From: Tasker William T W/GEN To: Koenraad Gertodtenhaupt Delivered-To: Koenraad Gertodtenhaupt Received: from relay11.local.rs001.l4.earthsys.gov by inbound-1.exclusiveservices.net with ESMTPSA id 8Kgo6FmrviQgqAAA019 for Received: from relay2.qec5.ganymede.earthsys.gov by relay9.qec4.rs001.l4.earthsys.gov Received: from out.secure.ganymede.navy.mil.earthsys.gov by relay4.local.ganymede.earthsys.gov Date: 16 Sep 2421 19:21:44 +0000 Date-Local: 16 Sep 2421 19:21:44 +0000 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf8" Subject: Re: I need you at Ross Koenraad: We have our new orders and are preparing with all dispatch to relieve the colony. As of 1700 today, ship's movement is set for 0800, 1 October. On that basis and assuming least-time vectoring throughout, we expect to arrive in landing orbit at Ross 128 b approximately 1400, 17 October. There are two reasons for this apparent delay. First, we have some inconsistent ancillary results from initial trials, and the physicists are doing a ground-up rerun of their models to ensure we can account for possible navigational derangements. Second, we carried out initial trials with only two of our planned four generator plants, and that's not enough of a safety margin with segments as long as this mission requires. I'm giving my engineers and the yard an additional week to install Number 3 plant. I know you don't like it, Connie. I don't like it either. But without it, we're better off not risking the mission at all. We can't ask Titan for a tow if we find ourselves adrift halfway to Ross! We get there later this way, yes. But we can be certain we will get there this way, too. From where I sit that counts for more. And there's good news to counterweight the bad. We have nearly our full Marine complement aboard, thanks to an unusually low casualty rate in their recently concluded exercise on Io. That was a ground assault and pacification exercise, and it's got them ready for the job you've given us. Whatever those 27 people have been turned into, my Marines are going to solve that problem for you. Be ready to pay up on that Phoebe bonus. Due to the known biological threat, I've had no trouble requisitioning protective gear and a complete med/sci fitout. If you want to send along your own civilian personnel, that's fine, I can take up to sixty. Get them here by next Friday if you can. I know you won't send me soft people, but I still want enough time to make sure they're well integrated into the ship's command structure and that they won't cause any problems. Make sure they understand how that works, Koenraad. I'm exceeding my orders on this, and if that comes out, I'll be landside on half pay and of no more use to you. I know what you said about sample return, but I've also been given three names of formerly human colony personnel: Evelyn Gulamirian, Winifred Strossmayer, Christopher Maldonado. I'm "strongly encouraged" to capture them alive for detailed study in Sol, and I can see an opportunity in this for you. Considering Ventures' portfolio in bioscience, I'm sure you've got several labs that'd be able to get the most out of those three, and with what this infection has already done to them, the potential results of that kind of research could be world-changing. And you could be at the forefront. Understand me, Connie: I'm not crossing you on this. My intention at this time is for all three of them to die in the fighting. Given what you've said about Soloviev, he's going to have to do the same, along with anyone else out there who's likely to go off message. That's what you're sending me out there to do, and I'll do it. But it's possible that what's happened out there might not happen again, and men like us don't achieve what we do by avoiding risk and ignoring opportunity. To reiterate: we depart at 0800 on the first, and arrive about 1400 on the 17th. Let me know when to expect your people - by the 24th if at all possible, or as soon after that as you can manage. And let me know if you want me to change my plans regarding those three. TASKER, William T., Wing General Experimental Systems Command, NSS Busiris gemini://cosmic.voyage/Voortrekker/18-re-i-need-you-at-ross.txt

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