Jenkins reddened again. He had never had any great love for physicians of the Black Service--who did?--but he found himself disliking this short, blunt-spoken man even more cordially than most. "Why implicate the _Lancet_?" he burst out. "You've landed the _Mercy_ on plenty of planets before we brought the _Lancet_ aboard her--" "But we did not have it with us before the _Lancet_ came aboard, and we do have it now. The implication is obvious. You have brought aboard a contaminant." He'd said it again. Red Doctor Jenkins' face darkened. "The Green Doctor and I have maintained the _Lancet_ in perfect conformity with the Sterility Code. We've taken every precaution on both landing and disembarking procedures. What's more, we've spent the last three months on a planet with _no_ mutually compatible flora or fauna. From Hospital Earth viewpoint, Mauki IV is sterile. We made only the briefest check-stop on Mauki V before joining you. It was a barren rock, but we decontaminated again after leaving. If you have a--a _contaminant_ on board your ship, sir, it didn't come from the _Lancet_. And I won't be held responsible." It was strong language to use to a Black Doctor, and Sam Jenkins knew it. There were doctors of the Green and Red Services who had spent their professional lives on some god-forsaken planetoid at the edge of the Galaxy for saying less. Red Doctor Sam Jenkins was too near the end of his Internship, too nearly ready for his first Permanent Planetary Appointment with the rank, honor, and responsibility it carried to lightly risk throwing it to the wind at this stage-- But a Red Doctor does not bring a contaminant aboard a survey ship, he thought doggedly, no matter what the Black Doctor says-- Neelsen looked at the young man slowly. Then he shrugged. "Of course, I'm merely a pathologist. I realize that we know nothing of medicine, nor of disease, nor of the manner in which disease is spread. All this is beyond our scope. But perhaps you'll permit one simple question from a dull old man, just to humor him." Jenkins looked at the floor. "I'm sorry, sir." "Just so. You've had a very successful cruise this year with the _Lancet_, I understand." Jenkins nodded. "A most successful cruise. Four planets elevated from Class IV to Class II contracts, they tell me. Morua II elevated from Class VI to Class I, with certain special riders. A plague-panic averted on Setman I, and a very complex virus-bacteria symbiosis unravelled on Orb III. An illustrious record. You and your colleague from the Green Service are hoping for a year's exemption from training, I imagine--" The Black Doctor looked up sharply. "You searched your holds after leaving the Mauki planets, I presume?" Jenkins blinked. "Why--no, sir. That is, we decontaminated according to--" "I see. You didn't search your holds. I suppose you didn't notice your food supplies dwindling at an alarming rate?" "No--" The Red Doctor hesitated. "Not really."