reached over and returned the signal. "Just hold on a minute, and then we'll open it," he muttered. He glanced over at Lamont, who was clamping his helmet into place, then hastily donned his own. Joan, too, was ready. "Radio check,"
Raoul said.
69
70
"Receiving you loud and clear," Joan responded in clipped tones that betrayed her excitement.
"Me, too," Rob said. He glanced over at the weapon the First Mate was sliding into the tool sheath located on the hip of her spacesuit. "Do you really think that's necessary?"
She glanced at him, and he watched her mouth tighten. "Just following orders," she said shortly.
"I thought over what we talked about, Doc," Raoul explained. "But one of us should be armed. I can count on Joan to keep her head in an emergency. I wish I felt comfortable enough to walk out there completely unarmed, but I don't."
"It's set on 'shock,' Rob, not 'disrupt,' " Joan said. "And believe me, I wouldn't use it unless I had a damned good reason."
"All right," Rob said. "Just promise me one thing, Raoul."
"What?"
"If there's ever a time when we meet them en masse, don't issue one of those to Simon. We've made progress, but he's still xenophobic. I encouraged him to join Evelyn Maitland in hibernation, but he refused."
"Do you mean that he's dangerous?" Raoul demanded sharply. "I can order him to be frozen, if you have evidence that he's mentally unstable."
"No ... I don't think that's necessary. He's definitely making progress."
Joan nodded. "Simon will be all right, Raoul," she said. "Rob, don't forget your suit camera." She reached up to activate her own helmet's vid-cam.
Then she switched on the ship's recording units, and verified that they were working properly.
"Cycle the airlock, Joan," Raoul directed when she finished. "Leave the gravity on. Everyone remember that their gravity's higher than Earth-normal."
Rob picked up his testing equipment, clutching it like a security blanket. He was sweating so profusely that the suit's extra cooling unit cut in; he tried consciously to relax.
"Vacuum" flashed on the control panel. Raoul checked another indicator.
"Okay, we've got vacuum outside," he said. "You two ready?"
"Ready, Raoul," Joan said. Rob gave a thumbs-up signal.
The Captain pressed the "airlock open" switch.
The doors split apart to reveal a glare of white light. A spacesuited figure stood there on all fours.
71
It looked up at them, and Rob saw that the being's shoulders nearly reached his waist. If it stood up on its hind legs, he thought, we'd be about the same height. It wore a suit that was iridescent blue, with a dark blue helmet. The faceplate must have been polarized, for Rob could barely make out the alien's furred face and violet eyes through the transparency.
It seemed rude to tower over the creature, so Rob clumsily knelt and, after a second, Raoul and Joan did the same. The alien rose until it was squatting on its heels, bringing it to eye level with the humans. Very slowly, the being made the ceremonial gesture they had seen in the film sequence.
"Think we ought to imitate it, Doc?" Raoul asked.
"Yes," Rob said.
Carefully, the three humans did their best to reproduce the flowing motions.
The alien's eyes widened behind its faceplate, and they could see its mouth moving.
"I'll bet it's reporting back to its people," Joan remarked.
Shit! Rob thought, remembering his promise. Hastily he activated the security channel. "Mahree? You there?"
"I'm here, Rob," her voice reached him, breathless with excitement.
"Can you people see and hear everything?"
"Yes. I'm still up on the bridge with Jerry, but everyone else TM is watching and listening down in the galley. We can hear you, but only Jerry's allowed to respond. Which I can understand . . . it'd be too confusing if everyone tried to talk."
"Okay, if I need to speak privately, I'll use this channel."
The alien took a cautious step forward, then held up the orange bag it had brought. It moved its head to the
Raoul said.
69
70
"Receiving you loud and clear," Joan responded in clipped tones that betrayed her excitement.
"Me, too," Rob said. He glanced over at the weapon the First Mate was sliding into the tool sheath located on the hip of her spacesuit. "Do you really think that's necessary?"
She glanced at him, and he watched her mouth tighten. "Just following orders," she said shortly.
"I thought over what we talked about, Doc," Raoul explained. "But one of us should be armed. I can count on Joan to keep her head in an emergency. I wish I felt comfortable enough to walk out there completely unarmed, but I don't."
"It's set on 'shock,' Rob, not 'disrupt,' " Joan said. "And believe me, I wouldn't use it unless I had a damned good reason."
"All right," Rob said. "Just promise me one thing, Raoul."
"What?"
"If there's ever a time when we meet them en masse, don't issue one of those to Simon. We've made progress, but he's still xenophobic. I encouraged him to join Evelyn Maitland in hibernation, but he refused."
"Do you mean that he's dangerous?" Raoul demanded sharply. "I can order him to be frozen, if you have evidence that he's mentally unstable."
"No ... I don't think that's necessary. He's definitely making progress."
Joan nodded. "Simon will be all right, Raoul," she said. "Rob, don't forget your suit camera." She reached up to activate her own helmet's vid-cam.
Then she switched on the ship's recording units, and verified that they were working properly.
"Cycle the airlock, Joan," Raoul directed when she finished. "Leave the gravity on. Everyone remember that their gravity's higher than Earth-normal."
Rob picked up his testing equipment, clutching it like a security blanket. He was sweating so profusely that the suit's extra cooling unit cut in; he tried consciously to relax.
"Vacuum" flashed on the control panel. Raoul checked another indicator.
"Okay, we've got vacuum outside," he said. "You two ready?"
"Ready, Raoul," Joan said. Rob gave a thumbs-up signal.
The Captain pressed the "airlock open" switch.
The doors split apart to reveal a glare of white light. A spacesuited figure stood there on all fours.
71
It looked up at them, and Rob saw that the being's shoulders nearly reached his waist. If it stood up on its hind legs, he thought, we'd be about the same height. It wore a suit that was iridescent blue, with a dark blue helmet. The faceplate must have been polarized, for Rob could barely make out the alien's furred face and violet eyes through the transparency.
It seemed rude to tower over the creature, so Rob clumsily knelt and, after a second, Raoul and Joan did the same. The alien rose until it was squatting on its heels, bringing it to eye level with the humans. Very slowly, the being made the ceremonial gesture they had seen in the film sequence.
"Think we ought to imitate it, Doc?" Raoul asked.
"Yes," Rob said.
Carefully, the three humans did their best to reproduce the flowing motions.
The alien's eyes widened behind its faceplate, and they could see its mouth moving.
"I'll bet it's reporting back to its people," Joan remarked.
Shit! Rob thought, remembering his promise. Hastily he activated the security channel. "Mahree? You there?"
"I'm here, Rob," her voice reached him, breathless with excitement.
"Can you people see and hear everything?"
"Yes. I'm still up on the bridge with Jerry, but everyone else TM is watching and listening down in the galley. We can hear you, but only Jerry's allowed to respond. Which I can understand . . . it'd be too confusing if everyone tried to talk."
"Okay, if I need to speak privately, I'll use this channel."
The alien took a cautious step forward, then held up the orange bag it had brought. It moved its head to the
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