Chapter 61

The companions had very stealthily attached themselves to Saint, Lyn and Tilly and moved to position themselves on a collar — blending colours of the nurses' clothing was not absolutely successful but an observer would have had to look closely. Passing onto the hair was tricky but done. A small puff of their poison heavily diluted with saliva and forelegs made contact with anaesthetised skin.

(The Companions had had a large number of Trainees on whom to experiment — the Trainees had regarded the Companions as being simply the producers of black spider silk. Widow Smeaton hadn't.)

Thus Clare was aware of Saint's problem and his solution, but she let him tell it.

Saint rolled the Jamaican Blue over his taste buds as he organised his thoughts,

"I have nearly worn out my welcome out here and I need to move on before the authorities, such as they are, manage my disappearance. My work is such that while many patients are grateful, some are fearful of my knowledge and a small number of those have sought to protect their secrets by eliminating me and needless to say mine. I usually thwart immediate actions by loading the patient into the suite and then Art spaces "Saint" back to Comalee, patient and all.

My ship was custom made as a tourer for an Old Earth dictator and has very thick hull armour and almost impenetrable close in shields; I'm reliably informed they have been tested by a light cruiser missile. It would probably take the resources of a government to destroy "Saint" but my enemies have been organising — only taken them nearly a century — but there you are.

So it is time to move on.

And you are the answer to the mythical maiden's prayer.

I have an aunt in Bhute who specialises in the same field who has been trying to get me to join her in practice in the Pleasure Palace — certain interplanetary treaties prevent my being able to register on Bhute itself; the legal systems are used to perpetuate medical miscarriages of justice.

What I propose is that I sign on as Ship's Surgeon with equipment and staff at, say, a salary of one credit per annum, pro rata, plus quarters and rations for four..."

{His secretary, Mercedes is also his primary partner.}

" ... and we are discharged somewhere where we can take passage for Bhute."

Clare considered,

"What are you doing with the shuttle; I presume the medical suite will be brought on board "Sundowner"?"

"Hadn't thought about it, really. I could sell it but I'd only get a pittance. Can you use it?"

Clare looked thoughtful but was actually communing with Cedric,

'Cedric, can we put the doctor's shuttle in a boat bay?'

'Lemme look ... Starboard is plugged by 737 but we could probably put the shuttle truck and "Bulb" on the bulkheads; put four HACs on the airlocks and we could manage with the flivver and the shuttle bus on the bulkheads. Yah ... just!'

'Thanks, Cedric, I'll get back to you on it.'

"Hmm, we could probably just fit her in the port boat bay and we might find a use for her. Your suite could be positioned either under the hydroponics unit or the clean room ... better yet, relocate the gym out of the accommodation to under the hydroponics unit and you could use the visitors' cabins with your suite in the gym space alongside the cabins.

Your appointment as Ship's Surgeon is of course effective from your acceptance of caring for the two crew?"

The innocent look which accompanied that last remark was something that should not have been seen out of the depths of the darkest of oceans.

Saint did not even blink,

"Fair market price for the shuttle as is where is?"

"Suits; book price for standard shuttle of same size? The medical suite? Value on your books?"

"Replacement value?"

"Never in your life time, Doc, you've written that off decades ago."

"Not the equipment in it; that's no more than a year or so old and top of the line."

"Depreciated value for the equipment and the suite?"

"Agreed;" and it was Saint's turn to smile, "my robo assistants, Threep and Art, are manumitted under international treaty and are their own masters."

Clare returned the smile acknowledging the hit, and nodded. Saint continued,

"I have another problem consequent on your taking us. My, ahh, partner, Mercedes, you've spoken to her, will have to be collected. Hopefully we can collect our belongings but there is a constant watch on us and someone might object to our going."

"Seeing that you are part of our crew, I think we can work something out. Relocate your shuttle to the number five port airlock on C at your convenience. Arrange with Master Chief here and he'll organise hands to help ... and by the way, you and yours including Threep and Art are signed on under Old Earth articles and pay rates.

Welcome aboard and I hope your services are never required — no offence meant."

Saint and Clare rose and shook hands across the mess table. Clare nodded at the others and departed communing with Cedric,

'Cedric, what's the inventory of anti-grav pads and the subcutaneous wires.'

'Did it yesterday and meant to mention it to you but I've been busy helping TJ with the old 'puter — we've got five wire sets and seven sets of pads. We've got adequate stock of material for the pads but no wire. Power packs no problem — you know Orville, he doesn't like fiddling around, we got a locker full.'

'Check with the Doctor about replenishing wire will you?'

'Roger dee.'

...

TJ was reporting to the officer call which included Threep (medical), Widow Smeaton (Trainees), Dusty Miller (Space Wing) and, of course, Dorothy Ember (Bosun, for crew).

"The Doctor coms Mercedes, his partner, every evening whenever he can when he is not at home. So nothing out of the ordinary. He has established certain rather innocuous phrases as code words for certain eventualities. Mercedes has been given the heads-up that the team is bugging out with "Sundowner" and Threep monitored that call to dampen the Doctor's tension — couldn't do anything about Mercedes', but Threep says it would take very sensitive equipment in place to detect the changes in her voice.

Their accommodation is the penthouse of their building and the floor below is the consulting rooms and the hospital. There is a pad serving the penthouse where his shuttle was parked — on constant anti grav to take the weight off the building — that medical shuttle masses, really masses.

The Doctor has reported on his intentions, time wise, for his care of our girls and has made arrangements for Mercedes to be picked up on next five day for a dirty weekend on board "Sundowner".

Morg is Ops officer here in "Sundowner".

One first dog five day, the shuttle truck does a supply run dirtside — legitimate; we've got a source for the cutaneous wire and that will be picked up also. Mercedes does her usual routine of shutting the office, switching coms to her PDA, backs up 'puters and takes disks with her to penthouse as usual.

