Part 12 (1/2)

”We're a thousand miles from the _Shudos_ now; close in slowly until we're within a hundred yards. The boarding parties will don armor and prepare to board while we're closing in. At a hundred yards, we stop and the boarding parties will land on the hull. I'll give further orders then.

”One more thing. I don't think her A-A generators could possibly be functioning, judging from that dent in her hull, but we can't be sure.

If she tries to go into A-A drive, she is to be bombed--no matter who is aboard. It is better that sixty men die than that The Butcher escape.

”All right, let's go. Move in.”

Half an hour later, Major Thornton stood on the hull of the _Shudos_, surrounded by the sixty men of the boarding party. ”Anybody see anything through those windows?” he asked.

Several of the men had peered through the direct-vision ports, playing spotlight beams through them.

”Nothing alive,” said a sergeant, a remark which was followed by a chorus of agreement.

”Pretty much of a mess in there,” said another sergeant. ”That fifty gees mashed everything to the floor. Why'd anyone want to use acceleration like that?”

”Let's go in and find out,” said Major Thornton.

The outer door to the air lock was closed, but not locked. It swung open easily to disclose the room between the outer and inner doors. Ten men went in with the major, the others stayed outside with orders to cut through the hull if anything went wrong.

”If he's still alive,” the major said, ”we don't want to kill him by blowing the air. Sergeant, start the airlock cycle.”

There was barely room for ten men in the air lock. It had been built big enough for the full crew to use it at one time, but it was only just big enough.

When the inner door opened, they went in cautiously. They spread out and searched cautiously. The caution was unnecessary, as it turned out.

There wasn't a living thing aboard.

”Three officers shot through the head, sir,” said the sergeant. ”One of 'em looks like he died of a broken neck, but it's hard to tell after that fifty gees mashed 'em. Crewmen in the engine room--five of 'em.

Mashed up, but I'd say they died of radiation, since the s.h.i.+elding on one of the generators was ruptured by the blast that made that dent in the hull.”

”Nine bodies,” the major said musingly. ”All Kerothi. And all of them probably dead _before_ the fifty-gee acceleration. Keep looking, sergeant. We've got to find the tenth man.”

Another twenty-minute search gave them all the information they were ever to get.

”No Earth food aboard,” said the major. ”One s.p.a.cesuit missing.

Handweapons missing. Two emergency survival kits and two medical kits missing. _And_--most important of all--the courier boat is missing.” He bit at his lower lip for a moment, then went on. ”Outer air lock door left unlocked. Three Kerothi shot--_after_ the explosion that ruined the A-A drive, and _before_ the fifty-gee acceleration.” He looked at the sergeant. ”What do you think happened?”