Star Surgeon

by Alan Edward Nourse

  CHAPTER 6

  TIGER MAKES A PROMISE

  "I think," Black Doctor Hugo Tanner said ominously, "that an explanationis in order. I would now like to hear it. And believe me, gentlemen, ithad better be a very sensible explanation, too."

  The pathologist was sitting in the control room of the _Lancet_, hisglasses slightly askew on his florid face. He had climbed through theentrance lock ten minutes before, shaking snow off his cloak andwheezing like a boiler about to explode; now he faced the patrol ship'screw like a small but ominous black thundercloud. Across the room, JackAlvarez was staring through the viewscreen at the blizzard howlingacross the landing field below, a small satisfied smile on his face,while Tiger sulked with his hands jammed into his trousers. Dal sat byhimself feeling very much alone, with Fuzzy peering discreetly out ofhis jacket pocket.

  He knew the Black Doctor was speaking to him, but he didn't try toreply. He had known from the moment the surgeon came out of theoperating room that he was in trouble. It was just a matter of timebefore he would have to answer for his decision here, and it was evensomething of a relief that the moment came sooner rather than later.

  And the more Dal considered his position, the more indefensible itappeared. Time after time he had thought of Dr. Arnquist's words aboutjudgment and skill. Without one the other was of little value to adoctor, and whatever his skill as a surgeon might have been in theMoruan operating room, he now realized that his judgment had been poor.He had allowed himself to panic at a critical moment, and had failed tosee how far the surgery had really progressed. By deciding to wait forhelp to arrive instead of taking over at once, he had placed the patientin even greater jeopardy than before. In looking back, Dal could seeclearly that it would have been far better judgment to proceed on hisown.

  But that was how it looked _now_, not _then_, and there was an oldsaying that the "retrospectoscope" was the only infallible instrument inall medicine.

  In any event, the thing was done, and couldn't be changed, and Dal knewthat he could only stand on what he had done, right or wrong.

  "Well, I'm waiting," Black Doctor Tanner said, scowling at Dal throughhis thick-rimmed glasses. "I want to know who was responsible for thisfiasco, and why it occurred in the first place."

  Dal spread his hands hopelessly. "What do you want me to say?" he asked."I took a careful history of the situation as soon as we arrived here,and then I examined the patient in the operating room. I thought thesurgery might be over my head, and couldn't see attempting it if ahospital ship could be reached in time. I thought the patient could bemaintained safely long enough for us to call for help."

  "I see," the Black Doctor said. "You've done micro-surgery before?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "And organ transplant work?"

  "Yes, sir."

  The Black Doctor opened a folder and peered at it over his glasses. "Asa matter of fact, you spent two solid years in micro-surgical trainingin Hospital Philadelphia, with all sorts of glowing reports from yourpreceptors about what a flair you had for the work."

  Dal shook his head. "I--I did some work in the field, yes, but not oncritical cases under field conditions."

  "You mean that this case required some different kind of technique thanthe cases you've worked on before?"

  "No, not really, but--"

  "But you just couldn't quite shoulder the responsibility the jobinvolved when you got into a pinch without any help around," the BlackDoctor growled.

  "I just thought it would be safer to wait," Dal said helplessly.

  "A good conservative approach," Dr. Tanner sneered. "Of course, yourealized that prolonged anaesthesia in itself could threaten thatpatient's life?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "And you saw the patient's condition steadily deteriorating while youwaited, did you not?"

  "It was too late to change my mind then," Dal said desperately. "We'dsent for you. We knew that it would be only a matter of hours before youarrived."

  "Indeed," the Black Doctor said. "Unfortunately, it takes only secondsfor a patient to cross the line between life and death, not hours. And Isuppose you would have stood there quietly and allowed him to expire ifwe had not arrived at the time we did?"

  Dal shook his head miserably. There was nothing he could answer to that,and he realized it. What could he say? That the situation seemed quitedifferent now than it had under pressure in the Moruan operating room?That he would have been blamed just as much if he had gone ahead, andthen lost the case? His fingers stole down to Fuzzy's soft warm body forcomfort, and he felt the little creature cling closer to his side.

