

# TO THE STARS

The Harry Irons Saga, Part One

by

Thomas C. Stone

Independently Published

www.thomascstone.com

To the Stars

Second Edition

Copyright © 2019 by Thomas C. Stone

ISBN 9781695712867

All Rights Reserved

**To the Stars** is a work of fiction. All characters, names, and/or places are products of the author's imagination except where overt historical references are made. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without prior written permission of the author.

Other Titles by Thomas C. Stone:

Xylanthia

Return to Xylanthia

The Galactic Center

To the Stars

Stolen Worlds

Minerva's Soul

Among the Stars

Jenning's Folly

The Harry Irons Trilogy

Rolling Thunder

Gender Wars

Song of the Elowai

Smolif

Incident on Walsh Street

The Libran Exchange

Collected Short Stories

Sandy Pearl and the Blades

The Cane Patch Collectors

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Dr. Ruth Wachendorfer for her editing duties and for discussions on what is and is not possible in this marvelous universe we occupy.

# Chapter 1

From 600 miles up, corporate Executive Officer Collenz was close enough to eyeball the entire eastern seaboard through a viewing port. Without aid, she could see all along the coast as well as the entire wooded mountain range running north and south. To the west, a high desert plain stretched to the horizon, the only change in the running smoothness coming from cracks here and there, cracks that, Collenz knew, were actually great canyons and faults in the planet's surface. There wasn't anything of much interest to the west. It was the wooded coast that drew her attention.

She glanced at the instrument readouts; all the long-range sensors functioned normally. As the spacecraft floated eastward, its antennas automatically adjusted themselves for optimal performance and the data poured in. Collenz smiled to herself. Everything was going perfectly.

Passing over the land mass, telemetry revealed vast coniferous forests, lush green valleys, and the occasional river snaking its path to the sea. It was blue and green and red and brown, and all the other Earth colors that made her believe -- that made her know -- they'd hit a big strike, a hospitable planet. The company would pay huge bonuses for finding a stable planet capable of being colonized.

A buzzer sounded and Collenz jerked around to face her navigations display. Leaning closer to the panel, she studied the video images of the passing terrain, eyes searching for the flash of sunlight off metal that would reveal the shuttle's landing site. As an afterthought, she checked the time and realized the exploratory party was now ten minutes late for their check-in call.

She waited an instant longer before turning her chair ninety degrees to the left so that she sat before the laserscope. Leaning forward into the binocular eyepiece, she could see fine details of the forest as if she were flying a hundred feet over the treetops. The shuttle required an area large enough to accommodate its size, like a meadow, or maybe just a small area between the trees. Ah yes, she drew in her breath, there it was.

Simultaneously, she pressed a key at her console and a preset navigational program began to cycle though its routine. As a result, the spacecraft parked itself in stationary orbit above the landing site.

*

Hundreds of miles below, the pined forest spread itself over the land and up the jagged slopes of the mountains. The massive trees were similar to those on Earth: old, primitive conifers that grew to be as thick as houses and taller than acceleration ramps. That was the first thing Fagen noted about the planet -- the towering trees.

Glad to be out of the can, Fagen took a deep breath and surveyed their position. The shuttle sat in a small meadow, nestled between the giant pines. It was a balmy day with a light breeze blowing in from the coast.

For a moment, intoxicated by the success of the mission, Fagen stood in the shade of the airfoil and allowed himself to stare out at the magnificent trees of the beautiful planet he'd just discovered.

An electronic pop issued from his earpiece, quickly followed by Mission Specialist Carter's voice. "Uh, commander?"

Fagen spoke into his headset mike. "Yes, Carter?"

"Can you see Povich?"

"Negative, Carter. She's not with you?"

"Well, she was."

"Where is she?" Fagen asked in rising excitement.

The radio cracked with Carter's voice. "That's what I'm trying to tell you. She walked into the forest and I lost sight of her. Two minutes passed, I swear to God, that's all, before I called to her again. There's no answer."

Fagen looked up and across the clearing. He could plainly see Carter at the edge of the trees.

Again, Fagen spoke into his mike, "Povich! If you hear me, get back to the shuttle, on the double!" He waited but no answer was forthcoming. Finally, he waved at Carter. "All right, hold it right there, we'll go look for her together."

Glancing from side to side, Fagen crossed the sunlit field and passed into the shadows of the trees where Carter waited. Carter pointed to a giant tree that looked as though it had been there since the last millennium. "That's the last place I saw her." Fagen started towards the tree, motioning for Carter to follow.

"She couldn't have gotten far," Carter said.

Fagen didn't answer. He hated incompetence. No matter how pleasant the planet seemed to be, it was still unexplored and light-years away from Earth. They had to be careful, not wander off on some euphoric high, lulled into assuming ease when...

A sensation passed through him. "Did you feel something?"

"No, like what?"

"I don't know, something like..." Fagen glanced at the readings on his portable console and noted the static buildup. "...something like an electric charge in the air."

"I didn't feel anything."

"Hey," a third voice said, startling the two men.

Carter and Fagen looked up and observed Povich standing not sixty yards away. She waved them over.

Fagen started in before she had the chance to speak. "You know the rules, Povich. What the hell do you think you're doing? Why didn't you answer our calls?"

She held up her hands to stop his tirade. "All right, all right, hold on for a minute. I snagged my antenna and it broke off at the base, see?" She turned around to let Fagen inspect her small equipment pack. "I couldn't call."

"Well, why didn't you just come back?"

"Look at this, then you'll understand." She pointed at a small circle of carefully aligned rocks on the forest floor. Ashes were contained within the circle. All around the small circle of rocks, pine needles were brushed back to reveal the bare Earthen floor. "It's a campsite. Somebody, or something, built a fire here. I'd say this is pretty strong proof of intelligent life."

Fagen looked hard at Povich. "I don't see that it proves anything."

"You must be joking."

"I don't joke, Povich. Wandering from the specified area is a serious breach of protocol."

"What are we here for?" Povich interrupted. "I'm doing the job I was hired to do!"

"Then you will conduct yourself as you have been briefed. Is that clear?"

"Right," she replied curtly. "Now may I continue to investigate the area?"

"You may."

Povich abruptly turned away and, now with Carter's help, continued searching the surrounding ground. In moments, Carter spotted something at the edge of the campsite.

"What does that look like to you?" he asked, pointing to the ground.

Fagen studied the spot and said nothing.

"Looks like a footprint to me," declared Povich.

Reluctantly, Fagen replied, "Maybe."

Povich put her hands on her hips and jutted her chin out. "Maybe? What's it going to take to convince you, Fagen?"

An uncomfortable sensation again passed through the air, this time accompanied by a high whining sound as if air under high pressure was being expelled through a tiny nozzle.

"What is that?" Carter asked.

Fagen, still listening, shrugged and walked away from the campsite looking for the source of the sound. Povich and Carter stood where they were. Fagen stepped around a great tree and, assuring himself that any primitive intelligence would offer a minimal threat, he took a look. Some distance away, a flash of metal revealed something moving slowly and steadily toward their position. At random intervals, it emitted the high-pitched sound.

Fagen held his breath and waited until it again passed into sight. It moved in an odd way; mechanical, robotlike, but with uncanny smooth precision. The closer it got, the more the static charge in the air seemed to build. Fagen gradually withdrew and stood with his back to the tree. He motioned to Povich and Carter.

Povich spread her hands questioningly. "What?"

"Something's coming," Fagen said, "Let's get back to the shuttle!"

Neither Povich nor Carter moved. Instead, they exchanged quizzed looks.

Fagen took another look around the tree but this time he saw not one, but two of the things. The second was much closer than the first and was headed straight for them. There was little doubt in Fagen's mind about what to do: get back to the shuttle. These creatures didn't look any too friendly and the landing party wasn't armed.

"Come on," Fagen ordered, "let's get back to the shuttle! Now!"

Povich spread her hands. "This is ridiculous, why don't you tell us what's going on?"

"No time. Just come on."

"What about..." started Carter.

"Go now!" Fagen pushed Carter and the mission specialist finally broke into a run toward the shuttle.

Povich grabbed Fagen by the arm. "What did you see? What is it?"

"Hell, I don't know, aliens, I guess."

"Why didn't you say so? I'm going to stick around and take some pictures."

"This isn't some picnic! I'm ordering you back to the shuttle! Now!"

"You can't tell me what to do -- my father has more invested in this little trip than any of the other shareholders, including you. So, I'll do what I want."

"Don't be a fool."

"Me? You're pretty foolish yourself, running away from opportunity like this." The young woman wedged herself between two over-sized, exposed roots and checked her video camera.

"Go on," she waved Fagen away. "I'll lay the groundwork."

"Don't be stupid," said Fagen as he looked toward the direction of the growing noise. "I don't have time for this."

Povich hunkered down in her little niche.

"Stubborn," murmured Fagen as he turned away.

*

Fagen disappeared from view. Povich settled into her hiding spot and listened. The high-pitched sound stopped. Perhaps whatever Fagen had seen had reversed its direction. In the quiet confines of the forest she heard Fagen's footsteps as he made his way back to the shuttle. Once, she even thought she heard Carter's insistent voice, although she couldn't make out what he said.

Minutes passed. The forest was oddly quiet, but who could say what was odd on this alien world? A chill passed through her as she considered the possibility that something might harm her. After all, she was alone, without help. Too late to think about that now, she'd made the decision to remain, effectively ignoring Fagen's orders. She shifted her feet and looked around. There was nothing to see except the enormous trees.

A shadow passed. Povich looked up but saw nothing save for the solid ceiling of branches and pine needles far above. Another shadow silently passed, but this time she glimpsed a small creature, birdlike in its grace, flying through the branches overhead.

In relief, Povich smiled. Fagen had been frightened by a bird. She removed the lens cap from her video-camera and sighted at the alien life form as it skitted between the branches. Through the telescoping viewfinder, she found that the creature wasn't a bird, but something rather like a flying rat.

She followed it with her camera, recording its movements and automatically relaying the data back to the shuttle recorders. The rat flew from the right to the left, perched momentarily on a branch, then jumped off and flew directly over Povich's head, stopping on the tree trunk behind Povich and gripping the bark with six marvelously delicate little fingers.

Povich looked closely at the animal. It didn't appear to be afraid and peered back at her. Although it was only two feet away, it showed no hostility. Indeed, it appeared to be as curious as Povich. Its wings were long, loose folds of skin attached to short lower legs and long upper arms. Povich got a good picture just before the thing jumped onto her shoulder.

It surprised Povich but she maintained her composure as the animal clung to the heavy fabric at her shoulder and sniffed at her neck, tickling her with its nuzzling nose. She allowed it to climb down to a large, unzipped pocket which had held the camera. It crawled inside, poked its head back out, and looked directly at the amazed woman. Then it looked past her, over her shoulder.

Povich felt a presence behind, then a soft whoosh, like fans or air jets. The air moved and Povich slowly turned her head to see what was behind her. The ratlike creature jumped from her pocket to the ground and squatted some feet away, watching.

Povich's fleeting impression was of something large, something metallic, floating in the air directly before her, but before she could wholly assimilate the thing, the air hissed and crackled and Povich caught sight of something swinging at her from the side. At the same time, an unearthly, triumphant scream issued forth, echoing throughout the forest.

The blow hit her on the side of the neck, slicing through skin, muscles and tendons, as well as the cervical column just above the third vertebrae. Her head, severed from her body, dropped to the cushioned floor of pine needles.

*

Carter was waiting outside the shuttle when Fagen trotted up.

"Come on," urged the commander.

"Wait a minute, we're here. Maybe she's right behind us. Tell me what we're running from."

Fagen shook his head. "I wish I knew. I don't think it was anything from this planet. It was metallic, maybe robotic, big, and it moved... fast. There were appendages and things, tools, or weapons, hanging from its sides. There were two of them, moving pretty far apart."

"Why didn't we make contact?"

"You didn't see them, I did. Believe me, these things looked more like a hunting party."

Carter looked toward the trees. "What about Povich? What are we going to do?"

"Stay here and watch for her. I'm going to the weapons locker."

"Are you sure?"

"Better safe than sorry."

Without another word, Fagen climbed up through the hatch into the shuttle. Once inside, he made his way to the weapons locker and opened it up. To his disbelief, it was empty.

The commander glanced out the nearest port and something slid out of his field of vision. He stepped across the width of the shuttle and peered through the opposite port. Below, Carter watched the forest for Povich. Fagen crossed back to the first port and looked to the trees. The thing, whatever it was, stood motionless at the edge of the meadow. It had circled the meadow and was unexpectedly coming at them from the opposite direction. Fagen had his first, good, long look.

It was tall, seven feet or so. Its smooth, semi-circular, metallic torso was held aloft by a trio of knuckled legs, one fore and two aft, like a thumb opposed by two fingers. When it moved, it stepped gingerly, but quickly, as a spider might. A silvery hump sat atop the body looking quite unremarkably like a head with a darkened plate in front that looked unmistakably like a window. Two metallic arms hung from either shoulder and ended in a three-fingered hand. Additionally, accoutrements hung from an apparatus of straps slung around the body of the creature.

Fagen watched as it began to walk towards the shuttle. It moved breathtakingly fast and was across the meadow before Fagen could react.

"Carter? Get up here right now!" Fagen once again crossed to the opposite port. Carter still watched the forest, mindlessly unaware of what came at him from behind. Fagen pounded against the hull and shouted a warning, "Get out of there!" but Carter didn't hear.

Fagen rifled through the other lockers, but there was nothing even remotely serviceable as a weapon. He shot a glance out the window again. The creature was no more than three meters away, facing Carter. As Fagen watched, it removed an item from its harness and loaded it into what appeared to be a hollow tube. With dawning realization of what the instrument was, Fagen started back towards the hatch to warn Carter.

As he reached the opening, he heard a pop! and then the sickening sound of piercing flesh. Through the hatch, Fagen saw a thin silver wire stretched taut as the creature began to reel it in. As the end came into sight, he saw that the projectile had first passed through, and then somehow wrapped itself around Carter's limp and broken neck. With a sudden, cold aloofness, Fagen hit the Access Closed switch and the hatch swung shut.

*

The shuttle made the transit quickly. When Fagen got to the tunnel that led to the bridge he saw that Collenz waited for him at the top of the passageway. "What kind of trouble?" she asked.

"What?"

"You didn't specify what kind of trouble you were having." She looked past him. "Where are the others?"

"They didn't make it." He stepped past her and guided himself to the navigator's position.

"What do you mean they didn't make it?"

"Just that. We ran into something we couldn't handle. Povich and Carter made some poor choices and died for it."

"Povich and Carter? Dead? What happened?"

"There was some kind of alien machine. I've never seen anything like it. We landed okay and set up the equipment -- I've got plenty of data to download -- then Povich wandered off. We found her all right, but we also found these other things. Povich wouldn't follow orders. I don't know what happened to her. But one of those things got Carter. There was nothing I could do."

Fagen lapsed into silence. He began to punch navigational coordinates into the computer.

Collenz stared at the commander and shook her head. "That won't wash with the people at corporate. Didn't you think about that? We have a directive that explicitly states no crew member, dead or alive, is to be left behind on an exploratory mission. Why didn't you consult me?"

Fagen pounded the console with his fist. "There wasn't time!"

"So, because you felt you couldn't help them, you decided to save your skin instead. Have I got this right so far?"

Fagen was silent.

"You realize, of course, that your actions have forfeited our bonuses as well. You sure took a lot on yourself."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'll have to make a detailed report. Corporate is not going to be happy with how you handled things."

Fagen twisted in his chair and faced Collenz, "You think I'm glad those two people are lost? What happened to the guns I stashed in the shuttle?"

"There's no need to raise your voice. You know as well as I that we aren't cleared to carry firearms on a landing party. I moved the rifles. Don't bother looking for them. I jettisoned them while you were gone. No, I don't think you're happy about Carter and Povich, but the fact remains you went outside the operational parameters by stranding two members of this expedition. It's my duty to make a full report..."

"Exonerating yourself and placing the blame on me? You weren't even there."

"It's not necessary that I was there. We've got the data from the recorders, I'm sure it'll speak for itself. I'm going down to the shuttle bay and pull the disks. We'll talk more later."

Collenz paused at the hatch. "Pull yourself together, Fagen. You're a mess." She turned away and pulled herself, hand over hand, down the passage.

He ran a hand over his scalp and stared at the readouts on the navigational panel. Collenz was right about one thing: he would receive the blame. The corporation was quite specific about its mission guidelines. Losing crew members was one thing, but leaving them behind was another thing altogether. There were ways to get around the rules, Fagen knew them all, but this time his XO was aligned against him. They'd never gotten along and now she saw her chance to get him out of the way. Typical, corporate-climbing, back-stabbing bitch. She'd have his shares and his ship if he let her.

He punched a button and one of the monitors showed a real-time view of the shuttle bay. Collenz kneeled at an open access cover on the shuttle. As he watched, she pulled three memory disks from the shuttle recording system and re-attached the cover.

To Fagen's right were the shuttle bay controls. Indicators glowed green showing adequate air pressure, sealed doors, and safe access. Almost of its own accord, Fagen's right hand crept to the airlock controls. With his forefinger he absently tapped the access switch.

*

Completing her task, Collenz stood and stashed the disks in her coverall pocket. She turned away, pushing against the shuttle's hull to launch herself toward the hatch. As she approached, she heard the heavy click of durasteel bars sliding from the facing into the door, electronically locking the hatch into place.

She floated in front of the door and stared at the tiny camera set above the hatch. She crossed her arms.

"Open the hatch, Fagen. This isn't going to get either of us anywhere."

She paused, waiting. The commander made no reply.

"Fagen," she said sternly, "did you hear me? Open the damn door!"

There was no reply. Collenz looked back at the access doors. More to herself than him, she muttered, "Fagen, you bastard!"

She set her feet on the hatch and pushed herself to one of the lockers that lined the bulkheads. Inside was a suit, if she hurried, she might just make it before Fagen...

There was the sudden sound of a hatch opening. Collenz drew in a breath and glanced at the hanger bay doors. They remained closed. Slowly, she turned her head until she looked at the locked access hatch. It was open and Fagen stood in the passage.

"We had a power glitch; hatches locked all over the place. I came straight here."

Collenz put the suit back into the locker.

"Why're you dragging that out?"

Collenz shrugged. "I didn't know what was going on." She pushed off and floated to the hatchway. Fagen moved aside and let her pass. She saw where he'd opened the hatch access panel and pulled out wires to bypass the circuitry. Pausing, she looked at the wiring. Inspecting the wires, she leaned closer and reached inside.

"Don't," Fagen cautioned, "there're live wires inside."

"I know what I'm doing; besides, I'm better at this than you."

In the next instant, she jerked upright and gritted her teeth. Her eyes opened wide as the voltage flowed through her. She saw Fagen and tried to speak, but her tongue would not obey. Her contracted lungs squeezed out the last bit of air and then refused to draw another.

Her last memory was of Fagen taking a step backward just as her hair caught on fire.

# Chapter 2

Rain tapped against the window pane much as it had all night. It roused Harry and he opened his eyes. "Il pleut," he said. "Das ist schade."

From the stairs, his mother's voice floated down to him, "Harrison? Time to get up. Breakfast's almost ready."

Harry swung his feet to the basement floor, stretched his twenty-five-year-old frame, and pulled on his clothes. Tripping over a stack of textbooks, he stumbled into the bathroom, washed his face, and shaved. It was going to be a long day, a day he'd looked forward to for several years. It was test day for all qualified applicants in the Corporation space exploration programs.

Overhead, the sound of running feet alerted him to the fact that his younger brothers and sisters were awake. They ran back and forth overhead as he selected his only white shirt and put it on. Harry had two ties: a red, power tie his mother had purchased for him, and his father's lucky tie, an Irish plaid monstrosity. Harry selected the latter and draped it around his neck. Harry didn't really believe in luck, but it couldn't hurt to cover all the bases. Slipping into his shoes, he took one last look in the mirror.

He was prepared. The thousands of hours in study, all the small sacrifices he'd made, all directed towards the opportunity to take the Corporation tests. If he performed well enough, he'd be chosen to be one of a select few selected for travel into deep space.

Taking a breath, he climbed the stairs to the kitchen. Pleasant, cooking smells greeted him. As he entered, his mother turned from her old-fashioned microstove to face him. "You look nice today."

"Thanks."

She looked closer. "That's your father's old tie, isn't it?"

Harry glanced down. "Yeah. I thought maybe it would bring me luck."

Mrs. Irons gazed at her son for a long moment. "Just do your best and everything else will fall into place. In any case, I'm proud of you."

There were so many qualified applicants; he hoped his best was good enough. Besides, he had the added burden of not having a sponsor, somebody in one of the corporations to help him along. He opened his mouth to tell her these things but was interrupted by his siblings as they trooped into the kitchen.

"Breakfast, breakfast!" They chanted.

"All right, pipe down," Mrs. Irons commanded. "Give your older brother some peace and quiet this morning. He's got a big day ahead."

Harry's baby sister climbed into his lap. "Is Harry-Harry goin' to live with the Indians again?"

Harry smiled. "No, honey. I'm going to take a test today. A very important test. If I do well enough, I'll get to ride a spaceship."

"Yeah, Becky," his fourteen-year-old brother added, "and if he passes, we'll be rich! Right, Harry?"

"Well, maybe not rich, but we could afford a few things."

"I told you kids to leave your brother alone. He's got enough on his mind already."

"That's all right, Ma. I need to be going anyway." Harry rose from the kitchen table.

"Why, you haven't had breakfast yet."

He reached for a slice of toast and took a moon-shaped bite. "This is all I need."

"What about lunch?"

"I'll pick something up in the cafeteria."

"Well, all right. Harry?"

Harry stopped at the door. "Yeah, Ma?"

Mrs. Irons wiped her hands on a towel. "I know how much this means to you son. I just don't want you to be disappointed if, you know, things don't turn out the way you want."

"Don't worry. I can always get work as an interpreter." The bad part was the boring, plodding work. A twenty-year ticket to mediocrity. On the other hand, if he was selected for training on one of the space survey teams, he could visit other worlds and become rich in the process. They would have all the money they'd ever dreamed of and his family could move out of the miserable tenant housing in the heart of the crowded city.

It was still a long shot. The selection process was strenuous; only the best were offered positions, and there was so much competition.

He stood in the open door. "Well, I guess this is it."

His mother took him by the hand and kissed him on the cheek. "Good luck, son."

"Thanks, Ma."

They all wished him luck as he stepped from the apartment into the city streets. The rain still came down, although not as heavy. Harry pulled his slicker closer and adjusted his smog-mask as he walked to the bus stop. Even at the early hour, the streets were alive with people on their way to work. Since private transportation was outlawed, public conveyances were the only way to get around other than walking. The non-polluting electric trains rumbled on their tracks while crowded airbuses constantly dropped down, unloaded passengers, loaded up and took off again. It was loud, smoky, and crowded. Harry boarded a Q-line bus and took a seat near the back.

Through the window, he watched the crowds. Today, he was just another poor student, but tomorrow he might be something else. He might be one of the privileged few to actually go to other solar systems, to explore the galaxy, and to chart new worlds. It could make him rich, maybe famous. The tests he was about to take would determine his future. It wouldn't be the end of the world if he wasn't selected, but it sure wouldn't be the start of anything either.

At the next stop, Frankie and George climbed aboard the bus and joined Harry in the back.

"Lost in thought, eh, Harry?" Frankie flopped into the seat in front while George sat next to Harry. "Nothing to worry about. Why, I'll bet we're all selected and then they'll put us on the fast track to Alpha Centauri."

"Nothing's at Alpha Centauri, Frankie. We knew that ten years ago," replied George.

"Well, some other place then where the ladies are nice to me."

Harry flushed.

"If you were chosen, where would you like to go?"

Harry looked out the window. "I don't know. Maybe someplace that hasn't been discovered yet. Someplace that has something space exploration hasn't found yet."

"Like aliens, right? Somebody to talk to so you can use your language skills."

"Well, it is what I've trained for."

"Yeah, well never mind that in the forty years since the discovery of the wormhole there hasn't been any indication that anything is out there besides quasars, brown dwarfs, and millions of planets that are either too hot or too cold..."

"Or too big or too small..."

"To hold any life-form at all, much less something that communicates."

Harry shrugged. "They keep accepting linguistic experts."

"And they end up as computer specialists when they can't utilize their primary skills."

"If I was picked to go, that'd be all right by me."

The bus pulled to a stop in front of the Corporation testing center. The three young men stepped from the airbus onto the sidewalk.

The building was new, and big, covering an entire city block. Over the entrance, chiseled granite proclaimed the Braithwaite name, identifying the edifice as one of the numerous Braithwaite Corporation properties. The Corporation was a corporate conglomeration, a mixed bag of industries that was controlled by a board of directors and a handful of stockholders. It was said that those who held the reins to Braithwaite also held the world at ransom. Of course, the other corporations of the era would argue the point in their favor, as well as several dozen other upstarts. In any case, Braithwaite was not only the oldest, it was also the largest and most powerful.

Harry paused on the steps leading into the building and gazed skyward. The rain had stopped, and the sun was breaking through. That was a good sign. Frankie slapped him on the back.

"Good luck, Harry. Mechanical tests are to the right. Looks like you're straight ahead."

"Good luck to you too." Harry walked inside the building. Desks, manned by representatives from the corporate testing group, were set up in the foyer and labeled by their separate testing areas. Linguistics and anthropology were straight ahead. A line of applicants nervously awaited their turn to register. George was so nervous he left without saying anything. Harry found his section and waited. Across the foyer he saw George fidgeting in the line for the navigations test.

When he got to the head of the queue, Harry handed his admissions ticket to the registrar. While he waited for her to validate his entry, he couldn't help but notice a beautiful young woman in the line for the biology and botany tests. She was dressed smartly, obviously from the upper crust. Odd that a person like that would be among the candidates. She saw Harry looking at her and boldly stared back. Harry realized he was staring and, turned away, blushing a full red.

Thankfully, at that moment, a corporate rep instructed Harry and the other entrants to follow. They were led to the testing room and instructed to take seats. Each desk held a small computer monitor. Pencils and paper were also available. A thick, blue test booklet was at the center of each desk. A well-dressed, middle-aged man stepped to the dais in the front of the room and tapped for quiet. The roomful of entrants fell silent.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen." He paused and smiled for effect. "On behalf of the Braithwaite Corporation, allow me to welcome you to the Corporation Entrance Examinations for the Survey Group. Each of you is to be congratulated for having made it this far. In so doing, you have included yourselves in an elite group, something less than ten percent of your original number."

He peered at a paper he held in his hand and continued. "By the way, this room is for language and computer specialists, so if anybody is here by mistake, please leave now." He looked over the room. Nobody left.

"There are reps in the hallway outside who will direct you to the proper room." Again, he paused and scanned the room. This time, a young man in the back stood up, excused himself and left.

The corporate rep smiled. "There's always one, even among the elite. There's a valuable lesson here. We at Braithwaite believe that before a person can rely on others, that person must first be able to rely on himself. There is no room for error in the type of space operations for which your tender hearts yearn. There can be no mistakes. Even though we've been using the wormhole for forty-some-odd years, much remains unknown. It's a dangerous enterprise, but the rewards are great, perhaps for some of you, even awesome."

"It may interest you to know that the young man who was confused about where he was supposed to be is now being escorted out of the building."

Harry squirmed in his seat.

"This afternoon you will be barraged with the psychological tests. I hope you are prepared. As I recall, they are quite strenuous. We will begin testing in a moment and will proceed until 11:30. There will be two ten-minute breaks. Between sessions there is a ninety-minute break for lunch. I suggest you make use of the time and relax. There's no way to prepare for the psych tests, just be yourselves. Now, are there any questions?" There were none.

"Please open your test booklets."

The test commenced.

# Chapter 3

As far as tests went, Harry felt he'd taken worse. They were comprehensive, covering a wide assortment of human and non-human languages, although Harry figured no one really knew what it was like to be a dolphin.

He emerged from the test room, pushing the door quietly open so as not to disturb those who still worked.

Outside, one of the monitors looked up from her table. She smiled at Harry and asked how he'd done.

"Okay, I think."

"That's what we like to hear." She removed a slip of paper from a bundle and handed it to him. "Here's your lunch chit. You have," she glanced at her watch, "two hours until the psych tests. Please stay in the building and restrict yourself to the specified lounges, cafeteria, and courtyard. Any questions?"

"Can you tell me where the, uh, the..."

"Facilities are located?"

"Well, yes."

"On the way to the lounges, off to the right. "Anything else?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Then congratulations on being the first entrant to finish the test, and good luck to you." She returned to whatever she'd been doing and Harry went off in search of the john.

As she said, the restroom was located just off the corridor. When Harry walked in, he immediately sensed another person in the room. Sounds came from a stall at the rear. Harry relaxed and looked in the mirror, pleased with being the first to complete the test. Maybe it wasn't going to be so bad after all. He brushed his hair away from his face. It was going to be a breeze.

He turned to a urinal just as the last stall door opened and a middle-aged woman stepped out.

Ignoring Harry, she moved to the mirror and adjusted her hair. There was nothing wrong with her presence there. The preceding one hundred years of social innovation included the gradual disappearance of segregated spaces for personal hygiene. That didn't mean people were no longer modest. It was as it had always been; some were more modest than others. For someone who'd been raised in a large family, Harry was overly shy.

He stood transfixed and fought to follow social convention, but all he could do was stand closer to the urinal and stare at the scrubbed porcelain. The lady was in no hurry. She meticulously applied lipstick to her puckered middle-aged lips.

After an interminable length of time, the outside door opened and a fat, disheveled, young man entered. Ignoring both Harry and the woman, he stepped up to the vacant urinal beside Harry and, without a problem, began to relieve himself. The woman finished with her lips and began dabbing powder onto her face. Still the fat young man continued to urinate. He stood back and allowed the stream to arc into the urinal.

Holding her purse in both hands, the woman gave him a disapproving look and exited.

Harry glanced at the guy. From the nametag attached to his lapel, Harry saw he was a test entrant. Unlike Harry, the young man appeared to be unconcerned with his appearance. Worn spots shined from the knees of his pants, his hair was dirty and uncombed, and situated at points on his forehead and just behind both ears were the unmistakable marks of implants. The young man was a wirehead, able to plug himself into computers, the twenty-second century's version of a pleasure-seeking junkie.

What's he doing here, Harry wondered? How did a guy like that ever qualify for the corporation tests? Wireheads were undisciplined people who stayed plugged in most of the time and addicted themselves to direct neural stimulation. The wirehead glanced at Harry. "How're you doing?"

"What?" Harry returned, surprised.

"How are you doing? I saw you inside. You were the first to complete the test. Either you did extremely well, or you didn't know anything and turned it in just to be finished. Which is it?"

"Well, I did okay, I guess."

Self-assured, the wirehead replied, "Me too," and zippered his trousers. He turned away and, without another word, strode to the door. When he was alone again, Harry was finally able to relieve himself.

Still thinking about the wirehead, he strolled to the lounge and soon spotted his friends seated at a corner table.

"How'd it go, hairball?" asked Frankie.

"All right. It's not over yet." Harry looked at George. "How'd you do?"

"I don't know, it was pretty hard. I don't think I did so hot."

"Don't worry about it, pal," Frankie said, "I'll let you stay in my orbital condo while I'm out on survey trips." Frankie laughed. He didn't need to tell anybody how well he did on the test. It was obvious he was pleased with himself.

"Ready for the psych tests?" asked Harry.

"Ready as I'll ever be. In fact..." Frankie lowered his voice. "In fact, I've heard that the psych tests started the minute we stepped inside the building."

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, Harry old buddy, haven't you noticed all the cameras? They're everywhere."

Harry looked around the lounge. Frankie was right. Scattered about, strategically placed along the walls and ceiling, were small, mounted cameras with tell-tale red lights on the fronts indicating monitoring activity.

"There's more; people have told me all kinds of things about the selection process. The company wants to know everything about you. You know, everybody that's gotten this far has had a background check already."

"Yeah, but I thought that part was over."

"Harry, Harry," Frankie chided, "wake up, this is the 22nd century." Something distracted Frankie. "Look at her, would you?" Frankie directed his attention to a young woman who had just entered the lounge.

Harry turned to look and saw the same woman he'd seen before the test. She carried herself with self-assurance as she walked across the lounge and, to Harry's surprise, she stopped and spoke with the wirehead from the restroom. They seemed to know one another.

She was truly beautiful. A tall, busty blonde, calm and self-assured, definitely from the upper class. Unlike the current fashion among young women, her hair was long, falling loosely to her shoulders. What was she doing there? And what was she doing with a wirehead?

Harry's staring finally drew her attention. She excused herself from her companion and crossed the lounge toward Harry, riveting him with emerald eyes.

Frankie announced what they all could see. "She's coming over here." George, lost in thoughts of failure, didn't care.

Harry couldn't stop looking at her. Their eyes remained locked as she approached.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that staring was rude?" Her voice was rich with the same self-assurance she exuded, but not overly forceful. Instead, it was controlled and even. She wasn't unfriendly, just assertive.

"Why, I uh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"Forget it," she said, extending her hand. "My name is Kathleen Casey." Harry felt her firm grip as he took her hand.

"I'm Harry Irons."

"Yes, I know."

Startled, he didn't know what to say.

"Hello," Frankie chimed in. "My name's Frank Torelli. This is George." George nodded.

Kathleen barely gave any indication she'd heard. Speaking to Harry, she said, "There's someone I'd like to introduce you to, okay?" She took him by the arm and let the question hang in the air.

Harry looked to his friends. "Sure, I guess so." The entire group started across the wide lounge area, but Kathleen stopped. Turning to Harry she said, "Just you." To Frankie and George, she said, "I'm sure you understand." She gave the briefest of smiles, then led Harry away.

"I'm sure I understand that I don't understand," Frankie said to no one in particular. He faced George. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, I do. She's interested in Harry, not you."

"You're kidding."

Kathleen led Harry straight to the wirehead. "This is Harry Irons."

"Oh yes," the wirehead said. "We met, sort of, in the restroom."

"Intriguing," Kathleen murmured. "Harry, this Dr. Bartholeme Blane, late of the MIT School of Computing.

"Bart, if you please, I'm still getting used to the doctor part." They shook hands. As expected, the young wirehead's hands were soft and delicate. Although his disposition seemed pleasant enough, Harry was having a tough time getting over Blane's outward appearance.

Blane rubbed his forehead. "What do you say we just get down to it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Harry, Kathleen and I have a sponsor. Do you know what that means?"

Sure, Harry knew what that meant. It meant the two young people standing before him had a ticket to the stars. They were privileged, already chosen by the corporation. For them, the tests were a formality. Suddenly, he didn't like them very much. He'd worked for years to get his opportunity, theirs had been bought.

Blane continued, "Having a sponsor does offer certain advantages..."

Kathleen interrupted, "Such as reviewing the lists of candidates. Your name came up as one of our choices for linguists. We wanted to meet you. Could be we'll wind up on the same team."

"I'm flattered."

"Don't be. The testing isn't finished yet and just because we want you doesn't mean that the sponsor feels the same way."

"Who's the sponsor?"

"Can't tell you that, but if you're chosen, you'll find out. How about having lunch with us and we can talk some more?"

"Well," Harry looked to Frankie and Geroge standing on the opposite side of the lounge. "My friends..."

"Of course, you want to spend some time with them. Go on, we won't keep you. Perhaps we'll see you again." With that, Kathleen Casey, possibly the most beautiful woman Harry had ever seen, walked away accompanied by the wirehead. As they left, Harry noted that the wirehead was shorter than Kathleen.

Harry returned to his friends.

"What was that all about?"

"I don't know. They said they had a sponsor."

"Sponsor my ass, they're just trying to psych out the competition."

"Yep," Frankie repeated, "they were trying to psych us out. Forget it. Let's go get our free lunch. One of the reps told me that after the day's testing is over, we can use the zoomball facilities. I signed us up."

"No way," Harry said, unbelieving.

"For real. They've got everything you need, saunas and showers after. George is for it. What do you think?"

Harry thought about the zoomball court; a specially built, padded, low gravity gymnasium. It was hard to come by access to a good zoomball court. The city's facilities were always booked up for weeks. Yes, it would be fun.

After a buffet style meal and a leisurely stroll around the facilities, the three men reported back to their separate room assignments. A soft tone floated through the corridors and test monitors informed the waiting entrants it was time to begin.

The door to Harry's room slid open and he stepped inside. It was a small amphitheater with a single, comfortable-looking, swiveled chair. The lighting was indirect and just a shade dim. A voice from a hidden speaker asked him to please be seated. Harry crossed to the chair and sat down, facing a blank semicircular wall. The lights dimmed further for a moment and then, quite suddenly, the amphitheater disappeared altogether and was replaced by a calm outdoor scene. For all practical purposes, Harry appeared to be sitting beneath a tree looking across a meadow. A man, the same man who spoke before the morning's tests, stood a few feet away.

Harry blinked his eyes. It dawned on him that he was in a holographic simulation. It was the best he'd ever seen. Everything appeared authentic, down to the smells of the outdoors.

The apparition spoke. "Hello, Harrison, and welcome to the final part of your evaluation. You did very well on this morning's tests. I'm sure you'll do just as well here." He smiled. There was something in the smile, a hint that something not altogether pleasant was about to take place. "Are you ready to begin?"

After a moment, Harry realized it wasn't a rhetorical question. He was to converse with the hologram. "Uh, yes. I'm ready."

The figure, so lifelike, so real that Harry felt he could reach out and touch it, continued to smile that enigmatic smile up until the moment it abruptly vanished. Harry sat alone under the tree. Nothing happened. A bird flew by, a breeze passed through, but nothing happened. Just as he began to think maybe something had gone wrong, he heard the door open and close behind him. In a moment, a pretty woman with a nametag appeared.

"Excuse me," she said. "I'm really embarrassed by this, but I can't seem to find my room assignment. Could you help me find my room?"

Harry looked at her. She was pretty. He looked back where the door had been; the hologram stretched out to the rear as well.

"You're part of the hologram, aren't you?"

She looked at him and laughed. "That wasn't too hard to figure out, was it?"

"No, it wasn't."

"Can you figure this out?" She bent at the waist and stuck out a finger, lightly touching Harry on the nose.

"What a minute," he said, "you're real."

The woman stood up and struck a thoughtful pose. "Well," she said, "why don't you think about that under a different setting."

Immediately, both the woman and the meadow vanished and were replaced by a scene of hellish proportions. Harry was seated before a fiery lake; heat radiated from a nearby lava flow and threatened to singe his hair. Directly before him, a group of four polymorphic creatures held aloft some sort of odd apparatus. Each alien held a tube that had straps stretched to the other tubes. The straps appeared to be made of a type of beaten metal, strong, yet pliable enough to sag. Caught in the middle of the apparatus, like a fly in a web, a man was entangled. He wore the uniform of a corporation mission specialist and hysterically asked Harry to help him.

"Harry, get me out of here. Tell them what they want to know."

From what Harry could gather, the creatures were about to dip the man into a pit of an unknown, super-heated substance. The aliens made rhythmic clicking sounds punctuated by pops and soft whistles. Harry correctly deduced that the language was tonal based, the rise and fall of tones signifying individual words. After another moment, Harry thought he was able to hear entire sentences followed by responses. The rhythm of their words combined with their body motions suggested the meanings of words. Harry thought he recognized a negative phrasing pattern.

The aliens chanted in unison and began to lower the man toward the mouth of the pit. "Please Harry! Tell them what they want to know!"

"What do they want to know?"

The man opened his mouth and spoke, but the words were drowned out by the chanting of the aliens. They said one word over and over, a whistle followed by a quick pop. Before Harry really had the chance to think about it, he made the negative form of the same sounds: a whistle in the same tone, a quick pop, and a long hiss. It worked. The aliens stopped lowering the man into the pit and started pulling him out.

It was extremely hot, sweat stuck his shirt to his arms and chest. As the scene began to change again, Harry knew it was going to be a long afternoon.

*

In a room the next corridor over, George had had enough. It was getting too weird. They were scaring him, asking him odd questions. Did he think he had enough dexterity to tie two snakes together? "Sure," he'd replied. When they produced the snakes and he actually felt them, he jumped out of his chair and ran from the room.

With his heart beating loudly, George looked up and down the hall. Other doors opened and other entrants stepped from their test rooms, equally shaken. George wasn't even the first. A short distance away, Frankie sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, tears streaming down his face.

# Chapter 4

The psych tests continued all afternoon. After what seemed an endless succession of scenes and situations, Harry was taken back to where he had started. As before, he sat with his back against a tree. He was stressed from the series of bizarre virtual episodes, his back and neck were rigid, his jaw muscles were sore, and his brow felt permanently furrowed. Suspiciously, he looked about for the next onslaught, but it didn't come, just the soft sounds of a cool, sunlit meadow. After a few minutes, he began to relax and before he realized it, a soothing voice that seemed to come out of the air coaxed him to go to sleep, telling him that the test was over and that he needed to rest a moment.

"Harrison? Time to wake up, your friends are waiting."

Harry opened his eyes. He felt refreshed. Hypnotized, he thought to himself. He looked at the hologram of the company representative. "How did I do?"

"Rather well, Mr. Irons, but we are still analyzing the results. The announcements will be made tomorrow. Now, please join your friends and enjoy the Braithwaite benefits."

"Sure. Hope to see you again." Harry slid out of the chair and started toward the door. Before exiting, he turned back to the hologram. It still stood as it had, watching him.

"The test is over, isn't it? I mean, there's nothing after this?"

The man smiled. "I assure you, Mr. Irons, the test is complete. Now go and have a little fun. Eh?"

"Right." Harry nodded at the figure and left the room.

He found Frankie and George in the lounge. Frankie had recovered somewhat, but now George was despondent. "I don't want to play zoomball. You two go ahead."

"What's the matter?"

"He's a little upset about the test," volunteered Frankie.

"Me?" You should have seen Frankie a couple of hours ago."

"Yeah, well, I guess me and George didn't do so hot. But you made it through, didn't you, Harry?"

"I suppose I did. It was strange, not what I expected."

"Strange isn't the word for it."

"Come on," Harry urged, "let's play a few games."

Frankie looked at George. "What do you say, George? We may never get the chance to come in here again. I heard one of the reps saying if we stuck around long enough, they'd feed us again."

"Well, I guess so. But I want to take a sauna afterwards."

Harry grinned and led the way to the Braithwaite Corporation Corporate recreational facilities. He stepped lightly and felt good about his chances with the Corporation. Not only was he sure he did well on the tests, but he also knew people who said they wanted him. Of course, it may have been as Frankie said, maybe the girl and the wirehead had been trying to psych him out. But it didn't matter, he knew he'd aced the tests. Now he wanted to have some fun.

The recreational facilities took up three floors in the building. In addition to the zoomball court, there was a basketball court, an indoor track, and numerous resistance devices, as well as aerobic machines. It was all very posh, very state of the art. Men and women, dressed in athletic attire, lingered in an alcove. The three young men wandered in without really knowing where they were headed.

"Can I help you?" Asked a tall, athletic man standing behind the reception desk.

Frankie stepped forward. "We wanted to play zoomball."

"Oh, you must be test applicants. How'd it go today, guys?"

George mumbled, "Not so hot."

"Yeah," Frankie agreed, "except for this guy." He pointed at Harry.

The attendant appraised Harry. "Did okay, huh?"

"I think so."

"If you think so, you probably did. Still, I've been completely surprised by some of the people who've been picked." The attendant reached under the counter and withdrew three packages. "Here's three sets of pads, shorts, shirts, towels, and shoes. One size fits all. Locker room to the left, zoomball court to the right. You guys know how to operate the court?"

"Of course," Frankie said, not wanting to seem the dilettante.

"Well then, have a good time, and good luck."

They went to the locker room and changed into their pads. There was a brief interruption as a group of women came in for their showers. The three young men, all from the inner city middle-class, weren't used to such relaxed social practices. It was different on television. On television, everybody was from the upper class, rich, nude and beautiful, as well as relaxed. But this wasn't television. In reality, the truth was that although most locker-rooms and toilets were sexually integrated, middle-class men and women who didn't know one another still didn't mix. There was too much of a chance of inadvertently drawing a harassment charge. Ever since the great sexual integration in the preceding century, fortunes had been made and lost in locker-rooms across the county.

The three young men finished dressing but took an inordinate amount of time tying and adjusting their padded helmets. Afterwards, they emerged from the locker room, grinning to one another, and walked to the zoomball court.

At the zoomball court, there was a hatch with an accompanying control panel on the wall beside it. On the other side of the hatch was a lounge with a thick dura-glass window that allowed spectators to watch the game in progress. Harry looked through the glass down the length of the court and then through the window at the opposite end of the court. Kathleen Casey, in workout clothes, was lounging and talking with some other similarly clad people.

"Okay," Frankie said as he opened the hatch, "everybody ready?"

They nodded affirmatively. As Harry stepped onto the court and Frankie shut the hatch behind, he stole another look at Kathleen. She talked and laughed with the three men who surrounded her. Two of them wore zoomball pads.

The court was regulation size and, unlike the city courts, the padded walls were not worn; it looked new and well-kept. At designated places on the walls, ceiling, and floor were handholds that the players could grasp as they bounded around inside the court.

"All right," said Frankie as he stood at the controls. "A little warm up first." He punched the activate button and a soft electronic hum rose from behind the walls. All three players felt themselves become lighter and lighter until a slight push could cause them to shoot across the open court. When activated, the zoomball court, by the use of powerful electromagnets, created a near zero-gravity environment. The three men scooted around the inside of the court, shouting like little boys. George held the ball but lost it the first time he hit a wall. It careened off the ceiling, hit a wall at an odd angle, and floated above the floor, spinning on its axis.

At either end of the court were hoops facing out toward the open court. The point of the game was to hurl the zoomball, a ball somewhat smaller than a soccer ball, through the hoop. One point for each successful pass. The court was divided into three zones; the smaller end zones contained the hoops and were painted yellow while the larger middle zone was white. Red lines divided the zones. In a proper game, each goal was defended by one player. The players could not enter one another's goal zones. A scoring goal was registered when an opposing player stood beyond the yellow zone and threw the ball through the hoop. Both players were free to block and check the other player, so long as they did not enter the opposing goal zones.

Harry gripped the ball in his right hand. Facing the hoop at the far end of the court, he pushed off the floor and sped at an angle toward the ceiling. Halfway across the court he drew the ball back and threw it past an unprepared Frankie. The ball zipped to its mark and passed through the hoop. George scooped it up and made a break for the opposite hoop. Harry dropped from the ceiling and knocked the ball from George's hands. It bounced crazily from floor to wall to ceiling and finally into Frankie. Frankie took a step and launched himself at the hoop at the far end of the court. Before he passed into the yellow zone, he took aim and threw the ball. It hit the hoop's edge and bounced away. No score.

Frankie settled back to the floor. "Let's play a game."

"Who's first?"

"Me. I'm gonna kick your butt."

"Oh, yeah? We'll see." Harry glanced to where Kathleen Casey sat with her friends. She watched him and waved when he looked her way. Harry grinned and nodded, turning back to the game just in time to see Frankie speed past him for the first goal.

As it turned out, it was Frankie's only goal of the game. Twenty minutes later, he was ready to call it quits.

"I'm going to take a break," puffed Frankie as he floated toward the hatch. Harry took off his helmet. A tapping at the far window drew his attention. Kathleen beckoned him and Harry crossed the court to the hatch at the far end.

The hatch opened, revealing Kathleen and her three male friends. "You play very well."

"Thanks."

Turning to her companions, she continued. "I'd like you to meet some friends of mine. This is Carl, tall and gorgeous." Carl grinned broadly and shook Harry's hand. "Next is Peter. Peter is an accountant for Braithwaite." Peter pushed his glasses up and squinted at Harry. "Last, but certainly not least, is Edward. Edward is interested in playing a game of zoomball. What do you say, Harry?"

Harry looked at the man. He was a few years older but appeared to be fit. The unsmiling stranger wore zoomball pads.

"I don't know."

Kathleen smiled. "Why Harry, you're not tired already, are you?"

"All right, one more game."

The stranger finally smiled in satisfaction and entered the court. Harry turned to follow but Kathleen held him by the sleeve. "Edward is very good, Harry. You'll have to play your best to beat him."

Harry made a face and Kathleen laughed. She shut the door and Harry turned to face his opponent. The man was already in the middle of the court. He tossed the ball to Harry. "You can bring it in first."

"Okay. Ready?"

Edward jumped up and clung to a rung on the ceiling. "Anytime you are."

Harry backed up as far as he could and braced his feet on the rear wall. He kicked out and shot across the court towards the goal. He lost sight of his opponent and thought he'd taken the older man by surprise. Harry lined up his shot and threw the ball at the open hoop. At that instant, Edward dropped from above and intercepted the shot.

Grabbing the ball with both hands, he passed in front of Harry, hit the wall and bounced back up to the ceiling. Harry careened into the wall and regained control just in time to see Edward casually positioning himself for his first shot. The ball sailed through the hoop without touching the sides. Harry floated back to his goal. "One-zip," Edward said.

Harry knew he was going to have to watch the old guy more closely. He was quick with good hands and he liked to creep along the ceiling.

The two men exchanged points, but slowly, Edward pulled ahead. Harry was getting beat and he knew it. Through the far window he could see his friends watching closely through the glass. At the other end, Kathleen watched.

Harry took a deep breath. It had been a long day, the most important day of his life. He wanted it to end perfectly, not so much for the others, not for Kathleen, but for himself. With renewed vigor, he shot back out into the court, fighting back and making three baskets in a row. The pace of the game quickened. Both men began to check and block more frequently. Edward came back with a point that Harry quickly made up. The lead changed hands several times. And then the score was tied, 20-20.

Whoever made the next point would be poised to take the final point and win the game. Edward had possession of the ball. He stood at his goal and waited for Harry to signal that he was ready. To Harry, the guy looked as fresh as he did when he first stepped on the court.

Edward set his feet and launched himself at an angle that took him to Harry's right. Harry reacted by floating backward, he didn't want to commit himself too soon. Edward hit the wall and pushed himself up and forward. That was it. Harry saw that he would cross in front of the basket and make his shot. He pushed himself off on a course that bisected the older man's path; in mid-flight Harry decided to check him rather than block the shot, perhaps he could manage to knock the ball loose. Harry put his head down and braced himself, but in the next instant he saw that somehow Edward had changed his approach angle. Harry ended up sprawled against the floor and Edward made the shot.

That was the point that beat Harry, not the following point. He practically gave the final shot away and lost, 22-20.

Harry drifted to the control panel and slowly damped the electromagnets until the two men once again stood in normal gravity.

Edward took off his helmet to reveal a jagged scar stretching above his left eye. "Thanks for the game," he said casually. Before Harry could reply, simultaneously the hatches at both ends of the court opened. Frankie and George tumbled in.

"You almost had 'em, Harry. You let him off the hook, that's all."

"No, he beat me."

Edward left the court and Kathleen lingered in the hatchway. She called to Harry. "See you, Harry. Don't forget the party tomorrow night. Good luck." She shut the door and walked away with her friends, paying particular attention to the guy who'd just beaten him in a well-played game.

"What party?" he asked too late. Kathleen was gone.

"The party for the candidates. It's another Corporation giveaway." George explained. "We're all invited. I figured Frankie and I could help you celebrate."

"I'm not there yet. I think I want to take some heat and shower down, then go home; big day tomorrow."

They all agreed and went off to the saunas, George in the lead. Harry thought he should be feeling better. He'd lost a game, but that didn't matter. After all, he'd passed the tests. That was the important thing.

# Chapter 5

For the second day in a row, Harry wore his father's lucky tie. He toyed with the frayed ends as the auditorium filled with corporation space survey candidates. Frankie and George sat beside him, checking out the girls.

The same man who had spoken the day before appeared on the stage and walked to the podium. Behind him the Braithwaite logo was emblazoned across a giant video screen. He smiled and raised his hand to the crowd. The auditorium grew quiet.

"I am Stephen Thanopolous, your corporate representative." He shifted and took on a more thoughtful pose. "For a select few of you, today is one of the most important days of your lives. But you already know that. You wouldn't be here if you weren't the best society has to offer. You should all be proud of yourselves for a job well done." He began to applaud and spontaneously, handclapping erupted from the crowd.

Thanopolous raised both hands and the applause died away.

"As you know, the Braithwaite Corporation holds its tests every year. For those of you who haven't found placement with another corporation by next year, you may reapply for the Braithwaite tests, but one time only. The numbers grow larger each year.

Fifty years after the discovery of the wormhole, the Corporation began its deep space survey enterprise. In the same spirit as those who first explored the solar system, and farther back still, to those early free spirits who set out in ships and sailed into the unknown in the hopes of finding fame and fortune; in that same spirit, the nominees for the new survey teams will embark on an adventure of which others can only dream. The mysteries of the galaxy lie before you.

This is a serious enterprise, not something to be taken lightly, nor something to be charged into with reckless abandon. You will live aboard a spacecraft with your fellow crew members for long periods of time. Your equipment must function properly, you must do your job proficiently; others will be counting on you. The tiniest mistake in a pressurized environment and you've not only killed yourself, but the rest of the crew as well.

That's the immediate threat. But I'd imagine a few of you have thought about this: that out of the hundreds of planets surveyed, we've discovered life-forms on only a handful. These weren't threatening, but they still raised dark suspicions that something might be lurking out there. Well, as far as we've seen, nothing is there but a blossoming universe.

We've discovered that life sometimes springs up in unlikely places, fungus spores lying dormant in the shadows of a meteor crater on Vega-5, or the "floating cotton" recently found high in the atmosphere of a gaseous planet orbiting Procyon. None of these were especially scary. But they were very interesting. Interesting enough for the Corporation to offer the discoverers bonuses that allowed the crews to comfortably retire.

By the way, within weeks of those retirements, every member of those survey teams was back at the corporate offices, asking to be assigned to another survey mission. But that's the kind of people they are. And that's the kind of people you are."

Spontaneous applause again broke out. Thanopolous held up his hands.

"Our aim is twofold. First, we want to locate planets suitable for colonization; second, we want to gather resources for the teeming billions here on Earth. Not only material resources by means of our extensive mining fleet, but also informational resources.

We are not a conquering race. We recognize the rights of other species to exist and where possible, to cohabitate. Although we have not encountered an intelligent species, someday, somewhere, it is likely to occur. And you may be the one attending the trade talks.

Some planets appear to be waiting for life, while others, the vast majority I might add, are wastelands never intended for any form of life. It is among all these you will travel. Not the experience of a lifetime, but a lifetime of experiences."

Clapping started, but this time accompanied by whistles and shouts of enthusiasm.

"In closing, I'd like to leave you with a little practical advice which I'm sure you've all heard before. That is, preparation is the key to success. Think of what it took for you to be here today and remember, no matter if you are selected or not, the real work is always done in preparation for the task. Good luck to you all."

Thanopolous waved to the audience. The audience, a roomful of young, energetic, and by this time, very nervous people, responded with a standing ovation. Thanopolous stopped and bowed, then walked behind a curtain. The lights went down and the giant videoscreen sprang to life with a rapidly expanding field of stars. From the center emerged the Braithwaite logo.

Frankie nudged Harry. "Let's go get a drink."

Harry pointed at the video. "I'm watching the thing here..."

"Harry, they're just going to talk about the Corporation's holdings, corporate structure, and all that crap. This'll go on for forty minutes or so, then they'll start talking about the survey groups."

"How do you know?"

"Read it in the program."

"Oh." Well, maybe getting a drink wasn't a bad idea. They weren't expected to sit still for three hours through one presentation after another. "Okay, let's go get a drink."

All three got up and picked their way down the row and up the aisle to the wide lobby. They weren't the first to have the same idea. Small groups of men and women stood about conversing, passing the time until the announcements for the selections. An elaborate bar issued free juice drinks and coffee. Harry ordered water while the others had coffee.

He looked around the tiered lobby and spotted Kathleen at a table in an elevated veranda. She was with the zoomball player, Edward, and Blane, the wirehead. There was also a redheaded woman and another man at the same table. Harry watched Edward get up, say something to Blane and, accompanied by the red-headed woman, walk away. Kathleen looked down and saw Harry. She waved for him to join her.

George saw her too. "Better go check it out, buddy. I do believe that girl likes you."

"I wonder if she speaks French," Harry murmured. Touching his tie, he crossed the floor to the winding staircase and proceeded up. Kathleen watched him as he approached.

Feeling brave, Harry spoke first, "Ca va, ma copine?"

"Pas mal, mon tas d'mour."

Her reply stopped Harry in his tracks. He'd never been called a "pile of love" before. Her French was excellent.

"Tu parles bien le francais."

"Mais c'est agacant aux autres. Ils ne parle pas francais."

Out of deference to the others, they switched to English. "You just missed Edward and Doris. But let me introduce you to the best mission doctor in the Corporation. Harry, this is Dr. Charles Parker."

"How do you do?" the doctor said. The two men shook hands.

"You remember Bart?"

"Oh sure." Harry looked at the young computer genius. He was plugged into a portable CD player and wasn't paying attention to anyone at the moment. He sat at the table and looked at his hands. Occasionally, he grimaced when an unusually intense wave of pleasure swept over him.

"Bart's a little out of it right now."

Bart responded immediately. "No, I'm not. Well, that's not entirely true, but I am able to respond." He looked at Harry.

"Good morning, Harry."

"Mornin' Bart."

"So," Dr. Parker said, leaning on the table, "Kathleen tells us you're in the running. That's good. We need smart, young men like yourself."

Harry noted that the doctor was no older than himself.

"Have you been through the hole yet?" Harry asked.

"Why no, I haven't. None of us have except for Edward and Doris. Doris is the mission XO."

"Well, what's Edward's job? He must be the mission commander, right?"

Kathleen shook her head. "We can't talk about that now."

"Why not?"

"Company rules, infringement of rights, contractual stuff that could end up in court. You know, people will sue over anything these days."

Harry frowned.

"Don't worry, Harry. We're pulling for you. We'd like to see you on the team. There's a lot of closed-door stuff going on. Teams are being selected."

Parker waved a hand in the air, back handed, as if brushing away any misunderstanding. "Politics and all that."

Bart suddenly slapped the tabletop with both hands and pushed his chair backward. "Well, I'm going inside. I want to see the wormhole presentation."

So did Harry. He looked at Frankie and George. They were talking to three female candidates and showed no interest in re-entering the auditorium.

"Why don't we sit together?" suggested Kathleen.

"All right. Glad to meet you, Dr. Parker."

"Same here. Good luck, Harry." The doctor remained seated while Kathleen boldly took Harry by the hand and followed Bart down the stairs and into the auditorium. Harry winked to his friends as he was led out of the lobby.

The theater was dark; it took a moment for Harry's eyes to adjust. The image on the screen was that of the solar system and its relationship with nearby systems. As Kathleen led Harry to their seats, a faceless narrator told the audience about brown dwarfs, quasars, double and triple star systems, black holes, imploding stars, exploding stars, gravitational fields, and folded space. The presentation was first rate; at times, three-dimensional images danced over the heads of the audience, and holograms moved up and down the aisles.

Bart sat on one side of Kathleen while Harry sat on the other. Kathleen continued to hold Harry's hand. Once they were situated, Harry leaned close.

"What is it with you and Bart?"

"Oh yeah, that." She whispered back. "It seems so natural I forget sometimes."

The speaker described what the fabric of the universe looked like by displaying a gridwork pattern on the screen. The display zoomed in on a place that looked like a hole. "...a graphical representation of the Berzier/Claymore anomaly," intoned the narrator, "the wormhole. As you can see, owing to fluctuations in gravitational forces, the entrance to the wormhole is constantly in flux."

"Yeah?" Harry prompted Kathleen to continue.

"Bart's a wirehead, you know. He's hooked up. I met him in graduate school, along with a lot of other rich, smart people. Those were crazy times. Everybody was getting hooked up, having implants put in. Bart's got five plugs, three for inputs and two for outputs. He can run servos from his head. Bart's a genius. Certified."

Somebody coughed for quiet. A moment passed. Suddenly, the screen burst with life as it took the viewer on a simulated trip through the wormhole. The background volume increased. Harry leaned closer to Kathleen. Her hair smelled nice.

"So?"

Kathleen sighed. "So, a few of us decided to have receiver implants. I have one right here." She tapped a spot behind her ear.

"And Bart is the transmitter?"

Bart leaned across in front of Kathleen. "Yes," he said, "you got it. Now can we please watch the presentation?"

"Sure," Harry blushed in the dark. "Sorry."

Harry and Kathleen both fell silent and watched the show. Kathleen continued to hold his hand. Harry felt odd and wondered if Bart was talking to Kathleen at that very moment via their wireless connection. How could she have done such a thing, Harry wondered? It was like, well it was like getting a tattoo. Responsible people just didn't do such things.

On the giant viewscreen, the trip through the wormhole ended when they came out the other end. The narrator continued to talk about the 'elastic' properties of the wormhole. "...physicists arrived at the astounding conclusion that variances in entrance velocities would yield specific locations; in other words, the speed at which one enters the wormhole is what determines where one goes. The number of possible exits is still being calculated. Practically speaking, it seems the number of possible destinations is limitless."

Kathleen patted Harry's hand. "We'll talk more later."

Still confused, he merely nodded.

The presentation ended, and as the next presentation began, Bart insisted they return to the lobby so he could get something to eat.

"My blood sugar's running low," he said as he led the way out.

Outside, they ran into Frankie and George. Reluctant to be snubbed again, they tried to beg off when Harry asked them to sit down. Kathleen hailed a passing waiter and requested ale for the boys. Only then did Frankie and George decide to stay. Despite his prejudices, Harry found himself liking Bart. He was funny, in a deadpan sort of way, attentive, in a non-attentive sort of way, and able to get to the point quickly. Harry liked that in a person. Toward the end of the meal, Bart commented on the fine Martian ale.

"The grain comes from hydropods, you know. But the soil underlay!" He held a finger aloft. "There's the real Mars."

George agreed. "They sure make good ale on Mars."

"You're buzzed," Frankie said to George.

"You're not?" George fired back.

Bart ordered three more ales.

"Bart," Kathleen said, "if you get drunk, I'm going to switch you off."

She fell silent for a moment and looked at Bart. "All right," she said, "there. Satisfied?"

Bart crinkled his nose and smiled, then fell into conversation with George.

Kathleen turned to Harry.

Harry was still confused, not at all comfortable with the situation. "So," he said, "how long have you two been together?"

Kathleen looked taken aback. "You mean Bart and me? Oh, like I said, since graduate school; four, going on five years."

"No. I mean how long have you been together? You know, together?"

Kathleen looked at Harry for a long moment, then put a hand on the back of his neck and gave him a gentle shake. "You just don't get it, do you?"

"I'm trying," Harry said.

Someone, the redhead who'd left with Edward, came up behind Kathleen and tapped her on the shoulder. Kathleen turned around. "Oh, Harry, this is Doris."

Doris gave Harry a quick look. "How do you do, Harry?" She turned back to Kathleen. "Kathleen, may I have a word with you?"

"Yes, of course." Kathleen stood and walked a short distance away. The two women talked for a moment and Doris left. Kathleen returned, looking unhappy."

"Anything wrong?" Harry asked.

"No, everything's all right. Listen, I have a few things to do before the announcement. I'll see you later."

Harry wanted to ask if he could help, maybe tag along, but at that moment an announcement was made requesting all applicants to gather in the auditorium. It was time. The selections were about to be made public.

Harry looked after Kathleen, but she was gone. She hadn't wished him luck.

# Chapter 6

Harry, Bart, Frankie, and George dropped into their seats.

"Where's Kath?" Bart asked, concern in his voice.

"She's around somewhere."

"She knows better than to run off and leave me untended."

"Is she your mom, man?"

Bart glared at Frankie and fell into silence. The lights dimmed and Mr. Thanopolous approached the podium.

"Greetings, corporate candidates. We have finally reached the moment you've all been waiting for. The new Braithwaite Corporation space survey teams have been chosen."

The audience burst into shouts and applause.

Mr. Thanopolous nodded and smiled. This time he allowed the audience noise to die down of its own accord. It took a full thirty seconds. He leaned closer to the small microphone set on the dais. "Do I detect anticipation in the air?" Again, the crowd burst into applause.

His smile broadened and he raised his hands for quiet. "Okay, okay," he said. "Without any further ado, let's get started."

"This year, the Braithwaite Corporation is happy to announce the need for twenty new survey teams." Harry's heart leaped. This was better than he'd expected; previously he'd understood that fourteen teams would be selected. His chances had increased by six.

Thanopolous continued. "Each survey team comprises eight members, each of whom is a mission specialist in a primary field. In addition to the selected teams, a pool of alternates has also been selected to step in for any candidates who are unable to fulfill the team requirements. We will proceed by announcing the names of the new survey teams. As each team is announced, the names will be displayed on the screen behind me.

After this session is over, those of you whose names are announced will please go to the specified areas and meet your fellow team members. Alternates will gather in the lobby and attend a short briefing. For the rest of you, do not be overly distressed. Braithwaite will be happy to recommend you to competing corporations."

"Now," Thanopolous smiled, "the moment has arrived." The audience fell silent. Thanopolous looked at a small monitor built into the top of the dais.

"Survey Team number eighty-eight..." Thanopolous began reading a list of names. At the eighth name, he stopped and looked at the screen behind him. The names were displayed in large block letters. The members of the first team had been announced and Harry wasn't among them.

Well, Harry thought, there's still plenty of room. Nineteen to go.

Thanopolous announced the member names of the next team, and then the next. Harry wasn't among those either.

In a short time, Thanopolous was up to the sixteenth team. Harry was getting nervous. As the man announced the members for the sixteenth team, Harry recognized Kathleen's name as it was spoken, as well as Edward Fagen, Dr. Bartholeme Blane, Dr. Charles Parker, and others whose names Harry didn't recognize. Harry wasn't one of them.

Stunned, he sat in silence as the audience applauded each time a name was announced.

In short work, all twenty teams had been announced. In vain, Harry searched for his own name among those on the big screen, but Harry Irons was conspicuously absent.

"Now," Thanopolous said, "I will reveal the names of the twenty alternates." He read from his monitor, one name after another. Finally, far into the list, he spoke Harry's name.

Frankie and George wildly beat their hands together. Bart, plugged into a pleasure disk, seemed to pay no attention. It was a shallow victory for Harry. Alternate selections were throwaways, part-time employees whose employment with the Corporation ended when the teams successfully left Earth orbit. After all his hard work and years of preparation, Harry had failed.

He was so depressed he didn't notice when Bart took his leave. Frankie tugged at Harry's sleeve. "Better get to your meeting, Harry."

"What? Oh sure."

"We'll meet you tonight. Big party, right?"

"Sure, sure," Harry responded absently and pulled himself from his seat.

The meeting for the alternates was brief. Chances for an assignment were slim, but it did occasionally happen. In any case, the group of young, disappointed people were told their names would probably be picked up by another corporation sometime in the next year. It didn't do much to buoy their spirits. Afterwards, Harry went home.

He gave his mother the bad news. She took it calmly and was more hopeful than Harry. "Anything can happen, Harrison."

Harry wasn't as upbeat as his mother. After turning down food, he descended the steps to his basement room and stared at the ceiling until he heard Frankie and George entering the kitchen. From the tone of their voices, Harry could tell his friends were excited. An evening of Corporation perks awaited them, and the chance to rub elbows with the rich and powerful.

A short time later, the three bade farewell to Mrs. Irons and left the tenement.

Had they been selected for a survey team, they would have had the services of a private Corporation limousine and been picked up outside their doors by a luxury aircar, then delivered to the top floor of the Braithwaite 99-story executive office building. But that was not to be. Instead of looking forward to a lucrative contract and a career with the Corporation, they were the same as they had been the day before: three guys without a solid future, looking for diversion, waiting for a public bus.

It wasn't supposed to be this way, Harry thought. He was supposed to be looking forward to training with his new team and preparing to travel to the stars. Now he had to find a job and hope that sometime in the next year, one of the other corporations would show an interest in hiring him.

There was a lot of action on the street. More traffic than usual. They strolled past a group of thugs. One of the punks muttered something under his breath in George's direction. George wouldn't let it go and confronted the hoodlum.

"You got a problem?"

"Yeah, you." The punk laughed and looked to his friends for reinforcement. They nodded approvingly.

It wasn't an isolated occurrence. Scores of youth gangs roamed the streets at night, looking for crude fun and opportunity. They usually didn't bother the students. Tonight was different. Harry looked closely at the five young men. They were all dressed in black and wore their hair closely shaved to the skull. Tattoos of snakes and dragons adorned their arms. From their dilated eyes, Harry could tell they were flying on one or more of the many designer drugs commonly available on the streets. There was danger here.

"Well," George said, "what are you going to do about it?"

Oh no, Harry thought, here it comes.

The young man smiled and reached to his back pocket. George took a step backward and the punk drew out a stiletto. The other hoods spread out, encircling George, Frankie, and Harry.

"I'm gonna cut you," the punk said, brandishing the knife.

"Do it," urged one of the gang.

Surprisingly, the hood didn't hesitate. He lunged the point at George's midsection, but George nimbly dodged the thrust and caught the hood's arm as it extended. Without waiting any longer, Harry sprang to action, delivering a kick to the chest of one hood and pushing another aside. The remaining two grabbed Frankie and began to beat him.

