No star's land

By William Morrison
When cosmic giants wage war man becomes a fly-speck in space. But a single atom can shatter a sun!
William Morrison is a past master of the 'mistake' story. We don't mean to imply that Mr. Morrison made a mistake in writing this story—quite the contrary! The 'mistake' story is simply a tale that in relentless documentary fashion shows how foolish people are to confuse size with power, or make the error of underselling the indomitable spirit of man.
It was ridiculous and incredible. It was against all reason. But it had happened. The ship was marooned in free space.
They had been squabbling again, and this time the arguments on both sides had become as hot as the two blazing stars which hemmed them in on both sides, making them feel like dust motes in a vacuum. Karin, her eyes darting sparks, had summed it up neatly.
It's hopeless, Jan. Only a divorce can solve it!
I can't think of anything I want more, Jan said, his face tight with anger. By the light of the green star, which illuminated his features, he must have made, he realized bitterly, a ghastly picture.
Karin regarded him with distaste. Fine—splendid! The minute we get back to Earth.
Why wait that long? Jan protested. There's a court on Ganymede. We can get one there.
He was bitterly contemplating the ruin of his honeymoon when he noticed that the ship had lost headway. The differential screen, which depicted the change in the star picture from second to second, was barely illuminated. They were practically stationary with respect to every star in the local galaxy.
In view of the fact that they had been traveling at one-half light speed, and that neither the green nor the yellow star was more than thirty-five million miles away, the result seemed to Jan outrageous. The positions of both stars should have been changing rapidly. His first thought was that the differential screen was no longer working.
Both stars, however, were stationary on the direct view screen as well, glowing with unsurpassed steadiness, and filling the space around them with a flood of radiance. The direct view screen was plainly operating properly. Somehow, the unwilling conclusion forced itself upon him that they had been braked to a stop.