He had no time to call anyone, no time to explain. He had to move fast if he was going to save the Captain and the others. Somehow, the thought of Kent's murdering the Captain was inconceivable. The old man had been on the ship half a century; he was the last survivor of the original crew, and was as much a part of the great starship by now as the drive engines and the navigator's turret.

Conroy could see the whole fiendish plan. Bayliss Kent had forced the ship's officers down to Number Nineteen Thrust Tube, one of the huge projectors that drove the mighty ship through space. All Kent needed to do would be to kill them with ray pistols and claim that something had gone wrong with the atomic furnace. It would be impossible to disprove.

And then Bayliss Kent would be Captain.

Unless Peter Conroy could stop him.

He raced through the gleaming, twisting corridors of the giant ship, running frantically down and down toward Number Nineteen Thrust Tube. He pushed his way past surprised crew members, circled into the lower levels of the ship, made his way through the network of passageways that led to the blast tubes. Finally he reached Power Section.

The guard at the door was one of Kent's men. He looked up, startled, as Conroy appeared.

"Where are you—?"

Before the man could do anything, Conroy cut him down with a shot from his ray pistol. This was war—civil war—and there was no time for subtlety.

He stepped over the body and flung open the door of Number Nineteen.

He took in the situation in a glance. The Staff Officers, including the Captain, were lined up against one wall, and four of Kent's men were aiming their ray pistols.

Kent was saying: "Ready—aim—"

But the last word never was uttered. Kent was beginning to form it when Conroy got both his guns out and started to fire.

His first bolt smashed down the nearest executioner; a fraction of a second later, the man next to him dropped. Their attention deflected from the victims to Conroy, the other two and Kent whirled to face the newcomer.

Two more bolts blasted out—the first dropping one of the remaining gunmen, the second singeing Bayliss Kent's shoulder. Conroy hit the floor as a buzzing blaster bolt from the third man 

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