The Misplaced Battleship
The Misplaced Battleship
It might seem a little careless to lose track of something as big as a battleship... but interstellar space is on a different scale of magnitude. But a misplaced battleship--in the wrong hands!--can be most dangerous.
Book Excerpt
th decorations, gold bullion, and all the necessary documents. I thought it a little showy myself, but it was just the thing to make the right impression on Cittanuvo. Like many other planets, this one was uniform-conscious. Delivery boys, street cleaners, clerks--all had to have characteristic uniforms. Much prestige attached to them, and my black dress outfit should rate as high as any uniform in the galaxy.
A long cloak would conceal the uniform while I left the hotel, but the gold-encrusted helmet and a brief case of papers were a problem. I had never explored all the possibilities of the pseudo M-3 robot, perhaps it could be of help.
"You there, short and chunky," I called. "Do you have any concealed compartments or drawers built into your steel hide? If so, let's see."
For a second I thought the robot had exploded. The thing had more drawers in it than a battery of cash registers. Big, small, flat, thin, they shot out on all sides. One held a gun and two more were stuffed with grena
Editor's choice
(view all)Popular books in Science Fiction, Post-1930, Short Story, Fiction and Literature
Readers reviews
4.7
LoginSign up
This is a nice little story. Pretty interesting, despite the characters being on the melodramatic side. The "twist" at the end will not be all that surprising to the astute reader. I didn't really care for how abruptly it ended.
A criminal builds a space battleship, and a secret agent must recover it before too much damage is done.
A criminal builds a space battleship, and a secret agent must recover it before too much damage is done.
- Upvote (0)
- Downvote (0)
diGriz was a clever criminal who was convinced to join the Special Corps--which didn't officially exist--to help catch clever criminals. His other choice was death.
Stuck with file room duties, he discovers that a peaceful planet is constructing a freighter with disturbing similarities to an interstellar battleship. It seems to be his ticket to a field assignment.
A venerable old story showing the origin of the Stainless Steel Rat.
Stuck with file room duties, he discovers that a peaceful planet is constructing a freighter with disturbing similarities to an interstellar battleship. It seems to be his ticket to a field assignment.
A venerable old story showing the origin of the Stainless Steel Rat.
05/15/2015
Short Story that is part of the first Stainless Steel Rat book, and a wonderful story
11/01/2008