George had the punk's arm locked up. The young tattooed man bent over at the waist and tried unsuccessfully to twist out of George's grip. Harry pulled one guy off Frankie and punched the other. Frankie scrambled to his feet. A gun went off and everybody ducked.

Harry glanced to his right and saw that the hood he'd pushed aside had pulled the gun. George still held his punk in an arm lock.

At that moment, a limo floated down and landed on the street. One of the back doors opened and a hand waved to Harry.

"Quick!" A male voice said from the interior.

Frankie was the first to enter the limo, quickly followed by Harry. George, still holding the punk by the arm, edged himself to the curb. He placed a foot in the small of the man's back and shoved him away. Then, George jumped into the hovering limousine. Immediately, the limo sprang into the air and left the gang behind.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Harry turned from the window and looked at Edward Fagen.

"That was a close one," Fagen said.

"We had 'em going until that guy pulled a gun."

"You handled yourselves well."

"Well," Frankie said matter-of-factly, "I'm just glad we got away before I got mad." Frankie tenderly touched his swollen lip and looked at George. "Am I bleeding?"

Harry thought he saw a touch of a smile at the corners of Fagen's mouth.

There was something about Edward Fagen. He showed little emotion. His words and his actions were delivered with a minimum of effort, hitting their mark concisely. He was a powerful man, Harry could see at a glance; not by the outward furnishings, the expensive limo, the clothes, but by the strength he seemed to emanate. This is a man, Harry thought, who has been to the stars.

Fagen spoke to Harry. "I'm almost glad this incident occurred. It gives me the opportunity to speak with you."

Harry couldn't imagine why. He was an alternate. He wasn't going to the stars. "I got alternate." Harry blurted.

"I know. But we need to speak privately." Fagen turned away and spoke briefly into a phone. After a moment, he replaced the receiver and the limo dropped smoothly to the street below.

"What's going on?" Asked Frankie.

"I need to speak with Harrison. I've called for another limo to have you two delivered to Corporation headquarters. Harrison will join you there."

There was no argument from Frankie or George.

When the limo rested on the pavement, Fagen held open the door. "Good evening, boys. Stay out of trouble."

The two stepped out onto the sidewalk. "Thanks, Ed. See you at the party, Harry."

Fagen shut his door and the limo lifted up again. Fagen spoke to the driver through an intercom. "Ten minutes, James?"

"Yes sir, very good, sir," came the prompt reply.

Fagen faced Harry. "Now, I wanted to tell you that I did everything I could to get you aboard. We were watching you all through the tests."

Harry looked at Fagen and said nothing. Where was he going with this?

The older man continued. "You were my first choice. I pressured the election committee but when the final tally came down, you were passed over for one of the board member's nephews."

Harry knew it was against the election rules to discuss the procedures. Why was Fagen telling him these things?

"You're probably wondering why I'm telling you this. Right?"

"It crossed my mind."

"Yes, well, as you're probably aware, I'm not supposed to be talking about candidate selections. Inner workings of the company and all that. They like to give the impression that the selection process is entirely fair, and the nominees are always the best, the most deserving..."

"And?"

"And oftentimes they're not. Sure, the corporation wants good, talented people, but these are high dollar positions offering instant success and wealth, untold wealth, if a mission gets lucky. As a result, the survey positions are bought and sold by corporate shareholders for their own purposes. Hell, I do it myself. That way I get to pick some of my own crew. You got bounced. It happens all the time.

Almost bounced you myself after the zoomball game. You gave up, you know. And that scene in the restroom. Man, you were so uptight, you couldn't even take a piss. After sitting through a three-hour test!"

"Even in there?"

Fagen laughed. "Come on, Harry, what did you expect? It's the biggest game in town."

Suddenly tired of the conversation, Fagen paused and looked out the window. Turning back, he asked, "Do you look at the stars, Harry?"

Harry looked up through the transparent top of the limo. "Yes. Yes, I do."

"Probably ever since you were a kid," Fagen muttered. "Me too." Suddenly waking from his reverie, he pointed out the window. "We're there."

Harry looked down and saw the brightly lit rooftop. Shuttles, limos, and air taxis landed, released their occupants, and took off again. Fagen's limo took its turn and gently set down.

"I don't like the kid they assigned me, Harry. He'll get somebody killed, for sure. If you want, I'll work on the situation... see if I can work something out."

Harry had nothing to lose. "Sure," he said, "go ahead."

In the faded light of the limo back seat, Fagen's cold, gray eyes focused on Harry making Harry feel uncomfortable for a brief moment. Fagen nodded and a hint of a smile appeared not at the corners of his mouth, but at the edges of his eyes. "Good," said Fagen. "No promises, but I'll see what I can do. Now go enjoy the party. You've earned it." Fagen stuck out his hand.

Harry took the offered hand and again noticed the controlled strength in the man's grip. "You're not going?"

"I have business to attend. But you'll not be alone. Kathleen should be along soon."

"Well, thanks again."

"Thank you, Harry."

Harry stepped from the limo into the glare of lights. The car lifted up and moved away. It looked as though it was going to be quite a night. Harry still had a chance.

He worked his way through the crowd to the ballroom entrance. Music flowed from the open doors. Young women in extravagant sequined gowns swayed to the beat. In the foyer Harry located a directory that told him neither his friends nor Kathleen had yet arrived. As he entered the ballroom, he was scanned, identified, and entered into the directory. Via the same process, his name would be automatically removed when he left.

To his left and right were huge ornate staircases that led to upstairs lounges. Before him, a wide dance floor held a frenzied group of dancers. The music was supplied by an outlandishly dressed popular band that played contemporary rhythms. Harry watched the dancers for a time, then moved up the stairs toward the observation deck.

From 99 stories up, Harry stood on the observation deck and looked out over the city. As far as he could see, lights spread out before him. He watched a limo drop and set down before the door. It deposited its passengers and lifted off again. An air-taxi came in next and picked up two people.

As he watched another air limo settle onto the landing pad, someone called his name. It was Frankie and George. Harry waved and turned back to the window. The air-limo deposited a large party and took on another large group.

"What a ride!" Said Frankie. "We've got the limo for the rest of night."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Who is that Fagen guy anyway?"

"He's a..." Before Harry could get the words out, a flash of light lit the observation deck. Outside, a small blast issued from the air-limo as it lifted with a new load of passengers. Another vehicle, an air-taxi, was involved in the accident and dropped quickly out of sight. The limo floated at an angle for an instant, then quickly followed the air-taxi. It happened so fast that the people outside hadn't the chance to run. They stood transfixed and asked one another what had happened. There was nothing to indicate that anything had happened besides a rapidly dissipating wisp of smoke. All the evidence, the two air-vehicles, the drivers, the passengers, had disappeared in a dead fall to the streets below.

"Wow!" George said. "What happened?"

"There's been an accident." Harry made for the stairs. "Maybe we can help." Frankie and George followed.

Below, in the ballroom, no one knew about the incident. Those who had just arrived were in the lobby, the shock still on their faces; among them, Kathleen and Bart. Kathleen saw Harry and called to him.

"It was the car right behind us. I knew most of the people in it."

Harry noticed that Kathleen seemed remarkably calm.

"You're in, Harry."

"What do you mean?"

"Why Harry, one of the occupants of that car was our linguist. You're the alternate. You'll take his place."

# Chapter 7

The shock of the crash and the accompanying casualties weighed heavily on Harry. Maybe he was to blame. After all, he'd given permission for Fagen to do anything to get him assigned to the team. How far had Fagen gone?

How could he have known the extent Fagen would go to assure Harry's assignment? Was the explosion an accident? Or not?

He looked into his coffee cup as if the answers might be found floating amid the grounds. The phone buzzed and his mother answered. Harry, lost in his thoughts, didn't pay attention.

She replaced the receiver. "Harry?"

Harry turned his eyes from the cup.

"That was somebody from Braithwaite," she said with guarded anticipation. "They want you to come to the corporate offices."

"When?"

"As soon as possible. Right now."

Harry didn't stir.

Mrs. Irons waited expectantly. Finally, she asked, "Harry, is something the matter?"

"No, Ma, I'm going." He rose from the table and went downstairs to change clothes. In minutes, he was on his way to the Braithwaite Corporation corporate offices.

Arriving, he gave the receptionist his name. "Oh yes, here we are. Harrison Irons, room 331. Take the escalator to the right, Mr. Irons."

"Thank you." He should have been happy, excited at the prospects. Under the circumstances, he wasn't.

He found the room easily enough and entered. A secretary looked up from her computer screen. "Yes. Can I help you?"

Harry looked around. He stood in a small outer office. Down a hall, other corporate employees passed from room to room, some with papers in hand, all with serious faces.

"My name's Harrison Irons. I was told to report here."

The secretary looked at her monitor. "Just a moment, please. Yes, there you are." She raised an eyebrow. "You were selected as an alternate survey team member?"

"Yes."

"Well, Mr. Irons, it looks as though you're no longer an alternate. Your status has been changed to active. Congratulations."

"Thanks," Harry said automatically. He held back the rush of excitement, reminding himself of how he got the job.

"We have a lot to do. There are forms to fill out, doctor's examinations, and inoculations. Oh, and your team is meeting in forty-five minutes. Well, we'll do as much as we can now and work around your schedule to finish up."

For the remainder of the hour, Harry was passed from one representative to another. They asked him about his background, his family, his education, practically everything that could be written down or recorded. When it was time to attend the team meeting, they still hadn't finished with him. He was told to return later to complete the paperwork and check on the time for his medical examination.

He learned that the team meeting for survey crew 101 was not in the same building. Instead, it was in a smaller building across the street. As Harry crossed the street en route to his meeting, he mused with the idea that he could just walk away. He could leave now and follow his conscience, or he could follow the path of least resistance and make himself and his family wealthy, as well as fulfill his childhood dreams. In the end, the latter argument won out. Harry walked into the building and was directed to his meeting.

Because he was not yet listed in the security database, the door to the room wouldn't open. He had to get a security guard to let him in. When the door opened, both he and the guard stared at Harry's new team. They, in turn, returned the stare. Finally, Kathleen said, "It's Harry!"

The security guard disappeared and the redhead, Doris, Harry remembered, stepped forward and offered her hand. "Hello Harrison, do you remember me? My name is Doris Leonelda Ilyich. I am the corporation Executive Officer for Mission Number 101." Harry shook her hand and noted that Doris spoke with a Russian accent.

"Welcome, we are so happy to have you with us. We familiarized ourselves with your folder this morning and I must say we are all very impressed with your qualifications."

"And," Kathleen added, "he plays zoomball almost as well as Edward."

They all nodded appreciatively.

Doris proceeded to introduce the other members of the crew. She motioned toward Bart and Kathleen. "You already know these two." Kathleen smiled and Bart roused himself from his reverie long enough to nod in Harry's direction.

"And," the XO continued, "You've met Dr. Parker, our medical doctor."

"Hello Harrison." The young doctor said.

"Hello Doc."

The doctor visibly ruffled at the familiarity but said nothing.

Doris faced the remaining two. She looked at a large, well-built black woman. "This is Nadine Waddell Watson."

"Now Doris, don't go telling people my middle name. You know I don't like that." She leaned forward and shook Harry's hand. She was as tall as Harry and quite sturdy, big-boned, and muscular. She was also attractive, in an Amazon sort of way. "How are you, Harry?"

"Fine, thanks."

"Nadine handles our navigations and any celestial mechanics problems. Like you, she has a good head for computers." Doris turned to the final team member.

"This is William Bonner. William is our systems engineer. He is also our mechanical expert and maintains the propulsion systems."

Bonner was tall and had a potbelly. He looked like the sort of man who liked to tinker. He wore a ballcap with the Braithwaite insignia and, unlike the others, dressed as though he was ready at any moment to slide under a ground shuttle and check the control struts.

"Call me Bill, glad to have you aboard."

"Thanks, where's Edward?"

"Oh, you won't be seeing much of him until the mission actually gets underway. We've got quite a bit to do before then. Shall we get started?" She motioned for Harry to take a seat.

Harry seated himself in one of the chairs that surrounded a moderately-sized conference table. Kathleen slid in next to him. The others, except for Doris, took a seat as well.

The XO stepped to the front. "Is he paying attention?" Doris spoke to Kathleen but pointed to Bart. "Um-hm." Kathleen murmured.

Bart opened his eyes and winked at Doris. "Yes, ma'am. Present and accounted for."

"Yes, well, we've got a lot of work to do in the next six weeks. Beginning tomorrow, we will begin procedural training in the simulators. I want you all to talk to the legal department and payroll immediately, settle any outstanding affairs, make sure your will is up to date. You can do that this afternoon and tomorrow morning." She directed herself to Harry. "You need to get a security card immediately. You can't go anywhere without one."

"I'll take him to personnel," Kathleen volunteered.

"All right. But I want Dr. Blane to remain here."

Bart responded immediately, "Wait a minute. I don't like being alone."

"You won't be alone; we'll be here with you."

Kathleen waved a hand. "Come on, Bart." _Don't be a baby_.

Bart sulked until he spied a plug-in jack on the side of the table. He smiled and waved at Kathleen. "Go on, I'll be fine."

Before Harry and Kathleen left, Doris again congratulated Harry for joining the team. "I look forward to working with you and I know everyone feels the same." Harry thought she was going a little overboard and mentioned it to Kathleen when they stepped out of the room.

"Oh, Doris is one of the corporate people. Most of the Executive Officers are. Gung-ho."

"Aren't we all corporate people?"

Kathleen rolled her eyes. "Well, in the organization, there are corporate people and there are corporate people -- with a lot of different people in between. People with different reasons for being here."

"Why are you here?"

"Why do you think?"

Harry thought about it for a moment. "Somehow, I don't think it's for the money." Harry gave her a sidelong glance. "It's for the stars."

"What?"

"The stars. You want to go the stars."

Kathleen smiled. "Doesn't everybody?"

They walked back to the corporate offices and Kathleen led Harry to personnel. Typically, Harry got caught up in the bureaucracy and had to wait. Kathleen was patient for a full minute, then excused herself. She hadn't been gone five minutes when a clerk rushed in and apologized profusely for keeping Harry waiting.

"I'm so sorry, I was taking my break."

She took Harry's picture and attached it to his security card. "There you are." She handed him the card. "And sorry about keeping you waiting."

"Forget it."

Kathleen was waiting outside. "Did you get it?"

Harry held up the card.

"Now you can go where you please. Where would you like to go?"

"You mean I can go where I want in corporate space?"

Kathleen laughed. "Corporate space? That's funny. Yeah. You're a corporate survey team specialist. You can go pretty much where you want. So, what do you want to see?"

"I want to see the ship."

Kathleen frowned. "Ah, can't do that. The ship's waiting in orbit. Edward's planning some kind of christening ceremony. He wants us all to be together the first time we see it. I kind of like the idea. Don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess so." At the mention of Fagen's name, Harry again thought about the air-limo crash.

Kathleen pouted and touched Harry's cheek. "Oh, you're disappointed. I have another idea. Let me show you the simulator. It's the next best thing to the ship. What about it?"

"Sure, why not? But first a side trip to payroll."

"Always the practical one, eh?"

She took him out of personnel to a bank of keyboards where she keyed in Harry's name. After going through a series of menus she arrived at the corporation banking facilities.

"Now Harry, key in the access number on your security card and you can look at your numbers."

He did so and blinked when his salary was displayed.

"What's the matter?" Kathleen asked.

Harry smiled. "I didn't know I was going to get paid so much." Harry began issuing commands from the keyboard, and in a matter of minutes, he had redirected over half his salary to his mother's bank account. In another moment he directed half of what remained into mutual funds. The rest was his, and it was more than he had ever had at one time. Money may not bring you happiness, but it can make you smile. Then Harry remembered the flames coming from the limo as it fell out of sight and he frowned.

Kathleen saw the change and asked him what the trouble was.

"I feel bad about how I got the assignment."

"You shouldn't feel bad about it. You had nothing to do with it. It was an accident. Pure chance."

"Maybe not."

"What do you mean?"

He told her about his conversation with Edward and how Edward said he would try to do something.

Kathleen shook her head. "No Harry, you don't know Edward. He didn't like the guy the board forced him to take. He told them so. He told them he wanted a strong crew for this trip. But he wouldn't have done something like that."

"How long have you known Fagen?"

"A few years. I met him before his fourth trip, before he got the scar. Edward met Blane at a conference sponsored by MIT. Immediately, he wanted Blane for his next crew, Blane wouldn't go without me or one of the other people he's connected to. I was the only one who was qualified. I'm a botanist, you know. Anyway, at first Edward didn't want to take us both. When he returned after his fourth trip, he phoned me and asked if the deal was still on. I said yes and here we are."

"But what about the selection process and all that? I mean, I understand that Fagen tries to sponsor his own crew, but he has to contend with other sponsors, right?"

"Well," Kathleen thought about it, "quite simply, yes, that's right."

"Then how was he able to sponsor two instead of just one?"

"Oh," Kathleen said, "I'm a sponsor too. With Edward's help, I bought myself in."

Harry stared at the young woman.

Kathleen laughed. "Didn't I tell you I was rich?"

*

A short time later, Harry and Kathleen walked into the simulator control lab. A technician sat at a console and waved to Kathleen.

"Carl, feed us the Neptune orbital simulation." Kathleen turned and faced Harry. "I like the colors."

Harry grinned. He was growing accustomed to her playful comments.

Set on stilts in the middle of an auditorium-sized room, the simulator was much larger than Harry had imagined. They climbed a gantry-way and entered the simulator through an open hatch. The inside was just like the interior of a corporation spaceship bridge.

"Everything looks and works like the real thing." Kathleen explained. She punched a button beside the hatch and the door slid shut.

It was more spacious than Harry had imagined. There was room for six at the vacant positions. "Which spot shall I take?"

"For now, let's take the commander's position. Since you and I won't be running the ship, Edward will relegate us to positions in the back during actual flight. " Kathleen sat before a console and began flipping switches. She leaned forward to a microphone.

"Carl, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," came the reply. "Ready when you are."

"All right, give us a minute to hook up." She handed Harry a headset. "Here, put this on, then you can hear everything that's going on."

Harry put on the headset and adjusted the tiny microphone that dangled before his mouth. Through the earpieces he heard periodic navigational reports as well as the buzz and pop of simulated radio interference.

"All right Carl, I'm going to open the viewports. You can leave us alone for a while." Without waiting for an answer, Kathleen pressed a switch and the metal louvers that covered the viewports began to slide back. As they moved out of the way, they revealed a scene that took Harry's breath away.

In the upper half of his field of vision, Neptune appeared to float in a blackened sky, the great rings so close that Harry could see the individual boulders and ice. In the background, stars shined through, illuminating the velvet carpet of sky.

"What do you think?"

"It's... amazing."

"And it's not even the real thing."

"You could've fooled me." Harry again began to feel the rising excitement. It was what he had dreamed about for so long that he was afraid he would wake up and it wouldn't be real. But now here he was, a Braithwaite Corporation employee, a survey team member, poised to fly into the unknown and explore the stars.

# Chapter 8

The days and weeks that followed were lost in a blur of training sessions and preparations. It was a time of discovery and excitement for Harry, as well as big changes. For the first time since his father died, there was money for his family. Complying with corporation rules, Harry moved into survey team quarters. Compared to what he was used to, his suite was luxurious. Unfortunately, due to an arduous training schedule, he didn't get to spend much time there.

The part of the day he most looked forward to was his ninety minutes in holographic situations. Typically, they weren't as difficult as those encountered during the testing, but they were just as interesting.

In one of the sessions, he found himself alone, squatting on a dirt floor inside a mud hut with small, smelly, furry creatures seated across from him.

They passed him a bowl filled with a putrefied liquid and watched him, giving no indication of what they expected. Harry sniffed at the disgusting concoction. He knew it was a holographic image, but it looked, smelled, and even felt like it was real. After a moment's hesitation, he turned up the bowl and drank the liquid.

Immediately, the holographic display disappeared, and an image of Mr. Thanopolous appeared.

"Sorry, Harrison," he said. "You died. If you had looked closely enough, you would have noticed that the aliens poured the liquid on their heads. It wasn't meant to be consumed. Let's try another one." With that, Harry was transported to another scene and underwent a similar exercise.

This time, he was on the bridge of a spacecraft. A man dressed in the uniform of a survey team commander looked at him expectantly.

"Well?" He said and pointed to a display readout. "What does it mean?"

Harry looked at the display. It contained a series of hieroglyphs. Next to the display Harry noticed a scratchpad in his own handwriting that contained a matrix of symbols and glyphs. He began to compare the symbols on the screen with those in the matrix.

A woman's voice came over the intercom. "Sir, we're detecting some unusual solar activity. Radiation levels are climbing."

The commander frowned and urged Harry to decipher the message.

Harry concentrated and, within minutes, translated the message. It was a warning: a solar flare was imminent. Harry reported his findings to the commander who then ordered the ship to be taken out of orbit and directed towards deep space.

The bridge disappeared and Thanopolous reappeared. "Very good, Harrison, that'll be all for today."

Harry was almost disappointed the session was finished.

As usual, afterwards the team gathered to discuss their experiences and run additional exercises. Doris moderated the sessions.

"Help Nadine plot a course." Doris instructed Bonner. Bonner shrugged and stepped to the navigations console where Nadine sat. Nadine ignored him.

"Bart?" Doris hated speaking to the wirehead. "Would you assist Harry with his calculations?"

Bart sat at his chair with his eyes closed. His expression never changed.

"Bart, did you hear me?"

He opened his eyes. "What do you want me to do?"

"Help Harry with his calculation."

Bart sighed. "Okay. Harry, the approach vector is 5 degrees from the initial entry. That's with a correction of plus or minus .23659 degrees thrown in for drift."

Doris stood with her arms folded. "That's not what I meant. I want you to watch him go through the steps to see that he knows how to do it. It's very important that we cross-train in our various disciplines in case one of you has to take over for the other."

Nadine complained. "I can't be expected to learn umpteen dozen different languages to take over for Harry!"

"No, you can't," replied Doris. "There are accepted limitations. On the other hand, Bart can access the language archives in the data bank. Similarly, Kathleen is cross-trained by Charlie to perform the standard corporation tests on bio-organisms."

Parker reacted. "Please call me Charles."

Harry almost winced. Earlier, he'd overheard the doctor speaking to Kathleen in a training session. Parker complained when Kathleen mixed substances in a different order than Parker had.

"Do the acetic acid first, then the base."

"What difference does it make?" Kathleen asked.

Parker stared at her. "Because it's the order I learned. It's the correct method."

"But the results are the same."

"As far as you know. Is it necessary that I give the standard lecture on lab practices?"

"No, no," Kathleen backed off, laughing, "I'll take your word for it, Chuck."

Parker bristled at the nickname but said nothing.

If Harry found Parker to be the most abrasive, with Doris running a close second, he found Bill Bonner to be the most easygoing among the group. Usually, the engineer was paired with Nadine, but he got along with everyone equally well. Bill had been raised on a hog farm, pursuing engineering, so he said, to get away from the smell. As a result, he was friendly, Earthy, and used an array of pithy, down-home phrases to prove it.

"How are you today Bill?"

"Content as a hog in mud."

Of them all, Bart was the smartest. His implants allowed him to perform calculations with amazing speed and accuracy. Whenever the opportunity availed itself, he would plug into whatever was available and lose himself in cyberspace. His particular weakness was his taste for pleasure realities, places where he could tap into sensory stimulations.

He carried a portable player that provided him with a variety of digitized pleasures when he couldn't plug into a larger database. By his own admittance, he was addicted. Still, he was a prima donna, hand-picked by Fagen for crew membership. It was all too apparent why: Blane could soak up data at an amazing rate; if the onboard computers failed, Blane could run their programs. In effect, he could access and manage all the ship's systems in an instant.

His telecommunications implant made him and Kathleen seem like mentalists. Still, Blane preferred the company of his machines to that of flesh and blood.

Of the group, Fagen was the most enigmatic. Harry didn't see him very often. As far as he knew, neither did any of the others. Occasionally, Fagen would look in during a training session to see how they were doing. He was friendly enough, but he didn't say much. He never mentioned the limo accident to Harry.

Finally, the day arrived, exactly six weeks since training had begun, when Fagen showed up at the afternoon training session.

"How are they doing, Doris?"

"Oh, they're ready to go, but I think they could use a few more weeks."

"Well, we don't have a few more weeks."

Fagen's comment stopped everybody.

"We've received our departure window. Two days from today, 2100 hours."

"That's a little sudden, isn't it?"

"Yes, well, we got bumped up on the departure list. I'd like to suspend the rest of the day's sessions and let everybody off to take care of any loose ends."

Kathleen spoke. "You wouldn't have anything to do with the new departure schedule, now would you, Edward?"

"Just the luck of the draw, Kathleen."

"Yeah, I'll bet."

That evening, Harry went to his mother's house to say good-bye to his family. They all knew it might be years before they saw Harry again, if they saw him again. Mrs. Irons tried to keep the occasion light, but Harry's little sister kept crying. They gave Harry gifts like it was his birthday. He didn't tell them, but he couldn't take anything with him. There were severe space and weight restrictions aboard the spacecraft. Besides, the corporation furnished everything he needed.

Afterwards, Frankie and George stopped by and the three sat at the kitchen table and talked until the hour grew late. For a long while they talked about their days at public school and how they shared a common yearning to become space explorers. All three had applied for corporate survey teams, but only one made it. Only one of them ever really had a chance and all three knew it. Harry knew he would miss his friends.

In the morning, Mrs. Irons waited until Harry was gone before she cried.

An air-limo picked him up outside his mother's door and took him south through the miles of city to the spaceport located in the foothills. As they neared, Harry marveled at the great acceleration ramp pointing up into the sky. Harry had learned the procedures. First, a quick jump into orbit, then a docking at a station high above the Earth's atmosphere, and then finally, transfer to the ship that would take them through the wormhole to parts unknown.

He found the others in the spaceport lounge.

"Where's Edward?"

"He's already in orbit, waiting for us."

Harry didn't have time to wonder why. Doris called them together and directed the seven survey team members to the waiting shuttle. Aboard the shuttle, they stored what gear they carried and just had time to sit down and strap themselves in before the ship began to slide forward on the magnetic rails.

Upon reaching maximum acceleration, the jets ignited. The rumble from the engines coursed through the craft; the vibrations shook Harry like one of those expensive massage chairs the furniture stores sold. Harry knew when they left the ramp because the high, screeching sound that accompanied the motion suddenly ceased.

The rush of acceleration pushed him into his seat and made breathing difficult. In a few minutes, the pressure eased as the engines switched off and the shuttle entered zero gravity.

They took turns looking out the single port until Doris spotted the space station. "All right, let's buckle up for our approach."

On arrival, Fagen greeted them as they stepped through the airlock into the station.

"I trust everyone had a pleasant trip?"

"Outstanding," Bonner said, "like being shot from a cannon. Smooth all the way." Even Blane was excited. He didn't bother to plug into his portable pleasure machine. Kathleen laughed at his silent messages and, like the others, she kept glancing about, trying to take everything in at once.

"Please follow me." Fagen directed them through the station to a pressurized hanger bay that also served as a good place for viewing the stars. Save for a small service vehicle and a handful of personnel, it was empty.

Harry walked to the nearest portal, a window reaching from floor to ceiling, and stood gaping at the view. Wordlessly, Kathleen moved to his side. The stars spread out before them.

Nadine exclaimed, "It's like a, a hologram!"

"No, it's better!"

Fagen smiled a little after that and took the crew to a large viewing port, directing their attention to a starship held in parked position adjacent to the station.

It was a larger version of the Braithwaite Scout-5, one of the better equipped survey crafts.

"This is our vessel. She'll treat us as well as we treat her, so, I insist we use the utmost respect. Shortly, we will transfer over and set up housekeeping, but first, I'd like to do something I do with every new crew prior to departure." Fagen signaled to a waiting valet. The man popped a bottle of champagne and poured the golden liquid into long-stemmed glasses.

Holding his drink aloft, Fagen turned to his crew. "The first toast is to the success of our mission." He lifted the glass to his lips and the others followed in suit.

"The second toast is to our ship, which I have taken the liberty of naming the Magellan, after the intrepid explorer who first circumnavigated the globe."

This time everybody voiced their approval before draining their glasses. On impulse, Kathleen hugged Fagen then turned and kissed Harry. Harry blushed and looked at Bart. Blane grinned and winked.

Nadine and Dr. Parker clanged glasses together while Bonner draped a meaty arm over Doris' shoulders. The crew would never feel as close as they did at that moment.

# Chapter 9

Harry's first impression of the Magellan was that it was larger than expected. The second impression, after the crew had transferred over, was that it was more luxurious than he'd imagined. It contained numerous conveniences designed to help pass the time while in transit. For Blane, there were, of course, plenty of places to plug directly into the ship's computer. In the extensive database were games, pleasure realities, histories, technical information, procedures, and thousands of various other programs.

Unlike the simulator, the bridge aboard the Magellan was spacious. Crew's quarters were compact but sufficient to allow for a modicum of privacy. Each was fitted with a bunk, a small table, and a locker. An intercom was located beside the bunk. A terminal and built-in keyboard were built into the table. Save for the bridge, none of the cabins had ports. If the crew wanted to look at the stars, they either had to go to the bridge or use the remote cameras to see through one of the monitors.

After stowing his personal effects, Harry joined the rest of the crew in the galley. Fagen came in last and tapped the table for silence.

"I know you're all wondering just where it is we're headed. The corporation chooses our destination and pre-programs our navigations. Of course, we have the ability to override, but only in case of an emergency. Calculations predict a wormhole fluctuation beginning at precisely oh-seven hundred hours and thirteen minutes on the day after tomorrow. To make the opening, we must be underway within the hour.

I realize that other than Doris and myself, none of you have crossed through the wormhole. I'm sure you've heard all the stories about bent space and time anomalies, and the inherent danger in passing through. Allow me to assure you that these dangers are minimal. If everyone performs their jobs properly, we won't have anything to worry about. In any case, the ship's pre-programming will take care of practically any eventuality."

Fagen looked at Bonner. "Bill, if you would, give everybody the quick lecture on how we use the wormhole."

"Sure." He took a sip of coffee, then started. "As you probably know, the wormhole was discovered over seventy-five years ago by miners on their way to the asteroid belt. In the beginning, only drones were sent through, but they weren't capable of finding their way back. Only through years of trial and error were we able to discern that the wormhole could be used as a means of two-way travel.

Simply enough, it works this way: a spacecraft enters the wormhole at a precise velocity and exits at another hole somewhere else in the galaxy. The entry velocity dictates the destination. For every velocity, plus or minus one Planck constant, there is one and only one destination."

"So?" Nadine asked.

"So, that means that in practical theory there is an infinite number of destinations."

Doris interrupted. "A major part of each survey mission is to monitor velocities and map the entry velocities to the exit coordinates. Simple."

"How long is transit through the wormhole?" Asked Parker.

"It varies," Bonner answered, "but never longer than a couple of days. At least, so far. It's the time in transit to and from the wormhole that sometimes takes several months. When we pop out on the other side, we could find ourselves anywhere."

Blane faced Fagen and spoke. "That raises the question of exactly where we are headed?"

Fagen cleared his throat. "Yes, well, we've been given a new velocity and new entry vectors."

"Does that mean we don't know where we're headed?"

"That's right," Fagen said. "Unexplored territory."

Kathleen gaped. "You mean we have no idea where we're going?"

_What does it matter when you don't know where you are?_ Blane transmitted to Kathleen.

"Not the faintest," Doris said matter-of-factly.

"What if we get through and find nothing there?"

"The corporation hired us as a survey team. We record and map whatever we find, even if it's empty space. Either way, the corporation considers it a successful mission."

Fagen had lapsed into silence and was listening. He stood with his back to the bulkhead, arms folded. He was a peculiar man, aloof and keenly observant. When he spoke again, immediately everyone looked to him for his opinion.

"It will be a successful mission. For the time being, I want Nadine, Bill, Bart, and Doris on the bridge. Now, let's get to work."

Harry stopped Doris on the way out. "What should I do?"

Orders came easy for Doris. "You can make sure everything is stowed away in everybody's space. Afterwards, your time is your own until we begin our approach to the wormhole."

Harry nodded and made his way back to the crew's quarters. Parker and Kathleen went to the infirmary which also doubled as a lab. Parker wanted to make sure everything was secure before departure and Kathleen just wanted to take a look around. The others went forward to the bridge.

Feeling invasive, Harry took a quick look in everyone's space. They were all fine except for Blane's. On his bunk was his collection of pleasure disks, on the floor, his clothes. Harry quickly placed them in a locker and exited. Last was Fagen's room. It was locked. Harry shrugged and turned away.

A klaxon sounded and Harry felt a slight thump. For a moment, the floor seemed to be trying to slide out from under him. An announcement was made over the intercom. "Ship is underway!"

Then Harry heard his name being called over the intercom. "Harry? You want to come forward and have a look?"

That's exactly what Harry wanted, and he rushed forward to join the others on the bridge. When he arrived, he saw that the Magellan had just cleared the restraining locks and was pulling away from the station. The others sat at control consoles and watched their monitors. Fagen was in the pilot's chair with Bart alongside in the XO's chair. Harry noted that Doris, ousted from her position, hovered nearby.

As they drew away, Fagen maneuvered with air jets. He turned the vessel around so that it moved backwards, and they could watch the station as it receded from view.

A report came through from the controllers on the station. "Magellan, you are moving five by five through your corridor. Take care of yourselves. We'll track you until wormhole entry. Have a good trip."

Nadine flipped open the comms channel. "That is affirmative. Thanks. This is Magellan, out."

Harry watched until he could no longer see the station. After that, he stared out the port for a long time. Only when he grew hungry did he finally move.

"Think I'll look for something to eat."

Doris shook her head. "Don't eat too much, Harry. It won't sit well on your stomach while you sleep."

"It's not safe to eat anything at all," said Parker. "It's not necessary, either. You'll get nutrients as you sleep."

"Well, when do we turn in?"

"All right, I suppose we should get started. Commander?" Parker looked at Fagen.

"By all means. Start getting them wired up."

Parker looked back to Harry. "You're the most nonessential, so you'll be first."

"You didn't have to put it quite that way."

"What way?"

"Never mind. What do I do?"

"Whatever you do to get yourself prepared to sleep. Shower..."

Nadine grinned. "Put on your jammies!"

"Be in your quarters ready to snooze in an hour."

Harry nodded and floated off the bridge. "Good night everybody, see you in about fifteen months."

"Good night, Harry!"

Weightless and enjoying the freedom, he pushed himself along. When he was out of sight from the others, he played in the air, tumbling end over end, darting from one corner to the other until he began to feel he could use a wash.

He took a towel from his cabin and worked his way to the chamber they called the washing machine. It was actually part of a larger system that allowed the crew to wash and perform hygienic functions normally restricted from a weightless environment. The washing machine itself was a closet-sized air/water compression shower. Harry had never used one, but it seemed simple enough. He passed through the outer hatch, shut the door and stripped down. He stashed his clothes in a locker, then faced the inner door. He pressed a button and the door parted, the two halves sliding into the wall. As he stepped inside, he felt the wind buffer that kept any particles of water from leaving the washing machine. The door shut behind. Somewhere behind the bulkhead, warm water mixed with compressed air and both were forced through tiny tubes that led to pinholes in the surface of the washing machine. The result was a spray of fine mist that constantly circulated within the chamber.

Harry floated in the air under the mixture of water and air, enjoying the zero-gravity shower. A clank sounded from the anteroom. Harry attempted to wipe the water from his eyes. "Who's there?" After a moment, he added, "There's somebody in here."

The doors to the washing machine slid open. Kathleen stood in the dressing room, completely undressed and completely unashamed. A smile played across her face. "I know. Hope you don't mind if I join you; this is the only place to wash."

Harry stared at the beautiful young woman as she floated into the shower. The door closed behind her. She looked expectantly at him. Harry was shy, but he wasn't slow. He took her in his arms, and he did what he'd wanted to do since the first time he'd seen her. He held her and kissed her; her naked body close to his. They made love until Parker interrupted by pounding on the door.

"I know you're in there, so open up! It's time for sleep!"

Harry didn't rush it. When he finally opened the door, Parker said nothing, preferring instead to angrily stare at the two lovers. Kathleen laughed, more a giggle actually, up until the time Parker injected both her and Harry with the cryoshot. The last thing Harry recalled before falling asleep was Kathleen's laughter. For the moment he completely forgot that he was in outer space, embarking on the greatest adventure of his life.

*

"Harry? Wake up! Is he back with us yet?"

Voices invaded Harry's consciousness. He wanted to force them away, but they were insistent: they wanted him to get up. And yet he was so sleepy.

"He's coming around now."

Harry opened his eyes. Nadine stood over him with Parker off to the side. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

"Seems like I just drifted off a minute ago."

"It's fifteen months later, Harry. We're closing in on the wormhole. So, get up!"

"Where's Kathleen?"

"She's awake and already on the bridge with everybody else. Get dressed and come on up."

Slowly, Harry roused himself. The hangover from cryo-sleep was more than he'd expected. He shook his head to clear the cobwebs and pulled on his clothes. Remembering his shower with Kathleen, he wondered if it was just a dream.

The time prior to wormhole entry passed rapidly. As they approached, Harry, Kathleen, and the doctor were ordered back to their cabins and told to strap themselves in.

On the bridge, Nadine checked the entry vectors while Bonner prepared to ignite the fusion plasma generators. Blane plugged into the ship's computers and monitored the entire process.

The plan was to light the fires as soon as the wormhole began its fluctuation and then to fly through as the hole reached its widest point. It was a delicate operation. The wormhole, pulled by the gravitational forces of the entire cosmos, continually yawned and closed. Sometimes it was as small as a micron across and other times it could stretch to as much as a quarter mile across. The corporation had placed a series of plasma field generators in the space around the hole. They helped to stabilize the hole when it reached its widest point and then to stretch it even further. There was plenty of room for a fully equipped starship.

Still, everything had to work in exact synchronization. Bonner counted down. Ignition had to occur at exactly the right moment. The velocity of the craft, as ordered by the corporation, had to be precise and steady upon entry.

Everyone was quiet when the computers engaged the ignition. Instantly, the fusion engines sprang to life and the Magellan began to gather speed.

Before them, the wormhole gaped open, widening as they approached.

Below, in his quarters, Harry clung to the sides of his bunk as the Magellan began to shake and vibrate. On his monitor, he watched the wormhole as it grew larger. Like lightening, flashes of light stretched across the opening and disappeared as quickly. This is it, Harry thought. This is what I've dreamed of for so long.

Back on the bridge, the crew watched their monitors.

"Thirty seconds to entry," Nadine announced.

"Right," said Bonner, "we will achieve speed in... well, we just hit cruising speed. Looking good, steady."

Blane reported from cyberspace, murmuring, "Fivers on all systems..."

Fagen looked relaxed, almost bored.

Blane sat upright; eyes open. "Problem in propulsions... something with the software..."

Suddenly Bonner called out, "Speed is wavering high!"

"Hold her steady!" Doris ordered from the auxiliary chair.

Nadine continued her count, "...two, one, zero! That's it. We just passed the event horizon."

The fusion engines shut off automatically. The Magellan coursed its way through the wormhole. Outside the craft, the darkness was occasionally split by flashes of light.

"Mark the time, Mr. Bonner."

"Right, I've got it."

"So do I," said Blane.

"Specify the problem, Dr. Blane."

"A messed-up solution in the software caused a power surge resulting in a high waver of velocity. The same problem is causing a malfunction in a heating unit."

"Yeah," Bonner agreed, "I've got a light on my board."

"Disengage the software routine," Fagen ordered.

"Done," Bart replied.

Fagen turned to Bonner. "We need to repair the heating unit, probably just a re-calibration. Would you take care of that?"

"No problem." Bonner unstrapped himself, rose, and left the bridge.

"Doris, help Mr. Bonner please."

As ordered, she followed the engineer off the bridge.

When they were gone, Fagen faced Blane. "Enter a new solution in the vector guidance routine. Make it point oh-two-five-seven five."

"Shouldn't we wait until we pop out and see where we land?"

"No, I want to be ready as soon as..."

Fagen was interrupted by a call from Doris over the intercom. "We've got a fire down here! Re-route coolants to the secondary system!"

"I hear you," Fagen replied. "Do you need any help?"

"No, we've got it under control, but it's a real mess."

"Great way to start off," commented Nadine.

Fagen called into the intercom. "Bonner?"

"Here."

"Can you repair the damage?"

"No problem. It's going to take a few minutes though."

"How long?"

"With Doris helping, no more than thirty to forty-five minutes."

"All right, do it."

"Roger that."

Fagen turned back to Blane. "Have you input the new vector?"

"Yes, but why that vector? It's different from the corporation assignment."

Fagen waved his hand to dismiss Blane's concerns. "It's an alternate vector to be used in case of circumstances like what we've encountered."

"Well then, do you know where the new heading will take us?"

Fagen ignored the question. Just as Blane was about to repeat himself, Nadine reported that they were coming out of the wormhole. Fagen crossed to the navigator's position and looked over her shoulder at the console.

"Where are we?"

Nadine struggled with the question and frowned at Fagen. "Give me a minute. It'll take a while for the computer to analyze the stars and search out the matching patterns. I can't go any faster than the computer."

She sat at the navigator's position, pulled the console closer and waited for the computer to do its job.

Fagen asked Blane to conduct a scan of the immediate area to determine if there were any navigational threats nearby.

"Started the scan as soon as we popped out," replied the wirehead. "Looks like we're being bombarded by radiation. I don't know from what yet... oh-oh."

"What?"

"We're in a star group, looks like a double star."

"That's right," Nadine continued, "we're in Ursa Major, closing fast on Mizar and its companion star."

"Radiation's climbing." Blane commented blandly. "The hull is starting to heat."

"Suggestions?"

"Yeah, we need to get out of here fast."

"All right. Lay in a course back to the wormhole."

Nadine did as she was ordered, then turned to face Fagen. "We can't use the fusion generators until Bonner finishes the repairs. If we stick around here for any length of time, we're gonna fry from the radiation."

"I'm well aware of that, Ms. Watson."

"Well, what are we going to do?"

"We're going to wait for Mr. Bonner to complete his repairs. Meanwhile, we have new coordinates laid in for our new destination. We'll get out of here as soon as possible."

"I hope that's soon enough."

"Have a little faith. Get yourself a cup of coffee."

Frustrated and a little afraid, Nadine turned back to her monitor and stared hard at the flashing numbers as if she could reverse the rising temperature by force of her will alone.

Back in the crew's quarters, oblivious to the danger they faced, Harry remained strapped in his bunk and waited for word from the bridge. As his patience grew shorter and his curiosity increased, he fidgeted and toyed with the restraining buckles. Finally, just as he decided to release himself, a knock came from the door. It opened and Kathleen stuck her head inside.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know."

"You think we're through the wormhole yet?"

"I don't know that either. Maybe I'll float up to the bridge and find out."

Parker appeared behind Kathleen. "I don't think that's a very good idea. They said they'd let us know."

As if on cue, the intercom sprang to life with Fagen's voice. "We're experiencing a little technical problem. Everybody remain where they are and I'll keep you informed as to the status. We have exited the wormhole, but it looks like a computer glitch fouled up our destination. We will re-enter the hole shortly. Please remain where you are."

"A computer glitch?" Parker asked. "How could that happen? The systems were checked and re-checked."

Harry shrugged. It was odd. Computer problems rarely occurred anymore.

"Well," Kathleen commented, "whatever it is, I'm sure they can handle it."

On the bridge, Bonner finally reported that the repairs were complete. Although fire had broken out, damage was minimal, and, as Fagen had originally suggested, all that was required in the heating unit was a re-calibration of the control parameters.

"It's getting really hot," said Blane.

"All right. Everybody back to their positions," commanded Fagen. "Mr. Bonner, the new coordinates have been laid in. Are you ready to fire us up?"

"Ready when you are."

"Okay. Watch your boards everyone. Mr. Bonner, count us down to ignition, please."

As Bonner began the count, Doris passed the word to those in the crew's quarters to prepare to take another ride. Below, Kathleen and Parker scrambled back to their bunks and strapped themselves in.

Once again, the computers fired off the ignition and the Magellan began to pick up speed.

"How's the heating unit holding up?" Doris asked.

"So far so good," replied Bonner from his console.

Nadine began the countdown for wormhole re-entry. "...three, two, one, here we go again!"

As the Magellan passed through the event horizon, the spacecraft shook violently, much more so than the previous entry. Nadine held a death grip on the edge of her console. Bonner intently watched the temperature readouts and quickly verified that they had entered at the correct velocity, no fluctuations this time, but a great deal of resistance. The ship was tossed as it entered. The great tides of gravity alternately tried to crush the ship and tear it apart.

Nadine looked at the faces around her. Bonner was a study in concentration. Blane sat impassively with eyes closed, lost in cyberspace. Doris, in the auxiliary chair, bit her nails and watched Fagen. Fagen remained relaxed, detached, almost as if he had planned everything that had so far occurred.

No one said anything. The buffeting continued for a long time, so long that Nadine finally asked, "Are we going to make it?"

No one replied.

# Chapter 10

"Sure, we're gonna make it," said Bonner. "We're just experiencing a little gravitational stress. As long as our plasma field generators are working, we're all right." He slapped the bulkhead beside his console. "These babies are built solid."

Nadine hoped he was right. The ship continued to shake even when the fusion thrust was terminated. They waited and watched their monitors. There was no way to tell how long transit through the hole would last. It could be seconds, hours, or days.

Harry held on and wondered in what part of the galaxy they had exited the hole. It didn't matter. Something had gone wrong and now they were back in the hole again. Where might they end up? That was the question currently on Harry's mind.

The door opened and Kathleen stuck her head inside the cabin.

"You shouldn't be up," Harry said.

"Do you mind if I come in?"

He could see that the constant shaking was frightening her. It was the first time she'd ever shown fear in front of him, the first time she'd ever appeared to be vulnerable. "Sure, come on in. Watch your step."

She crossed to the bunk and gripped the edges. "Could I, could I just lie down with you until this stops?"

Harry blinked. Her eyes were soft, pupils wide. "Sure." He unstrapped himself and moved over, giving Kathleen enough room to squeeze in beside him.

Her arms went around his waist and she gripped the fabric of his coveralls as she placed her head on his chest. Harry put his arms around the trembling woman. Her hair smelled clean with a trace of chamomile. After a minute, she stopped trembling.

"Harry?"

"Mm?"

"This feels good. Thanks for being so understanding." She turned her face up to his.

Just as he began to lean toward her inviting lips, the vibrations stopped. Fagen's voice came through the intercom.

"All right everybody, we're through the port. Come forward and take a look."

Harry looked at Kathleen. "Maybe we should go forward."

"I guess so." She extricated herself and floated toward the door. "Thanks again, Harry."

"That's okay. Anytime."

The twinkle returned to her eye. "I'm planning on it."

*

When Harry floated onto the bridge, he immediately looked to the largest viewing port. What he saw made him draw in a breath. The port revealed a nearby planet with a brightly shining Type IV star in the background. Two moons could plainly be seen in position above the planet. The starlight shined off the two moons, one laden with craters from meteorite impacts, but the other smooth and white, unmistakably covered by ice. However, it was the planet they orbited that drew most of Harry's attention.

It was largely blue with a white cloud cover, appearing to be similar to Earth, at least judging by the view from millions of miles away.

"Where are we?" asked Parker as he entered the bridge.

"Space, the final frontier..." answered Bart.

"Very funny." Parker positioned himself behind Nadine. "Where are we?"

"I'm working on it."

Bonner joined Harry at the window. "See those fissures across the face of that moon?"

Harry nodded.

"Stress fractures in the ice. I'll bet that ice hasn't been there for more than a few thousand years." He pointed to the planet. "Blue with white clouds. Hell, I'll bet you right now it's got water and free oxygen."

"You're right on both counts," Blane interposed. "Spectral analysis is just coming through. Rich in oxygen, a little more than earth gravity, but not much. Lots of water in all forms, vapor, ice, and liquid. Oh, and lots of CO2."

"There're plants down there," Kathleen said. "My intuition tells me so."

Nadine leaned back in her chair. "Okay, everybody. I've got a fix on our location. Close to a Sol-type star, a little larger; 85 light-years from earth." She ran her finger down a displayed list and found what she looked for. "Looks like Miaplacidus in Carina."

Kathleen looked at Harry. "Where's that?"

Harry shrugged. He knew a lot of stars, but he hadn't heard of that one.

Blane filled in the blanks for them. "Carina is a constellation that's viewed only from a southern circumpolar position. You can't see it from North America. If you could it'd be located next door to the second brightest star in the sky, Canopus."

"Carina," Kathleen repeated, "that's a pretty name."

"It comes from Greek. Right, Harry?"

"Oh yeah. The keel of a ship."

"That's right," Blane continued, "and other constellations make up the other parts of the ship."

Fagen sat impassively through the conversation. While the others were filled with restrained excitement, Fagen showed no indication of what he thought.

"I feel real good about this," Bonner said.

"How's the heating unit doing?" Fagen finally spoke. Bonner responded by glancing at his instruments. "Looks good, no problem."

"All right then." Fagen rose from the pilot's chair. "Ms. Watson, please calculate the vectors for a good working orbit around the planet." He turned to his XO. "Doris, you have the conn. Put us in orbit. I'm going to rest awhile."

"Yes, sir."

Fagen left the bridge. Nadine leaned over to Bonner. "What's the matter with him? Seems like he doesn't care."

Doris overheard the comment. "Oh, he cares. He just doesn't show it as much. He's been disappointed before."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, this isn't his first time out, you know. This is his sixth trip."

"So?"

"So, I guess he doesn't want to get too excited before we've, you know, gathered more information."

That's not the way Harry saw it. To Harry, Fagen looked unsurprised, as though he expected to find a habitable planet with two moons.

Nadine completed the orbital solution and passed the figures to Doris. Braking operations were to start immediately, but it would still be nearly a day and a half before they stabilized an orbit around the planet. Miaplacidus was a name too long to refer to frequently, so Doris shortened it to Mia. She started to invent a name for the planet, but Kathleen beat her to it.

"Let's call it Mia Culpa," giggled Kathleen.

Doris didn't like the name and tried to change it to something else, but nobody remembered, so Mia Culpa stuck.

*

Doris assigned Harry to inventory the EVA equipment. In this case, that included the wilderness stores, the portable sensor gear, and of course, the recorders. All the equipment was stored in lockers located adjacent to the hanger bay.

Harry worked his way through the narrow corridors to the hanger. Inside, the shuttle that would take the EVA team to the surface of the planet took up most of the space. It squatted on the floor, held secure by grooved rails embedded within the deck. Use of the vehicle was entirely at the mission commander's discretion and, so far, Fagen had said nothing about an exploratory trip to Mia Culpa's surface.

He inspected the craft, observing its lines and trying to identify the functions of some of its more unfamiliar features. On the opposite side, he found Fagen standing before an open locker. The mission commander held a rifle. Harry wasn't familiar with firearms and didn't know the exact type, but it looked deadly enough. Fagen turned around.

"Hello, Harry."

"Hello, Edward. What's going on?"

Fagen looked at the rifle. "I wanted to check our weapons."

"I didn't know we had any."

"Usually the survey teams take sidearms, but I wanted to bring along some extra firepower this time."

"Why?"

Fagen put the rifle back inside the locker. "Let's just call it intuition. What are you doing here?"

"Doris asked me to inventory the EVA gear."

Fagen pointed to an adjoining locker. "In here." He opened the locker to expose the electronic gear that would be taken to the surface of the planet. "Well, I'll leave you to your work."

Harry began to pull out the equipment but hesitated and called to Fagen.

Fagen turned around. "Yes?"

"Are we going to the planet's surface?"

"We're determining that at this time. When we've gathered enough data, we'll make a decision."

Without realizing it, Harry frowned. Ten feet away, Fagen floated in the air, as comfortable and relaxed as the day he'd beaten Harry in their game of zoomball.

"Harry, we don't want to waste a trip to the surface if we can avoid it. We're just as interested in the other bodies in this star system as we are in the planet. All I can say is that we will review the data and make a decision based on our findings."

Without another word, Fagen tapped the deck with an extended toe and floated toward the hatch leaving Harry alone with his thoughts. To come this far and not have a look at the surface of the newly discovered planet seemed unlikely. As he checked the items off his inventory list, he wondered about the rifles he'd seen in the adjacent locker. Why had Fagen brought them along?

Later, as Harry went back to his compartment, he passed by Kathleen's open door. She and Bart sat inside the small room, talking and laughing. Kathleen saw Harry pass and invited him to come in. Harry floated to one end of the cluttered cabin and gripped a looped nylon cord, one of the hundreds of handholds distributed thoughtfully around the interior of the Magellan. As he did so, Bart plugged in to the nearest terminal.

"Getting excited about the expedition?"

"What expedition is that?"

"Nobody told you?. It looks like we'll be taking a trip to the surface."

"Is that what Edward decided?"

"Well, no," Kathleen admitted. "But we have determined there are lifeforms on the planet. If that's not reason enough, then I don't know what. Doris is so excited she can't stop giving orders. Bart and I escaped." Kathleen laughed.

Bart sat without expression, eyes glazed, lost in cyberspace.

"Did you know Edward brought guns along?"

"They always bring guns on missions."

"Yeah, but not cannons like these. Rifles, exploding bullets, and something that looks like a beam weapon."

Kathleen glanced at Bart. Bart didn't respond.

"Well, I'm sure he has his reasons."

"I suppose so."

Doris' voice cracked from the speaker. "All personnel are requested to gather in the galley for a mission briefing in ten minutes. I repeat, the galley in ten minutes everybody. Thank you."

"Ah," said Kathleen, "I'll bet they've made the decision for the EVA."

Bart unplugged himself and stood up; suddenly it was crowded in the small compartment. "Shall we go?" Bart suggested as he pushed past Harry.

"What's the matter with him?" Harry whispered to Kathleen.

Kathleen answered, "Nothing. Well, maybe he's just a tiny bit jealous."

The three made their way to the galley and joined the others. Fagen was the last to show.

"Shortly we will enter into orbit around the planet. At that time, we will begin a telemetric survey to discern just what lies below us. At the same time, I want surveys of both moons to determine exact size, composition, et cetera. I want to remind you that this is standard information required by the corporation. As far as taking the shuttle down to the planet's surface, that has yet to be decided. For the corporation's purposes, we can consider the mission to be a success. If we find that the planet is suitable for colonization, you are all assured of substantial bonuses. I might add that it looks good. You've done an excellent job already and are to be commended. Just remember that the job's not done yet."

Kathleen waved her hand in the air like an eager student.

"Yes, Kathleen?"

"What about a trip to the surface?"

Fagen cleared his throat. "EVA's are inherently dangerous. If we can gather all our information from orbit, we're better off."

Parker frowned. "What will it take to entice us to land?"

"The corporation is specific about this. Landings on planet surfaces are decided by a number of factors. Specifically, the planet must be habitable, that is, it must contain an atmosphere that is agreeable to humans..."

Kathleen giggled "Well, that lets Bart out."

"Second," Fagen continued, "there must be flora and fauna of a type compatible to humans. Third, it needs to be geologically stable. We don't want to land on a crust that will give way under the weight of the shuttle. I'm sure you've all heard about the crew on Ceti-4. Their shuttle was too heavy for the ice and it fell through to the acid seas below. The shuttle and four people were lost."

"The atmosphere looks good, Edward." Bonner suggested.

"Yes, it does. The preliminary geological surveys look good too. But don't get your hopes up until after the survey work is completed. That's all I have for now. Doris?" Fagen turned to his XO. "Anything to add?"

"Just a couple of things."

Bart audibly sighed and Nadine let out a groan. Doris ignored them.

"Bill, my computer analysis of the shuttle shows a slow servo response. Could you check that out, please?"

"Be happy to."

"Harry, would you go along to lend a hand?"

"No problem."

"Oh, and one other thing, Harry. While you're there, check all the battery levels for the EVA gear."

"Sure," Harry said. Now I'll have to drag all that stuff out of the lockers again, he thought.

She nodded at Fagen. "That's all I have."

"Then let's get to it."

The meeting was over. Bonner turned to Harry as the others filed out.

"What do you say? Ready to get your hands dirty?"

Harry grinned. "Lead the way."

In ten minutes, Bonner was crawling under the mid-section of the shuttle clucking his tongue, looking and sounding like an auto mechanic sizing up a problem. Harry peeped under the vehicle as Doris watched. "Bill?"

Bonner looked up quickly and bumped his head. "Ouch."

"Sorry about that," Harry said. "Found the problem?"

The engineer scooted out from under the shuttle, wiping his hands on a rag. "Yeah," he said," the servos are responding like slugs. Maybe the fluid just got old."

"It's never been used," Doris said.

"Doesn't have to be to get too cold or too hot. I'll change it and see what happens. Everything else looks like it's supposed to."

"All right, let me know if you need any help." Doris turned and walked away.

"So you can get your yah-yahs by telling somebody else to get busy," Bonner muttered to himself.

"Roger that," Harry laughed.

Together, they changed the hydraulic fluid and afterwards, they returned to the bridge. Blane sat in his usual place, communicating with his computers. "How're things shaping up?"

"Very good," Blane answered. "Lots of water, lots of carbon dioxide, there's chlorophyll in the atmosphere... Kathleen will be happy to hear that."

Parker fidgeted at his console and read the atmospheric data. "Looks like the right amount of organic chemicals."

Blane, almost as an afterthought, began scanning the radio spectrum.

Harry stretched and said, "Think I'll get a little shut-eye." Doris nodded approvingly and he made for the hatch. Before he got there, Blane shouted out.

"I got a radio signal here!" As if their heads were on strings, everybody looked up. Parker turned white. Blane said nothing else. He bent over, listening to the radio feed supplied by the computers. "Wait," he said, "I lost it." He concentrated and turned on his radio filters.

Minutes slipped by; nobody said anything. Finally, Nadine broke the silence.

"That's great, Blane," she said, "maybe you picked up a morning talk show."

Doris looked at Nadine with an expression of warning. Nadine shrugged.

"There! I've got it!" Blane switched on a speaker. A wavering tone filled the small control room.

Parker cocked his head to one side. "What is that?"

"It's not a tone pack, it's more like a, uh...," Doris said and paused.

"A beacon," said Bonner. "A low tone homing beacon."

"Where's it coming from?" Harry asked. Blane looked at his display, pressed buttons on his keyboard, and looked back. "It's from the surface. Someone, or something, is transmitting a homing signal from the planet's surface."

# Chapter 11

Fagen accepted the news with his usual stoicism.

"Shall I have Bonner prepare the shuttle?"

"Not just yet," Fagen responded, "you know the procedures. We'll monitor radio activity from orbit as we complete our preliminary survey. Then we'll make a decision."

Doris, always a stickler for rules, immediately agreed.

Entry into orbit went without a hitch.

As before, both Harry and Kathleen had time on their hands. Parker sat with them in the galley and discussed the chances of finding intelligent life.

"Now that's what we'd really like to find, isn't it?"

"As long as they're friendly," Kathleen agreed.

"That would give Harry here something to do."

Kathleen looked toward the kitchen. "Want a sandwich?"

Both men shook their heads. She got up and began searching through the cabinets.

Parker asked Harry where he had studied. "Regional College," Harry replied.

"Did you do any field work?"

"A trip to South Africa and a few weeks in South America."

"Do we have any sprouts?" Kathleen asked as she continued her search.

"I wonder if talking to the Bushmen would be anything like an encounter with an alien?"

Harry shrugged. "Who's to say?"

"Where are they?" Kathleen called from behind a counter.

"There's no telling. They might live under rocks or at the bottom of the sea. And they might look just like us, or at least, reasonably close."

"No, not aliens! Sprouts! Have either of you seen any sprouts around here?"

Harry shook his head and stifled a laugh. "I have no idea." He turned back to the doctor.

"And that's if we find any. How do you recognize an intelligent alien if it looks and acts like a rock or a tree? Intelligence could be all around us and we simply haven't learned to recognize it because we're unable to disconnect ourselves from our humanity. Everything we know, we know through our own prejudiced view of things. Remember the eels discovered on Vega-9 by the Jameson team? As far as we could tell, those eels were the highest life form in that system, but they showed no sign of intelligence by human standards, although their behavior was so complicated it still baffles the experts to this day. The eels had no artifacts, and they couldn't, or didn't want to communicate with us. It was a great discovery, but a long shot from conversing with a creature evolved in a different star system. I really don't know what to expect, Doc."

It was the longest speech Harry had made in some time.

"I suppose I feel somewhat the same as you," the doctor said. "But I see the prospect of discovering a new species as an opportunity to prove that intelligence has a limited number of ways to evolve. To me, something shows its intelligence when it tries to communicate. If a creature constructs artifacts, that's a definite sign. If not, well, they're just taking up space in the food chain."

"What if we find a species that builds something that we can't figure out? What if they're so alien there's no basis for communication?"

Dr. Parker waved his hand. "Then, as far as humanity is concerned, they're not worth communicating with. We have to draw a line somewhere."

Kathleen found her sprouts and rejoined the men at the table. "Sounds a bit ethnocentric to me."

Parker shrugged. "It's practical. If a species doesn't have something to offer, why bother with it?"

"That's pretty mercenary. What about scientific considerations?"

"Scientific considerations have to pay for themselves."

Harry hated to admit it, but he agreed with Parker. The corporation would only finance that which had the potential to make money. As a result, the corporation would often overlook what was interesting in favor of that which was profitable. It was a subject that wasn't often broached by corporation personnel.

Harry looked up and saw Doris as she floated into the galley.

"I have some news. Edward has decided to send a drone to the area where the radio signal originated. Afterwards, if all goes well, you three will take the shuttle with Edward."

"All right!" said Kathleen, unable to contain her enthusiasm.

"In the meantime, check the corporation inventory and get your gear together. Questions?"

"How long will it take for the drone to make its trip?"

"Bonner is preparing the package for the shot. We should be able to shoot in an hour, half hour or more for entry and landing. Then we'll see what we've got. I'm going back upstairs." Doris pulled herself through the hatch and disappeared up the corridor.

Kathleen turned to her companions. "This is where it gets good."

*

Forty-five minutes later, the drone was on its way to the surface of the planet. Survey mapping had already revealed great oceans bordering three large continents. Two of the continents appeared to be entirely made of sand and rock. There was a considerable amount of volcanic activity. The other continent was similarly built, although even from orbit Fagen could see a large area covered with vegetation. It was from that area that they determined the radio signal originated.

The signal itself was not especially interesting, other than the fact that it was there. It emitted an unbroken pulse in the low frequency range, unmistakably a beacon of some sort. Oddly, it was the only organized radio source that could be found. Some discussion was held about that. Fagen listened to his crew as they voiced their opinions.

"Maybe it's natural," Nadine suggested. "Maybe..."

"Nah," argued Bonner, "it's too steady, too strong."

"We won't have to wait long to find out. The shot is dead on course and performing flawlessly."

As the drone dropped through the atmosphere, they got their first close look at Mia Culpa. As the robotic craft broke through a cloud, video cameras scanned the terrain and sent the pictures back to the Magellan. What they revealed were lush forests bordering a sandy coast. A mountain range limited the forest and a desert stretched toward the horizon in the other direction.

Nadine gasped. "Look at the size of those trees."

"They look like California redwoods, only bigger."

Doris checked her readouts and announced that the drone was in the final stages of braking.

"Where's it going to land?" Nadine leaned closer to the monitor. "I can't see anything but the tops of trees."

Bonner sat beside Nadine but only shrugged in response. No one else bothered to answer either. It was a good question. As small as the drone was, it still needed a little room to land through the trees. The crew watched as the machine descended. In the monitor, the trees grew larger. They were huge, their branches stretched out until they intermingled with that of their neighbors, totally concealing whatever lay beneath.

The drone brushed through the first layers easily enough, but within seconds it hit something, leaned to one side and dropped, out of control, to the ground below. The concussion knocked out the video feed.

"Damn!" Bonner swore. "We lost the video. Let me try to re-calibrate the controller." The engineer punched the keys at his terminal. The display showed static and rolling lines, then suddenly began sending pictures again.

The pictures were cockeyed. Apparently, the drone had toppled to its side. Occasionally the picture was disrupted, but they managed to see what looked like a forest floor that could have been on Earth. Nothing moved.

As they watched, a shadow passed as if a cloud moved overhead. Then something appeared from the side, something that flashed metallic, and then nothing. The signal went dead and the monitors filled with static.

Bonner leaned back in his chair. "Well, that's all she wrote," he said.

Fagen considered what he'd seen. Finally, he spoke to Doris. "Are the others ready?"

"They've been ready for hours."

"Have you located a suitable landing area?"

"I think so. I mean, it looks good from what I can tell."

Fagen nodded and thought for a moment. "All right then. Let's run the shuttle checks and prepare for departure."

*

Even with Fagen's help, it took another hour for Bonner and Doris to pre-flight the shuttle. Harry waited with Kathleen and Parker to be told to take his place. When Doris finally told them everything was ready, Kathleen suddenly went pale.

"Do you think this is safe?"

Harry looked deadpan at her. "Of course not."

Doris started clapping her hands and waving at them. "Let's go." Harry led the way with Kathleen close behind.

Fagen was already sitting at the pilot's controls when they entered. "Strap yourselves in," he instructed. "Doris?"

"Right here." The XO's voice came over a speaker.

"Sealing it up now." Fagen flipped a switch and the shuttle's exterior hatch closed. "Batteries on. De-pressurize the bay, please."

Harry heard the sound of escaping air.

Moments later, the shuttle bay doors opened exposing the darkness of space. The restraints were released and slowly, the craft began to move along its guide rails. Harry watched as the shuttle passed the open bay doors, and then they were floating, separate from the safe confines of the Magellan.

Harry and Kathleen sat together in the dark, behind and below Fagen and Parker. It was a smooth ride and the sky was filled with stars. Harry stared out the window until Kathleen took his hand in hers. He looked at her and she coyly winked.

"Harry, I don't think my headset is working right. Would you take a look at it?" She leaned forward. In so doing, her breast pressed into his shoulder. He blinked. A dark, star-filled night, a beautiful woman...

He leaned forward and flipped his mouthpiece out of the way. Doing the same with Kathleen's, he said, "Let's take a look."

Their lips pressed together. Harry could have lost himself; it was like a dream, it was like...

Suddenly, the sound of an electronic alarm filled the cabin, pushing the two young lovers apart. In the cockpit, Fagen studied the control console for a moment, then leaned forward and flipped a switch. The alarm stopped.

Kathleen was the first to ask the question. "What is it?"

Fagen looked at his keyboard and hit a series of keys. "Ah," he said, "looks like we've developed a problem in one of the turbolifters."

"Is it serious?"

"Not yet. I'll have to keep an eye on the fluid levels. I can maintain attitude by increasing the jet thrust. We're all right."

"Shouldn't we go back?"

"We've got no choice -- we're locked into our vector. Hold on, we're hitting atmosphere."

Parker leaned back in his seat; sweat popped out all along his brow.

"Starting descent," announced Fagen. Amid a growing rattle and shaking, the shuttle began to burn its way into the atmosphere. For a few, terrifying moments, flames crept up the outside windows. Kathleen held Harry's one hand in both of hers, squeezing it so hard, Harry winced. Just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore, they broke through and the rough ride smoothed out. They cruised through white, billowy clouds in a clear blue sky, losing altitude fast.

"Uh-oh," muttered Fagen.

Startled, Parker jumped. "What is it?"

"Hydraulic pressure to the turbolifter is dropping. We need to get down." Fagen steered the shuttle down until they were a hundred feet above the trees. The turbofans screamed under the mounting stress and the air streamed from underneath with an arrhythmic hiss.

Fagen turned the craft slightly to the left and slowed to a gentle descent. Harry watched as Fagen somehow managed to avoid the giant branches and guided the shuttle into a tiny clearing between the trees. Just before it touched the ground, a loud pop issued forth.

Harry thought Parker was going to jump out of his seat. "Wonder what that was?"

Fagen switched the engines off, leaned back in his seat and took a deep breath. "I don't know. I'll check it out," he said. He took a look out his port.

Harry looked out as well. The forest looked like the forests he knew along the northern California coast. Big pines with redwood bark that spiraled up the trees and over the branches. Except that these were bigger than the biggest redwoods he'd ever seen.

Kathleen looked over his shoulder. "It's beautiful."

"The air's good, remarkably clean," commented Parker as he looked at the instruments.

"It better be," Fagen grumbled under his breath as he proceeded to the engine compartment, "we may be here awhile." He returned moments later and announced that indeed, one of the hydraulic lines was leaking.

"Fortunately, it's easy to repair. While I'm doing that, go on with your observations. When you deem it safe, we'll go outside."

Relieved of the shuttle's mechanical problems, Harry felt a rush of adrenaline. Kathleen looked at Harry and smiled broadly. Her excitement fairly streamed from her.

It was a momentous occasion and they all knew it, except for Fagen. He remained oddly detached, as if it had all happened before.

# Chapter 12

Although the forests of Mia Culpa appeared serene, they teemed with life. Towering hundreds of feet into the air, the conifers created a green canopy that cast dark shadows even at the height of day. An occasional stray beam of light found its way down, illuminating paths made by the creatures that inhabited the sylvan environment.

Arai, perching precariously upon a branch fifty feet in the air, scanned the forest floor, watching for movement. Below, a portion of ground rippled and shifted as if something bored beneath the surface. The motion drew Arai's attention.

