 
### SHADOW OF A BURNING STAR

### BOOK ONE: THE BURNING STAR SERIES

### R.B. BANFIELD

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2014 R.B. Banfield

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favourite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

ISBN: 9781310418761

www.storiesfrommyhead.com

Contents

Part One: Preps and People

Part Two: Journey and Discovery

Part Three: Two Arrivals

Epilogue: Harax Pras

What lives in shadows

one day must emerge,

some to see glory,

some to see dread.

—Miguel Aggion "The Art of Fear" 1814

PART ONE

### PREPS AND PEOPLE

Nestled between a building that housed an overpriced food market targeting the poor and a struggling factory on the verge of closure was a small alley. It was the kind of place that went unnoticed, but then, everything on that side of town was old and unnoticed; discards from another era. Even the neighbouring factory still catered to the past, making old-style rubber tires for vehicles that still touched the ground.

Rolondo Rees was a big man with a shaved head and just a slight dash of moustache that he liked to fuss over. Most people he knew called him Ro, but he preferred Rolondo. He stood taller than most men and yet walked with a slight limp. The cause of his limp went back to his misspent youth, and he had other aches and pains, all over his body. For all his misfortune, he seemed to always have a smile to his lips, but that was just the way they naturally were, not because of his humour. After ten years of marriage his persistent smile had become an annoyance to his wife, as she knew he was a deeply unhappy man.

Rebbi Rees had recently developed a habit of being unable to stop or remain still. She just had to keep moving, and it became worse whenever she was nervous. Her hair was long and curled down around her shoulders in an interesting way, but she always hated the way it looked. She was short, and next to her husband she looked tiny, and yet anyone who saw them together would know that she was in charge.

The two waited in the quiet alley from the time when the last of the day's sunlight hit, until it was dark. Rolondo spent the time punching his hands and complaining about the increasing chill. Rebbi took to walking several paces either side of him, more concerned about the waiting than the cold. A cluster of stars could be seen through the narrow space between the buildings, the only thing interesting to look at, but neither of them took any solace from them. If anything, they made them feel more nervous. The stars were the reason they were there.

A sound of fast walking boots made them both look to their left. The figure of a young woman came near them. Before they could see her face, she started speaking. The hood on her jacket remained up, and white wool wrapped around the edge. As she got nearer they could see her face a little better, but still not enough. Their first impression was that she was not trying to be sociable, and even that she felt contempt for them.

"Good, you both made it," she said. Her tone was abrasive and curt. "One positive sign from the start. I like that."

"You Beggs?" asked Rolondo, trying not to sound stupid.

Her reply was immediate. "I'm TC's daughter. I'm the one you're looking for."

"How do we know you're who you say?" asked Rebbi, knowing she should not trust her.

Then the woman smiled and they saw a puff of breath from her mouth. "Well, you'll just have to trust me, won't you?" She enjoyed her tease.

* * * *

The glamorous female reporter was positioned before a wall-sized screen that displayed the view of an orbiter looking down on the alien planet. The camera moved downward, showing glimpses that caused sheer excitement to every viewer. With casual ease, soft yellow clouds moved away to reveal a hazy topaz surface. Rolling mountains, the odd lake, and a web of rivers could be seen the closer the camera went. The planet's horizon had almost no curve, such was the immensity of the world, and it did not seem to change as the ship with the camera moved upward again and raced in a low orbit.

"These are the latest, and to date, the best pictures received back from the unmanned explorer craft Mexis, from the star system B-141, and its world Apaea."

She briefly stopped talking to let the pictures speak for themselves. The craft sank back into the clouds and after a short time of surfing through golden haze, a glorious mountain range could be seen. Beyond it was a large valley covered in glistening rivers and packed jungle.

"No one will officially go on record just yet, but I can tell you the buzz is, everything we know about this new world, is that it is perfect for human habitation. Absolutely perfect, and ready for colonisation right now. Various sources within UDE are jumping up and down, eager to reveal all, but we are still waiting for official confirmation of what must be the worst-kept secret in UDE history."

* * * *

Standing amongst excited crowds, a younger and more glamorous female reporter addressed her camera. Behind her a space shuttle waited on its launchpad, about to take flight. It was painted bold white, and had the letters ANCT prominently displayed. The All-Nation Colony Trust, was about to transport the first colonists to the new world, together with every kind of automated machine that human science could build. Apaea was a name invented by UDE to represent the major continents of the Earth, to show the world as a new Earth; combining America, Pacific, Asia, Europe and Africa. The general population preferred to call it Ancia, a play on ANC and, "See ya!" and it stuck better with people than Apaea.

"The Ancian crew are right this moment going through final prep for ascent," the reporter said with awe. She was unable to hide her jealousy, which was the same with every other person watching the event unfold on the live broadcast.

"All hopes and dreams go with those brave souls. Good luck, and all earth is with you. To Apaea, the first of many great new worlds in our beautiful galaxy, representing the journey of the first humans out into the universe, finally leaving this world that has restricted us for so long."

* * * *

Many details of the surface of the topaz world with yellow cloud could be seen. The camera hovered in the clouds and peered through breaks to show rolling land interrupted by lines of rivers running toward an intriguing dark blue ocean. It was the best view yet seen, and the report that went with the pictures was even better.

"The new data is remarkable in its stats."

The news anchor was not even trying to control his elation.

"We can confirm, Apaea is exactly 14.849 times the size of Earth. It has some twenty continents, all major by Earth's standard. There are abundant rivers, lakes, and swamplands. And sadly, as yet there's not one sign of intelligent life. Of its eight moons, three are roughly half the size of Earth's moon. The other five are minor, and have distant orbit. All moons are comprised of rich minerals, ripe for mining. Without UDE's patrols and safeguards over the planet, they estimate many private companies will be trying to claim them. But let me tell you about the weather. The average temperature planet-wide, is twenty-three degrees Celsius. It's eight degrees at the poles, and thirty-one at the equator. Day length is an average of 30.6 hours. A year is 516 days. At the moment I must remind viewers, these figures are unofficial."

He added after a slight laugh, "But they ain't bad, folks."

* * * *

"Who's TC?" Rolondo asked the young woman, agitated with her. "We're after someone going by the name Beggs; that's what we were told. How many contacts do we have to get through here? You know what, I don't know about this."

"Johnny 'TC' Beggs," she replied. "Ex-deep-space pilot, ex-deep-space explorer. Discoverer of Khans Star. Holder of twenty-eight spaceflight records with UDE, and of course, one very famous rescue mission. And ex-husband to my mother."

"You're Johnny Beggs' daughter?" Rebbi asked, more of a statement of disbelief.

"Nothing was said that it was Johnny Beggs," said Rolondo. "And you're calling him TC? Why's he being secretive like this? Everybody knows who he is. What's the deal?"

"It's the way we operate. And to me he's always been TC. Didn't mean to cause misunderstanding, okay?"

"What kind of business are you running?" asked Rebbi. "We were told it was professional. We don't want some family thing. Beggs may have been a hero at rescuing people, or whatever, but we're talking about doing something completely different."

"Well, this is what you've got. Take it or leave it."

"Maybe we'll leave it," said Rebbi.

"Reb, wait a minute," Rolondo said as he addressed the woman. "You said you were a professional private shipper. No mention of a family business, or famous people being involved. You want to explain? Are you going to be professional about this or not?"

She shrugged her shoulders and made it clear that she didn't care too much about their approval. "What's to explain? We are as private as you want, we all know that. So he's my father? We are a two-person business, and we just happen to be related. You want to do this thing, then I'm the one you need to be talking to. Don't bother looking over my shoulder, there's no one else here. You take it or you leave it and I walk away and so do you."

"What I don't like," said Rebbi, "is all this secrecy. Meeting in some dark alley. Finding out now that it's Johnny Beggs, who wants to be called TC. We don't even know your name, girl."

"Dawn-Star."

"You any good?" asked Rolondo.

"What kind of a question is that?" Rebbi fired at him.

"Just want to know how good she is. She don't look like much to me."

"Now why go and say that?" Rebbi asked him with a shake to her head. "Why don't you just go and say she's ugly, why you're at it? Girl don't have to put up with you and all your nonsense. You know I don't; why should she?"

"What is with you two?" Dawn-Star asked, hesitating to either walk away or get in their faces and start yelling.

"Tell TC we've got the money," said Rebbi. "We've got enough for him. Tell him that. It's not a problem."

"Can you pilot?" Rolondo asked her.

"TC will get you there," said Dawn-Star. "Not me."

"We're only paying a fair rate," said Rolondo. "No more."

"We don't expect you to pay any more," said Dawn-Star, trying not to laugh at them. She saw that they were unsure about it all, and did not even know what sort of questions they should be asking. Dawn-Star certainly wasn't going to help them. If she had this kind of diffidence in buying a pair of shoes, she would know it was the wrong thing to do. And here these two were, unsure if they should live on another planet.

* * * *

The backdrop showed a modern cityscape. Two chairs sat before it. One had the talk show's host, and the other a big man in his early forties, with thin hair and a large round nose. He seemed weary, the result of many long-range flights, and jaded from sights that he was incapable of giving adequate description. But he was trying, since that was his mission.

"How much of Apaea did you see?" the eager host asked. "Is it really that beautiful? To walk around, to see it for yourself and not on monitor, to actually be there?"

Commander Baxter Gammond took a deep, satisfying breath before giving his answer. When he talked he remained smiling. "Beautiful... does not really describe it, Donny. Or begin to describe it. There are colours I've never imagined. The light blue of the atmosphere, incredible, like a glow that never lets up. The air so fresh, you'd never recreate it on Earth. I wish I could go on, but I keep running out of words for it. Nothing I can tell you can prepare you, or anyone watching, of what it's actually like."

"Tell us how you chose your landing place. You had to be careful, right?"

"We found the perfect spot almost right away. That was no problem. There were endless landing sites we could have used, and all perfect."

"You were the first one out of your landing craft. How did the ground feel when you first walked on it? Was it like Earth's, or did it feel noticeably alien?"

Gammond did a quick and unsettling facial twitch, but the host ignored it. "Yes and no, Donny. Yes, it was exactly like walking on earth, gravity-wise. But then, you could tell, you could sense, you just knew this was an alien world, you get me? Nothing was familiar. It was all new to us, everything. One moment you'd think you were on Earth, and then you'd catch yourself and realise you were so far away from everything you've ever known. A lot of people would find that difficult to come to terms with. Some of my crew had problems like that."

He almost cried at the thought, but stopped himself and remembered to stick with the script.

"That must have been a magnificent moment, your first experience of that. The first human to step onto an alien world. A real world, not Mars or some moon or asteroid."

"Nothing like Mars."

"Not even like Mars. This was Earth II, was it not?"

"Exactly," Gammond chuckled. "And it was so exhilarating. I will never forget it. For the rest of my life, I shall never forget it."

"And your other crew? How did they react?"

"All of us, we will never forget it," he said as he gave the host a quick glare.

* * * *

"When do we get to see this TC Beggs?" asked Rolondo.

"For now, you don't," Dawn-Star answered abruptly, growing impatient with his dumb questions. "Everything will be through me. I'm handling all passenger organising. Once you're all signed up, and we've got you checked and cleared, then we'll all get to meet. Nothing until then."

"Well," Rebbi said with defiance, "you can go ahead and tell this TC: I don't see him, don't lay my tender eyes on him, the whole thing is off. You go and tell him that, girl."

"Okay," Dawn-Star announced to them with her voice raised, "you two want to cause trouble, then do that, and we'll part company, here and now. I'll forget all about you before I get home. Forget everything: your names, faces, all the dumb questions. You don't want to go flying out into space, that's your problem. I really don't care. At all. But if you actually do want to employ us to ship you, then there is one rule you need to follow: We are in charge. Nothing less. No negotiation on that point. You just have to trust us. How else do you expect to get there if you can't trust us? I mean, really: what do you think you're signing up to? You go there, you're not coming back."

"This ain't right," Rebbi said as she started to walk away, but stopped when Rolondo kept talking.

"What's his ship?" he asked.

"Your typical voyager," said Dawn-Star. "About an e-quarter the time of the best UDE ships. But that's what you get when you don't fly UDE."

"E-quarter?"

"We're four times slower than the UDE's colony ships, is what that means. But I'm talking about the very best ships available right now, and only the UDE have those."

"How old is it? How many deep-space trips has it done?"

"Ro," Rebbi chided him. "I don't want to do this anymore. Are you listening to me?"

"Hey, let me ask some more questions, okay?" he asked dismissively. "Can I do that?"

"Go by yourself, is what you'll do," she said.

Rolondo sighed and with a tired smile asked Dawn-Star, "Any chance of us two hooking up?"

Dawn-Star laughed and realised that she wasn't going to get much more sense out of them.

"You two?" Rebbi chided him. "Ro, you've got more chance in piloting yourself there."

"It's okay, Mrs Rees," said Dawn-Star. "I'm not at all interested in taking your husband off you."

"And why not?" she said back, insulted. "He not good enough for you?"

"See?" Rolondo said to Rebbi. "You are on my side."

Dawn-Star couldn't keep up her indignation with them and decided to just be nice. "Okay, we seem to have gotten off to an awkward start. You want passage not involving UDE, we can provide it. We may not be classy like the big passenger-liners, but we are the main thing you want: stealthy. We can slip you two in there, no problem. That is what you want, isn't it?"

Rebbi walked back to her. "You want us to trust you? Then you can drop your hood, girl. Let me see your eyes. Before we discuss any more, I've got to look into your eyes."

Dawn-Star pulled back her hood, and flicked her blond hair around, concerned that the hood had made it untidy. Rebbi saw, as best she could in the bad light, that she had green eyes, and she seemed genuine.

"You get on okay with your dad?" asked Rebbi.

"Sure."

"Then okay, we'll do what you ask. Just one thing, though."

"And that is?"

"You just ain't having my man."

Dawn-Star saw that Rebbi was serious, and she gave her a polite nod. When she agreed to help TC round up passengers for the voyage, she had no idea what she was going to have to deal with. While everyone agreed that seeking an illegal flight to where only UDE ships were allowed was a little dangerous, they had underestimated the type of people who would actually want to try it. Dawn-Star could not imagine being trapped on a ship for sixteen months with such people, and she was more than pleased that she would never need to be.

* * * *

The camera recorded the historic moment of the first human visitors to an alien world. Baxter Gammond posed before of the gleaming landing craft, looking directly at the camera, staring at it like there was nothing else to see. Other members of his landing party were busy behind him, unloading supplies and setting up equipment, allowing him his time of glory. They were laughing and joking to themselves, and overcome with the joy of being there. Their place of landing was a green open field, surrounded by tall lush trees, and behind them tall blue mountains. Everything was different from Earth, and yet somehow the same.

"Greetings from Apaea," Gammond announced to the camera, his voice full of pride. "This is Commander Baxter Gammond of the Quasson, and we have found a new Earth. We have set foot on a true new world. Words cannot express how I feel, how we all feel, at this moment."

He paused as he looked at the ground.

"Even through these boots I can feel it. Something different. Something remarkable."

Gammond reached down and unsnapped the fastenings on his boots.

"I know it's not according to our plan... but I have to do this. I just have to."

He took off his undershoes and feet protectors, so that his feet were bare. With slow squirming of his feet, he tested the dirt with his toes. His face showed pure delight.

"Oh, this is just remarkable. I can't believe it. This is so different from Earth. The soil is so rich, so smooth, so perfect."

He laughed, child-like. "Please excuse me. I'm a little overwhelmed at the moment. It's different; I know I keep saying that, but I can't think of any other way to describe it. But be sure, any one of you would be the same, if you were standing in my place."

He stepped a few paces back from the camera and gave a long and loud bellow, with his arms raised in triumph. No one behind him took any notice.

* * * *

The name Apaea lasted only three years, before it was officially replaced with Ancia. The first colony was called Ancian City, and it was built in the middle of a perfectly flat plain. With enormous machines constructing the buildings, the city developed at a fast rate, soon becoming rival to some of the main cities of Earth. There was an agreement with every company that no factory would produce pollution that could damage the pristine world.

Real Munro knew such details and more. He considered himself to be an expert, and if he ever met Baxter Gammond, he knew he could mention a few things unknown to even him. His apartment was always untidy, with papers and clothes thrown here and there, but the centre of attention was his collection of files about Ancia. He would watch one recording per day, and seldom went three days without seeing one. It was an impressive collection, with the oldest from the early days when the planet was first discovered. He even had copies of government files covering the debate over what type of probes should be sent to investigate the planet. Everything else that wasn't Ancia took a back seat in Real's life, including his girlfriend.

K was just getting home from her day job, a waitress in a lunch bar, a job that she hated more with each passing day. Real knew she would not appreciate seeing him sitting in his chair, drinking and snacking, and viewing old Ancia reports. She was at him about it from the start of their relationship, telling him he watched the Ancia stuff too much, and she had seen all she wanted.

When Real saw her arrive home, he again asked her what she thought of Ancia, and she told him she was tired of hearing about it.

"It's all I hear from you, lately," she said.

Real dropped a file that he was about to view again. It was Gammond's second interview, that was famous because he started crying and needed to leave the studio, and no one knew why. After that, Gammond became reclusive and would only answer questions in written form.

"What if I told you I could get passage?" Real asked her mischievously.

"And you think saying that changed my mind and makes me come over all Ancia-like? No way could you get passage anyway. You've got a criminal record, remember? They aren't interested in anyone with records. They only want the good people for their new planet. Bad people, like you, like me, have to stay here on little itty-bitty planet Earth. You know what? That ain't so bad if you ask me. Sure, Earth may have a few problems here and there. But if we start cleaning out the goody-goody people, we'll have more fun here. More of them go to Ancia, the better."

"You know what I told you about Australia, right?"

K sat on the coach next to Real's chair, and took off her shoes. "Rub my feet, will you please? They're hurting."

"Look at how Australia turned out," Real continued as he went to sit next to her and massage her feet. "Fine, upstanding members of the global community, and all. Who remembers they were a prison colony? Criminals from England, chained up and shipped off to this ancient and harsh land. From those beginnings they went out and established their independence, built up cities and such, and produced a decent country for themselves."

"Meaning what?" she asked, not really caring where he was going with it but hoping that he would not stop his massage.

"Meaning, Ancia may not look like much now, but it can be made into something good. It's just a matter of the right people getting there, doing it, doing the work."

"So, you want go there and build your own little Australia?"

"Why not? If it's gonna happen, now is when it'll happen. We've got to take advantage of this."

"That is so stupid."

"Stupid how?"

"You don't even have a job here, on Earth. What makes you think you can go build a colony on another planet?"

"I have it all planned out. You can use their builders; great machines that do all that work for you. All you've got to do is tell it to dig up that bit of land there, or move that mountain, and put in a lake and river, and then sit back and watch your bit of paradise get even better."

"Sure, if you are rich you can do that. I don't think you're rich, Real."

"So we'll have to work a bit, before we can start doing that. Don't you see the potential?"

"If you do go there, you'll do it by yourself. You know that."

Without a word, he dropped the foot he was working on, stood up and grabbed his car keys.

"What's with you?" she asked.

"Maybe I will."

"Wait on a moment. What's up with you? You can't just go out when I've just got in."

He hesitated at the door, and then turned back to her.

"I've got passage."

Her response was to laugh, but he told her it was true.

"Serious?" she asked.

"Private shipping."

"A smuggler? No way. They're blowing them out of the sky. Real, this is serious, listen to me. They've virtually declared war on private contractors sneaking unregistered colonists out there. Don't you follow the news anymore? Or do you just watch those old reports? They're shooting ships down every day. They're patrolling up in orbit. No one's getting out without them knowing, and shooting them out of the sky."

"I know all that, but I've found a good one. He can't miss. He's a pro. This one's got UDE contacts, so he's protected. He's a hero."

K nodded. "That's good. He's one of them, is he? Get you away from Earth and into space, will he? Without getting blasted into a fireball? That's good news. And what else was that you said? He's a hero? A hero, is he? So he can fly his ship better than someone who's not a hero? But wait, he's a hero who is offering illegal flights to the most sought-after destination in the history of forever. There can't be a catch in that story, so that's all right. So, you have a good plan, and in this plan, you think I'm going with you? Is that what you think? I have zero interest in anything about Ancia, since it's only for the rich and famous, and neither you or me are one of those. And I'm sick to death about the subject, and only pretend to be interested so you'll do things like rub my feet when I get in from work. And yet you still think I'm going to risk my life and everything I've ever known, fly off into outer space, to never have any chance of coming back, as none of those ships ever come back, and I'll never see any of my friends or family again, and never even get to speak to any of them again. And I'm going to do all that... with you?"

She let him leave.

* * * *

The alley was colder now. With a wind sweeping through, it had become something of a wind-tunnel, probably the reason no homeless people ever wanted to spend the night there. Dawn-Star had not intended to keep talking, but they kept up with their questions and she hoped they might say something else she could laugh about.

"How many times has TC Beggs been to Ancia?" Rolondo asked, his hands buried into his coat pockets.

"A couple," said Dawn-Star. Her hood was back up over her head, and more snugly placed to keep the wind off.

"How many?" asked Rebbi. "Two? Three?"

"A couple. That's all I'm saying."

"Just as long as we're not the first. Your first clients. There have been others, right?"

"What would be so wrong with being the first? Not that this is the first, of course."

"First is okay if you're Gammond," Rolondo said as a joke, his mood getting better. "He's the kind who likes being first. Number one. Top doggie. Me, I prefer taking the tried and true way. Safer, that's all. The smart dog, that's me. Go with the pack."

"That wasn't me saying that," joked Rebbi.

"Saying what?" he asked her.

"Call yourself what you want. Leave me out of it."

"I want to know how experienced Beggs is, that's all."

"Look, do you have any other questions for me?" Dawn-Star asked them. "I've got to go, you know."

"So, he has shipped others out there?" Rebbi asked again, still wanting to hear a straight answer. "We aren't looking to wind up in the same place with them, is what I'm worried about. We want our own space. He doesn't plan to drop us off where they are, right?"

"Our own country," added Rolondo. "Far away from anyone else."

"Far from any neighbours," said Rebbi. "We don't want competition."

"We're experienced," said Dawn-Star. "That's all I'm saying right now. And yes, we will make sure you've settled and have self-containment before we leave you. It's all part of the agreement."

"One more question," said Rebbi. "Then we'll be happy to let you go."

"And what's that?"

"How come you've not stayed there? You and TC. From what we've heard, none of the private shippers come back. Not a single one of them. Rumour is, they get attacked before they even leave orbit. But you're telling us this TC has been there and back without a scratch. That's right, isn't it? He's not been attacked trying to get there?"

"Too many questions now," Dawn-Star said as she started to walk away. "We will contact you."

"Wait on," Rolondo protested. "We haven't discussed supplies and robotics."

"That's not my concern. But whatever you have, we can carry."

They watched her leave.

"That was weird," said Rebbi.

When they arrived back at their car, neither wanted to say another word until they were both inside and the doors were locked.

"What was all that about?" Rebbi fired at him when the doors closed.

"All what?" Rolondo responded, on the defensive, not expecting her to start on him like that.

"You and that girl, getting all friendly. You think I didn't notice?"

"Getting friendly? What you mean by that?"

"I saw you, don't act like you didn't. How are we supposed to make this work with you flirting with every girl that drags herself across your path? 'Can we both hook up?' That's what you said. I heard you. I was standing right next to you. You think I didn't hear that? What, you think you're that attractive to her? It was so dark in that place that she must have gone all mushy for your voice, because she couldn't see your face. Is that what you were hoping?"

Rolondo went to defend himself, but stopped when he saw that Rebbi was wiping away tears. He considered going back outside and standing in the cold wind.

"This is so hard for me, Ro," she said.

"Woman, I was doing no flirting on that girl," he said with his voice far louder than it really should have been. "Believe me on that," he added with genuine tenderness.

"No," Rebbi said as she lightly punched at his arm. "I mean this whole plan, the whole adventure. It's hard for me. I'm scared."

"Aw," he said as he leaned over and with his hand pulled her head to his chest. "I know, girl. Leaving your family, and all. And here's me not having any kind of family to speak of. Big scary space ride coming up. All that exploring and settling to do, in an unknown place. It's going to be hard work up there. No getting over that. We want to build us something great, it'll take a lot."

"I'm doing this for you, you know."

"I know."

"You don't say it enough."

"I'm saying it now."

"Then say it."

Rolondo switched the car on. "Hey, we'd better get moving."

"Are you going to say it?"

Rolondo looked at her and felt growing fear, as he had lost track of the conversation and had no idea what she was talking about. Now she was starting to eye him, saying without talking: Say it!

His mouth opened and shut a few times, before he said, "I sure love you, Reb."

Rebbi smiled. "I love you too, Ro," she said with her head at an angle that made her even more attractive.

Rolondo smiled wide, relieved that he had bluffed his way through. Such discussions were becoming common for them, when they started out normally, then erupted into accusations and shouting, only to have her start crying and him apologising. Every time that happened, he had no idea what was going on.

"Now tell me why I'm doing this fool's thing with you!" she demanded, back to her accusing tone. After a few long moments silence, she added, "For you?"

"For me, Babe," he said.

"Because I'm your woman, and don't you forget it!"

He did not know if she was serious or trying to be funny, and he could not bring himself to ask. The rest of their way home was in silence.

* * * *

There was no surf up but the group sat at their usual spot on the beach anyway. Maybe it would come up soon, or maybe they would spend the day relaxing on the sand. Either way, they were happy to be there. The group knew that there might not be a chance to get out into the water today, but they liked sitting and thinking about it nearly as much as doing it. They used their boards to keep off the chilled breeze that had just come up, and acted like it was a warm day. All of the young men had bare feet, but only one of the young women followed their style. The main style of footwear was sandals known as black-wraps, that hugged the feet to the wearers' specification, but they were not seen as socially acceptable to their group.

The tall and leggy blond who approached them wore black-wraps that were no good in the sand. She walked with obvious discomfort over the deep and unfamiliar surface.

One took a quick glance and no more, since he knew her. Dawn-Star Beggs, daughter of a famous man. He had no time for either.

"King of the waves out here, are you?" she asked him, ignoring the others. Then she added, unable to resist, "You gave up the space race for this? To play in the dirt with your funny looking buddies?"

Jupe looked out at the sea as he answered her, "What do you want?"

