Spaceship medic

Chapter 16

There were two mountains of blackness in a universe of darkness each as big as a world itself. Yet they moved, slowly, this way and that, the motion hard to see amidst the driving midnight streamers that blew past. And they talked, unknown words in an unknown tongue, nothing that could be of interest. Mountains murmuring, rocking with the eternal motion of mountains...

But the words could make sense. What else are words for?

'...can begin...'

'...or...'

'...it over...'

Fragments, disconnected, words. From mountains? No, not mountains, presences. And they were speaking.

For a long time, measureless, Don held on to this idea and worried at it. It would drift away, and he would forget about it, but the voices were still there and they must mean something.

Some time during this period he realized that his eyes were closed. His memory was nothing but a patch of grey and his body was numb and somehow disconnected from his thoughts. The eyes were the first part, because the mountains were people, pushing him towards consciousness and he wanted to see who they were. With infinite labour he opened his eyes and looked at the blurred presence. A white shape.

'Doctor, his eyes are open.'

The voice helped him to focus and when he did a girl's face, a white nurse's uniform, swam into view. He had never seen her before. How could there be someone on the ship he had never seen before? And the other figure, white dressed too, a doctor, another doctor, also someone he had never seen before. He looked up at them and the doctor had to speak the obvious to him, his thoughts were that numb. Had to tell him what his eyes saw and what he could not understand.

'You are not well, but you are alive. You will recover. I want you to think about that while you go back to sleep.'

Like a child obeying a command he closed his eyes and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

The next time he awoke he was rational. Sick, exhausted, limp as a wet rag and unable to move. But rational. And the strange faces were not there this time, but instead the familiar dark features of Rama Kusum swam over the foot of the bed. His eyes were wide and he raised both hands with excitement.

'Chief,' he called out, 'Chief Kurikka - come at once! He is awake!'

There were heavy footsteps and Kurikka appeared at his side, smiling.

'We made it, Captain. You pulled us through.'

Those were the words he wanted to hear. The Chief had known how he felt. They had made it. Did anything else count? Don tried to talk but his voice cracked and he started to cough. Rama rushed him a glass of water and held the straw to his lips. It was cool and it felt good going down. This time he succeeded.

'What happened? Tell me everything.' His voice was only a hoarse whisper: he could speak no louder.

'It was a close one, Captain, that's for certain.' Rama nodded solemn agreement to the Chief's words.

'Rama called me when you collapsed, I was right there in the sick bay. I wasn't feeling so good myself. Everyone in the ship had it by that time. We laid you on the bunk and Rama showed me the second solution you were running through the equipment. When it came out of the centrifuge he gave you the first shot, then I helped him with the patients in the sick bay. There was one of them dead, I remember that clearly, because he was the last one who died. It was that Doyle, believe it or not, so he won't be standing in the dock next to the general when that day comes.'

'The general...?'

'Alive and well,' Kurikka smiled coldly. 'Be in fine shape for the trial. But that's not the important part, not now. It was you, just like night, and day, Captain. Unbelievable if we hadn't seen it with our own eyes. We emptied those hypos and came back for more, and Rama here took a look in at you and I heard him gasp. I moved fast then, I can tell you.'

'Minutes,' Rama said, 'just minutes. And the fever was gone and you were lying quiet, even snoring in natural sleep.

The ravages of the disease were not gone that instantly, to be sure, but the fever instantly stopped.

'The second batch of juice that you cooked up was it. The people who had just been hit by the bug almost climbed out of bed after the injections. Stopped it dead. We injected everyone in the ship, and had the engine-room and control-room manned next day when we went into orbit. They didn't have to bring us in, sir, the Big Joe did it herself.'

'You are tiring him,' a new voice said. 'You will have to leave.'

Don looked at the doctor in the doorway and shook his head on the pillows, smiling. 'This is better than medicine, Doctor.'

'I'm sure of it. But I think it is enough for the moment. After you have slept they can come back.'

When they had gone the doctor took a hypodermic from the bedside table. When Don turned to look he saw, for the first time, that he wasn't in his own bunk. The bed was bigger, as was the room. It was the captains quarters, he realized, when he saw the large photo of the Johannes Kepler on the wall, and the repeating instruments from the control-room.

'Just a few questions before I go to sleep,' he said, and the doctor nodded agreement.

'My patients, how are they?'

'All better than you are, and still aboard. Your miracle cure worked all right, but the ship is still quarantined until we can make the proper analysis to be absolutely sure. You're the worst of the lot. You drugged yourself and overloaded your system and, to be very frank, it was touch and go for a while there.'