  The Black Doctor looked up at the others. "Well? What do the rest of youhave to say?"

  Jack Alvarez shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not a surgeon," he said, "buteven I could see that _something_ should be done without delay."

  "And what does the Green Doctor think?"

  Tiger shrugged. "We misjudged the situation, that's all. It came outfortunately for the patient, why make all this fuss about it?"

  "Because there are other things at stake than just medicalconsiderations," the Black Doctor shot back. "This planet has a grade Icontract with Hospital Earth. We guarantee them full medical coverage ofall situations and promise them immediate response to any call formedical help that they may send us. It is the most favorable kind ofcontract we have; when Morua VIII calls for help they expect their callto be answered by expert medical attention, not by inept bungling."

  The Black Doctor leafed through the folder in his hands. "We have builtour reputation in the Galactic Confederation on this kind of contract,and our admission to full membership in the Confederation willultimately depend upon how we fulfill our promises. Poor medicaljudgment cannot be condoned under any circumstances--but above all, wecannot afford to jeopardize a contract."

  Dal stared at him. "I--I had no intention of jeopardizing a contract,"he faltered.

  "Perhaps not," the Black Doctor said. "But you were the doctor on thespot, and you were so obviously incompetent to handle the situation thateven these clumsy Moruan surgeons could see it. Their faith in thedoctors from Hospital Earth has been severely shaken. They are eventalking of letting their contract lapse at the end of this term."

  Tiger Martin jumped to his feet. "Doctor Tanner, even Four-star Surgeonslose patients sometimes. These people should be glad that the doctorthey call has sense enough to call for help if he needs it."

  "But no help was needed," the Black Doctor said angrily. "Anyhalf-decent surgeon would have handled the case. If the Moruans see apatrol ship bring in one incompetent doctor, what are they going toexpect the next time they have need for help? How can they feel surethat their medical needs are well taken care of?" He shook his headgrimly. "This is the sort of responsibility that doctors on the patrolships are expected to assume. If you call for help where there is needfor help, no one will ever complain; but when you turn and run themoment things get tough, you are not fit for patrol ship service."

  The Black Doctor turned to Dal Timgar. "You had ample warning," he said."It was clearly understood that your assignment on this ship dependedupon the fulfillment of the duties of Red Doctor here, and now at thefirst real test you turn and run instead of doing your job. All right.You had your opportunity. You can't complain that we haven't given you achance. According to the conduct code of the General Practice Patrol,section XIV, paragraph 2, any physician in the patrol on probationarystatus who is found delinquent in executing his duties may be relievedof his assignment at the order of any Black Doctor, or any otherphysician of four-star rank." Doctor Tanner closed the folder with asnap of finality. "It seems to me that the case is clear. Dal Timgar, onthe authority of the Code, I am now relieving you of duty--"

  "Just a minute," Tiger Martin burst out.

  The Black Doctor looked up at him. "Well?"

  "This is ridiculous," Tiger said. "Why are you picking on _him_? Or doyou mean that you're relieving all three of us?"

  "Of course I'm not relieving all three o
f you," the Black Doctorsnapped. "You and Dr. Alvarez will remain on duty and conduct the ship'sprogram without a Red Doctor until a man is sent to replace thisbungler. That also is provided for in the code."

  "But I understood that we were operating as a diagnostic and therapeuticteam," Tiger protested. "And I seem to remember something in the codeabout fixing responsibility before a man can be relieved."

  "There's no question where the responsibility lies," the Black Doctorsaid, his face darkening. "This was a surgical problem, and Dal Timgarmade the decisions. I don't see anything to argue."

  "There's plenty to argue," Tiger said. "Dal, don't you see what he'strying to do?"

  Across the room Dal shook his head wearily. "You'd better keep out ofit, Tiger," he said.

  "Why should I keep out of it and let you be drummed out of the patrolfor something that wasn't even your fault?" Tiger said. He turnedangrily to the Black Doctor. "Dal wasn't the one that wanted thehospital ship called," he said. "I was. If you're going to relievesomebody, you'd better make it me."