Just before the shuttle truck returns to port bay, the flivver, piloted by Stanton, drops down to Saint Luke's Medical Centre; should be full dark there. The shuttle bus transfers to starboard bay and is secured to the bulkhead as is "Bulb" at Bosun's convenience.

Threep is in the flivver. 737 in full Dune follows in the flivver's electronic wake which Cedric has somewhat altered; Cedric, pilot with 'Nita right seat, Janice and Jane crew.

I command the ground party with six Sundowners with sidearms and eight Trainees as labourers to upload the gear out of the centre. Hardsuits for all on 737.

The four HACs lock onto the after four C airlocks; the medical shuttle is on #3 C and then Bosun recovers truck and secures it to the bulkhead.

Flivver lands on pad, Threep dismounts wearing clothing and enters penthouse.

Mercedes embarks into flivver.

Stanton activates Dune and returns to orbit to provide overwatch — "Sundowner" is masked by the Orbitals.

Threep meantime goes all electronic, jams any bugs and collects all the 'puter drives that Mercedes has removed from the 'puters.

737 now, electronically the flivver, lands on pad and hovers on antigrav; she'll hang over the street but hopefully no one will be looking at the night sky and hopefully there is no vid surveillance — if there is and somebody wants to play we'll respond.

Sundowners clear the penthouse and medical centre — Threep will monitor and report.

Trainees enter penthouse and remove personal items, clothing etcetera and return to 737; Sundowners and Threep embark and 737 beetles off making like the flivver.

Meantime the shuttle truck has berthed in starboard boat bay and is secured and once 737 lifts off from pad, flivver heads to port bay and is secured to bulkhead.

737 returns to her berth and is unloaded.

"Saint" will unlock as "Sundowner" lifts off on departure and be retrieved into port bay as we leave harbour.

Art has built holos of both the penthouse and rooms in the after C using the simulator. Bosun get your six into the centre's holo and Chief the trainees into the penthouse.

Stanton and 737's crew will use the simulators in E.

Here are the orders for each group and they include the coms. We'll go through them in more detail as we practice and cover the emergency procedures.

Everybody practice the disaster procedures; Threep is excused — he gets his electronically.

We've got three days and then we do a dress rehearsal."

The dress rehearsal went off without a hitch leaving TJ and Morg just a bit twitchy.

Saint Luke prevailed over Saint Murphy and the sortie was oiled clockwork. Sometimes things do go just as planned — but you can never count on it.

...

"Doctor," Clare asked, "do you have a field portable surgical unit?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. How come you know of such things?"

"I once had to transport a senior diplomat back to Settlement after a stroke. He was kept alive frozen in a cylinder and I was told what it was."

"Almost identical; the field unit is simpler though. Why?"

"We can't have you doing nothing and the casualties are now recuperating needing only medical oversight. Also you might like to gain more experience before you start working with your aunt; Eunice Benson, I believe? Anyway, this chip (handing it to Saint) is the paper she wrote on Anti-grav Breast Pads Surgical Procedures."

"Oh?"

"I thought, in the best traditions of privateering, that we should offer a cosmetic service to our clients and this is one which we have found to be readily marketable. Up to now, the client has had to get local services to implant the wires and many feel that exposes their secrets. It is after all a procedure performable under induced sleep augmented with some local anaesthesia; far less traumatic than a visit to the fang farrier."

"I will have to read it up and consider the procedure."(just a bit huffily.)

"Doc, puhleese; you load that chip into Threep and within thirty seconds he can begin operating. You assist him for a couple and you will be as good as he is. You know you are there to be the robo's human face and to supply the intuitive skills necessary when his systems logic block."

Luke Saint had the grace to laugh ruefully,

"Ma'am, not many people realise the human element is still required in the art of medicine and surgery. All right, when do we start?"

Clare looked just a trifle embarrassed and guilty,

"Well, Threep said he could have the unit set up in about forty minutes, where our holo measuring apparatus is in the starboard aft corner of New Harriers. And I thought while he was doing that, you could be consulting with Morg and get his ideas of breast placement to get the best out of his gowns. Threep can take part electronically."

'Nita had four clients who were interested in the internal wire and had had gowns created for them but Morg had not been happy as supporting undergarments didn't quite get the breast position he considered best.

'Nita got a client volunteer to stand in the measuring device (again) to demonstrate to Saint and Threep, and Morg demonstrated on the holo how he wished the breasts to be. (Nobody suggested that the boobs be reduced as the clients regarded them as man magnets.) Threep had sauntered over, did the sums of vectors, and marked the position of the pads and the underlying induction coil on the holo — Morg took some seconds longer to come to the same conclusion. Saint and the client were left (metaphorically) open mouthed for different reasons.

While the naked client got onto the field unit, 'Nita had dashed off with the chip to the machine section where the garments were fabricated.

The client / patient had been enclosed in the local force field, sleeped, covered by the unit's hood, skin sterilised, locally anaesthetised and Threep inserted his extensions (in a natural person [however that is defined], they could be called "limbs") into the gloves and inserted the wire and coils.

Saint was forced to intervene at one point and it led to a discussion with 'Nita and Clare as to whether it was advisable to place the power pack coil under the g spot. Eunice Benson had failed to discuss this point and both Clare and 'Nita had to think about their situations and admitted that stimulus was only present when the Simpson option was exercised.

"Simpson option?" Saint enquired, and looked at the faces, "or shouldn't I ask?"

Clare's face was expressionless as she answered,

"A Leading Hand on "Tulip" when the antigrav pad was developed suggested that, as an option, the power pack have a vibratory mode. It is inbuilt in all power packs with a switch."