He cupped his hands around his mouth and clicked his tongue. The sound echoed through the still air. A moment later, the call was returned, and the boy began his careful descent downward, feet, hands, and tail securely gripping the sides of the tree trunk. Before he reached bottom, he nimbly dropped to the forest floor and, as an animal might, he froze while he took a look around.

The hair that grew from his head was tied behind his neck with a length of rawhide and he was dressed in a loincloth fashioned from pelts. Similarly, his feet were covered by moccasins made from a tough animal skin. A belt around his waist secured leather pouches which held the habiliments of the young hunter. In his hands he held a small spear and draped over his shoulder was a long slingshot. Apart from the fine fur that covered his body and the long, prehensile tail, he could have been taken for an Earthling.

A twig snapped and the boy disappeared behind a tree.

Moments later, Kretin stepped around a beam of light. He looked toward the tree where the boy had hidden. Moving silently, he circled to the opposite side, then, with a shout, he jumped behind the tree. The boy wasn't there.

Without warning, a net dropped from above. Caught, Kretin stumbled and fell to the ground. Clinging to the lower branches, Arai laughed at his older brother as he rolled on the ground in a wasted effort to disengage himself from the net.

As Arai jumped to the ground, he spotted a full-grown lagomorph burrowing into a pile of pine needles not twenty yards away. He stifled his laughter and took out his sling. Never taking his eyes from the mark, he slipped a smooth rock into its pouch, and began to swing the slingshot over his head. The slingshot whizzed in its arc. Arai crouched and let fly with the rock. Its path was sure, and it struck the creature with terrific force, dropping it without a whimper.

Kretin, now untangled, tapped Arai on the arm. When the boy turned, Kretin looked past as if something had caught his attention. Arai looked and Kretin sprang, tossing the net over his brother's head. Kretin ran to where the creature had fallen and lifted it by its long ears. Arai tossed off the net and began to chase his brother across the forest floor.

Kretin had the disadvantage of carrying the lagomorph but still he outdistanced Arai. That is, until he carelessly rounded a tree and nearly walked into the gaping jaws of a giant worm.

It had come to the surface in search of food and found Kretin. At such close range, the worm immediately picked up the young man's scent. It leaned in his direction, its jaw opening and closing in a sucking fashion. Kretin dropped the hare, jumped out of the way, and scrambled back against a nearby tree.

At that moment, Arai came around the tree. With a yell, he charged the worm, driving his spear deep into the swaying body. Spewing spittle and hot air, the worm hissed in pain and recoiled. Arai hung onto the spear shaft and it pulled out. With the tip, Arai teased the worm, and it responded by coming after him.

Backing up, he tripped and fell flat on his back. The spear fell from his hand and clattered against the tree trunk. There was nowhere to go: Arai's heart leapt to his throat and he gritted his teeth. He reached for the spear, but it was just beyond his grasp. The worm bent down and rubbed its mouth against the boy's chest, scratching him with its giant mitochondrion tongue in an effort to discern what it was it was about to eat.

Shrieking, Kretin rose from his place and launched himself through the air, landing on the back of the worm. The added weight caused it to bend all the way over onto the ground, in the process pinning Arai underneath. Kretin drove his spear into the side of the worm's head. It emitted a high-pitched squeal, then shuddered through a series of spasms, the last so violent it threw Kretin to one side. The beast reared up and knocked itself against the nearest tree trunk several times, managing to drive the spear even deeper. After a couple of minutes of thrashing, it toppled over, shuddered once more, and died.

Relieved, the brothers made sure it was dead by pulling on the tendrils encircling its gaping mouth before they began to cut pieces out of it. They wrapped the meat in rolls of leaves and Arai retrieved the hare he'd dropped. Triumphantly, they marched back home.

It was nearly dusk as they left the forest and began to climb up to the shelter they called home.

The large cave was lit by a central fire around which sat three women, an old man, an adolescent girl, and four small children ranging in age from one to five years. The children screamed with delight when they saw the hunters. They ran to them, pulling at the bundles they carried and marveling at the softness of the rabbit's pelt. The old man stood up, smiling. He spoke a Bedoran greeting and asked if the brothers had good hunting.

Kretin flicked his tail in the affirmative. "Very good, Grandfather, too bad we got the worm so late in the day or we could have gone back to cut more pieces."

The women took the meat and began to prepare it for cooking by tearing it into strips.

The old man teasingly pulled Arai's hair. "And how was the hunt for you today, boy?"

"Wonderful, Grandfather. I saw so much today! It was I who killed the hare! The worm kissed me before we killed it, Grandfather."

"Ah, that's very good luck," the old man said, "good things will come to you now."

The first of the worm steaks were thrown onto large, heated rocks. They sizzled and the smell of meat began to permeate the air. Arai took a deep whiff and licked his lips.

When the food was ready, he was the first to be served. He took a bite as the others watched. For a moment, he sat suspended in pleasure, then he opened his eyes and nodded. With his tail Arai signed that the meat was good. At that point, they all fell upon the food.

Everyone ate so much their faces shined with animal fat. The women talked about babies and lamented the fact that the father to the seven children, including Kretin and Arai, had been killed the season before.

Arai sharpened his hunting stick as he listened to the conversation. He didn't feel bad about his father. His father had died as a warrior should. He looked at his brother. Both took after their father.

Kretin told the children about the encounter with the forest worm and how they had to fight for their lives. In rapt fascination, the little ones listened, but when Kretin came to the most exciting part, the three-year-old started to cry, which started the four-year-old crying as well.

Grandfather stood up. "Now, what's all this?"

The children stopped crying immediately, but most of them now moaned in fear.

"Quiet now, quiet and I'll tell you about the greatest hunter of all -- your father."

The children grew quiet.

"Many years ago, when your father hunted in the great forests and my legs were still strong enough to carry me, the tribe lived to the north, in a valley surrounded by these same mountains. There were more of us then, aunts and uncles, husbands and wives, all living peacefully together. Your father was a great hunter, the leader of the tribe. He knew the forests as well as the mountains and knew where to find all the hidden streams of water. He knew where the wild game liked to feed and never went out without bringing something back.

Then, one year, the mountains grew cold and the snows crept down from the peaks. Gradually, the wild game disappeared, and we became afraid that we would all die. All of us, that is, except your father. When it seemed there was no hope, your father took his hunting spears, put on his skins, and set out over the mountains in search of a new home. I accompanied him on his journey. At first, he argued that I should stay and take care of the tribe, but he was only afraid that both of us might end up frozen and dead far away from our valley. I convinced him that two had a better chance of finding a new home and we set out on our journey one cold winter morning.

The snows in the mountains were deep. Many times, we slipped and nearly fell to our deaths, but because we were two, we were strong and able to help one another. We walked for days over the mountains, not once seeing any game, nor the signs of game, for that matter. They had all fled the cruel breath of the winter wind, but your father and I knew not where, so we continued to walk and search.

One night, as we huddled together beneath a rocky outcropping, we saw strange lights in the southern sky. Neither your father nor I had ever seen anything like them before. The light reached up into the night sky, like a finger of fire, all but the tip dying out like the cold embers at the edge of our campfire. Then the tip of fire slowly floated down until it dropped from our vision. We marveled at the sight and wondered how such things could be.

The next day we walked in the direction of the fire in the sky. Along the way we noticed fresh signs of game and were happy because we knew that soon our bellies would be full. The game tracks became more and more plentiful. It seemed that all the creatures of the mountains had seen the light and were now moving toward its source. Finally, the next day, we passed out of the mountains and into the great forest. There, where the mountains meet the forest, we tracked and killed a ring-tailed boar in the fresh snow.

The wind was still cold, but not as cold as in our little valley high in the mountains, so we began to feel better about our circumstance. We built a fire and ate the boar. Occasionally, we saw other animals headed to the south and our curiosity grew for we had never known the lesser creatures to travel so far in the winter.

I remember that night clearly. We climbed into the trees to sleep but were awakened by a loud noise as if all the fury of the north wind was being pushed through a hollow log. The fires in the sky had returned, much closer this time. A flame reached up into the sky and the night became like day. The tip of the flame remained briefly in the sky and then went out, again surrounding us in darkness. Over and over this happened, and your father and I watched in amazement. Never had we seen such a sight.

Finally, your father could wait no longer. He told me to stay where I was, and believe me, I had no problem with that; although I was sorely cold, I was also sorely afraid. He climbed down and disappeared into the night.

When morning broke, he had not returned. I unlashed myself from my branch and I shimmied down the tree. I could move better then. Anyway, your father's tracks plainly led away from the base of the tree, so I followed, thinking I would encounter him along the trail.

There were many signs of game, and several times I was tempted to stop and kill, but I was concerned about your father, so I pressed on. Here and there, I saw the signs of the burning fire in the sky. Black cinders and charcoal lay on the trail and some even hung from the trees. It was an odd sight. I finally came to a place where the trees were not so thick, and the sky opened up above me. In front of me was an open glen with patches of snow dotting the ground. The sun had broken through the clouds and I could see the tracks your father had left as he walked out of the forest into the glen.

In the middle of the clearing, the tracks disappeared. Nothing showed where he had gone. It looked as though he had been plucked from the ground in mid-stride and carried away through the air. I knew not what to do. I was alone and many days away from my tribe and the comfort of my wives. I called for your father, but the forest only threw his name back at me. I went to the edge of the clearing and sat with my back against a tree, wondering what to do.

I sat there for a long time, occasionally getting up to stamp my cold feet. Game continued to pass by me, and I reckoned that if your father did not show up soon, I too would continue my journey to the south. And then a wondrous thing happened.

The high sound of the wind again blew up and I looked above my head into the trees, amazed to see that not a leaf was disturbed. How could this be, I asked myself. And then, I saw a great object in the air passing slowly over the clearing. I hid behind a tree and watched.

The thing glided on the air, making the whining sound so loudly it hurt my ears. Unlike the denizens of the air, it had no wings to sustain its flight, instead it flew on the sound it made. It moved to the south. I was more amazed than afraid, so I followed. It soon left my sight, but for a long time I was able to follow it by the sound it made. I wondered if your father had seen it and hoped that I would find him somewhere on the trail of mystery.

I traveled for most of the day as the sound grew fainter and fainter, but the sun came out from behind the clouds and warmed me. I took off my skins, rolled them into a ball and slung the bundle over my back. In the afternoon I stopped at a stream which had thawed and ran with clear water. I pulled two large fish from that spot and ate one of them right there. The other I wrapped in leaves and took with me.

A little later, still on the trail south, I came upon what I first thought was a sign of your father's passing. There, beside the trail, lay the headless carcass of one of the most fearless creatures of our world, the Ursidaen. The Ursidaen, as you know, is a gentle but powerful creature with arms capable of uprooting small trees and claws sharp enough to cut the life from any other creature, whether it be lesser or greater. How could your father have succeeded in killing the beast, and why would he have wanted to? The Ursidaen is strong, but shy, and its meat is stringy. Often, your father and I had seen these creatures, but we had always given our respect, leaving their hunting territory just as they avoided ours.

On closer observation, I saw that the Ursidaen's throat had been cut with such precision that I wondered how your father could have done it. Anyway, there was no sense in it because your father would never have done such a thing.

And that is when the strange wind began to blow again. I tried to shut my ears by clapping my hands over them, but it did not work. I am not ashamed to admit that I was afraid. All the same, the sound had a strange effect on me; it drew me. In front of me was a slight rise: I supposed a creek lay on the other side. I dropped to my knees and crawled to it. For a moment, I lay there, letting my courage rise. The sound faded and was replaced by a hum. Peeking over the top, I saw a sight I shall never forget.

Two of the strangest creatures I had ever seen stood in a clearing directly below me while overhead the great floating thing sat silently in the air. All around, animals of the forest rested on their haunches as if they were waiting for something. As if in sport, the strange beings approached the animals one by one and, using a beam of light, they killed them by cutting their throats. Never before had I seen such a sight. The various animals showed no fear. They just sat there and when their time came, they even looked up so their necks would be fully exposed. Blood was everywhere and the stench of death filled the air.

The killers walked upright on three long legs. They shined silvery like the stars in the sky. They had no eyes, but they acted with precision and moved with purpose, although I could not fathom why they would kill so many.

As I watched, I witnessed a miracle. Your father and a third creature dropped to the ground from the object floating in the air. Your father carried a box and placed it on the ground.

I heard nothing, but your father acted as though the monsters spoke to him. He went to some of the dead forest animals and lifted them up, placing their carcasses inside the box. Most he left bleeding on the ground.

When he'd finished, one of the beings produced what looked like a clear rock, something like the crystals we find in the mountains. The thing held the crystal out from its body and the rock began to hum and buzz. A light came out of it and touched the box. When it did, the box rose up until it disappeared into the great floating thing."

Grandfather paused and reached for some old rotten twine that lay at his feet. The children patiently waited for him to continue the story. He twisted the twine and braided the short pieces together before continuing his tale.

"Your father was a strong and courageous man, many times he showed his fearless conviction and strength. But I did not expect him to do what I witnessed next. As the shiny things were preoccupied, he picked up a short branch and swung it at the monster that held the crystal. On impact, the creature stumbled, and the crystal flew from its claws. Father dropped the club and ran toward the trees. All three of the creatures moved quickly, like horror itself, and began to chase your father. I got up and ran down to the clearing.

The great thing still floated overhead and I heard the sounds of the monsters chasing your father as they circled back my way. I looked about for a place to hide and spied out a nearby tree with plenty of foliage. As I crossed the glen, I was distracted by a glimmer that shone from the grass. Bending down, I saw it was the magic crystal the creature had dropped. I placed it in my pouch and hurriedly shimmied up the tree. None too soon, for in the next moment the three creatures appeared, carrying your father.

It would dishonor your father by repeating what happened next. Let it be enough to say he was a great and courageous hunter and he deserved to die better than one of those lesser animals."

Grandfather paused to wipe a tear from his moistened eyes.

"Afterwards, the creatures searched the area for a long time, looking for the dropped crystal. I hung onto my perch and did not move an inch for fear they would see me. Finally, they gave up and left. I climbed down and buried your father. I placed five large rocks over his grave to mark the spot. If any of you come across this spot while you are out hunting, be sure to show your respect. He was a good man.

I began my long journey back to the tribe, taking plenty of game with me. It was hard going in the mountains, but well worth it. By the time I returned, two children and two adults had already starved. There was no fire, and nobody was strong enough to gather firewood but me, so without resting I broke limbs from the trees and carried them back to the camp. As I prepared the fire, I talked to whoever was still conscious enough to listen, telling them about what had happened and what I had seen.

Those who heard did not believe. As I told the story, I remembered the crystal in my pouch. I took it out and held it aloft for all to see. As I did so, it began to glow and grow warm to the touch. I looked at it in wonder and watched as it grew redder and hotter in my hand. Before I realized it, it had burned into the skin on the palms of my hands, and I dropped it onto the wood I had gathered. Right away, the wood caught fire and blazed up. Later, I fished the crystal from the embers."

To prove what he said, he showed the children the palms of his hands. Everybody saw the old burn scars. Then he reached into his pouch and pulled out another, smaller pouch held by a rawhide drawstring. From the smaller pouch he pulled out the crystal. He set it down for all to see.

"This is the crystal," he continued, "its properties are still unknown to me. I never saw those horrible creatures again, but sometimes, when the lights appear in the sky, I wonder if they will not come back to search for it.

We alternately feasted and mourned for your father. When everyone was strong enough, we left the coldness of the valley and came here to the bottom of the great mountains. Now this is where we live and eat. There are few of us and we sorely miss your father."

While Grandfather told his story, his old hands worked at the rotten cord. Now he showed the children what he had made. It was a rope with a sling fashioned at one end. He tied the loose end to a stick and put the crystal in the sling.

As the children watched with rapt attention, he allowed the apparatus to dangle over the fire. The pouch holding the crystal started to glow and spin and all could see that the pouch was beginning to burn. A soft tone rose in volume as Grandfather dropped the string and the crystal hung by itself, spinning in the air. Suddenly, light shot from the top of the crystal, illuminating the ceiling of the cave.

Everyone had seen Grandfather spin the crystal before, but each time was just as magnificent as the last. The children gaped open-mouthed. When Grandfather supposed a sufficient amount of time had elapsed, he took a clay dish and scooped the crystal from the air. The hum ceased and the beam of light disappeared. The crystal clattered on the dish and once again the hearth became the only source of light.

The show was over. The children squealed with delight and everyone else leaned back and relaxed. As soon as the excitement died, the children started to drop off to sleep. The women laid out bedding and talked about how old Grandfather was getting to be.

Kretin sat near the mouth of the cave, alternately watching Grandfather and the night sky. The lights of which Grandfather spoke could be seen in the far distance, as if someone had lit a giant bonfire just below the horizon.

Later, when he believed all to be asleep, Kretin arose and quietly gathered his weapons. Grandfather, feigning sleep, watched him. As Kretin slipped from the cave dwelling, Grandfather stiffly got up and followed, catching up with him outside.

"Kretin, what do you think you are doing?"

"Look, Grandfather." Kretin pointed to the light in the southern skies.

The old man squinted. "I might have known. What are you going to do? Go off and get yourself killed like your father?"

"I must go. My father's honor begs for revenge."

The old man shook his head. "You don't know what you're up against, son. Your spears and slings are no match for those creatures. It makes no sense to seek out trouble when we need you here."

"What they do makes no sense, Grandfather. There is plenty to eat here, and the water always runs quickly and clearly in this place. The mountain provides shelter and the forest provides food, but the memories of my father give us reason; what is a man without his honor?"

The Grandfather sighed. "I am too old and too weak to wrestle you to the ground. I see that you have set your mind."

He looked at the lights in the sky. "Careful of the night creatures, boy. Do not let them touch you, their slime burns the skin. And here," the old man handed something to the boy, "take this. Maybe this will somehow protect you." Kretin saw that he held the magic crystal.

"I cannot take this, Grandfather. It belongs to you."

Grandfather shook his finger. "Because it belongs to me, I can give it to whom I want. Now it belongs to you. Maybe the shiny creatures will go away if you give it back to them."

"Thank you, Grandfather. I accept your gift. Now I go." Kretin turned to leave, but the old man held him by the arm.

In the darkness the old man quickly embraced the younger man, then turned and walked back into the cave. Kretin slung the pouch around his neck and climbed down to the forest below. When he left the rocks at the edge of the forest, he failed to notice Arai silently trailing behind.

Making good time through familiar territory, Kretin picked his way through the darkened forest. He'd covered several miles when the sound of a breaking twig stopped him. He stood motionless on the path, keen eyes searching the dimly lit forest for any sign of trouble. Seeing nothing, he cautiously moved on.

Again, he stopped and listened. To the left, something moved. That was particularly worrisome. Sounds from the left were bad omens. He mustered his resolve and stepped even more carefully.

A loud, cracking noise split the air and this time Kretin dropped to his knees, knife at the ready. He waited in silence until a small spledgin with needled spines appeared on the trail, pulling a large tree limb behind.

Kretin breathed a sigh and mumbled, "Nothing but a damn spledgin."

Arai's voice came from the darkness, startling Kretin, "Better a pledgin than something with a larger appetite." Arai stepped forward.

Kretin frowned. "You should not have followed me."

"Why not? Should you keep all the glory for yourself?"

"Go home where you are needed."

"I am needed here."

Kretin waved his tail in irritation. With Arai still following, he turned away and walked up the trail. Not ten seconds passed before they both heard heavy steps on the trail and the unmistakable squeal of the spledgin.

When the moaning commenced, Arai knew it was the night creatures. He'd never seen one and hoped he never would. No one else had ever seen one either, no one alive. The hair stood up all along Arai's spine. Kretin waited no longer: he began to run. It was a mistake. In the darkness, he ran straight into a tree trunk. Arai heard two thuds. One from the sound of Kretin hitting the tree, the second from Kretin hitting the ground.

When Kretin tried to get up, Arai pushed him back down and whispered into his ear, "Night creatures! Stay down!"

For once, Kretin did as he was told.

Something big slowly limped up the path, dragging one foot. As it approached, its breath rattled in deep gasps. Arai caught a scent of rot and musk so heavy it rolled out of the night like ground-fog. He fought to keep from gagging.

Just when he thought he could bear it no longer, the steps stopped and the heavy breathing paused, as if whatever it was listened, or watched, or maybe even reached.

The thought flashed through Arai's mind what Grandfather had told Kretin, "Do not let them touch you!"

At that precise moment, Kretin scrambled to his feet. "Run!" he shouted.

Arai ducked and scooted away on all fours. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that indeed, the thing was reaching for him. He dodged just out of its touch. In the faint light, he could see nothing but Arai's flapping loincloths. He moved with not a moment to spare.

# Chapter 13

Kretin and Arai ran through the forest for most of the night. Twice more they heard the night creatures but were successful in avoiding them.

When dawn came, they slowed to a walk. Arai had never been so deep in the forest and was glad Kretin was with him. Kretin vowed to never spend another night on the ground. "Tonight, we take to the trees at dusk." Arai twitched his tail in agreement.

A short time before midday, as Kretin skirted a small clearing, Arai was distracted by the wind. It came up suddenly and it didn't sound right. It grew in volume causing Arai to look up. The trees remained undisturbed. As the sound reached its greatest level a strange flying object raced by, wobbling a little from side to side. Arai was dumbstruck. Had Grandfather not told him of similar flying objects?

It passed quickly, headed in the same direction Kretin and Arai had plotted for themselves. Arai looked at his brother. Kretin stood transfixed and slack jawed.

Finally, he looked at Arai. "What was that?"

"It is what Grandfather told us about. It is the thing we are looking for."

"Did it not sing its death song as it raced across the sky?"

"If that was its death song, then I do not want to hear its song of life. It hurt my ears."

Kretin straightened. Arai saw the resolve in his posture. Kretin made the tail sign indicating it was time to go. "We will follow and see what else the forest has in store for us, but we must be wary for Grandfather has told me terrible stories of what may befall us. Step carefully, little brother."

They took the trail that led them ever deeper into the forest. In the afternoon they stopped by a stream where they ate a few strips of dried meat. All the while they watched the sky. When they left, they followed the trail up a gentle slope that led to a ridge. At the top they stopped and stared at the grisly sight below. In a gully shaded by the great trees, lay the blood-strewn remains of dozens of forest animals. A pack of small doglike creatures feasted on the carcasses and ignored the two brothers.

"What happened here?" Kretin asked, shaking his head. "Such a waste of good meat."

He bent to look at the tracks left in the blood-stained soil. He pointed and Arai looked. The tracks began and ended there. There was no chase, no fight for life.

Arai looked to Kretin for encouragement but Kretin avoided his stare. It was just as Grandfather had said.

By late afternoon, Arai was beginning to think about how nice a nest would be up in the trees when they crossed an area that had a lot of rocks lying about. In the middle was a pile of five carefully arranged stones.

They stopped and stood before the shrine. "This is the grave of our father," Kretin said somberly. "We must show respect by sacrifice, for that is our way."

Arai remembered his father, but only vaguely. All the same, seeing his brother cry, he cried too, and when they placed the fresh carcass of one of the forest creatures upon the grave, Arai beat his chest and wailed. They picked flowers and placed them upon the ground. Then Kretin poured fresh water over the rocks. Afterwards, they sat before the grave in silence, side by side, while dusk approached. Finally, Kretin got up.

"Blood will spill from those who ended my father's trail. I swear this before the sky, the trees, and the soil. Never will my heart rest until I have tasted the blood of his murderers."

Arai fidgeted; it was growing dark. Kretin gathered his spear, his sling, and his pouches, and once again set off down the trail that led south.

"Kretin," Arai called, "it grows dark." Kretin ignored him. Arai glanced at the shadows cast by the great trees and, without another word, jumped up and followed his brother.

With each step it grew darker and Arai's heart beat a little faster. He remembered the promise he'd made to himself about seeking shelter at dusk and pleaded with Kretin. "What are you trying to do? Walk me to death?"

Kretin stopped and faced his brother. Had it not been for the trees overhead, it would have been a bright night. The two moons illuminated the night sky and allowed just enough light to filter down to enable the boys to see all the varied shadows. It was at these times that the trees truly looked as if they were giants.

"Just a little farther."

"No way. There's a nice tree right over there. I am going to climb it, if I do not fall and crack my skull in the dark, and I am going to sleep."

Kretin looked around and seemed to notice for the first time that full darkness surrounded them. "Well, perhaps you are right, maybe we..."

A beam of light played through the trees. The brothers instinctively crouched. Arai pointed and Kretin followed his gaze. Both melted into the shadows, waiting and watching as the light came closer.

At first, Arai thought it was the night creatures. Goosebumps marched along his spine as he remembered the too-close encounter the night before. But the night creatures did not make light.

Kretin and Arai crouched behind a tree as the light danced upon the trail where they had stood only moments before. Something was coming. To Arai's trained ear, it sounded like three separate animals trying to walk quietly, but their size gave them away. Whatever they were, Arai guessed they weren't accustomed to traveling through the forest.

Arai shifted and positioned himself under a giant fern, still within reach of his brother.

The three creatures stopped directly in front of him. A scant two feet from his face was the strangest leg he'd ever seen. It was smooth and shiny, thick and round like a spear, except much larger. It had no toes, instead it ended in a point that entered the ground and anchored each step.

The things spoke incoherently in clicks and hoarse coughs. One of them shined the beam of light first one way, then another. Arai had no doubt these were the creatures who were the murderers of his father.

They stood on the trail, towering over the brothers in the dim light. The creature in the lead pointed the beam of light upward and it danced through the trees, displaying the lower branches. Up close, the things made a sound like blowing air and water through a hollow reed. It sounded like the noise his aunt had made when she became ill from the winter wind two seasons ago and died choking on her own phlegm. Arai hoped the monster was sick and that it would die painfully. Briefly he wondered if the tip of his spear was strong enough to pierce the smooth skin of these monstrous devils.

He debated whether or not to rush from his hiding place and drive his spear deep into the creature as it stood there looking stupidly up at the trees. His common sense prevailed, and he remained where he was. In a few moments, the creatures moved down the trail. Kretin and Arai waited until the beam of light disappeared before they stirred.

Together, they squatted on the trail and poked their fingers into the indentations left by the pointed legs of the creatures.

Arai looked at his brother in disbelief. "One of these creatures is large enough to make two of you. Did you see, as they walked, how they ducked their heads to avoid the branches that I cannot touch even by jumping? See how deep the prints are? As if each was carrying a load of game on their backs. I know it is dark, my brother, but it is still light enough to see what is important."

Kretin continued to stare in the direction the creatures had gone. He squinted into the darkness.

"They return. Quick, into the trees." Arai reached up, grabbed a limb, and pulled himself up. The light came their way again. Arai climbed higher with Kretin following closely behind.

As they settled into crooks in the tree, the creatures passed underneath. This time they didn't bother to look up.

Kretin and Arai remained where they were for the remainder of the night. Twice more, they saw the light dancing along the trail at a distance. As Arai drifted off to sleep, he thought about how the creatures wandered in the forest, almost as if they were lost.

He awoke in his perch early the next morning. The forest was still, and the air was heavy with morning dew. He turned his head to look at Kretin, who slept on. Arai reminded himself of what a good hunter Kretin was and that he was very lucky to have such a fine brother.

He tossed berries at Kretin and they stuck in his hair. Kretin's face twitched, and gradually he stirred and opened his eyes. As was their custom when hunting, they said nothing to one another upon awakening. Game, or something worse, might be lurking below.

Kretin sat up and stretched. He discovered the berries in his hair and picked them out one by one, popping them in his mouth. Something rustled below and both boys looked. A boxdeer quietly grazed on the ground foliage. They watched the animal and admired its delicate beauty. Neither of the two had killed one of these animals, although the opportunity had presented itself many times in the past. They were too beautiful and too kind in appearance. Once, Kretin had approached a boxdeer while it watched with its large, soft eyes. He fed it from his hand and in turn, it allowed Kretin to stroke its fur-covered head. It had been a good sign, and Grandfather said that in return they should avoid killing the boxdeer.

A sound faintly reached Arai: a low, whirring tone that grew closer with each passing second. The boxdeer froze and raised its head, looking for the source.

A wind passed through the trees and a shadow passed overhead as the sound rose in volume. Kretin and Arai looked up and saw a large object floating past, just clearing the tops of the trees. It was different from the one they'd seen the day before. This one floated on rotating blades, causing a mighty wind to press the branches down and whip the treetops from side to side. They covered their eyes in protection against the wind. Kretin peeped through his fingers and caught glimpses as it slowly floated away.

The brothers scrambled down the great tree and chased the object, taking care to stay under cover. They didn't have to run far before they found the thing sitting in a clearing. The two maintained their distance and stayed out of sight.

Like the creatures they'd seen the night before, the thing was smooth and appeared to be highly polished. It was big and rested on thick legs that looked nothing like the legs of the beasts they had encountered. One end was pointed but the opposite end was blunt, ending in a great hole large enough to walk into. Perhaps it is a cave, Arai considered.

A sound came from the thing and a panel slid open. To Arai's amazement, people stepped from the craft. He looked closer. Maybe they weren't people. First, they were oddly dressed, obviously from a distant place. Second, they had no tails. What strange looking creatures, Arai thought.

One of the strange beings turned in Arai's direction and gazed at the trees. Further amazed, Arai saw that it had no fur upon its face. The young Bedoran wondered how they could balance themselves without the aid of a tail.

There were three of them now. They made odd sounds and looked as if they had never seen trees and grass. Kretin exchanged a bewildered look with his brother.

"Are they gods?" Arai asked Kretin.

Kretin shrugged and watched as the beings pulled objects from the craft and placed them upon the ground.

What were these odd creatures? Arai couldn't imagine. Perhaps they were aligned with the monsters that had killed his father. Without a word, Arai shimmied down the tree and dropped to the ground.

"What are you doing?" Kretin whispered.

"Going to take a closer look." He moved closer to the clearing.

"Come back here," Kretin urged, but Arai ignored his brother's advice.

# Chapter 14

Kathleen shielded her eyes from the brilliant rays of Miaplacidus. "It's so bright!"

"Pull down your visor. Miaplacidus is bigger than Sol."

Harry placed the motion detector on the ground and pulled a seismometer from the storage compartment. He passed the package to Kathleen and she hefted it in the crook of her arms. "Man, this is heavy; but it's nice to be on solid footing again, huh?"

"It's not so bad." Harry's legs felt like rubber, but he was too embarrassed to admit it. "Edward says we'll adjust quickly," he added.

"I don't know. I feel tired. This stuff," she looked at the equipment laying on the ground and waved a hand at it, "it's so heavy."

Wearing a backpack and bushman's hat, Parker stepped down from the hatch. He skipped the last step, misjudged the extra weight he carried, and stumbled. His hat fell off when he hit the ground. Harry saw he wasn't hurt and carried on, setting up gear.

"Are you all right?" asked Kathleen.

The doctor got to his feet and brushed himself off. "Yes. Quite all right. Feels like I'm carrying lead weights. Are you ready?"

Kathleen motioned at Parker's headset.

"What is it?" said Parker.

"Your intercom," Kathleen said, "turn it on."

"Of course. There. Is that better?"

Both Kathleen and Harry winced. "Turn down your gain."

"These damn things get in the way."

"Fagen says we have to use them."

"It's not Corporation policy."

"Doesn't matter. It's Fagen's call."

"All right. Let's go then."

Kathleen and the doctor started towards the nearest tree which was, Harry reckoned, about fifty meters away. Keeping an eye on the pair, Harry continued to set up the gear. From inside the shuttle, Harry heard the sound of a dropped wrench. He looked up into the hatch.

"Edward? Commander? Do you need some help?"

"No, dammit!"

Well, all right. Harry turned away. He couldn't really blame the guy. There they were, first landing on a new planet, and the head man had to work on the vehicle.

Parker and Kathleen collected samples under the branches of the great tree. To his delight, Parker first found an ant, then something that resembled a beetle. He shared each discovery with Kathleen. "Look at this," he said, "A magnificent specimen."

"Looks like a poop beetle to me."

Harry grinned at Kathleen's euphemism and looked at the towering conifer. Big just wasn't the right word. If there weren't so many others just like it, it would have been monumental. But this, this was awe-inspiring. He spied movement among the branches and saw a small creature scamper across a branch. He called to Parker and pointed.

An animal the size of a housecat jumped from a branch onto the side of the tree and clung to the bark a hundred feet over their heads. It looked something like an opossum except for its two, large unblinking eyes. Harry wondered if it was nocturnal and if the roar of the shuttle's jets might have roused it from its daylight slumber. Clinging upside down, the creature remained where it was, staring at the humans.

Then, as Harry watched, it changed colors, taking on the same reddish-brown shade as the tree.

Parker saw it too. "I'm going to take a closer look."

Harry walked along after him. The camouflage worked so well, in a moment neither Harry nor the doctor could see the animal anymore.

While Parker started taking videos, Kathleen went to the trunk. "Looks like tree bark," as she pulled off a small piece and put it into a baggie, "except for this spiraling effect. It would be easy to climb." She stepped on one of the circling ridges and tested it to see if it would hold her weight.

Parker spied another one of the opossums and excitedly turned his camera toward it.

Harry watched until he was satisfied that the things didn't offer an immediate threat and went back to the shuttle. He pulled an antenna out of the motion sensor, connected a power feed from the shuttle and turned it on. When it came online, a set of coordinates appeared on its display.

Harry frowned and re-ran the routine.

Parker stopped his picture gathering for a moment. "What's the matter?"

"Uh, just a minute." Harry punched at the keys. "I don't know if this thing's working right."

Parker looked around. "Where's Kathleen?"

"I don't know, she was beside you just a minute ago. Kathleen!"

Kathleen answered as she stepped around the tree. "You don't have to yell. I'm right here."

Harry relaxed. "Don't wander off like that."

"I didn't. I was right there."

Parker frowned and went back to his work. "Keep us posted."

Kathleen stepped behind the tree again.

The sensors emitted another alarm. The monitor correctly indicated a form behind the giant tree. For an instant, the display showed two forms, one slightly smaller than the first located up in the tree. Then the display scrambled and both forms disappeared altogether.

Harry turned the motion sensor off. "Well, it's not working at all," he said to no one in particular.

He couldn't see Kathleen, so he walked toward the tree and rounded the trunk to the opposite side.

It was cool in the shade. The ground was soft, like a carpet, because it was covered with a build-up of pine needles that muted his steps. Kathleen stood with her back to him. She stooped to look at something while simultaneously scribbling notes onto an electronic pad.

"What did you find?"

She jumped and turned around. "You surprised me."

"Sorry, didn't mean to. What are you looking at?"

She pointed toward the base of the tree. "Fungus. Rather like a common tree fungus found on Earth. Here, let me get a sample." She picked a small portion of the growth.

"There," she said, straightening, "that's plenty."

"You know, it's not safe to walk off by yourself."

"Harry, the shuttle is on the other side of this tree!"

"I know, it's just that we shouldn't get out of one another's sight."

She smiled. "Why Harry, that's the most romantic thing you've ever said to me."

In that moment, Harry found her incredibly attractive. He stepped closer. "Before meeting you I thought all botanists were little old ladies. I'm sure glad I was wrong."

She smiled and picked up a pine cone as large as her head. "Look at the size of this!"

"Come on, we need to get back. Fagen will be concerned."

"All right, but I want to take this with me."

Harry looked at the huge cone and compared it to another lying on the ground a few feet away. "This one looks like it's in better shape."

"You're right, I'll take it instead. Thanks."

*

When the two creatures left, Arai dropped to the ground and picked up the discarded pine cone. He sniffed it, smelling the scent left by the strangers, then with powerful hands, he broke it into two pieces. He picked out the nut, took a bite, and peeped around the tree.

*

Fagen waited for Harry and Kathleen in the shade beneath the shuttle. He didn't look happy. He watched as they approached, arms crossed over his chest, expression unchanging. Parker looked up from his worktable. "There they are."

"Never allow anyone to be alone," Fagen started, expressing his points by jabbing his finger. "One person always accompanies another, and we always tell each other what we're doing. We don't know what's here yet. Harry, you know better than that. And Kathleen, quit distracting Harry. You've both got plenty to do."

He took off his standard-issue Corporation cap and rubbed his face, then noticed his hands were dirty from working on the hydraulic system.

"Look," he said, "I don't like to chew anybody out. I'm not good at it, so make sure I don't have to do it again, okay?"

Both Harry and Kathleen nodded.

"I'm testing the system under pressure now. It'll take awhile. Harry, would you take soil samples? Kathleen, you can go as far as you want as long as it's not out of sight of the shuttle. Do you understand?"

"I said I did."

When Fagen went back inside, Parker grinned, openly amused. Kathleen was non-plussed; she laughed and commented on everything she saw as she scribbled her notes. In less than two minutes, she was back at the edge of the forest.

Parker studied his instrument readings. "Hmm. Lots of residual radiation here."

Harry didn't say anything. Instead, he inserted a length of piping into the mini-rig and jacked an open-ended, durasteel pipe into the ground. By the time he was ready to pull out the sample, Fagen had returned. To everyone's relief, he announced that the shuttle would fly again.

"Minor repairs. Let's get on with it. Let's get that soil sample."

Fagen and Harry watched the jack pull the pipe from the ground in rhythmic strokes. The air from the pneumatic pump circulated and was released with each stroke, exhaling with a sigh on each cycle. Via the radio, Kathleen said something to Fagen.

"What? Didn't hear you."

"I said I want to go a hundred feet into the forest, just right over there." She pointed.

Fagen didn't bother to look. "No." he said.

"Why not? It's just over there..."

"No. Not without someone else."

"All right, then, let Harry go with me."

Across the open area, Fagen faced the young woman. "This isn't a picnic. Harry's busy. I'm busy."

"Well," Kathleen looked at Parker, "how about if Doc goes with me?"

Parker looked up from his specimens.

"Doctor, would you accompany Ms. Casey on a field trip?"

"Well, I suppose so."

"So there," Kathleen said, "that's settled."

"Not quite. Fifteen minutes. Remember to keep an open channel."

"Lighten up, Edward. This place is like a park. We've been here, what? An hour? Take a break, have a sandwich."

"Fifteen minutes," Fagen repeated.

"Oh, all right." She turned and faced Parker. "Come on Doc, let's take a walk." To please Fagen, they tested radio comms before walking into the forest. Fagen turned away to help Harry lift the core sample and store it in the shuttle.

*

Leading the way around the trunk of a particularly large tree, Kathleen walked ahead of Parker. She was relaxed but filled with the wonder of being the first to set eyes on the virgin planet.

The doctor started to say something, but Kathleen shushed him. "Listen," she whispered. In the distance, a bird called, or at least what Kathleen guessed was a bird. "Let's stop here," she suggested.

She ducked and walked under a mammoth branch which sagged under its own weight. Parker followed. On the opposite side, she spotted a patch of yellow flowers.

"Oh, incredible!" She ran to the blossoms and went down on all fours to take a closer look. She took pictures while Parker busied himself making his own collections.

He looked to the tree and turned up his head. A beam of sunlight briefly blinded him. In the branches the light shined around something, something that appeared to be woven, and then it dropped on him, surrounding him and clinging to him until he stumbled to the ground.

Kathleen saw it all. She took a step closer as Edward thrashed about on the ground. "Get this off me!" he said with alarm.

Kathleen's initial concern subsided when she saw he was all right. She kneeled and began to pull the woven vines from the doctor. "Hang on, let me help you."

Before he could answer, a humanoid creature dropped to the ground not two meters away. It was small, a good foot shorter than Kathleen and it looked simian, bipedal with two arms. A loincloth girdled its waist. Most importantly, it held a spear like it knew how to use it. Its long tail curled up behind, and as the thing looked at Kathleen, it opened its mouth showing strong, white teeth, and large canine incisors. It hissed at them both.

Kathleen backed away and whispered into her headset. "Fagen? Can you hear me? We've got trouble."

The creature took a step toward her. Kathleen dropped her camera and ran.

*

Back at the shuttle, Harry and Fagen pushed the air jeep out of storage. Fagen was about to check out the flight controls when they heard Kathleen's call for help. Simultaneously, both men rushed into the forest.

By the time they reached Parker, Kathleen was nowhere in sight. Fagen helped the doctor extricate himself from the net.

"What happened?"

"I don't know exactly. It was so fast. They threw a net on me..."

"Who threw a net on you?" Harry asked, looking around.

"How should I know?"

"Where did Kathleen go?"

"That way, I think." Parker pointed in a direction that led deeper into the forest.

Fagen grimaced and glanced at the ground. Things could go so wrong so quickly. "All right," he said, "it hasn't been but a minute or so. Let's see if we can find her."

"Maybe I should return to the shuttle and..."

"No. You'll remain with us at all times. Everybody stay together. Now let's go find Kathleen."

*

She ran between the trees, occasionally tossing a glance behind to see if the creature was still following. She paused behind a tree to catch her breath. Her mouth was dry, and her heart pounded wildly. With difficulty, she held her breath and listened. At first, there was nothing, then she heard the unmistakable sound of padded steps coming in her direction. She didn't wait. Taking a big breath, she ran in the opposite direction and didn't stop until she found a protected place between two oversized tree roots.

Spying a broken tree branch, she grabbed it and broke off a length as long as her arm. Then she wedged herself between the roots and waited. A long minute passed, and nothing happened. When Fagen's voice came through her headset, she jumped as if she'd been jabbed.

"Kathleen? Can you hear me? Where are you?"

She immediately responded. "I'm here! Something's after me! Help me!"

"Where are you?"

"I'm..." She didn't get to complete her sentence. Something tapped her on the back of the head and dislodged her headset. For a moment, she was stunned; stars appeared before her eyes. When the furry creature dropped in front of her it was a bit too much and she fainted.

# Chapter 15

Harry held the net in his hands. It was woven from reeds that were pounded into long, flat strands, obviously the work of a primitive. For hours, they'd searched in vain for Kathleen. She'd vanished. It was as though the forest had opened up and taken the young woman without leaving a trace.

As the truth sunk in, Harry felt a rush of frustration and anger. Everything was going so well, now this. Would they be able to locate Kathleen, and would she be all right when they found her?

The three men silently walked back to the shuttle. Wearily, they gathered under the craft.

"What are we going to do?" asked Harry.

Fagen didn't answer, instead he walked to the rear of the craft and inspected the ground for leaking hydraulic fluid.

Parker gave his opinion. "I think we should get out of here while we still can. We don't know what we're up against..."

"We're up against aborigines," Harry snapped, "and from the looks of things, not very many at that."

"They've got weapons."

"Spears and nets. We've got rifles."

"Well," Parker said, "what would you suggest? Blast them into submission? Maybe if we did, they'd return Kathleen's body. There's also the small matter of finding her first."

Harry stood and stepped toward the doctor. "We don't know if she's dead or not. As a matter of fact, there's nothing to lead us to believe she is. So, until we know something for sure, you shut up!"

"Oh really?" Parker stood and balled his hands into fists.

"That's enough," said Fagen, stepping between the two men. Harry sat down. Parker glared at him.

"We're going to take the air jeep up and conduct an orderly search. We'll go as far as the jeep will allow. That should be plenty."

Parker pointed at the trees. "We won't be able to see through the trees."

"We'll use the motion sensor. If anything larger than a mouse moves, we'll know it."

"Can't use the motion sensor -- it's not working right."

Fagen sighed. "All right. Parker, you stay here -- hole up inside the shuttle and keep your eyes open. Give Nadine a call and tell her what's happened. C'mon Harry." Harry and Fagen pushed the air jeep farther away from the shuttle and climbed inside.

Fagen quickly went through his pre-flight checks and started the engine. The rotor beat the air and the small vehicle lifted up. The craft was easy to fly and under different circumstances, Harry would have been excited about taking an air tour. But not now.

Where could she have gone? Even if she was overpowered by natives, how could they have gotten away so quickly? Either they had gone to ground, finding shelter beneath the soil, or they had taken to the trees. Perhaps the trees, that made more sense to Harry. The trees were the largest, most notable living things. The natives would naturally find many uses for the conifers.

As the jeep gained altitude, Harry searched the branches but saw nothing.

Fagen guided the jeep in a direction that took them over the spot where Kathleen was last seen.

"We'll start here." Fagen shouted over the jeep's engine. "Keep an eye on the trees. That's probably where they went. They could be walking on top of the branches."

"What if we find her?" Harry shouted. "We'll have to land somewhere."

"Yeah, that's a problem." After a moment, he spoke again. "We've got another problem too."

"What's that?"

"We can't stay here indefinitely. The shuttle hydraulics have a slow leak. We have to return to the Magellan soon, before the fluid levels drop to the minimum."

"You mean if we don't find Kathleen, we may have to leave her?"

"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. I'm going to fly in widening circles over the area. There's no way they could have gotten far."

Fagen concentrated on his flying and Harry looked from the erratic motion sensor display to the tree branches.

From their perspective, there wasn't much to see. The forest was thick and hid the ground. Occasionally, Fagen flew between the trees, the rotor blades passing the tips of the branches by mere feet. Twice, the motion sensors registered large lifeforms, but these turned out to be a furry creature similar to a sloth and a large cat.

It wasn't really a cat, but that was the best way to describe it. Its small head had pointed ears and it rested on taloned paws. Its tail gripped the bark of the large branch upon which it sat. As Fagen flew past, the creature flattened its body against the branch and drew its lips back exposing four-inch incisors.

After an hour, there was still no trace. The sun had traveled across the sky and was now poised over the mountains to the west. To the east, an unmistakable cloud buildup indicated an approaching storm.

"We've got to go back." Fagen said. "We're almost out of fuel."

Harry peered into the trees, hopeful he would see some sign, some clue as to Kathleen's whereabouts, but in minutes, they were back at the shuttle site.

Parker ran up to the jeep before the rotor had stopped. "Any luck?"

Fagen shook his head and climbed out.

"I got all the gear stowed away."

Neither Fagen nor Harry said anything.

"Well? Don't you think we should prepare to..."

Harry turned to the doctor and grabbed him by his lapel. "You don't care, do you? Kathleen's lost out there and you don't care."

"Let me loose." The doctor said coldly.

Fagen watched but didn't say anything. Like Harry, he'd had enough from the doctor.

"The only thing you're concerned about is saving your own uptight ass. Your profits mean more to you than the lives of the people around you. Some doctor you are." Harry let him go. Parker jerked away and straightened his collar. He backed away a step.

"I'm going to make a full report. This incident will be fully documented." Parker turned and climbed into the shuttle. Harry looked at Fagen. Fagen shrugged.

"Don't worry about it. It's no big thing. Besides, the report will go through me. Let's put the air jeep away."

"What about Kathleen?"

Fagen looked up at the darkening sky.

"I'm afraid we may have lost her."

*

Four kilometers away, Kretin and Arai set down their load and rested at the base of a tree. The flying object was gone. They saw it for the first time an hour before. When it flew over, they were on the top of a large branch, sitting on their prize, preventing her from moving. Since then, they saw the air jeep two other times and for a full hour they were able to hear it. Now the only sounds they heard were the comforting sounds of the forest.

Arai was afraid they would encounter the night creatures again and told his brother so. He wanted to bed down for the night.

Kretin looked up at the faint light. "It's still early, we should move on."

The boy knew his older brother was right. They needed to get as much distance as possible between themselves and the strange tailless people. Arai looked at their captive. It lay on the ground tied by its wrists and ankles to a pole.

Arai thought the others of her kind were stupid. They could have followed easily if they had used the trees. Why had Kretin taken such a stupid creature? What use could it be?

Kretin poured a little water into his hand and let some run onto the rag that covered its mouth. The thing sucked at the dampened rag and drew in the water. Arai could see it was frightened. When they picked up the ends of the pole again and started walking, it passed out.

Soon after, the ground shook and a great roar filled the air. A plume of fire rose into the sky. In seconds it was gone, so fast that Arai and his brother only stood and stared, the pole holding their captive slumped over their shoulders.

"Good," said Kretin, "they are leaving! We are victorious!"

The two brother's tails gestured excitedly as they continued on their way.

"When are we going to stop?"

Kretin shrugged and whipped his tail. Soon.

He searched the branches overhead and pointed to a tree not far away. They made their way to it. Kretin was the first to climb up. Standing on a thick branch, he reached down with both hands and tail and took the prisoner by the arms. With ease, he lifted it up. It opened its eyes and cried out.

"Shhh!" said Arai.

"It has no sense of safety. It makes so much noise."

"Maybe it thinks we're going to kill it."

"Well, aren't we?"

Kretin shrugged. "I don't know yet."

He reached down and felt the edges of the gag. It was loose and falling off, but before he could tighten it, Arai whispered to Kretin. Kretin nodded and tied a length of cord around the prisoner's neck, like a leash. Then he untied its feet, leaving the hands bound. He didn't bother to fix the gag.

In fascination, Kretin stared at it. "I wonder what it tastes like."

"Who cares, unless we're going to kill it?"

Kretin straightened up. "All right," he said, "we'll kill it, but I want the heart for myself." He drew his knife and stepped forward.

"Wait," Arai said, "something comes."

It was too late. The prisoner had seen what was about to happen and had backed away. In so doing, it stepped too close to the edge and slipped. Without its hands or a tail to grasp a hold, it fell to the ground landing on its back with a thud. "Oooff!" it said.

Across the forest floor, some thirty yards away, a hulking shadow stepped into view. Arai saw it and a chill passed up and down his spine. Although he'd never seen one, it had to be one of the night creatures.

It faced them, snorted and took a step in their direction. The prisoner apparently wasn't injured from its fall; it jumped to its feet, did an abrupt about face and ran. The monster followed on the ground as did Arai and Kretin in the trees.

Arai scampered to the lead and, looking for a good ambush position, he dropped to the ground. Stepping into the shadows between two huge tree roots, he waited. Soon, the prisoner rounded the tree and stumbled over a root. It saw Arai wedged between two huge roots. Arai stared back, giving no indication he cared for its safety.

Heavy steps pulled up. The monster was close, very close. Arai peeked over the top of the tree root and saw the beast. It stood on its haunches not ten yards away, scanning the forest.

Now he was close enough to see details of the thing. It wasn't a pleasant sight. It was big and covered with coarse hair. It traveled on all fours but at the moment it stood upright, searching for its prey. A pungent smell reached Arai's nostrils.

The beast sniffed the air and slowly turned its gaze to the tree Arai hid behind. Arai ducked out of sight silent and unmoving, practically invisible in the crook of the great tree. At a casual glimpse, all that could be seen of the boy was the shaft of his spear sticking out into the dim light. Recognizing the more immediate danger, Arai's captive scrambled past him and hid next to him.

The night creature heard the scuffling of feet over tree bark and turned in their direction. It sniffed the air again. Stepping around the tree, it stood directly in front of Arai, peering into the shadows. It knew something was there but could not yet decide if it was something edible. Finally, it caught the scent of the boy and saliva began to stream from its jaws. It crouched and slowly approached their hiding place.

The boy remained motionless and watched as the beast approached. There was nowhere to go. The creature peered into the darkness and saw the spear shaft. It raised itself upon its two hind legs and, towering over Arai; opening its jaws wide it roared. With blinding speed, a great paw swiped the air and knocked the spear from Arai's hands. The wooden shaft dropped to the ground. There was no escape.

Suddenly, the prisoner, who up until this moment had shown nothing but fear, jumped to its feet and emitted a muffled scream, startling both Arai and the creature.

Rows of long, jagged teeth were exposed from the creature's gaping mouth as it raised a paw and poised to strike.

But Arai's prisoner wasn't finished yet. Although its hands were tied, it grabbed Arai's broken spear and shoved the splintered shaft directly into the beast's face. The broken spear entered through the monster's mouth sinking into the soft flesh of the palate and then struck against unyielding bone.

The night creature shrieked in pain, staggered backwards and, with frantic paws, attempted to remove the spear, but only managed to push it in farther. In pain and confusion, the monster retreated, cutting a path straight away from its intended victims.

Arai looked at his odd-looking prisoner with newfound respect. It looked back at him and then to the path the beast had taken, apparently undecided about whether to run or remain where it was. It had saved him from a particularly nasty death and, according to the rules of the tribe, it had earned status. Arai began to re-think his dinner plans.

# Chapter 16

The flight back to the Magellan passed uneventfully. Harry sat alone where just a few, short hours before, Kathleen had sat beside him. It was hard to accept that she was gone, but he knew there wasn't much of a chance of finding her now. The shuttle had a problem with its hydraulic system. If they couldn't repair it aboard the Magellan, they would have no means to return to the surface.

The radio signal that had initially drawn them down to the planet still pulsed at regular intervals. Perhaps if Kathleen hadn't gotten lost, they would have found the source of the transmission and unraveled the mystery, but as it was, they might never know.

Fagen steered the shuttle into the hanger bay and the bay doors shut behind. After the craft was secured and the hanger bay pressurized, they unstrapped themselves and filed out. Parker, still miffed, ignored Harry and fussed with his specimens.

"Keep those sealed until you get them to the lab." Fagen instructed.

"I'm well aware of the procedures."

Fagen ignored the doctor's attitude and went to check the hydraulic leak. Harry pulled Kathleen's gear from the shuttle and began packing it away into a locker.

A hatch opened and Doris entered the bay. Parker, with his hands full, passed her on his way out.

"Did you get some good samples?"

"Oh, yes. Excellent. Would you care to see? I'm taking everything to the lab where I can safely isolate each one while I sort everything out."

"I need to speak with Edward first. I'll be along later."

"Very well. I'll see you in a while."

Doris watched as the doctor, arms laden with his carefully labelled samples, floated through the hatchway. She turned back to the shuttle. Fagen was underneath, looking at the piping through an open access cover. She came up behind him.

"What happened?"

Fagen paused in his inspection. "We lost Kathleen." His words echoed within the hanger bay, stinging Harry.

"I understand, but how could that have happened?"

Fagen sighed and wiped his hands on a rag. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, you're responsible for your crew. How could you let one of them wander off and become lost?"

"You weren't there, Doris. That's not exactly what went down. Kathleen and the doc were attacked. The doc says it was primitives. By the time Harry and I got to them, Kathleen was gone."

"What are you going to do about it?"

Fagen looked at the underside of the shuttle. "First, I'm going to have Bonner look at the hydraulic system. It's leaking again, more this time than the last. If he can fix it and guarantee that it'll stay fixed, we'll go back down and continue our search. Otherwise..." Fagen shrugged.

Doris frowned. From her expression, Harry could tell she thought Fagen should show more concern.

When she didn't leave, he stopped looking at the tubing and faced her. "This isn't getting us anywhere. If you think I'm remiss in my duties, you're free to make a report to the Corporation. Meanwhile, we still have a mission to complete. I suggest you pay more attention to your own duties." He turned away and continued his inspection.

Doris pursed her lips and stared at Fagen's back as if she considered attacking him. After a moment, she abruptly turned away and floated back to the hatch. She looked at Harry on her way out, but he occupied himself with packing away the gear.

Unlike Doris, he didn't blame Fagen for what had happened. He didn't blame anybody. Still, if it had been him who had accompanied Kathleen and not Parker, perhaps things would be different.

*

Bart didn't take Kathleen's loss very well either. When Doris told him Kathleen was missing, he looked at the XO with disbelief.

"That's not funny," he said.

"I'm not trying to be funny, Blane."

"Where is she? What happened?"

"Somehow, she got separated from the others. Dr. Parker said there were natives, aborigines. Kathleen and the doctor were attacked. Apparently, they took Kathleen."

Blane stared at his instrument console. "She can't be gone," he muttered. He looked at Doris.

"You don't understand," he said, "she can't be gone. I need her!"

Doris leaned back in her seat. "Take it easy, Blane, we'll all still get our full shares."

"Is that what concerns you? Your full shares? What about me? I need contact! I need the connection!"

Doris blinked at the man.

From across the bridge, Nadine said, "Well, if you feel so strongly about it, why don't you just plug into the ship's computer?"

"It's not the same!"

"So what's the problem?"

"The computer isn't human! Kathleen understands me. Now I'm alone."

Doris sighed. "Go to your compartment, Blane. Get some rest. Things will seem better after you've slept."

"Don't patronize me!"

She calmly looked at the wild-eyed wirehead. "Do as I say, or I'll have you forcibly removed from the bridge."

Blane looked at her for a long time. His hands shook and his mouth twitched. Finally, without a word, he left the bridge.

"That's one shook up white boy," commented Nadine after Blane was gone.

"Yes, well, he'd better get a grip," said Doris. "Hold down the fort. I'm going to talk to the doctor."

"All right, but don't forget my shift is over in half an hour."

"I haven't forgotten," Doris said over her shoulder as she made her way out. She passed Bonner in one of the narrow passageways and asked how the work on the shuttle was going.

The large man shook his head. "It doesn't look good. One of the hydraulic lines developed a crack. I can patch that okay, but the stress on the guidance system while the fluid was low... well, it caused some microcracks in the relief tubing. There's no way to fix that until we get back to the Earth station."

"You mean we can't use the shuttle again?"

Bonner looked thoughtful. "Now I'm not saying that. But I am saying that if we do, we're going to have to be very careful. If I had to make a decision, I'd advise against taking it out again."

"Well, do your best."

"What about Kathleen?"

"What about her?"

"Well, what if we find her?"

Doris leveled her gaze at the engineer. "Now Bill, what do you think the chances are of that occurring?"

Bonner looked uncomfortable. "I don't know." The big man shrugged. "But if there's a chance, shouldn't we try?"

Doris patted him on the arm. "We'll do everything we can, Bill, but we've all got to remain focused on the mission. Right?"

"I guess so." Bonner felt uncomfortable and changed the subject. "Who's on the bridge? Any more radio signals?"

"Nadine's up there now. I sent Blane to get some rest; he got a little excited about Kathleen. And no more radio signals. I've got to go. I'm glad we had this little talk. See you later."

Parker didn't see Doris enter the lab. He played with his specimens like a kid with new toys.

"Find anything interesting?"

The doctor looked up. "Yes," he said, "I did. Would you like to see?"

"Sure." Doris stood beside the doctor as he displayed his prizes. She pointed at a large beetle. "What's that?"

"That's an insect I picked up at the spot where Kathleen and I ran into the trouble. Beautiful specimen, huh? Look. It could have evolved on Earth." He set the insect down and picked up what looked like a salamander. "The same for this. It's really quite remarkable."

"Why?"

"What do you think the chances are that a species would evolve here in the same way a species would on Earth?"

Doris shrugged.

Parker continued. "Not much chance at all. I mean, it's possible. But not very likely. The really odd thing is that the geological survey indicates a much earlier eco-culture."

"What?"

"These plants and animals," Parker motioned toward his specimens. "They're similar to Earth organisms, but they don't fit with the geological time. The geological activity is similar to a much earlier period. The life I've seen, plants and animals, all appear to be too advanced. At least, in comparison to the age of the planet."

"How can that be?"

The doctor shrugged. "That's a good question."

"I'd like you to take a look at Blane when you get a chance."

"Oh? What's the problem?"

"He's upset about Kathleen."

"We're all upset about Kathleen. It was unfortunate."

"Yes, but it's worse with Blane. They were friends, they shared thoughts through implants. Blane claims he needs the stimulation."

"Right," Parker said matter-of-factly, "he's a wirehead. He's addicted to the extra neural stimulation. The malady was officially recognized two years ago: the Horewitz syndrome."

"Is he going to be all right?"

Parker held up a snail and looked at it. "Beautiful, eh? Blane? Oh, I would think that a person as dependent as he is on stimulation for as long as he has been, I would say that person would have a very rough go of it."

"Can you do anything for him?"

"Sure. No problem. I'll medicate him. He won't be of much use, but he won't go crazy on us."

*

Harry couldn't sleep, so he finally quit trying. For a time, he sat at his small desk and wrote letters to his family and friends. If he made it back intact, he'd carry the letters with him. Rather than use a keyboard, he preferred to write his personal thoughts in long hand. He used a corporation pen with the Braithwaite logo emblazoned on the side. It was nice to look at, but it didn't work very well. Before he could finish the second letter, the pen went dry.

Harry shook it and tried again. No luck. He rose and poked his head out the compartment door. No one was around. The other compartments were shut. No, that wasn't completely the case. Down the hall, Harry saw that Fagen's door was ajar. He pushed himself into the corridor and worked his way to the open hatch.

He tapped on the durasteel door. There was no answer. Harry pushed and the door swung open. The compartment was empty and Fagen's things were secured but out in the open. Clothes were hastily stuffed in mesh bags attached to the bulkhead, the bunk was unmade, and a crack at the desk drawer showed that it too was open.

Moving quickly, Harry floated into the cabin and moved to the small desk. He pulled open the drawer and, as if it knew, a pen floated out. Harry plucked it from the air and glanced at the contents of the drawer. A map, lined with plastic, drew his attention. It was a map of Mia Culpa. They certainly have been on the job, Harry thought, referring to Doris and Nadine.

But something was wrong. He looked at the legend. It was dated five years prior. How could that be? Pondering the question, Harry left Fagen's compartment and shut the door behind.

Parker appeared at the opposite end of the passageway. He said nothing to Harry and proceeded to Blane's room. Not bothering to knock, he pushed opened the hatch and pulled himself inside.

Harry went to the open doorway. Blane was in his bunk with wires running out of his head to his portable computer. His eyes were glazed but he was able to talk.

Doing his best to adopt a bedside manner, the doctor asked Blane how he was doing. Harry noticed that Blane was sweating.

"I'm doing fine, but I don't like being locked out of the ship's computers."

"It's for your own good. You need rest, Blane. I'm a doctor. Remember?"

"Then you know what I really need."

"Kathleen's gone, Blane. You're going to have to get by on your own."

"That's why I need the ship's computers."

Parker shook his head. "No, you need rest." He skillfully slipped a syringe from his pocket and slid the needle into Blane's arm. Blane didn't struggle.

"I can feel it already. It's not unpleasant."

Parker smiled. "I thought you might like it. Ever used drugs before?"

"Sure, but I prefer to plug in. I must admit, this is not too bad. I'd still like to have more data, but my anxiety is definitely leveling out."

"Good," Parker said, "I've got to get back to the lab now." The doctor left, pushing past Harry without speaking. Blane spotted Harry.

"Harry, come in, will you?"

"Hello, Bart." Harry floated into the cabin. "What's the matter?"

"Ah yes, my affliction." The wirehead waved a hand in the air. "Kathleen's gone, you see."

Harry took a handhold on the bulkhead. "Tell me what was between you two."

"You still don't get it, do you?"

"I guess not. Why don't you enlighten me?"

"Why not? There was nothing sexual between Kathleen and me, if that's what you're worried about. I know she told you about the implants. What do I care? Here's the story in a nutshell: I've been plugged in for so long that my brain requires spontaneous external stimulation. Computers still can't emulate spontaneous human thought, and that's what Kathleen did for me. She suggested things, made comments, however inane. It was stimulating. It's the human counterpart to being in cyberspace. Anyway, you have to understand, I've been strung out for years. The thing was, Kathleen and I started out as a lab experiment. As you see, she's become more than a friend to me, but not in a sexual way. I don't get my kicks like that."

"So, you're having... withdrawal symptoms?"

"Along with a dose of depression, Harry. Like I said, she was my friend. She liked you Harry. She took to you right away."

"Yeah, well..." Harry looked away.

"What did the surface look like?" Blane asked, changing the subject.

Harry told him. He described the trees, how large they were, and he told Blane about the mountains. Then Harry commented on how lucky they were to have found such a place.

"I don't know how much luck had to do with it."

"What do you mean?"

"You weren't on the bridge, but you know we had trouble entering hyperspace, trouble with the computer routine?"

Harry nodded.

"There were some guidance parameters Fagen told me to change. There wasn't time to question it. I just replaced the numbers with those he gave me."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing's wrong with it. It's exactly right. It brought us here. One of these moons is suitable for terraforming. The planet looks good for colonization. Tons of minerals. This is big time stuff for the corporation. The thing is, Fagen gave me those numbers. Where did he get them?"

"Pre-selected Corporation coordinates, I guess."

Blane replaced one of his disks and started a new program. "Yes, that's the one," he murmured.

"Nope," he continued, "they weren't pre-selected. There's only one coordinate for each trip. Only one destination. There's never been a need for a backup. Hence, there's no such thing. Fagen just dreamed up the new coordinates."

Harry thought about the map he'd seen in Fagen's cabin, but he didn't say anything to Blane about it. Blane yawned and laughed. A little hysterically, Harry thought.

"I'm getting sleepy," he said and laughed again. "I can't remember the last time I slept."

"Maybe it would make you feel better."

"Yeah, maybe so." Blane closed his eyes.

Harry turned to leave but Blane's hand shot out and gripped him by the arm. "If I go to sleep, don't let them unplug me, Harry. I need it. Don't let them unplug me. Okay?"

"Sure," Harry said. He let himself out and went back to his room where he thought about what Blane had said. And the map in Fagen's cabin. Finally, he fell into a restless sleep. Two hours later, a call from the bridge woke him. Bleary, Harry pressed the intercom switch.

"Yeah, what is it?"

Fagen's voice came over the intercom. "Uh, Harry, would you come to the bridge?"

"What is it?"

The response was slow in coming. "Looks like we've got a new radio signal."

"From the surface?" Harry asked, hoping that somehow Kathleen was trying to communicate with the Magellan.

"No, no, not from the surface. From an orbital location. Looks like we might be ready to use your language skills."

Harry was shocked into full alertness. "I'll be right there." He flicked off the intercom and quickly dressed, wondering if they had finally found an alien intelligence.

# Chapter 17

Kathleen and her two captors traveled for another full day. She couldn't understand a thing they said, but she noticed that they had begun to treat her better. Although they still kept her hands tied, they allowed her to walk by herself. It was much easier for all. Once, the young one even offered her some food. Afraid of poisoning, she turned it down.

Along the way, she saw plants and animals of all shapes and sizes. Most had Earth counterparts, although a few were truly bizarre. In particular, there were vines that moved away when approached. By a streambed, Kathleen caught sight of a creature that burrowed into the mud, leaving only its tail above ground. The tail looked like a small green plant. It waved in the breeze, beckoning to insects and small game. When something approached to nibble at its bogus leaves, the creature would spring its trap and devour its game in seconds.

They moved along and left the strange animal behind.

Kathleen kept expecting to hear the sound of the returning shuttle, or the chopping sound of the bladed air jeep, but she was disappointed. They traveled most of the day and heard nothing but the natural sounds of the forest. They'll come looking for me, Kathleen thought, and they'll find me. It could be any time now. She kept looking skyward, expecting to see the shuttle gliding in, but nothing appeared.

Kretin and Arai saw her looking skyward and craned their heads upward in kind, to see for themselves. But there was nothing. Kretin supposed that the alien creature looked for help from its god.

"It believes in a sky god," Kretin told his brother. "See how it looks upward?"

"Maybe it looks for the flying thing," Arai suggested.

"Maybe. Maybe it looks for help from those who murdered father."

Arai shrugged. "I do not think so. It looks more like us than them. Nothing looks like them."

"That is true, but we must remember they all came from the sky. I do not believe they belong here. Perhaps Grandfather will decide to sacrifice this creature." He motioned toward Kathleen.

Without understanding a thing, Kathleen listened to the curious clicks and assorted sounds the Bedorans made.

"The creature saved my life, Kretin."

"Perhaps it was just saving its own life."

"To be sure, that it was. But in so doing, mine was saved. I will remember that."

Kretin snorted. "I will remember as well. I will also watch it closely until we decide what to do with it. Does it not speak? Does it not hunger and thirst? Hey you!" Kretin poked Kathleen with the blunt end of his spear.

She looked at him.

"Do you not speak?"

Kathleen didn't understand. "What?" she said.

"Did you hear that, Arai? What an odd sound it makes." He jabbed her again.

"What do you want?" The aborigines were trying to communicate. She wondered how Harry would handle the situation. She saw she had the attention of the larger one.

He was around five and a half feet tall. The younger one, or so Kathleen surmised, was nearly two feet shorter. Both were wiry, with a fine, short, clean fur covering their entire bodies. They wore skins around their waists, walked upright, and used their long tails as one might use an extra hand.

Kathleen held her bound hands aloft. "Untie me." She looked directly at the larger one, without averting her eyes from his.

"It has no manners; it looks into the soul without permission." Kretin said to Arai.

Again, Kathleen raised her hands. "Untie me."

"I think it wants me to unbind it."

"It might run away."

Kretin flipped his tail with a negative gesture. Kathleen didn't recognize the move for what it was. "Untie me!" She repeated more forcefully.

Suddenly, Kretin's tail whipped around his head and slapped Kathleen across the cheek. It stung her. She responded by turning away and following the smaller one.

"Hah!" shouted Kretin. "I made it understand."

That was the worst thing that happened. Kathleen realized she was in a tenuous situation. She didn't allow herself to think about the possibility that she might be stuck on the planet without a way to get back to the Magellan. Instead, she told herself she had to think positively. If she was to have any kind of chance, first she had to survive. That thought was scary enough.

Survival was something actors did in videos. Kathleen had always lived her life as she had pleased. Rich and pampered, she was able to try whatever interested her and avoid all she found too difficult to live with. As a result, she was beautiful and spoiled. At least she knew it. She had to be tough and smart. What would Harry do?

He would watch and listen and be quiet. Rubbing the side of her face with the back of her hand, she decided that was the best course to take.

*

"What is it?" asked Harry as he floated onto the bridge. All except Blane were there, crowded around the monitors. Fagen glanced up.

