"He'll be able to talk in five minutes."
Quillan had been sitting for some little while in a very comfortable chair in what had been the commodore's personal suite on the Seventh Star, broodingly regarding the image of the Camelot in a huge wall screen. The liner was still over two hours' flight away but would arrive on schedule. On the Star, at least in the normspace section, everything was quiet, and in the main control offices and in the transmitter room normal working conditions had been restored.
A room portal twenty feet away opened suddenly, and Reetal Destone stepped out.
"So there you are!" she observed.
Quillan Looked mildly surprised, then grinned. "I'd hate to have to try to hide from you!" he said.
"Hm-m-m!" said Reetal. She smiled. "What are you drinking?"
He nodded at an open liquor cabinet near the screen. "Velladon was leaving some excellent stuff behind. Join me?"