"That," said Jill, dodging a slowly tumbling lens that had ricocheted gently off the ceiling, "is a little white lie, meant to make you feel at ease."
Kinsman forced himself not to frown.
Jill added, "Chet, you'd better pick up those camera parts before they get so scattered you won't be able to find them all."
He wanted to snap an answer, thought better of it, and replied merely, "Right."
As he finished the job on the camera he studied Linda carefully. The color was back in her face. She seemed steady, 79 clear-eyed, not frightened or upset. Maybe she'll be okay, after all. Jill made her a cup of tea, which she sucked from the lid's plastic spout.
Kinsman went to the control desk and punched up the mission schedule on the computer screen.
"Jill, it's past your bedtime."
"I'm not sleepy," she said.
"Yeah, I know. But you've had a busy day, little girl, and tomorrow's going to be even busier. Now get your four hours and then I'll get mine. Got to be fresh for the mating."
"Mating?" Linda asked from the far end of the cabin, a good five strides from Kinsman. Then she remembered. "Oh . . . you mean linking the power module to the station."
Suppressing half a dozen possible retorts. Kinsman spelled out soberly, "Extravehicular activity."
Jill reluctantly drifted toward the bunkroom. "Okay, I'll sack in. I am tired, I guess, but I never seem to get really sleepy up here."
Wonder what kind of a briefing Murdock gave her? She's sure acting like a goddamned chaperon.
Jill glided into the shadows of the sleeping area and pulled the curtain firmly shut. After a few minutes of silence Kinsman turned to Linda.
"Alone at last."
She smiled back at him.
"Um . . . you just happen to be standing where I've got to install this camera." He nudged the assembled hardware so that it floated gently toward her.
She moved away slowly, carefully, holding the handgrip on the nearest equipment rack with both hands as if she were afraid of falling. Kinsman slid to the observation port and stopped the camera's slow-motion flight with one out- stretched hand. He started mounting the camera into the fixture set into the observation port.
"You really feel okay?"
"Yes, honestly."
