The situation was saved—to the extent that it could be—by Paul. The engineer was leaving his module. Alex heard the squelching sound of the hermetic hatchway, then waited a moment. Of course, everyone but Kim knew exactly what was happening. But Kim couldn’t help herself and asked:
“What’s he doing now?”
The “bit of green snot” was first to answer. Xang was uncommonly persistent, it seemed.
“The engineer’s job, even on clean gluon reactors, always carries the risk of irradiation.”
Kim shrugged, unimpressed by such rudimentary information.
“His body is thoroughly specialized,” Xang continued. “His skull and his pelvic bones contain a lot of lead, to act as a screen. His ribs are fused into a single bone-and-cartilage plate, for the same reasons… But protecting the reproductive organs has always been one of the main challenges. You see, Kim, the irradiation of the testicles may lead to unwanted mutations.”
“They should have more women engineers,” said Kim darkly.
“That’s what we were doing on Eben,” noted Janet. She languidly reached for a huge sandwich and took a bite.
“In the last few decades,” continued Morrison, completely unabashed, “the most rational solution to this problem has been adopted… Hi, Paul!”
The engineer nodded, entering the lounge.
“The solution was found in one of the practices of sumo wrestling,” said Xang. “In case of emergency, Lourier draws his testicles into his pelvic cavity, where they are completely safe from radiation.”
“Wow!” Kim looked at the engineer with admiration. “Is that hard?”
“It’s a bit tough to explain to someone not in the trade,” said Paul, reaching for a sandwich. “Generally, it isn’t. The main thing is not to rush it, otherwise it hurts a little.”
“Captain, what are you drinking?” asked Janet.
“Red wine, please”—Alex bowed his head slightly toward Lourier, and Paul returned the polite gesture—“out of solidarity with the professional traditions of our engineer. You did a good job, Paul.”
“Thank you, Captain. We have a great ship. It’s a pleasure to work with it.”
Finally, Generalov also appeared. He paused in the hallway and looked at his fellow crewmembers.
“Captain, I’ve checked the alternative route through the Monica-3 tunnel. There’s a seventy-two percent chance that it won’t give us any time advantage.”
“Why is that?” asked Alex.
“Such is the probability of a ritual battle of the Bronins at the moment we reach that system. Even if we manage to avoid getting involved in the fray, all the maneuvering to escape pursuit will take anywhere from nine hours to three days.”
“We’ve passed through Monica-3 in three hours,” interrupted Morrison.
“You lucked out.”
“Please, sit down, Puck.” Alex nodded. “You’re probably right. Would you like some wine?”
“Yes, I would, thanks.” Visibly proud of his victory, Generalov sat down next to Paul and quietly noted, “You did a great job, man….”
“You’ve provided interesting energy consumption challenges, sir,” replied Paul, reserved as usual.
Janet poured everyone some wine. She seemed not to mind her impromptu role of hostess.
“Attention, please.” Alex got up. “Fellow crewmembers, I will be informal.”
Generalov smirked, sprawling in his chair. Kim took a sip from her goblet, still glaring at Alex. What was she drinking? Juice or wine?
“This is my first flight as a captain,” said Alex. “And to be completely honest, I became Mirror’s captain by chance.”
“You lucky…” said Morrison under his breath, although there was no longer any tension in his tone.
“Yes, I am,” agreed Alex. “All thanks to Kim.”
The girl lifted her eyebrows in surprise but said nothing.
“You all are here by chance…”
It would be interesting to catch a glimpse of the Demon now. Would a skeptical grin appear on its little face?
“And we’re all quite different. Janet is from Eben… her knowledge and experience are unique.”
The black woman smiled dryly.
“Paul is only just beginning his astronautical career, which promises to be outstanding.”
The engineer lowered his gaze.
“Puck is the only natural I know who works as a navigator. And he’s great at it.”
The expression of Generalov’s sour face showed that he’d heard such compliments a million times and couldn’t care less—life was a joyless business, after all.
“Kim is probably the youngest… as well as the loveliest fighter-spesh in the universe.”
The girl peered at him searchingly.
“And Xang hesitated so much before signing the contract, it became a matter of pride for me to persuade him.”
Morrison threw up his arms with a deep sigh and left his right arm resting on the back of Kim’s chair.
“Here’s to our crew, which is becoming a real team, a close-knit, happy family!” concluded Alex.
They clinked their glasses.
“Good wine,” reported Morrison, with a knowing air. “You know, I worked on a small ship from the Barton Company for two years. We shipped wines from Earth. Those were the best wines! And half a percent of every shipment was written off as damaged during transportation… but we were a very careful crew, ladies and gentlemen. I don’t know how I managed for two years!”
Janet noted thoughtfully:
“I first tried alcohol when I was thirty. When I was a POW. I didn’t want to live anymore… and I had been convinced that a glass of wine would kill me. On Eben, having alcohol, drugs, or tobacco was considered ruinous to your body, a crime against humanity.”
“Poor things…” sighed Generalov.
“We had many other pleasures in life,” said Janet. “No doubt we were missing out on some things. But that’s inevitable, after all. We all choose to miss out on some things, to have others instead.”
“You should take everything life has to offer!” said Puck with great conviction.
“Really?” Janet slit her eyes quizzically. “Then why don’t you have sex with women?”
“I tried it. Didn’t like it!” hastily replied Generalov.
“Maybe. But you’re missing out, a lot! You’re not taking everything life has to offer.”
Generalov winced, but kept quiet.
“And I simply have to have alcohol,” said Paul. “It’s part of my metabolism, and if I don’t have at least two ounces of pure alcohol every twenty-four hours, I get sick.”
The conversation resembled a weird roll call. Kim was about to say something, but at that very moment, the hidden speakers came alive.
“Captain.” The ship’s service program chose to address Alex alone. “Three life forms are approaching the ship.”
“Our passengers are here… damn!” Morrison waved his hand in the air, holding an empty glass. His other hand was already on Kim’s shoulder, and the girl didn’t seem to notice. “What if they demand an immediate launch?”
“We’re the crew, so we go by the rules.” Alex got up. “Janet, let’s go meet them. The rest of you, relax.”
He should have taken Kim with him. But Alex didn’t want to risk introducing such an unusual fighter-spesh to the passengers at the very first meeting.
They walked out into the cargo bay. Alex hastily straightened his uniform, using the shiny surface of a spacesuit unit as a mirror. Janet stretched her arms toward him, quickly straightening out his collar. Said in a quiet, soothing voice:
“Everything’s all right, Captain. Don’t be nervous.”
Alex smiled in reply. He didn’t have to pretend in her company. He said:
“Computer, open the outer hatch and take in the newcomers.”