The numbers on the atmospheric lower levels appeared: 74 % nitrogen, 25 % oxygen, a goodly fraction of a percent of argon, a miniscule amount of carbon dioxide, and traces of neon, helium, methane, krypton, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, and xenon. Very Earthlike.
Snacks arrived. Snacks appeared constantly, adding to the generally festive atmosphere aboard ship. Coffee, cheese, pastries, fruit juices, beer, rolled in an unending stream out of the galley. Hutch ate more than she would ordinarily have allowed herself, and refused to give in to disappointment. The fact that they were here at all was cause to celebrate. If there was to be no welcome from the Monument-Makers, they had still achieved much. "What do you think?" she asked Carson.
He smiled encouragingly. "If they're not there, maybe they left something behind."
"I'd like to find something" said Truscott, who was standing beside Maggie Tufu, looking out at the darkness. "I truly would."
"You've gone well out of your way for this," said Hutch. "We appreciate it."
"You didn't leave me a lot of choice," she said. "It was a chance to be on the Santa Maria. I wouldn't have wanted to tell my grandkids that I could have ridden with Columbus, and passed it up."
Janet, who had been up all night watching the approach, retired to a corner chair and fell asleep. In a sense, it signaled the death of their wilder hopes.
Monitors displayed planetary characteristics:
ORBIT
SIDEREAL PERIOD: 1.41 Standard Yr
PERIHELION: 1.32AUs
APHELION: 1.35AUs
GLOBE
EQUATORIAL DIAMETER: 15,300 km
OBLATENESS: O.OO4
MASS (EARTH = 1): 1.06
DENSITY (WATER = 1): 5.3
ALBEDO: O.44
AXIS TILT (DEC): 18.7 ROTATIONAL PERIOD (D/H/M): 1/1/17
OTHER
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
(ARTIFICIAL): None Noted MEAN EQUATORIAL NOON
TEMPERATURE (EST): 28 °C
"Hey!" Carson pointed at one of the moons. The one designated Three-B.
At the same moment, they heard the captain's voice, raised a notch above his usual monotone: "Director, we have an anomaly on Three-B."
"We see it," said Truscott. Three-B was the largest of the satellites. It was heavily scored, covered with lava seas. In the northern hemisphere, they could make out, on the western arm of a broad plain, something. A mark. An eruption. A speck.
"What is it?" said Carson. "Can you give us a better picture?"
The image got bigger. And clearer. "We don't know yet," said the Captain. "It's the same color as the surrounding rock."
"It looks like a square," said Janet, awake again.
Morris had become almost frenetic. It was amusing to see him nonplused. "It does appear symmetrical," he said.
"It's an Oz," said Hutch.
"Roughly two hundred kilometers on a side," continued the captain. "Big."
"She's right," said Carson. "It's the same damned thing they've got at Quraqua."
Maggie raised a triumphant fist. "Except bigger. A lot bigger."
Truscott looked at Carson. "Do we want to inspect it up close?"
Carson glanced at each of his people in turn. "No," he said. "We know what it is."
Truscott nodded. "Obviously," she said. "It is Oz, isn't it? Why do I have the feeling you've been holding back on me. What's the connection with Quraqua?"
Carson shrugged. "No big secret," he began.
After the continent had drifted into the world's night, the Academy team reviewed the pictures. They looked for likely city-building sites: harbors, river junctions, mountain passes. And for roads. For any evidence of habitation.
George was looking at a site about 30 degrees north, where the land mass narrowed to less than half a kilometer. Lush red and yellow forest rolled downhill from a promontory and spilled into the ocean on both sides. It was the kind of area that, on Earth, would have been natural high-roller real estate. Good place to spend a weekend with Hutch. His mind drifted and his tides began to rise when he noticed a sharp angle in the trees. A shadow. A wall, maybe.
Or a place where a wall had once existed.
He could find nothing more definite, and was about to show Hutch, when Janet said quietly, "I think I've got something."
They were only dark pocks on a river. But they were regularly spaced.
"I think they're bridge supports," said Janet, her voice rising. "Son of a bitch, they are!" She threw up her hands. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a bridge\"
Well, they didn't really have a bridge. They had the remnants. But it didn't matter. Cheers broke out. The assembled passengers surged forward, spilling coffee, pounding one another, calling to others outside to come see. There were handshakes all around and Hutch got squeezed and kissed and squeezed again. But she didn't mind. Goddam, she did not care.
"Congratulations," said Truscott.
"How much time," said Carson, "can you give us?"
"Frank," she said patiently, "I am already well behind schedule. We had an agreement."
"But we have found something."
"Yes, we have. The Academy has a new archeological site to explore." She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I even think I know how much it means to you. But we have to get moving. I'm glad we got something out of this, but I'm going to authorize departure. Morris is raising a storm. And he has grounds for complaint. You'll have to come back with your own people."
Hutch thought she knew what it would mean. Somebody would figure out that this world had been home to a starfaring society. There'd be a lot at stake, and consequently the mission would be taken away from the Academy. There'd been momentum in that direction before they left home. Carson and his friends might one day return, but it would take a while, and they would be subordinate parts of a much larger operation.
Damn.
Truscott left, and they sat listlessly around the lounge, commiserating with one another, crashed from the emotional high of a half hour before. Hutch stood all she could for fifteen minutes, and got up to go somewhere else. As she did, the commlink chimed, and Sill's image appeared. "Dr. Carson," he said, "would you come up to the bridge, please? Bring your colleagues with you."
"We have an object in orbit."
Melanie Truscott, with the captain in tow, steered her five passengers to the main navigation display. It was mostly starfield, with a muted planetary arm across the bottom. One of the stars was extremely bright. "That one," she said.
Hutch felt a ripple of exhilaration. "What kind of object?"
The captain answered. "We don't know. You're looking at mag five. But it isn't a natural satellite. Its RI is way too high for its range."
"An RI is a reflectivity index," said Truscott. "It's big.
Bigger than our station at Quraqua."
Hutch and Carson silently shook hands.
"John." Truscott was addressing the captain. "Are we prepared to make a quick exit if we have to?"
"Yes, Director." He motioned to one of his crewmen, a quick jab with his index finger, and the crewman spoke into a mike. Hutch suspected they were warning all passengers to tie down.
"Is there any indication of onboard power?" asked Hutch.
"Negative." Morris bent over one of the consoles. "Nothing." He looked sternly at Truscott. "Melanie, we have a ship full of people. I think we should leave the area."