage. 'Get into that room over there!' he ordered. He indicated the second bedroom. 'And stay there.'

The sobs subsided. Silent again, they went inside and closed the door.

The two men had entered the room while this interchange was going on. One asked nervously, 'What's happening, Captain?'

'We're winning,' said Gourdy.

But he hurried back to the detector instrument, to make sure.

With fumbling fingers, he tuned in on the engine room.

There, also, was victory. Former First Officer Miller had been captured.

Gourdy broke in upon the scene via his viewplate communicator. Addressing Miller, he said, 'Where's Hewitt?'

Miller was visibly in a state of shock but his answer sounded sincere: 'In one of the cabins upstairs. I don't know which one – honest!'

Gourdy believed him. 'We'll get him!' he said savagely. And broke the connection.

Unfortunately, there were well over a hundred apartments in the upper part of the ship. It disturbed Gourdy that somehow his luck hadn't enabled him to pick out the one Hewitt was in.

'Damn it!' he thought. 'Why didn't he try to grab these women, like any normal man would do?'

These emotions subsided as, one by one, his men reported in person. It was victory all along the line.

'– Went into some wrong cabins!' Harcourt said. 'Soon as we saw they were old ship folk, we told 'em -like you said -to just stay indoors and no funny stuff... But some of them know now what's going on.'

Almost all his followers made similar reports.

Gourdy was indifferent. 'We know what those characters are like,' he said contemptuously.

There was the musical sound of the intercom turning on. Gourdy automatically headed toward it. Abruptly, he stopped, frowned with amazement. 'But who can be calling?' he said.

He was still scowling as he clicked on his end of the machine.

Hewitt!

The two men stared at each other's images, Gourdy's eyes narrowed, Hewitt's were grave. It was Hewitt who spoke.

'I've just been advised of your attempted take-over, Gourdy. I don't know how you got aboard, but you've made the mistake of your life.'

For Gourdy, one word stood out '– Advised! -'

He snarled, 'Who advised you? Wait till I lay my hands on-'

Hewitt went on grimly, 'And I've got a score of men already gathered, and more coming every minute -'

Gourdy felt his first chill.

'– We're armed!' said Hewitt. 'And in a few minutes we're starting up there to get you, so you'd better surrender before it's too late.'

Gourdy had recovered. 'You won't get far with that gang of cowards!' he said scornfully, and he broke the connection.

The battle to recover the ship began about an hour later.

On one side were eighteen men armed with blasters, revolvers, and several shotguns. Opposing them were principally the scientists and technicians. They had blasters, revolvers, a number of gas guns, and equipment from their laboratories.

Gourdy kept believing that his opponents were cowards because once before they had allowed themselves to be imprisoned without trying to defend themselves. Hewitt knew that there was little truth to it. A new factor had been added. The old ship people now had the courage required of them by the system of which they had become a part during the past few weeks.

Hewitt had no doubt that these men were still profoundly prejudiced in connection with their women, and that they retained other narrow attitudes. But for each man, the prospect of once more being in the control of Gourdy and his gang was unthinkable.

Once that decision was made – and apparently it had been made instantly by many persons – there was no problem. Instinctively, they had turned to Hewitt. And when he requested them to come up with some ideas for the attack, the physics, chemistry, and engineering experts produced:

...A development of laser, where the light beam carried an electrical charge -

...An energy field affecting the nervous system, cramping certain muscles -

...A little round ball that rolled into the engine room, attached itself to one of the drives, sucked energy from it, and began to radiate heat. When the temperature in the engine room was 180 degrees Fahrenheit, the small group of Gourdy's men who were inside sent Miller out to ask if they could surrender.

Hewitt ordered that they be permitted to do so.

From the prisoners they learned for the first time of Lesbee's murder. Hewitt listened to the description the man gave of how everything had seemed to stand still while they were leaving the prison and of how this had also happened at certain other times. He recognized the similarity to his own experience when he originally came aboard the ship.

He became very excited. It seemed to him that a controlled method of mechanically altering time ratios would solve their entire space-time confusion.

But presently he realized that Gourdy's men would be no help. They had never grasped the meaning of what was happening to them.

A young scientist named Roscoe had a sudden bright thought: If Lesbee had returned to the ship, then Tellier must be back also. Hewitt dispatched the young man with a patrol to search the lifeboats. And there, indeed, was Tellier.