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Leicester pulled Camilla's lapboard toward him. "Is there anything else? Very well. I believe that willbe all, ladies and gentlemen. Lists of survivors and wounded, and their condition, will be posted tonight. Yes, Father Valentine?"

"Sir, I have been requested to say a Requiem Mass for the dead at the site of the mass graves. Since the Protestant chaplain was killed in the crash, I would like to offer my services to anyone, of any faith, who can use them for anything whatsoever:"

Captain Leicester's face softened as he looked at the young priest, his arm in a sling and one side ofhis face heavily bandaged. He said, "Hold your service by all means, Father. I suggest dawn tomorrow. Find someone who can work on erecting a suitable memorial here; some day, maybe a few hundredyears from now, this planet may be colonized, and they should know. Well have time for that, I imagine."

"Thank you, Captain Will you excuse me? I must go back to the hospital"

"Yes, Father, go ahead. Anyone who wants to get back now is excused--unless there are any questions? Very well." Leicester leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes briefly. "MacAran and Dr. Lovat, will you stay a minute, please?"

MacAran came forward slowly, surprised beyond

16

words; he had never spoken to the Captain before, and had not realized that Leicester knew him even

by sight. What could he want? The others were leaving the dome, one by one; Ewen touched his

Page 10

shoulder briefly and whispered, "Heather and I will he at the Requiem Mass, Rafe. I've got to go. Come

around to the hospital and let me check that concussion. Peace, Rafe; see you later," before he slipped

away.

Captain Leicester had slumped in his chair, and he looked exhausted and old, but he straightenedslightly as Judith Lovat and MacAran approached him. He said, "MacAran, your profile said you've hadsome mountain experience. What's your professional specialty?"

"Geology. It's true, I've spent a good deal of time in the mountains."

"Then I'm putting you in charge of a brief survey expedition. Go climb that mountain, if you can get up it, and take your sights from the peak, estimate the planet's mass, and so forth. Is there a meteorologist or weather specialist in the colonist group?"

"I suppose so, sir. Mr. Moray would know for sure!'

"He probably would, and it might be a good idea for me to make a point of asking him," Leicester said. He was so weary he was almost mumbling. "If we can estimate what the weather in the next few weeks is likely to do, we can decide how best to provide shelter and so forth for the people. Also, any information about period of rotation, and so forth, might be worth something to Earth Expeditionary. And--Dr. Lovat--locate a zoologist and a botanist, preferably from the colonists, and send them along with MacAran. Just in case the food synthesizers break down. They can make tests and take samples "

Judith said, "May I suggest a bacteriologist too, if there's one available?"

"Good idea. Don't let repair crews go short, but take what you need, MacAran. Anyone else you

want to take along?

"A medical technician, or at least a medical nurse," MacAran requested, "in case somebody fall

down a crevasse or gets chewed up by the local equivalent of
Tyrannosaurus Rex
 
."

"or picks up some ghastly local bug," Judith said. "I ought to have thought of that."

"Okay, then, if the Medic chief can spare anybody," Leicester agreed.

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"One more thing. First Officer Del Rey is going with you."

"May I ask what for?" MacAran said, slightly startled. "Not that she isn't welcome, though it might

be a rough trek for a lady. This isn't Earth and those mountains haven't any chairlifts!"

Camilla voice was low and slightly husky. He won-dered if it was grief and shock, or whether thatwas her natural tone. She said, "Captain, MacAran evidently doesn't know the worst of it. How much doyou know about the crash and its cause, then?"

He shrugged. "Rumors and the usual gossip. All I know is that the alarm bells began to ring, I got toa safety area--so-called," he added, bitterly, remembering Jenny's mangled body, "and the next thing Iknew I was being dragged out of the cabin and hauled down a ladder. Period."