"Not me. TC wants to say goodbye. He must be getting old, sentimental, and whatever."

"I don't know anyone named TC."

Jupe noticed no one else in his group was saying a word, which was unusual for them. They would always enjoy giving out abuse to anyone who came near, especially women they did not know. Just when he wanted them to, so she would have a distraction and give him time to leave, they remained silent.

"He says he's going to live out at T Station after his next flight, and he's not coming back," she said. "Not ever. You know how he says things he doesn't mean. But this one, I'm not sure about. You know he thinks of T Station as his second home, so I wouldn't put it past him if he wants to spend the rest of his days up there."

Jupe shrugged. "Don't know who you're talking about. Who are you, again?"

Then one of the surfers spoke, at last, and Jupe began to relax, knowing that they would be on his side.

"What's T Station?" a young and thin man asked Dawn-Star.

"Deep-space port," Dawn-Star told him, unable to hide her repulsion of his toothy smile. "Not many beaches out there, so it wouldn't interest you. You know, it's the space age now. Technology, the future, and all that stuff. No dirt out there, I'm afraid."

"You are right about that, girl, it doesn't interest me," he responded, oblivious to her mockery. "But you interest me."

Jupe did not know much about Angus, being a friend of one of the others, and not much of a surfer, but he knew enough to know that he did not want him getting too friendly with his sister.

"That's not far enough away, far as I'm concerned," said Jupe.

"Fine, have it that way," she said in a tone familiar to Jupe. It meant that she had run out of patience, and if pushed she would start to yell at all of them. "All I was sent to do was ask. That's all he thought he would get, really, considering you are not much better than him when it comes to family values. So, consider him gone from your life. Happy now?"

"I already have considered that about him," Jupe said with a small laugh.

Dawn-Star took an abrupt step to leave and that made Jupe stand, to ask her one last thing.

"You still with that Roberto guy?"

"We're marrying, so yeah, I guess so," she said without stopping her negotiation over the sand. "Date isn't set, but I can promise you, you're not invited, so don't worry about needing to rent actual clothes."

"Think I'm just like him? Take a look at yourself." Jupe said as he watched her leave. He knew she probably didn't hear.

"What was that about, Jupe? Who's TC?" asked a younger surfer named Morrie, and he was clearly asking on behalf of the group, as they were all eyeing Jupe.

"Johnny Beggs," Jupe said without emotion.

"The explorer?" Angus asked, surprised, and then thought before asking, "You're Johnny Beggs' son? You never told us that."

"So now you know."

"He's a hero."

"No wonder you're the champ at everything," said Angus, looking startled to be in such company.

Jupe dropped back to the sand and shut his eyes, trying not to hear Angus explain to the others how much of a great man Jupe's father was. They listened and agreed, because they didn't know him.

* * * *

TC Beggs sat on the inside edge of his office window. The window was open and if he leaned any further he could fall to his death. It was a warm night but there was a chill in the breeze. He looked out at the night scene of the city, but he was not really looking at it. Over the city was a nice collection of stars, occasionally shaded by cloud. He usually would stare at them, wishing he was flying out to them, but not tonight. The bottled vodka sitting near him in the window was untouched. How untouched it remained, he was still pondering.

He saw in the window the image of his daughter entering the room. She smiled her warm smile that always reminded him of when she was a tiny girl. Of all his memories of being out in space, the times when she ran around on his ship, oblivious to where she was, were his favourite. Nothing else compared to those times, and yet, at the time he had thought little of it. She loved space the same way he did, that it was where they were meant to be, with the entire galaxy to explore. Details like UDE's secret missions, and DSE's annoying administrators and yes-men, were never her concern, and he wished that they were not his either.

"TC, two more passengers for us, confirmed," she said, breaking his thoughts.

He almost reached for the bottle.

"They are all checked out," she continued. "Rolondo Rees and Rebecca Rees. Husband and wife, married three years, no children. She goes by the name Rebbi, and seems a little short tempered, if you ask me."

"I am going to ask you," he said without looking at her. "How short is that temper? Can't be cooped up with too many nuts. There'll be enough of them in the crew's quarters."

"Only to him she has the temper. Not to me. Not that I saw. By his reaction, I'd guess she's at him all the time."

TC nodded and almost laughed as he turned to her. "Arguing already, are they, those two? They want to sail off into the wide black yonder all bickering and spitting? What kind of country do they imagine they can build for themselves?"

Dawn-Star sat on the edge of his cluttered desk and was silently annoyed when she noticed the vodka by him. She thought they had an agreement that he wasn't going to drink, at least not around her. But now, with him making no attempt to hide it, she felt a little betrayed.

"Now what?" she asked with enthusiasm, more to help herself. "Do we wait for more or plan to fly?"

TC sighed and returned his gaze outside. "I'd love to wait for more, but we've had the Calps on hold for a while now. I don't want them going off and finding some other passage out there. And they might, given his contacts."

"That's it, then? We go with the four?"

"Yep," TC said with a breath of resignation. He had wanted more passengers, but they were not coming to him as fast as he expected. "Tell the Wilsons to start getting the old girl up and running. That should take us about a month. Packing and tuning another two weeks. Final preps, a week. Seven weeks from today should do it. Mark that on the calendar, would you?"

Dawn-Star let out a nervous laugh. "Unbelievable," she said with her hand over her mouth. "You're actually doing it."

"Don't think I'm not forcing you to stay. You're not going with us. You know that, right? This is a dangerous one."

"No, no. I don't want to go."

TC smiled. "Not that you wouldn't be useful. You're good crew. When you were a girl, you were running all over the place, asking questions about this and that, I couldn't keep up with you. I know it's too much to expect you to do that now. You've got your own life now."

She wanted to change the subject, knowing that he was confusing her with Jupe. He was the one who was keen and eager to know everything, who ran around the ship and loved every moment of it. She hated being on his ship and wanted to leave and get back down to Earth, and live with her mother. Jupe, since he was only a boy, knew nothing of the lingering danger of space flight, or the ongoing medical risks, but she was only too aware. TC's memory of that time seemed to be limited, and he never wanted to say why his wife had left him and their children at T Station. Dawn-Star had always thought that it was because she was never really suited to living in space. TC, it seemed to her, was not suited to living on Earth, and he wanted his family to be the same.

"If we had known about Ancia back in those days," TC said as he changed the subject, "by the time that pretender Gammond and his fairy crew took to prancing around in Ancian dirt for the cameras, we would have had a city up and running. Packed, tuned and final prepped. It wouldn't have been, 'Gammond finds no natives,' but, 'Gammond finds natives and they are just like us; oh, they are us.' They were actually us, Dawn, not him. Not Gammond the first man, the hero, blah blah blah. He doesn't know one end of a ship to the other, and yet we're supposed to believe he's found this great paradise world. It's all UDE-backing, with his father's help, that's all. He's just the smiling face for the cameras, the clown for the public to get behind."

He stopped talking, his anger getting the best of him, and he never liked to show it around her. Neither said a word while he picked up the bottle and held it firm, as he looked at nothing through the window.

Then Dawn-Star tentatively spoke. "That should have been you, not Gammond. That first landing party. Everyone who knows anything about space, knows that. They all know it at T Station. One day, they'll know it here, too. You discovered a planet before he did. Just because it's further away..."

"Leave it be. What I said and did is history. Gammond took the high road, got lucky and made a name for himself. Me, I'm perfectly happy. So what if no one cares about my find? One day they will, when they have too many at Ancia and they'll need to go somewhere else. How about that planet I found? One day they'll be sneaking colonists out there, just the same as what's happening now. No, all they care about now is Gammond's world, and think of me as some superstar emergency rescue service. You think I want that, to be thought of as someone flying around looking for ships about to crash? I'm a deep-space pilot. DSE. Deep Space Exploration. One of the pioneers. I've been to the deep. That should count for something."

Dawn nodded, having heard his ranting many times before. Without another word, she left his office and went to visit the ship's preparation crew. TC put the bottle back down in the window and remembered that he should have hidden it from her.

* * * *

It was the usual electronics shop. All glitzy signs and gaudy carpet, with sales for overpriced devices that were soon to be obsolete. The slick salesman watched Real the moment he stepped out of the mall and into the shop; his territory. It was particularly pleasing for the salesman to see Real walk with purpose to the back area, where the large machines with high-end prices were kept.

"Just looking, just browsing," Real said when the salesman edged closer.

"Anything you need, just give me a shout," he said with a wide grin and his hands clasped.

But then Real did see what he needed. "These are top of the line? Freezing units?"

The salesman seemed to change into someone else. His demeanour became that of a buddy and they were standing around after work, having a few drinks, admiring the sunset, talking about anything that came to mind.

"Newest shipment came in last week," the salesman enthused. "They're out back, since we need to move these guys first. There's a great price drop on these ones, since the boss wants them all out of here before we can replace them. If it's a money-save you're looking for, you won't do any better, since we really shouldn't have them this cheap. But if it's all the latest additions you want, I can sneak you out to see the shiny new ones, when the boss isn't looking. But any long-term haul you're planning, you have everything you need in one of these girls, either new or old. Where are you off to? Mars Base?"

"Bit further than that."

"Out of the system? T Station? Harax Pras? Or even Ancia?" The salesman could barely contain his excitement. A long-haul flight could only mean that his customer was loaded with money. He tried to remember what they actually had out in the back storeroom.

"Harax Pras."

"Got just what you want," he said quickly. "The H8-29. Harax Pras has such strong windstorms, you need something you can use to find it, should you get swamped with sand. Comes with an emergency beacon that can operate—you won't believe this—from ground to planetary orbit. The batteries in one of these babies, they can go for one hundred years, and that's on full power. Why would they make it to last that long? What were they thinking, right? But that's what quality gets you. More stuff than you'll ever need, but perhaps you might."

"Can it keep living animals inside it, perfectly safe?" Real asked as casually as he could. His nerves were starting to make him shake.

"Bit of smuggling you want?"

Real tried to read the man's face, if he was joking or not.

"No, no..."

"Relax, now," the salesman said with a lowered voice and a small pat on Real's shoulders. "None of my business, but if you wanted something for animals, I can put you onto the right people. Livestock, is it?"

"Yeah, that's right, livestock. Listen, these freezers, they are guaranteed to thaw out all right? No side-effects, just the way they went in?"

"Sure, if a little bit colder. Pigs are the best, at least, that is what I've been told. Let me write you out who to contact. Not that you heard it from me."

Real was given a name and an address. The place was easy to find, but the name, Dett Parr, seemed more daunting, like a pseudonym. The unpainted building had no markings, but inside he saw that it was a large shop similar to the legitimate one, complete with the glitzy signs and fake sales. Two bearded men, who were standing before a large entertainment screen that was blasting loud music, looked up at Real, and to him, they seemed to be glaring. Then Real realised that he was reading too much into it, as they paid him no further attention. He walked deeper into the shop and stopped before a tall machine that, aside from a control panel, had no other features.

"Not what I would have in mind," commented a short man, heavyset in his fashionable suit. He was devoid of all the sales manners of the other guy.

"Pardon?" Real asked, startled by him.

"The defluxer you're looking over, you're not the type who takes much interest in those. But then, I hardly know you."

"I'm looking for Dett Parr."

"That's who you've found. Decker-Dett. I was told to expect you."

He was a black-market dealer who acted like a genuine seller, known as a Decker, and Real saw that this one was more cocky than the usual.

"I'm looking for freezers."

"Fridges? Sure."

"Transport. For space." Real felt stupid for admitting that.

"Taking to space, are you? Where're you headed?"

"Harax Pras."

"Because if you were going to Ancia, that wouldn't be legal."

Real looked at Dett unsure what to think, and then saw a small grin. "Is anything here legal?"

"What do you want to store?" Dett asked without a beat, walking him through to the freezer section.

"Pigs."

"Yeah, you don't have to tell me. You're the customer; you're always right."

"What, for the sake of conversation, do you have that would be safe for a human? Not that I am planning on freezing a human. I just like to be assured my pigs will survive."

"It's all safe for humans. Not that anyone from UDE will admit to that. Believe them, they still don't put anyone into deep sleep for their long flights. Those DSE pilots, they have to live through the whole flight, and flights like guys like Beggs and Khan did, you're taking years out of life. But here we have these indormators, keep them fresh and young and healthy, and they won't let them use them? We all know they use them; who are they trying to fool? This one," he said as they stood before a large machine that looked exactly like a refrigerator, "you can try it yourself, if you like."

Real took a few steps back but Dett assured him that it was all right. He decided to believe the man and found himself curious enough to walk inside. Dett motioned for him to shut the door and Real obliged, pulling it closed so it locked. All he knew was a slight chill, and his vision blurred. He shook his head and his vision cleared. Then the door opened and he stepped out. He saw that his hands were blue and shaking, and he had a little trouble with his balance.

"You know what's funny?" Dett said with a wide grin. "I was only joking about you trying it. But now I guess we know it'll be safe for your piggies to go moonwalking. Or was it Mars you said?"

"Why are you wearing those clothes?" Real asked, seeing that he was dressed differently, not entirely getting what just happened.

"I always change my clothing apparel. Have to keep up my style. Can't go wearing the same getup two days in a row."

"Wait a minute," Real said as he took a worried look at his watch. It was half an hour earlier, and he felt dizzy at the realisation. "You kept me in there a whole day?"

"You never said how long you wanted to be frozen. Fact is, you're the first one we've ever seen who's gone and volunteered. Before you get mad and say something you'll regret, you should know it's not safe to put you in and bring you out too fast, so we can drive you to a hospital or clinic if you're not feeling right. We look out for our customers here."

Dett then swung around and announced with a loud voice, "He's out!" All the customers and workers came near to see, applauding as they walked.

"You think this is funny?" Real yelled, his eyes boring into Dett's, who was taken aback at the sudden aggression. "I didn't do that for nothing. I'll buy it, but you can knock the top off that price. That was an effort worthy of a big discount."

Real was not a morning person.

* * * *

It had been four years since TC found an abandoned forty-metre trailer that was left by the side of the road. He hitched it to his ship and half-dragged, half flew it to its present location. The spot he dropped it to was not level, but no one really cared, since it was far away from their nearest neighbour. The move was done in the dead of night so as not attract any law enforcement. TC did not notice the nearby trees that had their tops singed, and the local media had an interesting time trying to find out why. The trailer was TC's gift to the Wilson brothers, and they treasured it from the bottom of their hearts. It was their home-away-from-home, when they were not working in space. They had not once fixed, cleaned or tidied it.

Dawn-Star hated the place and she planned to make her visit short. They would either be drinking or cleaning their guns, and she feared that one day she would find them combining the two. She took a deep breath and then opened the trailer door to see the two occupants. They were both sitting in their own deep sofas, and had stacks of beer bottles next to them, and no guns in sight. Both were a good fifteen years past their prime.

Arbus Wilson thought he was the joker of the two. Wanting to be called Cuthbert from an early age, when he first became fascinated in old-time pirates, he was captivated by anything to do with sailing ships, treasure or shoulder-perched parrots. No matter who tried to convince him otherwise, the style of language he used was meant to be the same as some seventeenth-century Blackbeard-type. Except he was the clean-shaven one; his brother sported a small chin-beard.

He started with a long "Arrh", as if a real pirate would have, and didn't move from his seat, and then, "Wouldn't you know? I was having a bad day, and then I came to lay may eyes upon thee, my fair lass. Upon what do I owe the charity of this visit?"

"Message from TC," Dawn-Star said, ignoring his act. "Rev up the ship, please. Or, flame up the Star. Isn't that the terminology you like to use?"

Thax, whose real name was Garrison, stood for the lady, and with a beer-choked lurch toward her, he mumbled, "You are the only Star I want to rev up, darling."

"That's all," Dawn-Star said as she turned to make her way out, planning to slam the door shut.

"Wait, fair Dawn," Cuthbert called, and then dropped his act at the news. "TC's ready to go? The Ancia thing? He's really going to do that?"

"Would I have bothered to come all the way down here and lay my tender eyes upon thee, if he wasn't?" And with that she left and slammed the door.

Thax grinned at his brother. "She spouts that poetry better than you." Then he saw that his brother looked worried. "What's wrong with your face?"

"I just didn't think the old man had it in him. Wouldn't you know it?"

"What do you want to do?"

"Only one thing: Shore up the mainsails, front the heavenly sheets, and make the beauty ready to traverse those yonder lights. Aye-aye and up she rises. To Ancia we shall sail, and make haste ye lubberly cowpoke."

"Do you have any idea how you sound?" Thax said with a burping laugh. "Some of that might have been English."

"I just wish she wasn't so much like her old man," Cuthbert said as he struggled to get up. "You noticed that lately? She used to be such a fine lass. Turns more into him every day."

"The worst thing about it," Thax continued, becoming lost in his thought, since he was contemplating having another beer, "is I may have actually followed what you were trying to say."

"She is, right? Exactly like her old man?"

"A regular TC junior."

"The son he never had."

That caused them to both laugh.

"You know what we need to do?" asked Thax. "We need to get our guns cleaned."

"The Beast will be happy if we did, I know that," said Cuthbert.

* * * *

"Just ignore them."

This was TC's advice for Dawn-Star. After years of them treating her in the same manner, and after years of complaining, all TC could offer as advice was that she should ignore them. She would have preferred to hear that he understands, or that she doesn't think they're funny, or that he needs to tell them to try a different approach. He could tell them to talk to her like she was a normal person. She knew very well they were only acting like that because it was some backward attempt to impress TC, but she could never bring herself to tell him that. They were his two main technicians, and he had known them for years, so he remained loyal to them. She had always sensed that there was a barrier between them and her, like TC did not entirely trust them, or even like them. Like everyone else in TC's life, they were there because he needed to use them, not for friendship, and that included her.

"Yeah, I do ignore them," she said, noting that the bottle had disappeared and he seemed fairly sober. "But it might have been better if you had gone and told them. If that's all you want from me, I'm off now."

"With this face?" TC said in mock horror as he looked in the mirror. "I would have to get washed and scrubbed, just to resemble that superstar pilot they know. Before you go, I have one more thing for you. I need you to go find..."

"Another message?" Dawn-Star was getting exasperated. She had volunteered to help him out, as if she owed him something, but now she was feeling tired. "If you need to talk to people face-to-face..."

TC was all apologetic. "Jupe. I need to see him. We are about to leave. I need to see him. To say goodbye. Are you happy now? You made me admit it. I want to say goodbye, that's all."

Dawn-Star was interested in this side of TC, as she had not seen much of it before. "You have gone away on lots of long voyages. Far longer than some Ancian flyby. Never remember you wanting to do that with any of us. What's different now? Has this got something to do with Lars Best?"

"This is my last flight. There you go; I've admitted it. I don't know if I will be coming back. I don't even know if I want to come back. I'm done with Earth."

"You've said this before."

"I mean it now. Sorry, Dawn, but this time's for real."

"You tell me this now? How long have you been planning that? What does that mean for me? I'm never going to see you again? You know I'm getting married and planning on starting a family? You don't want any of that? You're leaving me like that? And wow, thanks for only telling me now."

"You can come out and see me?"

"To Ancia?" She didn't add, Are you kidding? but she wanted to.

"Of course not Ancia," he replied, almost angry. "T Station."

"Where?" she asked, as in not there either?

"Yeah, T Station. I know a lot of people out there. I can get a nice little retirement plan going. Put my feet up. But you can make it out there, to pay our old man a visit? You liked the T when you lived there."

"I hated it. I can't believe you're only telling me this now. Sure, we always knew you wanted to retire to the T, but since when are you ready to retire?"

"So, can you find me Jupe? I know he'll never make it as far as the T. Such a waste, that kid. Come on, Dawn, I just want to see my son one last time. You don't have to understand, and I don't know if I do either. Some kind of fatherly instinct. Can you do it for me? Can you? Just ask him. He doesn't have to agree, or even acknowledge that I'm still alive, or was ever alive, if he wants. Just as long as I know I gave him that opportunity. You know I want to apologise to him, if I can, if he'll hear me out. You made me admit that, are you happy? I have to apologise to my son, and you're not letting me. Just ask him, that's all. I just want to know it was offered to him, and that'll be enough."

Dawn was almost gagging at the sight of her father being sentimental, as she didn't believe a second of it. She saw that there was another reason, that he was trying to hide from her.

"I already did see him," she said, "and told him about the flight. Told him you're not coming back, that you're living at the T; all of that. I was just teasing, but now I see I was right to say all that. He said no."

She thought she saw a trace of tear in his eyes.

* * * *

Justin Hopewood was a man unaccustomed to small-talk and patience. If he thought he should say something, then he just said it, regardless of where he was and who he was talking to. The fact that he was in his own home, and his only daughter was dropping some big news on him, only made him worse.

"What are you telling me?" Justin fired at Rebbi with a booming voice, making the family gathering seem more like a negotiation for peace in a war-zone, where the slightest word out of place would signal a round of weapon fire.

Like everyone else, the Hopewoods had followed news of Ancia and the lucky colonists, and knew that they had zero chance to ever be a part of it. The UDE were not taking anyone older than fifty, or not famous, wealthy or extremely talented. Many people were so utterly desperate to see the new world, that they would try to go by illegal means, and be shot down before their ships even reached orbit. Never had the Hopewoods considered that their oldest child would be one of the desperate.

Rebbi chose her words even more carefully than the ones she started out with. "Don't think I haven't given this a lot of thought, Daddy. I have, and it is hard for me to even think about hurting you."

Bish Young, Rebbi's step-mother, was a gentle soul, and a foil for Justin's anger, but she was also unhappy with this news. She was only eight years older than Rebbi, but looked younger.

"You can't go and leave us?" she asked, unable to process the news. "To Ancia? That's not like we can come visit. It takes years to communicate back to Earth, and I've heard no one bothers once they get there. You'd do that to us? You'd cut us out of your life, to live like an alien? Is that all you think of us, that you're willing to forget us?"

"With all due respect," Rolondo said with a sweeping wave of his hand. He was the only one standing, and he left one hand in his pocket, making Justin annoyed at his casualness. "This is our lives we're talking about here. In the end, you know, it's our decision. We're grown adults, and there's times when you have to let your children go and live their lives, even if it has to be so far away that we can't see any of you again. Cut the cord, and all that. Snip snip, you know?"

It was exactly the wrong thing to say.

"I didn't ask what you thought," Justin said to Rolondo with a savage display of speed-talking.

"You know Ancia's a paradise? You do keep up with the news? Why would anyone not want to get there, any way they could?"

"Ro, don't fight," Rebbi offered.

Justin turned his sights to his daughter. "Didn't I raise you to give me at least a bit of respect? And you want to go on some illegal flight? With criminals? Into space? Into space with criminals? Is this what I'm hearing?"

"No, I can't handle this," Rolondo said with an aggressive wave at Justin. He left the room and made his way outside, to his car on the street.

Half an hour later, Rebbi joined him in the car, and she was crying. Rolondo had thought of all kinds of things to say to her, from apologies to encouragements, but he was not prepared for the first words out of her mouth.

"I can't go."

"You said what?"

"You heard me and what I said," she yelled, shocking him. How quickly she could swing from tears to vengeance, and each time she did it would catch him by surprise. That was when she was so much like her father.

"Because of them?" he returned with his voice raised. "Is that what you're telling me? What about all our plans? Girl, wasn't it your idea in the first place?"

"Now it's my idea to forget it."

"This is from him, not you. I should go back and beat that man into the ground."

"You would like that, wouldn't you."

"I'd love it, yes I would. And I'll tell you what else: I'm going to Ancia even if you're not."

"Oh, you're going by yourself now?"

"Watch me. I didn't go to all that trouble contacting that Beggs woman, for it to be shot down by Justin. I didn't do all that research and buy all those machines, for him to sit there and thumb his nose at us. It's Ancia for me, or it's nothing. You don't want to tag along, then don't. I'll do it myself." Now he was shouting.

A small flying insect distracted them both as they watched it land on the dashboard. Rolondo used too much muscle as he pressed his index finger onto it, killing it, and then was annoyed to have it on his finger. He wiped it on his shirt, much to Rebbi's disgust.

"You're impossible," she said, looking away from him.

"And going to Ancia," he said, also not looking at her.

* * * *

Lars Best was known as The Martian Beast, given that his name rhymed with Mars and he had a lifelong love of anything to do with space. He had never ventured higher than Earth-orbit, due mostly to his work obligations. His younger brother was only interested in using space as a way to make money, and he was constantly travelling between Earth and Mars and numerous other secret destinations. Even amongst his peers, Manuel Best was feared as a ruthless and immoral man, and deserved his nickname of Man-Beast. He ruled their family's various criminal enterprises with dangerous efficiency, while Lars was seen as the weak link. Lars was a dreamer who would rather watch movies and read books, and think of space in terms of adventure and romance, not profit.

It was generally assumed that Lars was where he was, still on Earth, because of lack of business sense. Those who knew him, knew to fear him, and that when cornered he was every bit as deadly as his brother. Lars was known to have killed five men with his bare hands; two of those his own bodyguards after a failed attempt on his life, and one was a young upstart who went against all warnings and called him The Martian Best. No one called him that to his face. TC was forced to take the body out into space and jettison it; just one of many assignments expected of him, and he longed for the day when he was free from them.

After going through a series of checks, TC was led through a darkened storehouse. Dirty and tattered boxes were stacked against every wall. The smell of rodents and rotting food was a sign that the place had not been used for business for many a year. TC didn't know the names of the two men who greeted him at the door, although he had seen them before, always quiet in the background. He assumed that they must have received a promotion since he was last there. When they had first opened the door, their faces were pushed into scowls, expecting anything from a police raid to a visit from rivals, but when they saw TC they relaxed and were soon positively beaming with their smiles, as they waved various handheld readers over him.

The scene showed a rocky grey surface, brightly lit by unfiltered sunlight, bright stars in the black sky, and a fuzzy Earth hanging high. It was meant to be the moon. Bright lights shone from high stands, along with a high-tech camera, all honed to a spot market on the floor by masking tape. TC needed no prompting, and freely went to stand on the tape as all heads turned toward the door to a makeshift office. One of the burly bodyguards went and poked his head through the door and then quickly moved away.

The door was thrown open and Lars Best marched out, his arms outstretched and ready to slap TC on his back. He yelled out a simple greeting but made such a big thing of it that he added a few more syllables. With one arm holding TC's side, Lars smiled for the camera, and assumed that TC did the same. Then others took Lars' place, some in pairs, and some with different poses. TC said nothing and let them have their fun, thinking that all of these men can tell friends and family that they were with the famous Johnny Beggs on the moon. Without spacesuits.

