Grimes took a handset. "Captain Grimes ... Spaceship Vulcan ... Mister."
He waited for the acknowledgement. The mayor's voice was high pitched and unsteady, but his command of English was more than satisfactory.
"Mister of Estival," he said. "Greetings, Captain Grimes. Will you land?"
"We ... will ... not ... land ... at ... once. Our ... mission ... may ... be ... the ... last ... peaceful ... one ... to ... visit ... Primus ... if ... the ... mystery ... of ... the ... Terranians' ... deaths ... is ... not ... solved."
"I understand you very well, Captain. You may speak more readily with me. What can I do to help you?"
Grimes relaxed and winked encouragingly at the doctor and Manson, then turned his attention back to the radio.
"We want a complete explanation of the cause of death of all Terranians who have landed on Primus. Have you performed autopsies on any of the bodies?"
"We are not equipped to operate as you are, Captain. We have almost no medical science on Primus. We are doing what we can but so far we have discovered nothing."
"My orders are to exploit every possibility. After us will come only a task force, Mayor of Estival."