But Jordan was already on his way. He was gone for some time, minutes that passed slowly.
"Well?" asked Docchi on Jordan's return. The question was hardly necessary; his face told the story.
"Cut to ribbons."
"All of them? Even the emergency pack?"
"That too. He knew where everything was. Nothing can be repaired."
"So who cares?" rumbled Anti. "We don't need spacesuits unless something happens and we have to go outside the ship."
"Exactly, Anti. How do we replace the defective tubes? From the outside, of course. By destroying the spacesuits Cameron made sure we can't."
Anti glowered at the doctor. "And I suppose you merely had our welfare at heart. Isn't that so, Cameron?"
"You can think anything you want. I did and I do," said Cameron imperturbably. "Now be reasonable. We're still in the asteroid zone. In itself that's not dangerous. Without power to avoid stray rocks it can be very unpleasant. My advice is to contact the Medicouncil at once. They'll send a ship to take us in."
"Thanks, no. I don't like Handicap Haven as well as you," Anti said brusquely. She turned to Docchi. "Maybe I'm stupid for asking but what's so deadly about being in space without a spacesuit?"