When TC followed Lars into his private office and the door was closed, all joking ceased. Lars' eyes were cold and lifeless and TC found it difficult to look at him. Two other guys sat behind TC, and although they said nothing, he could hear their breathing. Lars sat at his cluttered desk and looked at TC with his blank expression. That was how he would start every conversation. Each time TC had been there, Lars would sit and stare and say nothing, and no one in their right mind would speak first.

"How goes your passenger list?" Lars finally said.

"That's done," TC said, his voice dry. "Not so hard as I first suggested it would be."

"We were blessed, then?"

"You know I don't like any of this. You know that, don't you?" He sensed the men behind him becoming tense.

"Come now," Lars grinned. "I hear Ancia is lovely this time of year."

TC made no effort to even appear amused. "After this, we're done?"

"TC, you are always welcome here."

"I mean on a business level." TC tried to swallow but his mouth was dry. The words were coming out too hard, too confrontational.

Lars' grin turned into a full smile. "You think I don't know what you mean? Do you think I am not quite understanding your drift? I know your list is finished. I know all about it. I don't need you to come here and tell me that. I know more about these bold, intrepid space explorers than you do. I just need you to come visit with me and tell me to my face, look me in the eye, and say you fully intend to take them out there. On their journey of a lifetime."

"Then I am looking you in the eye, right now, and telling you, I am ready to fly them myself."

"You do realise, it doesn't matter to me if you take them or they have someone else take them, so long as they go. Is it better that you take them? Yes, of course it is. Are you the best we have? Yes, and by a long way. But do we actually need you to take them personally? I think not. They agreed to go with you due to your legend. Whether or not you actually do the piloting, or just wave them away from the port, is up to you, TC. In all truth, they just want to get to Ancia, and if you're not doing the flying, I doubt they'd raise too much of a fuss."

Lars was still smiling as he talked, and when he was like that he was nearly impossible to read. TC wondered if Lars was giving him an "out" opportunity, but he could not be sure. Given his apparent good mood, that was possible. He thought he should try to ask, thinking that even if he had to give up his ship, he would.

"If you don't need me to take them..." TC started.

"Since they signed on because of your reputation, your work is done, really. And now they have signed on, they are under my control. That's all we need to know about this."

"We can find another pilot? You don't want me to go?"

The smile vanished. "No, you take them. Don't want to upset them. You said you would, so why change now? And it's not like you're too busy with other things, right?" Then came a loud laugh, out of nowhere, as Lars was amused at his own humour. "After all, I hear Ancia is lovely this time of year."

The two men behind TC laughed, and to TC it didn't sound like a courtesy laugh, but more that they were actually amused. He was not sure if he should laugh along at that point, and he preferred to remain emotionless.

He had to stay in their company for another four hours, listening to their stories and sharing the odd drink and round of cards. They all loved his company and made it clear of how jealous they were of him, both of what he had done and his upcoming flight. More than a few made him promise that he would take them to space next time. He didn't tell them that he planned on never seeing any of them again.

* * * *

When K Silversmith arrived home she wanted nothing between her and her easy chair. After a time of sitting and doing nothing, she would begin to think about a hot cup of tea, and a few pages of one of her latest books. She was aware that Real sometimes neglected to fix any food, against what he had promised when she moved in. If that happened, it was no great tragedy, since more than a dozen good food places were within close distance, and they usually went out a few times per week. Real's food was nothing sensational, but there were times when he made a nice pot-roast, or a stewed arrangement, or good vegetable soup with home-baked bread, if he could find the motivation. This was one of those days when K didn't really care what he prepared.

Nothing had gone right in her workday, which was filled with niggly people, and the two people who were her best friends were away. It was one of those days she wanted to end as fast as it could, and that made it drag. The sight of a large, nameless crate sitting in their weed-covered carport, where she was meant to park, made her scream out loud. Part of it was the fact that she could have easily driven into it, and another was that Real had told her nothing about it. She would not have admitted that the worst thing about it was that it was just something else preventing her getting to her chair and her cup of tea, and those few pages.

Real was all defensive when she came in the door, like he had long been rehearsing his pitch but became confused when he saw her and it came out wrong.

At first she couldn't register what he was saying. This was the first she had seen of him in a day and a half, and the worst part about that was that she had not really missed him. Amongst all the worry and annoyance that he had not bothered to tell her where he was, she found that having the apartment to herself was very relaxing. Now she saw him, struggling to explain himself, she wished that he was still gone.

"Are you asking what's wrong?" she asked in disbelief. "Is that what you're asking? You've been gone a whole day. What am I to think? Are you dead? Did you just not care? And now, I come home, and there's this big thing in the way, right where I park. You know I don't have anywhere else to park, right? A little warning would be nice. And all you can ask me, is how'd my day go? You're asking why I seem a little perturbed? Are you serious?"

"I had a rough day, all right?" he replied. "Couple of days. Trust me, it was not my intention of being gone for so long like that. There was really little I could do. But I'm back now. That's the main thing, right?"

She looked at him and wondered what on earth she was doing, and why he was in her lounge and in her life. This man did not seem at all concerned about how she felt. While it was true that she had enjoyed not having him around, she had at least expected him to apologise for being away. Instead he was complaining, and looking at her like she was an inconvenience.

No, there was something else about him. He was looking at her like she was not what he wanted. She was not behaving the way that he expected. Her questions and answers did not fit his script.

"This is over," she announced, her hands held up like she was surrendering. She was partly relieved to be actually saying words that she had long thought about saying.

"What's over?"

"We're over."

"Let's talk about this later, can we?"

"I'm talking about it now. I'm not having any more of this from you, Real. This is it."

He indicated toward the dining table and changed his tone, to one she had never heard from him before. "I've made you a nice meal. Let's just sit and eat. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, if that's what you want. But let's just have our food, before it goes to waste. Please, K?"

"You're not talking me out of this, this time."

"That's fine. Let's just eat. And if you change your mind, then you change your mind. If not, then okay, we'll be over."

"Why are you being reasonable?"

"As I said: I've had a bad day. Two days."

One more chance, she thought to herself, that's all you get, and I don't care how good that meal is, there had better be a good explanation for that crate, and your missing night, and even then there is still a very good chance this will be our last meal together.

There was nothing of that said during the meal, and Real was careful to not watch K too much. The bean curry was one of her favourites, not his, and the crushed and camouflaged drug hidden inside it was never going to be found, not with all that heavy spice. It was only a matter of time until she lost consciousness. He waited with all the patience he could manage, listening to her complaining about her work and her family, knowing that it would be the last time he would have to listen to her for a very long time.

* * * *

The rich man wondered why there was no security. He waited at the main gate for a while for someone to turn up. Although the wire fence was high and had barbed wire at the top, the gate was not only unlocked, it was wide open. He gave up waiting for a guard to come. Even if one had strolled by, by accident, eating a pie or two, and politely inquired who he was and what he wanted, that would have been good enough for him and he could relax. But there was no one at all.

On first sight, the ship was impressive, and far larger than he had seen in media clips. While it was true that this was the first genuine deep-space ship he had ever seen in person, it was more the thought of what ship it was: the famous Burning Star. He had been around a good number of famous people before, but this was the first time he was awe-struck. It was old, full of replacement parts, in need of cleaning, and slower than the latest ones, but it was still the best ship he had ever seen.

Two men were standing near a fuel tank, appearing to be operating it, but were more likely to be just leaning on it. They were in their late forties or early fifties, and were very dirty and overweight.

"And you must be the crew," the rich man greeted them. "Morgan Calp. Let me shake your hands, and let you know how grateful I am of your services. This is quite an exercise, is it not? The Burning Star, no less. How fabulous."

"You're that rich guy?" Thax asked, unconcerned that someone had wandered near the ship without being stopped, or even noticed.

"Comfortable, I would say, and only that," Morgan said, studying them both.

"So why be ye wanting to leave Earth, if ye be so comfortable?" Cuthbert asked, playing with him.

"He wants to know why you want to get aboard and fly into space," said Thax.

"What opportunity there is in space," said Morgan. "Your name?"

"Thax Wilson. That's Cuthbert."

"Thax is your given name? What is its origin?"

"Ask Cuthbert his real name," Thax said as he turned and walked away. "Let him tell you all about it."

"He gets a little touchy about his own name," Cuthbert explained. "It's Garrison, and mine is Arbus. Our mother enjoyed reading the classics. That's what she told us, I guess, as a way to help us. But school was a nightmare, having names like that."

"The authors Jeck Garrison and Wilson Arbus?"

"You know them, my hearty?"

"Excellent taste, from your mother."

"So, you're loaded, are ye? That would mean ye be bringing up-to-date machines with ye, would it not?"

"I have my people on that, but yes," Morgan said, a bit pensive at the question, but he still felt the need to boast. "They will be upscale models, of course. How could they not be, given the place we're about to make our way to?"

"And do our very best to watch over 'em for the duration of the flight. Or I'll tie the mainsail to a rabbit and watch it go hopping."

"I'm sorry, you'll do what?"

"We'll take great care over your treasure, be sure of that."

Morgan looked for the other one, unsure if Cuthbert was actually sane. "They are fully robotic and automated, and self-maintaining, so there is no need to watch over them, even in transit. Thank you, all the same."

"It's not your machines I was worrying about. It's the ship, leaks and whatnot. You never know what's in the deep; monsters or whatever. But no need to worry, you're in good hands. Forget I mentioned it."

Morgan noticed that Cuthbert was now being too friendly, and had toned down his pirate act. That not only made him suspicious, it also made him annoyed. "You are a member of the in-flight crew?"

"Yes, I am, me hearty."

"Will you be staying with us on Ancia?"

"I am no colonist," Cuthbert said with a suppressed laugh. We went to say something else but then changed his mind.

"That I am pleased to hear. And I shall require you to go nowhere near my machines, from the time they are loaded onto the ship, until the time they are off-loaded. That includes your brother and anyone else connected with this company. Are we clear, Cuthbert?"

"I didn't mean any disrespect, squire," Cuthbert replied with a slightly bemused tone.

"I am not interested in respect, only the wellbeing of my property," Morgan pressed, wanting to show that he was not intimidated. He pondered for a moment and then added, "And that goes for my wife and children. Are we clear? Squire?"

The only answer Cuthbert made as he walked away was a slight chortle. Morgan watched him until he disappeared into the shadows, and wished he had never made the visit. As he left the dock he felt two pairs of eyes on his back. He then noted that there was a slight glow shining on the back of his hands, from long-range scanning equipment.

"Amateurs," he sneered, knowing that he should have expected that, since they were cheap and suitably nasty. They were also his only alternative.

* * * *

Chera Flagstown was a wiry woman with long hair and a big grin. She lived in a small one-room rented house with three other young women that she worked with at a local food store. She happened to be home only because she had recently broken up with her boyfriend and didn't feel like going out on the town with her roommates, as they did every other evening. She had not seen Rolondo Rees for over a year.

"Left your wife?" she asked him from her door, not opening it any further than she had to in order to see him, suspicious of what he wanted. Occasionally she had seen him react violently, and she had wondered if he would ever act that way toward her. It seemed that every boyfriend she ever had was violent in some way. She seemed to attract those types.

"I'm going to Ancia," Rolondo said from the path before the steps. He tried to say it without attracting attention. "Leaving in a few weeks."

"Are you now? One of the chosen few? You're here to rub that in?"

"I'd appreciate you not telling anyone. We're not going through the normal channels, so we want to keep it quiet. Thing is, and why I'm here, Rebbi's not going with me."

"You haven't left her? What are you doing here if you haven't left her? Didn't I make that clear? You can't see both her and me. You made your choice, so we've got nothing to talk about."

"I made the wrong choice."

Chera saw that he was upset. Under his masculine surface, the man carried a broken heart. "You don't say?"

"I'm here to make amends."

Part of Chera wanted to see him suffer some more, to make up for what he did to her. "I don't see you down on those flabby knees of yours."

"Would you give me another chance? I have this great opportunity to go to Ancia, but I can't go alone. This is not something I can drop, and just give up on. It's the great paradise planet that everyone dreams of living on, and I actually found a way to get there. But not by myself. I need you to help me with this. You know it's my dream to go there. I can't imagine having another dream to take its place."

Chera then realised what he was saying. It wasn't the fact that he had come to her door with news that he was done with Rebbi, it was even greater news. He had somehow managed to attain the most elusive of tickets.

"You want me to go with you?" she asked, trying to not sound excited.

"That's why I came."

"To Ancia? You have tickets to Ancia?"

"Please keep it quiet," he said as he glanced around the street.

Then something else dawned on her. "But only because your wife didn't want to?"

"No, listen, it isn't that simple," Rolondo said, already prepared for that question. "It's complicated, but yeah, you could say that. She's so controlling, over everything I do, and I can't do anything without her say-so. I knew the only way to get away from her was to do something drastic, like go live on Ancia. And I knew she would have none of that, but I convinced her not only to agree to it, but also make it seem like it was her idea. All the while, I knew she'd dive on the deal. And she has. Blame her family, but I know she just isn't up to the challenge."

"She refused? You're saying she refused the chance to go to... that place?"

"And I'm good with it. Now I know she's not the right gal for me. But I know someone else who is, who is up for the challenge of moving to a new planet. I know of someone else who will not balk over the thought of what a great opportunity this is, instead of concentrating on the negative. Someone who knows a good thing when it's offered to her. A once in a lifetime. Not going to pass up on it."

"And who's that?"

"Little sassy thing, she is."

"Me?"

"Think you can take the chance with me?"

Chera screamed with excitement, flung the door open and jumped at Rolondo from the doorway. He jarred his arm as he caught her and managed not to fall over as she madly kissed him.

* * * *

Dawn-Star took the time to visit him because there was no answer. TC had told her before, that this kind of worrying was inherited from her mother, certainly not from him. But she had called for the last four hours, every half-hour or so, to no answer, and she feared the worst; as if there was anything else she was going to do. TC's office was above the main warehouse of the port facility that housed the Burning Star. It was dark now, and the Wilson brothers were nowhere to be seen. They were probably in their trailer, or at their girlfriends—they seldom went anywhere else unless someone was paying.

The door was wide open, and she went in, calling TC's name. He didn't answer because he had passed out. Most of the five empty bottles at the feet of his lazy chair had been there for a few weeks, but the sight gave Dawn-Star a fright.

"What's this?" she asked, stunned. He had said, with his special father-daughter promise, to not touch another drop. To her that now felt as empty as one of the discarded bottles.

He quickly woke and stared without recognising her for a few seconds, before smiling. "It's nothing. I can do what I want," he slurred.

"You can't make the flight like this."

"Do you know how many flights I've made? I've gone out beyond the..." He thought he knew the name, and it was on the tip of his leathery tongue. Some place way out in distant space, impressive enough to convince her that he was a thoroughly capable pilot, if he could just remember what it was called.

"I'm going to cancel the flight."

"You can't do that."

"There are children on the flight," she reminded him, her voice breaking, upset at him. "You think you can endanger not only yourself and your passengers, but kids too? I'll have the port authorities impound the ship."

"You're not touching my ship!" he yelled with sudden violence. "Get out!"

She did, hiding her tears.

He wanted to tell her that it was for her own protection, that she must not meddle, that the Bests were watching and they had very little humour regarding a plan that wasn't theirs. But he quickly became groggy and was soon in a deep sleep. When he woke, five hours later, he remembered nothing of her visit, but wondered why he felt sad. He looked through his window to check the ship, and grimaced at the sight of it. Every now and then he would go to look at it and think of how that it was when it was pristine and new. When he saw it old and dirty, not only the result of too many flights, but also of neglect, he would feel angry. He would be angry at himself, for allowing the Wilson brother's exclusive access to the preparing of the ship, even though he held little regard for their skills. If he was honest with himself, he would admit that he liked having them around as a safeguard against the likes of Lars Best, and that was all.

* * * *

Two years ago, Morgan Calp had his sights set on expanding his real estate business by taking over a few small companies that had once belonged to his allies. It would have been a deal to set him up for life; one of the richest men in the city and poised to go nationwide. At that time he had envisioned his life two years future as living on his new estate with designer trees and swimming pools, servants everywhere and perhaps a new wife. Then the bad investments started, followed by some very unwise gambling. Instead of lying back on a masseuse's bed, or watching a football game on a huge screen, he was sitting in a cold car ten years older than he would have preferred, watching a deserted street.

Then he saw a figure of a tall woman walk to the entrance of the port complex. She reminded him of Dawn-Star Beggs, but he wasn't sure enough to go over there and see. After a short time, she was back, leaving quicker than she had arrived. Seeing he was right, and that it was her, Morgan hurried out of his car and ran over.

"Is there something wrong?" Morgan asked her, with enough insistence in his voice to make her stop.

"No, it's fine," she said, trying to act casually. "Actually, that's untrue. We may need to stop the flight."

"Suspend the flight, you mean? For how long?"

"I'm not sure about that."

"Sure? You will need to be sure about it, young lady. More than sure. This is of no small importance to a lot of people. We have multiple investors, and you can't go changing it without a good reason. Don't you realise time is money? You can't go saying you can't be sure. You are either certain about what you're doing or you need to find another line of work."

Dawn-Star would never let anyone speak to her like that, and she didn't listen to most of it, but she was feeling fearful of the situation. It was out of place for Morgan to be there alone at night, and her fear was that he might have been following her. Of all the passengers, he had been the hardest to figure out. A rich man like Morgan would have been expected to have contacts amongst UDE or other space companies, to get him and his family on a colony ship, but he had chosen to go with them. He did provide her with a genuine reason, when pressed, and none of the research she had done indicated anything out of the ordinary.

Morgan seemed to accept her non-answer, or maybe he had seen the fear in her eyes. As Dawn-Star returned to her car, she knew it was time for her to leave the entire operation. She told herself that when TC sobered up, she would tell him that she would no longer be helping him. Hopefully the old ship would run out of steam and not go anywhere, especially anywhere as restrictive as a military-controlled zone like Ancia, without anything like the correct clearance, hoping to sneak in undetected. The details of the actual landing had never been made clear. When he first told her about the idea, she had just accepted that he was not following the law. He had always been a maverick when it came to things like that. Space, he had told her ever since she was a girl, was a place entirely without laws, and no one had any right to own enforce their will on anyone else. She never knew exactly what it was he was talking about, but she knew that it was something that scared him.

Once in her car, she saw that Morgan was still watching her, still standing where he was when he had spoken to her. She shivered at the thought of meeting him again in his plush office to tell him that their deal was off. Finding the Rees would be easy, and so too would Real Munro, but Morgan gave her the feeling that he was almost as dangerous as the Bests.

* * * *

Rolondo thought he had arrived amazingly early at the port, and was disheartened to see another man there, also unloading a truck with big crates. It was a Saturday morning, a little after six, and Rolondo had as big a day planned as you would when preparing to leave your home planet. His arm was feeling better now, and he was confident enough to try some heavy lifting. The port had plenty of machines used for lifting, but he wanted to put his crates on the ship himself, to give him the peace of mind that it was done properly. His bike crash was more than a three months ago, which was more than enough time to heal. The doctor had told him it would only take two weeks, and his bosses had not believed him when he continued to complain of sharp pains. But that was all part of his job, to live with pain from test-runs gone wrong. All the workers had them, and they all complained, but they all knew it came with the territory. No one tests supercharged flying bikes without making a mistake now and then. The thrill of speed negated the terror of injury or death. It was a job he had always dreamed of, and after ten years he still hadn't had enough of it. Until the prospect of Ancia came along. He told himself that once he was on Ancia, he could fly all the superbikes he wanted, on his own land.

Such a high-risk job gave him confidence to get on a ship like the Burning Star. To most people, the thought of leaving Earth and going into deep space was one they liked to dream of but not actually do. All the tourist flights that regularly flew around Mars and Jupiter only ever had extreme-adventure types, not normal people, who knew that risking their lives did not make for an attractive holiday. Rolondo had always been into adventure, but since he never had a lot of money, he would settle for jumping off rooftops and hanging from balconies.

He suspected that Rebbi was secretly fearful of the idea of Ancia, and he was sure that she was using her father's opinion as an excuse not to go. He hoped that Chera would not do the same, and he figured that the prospect of the paradise world would negate any of her fears.

As he went closer to the ship, he recognised the lanky and fair man. He had been there when Rolondo had first taken a look at the mighty Burning Star. Feeling confident that he was part of the flight, he approached the man with a friendly smile and introduced himself.

"I've seen you here before, but at a distance," he said. "If you don't mind me saying, where's the rest of your party?"

"I'm it," Real said with an awkward smile.

"No, I mean the others who will be travelling with you," Rolondo said as he studied him. Although not looking threatening, he knew that he was the type who could become violent when cornered.

"I know what you mean, and I'm it. All that's going."

"Serious? You're going by yourself?" Rolondo could read nothing into Real's smile, if he was being truthful or not.

"My girlfriend opted out," he shrugged. "Her loss."

Rolondo saw that something was not quite right with the conversation, and Real was annoyed at his presence. Not knowing the man at all, and whether or not he was some kind of nut, Rolondo politely excused himself and went to work in unloading his own supplies. Neither exchanged any further words, and hardly looked at each other.

After two hours, the Wilson brothers walked by, and ignored them both. Rolondo watched them and wondered why they were not paying him any attention, before seeing that they were both drunk.

* * * *

It was a cold and rainy evening, and Rolondo wanted to stay in the garage to go over his notes, and conveniently keep away from Rebbi. But it was damp in there and that didn't help his breathing. She had a strict rule about him coming in and out of the house when the weather was bad, so he had to chose one, and he chose the house. His notes had already been fine-tuned anyway, since he was a creature of discipline; everything had to be in its own correct place, according to practical use. Rebbi had long wondered why he bothered taking any notes at all, since he knew where everything was.

The reason he wanted to stay outside, and one he didn't want to admit to himself, was that he was thinking about Chera and what his life would have been like if he had not left her. Whenever he saw Rebbi, the only thing on his mind was if she saw in his eyes that he was thinking about his old girlfriend.

He sat at the kitchen table and spread papers out and concentrated on some recalculations. Rebbi watched him working away in silence and knew that he was pretending she wasn't there. She had never seen him so obsessed with anything, and while part of her wanted to chide him for being so ridiculous, she knew that this was something he cared about with intensity. Before they were married, she had seen that same determination in him, but not since. Her father had never liked him, and told him so at their first meeting, and most men would have had a problem with that. Rolondo's reaction was to laugh it off, saying that it would take more than Justin Hopewood to keep him away from her. To her regret, she followed her father's advice and left him for two years, and missed him the entire time. She agreed with her father, that his work was too dangerous, that he could be killed at any time, and the many injuries he had proved that fact. Looking back at those two years spent away from him, they seemed like two years missing from her life. She hated the thought that she was about to feel that pain again.

"Seen my discharger?" he asked her abruptly.

"What?" she asked, more surprised that he was talking to her.

"My discharger. Bought it specially for the trip. I need to read power levels in the machines."

"I know what the discharger's for," she said tersely. "I bought it for you. And I packed it for you."

"Oh, okay." He returned to his notes, and jotted something down with irritation.

"Is that all?"

"I think I have everything."

"No, I mean is that all you have to say to me?"

"What else do we have to say? You said all that needs to be said, that right?"

"You're going there all by yourself, is that what's happening?"

"You know I've got to go. About that there's no dispute."

"By yourself?" She was both amused and appalled at him when he just shrugged, without looking up from his notes.

"Baby, you know you can't go anywhere by yourself," she said like a parent to a stupid young child, trying to see the humour in what he was doing. "All that stuff you got there, I had to go with you to buy it. You hate being alone at the mall, or the supermarket. You've never gone to a show or concert without your friends. And now you think you're going to leave the planet?"

"What choice have you left me?" He was not seeing the funny side, although she clearly was. "Woman, leave me to do my thing, if all you're doing is this."

"You big idiot," she said with a kind laugh. "I'm not leaving you."

"You're what?" He looked up from his notes. His eyes were transfixed on her, stunned at her.

"You had me," she said, nodding. "I didn't think you would go through with it, but now I see you are, at least trying to put on this brave face. You know I can't leave you, no matter how crazy you make me. Of course I'm going with you. How could I not?"

"You saying you want to go? To Ancia, you're talking about?"

"Yeah, Ancia. Where else? Mars?"

"No, Mars would not be good," he said absently.

"How could you think you could do Ancia by yourself, Ro? I know you too well. I'm not going to let you dive into such a big thing without at least going there with you. And I know what you're going to say, that Daddy will be angry. Well, so what? You're the one I love, and you're the one I want to be with, wherever we go. Daddy won't be there to tell us what to do. You have no need to worry about him. Sure, he'll be upset, and go on one of his rant and raves. But we'll be in the spaceship and flying away from this world, and far away from him. You know what? I'm not married to him. I'm married to you, right? There comes a time, I can't go living of fear of what my father thinks. Don't you think? And you can't let him scare you, baby."

Rolondo nodded but wasn't really listening. His first thought was to try to convince her to change her mind, that she should not go, and that he would be all right by himself. He even contemplated contacting Justin and warning him that he needed to take hold of his daughter, if he wanted her to stay on Earth. Then he realised how nice it would be to have her with him on his great adventure. She was right; he hated doing anything alone, and he always felt more confident in groups, and she would help him with that. All he could think of after that was Chera, and how he could sneak her on board without Rebbi knowing.

* * * *

Their party had been going for over two hours and Dawn-Star's arrival was nothing like her first to the surfing group. The music was loud, the beer was almost completely consumed, and most important of all, she was not the only woman there. She found her brother in the backyard, lying on his back on the lawn and staring up at the starry night sky. There was a time when such a sight would make her think that he was dreaming about travelling to those stars, but now she knew it was more likely that he wasn't even noticing them.

"I know you don't want to hear any of this," she told him, "so I'll make it quick. TC is soon to leave, and I'm not sure he's coming back this time. I mean at all. He's talking of never setting foot on Earth again."

"Bon voyage."

Jupe sounded sober and that surprised her.

"You're young, and even though I doubt you have a heart, one day, when you're very old, you may regret not taking this chance to say goodbye. You know you'll probably never see him again? You know that, don't you? Do what you want with your life, see if I care. I'll be at the launch. If I see you, then good. If I don't, then whatever."

