ripped over his head and splattered into the wall behind him.

Firing from the floor, he put a bolt through Kent's remaining man—a moment after the gunman had raked the officers with his blaster. Some of them were dead; Conroy had no way of telling which ones. He had a more urgent problem.

Bayliss Kent was coming toward him—and the blaster needed recharging.

There was no time to perform the operation. He hurled the dead pistol at Kent's midsection and plunged after it. Kent met him head on. Even with a numbed shoulder, Bayliss Kent was a formidable antagonist. His big fists pounded into Conroy's stomach, driving him back against the blaster-seared wall. He felt heat radiating through his uniform, then pushed away and stepped forward.

His fist travelled in a short arc and crashed into the already-singed shoulder of the other man. Kent roared in pain, and Conroy mercilessly drove a fist into his stomach, sending him spinning dizzily backward. Conroy followed with a final punch and Kent cracked heavily against the metal wall of the unit and slumped to the floor.

Conroy looked around. The mopping-up operation was complete.

As for the ship's officers, the wide-beam blaster had done its job well. Three of the men were shapeless corpses leaning against the wall, and two of the others were badly wounded. And one of these two was the age-bent figure of the Captain. The old man was still alive. Conroy knelt at his side.

"Captain! Captain Conroy!" Peter shouted.

The old man opened his eyes. "Hello, son. That was a beautiful job you did."

"But I was too late!"

The old captain shook his head. "No. I didn't have much time, anyway. I'm a very old man now." He raised himself on one elbow. "Who else is left?"

Conroy glanced around. "Supply Officer, Power Officer, Maintenance Officer," he said. "And you."

"I don't count," the dying captain said. "You'll be able to scratch me from the list soon." He frowned. "No Exec? No Navigator?" The Captain leaned back and closed his weary eyes for a moment, then opened them again. "It looks like it's up to you," he said. His veined, aged hand went up to his collar and removed the golden starcluster of his rank. He handed it to Peter.

"Carry 

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