Conroy scowled. He knew what he was up against personally. They would lock him in the Navigation Observatory for the next ten years, keeping him prisoner while he guided the _Starship I_ back to Earth. In all probability, they would shoot him as soon as he was no longer needed as navigator. It would be, he thought, better to die now. But if he did, there would be no one to navigate the ship--and once the fuel gave out, all people aboard would be forever lost. Of course, it might be possible to figure a way out in ten years. And even if he didn't, he could leave a message in the navigation log for the officials on Earth to decode. But what good would that do, really? If this expedition failed to reach Procyon, a century of human effort would have been wasted. Conroy decided he'd have to take his chances now. This was the time to act. * * * * * He had one asset: the stun gun. They hadn't bothered to search him, and so he had been left with one weapon, of sorts. The trouble with a stun gun was that it wasn't deadly. He couldn't simply point it at the guard who had the vibro-key and force his way out. All the guard had to do was to refuse to hand the key over. If Conroy stunned him, he wouldn't be any better off than before. He had to think up some alternate plan. He doubled over, clutching at his stomach--and still grasping the stun gun in his hand. "_Ohhh!_" The guard came over to the door of the cell and peered downward suspiciously. "Don't pull any phony sickness with me, Conroy. I'm not going to come into that cell." Conroy hadn't expected him to. Only a fool would fall for that ancient gambit--but it served Conroy's purpose to have the guard come close to the door. With one smooth motion, he pulled out the stunner and fired. The guard looked astonished for a bare instant, then dropped senseless. Quickly, Conroy ran over, put his arm through the bars, took the key, and applied it to the plate. As the field shut off, he heard a voice. "Hey! What's going on down there?" Conroy swore silently. It was the other guard! He straightened up and surreptitiously pocketed the vibro-key, remaining inside the cell with the door open. He waited for the other guard to approach. "What happened here?" the guard said, running up with a drawn pistol. "I didn't do anything," Conroy said. "He just keeled over like that." He shrugged innocently. The second guard frowned and reholstered his pistol in order to bend over his fallen companion. That was just what Conroy had been waiting for. He jerked up the stun gun and fired. And nothing happened. The gun's charge was gone! "Hey!" At the sound of the click, the second guard snapped his head up and went for his gun. Conroy hurled the useless stunner straight between the bars of the cell. The butt of the gun struck the guard between the eyes, and he dropped to the floor on top of his companion.