She paused, and a forest of hands rose in the air. She glanced at Commander Sussman, and the commander gave a fractional shake of her head.

“Most of your questions about the Tendu are answered in my report,” Juna said. “The important thing to remember is that Moki and Ukatonen are in a strange place, very far away from home. They feel -lost and alone. It’s going to take some time for them to adjust. I have a few requests that I would like to make on their behalf.

“The Tendu are finding their cabin too cold and too dry. Can Life Support do anything about this? They’re also homesick for greenery. Could they help out in the garden? Contact with living things would help make them feel more at home on board ship.”

The head of the Life Support division spoke. “As I recall, we set the controls for their cabin as high as they could go, given the conditions in the rest of the ship, but I’ll see what we can do about making things a little warmer. And we’d be glad to have more help in the garden.”

“There’s a couple of portable humidifiers in the infirmary,” Dr. Caisson volunteered. “And we might have a small heater as well.”

“Thank you, Louise,” the commander said. She turned to the head of Life Support. “Maria, could you raise the ambient temperature and humidity of the rest of the ship as well? I’d like Ukatonen and Moki to feel more comfortable throughout the ship. I’m sure we can all manage to cope with a more tropical environment for the sake of our guests.”

Everyone smiled. Survey ships were generally on the cold side, something everyone complained about.