"There's no easy way to say this," North
announced, "so I'll give it to you straight out. You both have Leap
Syndrome. We can't take you with us. The Ain't Been There Yet has been
repaired as a home for you. The medical facility is being upgraded and
a gene bank is being prepared."
123 Their was silence for several moments, then North heard the woman
begin to sob. "NO!" she cried, "NO! You can't leave me here! You can't
leave me here with HIM! I don’t even LIKE him. You HAVE to take me with
you, you HAVE to. I can survive. They can treat me after each leap.
I'll make it!"
124 "Dammit, woman! " North snapped, "You're in medical. You know what
will happen as well as I do. The very next leap we make, every artery,
every blood vessel in your body will disintegrate. A few seconds later
every single cell in your body will break down. By the time anybody
could even get to you, you'd be a floating mass of jelly in one of the
sickbay med corns. NO ONE with Leap Syndrome has ever survived a second
leap after the symptoms appear. To leap with you on this ship would be
nothing short of murder. Would you really ask an Officer to drop
crystal knowing he would be killing you?"
125 "Look," comforted the Engineer, "I know we've never gotten on too
well, but you know there's nothing they can do! I don't like it any
more than you do, but I swear to you I'll be good to you. Is there any
chance, sir, we can follow you, try to get home ourselves?"
126 "You've got a well armed ship," said North, "but with only the
droids and yourselves to crew it. You've got a whole system here to
play in. My advice is, stay put. Crew your ship, then if you feel like
doing some exploration, or, trying to make your way home, that would be
up to you."
127 "And how are we going to crew the ship?" the woman snapped.
128 "I see only one way," North explained.