[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
crew-member who used the words incapacitated and incapable instead of hurt or
injured, who could not do something because he was confused and short of time
and was hampered by gauntlets. . . Dammit, he might at least have told us
something about the physical condition of the casualties so we d know what to
expect!
Fletcher relaxed again. I wonder why he was wearing a suit in the first
place. Even if the ship was maneuvering close to the derelict and a collision
occurred for whatever reason, it would not have been expected. By that I mean
the crew would not normally be wearing spacesuits during such a maneuver. But if
they were wearing them, then they were expecting trouble.
From the derelict? Murchison asked quietly.
A long silence followed, broken finally by the Captain. Very unlikely, if
it was, in fact, a derelict, and there is no reason to doubt the Tenelphi s
original report on the situation. If they were not expecting trouble, then we
are back with this officer, not necessarily the ship s medic, who was able to
get into a spacesuit and perhaps help some of the others into theirs-
Without compounding their injuries? asked Naydrad.
I can assure you that Monitor Corpsmen are trained to react to situations
like this one, said Fletcher sharply.
Reacting to the Captain s growing irritation at the implied criticism of
one of his fellow officers, Prilicla joined in: The brokenup message we
received did not mention injuries, so it is possible that the most serious
damage is to the scoutship s structure and systems rather than to its crew.
Incapacitated is not a very strong word. We may find that we have nothing to
do.
While approving the little empath s attempt to halt the bickering between
Naydrad and the overly touchy ship commander, Conway thought that Prilicla was
being far too optimistic. But before anyone could speak there was an
interruption.
Control to Captain. Jump in seven minutes, sir.
Fletcher regarded his half-finished meal for a moment, then stood up.
There is no real need for me to go up there, you know, he said awkwardly. We
took our time coming out to Jump-distance to ensure that the ship was fully
operational. It is, in every respect. He gave a short, forced laugh. But the
trouble with good subordinates is that sometimes they make a superior officer
feel redundant..
The Captain, Conway thought as Fletcher s legs disappeared up the well,
was trying very hard to be human.
Shortly afterwards the ship made the transition into hyperspace, and just
under six hours later it re-emerged. Because the Rhabwar had left the hospital
at the end of the medical team s duty period, they had all used the intervening
time to catch up on their rest. Nonetheless, there were a few interruptions
whenever the Captain relayed what he thought were significant pieces of
conversation from Control over the ship s PA system. Obviously, he was simply
trying to keep the medics fully informed at every stage of the proceedings. If
he had realized the reaction of Conway and the others at being repeatedly
awakened to be given information that was either too technically specialized or
too elementary, he would have dropped the idea.
Then, suddenly, a relay from Control that signaled the end of any further
hope of sleeping for a long time to come.
We have contact, sir! Two traces, one large and one small. Distance one
point six million miles. The small trace matches the mass and dimensions of the
Tenelphi.
Astrogation?
Sir. At maximum thrust we can match course, velocity and position in two
hours, seventeen minutes.
Very well, we ll do that. Power Room?
Standing by, sir.
Four-gravities thrust in thirty seconds, Mr. Chen. Dodds, give Haslam
your course figures. Would Senior Physician Conway report to Control as soon as
convenient.
* * *
Because the physiological classification of the casualties and the general
nature of their injuries were already known, it had been decided that Captain
Fletcher would remain in the Rhabwar while Conway and the other Corps officers
boarded the Tenelphi to assess the situation. Murchison, Prilicla and Naydrad
were standing by on the Casualty Deck, ready to treat the cases as they came
through. Since both the casualties and medical team had the same atmosphere and
life-support requirements, it was expected that the examination and preliminary
treatment time would be short, and that the Rhabwar would be returning to Sector
General within the hour.
Conway sat in the supernumerary s position in Control, sealed up except
for his helmet visor, watching the image of the Tenelphi growing larger on the
Captain s screen. Flanking the Captain were Haslam and Dodds in the
communications and astrogation positions, respectively, also suited except for
their gauntlets, which had been removed to facilitate operation of their control
consoles. The three officers muttered to one another in the esoteric language of
their profession and occasionally exchanged words with Chen, who was in the
Power Room aft.
The image of the distressed ship grew until it overflowed the edges of the
screen, whereupon magnification was stepped down and it was suddenly tiny again-
a bright silver cigar shape tumbling slowly in the blackness, with the immense
spherical shape of the derelict turning slowly, like a battered, metal moon, two
miles beyond it.
Like Conway, the derelict was being ignored for the present. For no other
reason than to register his presence, he said, It doesn t appear to be too
badly damaged, does it?
Obviously not a head-on collision, Fletcher responded. There is serious
damage forward, but most of it is to the antennae and sensors, sustained, I
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]