'But I had to - didn't I?'

The doctor opened his mouth, but did not answer. He smiled. 'Yes, I imagine you did have to. I'm glad you were aboard, because I doubt very much if I could have done it. Now, the shot.'

'A moment, please. About the so-called mutiny. What do the authorities mean to do with the people? You must realize the situation, that there was provocation...'

'They know that, and I doubt if any of them other than General Briggs will stand trial. That is my unofficial opinion, but I know that the people on the top feel the same way. It was piracy. You are a ships officer and were in command of this ship. You still are for that matter, since a new commander has not been appointed yet. So -1 don't know whether to call you doctor or captain - but in either case you are going to sleep now.'

Don did go to sleep, smiling.

The following morning after he had eaten, the nurse rubbed on depilatory cream to remove his whiskers and propped him up with extra pillows.

'What's this for?' he asked, suspiciously.

'You're having guests. You have to look your best.'

'So it's guests now. I thought I was too sick for visitors? At least that's what you have been telling me. While I have been telling you...'

'A doctor who prescribes for himself has a fool for a patient,' she said, and flounced out. Don smiled after her.

'Permission to enter, sir,' Chief Kurikka said from the doorway.

'What? Chief - of course, come in. But why...'

He broke off when he saw that the Chief was wearing his dress greys, the formal uniform of the spaceman. His hash marks were picked out in gold braid, and his high collar cut into his neck. Don realized he must have borrowed the greys from another spacer, since all his own gear had been jettisoned. He came in, walking stiffly at attention - and behind him came the others.

They were all there, all in greys. Rama Kusum, Engine-room Mate and sometime doctor. Purser Jonquet and Com-puterman Boyd. Sparks and the engineer, Tyblewski, and Air Tender Hansen. And behind them, in formal dress, head high and as stiff as the others, was Dr Ugalde. He put his hand over his heart when they stopped and the others saluted.

'They couldn't all be here, the crew that is, Captain. But we represent them. And Dr Ugalde, he's here because he is sure a part of the crew now.'

'He certainly is that,' Don said firmly, remembering what had happened, the course corrections and the matter of the counter-rebellion.

'We felt the same, sir. So he is here now when I, that is we, are here representing the crew. That is your crew, Captain.'

Kurikka unbent from his stiff attention and looked down at Don. Tm good at the proper ceremony, sir, when there is a proper ceremony, that is with the book and everything. Not that this isn't proper, it just isn't in the book. What I am trying to say is that the quarantine will be lifted in a few days and they want to take you to the hospital at Mars Central. Commander Doprava, there at the base, is going to con the Big Joe back to Earth orbit for repairs. But until he takes command you are still the Captain.' He snapped his fingers and a box was produced and handed to him.

'They can never take that away from you. Spacemen feel that there is nothing much higher than a captain of a ship. Not very many men make it. You did, sir, and you got us through and that is what counts.' He opened the box and took out a peaked cap with a golden rocket on the front.

'This is a captains hat. Yours now, because we bought it from the commander of the orbiter. It's from the crew, Captain. Every man chipped in.'

Don took the cap in both hands, turning it around and could find nothing to say. The men saluted. With emotion that he had never experienced before he returned the salute.

There were no words that could express how he felt, and they saw it on his face. This was their moment too, and they were united by a tie that would never be broken. In silence, one by one, they left. Chief Kurikka was last and he hesitated in the doorway, then forced himself to speak.

'Captain, sir, could you tell me what you plan? I mean when you are out of hospital. Most doctors serve a hitch in the space service, then practise dirtside. Nothing much to keep them in space, I guess. I wonder, your own plans, I mean

Don had planned to practise on one of the planets, there had never been any doubt about that. Yet, in that single instant, he realized what an impossible thing that would be to do. Dirtside - that was the only word for it. What did the globes of dust have to offer after the clear sharp world of space? There were deep-spacers to serve in, satellite research stations - endless opportunities once you thought about it. Yet, even as the thoughts were forming, he spoke.

'Don't believe any of that old scuttlebutt, Chief. I have no more intention of working dirtside than, well, than you do.'

'Can't be more certain than that!' the Chief said, smiling broadly. He snapped a salute and left.

The door closed and he was alone.

Don turned the cap over in his hands and ran his finger along the sleek gold cylinder of the emblem. Almost sorry that the voyage was ended. It was going to be a little tame, just being a doctor again.

'A rough voyage, and I'm glad it is over,' he said softly to himself. 'Very glad we are in a safe harbour at last. But I have this cap, and the memory of what it means. They can't ever take that away from me.'