"You're not going with him? I thought you were going."

"As I'm getting married, no, I'm not going."

"Why? Do they not let people get married in outer space?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You were born up there, and grew up on the Burning Star. You know as much about spaceflight as I do; probably more. You think I don't know you liked to sit in the captain's chair and play pilot? You think I don't know you can actually fly the old ship?"

He sat up. "Then why are you not going? Everyone wants to go, if given a chance."

"For your information, yes they allow marriage in space. But what they don't have is an international professional Women's Ultraball League."

He laughed and went back to the lawn.

"My coach thinks I have strong potential to make it to the pros."

"Bulletball's better than flying off into the dark."

"Look, if you do decide to go to the launch, can you not tell TC any of that? He doesn't know I play. I'd rather he didn't."

That was all she had to say, and the party atmosphere was beginning to make her feel unwell. When his only reply was a grunted laugh, without even once looking at her, she was quite happy to leave.

Radcliffe Stevens, known to the group as The Rad One, had noticed Dawn-Star arrive and carefully followed her without her knowing. He waited until he was sure that she was long gone before asking Jupe for more information.

"This TC," The Rad One asked him, "she means that Johnny Beggs?"

"The one and only."

"He's your father? Everybody's talking about that."

Jupe was not one of The Rad One's biggest fans, since he considered that his surfing skills leaned somewhere between reckless and suicidal, and he never liked to be too near him when they were out in the deep.

"It doesn't look good, for your cred. They're saying you hate him."

"Of course I hate him. Why shouldn't I hate him?"

The Rad One was surprised by that. "But that's why you are where you are. You're Johnny Beggs' son. He's great, so you must be too."

"I'm where I am because I'm the best in the surf. Who's better than me?"

"We know that, but the reason everyone accepts it the way they do, it's because of who you are: Beggs' son. If you're saying you hate him, you're going to get challenged more."

"Nobody's challenging me that I can see."

The Rad One decided that Jupe was becoming hostile, and nobody liked to be around him when he was like that. He left him and returned to see what was happening in the party, which had lost some of its earlier life and was probably about to wind down. He wanted to tell someone that he was concerned about Jupe's attitude, and that he was lucky to have a father like Johnny. Even though he had courage to take on any monster wave, he had no kind of courage to take on Jupe when his anger got up.

* * * *

Real was in a rare good mood, and it was due to the fact that his plans were finally working. He smiled and greeted everyone who came close to him, commenting about the weather and inquiring about their health, two things he didn't care too much about. The Wilson brothers looked bemused, and he overheard them joking to themselves about who he was. Even to that, Real laughed it off. Any other day he would not have noticed the tense expression on the face of his fellow passenger and colonist, Rolondo Rees. He wondered if he should ask the man what was wrong, or even go as far as offering some advice. It was something he had never done before and wasn't sure how to go about it, but he was in such a good mood that he went for it.

"Getting to you, is it?" Real asked him.

"I'm sorry, what?" asked Rolondo.

"The flight. Getting cold feet over it? Such a long way, so many obstacles. Government, astro-sickness, who knows what else."

"No, the flight is not a worry. Been looking forward to it, in fact. None of the problems are anything to be concerned over, since our crew's good. My reckoning says you don't get to be a famous space pilot without knowing what you're doing out there."

"I just noticed you looked sad, that's all. Forget about it."

"You're Real?" he asked with a curious look.

"Real Munro."

"Rolondo Rees. If you don't mind my asking, are you really travelling alone? All that way?"

"That's right. I am. My girlfriend didn't want to go. Don't really want to talk about it, thanks."

"Got a proposition for you, but you have to keep it quiet. And I mean, keep it quiet."

"I've always got an ear out for propositions."

"And you won't tell anyone? Okay, here it is: My wife, Rebbi, she told me she's not going. Changed her mind, after her family talked her out of it. How am I supposed to react to that? First she's into going, talks to everyone we meet about it, then says she's not, all because of her family."

"That's too bad."

"So I called on my old girlfriend. Chera's her name. She's real nice. Got a nice body."

"Has she?" asked Real, not understanding why he was telling him this.

Rolondo paused, looked around to be satisfied that no one could overhear. He was hoping that Real would be able to figure out what he was asking, without actually asking it. Since Real was not offering anything, Rolondo knew he was either not getting it or was just making him tell the whole story.

"Rebbi, my wife, she went and changed her mind on me again. Out of the blue, she just throws out. She wants to come now. How am I supposed to take that? But I went and promised Chera, and she just has her heart set. The girl's had so many heartbreaking moments in her life, and I'm ashamed to say I was one of them. She can't go and hear me saying she can't go. I hadn't seen her for a while, and all I brought her was this invitation to go to Ancia. Now what's she supposed to do? To tell her she can't go, that will be like breaking up with her again. I don't want to put her through that. I don't want to put myself through that either. But, you know, there's another option. They can both go."

With a rush of horror, Real realised why Rolondo was telling him his story. "Oh, no, no."

"Come on, help me out."

"What are you asking me, exactly?"

"Tell them Chera's your girlfriend. Just until the launch."

"You want to take two women? To Ancia? All the way to Ancia? Are you crazy?"

"I have a Hudson Enviromaker, Twelve-class, brand new. It's yours. Do this favour, it's yours. You keep it and run it all over your Ancia country, and I'll never bother you again."

Real looked at him with disbelief but then began to remember reading about such a machine. There was nothing close to it, either efficiency or automation, with a highly advanced computer intelligence. It could be set to work on a rugged plain and would finish with fully irrigated and seeded croplands. Rolondo was not only serious, but desperate. Real would be foolish to turn down such an offer. He knew that the woman could be a handful, and make his life a pain. Perhaps the wife would find out the truth, and make the voyage a nightmare for everyone concerned. But either way, pain or nightmare, Real would have a Hudson Enviromaker when they got to Ancia.

"I don't care if you never talk to the girl," Rolondo pushed. "Just get her on the ship, wait till we're away, then I'll look after her."

"Show me," Real said as he pointed to Rolondo's section of the ship's hold.

It was encased in a crate, but the details written on the outside confirmed that it was the machine that Rolondo said it was. Real was delighted at the thought of his brand new, twelve-class Hudson Enviromaker, and not caring at all about the woman involved, and even forgetting what her name was.

"This girl's okay with this?" he asked.

"As long as you're okay, she will be," Rolondo told him, hoping that she would be as easily convinced.

* * * *

Rolondo had been sitting in Chera's untidy, magazine-spewed lounge for some time, drinking mint tea, making small talk, reminiscing about the few years they were together, careful to avoid getting too deep with anything that might resemble the subject of relationship. Slowly, not wanting to push him into what she knew was the real reason for his visit, Chera steered the conversation around, and she could see that he was becoming more and more uncomfortable about revealing it.

"It's just," he said as he shifted in his seat, "things have changed a little bit."

"Changed how? Are you being a fool on me? What's this about?"

"Rebbi's changed," he said, unable to look at her, knowing that once she started to glare it took her a long time to relax. "Her mind, I mean. She's changed it. She wants to go to Ancia."

Chera shrieked. Her hand grabbed her mouth and she almost fainted.

"Nothing to be done about it," Rolondo said as he studied his teacup.

"You promised I was going," Chera gasped. She quickly stood up, as if to intimidate him. She waved her arms around, becoming more upset. "Ro, you don't know what it means to me. I have to go. Make her stay here. She made up her mind, she can't go changing it back. Make her stay. You can just make her stay. She said she wanted to stay. It was her idea."

"Can't do that," he said and he still couldn't look her in the eye.

"You make her stay here or she's knowing everything about you and me. You hear me?"

"You know she knows a fair bit already."

"Does she know about this here? Does she know how you went straight over here and begged me to take her place? Moment she said she's out, you offered me her place. Didn't leave any time to waste, coming here with your begging eyes. Does she know that? Well, does she?"

Rolondo knew that he should tell her the rest of his story, but her demeanour wasn't exactly what he was hoping. He realised that he had forgotten her sudden mood-swings; the main reason that he had cheated on her with Rebbi.

"I'm still going to Ancia," Chera said, both hands on hips now, standing over him like she was about to hit him. "You said I was, and that's what's going to happen."

"I agree."

"You do what?"

"I'm agreeing with you. I said you're going, that's what's going to happen. Trouble is, it's a little complicated now."

"Complicated how?"

Rolondo drank the last of his tea and sat back, content with his plan and knowing that she would agree to it. How could she not? He didn't want to hurt Rebbi's feelings, or cause problems with her family, so she had to go. But if Chera still wanted to go then she would have to engage in a bit of a charade. As he spoke, her face lost life and she sat numbly on the edge of her seat. All she could think about was the images and remarks about how great a world Ancia was, and how going there would be the greatest thing any human could do.

"Who's he, this guy?" she asked vaguely.

"Just some guy. Don't worry about him. You just have to pretend for a little while, and then it's Ancia, all around us, for the rest of our lives."

"Pretend? Like I'm his girl?"

"Just for a bit."

"Don't expect me to love on him. He knows that, right? It's just for show?"

"Chera, I want you to do the best acting you can. This is no small thing here. We can't get Rebbi suspicious."

Now Chera had enough of him. She gave him a punch on his leg, the hardest she could do. "That's for getting my hopes up. And you are the one who's going to control her, not me. Get her to Ancia, then she can do what she wants. But there, it's us together and we won't need to see her again."

Rolondo agreed and didn't add that he would be happy to live with either one, or even both.

* * * *

For the first time in a long time, TC had clearly not been drinking. Dawn-Star was relieved to see him sober and busy in the work of preparing his ship. He was sitting at his worn pilot chair, following his checklist, all serious concentration. He displayed the very image of the reason for his legendary status amongst his fellow deep space pilots; an unmatched determination that sometimes bordered on rage. To fly a ship for years, so far into deep space that it was beyond the help of any rescue, called for someone of incredibly strong will. It was the sort of heart that a pilot only knew they had when they found themselves in that situation. And there he was, getting ready to go out again.

When he first noticed her presence he gave a barely audible greeting. It was clear to her that while he loved her as a daughter, he did not enjoy her presence on the flight deck. She knew not to take such a reaction personally, since he was always very moody when going through pre-flight checks. Anything wrong would be greeted with loud cursing, and then worried fretting until the problem was solved. The worst thing that anyone could do was distract him, but Dawn knew she needed to see him.

It was the first time that she had been up to the flight deck since she was fifteen, and it brought back old memories. Back in those days, she hated everything about the place, and instead found out all she could about Earth. Unlike most young people her age, Dawn dreamed of having a normal life on Earth and far away from any space ports, or boasting explorers, or alien planets. Like her brother, she was born at T Station out at Alpha Centauri. Once a UDE base, it was then privately owned by DSE, Deep Space Exploration, to train crews for dangerous missions to find life planets far distant into the galaxy. Her mother Candice did not share TC's sense of adventure and left the two children at the station and returned to Earth. It took Dawn two years, when she was fifteen, until TC let her return to Earth, where she attended Liggins, a pricey private girl's school. Three years later, she found herself at UDE's cadet school, not understanding that she was living TC's life instead of her own. It was there that she met Roberto Canatro, soon to become her husband. It was Robbie who made her realise that she should pursue her own life.

The Burning Star was much like she remembered from nine years ago. The only differences were the added equipment; all upgrades upon upgrades, and no doubt faster in every way. It was all TC seemed to talk about when she had lived on the ship, that one day he could afford better machines with faster speeds; all the more reason to conquer the galaxy. At the time, she viewed such boasts as fantasy, as she never saw the ship go very far. Now she realised that the reason TC had not actually sailed out into the uncharted galaxy, never expecting to return, was because of her and her brother.

"Don't pin any hopes to seeing Jupe," Dawn-Star said to TC as she sat in the first seat. From the doorway it looked small and uncomfortable, but once inside it was roomy and somewhat exciting.

"Why would I do that?" he asked irritably, not looking at her.

"You asked me too."

"Remind me."

"See Jupe before the launch?"

"Jupe? I don't want him anywhere near my launch."

With that he went back to his checklist and did not notice Dawn-Star leaving and wiping a tear from her face. She knew he was doing as he should, making sure his ship was flight-worthy, all the more necessary due to the passengers—children included—and the fact he was doing it sober was heartening. But for that moment she wished he had indeed been drinking, when he would at least look at her with something other than an annoyance. And with bad news that he wouldn't even admit was bad news. She decided that was the last time she would try to help TC's relationship with his son.

* * * *

Morgan Calp had been wandering around the flight compound for a good half-hour, concerned over everything he saw, that it all indicated a cancelled flight. He noted the empty storage areas and lack of prep-crew. It was two days since he had seen Rolondo Rees and Real Munro loading their crates, and he had expected more to follow. His own equipment had been loaded first, and in the safest parts of the ship's hold. When he saw that the other passengers were not rich men, and even a little scruffy, he needed to know who they were. After a few discreet contacts to people he knew in government communications, he had his answer.

Rolondo Rees was twenty-eight and worked as a flybike tester for Hurrel, a small but influential company. He was married to Rebbi Rees and they had no children. They were good candidates to become legal colonists, one of millions, and Morgan guessed they were taking the shortcut with Beggs because they couldn't wait. As far as Morgan could see, they led a boring life, and that told him that they shouldn't be a threat to him.

Real Munro, on the other hand, was full of mystery. At thirty-four, he had been unemployed for six months. His work history was sporadic, with his previous work being a kitchen hand. He served two years in prison for fraud and perjury, and that fact alone made him ineligible to become an Ancian colonist. The murder charge he faced had been dropped and someone else was convicted. It was a nasty case, with a young woman beaten and raped, and although none of the charges had stuck to Real, Morgan could not help thinking that he could have done it. If Morgan had more influence on the flight, and if he had not wanted to keep a low profile, he would have tried to convince TC to have Real removed from the ship. He still needed to know where Real got his money to afford the flight fee and the new machinery.

He heard a vehicle approaching the ship and tried to hide from the headlights, but was too late and he was engulfed in light. The car's horn sounded twice, and then with a flurry. The occupants were celebrating that they had seen him, and they drove closer. Dust kicked up by the hovering vehicle caused Morgan to shield his eyes. When he opened them he saw the car stationary and one of the back door's wide open, as if inviting him to come inside. He knew who it must be.

* * * *

More than anything, it was what Jupe heard in The Rad One's tone of voice than in what he said, that motivated him. Knowing how most of the members of the surfing group liked to gossip, it would not be long before everyone thought that he hated his father. While most of the group had little time for their parents, Jupe's father happened to be a hero for the masses, someone who came from nothing and made a name for himself. TC had been an orphan and never felt like anywhere was his real home. For someone with no family money or formal education to have become a star pilot, was seen as remarkable. He pulled off a great space rescue and his name became world famous, and if Jupe told anyone that he really wasn't that great, no one would take him seriously. It was not a matter of trying to prove them wrong for his own peace of mind, since he had long ago stopped caring what his father thought of him. He just wanted to be able to tell the surfers that he had gone to see TC before his last great voyage. Then they would see that he was still worthy to be considered the best surfer, both through his own ability and the very fact of who he was related to. As much as he hated the idea, he would rather have his mates think of him as great because of his father, than as someone who hated a hero.

"I'm not like you. Don't think I am," he mumbled as he drove to the port, rehearsing his meeting.

To his surprise, the bored guard let him through without making him stop, and he parked in the first vacant spot he saw. It was a long walk to the ship, but it gave him a chance to take a good look at the famous Burning Star. His home for most of his childhood, the only lingering memories was of running down the corridors pretending to chase aliens. TC always laughed at him for doing that, saying that if any real aliens turned up then he would be running from them, not the other way around.

The sharp white of the hull that he saw in his childhood, was dull now, and littered with replaced panels of various shades. The engines looked different too, and he couldn't help but divert his course to try to see what name was on them. He knew they would be one of the best available, as TC would not be flying it if it didn't. Perhaps the only thing he did admire about his father was that he demanded the best and usually got it.

The corridors and rooms looked the same, except a lot smaller. He thought that he could still remember the course he liked to run, that would take him down to the big hold and back up to the flight deck in under five minutes. He was surprised that it all came back to him and he remembered the way to the flight deck. Not wanting to admit to himself that he was eager to see it again, he was assuming it would be the best place to find TC. When he got there his heart jumped. The endless controls, the worn seats, the view outside, was the way he still saw it in his dreams. His favourite chair, the pilot's, was empty, and he almost jumped in it to relive those days. He would sit there, barely able to see out the narrow viewscreen, and pretend to be zipping through nebulae cloud and asteroid clusters, shooting down the aliens with blasts of coloured laser, just as they would in the movies. The reality was that the ship's guns were disguised and gave no image or sound when they were fired.

His father was lying on the floor, reaching down a service hatch, checking for any failed circuitry, and cleaning out all the dust that had accumulated since the ship's last flight. Jupe said nothing in greeting and just waited for him to come up. He fought his desire to sit in that main seat again. He did not want to give TC the satisfaction of thinking that he had any desire to go back into space.

TC gave a small smile when he looked up and saw him. He stood up and dusted himself, looking unsure of what to say, and knowing that Jupe wasn't going to be the first.

"Not long till we leave," TC said, seeing that Jupe wasn't wanting to stay for long. "Go ahead and sit there," he gestured to the pilot chair.

"That's yours. I'm no pilot."

"Why say that? You're as good a pilot as me. I know that's a fact. I've seen you. What are you piloting these days? A surfboard? Come on, you're better than that. I'll show you waves—solar waves you won't believe. Try navigating around something you can't see, that'll kill you if you look at it wrong. Can water do that?"

"I only came here to tell you goodbye," Jupe said, his voice confident. There was no sentimentality left regarding his father. If his father had been the Burning Star itself, that would have been another matter. "Now you can go do whatever it is you want to do. Fly off wherever you want. Have a nice time, but I prefer water, thanks."

TC was actually friendly to him, and that put Jupe off guard. "I want you to see the controls. You'd be impressed. It's changed since you saw it last. You won't believe how powerful it is now. When were you here last, anyway? You were this high, not much more. We've increased the thrust beyond that of a thousandfold from those days. What they can do now, I wish we had this when I was your age. Wouldn't have messed around with DSE all those years. All those empty suits and family connections, getting promotions ahead of me and Willie. Wasted so much time filling out forms and completing repetitive tests. When the galaxy sat there untouched and laughing at us."

Jupe was not expecting this from TC, but he was still unimpressed by him. "The whole world's changed since I saw it last, so why would the ship be any different?"

"When you were a boy you loved sitting at those controls, pretending to be some deep-space ranger, or something, I don't know. I did try to ask, you know, but I could never get much sense out of you in those days. All 'zap-zap' and laser-targeting monsters."

"Yeah, well, I am no longer a boy, and I'm going now."

"You still do little boy things, like surf."

That made him stop in his tracks. TC was still much the same, saying hard things out of the blue. Things that cut deep and really hurt. "You don't know anything about me," he answered defensively.

"Which is why I need to spend some time with you. After today, we're going, and after I drop these passengers off at Ancia, I'm heading back to T Station, where I'm to live out the rest of my natural existence. I know you're a man now, but all I know of you is you as a boy. Give me a chance. Just spend some time here, take this one visit, see the controls, patronise me this little bit. Can you do that for me? It's all I'm asking. I'm never coming back, Jupe. After this day, that's it. No more Earth days for TC."

"I can't stay, so no. Goodbye, and for what it's worth, enjoy the T."

"You know it's yours? You do know that, don't you?"

"I know what's mine?"

"The ship. The Burning Star. Left it to you. It's all legal, you can check it if you want. My new will. You can have the ship, the storage area, the prep machines, the whole company. Even the wasted Wilsons, if you want them. If I were you, I'd find some younger ones. They're getting a little long in the tooth. Actually, that's how they were when I first met them. They weren't the worst out there, either."

"Why would you do that? The ship?"

"You're my son. This is the only way I have of..." He stopped, searching for the right word, then said, "showing you..." and stopped again. This kind of emotional conversation was foreign for him.

"If you do that, leave me the ship, it's not going to stop me hating your guts. You know I hate your guts, right?"

"I've put my heart and soul into this ship," TC said with grit, ignoring Jupe's confrontation.

"Then I hate it as much as I hate you," Jupe said, choosing his words, knowing how hard they'll hurt him. So many times he had rehearsed those words, and now he had the confidence to actually speak them to his face.

TC didn't seem affected. "One day you won't hate me so much. You'll be old and I'll be long gone. I know you'll still hate me, just not so much. Can you take a look at the new controls, at least?"

Jupe wondered why TC gave no reaction to his last words, and thought it was a case of him not listening, or not caring. TC was so insistent that Jupe follow him to main controls that he could not fight himself agreeing. Perhaps in doing so he was humouring him, or perhaps he really did want to see it again. The sight of the pilot seat made him linger, wishing he could experience that again.

Thax Wilson seemed to come from nowhere, and with no word he put his heavy hands on Jupe's shoulders and roughly pushed him into a small side room. Jupe protested as loudly and as violently as he could, but no words were given in reply. He saw TC just staring at him without emotion, his mouth fixed shut like he was uninterested in saying anything. Thax's eyes were cold and robotic, and he was far too strong for Jupe to resist. The door was quickly locked. No matter how much he yelled and kicked over the next few hours, no one came to let him out.

* * * *

The inside of the car was one of luxury. Lars Best was not a large man, but he looked it due to the way he was sprawled across the seats. One arm was draped across the top, the other idly waving in the air as if he was listening to music. He had one leg up on the seat, his foot twitching every now and then, and the other leg stretched straight out and almost reaching the facing seat where Morgan sat. It was as if he wanted Morgan to know it was his car and his area and he was going to use as much space as he possibly could. The man who sat next to Morgan was known as "BDC" and he was overweight to the point of being unsightly, and it meant that Morgan had little room.

"Morgan," Lars said with a welcoming smile. He switched between staring at him and not looking at him at all. "I know how your business has fallen on hard times and all that. I feel for you, I really do. You think I have no compassion? Is that what you think, that I can't be here to help my friends?"

"Lars, I think there has been a misunderstanding," Morgan started.

"No misunderstanding."

"We finished our business together. That was what was agreed."

"Yes, we finished our business. That's right. All fair and content. And now you're off to Ancia where you won't have to see me again."

"If there's a flight."

Lars was amused. "Why would there not be a flight?"

"There's a rumour the flight's been suspended."

"For what reason?"

"I don't know that."

"You don't know."

"I was looking around for some answers."

"I know nothing of any flight suspension. And if I know nothing about it, then it doesn't exist. You can relax, my friend, the rumour is false. Whoever you heard it from, knows nothing about the ship or its crew. There will be a flight."

Morgan nodded and decided to push his luck. "This has been planned for a long time. I am ready to go. Myself and my family are all prepared to be on that ship, and leave as soon as it's ready."

"I'm not interested in asking you to miss your flight."

"No? Then why..."

"In fact, I'm pleased you're going. That's brave, taking that step, and not waiting for the official UDE ships to have a seat for you. The thing is, I have something I need you to do. Without going into all the details, which I'm sure will bore you, my history with TC and his friends is long, and to put it in short verse, I have little trust for the man. I know you weren't expecting such a comment, and I know he's viewed by most people as the greatest pilot in space history. Just know, I know him a little better than most people. That's right. I knew him when he was just another struggling space cadet with big dreams, big talk and no money. Our relationship is built on respect. He lets me do what I'm skilled at, and I let him fly his ship around as much as he pleases. How could it be any other way? I'm not about to get behind the wheel of one of those. Especially not an old one like the Burning Star. The same, I don't think TC would enjoy much about my job. He doesn't have a knack for violence and death threats. Nor does he enjoy seeing the dismembering of people who annoy him. I'm thinking, as soon as he clears Earth-orbit, he'll think he's free from me. And that's just Earth-orbit. Ancia? How can I reach him all the way to Ancia? That's what he thinks."

Lars laughed at the thought and BDC gave a deep chuckle like he was genuinely amused.

"Then, what's this about?" asked Morgan.

"Well, since you are using my port to make your farewell flight into the heavens, I require something back."

"Your port? How can this be your port?"

"What, you think it's TC's?" Lars laughed. "No, since you were trespassing on my property, you owe me something back."

"What is it? You want me to put a land claim at Ancia for you? Is that it?"

"Ancia? I don't know anything about Ancia. If I wanted a piece of Ancia, I would go there myself. I probably will one day, if I put my mind to it. But from what I hear now, there's not too many luxury apartments up there, so I think I'll be waiting a while. I'll let people like you do all the hard work, and then people like me will come and take our pick of what we want."

Morgan remained expressionless, but inside he was angry at the thought of a thug like Lars arriving at Ancia and thinking he can throw his weight around and ruin everything that had been built.

"No, I need you for something less dramatic," Lars said as he stopped waving his hand and used it to point at Morgan. It unnerved Morgan all the more because he left his hand there in mid-air, pointing like it was a weapon aimed at him.

"You want me to do something to TC on Ancia?" Morgan asked, growing more horrified at what Lars might suggest.

"Relax, will you?" Lars said easily, and returned to that idle waving, that Morgan also started to find scary. "I said it was less dramatic. If I wanted anything to happen to TC, you think I'd ask you? I want you to be my eyes. BDC here, he'll give you what you need, the equipment, recording and signalling devices, and show you how to work them. You message me now and then, day to day, whatever you think, let me know how TC is treating you, that sort of thing."

"You want me to message to you how the voyage goes?"

"It's communication equipment, Morgan. What else would you do with it?"

"You just want feedback, about the flight?"

"I have interests on that ship besides TC. Just want to know how it goes with him. Long way to Ancia, after all. Anything you don't like about the way he's acting, that sort of thing. Don't give me a space opera, just anything you think might be suspicious or out of character."

Morgan took the small devices from BDC and went to step out of the car.

"Wait on," Lars said thoughtfully. "On second thought, tell me everything about everyone. Anything that pops into your head, I want to know. Won't be so hard. Not like you'll have anything else to do. I hear those long flights are endless monotony, drives most men crazy, to drink, or pills, or rope around their throats. Have a nice flight."

