Good luck!"
Zip, Mark, and Joe ascended the stairs and came to the landing. The
stairway and corridors were very plain. There was no unnecessary
ornamentation of any kind, and lighting was minimal. They found a door
with a sign on it that read STARLIGHT ENTERPRISE in bold letters. A
second line provided the name of SE's resident operations officer on
Ceres: "Sim Sala Bim." Joe knocked.
"Come in," said a voice. The Starmen entered the door. The occupant, a
tall, slender man of Indian extraction with black thinning hair, was
already coming toward the door to welcome his visitors. "Welcome! So
glad to see you! Welcome, please come in!" He ushered them into the
room.
"Nice to see you again, Sim," greeted Zip. They sat down in a circle of
chairs, Sim sitting near a table on which were placed all the makings
necessary for tea. There were already two cups set out, which had been
used recently. Sim took one for himself and set the other aside. "This
was Kathryn's," he said as he produced three new cups for his visitors.
"You probably passed her on your way in."
The conversation continued as Sim poured the tea from a very large
brown earthenware teapot. Before long, Zip brought up the subject of
their visit.
"I wish we had more time to visit, Sim, but our assignment is extremely
urgent.
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