The ship was en route from Praxilies to Aldebaran, but she had to go off course to avoid an ion storm. A star went supernova in the Skull Nebula, and for six months or so the whole area was full of cosmic ray particles and mesons, which blocked the regular route.
Lieutenant Riggs Blair, the sub-radio operator, picked up a very weak distress call as they were making the loop around the Skull Nebula. He listened to it as it was repeated twice and then called the ship's commander, Captain Doctor Latimer Wills.
"Captain, I've got a distress signal. The freighter Morris developed generator trouble four weeks ago, when they got caught in that storm. Ruined their infraspace drive and fouled up their subspace radio—almost no power left."
"Put a call through to the police," the captain replied. "Just relay it through, that's all. Why bother me with something as simple as that?"
"There's more to it, sir; the men are dying. They're sick with some sort of disease."
"What are the symptoms?" the captain asked. There was a marked change in the tone of his voice. This was his meat.
Lieutenant Blair tried to raise the Morris again, but got no response.
"Very well," said Captain Doctor Wills, "call Health Central, tell 'em what's happened. We're going down."
"I can't call Central, sir," the lieutenant objected. "That ion storm is between us. I'll try to relay it around."
"Good. We're going down, anyway."