  The Black Doctor pulled off his glasses and glared at Tiger. "Whateverare you talking about?" he said.

  "Just what I said. We had a conference after he'd examined the patientin the operating room, and I insisted that we call the hospital ship.Why, Dal--Dal wanted to go ahead and try to finish the case right then,and I wouldn't let him," Tiger blundered on. "I didn't think the patientcould take it. I thought that it would be too great a risk with thefacilities we had here."

  Dal was staring at Tiger, and he felt Fuzzy suddenly shivering violentlyin his pocket. "Tiger, don't be foolish--"

  The Black Doctor slammed the file down on the table again. "Is thistrue, what he's saying?" he asked Dal.

  "No, not a word of it," Dal said. "I wanted to call the hospital ship."

  "Of course he won't admit it," Tiger said angrily. "He's afraid you'llkick me out too, but it's true just the same in spite of what he says."

  "And what do _you_ say?" the Black Doctor said, turning to Jack Alvarez.

  "I say it's carrying this big brother act too far," Jack said. "I didn'tnotice any conferences going on."

  "You were back at the ship getting the surgical pack," Tiger said. "Youdidn't know anything about it. You didn't hear us talking, and we didn'tsee any reason to consult you about it."

  The Black Doctor stared from Dal to Tiger, his face growing angrier bythe minute. He jerked to his feet, and stalked back and forth across thecontrol room, glaring at them. Then he took a capsule from his pocket,gulped it down with some water, and sat back down. "I ought to throwyou both out on your ears," he snarled. "But I am forced to controlmyself. I mustn't allow myself to get angry--" He crashed his fist downon the control panel. "I suppose that you would swear to this statementof yours if it came to that?" he asked Tiger.

  Tiger nodded and swallowed hard. "Yes, sir, I certainly would."

  "All right," the Black Doctor said tightly. "Then you win this one. Thecode says that two opinions can properly decide any course of action. Ifyou insist that two of you agreed on this decision, then I am forced tosupport you officially. I will make a report of the incident to patrolheadquarters, and it will go on the permanent records of all three ofthis ship's crew--including my personal opinion of the decision." Helooked up at Dal. "But be very careful, my young friend. Next time youmay not have a technicality to back you up, and I'll be watching for thefirst plausible excuse to break you, and your Green Doctor friend aswell. One misstep, and you're through. And I assure you that is not justan idle threat. I mean every word of it."

  And trembling with rage, the Black Doctor picked up the folder, wrappedhis cape around him, and marched out of the control room.

  * * * * *

  "Well, you put on a great show," Jack Alvarez said later as theyprepared the ship for launching from the snow-swept landing field onMorua VIII. An hour before the ground had trembled as the Black Doctor'sship took off with Dr. Tanner and the Four-star Surgeon aboard; now Jackbroke the dark silence in the _Lancet_'s control room for the firsttime. "A really great show. You missed your calling, Tiger. You shouldhave been on the stage. If you think you fooled Dr. Tanner with thatstory for half a second, you're crazy, but I guess you got what youwanted. You kept your pal's cuff and collar for him, and you put a blackmark on all of our records, including mine. I hope you're satisfied."

  Tiger Martin took off his earphones and set them carefully on thecontrol panel. "You know," he said to Jack, "you're lucky."

  "Really?"

  "You're lucky I don't wipe that sneer off your face and scrub the wallswith it. And you'd better not crowd your luck, because all I need rightnow is an invitation." He stood up, towering over the dark-haired BlueDoctor. "You bet I'm satisfied. And if you got a black mark along withthe rest of us, you earned it all the way."

  "That still doesn't make it right," Dal said from across the room.

  "You just keep out of this for a minute," Tiger said. "Jack has got toget a couple of things straight, and this is the time for it right now."

  Dal shook his head. "I can't keep out of it," he said. "You got me offthe hook by shifting the blame, but you put yourself in trouble doingit. Dr. Tanner could just as well have thrown us both out of the serviceas not."

