Plague Ship

e carrier of any disease. Meanwhile the Captain gave orders for the cat to be confined. A difficult task-since Sinbad crouched close to the door of the storage

n, leaving the few regular duties of the ship to the senior o

ed to nothing around him. And Kosti, Tau, and Van Rycke followed the same pattern. They still held morning inspection of those on t

eep period. One more inert patient was added to the list-and nothing learned about how he was infected. Except that the

mune. A fact, Dane thought more than once, which must have significance-if someone with Tau's medical knowledge had been able to study it. By

ace livid and drawn with pain. Rip and Dane got him to his cabin before he blacked out. But all they could learn from him during the interval

erved, "and six to

this stupor they just stay. They don't get any worse, they have no ris

Rip asked fro

nswered, "He's sleepin

don't get it. Why does it strike Tang who di

nswer to that, maybe we'd know

onscious Com-tech as if he did not see that supine body

what?" Dan

eks-drank that brew of the S

nusian gobblers aft

"Do you mean

s it!" fl

result was that the herds didn't take the fansel grass fever when they turned them out to pasture in the dry season. All right, maybe we had our 'salt' in that drink. The fan

mitted Rip. "But how ar

imination," he said morosely. "If we keep our f

able to do something

that Salariki brew on board you can serve out? We don't know wh

s feet perhaps he could have traced that lead and brought order out of the chaos which was closing in upon the Solar Queen. But, though they reported their suggestion to the Captain, Jellico was pow

ere was no change in their condition. They neither roused nor grew worse as the hours and then the days sped by. But each of those units of time in passing brought them nearer to greater danger. Sooner or later they must make the transition out of Hyper into system space, and the jump out of warp was some

hair before the computers. He went over and over the data of the course the Astroga

ntrols the acting-Engineer could not reach. And Dane, having seen the sick all safely stowed

had basic theory, was completely lost before Shannon had finished the first se

roak went down to the engines

me back, thinned by its journ

nine-" That

f against the vertigo of snap-out. It came and he whirled sickeningly through u

damp patch darkening his tunic between his shoulder blades

he did familiar constellations made the patterns they knew. They were out-and they couldn't be too far off the course Wilcox had p

he clutched at Shannon's shoulder the Astrogator-apprentice's head rolled limpl

ead ache?" D

ds came drowsily. "Ju

f his seat and half carried-half led him to his cabin, praying as he went that it was only

ked wan against the foam rest, and he snuggled into the softness like a child as he turned over

enced pilot officer, but there might be some assistance he could

e into its slot. His face was a skull under a thin coating of

a mere whisper of its powerful

ne hastened to give reassuran

co-ords are in," Jellico murmured.

et, pulling himself up with shaking hands. As Thorson reached forward to stead

his feet, holding out against the waves of pain by sheer will power. Then Dane had a grip on him,

. Furiously Dane slapped the cage, setting it to swinging and so silencing the cre

made himself face up to the fact that Shannon might be ill, that it might be up to him to bring the Queen in for a landing. And in where? The Terra quara

n to discover Weeks and Ali there before

got it,"

Ali's cross

He pass

eeks swun

. "Captain fed in a pilo

s Ali's comment. "Where d

s," Dane hinte

Weeks exclaimed. "We can't

eminded them brutally a

Luna?" After a long

sed. "He was giving out and I

movements lacking much of the elastic spring which was normall

l screen mounting on the computer a set of figures appeared. Dane

na?" Al

d. This must be for somewh

a smile. "Good for the Old Man, he still had

Weeks asked reasonably enough. "There'r

iseases," Ali pointed ou

d vanished from his thin but sturdy legs. "They wouldn't do that-" he p

unded almost savage. "We come from a

at. They all knew too well the

ried to find an opening in t

't know what it is, how it is contracted-anything about it. Let us

of the details, bu

ion course. If we can stay out until we really know what is the matter we'l

had to report to the authorities. In the meantime they tended their charges, let Rip sleep, and watched each other with desperate but hidden intentness, ready for another to be stricken. However, they remai

vailing pessimistic view of the future. Instead he was sure that their own immunity having been proven, they had a talking point to use with the medical officials at L

o pick up Solarian news reports. When the red alert flashed on throughout the ship it brought the others hurrying to the control ca

k off from infected planet. Warn off-warn off-report such ship to Luna Station. Solar Queen from infected

trol cabin looked a

ence, "how did they know?

trouble and reported to her Company. They would include us in their report and believe

-they were dirt-side there about three-four months. Yet they gave it a clean bill of health and put it up for trading rights auction. T

o admit it hit us

fore we snapped out of Hyper. Sounds almost as if they expec

how-no Eysie came on board-no Salarik either, except f

know how they did-" he was

ueen might stay in Hyper and never come out-t

ear or so and then she promotes an investigation before the Board. The Survey records are trotted out-no infection recorded. So they send in a Patrol Probe. Everything is all right-so it wasn't the planet after all-it was

do now?" Weeks

thinking and see a way out. But if I-S gave us this prize package, some trace of its or

. Nothing in common," the old probl

a real search of first Frank's and then Karl's quarters. A regular

contributed, already at the door pa