"To hell with it." Burnett winced, and fought to keep his eyes open.
Something wet and sticky covered his chest. "I said this was my last
trip and I meant it. One way or the other, I'd have quit!"
"This is the hard way--"
"Maybe. I dunno. Kind of nice to think of all those kids who'll never
have to come aboard the _Constellation_, though, Rice." His voice
trailed off. "You watch the shelves fill up and you never know who'll
be next. Who'd have thought, four days ago--"
Something happened to his tongue so it felt like hard ice blocking his
mouth. He had a lot more words to say, but only time to get a few of
them out:
"Rice?"
"Yeah, Sam?"
"We haven't got a full cargo, boy."
"Full enough for me, sir."
"But still not full. If we went back to Center Base without filling
the shelves, it wouldn't be right. Look there--number ninety-eight is
Lethla--number ninety-nine is Kriere. Three thousand days of rolling
this rocket, and not once come back without a bunch of the kids who
want to sleep easy on the good green earth. Not right to be going back
any way--but--the way--we used to--"
His voice got all full of fog. As thick as the fists of a dozen
warriors. Rice was going away from him. Rice was standing still, and
Burnett was lying down, not moving, but somehow Rice was going away a
million miles.
"Ain't I one hell of a patriot, Rice?"
Then everything got dark except Rice's face. And that was starting to
dissolve.
Ninety-eight: Lethla. Ninety-nine: Kriere.
He could still see Rice standing over him for a long time, breathing
out and in. Down under the tables the blood-pumps pulsed and pulsed,
thick and slow. Rice looked down at Burnett and then at the empty shelf
at the far end of the room, and then back at Burnett again.
And then he said softly:
"_One hundred._"