Two blasts came close together and the ship leaped. Dust cascaded, falling debris, long-lost bolts and nuts and welding stubs from the builder s work. I heard the tinkle of falling glass over the howling machinery and gun blasts. The 1JV telephone talker was standing wide-eyed at the gage board. We hadn t even slowed down.
Flooding is a panic word.
It came to me then that we had never even thought of instructing the telephone talkers. How they repeated information could cause problems that didn t exist. The gunfire slowed and stopped. It took me some minutes to remember who Moir was. Ten percent stand-down and be ready for instant action.