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wasn't going to let Aleks get away with not answering this — or any other — question, that much was clear.
    'It seems,' Aleks said, 'at a purely hypothetical guess, that Mikhail is experiencing the symptoms of claustrophobia, an expected side effect of the —'
    'Thank you, Mr Dezhurov.'
    ' — of the stresses of being in space during a period of loss of communication and confinement to the radiation protection compartment,' Aleks finished through gritted teeth.
    ' Thank you , Mr Dezhurov,' Bales repeated, his voice firm, but still calm. 'Lastly,' he continued, 'at the bottom of page five.'
    Aleks already knew which bit he meant.
    ' Hallucinations… '
    'We don't know the intensity, th e duration or the frequency of his hallucinations,' Aleks said, his face flushing with angry heat. 'He could be seeing stars for all we know, a normal reaction to the increased radiation levels of the solar storm.'
    'Would Major Romanenko know that seeing stars was a normal reaction to the increased levels of radiation?' Bales asked.
    'Well yes, but —'
    'So he wouldn't feel it necessary to waste precio us radio time telling you about it, then?'
    Aleks had no answer, and that frustrated him even more. Bales gathered his papers together and slotted them back into the folder.
    'I think it likely,' he said as he placed the folder on the table, 'that what we heard this morning was nothing more than the symptoms of an anxiety disorder, perhaps induced by impaired cognitive reasoning though long-term and short-term stress. I believe we can expect more behaviour like this, perhaps to an even greater degree than we saw today, with the distinct possibility that Major Romanenko's psychoses may even pose a threat to the safety of himself and the other two crewmen.'
    'But that's ridiculous!' Lev shouted, snapping from his distant state. 'He's the best cosmonaut we have, a veteran of many successful missions on Earth and in space!'
    ' I've also seen in his file that he has a history of depression.'
    ' When he was a teenager for goodness' sake!'
    'Depressive behaviour is not something that can be ignored, and as this case shows, cannot be indefinitely cured. Major Romanenko's mental instability should have had him filtered out during the selection process and he should have never been allowed to wear a space suit. He is a discredit to the RFSA, a discredit to the partners of the ISS and a discredit to space exploration.'
    Bales shot a look at Aleks. 'I'm disappointed you couldn't tell me about this. I wanted you to be honest with me, even gave you the opportunity to speak your mind, and you held information back — important information. In light of this situation, my conclusion — and the conclusion I shall be reporting to my superiors — is that Major Romanenko is a threat to our mission, the crew, and potentially to the future of mankind. We will retrieve your crew as soon as possible and replace them with our own so we can be certain that the future of this mission is not jeopardised any more than it already has been.'
    'T his is insane …' Lev said, shaking his head in disbelief.
    'Furthermore , Mr Ryumin,' Bales said, standing up and pushing his chair under the table, 'you have been granted three month's leave so you can take some time to rest and recover from this ordeal. It hasn't been easy for you, I'm sure.'
    'But — but I'm fine,' Lev said, getting to his feet so fast that his chair snapped back against the wall.
    'It wasn't a suggestion.'
    T he door swung open and a young man rushed in. He was red faced and panting.
    'Sorry to disturb you,' he said between gasps, 'but you're needed in Mission Control right away.'
    Bales squeezed past and set off down the corridor at a run, and Aleks, with Lev in tow, scrambled out after him. Foregoing the elevator, they clattered down a flight of stairs, crashing one by one through the swinging double doors and into the corridor. When they got to Mission Control, security swept them in, and Aleks