Lover-Girl wormed her way through the asteroid belt, passed within a million miles of Jupiter and settled comfortably down on the airless field next to the glass-steel dome of the Experimental Substation on Tethys. But her satisfied repose was interrupted almost before it was begun. Swarms of techmen seemed to burst from the dome and take her over. Welders and physicists, naval architects and shipfitters, all armed with voluminous blueprints and atomic torches set to work on her even before her tubes had cooled. Power lines were crossed and re-crossed, shunted and spliced. Weird screen-like appendages were welded to her bow and stern. Workmen and engineers stomped through her companionways, bawling incomprehensible orders. And her crew watched in mute dismay. They had nothing to say about it...

Ivy Hendricks rose from her desk as Strike came into her Engineering Office. There was a smile on her face as she extended her hand.

"It's good to see you again, Strike."

Strykalski studied her. Yes, she hadn't changed. She was still the Ivy Hendricks he remembered. She was still calm, still lovely, and still very, very competent.

"I've missed you, Ivy." Strike wasn't just being polite, either. Then he grinned. "Lover-Girl's missed you, too. There never has been an Engineering Officer that could get the performance out of her cranky hulk the way you used to!"

"It's a good thing," returned Ivy, still smiling, "that I'll be back at my old job for a while, then."

Strykalski raised his eyebrows inquisitively. Before Ivy could explain, Cob and Celia Graham burst noisily into the room and the greetings began again. Ivy, as a former member of the Cleopatra's crew, was one of the family.

"Now, what I would like to know," Cob demanded when the small talk had been disposed of, "is what's with this 'Project Warp'? What are you planning for Lover-Girl? Your techmen are tearing into her like she was a twenty-day leave!"

"And why was the Cleopatra chosen?" added Celia curiously.

"Well, I'll make it short," Ivy said. "We're going to make a hyper-ship out of her."

"Hyper-ship?" Cob was perplexed.

Ivy Hendricks nodded. "We've stumbled on a laboratory effect that warps space. We plan to reproduce it in portable form on the Cleopatra ... king size. She'll be able 

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