The Project Gutenberg EBook of No Moving Parts, by Murray F. Yaco

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Title: No Moving Parts

Author: Murray F. Yaco

Release Date: April 16, 2008 [EBook #25078]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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NO MOVING PARTS

By MURRAY F. YACO

ILLUSTRATED by GRAYAM

[Illustration: We call them trouble-shooters. They called 'em Gypsies.
Either way, they were hep to that whole bit about....]

Hansen was sitting at the control board in the single building on
Communications Relay Station 43.4SC, when the emergency light flashed
on for the first time in two hundred years.

With textbook-recommended swiftness, he located the position of the ship
sending the call, identified the ship and the name of its captain, and
made contact.

"This is Hansen on 43.4SC. Put me through to Captain Fromer."

"Fromer here," said an incredible deep voice, "what the devil do you want?"

"What do I want?" asked the astonished Hansen. "It was you, sir, who sent
the emergency call."

"I did no such thing," said Fromer with great certainty.

"But the light flashed--"

"How long have you been out of school?" Fromer asked.

"Almost a year, sir, but that doesn't change the fact that--"

"That you're imagining things and that you've been sitting on that asteroid
hoping that something would happen to break the monotony. Now leave me the
hell alone or I'll put you on report."

"Now look here," Hansen began, practically beside himself with frustration,
"I saw that emergency light go on. Maybe it was activated automatically
when something went out of order on your ship."

"I don't allow emergencies on the Euclid Queen," said Fromer with growing
anger. "Now, if you don't--"

Hansen spared himself the indignity of being cut off. He broke contact
himself. He sighed, reached for a book entitled _Emergency Procedure
Rules_, and settled back in his chair.

Fifteen minutes later the emergency light flashed o