ACCORDING TO ALL INFORMATION, RECON THREE IS WITHIN THE EARTH’S ORBIT BY SLIGHTLY OVER TWENTY MILLION KAYS. “Did the ISV discover any material that could be removed for sampling?” NO SAMPLES WERE DISCOVERED. “Status of ISV?” ISV IS IN MAIN LOCK. IT IS WARM ENOUGH TO BE SERVICED OR REMOVED. “Reserve air supply status?” Tavoian hated to ask, but he needed to know. SIXTY PERCENT REMAINING. That amounted to about one and a third total replacements of the atmosphere in Recon three. “What about the Sinese ship?” SPY-EYES AND REMOTE EQUIPMENT HAVE BEEN DISPATCHED TO AREA OF CENTRAL SHAFT. REMOTE SCANNING OF ARTIFACT CONTINUES. “Is there any sign of another vessel?” NO VESSELS WITHIN DETECTION RANGE. “Notify me immediately when there is any sign of one.” WILL COMPLY. Tavoian checked the systems and monitors and then looked for messages. There were none, except for the standard Noram Space Command news summary. It was getting so that he didn’t expect meaningful messages the first thing in the morning, but then he was waking earlier than most officers at Donovan Base.
