missing or required supplies ordered up. New supplies coming in had to
be checked, tested, and stored in the ship's limited hold space. It was
like preparing for an extended pack trip into wilderness country; once
the _Lancet_ left its home base on Hospital Earth it was a world to
itself, equipped to support its physician-crew and provide the necessary
equipment and data they would need to deal with the problems they would
face. Like all patrol ships, the _Lancet_ was equipped with automatic
launching, navigation and drive mechanisms; no crew other than the
three doctors was required, and in the event of mechanical failures,
maintenance ships were on continual call.

The ship was responsible for patrolling an enormous area, including
hundreds of stars and their planetary systems--yet its territory was
only a tiny segment of the galaxy. Landings were to be made at various
specified planets maintaining permanent clinic outposts of Hospital
Earth; certain staple supplies were carried for each of these check
points. Aside from these lonely clinic contacts, the nearest port of
call for the _Lancet_ was one of the hospital ships that continuously
worked slow orbits through the star systems of the confederation.

But a hospital ship, with its staff of Two-star and Three-star
Physicians, was not to be called except in cases of extreme need. The
probationers on the patrol ships were expected to be self-sufficient.
Their job was to handle diagnosis and care of all but the most difficult
problems that arose in their travels. They were the first to answer the
medical calls from any planet with a medical service contract with
Hospital Earth.

It was an enormous responsibility for doctors-in-training to assume, but
over the years it had proven the best way to train and weed out new