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Why did you let him think you were still a Corpsman ... if you're not?" he snapped suddenly. Hanlon made himself stare back insolently. Maybe they would kill him ... no, be honest, undoubtedly they would ... but by the Shade of Snyder they weren't going to make him show the fear he felt. "Use your head, Pal.
He realized almost at once that such an unknown, undercover echelon would be a must. There's usually not more than two hundred of us. New members are taken in only as replacements, or when some Corpsman with a special ability, such as your mind-reading, is discovered.
Instantly the five Corpsmen jumped back and, so ingrained was the training he had received, so did Hanlon, to come at salute as they saw a High Admiral climbing out of a ground-cab at the curb. Hanlon, instantly realizing he wasn't in uniform and was supposedly a discharged Corpsman, quickly dropped his salute and slouched truculently. "What's going on here!" the officer asked icily.
And Cadet Astro is the only one who can tell us." The corpsman turned to his emergency kit. He took out a large hypodermic needle, filled with a clear fluid, and injected it into the big cadet's arm. In less than a minute Astro was sitting up and telling Walters everything that had happened.
He straightened and addressed Hanlon's body once more. "Can you still hear me, George Hanlon?" There was no answer, no slightest indication that his words were heard. He reached forward and lifted the body into a more upright position in the chair. "Answer me, George Hanlon. Do you hear me? I command you to tell me, are you a Corpsman?"
He was lying in the vibrating heart of the undersea ship when he opened his eyes to see Kelgarries regarding him intently. Ashe, a coat of bandage about his shoulder and chest, lay on a neighboring bunk. McNeil stood watching a medical corpsman lay out supplies. "He needs a shot," the medic was saying as Ross blinked at the major. "You left the suit back there?" Ross demanded. "We did.
Yes, if they still disbelieved his story about his dismissal, they might well be determined to get rid of him in a way that would not incriminate them. They would know that if Hanlon was still a Corpsman his death would be most thoroughly investigated. Perhaps ... but if that was the case, why let him get here at all? No, more likely he was still on probation.
"Just what do you expect to do in the Corps, Mister?" "Why, whatever I'm assigned to do, I suppose, sir. Or whatever I can do." "And just how far will you go for the Corps?" The admiral leaned forward and eyed him critically. "All the way, sir, of course." "Don't you believe a Corpsman should use all his abilities in his service?" The question was barked at him. "Certainly, sir."
With mixed sensations of high elation and worried fear, the swiftly-maturing young Corpsman walked slowly through the beautiful park that surrounded the great stainless-steel skyscraper that housed the cadets during their training period. His thoughts were as twisted as were the meandering paths and walks he trod so unseeingly.
If it had been the emperor" Hanlon caught an impression of loyalty and love for that dignitary "or even the Minister" here he caught a feeling of doubt and some dislike "it might make sense. Just as I cannot figure out why I should have been sent here for this purpose. It's almost ..." he was silent, and Hanlon's probes found only puzzlement. "Nuts!" the young Corpsman felt frustrated.
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