The big man's voice came through faint and metallic over more than fifty million miles of space. "Plenty, T. J., Barling decided to start in the middle this year. Some of our—er, contacts told us his ship's rocketing for Ganymede, and fast. You'll have to get there first if you can, naturally."
"We'll get there," said Teejay, quite grim, and cut the connection.
Steve had time to think one thought before he was swept along in the general rush, crutches and all, after the woman galvanized into activity. She might take orders from Brody Carmical, but she even had a way with the big man, making him cow to her—perhaps unconsciously.
Teejay was yelling and pointing, it seemed, in all directions at once. "Hey you, Ianello, shake a leg down to the fission-room and tell 'em to start straining. Smith, get me Kevin McGann on the intercom. Waneki, you can forget all about those Venusian sea-monsters and tell the docs to be ready for plenty of acceleration cases. You better bed down right now, Phillips, you're not as strong as the rest of us, not with sixty years of junketing behind you. Hello, McGann? Listen, Mac, I want the entire crew assembled in General inside of ten minutes. Yeah, expedition too. Everyone but those boys down in fission. And tell your orbit-man to figure a way to get us off this trajectory and on a quick ellipse from here to the Jovian moons. Yes, that's what I said—the Jovian moons."
She paused long enough to take a breath and turn to Steve. "Well, Stedman, we'll be dropping down over your brother's grave on Ganymede before you know it. Maybe then you'll be able to remove that chip from your shoulder."
"Me? From my shoulder? Sister, you've got things backwards."
But the woman pivoted away, and Kevin's voice bleated over the intercom: "Crew and expedition—all to general lounge on the double! You boys in fission stay put, Captain's orders. This is urgent."
Almost before Kevin's voice had stopped echoing through the corridors, LeClarc popped into the lounge. "You wanted me, Captain? May I help?"
"I wanted everyone. Everyone can help. Just sit still till the rest of 'em get here."
LeClarc appeared hurt, but he took a seat in glum silence. In twos and threes the members of the crew began to drift in, wild rumors circulating among them in whispers. Finally, LeClarc counted noses and told his Captain that everyone except the fission crew was present.