“This is General Hospital, New York City, Terra. Mr. Kramer, your wife is here. She has been critically injured in an accident. Your name was given to us to call. Is it possible for you to—”
“How badly?” Kramer gripped the vidphone stand. “Is it serious?”
“Yes, it’s serious, Mr. Kramer. Are you able to come here? The quicker you can come the better.”
“Yes.” Kramer nodded. “I’ll come. Thanks.”
The screen died as the connection was broken. Kramer waited a moment. Then he tapped the button. The screen relit again. “Yes, sir,” the monitor said.
“Can I get a ship to Terra at once? It’s an emergency. My wife—”
“There’s no ship leaving the moon for eight hours. You’ll have to wait until the next period.”
“Isn’t there anything I can do?”
“We can broadcast a general request to all ships passing through this area. Sometimes cruisers pass by here returning to Terra for repairs.”