The next week or so is pretty uneventful. Nicki and I are joined by a couple of biologists, an ecologist and a botanist from the other teams, but we know them well enough that integration is simple. They have the same training as we do and slip into their roles easily and comfortably. Potential work timetables need to be modified, but procedures will be the same for all of us.

Argus, of course, is continuing to scan the surface, something that we always knew would take about ten days to do with any degree of accuracy. There don’t appear to be any surprises, but the infra-red scans do seem to show that the planet is teeming with warm-blooded life. There’s not much to be seen on the feeds from the landers, but there is enough data from them to conclude that we won’t die from poisoning or asphyxiation if we go down to the surface.

By the end of the week, I feel the need to escape for a few hours. There’s nowhere near enough of a wave for me to go surfing, but I need a break from my office and the bridge of the ship. I take a long walk along the beach, next best thing to surfing. It’s getting close to sunset by the time I get back to the edge of campus and I wander down to the square and plonk myself into a seat at Miguel’s counter.

“You look tired, my friend,” Miguel tells me as he places a glass of juice in front of me on the counter. “That’s today’s pineapple, but do you need something stronger?”

“Sure. You could drop a shot of rum into it. I’m not ready to eat just yet. I need to relax for a bit.”

“You need to take more frequent breaks. We haven’t seen you down here for a whole week.” I can tell he is genuinely concerned. “Get away from your work and do something different.”

“I know. You heard that the mission changed? It’s just about organised now and I can slow down a bit for the next couple of days. I will, I promise.”

“Well, I expect you to keep that promise.”

<Peter, sorry to interrupt>

“Yes, Axios, what is it?”

<Your linguist has arrived. I know it’s late, but he wanted to get started right away and his body-clock is all messed up.>

“No problem. I’m down at Miguel’s stand in the square. Do you want to direct him down here. I was just about to eat.”

<Yes, I can do that. He’s in his assigned apartment, settling in. He’s only a minute or so from the square. I’ll guide him down.>

“Is everything okay?” Miguel asks as I come back from a moment of obvious blankness. “You were on a call?”

“Yeah, everything is fine. We’re about to meet my new language expert.”

“Why do you need a language expert?”

“Well, don’t laugh if I tell you!”

“No, I’m genuinely curious, Peter.”

“It’s in case we need to speak to any aliens once we land.”

“You are fucking joking, aren’t you?”

All I can manage is a shake of my head and a wry smile. Miguel stares at me for a long moment before he too smiles.

“Shit! I just never thought about it. Nicki did say there were animals. I guess the idea of people of some sort just never occurred to me.” He seems a little bit shaken by his own thoughts.

“Hey, Miguel, chill out.”

“Yeah, I’m cool. Might just have a rum with you though.”

“I know, my friend. It’s a lot to think about. Why do you think I’m so stressed. It’s just a contingency, but we have to be prepared for almost anything.”

“I think this might be your guy now. He looks like he could do with getting out in the sun a bit more.”

A slim, dark-haired man about my age is approaching the booth. He is tall for an Earth-born, certainly above 1.8m, and muscular, wearing a t-shirt and shorts. He is indeed very pale in comparison to Miguel’s Latino complexion and my Florida tan.

“Peter?” he asks with a trace of an accent that I just can’t quite place but which reminds me of Granddad.

“Yes, welcome to the team.”

“I’m Andrew Collister, but, please, call me Andy.”

“It’s good to meet you, Andy.” I hold out my hand and we shake. He has a good strong grip. “I was just about to get dinner, please, take a seat.”

“Do you mind if I join you? It still feels like lunch time to me and I haven’t eaten.”

“Oh, please, be my guest. Miguel, can I get my usual, please. Oh, and another drink, I think?”

“Hola Miguel, ¿cómo estás hoy?”

“Oh, hablas español”

“Sí un poco. Tomaré lo mismo que Peter, si me lo permites.”

“See, Miguel, I told you our language expert was joining us,” I tell him with a smile.

“Do you want another rum in this next drink as well, Peter.”

