Red lights were flashing all over the call-board now. Alarm bells jangled wildly.
The captain's voice rasped from the com-box: "All hands! Make for your closest emergency carrier and stand by to abandon ship! Central Control will blow all carriers clear in three minutes! Repeat, Central Control will blow all carriers clear in three minutes, so get aboard fast! All hands...."
Stiff-lipped, Boone stared up at the call-board. "Seven levels signalling! It's an attack in force, then...."
The ensign clutched his arm. "Let's go! There's a carrier at the end of the passage!"
Boone started to turn, then stopped short. "Eileen—!"
"What?"
"The other biologist—the girl with Titan fever."
"Let the medmen worry about her! They'll take her off if she's not too sick to move!"
"No!" Spasmodically, Boone jerked free. "We can't leave her!"
"But there's no time!"