e year. But the way we all fumbled our way into it, Hospital
Earth shouldn't pay much attention to it anyway."

But Dal knew that he was only throwing up his habitual shield to guard
against disappointment. Traditionally, a new contract meant a Star
rating for each of the crew that brought it in. All through medical
school Dal had read the reports of other patrol ships that had secured
new contracts with uncontacted planets, and he had seen the fanfare and
honor that were heaped on the doctors from those ships. And for the
first time since he had entered medical school years before, Dal now
allowed himself to hope that his goal was in sight.

He wanted to be a Star Surgeon more than anything else. It was the one
thing that he had wanted and worked for since the cruel days when the
plague had swept his homeland, destroying his mother and leaving his
father an ailing cripple. And since his assignment aboard the _Lancet_,
one thought had filled his mind: to turn in the scarlet collar and cuff
in return for the cape and silver star of the full-fledged physician in
the Red Service of Surgery.

Always before there had been the half-conscious dread that something
would happen, that in the end, after all the work, the silver star would
still remain just out of reach, that somehow he would never quite get
it.

But now there could be no question. Even Black Doctor Tanner could not
deny a new contract. The crew of the _Lancet_ would be called back to
Hospital Earth for a full report on the newly contacted race, and their
days as probationary doctors in the General Practice patrol would be
over.

After they had slept themselves out, the doctors prepared the ship for
launching, and made their farewells to the Bruckian spokesman.

"When the contract is ratified," Jack said, "a survey ship will come
here. They will have all of the information that we have gathered, and
they will spend many months gathering more. Tell them everything they
want to know. Don't conceal anything, because once they have completed
their survey, any General Practice Patrol ship in the galaxy will be
able to answer a call for help and have the information they need to
serve you."

They delayed launching hour by hour waiting for a response from Hospital
Earth, but the radio was silent. They thought of a dozen reasons why the
message might have been delayed, but the radio silence continued.
Finally they strapped down and lifted the ship from the planet,