Memory returned to Captain Torkel like water crashing out of a broken dam and into a barren valley. He blinked and took a deep breath.
The three men before him became Garcia and Fox and Van Gundy. He saw that Kelly was still strapped in his crash-chair. He did not see Lieutenant Washington, but from the aft compartment came a faint tinkling of glassware.
"Yes," he said, "we'll go outside. But first someone should go alone—just in case. Who'll volunteer?"
"Not me," said Van Gundy. "You can't depend on those tests. There's death out there. The whole human race will die out if it comes here."
"Why not let Kelly go?" asked Fox. "It's his planet."
"Sure," said Garcia. "If he dies, it'd serve him right, after what he did."
Captain Torkel thought, It may be a dangerous planet. The captain ought to go first. He shouldn't send a madman to do a captain's job.
"Let Kelly go first," he said, hating himself.
Fox helped Kelly out of the crash-chair, pushed him to the airlock.
"Go on, Kelly. This is your planet. You'll be the first to set foot on it."