The Safety Officer braced herself smoothly, then turned till her attitude matched Linda’s at her desk, but facing her—at right angles to the door—and saluted.
Linda’s eyebrows raised at the formality. “Yes, Ms. Simms?” She said, with equal formality.
“Lin—I mean, Director Yang—Enyeart—the TFDA man—he’s gone out to inspect the Big Eye.”
“I thought that was scheduled for tomorrow. There’s no problem, is there?”
“Uh—no, ma’am. The Eye is not being re-aligned until the day after tomorrow. But he went alone!”
“Don’t safety regulations mean anything around here?” Linda said, irritated. “How did he manage that?”
“He pulled rank on the traffic control officer. Monaghan is a good man, but that TFDA stuff scared him.”
“Understandable.” Linda thought for a moment. The long cable ride out to th
