the Chief Engineer."
184 After North broke the connection he continued speaking. "You will
stay, also, Doctor," he insisted, "I will need YOUR advice, also."
185 The Doctor nodded. "Listen, son," he said, "I understand your
concern for your men, but there's something you have to understand; in
a situation like this, you're my number one priority. 'You're the only
thing that stands between us, and death. The Number Two is a good
Officer, and we're good friends, but he'll never have a command of his
own. Every Officer he's ever served with has known that, and so does
Fleet. He's an excellent Administrator, but he's no damned good at
combat. The Third is a green kid. He only graduated last year, and
he'll never get where you are, now. If you'd been fried or bled to
death, which you could have done in minutes, that thing out there would
finish the rest of us in short order. You're my main business because
you have to be, do you understand?"
186 "Yes, Doctor," North answered, "and I will keep all you have said
in mind."
187 The hatch behind them began to open, and the Officers filed in.
"Rotate your seats, gentlemen," ordered North. "I like to look at
people when I'm talking to them. Sorry we have to talk here, but it's
best I stay put. First of all, Firing Control, do we have our full load
of sixteen mines?"
188 "Yes, sir," Firing Control answered.
189 "Prepare six 'of them for launch," North continued. "I wish this
ship had missiles, but I'll have to make do with what she's got. This
is what I plan! We drop one mine here with a thirty-minute delay. We
maneuver through the ice field to the far side, dropping another mine
as we go. When the first one goes off, we make a break for open space,
heading for the leap coordinates for the system where the scout was
headed. We can leap from this system to that one. Navigation?"