spurts of vapor were fogging the forward and aft hull and the tips of the broad,
triangular wings. She suffered a moment’s sympathetic nausea for anyone who
might be inside the vessel and conscious, then Fletcher’s voice returned.
“Attitude jets!” it said excitedly. “Somebody must be trying to check the spin,
but is making it worse. Maybe the survivor isn’t feeling well, or is injured, or
isn’t familiar with the controls. But now we know someone is alive in there.
Dodds, as soon as we’re in range, kill that spin and lock on with all tractors.
Doctor Prilicla, you’re in business again.”
“Sometimes it’s nice,” Murchison said, speaking to nobody in particular, “to be
proved wrong.”
While Cha Thrat was donning her suit, she listened to the discussion between the
medical team members and Fletcher that, had it not been for the presence of the
gentle little empath, would have quickly developed into a bitter argument.
It was plain from the conversation that the Captain was Rhabwar’s sole ruler so
far as all ship operations were concerned, but at the site of a disaster its
authority had to be relinquished to the senior medical person on board, who was
empowered to use the resources of the ship and its officers as it saw fit. The
main area of con-tention seemea to oe me responsibility ended and Prilicla’s
began.
The Captain argued that the medics were not, considering the fact that the
distressed ship was structurally undamaged, on the disaster site until it got
them into the ship, and until then they should continue to obey its orders or,
at very least, act on its advice. Its advice was that they should remain on
Rhabwar until it had effected an entry, because to do otherwise was to risk
becoming casualties themselves if the injured or ill survivor—who had already
made a mess of checking its ship’s spin with the attitude jets—decided to do
something equally unsuccessful and much more devastating with the main
thrusters.
If the medical team was waiting outside the distressed ship’s entry lock when
thrust was applied, they would either be smashed against the hull plating or
incinerated by its tail flare, and the rescue would be aborted because of a
sudden lack of rescuers.
Fletcher’s reasons for wanting the medics to remain behind until the other ship
had been opened were sound, Cha Thrat thought, even though they had given her a
new danger to worry about. But the medical team had been trained for the fastest
possible rescue and treatment of survivors, and they were particularly anxious
not to waste time in this case when there might only be one. By the time she was
leaving for the airlock, a compromise had been worked out.
Prilicla would accompany Fletcher, Chen, and herself to the ship. While they
were trying to get inside, the empath would move up and down the outer hull and
try to pinpoint the locations of survivors by their emotional radiation. The
rest of the medical team would hold themselves ready for a fast recovery of
casualties as soon as the way was open.
She had been waiting only a few minutes in the lock antechamber when Lieutenant
Chen arrived.
“Good, you’re here already,” the Earth-human said, smiling. “Help me move our
equipment into the lock, please. The Captain doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
Without giving the impression that it was lecturing her, Chen discussed the
purpose of the equipment they were moving from the nearby stowage compartment to
the lock, so that Cha Thrat felt her level of ignorance was being reduced
without the feelings of stupidity and inferiority that so often accompanied that
process. She decided that the Earth-human was a considerate and helpful person,
in spite of its rank, and one with whom she might risk a small insubordination.
“This is in no sense a criticism of the ship ruler,” she said carefully, “but I
am concerned lest Captain Fletcher is giving me credit for more technical
experience than I in fact possess. Frankly, I’m surprised it wanted me along.”
Chen made an untranslatable sound and said, “Don’t be surprised, Technician, of
worried.”
“Regrettably,” Cha Thrat said, “I am both.”