* * * *

It had been a good four hours, but Jupe's anger had not subsided all that much when the door finally opened for him, answering his pleas. When he saw TC in the doorway, blocking it, Jupe's anger turned livid. He saw in TC's face the satisfaction of his achievement, like he had cornered and trapped his prey, not worried that he had left the dirty work to Thax. But Jupe also saw something more worrying, that TC had no intention of letting him go, and the consequences of that were unthinkable. He remembered that TC had always liked to joke about getting all the people he didn't like and entice them onto the ship before locking them away in some small and nasty room. Then he would take them far out into deep space, so far that the sun was nothing but another pinpoint star, and then he would get to see what they were really made of. It was well known that when TC took his ship that far out, he considered himself the only lawmaker.

"You're kidnapping me!" Jupe shouted.

"Just behave," TC said like he was expecting his son to say that. "You've spent so long off surfing and whatever, you've never grown up. I'm going to put a stop to that and force you to grow up, whether you want to or not. Forget about arguing, it's all been arranged. There's no way out, so don't make yourself a pain, okay?"

"But my friends. I have a girlfriend, Geb. I can't leave her like this."

TC was not moved. "Do you have any idea how much potential you have? I had nothing like those kind of opportunities. And you just spit it up in my face and treat me like nothing, and go off and play your little surf games with your puny girlfriends with puny names like Geb."

"You don't know her! You shut up about her!"

"Let's get one thing straight here. I am the captain, I am in charge, you are nothing. That means you don't shout at me, ever." He leaned in close, studying his face. "That better not be a tear. Is that a tear?"

"At least send Geb a message."

"What's her real name?"

"I don't know. We just call her Geb."

"That sounds like a deep relationship. How long you known her?"

"About a month, I think. Why does that matter to you?"

"Even if I was going to send a message, which I'm not, how would I know who to send it to? Sure, I'm betting there's not too many girls out there carrying a name like that around. Although we can probably narrow it down a bit to anyone willing to hang around with unambitious surfers. And what will we say? 'So long, girl, off to find out if I'm a man or not in the wide black yonder. When I get back you'll be sixty and I won't be."

"I was so right about you."

"Just so you know, you can leave when we get to the T. Do whatever you want, stay at the T and be a man, or go home with your tail between your legs. Whatever you choose, one thing's for sure, you won't be the same person you are now, some whiny little boy wasting his life away. Next time I'll see you, we'll be in space, so do some preparations and whatever, you know the drills. If you've forgotten them, better get remembering."

TC stopped and looked at him quizzically, to see what his next move would be.

"What if I don't?" Jupe offered, shaking with fright at what he was hearing. "Did you not think that I might like my life?"

"Surfing?" TC asked with a disappointed sigh. "How could you think that was something to be proud of?"

He didn't wait for Jupe's abusive reply and slammed the door shut.

* * * *

It did not help Morgan that his car was more luxurious than Lars Best's. As he drove to the landing bay, the memory of being in that car intimidated him more than the man himself. The strongman BDC had been polite to him, and when he laughed at Lars' jokes he actually did seem to be amused. Morgan had tried to think of it as a normal Monday morning office meeting, and he hoped that's how they saw his reactions. Neither did it help that the request from Lars was not at all difficult. It was something he need not share with anyone else, and he reasoned that Lars had asked him only because he happened to be there at the time. Lars could have asked anyone. More than that, through the entire exchange, there was always that thought in the back of Morgan's mind that Lars had no ambition to go to Ancia. It was the same with BDC, or anyone else that Morgan knew of from Lars' camp. That would mean that once Morgan became established on Ancia, he would be able to give Best no further thought.

He looked out the car's window and knew that behind the tall fence sat the Burning Star. Knowing Lars had his trust, and probably wouldn't do anything to him anyway, Morgan remembered that there was a more realistic presence of danger.

"Keep away from the Wilson brothers," he announced to his family who was in the car with him. "You hear me, children? You too, Taylor. They work for Johnny Beggs, and they'll be with us on the voyage, but we have no need to interact with them. I shall be reminding them, and Beggs, that I will not permit them near any one of you."

"If you don't mind," his wife said as she continued to write notes in her journal, "I prefer to make my own judgement calls on people I have yet to meet. Anyway, I am sure someone like Johnny Beggs would have working under him only the very best of help."

A tall and glamorous blond, Taylor-Marie had retired from modelling six years ago, but she was still constantly obsessed with her appearance. She knew that people treated her like she was not smart, but she was aware of more than she let on. They did not discuss it, but Morgan could guess that she knew that the ship was not part of the legal transports to Ancia. Like him, she chose to view it as a necessary evil to get them to the new world. Plenty of her friends would have killed for such an opportunity, and she knew that it would not be to her advantage to show Morgan up, or confront him on why he was being secretive and putting his family in danger. Ancia was the new in-place, and to be given the chance to go there was not something to take lightly. She knew not to share any details of the flight with any of her friends. It was enough for them to know she was going, and they would need to wait for their chance.

"Why are we going so slow?" Westminster Calp asked his father, having correctly gauged that their car was slowing to almost walking pace. He was nine and as curious as any boy his age, the middle of Morgan's three children. Of them all, he reminded Morgan of himself, and he hoped to carefully groom him to one day take over as head of his Ancian empire.

"We are driving as fast as we are allowed, West," said Morgan. "There are always traffic restrictions near flight-control bases."

"We should be able to go as fast as we want," the boy demanded. "Don't they know who we are? We are going to own Ancia."

"You're just scared," his sister Maddison chided. She was twelve but acted at least five years older, always copying Taylor-Marie's fashion and way of talking, although she was not her birth-mother.

"Scared of what?" asked West.

"Of Ancia. You think there's monsters there. That's where the space aliens live. You can't sleep at night, thinking they're going to get you."

The youngest child, seven-year-old Dorrington laughed at West's suffering from the taunts of his sister. He was an adventurous child, who often got himself in trouble for finding new places to explore and hide.

"I'm serious about the Wilsons," Morgan said to Taylor-Marie, ignoring the fighting like it was not really happening, as he always did. "Just watch that they don't get too close to the equipment. That is what I am most weary of."

"What are they going to do with it?" she asked with her sarcastic tone. "Try terraforming the ship?"

Morgan then lost his cool and yelled at the children who were still fighting. "Shut up! You'll need to act more dignified than this. We're off to start a brave new world. It is an opportunity few have, to begin anew. You will not mess this up for me."

There was an uncomfortable silence, and they all became aware of the sound of the Burning Star's engines being tested, and that made them realise that the big day had finally arrived and they were soon to leave their world.

"You are greatly privileged to be given this chance," Morgan continued, before bellowing, "so you will act like you appreciate it!"

Morgan did not notice Dorrington beginning to cry, hurt that his father did not notice his excitement and joy at being about to step onto a spaceship that would take him to a new world.

* * * *

Jupe was allowed access to the flight deck and surrounds, including the crew's small sleeping quarters, but he could go no further. The passenger area and hold were off limits. He knew that any protest would mean his confinement to the small side room he was first locked into. Neither TC nor the Wilsons would give him an ear about his plight, and he sensed their mirth at his fate. He had always disliked being around the Wilsons, but for his father to do such a thing made him realise that he had underestimated how much he despised TC. No better than Thax and Cuthbert. Or worse, since they had not done it to their own sons. For them it was like some sick practical joke, to rip him away from his life and force him to spend the next few years aboard this ship. It was no matter to them that he had told no-one he would be going near the ship, especially his girlfriend Geb. It was true that he had only known her for one month, but he liked her and wasn't ready to let her go just yet. Not without any explanation. If he could send her a message, and he was near to the ship's comlink, he knew that she would just read it as a cowardly way to break up. It made it worse to know that The Rad One and a few other surfers had their eyes on her.

He positioned himself before a small viewscreen that showed the main passenger seating, and studied the faces of the people that TC had somehow managed to convince to travel with him. He felt for them, partly in mocking and partly in sympathy. Most experienced and highly trained spacefarers became nervous when about to leave the safety of the Earth's atmosphere, but for these people it would be something beyond terror, which was about the worst state to be in for a space flight. Jupe waited for TC to give them a prep-talk, wondering if the presence of his kidnapped son would be mentioned. But when he saw TC rush past him and talk in technical terms with both of the Wilsons, he realised that he was paying the passengers little, if no, attention.

"You're launching without telling the passengers?" Jupe asked him, incredulous.

"They know," TC said with a passing glance. "Would they be here if they didn't? When you get on a spaceship, you'd probably think you might—I don't know—go into space?"

"You don't give them a speech first? You've done this hundreds of times, but it's the first for them. Don't you think you should warn them of what's to come? Isn't that what a captain does?"

TC groaned, looked over Jupe's shoulder at the viewscreen and turned on the microphone switch.

"Listen up, people," TC announced. "We're off now, so if you've forgotten anything, or haven't said farewells to anyone, then tough doughnuts, it's too late for that. The engine's going to get kind of loud, but don't worry about it. It may explode into a fireball size of a mountain, but if it does, don't worry, since there's nothing you can do about it, and you'll be dead before you can process a thought. But it hasn't happened before, so probably won't happen this time either. I've put a few more band-aids over the leaks, so that should get us through."

"That's what you say to them?" Jupe asked, barely able to believe his ears.

"It's a one-way flight," TC said to him as he switched off the microphone, still not really looking at him, "so I guess I don't need to feel concerned if they don't want to fly with me anymore. Or what? Did you want me to make them feel comfortable? Then you can have a go." Then his anger flared at him, out of nowhere. "Nobody ever made me feel comfortable!"

Jupe shook his head as he looked back to the monitor and watched TC walk through to the passenger seating, wondering if he had lost his mind. He turned up the sound volume and was amazed to hear TC being helpful and polite, telling them everything was in order, the ship was in great shape, and they would be leaving as scheduled. He even told then to call him TC.

"Sir, will we get to see any aliens?" Dorrington Calp asked him with pleading eyes.

"You never know," TC said, not wanting to disappoint the boy.

"If we do, will they be scary?"

"Truth is, they should be scared of us, if they have any brains."

"Captain, is there really a chance of meeting alien life?" Taylor-Marie asked, concerned at TC's evasion to her son's question.

"I've been to the outermost reaches," TC said with all seriousness, "and I've yet to meet any aliens. So I have to tell you, the chances are remote, if not zero, of seeing anything at all."

Jupe flicked off the viewscreen with disgust, his head crowded with questions why TC had never been that honest with him. Either in talking to him on his level when he was a boy, or explaining things when he was an adult, he never got a straight answer. Did he have to be a stranger to get a decent conversation? If he was a relative, especially one who had not lived up to expectations, he would get locked in a dark room and told he couldn't see his friends for the next couple of years or so, while TC was being sociable to total strangers.

* * * *

Dawn-Star searched the crowd for the one familiar face that would make her day. All she could see were the usual onlookers who would turn up to see a spacecraft launch into the blue sky and presumably far away to the stars. She was never sure what attracted them to the launch, since she herself never found them interesting. The spectacle of the thunderous engines, the romance of heading into deep space and revealing its mysteries, or even the morbid hope of seeing the ship malfunction, always drew cheers from the crowd, while all she could think of was why anyone wanted to leave natural air, real food, and a gravity field that didn't cause long-term illness.

Her last bit of work for TC was in checking the passengers onto the ship. As with anything involving her help with the mission, that had not gone to plan. Real Munro was without his original signed-on partner K Silversmith, and had a new woman, Chera Flagstown. Such a change would not have been allowed had the flight been official. Since TC was in no mood for such things, and was preoccupied with the launch, he only gave a disinterested and inaudible reply. Dawn knew she had no cause for concern, since she wasn't travelling with them, although she did notice that Real and Chera seemed uncomfortable together.

The others, for that matter, gave no appearance that they were happy, both the Rees and the Morgan family. Their children constantly fought each other, and that was before they even entered the ship. To be shut together with such kids for a long flight would be unbearable for Dawn.

It was a small passenger list, but TC was happy enough with it, and Dawn reasoned that it was because there would be more room on the ship during the long flight. It was not exactly advertised to the passengers, but the ship was not designed for luxury travel, but that was what you get when you want to travel illegally to the most sought-after destination in history.

There were a few people amongst the onlookers that she recognised, and gave them a polite few words in small talk. She walked around the group several times before she resigned herself to the obvious, that her brother was not there. A tear struck her cheek, and it came as a surprise that she felt sad enough for that to happen. She had long prepared herself to see TC leave for space for the final time, so when the day arrived she felt little remorse. But the fact that Jupe had not bothered to even watch the great ship depart, after she had personally asked him, hit her hard, and it took all her strength to retain her composure.

PART TWO

### JOURNEY AND DISCOVERY

The big engines didn't come in until they were free from moon-orbit. When they started, causing a massive shudder to the ship, the Earth tore away from them. In only a matter of forty minutes, they passed Mars and only then did the engines start to warm up. TC laughed like a madman when the readouts showed that everything was good and they had nothing in front of them but open space. He liked to act a little crazy now and then; in part relief at finally being back in space, and partly to shock those travelling with him. But in truth, he was a true professional, and he knew to not begin the ultra-light travel until they were beyond the Earth's solar wall, the boundary between the solar-system and so-called extra-galactic space. Most traffic operated within the solar boundary, and there was a general opinion that beyond there lurked many hidden and deadly things, since not many pilots ever went that far out.

"Told you we'd have her running to your liking," Cuthbert said, although TC ignored him.

"I like the sound I'm hearing," said Thax, referring to the constant low rumble from the engines that could be heard throughout the ship. TC ignored him too.

Their course would take them toward Alpha Centauri and the station there, which was where ninety percent of all extra-system ships headed. Should any official UDE ships come near and query their flight, their story would be that they were headed to T Station and nothing more.

The passengers took two or three days to come to terms with the artificial gravity, and also the fact that the Earth was becoming a small speck behind them. Some people reacted badly to the thought, and no one ever knew how they would react until they were actually in that situation. TC made it a point to visit and chat with them, to see if they were mentally attuned to the flight.

Two women were not part of the passengers, and nor had they been introduced to them. At first Rebbi Rees thought them to be hostesses, and she wasn't happy that Rolondo laughed at her idea. They were not with the passengers, since Rebbi had not seen them in the lounge, or in one of the private rooms. They guessed that the women were with the Wilson brothers, as they both paid little attention to the passengers, and said nothing to them other than daily greetings, and even that seemed forced. After Rebbi politely inquired as to whom they were, it came as a surprise that they were merely the Wilsons' girlfriends. It was a further surprise when she was told that they had no intention of settling on Ancia, but were just there on the ship for the experience of being in space, and looked forward to seeing Earth again.

Jenna Pree was a qualified dentist, and yet she had no established medical practice and preferred to hang out with Cuthbert. Sarra Roachmann was an aspiring folk singer, and had three different types of guitars with her, but she only liked to play them for her boyfriend Thax, due to her shyness. They were both in their early forties, and neither one was very attractive.

"How you travelled much? Made big flights like this?" Rebbi asked them, looking to start a conversation.

"Not to Ancia," said Jenna.

"This is our first," said Sarra. "Our boys didn't want to have a big break from us. Can you blame them?"

Thax seemed to come from nowhere, and he ignored Rebbi as he leaned close to Sarra. "I told you not to mix with them," he whispered, not enough to stop Rebbi overhearing.

"I'll mix with who I want," Sarra responded, pulling away from him.

"It's not what we do," Thax hissed, still trying to be discreet.

"I don't care what you do."

Then TC appeared, and said something to Thax to make him step away. Rebbi took note of not only how secretive they were but also that he must have been monitoring the conversation.

"She's not going to be a problem?" TC asked Thax when they were away from the others. He meant Sarra, but Thax knew he was also talking about Jenna.

"Not worth thinking on," said Thax.

"You know she doesn't like travel. How do you expect her to last this long haul? I'm not running a tourist ship here."

"She's over it; over her problems. Not like last time. She can handle it, I promise she will."

TC wasn't convinced but he did not push his point.

"When's the kid coming out?" Thax asked with enthusiasm, expecting to hear that Jupe will be allowed to mix with the crew, now that they were in flight.

"Why do you care?" came TC's blunt reply. "Are you his father?" He walked to Thax, demanding he answer him. "Are you his father? Are you?"

"TC, ease off..."

"No? Then how about you back off from what's not your business."

TC eyed him, daring him to reply, his face red. Thax raised his hands and nodded, giving an easy smile. He went and found his brother in the engine bay and told him that TC was still drinking, and it might be a problem for the rest of the flight.

* * * *

To celebrate their first week away, TC had everyone gather for a special meal. It was the first real meeting of everyone aboard the ship, except for the son of the captain that the passengers knew nothing about. He told them to not expect such a service every week, but maybe every now and then, when they approached a memorable sight, or actually made it to a year in space without everyone being at each other's throats. But it was only ten weeks to get to T Station.

"You haven't gone to Ancia before?" Rolondo asked Sarra. They were seated next to each other, with Rebbi on his other side, and it had taken a few minutes to break the ice, since it was the first time they had talked. Rebbi listened and brooded when she recognised the flirting tone to his voice, something he just could not help when talking to a woman for the first time.

"We haven't really been anywhere before," Sarra said, not knowing that it was obvious to everyone.

"Not outside the solar system," Jenna added, who was opposite Rolondo at the table.

"Which is nothing compared to getting to T Station," said Sarra.

"Cuthy has," said Jenna. "That's my guy, Cuthy." She pointed to Cuthbert who was helping dish out more food, and looking like he was enjoying it.

"There's no aliens?" asked Chera. She had been sitting with Real at the next table that also seated the Calp family. Real had said nothing to her and just listened to the children bicker. Chera had tried to be polite to him, asking him a few questions, but he could not focus his attention on her.

"There's what?" Sarra asked, not expecting a question to come to her from the other table.

"It's just, I know they say there's no such thing..." Chera fumbled, embarrassed that she had spoken. She glanced at Rolondo but saw that he was not even looking at her, although Rebbi was.

"Plenty of rumours, though," Real said, pretending to be interested and trying to show everyone that he was giving Chera support. He didn't care that she appreciated him doing that.

"Aliens? She's asking about aliens?" Jenna asked with a laugh in her voice.

"One thing that'll make our flight interesting," Sarra said with sarcasm. "May be the only thing."

"If you see any space critters, let us know," said Jenna. "We'll be famous."

"Years of travel," said Sarra. "Going everywhere this side of the galaxy, and they've found nothing."

"Actually, UDE ships have many secret bases," said Real, "and some people think they've got places where alien and humans meet, to negotiate peace terms, so they won't attack the Earth, and keep away from Ancia. They think this has been going on for years. And part of the terms to peace is they keep away from our ships and stations."

"These 'some people,'" Rolondo said with an amused grin, "they include you?"

"No, I don't follow that view," he said with a hint of humiliation. He looked at Chera but she was not interested.

They ate some more, and made polite small talk, and Real said nothing else. No one noticed Morgan change tables, mostly to get away from his children, whose voices were getting louder and louder. Both of the Wilsons left the meal early, and TC had hardly been there at all.

"What do you think of what Real said, Morgan?" Rolondo asked, hoping to get him talking. "Do you think we've secretly made contact?"

"Please," Morgan said, taking up the challenge. "Claims of alien contact, that's all a hoax. First Contact has never been made, by Earth probes, Earth government signalling programmes, UDE explorers, or any private explorers. For all the effort they've put in to finding intelligent life, all that expenditure, they've had not a single trace. That's not particularly good business, to get nothing from all that expenditure."

"It's well known that many things go unreported," Real said with a strange abruptness that caused an awkward silence. He was clearly incensed at his opinion not being given any respect. Chera had to get up and leave.

Rebbi gave Rolondo a worried look. She thought that if the conversation remained at that level for the rest of their flight, Ancia would seem a long way to go. Then she noted that he was more interested in watching Chera leave.

* * * *

At the two-week mark, TC decided that the passengers had been pampered enough and it was time to get them to work. Wanting to retain his image as the good captain, he had Cuthbert and Thax break the news that each passenger was required to clean the ship, with no exceptions. The two brothers carefully took them through the correct cleaning procedures. All of the interior of the ship, including walls and ceilings, and every single object, had to be cleaned every day. It was up to the passengers to decide for themselves who did what. They were told that their health would be badly affected if even the smallest spot was missed. Cuthbert was happy to describe the people he knew who neglected such cleaning on a long haul voyage, and died three days after reaching port. It was a horrible way to go, added Thax, trying to one-up his brother.

"This is unreasonable," Taylor-Marie said to Morgan after the brothers left. She was aghast at the thought. "They want me to clean? How dare they even suggest that. Do they know who we are?"

Morgan saw fit to make his protest to the Wilsons. "You do realise we are paid passengers, not part of the crew?" He addressed them like he was talking to lowly employees.

Both brothers laughed and then ignored him like he wasn't there.

"It kills time," Jenna told Morgan hopefully, trying to appease the situation. "Look at it that way, if it helps. It's good to get regular exercise. That you're not just sitting around doing nothing. The gravity fields are not as harsh on the body if you keep moving around. That's what I heard, anyway."

"The captain needs to be informed," Morgan said, uninterested in her reasoning. He then returned to his family. "Children, listen to me, I have an important announcement. We will not be partaking in any cleaning."

He paused and studied his children, unhappy that he could see only two.

"Where's Dorrington?"

"He's in the works," Maddison said with a vague look at one of the walls.

"What are you talking about?" Morgan asked his daughter.

"In the works," Maddison said like they should have known what she meant. "Inside the walls. He found a loose panel and he climbed in. I told him not to, but he still did. That was a couple of hours ago."

"Taylor..." Morgan asked, wanting a good explanation why one of the children had done something so dangerous.

"He can't be doing that," Taylor-Marie said with indignation. "It'd be filthy in there."

"They do clean inside there," said Westminster. "I saw them.

"Maddison, can you show me where it was he went in?" asked Morgan.

Dorrington came running into their room, and stopped hard on his heels when he saw the whole family looking at him. He knew he was likely to be in trouble, and he stared at the floor.

"Dorrington, where have you been?" his mother demanded.

"It was great," he said, still over-enthused with his adventure. "I found this opening, must have gone half-way down the ship. You need to see it, it's so great in there."

"You cannot go doing that, it's dangerous," said Morgan.

"What's dangerous about it?" the boy asked him innocently.

"It just is," Morgan said with his voice raised. "Don't do it again."

"Of course it's dangerous," Westminster chided his younger brother, "you might get cleaned by one of the Wilsons."

Dorrington laughed, but his brother added, "Mistake you for a bug," and that made them shout and fight each other.

Maddison laughed at them and told Dorrington that he should hit harder. Taylor-Marie tried to stop them but she did not want to get her clothes ripped. Morgan gave up and went to find something to take his mind off his family.

* * * *

Jupe may have been trapped against his will and unable to see any of the passengers, but TC kept him busy with important piloting work. From monitors in his room, he could watch as much as he could, not just the passengers but the outer scopes that checked for all manner of near objects, some harmless but most deadly. Everything they passed needed to be scanned and logged, regardless of the fact that they were millions of kilometres away from the ship.

Due to the illegal nature of their flight, TC was prepared to shut the engines off, and all power use, if another ship came anywhere near them. The further from Earth they went, the more chance they had of being contacted by one of the many UDE military patrols. Illegal flights were not their main target, although they were well known for catching them. UDE's main purpose was in finding alien vessels, and TC laughed at the thought that they were obsessed with the idea. If they had any hint that a ship might not be human, no expense would be spared to catch up to them, for the chance of making the fabled First Contact. If that happened, TC knew that his ship would be bombarded with messages describing Earth, humans, and popular culture. If anything, such a thing would be hilarious to TC, and more than once he had wondered, given that situation, if he should prepare something "alien" to fire back at them; some gibberish or fake pictures, just to get them excited. He might just grab the microphone and broadcast nonsense with a threatening and gravelly voice, demanding a certain flavour of jellybeans, or something.

"When do you introduce me?" Jupe asked him.

"How's that?"

TC had come to check the monitors for himself. Jupe wondered if he doubted his ability, or perhaps if he was trying to sabotage the ship; not that Jupe hadn't contemplated doing that, to alert the UDE patrols to his plight. But he knew that if they were caught then he would be classed as part of the crew, and just as much a criminal as his father. Jupe also wondered, given TC's shameless use of his fame, if he might then convince the patrol that he was the great hero Johnny Beggs and he should go free. He also considered that TC would not care if they then dragged his son away to some remote prison base.

"When do I meet the passengers?" Jupe pressed, seeing TC was in no mood for the conversation; as if he ever was.

"You don't."

"You can't keep me here... "

"That's exactly what I'm going to do. They don't know about you and that's just the way it's going to stay. I can't have you wandering into their cabins, telling them how you were forced to fly."

"I won't—"

"It'll upset them, and I don't want my people upset, no more than is expected. I want them content and purring, and not the slightest bit curious. To see something unexpected, like crew they didn't know about, will make them jittery. I don't like jittery passengers."

"So you're just keeping me on the flight deck?"

"No, you can't see that either now. Just stay here. Keep the room clean. You can contact us through the com if you have to, but try to keep that to a minimum. I've never liked using the coms."

"Why can't I see the flight deck? You said I was going to have access."

"Nothing to see up there, so forget it."

"Isn't that why you forced me along? Teach me about this space travel business? Wasn't that how it went?"

"You know all you need, for your age. Probably too much. You know more than I did at your age. No, it's best you stay here. We can loosen it all up after we get the passengers out. Then you can see the flight deck, and if your mood is better, I'll let you fly for a while. Going home is always more fun."

"Fun? What do you know about fun?"

"I know you don't think much of me. And I know I probably haven't helped much, if you're ever going to change that view. Fact is, what you have, and where you are, millions of people back on Earth would kill for the chance. You're in a spaceship. People only dream about such a thing, to travel out into deep space."

"They dream about it because they don't know the reality of it."

Jenna came looking for TC and was startled when she saw Jupe, and then could not hide her embarrassment. Jupe looked at her and realised that she was uncomfortable with him there.

"Sorry to interrupt," she said.

"Jenna, I was just telling my boy about how well versed he is at this space travel game. If I had his knowledge when I was his age, I can't imagine what I would have done. A ship like the Burning Star? The whole galaxy to fly it in? Back then there was no Ancia, and no hype to rush to colonise it."

"You know he's keeping me prisoner here?" Jupe said to her, more to get a reaction from TC.

"We are all a prisoner to space," TC said with an odd haunting tone, "that vast empty void, cold that kills, heat that kills. Everything in space kills." Then he rocked out a loud laugh. "And humans are the worst. Any aliens out there, they should run if they see us coming."

