Unwise Child Read online

  16

  Mike the Angel hefted the heavy stun gun in his right fist, feeling itsweight without really noticing it. He knew damned good and well itwouldn't be of any use against Snookums. If Mellon came at him, thesupersonic beam from the gun would affect his nerves the same way anelectric current would, and he'd collapse, unconscious but relativelyunharmed. But Mike doubted seriously that it would have any effect atall on the metal body of the robot. It is as difficult to jolt thenerves of a robot as it is to blind an oyster.

  Snookums did have sensory devices that enabled him to tell what wasgoing on around him, but they were not nerves in the ordinary sense ofthe word, and a stun gun certainly wouldn't have the same effect.

  He wondered just what effect it _would_ have--if any.

  He was going down the main ladder--actually a long spiral stairway thatled downward from the bridge. Behind him were Chief Multhaus, also armedwith a stun gun, and four members of the power crew, each armed with aheavy spanner. Mike or the chief could take care of Mellon; it would bethe crew's job to take care of Snookums.

  "Smash his treads and his waldoes," Mike had told them, "but only if heattacks. Before you try anything else, give him an order to halt. If hekeeps on coming, start swinging." And, to Chief Multhaus: "If Mellonjumps me, fire that stun gun only if he's armed with a knife or a gun.But if you do have to fire at Mellon, don't wait to get in a good shot;just go ahead and knock us both out. I'd rather be asleep than dead.Okay?"

  Multhaus had agreed. "The same goes for me, Commander. And the rest ofthe boys."

  So down the ladder they went. Mike hoped there'd be no fighting at all.He had the feeling that everything was all wrong, somehow, and that anyuse of stun guns or spanners would just make everything worse.

  His wasn't the only group looking for Snookums and Mellon. LieutenantKeku had another group, and Commander Jeffers had a third. LieutenantCommander von Liegnitz was with Captain Quill on the bridge. Mellon hadalready attacked von Liegnitz once; the captain didn't want them mixingit up again.

  Captain Quill's voice came suddenly from a speaker in the overhead."Miss Crannon and Dr. Fitzhugh have just spoken to me," he said in hisbrisk tenor. "Snookums is safe in his own room. I have outlined what hashappened, and they're trying to get information from Snookums now.Lieutenant Mellon is still missing."

  "One down," said Chief Multhaus. There was relief in his voice.

  "Let's see if we can find the other one," said Mike the Angel.

  They went down perhaps three more steps, and the speakers came to lifeagain. "Will the Chief Physician's Mate report to Commander Jeffers inthe maintenance tool room? Lieutenant Keku, dismiss your men to quartersand report to the bridge. Commander Gabriel, dismiss your men toquarters and report to Commander Jeffers in maintenance. All chiefnon-coms report to the ordnance room to turn in your weapons. Allenlisted men return to your posts or to quarters."

  Mike the Angel holstered his stun gun. "That's two down," he said toChief Multhaus.

  "Looks like we missed all the fun," said Multhaus.

  "Okay, men," Mike said, "you got the word. Take those spanners back tothe tool room in Power Section, and then get back to your quarters.Chief, you go with them and secure everything, then take that stun gunback to ordnance."

  "Yessir."

  Multhaus threw Mike a salute; Mike returned it and headed towardmaintenance. He knew Multhaus and the others were curious, but he wasjust as curious himself. He had the advantage of being in a position tosatisfy his curiosity.

  The maintenance tool room was big and lined with tool lockers. One ofthem was open. Sprawled in front of it was Lieutenant Mellon. Over toone side was Commander Jeffers, standing next to a white-faced EnsignVaneski. Nearby were a chief non-com and three enlisted men.

  "Hullo, Mike," Pete Jeffers said as Mike the Angel came in.

  "What happened, Pete?" Mike asked.

  Jeffers gestured at the sprawled figure on the floor. "We came in hereto search. We found him. Mister Vaneski opened the locker, there, for alook-see, and Mellon jumped out at him. Vaneski fired his stun gun.Mellon collapsed to the deck. He's in bad shape; his pulse is so weakthat it's hard to find."

  Mike the Angel walked over and looked down at the fallen MedicalOfficer. His face was waxen, and he looked utterly small and harmless.

  "What happened?" asked another voice from the door. It was ChiefPhysician's Mate Pierre Pasteur. He was a smallish man, well rounded,pleasant-faced, and inordinately proud of his name. He couldn't actuallyprove that he was really descended from the great Louis, but he didn'tallow people to think otherwise. Like most C. Phys. M.'s, he had adoctor of medicine degree but no internship in the Space Service. He wasworking toward his commission.

  "We've got a patient for you," said Jeffers. "Better look him over,Chief."

  Chief Pasteur walked over to where Mellon lay and took his stethoscopeout of his little black bag. He listened to Mellon's chest for a fewseconds. Then he pried open an eyelid and looked closely at an eye."What happened to him?" he asked, without looking up.

  "Got hit with a beam from a stun gun," said Jeffers.

  "How did he fall? Did he hit his head?"

  "I don't know--maybe." He looked at Ensign Vaneski. "Did he, MisterVaneski? He was right on top of you; I was across the room."

  Vaneski swallowed. "I don't know. He--he just sort of--well, he _fell_."

  "You didn't catch him?" asked the chief. He was a physician on a casenow and had no time for sirring his superiors.

  "No. No. I jumped away from him."

  "Why? What's the trouble?" Jeffers asked.

  "He's dead," said the Chief Physician's Mate.