(Found) Two stories, donut alien and living ship

[sidneylopsides]

Hi guys, registered here after searching online with no luck. Trying to remember two short stories I read years ago.
The first is todl from the point of view of an alien, their species are toroid and their circulation uses gravity, so they never stop moving. if I remember correctly, he finds a human who is injured and helps, I think communicating through some for of telepathy.

The other is a bout a spaceship made of living aliens, there are different ones for each part of the ship. Flat, (red?) rectangular ones for the hull, some tentacly thing that links them all together for communications, and others I can't remember.
They crash, the engine is dead so they need a replacement, and that turns out to be a human.

any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Moss Ryder]

sounds like a misremembering of anthony's cluster series maybe?

the torus one would be viscous circle.
i remember in one of the others, the aliens on the ship are like magnets, maybe, and the human who's mind is controlling one of them shows the ship's crew that the magnet aliens can help save the ship



the descriptions on wiki are very wrong on many points and vague. maybe someone else here could give a better description...

 

[starmouse1]

Hi

The donut alien is from Major Operation by James White.

The second story is Specialist by Robert Sheckley.

Loved both stories and will have to find them again sometime

 

[Moss Ryder]

if you're correct i was way off, lol!

 

[sidneylopsides]

Hi

The donut alien is from Major Operation by James White.

The second story is Specialist by Robert Sheckley.

Loved both stories and will have to find them again sometime

Yes! Those are the stories! I had been looking and seen something called "Unspecialist" which rung a bell, but wasn't right, I was close!

Thank you