By the time Scott and Perseid reached the landing bay, the retrieval team's skiff had returned. The lifepod they'd recovered lay on the deck in front of their boxy little craft, encircled by crewmen in red jumpsuits.
As the crewmen parted to let Perseid through, Scott saw Chief Azimuth and Doctor Beauchamp working on the pod. Azimuth was prying with his big silver wrench at a clamp bolt near the base of the pod, while Beauchamp was busy running a diagnostic wand over the hull.
"His vitals are strong," Beauchamp said when Perseid approached. "Elevated, but you would expect that after the kind of stress he must have been through."
Perseid touched the skin of the pod. "How long until we get this thing open?"
"Ask Mr. Celebrity!" Azimuth pulled hard on his wrench, grunting and scowlin
