half of my men on the verge of space cafard after finishing the last trip.”
Doctr Thorndon nodded and rubbed the end of his nose with a forefinger. He said, “No, I haven’t wondered. I know the reason, Mike. By the way, did you know that they sent us off in such a hurry that our supplies of books, games, music wires, video-wires—all of our means of entertainment, in short—were ‘accidentally’ not replenished? Nothing, that is, except last year’s news wires.”
Mike Gurloff’s eyes came around to him and his lips thinned back over his teeth.
Doc Thorndon nodded again. “The men are reading books that they’ve already read a dozen times over; playing games they’re sick and tired of; seeing video-shows they’ve already memorized. They’ll never get through the full year, Mike. Cafard will have us in less than six months.”
The skipper’s face went blank again and he stared vacantly at the overhead.
Doc Thorndon said, “They’ve got you this time, I’m afraid, Mike.”
Gurloff bit out stubbornly. “The crew is with me. We’re the proudest ship in the fleet. We’ve got a record that’s the envy of the solar system. We’ll—”
The doctr shook his head. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to turn back, Mike. I can’t guarantee this crew’s mental health for a period of a year.”
Gurloff held a hand up, clenched the fist. “We’ve got to make it!”
He came to his elbow again, faced the other. “I’ve got them this time, Doc, if we can just make this trip. Don’t you see? The filthy makrons can’t stand outspoken criticism. They hate the popularity I’ve been accumulating with the public. I’ve become the spokesman for the opposition, and they’ve tried to keep me quiet by a series of cruises that seemed impossible to succeed. They’ve sent the New Taos to spots that required a full fleet, and we came back with the information they wanted. They sent us on assignments impossible to achieve, and we achieved them. And each time we won out, we gained that much more of the public’s approval.”
Doc Thorndon allowed a half smile to touch his mouth. “Sure, Mike. And each time we returned from a cruise, you made a withering speech against the powers that be, against the present administration. And, each time, they’ve pulled the same trick; they’ve sent you out on another long cruise to get you away from Solar System politics. Each time they figured to be rid of you—and this time, Mike, I’m afraid they’ve won.”
“No!”
“Yes.”
The skipper glared at him.
Doc Thorndon held his palms up in a hopeless gesture. “If you try to complete the trip, your whole crew will be down with cafard in months. If you return, before completing your assignment they’ll have a legitimate excuse for court martialing you.” His voice went gentler now. “Personally, Mike, I’d stick it out with you. I’m behind what you stand for. I think every man on the ship is also. But—”
Gurloff said, in sudden enthusiasm, “I’ll give them a talk over the intercom. I’ll explain the whole thing. Let them know why we’ve been discriminated against like this. Why we’ve been sent out repeatedly, without sufficient rest periods between.”
Thorndon rubbed the end of his nose again and scowled. “You’ll do nothing of the sort, Mike. At first, they’d all be with you. But, as the months went by and as the grief piled up, they’d begin, subconsciously, at first, to see that it was you alone who was bringing such strain upon them. There’d be too much of that strain, finally, Mike. They’d turn on you.”
Gurloff slumped back into his bunk and thought about it. “They’ll know sooner or later anyway,” he growled. “You said that we’ve got a full year’s supply of news wires on board. It won’t be long before somebody runs off that one telling about my last speech, just before we left. Then they’ll know why the New Taos was sent out again so soon. That is, if they don’t know already. Maybe somebody heard the talk, or read about it, while they were ashore.”
Doc Thorndon grinned. “I doubt if anybody heard it except me. They were all too busy wine, women, and songs to listen to speeches. And I took care of the wires. I’ve made arrangements so that the Video-news wires are run off one a day. The cruise will almost be over before they come to that speech of yours,” His face soured again. “But the point is, Mike, that we’re not going to last that long. Even if this girl…”
He broke off and stared at the other. Finally he said, slowly, “You know, Mike, maybe we’re wrong. Maybe she’s not the straw that broke the camel’s back. Maybe she’s a second backbone for the poor beast.”
Gurloff scowled over at him. “I don’t get you, Doc.”
“You will, Mike. You will. Maybe we’ll be able to take this next twelve months, after all.” The Doctr licked his upper lip, thoughtfully. “I think I’ll just go and see Miss…see Kathy, now. I’ve got some things I want to talk over with her.”
The conversation between Doc Thorndon and Kathy had been a lengthy one, and the officers and crew of the space cruiser New Taos would have been surprised at the ship’s doctr they thought they knew so well for his gentle kindliness. In fact, it could hardly be described as a conversation at all, since it started as an argument and wound up as a series of commands none too softly spoken.
Doc Thorndon shook his finger at her, not disguising his irritation.
“You just think you can’t sing. Let me tell you, you can sing. Can and will! Just remember, you’ve the only feminine voice on board. To a man, a woman’s voice sounds better than any masculine one—particularly after a few weeks in space, not to speak of months. Any woman’s voice.”
Kathy had her eyes on the floor and her lower lip was out in what was almost a pout. “I don’t see why—”
Thorndon grunted, “You don’t have to see why. I’ll do the seeing why, and the thinking, Kathy. I’ve let it go out over the ship that we are to have a…a show in about a month. The men are already spending almost full time in preparation. They’re making costumes, arranging scenery, composing songs. It’s keeping them busy. Busy, understand?” He paused momentarily, realizing that she didn’t know just how important that was.
He finished with, “We’ve made an agreement, Kathy. Now let’s stick to it.”
She said, stubbornly, “I still say I can’t sing, and, what’s more, I’ve never done any acting.”
“You’ve got a month to learn,” Doc said sharply.
Kathy twisted in her chair, shrugged her shoulders. “Seems to me,” she pouted, “the doctr on this ship is more important than the captain.”
His mouth remained expressionless and she didn’t know him well enough to see the amusement in his eyes. He said, “Believe me, Kathy, on a ship faced with space cafard, he is.”
Kathy sat at the small table in the officer’s wardroom and eyed the three of them severely. She said, “Johnny, Dick, Martie—I won’t have any more of this bickering. Either you’ll be nice, or I’m not going to…to put up with it. I’ll go in and talk with Commander Gurloff for the next two hours, and then the officer’s share of the day will be through.”
Mart Bakr flashed an irritated glance at the lanky Johnny Norsen. “It’s his fault,” he grumbled. “He wants you to himself all the time. I thought it’d be a good idea if we went into the galley and whipped up some taffy or—”
Johnny Norsen was on his feet. “Why you chunky little chow-hound, I’ll—”
Mart Bakr jumped up to face him, his face livid, “Don’t you call me names, you long legged makron!”
“Please!” Kathy breathed, putting her hands over her ears.
The usually easy going Dick Roland reddened angrily, “Watch your language, Bakr,” he snapped.