  Tiger snorted. "On what grounds? For a petty little error like this? Hewouldn't dare! You ought to read the log books of some of the other GPPships some time and see the kind of bloopers they pull without even areprimand. Don't worry, he was mad enough to throw us both out if hethought he could make it stick, but he knew he couldn't. He knew thecouncil would just review the case and reverse his decision."

  "It was still my error, not yours," Dal protested. "I should have goneahead and finished the case on the spot. I knew it at the time, and Ijust didn't quite dare."

  "So you made a mistake," Tiger said. "You'll make a dozen more beforeyou get your Star, and if none of them amount to any more than this one,you can be very happy." He scowled at Jack. "It's only thanks to ourfriend here that the Black Doctor heard about this at all. A hospitalship would have come to take the patient aboard, and the local doctorswould have been quieted down and that would have been all there was toit. This business about losing a contract is a lot of nonsense."

  "Then you think this thing was just used as an excuse to get at me?"

  "Ask him," Tiger said, looking at Jack again. "Ask him why a BlackDoctor and a Four-star Surgeon turned up when we just called for ahospital ship."

  "I called the hospital ship," Jack said sullenly.

  "But you called Dr. Tanner too," said Tiger. "Your nose has been out ofjoint ever since Dal came aboard this ship. You've made things asmiserable for him as you could, and you just couldn't wait for a chanceto come along to try to scuttle him."

  "All right," Jack said, "but he was making a mistake. Anybody could seethat. What if the patient had died while he was standing around waiting?Isn't that important?"

  Tiger started to answer, and then threw up his hands in disgust. "It'simportant--but something else is more important. We've got a job to doon this ship, and we can't do it fighting each other. Dal misjudged acase and got in trouble. Fine, he won't make that mistake again. Itcould just as well have been you, or me. We'll all make mistakes, but ifwe can't work as a team, we're sunk. We'll all be drummed out of thepatrol before a year is out." Tiger stopped to catch his breath, hisface flushed with anger. "Well, I'm fed up with this back-stabbingbusiness. I don't want a fight any more than Dal does, but if I have tofight, I'll fight to get it over with, and you'd better be careful. Ifyou pull any more sly ones, you'd better include me in the deal, becauseif Dal goes, I go too. And that's a promise."

  There was silence for a moment as Jack stared up at Tiger's angry face.He shook his head and blinked, as though he couldn't quite believe whathe was hearing. He looked across at Dal, and then back at Tiger again."You mean you'd turn in your collar and cuff?" he said.

  "If it came to that."

  "I
see." Jack sat down at the control panel, still shaking his head. "Ithink you really mean it," he said soberly. "This isn't just a bigbrother act. You really like the guy, don't you?"

  "Maybe I do," Tiger said, "but I don't like to watch anybody get kickedaround just because somebody else doesn't happen to like him."

  The control room was very quiet. Then somewhere below a motor clickedon, and the ventilation fan made a quiet whirring sound. The teletypeclicked sporadically down the corridor in the communications room. Dalsat silently, rubbing Fuzzy between the eyes and watching the twoEarthmen. It seemed suddenly as if they were talking about somebody amillion miles away, as if he were not even in the room.

  Then the Blue Doctor shrugged and rose to his feet. "All right," he saidto Tiger. "I guess I just didn't understand where you stood, and Isuppose it wasn't my job to let the Black Doctor know about thesituation here. I don't plan to be making all the mistakes you thinkwe're going to make, and I won't take the blame for anybody else's, butI guess we've got to work together in the tight spots." He gave Dal alop-sided grin. "Welcome aboard," he said. "We'd better get this crateairborne before the people here come and cart it away."

  They moved then, and the subject was dropped. Half an hour later the_Lancet_ lifted through the atmospheric pull of the Moruan planet andmoved on toward the next contact point, leaving the recovering patientin the hands of the native physicians. It was not until hours later thatDal noticed that Fuzzy had stopped quivering, and was resting happilyand securely on his shoulder even when the Blue Doctor was near.