"We've broken the bad news about the cleaning," Jenna reported, having heard enough of TC's rants. She knew that next he would go from mocking UDE's alien search to despising Baxter Gammond. It would leave him bitter and angry. TC could be very predictable.

"It's cleaning time," he said, delighted at the news. "And they took that how?"

"As you'd expect."

"Who took it worst?"

"Morgan Calp."

"Yeah, as I expected. I made no mention before we left. But now, what's he going to do? If he doesn't do the work, the others will turn on him. But if he does, he feels bad. Probably start to hand out money for others to do his work, and that's when I'll give him a big shout. They're all equal on my ship. All lowly cabin-hands. Jupe, see what you're missing? Rich man's whining. Rich man not getting his way. So sad for the rich man."

"You know I don't know who Morgan Calp is," Jupe said, agitated that he was powerless to help the passengers, when someone like Jenna was allowed to mix with them. Jupe had little time for Jenna, since he knew that she was one of Cuthbert's girlfriends, and everyone knew he usually became bored with his women. Jupe would quickly tell the passengers that TC was having fun with them, and he would do it just to annoy TC.

"Unfortunately, I know all about him," said TC.

"You're doing the cleaning joke?" Jupe asked him. "Why're you playing with them?"

"Standard fare for passengers on long haul voyages. Give them something to do, make them feel useful. Nothing worse than having bored people in your way. They end up causing nothing but trouble. If there's anything you can't have aboard a long-haul flight, it's people getting their noses into what they shouldn't."

"Even the kids?"

"Brushes and all. Hard to keep a straight face. That's why I get the Wilsons to do it. I swear, if I looked them in the eye and saw their horror, I wouldn't be able to hold back, and laugh right in their faces."

TC saw that Jupe was not amused, and he was disappointed with him. He had planned to encourage him on his good work, but instead he left without another word, thinking that he might just leave him in there for the entire voyage.

* * * *

TC was in his pilot seat, with every monitor switched to something different. He wanted to give the impression that he was very busy, and this meeting was a sign of his openness and generosity. If anything did come up of the screens, of an object that might collide with the ship, the warning alarm would sound, and that would be sure to scare anyone. Regardless of how much danger they were in, they would still have at least ten hours to react, since they were so far away from anything at all, and the ship's scopes were so good at tracking such things.

"Yes, captain, I have a complaint," Morgan said, a little overwhelmed at the sight of the bridge, with all its lights flashing. He never felt at ease in foreign environments anyway. "It appears your crew have requested the passengers clean the ship, myself and my family included. Since nothing was said of this pre-flight, I find it most irregular and absurd. What do you have to say about that?"

"Complaint?" TC asked with a startled look. He then acted as polite as he could without laughing. "You want to lodge a complaint? Would that be a formal complaint?"

"If that is what it takes."

"Then a formal complaint shall be lodged."

"Thank you for that." Morgan waited for something else from TC, and then realised that he should leave.

"But I hope you do realise the importance of keeping a clean ship," TC said when Morgan was almost through the door. He bit his tongue to keep back a smile.

"I am sure the reasons are valid."

"Bacteria grows so much faster out here in the deep. It is a common problem."

"This is the thing. We are not arguing against the validity of ship cleanliness."

"Then what are you up here asking me?"

"It is that since we are paying passengers..."

"I see..."

"And not part of the crew..."

"I understand that. You know I do. But you do realise, doing the cleaning work, not only stops us being overrun with bugs, it also is a very good way to pass the time."

"Pass the time? You are not serious?"

"You think I'm not serious? Do you not see all these controls behind me? Do you know what any of them do? Would you like to sit here and have a go? If you think I might be incapable of flying this ship, then perhaps I should be relieved of my duty? Or, perhaps I might know a little more than you about how to run a ship in the deep? How about you return to the passenger area and do as you have been asked, and I'll stay here and get us safely to our destination?"

Morgan saw that he was in no position to argue. TC let him leave, and as soon as he did TC shut off all the unnecessary monitors and rushed to the Wilsons' room, where they had been playing cards. Raucous laughed followed as TC recounted the conversation. But even then, he still didn't spend much time with them.

* * * *

Some parts were small and a struggle to fit through, but that made Dorrington all the more determined. He was small for his age, but stronger than usual, and he looked to every problem like it was a challenge that he must conquer. Anything that caused him to be told off by his parents, only increased his determination. When he found that he could fit inside the walls of the ship, it was his ambition to go as far as he could, exploring every bit of it. He paid no thought to the fact that some walls were close to the outer hull, and if there was a slight breach he could die. Such thoughts belonged to negative people like his brother and sister, and his parents. He was always the only one who saw the adventure in day-to-day life, and it was no different when being on board the Burning Star.

When he was first told that they were going to Ancia, he jumped and hooted, and yelled and screamed, and told everyone he knew, and Westminster hit him for it. His father then instructed him to keep the plan quiet, as it needed to be a secret. Their attitude made him cry. It was his sister Maddison who helped him by showing him videos of the planet they would soon call their home. He wanted to climb every tree he saw, and swim in all the rivers and lakes, and run through the grassy fields. No one, he was certain, would tell him he couldn't. Not on the new world. There were no Earth laws on the new world.

The tangle of wires could sometimes became like a net around him, or vines in a jungle, and that was how he imagined it. A few times he thought he was caught for good, and he might need to yell out for help, but he just calmed down and waited until he figured out the best way out. He would amaze himself each time he succeeded, and that gave him more confidence. It was like he was moving through the innards of a living creature, discovering how the ship worked by getting closer to it than anyone else could. He also imagined himself fixing the ship, and that he was a vital member of the crew.

When the passengers were told to clean and keep away the bugs, Dorrington wanted to show that he was the best, and go into the ship's inner workings to get them. He took with him a can of Terro bug repellent, but the tangle of crawling through wires caused him to lose it. No matter, he thought to himself, I'll just squish bugs with my feet.

This time he had gone further, and he no idea where he was. His foot hit a loose panel, and seeing light underneath, he decided to see what the room was. Then someone ripped the panel off, and Dorrington had to grip at a bunch of wires to stop himself from falling into the room.

"Where did you come from?" Jupe asked him, holding the panel. He was more shocked than angry.

"Are you a passenger?" the boy asked, trying to understand who this person was.

"I'm one of the crew. I'm Jupe."

"Dorrington Calp."

"Hello, Dorrington. Nice name."

"How come I haven't seen you?"

"You wouldn't have seen me. I'm restricted from the passengers."

"Why? Do you have a disease or something?"

"It's a long story, but no, it's not a matter of disease. Are you with Morgan Calp?" Jupe knew that Morgan had children with him, but they all looked the same to him.

"My father."

Jupe dropped the panel and helped Dorrington down into the room. The boy looked at him with a big satisfied grin, like he had achieved the impossible.

"You were not meant to be up in there, were you. I didn't know anyone could actually get in there. I can't believe you did that. I'm not sure TC'd think much of that. How far have you crawled?"

"You think I would have done that, and be here now, if they told me to do it?"

Jupe looked at him for a moment and then nodded his approval.

"I have to go back," Dorrington said as he began to climb up into the hole. "They might be missing me. But I'll be back to see you again, okay?"

"Bring some food next time, would you?" Jupe asked, not entirely kidding.

Dorrington looked back and said he would, and was sad at the thought of Jupe not having food.

"You know, you're braver than me," Jupe said seriously. "I didn't want to go on this flight, but here you are, a boy, not scared of leaving everything behind and going off into the unknown."

"It wasn't my idea," he replied, and then gave a frightened look, like Jupe's words struck him, before disappearing back the way he had come.

Jupe laughed to himself and thought that he never tried getting behind the walls when he was the boy's age. He looked at the walls and wondered if it was because he didn't know it was all open inside there, or if he was not that brave.

"What are you doing, Jupe?" he asked himself. "That kid is braver than you ever were, and all you're doing is sitting around moping, feeling sorry for yourself?"

At that moment he decided that he needed to treat his circumstances as both a learning opportunity and the adventure that it surely was. No matter what his father thought.

* * * *

As the youngest of the family, Dorrington was never taken seriously, like he was still the baby and always will be. He was determined to show everyone how far he was prepared to go to make them see him as an adult. His discovery of Jupe made him convinced that he would be seen for whom he was, possibly the most important member of the family. He rushed back the way he had come, this time marvelling at how fast he made it through the cramped and dark places.

After checking that no one was there, he crawled out from the wall next to his bunk and replaced the panel. He then ran to find his parents. They were not far, cleaning the secondary showers and arguing about it.

"There is a man with his own room," he blurted to them. "Trapped in there. Not a passenger. I talked to him. He's real nice."

"Who's trapped?" Morgan asked remotely as he mopped the floor near the door. He was not sure of the exact right way to use the mop, and felt stupid for it.

"A man in a room, all secret."

"What man? Where was this?"

"His name was Jupe."

"Was it one of the Wilsons?" Taylor-Marie asked as she removed her gloves and put them on the floor, like the conversation required her to stop her work.

"No, it's one we haven't seen," said Dorrington.

"Have you been going into the walls again?" Morgan asked, now realising that his son had been up to mischief.

"It was a different person, a man they hiding from us," said Dorrington. "He has his own room."

"Is this the truth, Dorrington?" asked Taylor-Marie.

"I saw him," he said, becoming impatient with them.

"That makes me nervous, Morgan," Taylor-Marie said as she put her arms around Dorrington, "and you know I hate to get nervous. They shouldn't have people we haven't met. We should know who is aboard and who is not."

"Dorrington, answer me now," said Morgan. "Did you go back into the ship's walls? And did you find a room we don't know about? And this room has a man we have not yet seen? Is that what you are telling us?"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes and yes," the boy said.

Morgan leaned on his mop and nodded, agreeing with her and trying to not show his fear in front of his youngest son.

* * * *

TC's mood had changed since he last agreed to see Morgan. This time he did not bother to pretend that he was watching the ship's monitors. What Morgan thought now, he didn't care. Since laughing with the Wilsons, the pain of realisation about the flight hit home. He went back to his cabin and started a new bottle of vodka. Every now and then he cursed Gammond for finding Ancia and causing him to be relegated to flights such as this one. Suffering people like Morgan Calp. He despised such people, who thought themselves privileged because they had money. The fact that such people had helped him begin his space career, he did not care to remember. All that he cared about was that they were in space and he was the captain. It was his ship, and his decision where they would go and what they would do. If one of the passengers wanted to constantly complain, the voyage would become all the longer. To TC, the passengers were just freight; all high-maintenance and fragile, but still freight and nothing more.

"I can't believe you have not been truthful with us," Morgan started, not noticing TC's glare. "You're taking us all the way out here, deep space, and you are not telling us everything about your ship. I want answers. I want to know the full story."

"What are you talking about?" TC asked, agitated, his drunken state not really noticeable aside from his on-edge temper. "What haven't I told you?"

"There is other crew."

"I don't know what you're talking about." He slurred slightly but Morgan missed it.

"I know there's other crew. Show him to me."

"Or what?"

"What?"

"Show him or what will you do?"

"So you admit there is other crew?"

TC shook his head and wondered why he was being forced into this conversation.

"Have you been drinking?"

"Got to drink to survive. And eat." TC then sniggered at his own joke.

"I will go and tell the others," Morgan said, meaning both news of the extra crew, and TC's state.

"Tell them what, that you're crazy? That you're seeing crew who aren't there? You'll be at your Ancia soon enough, sooner than you think, and then you can leave me and my crew—real or imagined, in peace."

Morgan saw that TC wasn't going to admit to it, so he played the trump card he had been withholding. "His name's Jupe."

TC looked him in the eye without a word and without moving. It was like he suddenly sobered up.

"Want me to go on?" Morgan asked, pretending he knew more about this Jupe.

"What of it?"

"Can we start with who he is?"

"My son. My no-good, spoilt, son, is who he is. There you have it, and it's not any of your business. I'm teaching him the space biz. And if there is one thing that's true here, is that he does not need interference from spying passengers. I'm teaching him the real thing, how to survive deep-space flight by the seat of your pants, and how to ignore computers when you know they're wrong, or give them a kick to make them right. That's what I'm doing. That's what gets me through this long flight. Not in hosting whining lumps of freight like you."

"I'm sorry, 'freight'?"

"That's right."

"Is that all you think of us?"

"Is there anything else to think?"

"This is coming from the great Johnny Beggs? Space pilot extraordinaire? Just not to his own paying customers. What is it, because we've passed the point of no-turning-back, you think you can talk this way to me?"

"Something like that. But that's all you are to me. Cargo. And you can tell the others all you like about Jupe, doesn't matter, he's not meeting any of you. And believe me, since I'm the captain and probably the only one capable of flying us anywhere at all, I think I have the final say. So, go back and tell them all you want, isn't going to change a thing."

"You make us sound like prisoners."

TC managed a sly grin. "You're not far wrong."

"You will not get away with this attitude."

"Who are you going to tell?" TC asked with a laugh.

Morgan turned to leave, knowing exactly who he would tell.

* * * *

Deep in the back of the main hold, behind Morgan's own crates, was a secluded space only big enough for him to stoop down with his palm-sized message machine. When he turned it on he wasn't expecting to receive an incoming transmission, but he knew he should at least accept it before sending his own. It had been nearly a month since leaving Earth, and Lars sounded angry. Morgan had used most of his first message complaining about the unknown factors of what awaited them at Ancia. He hoped that Lars might have contacts there to help them. Morgan gave him a list of things he expected to have when they arrived.

"Don't tell me about Ancia, I don't care about that," Lars shouted, loud enough to cause distortion to the audio. "Why are you wasting my time telling me about that? Just listen to yourself, why don't you? Don't you people have anything better to do than sit around arguing about what part of Ancia is the nicest? Ancia's just a dream! Do I look like I'm interested in the place? If I was interested, I'd go there myself! Listen, Morgan, tell me what I want to hear, or this is one big waste of time. Don't you know time is money? You probably didn't even know that back when you were actually making money. Tell me about the state of the ship, and if that captain of yours is acting the part, or has sold his soul to booze again. I know those no-good Wilsons can't be trusted, but they're the best we have for this job. Make sure they're sober too, and not talking trash. Anything else, I don't care about. Got it?"

Morgan contemplated the message and felt less inclined to record his reply. He had no idea why Lars would talk about Ancia as being a dream. There was another factor in Morgan's decision to not send a reply, and that was something that had occurred to him during his meeting with TC, that they had passed the point of no return. It felt like Lars Best now had no effect on him, like he was too far away to be bothered with. He switched the message machine off, and left it on the floor. Perhaps he would come back to it at a later time, if he felt like saying anything, or perhaps he would just leave it there.

It took him two days before he realised that annoying Lars Best was a very bad idea, no matter where he went to in the galaxy.

* * * *

Sarra Roachmann was the first of all the souls aboard ship to become bored with space flight. As with the others, the notion of travelling out into deep space, with all its wonder and all its mystery, was initially cause for great excitement. But now she saw that one star was not entirely different from any other star. Unless they were going to stop by and take a good look at some gas giant, or unique moon, which TC had no interest in doing. She refused to even look at whatever it was they drew near to. It did not help that Thax spent most of his time playing cards with Cuthbert. He seemed to think that Jenna was there if she wanted someone to talk to, and if she was really desperate, there were the passengers.

"Where have you been?" she asked Thax, seeing him return to their cabin for the first time in about four hours.

"I have my ship duties," he said with a shrug.

"You've been playing cards."

"What if I have?"

"I need time with you. There's nothing else to do."

"You've got Jenna to talk to."

"I didn't come on this flight to talk to Jenna."

"You don't get along anymore? Weren't you two friends? You were roommates back on Earth. What's changed?"

"I feel like you're ignoring me. I saw you more when we were back on Earth."

"I don't have time for this," Thax said, knowing he was not going to come out of this conversation anything like the winner.

"Don't have time? Is that what I'm hearing? All you've got out here is time. Have you forgotten where we are, in deep space, millions and billions of kilometres from anywhere?"

"Yeah, I played cards. That's what I do when I'm making sure the ship's not going to explode. And I'll be playing a lot more if you keep talking that way."

"Is that right?"

"That is the facts."

"Then you can forget about coming back here when you've finally grown tired of your little card games, with pirate-boy."

"Grown tired of my what? This means what?"

"Means I'm kicking you out."

"You can't do that."

"Think I can't, do you?"

"Babydoll, we're in deep-space."

"Don't you 'Babydoll' or 'deep-space' me."

Thax watched in stunned silence as she shut and locked the door, leaving him out in the corridor. He thought about pointing out that now she really was all on her own, and if she was planning to ignore him for the rest of the flight, then she would really know what loneliness was. He shrugged, thinking she would eventually change her mind. He went to find his brother, wondering if it was true that he really was tired of her.

Cuthbert was beginning his rounds of inspection. They liked to take turns, mostly so they wouldn't have to look at each other for more than they had to. When Cuthbert saw his brother joining him, he didn't ask why, knowing there must be a good reason. It was part of their work to regularly inspect the crates in the hold, and although they went down there every day, they would do little more than walk through making cursory glances. TC expected more from them, but since he never checked, they figured that it would all be fine.

"What's your problem?" Cuthbert finally asked when he noticed his brother wasn't being very chatty.

"Sarra," Thax said as he gently punched at a wall of one of the stacked crates. "I think she doesn't want me around."

"They all get like that."

"She doesn't. Not before now. I even called her 'Babydoll' and she didn't like it."

"Not a good sign. But they all get like that, one time or another. You can't just wait out the flight to see if she's serious or not. What you need, is a new one. Leave her at T Station and let her hook up with some other ship fixer, find her own way home."

Both brothers laughed over that.

"I thought she'd be trouble," said Cuthbert. "Didn't I say she was trouble? I saw in her eyes, she'd get bored on a long-haul. First thing I asked Jenna, how would you survive on such a flight?"

"She's kicked me out. Of my own cabin."

"Where are you going to go? Not mine?"

"There's the passenger quarters."

"Are you serious? Look, here's something to take your mind off. See this?"

Cuthbert put his hand into a small opening in a crate and slapped a freezing unit. Most of the crates had at least one panel removed, since Cuthbert had spent his free time investigating what was stored in them. This one contained something he was anxious to tell Thax about.

"You want me to sleep out the rest of the flight in one of those? Wouldn't put a dead dog in there."

"Just read who owns it."

"That's that weird guy Real's freezer," Thax said, reading the side.

"I've seen this type before, and it's about the best you can get. It's totally brand-spanking new. Must be worth a bundle. But you know what? I was trying to figure out what felt wrong about it. And I realised, the thing is working. It's on and running. He's packed it in here with all the switches on."

"Must be keeping something in there. Why else waste the power?"

Cuthbert knew from the look in Thax's eyes that it was only a matter of how fast they can rip into the crate and find the main door. They did so like it was a race. They found that the large front window was covered in condensation. Thax wiped it away so they could peer inside. It came as a nasty shock to them, both at the same time, to see the face of a woman. Blond and attractive, and lifeless without seeming to be dead. They both staggered back. They had heard of people trying to survive in such machines, but never had they seen one.

"There you go, you can have this one," Cuthbert said as he pointed at her, trying to find humour to negate their horror.

Thax didn't register his brother's joke as he studied the captive woman. He was wondering how they were going to tell TC. Since they were responsible for the cargo, to have something like this slip through, Thax knew that TC would put all the blame on them. Unless they could get Real to own up to his deception. Either way, they would be the ones who would need to tell TC, and hear his loud response.

"What kind of a man does this to a woman?" asked Thax.

"She's a prize of the deep," Cuthbert joked. "Like a mermaid, of the stars."

"She must be worth it to him, to do this."

"How do you know she's not like Sarra, and this was the only way to shut her up?"

Thax looked at his brother for a few moments of silence, and then belted out a big laugh. "Perhaps he was trying to get out of paying her ticket."

"Or maybe she came with the machine?"

"Or she snuck in there when he wasn't looking."

They continued to try to find humour in the situation, as a way of delaying telling TC.

* * * *

Morgan Calp waited for the Wilsons to make their way out of the hold. He had been hiding in his usual place with his unused message machine, unable to hear them even when they started shouting at each other. He suspected that they had found something they didn't like about one of the crates. Whatever it was, he would find out later and save it for another message. He waited longer, until he was sure that they weren't still there, and then turned to the small message machine. Concentrating on what he wanted to say, he remembered the anger he felt when he heard Lars' last message, and his tone was direct.

"Morgan here. In response to your last message, from what I have seen of TC, he does not appear to have taken to alcohol, and seems in a good state of health. There is nothing wrong with the ship, from what I can tell, but then, I am no ship technician. Whether or not you want to know this, I don't know, but there is an extra crew member, one Jupe Beggs. That's TC's son. Our good captain never took the opportunity to introduce him to the passengers. I don't like anything about it, and it may be a sign that he's hiding something else from us."

He hit the pause button and contemplated not continuing in his boldness and saying what he had planned. He then told himself to take heart from the fact that he was so far away from Earth, and Lars' anger would probably be more directed at TC.

"As for discussion about Ancia, what else do you think we're going to be talking about? Is there something I don't know? Why did you say it was a dream? What did you mean by that? I want answers, Lars. If you want to know any more about this flight, you'll tell me."

He sent the message and then wished he didn't.

Curiosity forced him to see what the Wilsons were shouting about. There was an opening to one of the crates. Just before Morgan could look inside, he heard footsteps and talking. He dashed behind the crate as TC arrived with the Wilsons. The brothers were trying to out-do each other in talking, and Morgan found it impossible to tell what they were saying.

TC remained quiet for a few moments. "This is Real Munro's? You're sure?"

"That's his name there," said Thax.

"Patch up the hole here, and bring him to the flight deck. Don't make the others think anything's up."

Morgan waited until they fixed the crate and then left. He wondered why TC had sounded calm and thoughtful, while the two brothers were worried and talkative.

* * * *

Thax and Cuthbert were careful to not let the other passengers notice their anger as they asked Real to go with them to see the captain. Real must have sensed that something was not right, as he avoided them for a good half-hour. He first told them that he needed a bathroom break, but they gave him only five minutes before banging on the door. Then he gave them the slip by taking a different corridor to the flight deck, and went instead to the kitchen area. When they finally found him he claimed that he was hungry. Thax gave him a quick punch and Cuthbert took him roughly by the arm and walked him down the corridor to the flight deck.

"You can't go putting people in freezer units, on my ship!" TC shouted at him when he saw him. He was more upset at the idea that Real had been deceptive and lied to him. The more he thought about it the more livid he became. Neither of the Wilson brothers had ever seen him so angry, and it surprised them, since he had been calm in the hold.

"Trying to get a free ride?" Cuthbert added.

"She's already paid for," Real said, prepared for such a confrontation, although their reaction was worse than he expected. "I've done nothing wrong, you can check your records."

"No she's not," said Thax. "You are with that other woman, what was her name?"

"Chera."

"You're with Chera."

"She didn't want to come."

"How's that? She what?"

"Yeah, that's the truth, all right? My girl, her name's K, she changed her mind, but it was too late. We'd booked passage, sold all our stuff, and without warning, she tells me she has other plans. I felt stabbed in the back. I've put years into this, and she was trying to wreck it."

"So you popped her in the deep freeze?" asked TC.

"You know how it is. First they want to come, then they don't. They're impossible to live with."

"I'm with that," Thax said, earning a glance from TC.

"What was I supposed to do?" Real continued, more to Thax, since he seemed to be agreeing. "I couldn't leave without her."

"You are aware she could have died," Cuthbert pointed out, "and may still die, when you try to thaw her out? It's not meant for human life, being in one of those things."

"If it came to that, she'd still be with me."

"Can't argue with that," Cuthbert said, amused at Real's callous logic and groundless defiance.

"You're just going to have to thaw her right now," said TC.

"I can't do that."

"You're going to do that."

"No, I can't."

"If you haven't noticed, I'm the captain here. If you see another ship out here, you can get on that and see if you'll get your own way. For now, what I say goes."

"It's not a matter of thawing her out. I need to set up my power generators first, and get a habitat set up. She can't go from the freezer to the ship in one jump. That would certainly kill her."

Real saw in TC's eyes that he believed him, and with that he realised that this man knew little about freezer technology. He wondered how many other things he was ignorant of. In that small fraction of time, Real felt superior to not only TC but everyone else on the ship.

"What did you say her name was?" asked TC.

"K Silversmith. Spelt with a K, her first name."

"How else would you spell it?" asked Thax.

"No, I mean, it's only spelt with a K. Just the letter, that's her name."

"I don't know if anything you say is true," said TC. "A single letter is her name? No one has that."

"I wouldn't make that up. Her brother is X, although he changed it to Teddo, and her sister is J."

"Listen to me, little man," TC said as he pointed at him and walked toward him, "she will be thawed when we get to the T, and if she's not healthy and well, and able to do cartwheels, I'm taking it out on you, you understand?"

"The T?" Real asked, backing away, fearing being hit.

"Another single-letter name," said Thax.

"But if we stop off there," said Real, "she might not want to carry on to Ancia. She might want to go back to Earth."

"Or she might have changed her mind about you, since you treated her so well," TC said sarcastically. "You're dismissed, and I don't want to hear a peep from you the rest of the flight."

They watched Real turn and leave.

"You've got to admire his pluck," said Cuthbert. "Wouldn't think he had it in him, looking at him. But I guess you can't really tell someone until you pin them down. A hearty soul, that laddie."

"Then, what's his story? He has two women?" Thax asked, his mind reeling with the stupidity of such an idea.

"What's with this guy?" TC agreed. "He wants two? A man can spend his whole life just trying to get away from the one."

They laughed and knew it would be a good story to share with their friends at T Station.

"This girl, this K," asked Cuthbert, "we're letting her leave us at T Station?"

TC glared at him. "Don't touch her. You hear me? She leaves at the T, and that's all I'm going to hear about it."

* * * *

As he returned to his cabin, Real's head was dizzy with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. How dare they pry into his business. He knew that K was perfectly safe, and by making a big deal out of it they had only opened up the chance for more problems. When Real planned to have K literally shipped to Ancia with him, he knew that he was taking a big risk, particularly what her reaction would be when he took her out of her prison. His hope was that she would be taken at how beautiful Ancia was, and with the fact that they were so far away and no ships returned to Earth, she would accept her new life. Then Rolondo Rees had to come along and complicate the plan, by wanting his girlfriend to pretend to be Real's, and yet the two could not hold a two minute conversation with each other. Real knew that complications only increased the chances of problems arising, and he kicked himself that this was what was happening now.

