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Elbertson, of course, he thought furiously. And taking his men out when the proton level was still too high to go beyond the rim shielding.... Then the captain stopped in mid-thought. This was no idle act of a man feeling the effects of drugs. He switched the intercom quickly to the Hot Rod crew's quarters on the rim. "Dr. Koblensky!" he almost shouted into the mike.
Benjamin Koblensky, project chief, stood directly behind him, supervising the process. Elbertson took up his post beside Dr. Koblensky, replacing the Security aide who had had the past shift. "Suit up," he said to the man briefly.
"Just a minute, sir," came the answer, and seconds that seemed like eternities passed before the doctor's calm voice answered, "Dr. Koblensky speaking." "Did you know that seven men were going out to Hot Rod?" "Of course not. They mustn't...." The captain switched off and changed to the intercom for the machine shop. "Dr. Ishie. Mr. Blackhawk. To the bridge on the double. Fast," he said.
"You ... WHAT?" "We left it operational. It's under Earth control. The control center at Thule is in charge, sir." "Who are you?" the captain asked. "Hot Rod communications officer, sir. I turned it over last thing before we shut down. Under the instructions of Dr. Koblensky. That's the shutdown procedure." "Where's Dr. Koblensky?" "Out. Out like a light," said another voice. "He got a good dose.
As the communications officer completed the turnover, and the other five scientists in the lab left their posts to suit up, the com officer glanced up, received a nod from Dr. Koblensky, and said into his microphone "All circuits have now been placed in telemetry security operation. On my mark it will be five seconds to control abandonment. Mark," he said after another nod from Dr. Koblensky.
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