"For Saturn's sake, sit down," the ex-spaceman exploded.
Joel dropped into a relaxer, lit a cigarette. His green eyes glittered with anticipation. Tamis gave him an amused glance, but Joel sensed that the Ganelon girl was as excited as himself.
"We should be landing in an hour," she informed him.
Joel felt the Zenith shiver from the violence of her braking blasts. Minutes ticked past like hours. Then a bell began to ring and went on ringing.
After an interminable wait, Joel was shaken by a heavy jar. The Zenith rocked sickeningly. There was another blast of the jets. Another jar.
The roar dwindled and fell silent. A strange hush pervaded the ship.
"Asgard!" Thorp shouted, leaping to his feet and slapping Joel on the shoulder. "We're down!"
The prisoners were led straight from the Star Ship into the spaceport where a robot surface bus was waiting to carry them into Eden. The bus was constructed after a design strange to Joel. It was a half-track with heavy mesh screens at the windows.
When he accidentally touched the screen, he received a jarring electric shock. Tamis, who was seated beside him, giggled.