“Rame here.”

“Doctor, the captain wishes to inquire as to the status of your patients,” the commander’s voice came over the intercom.

“As well as they can be,” Rame replied curtly. “The ones who survived are out of danger, Commander.”

There was a brief pause before Roberts’s voice came back. “That’s good news, Doctor. The captain also wishes to know if you would be free for a visit to the surface. He would like you to tour the local medical facilities while he speaks with the admiral.”

Rame almost told the commander off, then and there, but paused and glanced back out over his lab. The patients were out of danger, and he had two other doctors to handle emergencies—as long as the captain wasn’t on board to drag them off into another crisis, at any rate.

“I think I can make the time, Commander,” he said after a moment, deciding that one didn’t get the chance to tour an alien medical facility very often. Even if they were human aliens.

“Excellent, Doctor. The shuttle is being prepped now. You might want to pack.”

Rame stared at the intercom as the channel went dead, then started cursing up a storm as he grabbed his black bag and began throwing things into it.

Captain Weston stepped off the lift into the zero gravity to see Dr. Rame walking awkwardly toward the shuttle from another lift. He kicked off the ground, ignoring the tacky resistance of his boots, and glided along the ground, out to the doctor’s position, before dropping his feet and landing with an abrupt stop.

Rame started and almost lost his footing, but recovered enough to glare at Weston.

“Doctor,” Weston smiled.

“Captain.”

“Glad you could make it,” Weston told him as they walked to the ramp of the shuttle together. Four armored soldiers formed up the ranks behind them.

“Seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Rame said. “In fact, I believe that Dr. Palin is currently cursing his luck for missing it.”

“How is the good doctor?”

Rame snorted at the idea of Palin being a “good” anything, but he shrugged. “He’ll be fine. He and that boy were lucky. They’ll both pull through.”

“Excellent,” Weston said, checking his restraints as the rating came along and triple-checked everyone.

“We’ll be taking off shortly, Captain,” he told Weston as he yanked Rame’s straps tight.

“Thank you, Crewman.”

Weston and the doctor continued talking. Around them, the shuttle slowly wound up, the whine penetrating the deck as the pilot called for clearance. It was given shortly after, and the shuttle pushed them back into their seats as it roared off the deck and into the black.

Adm. Rael Tanner stood out in the open as the rather large and impressive-looking orbiter slowed for a controlled burn and settled into an easy hover over the landing area.

Tanner had to admit he was suddenly wondering if the area they had chosen was large enough.