White, James – Sector General 05 – Sector General

orbital construction projects.

“I am glad to have been of assistance, Earthperson,” the Hudlar ended, “but I am

not a hero.”

“Nevertheless I am grateful,” MacEwan shouted, then stopped moving away. He

waved his hand, indicating the lounge which resembled a battlefield rather than

a luxurious departure point for the stars, and started coughing. Finally he was

able to say, “Pardon me, please, if I am being presumptuous, but is it possible

for you to similarly assist the other beings who have been immobilized by their

injuries and are in danger of asphyxiation?”

The second Hudlar had joined them, but neither spoke. Grawlya-Ki was waving at

him and pointing toward the trans­parent wall of the Colonel’s office where the

Monitor Corps officer was also gesticulating urgently.

“Ki, will you find out what he wants?” MacEwan called to the Orligian. To the

first Hudlar he went on, “You are under­standably cautious in the matter of

physically handling mem­bers of another species, lest you inadvertently give

offense, and in normal circumstances this would be wholly admirable and the

behavior of a being of sensitivity and intelligence. But this is not a normal

situation, and it is my belief that any accidental physical intimacy committed

on the injured would be forgiven when the intention is purely to give

assistance. In these circumstances a great many beings could die who would

otherwise—”

“Some of them will die of boredom or old age,” the second Hudlar said suddenly,

“if we continue to waste time with un­necessary politeness. Plainly we Hudlars

have a physical ad­vantage here. What is it you wish us to do?”

“I apologize most abjectly for my lifemate’s ill-considered and hasty remarks,

Earth-human,” the first Hudlar said quickly. “And for any offense they may have

given.”

“No need. None taken,” MacEwan said, laughing in sheer relief until the chlorine

turned it into a cough. He considered prefacing his instructions with advance

apologies for any of­fense he might inadvertently give to the Hudlars, then

decided that that would be wasting more time. He took a deep, careful breath and

spoke.

“The chlorine level is still rising around that transporter. Would one of you

remove heavy debris from casualties in the

area affected and move them to the entrance to the boarding tunnel, where they

can be moved into the tunnel itself if the level continues to rise. The other

should concentrate on rescuing Illensans by lifting them into their transporter.

There is a lock antechamber just inside the entry port, and hopefully some of

the less seriously injured chlorine breathers will be able to get them through

the lock and give them first aid inside. The Orligian and myself will try to

move the casualties not im­mediately in danger from the chlorine, and open the

boarding tunnel entrance. Ki, what have you got there?”

The Orligian had returned with more than, a dozen small cylinders, with

breathing masks and straps attached, cradled in both arms. It said,

“Fire-fighting equipment. The Colonel di­rected me to the emergency locker. But

it’s Nidian equipment. The masks won’t fit very well, and with some of these

beings they won’t fit at all. Maybe we can hold them in position and—”

“This aspect of the problem does not concern us,” the first Hudlar broke in.

“Earthperson, what do we do with casualties whose injuries might be compounded

by the assistance of well-meaning rescuers ignorant of the physiology of the

being con­cerned?”

MacEwan was already tying a cylinder to his chest, passing the attachment over

one shoulder and under the opposite armpit because the Nidian straps were too

short to do otherwise. He said grimly, “We will have that problem, too.”

“Then we will use our best judgment,” the second Hudlar said, moving ponderously

toward the transporter, followed closely by its lifemate.

“That isn’t the only problem,” Grawlya-Ki said as it, too, attached a cylinder

to its harness. ‘The collision cut our com­munications and the Colonel can’t

tell the terminal authorities about the situation in here, nor does he know what

the emer­gency services are doing about it. He also says that the boarding

tunnel entrance won’t open while there is atmospheric contam­ination in the

lounge—it is part of the safety system designed to contain such contamination so