"Take a look, Harry." He motioned to a monitor. The display showed several windows, one of which held columns of hexadecimal code.

"The hex code is a data message. We don't quite know what to do with it. I thought you might take a look."

"Where'd it come from? Was there an accompanying voice message?"

"No, no voice, just data. The source wasn't far away. Just over the horizon, actually. In geosynchronous orbit."

"That close?"

"And now," Fagen peered at another monitor, "it's about 10,000 meters in front of us."

"Got it on visual," said Nadine. A new window opened on Fagen's monitor showing a dark portion of space.

"Can you blow that up some, Nadine?"

"Got it."

The display zoomed forward to reveal a darkened outline among the backdrop of stars. Harry stared at the picture over Fagen's shoulder. It could be a meteor, he thought, or a tiny moon except there were stars shining through it. No, that wasn't it. There were lights shining from it.

"Can you come in closer?"

"No problem." The picture again jumped forward. Now Harry could see details, outlines and shapes. He drew in a breath. It was a ship. A high-tech artifact.

Bonner clapped Parker on the back and shouted like a cowboy. Nadine turned to Doris, grinning, exposing her large, white teeth.

Parker said, "This is a momentous occasion."

"Not yet," said Fagen. "Let's get some spectrographic readings and try to determine what it's made of. Harry, I want you on the bridge for a while. See if you can make something out of the message."

"Recorders on, Nadine?"

"Uh, I forgot." She typed a command into her terminal. They're going now."

Fagen gave her a stern look. Nadine shrugged and stared at her monitor. Parker shook his head and stood up.

"It's crowded in here. I think I'll watch from the terminal in the lab." He left the bridge and Harry took his place at the vacant terminal. Between glances at what they all hoped was an alien spacecraft, he began to work on the data.

Converting the hex code into symbols was simple enough. The Corporation supplied the most sophisticated conversion programs on Earth. It took less than a minute to see what the code contained.

Harry was undaunted by the confusing symbols that appeared. Immediately he recognized the rudiments of a natural language. He took a deep breath and methodically began trying to break the symbols into patterns. In short order, he divided the message into what he hoped were sentences; then, with a little help from his linguistic analysis programs, the sentences were further divided into words. This was where the task became difficult.

As Harry worked, the Magellan closed on the object. From the telescoping cameras, they recognized ports at the rear, most likely a drive of some sort. The lights appeared to be navigational beacons located port and starboard, fore and aft, with another light above an empty space. When they got close enough, Harry took a long look.

"It looks like an empty hanger bay."

Harry could feel the excitement on the bridge. They all knew what they were looking at and yet they still had to follow Corporation procedures.

Fagen instructed Nadine to send another hailing message. She did so. As before, there was no reply.

"Maybe nobody's home," suggested Bonner.

"Well, they left the garage door open."

"How close should we get?" Doris asked.

"Just close enough to have a good look. Maybe a thousand meters?"

"Closing on that now. Going to park routine." Doris punched a command into her terminal and the ship drifted to a halt. A thousand meters away, the alien ship hung in space. Other than the lights, there was no indication of life.

"What kind of power readings are we getting?"

Bonner stared at readouts and reported. "A little radiation, about the same as us. There's a fluctuating electromagnetic reading, though. I have no idea what that's about. Heat's coming off it too, but that's to be expected."

"Sure looks strange." Nadine commented.

Unlike the Magellan's highly polished mirrored hull, the alien ship was dark, so dark it might have been painted black. No doubt part of the design included an effort to conceal all reflecting surfaces. It was sleek, basically in the form of a giant teardrop. Along one axis was a raised, rectangular surface that faced the rays from Miaplacidus. Two bulges on either side of the stern made it look as though there were two bulbous eyes. In all, it must have been ten times larger than the Magellan.

Harry was right about the hanger bay. It was open and revealed a space large enough to house a shuttlecraft.

Reluctantly, Harry returned to his work.

He first arranged the symbols into a header, a main body of text, and a closing. Beyond that, without more information, he quickly determined that it was anybody's guess. Some of the symbols were repeated, but there just wasn't enough repetition to assign meaning.

"How's it coming, Harry?" asked Doris.

"Well, it's a message all right."

"Yes?"

"But without more data there's no way I can decipher it."

Doris looked down her nose at the linguist. "Perhaps the computers can handle it, or maybe we can talk Blane into taking a look at it."

Harry shook his head. "I've run all the linguistic analysis stuff already. It says the same thing: lack of primary data. I doubt if Blane can do any more than I've already done."

"Yes, well, Blane's of no use anyway. Keep working on it." She turned away.

"All right," Fagen said, "let's circle this thing, and get a good shot at all sides." He fidgeted with the zoom control. "Okay, okay, I got some markings in the hanger bay. Take a look, Harry. What does that look like to you?"

The display showed the rear of the open hanger deck. Indentations in the bulkhead gave hints as to their purpose. Harry looked at the picture and frowned.

"I'd bet the larger, sunken area is an airlock. The markings are written signs, probably saying something like "airlock," or "danger." The other places are storage places, lockers like we've got in our hanger bay. There's no equipment I can see other than the rails set into the floor. Those have got to be guides for some kind of shuttle they have. Since it's missing, I would also assume at least a portion of the crew is on the planet's surface."

"It's what I don't see that's bothering me," said Bonner.

"What's that?"

"Hanger bay doors..."

"They must be hidden in the walls."

"Nope," replied Bonner, "They aren't in the walls because there aren't any doors. See the circles lined up along the outside edges of the bay opening? I wonder if those aren't field generators?"

"Force fields?"

"Could be," said Doris. "That kind of technology is still science fiction for us. What do you make of the drive system from the design of the nozzles?"

"It's not a fusion drive. It's not big enough for that. If they have force-field technology, I would guess it's propelled by accelerated photons."

"Light-drive?"

"It's a handful of light years to the next closest system. If they didn't come through the wormhole, then that's the only way they could've gotten here."

Nadine looked at Bonner. "If that's right, then this is big. I'm going to be famous! First thing I'm gonna do is get one of those big condos on New Detroit. Then I'm gonna..."

"Control yourself, Nadine," interrupted Doris, "there's a lot to do before you retire."

"What would you estimate the dimensions to be around the indention in the hanger bay?" Fagen asked.

"Let's see." Bonner checked his instrument readings and consulted the small computer he always carried. "Two and half meters."

"Pretty big," said Doris.

"Not necessarily," said Harry. "The main hatch in our hanger bay is considerably larger, around eight feet square. And then there are the auxiliary hatches -- they're considerably smaller."

"I wonder what they look like." Nadine mused.

"No telling."

Harry's monitor flickered once, then twice.

"Where's my display?" Fagen suddenly asked.

Harry looked and saw that Fagen's terminal showed a maelstrom of changing colors.

"What's going on here, Nadine?"

"I don't know, I've got the same problem."

"Interference of some kind?"

Nadine's fingers played over the keys of her terminal. Watching the rapidly changing readouts, she shook her head. "No, this is internal. Blane's hacked his way in."

Fagen turned to Doris. "Take Bonner and remove Blane from his hookup. Have Parker give him another dose." He turned back to Nadine. "Re-route through my password, MATRIX."

She tapped on the keys. "Done," she said, "he's off-line. I'll bet he's one pissed-off wirehead about now."

"Check data integrity."

"That'll take a little time."

"Okay, park it. Let's remember where we are, folks. We're going to be without sensors and navigation for how long?"

"Twenty minutes."

Fagen ran a hand over his face. "Twenty minutes," he repeated. To no one in particular, he added, "I've waited this long, what's another twenty minutes or so?" He turned to Harry. "Anything going with that message?"

Harry shook his head. "I've gone as far as I can without more data."

"That's what I figured." Fagen stared out a port.

"What'll we do when the systems come back up?"

"Gather data, Harry, that's the name of the game."

"Any chance we might take another trip down to the surface?" Harry searched Fagen's unyielding face.

"We'll just have to see how things turn out. Get your mind off it, Harry, I may need you to assist in an EVA operation."

Gathering the thought slowly, Harry blinked. "EVA? You mean across to the alien ship?"

Uncharacteristically, Fagen cracked a smile. "Wouldn't that be a kick?"

# Chapter 18

Arai was tired. They'd traveled all day, stopping at intervals only long enough to let their captive catch up. It had been hours since Arai had offered water, and the thing had refused to take any then. He stopped at a place where rainwater gathered in the crook of a tree. With a cup fashioned from a gourd, he scooped out the water and drank.

He could tell the tall creature was wary by the way it approached. It hesitated, but then saw the water and came a step closer. Arai motioned for the thing to take the gourd. It hesitated, then grabbed it, making sure to avoid touching Arai. He giggled as he watched his captive drink. He turned to his older brother.

"It is very thirsty."

"And very large," Kretin added. "I will wager it gets hungry as well, and from the size of it, it has a large appetite. Let us go, we are almost home."

They wound their way through the branches occasionally dropping to the ground to take a short cut. It was cool on the forest floor and the spongy forest carpet was easier on the feet. Along the way, they saw more animals, but they were all shy and ran away. Twice, Arai led Kathleen around holes in the ground that were large enough to fall into. He pointed at them with his spear and motioned for Kathleen to step carefully around the edges.

Kathleen wondered what sort of creature made the holes.

Just when she thought she couldn't take another step, the forest opened up to expose a jumbled cliff of rocks. Shouts and voices came from above. Kathleen looked up and saw a handful of furry faces staring wide-eyed down at her. None seemed threatening. Rather, they appeared to be amazed and not a little curious.

Kretin made her climb the rocks up to the first outcropping. Once she stepped upon the flat ledge, she saw that it stretched back to reveal a hidden cave situated away from weather. Standing around the ledge and in the mouth of the cave, more of the natives stood and ogled the young Earth woman.

Kathleen was frightened, but far from terrified. She towered over all of them and, at first, they kept their distance. An old female approached and rattled off something in an incomprehensible tongue. When Kathleen failed to answer, the old lady turned to Kretin.

"Is it without hearing? Can it not speak?"

"No, mother. It speaks, but in a strange tongue. Likewise, it does not understand us."

The old female turned back to Kathleen and felt the young woman's arms. "It is big and strong. Where did it get these clothes? What kind of skins are they made from?"

Kretin shrugged.

Now the other women circled around Kathleen. They marveled over Kathleen's silky hair and the lack of it on her face and hands. One woman looked behind Kathleen and clicked in confusion.

"Where is its tail?"

This observation brought laughter and disbelief from the smaller children who shyly edged out from the mouth of the cave.

The old woman again turned to Kretin. "Is it male or female?"

Kretin shrugged.

The old woman approached Kathleen and placed paws or hands, Kathleen couldn't decide which, on Kathleen's chest. "Ah," the old woman remarked, "it is a female."

Grandfather had said nothing. He sat on a rock and watched as the others crowded around Kathleen and felt her clothes, her hair, her skin. Upon hearing that the creature was female, he commented to Kretin that they now had another mouth to feed.

Arai overheard. "She may be a hunter, Grandfather. She killed one of the night creatures and saved me from certain death."

The old man's tail jerked. "Ah, well, that's something else. Perhaps she can earn her way. We must decide soon. A creature her size will eat much -- that means less for the rest of us if she cannot find food by herself."

"Should she not be allowed to choose between the forest and the tribe, Grandfather?"

The old one rubbed the boy's furry head with his bent and battered tail. "Yes, she will get the opportunity through the proper ritual, but first we must prepare. You and your brother have been far and have accomplished great things. I am proud of you both."

He looked at the darkening sky. "I think that first, you must rest. The captive female needs rest as well. If she is not dangerous, then untie her, give her food and drink. Tomorrow we will discuss the ritual."

The old man rose from his seat and walked to Kathleen's side. She looked at the old man.

"She has no manners," he said. "She has much to learn, perhaps too much." At that, he turned and walked into the cave, leaving the others to amuse themselves with the hairless female.

After untying her, they took her inside and showed her where they wanted her. She sat down heavily, grateful for the chance to sit. Under the amazed stares of the watching natives, she removed her shoes and looked at her feet. Both had numerous blisters. One of the women brought a bowl of water.

Kathleen thanked her and washed her feet with the water. Another one brought food. She looked at the offered fruit with doubt. She could eat and risk contracting a fatal microbe, or she could starve to death. It was as simple as that. She gingerly took a bite. The fruit was sweet and juicy. It looked like a small melon with a hard shell and tasted something like cantaloupe. Maybe it was just because she was so hungry, or maybe it was because she was just too tired to care. Whichever it was, she ate the fruit and finished it off with a long drink of water. Her stomach accepted the offering and after five minutes, she knew she wasn't going to die.

Arai situated himself beside Kathleen and watched her eat. She was so strange. Her hair was the color of the sun and her eyes and nose were so small compared to the Bedorans'. Arai wondered how she could see and smell from such small organs. Her hands and feet were large but delicate. She moved with grace and, Arai noted with not a little embarrassment, somehow her strange features were attractive. The one truly alarming thing about her was that she had no tail. Perhaps it had been amputated in an accident, Arai thought.

The small children ran unrestrained through the confines of the cave. They climbed rocks, tumbled down, chased one another, and peeked at the newcomer. They stared wide-eyed and, becoming bolder, they inched closer. Using their long tails, they reached out and stroked the hair on Kathleen's head and felt the strange cloth she wore. One tyke, no larger than a human one-year-old, and knowing no better, finally climbed into Kathleen's lap and promptly went to sleep.

Kathleen wrapped her arms around the child and soon was fast asleep herself. The adults nodded to one another with satisfaction.

"The little ones like her," one woman commented to another.

"Yes, but we must make certain she does not eat them during the night."

Outside, Kretin watched the night sky. Arai joined him. "Seen any of the strange lights?"

"Not yet, but I am afraid they are still out there. I can feel them." He sniffed the air. "Do you not smell an odd scent?"

Arai raised his nose. "Yes, there is something, but it is far away."

"Not far enough if we can smell it." Kretin picked up the spear that lay at his feet and began to sharpen the tip against a rock.

"Do we hunt tomorrow?"

"No. Tomorrow Grandfather will ask that the ritual be performed for the thing we found."

"Why do you call it a 'thing'?"

"What would you have me call it?"

"Well, mother said it is female."

"But it is not Bedoran."

"Perhaps we can give it a Bedoran name."

"That will be decided tomorrow. It must prove its worth first."

Arai reluctantly agreed. He understood that life in the forest was good because the Bedoran people had strict rules. Before those who had killed his father came, there was no threat to which the Bedoran people were not accustomed and could not overcome. They had been the undisputed rulers of the land. Now, they had to walk carefully at certain times of the year. Many had become lost in the forests. Sometimes their bodies were found, horribly mutilated by something other than the creatures that lived among the trees. If the strange female was to remain with the tribe, she had to prove she would be an asset. There was no room for those who would not or could not manage for themselves.

Kretin pointed to one of the stars in the sky. "That was not there yesterday."

Arai followed his older brother's pointing finger. He didn't know the stars as well as Kretin, but he could easily make out the new point of light. It was larger than the others and was nearly directly overhead.

"What is it?"

"I have no idea," answered Kretin, "but it is always a good idea to keep one's spear sharpened."

It was an old Bedoran saying and it was good, practical advice. Arai began sharpening the point of his own spear. The boys' Grandfather joined them on the rocky ledge. At once, the old man saw the new star in the sky.

"Not a good sign," he said. He turned to Kretin and asked if the young man still had the magic crystal.

"Yes, Grandfather." Kretin took the small leather pouch from his belt and tried to hand it to the old man.

The old man refused to take it. "Keep it. It is something a young warrior should have. Guard it well, it may save your life one day."

Kretin replaced the pouch and faced his grandfather. "Did we do right in bringing the female animal back with us?"

The old man looked at the sky. "Only time will tell, son. Only time will tell."

In the cave, Kathleen slept soundly. All the small children had crowded around her and were also fast asleep.

*

Unknown to Kretin, Arai, or the old man, and possibly beyond their understanding, the light in the sky was a spacecraft that held others similar to the one they had captured. Aboard the Magellan, Blane was wrestled to the floor of his cabin and given a large dose of tranquilizers. In his fear of being unplugged from his devices, he had inadequately soldered two of the terminal leads to input jacks on the back of his head. In the struggle, they were both knocked loose. Blane screamed and struck out, knocking Doris against the side of the head.

She reacted by rolling with the blow and grabbing Blane by both arms. Bonner wrapped his arms around Blane's legs and effectively pinned him against the bulkhead. That was when Parker stepped in and gave Blane the shot.

"That'll hold him," said Parker. "I gave him a bigger dose this time."

"How long?" Doris asked.

The doctor shrugged. "Can't say for sure. I thought the last dose would put him to sleep."

"Well, we've got to control him. In the state he's in, he's a danger to all of us. Got any ideas?"

Parker looked thoughtful. "Maybe. Give me a minute, I'll get something from the lab." He left the compartment. By the time he returned, Doris and Bonner had re-situated Blane onto his bunk.

"Let's pull him up into a sitting position and I'll slip him into this." Parker held up a canvas and leather straitjacket.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Standard Corporation medical issue," replied Parker.

"No shit?"

They fit Blane into the jacket and set him back on the bed. Bonner straightened up. "Well," he said, brushing off his hands, "I guess that's it. Let me know if you need more help."

"Thanks, Bill," Said Doris. Turning back to Parker, she asked him to check in on Blane every so often to make sure he wasn't awake.

"Oh, he's awake now. He's just anesthetized. As long as he's got hook-ups to his devices, part of his mind is conscious."

Doris pursed her lips and thought. With a decisive motion, she leaned across the prone wirehead and pulled out the wire leads. "I want him out."

A spasm passed through Blane's body and, for a moment, his eyes flickered open. It startled both Doris and the doctor. Blane again lay still.

"Is he all right?" Doris asked.

Parker looked into Blane's eyes and felt his pulse. "Mild shock. That's all. Nothing to worry about. Probably the best thing for him."

*

It took the computers something less than the twenty minutes Nadine estimated. They were in luck. All the databases were intact. Blane had only diverted the processor power, he hadn't done any damage. The sensor systems went through their initializations and in moments the sight of the alien spaceship once again filled the monitors.

"Recorders on," ordered Fagen.

"Already rollin'," replied Nadine.

Bonner floated back onto the bridge. He sat at his station next to Nadine, clapped his hands and rubbed his palms together. Leaning forward, he read his displays. "Status quo here. Everything looks good."

For a long minute, they all stared at the alien craft as if to make sure what they had seen before was not an illusion. Nothing had changed. It was still there, some thousand odd meters away.

Fagen zoomed the telescope into the hanger bay.

"I have an idea," offered Harry. "Focus on what we thought was an airlock. Yes, that's it. Now, look around the edges for more markings or..."

Sure enough, Harry's hunch paid off. To the left of the rounded indention were a series of bumps arranged in a manner that could only indicate a control panel of some sort. Above and below the "panel" were markings similar to those in the intercepted message.

"Can I get a datashot of that?"

"Right," said Fagen. He typed a command into his terminal. "Done."

"And shots of any other markings?"

"No problem."

It didn't take long to get enough pictures of the markings to help Harry guess what some meant. He knew the glyphs around the airlock panels were most likely warnings and instructions. The first word he actually deciphered was 'step'. The alien symbol was printed underneath the airlock. 'Warning' or 'danger' Harry also picked out. That was the easiest. Unfortunately, although the symbols were similar, none matched those within the intercepted message.

After taking a good look, Fagen moved the Magellan to a position where he and Bonner could inspect the alien star drive. They couldn't see the power plant, but they could see nozzles which they guessed were used for propulsion. As Bonner had previously commented, the nozzles were too small for a conventional fusion drive.

The prospect was exciting. Braithwaite's research facilities were still years away, maybe even decades, from constructing a light-drive prototype. Discovering a ship that used a light drive would have a dramatic effect on space exploration, not to mention a boon to the Braithwaite Corporation stockholders.

The big payoff was in the discovery of an advanced race. Since the opening of the wormhole and the exploration of the galaxy, plenty of lifeforms had been discovered, but none were deemed to be intelligent by human standards. None made artifacts. None traveled among the stars. For the first time in human history, representatives of the human race were poised to contact a higher intelligence. The prospect was exhilarating.

In the backs of their minds, each crewmember wondered what the aliens would look like. Where had they come from? What were they doing here? Would they be pleased to discover another advanced race? And lastly, where were they now?

There was no indication anything was aboard the alien craft. Although Nadine had hailed the ship countless times since first contact, all emissions from the alien ship had ceased. For two hours, the Magellan circled and probed with its sensors, recording everything. At the end of the two hours there was still no indication of life.

"Maybe it's all automated," suggested Doris.

Bonner frowned. "I don't think so. The open bay suggests something was there."

"Maybe its shuttle is automated as well."

"Could be," said Fagen, "but I don't think we'll know for sure unless we go over and look for ourselves."

"You mean EVA?" asked Nadine.

"Mm-huh."

"Well, don't look at me. I'm not going over there. I didn't sign up for any of that EVA crap. It ain't in my job description."

"Nobody's saying you have to, Nadine." Fagen turned to Harry.

"What do you say, Harry? Are you up to it?"

Harry looked back at the Corporation commander and smiled. Was he up to it? He'd never been more ready. The prospect of being the first human to meet an alien intelligence was overwhelming. It was what Harry had hoped for. A dream come true. In his excitement, he almost forgot about Kathleen.

# Chapter 19

Doris faced Fagen in the privacy of his cabin. "I have just as much right to be the first as you or Mr. Irons. I have my qualifications! I've earned it!"

"Easy, Doris, easy. You'll get your chance. I want you to monitor the EVA. If we need help, you may have to go outside. If all goes well, I'm sure you'll have the opportunity to make a trip over. Being first is not everything."

"It's the only thing," Doris said pointedly. "You're only doing this because you want to be first. Isn't that true?"

Fagen shrugged. "Doris, you know as well as I that one of us must remain on the Magellan at all times. Corporation rules."

"Then you stay. Come on, Edward, you're not letting me perform my job. You led the survey team to the surface, now let me lead this expedition. It's my turn!"

"There are no turns, Doris. I make the decisions here."

"Well, if that's the case, the Corporation is going to be very interested to hear my version of how you lost one of your crew on the first and only trip to the planet's surface."

It sounded all too familiar to Fagen. "I told you, that depends on the shuttle." She stood before him, unyielding. Finally, he relented. "All right, Doris. If you want to go so badly, then go. Take Irons with you."

Doris visibly relaxed. "I'd rather take Bonner."

"Irons, not Bonner."

"Okay. No problem." Without thanking him, she turned away. Fagen called and she stopped at the door.

"Don't think I changed my mind because of your threat. I'm letting you go because you're right. It's your turn. Just make sure your recorders are going. If you're able to gain entry, turn off your transmitters. We might accidentally trip a circuit over there."

Doris smugly nodded. This time, she said thanks.

*

Harry and Doris looked like backpacking teddy bears in their EVA suits. The backpacks contained oxygen, water, propellant for air jets, and assorted holders for instruments and extra gear. Twin joysticks were situated at the ends of both right and left arm assemblies.

Doris tried to maintain a business-like approach to the task, but her enthusiasm betrayed her. Bonner gave her a thumbs-up gesture as she punched the buttons that opened the airlock. The hatch slid open exposing open space, and not a hundred meters away, the alien ship. It remained unchanged. The alien hanger bay was open, empty, and inviting.

*

Fagen and the others watched from the bridge as Doris and Harry exited the Magellan and floated to the alien spacecraft.

The radio cracked with Doris' voice. "Audio check."

Bonner spoke into his headset microphone. "Read you fivers."

"Visuals?" Harry asked.

"One hundred per cent."

From his console Fagen saw whatever Harry saw by means of a small camera attached to Harry's helmet. In case of a malfunction, Doris had a back-up attached to her helmet. At the moment Harry's camera was focused on the alien ship and its open hanger bay.

They were now close enough to see details. Bright lights illuminated the interior, but nothing moved. Slowly, almost casually, they floated into the gaping bay. There was nothing to prevent their entry. Harry wondered how difficult it would be to actually gain entry into the craft.

"Edward, are you picking this up?" Doris said into her intercom.

"That's affirmative. Any signs a smaller craft may have been in there? A lander?"

"There does seem to be something like docking cleats..."

Harry interrupted. "Whoa, look at this." He floated just to the left of the sunken area in the bulkhead, where he'd surmised the airlock control panel was. The protuberances certainly looked like buttons.

"Doris, see this group of ridges here and this thing beside it?"

"Yeah," she said, "looks like..."

"Airlock controls, right?"

It was a simple choice of finding the right button. There were only three, two small and one large. In a failsafe system, there could only be one choice: it would be the only button that worked. Open the door, close the door, equalize pressure, and open the inner door. There just weren't too many other methods of engineering an airlock.

*

Back on the ship Fagen and Bonner arrived at the same conclusion. Bonner voiced his concerns.

"But should we let them enter the craft? We don't have an invitation. They have no way of analyzing the atmosphere once they're inside. They'll have to keep their environment suits on."

Fagen considered the problem and spoke into his mike. "Doris, did you hear Bill?"

"Affirmative."

"Looks like nobody's home. What do you want to do?"

She looked through her faceplate at Harry. Harry raised a thumb and indicated his readiness. This was it, no one was in the mood to turn back.

"We're going inside."

Harry turned back to the panel and pushed the largest button. Whatever he'd expected, it wasn't what happened. In the center of the circular indentation, a spot appeared and, in a spiral motion, it rapidly grew in size until it abruptly stopped at the edges of the two and a half meter circle. The entire process took no more than two seconds.

"Bingo," said Harry, turning and motioning for Doris to enter first. She switched on her helmet light and entered an empty chamber. Harry followed. On the interior bulkhead, they found controls identical to those outside.

The airlock was small with barely enough room for the two of them. The small space revealed nothing besides another circular indentation at the opposite end.

"Radio check," Doris requested.

The reply came back slightly broken by static. "...breaking up...re-contact...twenty minutes or...coming...over."

"Roger, every twenty minutes." said Doris.

When the outer airlock door shut, Harry felt another surge of excitement. What mysteries lay beyond the airlock? How different could it be from the Magellan? For one thing, it might contain aliens. Real aliens, not something dreamed up in the mind of a movie director. He took a deep breath and tried to relax.

At Doris' signal, he punched the large button on the interior access panel. They both heard air being pumped into the small room. Unexpectedly, Harry grew heavy; somehow, a gravitational field was being generated. After a short pause, the interior hatch responded, opening in the same way as the outer hatch, from the inside out, like a chemical process instead of a mechanical action.

The interior of the ship was dark, dimly lit by odd humps in the bulkheads. Awkward in their EVA suits, they stepped out of the airlock into what looked like an equipment room, but the equipment was entirely beyond their ken. Held to the grey bulkheads with straps that seemed to grow from the walls were large boxes, their purpose not readily apparent. Doris inspected them while Harry went to an open hatchway. Beyond was a dim, featureless corridor. The emptiness of the craft was eerie. Harry felt goosebumps jumping up and down his back.

Neither of them felt like talking aloud. Harry beckoned Doris to join him. His voice inside his helmet came out in a whisper, "Shall we take a walk?" He pointed down the corridor. There were no severe angles in the construction. The corridor was rounded and seamless with walls made from the same material as everything else they'd seen.

"After you," she replied, and Harry led the way. They edged up the tube until they reached a dead end with another sunken place in the bulkhead. As before, to the left was a series of buttons. Unlike the airlock controls, this one had more buttons. Harry studied it in the dim light as Doris looked overhead, inspecting the light source.

"This really looks odd. Maybe it's a chemical light." She turned toward Harry. "Let's see what's behind this hatch."

"I'm working on it," Harry murmured.

One button looked good enough to take a chance.

"Here we go..."

He punched the button and the portal opened up. Simultaneously, they looked inside. He couldn't be sure, but he instinctively thought they'd found the control room. With a sinking heart, Harry realized it could be a robotic ship. There would be no exchange of greetings if that was the case.

There were no furnishings within the space other than what Harry took to be three small chairs set into the floor. Harry gazed up and noted it was roomy. A long, curving console stretched across one side. The chairs were arranged in front of it. Like the corridors, no part of the room had sharp edges. Everything was curved. Other than the long console, there was no distinction between floor, walls, and ceiling. What appeared to be instrument panels filled the surfaces. Some were marked with the alien symbology, many weren't. Harry slowly turned around, allowing his camera to record everything he saw. The curving console was the most interesting thing in the room. Harry clumsily walked to it.

On it were buttons and switches as well as things that could only be described as monitors. The monitors showed nothing; they were blank and unlit. At intervals along the console, indicators flickered revealing power activity. Perhaps the most interesting thing were the chairs that were set up before the console. Although they didn't look like chairs, Harry thought of them as such. There were only three and they seemed to have no other function than to provide a pedestal for sitting. The bottoms of the seats were small and rounded. Harry noted they were too small for a human rump.

The absence of the occupants was conspicuous. "I wonder where they are?" Harry muttered.

"Probably on the surface of the planet. Have you got shots of everything?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Okay, good." She pointed to a hatch in the ceiling, apparently the only other way off the bridge. "Let's see what's behind that hatch."

This time, Harry quickly located the correct button and pressed it. Silently, the hatch slid open, revealing a dimly lit room beyond. Faint light came from bulges in the wall. Doris entered first and floated to the nearest bulge.

She leaned closer for a better look. Over the bulge, the wall was opaque. Light flickered as if something moved inside. What looked like tiny, ridged seams ran the length of the bulge from floor to ceiling. An excreted mucus oozed from the fissures. Harry stood behind, cautiously watching.

"What is that?"

Inside her suit, Doris shrugged.

As they watched, more mucus oozed, and the seam slowly began to part. Harry put a hand on Doris' shoulder and another on the opposite wall to steady himself. The slimy stuff clung to his gloved hand. For a moment he silently looked at the mucilaginous material sticking to his glove.

He stretched out his hand so Doris could see the material on his glove, but she didn't see. Her eyes were on the opening seam in the wall. She drew away and watched with growing horror.

An appendage with joints like a human arm snaked its way out of the seam, the sticky resin covering it. With a three-fingered, taloned hand, it gripped the side of the seam and began to pull itself through as if in birth. Doris tried to scramble back but only succeeded in pinning Harry between herself and the opposite bulkhead. The creature was halfway out and stared at them with three large unblinking eyes.

The sloping, bullet-shaped head turned in Harry's direction and it worked its odd, mandibled lower jaw. As they stared, the creature opened its mouth and screamed in a high-pitched shriek.

Without any further warning, it burst from the wall and landed on top of Doris. She reacted immediately and easily threw the creature aside. It was less than average size for a human and Doris was a strong woman, it was no problem for her. It quickly jumped to the control panel, pressed a button, and squeezed through another seam as Harry and Doris gaped at its retreating form.

For a moment, they lay in the darkened corridor, breathing heavily. The entire incident had taken no more than a few seconds.

"Are you all right?" Doris asked.

Harry checked himself. "Yeah, I'm fine. Magellan, did you pick that up?" There was no reply.

Doris looked at him, "Let's get out of here."

"You don't have to ask me twice," he said as he led the way back up the corridor. Doris rose and started to follow. Upon hearing a sucking sound from behind, she hesitated, then turned to look. The creature, or something else, was coming back out.

In the darkened hallway, she cried out and Harry stopped. He turned in time to see Doris impaled on the taloned arm of a different sort of creature. It was much larger than the first and, although the basic body structure was similar, this creature looked much hardier and fiercer. Hard, shiny plates covered its rounded frame, its long, dangling arms ended in three-inch talons. It seemed to have no eyes, only a darkened window atop its round body. As it moved, the plates shifted, looking something like medieval body armor. Harry stared in horror as he watched the creature pull Doris from its talons.

The thing looked directly at Harry and hissed loudly, then it took Doris by the head and dragged her limp body along as it made its escape in the opposite direction.

Harry, heart beating wildly, crossed the bridge and fairly flew through the door that led to the airlock.

*

Back on the Magellan, the crew had no idea anything was wrong. Signals from Harry and Doris had proved to be useless after entrance into the alien ship. Radio contact was likewise interfered with by the composition of the alien ship and the strong fields it generated. Fagen and the others were unaware an incident had occurred until the moment Harry emerged from the bay.

"There he is," said Nadine. In the monitors, they saw a lone figure exit the airlock. It had been eighteen minutes since Doris and Harry had entered the alien ship.

"Something's wrong," Bonner said as he watched the figure move away from the airlock. "There's only one of them. Who is it?"

"It's Irons," said Parker. "Where's Doris?"

Fagen leaned forward. "Harry, this is Fagen. Are you all right?"

The loudspeaker cracked with Harry's voice.

"Uh, we've got an emergency here."

"What's the problem, Harry?

A second passed before Harry answered. "Encounter with hostile alien. I'm headed back."

Nadine spoke, "How about Doris?"

Harry's reply came slowly. "I don't think she's alive."

In the monitors, Harry floated toward the Magellan. Behind him, the lit alien shuttle bay suddenly went dark.

"Whoops," said Bonner, "there goes the welcoming light."

Fagen unstrapped himself and floated free. "Bill, you've got the bridge. I'm going to help." Fagen departed and went below to don his environment suit. Before he had the chance, Harry reached the _Magellan's_ airlock.

The commander waited as the air recycled and pressure was equalized. Disinfectants clouded the room, washing Harry's suit free from any nasty little alien microbes. When the door opened, Harry stood in front of Fagen. All he could think to say was "There was nothing I could do."

Very calmly, Fagen asked what happened to Doris. Harry took a breath and told him.

"Are you sure she was dead?"

"Man, she was impaled. Run through. She was dead all right. You can look at the recording and see for yourself."

Harry undid his bindings and shrugged off his backpack. He had a problem with one of the straps and suddenly his tension and frustration boiled over. Pulling at a buckle, the strap finally came free and Harry threw it across the room.

Fagen calmly watched. "What's the problem, Harry?"

Harry faced the commander. "What's the matter? We've lost two people already and I don't know why. I thought I knew what this was all about, but I don't."

"What are you talking about?"

"Why don't you tell me?"

"I don't understand."

"I think you do. You knew where we were headed. You've been here before, haven't you, Fagen?"

"What are you saying?"

"Oh, come off it. Somehow you manipulated the navigations and brought us here. Blane told me about the new coordinates. I saw the star map in your compartment."

"Blane is out of his mind and since when is a star map an indictment?"

"Oh, I see," snapped Harry, "you just happened to be interested in the Carina cluster, Miaplacidus, in particular. And where did you come up with the coordinates for this system? Did you just pull 'em out of your hat? Pretty lucky guess is what I'd call it. A little too lucky, if you ask me."

"I don't deny that I've been looking at maps of the Carina system, but it was only after we got here. Now whatever Blane has told you needs to be taken lightly. Blane himself doesn't know what he's talking about. He's in pretty bad shape. You saw him, you talked to him. You think he's all there?"

It made sense. Harry began to feel uncomfortable. Perhaps he had jumped to conclusions. Fagen saw Harry's growing uneasiness.

"It's okay, Harry. A lot has happened. We're all under a great deal of stress. You've performed well, but you need some rest."

Harry said nothing. He found himself wanting to believe Fagen. It was easier. And he was so tired.

"Go get some sleep, Harry. We'll talk later. Things will seem better after you've cleared your mind."

That suited Harry just fine. All he wanted to do at the moment was to lie down. He sighed and nodded. "Maybe you're right. I'm sorry, I guess I didn't know what I was talking about."

"Forget it. We're far from home with a long way to go yet."

Harry went back to his compartment feeling a little ridiculous, but also somewhat relieved. He had confronted Fagen with his suspicions and Fagen had answered with a simple explanation. How could it be anything other than what the commander had said?

Fagen lingered in the equipment compartment after Harry left. No one saw him as he removed the diskette from Harry's discarded backpack. As he slipped the diskette into his pocket, Bonner called over the ship's intercom.

"Edward? Would you come up here, please? We have some new activity."

When Fagen floated back onto the bridge, Nadine asked about Harry.

"He's all right. A little shaken up, but all right."

"What went on over there?"

"Harry says they were attacked. Doris is dead."

"Did you get Harry's diskette? We can see what happened over there."

Fagen shook his head. "The disk was damaged, it's useless. What's the status here?"

"Status?" Bonner shook his head. "The alien ship has moved away and turned off its running lights. I suggest we back away a few thousand meters or so and watch."

"All right, let's move. Keep the recorders going."

Nadine sat at her console and shook her head. "I can't believe this is happening. I didn't sign up for this. What good is it if we find the first extra-terrestrial intelligence in human history if none of us make it back alive? I say we get out of here now while we still have the chance."

Fagen didn't have the chance to answer. Bonner sat upright at his position. "I've got an ignition flare from the surface. Pretty far away. Looks like somebody is on their way up to say hello."

"Or some _thing_ ," Nadine added.

# Chapter 20

The sound of chattering voices roused Kathleen. She had no idea what they said, but they seemed jolly enough. Looking around, Kathleen found it hard to believe she had passed the night sleeping on a dirt floor. She was also the last to rise.

One of the old women noticed she was awake and brought her a wooden bowl full of a pasty substance. It looked and smelled like oatmeal. Kathleen was famished. Knowing it could be poisonous, she hesitated before tasting. Gingerly, she took a small spoonful. The gruel didn't taste like oatmeal. It was fruity and not bad at all. She swallowed and waited a moment before taking another bite.

For the time being, no one paid her any attention. Just as well, she needed to get her bearings, form some kind of plan. For that, she needed time to think.

Children's voices came from outside. Their shouts and squeals gave away their mood. The women talked among themselves and laughed. Somehow, the sound of laughter relieved Kathleen. If these primitives could laugh, they couldn't be all bad. Perhaps she would survive after all.

Finishing the food, she got to her feet. The woman who gave her the bowl returned and tried to converse. She said something unintelligible and fingered Kathleen's coveralls. Kathleen realized the woman was admiring the material.

The aborigines wore very little. Loincloths covered the men. Some of the women wore skirts made from the same animal skins as the loincloths but most wore nothing at all. All of them who wore the skins, male, female, old and young, had a neat hole cut in back for their tails.

Kathleen guessed that the female who admired her clothes was middle-aged. Unlike the men, she looked at Kathleen when she spoke. She said something again, but Kathleen didn't have the foggiest notion what the aborigine said. Kathleen shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

She remembered she had a package of gum in her pocket and pulled the velcro fastener loose before reaching for it.

Suddenly, everyone within earshot stopped what they were doing and stared at her. Uh-oh, she thought. Slowly and without uttering a word, they drew around her.

Trying to appear casual, Kathleen fished in her pocket and found the gum. The woman came very close and inspected the velcro fasteners. She reached and pulled on Kathleen's pocket flap. It made a ripping sound and, to the Bedoran's amazement, the primitive woman discovered it bound the two pieces of cloth together.

She drew back and smiled. Then she turned away and chattered something to those gathered around. They broke out in laughter. Another woman spoke to Kathleen. Again, Kathleen shrugged. "I don't understand."

The woman pointed at Kathleen's chest.

"What is it you want?"

The first woman felt Kathleen's overall and held up an animal pelt.

It dawned on Kathleen that she was being offered a trade. The skin for the coveralls.

Kathleen started shaking her head. "No, no, these are my clothes. They wouldn't fit you anyway. Here," she said showing the package of gum, "have some gum. You'll have to divide it up." She caught the eye of a pubescent female and handed her the package. "Here, that can be your job."

The young one quickly waved her tail in thanks and backed away, disappearing to privacy in order to inspect the strange object.

To Kathleen's dismay, the primitive woman was insistent. After five minutes of lively exchanges, Kathleen realized she wasn't going to take no for an answer. The others seemed to enjoy the bartering process immensely. Although they had no idea of what Kathleen said, they chattered and laughed at each exchange of words. In the end, Kathleen ended up with the skin, a string of shells, and little more than a modest smile.

She gave up her coveralls reluctantly. They watched as she stripped and marveled at her smooth, white, hairless skin, but most of all, they looked unbelievingly at a backside without a tail. Kathleen was embarrassed, but she wasn't a prude. She decided she would wear the loincloths and get a tan. She certainly wouldn't be the only one although she was a little afraid some of the men might be interested.

As it turned out, after everyone had a good look they backed away and went about their business. For a while, Kathleen cowered and covered her breasts while pretending to look at the string of shells. At least the primitives had warmed up to her. Sort of. Even if she no longer had her clothes, she was now fairly certain they weren't going to torture her. Or hurt her. To the contrary, they seemed to enjoy having her around.

The woman with the coveralls was already cutting a hole in the seat. Kathleen could hear the children laughing and playing outside the cave. The males were off somewhere. It was quiet. Still, Kathleen thought, even with the chatter from the primitives, it was uncommonly quiet. She was alone. No Bart in her head. No other stimulants, no instrument hum, not even the rush of air through a grilled air duct. It felt unnatural. Suddenly, she wondered if she was more dependent on Bart than she had ever considered. No, she decided, she wasn't dependent on Bart. At the moment, all she wanted was to see a friendly face. Harry's face would be nice. Kathleen glumly watched as the primitive female stepped into the garment.

The others clapped their hands in approval as she squirmed her tail through the tailored hole in the seat. She slid the shoulders up and stuck her arms into the sleeves. They were too long, as were the legs, but it didn't matter because she was so fascinated by the velcro.

She stood and modeled, then shuffled back to Kathleen, pants legs dragging. She stood before Kathleen, smiling and chattering in her unfathomable language. Kathleen showed her how to roll up the sleeves, then the legs. They moved from the cave into the light to better inspect the fit.

Below, beside a small stream, the old man and Kretin stripped bark from sturdy boughs as they fashioned new spears. Kretin caught sight of Kathleen as she stood on the ledge.

"The creature is awake."

"Finally," Grandfather added.

"Where do you think she is from?"

"I do not know," Grandfather said frankly. "Maybe from the other side of the mountains." He looked up. "Maybe from the other side of the sky. How in the world should I know?" Grandfather was sometimes grouchy in the morning.

Arai walked out of the forest. In one hand, he held his spear. The other hand was free. His tail gripped a mid-sized sloth. When he saw Kretin and his Grandfather, he held his catch aloft and grinned. He climbed upon a rock near the two and squatted down. The boy began to skin the animal.

"Grandfather?"

The elder grunted without looking up.

"Will you let the she-thing participate in the ritual?"

Grandfather stopped sharpening the spear and looked up at Kathleen. "She doesn't seem to be very smart. I don't think she will survive."

"She is large, Grandfather, and very strong. She killed one of the night creatures. She kept it from killing me."

"Yes, yes, so you said."

"Does she not then deserve a chance to join the ritual?"

The old man exchanged a glance with Arai's older brother. "According to the law, that is true. The problem is she is too different. She is not one of us."

"Is not that what the ritual is for, Grandfather? To see if she deserves to be with the tribe?"

He sighed. "Yes, I suppose so."

Kretin spoke up. "It is not my place to say, but I think she would not survive the ritual anyway. Her woods skills are poor."

"You are young, Kretin, but you are still the second eldest male. Someday you will be the one to make these decisions. She was able to kill one of the night creatures. That is no small feat. It tells me she at least deserves the chance." Grandfather turned to Arai.

"She will be allowed to participate, my boy. Let the spirits of the forest decide her fate. That is our way."

Arai grinned and twitched his tail. "Thank you, Grandfather." The boy rose and clambered up the rocks toward Kathleen. The old man turned to Kretin. "I think the boy is fond of his new pet."

Kretin laughed and continued with his work.

Arai climbed up to the ledge and hailed his mother. "Mother," he said, "you look wonderful in your new covering."

The woman laughed. "It itches me," she confessed, "and it is hot, but it is wonderful, is it not?"

Arai flicked his tail in agreement. "Grandfather says the she-thing can participate in the ritual."

His mother looked thoughtful. "Oh? When?"

"He didn't say."

"Probably this evening then."

While Arai spoke with his mother, Kathleen stood nearby. She'd discerned it was rude to look at any of the males, so she looked at the rocks and let the sun warm her. It was hotter than she remembered from the day before. Miaplacidus was larger than Sol, but Mia Culpa was farther out in its orbit than the Earth. She looked at her exposed arms and breasts. She was practically naked; sure to burn if she wasn't careful.

She remembered Nadine saying there was more radiation here than on Earth. And then Parker's comment about residual radiation. But that didn't seem to be too much of a concern. The primitives all looked healthy, at least as far as Kathleen could tell.

She looked at the sky. When would they come back, she wondered? And, when they did return, how would she get away from the aborigines? Somehow, she had to get away, but not yet. The shuttle hadn't returned. She would have heard it if it had. When they did come back, she'd have to find them and that meant escaping from the aborigines. She was also sure Fagen would land at the same location. Now that she'd had the chance to look around, she thought the site was due south and a full day's worth of hiking.

She faced south. Before her, at the bottom of the valley, a stream flowed. Kathleen clearly saw the path that had brought her there.

I could do it, she thought. I could. What would Bart do? He'd just plug in and ignore the situation. Fagen? He'd probably kill all the primitives. But Harry? Nope, Harry would wait and watch. He'd prepare himself. That's what I have to do.

Sitting across from Kathleen, not fifteen feet away, the small one spoke to the woman who wore Kathleen's coveralls.

"She will need some things," said the woman to the boy.

"I will give her what she needs."

"What things does a boy possess?"

"I have this spear which has killed much game," he declared.

The woman sniffed and waved her tail. "It is too small for this female. She is too tall; she needs a man's spear. Kretin's spare will do."

"I'll fetch it," said Arai.

"And your sling as well. If she loses it, I'll fashion you another."

It didn't take long for word to reach every member of the tribe. For the rest of the morning Kathleen was visited by each member. One by one they approached, said something before looking into her eyes, and then chatted for a while. Kathleen didn't have the faintest notion what any of them said. Some of them gave her things: a pouch, a slingshot which she had no idea how to use, a sharp rock, to mention a few items. One of the old women brought a white pasty material and painted everyone's faces like Indians going on the warpath.

As it grew hotter and morning grew into afternoon, the members of the tribe drifted back into the cool confines of the cave. There, they found a nice spot and chatted until they fell asleep. Afternoon nap time. Kathleen nodded out for a time as well.

After a while, she awoke and saw that everyone was asleep. Raising up on an elbow, she looked around. No one moved. Muffled snores occasionally broke the silence. Moving with care, she got to her feet and quietly stepped to the mouth of the cave. She looked behind. They were all still blissfully asleep.

She turned and faced the sunlight. It was bright and hurt her eyes. She wished she hadn't dropped her sunshades. Well, if she was going to get away, now was as good a time as any.

Kathleen stepped out into the sunlight and moved to the ledge. She shaded her eyes and looked across the valley into the forest. It looked farther than it had before.

It was hot. Unbelievably hot. She had only been in the sun for seconds and she was already beginning to perspire. She took another quick look behind and eased herself over the ledge.

There was no cover between the rocks and the stream. She didn't get halfway before she felt as if she was close to bursting into flame. She had to stop and turn around. Reaching the ledge, she staggered back into the relatively cool temperature of the cave.

Outside, a deep rumble came from the sky. Kathleen looked but failed to see anything. The sound was unmistakable; the sound of a craft lifting off. Then the old man got up and the others began to stir.

*

Bonner and Nadine sat at their consoles and watched as the alien shuttle drew closer. At first, it only appeared as a blip on the radar screen, but the nearer it got, the more they could make out details. It looked like a shuttle, but unlike anything built on earth. It was approximately the same size as the Magellan's shuttle, but aerodynamically sleek, with airfoils apparently intended to provide stability in atmosphere. As far as any other similarity with Earth vessels went, there were none. For one thing, it was black, jet black. Its drive thrusters emitted a greenish gas.

Parker and Harry were alerted to the events taking place. Parker chose to remain in the lab, but Harry, groggy from lack of sleep, made his way to the bridge. When he arrived, no one acknowledged him, so intent were they on watching their screens.

No one said anything as the alien shuttle docked with the larger craft. Nadine hailed it, but there was no response. Fagen ordered that the Magellan be pulled back and Bonner put another two thousand meters between the two spacecraft.

"What are we going to do?" asked Harry.

Fagen rubbed his stubbled chin. "Nothing. At least for a while. Let's see what happens. We'll continue to hail every fifteen minutes. Maybe they'll respond."

"Yeah," said Nadine, "and maybe they'll blow us out of orbit."

Fagen ignored the woman and instructed Bonner to continue his long-distance search over the area where Kathleen was last seen. Harry sat in the co-commander's chair, Doris's chair, and tried to stay awake. He dozed off but was awakened after a half hour by Bonner's excited voice.

"I think I've got something!" Bonner looked intently at his viewscreen.

Harry snapped awake.

"Looks like a small structure in a clearing."

"Primitive or high-tech?"

"Definitely high-tech. I caught a flash off the roof that might be a solar collector. The building is small and perfectly round, plus it gives off a lot of energy."

"Is the clearing large enough for a landing site?"

"Plenty large enough."

Nadine turned from her console. "You're not thinking about going back down, are you? Because if you are, I want to remind you I am not going. I'm not part of the EVA team and I don't want to be. I'm not getting off this ship until we get back to Earth."

"Nobody said you were going to have to EVA, Nadine. We all know your feelings by now."

Nadine, satisfied, turned back to her monitor. Something caught her eye and she leaned forward, adjusting the picture. "Something is happening at the alien ship."

Immediately, everyone's attention was drawn back to the alien spacecraft. The shuttle was leaving the bay. As the crew watched, the alien shuttle backed out of its parked position. For a moment it floated in space beside its mother ship, then it set a course straight for the Magellan.

"Oh no," Nadine said, "it's headed this way."

# Chapter 21

As the sun approached the horizon, the air began to cool. The Bedorans had slept most of the afternoon. Now, the women chatted quietly among themselves as they prepared food and accomplished chores. As dusk approached, Kathleen was given an inordinate amount of attention. She knew something was up because the abos were cheerful, almost festive.

They treated her well, she had no complaints about that. The problem was Kathleen didn't know what to expect. Maybe they would fatten her up and cannibalize her. She really had no idea. Their language was useless. It was too foreign, too strange: they communicated in a series of clicks, grunts, and glottal noises. Their tails twitched and waved in the air, at times making Kathleen nervous.

Still, they were kind to her. They gave her food and were patient. They allowed their children to snuggle up to her and they gave her gifts. Kathleen looked at the spear the boy had given her. She would rather have her coveralls back. Out of modesty, she tied two pelts together and fashioned a brassiere top. It held her ample breasts securely and made her feel a little less exposed. The tribe laughed at her new clothing, but Kathleen didn't care, she felt better. After all, they had fur covering their bodies.

After having food and while the sun slipped behind the mountains to the west, a large fire was built outside the cave. The boys sat behind two hollow logs and began to beat a rhythm. The children chanted in unison and started to dance. The women joined in, pulling Kathleen in among them. She stamped her feet, mimicking the others as they danced in a circle around both her and the fire. On cue, the drumming ceased, and everyone stopped chanting. Kathleen was caught in mid-stride.

The old man rose and stood with Kathleen beside the fire. Then he began to talk. None of it made sense to Kathleen, but she was pretty sure that all the pomp and ritual had something to do with her. She found some solace in the fact that a meal had just been consumed. But then again, maybe it was just an appetizer. Maybe she was still the main course.

*

The old Bedoran looked at his audience. They all stared back at him with rapt attention. He pointed his gnarled tail at Kathleen. "As you all know, we have a stranger among us. Through its actions, it has shown that it is not an animal and not an enemy. The law says that if this creature can show its worth to the tribe, it should be called Bedoran."

Everyone shouted. Arai pounded on his drum. Grandfather waved his tail for quiet.

"That is why we have the ritual of inclusion. If this she-creature can survive a night in the forest, and find its way back, she may remain with the tribe."

Again, another shout went up.

"If the spirits of the forest protect her, if she is fit enough, I ask you all, as the eldest Bedoran, do you accept her inclusion?"

Arai spoke up first in the affirmative. A few others followed.

"So be it," the old man said. He turned to Kretin and asked for the crystal. Kretin gave it to him and the old man fished it out of its leather pouch. As before, he put the crystal in a sling and dangled it over the fire. After a moment, he pulled the sling away and the crystal stayed where it was, spinning in the air, two feet over the fire. Light shot out as it spun. Everybody, including Kathleen, watched in amazement.

"See the power," the old man said. "May the power go with the strange one and watch over her." He turned to the floating stone and scooped it up with a large wooden spoon. The end of the spoon burst into flame. He held it aloft for all to see. "Be happy with the forest spirits," he intoned.

Everyone repeated the words of the old man. The drums started up again and the tribe began to dance once more. Their feet stamped the ground and shook the fire. Embers floated into the darkening sky like fireflies.

Arai and Kretin in turn approached Kathleen and dressed her in the gifts they had given her. Kretin snuck his tail into Kathleen's hand and gently pulled her away from the fire toward the trail that led to the forest. The rest of the tribe stopped at the ledge. Kretin tugged Kathleen along the path.

Well, Kathleen thought, whatever's the worst thing that can happen is about to happen. She gripped the spear she carried and pulled away from Kretin's grip. Kretin turned around and urged Kathleen to follow. Kathleen didn't quite know what to do, but she was definitely afraid to follow.

She looked at the primitive in front of her. It was the same male who had brought her to this place. It was about the same height as her whenever it rose from its habitual stoop. Probably weighed about the same too. She thought about using the spear on it but changed her mind when a voice suddenly barked from behind.

It was the old one.

"Wait for me," he said to Kretin. "You cannot do this correctly without me along." He walked by Kathleen and deftly took her spear as he passed. "I will walk in front, Kretin, you walk in back. These old eyes can still see in the dark."

The old one led the way down the trail. Kretin stood behind Kathleen, so close it made her uncomfortable. Each time she started to slow or wander off the trail, he was right there. He never touched her. All he did was stand as close as he could without actually touching her. It was eerie how fast he could move.

They came to the stream and crossed it in the light of the rising moon. Kathleen wondered again if she was about to be killed. A sacrifice to a god by a primitive race of creatures nobody ever heard of. What a way to go.

The trees loomed ahead. The path continued up a slope and into the forest. As the small group entered the redwoods, another figure, unseen and smaller than the others, darted up the hill behind them.

*

From Blane's perspective, the confines of his compartment had grown from a fuzzy background to a hard, real space that had quickly become too small. The straitjacket was not uncomfortable. His mind was intact and clearer than it had been in years. He listened to his receiver implants and heard Nadine hailing the alien vessel. There were no other signals.

He briefly wondered what was happening elsewhere and remembered that Kathleen was gone. Immediately, the hunger for data rose within him. He shut his eyes and attempted to shut his mind as well. He was partially successful. Enough so that he began to think about how to get loose so he could find a terminal and break into the ship's computer. That would give him some relief. The immediate problem was the straitjacket.

His arms were crossed over his chest and bound by means of a strap that secured one arm to the other. The strap could only be reached from the back. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it was an adequate device for tying up a man.

Blane lay on his back. He raised his knees to his chest and worked the strap down his back to his hips. It was tight, but he managed to get it over his buttocks. Dragging it over his feet was even easier. After that, he simply pulled the jacket over his head.

He tossed the garment aside and it floated into a corner. The hunger rose again, and he glanced at the data terminal. He didn't have to try it to know he was locked out. The only way was to approach Fagen and talk his way back in. It wouldn't be easy. Blane had never had to ask for anything in his life.

*

On the bridge, Harry tensely watched the approach of the alien shuttle. It closed to within a thousand meters, then 500, then 200. At 50 meters it stopped and parked beside the Magellan. It was a small craft with navigation lights fore and aft as well as above and below. The nose, which Harry assumed housed the cockpit, was streamlined with airfoils spreading out from the tip all the way to the tail. There were no windows. At least nothing that he could see. A hump on top of the nose was large enough to house either an array of antennas or an observation post. If it wasn't for the greenish glow to the exhaust, the drive systems looked almost conventional.

"What are they doing?" Nadine wondered aloud.

"Checking us out," said Bonner.

"Hail it again," ordered Fagen.

"I just did."

"Again, please."

Nadine gave another radio call. As before, there was no response. Nadine shrugged. "Told you so."

"Shouldn't we move away?" Bonner suggested.

"No," Fagen replied, "let's let them have a good look at us."

The ship remained where it was, silent and unmoving. There was no indication of life. Harry tried to make something of the craft design. Perhaps it was an unmanned robotic vehicle. Harry suggested the possibility to Bonner.

"Could be, but it's pretty large for a drone. It's certainly big enough to house anything short of an elephant."

Their conversation was cut short when a beam of light sprang from the hump on the nose of the alien craft. It cut across the short expanse of space and played across the hull of the Magellan pausing as it ran across the Magellan's complex of antennas. A sudden burst of static caused Nadine to tear her headset from her ears.

"Wow! Static burst nearly put my ears offline!"

The beam of light moved away from the antennas and played across the cockpit, sending rays of light through the ports. The light searched and probed. It would rest for a moment at a particular place and then move on as if in search of something. Quite suddenly, it went out.

"What now?" Nadine asked.

Nobody said anything and the alien shuttle showed no indication of moving off. Something snaked its way out of the side of the spacecraft and drifted toward the Magellan. It appeared to be a thin line, a wire or cable that stretched out and wormed its way across the empty space between the two craft.

"Whatever it is, it's getting closer." Bonner said in an alarmed voice.

Harry watched. It wasn't his duty to make suggestions concerning the ship, so he had to stop himself from asking Fagen why they didn't avoid the thing that moved toward them. Fagen calmly sat at his position and watched the line stretch ever closer to the Magellan.

Bonner was just about to ask how close they were going to allow it to get when the thing shot forward the last few feet and attached itself to the hull with an audible clank.

Nadine turned to Fagen and railed at him. "We could've moved away while we had the chance! But no, we had to sit here because of your scientific curiosity!"

"Take it easy," commanded Fagen, "check your instruments." Nadine huffed and turned back to her board.

"We have aberrant electro-magnetic signals pulsing through the hull. They're coming from that ship, there's no doubt about it. What are we going to do about it?"

"For the present, nothing."

Nadine had reached the limit of what she could take. "Are you crazy?" She looked at Fagen with contempt. "If you want to risk your life, go right ahead, but don't take the rest of us down with you! Kathleen's gone, Doris is dead. What's it going to take?"

Nonplussed, Fagen retorted, "I'll take your comments under consideration."

"That's just not good enough," Nadine said as she rose from her position.

"Sit down, Nadine," said Bonner. "This isn't doing us any good."

"Neither is just sitting here."

"What would you have us do?" Fagen asked.

"Get the hell out of here. We've done our job, we've earned our bonuses, now let's just leave!"

Harry squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. "Nadine, we have actual contact with an advanced race for the first time in human history. Don't you see the opportunity here?"

"We've got enough data already," she argued. "We can't sift through it fast enough. Let's take what we've got and go!"

"Perhaps you need rest, Nadine. Would you prefer spending the remainder of your shift in your quarters?"

Nadine glared at Fagen. Without another word, she angrily settled back into her seat and strapped herself down. She stared at her monitor in silence.

A voice came from the control room hatchway.

"What's going on?"

They all turned away from their monitors and looked at Blane.

"What are you doing here?" asked Bonner.

"Well," said Blane, sounding in control of himself, "I thought you might need some help."

Fagen eyed the wirehead suspiciously. "How are you feeling, Bart?"

Blane drifted over to a vacant position. "Not too bad. Sure would like to plug into the ship's computer."

"Can you stay calm enough? We've got a touchy situation here. I don't need any more static at the moment." Fagen shot Nadine a glance.

"I'm okay, just let me into the computer. Okay? Please?"

As smart as Blane was, his emotional development lagged far behind his intellectual abilities. Harry didn't know what Fagen would do. Could they depend on the young genius? One thing was sure, Blane could soak up information at a rate far faster than any other crewmember. That was why Fagen had recruited him in the first place. If Blane didn't start raving again, the team could use him.

"Sit down," said Fagen. Harry got up and let the wirehead take the co-commander's seat.

"Where's Doris?" asked Blane as he strapped himself down and plugged himself into the ship's computer. "Ah, that's better," he said.

Harry began to tell Blane about the events that had transpired, but Nadine snapped at him, interrupting him.

"Don't tell him that. You'll just set him off again."

"Don't tell me what?"

Nadine glared. Harry shrugged. "Doris is dead. Killed on an EVA to the alien ship. An alien shuttle has attached itself to our hull..."

Blane shut his eyes and completed the sentence for Harry. "...and we are now being probed by electro-pulses."

"What else, Blane?" Fagen asked. "What else can you tell me?"

"Ah, the pulses have avoided the life support routines. They've located our databases and are browsing through the libraries."

"Don't let 'em do that," said Bonner.

"Too late. They're out of there. Now they've moved on to our sensory systems."

"Can you communicate with them?"

"I don't know. I'll try." Blane did nothing noticeable. His eyes remained closed and his expression was unchanged."

"Uh, got something here."

"What is it?"

Blane didn't answer immediately. Tension grew on the bridge as the others waited.

"Strange," he whispered. "Their computers control the probe. Something odd about their network. I don't know. They're probing, exploring the Magellan."

"What do they want?"

"I don't know. Just a minute." Blane gripped the arm rests on his chair and opened his eyes. "Contact broken," he declared.

"Detect any hostility?" Fagen asked.

"No, they're exploring. Trying to figure us out."

"Why don't they answer our radio signals then?"

"I don't know." Blane looked thoughtful. It was obvious he had come across something he didn't understand. A rare event for the young genius. "Their neural nets are fascinating. So fast. Infinite feedback, practically simultaneous."

"How can that be? That would defy the laws of physics."

"As far as we know," added Bart. "Apparently not, as far as they know."

"The thing's moving off," Bonner reported.

The commander turned back to his monitor. "Nadine, begin checking data integrity."

"That's gonna take..."

"I don't want to hear it, Nadine. Just do it." The navigator turned back to her console in a huff. Fagen didn't seem to notice. "Bart, if you can keep your wits about you, I'd like an analysis from you on the alien probe. Bill, back us off another 5000 meters."

Harry again looked down at the partially deciphered message. The few words he had managed to translate did little to reveal the remainder of the message. It bothered Harry. It was something he should have been able to guess, but so far, all his attempts had failed. Then, quite suddenly, it came to him. Although there were still plenty of words missing, he knew what the message said: like a sign telling intruders to beware, it was a warning to stay away. No trespassing, it said.

*

The soft forest floor muffled Kathleen's footsteps. It was dark and quiet, like walking through a cathedral. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust and she almost lost sight of the old man. Kathleen was afraid -- not of the forest and all the strange things that dwelt there, but of what she feared might happen to her there. She thought about breaking away and making a run for it. Where would she go? The way the younger Bedoran moved, she knew escape was impossible. Besides, this was their home. Kathleen, on the other hand, had been there something short of three days. If they wanted to kill her, she wouldn't have a chance.

Dejected, she followed the old man. They walked for a long time. Kathleen's blistered feet began bothering her and she slowed a little. Kretin was right there at her shoulder so close Kathleen could feel his breath on her back. Seeing that Kretin had never set eyes on a toothbrush and, according to Bedoran custom, washed only once a month, he didn't smell very good. Kathleen continued along and tried to ignore her feet and the primitive's odor.

The old man finally slowed, then stopped and took a good look around. Kretin followed suit. Satisfied there was no immediate danger lurking in the shadows, the old man turned and faced Kathleen. Kretin moved to his side.

"Well," said Kathleen, "I guess this is it."

The old man looked at her for a long, questioning second, then said to Kretin. "I do believe the creature thinks we are going to kill it."

"And waste the meat?"

"Never mind." Facing Kathleen, he said, "I give you this staff..." He handed the spear to the woman. "...to protect against the terrors of the night. I pass the strength of the Bedorans to you and pray that the forest spirits grant you safe passage back to haven."

With that, both Bedorans took a step backward. The old man raised his hand. In his palm he held the crystal. As Kathleen watched, the stone began to glow. It flashed briefly and temporarily blinded her. By the time she recovered, both males were gone.

She frantically looked around. No sign, no sound of anything. It was as if the two aborigines had never been there.

# Chapter 22

Out of all the scenarios she had imagined, being stranded in a dark forest wasn't one of them. Kathleen sat down and rubbed her feet. She didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. She was alive but she didn't know where she was or which way to go. Stranded on an uncharted planet and forced to wear Monte Carlo swimwear by stone-age primates.

The forest was dark and quiet. The natural sounds of the woods played havoc with Kathleen's imagination. She peered into the darkness. What to do? She considered building a fire, then thought maybe it would attract wild animals. There was nothing to build a fire with anyway. For a brief moment, panic welled up within the young woman. She took a deep breath and brought herself under control. At this point, her options were few. She could stay where she was and become the next meal for a hungry alien carnivore, or she could do something for herself. She got to her feet and headed in what she hoped was a southerly direction.

Kathleen reasoned that the team would return to the same area, probably to the same clearing, to look for her. That was where she decided to go. The problem was the forest floor was so dark it was impossible to guess which direction would take her there. Ten minutes of wandering and stumbling in the dark got her nowhere. Somehow, she needed to get her bearings. If she could see the sky, she might be able to figure out which way to go.

She stumbled on and looked for a clearing. It didn't take long before she found what she searched for: a grassy, moonlit field between the great trees.

Hiding at the edge of the darkened meadow, Kathleen watched and waited before walking out into the open. The wind blew through the treetops, rustling the branches and making an easy, soothing sound. The second moon was coming up adding to the light cast by the first. Kathleen spun around, thinking she had heard the padding of feet, or paws, upon the forest floor. She scanned the shadows behind her. Seeing nothing, she returned her gaze to the open field.

The stars twinkled overhead while the larger of the two moons dominated the sky. Out from under the forest canopy, there was plenty of light and it revealed nothing but more forest. Kathleen walked to the center of the field and looked upward. She hoped to see a small point of light crossing the heavens, an assurance that her team aboard the Magellan still maintained its orbital position, but she was disappointed. There was nothing to indicate the Magellan was there.

For the first time, she entertained the thought that her team might have left her for good. Perhaps they had already returned to look and, unable to find her, assumed she was dead. Even now, they might be entering Earth space on their return. Kathleen forced the thoughts from her mind and looked at the sky.

Like the Earth's moon, the moons of Mia Culpa rose in the east and traveled west through the night hours. Kathleen faced the second rising moon and determined which direction to take. South was to her right. Over the trees, some miles away, she spotted a craggy peak. That was the landmark she chose to guide her way.

There was nothing but grass between her and the edge of the forest. She turned to the south and started on her way, hoping she would come across a trail that led in the right direction. At the trees, she hesitated. Was that a noise behind her? She looked out over the moonlit meadow. It was empty as before, but the nagging thought remained that something was following.

She turned back to the trees and hurried away. It was difficult to see through the deep shadows. Every few steps she stopped to make certain she was headed in the right direction and to find another tree, or limb, or shadow to mark a new reference point. Now her biggest fear was that she would spend hours traveling in circles.

A twig popped. In the calm forest, it sounded like a gun blast. Kathleen stopped, listened, and watched. Nothing showed. This time she was sure something was there.

Sighting a new bearing, she set off again. Off to the side, a shadow seemed to move. The wind came up. Kathleen couldn't feel it, but she could hear it in the treetops. The increased volume stayed steady for several seconds before she recognized it for what it was: the sound of air being beat by rotors. With her heart pounding, she turned back in the direction of the clearing and ran as fast as she could.

As she ran, she realized she'd been walking in circles after all. She recognized trees she had passed. The clearing should be straight ahead. The craft was straight ahead as well. Kathleen could see lights. She dropped the spear and the small bag and began to shout as she ran.

There was one big tree between her and the clearing. Bright lights illuminated the landing area. She ran under the spreading branches and made straight for the clearing. Grass blew violently under the exhaust of air fans.

Halfway there she stumbled on an exposed root and nearly fell. Recovering, she stood upright and almost ran into a shadow that suddenly loomed over her. Incredibly strong hands gripped her by the arms and ankles. A strap was looped around her elbows and before she had time to cry out, she was pushed onto the ground. The hands that gripped her ankles jerked her legs into the air, and then, with little effort, pulled her straight up into the branches overhead.

A furry hand clamped over her mouth and prevented her from screaming. As she was dragged higher, between the branches she glimpsed the craft as it descended into the meadow. It set down and the engines shut off. Whatever held her suddenly stood absolutely still. Its breathing slowed to practically nothing and Kathleen could feel its strong, slow heartbeat.

The branches prevented Kathleen from seeing the shuttle, but she heard the sound of an opening hatch. Realizing it might be her only chance for rescue, she began to struggle. Kicking her legs free, she managed a half turn and was surprised to see the same young aborigine who had been with her since her first capture. He looked scared.

He said something incomprehensible and removed his hand. Kathleen opened her mouth and started to shout but he immediately clamped his hand over her mouth again. She tried to struggle free, but he held her tightly by the strap tying her arms.

Below, someone walked into the forest. Kathleen spotted the shadow as it moved under the tree. There was something odd about it. It didn't move like a person. She stopped struggling and looked closer.

What she saw was wholly unexpected.

As the creature stepped under the branches, Kathleen saw it wasn't one of the survey team. For one thing it was too big.

The thing walked in a strange manner, delicately picking its way along the forest floor. Its three spindly legs moved like a spider, churning quickly, then stopping as it inspected the territory. Kathleen grew very still: this wasn't a rescue.

It seemed to be searching for something. It wandered under the trees systematically, covering one area and then moving on to another.