“Why not! What about you, Andy?”

“Sure, I don’t usually drink that much really, but it is a special occasion, starting a new job doesn’t happen every day.”

Miguel gives us both our drinks and then busies himself with preparing some food for us. It’s very early in the evening still and we are in that comfortable time between the afternoon and people looking for dinner.

“So,” I begin once we have taken a drink. “How have you ended up here as our linguist. I don’t get involved in recruitment and this was, as I’m sure you know, a bit of a rush job.”

“I know that English is pretty universal now, but there’s still plenty of research and teaching going on. I’ve actually been researching ancient middle-eastern languages for a couple of years. I guess I’ve always had a gift for it. Anyway, I didn’t have anything pressing going on for the next few months and I suppose the AIs saw that and made a quick decision.”

“I hope they explained the task at hand to you before you accepted,” I mutter. “This is one step beyond anything routine, even if you’re not needed.”

“Oh, no, don’t worry. I was fully briefed. I do think they didn’t have much choice though and I could tell they were very keen. Honestly, I needed a bit of a break from home and routine, so it all works out well.”

“You mentioned being a bit time-lagged. Where have you come from, Andy. You have an accent that I feel is familiar, but I just can’t lock it down right now.”

“I’m from the Isle of Man, Ramsey in the North, though, not down south like your grandfather,”

“That makes sense of the accent then. Granddad has lost a lot of his over the years and I really haven’t spent much time there. I have visited a couple of times, years ago as a kid, but it’s a bit of a faded memory.”

“I get it, Peter. I simply never really left. Nexima is always able to find a job for a language expert and it is still my main base of operations. I do travel, but much of what I do, I can do from anywhere and I feel most comfortable working at home.”

At this point, Miguel places our plates in front of us and a big basket of fries between us. “Fair warning, Andy, the burrito may be spicy,” I tell him as I pick mine up and take a first bite.

Andy pauses after his first mouthful and his eyes go a little wide as the chilli hits. “Hmm… I can take it, I think.”

“I’m afraid I’m a bit of a spice addict. Maybe we’ll find some new flavours on Verus,” I muse.

“That would be something. We never got much from Sevrin or the other colonies.”

“No, so much of the vegetation on them all is completely different and we just don’t really taste much out of it, even when it is nominally totally edible. I can give you the task as a second job; something to keep you busy in the silence on the surface.”

“Well, you’re the boss now. I’m game to try anything you need me to do. I don’t honestly expect to be doing any linguistics.”

“Well, I’ll take a proper look at your file before the morning. I’d like to get you into the ship at least once before we decide to land. It’s not so much that you need to get used to free-fall, but everybody else on the mission has done it and I need you to be seen by them as part of the team.”

“I might throw up!”

“Yeah, you might. I never have, but plenty of the others have done so. There’s no shame in it at all. Do you have any other special skills that we might find useful if I get you down onto the surface?” I have to be honest with myself about this. I’m not expecting anything truly useful.

“Well, maybe. I understand you use wheeled exploration vehicles?”

“Yes, a couple of buggies. They’re manual control though. It can be quite a learning curve for most people. Everyone is used to cabs.”

“Right, I thought so. Well, I can drive. I’ve driven racing karts since I was about twelve. Similar controls, just a different size.”

“No shit! That’s actually pretty useful. We’ll get you some time down on the beach with one tomorrow, and give you a quick test. Even so, first thing, you and I are going over to the ship and floating around.”

“Okay… I’m sure I’ll manage. I do like fairground rides, so I’m at least in with a chance.”

“You’ll be fine. Just don’t have another burrito for breakfast!”

“I could. It really is amazingly good. Miguel, it was magnificent. Thank you.”

“Well, I’m heading home. Don’t stay out too late. Better to get too much sleep than too little. It works for me when I’m going back and forth to Sevrin.”

Miguel looks in my direction as I stand and I make it clear that the meal is on me. He holds up the code for me to scan and I wish him a good evening as well.

“See you tomorrow, Andy.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow, Peter. Goodnight.”