White, James – Sector General 05 – Sector General

are many other breaks and we have three days during which a concerted Jump is

possible, Doctor, after which the gravitational distortion effects caused by

that rapidly approaching sun will make an accurate Jump out of the question even

for single ships.

“Should we overrun the three-day deadline,” he went on grimly, “single-ship

Jumping within operational safety limits will be possible for an additional

twenty hours. During this twenty-hour period, if the coilship is not to be

abandoned to fall into the sun, it will have to be dismantled into sections

small enough to be accommodated by the hyperspheres of the units available in

the area. This, you will understand, would of necessity be a very hurried

operation and our own accident casualties as well as those of CRLTs would be

heavy?

“What I am saying, Doctor,” he ended gravely, “is that if you cannot complete

your organic link-ups within three days, tell me now so that we can begin

dismantling the coilship in a safer and more orderly fashion.”

Con way rubbed his eyes and said, “There were seventeen missing segments between

the join which we have just effected, and this makes it the most difficult job

of the lot. The remaining breaks are of two, three, or at most five segments, so

that those linking operations will be correspondingly easier. We know the drill

now and three days should be ample time, barring an unforeseen catastrophe.”

“I cannot hold you responsible for one of those, Doctor,” the Fleet Commander

said dryly. “Very well. What are your immediate intentions?”

“Right now,” Conway said firmly, “we intend to sleep.”

Dermod looked vaguely surprised, as if the very concept of sleep was one that

had become alien to him over the past few days, then he nodded grudgingly and

broke contact.

Feeling rested, alert, and much more human—and, of course, more Kelgian and

Cinrusskin—they returned to Descartes’s cargo hold to find another two CRLTs

already waiting for them and the remaining segments to be joined clamped to the

outer hull. The Fleet Commander, it was clear, was a man who believed in

maintaining the pressure.

But achieving fusion with these two was remarkably easy. Only two intervening

segments were missing so that the surgery required was minor indeed. The next

pair were more difficult, nevertheless a satisfactory link-up was achieved

within two hours and, with their growing confidence and expertise, this was to

become the average time required for the job. So well did they progress that

they became almost angry with them­selves when they were forced to break for

meals or sleep.

Then suddenly they were finished and there was nothing to do but watch the

screen while the last gap in the coil was being closed and hundreds of

spacesuited figures swarmed all over it to give a final check to the sensor

actuators on each hiber­nation cylinder which would expel their endplates and

initiate resuscitation on landing.

With the exception of Rhabwar and one of Descartes’s planetary landers, the

great fleet of scoutships and auxiliaries withdrew to a distance of one and a

half thousand kilometers, which was far enough to relieve the traffic congestion

in the area but close enough for them to return quickly should anything go

wrong.

“I do not foresee anything going seriously wrong at this end,” the Fleet

Commander said when the coilship was in one tremendous, spiral piece. “You have

given us enough time, Doctor, to carry out all the necessary pre-Jump

calculations and calibrations. This will be a time-consuming process since our

three vessels, whose hyperspace envelopes will have to be extended to enclose

the coilship, are Jumping in concert. Should a problem arise and we are unable

to make this Jump, the units standing by will move in, dismantle the coilship as

quickly as possible, and Jump away with the pieces and salvage what we can from

this operation.

“There will be enough Monitor Corps medics on these ships to deal with the

expected casualties,” he went on, “and for this reason I would like Rhabwar to

leave at once and position itself close to the CRLTs new target planet. If

trouble develops it is much more likely to be at that end.”