A hubbub of excitement crackled through the radio receiver, then the girl's voice: "Are you all right? Is everything...." "Everything's fine," Tom said flatly. He could picture the scene back at the station--dozens of people clustered around the jury-rigged radio, Ruth working the controls, trying hard to stay calm when it was impossible to, brushing back that permanently displaced wisp of brown hair that stubbornly fell over her forehead. "Jason will be here in a minute," she said. "He's in the tracking shack, helping to calculate your orbit." * * * * * _Of course Jason will be here_, Tom thought. Aloud he said, "He needn't bother. I can see the satellite packages; they're only a couple of hundred yards from the ship." Even through the radio he could sense the stir that went through them. _Don't get your hopes up_, he warned silently. _Remember, I'm no engineer. Engineers are too valuable to risk on this job. I'm just a tool, a mindless screwdriver sent here to assemble this glorified tinkertoy. I'm the muscle, Arnoldsson is the nerve link, and Jason is the brain._ Abruptly, Jason's voice surged through the radio speaker, "We did it, Tom! We did it!" _No_, Tom thought, _you did it, Jason. This is all your show._ "You should be able to see the satellite components," Jason said. His voice was excited yet controlled, and his comment had a ring of command in it. "I've already looked," Tom answered. "I can see them." "Are they damaged?" "Not as far as I can see. Of course, from this distance...." "Yes, of course," Jason said. "You'd better get right outside and start working on them. You've only got forty-eight hours worth of oxygen." "Don't worry about me," Tom said into the radio. "Just remember your end of the bargain." "You'd better forget that until you get back here." "I'm not forgetting anything." "I mean you must concentrate on what you're doing up there if you expect to get back alive." "When I get back we're going to explore the bombed-out cities. You promised that. It's the only reason I agreed to this." Jason's voice stiffened. "My memory is quite as good as yours. We'll discuss the expedition after you return. Now you're using up valuable time ... and oxygen." "Okay. I'm going outside." Ruth's voice came back on: "Tom, remember to keep the ship's radio open, or else your suit radio won't be able to reach us. And we're all here ... Dr. Arnoldsson, Jason, the engineers ... if anything comes up, we'll be right here to help you." * * * * * Tom grinned mirthlessly. _Right here: 22,500 miles away._ "Tom?" "Yes Ruth." "Good luck," she said. "From all of us." _Even Jason?_ he wanted to ask, but instead said merely, "Thanks."