
A nearby object sliced through the air towards Trent, with
some considerable speed considering the weightless
conditions.  She turned away and continued her 'ascent'
towards the crew cabin.  Her actions were rewarded a few
seconds later by an exclamation and soon after a
satisfying bump as Trent collided with the observation
port wall.  She didn't have to look round to picture the
look on his face.

Before the next 3 weeks were up, orbit around Venus had
been achieved.  The first RemPod (remote pod) was launched
with Trent, of all people, at the controls.  Kay had
sighed.  It was just his luck to be picked for the first
planetfall.  She consoled herself with the fact that he
was not ACTUALLY going there.  The Venusian temperatures
of 470 degrees Celsius made that impossible.  He was
plunged into the SimuPod, giving him all-round vison and
the ability to direct and experience the environment of
the RemPod, without breathing the poisonous atmosphere or
frying up in the heat.

He had been 'on the surface' for nearly half an hour now,
the visuals transmitted directly to the orbiter by the
RemPod below.  The technology which made all this possible
would have functioned adequately from Earth, but the time