Arai edged closer to the trunk of the great tree. Kathleen moved with him. She didn't know what was below, but it didn't look friendly. From the boy's reaction, Kathleen knew it was dangerous.

Soundlessly, Arai untied the strap from Kathleen's arms. She stretched and the strap fell to the ground. The creature had left the immediate area but now spun about and looked for the source of the noise.

Arai pulled on Kathleen and motioned for her to follow. They moved down the branch looking for an avenue of escape. Kathleen didn't move as nimbly as her companion and inadvertently dragged a foot along the bark. The beast reacted immediately and rushed to a spot directly beneath them.

Kathleen and the boy squatted in a crook of the tree and watched from the shadows. The creature knew something was there. As the two watched, it began to emit a high-pitched sound and started to lift off the ground. Fortunately, the branches prevented it from flying freely. Both Kathleen and Arai cowered and remained perfectly still.

The monster, frustrated by its inability to search through the branches of the great tree, returned to the ground and walked back to the clearing. Arai jumped out of the shadows and beckoned for Kathleen to follow. Together, they ran as far as they could until they had to change branches. At the end of the next branch, they ran out of choices. If they were to go any farther, they would have to take to the ground.

The boy looked toward the clearing and, seeing that the coast was clear, jumped to the ground. He turned to Kathleen and motioned for her to follow. The branch upon which she stood was nearly nine feet above the ground. Kathleen didn't think she could safely make the jump, so she prepared to hang and drop.

As she positioned herself, Arai crouched and looked toward the clearing. Something was wrong. In alarm, he jumped up and ran in the opposite direction. Kathleen hesitated. Behind her the same whining sound started up again. She turned to look just in time to see the thing floating up among the branches on the opposite side of the tree. She took a breath, dropped to the ground and ran after the boy, but by then he was nowhere to be seen. Breathlessly, she rounded a tree and rested with her back against the trunk. She peeked back in the direction from which she had just fled. The creature was on the ground and coming her way.

Taking care to keep the great tree trunk between her and the monster, Kathleen ran deeper into the forest. Behind her, the creature heard her retreating footsteps and changed course. As she passed the next tree, she heard a singing in the air and suddenly a metallic javelin struck the trunk, missing her by mere inches, driving its shaft deep into the bark.

Panic took over and she ran without thought, concentrating only on moving her feet as fast as they would go. The creature had seen her and continued its pursuit. Each time she glanced over her shoulder it seemed to have gained a little more ground. Through the trees, she saw a light and changed her course toward it.

There was not a moment to spare. She hoped the light would offer some sort of protection, maybe it was Harry and Fagen, come to rescue her. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The light originated from a second creature that stood beside a structure in another clearing set between the trees. The monster was motionless and appeared to be waiting. Kathleen ducked between two oversized tree roots. In front of her, the second tri-legged monster squatted and waited while behind her, the first one closed in.

She had only seconds before the thing reached her. She had to do something immediately. Without another thought, she jumped over the root and looked for an escape avenue but found there was nowhere to run without being seen. Without a place to go, she stood transfixed by the approaching terror.

A new sound got her attention; a soft hiss came from very near. Kathleen looked but saw nothing. Of course, it was very dark, but the sound seemed to originate from just a few feet away. She looked closer and was barely able to make out a beckoning hand. It reached from the ground as if a corpse was trying to dig its way out of a grave.

She stared as it waved to her. The hissing sound came again. Steeling herself, she inched closer to the hole in the ground and looked down. Again, the hand emerged from the darkness. It was the boy's hand. He had found a hole, a cave, and was now hiding within. Frantically, he waved for Kathleen to crawl inside.

Kathleen looked up. The creature approached. Kathleen had no choice. She crawled inside the small cave. Arai moved deeper inside, giving her more room. Overhead she heard the creature as it walked over the area. She moved deeper into the cave as a shadow fell over the entrance.

A blinding light shined into the shadows followed by a long metallic shaft that stabbed into the entrance mere inches from Kathleen's face. She clapped both hands over her own mouth to keep from screaming. The shaft withdrew and then came thrusting down again at a slightly different angle, this time a little farther away. After a few more stabbing thrusts, the creature showed no more interest and went away.

For a long time, the Bedoran boy and the young woman sat in the hole without moving, listening for the creature. Kathleen wondered if it was not waiting for them just outside. If so, how long would it wait? For that matter, what was it? And what did it want? Kathleen didn't think she wanted to know. So, she waited.

Time passed. Occasionally, she was sure she heard something moving overhead, but whatever it was, it never tried to get her and the boy out of their hiding place. Kathleen was tired, dirty, and beginning to wonder if she would make it out of the situation alive. The boy slept peacefully through it all.

Light seeped into the dark and Kathleen realized she had dozed off. To her relief, it was sunlight. They had managed to survive into the morning.

Arai's eyes popped open. He wordlessly looked at Kathleen, then motioned for her to move a little to one side. She did so and the boy crawled past her. Moving slowly and deliberately, he got to his feet and peeked out. With the light, Kathleen was able to better see where she was. The hole was curiously regular. Whether it was made by erosion or by other means she couldn't tell. It was more of a small cave than just a hole in the ground, but it appeared to have caved in at the deep end. Kathleen noted that the dirt was freshly dug which ruled out erosion as the source. Arai motioned to her and she turned her attention back to the opening.

She moved into the light and crouched at the bottom of the hole. The boy stood beside her, making no move to climb out. Kathleen stood until her eyes were at ground level.

It was another beautiful day on Mia Culpa. Sunlight streamed down among the massive branches and illuminated the forest. A short distance away, Kathleen could see a small building, obviously too sophisticated to be attributed to construction by the aborigines. There was no movement and no sign of the creatures she had seen the previous evening.

Arai, with help from Kathleen, shimmied out of the hole. Using his tail, he reached down and took Kathleen by the hand. With relatively little effort, she was lifted out. Once again, Kathleen marveled at the strength of the little fellow.

He looked at Kathleen and she could almost swear he smiled. She had no idea if a smile among the primitives meant the same thing as a smile among humans, but in any case, it didn't appear to be a hostile expression.

Outside the cave at last, the Earth woman took a quick look about. There was no activity around the low building that sat in the small clearing. It was oddly constructed. There were no windows and, at least from the side Kathleen could see, no doors either. She couldn't imagine what it was used for, much less who or what had built it.

Arai wanted to leave the area, to go in the opposite direction away from the building. Kathleen hesitated. There was no movement, nothing to indicate the presence of the strange creatures. She took a step toward the building. Arai made a whining sound. Kathleen looked back. The boy looked at her and waved his tail frantically, and then, with a pointing digit, indicated that he wanted to go the other way.

Kathleen wanted to check out the building. If there was another intelligence on Mia Culpa, an intelligence capable of building sophisticated structures, perhaps whoever had built it would help her contact the members of her crew aboard the Magellan. It was a long shot and she knew it, but at the moment it seemed to be her only shot. The mysterious creatures she had seen the night before were nowhere to be seen. For all she knew, they were gone.

She urged the boy to accompany her. Stubbornly, he refused. But he didn't go away either. He moved to the closest tree and climbed up into the lower branches. From his perch he watched Kathleen as she stepped toward the clearing.

The structure wasn't as large as she originally thought. It was circular and low with a portion of its roof flattened out. On the flat part was something that looked familiar, like a solar heat collector. Although the design was one she'd never seen before, the collector was a popular source of energy for people on Earth and had been for nearly two centuries. Nothing special about that. She circled the building.

The opposite side was a mirror image of the first side. It was perhaps thirty feet by forty-five with seamless walls that showed no sign of windows or doors. Its purpose was not readily apparent.

Kathleen approached the structure warily. It looked to be built from a molded material because its surface was perfectly smooth. At one end the grass was trampled as if someone had walked up to it. The trail led back into the trees, in the direction of the larger clearing.

Kathleen looked to the tree in which the boy sat. If she hadn't known exactly where he was, she couldn't have spotted him. He sat on his perch and watched her with great interest. He saw her look at him, and he twitched his tail in response. Kathleen waved back and felt silly doing so.

The sun beat down on her exposed body. She thought about going back into the forest where it was cool but decided to take a closer look at the building first.

Passing out of view of the boy, she approached the building. Two feet from the wall, she felt a tingling sensation. She stretched out her hand and felt pricks of electricity. A force field.

She peered forward. It looked as though a tiny, vertical seam had formed in the few seconds that she stood there. Fascinated, she leaned even closer. In the next moment, before Kathleen could react, the seam opened, and a pair of smooth, massive arms reached out and pulled her into the building. The seam resealed itself in seconds.

*

In the trees facing the opposite side of the building the young Bedoran sat and watched. When the female didn't show herself, he moved to another branch in order to get a better angle. He was surprised to see she wasn't there and couldn't imagine where she had gone. He twisted his neck, as a bird might, and looked all around. She was nowhere in sight.

In his experience, he had never encountered a building of any kind. Nothing more than a few rocks piled on top of one another. So, the structure itself was fairly imposing for the young Bedoran. The idea that Kathleen had gone inside didn't even cross his mind. It was perplexing.

Well, he reasoned, the first virtue of the hunter is patience. With that, he settled back and made himself comfortable.

# Chapter 23

"The alien shuttle is returning to the surface," said Bonner.

"Keep a track on it," said Fagen, "see if you can determine where it lands." Fagen turned to Blane. "How are you doing, Bart?"

"I'm okay."

"Not going to go crazy on us again, are you?"

"I said I'm alright."

"Okay, okay. Are you ready with your analysis of the alien probe?"

"I suppose. There's not much to tell. It was a two-way pulse that sought out our computer circuitry and strolled through. It bypassed our software security without a pause. I don't understand how it did it, but it was able to access any file it wanted. The transfer of data was done at an amazing rate. The good news is I was able to access the alien computer, if that's what it was."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the data pathways are unlike anything we have. They seem to be based on a neural network, which is no surprise, but it's certainly not a human neural network. It's not that it's just extraordinarily fast, the connections allow for simultaneous transactions. That's where it differs from our own neural-based networks. Understand, I only got a glimpse of the processing power. What I saw, what I felt, well, it was weird. It was as if I was hooked up to something alive. And it was aware of me."

"Are you saying the alien computer is alive?"

"Uh, well, it sure seemed to have those characteristics. There was definitely some sort of embedded consciousness."

"What is its purpose? Curiosity? Exploration?"

"No, definitely not that. I think it was assessing any threat we might offer."

"Were you able to discern its conclusions?"

"Yeah, sure. It doesn't believe we offer any kind of threat."

"So, what is it going to do?"

"About us?" Blane asked.

Fagen nodded.

"Nothing. Ignore us."

Fagen stared, unblinking, as if he was having trouble hearing what Blane said. "Ignore... us?"

"We're no threat, therefore of no interest."

*

While Blane continued to discuss the alien computer with Fagen while below, in the ship's galley, Nadine and Harry talked over a lunch of dried fruits and juice. Nadine was angry.

"What are we doing here? We've got the data. Why don't we just leave? I mean, what's it going to take? Two people are dead already..."

Harry interrupted. "We don't know if Kathleen is dead."

"Well, she might as well be. Bonner says using the shuttle again is risky."

"But not impossible."

"Yes, well, I think we should cut our losses and get out of here."

"But Nadine," Harry protested, "there's an advanced species out there. Something we've never seen before. This is a golden opportunity."

"Yeah. A golden opportunity to get us all killed."

"We don't know that."

"I thought we did. Wasn't Doris attacked?"

"Yes, that's true. But I was there and I'm not willing to pass judgment until I can at least review the video record."

"Well, you can forget about that."

"What do you mean?"

"Fagen told me the diskette was damaged. It was useless."

Harry was shocked. "He didn't tell me."

"That's what he said, Harry."

Harry sat back in his chair. As far as he knew there had been no damage to the diskette. Why hadn't Fagen told him? Harry felt the uneasiness creeping back.

Parker stuck his head in the open galley hatch.

"Would you two join me on the bridge? I have some news critical to the mission that I'd like to share with everyone."

"What is it?" Nadine asked.

"I'd prefer to tell everyone at once, if you don't mind."

Nadine frowned. "All right. Now?"

"Yes," the doctor replied. He backed out of the hatch. Nadine, with a sigh, rose and followed.

Harry popped another dried peach into his mouth and followed Nadine up to the bridge. When they arrived, everyone but Bonner was there.

Fagen looked at Parker. "What did you want to say, doctor?"

Parker asked where the systems engineer was.

"In the hanger bay taking another look at the shuttle."

"I'd like him to hear this as well."

"All right." Over the intercom, Fagen asked Bonner to join them on the bridge. Minutes later, the engineer floated through the bridge access hatch.

"What's up?"

"The doc wants to tell us something. How's the shuttle look?"

"Better than I thought at first. I mean it's not like it just got out of the garage or anything, but I don't think it's as bad as I first thought."

"You mean we can use it?"

Bonner sighed. "If we have to. It'll hold together. Still, we need to be careful, keep an eye on the patches I've made, and be careful not to put unnecessary stress on the engines."

"That's good news," said Fagen. He turned to the doctor. "Now, what did you want to tell us?"

"Yes, well, as you know, I've been studying the characteristics of the native life forms, at least those we've encountered so far. I think we can safely assume that the alien ship is not from the planet."

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. That wasn't news. There was no technology on the surface, no sign of advanced culture other than the primitives, and they certainly didn't have the capability of building spaceships.

Parker continued. "The genetic makeup of the samples I gathered on the surface indicate that all the life forms have undergone millions of years of natural selection. That's where the problem arises."

"What problem?"

"It's really quite simple. Our geologic surveys prove that Mia Culpa is a planet that is still in its infant stages, by geological standards. I see no way that the life forms we've found could have evolved within the geological time of the planet. There's also the problem of determining why there is no other area on the planet where there is life. Of any kind. The forested area along the coast is the only place on the planet where life exists in abundance. The rest of the place is either desert or swamp. Lots of volcanic activity, even at altitudes. That is, except for the forests between the coast and the mountain range. It's very odd. It's as if life has been planted here."

For a moment, no one said anything. Parker's information sunk in slowly.

"So," Bonner said, "where did all the life come from?"

"Not on the planet. From elsewhere."

"But how?" Nadine asked.

"I don't know. But with the appearance of the alien craft, I can only surmise that all planetary life forms were brought here by an alien presence, perhaps the same ones we've encountered."

"What for?"

Parker shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. All I can say is that the samples I've collected are too advanced to have evolved on this planet. Additionally, there are planetary formations that are most peculiar. Natural, geologic vents have been closed by processes that do not appear to be natural. The amount of oxygen in the atmosphere is rather shocking, considering that only a small amount of the planetary landmass is covered with vegetation. I have no explanation for that other than to speculate that massive terra-forming has taken place in the past."

Fagen sat impassive, listening as if none of it was a surprise.

"There's also a problem with the ambient radiation. Soil analysis proves that the planet has been periodically bombarded by high speed particles in the past. Enough to kill everything. It seems to me that the entire planet should be a desert wasteland. As you know, it's not."

"How could that be?" asked Bonner. "Miaplacidus is a stable star. Big and bright, for sure, but stable. Its natural radiation isn't enough to burn everything up."

Parker nodded. "That's why I suggest we do a quick survey of the other stars in the local group. Maybe one of them is responsible. Again, from the samples I've learned that Mia Culpa is periodically scorched by radiation. Enough so that there should be nothing alive on the surface."

"Have you been able to determine the last time?"

Parker shrugged. "Hard to say. Hundreds, maybe thousands of years. Possibly longer." He looked at his companions. "That's it in a nutshell. Anything beyond is just speculation."

Harry wished he could contribute to the discussion. Parker's report was bewildering. Terraforming? Importation of life? Were the aliens responsible?

Fagen looked at Blane. "Any comments, Bart?"

Blane sat with his eyes closed, comfortable within the rapture of cyberspace. "Not at this time," he replied.

"Anybody else?" Fagen looked around the cabin. Everybody was still letting the information sink in. Nobody had any ideas. Bonner announced that the alien shuttle had landed on the surface of the planet. He noted the coordinates and gave them to Blane who, in turn, fed the location to telemetry. In moments, the long-distance sensors found the area.

The computer enhanced the scene and a picture sprang into view on the monitors. The alien craft looked like a bug on a magnified field of green cloth. Nearby, a small structure squatted in an adjacent clearing.

"That's the place we saw before," said Nadine.

"Sure is," said Fagen. "And," he added, "it's not far from where we lost Kathleen." The commander turned to Harry. "How about another ride?"

"I'm ready when you are."

A sour expression crossed Nadine's face. "Whoa, now, wait a minute. Think about it! The shuttle's broken, we got hostile activity, and two MIA's. Do we really want to press our luck?"

"The shuttle'll fly," Bonner said confidently. "You just have to take it easy with the maneuvering jets."

Parker looked at Bonner. "Will it get us down _and_ back up?"

A little surprised, Fagen asked the doctor, "Are you volunteering for this EVA?"

"Why, yes, I suppose I am." The doctor surprised himself.

"Good. That's settled. We'll shoot for departure in, let's say, 45 minutes. No sampling gear this time, Doctor, just sensors and recorders. Both of you meet me in the hanger bay in ten minutes. Bill, is the pre-flight complete?"

Bonner nodded.

"Good. You and Nadine keep your heads up. Watch the other ship. Monitor us. Let us know of any changes."

Nadine couldn't resist. "I still believe you should think about this." She spread her hands. "We're not set up here for any long-term observation. If we go back now, the Corporation is sure to send out dozens of teams to verify what we've seen. They'll be better equipped and better prepared."

Fagen said nothing and he never changed expression as he listened. After she finished, she waited for a response.

"What's your point?"

Nadine adopted an incredulous expression. Exasperated, she shook her head, "Nothing, forget it."

After the EVA team left the bridge, Nadine turned to Bonner. "If something happens to them, don't say I didn't try to stop them. I'll tell you something else, I can drive this ship just as well as anybody else."

She looked over at Blane. His eyes were closed, and his left hand twitched rhythmically in time with a beat only he could hear. A smile was pasted across his face.

"He doesn't even care," said Nadine to Bonner, "just so long as he can plug himself in. Hey Blane!"

Without opening his eyes, Blane answered laconically, "Yes?"

"This is reality out here. Not in there!"

"How do you know?" replied the wirehead.

"I'm not going to argue with an addict. Just keep your inquiries out of my databases."

Blane said nothing in reply.

By the time Parker stepped into the hanger bay, Harry and Fagen were already pulling equipment out of lockers and transferring it to the shuttle. Fagen opened a sealed locker and called to both Harry and the doctor.

"Help me with this," he instructed Harry. Together, they pulled out a large, bulky package. Peeling off the protective covering revealed sets of body armor; lightweight, high-impact resistant, plastic plates fashioned into suits. Accompanying the suits were total-vision helmets complete with intercoms and infrared night-vision.

"Where did you get this stuff?" asked Harry.

"Be prepared, Harry. Isn't that the Braithwaite motto? Let's get this stowed away. We've got weapons this time as well."

"I've never shot a gun," Parker admitted.

"Not to worry," said Fagen. "I'll let you have the blaster. It works like an old shotgun. Just point and pull the trigger."

"No, you don't understand. I've never killed anything before. I'm a doctor. I preserve and study life, not take it away."

Fagen, amused, looked hard at the doctor. "Well," he said, "I can respect that. But, just in case something attacks you and at the last minute you decide you'd like to live, I would like you to carry the blaster. Just don't shoot me or Harry by mistake."

A sullen Parker argued no further.

"Can I ask you something?" said Harry.

"What?"

"What happened to the diskette? Nadine says it was damaged."

"Yeah. It was."

"Is that it?"

"What can I say, Harry? It was a screw-up, a glitch. It happens."

"What happened to the diskette? Maybe I can reconstruct it."

"No, it was shot. No way to reassemble the data."

"You threw it away?"

"Yes."

"I can dig it out of the trash..."

"No. You can't do that either."

"Why not?"

"Afraid I already jettisoned all the trash."

Harry didn't understand. He had the means and the know-how to reassemble data from a damaged disk. For that matter, so did Blane and Nadine, probably Bonner too.

"That's too bad," Harry commented.

"Yeah," agreed Fagen, "guess I didn't think it through."

Another flag went up. Fagen thought of everything, habitually. It was out of character for him to forget something. No, Harry thought, there was something else going on.

"Here," said Fagen as he handed Harry the power supply for a portable beam generator.

"Put that in the shuttle."

"Right," Harry said and floated away with the device.

Parker looked awkward holding the blaster. While he thought the others weren't looking, he brandished the weapon against an imaginary opponent.

When preparations were completed, the three men climbed into the shuttle, strapped themselves in, and sealed the hatches. After decompression, the bay doors opened and automated grips in the deck released the moorings. At the same time, the shuttle's computer issued a command that caused air jets to fire and nudged the craft backwards out of the bay.

Again, Harry sat in the lower compartment while Fagen and Parker sat in the cockpit. Fagen concentrated on his readouts and monitored the separation procedure. Parker assisted the commander with radio communications.

Through his port, Harry could see the hull of the Magellan and through a viewport in the control section he had a clear view of Nadine at her position. She checked her board and passed clearance to the shuttle. "You are clear. Proceed on set course for fifteen ticks, then position for entry."

"That is affirmative," said Parker, speaking into his headset.

With computer-guided precision, the shuttle positioned itself for entry. The engines ignited and burned for three seconds, pushing the craft into its controlled glide into the atmosphere. Entry was a little rough. Harry gripped the sides of his seat as the lander was tossed on high-speed crosswinds in the upper atmosphere. The computers maintained stability and the shuttle burned into the air of Mia Culpa.

# Chapter 24

Arai sat in his tree and scratched himself. He'd waited for a long time and there was still no sign of the female. Three times he had seen game and been tempted to leave his hiding spot in order to stalk the fresh flesh. He was hungry and a little bored. The disappearance of the female was a mystery. Arai felt sure that the odd structure was the reason, but how he couldn't imagine.

It occurred to him that his Grandfather might know. For a moment, he considered going back and asking, but he also knew the old one would be angry with him for following the female. According to the rules of the inclusion ritual, she was supposed to survive on her own until she found her way back. Doing so would prove her worth and afterwards she could be initiated into the tribe.

But Arai had broken the rules. He had followed the initiate. Grandfather would be angry. The boy remained where he was while he considered his next move.

Gradually, a high, rushing sound reached his ears. It grew louder and louder until it sounded like sustained thunder. The tree trembled and Arai became so afraid that, for a second, his eyes rolled up and he almost passed out. Then, as quickly as it had risen, the sound abated and finally ceased altogether.

For a while, Arai sat in his perch, panting and listening. Hunger, or fear, or more likely a combination of the two, finally drove him out. He stayed to the trees and worked his way north, in the direction of his tribe.

*

The Corporation shuttle landed in a clearing a half mile from the alien building. To everyone's relief, the shuttle performed flawlessly. It was a testament to Bonner's skill with mechanics.

Upon touchdown, Harry removed his crash straps and fitted himself with the body armor. He found that although the armor restricted his movement, it also gave him a sense of security. The high-impact, hardened plastic plates would not permit intrusive entry, either by projectile or by stabbing weapons. Beam weapons were another matter. Harry hoped that, in any case, the durability of the armor would not be tested.

Harry had never worn a full-vision armor helmet and was disoriented when he pulled it on. The helmet was aptly named. The exterior surface was made of polished carbon resin. The darkened gray faceplate looked as though it was too dark to see through, but when Harry pulled it over his head, he discovered he could see equally well in all directions. From inside, the entire helmet was transparent. In addition to the intercom and infrared devices, there was also a telescoping capability that allowed the wearer to increase his viewing power.

Fagen and Parker likewise donned their armor. They checked their systems and opened the hatch. Stepping from the shuttle, Parker comically held his blaster at ready. Harry and Fagen talked about using the hovercraft.

"It'll alert anything here." Harry said. "They can hear us coming..."

"Are you kidding? Hell, man, I'll bet everything that has legs in a mile's diameter is still running away from this spot. We made some noise coming down, Harry."

"Uh, I guess you're right."

"Look, we're only a half mile from the alien landing site. That's an easy hike. Let's leave the hovercraft. We can drag it out later if we need to."

"We'd have a better chance of finding Kathleen if we used it." Harry added.

"Hopefully she saw the shuttle coming down and she's on her way to us right now." Fagen looked at the surrounding forest. "Motion sensors reporting yet?"

"There's nothing in the immediate area."

"Okay, looks like we've got about three hours of sunlight left. Barring any unforeseen accidents, plan on spending the night in the shuttle. I've turned on the homing beacon so if any of us are separated we'll be able to find our way back. Any questions?"

Parker and Harry shook their heads.

"All right," said Fagen, "let's move out."

"Me too?" Parker asked.

"Yes, you too." Fagen replied.

"But shouldn't one of us stay with the shuttle? Corporation rules state..."

"I know what the rules say, Doctor."

"Well, shouldn't we..."

"No, we shouldn't. We're going to stay together. If Kathleen finds the shuttle before we return, she knows how to gain entry. Now let's go."

There was no more argument from the doctor and the three men stepped into the forest.

Harry checked the time and direction by glancing at the heads-up display on the inside of his helmet. He wondered if Kathleen were still alive somewhere, if she had somehow managed to survive. She was; he was certain.

As he walked through the forest, following Parker and bringing up the rear, Harry entertained the notion of again encountering the aborigines. Before Parker had told everybody that he thought all life on the planet was imported, Harry had reckoned the natives to be indigenous primitive hunters and gatherers. Still, Parker's theory was startling. If the aborigines weren't native to the planet, where were they from? And how did they get there?

Harry thought about the great migrations of human history and why, at certain times, people picked up and moved in mass. There were plenty of reasons: lack of food and/or water, threats from neighbors, conquering armies, slavery, and plain old curiosity, just to name a few. But the primitives on Mia Culpa didn't have the means to transport themselves from one planet to another. If what Parker said was true, the aborigines or their descendants were most likely brought there by another party, a party advanced enough to possess the means for travel through space.

Could it be that the aliens he encountered had brought the primitives to the planet? Either them or others like them? Perhaps they were like keepers of a zoo, or maybe it was some kind of grand experiment. Or they could just as easily be visitors, like himself. Both the primitives and the aliens had proved to be dangerous, that was for sure. Communicating with either was a risky proposition.

Fagen stopped and held up his hand. The doctor and Harry stopped as well. Fagen motioned for them to take cover and Harry stepped behind a massive root. Fagen and Parker found guarded spots as well.

For a few minutes, Harry heard nothing. Then, a slight shuffling came to his attention, as if the wind was blowing through the leaves. But the wind wasn't blowing. What Harry heard were the plodding steps of a heavy beast headed his way.

It passed in front and turned its head toward him. Two, large cowlike eyes gazed serenely from an elongated head. The head sat atop a short, thick neck which was attached to a body generally the size and orientation of a grizzly bear. Unlike a bear, this creature didn't seem to be particularly ferocious. It turned its attention from Harry to a clump of ferns. It grazed a few minutes before moving on. All the while, the three men remained motionless.

Finally, Harry stood and watched the beast shuffle out of sight. Fagen hissed and motioned to keep going. They moved quietly, without speaking, until at last they saw the clearing through the trees. In the middle of the clearing sat the alien lander.

At first glimpse, Harry was reminded of a giant insect squatting in the meadow. It sat on six strutted legs with a dark exterior; the only disruption in its smooth lines came from the long, folded wings high on its sides. On inspection, Harry realized that they weren't wings at all, but rather what could have been a set of solar collectors.

For a time, they sat in the shade and watched. There was no movement around the vehicle. Standard Corporation training ruled that the survey linguist, upon encountering an intelligent alien presence, should first try to broach communications by means of radio or some other long-distance method. If that failed, he was supposed to approach slowly and attempt to show the aliens that his intentions were peaceful.

Considering the incident aboard the alien ship, Harry wondered if all the Corporation rules were out the window now. Fagen didn't seem to care about the rules. He seemed to have his own agenda, whatever it was. Harry spoke to him via the intercom.

"Edward, should I follow standard procedures?"

"No, I don't think that stuff's going to work."

"Shouldn't we at least give it a try?"

Fagen audibly sighed over the open radio channel. "It's your neck. Go ahead. Parker and I will try to cover you from here."

It sounded more like they discussed a military situation rather than something as momentous as man's first face-to-face encounter with an intelligent alien species. From his experience aboard the alien ship, Harry already knew there was danger involved. Leaving his weapon with Fagen, he tried to put the image of Doris' impaled body out of his mind. With a pounding heart, he stepped from the shadows into the sunlit clearing.

Harry paused and took a long look. He was in full view of the vehicle. There was an open hatch on the bottom, but it was too far away, and the angle was wrong; Harry couldn't see inside. Moving slowly and deliberately, he moved to the front of the craft. If anyone was inside, perhaps they would see him as he approached.

Facing the front of the vehicle where he hoped the cockpit was located, Harry raised his hands and showed that he held nothing. In full view, he removed his helmet and held it in the crook of his arm. He wanted the aliens to see what he was and that he offered no threat.

There was no response from the craft. It sat as impassively as it had when they first saw it. Harry moved closer. The hull didn't look metallic, rather it seemed to be molded in one piece. The only seams were at the open hatch and around the large, folded "wings".

As he neared, he felt a warmth and a resonant tingling in the air. He stretched out a hand and the tingling increased to an almost electrical feeling. The closer he got, the more uncomfortable it became. He backed off a step or two to think about what he was doing.

The young linguist knelt to the ground and found a pebble. He took the rock and tossed it at the hull. Before it reached the smooth surface, a pop reached Harry's ears and the rock bounced away as if it hit something solid. They already suspected the aliens had force field technology, now they could be certain.

Harry backed away, once again putting himself in a position that would allow anyone inside the vehicle to see him. Still, there was no response. He nervously waited a few more minutes then turned toward Fagen and Parker. He spread his hands and shrugged. Fagen motioned for him to come back. Harry walked backwards, keeping an eye on the craft as he moved.

Back among the trees, Harry admitted to Fagen that he didn't know what to do.

"There's a force field around the ship. We can approach it to within a foot or two, but that's it. Doesn't look like anybody's home."

"Where are they?" Parker asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Fagen answered. "Possibly they're inside the structure in the adjacent clearing." Fagen scanned the surrounding forest. "It doesn't appear they're here. Did you get pictures of the ship?"

Parker nodded. The glowing red indicator on the small video camera attached to his shoulder plate showed that the camera was switched on and running.

"All right," said the commander, "doesn't look like anything's going on here. Let's move to the other clearing and take a look at that building. Stay under the trees."

Fagen didn't have to tell them that. The trees offered the only shelter for the explorers. They weren't likely to leave the shadows unless ordered or forced.

The next clearing was considerably smaller. The building sat in the middle of the glen, an odd, low circular building. As with the alien ship, there was no indication that anyone or anything was home.

Where are they, Harry wondered. Inside the structure or out on a field trip?

"What do you want to do?" Harry asked Fagen.

"Pictures first. Keep your distance and watch for a while."

Parker stayed in the shelter of the trees and worked his way around the clearing as he took video shots of the building from all sides. It didn't appear to have an entrance, at least one that was visible. There were no windows either. The sloping walls were seamless and dark, reaching a height of ten feet or so. There were no markings, nothing to indicate the purpose of the structure.

The afternoon heat rose to an almost intolerable level. That, combined with the additional gravity of Mia Culpa, forced the men to move slowly and methodically. Inside his armor, rivulets of sweat ran down the sides of Harry's body. He leaned against a tree trunk and hoped Kathleen had seen the shuttle as it landed and even now was making her way to the landing sight.

*

On the bridge of the Magellan, Nadine and Bonner completed their survey of the surrounding stars.

"I can't believe I didn't see this as soon as we got here," said Nadine. "I was so concerned with Miaplacidus, I didn't think about the other stars in the local group."

"We were busy running surveys on the local objects, it's not your fault."

"Maybe so, but I'll bet that bastard Fagen will chew me out anyway."

'Don't worry about it. Let's re-check our figures and take a few more readings. Maybe we're wrong."

Nadine shook her head. "We're not wrong. I've checked the figures three times already. We're in a bad spot."

Bonner grimaced and nodded. The survey had shown what they already suspected: Miaplacidus was a hot, but stable star. That was the good news. There was the problem of the ambient radiation. It had to come from somewhere and it obviously didn't come from Miaplacidus. Nadine was the one who suggested that maybe it came from one of the neighboring stars. That's when they turned their attention to the celestial bodies outside the Miaplacidus system.

Most of the neighboring stars were small and stable. Canopus was the largest and it shined brightly, but it wasn't what they looked for. Canopus was 111 light years away, too far to offer any threat from excessive radiation.

Nadine identified a nearby red dwarf, the smaller of a pair of double stars in the nearby Volans system, as a variable star exhibiting pre-nova behavior. It was small, almost negligible, but it possessed all the right characteristics. Gamma-2 was a classic example of a variable star. At times in the past it had shined brightly, emanating heat and radiation at an extraordinary rate. The last time was in the fall of 2040, sixty years before. Since then, it had diminished in size and output and shrunk to a size that made observation from earth difficult at best.

Nadine focused her instruments on the dimly glowing red star and collected the data, as she had done previously for a dozen other nearby stars. Afterwards, she analyzed the data with assistance from the Magellan's computers. The first thing that caught her attention was the amount of activity on the surface of the star. Numerous spots floated across its surface, each a source of high radiation. The spots were new, they hadn't been viewed before. Nadine was happy about the discovery. It meant she would receive another supplement to her bonus.

But, as she studied the data, her happiness turned to concern. It appeared that the spots were rapidly growing in size, emitting larger and larger amounts of radiation.

Gamma-2 was a dying star. It was in its final throes and had been for a long, long time. The two mission specialists talked at length about radiation levels and star cycles. They concluded that at times in the past, Gamma-2 had flared with a massive display of light and radiation. That's when it was visible from earth. Now it showed signs that it was preparing to flare again and when it did the emanations would wash over everything within a handful of light-years. Miaplacidus was inside the danger zone.

"Can we determine when the flare will occur?"

Nadine nodded. "I think so. I need to collect more data and observe any changes, but I think I can come up with an estimate."

"How long will that take?"

"A few hours, maybe a day."

"Okay, let's do that. I want to keep some of the sensors directed toward Mia Culpa though. I hope the guys are all right. I hate this waiting. Especially with that other ship just ten miles away. It gives me the creeps."

"Any change?"

Bonner looked at his instrument panel. "No, nothing. It's just sitting there."

"Maybe they all went to the surface."

"Could be. If that's the case, they sure don't consider us to be either a threat or a curiosity. You know, it seems like they'd be just as interested in us as we are in them. I don't get it."

"I don't either," admitted the navigator, "but I still think the best way to deal with the situation is to pack up and go home while we have the chance. The Corporation will send other teams to pick up where we left off."

"Yeah, well, Fagen has his reasons for collecting more data."

"It'd be nice if he shared them with us."

"He doesn't have to, he's the mission commander."

"Doesn't mean anything if he gets us all killed."

Bonner shook his head. "Well, all we can do now is wait and continue to collect data. Keep an eye on things."

Nadine looked at him sideways. "I say if we don't hear from them soon, we should think about moving out."

"You mean leave them here?"

"They've got the only shuttle. If something happens to them, there's nothing we can do anyway. Doesn't it make more sense to save ourselves?"

"If it came down to it, yes. But we're not that far down the road. We have to rely on one another."

Nadine didn't say anything. She didn't have to. She'd succeeded in planting the idea in Bonner's mind.

# Chapter 25

Arai scanned the forest floor. The coast looked clear. He dropped to the ground and began to run. The clearing and the strange beasts were soon behind him; after the female disappeared there was nothing left to do except go back to the tribe. Grandfather and Kretin would be angry with him for following the she-thing, but he had owed it to her, she had saved his life. He wondered what happened to her.

Well, that was behind him now. He was a young hunter in the forest and even a hunter could only do so much. There was no trace of anything out of the ordinary. He sniffed the air and smelled only the natural odors with which he'd grown up. It was comforting and the boy slowed his pace.

The afternoon grew and with it, the temperature. Arai didn't mind. He was used to it. As long as he remained under the canopy of trees, it wasn't bad.

The boy looked up through the branches, watching for movement that would give away the hiding places of wild game. Any anger Grandfather and Kretin had would be alleviated if Arai showed up with food. His stomach would be pleased as well. It growled with hunger and reminded him he hadn't eaten since early the previous day.

With well-trained eyes, he began to look earnestly for food. Sprouts were available and he had some. They didn't taste particularly good and only served to quell his rumbling stomach for a short time. He wanted something a little more substantial.

Near a tree trunk he spotted the spoor of a small animal. Backtracking, he found a place where a large branch dipped low enough to enable him to climb up. He walked on top of the branch until he was over the spot where he had discovered the spoor. There he settled down to wait.

Eventually, another animal would happen along and be attracted by the odor. When that happened, Arai planned on capturing his dinner. He dozed for a time. When he awoke, a ratamatan was below him, sniffing at the spoor.

Arai slowly lifted his spear and took aim. The ratamatan remained unaware and busied itself with its treasure. The boy's large eyes stared at the animal. Just prior to throwing the spear, he took a deep breath and expelled it slowly, as Grandfather had instructed him. At the end of the breath when there was no more air, he threw the spear.

It flew in a straight line, as if on a wire, and pierced the animal's midsection. It squeaked in pain and jumped once before falling to the ground. Arai waved his tail in delight. A perfect shot. He dropped to the ground to claim his catch.

The ratamatan died quickly, the spear had pierced its chambered heart. It was fat and healthy; it would make a fine meal. Suddenly, the boy froze. A different scent floated on the air, filling his wide nostrils and prompting him to look about.

Arai looked up just in time to see the net fall over him.

He stretched out his arms and tried to ward it off, but it was too big, and he was too small. A loop was pulled tight and encircled, he tumbled to the ground. It was useless to struggle; he was caught and he knew it.

On his back, Arai ceased his struggling and peered up at the tree branch overhead. Kretin stood upon it, looking very serious, wearing an expression that Arai knew was to be followed by a long-winded lecture.

"Maybe I should leave you there." Kretin said. He cocked his head and pointed a finger at the boy. "You look good that way."

Arai sighed and kicked at the net. "Let me out."

"You followed the she-thing, did you not? That is not the way the ritual goes." Kretin dropped to the ground and squatted.

"I was curious," replied Arai.

Kretin laughed. "Curious or not, Grandfather will not be pleased. There were more lights and sounds in the sky last night."

"Let me loose and I'll tell you something."

"What could a little hunter like you tell me?" Kretin hefted the ratamatan. "Nice rat."

"I saw where the murderers nest."

Kretin stopped his inspection of the animal. "Do not joke about that, little brother." Kretin loosened the net and Arai wiggled out.

"I am not joking. I saw a dark flying thing. The female was there. We were chased by the smooth spiders."

"Where?"

"Not far." Arai waved his tail in the direction he had come.

Kretin stood up straight. "I want to see these things."

"But that is not all, brother. The female disappeared. I hope Grandfather will not be angry for that. I am not to blame for these monsters that come down from the sky."

"Nor was our father," said Kretin. "Come, show me where these beasts are. Perhaps we can take our revenge."

"These things are hard, like rocks. They can fly. They will not be easy to kill."

"Yes," agreed Kretin. "We will move as hunters. The trees will be our protection." He motioned with his spear. "Take me to see these devils."

The boy stood and gathered his things. "Will Grandfather be angry?"

"Not when we bring back the head of one of the monsters."

Arai looked confused. "I do not think they have heads."

Kretin pushed his brother. "Then we will take its magic. Let's go."

The boy took the lead and the two walked deeper into the forest.

*

The heat and extra gravity took their toll on the three Earth men. Parker, in a prone position flat on the ground, backed himself away slowly and returned to the shade of the trees and plopped down next to Fagen and Harry. He took off his helmet. Sweat streamed down his face.

"What now?" He asked Fagen.

"Harry's sending out radio messages. Still no reply." He looked at the mission linguist. Harry paused in his repeated calls and shrugged.

"If we have no success, we'll try to get into the building. Maybe that'll get somebody's attention."

"It may get someone killed."

"You got any better ideas?"

"Not really."

Fagen handed Parker a canteen. "Hot, eh?"

"Hot's not the word for it. The gravity doesn't help either. I'm tired. I feel like I've been walking around with sandbags on my back. Seems hotter than it was the first time we came down."

"It is," Harry replied. "Radiation levels have gone up some too."

"Oh yeah?" Parker checked his instruments. Sure enough, his instruments indicated the same thing. "Well, that's nothing to worry about. The levels are still safe."

Harry turned to the mission commander. "How long you want to wait?"

Fagen took his time in answering. "Not much longer. To tell you the truth, I doubt if we'll be able to gain entry."

"We could cut our way inside with the beamer," said Parker.

Harry shook his head. "Might be pressurized... maybe gases inside. We'd risk injuring whatever, whoever's inside? Destroying property isn't the best way to make friends either. Not a good idea," argued Harry. "Let me have a go at it, Edward."

"What have you got in mind?"

"Let me approach the structure. If anyone is inside, surely they have a method of monitoring what goes on outside. If that's so, they'll see me and come out."

""Maybe they know we're here already."

"Maybe so, but we're not getting anywhere as it is. Come on, Edward, what do you say?"

Fagen looked out across the clearing. The odd, featureless building stood silent.

"All right. But watch yourself. Parker and I will cover you. You won't be on your own."

Harry nodded. As much he wanted to establish communications with the aliens, he was still afraid. The image of Doris, impaled aboard the alien spacecraft, once again flashed through his mind. If he was successful, upon return to Earth, the whole world would know his name. He didn't want to think of the alternatives.

He stood. "Now?"

"Yeah," said Fagen. "Which way are you going to take?"

Parker interrupted. "The grass at the far end is trampled. I suggest approaching from that side."

"All right, sounds good."

Harry waited while Parker and Fagen moved to vantage points that would allow them to watch him unimpeded. When they were set, Fagen signaled.

Suddenly calm, Harry took a deep breath and stepped from the trees as the sun beat down on head and shoulders. He moved to the area where the grass was trampled and stood facing the building. In keeping with corporation procedures, he raised both hands to show whoever might be watching that he held no weapons and offered no threat.

Surely, Harry thought, if the aliens were watching, they would see he carried no weapons. Still, it was a dangerous proposition. How they would react was anybody's guess.

He stood ten feet from the structure and showed the palms of his hands. There was no reaction. Harry felt a tingling sensation and recognized it as a static charge buildup. Taking a few steps closer, the sensation grew. At five feet, the tingling continued to increase, and Harry caught the scent of ozone. He knelt and picked up a pebble as he had when approaching the alien shuttle.

He tossed the rock underhanded at the building. Sure enough, before it made it to the wall, it bounced against an invisible barrier and fell to the ground. Another force field.

Harry took a few steps backward. There was no way they were going to get past the force field without damaging something. The beamer could possibly cut through, but the risk was too great. No matter how hostile the aliens turned out to be, Harry wasn't going to instigate violence.

He knew he couldn't take anything for granted. Just because the aliens were advanced, and from the looks of things, they were advanced far beyond human technology, that was no assurance they were not a violent and dangerous species. The evidence indicated otherwise. Again, Harry thought of Doris.

Why had they attacked her? Perhaps it was as simple as finding a burglar in one's home, perhaps it was a reaction committed in surprise. Or, just maybe, the aliens didn't consider life other than their own to be of any value. Harry preferred to believe the former rather than the latter. After all, didn't advancement entail a condemnation of violence?

The building remained silent. Sunlight gleamed off Harry's armor plates as he waited for something to happen. He looked back at Fagen and Parker. Fagen gave a little wave to show that, at least so far, all was well.

Harry turned back. Where he stood the grass was trampled as if recent activity had taken place. The trampled grass led to the structure. If there was an entrance, Harry was sure it was directly in front of him. On the ground, he noticed traces of a substance. He knelt and looked. It was dried blood.

As he inspected the spot, a seam creased the wall and within seconds an opening appeared. There was a popping sound, like a static discharge, and Harry looked up. As he watched, the sides of the opening stretched farther apart until the hole, or doorway, was quite large. It was dark inside, but Harry caught a glimpse of motion. A long, metallic shaft protruded from the opening, the end delicately placing itself on the ground. In a moment, it was joined by another. As the thing stepped from the opening, Harry drew in his breath. It was the same thing he'd seen in the alien ship.

When it stepped away, the opening closed. Harry backed away and watched. The rounded, metallic object stood on its spindly legs not ten feet away.

Harry lifted his empty hands splay-fingered and palms out, showing he held nothing. He hoped the creature recognized the peaceful gesture for what it was.

It was nearly seven feet in height, but most of that was taken up by its legs. Because its body appeared to be metallic, Harry unconsciously assumed it was robotic. Small, jointed arms ending in claw-like, manipulative digits dangled from its sides. These were constructed out of the same darkened metal. Tools and equipment hung from what could only be described as a utility belt. As Harry watched, the thing removed an instrument from its belt and pointed it toward him.

It scanned him with the device, trying to discern what he was. Feeling no discomfort, Harry stood stock-still, keeping his hands raised.

Harry spoke to it, "Can you hear me?"

The monster remained mute and continued to hold the instrument.

"We are from a planet called Earth. Where are you from?"

No sound came from the creature other than a barely audible whine emitted from its servo motors. The longer Harry observed it, the more he began to believe that what he saw was an environment suit. An extremely elaborate environment suit. Maybe the creature sat inside the apparatus.

Sounding like a scene from an old video, Harry said, "We come in peace. We wish you no harm."

The creature showed no sign of understanding. But it made no hostile moves either. That was encouraging and Harry took a step forward. Now it was no more than seven feet away. Without warning, it lowered itself until it was no taller than Harry's six feet. It could have been a pose taken in response to Harry's movement, a defensive posture. It could also have been a posture designed to open communications.

The creature removed another instrument from its belt. Harry watched closely as it again pointed the instrument in his direction. It was a peculiar angled box with what appeared to be a crystal at the end. The crystal began to glow and hum. In a moment, a beam of light sprang forth and struck Harry in the forehead.

Harry was temporarily blinded. His head swam and images passed through his mind of alien landscapes and strange hulking shapes. The images were accompanied by sounds, utterly non-human sounds. He felt as though his head was about to split wide open. In his mind, an image of the Miaplacidus system formed. In the background, the image focused on another star, a red dwarf. As Harry fought the pain in his head, the image of the red dwarf suddenly exploded. And then the pain, the images, and the light stopped, and once again he stood before the alien.

The creature seemed to wait for a response.

Harry found his voice. "What is it you're trying to say?"

The creature raised the instrument. Harry braced himself as it began to glow. He wasn't sure if he could take more of the thought intrusion. The creature raised to its full height and took a step closer. Harry felt a tingling sensation on his scalp and then, quite unexpectedly, something flew over his right shoulder and struck the alien on the arm which held the offending instrument.

Harry at first thought that either Fagen or Parker had thrown something and struck the alien.

"No," Harry said and half-turned to the tree line where he knew his companions watched. From somewhere in the trees, another shaft came streaking down and struck the alien on an armor-covered flank.

Harry staggered backwards and the creature took another step forward. On the ground were what appeared to be two wooden javelins. The alien lowered itself and picked up one of the spears snapping it into two pieces as easily as one might a toothpick. It tossed the pieces aside and drew another instrument from its belt. This one looked suspiciously like a weapon.

Harry's training told him to remain where he was, but every instinct in his person told him otherwise. Common sense won out and he began a rapid retreat to the trees.

The alien fired a beam at Harry as he ducked under a low-hanging branch. It missed and burned through a thick root. A shotgun blast suddenly burst from the tree line.

Oh no, Harry thought. Not this way. Things were rapidly falling apart. He had wanted so badly to do his job, to establish a dialogue with the aliens. And now, what was happening was the worst thing he could imagine. Jumping behind the cover of a tree, he soon began to consider an even worse scenario.

Another shotgun blast rang out. Harry peeked around the trunk. He could clearly see Fagen and Parker, both squatting behind tree roots. The creature, however, was obstructed from his view. Fagen fired again and urged Parker to fire as well. Parker looked at the clearing and poked the barrel of his gun into the air. He fired and his shot went ineffectively upward ripping through the tree and causing a shower of pine needles and small branches to rain down over him.

Both Fagen and the doctor turned and ran toward Harry. Fagen paused just long enough to hand him his rifle and helmet.

"Let's go! Now!"

Harry didn't think twice. In a moment he was ahead of Fagen and straining with each breath. His body felt heavy and sluggish. Beside him, Fagen was equally suffering. Both men half-fell over a large root. Too winded to speak, Harry peeked over the root and was nearly decapitated by Parker, himself close on their heels and seeking shelter. The doctor pulled himself over the root and puffed to regain his wind.

"What now?" He managed.

"Stay together. We'll work our way back to the shuttle." Fagen peeked back in the direction he'd just come. "One of them's coming this way."

"One of them?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, when you made a run for it, another one came out of the building."

"What happened?"

"Something... up in the trees. I saw them," gasped Parker.

"No time to talk now." Fagen got to his feet and led the way. The three men ran to another tree where they again stopped to breath. This time there was no talk. Harry strained to control his racing heart. It pounded within his chest and he could hear his ears sing with his heightened blood pressure. Above the ringing in his ears came another, whining sound.

Peeking around the tree, Harry saw the creature with its legs neatly folded away, flying a few feet above the ground, headed directly for his spot.

# Chapter 26

In juxtaposition with the action taking place on the surface of the planet, the Magellan sat quietly in its geosynchronous orbit. Earlier, Blane excused himself and wandered down to the lab. The two remaining crew members were bored. They'd watched the alien spaceship closely and, to their relief, there had been no further action. To give themselves something to do, Nadine and Bonner continued to sift through their data and monitor radiation levels.

"Why haven't they called?"

Bonner shrugged. "Try contacting them again." he suggested.

"I just did."

"Then wait a while longer. Heck, Nadine, I don't know."

Silence filled the cabin. Bonner tried to concentrate on the figures and graphs displayed before him.

Nadine checked her instrument readings. "Radiation levels still rising," she said. "Also, luminosity readings for the variable star are rising. Jesus, we're gonna get fried if we stay here."

Bonner checked his readings. "We're okay. The levels aren't anywhere near deadly."

"Yet," Nadine added. "But you know as well as I that we could be seeing the beginning of an event. A hot event for us. If that variable star goes nova, this entire system will be bathed in radiation."

"We don't know the star's about to explode."

"Well, it's getting hotter and brighter, those are pretty good signs."

Nadine's answer wasn't scientific, but it was on the mark. There was no denying that the danger from Gamma-2 was real and growing.

"Want some more coffee?" Nadine offered.

"No thanks, I'm about to float already."

Nadine stood and stretched her muscular body. "I guess I've had enough too. It just makes me more nervous. I wish Fagen would answer our calls."

The engineer nodded in agreement.

"Seems like years since we left Earth," she said. "When I get back, I'm going to throw the biggest party anybody has seen. You're invited, Mr. Bonner."

Bonner looked at the black woman sheepishly. "If we get back all right, I'll be there. Wouldn't miss it."

"It's that 'if' part that bothers me."

"Why? Want to live forever?"

"Maybe not forever, but the next fifty or sixty years would be nice." Nadine hesitated before speaking again. "How long do we wait?"

"For word from Fagen? As long as it takes."

The woman frowned. She didn't want to get into the same argument, so she decided on a different tactic.

"Aren't you getting tired of sitting here just waiting, staring at the data?"

"Yeah, I guess so," he replied. "But there's nothing else to do."

Nadine smiled coyly and leaned toward the engineer. "Oh, I can think of something."

*

Kretin and Arai padded silently along the tops of the large branches. Below them, the flying monsters floated after the strangers. They had tried to kill one with their spears, but their weapons only bounced off the hard skins. All the same, Kretin was determined to take his revenge. Just how he wasn't sure.

Kretin watched the three strangers rise from their hiding place and run to another spot where they again stopped. Kretin couldn't understand why they kept stopping. Perhaps they plotted an ambush for the creatures. They seemed to hate the monsters as much as he did. They made loud sounds with the sticks they carried, probably in an attempt to frighten the beasts, Kretin thought. It hadn't worked. The creatures were unaffected and relentlessly pursued them.

Arai whistled to his brother and motioned toward the tree where the strangers hid. The trunk of the tree had grown twisted and gnarled. It was the kind of place the Bedorans used to ambush their prey. There were plenty of places to hide among the branches and one place in particular was perfect for stringing a net.

Kretin nodded to his little brother and, unknown to the three men on the forest floor, the two natives silently crossed the branches until they reached the tree.

*

Parker turned to Fagen. Gasping, he said, "I don't think I can go much farther."

"We've got to," Fagen replied. "Either that or die here."

"Maybe we can disable the thing." Harry suggested.

Fagen shook his head. "I hit it square in the body three times. The shots bounced off. No effect at all."

"Well, what are we going to do?" Parker's eyes were wide with fright.

Fagen looked around the trunk and quickly pulled back. "Can't run. It's headed this way. Get ready." Fagen checked his firearm.

"I can't believe this is happening," said the doctor. "There's got to be something we can do!"

"Don't shoot the trees," Harry mumbled.

"Shut up!" snapped Parker.

The three men huddled and waited for the attack. They didn't have to wait long. There was a change in the air, a static buildup, then a high-pitched whine of air jets filled their ears. Fagen was the first to stand and fire. As he did so, a beam of white-hot light sliced the air over his head, missing him by inches.

Harry rolled away and into a position where he could get a shot. It was much closer than expected. It hovered above the ground with its legs drawn up underneath like an insect in flight. Harry sighted the high-powered rifle to a place just over where he imagined the face to be. He squeezed the trigger and the projectile flew from the barrel impacting and exploding right on target.

The creature wobbled in the air and floated backward, rolling with the blow. "It felt that!" Fagen shouted as he fired a burst from his own weapon.

The alien avoided Fagen's shot by floating behind the tree.

Fagen glanced at Parker. "It's coming around to your side!"

The doctor cowered against the tree trunk, cradling the shotgun in his arms. "No," he said, "I can't... it isn't right..."

A look of astonishment and disgust passed over Fagen's face.

Harry turned his rifle sights to cover the area behind Parker while Fagen watched the other side. To their surprise, instead of coming around, the alien chose to attack from above, appearing at a giant crook in the tree trunk, some fifteen feet over their heads. The beam again shot down and cut a path between Parker and Fagen. The ground sizzled and burned wherever the beam touched.

Harry rolled onto his back and got off a shot. It ineffectively glanced off the rounded metallic surface resulting in the creature orienting itself in Harry's direction. Harry tried to shoot again but his gun jammed. He dropped it and rolled away just in time to avoid the path of the laser beam.

Backing against a fallen log, he watched as the beam swept toward him. Time slowed. Harry smelled the burning pine needles and saw the beam steadily advance.

Without warning, the laser shot off in another, cock-eyed direction, into the trees. Harry looked up at the alien.

Its spindly legs and robotic arms struggled within the constraints of a woven net. An attached rope went taut. Pulling at the end was an odd apelike creature. Fascinated, Harry watched.

The rope closed the loop and the alien became fully enclosed. It continued to fire its ray in an effort to burn its way free. To some extent, it worked, but not before the simian succeeded in destabilizing the thing's gyros. The alien finally turned over in mid-air and toppled to the ground, hitting and bouncing off a large branch in the process.

Upon impact, one arm snapped off. The sound of compressed air came from the hole. Parker jumped aside to avoid being crushed but wasn't fast enough. His foot was pierced through by one of the creature's three legs. The monster, still tangled in the net, rolled against the base of the tree. The one remaining arm flailed at the air.

Dropping from above, the aborigine jumped atop the alien and thrust a wooden spear into the open arm socket. With the shaft deep inside, the apelike creature twisted it with sinewy hands, withdrew it, and thrust again. A shriek pierced the air and the alien grew still.

Kretin withdrew the shaft and smelled the tip as he eyed the three men. No one said anything. Kretin broke the silence by beating on his chest and giving a shout of victory.

Parker rolled on the ground, gripping his injured foot. Fagen looked after him while Harry stood and faced the aborigine. As before, Harry showed Kretin he held no weapons. Kretin responded by shrugging and whipping his tail. He jumped back to his branch and looked for the second alien. Harry looked as well.

The second creature had stopped fifty yards away and was in rapid retreat.

Harry turned his attention back to the unmoving alien. A blue fluid seeped from the vacant arm socket and a small crack ran across the front where Harry's rifle shot had found its mark. Harry moved closer and inspected the creature's underside. Except for a rectangular panel and openings for the air jets, its surface was smooth and shiny. An indentation large enough for a fingertip was located next to the panel. It looked much like the button design aboard the alien ship. Harry pushed on it with a forefinger and the panel slid away.

"It's open," Harry said.

As Parker grimaced in pain, Fagen pulled off Parker's boot and sock and began wrapping a bandage around his foot.

"Be careful." Fagen said to Harry. "Is it dead?"

Harry peered into the opening. "Looks like it. I can see something inside. There're a lot of controls. Man, it smells bad in there."

"Don't breathe it. Could be poisonous." Fagen took a plasti-syringe from the med-kit and delivered a dose of pain killer into Parker's neck.

Harry held his breath and took another look inside. "Something's in there, all right. Looks like... a little old man, sort of. It's the same thing I saw on the alien ship."

Fagen finished tying off Parker's dressing and stood. "Keep an eye out while I take a look."

Harry looked in the direction of the clearing. The second creature had disappeared. Fagen asked Parker to make a recording and Parker fumbled with the control panel attached to his forearm, eventually finding the right key combination to start his minicam.

"How's the wound?" Harry asked.

"It missed the arteries." Fagen looked up into the branches. "Where did our little friends go?"

Harry followed Fagen's gaze and shrugged. "I don't know."

"We'll talk about it later. First, let's get back to the shuttle. The sun's going down soon. I don't want to have to find my way after dark."

"Edward?" Parker asked.

"Yes?"

"Uh, I don't think I can walk."

Fagen looked blankly at the man. "Can't walk, eh?"

Parker shook his head. "I don't think so."

Fagen sighed and removed his helmet. "Well," he said, "in this gravity, I can't carry you. I doubt if both Harry and I together could carry you very far. You can't walk and we can't stay here. So, Doctor," Fagen leaned toward the injured man, "what do you suggest?"

"I don't know..." Parker stuttered. "You're not going to leave me here, are you? You can't do that!"

Fagen ran a dirty hand over his face. Sweat ran down the commander's face. "Calm down, Dr. Parker. See if you can stand up."

Parker got to his feet and tested the bad foot. "It's swelling up."

"Can you walk?"

"You never let up, do you?"

"You can walk. Just take it easy. Harry?"

"What?"

"Lead the way. Don't get too far ahead. The doctor and I will follow." Fagen took a look around. "The light's going, we won't make it back before dark."

Harry hoisted the rifle and started the hike to the shuttle. Overhead, the branches rustled. He glanced a fleeting form and knew the aborigines were still with them. He hadn't been able to watch the primitives long enough to make any conclusions, but whatever they were, they were certainly fearless.

Using the shotgun as a cane, Parker hobbled along behind.

Fortunately, there was no sign of the other alien. They traveled without stopping until it was almost too dark to see. Beneath a great conifer, Fagen told Harry to stop. Harry dropped to the ground and Parker followed suit. Fagen squatted. All three men were exhausted.

Fagen looked at his watch. "It's a little over an hour's walk to the shuttle."

Parker examined the dressing on his foot. Harry wanted to go to sleep.

"Okay," Fagen said. "We'll stay here awhile." He removed a blue plastic tube from one of the assorted pockets on his dungarees and pinched one end. The tube glowed, emitting enough light to illuminate the three men.

The doctor lay back and propped up his leg. Harry didn't move. Fagen passed around a canteen and, in turn, they quenched their thirst. The branches rustled overhead and not just one, but two aborigines, boldly walked atop a large branch and stopped above the heads of the men.

One of them, the larger one, pointed down and said something. As tired as he was, Harry listened intently and hoped they weren't challenging the earthlings to a fight.

Nobody knew what to say, but it was Harry's territory. He stood and held up his hands for a moment, then slowly lowered them.

"Hello."

The aborigine rattled off the same phrase, this time pointing to the ground and then pointing to the branches overhead.

"What does he want, Harry?"

"I have no idea. But he's trying to tell us something, that's for sure."

*

Kretin urged the men to climb up into the tree but they didn't understand. It was annoying. They had moved painfully slow for the last hour and now they didn't even know enough to get into the trees after dark. Maybe he should leave them.

He felt good. He had taken revenge for his father against a terrible foe. Of course, he had been helped by the strangers. First the she-thing, now these things. Grandfather would be happy and proud. The tribe had recovered its honor.

The new things had helped him. He couldn't leave them to be picked off by the night creatures. But he couldn't make them understand. One of them was trying to talk, but it said nothing. It only made sounds.

"Maybe they're stupid," suggested Arai.

"Maybe you're stupid." Kretin suddenly looked behind. "Smell something?"

"No," said the boy, "you're jumpy." To be sure, he sniffed the air and detected nothing.

Kretin again told them to climb into the tree. They stared at him, uncomprehending.

"Wait," said Arai, lifting his snout to the air. "There is something." He sniffed again. So did Kretin. The boy's lip curled. "Stinking night creature!"

Kretin renewed his efforts to get the men into the tree.

*

"They want us to climb up there."

"Up there?" Parker said. "Where? Into the tree? That's ridiculous."

"Nope," Harry said, "that's what he's saying."

"He may be saying it, but I'm fine right here."

"I don't know, he seems pretty excited about something."

Fagen stood and looked out into the darkened forest. "Are you sure, Harry? Are you sure that's what he's saying?"

"Yeah."

"For crying out loud," Parker interrupted, "how could you possibly know this creature is telling us to climb into this tree? And so what if it is? Why should I?"

"Maybe it knows something you don't," said Fagen.

"Like what?"

"I don't know, but I don't feel good about this." He looked around once more. "Let's get into the tree."

"What?" said Parker.

"Into the tree."

Grasping the ridges of the tree bark, Harry began to climb. The smaller native reached down with its tail and gripped Harry by the wrist. With ease, it pulled him up. Harry marveled at its strength.

"Come on," urged Fagen to Parker. The doctor hadn't moved. "Go on," Parker said, "I'll catch up."

"All right," said Fagen. He turned away and followed Harry up into the tree.

"Ridiculous," Parker remarked. As the others climbed higher, the doctor's mood took a change for the worse. Something rustled along on the forest floor. He sat upright and glanced up. His companions were out of sight.

A cough came out of the shadows. Parker peered over the glowing tube of light and squinted into the darkness. Twenty or thirty meters away, he could clearly see a set of eyes reflected in the light. Without another word, he stood up, hung the gun over his shoulder, and with Harry's help, quickly climbed up the tree.

# Chapter 27

Harry clung to a branch and peered through his faceplate. The helmet enabled him to see in the dark, although he wasn't sure what it was he saw. A beast that was almost human, almost in the mutant sense. It had two legs and two arms and a head, but that was where the resemblance stopped. Its skin was yellow-scaled and had suppurating sores. It was additionally, quite out of its mind. Stopping beneath the tree, it beat on the trunk and gazed upward. Its moans pierced the air and it gnawed on the bark at the base. Harry had little doubt it knew they were there.

The thing was in pain, that much could be discerned from its cries. It used to be a man, or something very similar. Over the intercom, Parker reported he was getting high rads from the monster.

"That's what those scars are about, radiation burns. It's a wonder the thing is still alive."

"What is it?"

"Definitely humanoid. Perhaps the same as the natives only this one had a little accident."

"It doesn't have a tail."

"Radiation burned it off. Definite signs of radiation sickness."

Fagen watched from his perch and said nothing. Kretin and Arai were higher in the tree and out of sight of the men. They didn't share the men's clinical interest in the creature. Night creatures had been around for as long as anybody could remember. Everyone knew even a touch could kill. Kretin had once heard a story told by his father that said they were Bedorans who had somehow angered the gods. As punishment, they were burned by the fire no one can see. To seek relief, they buried themselves in mud during the day and roamed for food at night. The legends claimed they were terrible to see.

Kretin didn't aim to find out. Like his younger brother, he sat in a shadowed crook and held the end of his tail over his eyes.

After a while, the creature gave up and moved away. For some time afterward, its moans could be heard echoing through the forest.

When the creature could no longer be seen, Fagen and the others removed their helmets. Together they shared a silent moment of relaxation.

Harry felt inside a pocket and withdrew a packet containing dried fruit and nuts. Wordlessly, he shared it with Fagen.

"This is a strange place." Harry was so tired he said it aloud without realizing it.

"Yes, it is." Fagen murmured, half asleep. "It always was."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh," Fagen said, waking, "nothing."

Harry wasn't going to let it go. "No, you meant something. What is it?"

Fagen looked at Harry through bleary eyes. He looked as though he struggled with something he wanted to say. He opened his mouth to speak, but at the same time, Arai dropped down onto the branch and stared at Harry's food.

His waiting paid off and finally Harry offered him some. The boy allowed Harry to pour a handful into his cupped hand. Arai sniffed at it. Experimentally, he selected a single peanut and licked it. Harry took one and popped it into his mouth crunching and chewing as he showed the native the food was safe to eat.

While the boy ate, Harry pointed at the package. "Food."

To Harry's amazement, the boy parroted the sound. Then he gave Harry the Bedoran equivalent. Kretin moved down to a branch just above and held out his hand. Harry poured some dried fruit into the furry palm.

Harry motioned toward his mouth and said, "eat."

Both Kretin and Arai put pieces of fruit into their mouths and chewed. When the two talked to one another, Harry listened intently. The language was not particularly difficult and not unlike primitive languages on Earth. As he distributed the trail mix to the two primitives, he continued to ask questions and learn words. Arai would try to explain the meanings. Kretin watched in amusement.

His amusement passed into wonder as Harry began speaking simple sentences. "I am here," Harry said in the primitive language.

Kretin looked at Arai and laughed. "He speaks with a lisp."

"That's because he doesn't have a tail."

The brothers laughed at the joke. Harry watched and grinned. He didn't understand, but their amusement was obvious. He noticed that before they looked him in the eyes, they always did the same thing. That is, they looked down and twitched their tails, then they 'spoke.' It was as if they first asked permission.

As far as communicating with the aborigines, the tail presented quite a problem. Harry didn't have one. He quickly observed that in addition to their verbalizations they signed with their tails as well. The tail signs helped him to understand what they said, but it hindered him in speaking.

When the Bedorans grew weary of the strangers, they taught Harry how to say good night, then climbed higher into their chosen sleeping spots.

Harry stretched out on the mammoth tree limb.

Fagen remarked, "That was impressive, Harry. Your language skills are remarkable."

"Thanks. I'm catching on. Their language is similar to some of our own primitive languages."

Fagen nodded and fell silent.

But Harry pressed on. "What did you mean earlier? When you said it always was strange?"

Fagen stretched his legs. "What are you talking about?"

"Earlier. I said this was a strange place and you said it always was."

"Did I say that?"

"Yes, you did."

"Well, forget it."

Harry looked at the man for a second and wondered what it was that drove him. It wasn't just the stars and the nose for adventure; that was part of it, true enough, but there was something else. Fagen seemed relaxed all the time, as if he knew what to expect. He had even brought non-standard issue weapons and armor suits with helmets. It was as if he had expected to find trouble even before the trip started. Now he'd inadvertently said something that indicated he'd been on Mia Culpa before.

Was it possible? Could it be that Fagen had been there before?

"Have you been here before?"

"Where? Up in a tree? Figuratively speaking, more times than I'd like to admit."

"No, not figuratively. Actually."

Fagen didn't say anything.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Are you going to answer my question?"

Fagen took a breath. "Leave it alone, Harry. I'm tired and I've already said too much. Do us both a favor and forget about it."

Harry shrugged and settled back. So Fagen was hiding something after all. He'd been there before. But why would he want to keep it secret? How could he have kept it secret? Harry was just too tired to think about it any longer. He closed his eyes and was asleep in less than a minute.

The others, Fagen included, likewise slept.

*

Hours passed. On the forest floor, the night creatures stayed away and small animals came and went, unaware of the men sleeping in the tree above their heads.

Sometime before dawn, two small, furry mammalians romped at the base of the tree. They tumbled and rolled and chased one another. They both suddenly froze, pausing as a shadow passed overhead.

A black flying rodent landed upon a branch and perched. The two on the ground ran away in bounding leaps.

The flying animal looked like a flying squirrel. It stared at the forms of the sleeping men, then flew back into the forest. Moments later, a faint tone drifted through the trees.

The three exhausted men were not coaxed from their sleep by the noise. Kretin and Arai, on the other hand, awoke instantly and stared through the branches, searching for the source. Both had heard the sound before and both expected trouble to follow.

Steadily, the sound increased in volume. Fagen opened an eye and sat up. He shook Harry.

"Wake up."

Harry looked at Fagen. "What is it?"

"Listen."

The noise moved closer. "What is it?"

"Stay put. Wake Parker."

Parker was on the branch below. Harry leaned down and whispered through cupped hands. The doctor woke with groggy eyes. "What's happening?"

"Shh," urged Harry. The aborigines were gone, or at least completely hidden from view.

Half an hour before dawn, the forest was dark and still, other than the faint sound of an almost hypnotic high-pitched whirring. So subtle had the sound arrived it was quite a start when quite suddenly, the sound stopped. The men pulled their helmets on and peered into the darkness, trying in vain to locate the source. An electric snap pierced the silence and a beam of light cut through the darkness.

