Blow the Man Down

"Blow the Man Down" by Charles L. Fontenay is a science fiction tale about Captain Albrekt Vebrug, an intelligence officer from Flanjo, who seizes control of the freighter "By Jove!" as it travels between Mars and Titan. Albrekt intends to use the ship for his own military agenda, but he ends up holding the original crew captive. As Albrekt locks them away and struggles to manage his stolen vessel, Captain Carrel, engineer Migl, and navigator Qoqol devise their own schemes to regain control. The story follows their tense confrontations and clever strategies, including a risky plan to create a lithium shield against dangerous radiation, while the power-hungry Albrekt must face his own mounting loneliness and fear amidst the vast emptiness of space; the crew ultimately reclaim their ship by ingeniously using his own tactics against him, showcasing how power can flip when survival is at stake