Snapping on the transmitter, he called quickly into the microphone:
"Frederix calling KBM, Kaa. Calling KBM...."
QRM snapped through his receiver, born of those lowering skies over Botrodus, one of those rare but violent sandstorms come to disrupt radio communication.
Now a calm official voice answered, badly distorted by atmospheric disturbance:
"KBM to Frederix. What (brrrrrt) ... message?"
"Andres is paralyzed at the Rendezvous. Send a doctor. Send all available ships to Calidao—"
"Andres paralyzed.... Rendezvous.... Repeat ... mess ... can't...."
Frederix repeated grimly, persistently, but Kaa kept calling:
"KBM ... do not get ... repeat ... K ... rrrrrrrr...."
And then QRM blotted even that out.