are they going to expect the next time they have need for help? How can they feel sure that their medical needs are well taken care of?” He shook his head grimly. “This is the sort of responsibility that doctors on the patrol ships are expected to assume. If you call for help where there is need for help, no one will ever complain; but when you turn and run the moment things get tough, you are not fit for patrol ship service.”
The Black Doctor turned to Dal Timgar. “You had ample warning,” he said. “It was clearly understood that your assignment on this ship depended upon the fulfillment of the duties of Red Doctor here, and now at the first real test you turn and run instead of doing your job. All right. You had your opportunity. You can’t complain that we haven’t given you a chance. According to the conduct code of the General Practice Patrol, section XIV, paragraph 2, any physician in the patrol on probationary status who is found delinquent in executing his duties may be relieved of his assignment at the order of any Black Doctor, or any other physician of four-star rank.” Doctor Tanner closed the folder with a snap of finality. “It seems to me that the case is clear. Dal Timgar, on the authority of the Code, I am now relieving you of duty—”
“Just a minute,” Tiger Martin burst out.
The Black Doctor looked up at him. “Well?”
“This is ridiculous,” Tiger said. “Why are you picking on him? Or do you mean that you’re relieving all three of us?”
“Of course I’m not relieving all three of you,” the Black Doctor snapped. “You and Dr. Alvarez will remain on duty and conduct the ship’s program without a Red Doctor until a man is sent to replace this bungler. That also is provided for in the code.”
“But I understood that we were operating as a diagnostic and therapeutic team,” Tiger protested. “And I seem to remember something in the code about fixing responsibility before a man can be relieved.”
“There’s no question where the responsibility lies,” the Black Doctor said, his face darkening. “This was a surgical problem, and Dal Timgar made the decisions. I don’t see anything to argue.”
“There’s plenty to argue,” Tiger said. “Dal, don’t you see what he’s trying to do?”
Across the room Dal shook his head wearily. “You’d better keep out of it, Tiger,” he said.
“Why should I keep out of it and let you be drummed out of the patrol for something that wasn’t even your fault?” Tiger said. He turned angrily to the Black Doctor. “Dal wasn’t the one that wanted the hospital ship called,” he said. “I was. If you’re going to relieve somebody, you’d better make it me.”
The Black Doctor pulled off his glasses and glared at Tiger. “Whatever are you talking about?” he said.
“Just what I said. We had a conference after he’d examined the patient in the operating room, and I insisted that we call the hospital ship. Why, Dal—Dal wanted to go ahead and try to finish the case right then, and I wouldn’t let him,” Tiger blundered on. “I didn’t think the patient could take it. I thought that it would be too great a risk with the facilities we had here.”
Dal was staring at Tiger, and he felt Fuzzy suddenly shivering violently in his pocket. “Tiger, don’t be foolish—”
The Black Doctor slammed the file down on the table again. “Is this true, what he’s saying?” he asked Dal.
“No, not a word of it,” Dal said. “I wanted to call the hospital ship.”
“Of course he won’t admit it,” Tiger said angrily. “He’s afraid you’ll kick me out too, but it’s true just the same in spite of what he says.”
“And what do you say?” the Black Doctor said, turning to Jack Alvarez.
“I say it’s carrying this big brother act too far,” Jack said. “I didn’t notice any conferences going on.”
“You were back at the ship getting the surgical pack,” Tiger said. “You didn’t know anything about it. You didn’t hear us talking, and we didn’t see any reason to consult you about it.”
The Black Doctor stared from Dal to Tiger, his face growing angrier by the minute. He jerked to his feet, and stalked back and forth across the control room, glaring at them. Then he took a capsule from his pocket, gulped it down with some water, and sat back down. “I ought to throw you both out on your ears,” he snarled. “But I am forced to control myself. I mustn’t allow myself to get angry—” He crashed his fist down on the control panel. “I suppose that you would swear to this statement of yours if it came to that?” he asked Tiger.
Tiger nodded and swallowed hard. “Yes, sir, I certainly would.”
“All right,” the Black Doctor said tightly. “Then you win this one. The code says that two opinions can properly decide any course of action. If you insist that two of you agreed on this decision, then I am forced to support you officially. I will make a report of the incident to patrol headquarters, and it will go on the permanent records of all three of this ship’s crew—including my personal opinion of the decision.” He looked up at Dal. “But be very careful, my young friend. Next time you may not have a technicality to back you up, and I’ll be watching for the first plausible excuse to break you, and your Green Doctor friend as well. One misstep, and you’re through. And I assure you that is not just an idle threat. I mean every word of it.”
And trembling with rage, the Black Doctor picked up the folder, wrapped his cape around him, and marched out of the control room.
*
“Well, you put on a great show,” Jack Alvarez said later as they prepared the ship for launching from the snow-swept landing field on Morua VIII. An hour before the ground had trembled as the Black Doctor’s ship took off with Dr. Tanner and the Four-star Surgeon aboard; now Jack broke the dark silence in the Lancet’s control room for the first time. “A really great show. You missed your calling, Tiger. You should have been on the stage. If you think you fooled Dr. Tanner with that story for half a second, you’re crazy, but I guess you got what you wanted. You kept your pal’s cuff and collar for him, and you put a black mark on all of our records, including mine. I hope you’re satisfied.”
Tiger Martin took off his earphones and set them carefully on the control panel. “You know,” he said to Jack, “you’re lucky.”
“Really?”
“You’re lucky I don’t wipe that sneer off your face and scrub the walls with it. And you’d better not crowd your luck, because all I need right now is an invitation.” He stood up, towering over the dark-haired Blue Doctor. “You bet I’m satisfied. And if you got a black mark along with the rest of us, you earned it all the way.”
“That still doesn’t make it right,” Dal said from across the room.
“You just keep out of this for a minute,” Tiger said. “Jack has got to get a couple of things straight, and this is the time for it right now.”
Dal shook his head. “I can’t keep out of it,” he said. “You got me off the hook by shifting the blame, but you put yourself in trouble doing it. Dr. Tanner could just as well have thrown us both out of the service as not.”
Tiger snorted. “On what grounds? For a petty little error like this? He wouldn’t dare! You ought
