I fired once and there was the smell of searing flesh.
"Kresh?" I asked. He looked down at the faceless figure on the floor and shook his head.
He raised his elbows, leaving his holster exposed. I nodded to one of the crewmen and he stepped forward and removed Kresh's del gun.
"Drop it on the floor," I said. "Then tear off his insignia and lock him in the forward cabin."
It was the end of the mutiny. But I felt no joy at that. My chest pained intolerably, my shoulders sagged in exhaustion. And I had failed in my mission.
Beth was all right. I went to her and tore the electrodes from her wrists and ankles and helped her to her feet. She refused to look at me, even allowing me to untie her father by myself.
"I regret that it turned out this way," I said.
"How could it turn out any other way?" Beth demanded suddenly. "Do you think we'd trust you now?"
Off in the night a siren wailed. I listened while another siren joined the first.