White, James – Sector General 05 – Sector General

Conway withdrew a limb sleeve-piece, the largest size he carried, from his

Hudlar medical kit and motioned for the casualty to bare the wound.

He could see that it was a deep wound by the way the dark red bubbles grew

suddenly larger before they broke away, but he was able to snap the sleeve-piece

in position before too much blood was lost. Even so there was a considerable

leakage around both ends of the sleeve as the Hudlar’s high internal pressure

tried to empty it of body fluids. Conway quickly at­tached circlips at each end

of the sleeve and began to tighten one while the Hudlar itself tightened the

other. Gradually the fluid loss slowed and then ceased, the casualty’s hands

drifted away from the injured limb, and its speaking membrane ceased its silent

vibrating. The Hudlar had lost consciousness.

Ten minutes later the Hudlar was inside Tyrell’s cargo lock and Conway was using

his scanner to search for internal damage caused by the traumatic decompression.

The longer he looked

the less he liked what he saw, and as he was concluding the examination

Krach-Yul joined him.

“The Earth-humans are simple fracture cases, Doctor,” the Orligian reported.

“Before setting the bones I wondered if you, as a member of their own species,

would prefer to—”

“And rob you of the chance to increase your other-species experience?” Conway

broke in. “No, Doctor, you treat them. They’re on antipain, I take it, and there

is no great degree of urgency?”

“Yes, Doctor,” Krach-Yul said.

“Good,” Conway said, “because I have another job for you— looking after this

Hudlar Until you can move it to Sector Gen­eral. You will need a nutrient

sprayer from the Hudlar ship, then arrange with Captain Nelson to increase the

air pressure’ and artificial gravity in this cargo lock to levels as close to

Hudlar-normal as he can manage. Treatment will consist of spraying the casualty

with nutrient at hourly intervals and checking on the cardiac activity, and

periodically easing the tightness of the sleeve-piece if your scanner indicates

a serious reduction of circulation to the injured limb. While you are doing

these things you will wear two gravity neutralizers. If you were wearing one and

it failed under four-G conditions there would be another seriously injured

casualty, you.

“Normally I would travel with this patient,” he went on, stifling a yawn, “but I

have to be available in case something urgent develops with the CRLT. Hudlar

surgery can be tricky so I’ll tape some notes on this one for the operating

team, including the suggestion that you be allowed to observe if you wish to do

so.”

“Very much,” Krach-Yul said, “and thank you, Doctor.”

“And now I’ll leave you with your patients and return to Rhabwar” Conway said.

Silently he added, to sleep.

“Tyrell was absent for eight days and was subsequently assigned to courier duty,

taking specimens to Sector General and returning with information, advice, and

detailed lists of questions regarding the progress of their work from

Thomnas-tor. The great, spiral jigsaw puzzle which was the alien ship was

beginning to take shape—or more accurately, to take a large number of

semicircular and quarter-circular shapes—as the hibernation cylinders were

identified, positioned, and cou-

pled. Many of the cylinders were still missing because they had been so

seriously damaged that their occupants had died or they had still to be found

and retrieved by the scoutships.

Conway was worried because the incomplete coilship and the motley fleet of

Monitor Corps vessels and auxiliaries were on a collision course with the nearby

sun, which was growing perceptibly brighter every day. It was clearly evident

that the growth rate of the alien vessel was much less perceptible. When he

worried about it aloud to the Fleet Commander, Dermod told him politely to mind

his own medical business.

Then a few days later Tyrell returned with information which made it very much

his medical business.

Vespasian’s communications officer, who was usually a master of the diplomatic

delaying tactic, put him through to the Fleet Commander in a matter of seconds

instead of forcing him to climb slowly up the ship’s entire chain of command.

This was not due to any sudden increase in Conway’s standing with the senior