Grimes studied the confident features almost enviously. "Keep your eyes and ears open and report anything that interests you immediately. We'll follow you on TV and try to anticipate your needs." He had to bite his lip to continue the instructions. "Be sure to let us know instantly if you feel any of the usual symptoms."

Lerner's eyes remained steady as he nodded. A few minutes later he dropped lightly to the surface of the planet and waited for his first instructions.

"Stay on the hard surface of the airstrip," Grimes ordered. "Don't kick up any dust as you walk. Don't touch anything with your exposed skin."

The navigator started toward the buildings at the far end of the airstrip. He wore a light linen suit that looked more like an eighteenth-century houri's costume than anything an inter-planetary explorer might wear. It was belted around the waist and again at the ankles, and thin enough to reveal the athletic supporter which was his only undergarment. He carried the receiver-transmitter over one shoulder and held the X pistol, with its brightly focused target scope, ready in his hand. He had slid some "Uneasy" pills from a Mars kit under the strap of his wristwatch. They were a great help in combating nausea during the first few hours on the light planet. The UN labs were working on a special kit for use on Primus, but in the meantime the Mars kit seemed to be a satisfactory substitute. The reduced gravitational pull of the smaller planets worked strange tricks on a man's insides and most explorers resorted freely to the pills, which they had nicknamed "Uneasy."

"There's a vegetable growth of some kind in the cracks along the airstrip here," Lerner's voice came steadily over the loudspeaker. "Don't touch it with your bare skin," Grimes said quickly. "They probably haven't used the airstrip since the last expedition from Terra. Is there any odor rising from it?"

He watched the young navigator dip into a semi-crouch. "Nothing that I can detect, sir."

"All right, go on. Go inside the UN building and see if it's empty. If there's anybody there, come out immediately. Keep talking all the time you're inside. I want a word picture of everything you see."

As Lerner approached the buildings about a half mile away, Grimes switched from a direct view to the television screen that maintained a life-size close-up. He felt a momentary urge to organize a small force and lead it up to the navigator's position. What kept him back? That was the way he had planned it 

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