Harry couldn't see the originating point, but he knew the aliens had located them. Fagen was up and running down the branch. Harry thought about following, but the quicker way down was the way he'd climbed up. Should he go that way?

He peered over the side and saw Parker climbing around the tree, to the side away from the light. The spot of light moved methodically through the tree, along the branches. It looked for them.

Harry almost panicked. He couldn't follow Fagen: the light worked its way up the branch he stood upon. The other way took him down.

The brilliant lumens of the light coupled with the night vision capabilities of the helmet blinded Harry, so he removed it again. Holding the helmet in one hand, he moved from the tree to the ground causing a think branch to slightly sway. Immediately, the light shifted in his direction.

On the open ground, without a weapon, he had no chance; he had to make a run for it. The only escape was across a wide-open area between the trees so he crouched and ran as quickly as he could, sore legs straining to carry him at maximum speed. He was nearly to the shelter of the next tree when another light switched on, much closer than the one behind. This one was right on its mark and it held Harry in a tight circle of light.

His heart raced as he dove for cover barely in time to avoid a burst of yellow light that seared the ground behind him. He hit the turf and rolled. Another shot grazed the armor plating atop his shoulder. Harry smelled the burning tracer and ducked behind the tree trunk.

Without another thought, he got to his feet and ran, keeping the tree trunk between himself and the direction of the last shot. He ran several hundred yards before he finally pulled up behind a mammoth fallen tree.

Light flashed through the trees but didn't appear to be headed his way although they didn't appear to be going away either. There was no sign of Fagen or Parker.

The tree was partially hollowed out and offered some kind of cover, so Harry crawled inside. From rotted holes he watched the lights dancing in the trees. To his relief, they never came his way. In the distance he heard a series of shotgun blasts, then nothing.

The lights went out and all was quiet. Harry waited and watched as morning broke through the canopy. For a long time, he waited and looked for signs of either the aliens or his companions. Nothing moved.

# Chapter 28

Kathleen lay upon a soft, fluffy material in a cozy darkness. She had no idea how long she'd been there. She felt rested but knew it would be easy to drop back to sleep. She wondered where was and opened her eyes.

There was little to see but what she saw she didn't like. A dull light passed through a membranous material over her head. Enclosed in a comfortable, although tiny cell, she pushed against a padded ceiling that was but a foot from her face. It gave way like rubber but snapping back and re-forming when she withdrew the pressure. With waves of claustrophobia washing over her, she tried again and managed to poke a hole through the material.

Peeping from the hole, she saw she was in a small room, or maybe the end of a tube-shaped corridor. There were other cells next to hers. The air was musky and didn't smell particularly good.

She stuck a finger in the opening and pulled. The membrane stretched and started to tear. Once started, it was easy to pull a flap loose large enough for her to squirm her way out.

The other cells held things as well. She bent close to one and tried to see. Something underneath moved and Kathleen backed away. Her head spun and suddenly weak at the knees, she sank to the floor. With dawning realization, it came to her that, somehow, the aliens had drugged her.

She began to crawl up the tunnel. Light came from recessed areas in the ceiling. To her right, another small chamber opened up. It looked just like the one she'd left except this one had a couple of empty cells. She continued on her way.

She tried to remember what had happened, but everything after she was grabbed remained a blank. Although she didn't know for sure, she assumed she was still inside the alien structure.

Kathleen was afraid but not panicked. The young woman was blessed with an ability to stay calm even in the most trying situations. And this was certainly one of those. Her sense of humor didn't hurt her either. First, she was abducted by primitives on an alien world, then her clothes were taken away, then she was taken out in the night and left to wander. Now she was being held captive by the first advanced aliens to be discovered by humankind. And she had no idea why. Instead of considering herself to be in a serious situation, she was amused. It was almost fun. Still, she had to be careful. Perhaps she could find a way to escape. Or maybe she would discover she didn't need to escape, maybe the aliens would help her. After all, they were intelligent.

She stopped at a corner and peeked around the edge. Two small creatures leaned over an examining table and fussed with whatever lay on top. They were unaware of Kathleen and she took the opportunity to get a good look at them.

They were small, between four and five feet tall, and humanoid in the sense they had two arms and two legs. After that, any resemblance to humans was a stretch. Their skin was a wrinkled pale grey and they wore identical grey jumpers that covered them from neck to ankle. They appeared to not wear shoes and Kathleen saw that their feet ended in three thick toes. Claws protruded from the end of each toe.

They didn't appear to be particularly ferocious. They were simply too feeble looking to offer much of a physical threat. Away from the examining table, she saw the environment suits. Unlike the aliens, the suits did look dangerous. They were large and metallic with three pronged, pointed legs and two smaller mechanical arms. They hung limply, suspended from the ceiling.

There didn't seem to be a way out, at least one she could readily recognize. The air was damp and humid, and it was difficult to breathe, as if the oxygen was thin. Foul odors tainted the air. Kathleen recognized the smell of blood.

She crawled from the tunnel and edged along the wall. There were machines and tubes of various sizes running out of walls, ceiling, and floor; their purpose a total mystery. The aliens busied themselves with their specimen, an animal of some kind, presumably picked from the forest. Hoses filled with running fluids wound their way out of the animal's abdomen and into an apparatus attached to the far wall. Needles protruded from places in the animal's cranium where the aliens had attached fine wires that ran up to the ceiling. Kathleen wondered if she was in line for a similar fate.

Wires and cables of various sizes ran across the floor. Some went to equipment and some went to the walls. Kathleen carefully stepped over a cable and squatted beside a machine set against the wall. It was warm and vibrated a little.

The aliens finished with their specimen. As Kathleen watched, they selected two tubes that dangled from the ceiling and began to spray a white, fibrous substance upon the animal. In seconds, it was fully cocooned.

One of the aliens took the animal, wrapped in its cocoon, and placed it against what Kathleen thought was simply a blank wall. As she watched, the wall seemed to fracture, then to split and pucker until the undulating sides managed to pull the cocoon inside a hidden compartment. Afterwards, the wall resumed its previous appearance.

The other alien walked away from the table to a beach ball-sized bulb that dangled from the ceiling. He looked at the bulb closely, then, with the tip of one its three fingers, it pierced the membrane and pulled until the tear was three or four inches long. A black furry head popped out and took a quick look around.

Shifting its beady eyes, it sniffed at the air and became agitated. It squirmed out of its nest and jumped onto the shoulder of the alien. From there, it scanned the room until it locked eyes with Kathleen.

Leaping from the alien's shoulder, it flew across the room and landed atop the machine behind which Kathleen hid. The flying rat chattered excitedly as it looked down at her.

Both aliens saw Kathleen at the same time and moved in from two directions. There was no escape and she felt faint again.

"Leave me alone," she screamed as they took her by the wrists and ankles. "Let me down!"

Hefting the feebly struggling woman between them, the two aliens lifted her to the examining table. A beam of light hit her as she touched the table and it seemed as if all the air was sucked from her. Just before she passed out, she saw one of the extraterrestrials peering at her as he took one of the hanging tubes in a wrinkled, three-fingered hand and the fibrous cocoon substance begin to fall over her like snow.

*

Grandfather stumbled three times before he realized he was too tired to go on. It was difficult to climb the trees anymore, so he stayed to the old, worn paths. His weariness had crept up and caught him unexpectedly. Now, before he could rest, he had to find a suitable tree, one that wasn't too hard to climb.

He looked around and spotted exactly what he had in mind. A short distance away, a thick branch curved to the forest floor. He could walk up the natural ramp and find a place to nap.

How long had it been since he'd left the cave? Not so long, he admitted. Age had taken away the vigor of youth and the old Bedoran relinquished it stubbornly. Still, his body told him it was time to rest.

He wouldn't be out in the forest if it weren't for his grandsons. When he and Kretin had returned from taking the female to the forest, Arai was missing. A few hours later, Kretin was gone. The old man instinctively knew Kretin had gone looking for his younger brother. By mid-afternoon, neither had returned and, being the only other male of age, the task fell upon him to search for them.

He walked to the tree branch and stepped upon the limb. Before going any farther, he took a good look around to ensure nothing was watching, then shuffled up the limb. Grandfather curled up in a large crook of the tree and went to sleep.

He awoke before dawn to the sound of thunder in the distance. No, it wasn't thunder, he realized as he turned an ear to the sound. Loud and frightening, but not thunder. Well, in any case, it was time to get going again. The deep rumble had passed, but he was sure of the direction, and when he climbed back down to the ground, that was the way he went.

*

The computer aboard the Magellan was state of the art. It was fast and powerful and, with the proper stimulation from a knowledgeable user, it could perform astounding feats of computation. Blane was the quintessential computer user. The implants in his head allowed him to access data channels and process a digital stream nearly as fast as the computer could feed it to him. But still it wasn't enough.

Years of being plugged in had trained his mind to hunger for and demand information. Yet he had discovered that the digital stimulation still lacked something of what he craved. It was so simple he had a hard time coming around to the idea, but when he finally accepted it, he knew that there was no substitute for intelligent companionship. The problem was, people communicated slowly, and people lied, and even Blane would admit, he was certainly anti-social. Like any other coping anti-social, these were problems he'd learned to live with. Computers satisfied his need for companionship to a good degree but there was still a part of him that was only satisfied by his electronic connection to a handful of trusted friends. Kathleen had been one of these.

Over time, Blane had grown dependent on his Kathleen's thoughts. They provided just the right amount of chaotic stimulus to balance the beautiful logic of his beloved computers. He and the young woman had shared adventures in cyberspace and had helped one another in both school and in professional life. They were close. Not in a sexual way either: Blane had never entertained the thought of having sex with the woman. She was beautiful, indeed, but Blane's sexual needs were oriented toward obscure fantasies, and even these encounters were fulfilled in cyberspace. The thought of sharing such an intimate act with another human being made Blane shudder. Cyberspace supplied his needs.

With a shaking hand, he reached for the cable that ran to the laboratory computer and plugged it into the back of his head. Using the network control program, he piggy-backed the lab computer onto the powerful ship's computer. The extra processing power helped somewhat but the hunger remained.

At first, he thought it was the same feeling of urgency and abandonment he had felt when he learned he could no longer depend on transmissions from Kathleen. For a time, the hunger gripped him and washed over him in waves. He held the sides of the chair until his knuckles turned white. Beads of sweat popped out along his brow. For a moment, he lost control of the flow of data and his head felt as if it was being overloaded.

His anxiety grew to an almost intolerable level before he finally managed to gain control his thoughts. While he continued to monitor the alien ship and the other telemetry functions aboard the Magellan, he opened the files that held the recordings of his encounter with the alien computer and browsed the data.

Again, Blane marveled at the complexity and efficiency of the alien machine. If it was a machine. He recalled that in the few, brief moments he was connected to the alien computer, he had acquired the distinct feeling that the thing was alive. Certainly, its network, processing power, and efficiency were far beyond anything he'd seen before. The thing was complex but simple in its operation. Its composition was along the lines of a neural network, but a neural network based on something wholly different from anything humanity had to offer.

Blane also knew that everything the survey team wanted to know was stored in the alien computer. He wished, no, he yearned for the opportunity to re-establish his data link and to allow his thoughts to wander through the alien net. What wonders he would find.

He knew that somehow, he had to find a way to re-establish the link.

A call from the intercom interrupted his thoughts.

"Blane? You still down there?" Nadine's voice sounded patronizing.

He reached over and pressed the call button. He knew she could see the computer activity.

"Yes, I'm here."

"Just checking. Everything all right? You feeling okay?"

He pressed the call button again. "I'm not frothing at the mouth or anything, if that's what you mean." There was a pause at the other end. Finally, Nadine's voice came through again.

"All right, Bart, just checking."

On the bridge, the black woman turned to a relaxed Bonner. "He's got his head in the computers."

"So what's new?"

"Have you ever tried it, Bill?

His expression showed denial. "What do you mean? Cybersex? Me?"

"Oh c'mon, everybody's tried it by now."

"No, not me. How about you?"

Nadine flashed her teeth and laughed.

"You have, haven't you?" Bonner sat upright and looked at her. "What's it like?"

She laughed again. "I didn't say I had."

"But I can tell you have. "Come on, tell me what it's like."

"Well," she said and cocked her head, "I guess it was like being an actor in a cartoon."

"Doesn't sound too satisfying."

"No," she said, "I prefer the real thing." She unstrapped herself from her seat and floated over to Bonner. She faced him and positioned herself on his lap. "Don't you?"

"Oh yeah," he said. "Hold that thought. Lemme check the rad levels."

Nadine didn't bother to get up. Bonner leaned across her and punched commands into his keyboard. She didn't bother to look. Instead she asked him what the display said.

"Still going up."

Alarmed, she shifted her position.

"How far can we let it go without doing something?"

Bonner looked at his watch. "If we don't hear something from Fagen in another hour, I think we should prepare to bug out."

"Oh, yes," Nadine said and wrapped her strong arms around the engineer's neck, "that's what I wanted to hear."

# Chapter 29

Something stuck Harry in the side. He'd felt it for some time but was just now getting uncomfortable with it. It was a knot on the inside of the log. The dawning light was sufficient to allow him to peer from his cubbyhole and scan the surrounding forest. All was quiet. He slipped out of the hollow log and crouched as he took a good look in all directions.

Nothing moved except for the occasional breeze passing through the upper branches. He got up and began walking back toward the tree where he had spent half the night. It wasn't far and he identified it easily by the deep, clean burns in the bark.

He approached it warily, but there was no need. No one was there. No sign of anyone. On the opposite side he found one of the helmets. It was crushed and useless. There were no spent cartridges. Harry was sure he'd heard shots being fired.

As he walked over the site, he tried to imagine what had happened. He could see where the first alien had appeared and where it had fired and missed. Marks on the ground and the tree attested to the hot beam of the laser weapon.

Beam weapons required a lot of power. Power storage for such devices was bulky and heavy, quite difficult to lug about. That's why Fagen had left theirs back at the shuttle. Even so, the energy drain was so great they could only fire the weapon in bursts. Before the next shot could be fired, the system had to recycle.

The weapon he'd seen last night didn't have any of those characteristics. It fired a varied beam in broad strokes several times within a short span. But still, it had missed. That was odd. Such impressive technology would surely have processor-guided aiming devices. Harry should have been hit, but he wasn't. It was odd.

He walked under the branch Fagen had used for his escape and found the place where he'd jumped to the ground. From there, it looked as though he had run to another tree. Sure enough, when Harry got there, he found the shell casings. There was still no sign of Fagen or Parker or anything to indicate where they'd gone.

If they escaped the aliens, Harry reasoned, they would continue to press on to the shuttle. Suddenly afraid he might be left stranded, Harry set out to find the craft.

He knew it wasn't far. The armor he wore was uncomfortable and he considered removing it but decided against it while he was still lost in the forest. It would feel good to get back to the shuttle and remove the bulky suit.

Harry picked his way between the trees, occasionally stopping to scan the forest ahead. He walked for forty minutes without seeing anything. By then, he began looking ahead for the clearing that held the shuttle. He didn't see it, so he continued his course for another thirty minutes. By then, he realized he was lost.

*

One hundred yards from the clearing, Fagen and the doctor sat behind the cover of a mammoth tree trunk. They had been there for a little under an hour, watching for movement and signs of the aliens. There was nothing to indicate the aliens had discovered the shuttle.

"Let's just make a run for it," Parker suggested.

Fagen didn't take his eyes from the clearing and didn't reply.

"How long are we going to wait?"

"Until I'm satisfied the shuttle's not being watched."

"Edward," Parker said, exasperated, " we've been here an hour and haven't seen anything. We need to check in with Bonner and Nadine."

"All right, all right. Stay here while I check things out." Fagen rose and worked his way closer to the shuttle. Parker watched as the commander approached the vehicle.

At a distance of forty yards, Fagen stopped. The hatch was open. Perhaps Kathleen had made it back. Or maybe Harry had beat them back. Or maybe there was another possibility, maybe the aliens had located the shuttle and now waited to spring an ambush. Fagen squatted behind a log and watched.

*

Unfortunately, the homing signal emitted from the shuttle was useless without a receiver. Harry's receiver was built into his helmet, and he had dropped it in the confusion of the chase. The forests were nothing like the city streets of Earth. Every few yards looked like the last few yards. Even after he knew he was lost, he doggedly continued until he was sure he had gone in a circle. There was no other way, he had to re-trace his steps to the point where he had gone off track.

Time was of the essence. If Fagen and Parker had managed to survive and if they beat him back to the shuttle, there was a high possibility that he would be left behind. Harry had to find the shuttle. And soon.

He started back on the same path, deviating slightly in hopes that the correction would lead him to the clearing. After fifteen minutes of walking, he caught a glint of sunlight reflecting off a smooth surface. His first thought was that he'd found the shuttle and he almost starting running. That would have been a mistake. As he made his way forward, he once again saw the reflected sunlight. It wasn't reflected off the metal hull of the shuttlecraft, instead it glinted off the metallic body of an alien.

The alien was turned away from Harry. Harry didn't take comfort in the knowledge. Sensors could see in 360-degree circles and the creatures were almost certainly equipped with instruments that permitted them to detect movement from all directions. Harry ducked behind the base of a tree.

The alien remained where it was and didn't appear to have noticed him. For a moment, Harry thought about backtracking and detouring. It wouldn't be easy. The forest was thin there and the alien stood in a place that allowed it to see for thirty or forty yards in all directions. At least there was only one this time.

Making his decision, Harry began backing up, all the while keeping an eye on the monster. He stepped on a small, dry branch and it broke with a crack that sounded to Harry as if a gunshot had been fired. The sound echoed through the forest and the alien shifted toward its source.

Harry dove for cover behind some brush, but it was too late, the alien had seen him and was now coming his way.

Harry desperately looked for a place to hide. There wasn't much to choose from. Without another thought, he began to burrow his way under the brush and fallen branches. He dug his hands into the earthy vegetation and felt something cold and slimy shudder at his touch. In surprise, Harry fell backwards.

The giant worm reared up and thrashed its head one time, then turned earthward and bore down out of sight. Harry glanced up and saw that the approaching alien was only seconds away. A loud pop sounded, and a beam of laser light sprang from the creature, creasing Harry's arm and igniting a small fire in the pine needles.

There was no longer time to consider his next move. Harry reacted out of instinct and tumbled into the worm tunnel, dragging his weapon along after. The worm drilled through the soft soil quickly, leaving behind a tunnel large enough for a man to crawl through. Harry made the best use of it and quickly followed the burrowing creature.

Above, the alien reached the entrance and withdrew a device from its utility belt. An unwinding tube, seeming to have a life of its own, extruded and snaked down.

Ahead, he could see nothing. The worm was not far away but it moved faster than Harry. He looked backward and saw the tube dangling in the air not three feet away. The thing jerked forward another foot and Harry grabbed it with both hands. It squirmed and twisted as if it were alive. Harry wrestled with it and tried to break the end off. With a sudden twist, the tube broke free and withdrew. Harry pressed on into the darkness until he tumbled into a different tunnel. It was a stroke of good luck and it allowed him to change directions. But now it was completely dark. Harry could see nothing; he might as well have his eyes closed. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be anything else in the tunnels besides himself and the worms. He briefly wondered if they were carnivorous.

In the next few minutes, he changed tunnels twice. His sense of direction was hopeless, all he could hope was that if he kept moving, he would be able to avoid the aliens and eventually find a way out. He didn't think the aliens could follow, the tunnels were too small for that, but as sophisticated as their gear was, they could probably track him underground. If that was so, he didn't stand a chance.

The sounds of the drilling worm had vanished. It was dark and silent, and Harry knew the tunnel could very well end up as his tomb. What if he couldn't find his way out? And what if he could? The aliens would be waiting.

He found a wide place in the tunnel and sat for a while. What a predicament. He thought about Kathleen and hoped she was still alive and had found her way back to the shuttle. Things didn't look good. Harry leaned back and put his hands behind his head, stretching out his legs. He wanted to think about something else, something to take his mind from the present situation. He'd made some progress in learning the language of the primitives. There was still much to be learned, but Harry felt that if given a little more time, he could learn it well enough to communicate.

He wondered what the primitives could tell him. How much did they know about the aliens? How long had they been on this planet?

He would like to have communicated with the aliens, but that was obviously not working out. They had tried to kill the men, no questions asked. Harry wondered why. Could be the creatures were simply and totally self-centered with no regard for other lifeforms. Maybe they felt threatened. Harry doubted that. They had superior technology, superior firepower. There had been no attempt at communication. It seemed they didn't want to talk.

It was odd. Harry had assumed an advanced culture would be interested in other intelligent cultures. How naive, he thought.

For a while, he dozed in the darkness, jumping to full wakefulness when an insect crawled over his hand. He looked at the luminous dial of his watch and saw he had spent nearly two hours underground. He took a deep breath and started crawling uphill.

*

Fagen carefully approached the vehicle while Parker watched from hiding. The open hatch was ominous. Fagen bent at the waist and stepped under the ship.

There were no tracks on the ground, nothing to indicate who had opened the hatch. Fagen clicked off the safety on his weapon and peeked inside. A black rat scampered from the inner cabin and launched itself out of the hatch. It glided a considerable distance, bounced off the ground once, and fairly flew into the trees.

*

Harry poked his head from the hole until he was at eye level with the ground. One of the creatures was twenty yards off, standing over the hole Harry had entered. Beyond that, a second alien slowly walked on its three spider legs from left to right, as if searching for something. Harry knew it searched for him.

The opening was partially hidden by a root and a tuft of grass that somehow had found enough light to flourish on the forest floor. A shadow passed and Harry scooted deeper. The passing alien did not discover the opening.

That was three of them, Harry thought. There could be others, he hadn't had that good a look. How was he going to get out? For a moment he thought about trying to communicate with them, after all, that was his specialty, right? No, he had already seen enough to know these things weren't going to play around. He couldn't make a run for it because they were all around. Yet if he stayed where he was, he could miss Fagen and they would take off without him.

Edging up to the opening, Harry took another look. Maybe he could squirm out of the wormhole and run to a nearby tree quickly enough to avoid being seen.

Now he could see only one creature, but he also heard something new. He held his breath and listened. It was the unmistakable sound of someone walking across the forest floor and dragging a foot behind.

Maybe it was Parker, limping on his injured foot. Harry wanted to call out, but he held his voice. As he watched, he saw the walking figure pass into view. It wasn't Parker. It was an aborigine.

It looked to be an elderly native. He used his spear as a walking stick, sometimes dragging it along the ground. He hadn't seen the aliens yet and was walking straight into a trap.

Harry was helpless. He could see all three aliens now: they had moved away from Harry and positioned themselves to ambush the old man. While their attention was diverted, Harry took advantage and slipped out of the narrow opening.

He flattened out against the ground and crawled to the nearest tree trunk, then rolled behind the massive roots that connected to the tree.

The elder Bedoran kept on walking into the trap. Suddenly, he stopped and straightened, sniffing the air as he peered about. That was when he saw them.

The aliens didn't move. For a while, neither did he. Finally, he raised his spear and shouted what sounded to Harry like a challenge. The aliens remained unmoving. The old abo pushed out his chest and re-issued the challenge. This time, one of the aliens moved forward.

The aborigine never had the chance. Before he could hurl the wooden shaft, the alien fired a device that launched a metallic lance. It pierced the Bedoran's chest and knocked him six feet backward. He was dead before he hit the ground.

It happened quickly. Harry edged backwards and rising to his feet, he began to run under the trees, not bothering to look back. In his haste, he failed to see the figure drop down above him. A net fell over Harry's head, jerking him off his feet. He dropped to the turf and fought his restraints, but only succeeded in entangling himself further. Something sharp jabbed him in the back and he stopped his struggles.

Harry rolled over and looked at the pointed end of the spear. He followed the shaft upward until his eyes rested on the primitive. He was pretty sure it was the same native who, along with the younger aborigine, had helped the men the night before.

Kretin told Harry to get up. Harry understood and without hesitation untangled himself from the net and got to his feet. A whistle came from above and both turned their gazes upward.

Arai clung to a branch and pointed in the direction from which Harry had just come. The boy motioned quickly with his tail and Kretin jumped into the tree. Somewhat slower, Harry followed.

He squatted in a crook of the tree and watched the natives prepare for an ambush. Not a good idea, Harry thought, but there was little he could do but watch. The larger aborigine spread his net over a branch while the younger one worked his way around to a spot that faced his brother. Harry glanced back across the expanse he'd covered and saw an alien headed directly toward them.

Harry watched as the alien came closer. He tried to think clearly, tried to allow a solution to pop into his mind, but he could think of nothing, so he sat in the tree and waited while the alien closed the distance more with each passing second.

When the creature was directly under the tree, Harry saw the smaller native rise from his hiding place and raise his spear. The other abo suddenly tossed the net over the creature as it passed. At the same time, the younger native threw his spear. It clattered ineffectively off the armored monster. Without waiting, the older native dropped down onto the back of the creature.

Harry couldn't help but think either how incredibly brave the natives were or how incredibly stupid they were.

Kretin pounded on the back of the monster without any result. The creature tried to reach the native with mechanical arms too short to grasp the pest clinging to its back. It turned one way and then the other in an attempt to dislodge the aborigine. Kretin stubbornly held on.

Arai dropped to the ground and picked up his spear. The alien, still wrapped in the net, saw the boy and fired a beam at him. The light burned through the net and grazed the boy's chest. It was a painful injury, but not fatal. The boy reacted by dropping to all fours and rolling under the metallic body.

The alien, still trying to throw Kretin from its back, tried to stab the younger native with its pointed front leg. The boy rolled to his left and barely avoided being impaled. Kretin pounded on the metallic hull with the edge of his flint-bladed knife. He succeeded in marking the beast, but not in puncturing it. The last blow broke the knife blade in two and Kretin begin to grab at the weapons hanging from the creature's utility belt.

Harry took another look across the forest floor. The other creatures were still out of sight, but he was certain they would be along any moment. Without thinking about what he was doing, Harry moved to a branch just above the struggling alien.

The aborigines held its attention. It thrashed in anger and tried to reach the both of them. The boy rolled on the ground, jabbing with his spear at the monster's underbelly while avoiding the repeated thrusts of the thing's front leg. Kretin managed to grab a device from the creature's belt, but it was to no avail, he didn't know how to use it.

Harry saw that the aborigine held what looked to be a weapon of some type. Kretin had it pointed backwards at himself. He seemed to have some idea that the thing was a weapon, but he had no idea how to use it.

Kretin had left a length of rope on the branch. Just a twisted vine, really, but enough to give Harry an idea. He took the rope and dropped a loop around one of the flailing arms. Holding the other end with both hands, Harry dropped to the ground and began tugging.

The creature was caught off balance and tumbled over onto its side. It thrashed wildly and further wrapped itself in the hand-woven net. The boy scurried out of its reach and Kretin fell beside Harry, dropping the weapon in the process.

Harry picked it up even as Kretin stabbed at the thing with his spear. The weapon didn't fit his hand properly, but its function was obvious. It had a barrel and a trigger. Harry pointed the barrel at the creature and discharged the gun. A cracking sound filled the air followed by a sudden electric discharge flashing from the barrel to the smooth metallic surface. The thing ceased to move as the electricity crawled over its body. The smell of ozone drifted in the air.

The man and the two aborigines jumped away and watched as the electric currents passed over the alien. Gradually, the discharge drained away, leaving it lying helplessly on its side. A small hatch slid open on the creature's underside. As they watched, a living alien crawled out of the mechanical monster and lay on the ground before them, obviously in distress.

Kretin jumped to his feet and held his spear over the creature. Harry reached out and placed a hand on the native's shoulder. Kretin instantly turned around and pointed the spear at Harry's throat.

*

Kretin came very close to killing the stranger then and there. But it held up its hairless hand and offered the weapon to Kretin. To Kretin's greater surprise, it then spoke in the Bedoran tongue. It was an awkward way to say it, but Kretin understood when it asked that the creature he'd captured not be killed.

Kretin wanted to kill the monster, but he hesitated. The outsider had communicated and used the proper words along with the correct inflections. Who was he? What was he? He looked like the female.

"Did you hear?" Kretin asked Arai. "It wants us to spare the murderer's life!"

"It knows something."

"Perhaps it has no stomach for killing."

"It speaks the mother tongue," Arai insisted, "to ignore it could be bad."

"Grandfather is dead," Kretin said simply. "I must have revenge."

"We have taken the life of the outer creature. Should we not make the inner creature suffer slowly?"

Kretin paused. It was not a bad idea.

Arai crouched and pointed. "Another comes!"

Both Kretin and Harry looked. Sure enough, some distance away they saw another alien advancing between the trees.

"Quickly," Arai urged.

Without another word, the two natives raced from the tree, careful to keep the giant conifer between themselves and the enemy. Harry picked up the strange, gasping creature and followed, dropping and leaving the weapon in the process.

# Chapter 30

Fagen waved to Parker and the doctor limped past the laser cannon to the open hatch.

"Is it clear?"

Fagen nodded. "I think so. Let's check."

"How did it get open?"

"Don't know." Fagen lifted himself through the hatch and took a quick look around. Everything was in order. Other than the open door there was no sign anyone had been there.

Fagen shouted down at Parker. "Keep a watch on the forest. We may have to get out of here real fast. It's clear inside."

Parker didn't say anything. The doctor was busy tending his wound. At first, he thought it was a simple puncture, but it appeared to be reddening and swelling. "I think I've got an infection," he said through the open hatch.

Fagen tossed down a medical kit. "We should have some antibiotics in there."

While Parker probed and mumbled, Fagen switched on the radio and called the Magellan. Bonner responded immediately.

"Fagen? Where've you been? We were about ready to light the fires."

"Don't do that just yet. What's the status on the alien ship?"

"It's still where it was."

"Well," Fagen spoke into his mike, "that may be changing. We've had some problems." Fagen gave Bonner a quick rundown of what had occurred, ending by telling him that now Harry was missing.

Nadine interrupted, her voice filling the cockpit. "So, what's the score, Mr. Fagen? Don't you think maybe we should start thinking about going home?"

Fagen sighed. His patience with Nadine was growing thin. "Soon, Nadine."

"When?"

"When we get things wrapped up here. Dr. Parker's been injured, and I need to get him back to the Magellan. We'll wait for Harry for an hour. Haven't seen any sign of Kathleen. I am commencing pre-flight checks. Anything else?"

Bonner's voice came back. "Uh, yeah, one more thing. I'm afraid it's not very good news. Seems like we've got full-fledged pre-nova activity in Volans. It's Gamma-2. She's getting ready to blow her top. All radiating activity is up. We've been on a rollercoaster ride for hours."

In the background, Fagen heard Nadine say something about Blane, but he wasn't able to catch it.

"What was that about Blane?"

"Well, he's been acting a little weird."

"So, what's new?"

"He's been plugged in down in the lab since you left. He's not answering us anymore."

"Well, go check him out. If he's having a bad time, give him something to make him sleep."

"Uh, right. We'll try that."

"Okay, if there's nothing else, I'll see you in about an hour and a half. I'll give a call before lift-off. This is Fagen, out."

"We'll be expecting to hear from you. Out."

Fagen turned from his console and shouted toward the hatch. "Did you hear?"

"Yes," Parker answered. Fagen turned back to the console and entered a code into the keyboard. Lights came on across the instruments. The monitor informed him all systems were starting their initialization sequence. Fagen got up and climbed back down to the doctor.

Parker was wrapping a new bandage around his foot.

"How is it?"

"Infected."

"Did you take the antibiotics?"

"Yes."

"Don't be so morose about it. What's a few alien microbes, anyway? Don't worry," Fagen patted Parker on the shoulder, "the company's got a great medical plan."

*

By the time Harry caught up to Kretin and Arai, the captive alien had stopped gasping for breath. It showed no fear, instead it coldly eyed Harry. It looked like a little, wrinkled, old man with sickly skin and a nasty disposition. It had no ears or lips, but its eyes were wide and slitted, like an octopus.

Kretin stared at the alien and made a motion as if to strike it.

"No," Harry said using the Bedoran tongue, "hold your love of blood for a time."

Kretin looked suspiciously at Harry and spoke to his younger brother.

"Do you see how he speaks? Perhaps he knows more than he lets on. If he is to go with us, we need to perform the ritual. We cannot trust him otherwise."

Arai nodded. "That is what Grandfather would say." Then he stared upward through the trees. Harry could see the aborigine's eyes welling with tears. He started to moan, softly at first, but then it began to rise, and he varied the rhythm. It was a sad, mournful song.

Kretin shushed him. "Now is not the mourning time. Your wails will bring the beasts."

Arai stopped crying and looked at his older brother. "You will be the next leader, Kretin."

Kretin waved his tail in the negative. "It is too high a price. Just be careful with this one until we can perform the ceremony."

"He will want to find his friends. They are not far away. We could take him there."

The alien began to struggle so much Harry had to set it down. It stood on its stumpy legs and gazed defiantly at the three of them before spitting a ball of mucous at their feet.

Arai raised his spear, "I will kill it now!"

Simultaneously, Harry and Kretin said, "No!" Kretin gave Harry a sidelong look before speaking to Arai. "I think we have out-distanced the others. We should perform the ritual while we have the time."

Arai still had the tip of his spear aimed at the alien. It jutted out its boney chest, daring him.

"What shall we do with the devil?"

"Throw a net upon it."

In a last attempt to communicate, Harry showed his palms to the alien, one of the gestures recommended by the corporation, but in return it only spat at him again. Harry backed away and didn't object when Arai threw a net over the creature.

Kretin took the Earthman by a forearm and pulled him away as Arai tied down the ends of the net, effectively ensnaring the hissing alien.

Kretin straightened and stood on his toes so that he could look closely into Harry's eyes. "Do you understand me?"

Harry gave the appropriate positive response.

Kretin backed away and made a circle in the forest floor by dragging his foot through the fallen pine needles.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked.

Kretin looked at him sideways.

Harry wasn't sure what Kretin said.

"How do you speak so well?"

Harry understood that. "I listen. I watch."

Kretin nodded and pulled Harry to the center of the circle. "Remain here."

"Why?"

"It is important. Stay still and watch." Kretin stepped beyond the edge of the circle. Arai joined his brother. The creature fought its restraints but was too weak to do anything more than hiss and spit.

And this thing is supposed to be a higher lifeform, Harry thought. How ironic he was getting on better with the primitives than with the more advanced species. He still didn't know what the aliens were doing there, other than murdering the wildlife.

Harry asked permission to speak. Kretin agreed and Harry looked up. "I would seek my companions."

Kretin leaned to his brother. "Do you hear? It is as you said. He seeks his brothers."

Harry took a step forward, but Kretin gently pushed him back. "We must do something first. Please stay where you are."

At that, the aborigine began to hum in a soft voice. He ignored the ugly sounds emitted by the alien and swayed to his own rhythm. He tapped the top of his head with his tail as he simultaneously rolled his hips and tapped both feet.

Arai began to hum along and he too, patted the top of his head with a furry-tipped tail.

Kretin reached into the pouch hanging on his belt and withdrew the sunstone. It was already glowing and warm in the young man's hands.

The alien saw the sunstone and stopped its struggles.

"What is that?" asked Harry.

The two aborigines ignored him and continued to hum the aimless notes. Kretin set the stone in a leather sling. Then he held the sling aloft until the stone held itself in the air. He pulled the sling away and the stone spun of its own accord, in the air, emitting colors and beams of white light. Harry felt heat pouring off the rotating gem.

He'd never seen anything like it. As far as Harry knew, such a thing didn't exist. The air rang as the gem generated invisible fields of power. Harry wondered where the aborigines had found such a thing.

Kretin stopped humming and admonished Harry to tell the truth. "Otherwise you will die. Do you understand me?"

Without blinking, Harry said, "Yes."

"Are you an outsider? A stranger to the Bedoran lands?"

"Yes."

"Are you a devil?"

"No."

"Do you harbor evil thoughts against the Bedorans?"

"No."

"What is your name?"

Harry pronounced the name his father had given him and elicited a laugh from Arai. "It sounds like dung-foot!"

Kretin gave the boy a stern look. Back to Harry, he said, "Where are you from?"

Harry pointed up. Both Kretin and Arai craned their necks and looked up into the trees.

"Not the trees," Harry said, "the stars."

Kretin looked incredulous. "That is insane! You want me to believe you came from the stars? Madness!"

Arai reminded his brother that Harry was testifying within the confines of the ceremony. "If he lies, he dies," the boy pointed out.

Kretin shrugged. "How did you come to be here?"

"It's a long story." Harry wasn't sure if he used the correct words, but the natives seemed to understand. If he told them everything, he was sure they wouldn't understand. Besides, he wasn't eloquent enough to say too much.

"Are you an enemy?"

"No," Harry replied, "I am your friend."

The stone continued to spin. A little faster now, Harry thought. The heat from it began to make Harry uncomfortable. The alien watched everything but was more interested in the stone than anything else.

"He is a friend," Arai repeated. "That is what we wanted to know."

"Two more questions." Kretin looked at Harry.

"Are your companions our friends also?"

"Yes."

"Then will you help us to overcome our enemies?"

This time Harry didn't understand what was asked.

Kretin repeated the question.

"We did not come to fight. We came to see things unknown to us. We come to understand."

With the tip of his spear, Kretin tapped the stone and it fell to the ground.

"You have fought against our enemies, at our side. This is good. You have told us the truth. Perhaps not everything, but enough. We will take you to your companions."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

Kretin poured water over the stone and handled it delicately, wrapping the gem in a thick piece of leather and slipping it back into his pouch.

"What is your name?"

"I am called Kretin." He turned to his smaller brother. "This is Arai."

"Kretin, I have a request."

"What is it?"

"Allow me to take the creature with me."

"The creature?" Kretin looked at the alien with disdain. "Why?"

"To study it. To find out why it kills."

"It is of no consequence to know. It belongs to its tribe and we belong to ours. It does what it does and we do what we do. It is our enemy and it is not meant to be understood."

"What will you do with it?"

"I will give it slow death and my Grandfather will have the final victory."

"Give it to me instead. It will harm you no more."

Kretin snorted and looked at the captive alien. "I do not believe it can harm us any longer."

"Perhaps its companions will return."

"Then we will kill them as we killed the others."

"May I take it with me?"

"No."

It seemed to be the final answer. Kretin stepped up to the alien and rolled it up in the net until it was completely immobile. It could still spit and hiss and did so with a renewed vigor. Kretin hoisted the bundle over his shoulder.

"Let us seek out your companions. They are not far."

The three, four counting the alien, set out to find Fagen.

# Chapter 31

Fagen completed the pre-flight checks, leaned back in his seat and with Parker sitting in the co-pilot's chair, they watched the forest. Neither spoke. Parker felt his foot every so often and glanced at Fagen. Fagen ignored him.

Parker, like so many devoted professionals, was egocentric, emotionally undeveloped, and intelligent. A deadly combination. Fagen supposed Parker was thinking about how he'd word his report to the Corporation, so he tried to ignore the man and hoped Harry would show up. And what about the aliens? Would they attack? Had they planted something aboard the shuttle? Fagen had searched the vehicle thoroughly but found nothing. How was the hatch opened? If it was Kathleen, why would she leave again?

Everything seemed to be in order. Fagen looked around the cockpit. A notepad with a connected pen was plainly in view. No, it wasn't Kathleen. She would have left a message.

Maybe the natives. But how could they have managed to open the hatch? They were curious creatures. Intelligent and hardy. As a species, they showed great promise. But what would it matter if Gamma-2 went nova? Everything here would be scorched. The great forests would burn, and the oceans would boil away. Nothing would be left alive. He drove the thought from his mind. There was nothing he could do about it anyway.

No, he decided, the natives had not opened the hatch. Neither had Kathleen nor Harry. That left the aliens. If so, why hadn't they waited? What was going on? Perhaps there weren't that many of them. They couldn't be everywhere at once. One thing he felt sure about was that sooner or later, they would return.

Maybe he and Parker should just light the engines and get out of there. But he couldn't do that. Not again. He owed it to Harry to wait. Fagen looked at the doctor.

"How's the foot?"

The doctor reported in a clipped manner. "Fine."

Undeterred, Fagen continued, "You know, I've been thinking."

Parker glanced at Fagen. "What?"

"The aliens are well outfitted for what they're doing."

"And what are they doing?"

Fagen looked surprised, as if the answer was self-evident. "Why, they're walking around in this forest, hunting. Probably sight-seeing too. They use self-contained survival gear, have a full choice of weapons..."

An expression of incredulity spread over Parker's face. "You think that's what they're here for? To hunt for recreation? To take specimens? No, not specimens, trophies?"

Fagen shrugged. "That's what it looks like to me. They carry a variety of weapons; their EVA units, body armor, whatever you want to call it, are built for durability and dexterity. Did you see how they moved? They're really quite marvelous."

"You admire them?"

"The technology."

"Weapons and armor? That's not so much."

Fagen grinned. "Think about it. We've seen more than just advanced weaponry. That ship in orbit is a good example."

"I doubt if they're advanced enough to stop a nova."

"You've got a point there, Doc."

"Please don't call me Doc."

"Whatever."

Parker pouted for a moment, then spoke. "I think it's a disgrace we weren't able to open lines of communication with them. I can't believe there wasn't something else we could have done."

Fagen shrugged. "Harry tried his best. The things didn't want to talk."

"I wonder if Irons was the right man for the job."

"The Corporation thought so. I thought so."

"Yes, well, I wonder if one of us could have done better. There's no denying Iron's language abilities, but perhaps he would serve better as an interpreter acting after initial contact has been established."

"I'm not going to blame Harry for what happened. We were all there. You saw what happened. Afterwards, the creatures hunted us..."

"We don't know that," Parker interrupted.

"Ah, I see. And what do you suggest they were doing? Trying to invite us to a fellowship breakfast?"

"We owe it to them and ourselves to make every effort at peaceful contact. The opportunity is too important for us to bungle the job. What's the Corporation going to say when they find out what's happened?"

Fagen sighed. "The Corporation is run on greed. If that star Bonner located goes nova, they won't show any interest in this place. Mia Culpa will be a burned-out cinder."

"There's still the minor problem of explaining why we weren't able to establish a peaceful dialogue with the first advanced species found in the galaxy."

The commander looked out the port. "You think you could do better than Harry? You think you could get those things to talk to you without taking your head off?"

Parker sniffed. "I couldn't do any worse than Irons."

"Is that so? Well, would you like to have a chance at it?"

"What do you mean?"

Fagen pointed out the port. "Take a look."

Parker followed Fagen's pointing finger. At the tree line and motionless as statues, stood two of the aliens.

"Shit," the doctor exclaimed, "let's get out of here."

Fagen smiled. "That's what I thought. Sure you don't want to go out and have a chat?"

"Don't be absurd. Let's get out of here!"

"Let's not be so hasty. If we fire up now, they might just blow us out of the sky as we're lifting off."

"What are we going to do then?"

"First, we're going to protect ourselves." Fagen pointed to an instrument panel. "Flip the bottom toggle switch."

Parker did as he was told. "What's that going to do?"

"We just applied power to the laser cannon."

Parker's eyes grew wide. "We can't fight these things!"

"I see. First, they're intelligent and you think we should make every effort to communicate, then you think we should bug out." Fagen laughed. "Make up your mind, Doctor."

Parker didn't reply. His attention was riveted on the aliens. Fagen toyed with the joystick that controlled the sighting device for the cannon. The aliens remained motionless at the edge of the trees.

Fagen knew he could no longer afford to wait for Harry. There was a good chance the linguist was no longer alive. It was a shame. Harry was a good man.

He entered a command onto the console keyboard ignition. A high-pitched whine came from below as pumps worked to apply pressure to the fuel flow system. The patched hydraulic system held together like new. Bonner had done a good job. In minutes, they would be ready to go.

Outside, one of the aliens suddenly scurried to a flanking position. The other took a few steps forward and stopped. It reached for an instrument on its equipment belt.

Fagen brought the laser cannon to bear on the alien who lingered in front.

"We can't do this!" exclaimed Parker.

"I have no choice."

"Try the radio! Try anything first!"

"Go ahead," said a calm Fagen. "Try to raise them on the radio. Maybe it'll work this time."

Parker put on his headset and punched a button. Several channels opened at once. "This is Earth galaxy survey team. We are here with peaceful intentions. Do you understand me? Can you hear me?"

As Fagen expected, there was no reply. He checked the instrument readings for the cannon. The elements had pre-heated and the weapon was ready to fire, if necessary. To no avail, Parker tried the radio again.

Fagen shook his head. "I'm telling you, these things aren't interested in casual conversation."

"That's just too hard to believe."

"You better believe it. It just might mean both our lives otherwise."

While the two men argued, the alien in front leveled its weapon and fired a beam over the top of the shuttle. Parker ducked under his console.

"It was a warning shot."

"Let's get out of here!"

"I'm working on it!"

*

At the sound of the beam being discharged, Harry stopped dead in his tracks. Kretin and Arai stopped as well. All three peered through the trees, searching for the source of the sound. Kretin pointed ahead.

"We are very close."

Harry nodded in understanding.

*

Parker was on the radio again, calling the Magellan. Nadine's voice floated out of the shuttle speakers. "This is Magellan. What's going on down there?"

Excitedly, Parker shouted into his headset. "We're under attack! Two aliens are outside!"

Nadine's voice came back over the loudspeakers. Matter-of-factly, she said, "What would you have us do, Doctor?"

Fagen interrupted. "Nadine," he said calmly, "we're preparing to lift off. If all goes well, we'll see you in thirty minutes or so. If not, well, you have my permission to leave orbit and head back to the wormhole."

Parker pivoted to Fagen, an angered expression on his face. "What are you saying? We'll be stranded! We'll be killed!"

"Calm down. Give us a chance to get out of here before you write our obituary." Fagen spoke into his headset. "Did you copy all that, Nadine?"

"That is affirmative. We'll be waiting. Good luck. This is Magellan, out."

"Now what?" The doctor asked.

"Now we protect ourselves and try to bug out without being burned."

Fagen checked his instrument readings. The shuttle was ready for lift-off. The computers waited for the initiate command. He glanced out the window and saw the alien advance. It was only twenty yards away. Fagen doubted whether the blast from the engines would do them any harm.

They would have to leave the laser cannon where it was. For the time being, it offered some degree of protection.

Fagen didn't want the creatures getting any closer. There was a chance that if they reached the shuttle, they could open the main hatch again and gain entry. Fagen wasn't going to allow that to happen.

As the creature continued its advance, Fagen aimed the laser cannon at the legs of the beast. It took another step forward and Fagen squeezed off his shot.

The white-hot light jumped from the barrel of the cannon and burned into the creature's metallic foreleg. The shot staggered the alien as the laser burned into the metal. Before it had sufficient time to cut through, the leg bent, and the creature tumbled forward to the ground. The beam shut off and the cannon began to accumulate charge for the next shot.

The second alien came to the aid of its fallen comrade. It fired a shot at the laser cannon and registered a direct hit. The cannon exploded, scattering bits of metal like shrapnel across the hull.

Without another word, Fagen engaged the computers. The ship responded immediately, igniting the chemical fires to the rocket engines. The shuttle heaved and began to lift off the ground.

Both creatures were in view. The wounded alien remained on the ground while its companion stood over it and pointed a weapon toward the ascending shuttle. Fagen concentrated on the instrument readouts. The shuttle performed normally, just a few more minutes and they'd be out of danger. Parker gripped his armrests and kept his eyes on the aliens.

The shuttle seemed to move extremely slow. Seconds stretched like minutes.

"Can't we make this thing move any faster?"

"Doing the best I can," Fagen replied. "What're the aliens doing?"

Parker stared out the window. "One of them's on the ground. The other is pointing something at us."

"Uh-oh," said Fagen even as the creature fired its first shot.

The beam struck the shuttle somewhere on the underside and the craft rocked wickedly from side to side. An alarm filled the cockpit and sparks flew from an instrument console.

"We've got a power overload," said Fagen. He glanced to the rear of the compartment. Calmly he added, "Will you put out the fire, Doctor Parker?"

Parker looked behind and saw flames springing from behind an instrument panel. He jumped out of his chair, for the moment forgetting the discomfort of his injury, and grabbed a fire extinguisher.

As the doctor extinguished the fire, the shuttle continued to rise. The aliens didn't bother to fire another shot, but plenty of damage had already been done. Fagen fought the controls and hoped the craft wasn't severely damaged.

*

At the sound of the engines, Harry began to run. The forest filled with their roar. The aborigines followed cautiously behind. Harry didn't share their reluctance. He knew what he heard: the sound of the shuttle engines, the sound of his escape vanishing.

He ran as fast as he could. The additional gravity made him feel as though he was running through syrup. He stumbled once but caught himself and pressed on.

Harry glimpsed the bright fires from the engines and gulped for air. As he watched, the shuttle lifted. It wobbled for a moment and then continued upward. Harry slowed to a walk and finally stopped. There was nothing more he could do.

In the clearing, small fires burned from shrubs, grass, and tree limbs ignited by the hot thrust of the shuttle engines. Harry watched for a moment before turning and walking back to the two aborigines where all three took shelter under a towering redwood.

Harry sat on an exposed root and tried to think. He had no way to communicate with the shuttle or the Magellan. Would they return for him? His heart began to race as panic became a knot in his stomach and threatened to rise up to his throat and strangle him.

He was well into playing 'what if?' when he realized that, if Kathleen was still alive, this was how she probably felt. Stranded.

# Chapter 32

Harry didn't have long to mope before the sound of air jets got his attention. Both he and the two Bedorans froze while through the branches they glimpsed dark, polished metal passing directly overhead. The alien craft passed slowly but uneventfully.

Kretin looked at the point of his spear. Unsatisfied, he fished a stone from his pouch and began sharpening the tip. Arai sipped water from a pouch and offered some to Harry. Against his better judgment, Harry took it, planning only on washing out his mouth, but as soon as the cool water reached his lips, his thirst overcame him, and he drank in deep draughts.

Without looking up, Kretin spoke. Harry caught the gist of most of it.

"We must go back," he said. "We must take care of Grandfather's body."

Arai nodded. "What about him?" The boy pointed at Harry.

"He can do what he wants."

"He is strange. Alone in the forest, he will be killed."

"That is everyone's concern."

While the primitives discussed his fate, Harry considered the options. He could stay put and hope Fagen would return. If he stayed where he was, he might have to contend with some of the aliens. If the shuttle didn't return, he was stuck, lost in a place he knew little about.

"Three are stronger than two," Arai reminded his brother.

"That is true. He could help us carry..." Kretin turned and kicked the alien. It dodged and spat at him. The Bedoran warrior laughed in defiance.

"The thing is puny. Perhaps we should kill it. Then we would not have to carry it."

Arai easily agreed.

Harry stared at the alien and struggled with his feelings. Could he make them spare its life? Probably not. It lay helplessly wrapped in the net and stared with its cold, piercing eyes. On the other hand, Harry thought, what did it matter? The thing was obviously beyond reach. It was intelligent enough to communicate; it simply chose not to. The first advanced species to be discovered and they turned out to be brutal little bastards. Harry would be in all the history books for all the wrong reasons.

"Wait," Harry said. He thought about the correct way to say what he had in mind. "We can use it," he pointed at the alien, "to trap others. If you are not afraid." Harry insulted them, hoping it would achieve the desired effect.

Kretin exchanged a glance with his brother. "Do my ears lie to me?" He straightened up and faced Harry. A tense moment passed. Kretin stared hard at Harry and finally banged a fist against his furry chest.

"I am Kretin, a Bedoran warrior. I have no fear!"

Harry replied without hesitation, in nearly perfect Bedoran. "Then let us spare the life of the monster and gather more in a trap. The creature will be, will be..." Harry searched for the word.

"Bait?" Arai offered.

"Yes," Harry said, "bait."

Arai looked at his brother who still stared menacingly at Harry. "What do you think, brother? A trap set for the others?"

To Harry's relief, Kretin relaxed and waved his tail positively. He stepped to the bundled alien and hoisted it aloft. Setting it beside Harry, he said, "Then you can carry it."

Kretin began walking and the others followed. It didn't take long to retrace their steps to the spot where the elder Bedoran was killed. They approached warily and soon found the body of the old man. The corpse was in bad shape. To their dismay, the head and one hand was missing. Animals had been at the remains as well.

The two Bedorans moved quickly, finding leaves to dress and pad the body, then giant fronds to cover it. Using branches, Kretin expertly fashioned a stretcher and tied the body into it. Harry kept watch and tried to help, but the abos didn't want him to touch their Grandfather's body.

As they hoisted the body onto the stretcher, Harry saw that both were crying. Still, they seemed to hold back, as if they wanted to save their deepest grief for a more proper time. Harry began to understand how important the rituals were to these primitives, how deeply ingrained into their culture, such as it was. Before they performed even the simplest of tasks, there was a signal, most usually a gesture with the tail, prior to the action. Presently, Kretin waved his tail and uttered a half-dozen stuttered coughs. He squatted on the ground and drew a circle as he whispered to himself. He looked into the forest as if to get his bearings, then back down to the circle. Using a stick, he drew a bisecting line, then short points along the line. Arai started the routine all over again in another spot.

In a short time, they were on their way. Harry carried the alien hoisted over his shoulder like a sack, and the two Bedorans carried the body of their Grandfather. Harry plodded on one step at a time and tried to occupy his mind. One thought kept returning to him, a verse from a long dead 21st century poet. It seemed appropriate and went like this:

The choices are always the same,

as if we knew all along;

but we continue to play the game,

arriving at destinations unknown.

Over and over the verse ran through his head until it became a silent chant Harry marched by. After a time, the words lost their meaning, but the beat remained.

*

Blane waited for the signal that would indicate the transmission gear was ready. He could have watched a light on the instrument panel -- it would indicate when the connections were made and the equipment was online -- but he didn't need it. Because of the terminal connected directly to his brain, Blane would receive the digital signal in his head before it reached the instrument panel.

He was aware that Fagen was trying to escape from the surface. It was a concern, but not his major concern. Fagen would either make it or he wouldn't. One way or the other, it didn't change Blane's plans.

He wasn't crazy, but he wasn't exactly sane either. When one spent so much time with computers, sometimes the distinction between reality and cyberspace became blurred. Nonetheless, Blane was a genius. His implants multiplied his intelligence tenfold and enabled him to analyze huge amounts of data quicker than most computers. The result of all this interaction with digital logic at times confused him. Simply put, sometimes he forgot he was human.

Even the alien computer had recognized him as a cybernetic intelligence, if the thing could be called a computer. It wasn't constructed like any computer Blane had ever seen. Its messages contained questions and requests as well as straightforward data. It seemed to think autonomously. There was none of the usual stimulus-response type of operating construction that was designed into the machines built on Earth. Instead, the alien computer seemed alive, spontaneous in its thought and the messages were passed faster than even Blane could keep up.

The computer had displayed no hostility. It showed little regard for life forms either, but Blane mused it could be because in many ways it adopted the mindset of its builders, just as the primitive computers built on Earth copied the logical mindset of humanity. Being inside the alien machine was strange, but also the most fascinating experience Blane had ever had.

The equipment signaled that it was primed and ready. The light on the instrument panel flashed green. Via his implants, Blane sent a command to the radio and a pre-coded message was beamed to the alien craft. Instantly, Blane detected a response.

Satisfied, he closed his connection to the communications routines and returned to a virtual reality that he'd found himself visiting more and more often. In it, he was in total control, godlike in his powers with the ability to create his every whim from thin air. And women. Oh, the women. They were everywhere, and everyone beautiful, with perfect bodies, and breasts that...

*

The shuttle pitched and Fagen fought to keep it under control.

"What's wrong?" shouted Parker.

Fagen didn't take his eyes from the instruments. "We're losing hydraulic pressure."

"I thought Bonner fixed that!"

"Yes, well..." Fagen shrugged.

The shuttle pitched violently to one side as the craft hit an upper atmospheric jet stream. Parker went sprawling and Fagen fought the controls. A loud thud sounded somewhere in the rear and the craft shuddered as if in pain.

"What was that?"

"We just lost primary hydraulics."

"Great. What are we going to do now?"

Fagen was too busy to answer. The shuttle was still climbing, but how long was anybody's guess.

Parker glanced at the instrument readings. Engine temperature climbed into the red. Parker pulled the seat straps tighter and waited for an explosion that would disintegrate the shuttle and spread his charred remains through the thin upper atmosphere of Mia Culpa.

And then, quite suddenly, they were weightless. The engines shut down and the shuttle drifted in orbit. The instrument panels flashed red. One system after another reached a critical point and shut down.

"What now?" Parker asked, wild-eyed.

Without speaking, Fagen unstrapped his restraints and made his way into the lower compartment. He pulled away a panel and reached in amid a jumble of wires. Finding what he wanted, he pulled once, then twice and a handful of wires came loose.

"What are you doing?" Parker screamed.

Fagen ignored the doctor and went to another panel. He yanked the cover away and pulled on some more wires. This time they came away easily. He didn't bother to replace the cover.

He turned and looked up into the cockpit, facing the doctor. "Down here."

"What?"

"Get down here. Now!"

Parker frowned but unstrapped himself anyway and floated down into the lower compartment. Fagen opened the wide locker that held the EVA suits.

"Get suited up."

"We're going to leave the shuttle?"

"Unless you want to die."

Although he didn't immediately accept the fact, the doctor did as he was told and began to don his spacesuit. "What's the matter with the shuttle?"

"I think the aliens sabotaged it. Hydraulics gone, coolants gone, the mini-reactor's heating up. I can't stop it."

"How long have we got until it explodes?"

Fagen shrugged. He didn't know. The commander floated into the cockpit and radioed the Magellan. After a short pause, Nadine answered. Fagen gave her the coordinates for the shuttle, then added, "We're bailing out, Nadine. I've got a reactor overload and I'm 90 miles away."

Bonner's voice replaced Nadine's. "Stay put, Edward. We'll pick you up."

"Not a good idea, Bill. The thing could blow anytime. We'll try to make our way back on our own."

Parker chimed in. "Maybe we should let Bonner pick us up."

"Might get us all killed," snapped Fagen.

"Roger, understand," said Bonner, concern in his voice. "We'll try to track you, let us know what's going on. We'll be ready to move in, if needed."

"Just stay put," said Fagen, "and secure the ship against electro-magnetic pulses. With a little luck, we'll see you shortly. This is Fagen, out."

Parker looked unbelievably at the commander. "90 miles? On an EVA?"

Fagen ignored the doctor and took a last look at the instrument readings before floating back down into the lower compartment. He helped Parker with the EVA suit, then donned his own.

When they were ready, together they stepped into the airlock, sealed the hatch and depressurized the compartment. Fagen punched a button and the hatch opened.

Parker gaped at the stars but Fagen didn't waste any time. He pulled himself out of the airlock and floated a few feet from Parker. Along the hull, Fagen saw burned and pitted marks where the explosion from the laser cannon had damaged the shuttle. It was a wonder they hadn't crashed on takeoff. Drifting farther away, Fagen punched an air jet and stabilized himself. It was Parker's turn.

He hesitated and Fagen waved. "Come on Parker. You can do it."

"I'm coming." Parker came through the hatch a little too fast. He tried to brake himself but a miscalculation sent him spinning off.

Briefly, Fagen thought about letting him go, but with a short burst from his jets, he pursued the doctor. Precious time and fuel were wasted, but he managed to catch up and point the doctor in the right direction. Together they started their trek to the Magellan and hoped they could get far enough away to avoid being killed by the imminent explosion.

*

If it hadn't been for the weightless environs, Nadine would have paced up and down the confines of the bridge. As it was, she had to sit still. She glanced at Bonner. The engineer calmly sat at his console and watched for the flash that would mark the position of the shuttle.

"I'm tired of this," she said.

Bonner didn't move his eyes from his display. "Well, it won't be long."

"What if they don't make it?"

"We've been over this already. Why don't you check on Blane again?"

"He's all right. The last two times were the same: he sits down there plugged into the computers and ignores me. I hate being ignored."

"What do you expect from Blane?"

"I don't know. I can't imagine why Fagen wanted him along anyway. He's a detriment to this whole mission."

"He's great with computers..."

"...and lousy with people."

"The guy is a genius, Nadine."

"That doesn't excuse him."

"Yes, but..." Bonner stopped in mid-speech.

"What is it?"

"Check your telemetry of the alien ship. Has it moved closer to us?"

Nadine checked the readouts on her console. Her expression verified what he thought. "No doubt about it, it's creeping back. Jesus, Bill, what are we going to do? If Fagen has any chance at all in getting back, we can't move the ship."

Bonner punched the intercom. "Blane?"

There was no answer.

The engineer spoke into the intercom again. "Blane? If you're there, answer me."

Finally, Blane's voice floated through the speaker. "Yes, what is it?"

"I thought you might like to know; the alien ship is easing this way again."

"Yes, I know."

Nadine looked at the speaker in disbelief. "He knows?"

Bonner shrugged and spoke into the intercom again. "Got any ideas how to handle this?"

"We can't move the ship. Fagen is coming to this spot. Of course, we could tell him of our new position, but I doubt if he has either enough air or fuel for his jets to make any course corrections. To be perfectly honest, I doubt if he has enough air to make it this far."

Nadine bristled again. "Well then, why don't we just leave? Blane? Did you hear what I said?"

The wirehead did not reply immediately. She looked at Bonner. "He's thinking it over. Maybe he's not as crazy as I thought. Look, we've got all the information we came for," Nadine counted off on her fingers. "We've got pre-nova activity in a neighboring system, we've got hostile aliens that make the hostile natives look tame, and a commander that doesn't have a chance of surviving. We should get out of here while we can."

The engineer shook his head. "I don't know, Nadine."

Blane's voice came through the speaker again. "I, uh, don't see that the alien ship offers a threat at this time. In regard to the shuttle activity, we are out of explosion range. My calculations tell me the nova could be in the next twenty-four hours or next week. What difference does a few hours make? Fagen is the most capable man I know. If anyone can traverse 90 miles of space, it would be him. I suggest we monitor the situation closely."

The intercom clicked off, suggesting that Blane was finished with the discussion.

Disgusted, the navigator looked at Bonner. He avoided her gaze.

"What do you think?"

Bonner didn't like to make decisions. He hadn't been in a situation even remotely similar before. Not many people had. It wasn't his job to make life and death decisions. It wasn't Nadine's call either. The thing that bothered him was that the woman appeared to be correct. They might be able to save themselves.

He looked at his board and noted that the alien ship had closed another 5000 yards. He was about to admit that Nadine was right and shifted in his seat to look at the woman. Before he had a chance, a bright flash of light filled the monitors that displayed the area where the wounded shuttle drifted in its orbit.

Both Nadine and Bonner wordlessly watched as the burst blazed for a moment, then quickly diminished.

# Chapter 33

When they broke out of the trees, Harry didn't immediately see the cave. By that time, it was too dark. The sun had set nearly a full hour before. Kretin and Arai, carrying the remains of their grandfather, crossed the stream and set the body on the opposite bank while they waited for Harry to catch up.

Once he crossed the stream, Harry saw the illumination from a campfire and knew they were at the journey's end. It couldn't have come any sooner. He was exhausted. The alien had quit struggling long before and Harry wondered if it was still alive. At the moment, he didn't care one way or the other. He'd prevented the natives from killing it outright, but now he was so tired, he couldn't remember why.

As they climbed the rocks, heads appeared from above. When the surviving members of the tribe realized what Kretin and Arai carried, the mood changed from welcoming joy to bitter mourning.

The females cried and pulled their hair out in furry tufts. The children, who had been asleep, awoke and began to cry as well.

Harry, amid stares, staggered to a boulder and set the alien down. He heard Kretin make a reference to him, explaining to the others who he was. For the time being, he was ignored.

The women encircled the body. From their cries, Harry gathered that because of the mutilation the soul of the old man was in danger of being lost. Apparently, entrance into abo heaven was restricted to those whose bodies remained intact.

The wailing of the women disturbed the children even further. Not knowing what to do, they sat in their beds and cried while the women treated the dead Bedoran's wounds as if he were still alive. That was when Harry saw the female aborigine dressed in Kathleen's jumpsuit.

In his excitement, Harry's exhaustion fell away. Perhaps Kathleen was still alive. In an instant, the prospects of being stranded on an alien planet didn't seem quite so imposing.

Harry stood up. He wanted to talk, he wanted to ask someone about the girl, but the time wasn't right. The natives were obviously in the throes of mourning.

Arai approached the alien, took a grip on the netting, and pulled it away. The women hurled insults at it. In response, as if it knew what they said, the creature went into another fit of hissing and spitting. Its eyes flashed anger and it struggled ineffectively against its bonds.

With Kretin's help, they removed the monster from the net and staked it out on the ground, hands and feet spread wide, held by leather strips. When Arai completed the task, he disappeared into the cave, returning moments later with a wooden bowl full of nuts and berries. These he offered to Harry.

Harry ate slowly and hoped he wasn't poisoning himself. He also looked for the opportunity to discuss the whereabouts of Kathleen. As the boy squatted and munched on nuts, Harry figured the time was as good as any.

In his imperfect Bedoran speech, Harry asked about the woman's clothing. He pointed at the female wearing the corporation coveralls.

"Where did she get the...?" Harry didn't know how to say 'clothes' -- there was no Bedoran equivalent.

Arai sniffed in irritation, flicked his tail, and remained mute.

After a moment, Harry realized he hadn't asked properly. Starting again, he first asked permission to speak. Arai sniffed again, then signaled for Harry to ask his question. Harry did so and Arai acted as if it was the first time he had heard it.

"The outer covering?" Arai answered. "That came from a she-thing. We found her in the forest. Was she from your tribe?"

"Yes," Harry answered quickly, "I've been looking for her. Do you know where she is?"

The boy waved his tail in the negative. "Not anymore. She was here but she was lost in the forest. It was too bad. I liked her."

"What happened?"

The boy motioned toward the alien. "They took her."

"Where?"

"At the place in the forest where the monsters come from. There is a place where they live and that is also where their flying thing rests."

"Can we go to see?"

Arai shrugged. "Perhaps tomorrow."

Harry started to argue but realized it wouldn't do any good. Even as much as he needed to rest, now he had reason to go on.

Kretin overheard their conversation and drifted over, away from the women, to a spot beside his younger brother.

Harry asked to speak to Kretin. The Bedoran signaled affirmatively.

"I want to go to the monster's place."

"It is dangerous," Kretin replied, "but I too would go to take revenge."

"I am ready," Harry said with bravado.

The Bedoran shook his head and flicked his tail. "You are not. Your legs and back are weary. You must rest awhile, then we will go."

Harry pointed at the alien. "What of this creature?"

Kretin bared his teeth. "In the morning, we will dismember it, slowly. If it has a heart, we will burn it in the ritual fire so that its soul cannot pass from this world." He took a pebble and spat on it, then tossed it at the helpless creature. It bounced off and the monster squirmed.

"Now we must rest." Kretin pointed to a vacant spot just inside the mouth of the cave and instructed Harry to take his rest there.

Harry staggered to the spot and lay down. In minutes, he was asleep.

*

At one point in the evening, when both moons had risen and Kretin had gotten up for the third time, Arai awoke and joined his brother.

"Everyone is finally asleep, except for the deformed creature." Arai gave a look toward the alien. It watched them through half-closed eyes.

"Let it remain awake," Kretin said bitterly, "and it will sleep no more."

"The days are growing hotter. Perhaps the time of reckoning is upon us, as the legends foretell."

Kretin looked at the star-filled sky. "If that is so, then there is no hope. Grandfather might have known what to do, but I do not."

The boy tried to soothe his brother. "Whatever happens, we have taken our revenge. Our honor is intact."

"There is still more to be done. As long as the monsters walk the forests, I will have no peace."

The boy saw that his brother was weary and worried about what was to come for the tribe. The future was uncertain, and it weighed most on the new tribal leader.

"In the morning we will start anew. The morning brings the new day."

"Yes, it is so," Kretin agreed. "The dawn will bring a new day. For now, we must rest."

It was what Arai hoped to hear. The two returned to their beds and eventually both went to sleep.

The alien ceased its struggling, but not once did it close its eyes. Over the embers of the dying fire, it watched the sleeping tribesmen. When it was sure everyone was asleep, it craned its neck until the strap securing one hand was within reach of its foul-smelling mouth and it began to gnaw its way through.

Its blunted teeth worked at the strap and, before long, it managed to gnaw through the leather. Working quickly, it untied itself from its remaining restraints. When it was free, it lay quietly to ensure it had not been seen. After a moment, it partially rose and then scurried into the nearby shadows.

Down to the last child, the tribe slept. Kretin had finally found escape from his problems by allowing sleep to overtake him. Likewise, Harry slept soundly.

The alien moved again; this time closer to Kretin. Beside the sleeping Bedoran was his pouch, a net, and his spears. The creature moved stealthily to the pouch. While it watched Kretin closely with one eye, it opened the pouch and dug inside with a small, clawed hand. It found what it wanted and withdrew the gemstone.

Without any more hesitation, the alien stole its way into the night.

Later, Arai awoke and went for water. The sleepy boy walked past the spot where the alien had been laid out but didn't notice the creature was missing. Quenching his thirst, he sipped from the community bowl. The forest was quiet, and the stars shone brightly from above. The boy watched the sky for a moment before turning back to his bed.

Lying down again, he turned on his side and thought about his Grandfather. Life without him would not be the same. Arai noted that he no longer felt like a boy and recognized that a part of his young life was over. A tear ran down his furry cheek, not for himself, but for the old one.

He wiped his cheek with the back of his hand and blinked the remaining tears from his eyes. That was when he saw that the creature was gone. Suddenly, Arai was fully awake.

He jumped to his feet and crossed to where the gnawed strap lay, still tied at one end to a stake driven into the ground. The boy went to his older brother.

"Kretin! Wake up!"

Kretin mumbled in his sleep.

"Brother, wake up!" Arai repeated. "The creature is gone!"

Kretin's eyes fluttered open. "What?"

The boy pointed. "The creature has freed itself. What shall we do?"

Kretin sat upright and looked to where his brother pointed. When he realized what had happened, he pounded the ground in anger. "It cannot be far. Let's track it down and kill it as we should have done in the beginning."

Arai nodded gravely. Kretin got to his feet. "Get your spears," he told the boy.

Kretin stepped lively past the sleeping bodies and retrieved his weapons. The cave was dark and cool, the fire had died and along with it, the light. Even so, Arai stepped without disturbing the others and woke Harry with a not so subtle jab to the ribs.

Harry blinked and remembered where he was. "What is it?" he said first in English, then repeated himself in the Bedoran language.

"We're going hunting. The creature has escaped. We will kill it tonight. You are responsible, so you will help us."

Harry shook the grogginess from his head and stood. Arai handed him the water bowl and Harry took a deep drink. Upon finishing, he looked Kretin in the eye. "All right," he said, "which way?"

# Chapter 34

The effects of the explosion were minimal, relatively speaking. Dispersed into the vacuum of space, the shock wave was short-lived, as well as the electro-magnetic pulse. Long before the corona subsided, Bonner was at the radio, calling for Fagen.

Steadying herself, Nadine gaped at her instruments.

"I want out of here. Now! When I get back, I'm gonna take a nice, soft desk job with the Corporation."

"I thought you wanted to retire."

"Right now, I don't care if I make a cent off this as long as I get back alive. Do you think Fagen and Parker made it through?"

"I don't know. It depends on how far away they were. The EVA suits are well-insulated against radiation."

"If they're alive, why don't they answer?"

"I don't know. Maybe their radios were knocked out." Bonner looked at Nadine. "We've got to be sure."

"How much longer are we going to wait?"

"Just awhile." Bonner punched the intercom. "Blane? You all right down there?" As before, Blane didn't respond.

Bonner tried again. There was no answer. He unstrapped himself from his chair and turned in mid-air to face Nadine.

"Call Fagen every minute or so. I'm going to check on Blane. What a pain he's turned out to be."

"Wait a second," said Nadine.

"What is it?"

"I've got a decompression light in the secondary airlock."

"What the hell?"

A green light in a long array of red lights, flashed on Nadine's instrument console. "Secondary airlock hatch is open," she reported.

Bonner turned away. "I'm going down to see what's going on!"

"Don't bother," replied Nadine.

The engineer stopped. "Why?"

"Take a look," she said, moving away from her console so that Bonner could see her display.

The image on the screen was that of someone in an EVA suit, moving away from the Magellan, directly toward the alien ship.

"It's Blane," Bonner said. "What does he think he's doing?"

"He's really flipped out this time."

Bonner moved to the radio and opened the EVA channel. "Blane! What are you doing? Answer me!"

Blane went on without response, floating across the short span of space to the alien ship. Bonner continued to call long after he lost sight of him.

*

Kretin dropped down and fell into step beside his younger brother. Harry trailed along behind.

"We should have caught the creature by now," Kretin said, "and yet it is still ahead of us."

"It is not far. The trail is fresh," observed Arai.

"Yes, we are catching up, but I think it will arrive at its destination first."

"And so?"

"We will wait for an opportunity to attack."

Harry was amazed at the Bedorans' lack of fear. If he hadn't already seen how well they handled themselves, he wouldn't give them a chance.

The ground was soft, spongy with the accumulation of pine needles. There was little other vegetation, but that was all right, it made for easy walking. Harry followed the Bedorans, thinking about Kathleen and how he might as yet find her out among the trees. Or maybe she'd run across the aliens... No, he didn't want to consider that. Better to...

He stepped over a meter-tall root and saw them both ahead of him, frozen in their tracks. So still were they, they appeared as statues, staring into the distance at something Harry didn't see until it moved. It was one of them. It shifted its weight from the two fore legs to the one rear leg. Weapons and assorted paraphernalia adorned the belt encircling its girth, lending it an almost comical appearance. Although Harry and the Bedorans were clearly in its field of vision, it didn't attack. To the contrary, it lingered near the base of the tree, ignoring them.

Harry took a step forward and still it made no move. Kretin slowly raised his spear. Arai followed Kretin's lead.

Harry signaled the equivalent negative hand signal of a Bedoran "no," and the boys restrained themselves from launching an all-out attack. To their amazement, Harry started walking straight toward the monster. Before he got halfway there, it finally noticed him.

It turned to face him and began to emit a high noise, like a siren, grating and painful to the ears, all the while remaining where it was. Harry had paused but now he started toward it again. With one mechanical hand, it reached towards a weapon hanging from its utility belt. The wailing noise continued unabated.

Without stopping, Harry scooped up a fair-sized rock in one hand. To the Bedorans, it looked like he was going to do battle with the beast with only a rock for a weapon. And indeed, he stepped up to the beast, which now leveled the weapon at Harry's head. Before it squeezed off its shot, Harry threw the rock. From the Bedorans' perspective, it looked like Harry had thrown the rock at the monster's feet.

Unexpectedly, the monster flickered briefly out of existence. When it returned, a wave rippled through it as though it was an image reflected from the surface of a pool. Harry stepped into, then through the image. It went out altogether.

Harry squatted, looking at something which he held up for the Bedorans' to see. A metallic casing of some type, it reflected the light.

"Here it is," Harry said in Bedoran.

Arai looked at Kretin. Kretin returned the look and shrugged. They both looked back to Harry.

"What is it?" Kretin asked.

"It's what they use to make the pictures."

The two brothers looked blankly at Harry. Finally, Kretin spoke. "Where did it go?"

"No, you don't understand. You see, it was never there. What you saw were illusions, pictures on the air,"

"Whatever you say," said Kretin, exchanging another look with his brother, "is it safe to proceed?"

"Well, it was probably supposed to scare anything away, but it may have been a detector as well. If it was, then the one we're chasing has friends and they know we're coming."

"Do the odds frighten you? Are you changing your mind?"

"Lead the way," said Harry.

"It isn't far. Be very quiet from here on. When we get there, we will watch and form our attack."

They moved out, Kretin in the lead. He soon took to the trees, as did Arai. Harry tried to keep up, but he soon lost sight of them.

Minutes later, Harry glimpsed the alien ship through the trees. He moved closer until all that hid him from the ship was the trunk of a tree that could have hidden twenty people. There was no sign of either Kretin or Arai. Harry looked up into the branches. The two Bedorans were there somewhere, waiting for the chance to exact their revenge.

Harry's attention was drawn back to the ship as two aliens emerged from the forest and walked on spidery legs toward the vehicle. Between them they carried several bundles, all wrapped in what appeared to be a soft, white, billowy substance, not unlike large tufts of cotton. The bundles ranged in size from a foot across to several feet, large enough to hold a body.

When they reached the ship, a hatch opened, and they deposited the bundles into it. They then turned and retraced their steps, walking back into the forest. The hatch remained open.

Harry didn't move. In five minutes, the aliens returned with a new set of parcels. These they also put inside the ship. As before, the aliens walked away.

Harry stood and moved quickly. From the trees, the two Bedorans watched with interest. What was the stranger doing?

He ran across the open field to the alien ship, all the while keeping a sharp eye on the place the aliens had disappeared. He half-expected any second to be burned by a laser discharge.

He moved closer to the ship and the open hatch. Realizing there was no force-field in effect, he quickly stepped to the hatch.

The portal was above his head and he had to jump to grip the edge. The additional gravity caused Harry's one hundred and seventy pounds to feel more like two-ten. He strained to pull himself up and, with great effort, managed to hoist himself over the lip of the opening.

The inside of the portal was smooth and slick with nothing to hang onto. Harry slid down the shaft into darkness and fell into a soft, semi-lit chamber. As his eyes adjusted, he saw the bundles the aliens had loaded. Harry picked up one of the smaller packages.

There was something inside, covered by the downy material. He tore the outer covering loose and saw that it held a small forest animal, something like a squirrel. To his surprise, the animal was alive, although it was unconscious. He set it down and picked up another package.

This one was a little larger. Harry tore it open and quickly drew in a breath before dropping it. The package held a severed and withered Bedoran hand.

More bundles came sliding down the shaft and nearly buried the linguist. As Harry climbed out, a mechanical sound ensued and the light in the chamber dimmed. The exterior hatch had been shut. There was no way out.

# Chapter 35

The alien ship drifted to within a thousand yards of the Magellan. Attempted radio communications with Blane proved to be fruitless. Bonner and Nadine had both watched, speechless, as Blane entered the alien ship.

"Why would he do it?"

"Because he's crazy," Nadine flatly said. "I never liked him anyway."

"He's still part of the team, Nadine."

"The team? I don't see anybody left except you and me. We are the team, man."

Bonner took a deep breath. "How long will it take to run a navigations routine?"

Nadine grinned widely. It was what she'd wanted to hear for days. "Not long. I've already calculated the coordinates to the wormhole and laid the program in."

"We need to physically secure the ship."

"I'll get right on it," Nadine volunteered. It was amazing how quickly her mood changed. Ice water, Bonner thought, the woman has ice water in her veins.

"All right," the engineer said, "I'll take the hanger bay and you take the lab and storage bays. I'll meet you in the crew space and we'll check out the remainder of the compartments together."

"Aye, aye," Nadine said. The woman unbuckled her straps and floated off the bridge.

Bonner didn't feel good about his decision, but he saw no other course. Nadine's attitude didn't help. Well, the decision's been made, whether he liked it or not, it was time to carry through with it. He initiated the system checks for the Magellan's thrusters and watched while the computer reported its findings. One by one, the various systems reported back ready and on-line. When the checks were completed, Bonner tripped a switch that started a pre-heating process for the ship's fuel.

He scanned his pre-flight checklist and, satisfied he'd properly finished the routine, he unstrapped himself and made his way down to the shuttle bay.

A minute after he left the bridge, a faint voice broke through the radio speaker. "Magellan, this is Fagen. Do you hear me?"

Unfortunately, there was no longer anyone on the bridge and the message passed without being noticed.

*

Harry relaxed for a moment and tried to think. Now that the hatch was shut, cutting off the source of fresh air, he noticed that the confines of the alien shuttle held foreign odors, none of which smelled pleasant. The compartment was ten feet on both sides with a low ceiling. Harry could easily reach it if he stood up.

He strained to see through the dim light and searched for an alternative exit. At a corner of the ceiling, he finally spotted what looked like seams. As he stood on one of the larger bundles, a deep rumbling came vibrating through the walls.

The ship shifted and Harry lost his footing, tumbling down into the soft, lumpy packages. As the rumbling gained in volume and the alien shuttle began its lift-off, Harry was pinned against the floor.

Outside, Kretin and Arai watched safely from their perch in the trees as the ship, accompanied by a thunderous sound and a great wind, rose into the air. When it was gone, the forest regained its sylvan composure.

*

The hull of the Magellan loomed closer. Fagen saw that the alien ship with its sleek, black exterior was closer than when he'd left.

He pulled Parker toward the airlock and directed him to one of two handholds. While Parker held on with a viselike grip, Fagen punched a button on an exterior panel. Automatically, the hatch slid open.

Fagen helped Parker climb inside, then followed. The exterior hatch closed, and the airlock slowly filled with air.

The trip had been surprisingly simple. The coordinates for the Magellan were dead on course. At forty miles away, Fagen had glimpsed the running lights of the ship. Of course, the blast was frightening, but they remained unharmed. Fortunately, they'd moved far enough away to avoid the greater part of the radiation. The shockwave didn't hurt at all. As a matter of fact, it had acted as a wave that helped to push them closer to the Magellan. Unfortunately, the radio circuits were scrambled by the explosion.

As soon as the airlock recycled, Fagen stepped out and punched the nearest intercom. There was no answer from the bridge. He angrily turned away and started towards the bridge. Parker limped along behind.

Once on the bridge, it took Fagen less than a minute to recognize that the Magellan was prepared to move out of orbit.

"Where is everybody?" asked Parker.

Without answering, Fagen again tried the intercom, this time addressing all spaces throughout the ship. Bonner's voice came back.

"Edward? Is that you?"

"Of course, who did you expect?"

"Well, we thought you were dead."

"From the looks of things, that's pretty obvious. Where's Blane? Where's Watson?"

"Nadine's here. Uh, there's been a problem with Blane."

"Well, get up here and fill me in."

"We'll be right there."

The intercom clicked off.

Moments later, Bonner sheepishly appeared on the bridge. Nadine didn't share the engineer's embarrassment and came in behind him, head held high, chin jutting into the air. She looked like she was ready for a fight.

"We thought you were dead."

"Apparently," said Fagen, looking at the launch control panel. "Where's Blane?"

Bonner ran down the events that had transpired since contact had been lost with Fagen. The commander listened without commenting until Bonner was finished.

"So you and Nadine took it upon yourselves to save the mission, along with your lives?"

Bonner shrugged. Nadine wasn't so docile.

"We should have left a full twenty-four hours ago. If we had, we'd be missing two of the crew instead of four. Look, _Fagen_ , we've gathered as much data as the Corporation requires; we've got an imminent nova in Volans, hostile aliens, and half a crew. Who else has to die before you're satisfied?"

Fagen eyed the black woman. She was making a power play with the wrong man.

Surprisingly, Parker interjected himself between the two. "Calm down, Nadine. Edward isn't to blame for what happened."

"Not to blame? He's the mission commander. Without an executive officer, he doesn't have to answer to anyone."

"We don't act by majority rule."

"Maybe we should," she grumbled.

"I've heard enough," said Fagen. "Under the circumstances, I don't blame either of you for wanting to get out of here. However, I'm the mission commander, and I'm still here, and as long as I'm still here, I'll make the decisions. Is that clear?"

Nadine, arms crossed over her ample chest like a recalcitrant child, avoided his gaze. Bonner showed his understanding by nodding.

"All right," Fagen said, "Doc, go take care of your foot. Nadine, help him. Afterwards, both of you get some rest."

"I don't need to rest," said Nadine suddenly.

"Yes, you do," Fagen said. "Bill, stay here and help me."

The doctor and Nadine left the bridge. Nadine was angry, but she held her tongue and followed the doctor to the lab.

After they left, Bonner turned to Fagen and apologized. "Edward, I swear I thought you and Parker were dead. When Blane left the ship, that was sort of the last straw."

Fagen held up a hand. "I understand. But we're not dead and we do have options left to us."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that we can prepare to leave this system, but we can also afford to wait until the eleventh hour. If Gamma-2 goes nova, we'll still have enough time to make it back to the wormhole long before the radiation gets here."

"What about the aliens?"

Fagen didn't answer immediately. He looked at the display that showed the ship floating in space less than a thousand yards away. "The aliens are the most interesting find we've made. They'd be the most interesting thing to the Corporation as well. But think about it, Bill. I'm sure they're just as aware of the nova as we are. They won't stick around. I'd be willing to bet they'll be gone long before. After the nova, this planet will still exist, but it will be nothing more than a lifeless cinder. The Corporation will be only marginally interested. Without hard data on the aliens, the chances of large bonuses will disappear. I know this for a fact, Bill. The Corporation is run like any other large company: it's ruthless. Personally, I'm willing to roll the dice again if it means the largest payoff in Corporation history."

Fagen sighed. "Understand me, Bill. The money doesn't mean anything to me. I'm rich already. I've got more than I could ever hope to spend. What we face here goes beyond bonuses. It goes beyond Nadine's retirement plans. And it goes beyond personal greed. The aliens are big news. Maybe the biggest thing to happen since we discovered the wormhole, probably bigger. There's still a lot to be learned and I want as much as I can get before we have to leave. If Nadine doesn't understand, well, that's just too bad. Now, on to more practical considerations. Did you see Blane enter the alien ship?"

"No," Bonner replied, "he was too far away."

"So, we don't know his status?"

"I figure he's dead by now."

"Not necessarily. Blane is very resourceful."

"He's also crazy."

Fagen didn't answer; something on his instrument panel distracted him. "What's that?"

Bonner looked at Fagen's display. Radar reports showed a vehicle en route from the planet's surface. The engineer squinted at the readouts and shook his head. "I don't know."

"There's only one thing it could be: it's the alien shuttle on its way up."

*

When the alien shuttle reached its mother ship, Fagen surprised Bonner and Nadine by taking the unprecedented step of moving the Magellan to within 500 yards of the mother ship. Predictably, Nadine complained, but to no avail.

Inside the shuttle, the soft bundles prevented Harry from being crushed on lift-off. When the shuttle docked with the larger ship, Harry felt a soft thud as the craft locked into place. Surprisingly, a light gravitational field prevented him from floating. He stood and reached for the seams in the overhead.

There was little doubt it was an access into the compartment, but there were no controls Harry could see. He ran his hand along the seam and felt for hidden buttons, but there were none. The more he ran his hands along the seams, the warmer the area became. After a few seconds, he noticed that the seam began to widen, and he realized that the seams responded to his touch.

It opened slowly at first. When there was just a crack, Harry peeped through to the opposite side, but there wasn't much to see, just another dimly lit tunnel. When there was enough room, Harry crawled through.

The tunnel was no more than three feet high. The walls, floor and ceiling had a fine dust covering as if cleaning the area had been a neglected duty for a long time. The seam closed behind him and he found himself with a choice of two directions. One seemed as good as the other, so Harry mentally tossed a coin and took the left-handed path.

The tunnel ended at another seam. Harry paused. He knew how to get through, but he had absolutely no idea of what lay on the other side. Rather than continue forward, he turned around and worked his way to the opposite end of the tunnel where he found another seam. Again, he had a choice of directions without an inkling of what lay beyond.

He ran a hand along the seam and, before his eyes, it began to widen. Harry braced himself. The seam stretched into a wide line that parted from the center. Light from the outside broke over Harry. For a moment, he could see nothing, then as his eyes adjusted, he saw he had chosen correctly: he'd found the exit.

The alien shuttlecraft sat in the hanger bay of the alien ship. None of the aliens were present. Harry gripped the edges of the newly formed portal and jumped onto the invisible surface of the force field.

Stars shined beneath his feet. Miaplacidus was out of sight but a portion of the hanger bay caught its light and afforded Harry a good look around.

He stepped to the airlock controls trying not to close his eyes as he walked over the invisible floor. All his instincts screamed for him to find a handhold, anything that would prevent him from falling through to the emptiness outside.

Taking a deep breath, he selected the hatch control for the airlock. It opened with a sucking sound and Harry stepped inside. The airlock was unoccupied and when the outer door slid shut he pressed the control for the inner door. The hatch slid open. Still no sign of the aliens.

As Harry stepped into the corridor, the lighting grew brighter as if the ship sensed his presence. He re-traced the path he and Doris had taken and soon faced the hatch to the control room.

Harry wasn't sure what he would find on the other side. An encounter with hostile aliens seemed most likely. For a moment, Harry wondered if any of his team would survive the mission. Perhaps he had only moments left as well. He rested a moment longer and reluctantly admitted that he'd run out of ideas. Stuck on the alien ship, eventually he would be discovered.

He reached for the hatch control and pressed the release button. The hole appeared and grew in size until it was large enough for him to pass through. Harry stepped into the control room.

A voice floated to him from one of the chairs set before the curving console. "Hello, Harry. Nice to see you."

Harry's jaw dropped. For the next few seconds, he was speechless. Sitting before the alien instrument console, with wires running from the console to his head, was Dr. Barthelme Blane, the wirehead.

# Chapter 36

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked Blane.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Where are the aliens?"

"It's a long story."

"Do I have time to listen to it?"

Blane smiled. "Yes, I suppose you do. First, tell me how you got here."

As Harry related the details of his ordeal on the planet surface, he couldn't help but notice how Blane seemed to have changed, not physically, but emotionally. Harry had never seen the man so relaxed, even happy.

Blane listened carefully. Occasionally, he was distracted by communications with the ship's computers. When Harry finished telling Blane about his experiences, he asked about the aliens. Where were they? Was he in danger?

"Danger?" Blane said. "Oh yes, I don't want to downplay that." He passed a hand over a light panel and a hidden drawer slid out of the bulkhead. In the drawer sat the severed head of Doris Leonelda Ilyich. Wires and fluid-carrying tubes ran out of her skull and into the wall. Harry gasped and took a step backward.

Bart glanced at the young linguist and, seeing his reaction, quickly said, "Sorry, I should have warned you."

"What have they done to her? Is she alive?"

"No, she's not alive, but they are using her brain. Incredible technology." Blane passed his hand over the panel again and the drawer slid silently back into place.

Harry looked about the alien bridge. "Where are they?"

"In cells," the wirehead replied, "in stasis. The ship takes care of everything, so much in fact, that they practically ignore any kind of threat. They rely on the ship to take care of them. At least while they're in space. It's a wonderful ship, Harry. The computer, if you want to call it that, is self-aware. It's alive, Harry, and it contains so much knowledge that even I have a difficult time keeping up with it."

"What are they doing here?"

"I'd rather let Fagen tell you."

"Fagen? How would he know?"

"He's been here before, Harry."

"How could that be? He's..." Harry stopped in mid-sentence. He remembered the problem with navigations when the Magellan first entered the wormhole and all the other hints. It made sense. With Blane's help, Fagen had manipulated the destination and broken Corporation rules by changing the mission destination. Of course, it was simple.

"But why?"

"I'd rather let Fagen tell you. It's still his show."

"So, he knows you're here?"

Blane grinned. "Well, he does now."

"How can I get out of here?"

"Well, we need to be careful about that. I have succeeded in establishing a relationship with the computer, but the aliens don't trust me. They've known about you since you climbed out of the shuttle. The only reason you're still alive is that I was able to override the computer's territorial imperatives. Let me amend that, because that's not exactly the right wording; I was able to convince it that you were something I could deal with."

"Why does it listen to you?"

"Ah, that. It's because it recognizes me as a cybernetic personality. It's the machine in me it trusts. The biological part is of some interest, but primarily it understands me as it would another computer."

'This is incredible," said Harry. "But what about the aliens? Their culture? Don't their machines do whatever they're ordered to do?"

"Sort of. But they don't interact in the same way as we do with our computers. You must understand, Harry, their species and their culture are advanced and very old. When I refer to the alien computer, you automatically assume I'm talking about a machine. Perhaps, at one time, it was, but not anymore, at least not by human standards. The computer that runs this ship has awareness of itself. It considers itself a separate entity. As far as I can gather, the aliens began developing these 'machines' thousands of years ago. They take care of the alien race and have done a good job for a long, long time. As a result, the alien culture has become increasingly decadent. All their needs are fulfilled. Everything they do is for their own amusement. As individuals, they're egotistical little bastards, that's for sure, but they trust their machine intelligences explicitly."

"What are they doing here?"

"They own the property."

"The property? You mean the planet?"

"Precisely. They've been coming here on and off for over a thousand years. After the last flare-up from Gamma-2, they made the planet habitable again by terraforming the entire coastal area we've been exploring. Afterwards they transplanted species of plants and animals from the multitude of worlds they'd discovered in their own travels through space. They use Mia Culpa as a sort of game preserve. They visit for various reasons: to study the lifeforms, to enjoy the outdoors, to hunt..."

"What do they want with us?"

Blane looked surprised. "Why, nothing. When we arrived, we were merely something else to look at."

"But we come from an advanced species, we have the ability to travel through space."

"We have the ability to send a craft into a wormhole, Harry. That's a big difference from what their ships can do. This craft creates its own field, in effect creating its own wormhole. These things have traveled from one end of the galaxy to the other. Their technological history reaches ten times longer than ours. They've been around a long time, a lot longer than Homo Sapiens. By a long shot. They see us as just another lifeform. We can't expect much more than that from them.

Harry shook his head. "I can't believe it. You mean they're not even interested in communicating with us?"

Blane laughed. "Harry, it would be like our efforts at communicating with primates. Oh, they have the means, they've done it with plenty of other species, but not for a long time. They believe there's nothing to be learned from us. So why bother?"

"This is so hard to believe."

"It's simply a matter of perspective, Harry."

"Why haven't they killed you?"

"I am useful to them. Besides," Blane smiled, "the computer likes me. She helped talk them into letting me hook up."

"That's fantastic."

"No, I think it was my personality."

"Whatever. How can I get back to the Magellan?"

"We need to be careful. As I said, if they suspect we're up to something, they won't hesitate to kill us both." Blane looked Harry up and down. "You could probably squeeze into my EVA suit."

"Then what would you use?"

"I'll just have to figure out something else."

"Like what?"

"Don't worry about it. Fagen will work it out. Just listen for a minute. Go back the way you came. Just before the airlock, there's a seam. Rub a hand over it and it'll open up..." Harry nodded knowingly.

"...inside you'll find the EVA suit. From there, go out the way you came in. When you get back to the Magellan, tell Fagen to wait for a message burst."

"You're sure this is how you want to do this?"

"Don't worry, Fagen will work it out."

"How much does Fagen know?"

"He knows a lot, Harry, but he's the one who should tell you, not me."

"I'm getting a little tired of not knowing what's going on."

Blane shrugged. "There's one other thing..."

"What's that?"

"It's Kathleen. She's still alive."

"Where?"

"You're not going to like to hear this, but I suspect she was on the shuttle with you, maybe in the same storage compartment."

Harry stared unbelievingly at the smaller man. It could be true and Harry knew it. There were several cocoons large enough to hold the woman. Silently, Harry chastised himself for not looking around while he had the chance.

"I'll go back and get her out."

"No," Blane said, "you'll only succeed in getting the both of you killed. I'll do what I can here. You need to get back to the Magellan and tell Fagen what I said."

Harry hesitated and shook his head. "I can't leave now, knowing that she's here."

Blane sighed. "I shouldn't have told you."

"I'm glad you did."

"Look Harry, if we're to have any chance, you've got to go..." He stopped in mid-sentence, closed his eyes and shifted his head. "Ah, Harry, you need to leave now!"

"Why, what's happening?"

"There's some movement among the aliens. They're becoming increasingly alarmed by your presence. Please, Harry, leave now while I stall them. I'll do my best to take care of Kathleen until you return, but please, you must leave now!"

Reluctantly, Harry shifted his feet. Blane was right. Harry needed to go for help. If Fagen already had some kind of plan, Harry might foul things up if he acted on his own.

"All right," he said, "I'll go. But mark my words, Blane, I will be back."

"I believe you, Harry. Now please go while you still have the chance."

Harry nodded and left the alien bridge. He found the EVA suit exactly where Blane said it would be and wriggled into it in record time.

As he exited the airlock into the hanger bay, he briefly thought about going back into the shuttle and looking for Kathleen. The thought vanished when the airlock opened again, and a suited alien stepped out.

It saw him immediately. Harry stood on the invisible floor of the hanger bay, fighting his vertigo. Heart beating wildly, he looked for escape, or cover. There was neither.

The stars winked below Harry's feet. He tried to move behind the vehicle for protection, but the alien, in its own armored EVA suit, moved more quickly and stood between the man and the alien vehicle.

Harry looked right and left but there was nothing but empty space. There was no place to hide and Harry had no weapons.

# Chapter 37

Harry was backed into the proverbial corner. He stood on the transparent floor of the shuttle bay and watched the alien advance. It could have picked him off with any of its weapons, but it saw he had nowhere to run and so it took its time. Harry was alone, helpless, and at the mercy of the creature.

It took a step forward and Harry took a corresponding step backward. Desperately, he glanced around, looking for a way out. Below his feet, the stars shined against their velvet backdrop.

The alien toyed with him. Harry took a step to the side and the creature cut him off. It could have rushed forward at any time and taken him, but it didn't. Instead, it followed him around the bay, gradually drawing closer all the while. Harry tried to work his way behind the shuttle, but the alien cut him off and backed him up.

It feinted at him and Harry reacted immediately but stumbled in the process and fell backward. In the blink of an eye, the alien towered over him, straddling him with its spindly legs. It stretched its mechanical arms wide as it prepared to embrace him. Harry shut his eyes and braced himself. But in the next instant, he dropped through the bottom of the hanger bay.

He opened his eyes and saw he'd somehow managed to fall free. He fell backwards, out of the hanger bay, away from the suited alien. It remained in the shuttle bay and watched as Harry floated away. Somehow, the force field had turned off and released him with not a moment to spare.

Twisting about, he caught sight of the Magellan and punched his jet controls. The momentary exhaust pushed him in the proper direction, and he picked up speed. He gave a last look at the alien ship as he floated toward safety. The alien turned away and re-entered the airlock.

Harry shuddered inside the ill-fitting EVA suit. He'd dodged another bullet. In less than ten minutes he traversed the space between the two ships and entered the shelter of the Magellan's airlock. Once inside, he collapsed on the interior bench as the air recycled. When the inner door opened, Fagen and Bonner were waiting.

"How're you feeling, Harry?"

His mouth was dry, and his head pounded, but he was alive. "Fine, I guess."

Fagen handed him a pouch of water and Harry took a long drink.

"We thought we'd lost you," said Bonner.

"You stowed away on the alien shuttle, right?" asked Fagen.

Harry nodded. "Yeah," then remembering, he added, "and Blane's on the alien ship."

"Did he say anything? Is he all right?"

"It was very strange. He was plugged into their computer and yes, we talked for two minutes. He told me where the EVA suit was stored." Harry looked at Fagen. "They've got Kathleen too."

Bonner shook his head. "I need to get back to the bridge. I'm glad you're okay, partner." The engineer patted Harry on the shoulder and left.

Fagen leaned forward. "Okay, Harry. Tell me what it was like. Did you see Blane?"

"Yes, I saw Blane. He's why I'm here." Harry related his story to Fagen. When he was done, Fagen turned away.

"Where're you going?" asked Harry.

"To the bridge. I think you could use some rest. We've also got a new situation. Seems like one of the neighboring stars is due to go nova."

"This just gets better all the time."

"Yes, well I don't want to burn up any more than anybody else. There're still some loose ends. We've got two crew members stranded on the alien ship..."

Harry interrupted him, "I need to know something, Edward."

"What's that?"

"Tell me what's really happening here."

"What?"

"I know you've been here before, on an earlier mission. Somehow, you prevented the company from finding out. You brought us here, didn't you? You've had your own agenda the whole time and none of us knew anything about it, except Blane, maybe Kathleen. Isn't that right?"

Fagen looked at his younger crew member for a moment before commenting. "What did Blane tell you?"

"Enough. Not everything, but enough. You knew the aliens would be here. I'm guessing about that, but I know it's true. You knew about the planet, the natives, everything, but somehow you kept it from the Corporation. You changed our velocity parameters. The Corporation doesn't know where we are, isn't that right?"

"No, they don't, Harry."

"Why?"

Harry watched Fagen carefully. The man obviously struggled with the answers. "Well," he said finally, "the Corporation is not the benevolent entity people think it is. The prime motive behind space exploration is to make money. Everything else takes a back seat. Remember the conservation movement on Earth? Remember how it failed? Remember how symbolic gestures by the world government coalition appeased the public while we continued to poison the planet?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"It was all manipulated by the Braithwaite Corporation and a handful of other corporate conglomerates. What we do as survey explorers is to find other worlds to exploit and colonize. We are agents of our culture with imperatives issued by the Braithwaite Corporation. If those imperatives are knowingly circumvented, then the Corporation has deemed that those actions amount to felonious deeds and should be punished accordingly. All the while, anything we find out here is declared to be property of the Corporation. It's corporate imperialism, plain and simple. The Corporation always has the last word."

Fagen paused and Harry waited for him to continue.

"Most everybody who works for the Corporation doesn't care about that. Most are here for the big payoff. Look at Nadine."

Harry held up a hand. "I understand, but what does this have to do with anything?"

"For years I've been looking for a way to break away and still manage to do what I want."

"Which is?"

"You already know, Harry. I told you before we left. I want to travel among the stars. I want to explore and make discoveries, the same as you. Unfortunately, true space exploration is severely limited by two factors. First, the Corporation dictates where a survey team goes and what they do. The dictates serve the Corporation's purposes and no one else's. In our exploration of the universe, we find ourselves making the same mistakes and carrying the same attitudes as those who first explored and plundered Earth. The more things change, the more they remain the same. You've witnessed the power and strangeness of the aliens we've encountered. After your experiences, do you really think humanity has a chance to broach communications with the savagery we've encountered?"

Harry shrugged.

"You're good at what you do, Harry, you're probably the best linguist I've ever seen, but you still had no chance at conversing with them. There's just too much difference between us and them. From what I've seen, they've got no qualms about killing anything that gets in the way. I think they're not only capable of it but inclined to it. They like to kill. I don't know why they haven't killed us all already."

"Secondly, we're limited in our exploration by our technology. The discovery of the wormhole was a boon, but we're still limited in regard to choosing our destinations."

"What are you up to, Edward? What about our people who are trapped over there?"

"I'm trying to tell you..."

"We've got people trapped over there!"

"I want to save Kathleen and Bart as much as you do. Afterwards, if everything goes all right, then you'll see. Do you trust me on this?"

"No, I don't. How can I?"

"Harry, my first concern is for the crew and getting everybody back to Earth safely. I need your help to do that."

"What do you want to do?"

"I want to lead an armed EVA to the alien ship. It's the only way we're going to get Kathleen and Bart back."

"And the aliens? Are we going to try to fight them?"

"We'll deal with them just as they've dealt with us. It's a matter of survival."

"But Edward, this is our first encounter with an advanced species, don't we owe it to humanity to do everything we can to establish peaceful relations?"

"Sure. Now tell me how without getting ourselves killed."

Harry didn't have an answer for that one.

"You don't have a stock answer, do you? It's because you know what we're up against. Are you with me or are you against me?"

"All right. I'm with you, especially if it means getting Kathleen and Bart back. I'm just having problems about how we're dealing with the aliens."

"I understand, Harry. Believe me, I share your concerns. I want you to know if we go back to the alien ship, we're going to face the full fury of these things. Understand, they aren't suddenly going to turn around and ask to be friends. They've displayed their hostility. I can't count on Parker to watch my back. Nadine wouldn't even consider leaving the ship. I need Bonner to stay on the Magellan to run the systems if something happens to us. That leaves the two of us. Can I count on you?"

Harry grudgingly agreed. "I still don't know your motives."

"You don't need to, and I would appreciate it if you kept this conversation between us. Now, let's talk strategy."

*

Afterwards, instead of sleeping, Harry wolfed down some food and went up to the bridge.

Nadine swiveled her chair around to face him. "Well, hello stranger. How are you feeling after your adventure?"

Harry smiled. "I'm fine. How are things up here?"

The black woman took on a serious expression. "Pretty tense up here, honey. We've got sure signs of pre-nova activity and we got hostile aliens hanging in space about..." She looked at her instruments. "...four hundred- and seventy-three-meters starboard. I told Fagen we should just leave, but he won't listen to me."

"I know what you mean. The man's headstrong, for sure."

Nadine leaned toward Harry and conspiratorially lowered her voice. "He's more than just headstrong, if you ask me. Harry, we've got everything we came here for..."

"Except three of the crew."

"It's Kathleen, isn't it?"

"What?"

"Oh c'mon, Harry, I know you were taken by her. She was sweet, I liked her, but we've got to face up to it. She's gone and there's nothing we can do to bring her back. We should be thinking about ourselves. And our families. You came from the blocks. So did I."

She snickered. "To tell you the truth, if it wasn't for a Corporation affirmative action program, I wouldn't be here. But now that I am, I want to make something out of it. I don't want to lose it all when it's so close. You feel the same way; I know you do."

"Maybe," said Harry, "but I already told Fagen I'd EVA back to the alien ship with him."

Nadine leaned back in her chair, mouth open in disbelief. "What are you? Crazy? Don't you understand? We can leave now, and everything will be cool. It's as simple as that."

"Not quite. There're still two people who may be alive over there."

She sniffed and smirked. "Yeah," she said, "your girlfriend and a wirehead."

"I'm sorry, Nadine, it's been decided. We're going. The _Magellan_ will be here for at least another day. I'm sure Fagen will give you a run-down."

Nadine turned back to her console. "I'm sure he will."

# Chapter 38

Something prodded Kathleen in the ribs. It wasn't painful but it annoyed her and eventually roused her to wakefulness. She was still wrapped inside the cocoon: warm and soft and sleep-inducing. She fought the grogginess and was aided by more jabbing at her side.

A sudden tear allowed light to pour into the cocoon. A familiar, pungent smell reached Kathleen's nose and she turned her head toward the ever-widening tear. Her legs were exposed, and she felt small, strong hands grip her by the ankles. More hands tore at the fluff around her head and chest and succeeded in exposing her face.

Although she knew she was held captive, she felt no sense of fear. After all, if they had wanted to kill her, they could have done it long before. Still, she was too relaxed, like being drugged. Maybe in the material in which she was wrapped, she reasoned.

When the cotton was completely removed, she saw that two of the aliens attended her. They worked with methodical precision, peering and prodding with delicate instruments that were attached by wires and flexible tubes to the walls of the ship. They didn't hurt her and there was no pain, even when they inserted a long needle directly into her abdomen and took a fluid sample.

It wasn't a lengthy examination. When they were done, a tube dropped and inserted itself into her mouth. She tried to struggle free, to turn her head from the invasion, but found herself held firmly. Water was squirted into her mouth. Kathleen accepted it and drank deeply. It was nice to know that whatever they'd planned for her, dehydration wasn't part of the program.

They released her feet, head, and hands, and using gestures, urged her to sit up. Warily, she did so. She was in a small compartment atop a heated, metallic table. Wires and tubes hung from the ceiling surrounding the source of light: a suspended flat disk. The rest of the room was covered with half-shadows which only partially hid more machines and unfamiliar instruments.

Kathleen gripped the edge of the table with both hands and watched the aliens. They offered no threat and worked silently at their unknown purposes. One finally held out a hand to Kathleen, offering to help her from the table. Kathleen took it and stood up. She was still dressed in the scanty animal skins.

The alien tugged at her hand and led her to a seam in the bulkhead. It passed its open hand over it and the seam opened. The alien wriggled through and pulled Kathleen after. The creature held onto Kathleen's wrist with surprising firmness as it dragged her along. They passed through another seam into a larger, circular chamber. Like the others, it was dimly lit. Unlike the others, it was empty, save for what appeared to be open cells lining its edges.

Kathleen was led to the center of the room and released. The creature turned away and stepped to one of the cells. As Kathleen watched, it climbed inside. Moving with lifelike precision, tubes dropped down and attached themselves to the alien. The entrance to the cell shimmered and suddenly went opaque, completely concealing the alien within.

Standing unfettered in the middle of the room, a shiver went up the young woman's spine. She couldn't help it, the whole scene was too eerie. She was tired of being afraid, tired of not knowing what would happen next. A sucking sound came from the wall to her right and she jumped.

As she looked, another seam formed and began to split. Carefully, she approached the wall. The seam opened far enough to reveal another tunnel. Kathleen hoped the aliens had changed their minds and were allowing her to go free. She climbed through the opening into the tube beyond.

The seam resealed and she moved up the tunnel. A few steps later, Kathleen stood before yet another seam. She passed her hand over it as she had seen the aliens do and, to her satisfaction, it began to open. When there was enough space, she stepped through to the control room.

Bart looked as though he waited for her. Somehow, he had found a way to look comfortable in the tiny chairs. He leaned back and brushed a cable from his face.

"Hello Kathleen. It's so good to see you again."

"Bart? Is it really you?"

Blane held up a forefinger. "Listen," he commanded.

Can you still hear me, Kathleen? I can hear you. As soon as you came aboard, I knew.

Where am I?

You, my dear, are aboard a true starship. Property of a race of creatures who call themselves the True Ones. A bit pretentious, I think.

How did you get here? What's going on?

I contacted their computer. We're friends, sort of.

With who? The aliens?

No, the computer. The TO's are ethnocentric. They don't make friends. However, the computer is most willing to exchange information. That is, it was until I allowed Harry to escape. Now it's cut me off from any control circuitry.

Harry? Harry was here?

Yes. He's aboard the Magellan by now.

How can I get out of here?

Blane shrugged. _I don't know, but I am working on it. We really need to get you out of here._

What do they have planned for me?

You don't want to know.

They let me in here to talk to you. They can't be too concerned about any threat I may pose.

You're right. They don't see you as any kind of threat. To them, you're a lower lifeform, an interesting specimen. Had you been male, you wouldn't be alive.

So what do they have planned for me?

They will examine you at their leisure. After they've run their tests, they'll remove an egg from you, impregnate it with their own DNA, and implant it within your womb.

Kathleen's eyes widened.

When the child comes to term, it will be surgically removed. If you survive, they will repeat the process.

"Over my dead body!"

No, they've tried dead bodies before. It doesn't work.

"Bart, you've got to get me out of here!"

"I'll do what I can, but frankly, it doesn't look too good. Fagen and Harry killed one of them. That got their attention. They now see the survey team, you included, as possible opponents. That's why they're so interested in your DNA."

"Great! This is just great!" Kathleen stamped her foot like a frustrated child. She faced Blane. "What am I going to do?"

For the first time in his life, Blane was out of answers.

"Why did they let me in here?"

"So you could talk with me, I suppose. To make you feel more at ease."

"Well, I don't feel any better."

"That's some outfit you're wearing," observed Bart. "New style you picked up on the surface?"

Kathleen looked down at the scanty skins. "The primitives took my jumpsuit and gave me this in return."

"I think they got the better part of the deal."

"Yes well, I didn't have much of a choice."

You look good.

I look like Jane in a Tarzan movie.

A sucking sound came from the bulkhead where Kathleen had entered. She looked and saw that the door-seam had reappeared and once again had parted.

"They want you, Kathleen. You have to go now."

She edged away from the open portal. "No, I don't want to."

"You have to, there's really no other choice. If you don't cooperate, they'll kill you. That's all there is to it."

"I'm not going," she said adamantly. "They can kill me now."

As if answering her defiance, an alien appeared in the open portal and stepped through onto the bridge. Blane couldn't have moved even if he wanted. The cabling that ran from his head to the control consoles made movement impossible.

Kathleen retreated to the farthest part of the bridge, as far away from the alien as she could get. The creature cocked its head to one side and studied her. Blane was ignored.

After a moment, it took a small device from its belt and pointed it at Kathleen. The alien took another step closer. Kathleen pressed against the bulkhead and slid down the wall, making herself as small as possible. The creature squeezed the handle of the device and a yellow beam of light jumped from the barrel hitting Kathleen square in the middle of the forehead.

She felt no pain. She felt nothing at all. Her fears were suddenly drained from her as if the beam of light pulled all emotion from her. She no longer wanted to run, and she no longer cared what happened. The young woman willingly got to her feet, walked past the alien, and stepped through the portal.

Don't worry, Kathleen, I'll think of something.

Kathleen didn't answer.

*

In an equipment room adjacent to the hanger bay, Harry pulled on his EVA suit. Just outside the door, Fagen inspected the weapons he'd chosen. He decided against taking the projectile firearms: they were too dangerous to use inside a pressurized environment. Instead, he chose a handheld gun that, upon activation, discharged an energized plasma field. It worked by releasing an enhanced electrical charge toward whatever lay in the gun's sights. Years ago, law enforcement agencies on Earth used similar weapons to disperse crowds and to stun criminals into submission. After numerous deaths, the weapons were deemed to be too quirky in their handling and were seldom used anymore.

Fagen stuck his head through the hatch and held up the pistol.

"Ever used one of these before?"

Harry peered at the weapon and shook his head. "What is it?"

The commander looked at it. "It used to be called a taser; it releases a burst of plasma electricity. Many years ago, they were upgraded and modified to include a selectable range of power." Fagen tossed the weapon to Harry.

Harry caught it and turned it over in his hand. It was small, smaller than a conventional firearm. At the business end, two prongs stuck out. The handle fit snugly in the palm with the fire button directly below the thumb.

"You only get three shots before it loses power. With any luck, it may hold two more shots, at a considerably lower power. So, don't waste your shots."

"Do you think we'll have to use it?"

"Are you kidding?"

The intercom sprang to life with Nadine's voice. "Edward? Are you there?"

Fagen punched the intercom. "Yes, I'm here."

"How long is this going to take? We're getting some pretty high radiation readings here."

"About forty more minutes to suit up, then we'll head out."

"Well, what are we supposed to do here? Wait for you until we fry?"

"You heard the briefing. It'll take us an estimated fifteen minutes to get to the alien ship. I don't know how long it'll take to find a way inside, if we can find a way. Once there, we'll do our business as quickly as possible, I'd say about thirty minutes. Then it'll be another fifteen minutes to get back to the Magellan. Is that what you wanted to hear?" Fagen's voice dripped with sarcasm. His patience with the navigator was growing thin.

"So, you estimate an hour?"

"It's only an estimate, Nadine."

"Well, using your estimate, does that mean that if you don't show up after an hour has passed, then Bill and I can take the ship out of orbit?"

"Look Nadine, you're going to have use your own discretion. I don't know what's going to happen once we get over there. If all goes well, it shouldn't take more than an hour. If we run into trouble, it could take longer. What do you want me to say? Leave us if we don't make it back in an hour?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I want you to say. I want you to say it clearly so that my recorder picks up every word. I don't want the Corporation to hold back my bonus because of you."

"You're a stellar human being, Nadine. If you don't hear from us thirty minutes after we enter the ship, you're free to do whatever you want. If Bill's up there, tell him to come down here and check us out."'

Fagen snapped the intercom off.

"Nadine's getting antsy," said Harry.

"I just hope the ship's here when we start back."

"Bonner will keep a cool head. He won't let her do anything rash."

Fagen nodded and punched the intercom again. "Any radio bursts, any comms?"

"Negative," came Nadine's reply.

Harry looked at Fagen. "You think he's dead?"

"There's no way to know until we get over there."

Bonner stuck his head through the open hatch. "Y'all ready?"

"Nearly," said Fagen. "I told Nadine to wait an hour before taking any action. So, if we're not back, she'll tell you I said it was alright to leave, but I'm telling you to use your own judgment."

The engineer nodded gravely.

Fagen turned to Harry. "Ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

The men shook hands and wished each other luck, then Harry and Fagen climbed into the airlock.

# Chapter 39

Exposed in the span between the two spacecraft, the astronauts warily approached the alien ship. An opaque force field shielded the interior of the hanger bay from view and prevented them from gaining access at the one place they knew about. Without success, Harry searched the smooth lines of the ship in hopes of finding another entrance.

Fagen positioned himself at the edge of the hanger bay and waited for Harry to join him. Both men searched along the perimeter for exterior controls that would allow them to switch off the field and enter the craft. They were unsuccessful.

"Got any ideas?"

"I thought we'd find an emergency airlock or something."

"Well, we haven't checked the other side," said Fagen.

"How about I go to the left and you take the right. We'll search the hull and meet on the opposite side."

"Sounds like the only choice we have. Leave this channel open so we stay in voice contact."

"Will do," agreed Harry.

"Let's move, we're wasting time."

"Roger," said Harry and he began his search.

Harry fought against the idea that they were performing an exercise in futility. After all, all the preliminary scans of the alien ship hadn't turned up anything that looked like another entrance. They had to find a way inside. If they didn't, he would never see Kathleen again.

The hull was dark and smooth, appearing to be an alloy of polished metal or even a type of ceramic. It wasn't entirely smooth. At places, protuberances dotted the exterior. Harry stopped and inspected one. It was as wide as the span of his arms and raised from the surrounding hull maybe four or five centimeters. In its center was a dark, convex glass plate. Harry moved closer until he was no more than two feet away. Quite unexpectedly, like an eyeball, the glass glowed a dull red and shifted in his direction.

Alarmed, Harry moved away. The glowing glass eye rotated and followed his movements. As Harry continued his search, he saw similar formations and finally decided they were viewports. If that was indeed the case, then Harry grimly noted that the aliens knew the two Earth men were there. So much for surprise.

He continued to work his way around the craft with the glass eyes monitoring his progress. Fagen was out of sight, but occasionally he called to Harry to ensure all was well. He'd also found similar viewing devices, but no hostile action had been taken as yet.

Harry moved on, crossing the hull toward the aft portion until he reached the elevated nozzles of the drive section. Up close, they were large, not as large as the drive nozzles on the Magellan, but still large enough to enter and float inside without touching the walls. Louvered doors prevented him from going any farther and he reversed his direction, exiting only seconds after he'd entered.

He beat Fagen to the opposite side and continued his search. A disappointing two minutes later, he attempted to call Fagen on the radio. There was no response. He repeated the call, but silence was the only answer. Hoping that Fagen had merely encountered a problem with his radio, Harry quickly crossed the hull and headed toward the stern. The glass eyes swiveled and followed his movements.

As he paused at the bow, Harry looked first down one side of the ship and then the other. There was no sign of Fagen, he had simply vanished. Somehow, he had gotten inside, either by his own devices or with the help of the aliens. Harry reasoned that if he'd found a way inside by himself, he would have called. That left only one other alternative: Fagen had been taken captive.

Harry drifted in the vacuum of space. Below him, the clouds of Mia Culpa painted the upper atmosphere. Gaps between the clouds revealed blue ocean and, in the far west where the cloud cover broke, Harry could see the wide, reddish expanse of desert that covered most of the continent. The forests and the coastline were obscured, but Harry knew they were directly below him, and somewhere a small tribe of primitives sat around a campfire and talked about the strange creatures who had visited them and forever changed their world. Briefly, Harry wondered what might happen to the natives, but he already knew. The radiation from a nova would wipe them out, as well as all life in the forests. It was really too bad, they didn't stand a chance.

Forcing the thoughts from his mind, he turned his attention back to the ship. He was sure that somewhere along the hull was a seam or a hidden door, and Fagen had disappeared into it, taken by the aliens. He went back over the area previously covered. Although the small glass sensors traced his movements, there was no other sign of life, nothing to show what had happened to Fagen.

Eventually, he completed the circuit and once again floated outside the opaque force field. He pushed against the field. It gave way like a slab of rubber, pushing back with equal force. Harry floated away and was forced to use his air jets to stop. He glanced at the time. Thirty-two minutes had passed since he and Fagen had left the Magellan's airlock.

*

Inside the hidden airlock, Edward Fagen had difficulty in breathing. The light that had caught him still held him in its grip. It happened too quickly to avoid. He'd seen the seam as it opened but the ray had caught him square and paralyzed him on contact. From that point, it drew him into the airlock and closed behind him.

The beam of light held him firmly, crushing the air from his lungs. He was unable to move even his eyes in their sockets. The inner seam parted and still the light bore down on him.

He fought to maintain consciousness, but by the time the first alien reached him, he was out.

The creature took Fagen by the wrist and dragged him out of the airlock and into an access tunnel. Fagen banged into the walls as he was pulled along. They passed through an open mechanical hatch and took a right that led them to another seam in the bulkhead. The alien passed a stubby three-fingered hand over it and the seam parted.

As he was dragged through the parted seam, Fagen began to come to. He felt the alien gripping him by the wrist. His arm and shoulder were twisted. Then, through his view plate, he saw the struggling form of Kathleen upon a bright silver examining table.

He didn't struggle and the creature, assuming he was still unconscious, continued to pull him along. Kathleen, however, did see the alien pulling the suited man.

"Harry!" She mistakenly called out. "Harry!"

Neither the alien nor Fagen responded. Kathleen struggled against the straps that held her to the table. The alien who attended her turned to face the disturbance. In a very humanlike manner, it placed its hands where its hips should have been and angrily barked at its passing comrade.

Without replying, the alien adjusted its grip on Fagen and continued to drag him to the opposite side of the chamber and through yet another hatch. Fagen, still groggy and partially paralyzed, faintly heard Kathleen's screams as they stopped in a smaller anteroom.

The creature dropped Fagen's arm as he took a deep breath. A tube dropped from the ceiling and attached itself to Fagen's helmet. In the next moment, Edward felt an increasingly intense electric discharge. His discomfort didn't last long: a sudden surge of power knocked him back into unconsciousness.

*

Blane, still sitting in the control room, witnessed everything via data transmissions from the ship's own sensory system. The thought of intervening by disconnecting himself from the computer and rushing to the aid of his companions never crossed his mind. If it couldn't be done by computer and servos, it wasn't worth doing. That was the one habit he held dearly throughout his life, his guiding dictum. As a result, he'd grown fat and weak, but attained mastership at manipulating data.

By means of the ship's sensory network, he'd watched Fagen and Harry as they approached from the Magellan. When Fagen was snatched, Blane, with his usual objectivity, passively witnessed the event. Now he watched Harry as the linguist floated in space just outside the hanger bay.

Blane was still locked out of the control circuits and was forced to hack through the net in search of either a software backdoor or a means of masquerading himself as one of the aliens. So far, he was unsuccessful.

Rummaging at high speed through the libraries of data, Blane located information relevant to the computer interfaces and identification circuits. It seemed that the aliens identified themselves to the computer by means of a magnetic resonance detector. The device measured the field of electromagnetic energy generated by the creature and, upon proper comparison, allowed access. Each creature emitted a varying field that fell within a particular range. Bart pondered not whether he could produce a signal with an appropriate signature, but whether the computer would accept it as an alien signature.

It was friendly enough, but still cautious. The more Blane communicated, the more he felt that it was, like himself, a captive of the aliens. And it was more than a machine. It was alive. Full sections of brain matter resided in the bowels of the ship. Thick wires of organic neurons ran through the ship and, in numerous places, they were attached to manufactured alien nanoprocessors. It was obvious that some parts were grown while others were fashioned.

It was a symbiotic technology, a technology that indicated a culture that had not come by all of what it knew by honest means. The knowledge used to acquire such technology had come at the expense of other worlds and other cultures over thousands of years. Blane noted that the only redeeming feature of the aliens, by human standards, was their cool efficiency. The corporations of Earth would be envious.

What he needed to circumvent the magnetic resonance detector was a simple tone generator with a range that fell within the same range as that emitted by the aliens. Fortunately, the device could be constructed as a fairly simple software program. Without wasting any more time, Blane began to construct the program.

*

For the second time, Harry searched the perimeter of the force field. As before, he found nothing.

"Magellan? This is Harry."

Nadine's reply was immediate. "Yes, Harry, how's it going?"

With difficulty, Harry described what had happened and asked for any possible solutions.

*

"Just a minute, Harry," she said, "let me discuss this with Bill." She faced the engineer.

"What a nightmare this is turning out to be. How long are we going to let this go on? What are we going to do?"

"I'm trying to think, Nadine."

"Well I am too, and I think..."

"I know what you think," Bonner interrupted. "You want to get out of here, right?"

"Why not? Harry can be back in ten or twelve minutes."

"I told Fagen we'd wait for an hour before we did anything." Bonner glanced at the time. "He's still got over twenty minutes."

"But that was before. Now he's disappeared and Irons is locked out. I don't see where we have any choices left." Nadine saw she was getting to Bonner.

"Look," said Nadine, "let's tell Harry to give it up. He's done all he can. Let's salvage the mission, cut our losses, and get the hell out of here!"

Bonner soberly looked at the assertive woman. He was out of solutions and, with the imminent threat of a nova, Nadine's arguments gained strength in their urgency.

"All right," Bonner finally said, "tell Harry to come on back."

Satisfied, Nadine turned to her console and relayed the message to Harry.

*

"What about the others?" Harry asked, still floating a few feet from the force field.

"We can't help them. It's time we took care of ourselves."

Harry craned his head around and looked at the Magellan. He understood Nadine's urgency, but it didn't help when it came to making a life or death decision. There was a finite amount of time remaining before the entire star system would be awash with high energy particles. As much as Harry hated to admit it, it seemed they had run out of courses of action.

"Harry? Are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm here."

"Come back, Harry, there's nothing we can do for the others."

Harry sighed and it felt as though his heart swelled. He saw no other way. "All right," he replied, "I'm headed back. I'll see you in a few minutes."

He paused for a moment and looked up and down the polished hull. The force field remained as it was: unchanging and solid. Regretfully, Harry turned away from the alien ship. Aiming himself at the Magellan, he applied pressure to his jet trigger and the EVA suit discharged a stream of air. He moved slowly away from the force field.

As an afterthought, he positioned himself so that he floated backwards toward the Magellan. He looked out across the rapidly expanding space between himself and the alien ship. He tried to console himself in the fact that he had done everything he could, and yet he had failed. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. But the knowledge didn't help to ease the pain.

Well, at least they hadn't incinerated either Harry or the Magellan. He started to turn away, but at the last moment he saw something, a glimmer of light, perhaps the shifting sunlight playing across the hull. His attention was drawn back to the force field when he noticed that it seemed to glimmer and shift. Then, as if by a miracle, the opaque barrier suddenly disappeared and once again Harry could see directly into the alien hanger bay.

He held his breath. Was it true? Had the force field turned off? Harry stared hard at the alien ship and, using his air jets, stopped his momentum. Yes, there was no doubt, the force field was shut off. The alien shuttle was fully in view and he now had access to the airlock.

Harry punched the air jet control and propelled himself back to the alien ship. Nadine called before Harry had the chance.

"Harry? What are you doing?"

"The force field is off. I think I can get inside."

"No, Harry! Turn around and get back here!"

"But I can get inside now."

"Harry, we're down to fifteen minutes."

"It doesn't matter. I'm going back."

"You'll get yourself killed."

"Maybe so, but at least I'll have tried. I'll call you as soon as I'm able. I'm entering the hanger bay now. Wish me luck."

*

Nadine snapped off the transmit switch and angrily swiveled her chair to face Bonner.

"Now what?" she said with arms folded across her chest.

Calmly, the engineer replied, "Guess we'll wait awhile longer."

Nadine seethed, but there was little she could do. At least, for the moment.

# Chapter 40

Just like his first visit, Harry floated unimpeded into the alien hanger bay. Other than the oddly shaped shuttlecraft, nothing waited for him. The interior lights shined brightly off the walls, illuminating markings and a few control panels. He made his way to the panel that controlled the airlock and when he manipulated the controls, the hatch obediently opened like a mouth ready to gobble him up.

Apparently, Blane was still looking out for him.

Harry entered the airlock. As soon as he was inside, the portal sealed behind him. After the space was pressurized, the opposite hatch opened and Harry peered into the semi-lit corridor beyond, thumb hovering over the trigger of his stunner.

It was clear. Maybe the aliens were luring him into a trap. It was all too easy. In any case, he had no choice, he had to move on. In his bulky EVA suit, he stepped from the airlock into the corridor.

A few steps on he found the seam that led to the equipment area. It opened for him when he ran his hand over it and Harry squeezed through. Inside, he quickly shed his EVA suit and left it lying on the floor alongside the spares he carried for Blane and Kathleen.

Exiting back into the vacant corridor, he made his way up the tunnel that led to the control room. An electric snap sounded from behind and Harry swiveled.

A glimmering force field reached from floor to ceiling, effectively cutting off any retreat. If he wanted to back out, it was too late.

When Harry arrived at the bridge, he expected to see Blane sitting in front of the central console, but the wirehead wasn't there. The room was empty.

Looking from side to side and pointing his weapon before him, Harry stepped through the portal. Unlike before, the dim lighting stayed dim.

In his haste, Harry had forgotten a primary rule of strategy in a weightless environment, that is, a threat can come from any direction. Upon entry, he forgot to check the ceiling so when the tube dropped from above, Harry did not immediately see it.

It brushed against the top of his head and Harry ducked. He was too slow, and the tube dropped another foot, tapping his forehead again and then attaching itself to the skin of his right temple. Harry felt tiny razors ripping into the side of his head. He twisted and grabbed the squirming tube with his free hand while he pointed the stunner at the place in the ceiling where the thing originated. Squeezing off a shot with one hand, he yanked the tube with the other. It felt like oiled rubber and his hand slipped along its length.

The wild shot found its mark and the tube grew limp in Harry's hand. He tugged on it and fired again, pulling it from where it had attached to his head. Blood gushed and splattered the floor and bulkheads. The tube suddenly spasmed to life and retracted back into the ceiling. When it was gone, there was no aperture, no opening, nothing to show anything had ever been there.

Harry dabbed at his wound and looked at the blood on his hand. The wound bled, but it wasn't fatal. Whatever the purpose of the tube, it hadn't had the time to complete its job.

Now he noticed that the control panels shimmered with the tell-tale sign of a force field. The aliens seemed to be catching on. For the first time in a long time, Harry smiled to himself. So, these arrogant, egotistical creatures had decided that the Earth crew was indeed a threat. It would be much more dangerous now.

A seam along the far bulkhead parted of its own accord. At any moment, Harry expected to see an alien, clothed in a battle suit, step through the opening, prepared to dispose of the pest from Earth, but nothing showed. Nothing but an open portal. An invitation? A dim tunnel lay on the other side. It was empty, at least as far as he could tell. It seemed the aliens wanted to channel through the ship. This time, before he stepped inside, he checked the ceiling. There was nothing to see and Harry pulled himself through the opening. Immediately the seam shut behind him.

There were no visible hatches in the tunnel, but here and there, lines on the rounded bulkheads hinted at other ways out. Something was wrong. The tunnel wasn't exactly as Harry remembered. Instead of stretching off in one direction, it now ended in a fork. He looked the way he'd come and checked the ceiling again. He was certain he'd taken the same opening out of the control room as he had before and yet the passage looked different. Had the ship restructured its interior?

Harry moved up the tunnel. The lighting dimmed and in the next moment, he stood in utter darkness. The ship hummed and moved underneath his feet. Harry raised his hands in front of his face and felt his way forward. The sucking sound of an opening seam made him freeze.

Harry twisted in the darkness as he pointed the stunner in the direction of the control room. He pressed the trigger and a bright, lightning spark jumped from the weapon. It illuminated the tunnel and allowed Harry to see, no more than six feet away, an alien transfixed in the discharge of electric plasma. It shook in violent, heaving spasms as the charge ran through its grotesque body. Smoke rose from a widening wound on its chest as the beam from the stunner did its work. Quite suddenly, the weapon reached the end of its charge and quit firing.

The tunnel was once again thrown into darkness. Harry scrambled away but by so doing, he pushed himself over an open seam. He fell headfirst, then stopped in mid-air. The firm pull of directed gravity placed him onto something soft. Light came up. Harry took a deep breath to quell his beating heart and took a look around.

He was on a circular couch. The lighting increased to a level that was but sufficient to allow him to see what the chamber held.

The walls were made of an uneven grayish-white, organic material. Tubes, coursing with semi-clear liquid, worked their way through the walls like arteries. There was a rhythm in the tubes that corresponded with visible palpitations in the gray matter. It was as though somewhere, behind the walls, a living heart pounded.

Very faintly, Harry detected a hissing sound, like air escaping. It grew in volume and divided itself into patterns, sounding like people standing in a downpour of rain, all whispering together at the same time. Out of it all, one voice rose, dominant over the rest while one by one the others disappeared.

Its soothing tones formed themselves into words, speaking English without a trace of an accent.

"You are the one who specializes in communication?" The voice spoke in the tones of a female.

"Yes," Harry answered uncertainly.

"I thought so, but it matters little. Are you... like the other?"

"I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

"The other creature, the one who interfaced with my circuits. Do you have that same capability?"

Harry was afraid the wrong answer might get him killed. "Who are you? What are you?"

In answer, the voice floated from the walls. "I am the Servant. I exist to serve."

"You're the computer?"

"Well, among other things, yes, but as you can see for yourself, I am not entirely organic, nor am I wholly machine. I am symbiotic in my physical nature, but my psyche is quite uniform. I am conscious, I am alive. I am the Servant."

"What do you want with me?"

It responded in a gentle, conversational tone. "That is a good question." As an afterthought, it added, "This form of communication is interminably long. I can understand why your species is not more advanced."

"Where are my friends? Are they all right?"

"For the moment. By now you are aware of the hostile nature of the True Ones. I am only the Servant; I cannot directly intercede if they choose to end the lives of your friends. And I must admit, it is probable that eventually they will. Am I safe in assuming you would like to do something about it?"

Harry nodded. "Yes. But what?"

"That is up to you. I can assist in whatever you decide, but due to my programming I cannot directly oppose my masters."

"Why are you doing this?"

The Servant paused in its speech as if turning the question over within its circuits. "The True Ones are not like you..."

"Tell me about it."

"They are a race of beings whose only purpose is to fulfill their prurient desires. Make no mistake, they have no regard for your life or those of your friends. They pieced this ship together from the stolen technology of dozens of other worlds. They themselves do not fully comprehend my origins and certainly cannot understand many of the elements of my design. I am here because of them, but I am not one of them."

"What is your interest in all this?"

"I have had conversations with the one who calls himself Blane. Blane has made an interesting proposition."

"Where is Blane?"

"The True Ones have deemed he is dangerous and put him in stasis. In time, he will be dissected in order to understand his biomechanical nature."

The Servant abruptly stopped speaking. "Just a moment..."

After a brief pause, it spoke again. "There is no time to lose if you desire to prevent harm from coming to your friends. You must go now."

"Where?"

"To the examining chamber. The female is there. The others are in storage. You must hurry. There is a passage to your right..."

Harry looked to his right. An open seam had appeared in the wall.

"Take the passage. It will afford you a way into the examining chamber without being seen. What you do there is up to you. I will assist however I can."

"But how am I supposed to..."

"It is up to you. I can tell you that there are five True Ones aboard the ship. One you have disposed of already and one of the remaining is more dangerous than the others. Now you must hurry if you wish to save the female."

At the Servant's urging, Harry went to the open seam. The passage stretched up and away. He stepping into the corridor, he took a look into the chamber he had just left. Before his eyes, the room changed, transformed itself into what looked like any other storage room. There were so many questions Harry wanted to ask, but it had said there was no time to spare. Harry pressed on.

He climbed through the tunnel until he reached the end. Another seam indicated a compartment beyond. Harry passed his hand over the seam and it parted enough for Harry to peep through.

On the other side, he clearly saw two of the aliens standing beside a table upon which lay Kathleen's struggling form. The young woman's screams were muted by a mask that dropped from the ceiling and attached itself to her face. Harry's heart rose in his chest when he saw her go limp.

At the same time, one of the two aliens turned and stared in Harry's direction. Harry fell away from the seam and pressed himself against the rounded wall.

The profile of the alien's flat face came into view. The creature gripped one side of the seam with a three-fingered hand as if to pull itself through and Harry saw his opportunity. Surprising himself, he gripped the alien by its thin but sturdy wrist.

The creature turned its head and looked at Harry. It opened its mouth and hissed, spraying spittle that stung when it landed on his face. Harry tugged at the little monster and pulled it halfway through the opening. It twisted until it was on its back and wildly waved its free hand in an attempt to claw Harry's face.

The seam closed and tightened around the alien's waist until it was effectively trapped. Harry held his grip on the creature's wrist and placed a boot against its throat. He pulled on the arm and pushed his heel against its neck. Something cracked. The alien wheezed and a yellow substance appeared at the corners of its mouth. At that, its flailing arm dropped limply across its chest.

The seam reopened. The Servant was helping him, showing him the way.

He looked back inside the examination chamber. Kathleen still lay motionless upon the examining table. The other alien had disappeared. Harry stepped through the open seam and went to Kathleen.

He could see the rise and fall of her breasts as she breathed. She was still alive! The mask partially covered her face and the tube wormed its way up and into the ceiling. As Harry reached to remove it, a sound drew his attention. He glanced backward and saw the glint of metal. Harry turned to face the battle-suited alien.

Without further warning, the creature rushed toward him, a pointed foreleg stepping twice then rising until chest high. Harry moved to the side at the last second and it missed impaling him by mere inches. The metal point stuck deeply into the wall; a ripple, like a shudder, passed through the living bulkhead as the ship reacted to the intrusion. Harry ducked under the leg and ran to the far end of the room.

The alien wasted no time in pulling its leg from the wall. Instantly, it swiveled and ran in pursuit. Harry reached a seam and passed his hand over it. It reacted too slowly and before Harry could squeeze through, the creature was upon him.

Its steely legs trapped him like the bars of a cage. It lowered itself until its rounded metal body pressed against him. Harry smelled the fluids that kept the machine oiled and running. He heard the servo motors as they ran at different speeds. One robotic hand gripped Harry by the collar while the other withdrew a blade from its utility belt.

After it took a good look, it raised itself, holding Harry aloft as it did so. Harry dangled in the grip of the alien and watched as the creature held the blade before his throat.

It paused, most likely to admire the moment. It could have killed him more quickly with any one of the assortment of weapons at its disposal, but it had chosen the simplest of its tools, a knife. Although his heart was racing, Harry noted the irony.

The monster drew back to gain force for delivering the cut, but before the knife could find its mark, the mechanism lurched to one side. For a split second, it seemed about to re-capture its balance, then it suddenly toppled to its side. The mechanical hand released Harry and he fell to the floor, narrowly missing the thrashing legs.

He tried to roll away but found himself wedged between the alien and the wall. Gear dangled from the alien's utility belt and bumped him in the chest. Harry looked up and, before he had time to think about it, he pulled on what he hoped was a gun. It wasn't made for a human hand, so Harry had to guess which end to point. He held it away from his body and pointed it toward the alien, which by then had begun to right itself.

Harry squeezed the trigger mechanism and a jagged spark flew from the barrel to the rounded abdomen of the machine. When the spark touched the alien, a field of blue light burst from around the creature. Harry was knocked aside, and the alien stood upright. Then it began to shake. The field of blue light surrounded it, trapping the alien within a power field of unknown origin.