He had not asked Rolondo the reason why he needed to take two women on such a trip. The fact that he was being secretive about it indicated that Rebbi knew nothing about it. Real began to wonder if Rolondo was going to wait until they arrived at Ancia before he cheated on Rebbi, or if he was actually cheating on her on the ship. He wondered if Chera would tell Rolondo whenever Real left their quarters, and sneak him in there. As he stormed back to his room, he wondered if they were in there right now, and laughing at him, and his frozen girlfriend.

Only Chera was there, but that did nothing for Real's mood. Why couldn't K have just agreed to the whole Ancia thing, and they would have all been happy? He would never have seen this Chera woman, unless Rolondo had cooked up some other deal with one of the other passengers, or crew.

"Hi, doll," Chera greeted Real as soon as she noticed his return.

Real hated her calling him that, even if it was just for show. No one had ever called him that, and her doing it only emphasised how different they were.

"Don't call me that," he yelled. "In fact, why don't you just get out."

"What did I do?"

"Just get out. I don't want you here."

"You do what?"

"Leave me!"

Chera was stunned and tears blurred her vision as she gathered a few clothes and stepped out to the corridor, to the sound of the door quickly locked behind her.

* * * *

Rolondo and Rebbi were cleaning their quarters, following the instructions given to them by the Wilsons. They had agreed to be vigilant about their cleaning requirements, in the hope that TC will treat them better, and perhaps help to find good land for them on Ancia. Rebbi found herself enjoying the voyage, even if Rolondo seemed a little remote, and was keen to spend time by himself down in the cargo area. All of the things she had feared about the voyage had proven false. Her biggest fear was in getting a life-threatening illness that was beyond the ship's ability to help her. There was also the possibility that she might be afflicted with the sheer terror that could strike some people when they realise that they have left their home planet.

Chera appeared in their doorway and started talking before either of them knew that she was there.

"You'll have to tell her, Ro," Chera announced, shaking his head at him. "Tell her now. Come on, Ro. Be with me on this one. It's gone as long as it could."

"What's wrong?" Rebbi asked her, horrified. "Did you do something to her, Ro?"

"I have no idea..." he started.

"Real kicked me out," Chera said to him. "That's right, Real, went and kicked me out!"

"I'm sorry," Rebbi tried, not yet wondering why Chera was ignoring her.

"Don't be!" Chera snapped at her. "Real made a deal with Ro. I'm with him, and you're just baggage."

Still unsure what was going on, Rebbi asked what she meant, but Chera answered by grabbing her hair. The two women then started screaming and pushing each other. Rolondo yelled at them to stop, but was helpless as they started backing into the mops and squeegees. Then Chera gave Rebbi a good hard slap across the face. That stunned her and made her look at Rolondo for help. With horror she saw that none was coming. He was too busy not knowing what to do, and which one to side with. Rebbi ran from the room, her hands covering her face, not wanting anyone to see her tears and red cheeks.

"And where were you?" Chera challenged him.

"I'm always here for you, babe," he said, still in shock and not knowing how to fix the mess.

"When Rebbi went for me like that you were nowhere. That girl's dangerous. You act like that, I'm starting to wonder, who you really want here. And who you don't. I'm not to be messed with. Is that what you think? That you can mess with me? No more, no more."

He started for the door, wanting to help Rebbi, but then he hesitated.

"Let her go," said Chera. "Her turn to live with Real."

* * * *

Of course, Jupe's restriction to only his small quarters and the crew's lounge made him feel a prisoner, but the more he watched the antics of the passengers, the more he came to see them as prisoners too. At least, he laughed to himself, he didn't pay for the pleasure. He could see the conflict between Chera and Rebbi coming, even though he did not know why Real had suddenly turned nasty. That had something to do with Real's visit to the flight deck, one of the few restrictions to his viewing. That and the rooms where the Wilsons lived.

He chose to believe TC's claim that he'll be let out and given access to the entire ship when they reached T Station, and he focused on that as he counted down the days. But he also knew that there was a chance that the story wasn't true, and perhaps TC was planning to take him all the way to Ancia. He noticed that the Wilsons were careful to not say anything about him when they knew he could be watching. Should that happen, and he would have to go all the way to Ancia, Jupe told himself to roll with the punches, and humour the old man before he could figure out the best and fastest way to get back to Earth.

The main monitor flashed and changed, as it did when someone was moving to a new room. Jupe saw that TC was walking down a corridor, and he tried to remember where on the ship his father was going. TC then turned and looked up at the camera, looking directly at Jupe, before he knocked on his door with loud pounds. With that Jupe realised that he was outside his room, and he felt stupid for not realising.

"Come on out, why don't you?" TC called. He had a bitter edge to his voice. "Time to meet people. They've been dying to see you."

"Are you kidding?" Jupe spoke into the monitor's microphone. "You'll let me out? What do I tell the passengers? They'll think I'm a stowaway or something."

"Not them, just the brothers. I've had enough of their faces. I need someone new to look at. You have no reason to see any passengers. Just forget about any passengers, they're not worth worrying about. They are like freight, and that's how we treat them. Believe me, some things about them, you don't want to know."

Jupe switched the monitor back to the passenger lounge, thinking that he would much rather mingle with them. The one he did know, the boy Dorrington, seemed normal enough, and perhaps the rest of his family was too. There was no way he would let TC know that he had met the boy. As he waited for TC to open the door, he told himself to remain calm and remember that this nightmare would soon be over and he would not have to go near any of them again.

His father seemed pleased to see him, and Jupe didn't know what to do. "They're starting to get to me," TC said with a low voice. Then he brightened up and asked, "Want to see the flight deck?"

* * * *

The first chance Jenna had, she told the others about K, not caring that Cuthbert told her not to. Cuthbert was always telling her what he thought she could and couldn't do, and she hated it. Most things she shared with Sarra, but the news of a frozen woman on the ship was too big to keep to the two of them.

Chera was as surprised as anyone, since Real had not seemed like the type who would want two women, and she was quick to say that. To her relief, they believed that she had nothing to do with it.

At first, Rebbi was horrified when she heard that Real had a woman stored in deep sleep. But as the others began to laugh about it, she too saw it as funny, more for that fact that she just didn't like Real at all. The first few weeks in his company she was polite and apologetic to his moods and lack of communication. After a while she realised that the man was not someone that she ever wanted to see after the voyage was over. Now that she was upset with Rolondo, she was beginning to view him the same as Real. Except that she was married to Rolondo.

When Chera had burst into their room and said what she did, it was like she was bursting into Rebbi's soul. The shock of realising that Rolondo had his girlfriend on board the ship, right under her nose, made her feel humiliated. The more she thought about it, the more she kicked herself that she should have realised what was going on. Chera was exactly Rolondo's type, too, and a lot like herself. But there was more to it than that. In the time aboard the ship the two women had become friends, since they shared a lot of the same interests. And the entire time they had talked together, Rolondo had never said a word to her besides polite answers and greetings. When he did that, Rebbi had thought he was trying to show her that he was changing for the better, as a good husband and gentleman. Now she saw it as something else, that he was hiding something. He was deliberately not talking to Chera in front of Rebbi. Then there were the odd glances she had noticed between Rolondo and Real, which she now saw as the sign of a deal between them. Chera was Rolondo's girlfriend, not Real's, and Real had his real girlfriend sleeping in the cargo area. Or, as Jenna pointed out, dying in the cargo area.

When Rebbi saw Chera talking with Sarra, the thought came to her that she was just as much a victim, being used by Rolondo as much as Real used her girlfriend. She searched herself, wondering if she really wanted to believe that, or if she was still in shock. She decided that Chera probably didn't know Rolondo as well as she did, and that would mean that she was certainly a victim.

"What, you want some more?" Chera asked Rebbi when she saw her looking, ready to resume their fight.

"I want to apologise," she said softly.

"For what? Being on the ship, or being alive?"

"Let her speak," said Sarra.

"I should have known he's no good," said Rebbi. "He's done this before."

"He's done what before?" asked Chera, still agitated with her and ready to give her some heavy slaps.

"Cheated," said Rebbi.

"You're saying that?"

"It's true."

Chera looked at Rebbi for a moment and then burst into tears.

"What is it, girl?" Sarra asked as she tried to comfort her.

"He told me he had left you," Chera confessed to Rebbi. "Before the flight, he came to my house, he said you didn't want to go to Ancia. He promised me he'd take me there instead. And then he changed his mind, and said you were going. I was so upset, but when he told me to pretend to be with Real..."

"It's not your fault," said Sarra.

"Who's fault is it if not ours?" Rebbi asked them. "We were the ones who let him talk us into this thing. It was all his idea. Ancia is his dream, not mine."

"Go ahead and let him go to Ancia," said Sarra.

"We're all going to Ancia, Sarra," said Chera.

"We're not; me and Jenna," said Sarra. "Soon as we get to T Station, we're off this old ship, and catching the first shuttle back to Earth. If we ever see those Wilsons again, it'll be too soon. I suggest you two skip this thing and go back with us. Leave Rolondo to go to Ancia by himself. How just would that be?"

"He can start his farm with Real and his frozen girlfriend," Chera joked, and she giggled at that, helping to stop her crying.

"They'll probably be shot to pieces as soon as they get there," said Sarra.

"He really told you we were over, Chera?" asked Rebbi.

"You and him were through; that's his words to me. You know, he says that every time. Every time."

"Why would we ever trust them? Did we think they'd treat us different out here?"

Sarra laughed at that. "Yeah, I think we did think that. They would change and treat us with respect."

"We're really going to T Station?" asked Rebbi.

"It's all they talk about up on the flight deck," said Sarra.

"It's not a one-way flight to Ancia?" asked Rebbi. "I didn't know there was a stopover. You'd think they'd tell us?"

"Whatever they do," said Sarra, "it's a one-way flight for us, back home. What do you think, Chera?"

"Soon as I'm away from him, the better," Chera said, and then looked at Rebbi like she was a sister. "Sorry I hit you."

"I would have hit you too, girl, had I been in your position."

"You did. Hurt my hair."

Rebbi then felt remorse at the situation, not for Chera and her hair, but for herself, that she had been fooled into this mess. She didn't really care much for either Chera or Sarra, but she knew that she was stuck with them as friends, until they could change ships and go home. What she would face there she didn't want to think about; life as a single woman, with her father telling her over and over that she should have listened to him. What she had heard her entire life.

She looked at them and said loud enough for everyone to hear, "Ancia's not worth it."

Taylor-Marie heard her and then saw them all looking at her. She pretended she wasn't worried, or a little sad that was wasn't included in their group.

* * * *

TC nodded his approval at Jupe and walked him through to the flight deck. He would never admit it to his son that he felt bad for locking him in there, but he couldn't think of any other way of doing it. After he had calmed down from hearing about Real's girlfriend, and then after having a good laugh over it with the Wilsons, he realised that what he was doing to Jupe was not too different. There was no threat of death over him, as was the case with K, but he still saw a similarity. Both had not planned on going on such a significant journey, and hardly had sufficient preparation. It was the preparation part that bothered TC the most. He had put his son's health at risk by forcing him to go into space without warning. There was something about the fact that he was his son that made him act that way. He would not have done it to anyone else, not even Dawn-Star. If someone had done it to him, he would be out for revenge.

When Jupe came out of the room, he noticed that his father seemed nervous, and that was too much of an opportunity to miss. As he sat down with him in one of the two pilot's seats, he noticed something else, and it was something even more unusual than nervousness. If he didn't know his father, he would swear that he was being apologetic; the awkwardness and lack of conversation was a sure sign. They both sat for several minutes in silence. Jupe was determined not to speak first, to make his father suffer as much as possible.

"See that red star?" TC eventually said, pointing to a place just off from the centre of the main front viewing window. "To its left, a smaller red star. It's a little faint, and not far from that little cluster. Got it? That's Ancia. The great paradise world everyone dreams of going to. If you said it doesn't look like much, I'd agree. Perhaps that's why it took so long to find. I missed it. We all missed it. Even the probes. Life's like that; funny."

"It's red?" Jupe asked, looking where TC had said but not really interested.

"Some reason it shouldn't be red?"

"I thought only yellow stars held life planets."

"We all did, until Ancia. Finding that changed everything. But that's normal. Big discoveries usually change the basic knowledge. Makes things all the more complicated, actually. Just when you think we've got it all worked out, along comes something to make us start over. But take a look at the universe. How can we expect to know everything about it? Too big for knowing anything about. Never will, probably."

"Show me Earth."

"That's behind us."

"That's all I care about."

TC didn't let the comment put him off. "That bright star there in front of us, the yellow one, that's the T. That's where your care should be."

Jupe shrugged like it was obvious, and he wasn't caring about that either.

"You know," TC said with the tone more of a friend and not a father, "you can drop this act now. I get it, we all get it, you don't like being here. But since you are, why not learn something? Few people get this chance, and many would kill for it."

"I know all I need, thanks."

"Hidden celestials, black rocks, radheat flares? Do you know that? Know what to do if the ship takes one? What about pigs, sand, breeze, ellesses, rouges? What do you do about shape change? Or large pull? Do you know how to read the computer's odds of a swing, know when it's not doing what it should, when you should go to manual control, and when you should not?"

"I know surfing. That's all I want to know."

Jupe was only partly lying, since he did know about all those dangers and risks, at least on a basic level. If TC wasn't there, he would know how to turn the ship and get it back to Earth. He would know that all he would need to do is send a few distress calls and they would be rescued, eventually. The closer he could get the ship to a UDE base, the greater their chances of survival. And there were plenty bases around between where they were now and Earth. Jupe wondered if TC knew how close he was to sneaking off a distress call when he wasn't looking. He also wondered if he actually realised how angry he was with him, and how far he would go to get home.

"I never wanted to fly deep-space either, when I was young," said TC. "Then I got some sense into me. Technology has taken huge leaps since then, too. We are on the verge of a time of great exploration. With this opportunity you have now, you could become better than me, you know that? Bizarre to hear, I know, but it's a fact. I never had this. You know what I had? A company more intent on making a fast buck than caring anything about the pilots. You think you have it hard? Try flying alone, just the once, see how far you get. That's when you know what kind of a man you are. Face to face with nothing, and only your own self to battle; your own fears, or delusions, or just plain boredom."

"And you," Jupe responded, "try hitting breaking surf against the breeze, see how far you get."

"We all do things we don't like, that we're not pleased with," TC said like he was about to say more, perhaps even a confession, but then he stopped and searched for the right words.

"Are we done here?"

"The T's coming up quick," TC said tersely. "Then you can go home."

Jupe was not wanting to hear anything approaching an apology from his father. He did not want to let him have his time of sorrow; it was too late for that. Maybe when he was younger, when he was at that point in his life when he needed a strong father, but not now, not after being forced to go out into deep space without warning. Jupe left the deck as fast as he could, but it was not fast enough to miss the disappointed look in TC's eyes. Jupe was pleased that he had caused it, and he hoped it had hurt him.

"Get used to it, TC," Jupe said without his father hearing.

* * * *

Taylor-Marie was born into privileged surroundings, with private schooling and tutors, and was used to being pampered. Although Morgan was her third husband, she really did hope that he would last longer than the others, at least by a few more years yet. She always tried to make a difference with the odd charity work, or volunteer at local fun-runs, and that was how she viewed the daily cleaning requirements. Although it was meant to be a secret, she had taken a class on social work, in an attempt to better understand the more unfortunate element of society. It was for that reason that she decided to be friendly to Sarra. She also hoped that she might then be allowed into the group that the other women had formed. Taylor-Marie had noticed that Rebbi and Chera were hostile to each other, but then made up. She also knew that they were keeping some secrets to themselves.

"How many of these voyages have you made?" Taylor-Marie asked Sarra pleasantly. She had seen her sitting in the viewing room, where they could go and watch anything from a wide variety of entertainment shows. Sarra had been idly switching back and forth between a fashion show and a jewellery show, and Taylor-Marie had made a comment about also being interested in the same, except Sarra had then joked about it just being window-shopping. Taylor-Marie hesitated when she realised that she had most of the same type of product packed away in the hold.

"This is it. Maiden voyage, as they say," Sarra said, uncomfortable with the subject.

"You're not a regular space traveller?"

"First time for both me and Jenna."

"But the rest of the crew are experienced?"

"You can't get better than TC. As for the Wilson boys, best you don't pay them attention."

There was a pause and Taylor-Marie thought it was a good time to ask something she had been wondering about and couldn't put out of her mind. "Have you heard them talking about aliens?"

"Aliens? Why do you ask that?"

"No real reason. I was just wondering."

Rebbi entered the room and Taylor-Marie regretted asking about the aliens, since she knew that Rebbi was the most sceptical out of all the passengers.

"I don't know what you know about what's outside this ship," Sarra answered, "but as far as I know, it's a whole lot of nothing. There is no life out there, and if there is, they have no reason being there. It's all cold and lifeless. There is only a small window of opportunity for life to exist, where a planet needs to be at the right distance from its sun. And the sun too, needs to be at the exact stage of its life. That's why places like Earth and Ancia, and Harax Pras are so rare. Khans Star too, although most people forget about that since it's so far away. What that means, is any aliens would need to come a very long way to find us. And if you ask me, most of us aren't worth finding."

"She's been paying attention to too many stories," said Rebbi. "Aliens are the bad guys, out to get us. Spooky."

Taylor-Marie was not sure if she was trying to be mean to her, or if she was just kidding around.

"No need to worry about it, Taylor," said Sarra.

"Find us a movie about aliens attacking Earth," Rebbi joked to Sarra, and wished she could reach the remote control. "One of those ones with really creepy grey guys, the big-eyed ones."

"Seriously," Sarra continued to Taylor-Marie, "no need to worry. The guys have all sorts of gear to wrap anything up that might get too close for comfort. We're well protected."

"Gear?" Rebbi asked, intrigued. "Like what?"

"Weapons, shooters, blast-cannons, I don't know what, exactly. Plenty of protection, anyway."

Rebbi looked at Taylor-Marie and her humour had gone.

"I didn't know they had armoury," said Rebbi, wondering if Taylor-Marie knew.

"You have to be able to defend yourself out here," said Sarra. "This is the frontier. All manner of men out to get you. That's right, aliens aren't the problem, it's humans." She then became amused at Rebbi's reaction. "I can't believe you are naive enough to be surprised about that. Do you really know nothing about Cuthbert and Thax?"

"You are a wonderful source of information," said Rebbi.

"I have something you don't know," said Taylor-Marie, not wanting to be left out.

"What would that be?" Sarra asked.

"There's extra crew, that no one's told us about."

"You mean the frozen girl?" asked Rebbi.

"No, a guy," said Taylor-Marie. "They have him shut away from us, up on the flight deck."

"Are you kidding?" asked Rebbi.

"Extra crew?" Sarra asked too innocently, and by that Rebbi knew something was up. "I don't know where you got that from."

"His name's Jupe Beggs," said Taylor-Marie, unable to hide her feeling of superiority. "We know all about him. Johnny's son."

"There's people and weapons aboard we don't know about," said Rebbi, thoroughly annoyed at the information. "What else don't we know that we should?"

Sarra went to say something, then changed her mind, and no matter how much Rebbi kept at her, she insisted that there were no other secrets that she knew about.

* * * *

Morgan had been spending the last few hours trying to decide whether or not he should answer any more of Lars Best's messages, and stop sending any of his own in reply. When he sent his last one, he was of the opinion that he would not be seeing anyone from Best's organisation again. Since then, he learned they were to stop off at T Station, and Morgan knew the place was virtually run by Best's people. He told himself he would be safe if he didn't leave the ship, but then he started to worry that Lars' people might come on board, looking for him. He did not know if he should continue his defiance, or try to patch up the trouble. It made it worse that he wasn't even sure if Lars had detected his change of tone.

He began to rehearse various apologies, all designed to not sound obvious. If there was one thing he was sure of, was that Lars could detect if he was lying. He told himself to concentrate on different subjects, such as the ongoing unhappiness at the cleaning regime. There was also the option of letting the message machine drop and sadly break. It was made for such accidental impact, but Morgan would make sure it was a very big drop.

Taylor-Marie rushed into their room, upset and frantic, and wanting to tell him something in private. She could be very hard to understand when she was in such a state; not completing sentences, getting her facts mixed up, going off on rambling afterthoughts that had little to do with the original subject. From what Morgan could tell, it was something about the Wilsons having guns on board. His first reaction was to tell her that it wasn't true, although that was only to cover his own fear that maybe they worked for Lars Best too.

"I am telling you, they are armed," she said.

"Sarra told you this, you say?" he asked, alarmed.

"She said it was in case of pirates, or something."

"Pirates? Did she actually say the word 'pirates' or are you elaborating?"

"You know what I think it's for?" she asked, about to burst into tears. "I think it's for aliens. Aliens, Morgan! They know there's aliens and they need guns to keep them away. They never said anything about aliens when we signed up."

"Don't go on that. There are no aliens. Can we stop talking about aliens, please? There are other matters more important than imaginary flying saucers and green men."

"You know there are no aliens? How do you know that? You know that for sure, do you?"

"TC has been out here for, what, how many years? He's yet to see one. He laughs at the idea. You know he laughs about that. He wouldn't do that if he wasn't certain."

"And you trust him?"

"Honestly, I did trust him initially, when we first boarded ship. Now I know the man a little better. The way he reacted to my protests, I might have changed my mind."

Morgan was not someone who liked other people telling him what to do, and especially what to think. But now that she had him thinking about TC's character, he saw that yes, maybe she had a good reason to be worried.

"But now you tell me about the guns," he relented, "I'm not so sure about him."

"Meaning, what?"

"I don't know. We need to wait. Think about it."

"Think about getting attacked by aliens?"

"Who else know about them?"

"Aliens? How should I know that?"

"No, I mean the guns. Who else knows they have guns?"

"I don't know. Morgan, I'm scared."

He took her in his arms and realised that since the voyage started, he had had very little opportunity for such close contact. She began to relax as he held her and reassured her that he would look into the matter. He sounded like he was a businessman about to conduct a typical daily meeting with a client, and that made him sound believable.

He waited until she was sleeping before he made his way back into the hold area to record another message. As innocently as he could, he asked Lars why guns would be needed on their flight, and if was there a danger to the ship that he should know about. He didn't mention anything about hostile extraterrestrials, but he gave a very strong hint.

* * * *

When Morgan returned from the hold, he came across Rolondo and Real. They were arguing over their problems, and Morgan tried to overhear without it looking obvious. Real was assuring Rolondo that Ancia had available women, and probably even some who weren't available, if he still needed that too. Rolondo was just as sure he was wrong, that Ancia was full of people trying to find their fortune, not look for new relationships.

"Everything all right?" Morgan asked them.

"Oh, sure," Rolondo said with sarcasm. "No woman wants to be around us. Other than that, all's fine."

"Join the club, Morgan," said Real.

"Listen, guys, we may have a serious problem," said Morgan.

"You don't think my women, and lack thereof, are a serious problem?" asked Rolondo. "How do you get into a spaceship with two, and despite having nowhere for them to go, you wind up with none, even before you hit the halfway mark of your flight?"

"The crew have guns?" asked Morgan. "I mean, the Wilsons."

"Is that a question?" asked Rolondo.

"If it was, what would you say to it?" asked Morgan. "Have you heard that? Is it true?"

"They don't have guns," Real said, dismissive of the thought.

"Hidden from us," Morgan said like he knew it was true. "And they're not your come-what-may handguns, either, apparently. These are heavy-duty, hole-in-the-wall-type guns. Not what you'd expect from what is really a bus service, for a colony party, which is all we are. And since Ancia has no hazards, or threats, and it's run by UDE, there's no reason to need arms."

"Where did you get this from?" asked Rolondo. "Have you seen the Wilsons with these guns?"

"Sarra told Taylor-Marie," said Morgan. "She was with Thax, so you'd think she'd know."

"If that's true," said Real, "which I doubt, and they are keeping it from us, why would she go telling Taylor-Marie, of all people?"

"Sarra had an argument with Thax," said Morgan. "From the sound of it, Sarra is having nothing more to do with him. She's joined with Rebbi and Chera. She was looking to pin something on him. By the sounds of it, she's revealed quite a lot. None of it anything we were meant to know."

"You don't say?" Rolondo said, more to himself. "She's left him?"

"How about that," Real said to Morgan, "you've found a cure for Ro's women problem, and lack thereof."

"Come on guys," said Morgan, wanting them to be as worried as him. "Why have they got guns on board? Ancia is peaceful, isn't it? Are they fearing we may be stopped by criminals? Is that what it is? Are these pirating territories, near T Station? Have you heard anything about that? Are we in danger? Could the ship be boarded? I think we need to know."

"Perhaps it's in case we're stopped by government agencies," suggested Real. "I've heard they have regular patrols. And we are not exactly legal, and all that. Or did you think this would all be plain sailing? We're going against UDE, and they own space. The more you think about it, the more sense that makes. UDE are out looking to find Ancia illegals, and that is exactly what we are."

"What will TC and the Wilsons do, shoot their way out?" Morgan asked him, seeing his lack of logic. "They can't stand up against UDE ships. Seriously? They'll use hand weapons against them?"

"So they have a couple of guns," said Rolondo, "and we don't know why. Best we leave that alone and worry about something else, that's what I think."

"And you, Re-al?" Morgan asked, making a mistake and getting his name wrong.

"It's pronounced Real," said Real.

"Sorry, I didn't know."

"Common mistake. Forget it." Real knew that it only showed that Morgan was not really interested in him as a friend, or even travelling companion.

"I'm going to ask TC to his face," said Morgan. "If we are in danger, I want to know. If we're not in danger, I want to hear that from him too. Whatever he tells me, I want it to be the truth."

Real and Rolondo looked at him for more, and Morgan was waiting for their reaction.

"Let us know how it goes," Rolondo offered.

Real's response was to give him a slight shrug.

* * * *

Jupe sat back from the monitor and looked at Dorrington. The boy was seated on the bunk behind him, looking at Jupe with a worried expression. He was not the type of lad who could stay worried for very long, but this time he was upset. Jupe turned down the volume to diminish the conversation between Real and Rolondo, knowing that it would probably sound like all of their others.

"Have you got a gun?" asked Dorrington.

"A gun might have saved me from being here," said Jupe, amused at the thought.

