The trip was quite uneventful, though it involved Idda escaping from the harness several times.
We arrived at the Exchange when the eastern sky was turning light blue. As the craft flew low over the hills behind Athens, and the city lay spread out before me, I couldn’t remember how long ago I had last been here for a visit that wasn’t work. Probably when Thayu and I had a mock wedding ceremony at my father’s beach house, but then that had turned into a work visit anyway.
The Exchange’s big circular arrival and departure hall was, as usual, a cacophony of light and noise. The Asto or Hedron-built craft favoured by transport companies were as noiseless as possible for craft of that size, but still, when a lot of them departed and arrived in that enclosed space, the whine of engines became
