Chapter 35 Chapter 35 Urgent Mail

Lieutenant Colonel Newton was in a deep sleep when his personal communicator rang.He dreamed that his family was vacationing on Mars, flying over the awe-inspiring snow peak of Nix Olympica, the most powerful crater in the solar system.was about to speak to him, and now he no longer knew what he wanted to say. The dream is gone.In reality, his mate called him from the ship. "Sorry for waking you up, Captain!" said Ketsoff. "Three urgent A's from headquarters." "Give it to me," Newton replied sleepily. "I can't do it. It's coded—the Lieutenant Colonel himself."

Newton woke up immediately.In all his career he had received this letter only three times, and each time it meant trouble. "Damn it!" he said, "then what shall we do?" The mate made no attempt to answer.They all knew that this was a situation that had never been anticipated on board the ship.Generally, a captain does not leave his office for more than a few minutes, and the codebook is in his personal safe.If he leaves now, it will take Newton four or five hours to return to the spaceship exhausted.This is not the way to deal with triple-A urgent mail. "Jerry," he said after a moment's thought, "who else is in the radio room?"

"None. I connected myself." "Is the tape recorder turned off?" "As a care for non-compliance with the regulations, it is turned off." Newton smiled.Jerry is the best mate he has ever worked with, he will think of everything for you. "Well, you know where my keys are. Call me again." He waited patiently for ten minutes, trying without much success to think of something else.He doesn't like wasting brainpower needlessly, and it's impossible to guess the content of the telegram. Anyway, he will know soon, and it won't be too late to think about it seriously.

When Ketsoff called back, he was visibly nervous. "It's not really urgent, Captain. An hour doesn't make much difference. But I'd rather avoid the radio. I'll send someone down." "But why... oh well. I trust your judgment. Who took it through the airlock?" "I'll go myself. I'll call you when I get to the hub." "Then only Agent Laura remains." "An hour at most. I'll be back on the ship in a minute." The medical officer is not trained as an acting captain, just like asking a captain to perform an operation.But in emergencies, sometimes the two have successfully represented each other, although it is not recommended.Well, one violation of regulations tonight anyway.

"From the record, you never left the ship. Did you wake Laura up?" "Yes, she is glad to have this opportunity." "Fortunately doctors are used to keeping secrets. Oh, did you send back the receipt?" "Of course, in your name." "Then, I'll wait." It is now impossible to avoid anxious waiting. "Not really in a hurry - but I'd rather avoid the radio..." Only one thing is certain: the lieutenant colonel will not be able to sleep tonight. ----------------------------- Notes: