His mother took his hand, and hers, and put them together.
Kay laughed a little, her fingers squeezing his, and suddenly he was longing to be with her in the peaceful beauty of the gardens of Phobos, which would no longer be a prison to him now.
“I’m glad, Bob,” his mother was whispering.
“Glad – ” She paused, and they listened to his father’s crisp voice:
“ – then, Jay, what can we do with the comet?”
“There are, I believe, three possible alternatives,” the commander answered thoughtfully.
“The keeper of the peace may be requested to destroy the entire comet – an irrational action, which I still oppose.
Or it may be kept and governed as a permanent part of the System.
Or the liberated slaves, if they are capable of operating it, may be allowed to depart with it.
I should prefer the third choice, but of course the final decision is a matter for the Council.
“In any case, the comet offers us a magnificent accession of knowledge.” His grave eyes shone with a quick enthusiasm. “I’m already planning to return immediately, as soon as we have safely returned the keeper of the peace to the Purple Hall. I want to bring teams of experts in every branch of learning – ” Bob Star felt very tired, and the commander’s ringing voice began to matter less than the warmth of Kay’s arm against him.
Faintly, as if from some vast distance, he heard the plaintive whine of Giles Habibula:
“Come along, Hal, and let’s see if we can’t find some proper human food and drink – ”