ter if he had
tried!

"All right," Kennon said. "I'll come. What seems to be the trouble?"

"They're sick."

"That's obvious," Kennon snapped. "Otherwise you wouldn't be calling.
Can't you tell me any more than that?"

"They're vomiting. They have diarrhea. Several have had fits."

"Thanks," Kennon said. "I'll be right out. Expect me in an hour."

"So you're leaving?" Al asked as he cradled the phone.

"That's a practitioner's life," Kennon said. "Full of interruptions. Can
I borrow your jeep?"

"I'll drive you. Where do you want to go?"

"To the hospital," Kennon said. "I'll have to pick up my gear. It's an
emergency all right."

"You're a tough one," Al said admiringly. "I'd hate to walk five kilos
in this heat without a hat--and then go out on a call."

Kennon shrugged. "It's not necessarily toughness. I believe in doing one
job at a time--and my contract reads veterinary service, not personal
problems. The job comes first and there's work to do."

Copper wasn't in sight when Kennon came back to the hospital--a fact for
which he was grateful. He packed quickly, threw his bags into the jeep,
and took off with almost guilty haste. He'd contact the Hospital from
the Otpens. Right now all he wanted was to put distance between himself
and Copper. Absence might make the heart grow fonder, but at the moment
propinquity was by far the more dangerous thing. He pointed the blunt
nose of the jeep toward Mount Olympus, set the autopilot, opened the
throttle, and relaxed as best he could as the little vehicle sped at top
speed for the outer islands. A vague curiosity filled him. He'd never
been on the Otpens. He wondered what they were like.

* * *

Otpen One was a rocky tree-clad islet crowned with the stellate mass of
a Class II Fortalice. But this one wasn't like Alexandria. It was fully
manned and in service condition.

"Airboat!" a voice crackled from the dashboard speaker of the jeep,
"Identify yourself! You are being tracked."

Kennon quickly flipped the IFF switch. "Dr. Kennon, from Flora," he
said.

"Thank you, sir. You are expected and are clear to land. Bring your
vehicle down in the marked area." A section of the roof turned a garish
yellow as Kennon circled the building. He brought the jeep in lightly,
setting it carefully in the center of the area.

"Leave your vehicle," the speaker chattered. "If you are armed leave
your weapon behind."

"It's not my habit to carry a gun," Kennon snapped.