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THE MESS HALL of the Felicity fitted about a hundred and fifty, and the crew of the ship numbered a bit over four hundred. Not everyone had been in a position to drop everything and come to a meeting, but still the majority of the crew was there. And it was crammed. People stood on tiptoe in the doorway, looking over the heads of others who sat or stood in the aisles or around the perimeter of the room, in the servery or crammed up against the racks for the trays.
Dolchova stood in the middle of the room, on one of the benches—so much for not putting your feet on the seats—and she was saying, “. . . we expect an engine burn at ten-o-nine for thirty-nine seconds. All crew will be in secure positions at ten-o-four. Major Fujimoto and Major Park will contact their divisions to be on full