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"Well, then, here it is. We don't know where we are. We don't know what Sun this is. We don't know even approximately what star cluster we're in. We were thrown off course by a gravitational storm--that's the layman's term, I won't bother explaining what causes it. We lost our orientation equipment with the first shock, and we had to locate the nearest star-system with a potentially habitable planet, and get down in a hurry. So I've got to take some astronomical sighting, if I can, and locate some known stars--I can do that with spectroscopic readings. From there I may be able to triangulate our position in the Galactic Arm, and do at least part of the computer re-programming from the planet's surface. It is easier to take astronomical observations at an altitude where the air is thinner. Even if I don't get to the mountain's peak, every additional thousand feet of altitude will give me a better chance for accurate readings." The girl looked serious and grave, and he sensed that she was holding fear at bay with her deliberately didactic and professional manner. "So if you can have me along on your expedition, I'm strong and fit, and I'm not afraid of a long hard march. I'd send my assistant, but he has burns over

30 per cent of his body surface and even if he recovers--and it's not certain he will--he won't be going anywhere for a long, long time. There's no one else who knows as much about navigation and Galactic Geography as I do, I'm afraid, so I'd trust my own readings more than anyone else's."

18

MacAran shrugged. He was no male chauvinist, and if the girl thought she could handle the expedition'slong marches she could probably do it. "Okay," he said, "it's up to you. We'll need rations for four daysminimum, and if your equipment is heavy, you'd better arrange to have someone else carry it; everybodyelse will have his own scientific paraphernalia." He looked at the thin shirt clinging damply to her upperbody and added, a little harshly, "Drew warmly enough, damn it; you'll get pneumonia."

She looked startled, confused, then suddenly angry; her eyes snapped at him. but MacAran had

already forgotten her. He said to the Captain, "When do you want us to start? Tomorrow?"

"No, too many of us haven't had enough sleep," said Leicester, dragging himself up again from what looked like a painful doze. "Look who's talking--and half my crew are in the same shape. I'm going to order everybody but half a dozen watchmen to sleep tonight. Tomorrow, except for basic work crews, we'll dismiss everyone for the memorial services for the dead; and there's a lot of inventorying to do, and salvage work. Start--oh, two, three days from now. Any preference about a medical officer?"

"May I have Ewen Ross if the chief can spare him?"

"I's okay by me'" Leicester said, and sagged again, evidently for a split second asleep where he sat. MacAran said a soft, "Thank you, sir," and turned away. Camilla Del Rey laid a hand, a feather's touch, on his arm.

"Don't you dare judge him," she said is a low, furious voice, "he's been on his feet since two days before the crash on a steady diet of wakers, and he's too old for that! I'm going to see he gets 24 hours straight sleep if I have to shut down the whole camp!"

Leicester pulled himself up again. "--wasn't asleep," he said firmly. "Anything else, MacAran,

Lovat?"

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MacAran said a respectful, "No, sir," and slipped quiet-ly away, leaving the Captain to his rest, his First Officer standing over him like-the image touched his mind in shock---a fiercely maternal tiger overher cub.
 
Or over the old lion
 
? And why did he care anyhow?

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Chapter

TWO

Too much of the passenger section was either flooded with fire-prevention foam, or oil-slick anddangerous; for that reason, Captain Leicester had given orders that all members of the expedition to themountain were to be issued surface uniforms, the warm, weatherproof garments meant for spaceshippersonnel to wear on visiting the surface of an alien planet. They had been told to be ready just aftersunrise, and they were ready, shouldering their rucksacks of rations, scientific equipment, makeshiftcampout gear. MacAran stood waiting for Camilla Del Rey, who was giving final instructions to acrewman from the bridge.

"These times for sunrise and sunset are as exact as we can get them, and you have exact azimuth readings for the direction of sunrise. We may have to estimate noon. But every night, at sunset, shine the strongest light in the ship in this direction, and leave it on for exactly ten minutes. That way we can run a line of direction to where we're going, and establish due east and west. You already know about the noon angle readings."

