The Admiral made a choking noise. He could have ordered Calhoun killed, but there was a certain appalling fact. The men aground from the fleet were breathing Wealdian air from tanks. It would last so long only. If they were taken on board the still obedient ships overhead, Darians would unquestionably be mixed with them. There was no way to take off the parties now aground without exposing them to contact with Darians, on the ground or in the ships. There was no way to sort out the Darians.
"I--I will give the orders," said the admiral thickly. "I--do not know what you devils plan, but--I don"t know how to stop you."
"All that"s necessary," said Calhoun warmly, "is an open mind. There"s a misunderstanding to be cleared up, and some principles of planetary health practises to be explained, and a certain amount of prejudice that has to be thrown away. But n.o.body need die of changing their minds. The Interstellar Medical service has proved that over and over!"
Murgatroyd, perched on his shoulder, felt that it was time to take part in the conversation. He said;
"_Chee-chee!_"
"Yes," agreed Calhoun. "We do want to get the job done. We"re behind schedule now."
It was not, of course, possible for Calhoun to leave immediately. He had to preside at various meetings of the medical officers of the fleet with the health officials of Dara. He had to make explanations, and correct misapprehensions, and delicately suggest such biological experiments as would prove to the doctors of Weald that there was no longer a plague on Dara, whatever had been the case three generations before. He had to sit by while an extremely self-confident young Darian doctor named Korvan rather condescendingly demonstrated that the former blue pigmentation was a viral product quite unconnected with the plague, and that it had been wiped out by a very trivial epidemic of--such and such. Calhoun regarded that young man with a detached interest. Maril thought him wonderful, even if she had to give him the material for his work.
Calhoun shrugged and went on with his work.
The return of loot. Mutual, full, and complete agreement that Darians were no longer carriers of plague, if they had ever been. Unless Weald convinced other worlds of this, Weald itself would join Dara in isolation from neighboring worlds. A messenger ship to recall the twenty-seven ships once floating in orbit about Weald. Most of them would be used for some time, now, to bring beef from Orede. Some would haul more grain from Weald. It would be paid for. There would be a need for commercial missions to be exchanged between Weald and Dara.
It was a full week before he could go to the little Med Ship and prepare for departure. Even then there were matters to be attended to. All the food-supplies that had been removed could not be replaced. There were biological samples to be replaced and some to be destroyed.... The air-tanks....
Maril came to the Med Ship again when he was almost ready to leave. She did not seem comfortable.
"I wish you could like Korvan," she said regretfully.
"I don"t dislike him," said Calhoun. "I think he will be a most prominent citizen, in time. He has all the talents for it."
Maril smiled very faintly.
"But you don"t admire him."
"I wouldn"t say that," protested Calhoun. "After all, he is attractive to you, which is something I couldn"t manage."
"You didn"t try," said Maril. "Just as I didn"t try to be fascinating to you. Why?"
Calhoun spread out his hands. But he looked at Maril with respect. Not every woman could have faced the fact that a man did not feel impelled to make pa.s.ses at her. It is simply a fact that has nothing to do with desirability or charm or anything else.
"You"re going to marry him," he said. "I hope you"ll be very happy."
"He"s the man I want," said Maril frankly. "He looks forward to splendid discoveries. I"m sorry it"s so important to him."
Calhoun did not ask the obvious question. Instead, he said thoughtfully;
"There"s something you could do.... It needs to be done. The Med Service in this sector has been badly handled. There are a number of--discoveries that need to be made. I don"t think your Korvan would relish having things handed to him on a visible silver platter. But they should be known...."
Maril said wrily;
"I can guess what you mean. I never went into detail about how the blueskin markings disappeared, but a few hints--You"ve got books for me?"
Calhoun nodded. He brought them to her.
"If we only fell in love with each other, Maril, we"d be a team! Too bad! These are a wedding present you"ll do well to hide."
She put her hands in his.
"I like you--almost as much as I like Murgatroyd! Yes! Korvan will never know, and he"ll be a great man." Then she added defensively, "And not just from these books! He"ll make his own wonderful discoveries."
"Of which," said Calhoun, "the most remarkable is you. Good luck Maril!"
Presently the Med Ship lifted. Calhoun aimed it for the next planet on the list of those he was to visit. After this one more he"d return to sector headquarters with a biting report to make on the way things had been handled before him. He said;
"Overdrive coming, Murgatroyd!"
Then the stars went out and there was silence, and privacy, and a faint, faint, almost unhearable series of background sounds which kept the Med Ship from being totally unendurable.
Long, long days later the ship broke out of overdrive and Calhoun guided it to a round and sunlit world. In due time he thumped the communicator-b.u.t.ton.
"Calling ground," he said crisply. "Calling ground! Med Ship Aesclipus Twenty reporting arrival and asking coordinates for landing. Purpose of landing, planetary health inspection. Our ma.s.s is fifty standard tons."
There was a pause while the beamed message went many, many thousands of miles. Then the speaker said;
"_Aesclipus Twenty, repeat your identification!_"
Murgatroyd said;
"_Chee-chee? Chee?_"
Calhoun sighed.
"That"s right, Murgatroyd! Here we go again!"
THE END