12. Can We Maybe Vote on the Whole Murdering People Issue?

Balch and Toupin found the Professor on the floor of Balch’s office. There was blood in the chair, blood on the desk, blood on the broadwave console, blood on the floor.

“Get him up,” Balch said. Toupin moved the body; Balch shoved his chair out of the way. Ignoring the blood on the console -- he was already pretty filthy, from checking out the destruction on the mine, so what did it matter? -- he keyed in the broadwave code for the Alliance destroyer. When their comms officer appeared, he said, “Uh, we got us a problem down here – explosion on the Number Three line. Wondered if you all might send us some help for the wounded.”

The comms officer relayed his request, and soon Balch was talking to the destroyer’s captain, who promised to send aid as soon as they returned to the planet. Returned? Where had they gone? When had they gone? Oh, well. “Got some bad news, I’m afraid,” Balch said. “That fellah you wanted alive? Well, he got caught in the blast.”

The captain stepped offscreen, and an Alliance Commander stepped into it. “Is he dead?”

Balch looked over his shoulder. Toupin had laid the Professor out on the floor. At Balch’s inquiring glance, Toupin shook his head and mouthed, not yet.

Well, close enough, Balch decided. Certainly nobody looking at that bloody mess would assume the man was still breathing. “’Fraid so. Sorry ‘bout that.”

The Alliance officer nodded. “I’m sure it wasn’t your fault,” he said. “Coles out.”

The screen went dead.

“Well,” Balch said to Toupin, “That was a mite too easy. Whaddya think? Is he too far gone?”

Toupin shrugged.

“All right. Get him to the infirmary, put a couple of units of blood in him -- or whatever else he needs -- if we got it -- and stitch up that gash.”

“What if triage --?”

“I’m triage, and I’m putting priority on people who are valuable to me. The Professor there is as valuable to me in his way as you are in yours.