protons began to arrive
from the sun.

As radiation monitors began to pick up the actual arrival of the wave
front, the picture on her console changed to display a new wave front,
only fractionally in advance of the one that the computer had been
displaying as a prediction.

* * * * *

The storm of space had broken.

Captain Andersen's voice came across the small area of the bridge that
separated them. "Check the rosters, please. Are all personnel
secured?"

Bessie glanced at the thirty-two minor display panels, checking
visually, even as her fingers fed the question to the computer.

The display of the labs, now that the rabbit was settled into place,
showed no dangerously loose equipment other than a few minor items of
insufficient mass to present a hazard, and no personnel, she noted, as
the Cow displayed a final check-set of figures, indicating that all
personnel were at their assigned, protected stations in the morgue, in
the engineering quarters, and on the bridge.

"All secure," she told the captain. "Evacuation is complete."

"Well handled," he said to her, then over the intercom: "This is your
captain. Our evacuation to the flare-shield area is complete. The ship
and personnel are secured for emergency conditions, and were secured
well within the time available. May I congratulate you.

"The proton storm is now raging outside. You will be confined to your
posts in the shield area for somewhere between sixteen and forty-eight
hours.

"As soon as it is possible to predict the time limit more accurately,
the information will be given to you."

As he switched out of the ship's annunciator system, Captain Nails
Andersen leaned back in his chair and stretched in relief, closing his
eyes and running briefly over the details of the evacuation.

When he opened them again, he found a pinch bottle of coffee at his
elbow, and tasting it, found it sugared and creamed to his preference.
His eyes went across the bridge to the computer console, and lingered
a moment on the slender, dark figure there.

Amazing, he thought. The dossier, the personal history, her own and
all the others aboard, he had studied carefully before making a
selection of the people who would be in his command for this time. Not
that the decision had been totally his, but his influence had counted
heavily.

This one he had almost missed. Only by asking for an extra survey of
information had he caught that