They entered the elevator. “I take it that those two who picked us up, Koberg and Lebansky, they work for you, then?” Hunt said.

“Right. We imported a nucleus of pros from back home to seed the operation.”

The elevator shaft was a transparent tube, and the car had all-round windows, presenting views of a progression of galleries, halls opening into office areas, and wide corridors as the car ascended. Although not exactly new and gleaming, the condition of the surroundings was noticeably better than the general standard outside.

Hunt still didn’t follow completely. He remembered one of the two at Geerbaine saying something about things happening that Hunt probably didn’t know about. “So, how did you get here?” he asked Cullen. “I mean, how did Garuth come to acquire a security operation in the first place? Who do you work for?”

“When the Thuriens and our own governments set up this arrangement, some of the folks back home knew there’d be problems when the Jevlenese started getting over their shell shock. The U.S. pushed for a security operation here that wouldn’t have to depend on the Jevlenese police, but the Thuriens blocked it.” Cullen shrugged. “So somebody persuaded Garuth that it would be a good idea to set up something anyway-‘semiofficial,’ if you know what I mean- just in case it was needed. If it turned out to be over cautious, well, no harm done.”

Hunt nodded. As far as he was concerned, obstructions existed to be circumvented. “And I take it, it turned out to be just as well they did,” he said.

“There’s something funny going on here, all right, with mean people involved. We haven’t exactly figured out what yet. But we can go into that with Garuth later.”

Hunt nodded. “Where will we be staying?” he inquired to change the subject.

Cullen gestured to take in the general scene outside the elevator. “We’ve reserved quarters for you here in PAC. So you won’t have to worry too much if things get a bit hectic outside. The rest of your group are over in the residential part of the complex now, getting their gear straightened out. Your bags came straight through on a freight tube.”

Hunt thought about Gina, out at the spaceport. “How about the people who are staying at Geerbaine?” he asked. “Is there any risk there?”

Cullen shook his head. “The Thuriens run that whole area, and the Jevs don’t want to upset them because they’re the only ones who can turn JEVEX back on. They should be okay.”

They came out of the elevator and headed across an open space with a large window looking out at the city. On the far side of the floor several corridors branched off in different directions. They followed one of them past an area with Jevlenese working at desks and terminals. A number of Ganymeans were also visible, some of them Thuriens, Hunt noted. Beyond the open area were smaller rooms and offices.

Garuth was waiting for them in a large, roughly circular anteroom furnished like a reception lounge, with seats facing a sunken area in the center. Another of Cullen’s security guards was seated unobtrusively at a desk by a passage leading through to the inner section.

With Garuth were Shilohin, the female scientist who had been with him when he made his call to Hunt at home, and another old friend of Hunt’s, Rodgar Jassilane, the Shapieron’s engineering chief. The Ganymeans welcomed him in their characteristic easygoing manner, but it was clear that they were relieved to see him after his mishap of getting separated from the others.

“We saw ZORAC’s replay of your arrival,” Garuth said as they shook hands.

“It seems that you’re managing to find your way around Shiban already,” Shilohin remarked. The expression on her face had to be the Ganymean equivalent of a smirk. Hunt began to suspect that he would be really tired of that particular topic before the day was out.

“How was your journey?” Jassilane inquired, shaking Hunt’s hand in turn.

“At least we didn’t lose our brakes and have to spend twenty-five million years slowing down,” Hunt replied, grinning. It was a reference to the problem that had caused the Shapieron’s long exile from the Solar System when it tried to return to Minerva. Relativistic time dilation, compounded by an effect of the vessel’s gravity drive, had reduced it to something in the order of twenty years ship’s time.

“What do you think of a Thurien starship?” Jassilane asked.

“Impressive-but a bit overwhelming,” Hunt confessed. “You know, Rod, when all’s said and done, I think I prefer your old ship on the parking lot back there at Geerbaine.”

“Me, too,” Jassilane agreed. “Technology that you grew up with is always more comfortable, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Definitely,” Hunt said.

“That’s why we never bothered adapting more of the sensor network in PAC to work with VISAR,” Garuth said. “We experimented with the small part that you know, but old-time Ganymeans like us don’t really take to it. The Thuriens can have virtual travel. We prefer to stick with ZORAC.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” Hunt said.

Garuth extended an arm to indicate the general surroundings, then singled out the passage by the security guard’s desk. “This is the part of PAC that I normally inhabit. The staff here simply call it the Ganymean offices. So now you know where to find us.”

“Where will we be working?” Hunt asked. “I assume that since we’re officially here as an UNSA scientific group, we’ll have some office space or something. It’s a bit of a messy situation, I know, but Gregg didn’t exactly give anybody a lot of notice.”

“Naturally,” Shilohin said. “We’ve found some space for you on one of the levels lower down, where we run some other work of our own.”

“Maybe the best time to see it would be later,” Garuth suggested. “Del can take you to your quarters in the residential sector now to freshen up, and we can all meet for, lunch in, say…” He made a vague gesture.

“About an hour?” Hunt suggested.

“Fine,” Garuth agreed. “And then we’ll show you the lab area when you’re all together.”

The Ganymean planetary administration employed numerous scientists, both Jevlenese and Thurien, in connection with various aspects of its work, some of whom were based within PAC itself. The area that had been designated the “UNSA labs” was a segregated section approached through a single entrance, on a floor of offices, workshops, laboratories, and other workrooms in the lower part of the complex.

The general working area consisted of a large room with a wide lab bench taking up the center of the floor, smaller benches by two of the walls, and several desks with computer workstations. A graphics table took up part of the third wall, and alongside it was a generously equipped imaging and processing system. A short passage led to several smaller offices, and another door from the passage doubled back into a second laboratory situated alongside the main area. There was also a direct interconnecting door between the two. All in all the place was well fitted and furnished, with plenty of storage space and instrumentation.

“What do you think?” Garuth asked as the Terrans walked around like prospective buyers inspecting a house.

“It’s marvelous,” Hunt said. “How many of us did you expect? You could house half a Goddard department in this.”

“Officially you’re here to study Ganymean science,” Del Cullen said. “You might as well be comfortable and make it look good at the same time. And, who knows, there might be more coming later.”

“Oh, I’m not complaining,” Hunt assured him.

Another room, off the side of the main area across from the second lab, contained several Thurien neurocoupler recliners. “So you’ll have full access to VISAR,” Shilohin explained. “We have an i-space link direct into PAC.”

“But the regular facilities around PAC are managed by ZORAC?” Duncan asked.

“Yes. There’s a direct line back to the Shapieron. The ship has an onboard i-space connection, too. So ZORAC and VISAR can communicate directly.”