Charles L. Fontenay

“ Albrekt scowled at him, but his eyes were drawn back irresistibly to the screens, empty except for the silvery lithium shield and, perched just above its edge, the small but baleful disc of Jupiter.
"Qoqol checked the blast tapes you used, and we're not in the orbit they're suppose to put us in," insisted Carrel. "Qoqol's been making sightings for the last six weeks. Jupiter's pulled us off orbit, Albrekt."
"Is true," boomed Qoqol. "We long way off." ”

“ Space is a lonely place—lonelier than any place on Earth, lonelier than any place on Mars. No expanse of desert or ocean is so empty as space, for there one at least has something material beneath him and around him.
"An experienced spaceman would rather be burned than left alone in space," said Carrel. "It'll drive most men completely crazy in a pretty short time. I think you've realized that by now, Albrekt. That's why you won't kill us."
Albrekt was eating a meal at the table in the living quarters, his heat gun lying beside his hand. ”

“ Yes sir, it's one of the neatest orbits Qoqol has ever plotted."
"What?" demanded Albrekt, stunned. "You mean we're in a controlled orbit?"
"Why, yes, my Flanjo friend. We started pulling out of the orbits your blast tapes set about four months ago. If we hadn't, we wouldn't have come anywhere near Jupiter."
"You lie!" shouted Albrekt. "You lie, Carrel! You couldn't! There's no fuel!"
"I'm afraid we're going to have to keep you tied up to one of the bunks for the next few weeks, Albrekt," said Carrel. "You're too valuable a prisoner to take a chance on your doing away with yourself." ”

“ Half an hour before the scheduled time of meeting with the Flanjo ship, Carrel, Migl and Qoqol filed up through the hatch. Albrekt offered no objection, and they floated across the control room to seats.
"Looks like your ship would be on the screens by now, doesn't it, Albrekt?" suggested Carrel quietly.
"They don't have to make the rendezvous exactly on time," replied Albrekt, a little uneasily. "They know the orbit. They can pick us up anywhere along it."
"We're not in the orbit," said Carrel flatly. ”

“ We'll live long enough for them to get all the information they want out of us."
Albrekt studied him closely. Carrel returned his gaze with serious eyes.
"Maybe you're telling the truth," said Albrekt slowly. "If you're lying, I can't see your reason. You know I won't panic, and we can't change orbit."
"I'm trying to impress you with the seriousness of this thing, because there's something we can do about it if you'll let us," said Carrel patiently. "All it takes is a thin metal shield at a proper distance from the ship, and we can build that out of the cargo we're carrying." ”

“ They would have plotted the most effective orbit for their purposes, and if the By Jove! didn't happen to be shielded—well, casualties had to be expected in any military operation.
"You have my permission to build the shield," he said stiffly at last, "under my strict supervision, of course."
"That's all right with me," consented Carrel with a sigh of relief. "And I give you my word as a space captain, Albrekt, nobody aboard the By Jove! will lift a hand against you while it's being built." ”

“ Scooping up the heat gun, he dove across the table and twisted in the air as he floated swiftly between Carrel and Qoqol. Ignoring them for the moment, he trained the gun on the hatch to the navigation deck above and pressed the trigger. Migl had to grab the ladder frantically to keep from drifting head-on into the sizzling beam that barred his way.
Albrekt anchored himself to a bunk and waved the heat beam in an arc above their heads. The metal ceiling smoked faintly.
"I won't kill you all unless I have to," he said calmly. "I can get along easily without one or two of you, though. ”

“ Albrekt did not answer.
"Look," said Carrel, "it'll take several days to figure out what sort of orbit that blast threw us into, and I'm not sure we have enough fuel to correct it. You'd better let us in."
"We may as well understand each other," said Albrekt. "I'm no spaceman, but some very good spacemen figured out that blast tape—and the other one I'm going to use later. I'm a captain in the Flanjo military, and I've taken this ship and its cargo over, to deliver them to the Flanjo patrol. None of you will be hurt if you cause no trouble." ”

“ As a paying passenger from Mars City to Titan, he had the run of the ship, and had been lounging in the control room for half an hour. Migl, the engineer, was on duty and was sorting the blast-pattern tapes, a job Qoqol had started during his shift.
Albrekt simply took a heat gun from the rack, stuck it in Migl's back and ordered him to leave the control room. Migl took it as a joke, at first.
"It's no joke," Albrekt assured him, nudging him with the weapon. "Get below, if you don't want to get burned." ”

“ Fifty tons of such a light metal as lithium is a pretty large volume of the stuff. Albrekt assumed that Carrel's shield was to be a square or disc of the metal, rather thick to absorb the radiation, which would be interposed between the By Jove! and Jupiter. When work began, after several days of planning, it became apparent that the construction task was something more than cutting out and fastening together chunks of lithium.
Instead of working inside the ship, the crew moved a furnace to the outside of the cargo hull and anchored it down. ”

“ The legend above the bank of dials read: "OXYGEN." The plate below the lagging dial read: "Control Room."
Albrekt unstrapped himself from the chair with nervously fumbling hands. Somehow the crew of the By Jove! was interfering with his oxygen supply.
Albrekt was beginning to feel a little nauseated. His head throbbed. He pushed himself across the control room and grabbed the helmet of the spacesuit that hung there. He did not take time to put on the suit itself, but pulled the helmet down over his head and switched on the suit's oxygen supply. ”

“ If you prefer, you may draw lots to decide which two I shall kill and which one shall have the pleasure of my company for the rest of the trip. The continued existence of all three of you will depend strictly on your good behavior. ”

“ But what was behind the threat of their reaching the control room? They might (a) obtain weapons to match his own; (b) communicate the ship's position to warships of the Solar Council; (c) swing the ship off its prearranged course and avoid the rendezvous with the Flanjo vessel.
Solution? Albrekt laughed shortly. There was a solution to all three problems.
With his heat gun, he reduced the radio transmitter to a molten mess. Now the By Jove! ”