“Well, Chris, here we go again,” Hunt said, looking around. “But this will be a darn sight quicker than last time.”
“And a bit more comfortable when we get there, too,” Sandy Holmes murmured in a slightly dazed voice as she struggled to take it all in. She had been with them on the UNSA Jupiter Five mission. When they had joined that ship, before its lift out from lunar orbit, the voyage ahead of them had been six months, and the accommodation waiting at the other end of it had been cramped quarters in the subsurface part of a scientific base situated on Ganymede’s ice sheets,
with the constant vibration of machinery and an ever-present odor of hot oil.
“Yes,” Danchekker agreed. “And I recollect being adamant at the termination of that escapade that I would never set foot inside one of these contraptions again.” He sighed. “However, the designers responsible for this accomplishment would appear to have been from a different school from their terrestrial counterparts, whose imaginative limits one must suppose to have been set by experiences with submarines and tanks.”
“And it will get you far, far away a lot faster,” Hunt reminded him.
“Hmm, there is that.”
Duncan Watt did a quick mental calculation. “Something like seventy million times faster, in fact,” he said. He was thirty—two, with a ruddy, vigorous complexion and thick, jet black hair. He had the rugged kind of looks that made Hunt think of him as belonging more on a football field or in a boxing ring than in a mathematical physics lab.
Near Duncan were a man and a woman accompanying a group of teenagers, who at that moment were standing motionless in awe. “This is a unique moment in the history of the universe,” the man muttered, moving a step closer and nodding his head to indicate his charges. “It’s the first time ever that this bunch have all been quiet at the same time.”
Duncan grinned. “Who are they?” he asked.
“A class of tenth-graders going on vacation. I’m still not really sure how it happened. Somebody at the school came up with the idea as a joke, and the Ganymeans said sure, no problem. Goddamnedest thing I ever heard of.”
Then VISAR said to Hunt, “You have a reception committee waiting for you.” From the change of expression on Danchekker’s face, Hunt knew that VISAR was talking to him, too.
“Where?” Hunt asked.
“The two officers standing a bit to your left.”
Hunt looked around and saw the Thuriens whom VISAR had indicated already moving forward. The millions of years that separated the Ganymeans of Minerva, as typified by the Shapieron’s complement, from the Thuriens had produced visible differences. Although of the same general pattern, the Thuriens were darker, almost black, more slender, and on average slightly shorter. The two who had been waiting were clad in loose-fitting green tunics, each with a halterlike embellishment of elaborately woven metallic threads hanging on either side from the neck to the waist.
“Dr. Hunt? Professor Danchekker?” one of them inquired.
“That’s us,” Hunt confirmed.
“My name is Kalor, and this is Merglis. We are here on behalf of Captain Fytom to welcome you aboard the Vishnu.”
“It seemed fitting that you should be given a personal greeting,” the other explained.
They shook hands—the Terran custom had come to be generally accepted. Hunt introduced Sandy and Duncan.
“The captain sends his compliments,” Kalor informed them. “He is aware that your visit to Jevlen is to study Ganymean science. If any of the Vishnu’s specialists can be of assistance during our brief voyage, consider them at your disposal.”
“Very considerate of him,” Danchekker replied. “Convey our thanks. We will certainly bear his offer in mind.”
“You are also invited to view the command center once we are under way,” Kalor said. “But just at the moment things there are a bit hectic, as I’m sure you’ll appreciate.”
“Whenever is convenient. Yes, we’d like that very much,” Hunt answered.
“Are we invited, too?” Sandy asked hopefully.
“But naturally,” Kalor told her.
“I think we pick the right people to go traveling with,” Duncan said.
“For now, we’ll take you to the section that has been reserved for Terran accommodation,” Kalor said. “Since it looks as if Terrans are going to become regular passengers on these trips, we’re making it a permanent feature of the ship.”