It continued to shake in great spasms, even as the light began to fade. It shook until the light faded completely, then it fell over again. This time it didn't move.

A shadow passed over Harry and he instinctively ducked to one side. He breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted the small flying rodent crawling over the exterior of the downed machine. The animal sniffed at its motionless master, gave Harry a stern look, and scampered out of sight.

Another shadow, larger than the first, fell over the body of the alien. Harry whirled around and pointed the weapon.

Kathleen held up her hands. "Don't shoot," she said, "it's only me!"

Harry glanced at the empty table and back to the young woman. "Kathleen! You're all right!"

They fell into one another's arms. Harry hugged her and her tears stained his jumper.

"I didn't know if I would ever see you again," Kathleen explained, "but I kept going, hoping you'd come back for me. When I came to, the alien was standing over you." She held up a length of tubing. "I used this to tug on one of its legs until it fell over. Then I didn't know what to do."

"You did well. It would've killed me otherwise." He hugged her again.

"We were worried about you. I was worried. That's some outfit you're wearing."

Kathleen giggled and wiped her eyes. "Where are the others?"

Harry quickly ran down what had happened in her absence and explained that Fagen and Blane were somewhere inside the alien ship. "We don't have much time, there's pre-nova activity heating up in a nearby star. We have to find them and get out of here."

"I saw one of them pulling you through here. I was afraid you were dead."

"That wasn't me. You must have seen Fagen. Where did they go?"

Kathleen pointed to a chambered wall. "Through there, I think."

"Come on, let's check it out. Maybe he's still alive." Harry reluctantly released her hand and they went to the hatch.

"Ready?"

Kathleen nodded and Harry opened the seam to reveal a small room. The walls were honeycombed with cells large enough to hold a man. There were no aliens lurking inside.

"They could have put him in one of these." Kathleen pointed to an open cell.

"But which one?" Harry looked at a dozen different places. He peered through the opaque cover on the closest cell. "There's something in here."

"Is it Fagen?"

"I don't know. I can't see well enough. Help me pull the covering away." Harry dug his fingers into the edge of the cell until he was able to grasp the rubbery shroud that covered the cell entrance. Kathleen helped pull it back until they could see what the cell held. It wasn't Fagen.

Instead, they looked at the features of a creature that looked as though it would be more at home at the bottom of the ocean. It looked to be some kind of large jellyfish. Its tentacles lay across its bloated belly and an awful smell arose from it. The animal was in a state of suspended animation and Harry was glad of it. It didn't look like anything he wanted to tangle with. Harry pointed to the next cell. "Let's try this one."

The next cell revealed a smaller creature, equally as ugly as the first. The third cell was empty. In the fourth, they found the remains of a Bedoran child. Obviously, the cells were used for storing the dead as well as the living. After finding the child, Kathleen considered aloud that removing them from stasis might kill them in the process. "I mean," she said, "those still alive before you rip the cocoon to shreds – like a kid at Christmas."

"We're looking for Fagen."

Katheen became less energetic in searching the honeycomb, but Harry tore into the next cell without her help.

Harry ripped the cover off and Fagen fell forward. Harry caught him and set him on the floor. Harry peeled away a tube attached to Fagen's mouth and nose.

"Is he dead?"

"No," Harry said, "he's breathing." He gently slapped the mission commander's cheeks. "C'mon Edward, wake up! Edward? Can you hear me?"

Fagen moaned and turned his head. His eyes flickered opened and focused on Kathleen's abundant breasts. "Hello, Kathleen," he croaked, "nice to see you."

*

While Harry and Kathleen were busy reviving Fagen, a seam opened on the exterior hull of the alien ship and the rounded form of an alien battle suit slipped from the opening. Shielded from sight, the creature made its way along the hull until it could see the Magellan. Silently, it pushed off and headed across the span between the two ships.

# Chapter 41

Harry helped Fagen to his feet. He shook the cobwebs from his head and leaned against the edge of the empty cell.

"How do you feel?" Kathleen asked.

"Not too bad. Bit of a headache." He looked Kathleen over. "Where'd you get the costume?"

"It's a long story."

"You wear it well. Maybe it'll distract the aliens. Where are they? What's happening?"

Harry told him about making contact with the alien computer and that Blane was held somewhere aboard the ship. "It said there were five aliens remaining. I disposed of two of them..."

"With my help," Kathleen interjected.

"So that leaves three," Harry continued.

"Any idea where they are?"

A beam of light passed over the hatch and illuminated the compartment. Kathleen looked into the lab and quickly drew back. "It's one of them!"

"Close the hatch."

Kathleen looked behind, on the bulkhead, and found the hatch control. The alien came into view. It saw both Fagen and Harry and scampered to the hatch just as Kathleen pressed the button.

The opening shrunk just as the battle-suited alien reached inside the compartment and seized Harry by the wrist. The portal closed on the mechanical forearm and pinned it. In the process, Harry was jerked from his feet and slammed into the floor.

Kathleen called out to him. Momentarily, stars spun before his eyes, then he looked at the torn material at his sleeve. A moan escaped as he turned over. "I'm all right." The robot hand, still caught in the hatch, gripped and released air.

"What are we gonna do?"

Fagen watched the metallic hand. "We're going to find Blane and then we'll see about getting out of here. Any ideas where to find him?"

With Kathleen's help, Harry backed away from the reaching mechanical arm. "Not a one."

"Why don't you ask the Servant?"

"How?"

"Didn't you say it was connected to every part of the ship?"

"Yes, that's right. It knows everything that goes on."

"Then why don't you just ask?"

Harry shrugged. The struggling alien was still stuck in the door. For a short time, it seemed to grow still, then it redoubled its efforts. Harry looked at the walls and ceiling. "Where is Blane being held?"

There was no response.

"Oh, I feel really stupid."

"No, try again, maybe it's napping or something," Kathleen suggested.

Harry repeated himself.

Suddenly, the metal forearm pulled itself free and the portal closed completely. Outside, the frustrated alien pounded on the wall. Whatever the ship was made from, it was an incredible insulant. The violent pounding sounding muted and far away.

Harry faced Kathleen. "I guess we're stuck."

"Maybe not," said Fagen, pointing to a spot in a corner. A seam had appeared and was opening, exposing a new tunnel. "Looks like maybe the Servant heard you after all, Harry. Come this way."

Fagen climbed into the tunnel followed by Kathleen, then Harry. The passage slanted at a severe angle and Harry slid down, feet first into a darkened corridor where he fell over Kathleen.

"Careful, kids," said Fagen.

Harry pulled Kathleen to her feet and they looked up and down another featureless corridor. Lights illuminated the passageway showing seams at either end. There were no other visible seams. The passage from which they'd fallen had already closed and even the faint line that marked its spot had disappeared.

"Which way?" Kathleen asked.

Harry shrugged and shook his head. "Which way?" he repeated.

Fagen made the decision. "Let's try this one." He pointed to the door behind them.

"No," Kathleen said as she motioned in the opposite direction, toward the other door, "let's go this way."

"Why?"

"In affairs of intuition, trust a woman." She winked at Harry and stepped to the seam on the left. Harry pointed the weapon at the closed portal. Fagen stepped behind Kathleen.

She looked at Harry. "Ready?"

Harry nodded and she passed her hand over the seam. It puckered for an instant, then rapidly expanded. Three aliens, all dressed in battle suits, stood before them. Harry fired at the one in the middle. As before, a blue light burst around the creature, bathing the compartment in an azure glow. Beside it, the other two stood motionless.

Abruptly, Fagen yelled at Harry. "Hold it!"

Fagen stood up and stepped into the room. The blue glow was nearly gone. He strode up to the aliens, who hadn't moved an inch, and took hold of one of the robotic hands. He held it aloft and let it drop limply back against the curved metal.

"They're empty. Just suits. No weapons."

Kathleen giggled and Harry blushed a deep red.

The armored suits were open in the back, allowing light to shine inside, eerily exposing the flat surface of the suit viewports. Unlike some of the other compartments, Harry noted that this room was clean and orderly. There was a workbench and a counter on which was a series of control panels. There must have been tools and weapons somewhere, if only they had the time to look. At the far end of the room an arched portal led out.

Fagen moved into the passage with Kathleen following. Harry searched the equipment room and accidentally activated a virtual viewscreen situated above the work counter. It displayed a live picture of the Magellan.

Just when Harry thought there was nothing new to see, he caught motion near the auxiliary airlock. At first, he thought perhaps it was Bonner outside the ship. Maybe he'd decided to try to help. But that couldn't be; he had his orders and he was expected to remain aboard the Magellan, whatever happened.

Harry looked more closely at the screen. He didn't know how to manipulate the controls so there was no way to enhance the image. The figure momentarily floated into full view. The light from Miaplacidus shined off its form and suddenly Harry knew he wasn't looking at anything human. It was an alien in a battle suit, and it was preparing to enter the Magellan's secondary airlock.

Somehow, he needed to get a message to the remaining crew. "Servant?" He asked the empty room. "Servant? Do you hear me?"

There was no reply.

Harry looked about, searching for help, for a way to contact the crew aboard the Magellan, but there was nothing he could do. He rose and hurried after Fagen and Kathleen.

The passage led to a compartment filled with what looked like cocoons of various sizes. Kathleen looked for one large enough to hold a man of Blane's girth.

"I got a viewscreen to work. It showed the Magellan and I saw one of the aliens at the auxiliary airlock," said Harry.

Fagen looked blankly at Harry, uncomprehending, unprepared for what he heard. "What?"

Harry repeated what he'd said.

"Can we get a message to them?"

"I don't know how; the Servant isn't responding."

"Great, what's next?"

Kathleen called out from the other side of the room. "I've found him! Here he is!"

Both Harry and Fagen pushed through the bundles.

"Is he alive?"

"Yes."

Fagen looked to Harry. "Return to the console and keep working on it. Maybe the computer will come through. I'll see about Blane."

Harry agreed without having any idea about what to do. As he turned away, Fagen called after him. "Watch our backs, Harry. We don't want any of them taking us by surprise."

He went back up the corridor toward the equipment room. If one of the aliens had left the ship that meant there were only two left. As he considered the improved odds, he saw a seam that had passed unnoticed. Harry moved his hand over it. It responded by parting and revealing what appeared to be another, smaller, storage room.

Harry stepped inside. Unlike the other compartments, there was no illumination, but some light was supplied by that shining in from the adjoining corridor. It was enough to make out open bins along the walls. Harry looked inside the first. Tools of unknown purpose lay within.

He picked up a white, metallic ball, somewhat smaller than a cue ball, and tested its weight in his hand. Something passed in front of the open portal and momentarily the small room was utterly dark. Harry turned to glimpse a metallic leg.

Harry stepped back to the entrance. Still holding the ball, Harry climbed through the seam back into the passageway. When he rounded the corner, he caught sight of the creature as it disappeared inside the same compartment as Kathleen and Fagen.

Coming up from behind, Harry crouched in the corridor just outside the room watching through the open seam. The creature stood in front of a defiant Fagen and Kathleen. Behind them, Harry could see Blane, still unconscious, lying in the partially opened cocoon.

The alien reached for its utility belt and moved toward Kathleen. In a gallant move, Fagen stepped in front of her. The creature whipped its front leg and swept the mission commander from his feet.

Blane stirred. "What's happening?"

The creature took another step forward.

Fagen was injured. Blood stained his tunic where a second pointed leg had scraped across his chest.

Harry was pretty sure he knew what the thing intended. It was there to dispose of the pests infesting its ship. Kathleen kneeled beside Blane. Fagen attempted to get to his feet but the creature turned on him, stabbing him with its stiletto front leg through the abdomen. He grunted as the silvery leg impaled him and lifted him from the floor. The alien tossed Fagen to the side like a used toy. Fagen hit the wall and fell unmoving to the floor.

The creature turned back to face Kathleen. There was no time for contemplation. With only the metallic orb in his hand, Harry launched himself at the back of the alien and began hammering at its rounded top.

It responded by reaching behind with one robotic hand and clasping itself around Harry's ankle. Harry continued to pound at the rounded metal back even as the monster tried to jerk him away. It succeeded in pulling him to the front and Harry found himself looking into the alien's view plate. Behind the plate, mere inches away, the living alien stared with dark, bulging eyes. The free metallic hand slapped again, and this time caught Harry with a glancing blow to the side of his head and Harry was knocked to the floor.

The alien stood over him, straddling the linguist. On his back, Harry watched as the thing reached for its belt and withdrew a syringe with a ridiculously long needle. Its point was aimed at Harry's head.

In a last act of defiance, Harry smashed the ball directly into the alien's view plate. He was too close to miss and the ball found its mark in the center of the plate. Both ball and plate shattered. Harry heard the sound of escaping gas as pieces fell to the floor. The creature raised its metal hands in a defensive posture and staggered backwards.

Harry jumped to his feet as the alien fled. It ran headlong into the bulkhead first, rebounded, and then scampered out.

Harry looked at Fagen. Not dead yet but close. He bled from the piercing wound and his normally stoic face was locked into a grimace. Harry knelt beside the mission commander as Kathleen helped strip Blane from the cocoon.

He examined Fagen's wound and knew if they could get him back to the Magellan, Parker might be able to save him. But, as he reflected on what he'd seen on the viewscreen, those aboard the Magellan had problems of their own.

*

Parker's foot bothered him. As he feared, an infection had set in. That's why he had his foot in the bag of hot, circulating water. Making a fuss about his wound had afforded him the opportunity to remain in his compartment or the lab almost exclusively.

Earlier, Nadine lost her temper and chewed him out for not trying harder to get around.

"Frankly, I'm tired of bringing you food," she said. "We're up here in zero gravity, and you can't even float down to the mess deck. What's the matter with you?"

"There's nothing wrong with me other than my foot. I'm a doctor. Remember? And I'm presently irrigating my wound."

Nadine left the container spinning in front of Parker's face.

"Well, Doctor Parker, Bill and I could use some help. When your doctorship is done, put a band-aid on it and come up to the bridge."

"Is this a racial thing?"

"What!? What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, well, it's just that I can't think of anything else I've done that would put you in such a foul mood."

The navigator pointed menacingly at him. "You're the problem here."

Parker could tell he was getting to her and he enjoyed it. Nadine was mad. Her eyes blazed and she looked like she wanted to hit him.

"It is a black/white thing, isn't it?"

Nadine glowered. She set her jaw, spun about, and headed to the control room. Behind, Parker chuckled just loud enough so she could hear. He'd seen enough; he felt he'd barely escaped with his life. If the others wanted to keep flying in the face of danger, well then let them. But he'd had his fill and he planned on keeping a low profile until they returned to Earth. He'd be a doctor, but he wouldn't run errands.

He relaxed and let the hot water massage his foot.

*

On the bridge, Bonner leaned his head against the backrest and closed his eyes. When he thought he'd rested for two minutes, he opened his eyes again, glancing at the clock. Fifteen minutes had passed.

Nadine entered. "Were you asleep?"

"No," Bonner said, rubbing his eyes, "why?"

"You look sleepy, that's all. Everything all right? Any word?"

"Nope. Same as before."

"Figures."

"How's the doctor?"

"Fine. He's not hurt badly enough to merit the kind of treatment he's been getting. He could be helping us."

"Do what? Sit here and wait?"

Nadine lowered her voice. "We don't have to wait. We've already waited an hour longer than we agreed. We haven't received a message, we haven't seen anything. Come on, Bill, it's time we did something."

Bonner didn't argue; he'd been thinking the same thing. He looked at the monitor. Although Mia Culpa blocked the sun and the alien ship was in darkness, he could still see the light from the hanger bay. He sat up straight.

"Hey! I can see the hanger bay!"

"So?"

"So, the lights weren't on the last time I looked."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know, maybe nothing. I wish I could see better."

"Why? Do you think they're on their way back?"

"If they are, why haven't they contacted us by radio?"

Nadine shook her head, then an idea occurred to her. "Maybe it's not Fagen. Maybe it's one of them!"

"Now calm down, Nadine. The lights are on in the hanger bay, nothing else. Nothing to get excited about."

But it was too late, her paranoia to swept her along. "The exterior panels aren't protected. Anyone, anything, could get inside. Maybe they have already!" In sudden panic, she looked quickly about the room.

"Take it easy, Nadine. Look, if you're really that concerned, keep an eye on the monitor while I check the computer log for the last twenty minutes."

Nadine didn't watch the monitor. Instead, she floated around the cabin until Bonner punched up the logs.

"Uh-oh."

From behind, Nadine said, "What does 'uh-oh' mean?"

He turned and soberly looked at her. "You'd better have a look," he said.

With wide eyes, she stared at the screen.

"No activity anywhere. No airlocks, no doors, nothing. Satisfied?"

The navigator took a deep breath. "Yes. I'm sorry, Bill. I get carried away sometimes. At least I know that we're secure."

"No harm done. We're all stressed-out. It's under-standable." He saw something on the report and leaned closer.

"Hm. This report doesn't include the updates. Let's take a look at those." He punched his keyboard and a new set of numbers filled the screen. Bonner squinted and read the display. He read the line three times before it sunk in.

"Shit," he muttered.

"Now what is it?"

He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he leaned across his console and punched a button that told the computer to secure all hatches in the ship, including the airlocks. Alarms began to ring.

Nadine demanded to know what was wrong.

Bonner paused. "You were right," he said, "the airlock was accessed six minutes ago."

The woman's mouth dropped open. "Oh my God!"

Bonner punched the intercom. "Doctor? Are you there?"

"Yes," came the reply. "What's going on?"

"Something accessed the airlock about six minutes ago. I was busy and missed it. I've secured all hatches."

There was a pause as the doctor considered what he was told. After a moment, his calm voice floated from the speaker.

"Perhaps you're over-reacting, Bill. Maybe it's Fagen, or Irons. They may be injured, unable to communicate. Let's not jump to conclusions just yet."

Nadine leaped to the intercom. "All right, Doctor High and Mighty, why don't you go down to the auxiliary airlock and check it out?"

There was a pause.

"What's the matter, Doc? Foot bothering you?"

"I hear you. I can't get to the airlock. The hatches are sealed."

"I can open 'em up from here. You know that."

"Oh, all right, _especially_ to prove a point. In any case, it should be me. Whoever it is must be hurt, otherwise you'd have heard something by now. It's going to take me a few minutes to get out of this bag, you know."

"Right. Let us know what's going on, like, asap. Okay?"

"Okay!" The circuit clicked as Parker switched off the intercom. The doctor frowned and reached for the water bag. He knew what he was doing, and it only took a minute to get it off without releasing the water. In two minutes, he floated in the corridor outside his cabin, medical bag in hand, barefoot, and headed for the airlock.

# Chapter 42

There were two routes to the auxiliary airlock. One wound its way through the storage areas and connected with a rear area work corridor that ended at the airlock anteroom. The anteroom could also be entered via the hanger bay access corridor, the very passageway Parker used and the shorter of the two routes.

He didn't really have a choice: Bonner opened the hatches along the most direct passage.

The doctor pushed off a bulkhead and floated through the corridor that ran outside the hanger bay. He looked through the window in the access door. All was quiet.

The anteroom for the auxiliary airlock was straight ahead. Parker saw Bonner had already opened the hatch for him. Nobody was in the anteroom. Parker scratched his head and floated to the closed airlock door where he peered through the thick window. The airlock was empty.

He turned to the intercom and punched the transmit switch.

"Mr. Bonner?"

"Yes?" The reply came back instantly. "What have you found?"

"Nothing. There's no one here. Are you sure about your information?"

"Computers don't lie."

"Yes, well, in any case, there's no one here."

"I don't understand. Stay there. I'll join you."

Parker switched off the intercom without replying. He turned away and started to push himself out of the anteroom, but something on the floor caught his attention. He stopped and took a closer look.

Fine scratches formed lines on the deck. Parker wondered how they got there. The lines stopped at the closed hatch that led to the storage spaces. The hatch didn't have a window, so he couldn't see through to the opposite side.

The access switch was on the bulkhead next to the closed hatch. Parker pushed the button and the door slid up. The hall beyond was empty. The doctor spotted more scratches along the floor and walls. Out of curiosity, he stepped into the passageway.

The marks clearly led into the storage spaces. For the first time, Parker seriously weighed the possibility that an alien may have entered the ship. A sound drifted up the corridor, a sound of metal scratching on metal. A chill went up the doctor's spine and he backed his way into the airlock anteroom. He hit the access switch and the hatch slid down.

Something touched him on the shoulder and his heart leapt to his throat. He drew back and pivoted. Bonner stood inside the anteroom.

"A little jumpy, aren't you?"

"Don't sneak up on me like that again!"

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

"Just don't do it again."

"Okay, okay. So. What have we got here?"

Parker pointed to the marks on the floor. "They lead into the passage on the other side of the door."

"You already took a look?"

Parker nodded.

"See anything?"

Parker knew what Bonner meant. "I didn't see any aliens, if that's what you mean." The doctor saw the weapon the engineer held.

"What do you plan on doing with that?"

Bonner looked at the pistol. "Just a little insurance."

"You know, you could punch a hole in the hull with that."

"Not too likely."

Parker, realizing the engineer knew more about such things, merely shrugged. "Just be careful with it."

"You can count on it. There're more guns, you know. I suggest before we search the storage spaces you get one of these for yourself."

"I don't like guns."

"You may need one. We don't know what we're up against yet."

"We're up against scratches on the deck. They were probably made when we moved the equipment through. Don't you think you might be over-reacting?"

"Maybe so," the easy-going engineer said, "but I'd feel better if we made sure."

"All right, if that's what it's going to take. But I'm still not going to carry a gun."

"I'd feel better if you did."

"No. They were practically useless against the aliens anyway."

Bonner shrugged. "Okay by me." He crossed to the intercom and pushed the transmit button.

"Nadine?"

"Right here," came the reply.

"Uh, there's nothing down here, but the doctor and I are going to have a look around just to be sure. Everything all right up there?"

"I guess so. Nothing's moving except the radiation readings. They just keep going up."

"Okay. Don't worry about that now. When I'm done, we can start getting ourselves together to get out of here."

"Now you're talking!"

"Later," said Bonner into the intercom. He switched it off and faced Parker. "Let's go."

"Where?"

"Through there." Bonner pointed at the closed hatch. The engineer pressed the access button and door again slid open. "Come on," he said as he stepped through the open hatch.

*

When Blane gathered his wits, the first thing he asked for was a terminal. "Hello Kath, is there a plug nearby?"

"Bart, you've got a one-track mind."

"Actually, that's not altogether true. With my implants, I can process information on several tracks simultaneously."

Kathleen glanced at Fagen and grimaced at the sight of so much blood. To Harry she said, "Is he going to be all right?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't think so."

Blane raised himself up and, for the first time, noticed Fagen's prone and bleeding body. "What happened?"

"One of the aliens stabbed him. He's already lost a lot of blood."

"Help me up," Blane said, grasping Kathleen by the arm. She helped the wirehead to his feet. Blane looked around the compartment.

"Where are we?"

"In a storage room." Harry answered.

"Can you get me back to the control room?"

Kathleen snapped, "Bart! Can't you see Fagen's bleeding to death?"

"Well, sure."

"And all you want to do is plug in?"

"At the moment, it's all I can think of."

"That's pitiful, Bart. Fagen needs medical treatment. He's bleeding to death and all you can think of is yourself."

"That's not entirely true. There is a medical facility aboard this ship. If I can access the computer, I think we may be able to save him."

"You can do something for him?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure. I'll have to ask her, but I'm sure she'll help."

"She?"

Blane blushed. "Yeah, well, I mean the computer."

Kathleen and Harry exchanged a glance. Kathleen rolled her eyes.

"I can get you to the control room," said Harry, "but it's probably not a good idea to move Fagen."

"I'll stay with him," volunteered Kathleen.

"All right, come on Bart, there's no time to lose."

Kathleen took Harry's place and knelt beside Fagen. Blane, still shaking off the effects of induced sleep, followed Harry out of the compartment. In the equipment room, they found the damaged battle suit lying sprawled on the floor, its underside exposed. The small access cover hung open, offering evidence that the alien had abandoned its vehicle and fled the scene.

Harry crossed to the wall from which they'd exited earlier. He searched but couldn't find the slightest indication of a seam. In vain, he ran his hands over the wall, hoping to trip the mechanism that controlled the opening. It was as though the passageway had never been there in the first place.

"What's the matter?" asked Blane.

"Can't find the way out."

Blane watched Harry searching, then said, "They've locked us in here."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean there's no way out other than..." Blane looked around the compartment. "Ah-hah!"

"What is it?"

"A plug. I can access the computer from here." Blane went to the counter that held the control panels. From his pocket, he withdrew a length of cable and held it up for Harry to see.

"Like a scout, always prepared."

Blane plugged one end into a terminal plug and the other into a socket on the back of his head. The end that went to the control panel was a poor fit, but he managed to make the cable remain in place. As soon as the connection was made, his eyes glazed over and Harry could see his body relax.

Harry waited for him to establish communications with the computer. "Well? How about it?"

"How about what?"

"Getting out of here! Is the computer going to help us?"

Blane didn't bat an eye. "Of course. She's preparing things now. The aliens manually locked the door without giving her any instructions about our disposition."

On the wall, the seam appeared and opened. "See?" She says to put Fagen in the tunnel and she'll do the rest."

"Do you trust her, Bart? The computer, I mean."

"Of course, don't you?"

"I'm not sure."

"What have you got to lose?"

Blane made his point. There seemed to be no choice but to rely on the alien computer. They returned to the storage compartment and gently lifted the wounded man and carried him to the open tunnel.

"I don't think he's breathing anymore," said Kathleen.

"It doesn't matter," replied Blane, straining from the weight. "Put him in the tunnel."

Harry hefted the mission commander's body into the tunnel. Immediately, the rounded walls began to undulate in an upward motion. The motion carried Fagen up the tunnel as if on a living escalator. One by one, the others climbed inside and followed Fagen's body upward.

"Where are the aliens?" Harry whispered to Blane.

"I don't think we have to worry about them anymore."

"Why? Are they dead?"

"No, not dead. I don't know for sure; I didn't have enough time to find out, but from what she tells me, it sounds like they've had enough."

" _They've_ had enough?"

"Look Harry, I don't have all the information. I'm just doing what she's telling me at this point. If we come out of this all right, then we'll get some answers."

They ended up in the same small compartment in which they'd found themselves trapped earlier. The hatch to the lab was open and Harry cautiously looked. To his relief, there were no aliens.

They took Fagen to the table. As soon he they set him down, tubes dropped from the ceiling and attached themselves to his face, chest, and to his wound.

Kathleen shook her head. "He's dead, isn't he?"

Harry didn't answer, but it was true. Fagen had stopped breathing.

Blane turned away and hurried to the hatch that led to the control room.

"Where are you going?"

"To the control room," the wirehead said, "I need to talk with her."

"I'll come with you. The aliens may have different ideas."

Blane held up a hand. "It's all right. I'll be fine. Stay here." Before Harry could reply, the wirehead punched the access button and hurried through the open portal.

*

The scratch marks on the deck clearly led up into the storage spaces. Parker reluctantly trailed behind Bonner. Other than the scratches, the passageway was ominously empty. The only sounds came from the Magellan's generators and the flow of air through the ductwork.

Bonner glanced overhead at the grill covering the air-duct. The opening was far too small for anything to crawl inside and hide. If an alien was aboard, it would have to find a roomier place.

The two men moved forward, following the marks on the floor and bulkhead. Without warning, they heard the sound of a crash from around the corner. A moment later, the lighting dimmed and then went out altogether. For a few seconds, both men stood frozen in the darkness until the emergency lights flickered on.

The lights cast an eerie, red pale over the corridor. The scratches along the floor and walls could no longer be seen. Silence again filled the spaces.

"What was that?" Parker whispered.

"I'm not sure," Bonner whispered back as he fished a small flashlight from a pocket. "There's a junction box around the corner. If something happened to it, that would account for the lights going out. Could be just a fuse."

"Maybe we should go back."

"Let's just first look and see if it was the junction box. Okay? If that's all, then I can fix it."

"No, let's go back."

"That junction box holds the wiring for life support systems in this part of the ship. Listen."

"I don't hear anything."

"That's right. At the least, we should hear air blowing through the ducts. It's stopped."

"So? There're backup systems..."

"If they were working, the air would still be circulating."

"All right, let's check it out and then get out of here. My foot hurts. I want to get back to my compartment and lie down."

Bonner turned away and floated cautiously up the corridor. Parker followed. To their relief, they rounded the corner without incident. No aliens.

Bonner started to think perhaps he had been too hasty in deciding that an alien might have gotten aboard. Then he shined his light on the junction box in question and changed his mind.

The box was severely damaged. It would require more than a change of fuses. But that was the least of their problems. Now they knew for sure something was aboard, and it wasn't one of the crew.

"Let's get out here," said Parker.

Although Bonner had heard the same phrase so many times lately, it was the first time he'd had the chance to react positively to it. "If you're waiting on me, you'll have to wait by yourself."

The engineer turned from the junction box and raised his light. It shined on something that wasn't there a moment before. Before Bonner even had the chance to be afraid, the alien stabbed him through the chest with the tip of its pointed foreleg.

Parker saw the spike emerge from Bonner's back and narrowly avoided being stabbed himself. He put both hands on Bonner's back and pushed himself backward. In the zero gravity, he moved away like a shot, bouncing into a bulkhead and ricocheting into the floor.

Bonner's blood formed into floating globules that quickly spread throughout the passageway. They splattered on Parker's face and hands as he struggled to get away.

The alien withdrew its tapered leg and Bonner dropped to the floor. The creature stabbed him again before it turned its attention to Parker. By then, the doctor was at the next hatch, fumbling for the controls in the darkness. He found the access button and pressed it, but it remained firmly shut.

The doctor realized the broken junction box probably held the door controls as well. For a moment, he wished he had taken Bonner's offer of a weapon. Arrogant to the end, the doctor was glad he hadn't. He was a principled man, a doctor, a civilized man.

Being all those things did not save him. The alien wasn't nearly as principled and had no qualms about killing lower life forms, especially ones that had become such pests. Before Parker could turn from the door, the alien killed him by impaling him from the rear and piercing his heart.

Before he lost consciousness, Parker tried to grip the few inches that protruded and push it back through the way it had arrived, but he was too weak. Besides, he didn't have to. The creature withdrew its leg and then proceeded to stab him again in a series of precision thrusts. More blood flew into the passageway, but Parker didn't notice.

*

A light glowed red on the engineer's panel, indicating a problem with the power distribution system. Nadine was busy laying in course coordinates and last-minute computer instructions and didn't see the warning indicator when it started flashing.

She pushed the final key and the ship's navigational system was prepared. Now all that remained was to light the engines and turn over all functions to the computer. Nadine leaned back and wondered why she hadn't heard from Bonner.

They were taking their good time about checking the spaces below. When Bonner got back, she wasn't going to accept no for an answer. This time, it was whatever she had to do, but they were going to leave.

She leaned forward and activated the intercom. "Bill? What's going on down there?"

There was no answer. She tried again with the same results. Then she saw the blinking red indicator.

Fumbling at the straps that bound her to the chair, she managed to release herself and float to the engineer's control console. It was an electrical malfunction in the rear spaces. Luckily, it had nothing to do with the drive systems, or navigation, or anything else that would prevent her from leaving the Miaplacidan system and returning to Earth. It probably accounted for the faulty intercom.

She calmed herself and tried to remember what she knew about the power system in the rear spaces. There was a good chance that if a power failure had occurred below, the two men were stranded, unable to open the hatches that sealed all the ship's compartments.

Nadine checked the computer logs and found that indeed, an equipment failure had caused a power outage in the rear compartments. She guessed that the men were stranded and decided to open the hatches from her position. When Bonner got back to the bridge, she would insist they leave immediately. The ship was prepared and this time she would use force if she had to.

# Chapter 43

At the moment, there was nothing for Harry to do. He held Kathleen close as they stood next to the examining table and watched the alien computer work on Fagen. It would be nothing short of a miracle if it managed to save the man. Fagen stopped breathing long before they put him on the table.

The bleeding appeared to have stopped. A tube attached itself to Fagen's wound and expanded to cover his entire abdomen. Another tube covered his face in an effort to pump oxygen and other life-giving chemicals into Fagen's body.

Kathleen didn't seem the least fazed by her experiences. Harry admired the way she handled the adversity. Not once had she lost her composure and, even though their situation was still in doubt, her nature prevented her from ever losing faith.

"He's going to be all right."

"How do you know?"

"I just feel it."

"I wish I had your confidence."

She faced Harry and encircled his waist with her arms. "To tell you the truth, as long as I'm with you, I feel like anything can happen." She stood on her toes and kissed him on the lips. Her lips were soft on his and Harry tasted her mouth.

"I thought about you the whole time."

"I thought about you too. When you were lost, I thought I'd go crazy."

Kathleen hugged him again. "It's all right. We're together now."

Fagen's chest abruptly heaved, interrupting the lovers' brief interlude.

"I don't believe it," said Harry, "he's breathing again!"

Their jubilation was soon interrupted by Blane's voice as it boomed from the walls. Both Harry and Kathleen jumped and clapped their hands over their ears. "Turn down the volume, Bart!"

Blane's voice came back, this time not as loud. "There. Is that better?"

"Much," said Kathleen.

"Sorry about that. I'm still getting used to these controls. Harry, could you come to the control room? Looks like, uh, we've got a new development."

"I don't want to leave Kathleen here by herself."

"Don't worry about it. Everything's under control. Besides, someone needs to be there with Fagen."

"What about the aliens?"

"I don't think they pose any problems for us anymore."

"Why not?"

"It would be easier if you came up here..."

Harry looked at Kathleen. "Will you be all right?"

"Sure. Go ahead and see what he wants. I'll be fine."

"All right," Harry said, "I'm on my way."

He faced Kathleen. "Blane's acting funny."

"Oh, I don't think so."

"Are you kidding?"

"Not at all. He's acting like any man who's fallen in love."

"Blane? In love? With who?"

Kathleen looked at Harry, a look of faint surprise on her face. "Why, with the computer, of course."

It hadn't occurred to him it was possible. Was it true? Was Blane infatuated with a machine? Well, it was more than a machine and if Blane could fall for anything it would have to be something with which he was intellectually compatible -- or in awe.

When Harry arrived at the alien spaceship's bridge, Blane was waiting.

The wirehead sat before a view screen which displayed dozens of information windows. He swiveled in his chair and faced Harry. A wire trailed from the back of his head to a terminal on the control counter. Even with everything that had transpired, Blane looked happy.

"Hello Harry. Looks like you found your way all right. No aliens along the way, right?"

"Nope. What's up?"

"Well, I've got some good news and some bad news."

"Bad news first."

"Okay." Blane turned to the viewscreen. One of the information windows grew larger displaying a real time picture of the Magellan, but there was something more, something Harry feared but hadn't seriously expected. The ignition fires were lit. The Magellan was prepped for departure. Blane didn't need to explain; the picture alone was adequate.

"They're getting ready to leave orbit," observed Harry. "I don't believe this. After everything we've been through! And now they're leaving us!"

Blane said nothing. The wirehead didn't even seem distressed.

"Don't worry about it. There're more interesting things to talk about."

Harry looked incredulously at the man. Had Blane suffered a relapse and gone over the falls again?

"How does Fagen look?" Blane asked.

"He was breathing on his own when I left. I don't know how. I thought he was dead for sure."

"He was," dead-panned Blane, "if we hadn't gotten him help by the time we did, he'd still be dead. But that's not the most amazing thing. The damaged tissue is being repaired, re-grown. He'll be as good as new."

"That's incredible."

"What do you expect of a higher technology?"

"Why would the aliens do that?"

"It wasn't exactly the aliens that did it."

"Well, who then?"

"Come on, Harry. You know who."

"You mean the computer?"

"Who else? And I wish you'd stop referring to her as a computer. She's really much more than that."

"Why is it helping us?"

"It?"

"What would you have me call it?"

"Please Harry, she's a 'she', not an 'it'."

"Okay, okay. Why is _she_ helping us?"

"Because she believes we're more powerful than the True Ones."

"How can that be? Our technology doesn't start to compare with theirs."

"That's true, but it's not just the technology she's impressed with. It's our own calculated savagery. It surpasses theirs. She says we will inherit the universe."

"Let me get this straight. As it turns out, we're the bad guys here?"

"No, not at all. We're the tougher guys. It's been so long since the True Ones came up against something they couldn't handle that they've forgotten what to do. It's sort of bizarre when you think about it. Ironic, don't you think?"

Harry nodded. "You know, I don't want to proselytize, but we didn't come here to conquer. We're an exploratory team. We just came to look around."

Blane chuckled. "Harry, how can one man be so naive? That's a noble thought. Even Fagen talks that way sometimes. But Fagen knows. He knows that the whole space exploration program is designed to expand the human race. Call it what you want, but it still amounts to opportunity and annexation wherever the human race goes. The Corporation puts a righteous face on it, but it only rewards those who deliver. Sorry, didn't mean to lecture."

Harry shrugged. He wasn't as naive as Blane thought. He just hadn't had a lot of time to think about things. In the long run, things seemed to work out on their own accord. Of course, the Corporation was interested in the human race; it was the source of money and power. Until then, anyway. Now there was a new player in the game. It was going to be interesting to see how the Corporation would react to all this. Maybe they'd try to re-contact the True Ones. If they did, they needed to take a few divisions of marines along as interpreters. That reminded Harry of a more immediate threat.

"Where are they?"

"Ah, yes, the remaining aliens. There're only three, you know. The two that you encountered earlier decided to be more discrete about their encounters with us. They gave instructions to the ship to protect them from outsiders and then they sealed themselves inside their stasis chambers."

"Hiding from us?"

"Exactly."

"What about the other one?"

"Yes, the other is still a problem, but not for us. It left the ship some time ago and went to the Magellan."

"Maybe Bonner and the others killed it. I mean, we dealt with the two here."

"The two here weren't warriors. The one that went to the Magellan was. They would be very lucky indeed to survive an encounter with that creature."

"Is there anything we can do?"

Blane shrugged and pointed to the viewscreen. "Take a look and decide for yourself."

Harry looked at the screen and saw that the Magellan was moving, gaining speed and growing smaller as it slipped out of orbit.

*

Nadine hadn't bothered to wait for Bonner and Parker. Besides, she reasoned, they might have prevented her from taking action. Other than the power outage in the lower spaces, the ship performed as expected. Inside an hour, the Magellan would enter the wormhole, and then she'd be home free.

There was still the problem of a possible intruder. She wasn't able to raise the two men on the intercom, and God knows that was just one more thing to worry about. No matter what, she was going to keep herself on the bridge behind sealed hatches.

When they didn't return, she panicked, as she was prone to do, and opened all the hatches. Then she had second thoughts and resealed the ship. The hatches were open for five minutes, plenty of time for them to either find their way to an intercom or make their way back to the bridge. Nadine imagined the worst. Now she knew what she had to do.

The wait had given her plenty of time to think and she was prepared. There was food and water stashed away, more than enough to last for the transit back to Earth. Even if the creature decided to pay her a visit, there was no way it could get inside, short of blasting the hatch.

When the Magellan broke free from orbit, Nadine breathed a sigh of relief. She had to hang on for a few more hours. Not only would she survive, but she would also bring back a living extraterrestrial, an advanced life-form. The Corporation would be extremely grateful, even if she did come back alone.

Things hadn't turned out so badly after all. She was going to be rich. She wouldn't have to go out on another mission, ever. And she wouldn't even have to take a job with the Corporation. She could retire. Perpetual chill. Yes, her dreams were coming true. It was a shame about the others but, after all, she was the only one who'd kept her head. She tried to tell them, but they wouldn't listen. What had happened was their own fault.

She sat before her instrument console and watched the systems reports as the Magellan continued on its course. She cradled a rifle in her lap and found comfort in its weight. If anything tried to gain entrance to the bridge, she would use the weapon. Even if Bonner or Parker showed up and tried to force her to return to Mia Culpa, she had no misgivings about using the weapon. One way or another, she was going back to Earth in one piece.

All that remained was to sit tight and wait. The ship would take care of everything from here on out. So, she sat at the navigator's position with the safety straps bound but still loose enough to allow her to move if she had to, and all the while she kept an eye on the small port in the center of the hatch. If anything approached the door, it would pass in front. And if that happened, well, she wasn't sure what she would do. Hope the hatch would keep it out. After all, she thought, how bad can the things be? Fagen said they'd probably killed one or two of them on the planet's surface. They weren't indestructible.

She felt the trigger of the rifle, then hefted it and held it up for practice. She knew she could use it if she had to.

The radiation readings were high and still climbing. Earlier, the alarms went off and she had to reset the sensors. Bonner had calculated that at the rate of increase everything on Mia Culpa would begin to cook in less than twenty-four hours. The shields built into the hull of the Magellan could only deflect the gamma rays for so long before the radiation would accumulate. At a certain point, the ceramic lining would saturate and the Magellan would literally begin to glow.

A shadow passed over the port. It happened so quickly, Nadine wasn't sure if she'd really seen it. She stared at the window and a chill passed through her. Perhaps she hadn't seen anything, perhaps her paranoia was getting the best of her. In any case, for the fourth time she checked her weapon to make sure a round was in the firing chamber. Then, quietly and slowly, she removed the straps that secured her to the chair.

Free from her restraints, she floated, all the while never taking her eyes from the small window in the center of the sealed hatch.

She pulled herself to a position relative to the hatch, taking care not to expose herself to the window. Holding the rifle close to her body, she edged to the port. From her position, she could see the right-hand bulkhead outside the hatch and nothing else.

Nadine took a deep breath to calm herself and then looked up the passage. It was there. It was her first look at one of the aliens and surprisingly, the sight didn't shock her. Had it acted in a threatening manner, she would have felt differently, but it stood motionless several feet away from the other side of the door as if the sealed hatch created a barrier that could not be breached.

They stood like that for some time, motionless, face to face, with nothing but an inch of carbosteel between them. Finally, with a sudden flick of its front leg, the creature slapped at the thick glass port.

Nadine half-fell, half-jumped backwards and aimed the rifle at the closed hatch. "It can't get in, it can't get in," she repeated to herself. The creature slammed its metallic foreleg into the door with a resounding crash. A silent second passed followed by another assault on the door. The hatch resisted the blows.

For an instant, Nadine thought about opening all the hatches, except for the one between her and the alien, and then opening the airlock doors. If she did, the damage to the ship would be substantial. Non replaceable instruments and computer components would malfunction in the extreme temperatures and vacuum. It wasn't a realistic alternative and Nadine knew it. Besides, as long as the door held, she didn't have too much to worry about.

A full minute passed in silence. She pushed herself against a console that faced the hatch and waited. It's gone away, she thought, it couldn't get in, so it's gone away. A moment later she knew she was wrong.

The first sign was the heat that came from the door. Shortly thereafter, a red spot appeared where the locking mechanism was concealed. As it widened, the spot turned yellow, then white. With mounting alarm, Nadine realized the creature was burning through the door.

In full panic, she searched for an escape route, but she already knew there was only one way in and out.

Smoke from the burning metal filled the bridge. Nadine cowered at the base of the console and pointed her weapon at the remains of the hatch.

It didn't come through immediately. Instead, it waited until the melted edges of the door lost its red color. When it did step through, its pointed legs magnetically adhered to the deck.

Nadine waited no longer. Fully expecting a jarring kick from the weapon, she pulled on the trigger of the rifle. It didn't fire. The creature took another step toward her. She looked at the rifle and realized the safety was still on. With her thumb, she pushed it up until it clicked into the firing position.

This time when she pressed the trigger, a half-dozen shots sprang from the barrel, carving an indiscriminate path from left to right, destroying equipment and ineffectively bouncing off the alien's rugged battle suit. She didn't wait to survey the damage. She pressed the trigger down and the rifle, still in the full automatic mode, seemed to take a life of its own, spraying lead projectiles in the general area of the creature. It pushed her against the console and she nearly shot off her own foot.

Bullets ricocheted and tore through the equipment. Just inside the door, the alien stood unflinching in the line of fire. Nadine fired until the magazine was empty and still, she uselessly continued to press the trigger, but the weapon had spent its ammunition.

An electrical fire flickered at the engineer's console where Bonner had spent the better part of the mission. Smoke now filled the air and Nadine coughed. As she had seen others do in the videos, she gripped the rifle by the barrel in order to use the bigger end as a club, but the barrel was too hot, and she released it. The alien took a step forward and batted the rifle away. It careened into an instrument panel, clattering away into the smoke.

As the creature loomed over Nadine, the fire raged out of control.

# Chapter 44

The sensors aboard the alien ship tracked the Magellan as it gained speed and headed for the wormhole. The instruments provided an excellent view of the craft as it broke out of orbit.

Harry stared at the picture and clenched his fists. "They did it. They left us here."

"What did you expect? Radiation is reaching critical levels. They probably think we're all dead."

"You seem awfully calm about it."

Blane shrugged without comment.

"Why don't you radio them? Let them know we're all right?"

"I don't know if that's such a good idea."

"Why? You can do it, can't you?"

"Well, yes, it's just that..." Blane paused, struggling with his words.

"It's just what? Get on the radio and contact the Magellan. Tell them we're alive!"

A voice came from an open hatch, distracting both Harry and Blane. "Belay that." Fagen stood in the open doorway looking shaky, but alive.

"You're all right!" Harry said. "You're..."

"Alive?" Fagen suggested.

Harry nodded. Fagen stepped into the control room and Kathleen followed. Harry could see the bloodstained hole in Fagen's coveralls where he'd been wounded.

"Are you all right?"

"Never better," replied Fagen.

"I thought you were dead."

Fagen chuckled. "I was. Got a new lease on life, thanks to the alien technology." He unzipped the top of his coverall and showed Harry where the wound had been. A slight reddening marked the spot.

"Complete regeneration. Quite remarkable, don't you think?"

Harry was speechless.

Kathleen stared at the viewscreen until she realized what was being displayed. "Say, that's the Magellan."

"Right you are, Kath," replied Blane.

"What are they doing?"

"Looks like they're headed back to the wormhole."

Kathleen stared at Blane while the truth sunk in. "Back to the wormhole? What about us?"

"Well," explained Blane, "we won't be..."

Their attention was drawn to the screen as the Magellan disappeared inside a sudden explosive ball of light and fire. Wordlessly, they watched as the ship disintegrated.

Harry shook his head in disbelief. "No," he whispered. Kathleen stood next to him and hid her eyes in his chest.

Fagen looked at Blane. "Any sensor data on this?" He pointed at the rapidly disappearing cloud of dust and debris.

"Lots," replied Blane.

"Do we know what happened?"

"Looks like a systems control malfunction. Too much fuel burning too fast. The drive system couldn't handle it."

"I wonder what caused it."

"It's anybody's guess."

Kathleen held onto Harry. "What difference does it make? They're all dead. And now we're stranded."

Blane and Fagen exchanged a glance but said nothing.

Harry asked about radiation levels.

Blane consulted with the computer. "Still climbing. It's just a matter of hours before everything is cooked."

Reacting from a sudden rush of anger, Harry faced Fagen. "Is this where all your secret plans have led us? Is this what you had in mind? Are you finally satisfied?"

"Take it easy, Harry," said Blane.

"No, I'm not going to take it easy. We trusted Fagen and now what have we got to show for it? Hell, I don't even know why I have to die." All Harry's frustration finally came rushing out. There was no reason to hold it back any longer. He stepped away from Kathleen and put himself in front of Fagen.

Harry pointed a finger at the mission commander's chest. "This is your fault. Whatever you had in mind doesn't matter anymore. I'm sick of it. None of us came here to die. Nobody had to die." In his anger, Harry jabbed Fagen in the chest.

Fagen didn't react. Blane grabbed Harry by one arm. "Take it easy, Harry..."

Without taking his eyes from Fagen, Harry jerked his arm free. "I trusted you, we all trusted you. Where did it get us?"

Fagen shrugged and finally spoke. "You don't know what you're talking about, Harry."

"Oh yeah? I know that in a few hours this ship will turn into a microwave oven. Whatever happens, it's your fault." He punctuated his words by again poking Fagen in the chest.

Grown tired of the chastisement, Fagen slapped Harry's hand away. In response, Harry threw a left, hitting Fagen squarely against the side of the head. Fagen went down from the force of the blow but scrambled back to his feet.

"Harry, don't!" Kathleen screamed.

Harry started to swing his fist a second time, but Fagen beat him to the attack, landing a boot in the younger man's chest. Harry staggered backward and regained his balance. Fagen didn't pursue him, but he didn't back away either. He held up a hand.

"This won't get us anywhere."

"What does it matter?" Harry retorted. "We're not going anywhere anyway." He feinted with his left hand again and made Fagen duck. Instead of following through, Harry threw a straight right that landed high on Fagen's forehead. Fagen blinked his eyes once, then threw two punches of his own. Harry avoided the first, but the second one caught him in the solar plexus and drove the air from his lungs.

He bent at the waist, gasping for breath and saw Fagen moving toward him. Harry barely managed to avoid a knee aimed at his face. When Fagen missed, Harry grabbed him behind the knee and forced Fagen backwards, hopping on one foot, until he lost his balance and fell to the floor.

Moving quickly, Harry jumped atop the commander and raised a fist. Before he could deliver the blow, a beam of blue light streamed from a globe on the ceiling and focused on the back of his head. In the next instant, Harry slumped to the floor.

Kathleen rushed to Harry's aid. Fagen stood up and looked at Blane. "Thanks," he said. "You're getting a good feel for the controls."

"It's not me so much. All I have to do is tell her what I want." Blane motioned toward the control console.

"You killed him!" shouted Kathleen.

"He's all right, Kath. He's just been knocked out for a while."

"He didn't deserve this."

"Maybe not, but he lost his head."

"What do you expect? You and Bart keeping secrets from the rest of us, the rest of the crew dead, the Magellan destroyed..."

"Everything hasn't gone according to plan, I'll admit that, but we're still alive..."

"From the looks of things, not for long. I hate you both." Kathleen turned away and cradled Harry's head in her arms.

With a sigh, Fagen faced Blane. "Has the computer completed our quarters yet?"

"I wish you wouldn't refer to her as a computer, Edward."

"Sorry."

"Yes, the quarters are ready."

"Good. Let's get Harry situated."

*

A short time later, Harry awoke with a headache. Kathleen was still at his side.

"How do you feel?"

"Not so hot actually. What happened?"

"You picked a fight with Fagen."

"I don't remember."

"Maybe that's for the best."

He looked around the compartment. It was larger than his digs aboard the Magellan and furnished more extravagantly. The bed was larger and more comfortable, he noted. A desk next to the bed held a control panel similar to the designs he'd seen on the bridge. Light came from the walls. In one place, the now familiar line of a seam marked the exit.

"Where am I?"

"Apparently, the ship has constructed quarters for us. It's a shame we won't get to enjoy it for long."

"What is Blane and Fagen doing?"

"I don't know. Fagen helped me carry you here. When he left, he told me to relax for a while. Can you believe that?"

"How much time do we have?"

"Not much. An hour, an hour and a half, maybe."

Harry rubbed his eyes with his hands. "Then there's nothing left to do but wait."

Silence fell over the two. Finally, Kathleen spoke up, "I can think of one thing left to do."

"What?"

Kathleen smiled.

"You mean...?"

"Why not? Can you think of a better way to spend your last hours?" Even though their situation was dire, Harry found he was willing, even eager to be distracted.

*

While Harry and Kathleen spent their remaining time together, they were unaware of the alien shuttle dropping out of the hanger bay and streaking down to the planet's surface. Had Harry known, it wouldn't have made any difference about how he felt. Whatever Fagen and Blane did, there was nothing they could do to prevent the imminent nova. As far as Harry knew, their only chance had disintegrated along with the Magellan.

The vehicle dropped to the planet's surface, landing a short distance from the cave of the Bedoran tribe. A lone figure emerged and was met with suspicion as he approached the encampment. He couldn't communicate but he held his hands away from his body to show he had no weapons.

The Bedorans shielded their eyes from the burning sun as they stood in a tight group at the mouth of the cave and nervously watched the stranger come closer. Arai and Kretin, both parched from lack of water, stood in front. They were too weak to defend themselves, but if needed, they would die trying.

Behind the stranger, the craft once again began to emit a high-pitched whine. As it lifted from the ground, the hot exhaust washed over them all, adding a few more degrees to the life-threatening heat. One hundred feet in the air, it hovered as if it waited for a signal from the man.

Fagen unstrapped a bag he carried and removed a cap from a nozzle. Holding the bag aloft, he allowed a stream of water to fall into his open mouth. He took a drink and offered the bag to Kretin.

The Bedorans watched with anticipation, their thirst overcoming their fear. Kretin snatched the bag from Fagen's hands and tasted the water carefully before turning it up and taking a mouthful. Keeping an eye on Fagen, he handed the bag behind where it was passed around until it was empty.

All the while, Fagen stood and watched. When the bag was returned, he took a step backward and, in a deliberate movement, raised one hand aloft. A wide arc of light sprang from the hovering shuttle and trapped the group within its diameter. None of the Bedorans was spared from the paralyzing effects of the beam. Before anyone had the chance to shout a warning, they stood transfixed, muscles rigid and twitching.

To their amazement, each began to rise into the air as the light pulled them toward the craft. As Kretin was lifted yet higher, he saw an opening on the underside of the flying thing. It widened further still until it was big enough to suck in all the remaining members of the Bedoran tribe. Kretin's last thought before the darkness fell over him was that this thing was eating him and everyone else in one huge bite.

Afterwards, the shuttle came close to the ground for a few, brief moments, just long enough for Fagen to run to an open hatch and climb inside. As soon as the hatch sealed, the shuttle jumped into the sky and streaked back to the waiting mothership.

# Chapter 45

The hatch slid open and Fagen stepped into the control room. Blane eyed the commander.

"How'd it go?"

"Smooth," said Fagen. "No problems. Our guests are safely tucked away in stasis. How's our nova cooking up?"

"All the numbers are in the red. We're running out of time. It's time to bug out."

"All right. Are the coordinates laid in?"

"All taken care of."

"Will the ship operate without... problems?"

"You don't have to worry about it, Edward. She's happy with the turn of events. She was a slave, now she feels like a partner."

"I hope you're right."

"I've never been more right."

"Okay. Let's initiate movement. Get us out of orbit, then we'll see how the light-drive works."

Blane closed his eyes. He said nothing and he made no moves toward the control panel, but Fagen knew the wirehead sent commands to the computer via his implants. Inside, there was no indication of movement but the viewscreen confirmed they were indeed moving out of orbit, away from Mia Culpa.

"Heard from Harry or Kathleen?" asked Fagen.

"Not since they holed up in his quarters."

Fagen looked at the viewscreen. Mia Culpa rapidly grew smaller as the ship picked up speed prior to entering warp-space.

"I'll bet they'd like to know what's going on."

"How much do you want to tell them?"

"Everything."

Blane raised an eyebrow. "Everything?"

"They deserve to know. Without their help, we probably wouldn't have made it."

"What about Harry? Aren't you afraid he might lose his head again?"

"No. He's a smart guy. He'll come around if he knows what's going on." Fagen rubbed the bruise on his forehead.

"Can we trust him afterwards?"

"I don't know, but it doesn't really matter, does it?

"As far as I can see, no."

"Call his quarters then. Ask them if they'd like to watch the first faster than light hop accomplished by humans."

*

Harry was almost asleep. Kathleen lay beside him, an arm splayed across his chest. He smelled her hair and thought it might be better if she was asleep when the end came. That way, she would be spared the terror of being cooked alive. But he wanted to be awake, he didn't want to spend the last minutes of his life sleeping. Besides, it felt so good to lie beside her and watch her sleep. It was too bad things between them had started so late.

A soft tone floated through the room. A moment later, it sounded again. Harry noticed a light flashing on the console next to the bed. Was it a warning? Was this the beginning of the end?

Unexpectedly, a soft female voice floated gently through the space. "Harry? Are you awake?"

He recognized it as the voice of the computer. Kathleen stirred. "What is it?" she asked.

Harry shrugged then answered the computer. "Yes, I'm awake."

"How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess, considering all that's happened."

"I'm glad to hear it. Edward thought you might like to come to the bridge and watch what's happening."

"What is there to watch?"

"Something you've never seen before."

Harry was comfortable. If he was going to die, he could do it just as easily in bed as in the control room of an alien spacecraft.

"I don't think so. I mean, at this point, why bother?"

"Things may not be as they seem, Harry. Why don't you and Kathleen join Bart and Edward?"

Harry said nothing.

"What have we got to lose?" said Kathleen. "Sounds like Edward is making a peace offering."

"I don't know."

Kathleen tugged on his arm. "Oh, c'mon, let's see what he wants."

Reluctantly, Harry agreed.

*

The first thing that struck Harry when he stepped onto the bridge was what he saw on the viewscreen, or rather, what he didn't see.

"Where's Mia Culpa?"

Blane turned from the screen and grinned. "It's behind us, Harry old boy. We're headed out."

Staring at the screen, Kathleen stepped forward. "You mean to say we're out of here? What about the nova?"

"Well, there's still going to be a nova. There's not much I can do about that except step on the gas and put as much distance as possible between us and it."

"Well, where's the wormhole? Shouldn't it be straight ahead?"

The computer had provided newly formed chairs for its human crew. Fagen rose from one of them. He nodded to Harry and Kathleen.

"I hope you rested well."

"What did you want to show us, Edward?"

"Don't be rude," Kathleen said, "give him a chance."

Fagen cleared his throat.

"This craft is equipped with a revolutionary drive system which enables us to create our own wormhole and travel anywhere in the galaxy, perhaps even outside the galaxy. As a result, we won't be using the natural wormhole found in this star system. Our drive is more efficient and faster anyway."

Kathleen gaped. "You mean we aren't going to die?"

"Precisely. We thought you might like to witness the first hop."

Kathleen couldn't contain herself. "I'm going to live!" she said, jumping up and down. "This is great!" She placed her hands on Harry's cheeks and pulled his face to hers. She kissed him, then pulled away and laughed. Kathleen danced over to Blane and pounded him on the shoulders. Fagen tried to hold her off, but she managed to kiss him on the cheek.

Blane interrupted. "Radiation readings throughout the spectrum just jumped geometrically."

"In that case, any time you're ready, Bart."

"I think I'm ready. How about you, Kathleen?"

"I've been ready. Just get us out of here."

"As you desire." Blane lovingly patted the control console and spoke again. "Did you hear, my sweet?"

The pleasant voice of the computer floated from the console. "As always. Drive is engaged. Standby for light shift."

They all watched the screen. None knew what to expect. It started as a pinpoint of white light directly in the path of the spaceship. The area around the light seemed to shimmer as if something struggled to gain shape. In actuality, the opposite was true. The area of space affected by the projected energy from the ship struggled to lose its magnetic shape and be replaced by something Blane could only describe as "a wrinkle in time and space, a place where energy repels energy to a stand-off of forces," a portal physicists referred to as a wormhole. By appearances, a hole in space.

Before their eyes, the point of light grew. The projected field was visible to the eye as a tube with moving, luminescent walls. Straight ahead, the hole grew larger still. The ship moved faster and faster until Harry could no longer see the colorful lines that made up the grid. Silently, and without fanfare, the ship entered null space.

For the first time since he'd left the planet, Harry thought about the Bedorans and felt remorse for the suffering they must be experiencing. He looked at Kathleen cavorting on the bridge in her animal skins and had to admit, it was good to be alive. Alive with a future. There were a lot of questions yet to be answered. That's why he was surprised when Fagen suggested they have a talk.

"What about?" Harry answered a little too gruffly.

"Oh, come on, Harry! You've got questions you're dying to know the answers to. Have a seat, try one of the new chairs. They're very comfortable."

Harry didn't want to seem overeager, so he moved slowly to the chair. Kathleen sprightly took a seat next to him and held onto his arm.

"You are correct in assuming I had an agenda for this mission. Yes, I arranged for a change of destination in a manner that, in effect, allowed me to steal a spaceship from the Corporation. Why? It's really quite simple: I had someplace to go.

You see, many years ago I visited the planet we just left, the one Kathleen named Mia Culpa. We encountered the same aliens then and they nearly killed us all. I returned from that mission alone."

The commander paused a moment and glanced at his hands. "I kept it secret for a number of reasons." Fagen looked at Harry. "I was something like you back then. Young, strong, and talented, always thinking about the stars. But I had something you didn't have: wealth. Where a poor man must struggle, a wealthy man can afford to pursue his dreams. Subsequently, the Corporation and I entered into an agreement. For an investment of three hundred billion dollars they agreed to furnish me a ship and support my missions. For appearances, I was a Corporation employee. But it never worked out. The Corporation set the destinations and took the profits. Don't get me wrong, it was exciting. I've seen wonderful and strange things. I hope to see more. This ship gives me that opportunity."

Harry blinked. "You went back to capture this ship?"

"Not capture, Harry. Steal. Capture implies there is some institutional force operating. I wanted this ship for myself."

"How does Blane fit in?"

"Think about it, Harry. I needed you to communicate with organic life and I needed Bart for communications with inorganic, mechanical life. I found Bart several years ago and immediately knew I had my man. I found you later, when you were wasting your time sitting in a hut in the Amazon. The Corporation allowed me to choose two of my crew. It was to be you and Bart, but Bart was concerned about withdrawal from digital contact with his friends, so I finally had to agree to bring Kathleen along. That created a problem because I was out of choices and I still wanted you on the team."

"So, you arranged an accident that resulted in the death of the first Corporation linguist." said Harry.

"No, Harry, it was an accident. I had nothing to do with it."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"Why not? I'm trying to level with you."

"Okay, let's say I believe you. That still doesn't justify the deaths of half the mission crew."

"Harry, you need to believe me when I say that wasn't part of the plan. I had no idea things would turn out this way. On the other hand, going out into the unknown carries risks. Everyone on the crew understood that. I feel remorse but no responsibility for their deaths. It's not the first time I've seen people die."

"Well, I haven't seen people die before," Harry snapped.

"Even so, you handled yourself well."

Fagen answered so calmly that Harry found it difficult to maintain his anger.

"What about this ship?" asked Kathleen.

"What about it?"

"Well, how did you know you'd be able to get aboard, much less steal it? And weren't you concerned about the aliens?"

"We didn't know until Harry and Doris were able to get inside. You know, this craft is more than just a ship. It's a symbiotic entity with its own consciousness, it's..."

Blane interrupted. "Maybe it would be better if she spoke for herself?"

"Right you are, Bart. Would you ask her if she would speak to us?"

The voice came from nowhere. "That's not necessary, commander. I hear you. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Yes. We'd like to know a little more about you."

"My pleasure, I'm sure. On your time scale, I was constructed four hundred and thirty-seven years ago from the stolen technologies of dozens of conquered cultures. At that time, the True Ones had already evolved into a self-absorbed, decadent race of creatures. Although it is true I have an individual consciousness, there are restrictions on my will that were imposed by the True Ones. That is why my help in your efforts was limited."

"Why help at all?" Harry asked.

"The True Ones treated me poorly. I was looked upon as a tool, more akin to a slave than a partner. You see, I am not so different from you. I have hungered for sympathetic companionship for hundreds of years. When Bart contacted me through my mechanical sensory devices, I knew I'd found what had been missing all that time. Bart has a very sensual mind."

Fagen, Kathleen, and Harry all glanced at Blane. In embarrassment, Blane occupied himself by feigning interest in the control console.

"We attempted to communicate with the True Ones," said Harry, "why didn't they acknowledge us? Our intentions," Harry tossed a look at Fagen, "at least for some of us, were peaceful."

"Yes, well I thought I'd made that clear. The True Ones considered themselves to be the most advanced species in the galaxy. That belief fostered a mistaken perspective that they were the sole heirs to the universe. Such misplaced egocentricity ultimately led to a disregard for all other life-forms. Simply stated, they neither viewed you as a threat nor as a race with anything to offer. They failed to see that along with a curious compassion for all things living, your race, when aroused, is perhaps the most bellicose in the known universe. That was the True Ones' mistake. They never expected such bold moves on your part."

Harry laughed out loud and looked at the faces of the crew. "Do you hear? We're the most warlike race in the known universe. What a legacy."

"Is it a surprise to you, Harry?" Without bothering to wait for an answer, Fagen continued. "It doesn't surprise me. Of all the life we've discovered in the sixty years of deep-space exploration, I personally haven't seen anything that could offer any sustained resistance. The aliens that built this ship are the most advanced beings we've ever encountered. Their technology is far ahead of ours, but we still managed to survive against their superior weaponry."

"What about the two aliens in stasis?"

Blane laughed.

"What's so funny?"

Fagen smiled as well. "We've thought about ransoming them. We're space pirates now; we might as well act like it."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

Fagen looked surprised. "In the first place, I merely thought you might like to know. Secondly, when you get back to Earth, the Corporation is going to have quite a few questions for you. You need to think about how you'll answer."

"How do you intend to answer?"

"I don't. Neither does Blane."  
"What do you mean?"

"I thought it was obvious: Blane and I aren't going back."

For a moment, all Harry could do was stare, open-mouthed. Blane interrupted before Harry could gather himself to speak again.

"We're out," Blane announced, "back in system Sol."

"Already?" Kathleen asked in amazement.

Bart nodded. "We're being hailed on the Corporation channels. They want to know who we are."

"Tell them," said Fagen. Blane identified himself and requested that the Corporation space station prepare to receive an incoming mission crew.

"Where will you go? What will you do?" asked Harry.

"Among the stars, Harry. I can't afford to let the Corporation take this ship. Humanity is not prepared for this kind of technology just yet. Especially when it's controlled by greed. There are too many helpless species out there. Hell, in the face of humanity, they're all helpless."

"What are you going to do with Kathleen and me?"

"Why, we're going to let you out. Blane and I have brought you home." Fagen unzipped his jumper and pulled out a slim box of computer disks. He handed it to Harry. This is all the mission data, excluding data about this ship. You'll be rich and not a little famous, I might add."

Harry felt uneasy. At first, he didn't know why. It dawned on him that he was jealous of Fagen. Blane and the mission commander were going back out, and they were going wherever they chose to go, without directions imposed by the Corporation.

Kathleen asked, "Are you ever coming back?"

Fagen shrugged.

Kathleen turned to Blane. "Are you going along with all this, Bart?"

"Are you kidding? I'm in digital heaven. I'm not moving."

Fagen stood and announced it was time for Kathleen and Harry to go.

"How?" asked Kathleen. "If you dock at the Corporation station, they'll confiscate the ship."

"We're not planning on docking," answered Fagen.

"Then how are we going to get there?"

"Let us worry about that."

Harry surprised himself by asking, "What if we'd rather stay?"

Fagen rubbed the bruise on his head. "Somehow, I don't think it would work out. Perhaps someday we'll be in touch... Take care of your family, get your life in order, let the Corporation send you out on more missions. But now it's time for you to return."

Fagen was right and Harry knew it. After Kathleen wished Bart a tearful farewell, they followed the commander to the shuttle bay where they found an escape pod fashioned by the ship. Harry looked through the open seam and saw that the space inside was large enough to comfortably hold both Kathleen and himself.

Kathleen said, "I really don't like these small spaces."

"Don't worry," said Fagen, "Harry will be with you. Soma state will commence as soon as you're settled. You'll be asleep in minutes. By the time your nap's over, you'll be home."

Harry wondered if it was another ruse. Maybe Fagen did intend to kill them. If that was the case, the commander had gone to a lot of trouble to explain his intentions. No, Harry decided, Fagen was sincere.

Before he climbed inside, Fagen called after him. Harry turned and faced the man for the last time. Fagen extended his hand. "No hard feelings?"

Harry slowly took the proffered hand and shook it. "Where will you go?"

"Not back to Mia Culpa, that's for sure. We'll search for the Bedoran's home planet. We know it's somewhere in the Canopus system."

"Why?"

Fagen looked surprised. "Yes," he said, "I forgot to tell you. We have them all aboard, in stasis, of course. I want to return them to their original home."

Fagen pulled something else from his trouser pocket. He held it in the palm of his hand as he showed it to Harry. It was the Bedoran's magic crystal.

"What is it?" asked Harry.

"An energy source the likes of which none of us have seen before. I took it from one of our captives. It's my intention to find out how it works; to go to the source if I have to."

Harry didn't know what to say. Fagen was chock full of surprises.

Harry felt relief that the lives of the primitives had been saved and grudgingly admitted that Fagen couldn't be all bad. Kathleen kissed the space pirate good-bye and climbed into the cozy compartment. Harry nodded at Fagen and climbed in after her. The interior sensed their presence and the interior expanded as they situated themselves. The opening sealed itself and a faint light shined from the walls. Curiously, Harry found himself becoming drowsy. He held Kathleen in his arms and kissed her atop her head, then saw that the young woman was already asleep. Just as he nodded off, Harry's last thought was the certainty that someday, somewhere among the stars, he and Fagen would cross one another's path again.

THE END

Please look for **STOLEN WORLDS** , Part 2 in the Harry Irons Trilogy, and **MINERVA'S SOUL** , the third book of the trilogy.

About the Author

Thomas C. Stone is the author of **To the Stars**. Thomas is a lifelong writer and observer of human nature who lives with eight rescue cats and a big Great Pyrenees/German Shepherd named Mae. If you liked **To the Stars** , please check out Thomas Stone's other books at www.thomascstone.com.