She turned and saw MacAran standing behind her. She said, with composure, "Am I keeping you

waiting? I'm sorry, but you must understand the necessity for ac-curate readings."

"I couldn't agree more," MacAran said, "and why ask me? You outrank everybody in this party,

don't you, ma'am?"

She lifted her delicate eyebrows at him. "Oh, is
 
that
 
what's worrying you? As a matter of fact, no. Only on the bridge. Captain Leicester put you in charge of this party, and believe me, I'm quite contentwith that. I probably know as much about mountaineering as you do about celestial navigation--if asmuch. I grew up in the Alpha colony, and you know what the deserts are like there."

20

MacAran felt considerably relieved--and perversely an-noyed. This woman was just too damnedperceptive! Oh, yes, it would minimize tensions if he didn't have to ask her as a superior officer to pass

Page 13

along any orders-or suggestions--about the trip. But the fact remained that somehow she'd managed to

make him feel officious, blun-dering and like a damn fool!

"Well," he said, "any time you're ready We've got a good long way to go, over some fairly rough

ground. So let's get this show on the road:"

He moved away toward where the rest of the group stood gathered, mentally taking stock. Ewen Ross was carrying a good part of Camilla Del Rey's astronomical equipment, since, as he admitted, hismedical kit was only a light weight. Heather Stuart, wrapped like the others in surface uniform, wastalking to him in low tones, and MacAran thought wryly that it must be love, when your girl got up at thisunholy hour to see you off. Dr. Judith Lovat, short and sturdy, had an assortment of small sample casesbuckled together over her shoulder. He did not know the other two who were waiting in uni-form, andbefore they moved off, he walked around to face them.

"We've seen each other in the recreation rooms, but I don't think I know you. You are--"

The first man, a tall, hawk-nosed, swarthy man in his middle thirties, said, "Marco Zabal, Xenobotanist. I'm coming at Dr. Lovat's request. I'm used to mountains. I grew up in the Basquecountry, and I've been on ex-peditions to the Himalayas."

"Glad to have you." MacAran shook his hand. It would help to have someone else along who knew

moun-tains. "And your?"

"Lewis MacLeod. Zoologist, veterinary specialist."

"Crew member or colonist?"

"Colonist." MacLeod grinned briefly. He was small, fat, and fair-skinned. "And before you ask, no, no formal mountaineering experience--but I grew up in the Scottish Highlands, and even in this day and age, you still have to walk a good ways to get anywhere, and there's more vertical country around than horizontal"

MacAran said, "Well, that's a help. And now that we're all together--Ewen, kiss your girl goodbye andlet's get moving."

21

Heather laughed softly, turning and putting back the hood of the uniform--she was a small girl, slightand delicately made, and she looked even smaller in some larger woman's uniform--"Come off it, Rafe. I'm going with you. I'm a graduate microbiologist, and I'm here to collect samples for the Medic Chief."

"But--" MacAran frowned in confusion. He could un-derstand why Camilla had to come--she was better quali-fied for the job than any man. And Dr. Lovat, perhaps, understandably felt concerned. He said' "I asked for men on this trip. It's some mighty rough ground." He looked at Ewen for support, but the younger man only laughed.

"Do I have to read you the Terran Bill of Rights?
 
No law shall be made or formulated abridging

Page 14

the rights of any human being to equal work regardless of racial origin, religion or sex--"

"Oh, damn it, don't you spout Article Four at me," MacAran muttered. "If Heather wants to wear out her shoe leather and you want to let her, who am I to argue the point?" He still suspected Ewen of arranging it. Hell of a way to start a trip! And here he'd been, despite the serious purpose of this mission, excited about actually having a chance to climb an unexplored mountain--only to discover that he had to drag along, not only a female crew member--who at least looked hardy and in good training-but Dr. Lovat, who might not be old but cer-tainly wasn't as young and vigorous as he could have wished, and the delicate-looking Heather. He said' "Well, let's get going," and hoped he didn't sound as glum as he felt.