"Gila Control to Phoenix I...."
"Is he still transmitting the distress code?" Colin asked.
"Yes, sir," the tech said. "But he could still reply if he wanted to. Distress operates from a separate transmitter on a single fixed frequency. The ordinary transmitter isn't tied up."
"Is he receiving?"
"I think so. When we gave him the 'Message coming' impulse, he switched to receive. That was hours ago."
"Maybe he's tuned to the wrong frequency," Banning suggested.
The tech looked up in surprise, then resumed his respectful attitude toward the brass. "No, sir. His rig is a self-tuner. The signal automatically tunes the receiver to the right frequency. He's getting it, all right."
"In other words," Colin said, "your voice is being broadcast on the ship's speakers."
"As far as I can tell."
"Mm."