We're the last ones out of the ship. I was still hot, I unbuttoned my blue jumpsuit with my free hand. I couldn't take my things, even my clothes, and they gave them to us all at the spaceport. Comfortable and practical, what can I say?
- Congratulations on your successful flight, - Vitovt nodded to me politely when I joined the rest of the group. Jessica smiled gently at me and hugged me, and Arnold grabbed Rex out of his arms and began to squeeze him. I didn't approve of that, but I didn't argue now. Victoria and Butch probably didn't pay attention to me, so I didn't look at them anyway.
The hangar door from the station's side opened, and three people slowly came to us: two men and one woman.
- Welcome to Alpha-1 station, dear friends, - smiled the first of them, an old, fat man with beautiful teeth. - My name is Georg van Drake, I am one of the founders of this station, but please! - He's got his hands wrapped in a frown - don't treat me like that! To you, I'm just Georg, your humble servant! - The eloquent grandfather bowed low.
Butch humbled loudly and threw his hand into the black beard.
- These are my colleagues, Dr. Ursula Smith and Jan Webber, the head of the biological complex. I, - my grandfather smiled modestly, - am in charge of the station administration. People call me a director. - George's cheeks were pink with embarrassment, but I couldn't buy it all. - You can contact my office with any problem. And now I would like to meet you!
We introduced ourselves.
- Great! - sparkled with beautiful teeth. - And now we're going to give you a little excursion. There are a lot of complexes in our station, I can drive you around them for a month, - he laughed loudly, throwing his head back, - so let's limit ourselves to the minimum - we'll see only those that we will meet on the way to your rooms.
We were the first to meet a medical complex, which immediately aroused interest in half of our group. It was told about by Ursula Smith, a nice woman of forty years old and a holder of a Nordic appearance. As it turned out, she was the chief gynecologist and assistant to the head of the complex at the station, who was too busy today.
- We will work a lot with you, - Dr. Smith smiled at me. I didn't understand, but I nodded.
Seeing that Rex was uncomfortable in my arms, Georg offered to let him go, still smiling dazzlingly. They said, - A dog won't hurt me. As soon as I put the dog on the floor, he rushed to sniff out all the corners to the director's loud laughter.
Then there was the engineering complex, and it turned out (for me) that this was where Buchu had to work.
Then there was the botanical garden, we walked past the food block (I had to assure George that Rex was a well-behaved dog) and finally ended up in a residential complex.
There were several people in the corridor, smiling and greeting us.
- And now we'll leave you to rest, - smiled the director. - It's a pity to part with you for today, but the flight must have exhausted you completely. - Georg sighed bitterly. - Our engineers are working day and night, trying to create the most advanced model of Cassiopeia, but so far in vain. Perhaps,- he turned to Butch, - it was you, Mr. Clifford, who would fix it!
Butch lazily shook his shoulders as if he hadn't been touched by the praise, but it was clear that George had managed to flatter this rude man.
The director himself gave the room numbers for each person. Jessica and I unhooked our hands, smiled at each other, and fled into our own apartments.
The room was very nice, in light blue, with a large double bed, armchair, sliding wardrobe, and workspace. I touched the beautiful lamp on the table with my hand and looked through the window. My heart shrank when I saw the shape of the Earth.
I would never see it again? I signed up for it myself, I know. It's a great honor to be part of the Alpha-1 project. When I waved the tears that had begun, I turned to the spitz.
The little prankster was already sitting on the bed, looking closely at me with his head on his side. I couldn't help smiling and stroked him over the head. Rex wagged his tail pretty good and then yawned. The flight and tour weighed him down even more than I did. He had a pretty little bed for him, but naive George didn't know that my boor was only sleeping on the bed.
I lay on the bed, tired of closing my eyes. I didn't want to think about anything, there was chaos in my heart. I thought I'd think about it tomorrow, but in the meantime, I'd just lie there for a while.