Through his window the lights of the base threw a massicot glow across the horizon dotted with the grey hulks of warships; the stars and a luminous low-slung moon shone in the sky. Jerry twirled a pen around his fingers absent-mindedly. There was little he could do at this hour. He got up from his desk and walked out into the corridor. It was quiet, just the whirl of air conditioning and the occasional beep of a computer as an email arrived in someone’s office. A security guard passed the end of the passage, glanced at Derham and saluted. In the kitchen, Jerry poured himself a glass of chilled water and retraced his steps back to his office. He placed the drink on a side-table, dimmed the lights and stretched out on the sofa along the wall opposite the window. The last thing he remembered before sleep swept over him was the twinkling of Venus close to the top of the window frame. He roused himself with a start, caught a glimpse of the wall clock telling him it was 7.34.
