The consensus arrived at in the debate that followed was that the egg was requesting permission to enter the ship. The communication time lag to Earth did not allow immediate consultation with higher authority. After sending a full report Earthward via the laser link, Shannon announced his decision to grant the request.
A reception party was hurriedly organized and dispatched to one of Jupiter Five’s docking bays. The docking bay, designed for maintenance work on J5’s assorted daughter vessels, carried a pair of enormous outer doors which were normally left open, but which could be closed when circumstances dictated that the bay be filled with air. Access from the main body of the ship was gained through a number of smaller ancillary airlocks positioned at intervals along the inner side of the bay. Clad in spacesuits, the reception party emerged onto one of the vast working platforms in the docking bay and set up a beacon adjusted to flash at the same frequency as that still pulsing on the egg.
On the bridge of Jupiter Five, an expectant semicircle formed around the screen showing the docking bay. The silver ovoid drifted into the center of the starry carpet separating the gaping shadows of the outer doors. The egg descended slowly, its light now extinguished, then hovered some distance above the platform as if cautiously surveying the situation. A close-up showed that in several places on its surface, circular sections of its skin had risen above the overall outline, forming a series of squat, retractable turrets which rotated slowly, presumably to scan the inside of the bay with cameras and other instruments. The egg then resumed its descent and came gently to rest about ten yards from where the
reception party was standing in a tight, apprehensive huddle. Overhead an arc-light came on to bathe it in a pool of white.
“Well, it’s down.” The voice of Deputy Mission Director Gordon Storrel, who had volunteered to lead the reception party, announced on an audio channel. “Three landing pads have come out from underneath. There’s no other sign of life.”
“Give it two minutes,” Shannon said into his microphone. “Then move forward to the halfway point, slowly. Stop there.”
“Roger.”
After sixty seconds another light was turned on to illuminate the group of Earthmen; somebody had suggested that to have the party seen as shadowy forms lurking in the gloom could give an undesirably sinister impression. The action produced no response from the egg.
At last Storrel turned to his men. “Okay, time’s up. We’re moving in.”
The screen showed the knot of ungainly, helmeted figures walking slowly forward; at their head was the one bearing Storrel’s golden shoulder-flashes, and on either side of him a senior UNSA officer. They halted. Then, a panel in the side of the egg slid aside smoothly to reveal a hatch about eight feet high and at least half that wide. The figures in the spacesuits stiffened visibly and the watchers on the bridge braced themselves, but nothing further happened.
“Maybe they’re hung up about protocol or something,” Storrel said. “They’ve come into our den. Could be they’re telling us it’s our turn.”
“Could be,” Shannon agreed. In a quieter voice he asked Hayter: “Anything to report from up top?” The captain activated another channel to speak to two UNSA sergeants positioned on a maintenance catwalk high above the platform in the docking bay.
“Come in, Catwalk. What can you see?”
“We’ve got a fair angle down inside it. The inside’s in shadow but we’ve got an image on the intensifier. Just pieces of equipment and fittings . . . seems crammed pretty full. No movement or signs of life.”
“No signs of life visible, Gordon,” Shannon relayed to the bay. “It looks as if you can stay there forever or have a look. Good luck. Don’t think twice about backing off if anything’s even slightly suspicious.”
“No chance of that,” Storrel told him. “Okay, fellas, you heard. Never say UNSA doesn’t live up to its job ads. Miraiski and Oberman, come with me; the rest of you, stay put.”
Three figures moved, forward from the group and paused near a small ramp that had telescoped from the bottom of the hatch. Another screen came to life on the bridge to show the view picked up by a hand-held camera operated by one of the UNSA officers. For a second it held a shot of the yawning hatch and the top of the ramp, and then a back view of Storrel ifiled the screen.