"Then why would they?"

"We have no reason for guns out here in the deep. What do you want a gun for? You heard them saying that, didn't you? Anyone who can control your ship enough to come on board, the fight is well and truly over by then. The ship is armed, of course, but no one's going to go shooting at each other with handguns, not inside a ship. Holes in the side of the ship tend to not do so well."

"What about the pirates? We could get boarded, and then we'd need guns to fight them off, right?"

"Pirates? If there are any rogue ships, they are not pirates, and if they engaged the ship, we have ways to get away from them. This is a powerful ship, and TC knows how to fly, believe me. I may hate his guts, but he does know how to fly. No, you need to believe me: If we did get boarded, no one's shooting any guns, not inside the ship. Put a hole in the hull, it's all over for everyone, including whoever's doing the attacking. The ship has shields to ward off anything coming at us from outside, not from the inside. And besides that, they could kill us all without even setting foot inside." Jupe then wished he had not been so harsh with the kid.

"Then, aliens?"

"Same with aliens, or anything hostile. We can keep them away, should that happen. TC can fight them off, keep them from getting on board. But there are no aliens that anyone has ever seen, and if there were, what makes you think they would want to fight us? They'd probably try to sell us something. If they've been studying the human race all these years, wouldn't they know we're all suckers for buying junk? Here, human, alien treasure, real cheap, you like to buy?"

Dorrington laughed.

"Anyway," said Jupe, "any aliens finding us, we'd be famous, since it'd be the great First Contact. Not a good time to start shooting off weapons."

"Dad said he's going to tell TC about the guns. You heard him say that, didn't you?"

"I'll tell you what, just so you know there's no need to worry, I'll go ask the Wilson brothers myself. Find out what the problem is. I'm sure, if they have guns, it's just their own. Maybe they want to do some target shooting on Ancia, who knows? It may just all be something harmless. But whatever it is, you don't need to worry about it, okay?"

Dorrington was happy with that and set about the work of going back into the walls and returning to his living quarters.

* * * *

Jupe saw that the Wilsons' quarters were empty, and he decided that it would be safe to have a quick look inside. Aside from Thax grabbing him and taking him into that locked room, they had always treated him well, out of respect for TC, so he had no reason to feel any fear.

Their rooms were meant for six occupants. It contained their own separate lounge and three smaller rooms for sleeping. Jupe glanced in the first two bedrooms and was surprised at how untidy they were. Then he remembered that Sarra had left them to it, and Jenna was uninterested in any kind of work. The third room's door was shut, and when Jupe tried to budge it, he found that it was locked.

After double checking that no one was near, and with his own reassurance that he was soon to leave the ship anyway, he kicked at the door to force it open. Something gave a loud crack as it snapped, and the door opened, but with a slight tilt. Inside were two cases, strapped to the floor. Jupe noted that they were not locked and he slid the top off the nearest one. It revealed a collection of heavy-duty weapons. He had no idea what type they were, or how deadly they might be. He could guess enough to see that they were very serious pieces, and that he would be crazy to even touch them. He quickly repaired the door as best he could, and hastily got out of their rooms.

As Jupe walked back to his own quarters, he tried to understand. He knew the Wilson's were loyal to TC. Even if they did want to take the ship from him, they could never fly it. More than that, it would mean that they would lose their work opportunity. Perhaps they meant to sell the guns at either T Station or Ancia, but Jupe couldn't see the sense in that either. Then he realised that he knew little about life at the station, or in all of space for that matter. The more he considered that option, the more he saw that they were probably smuggling the guns for someone, and TC might not even know about it.

"You have guns?" Jupe asked them directly when he found them. They were always together, or so it seemed. Jupe was not asking with any accusation, since by now he was convinced that they were planning to sell them. Since everything else on board was illegal—including him—why not smuggle guns too? "What do you need with them?"

"Jupe, let me tell you something: you didn't see anything," Cuthbert said, unable to hide the nervousness in his voice, and barely making eye contact.

"Think I care what you have on board?" Jupe pressed, now suspicious. "It's just, I think the passengers may have heard about them, and they're wanting to tell TC. Thought you'd like to know."

"How would you know what the passengers have heard?" Cuthbert asked, now outwardly worried.

"He's his father's son," Thax said casually.

"That's not nice," Jupe said to Thax. "I didn't insult you, why start on me? What do you want the guns for anyway? Going to sell them when we get to Ancia? That it?"

"You read us right," said Thax. "And I didn't mean any insult to you. You're a lot like your father, at least to our eyes, so that's all. We say it a lot, matter of fact, that you two are similar. But I'll tell you what, if it's an insult to you, no more will be said about it."

"Appreciate that."

"We're selling them," said Cuthbert, without any hint of conviction. He looked at his brother for help, but Thax was uninterested in giving him any.

Jupe felt a chill when he left them, knowing that their eyes were on him as he walked away. He didn't want to admit that their demeanour with him was entirely false, as that would mean they were lying, and he didn't want to think where that might lead. All he could think about was that TC knew of the guns, and if not, then should he warn him.

* * * *

Morgan listened to Lars' latest message as carefully as he could. He found it hard to concentrate, since he realised that the message had been sent from T Station and not Earth. While he knew that the station had far greater comlink equipment than the Burning Star, he was spooked by the implausible idea that Lars had somehow gotten to the station ahead of them. Then he came to his senses and realised that Lars must be still on Earth, and that he had some of his men at the station. Morgan and his family would be safe from them as long as they stayed aboard the ship. He knew that such a suggestion would be difficult to enforce, especially with his youngest son who could not stop asking questions and exploring.

"I don't care what you think about any guns he has," Lars was saying. "You're wasting my time with this? I gave you all these expensive messages, and this is what you send to me? How many millions and billions of kilometres have you travelled, and all I hear is your whining about what you think the crew may have under their beds? Are you really doing that to me?"

Morgan felt a surge of anger, and cut off the message to make his own.

"I don't like it. And if I don't like how this ship's being run, I'm going to say so. Sorry if I sound whiney to you, but that's what you're going to have to listen to. This is the second serious problem we've discovered about TC, and I've the feeling there's more. He's trying to keep secrets from us, with not much success. What's next? What do we get to hear next, that he's not really this great space hero at all? Is that what it is? Johnny Beggs doesn't actually exist, and he's this guy instead, this TC character? Whatever happens, he needs to be up-front with us, and that is all there is to it. What's more, Lars, I'm going to do something about it. Next time I transmit to you, I'll tell you how it went."

Morgan found himself shaking when he ended the message, and he knew that he should not send it. After half an hour of worrying, he deleted it, telling himself that he would be safe from Lars and his people once they reached Ancia. If they can just deal with whatever awaited them at T Station.

* * * *

The double stars known as Alpha Centauri shone bright in front of them, more than three times the size of any other star that they could see. Their close neighbour was the diminutive and ineffectual Proxima Centauri that orbited them with deathly slowness, and cast a dull red glow. A generation before TC's, the place was talked about with the same affection as Ancia was now. It was seen as a major achievement by humankind, to reach its closest star. But when it was seen that it offered no Second Earth, or any habitable planets at all, it was soon forgotten. It was left to UDE to find a large asteroid to put in orbit, and there build a military base.

TC loved the place, and wished that he had more reason to visit. Jupe should have loved the place too, since that was where he was born, but he just viewed it as another part of his troubled upbringing.

At such a distance, the ships main engines were stopped and TC needed to be careful about how they approached the station. They were still two days away from hitting the boundary of its solar system, and he waited for the first clearance signal. He needed their acknowledgement that there was a ship approaching. If he just assumed that they saw him, many things could go wrong, including his ship sailing right through them without sustaining much more than a scratch. That was the theory, anyway, and there had been much speculation as to what would actually happen in the event of an on-course ship not stopping. The station's security guns might miss them, and the advance warning systems might fail, and the station's shields might not be strong enough, and multitudes of other unknown faults, could all lead to such an event. With a ship arriving, on average, twice a week, it was open to all kinds of disaster.

Every time TC had been to the station they had been slow to respond to his first signal, but it was more a case of TC being impatient. He expected to get their acknowledgement straight away, ignoring that there was always a long delay. Not being able to bear the wait, he opened the bottle of vodka that was hidden under his seat and started drinking.

Jenna came to the flight deck, knowing TC hated anyone else being there who wasn't a qualified pilot, more so when he was actually working. She ignored the bottle, not knowing that it was abnormal, and not really caring one way or the other.

"That Morgan is at me again to see you," she said, seeing that he was in an anxious mood.

"For what?" he asked quickly, not looking at her.

"He won't say, but he looks angry."

"He always looks angry, whenever he wants to see me. I'm not talking to him. Send him away."

"He's insisting."

"And I'm insisting. I don't care what you tell him, just get rid of him. Tell him I'm suffering a bad case of death, if that will help. I have more important matters right now. Or did he want me to crash the ship? Ask him that. What star would he like to dive into? We have three to choose. Bet you didn't know, the small red one is the most unstable. That would cause a really big glow."

"But TC..."

"I'm telling Jupe," TC said finally. "He needs to know what's going on. No use protecting him anymore."

Jenna gave him a defiant look that told him that she didn't agree. Then Jupe appeared behind her. When she saw him she stepped aside, avoiding eye contact. She went back to Morgan to give him the news that TC wasn't interested in seeing him. TC told Jupe to sit in the co-pilot's chair.

"We're coming up on T Station," TC said to him after a few minutes of silence. "Won't be long now. That's when you can say your last, fond goodbye to yours-truly. However, something you should know first. I didn't want to tell you until now. Thing is, we are going no further than here."

"Going no further?" Jupe asked, confused. "You're letting me go, right? That was our deal. I can leave at T Station. That's what you said."

"T Station's our destination. Probably be here a while. We'll be looking for new work, whatever comes up. You don't have to stay with us, but I'd feel honoured if you did—there, came right out and said it. You have the goods, for this work, and that's the truth. If I can iron out some of those rough areas you've still got. Don't know if you can handle the ship on your own just yet, but I think with a little work, a few years down the track, you'll be up in my league. People consider that an honour, you know? Can't get better training than that. You could be with UDE for years, and not have better training."

Jupe stood up. "What are you talking about, you crazy old man?" he said with a raised voice. "We're heading for Ancia, or have you forgotten? Passengers? Back there? You know, the people you won't let me talk to, or meet. I can watch them, and see how boring they are. Thank you for that."

"Ever think there was a reason," said TC, remaining calm, "I didn't want you talking to them? A good one?"

"Because you hate me and you hate them?"

"When the time comes, I didn't want you having any emotional ties. I kept my distance too, so I wouldn't get to know them more than I have to. Don't want to start liking them."

"That can be bad for business," said Thax.

Jupe looked around, taken by surprise, and saw both Wilson brothers standing behind him, having entered when his back was turned. They were both eyeing him intently.

"None of this was my idea," TC said, becoming defensive, and taking another long drink. The vodka was getting easy for him now. "But that's not the point. Not even close to the point. Sometimes in life we make mistakes, and we just have to live with them. There's nothing we can do but accept it. Fact is, I just fly the ship, that's all. They didn't make any deals with me, and I never told them to get on."

Thax went to TC and whispered into his ear.

"I don't care what you think, I'm doing this," TC shouted at him.

"He's not up for it," Thax continued, backing away.

"Neither am I," TC shouted at him.

Thax turned to Jupe and gave him a menacing look.

"What's this all about?" Jupe asked TC, trying to ignore Thax. "You're saying you have no intention of going to Ancia?"

"I have never been to Ancia," TC said, calm now, and sitting back in his chair. "Never will. That's Gammond's place, and I don't care how great everyone thinks it is, I'm going nowhere near it, ever. You can count on that. Not ever."

"What do you...?"

"They're on their own," said TC. He knew that Jupe was not going to give up on the passengers. He wouldn't either, given that option, had he been in Jupe's position. "Do you know where you are, Jupe? This is the deep. There's no law out here. We can do what we want. Or, more significantly, whatever they want."

Jenna came back to the flight deck agitated. She said to TC about Morgan, "I thought the veins in his neck would explode when I sent him off." She then saw that Thax was agitated and she realised what was going on.

"You're going to kill them?" asked Jupe.

"They'll get a choice," said TC. "But in the end, sorry to admit, that's our best option."

"A choice? What choice?"

"They can stay at the T. That's always an option. And I'm not asking your permission for any of this."

"What kind of a way is that to act? Aren't you the great hero—"

"Listen, that ship I rescued, you think it was for the passengers? What annoyed me, got my blood running, was how they let fools fly ships. Total fools. Just because of their family connections, or some unseen potential, they're handed controls of spaceships. That's why I went after it, and saved it. Yeah, there were people who didn't die because of what I did. And yeah, I accept that I saved them from certain death."

"Yeah, you did. What's different here, that you're giving up on these people?"

"Fact is, if I was to be honest with you, my job is to get their supplies. That's what this is all about. They're carrying some very expensive, shiny-new machines, and we want them. And I'm sure they'll do nothing but give me shocked faces, and then walk away. They'll realise where they are and they're without friends, and they have no other choice. Have you seen them? You've seen them, right? They're not the types to want to fight. I sure hope I'm right about that. Rolondo's a big guy, but what else does he have? He has no weapons. More interested in his girlfriends. And Real? Thinks he can sneak what he wants onto my ship? As for Morgan, he'll either make a formal complaint, or try to make a deal; I know his sort. But what will shock them more than anything, is they're just not expecting this turn of events. Any fight they might have in them, it'll be gone."

"Even if you're not right about them," said Thax, "they won't put up anything to hurt us."

Jupe started to feel himself panicking. His breathing was becoming erratic and he had trouble focusing.

"What else are you going to do?" TC continued. "All you wanted is to surf, or something, isn't it? Get your behind back to Earth and waste the rest of your days? Go and do that, see if I care. All that's happening here, I'm giving you an offer, and only the once, to join us and at least try to make a man out of you. Get to see space."

"You think I'm going to kill...?"

"We'll handle that," said Thax.

"You think I brought these guys along for their technical know-how?" asked TC. "If it gets to that, you don't have to see any of it, Jupe, you can trust me on that. Just help with the offload."

"The what?"

"Are you sure he's your son, TC?" Cuthbert joked. "Arh, but he's sounding all dense. The offloading, my laddie; all those machines we're carrying. Big job, since there's so much of it."

"And we want to do it quietly, without attracting attention," said Thax.

"Some of it is worth a fortune," Jenna said like she was already counting her cut.

"And I've told you, don't get excited about the profit," TC said to her. "We have to first pay the Bests."

Jupe smiled at that, but it was more out of exasperation. "You're working with the Bests? You just got these people signed up just to kill them and take their machines, to make the Bests richer? What kind of a legend are you?"

"Pretty much a broke one. Shallow, heartless, kind of smelly, not what you read in the magazines, sorry. But the Bests have me by the throat, and nothing's to be done about it, except do what they tell me."

"How did you get mixed up with the Bests? All I ever heard from you about them was to keep away."

"And I still say that to you. You don't need to know anything about them. They don't know you're here, and I want it to stay that way. They're my problem, not yours. My offer is simple, either stick with us, where you'll be safe, or find your own way back home. You won't be involved in anything nasty, I will promise you that."

"And who's doing the shooting?" Jupe asked as he looked at Thax and Jenna.

"Don't look at me," said Jenna. "Who do you think I am?"

"Not a dentist," said Jupe.

"We've got that under control," said Thax.

"The kids won't be hurt, right?" Jupe asked, not expecting much of an answer.

"We'll just tell them there was an accident," said Cuthbert. "Get a lot of accidents out these parts. They'll love it at the T. Just like you did, right, Jupe? You lived here as a kid. Tore the place up, from what TC says about you."

"So, Cuthbert," Jupe said to him cynically, "getting to be a real pirate, huh?"

"You've got a big mouth," Cuthbert said, losing all trace of humour. "Be careful with it. One day, someone might take offence."

TC vigorously waved at the Wilsons to leave, and they did, with Jenna following, leaving Jupe eyeballing his father.

TC reached to put a hand on Jupe's back. "I know it's a hard one to take, betrayal and all that, but such is life, and it can be ugly at times. Real ugly. I have to get out from under that Lars Best. He gave me no other choice. If I do this flight, that's it, I'm free from him. You don't think any of this is my idea, do you? And don't think I'll do this again; once is enough. Yes, I've never stooped this low before, and in some ways, I'm sorry you have to be here to see it. But you figured it out, so I had no alternative but tell you."

"And you'll let me go back home?"

"That's my promise."

"Why the change? You'd told me I was free to go at T Station. Now you want me in on your little betrayal? I could have gone and waited for the next shuttle out, and known nothing about your plan."

TC turned his chair to the forward window, knowing he couldn't tell him about how the Wilsons had come to him agitated and throwing around ideas like putting Jupe with the passengers when they started the killing. That was when TC told them he wanted Jupe to join them, and planned that all along, even though it wasn't remotely true. He knew that Jupe would never consider joining their little criminal gang; not for a moment. It was more a point of asking him in front of them, so they would get that Jupe was nothing to worry about and he could leave safely at T Station. If there was anything TC would make sure of, it was that Jupe was safely away from the Wilsons and the Bests.

"You started asking about the guns," said TC. "The Wilsons got worried. I told them you were all right, and to prove that I'd offer you to join us. Might have gone better than the way it did, but at least I tried."

"And I'll go back and tell everyone on Earth what's happening here, and how you're a fraud? You don't mind that?"

"Tell them if you want, but who's believing you? Anyone going to Ancia, they are not going back to stinking little Earth. Should I remind you, these passengers are unregistered, so no one is expecting them. It's a win-win." He saw only disgust in Jupe's eyes. "Come on, you can't think of me any lower than you already did. Think I don't know that?"

* * * *

Jupe turned his monitors to show the Wilsons' lounge and third bedroom. When he was sure that they were down in the hold area, he made his move and went to their rooms. Jenna was the unknown factor and Jupe did not know where she was, but he had to take the chance that she wouldn't see him.

He didn't know what he was going to do with the guns, but he knew that he was going to do something. It didn't help that he knew nothing about weapons of any kind. Some of his friends liked to carry small defence stunners, or a knife, but Jupe had never felt the need. For some reason, he had always avoided trouble, by either remaining unnoticed in a group, or not gone looking for a fight. He was not someone who enjoyed taunting others, and if anyone taunted him he usually didn't care. If he was truthful with himself, he would admit that he had always been lucky regarding being bullied, or caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Luck was what he needed again when going into the Wilsons' rooms.

Jenna wasn't there, and the guns were still in the box. The fact that they were in pieces, ready for assembly, helped his confidence. Aside from the hand-grips and barrels, he collected all the other bits and took them to a neighbouring room's closet, where he had noticed an empty suitcase. Taking the suitcase and seeing that it was still empty, his threw all the pieces inside. He could only drag the suitcase out, such was its weight, but he succeeded in taking it all the way back to his own room unnoticed. When he locked the door he started to shake.

"What's all that?" asked Dorrington.

Jupe was not expecting the boy to be there, and he took terrible fright, more from the delayed shock of his mission. Then he realised what his next move should be.

"You know where the trash disposal is?" he asked the boy. "The one that fires out into open space?"

"Yeah, I like that one, it's fun."

"Got a game for you."

"What do I do?"

"See how fast—without getting caught—you can get these through your secret tunnel there, and into the disposal. Remember, no one can see you."

He didn't tell Dorrington what the weapon pieces were, but he didn't need to. The boy had long passed the stage of boredom with everything on the ship, and this was nothing but sheer excitement for him.

"Remember," Jupe called as Dorrington slipped away under the wall panel, "you get caught, game's over."

Game's over for me too, he thought.

* * * *

TC brought the Burning Star down to its slowest speed since they left Earth, and then into their assigned flight path to reach the station. The manoeuvre was nothing for him, but he still enjoyed the short time when he got to control the ship.

The station was a familiar sight, the place where he had first experienced real deep-space flying. The best years of his life were spent there, and it felt like he was arriving home. Although it had been years since his last visit, he recalled being the young recruit approaching the docking bays for the first time, not knowing anything and being driven by fear. He laughed at himself, how he had been so scared those first few times. His teachers were two experienced pilots who taught him everything they knew as a way to eat away the boredom of the long flight. In those days it was a thirty-week journey to get out to the station from Earth. Now it was ten, but still a deadly dull experience for someone like TC.

And Jupe had not wanted to learn anything. Perhaps if the journey were longer, TC imagined, then his son might have changed his mind. He took a glance to a group of stars, the general direction of Khans Star, and briefly contemplated forgetting the current mission and heading there with his son, instead of the unpleasant business that he had no choice but follow through on.

The ship was locked into the station's computerised guidance path, and TC did not need to do anything except watch. The docking process could be very slow and tedious, and could last several hours if the computers decided the ship was but a half-millimetre out. This was far away from any kind of law enforcement, or social correctness, where seat-of-your-pants flying had always been the norm, and yet the docking computers were almost hysterical in their demand for strict perfection. It was frustrating for TC, since he knew that he could pull right up to the docks and plant the ship himself, without need of the computers or their millimetre accuracy, but for this one time he didn't want to create a stir.

The actual reason TC felt frustrated at not being able to pilot his own ship to dock, was that it forced him to sit and reflect on what would be their next move. When they left Earth, the passengers had not even known about this stopover. Now he had to finally break to them that they wouldn't be going any further, that he lied to them and they were only interested in getting their cargo off them, and there was nothing they could do to stop them. He hoped they would be sensible and face the fact that they were over four light-years from home, and alone from anyone who could help. If they protested or tried to stop it, the Wilsons would kill them without hesitation. They would be told that they could not return to Earth, but TC knew they would as soon as they could. There were always ships departing for Earth from the station, mostly for more supplies like food, water and oxygen, and the passage rate was reasonable. When they returned to Earth, what would they do then? Alert the authorities? They were trying to get to Ancia illegally, so that option was out. Tell people that TC Beggs was a liar and murderer? Who would believe that? He was the great space hero. TC knew that their best move would be to accept their fate, that they were duped and robbed of their cargo, and they could either live at the T or go back home.

Accept the situation, TC thought, and don't give the Wilsons a reason to hurt them.

From what he knew of them, the only one headstrong enough to protest was Rebbi Rees, but from what Sarra had told him, she was planning on leaving the voyage at T Station anyway. Rolondo was a big guy, but TC didn't think much of him due to the complete failure of his cockamamie plan to take two women to Ancia. And Real Munro was already looking lost after they discovered his plan to secretly ship his girlfriend; the man looked devastated by it, like it had taken all the life out of him. TC wondered, did they think they wouldn't let him thaw the girl out once they were in space? Were they going to take her away from him as punishment? The fact was, TC really didn't care that much about her, and his anger over it was in Real's attempted deception. TC could see Real's motivation, as he had known plenty of women in his life that he wished he could have had frozen and thawed whenever he wanted.

As for Morgan Calp, TC knew that money was his only motivating factor, and a businessman like him should know that the best thing to do in a crisis is roll with it and count your losses. Morgan was only going to Ancia so he could grab the good land and try to make a name for himself. TC didn't much care for rich people, aside from those whom he could befriend and use to line his pockets. He wouldn't have ever have made it into space without knowing such people.

By the time the docking was complete, TC was certain that none of the passengers would oppose them. He was sure that they would realise how helpless their situation was and think of heading for the first flight to Earth. Away from the intimidating Wilsons and the unpredictable captain. Then the Wilsons would offload the cargo and hand it over to people representing the Bests. And then TC would be free from them, after years of trying. He took some more from his bottle, to calm his nerves.

Don't fight us. Don't even think about it. No one here is your friend.

* * * *

Cuthbert went into the spare room of their cabin and opened the cases. He took a while trying to fit the pieces to each other before deciding that he was having a problem. He loathed to call on his brother for help, mainly because he didn't want to hear the endless ribbing that would ensue. Neither of the two was expert with guns, and they weren't even sure exactly what the Bests had given them. They would have used their own, but they didn't want to throw them away if they had to use them.

"There be something missing, me hearty," Cuthbert said, not yet realising what was wrong with the guns. He held up a makeshift weapon that he had managed to connect, that was little more than a handle and barrel.

"You still want to talk all pirate?" Thax asked in disbelief, almost spiting. "At a time like this? Can't you at least focus on what we're doing? This isn't any time for games." He was still angry over TC telling Jupe. Together with realising that the time had come to turn on the passengers, he was in a thoroughly bad mood. "Where are they?" he asked, meaning the guns.

"This is what I'm saying, I can't find the other bits. Give me some help here."

Thax took one look at the pieces and called out for Jenna. When she saw the lack of weaponry, she was as surprised as them, and looked with fear at Thax. She said that she hadn't gone near the crates all voyage, and then she blamed Jupe for it.

"I've seen him hanging around here, but I said nothing about it," she pleaded. "He's TC's son, what was I to do?"

Cuthbert tried to take her side, but Thax shut him down. They knew they couldn't tell TC that they thought his son had sabotaged the guns.

"Jupe did this," said Thax. "But TC won't like us saying so."

Cuthbert was about to tell his brother that he agreed, and that they must find Jupe and get the truth out of him, but he stopped when he saw TC entering the room.

"We've got a problem with the guns," Thax told TC.

"They're too heavy for you?" TC chided. "You know I don't want to hear anything else. The guns are your problem."

Jenna chose to explain, as best she could, and a woman's voice seemed to calm TC. She knew he would be more inclined to pick a fight, had one of the Wilsons argued back.

"They've been sabotaged," she said carefully, "and the only one who could have done it was Jupe."

"We can't explain it otherwise," Cuthbert offered.

"This was on you," TC said, pointing at the brothers. "How are we supposed to threaten them now? With spiteful glares? I better hear your ideas. We're out of time. There is no way I'm taking these people to Ancia. This is as far as we go, so you had better figure out how to get them off my ship."

"There are other ways of getting rid of them," Cuthbert said, which was not what TC wanted to hear.

"Walk the plank?" Thax asked him sarcastically.

Cuthbert gave a wistful look to his brother. "A modern version maybe, but it's possible."

"You want to expose them?" TC asked in disbelief. "Not on my watch."

"Would the passengers have stored away any guns?" asked Jenna. "We could use those. Who knows what they've got stashed away in those crates."

Thax shook his head. "We've been through all their stuff. There's nothing we could use. Unless we run them down with mini bulldozers."

"Jupe must know where the pieces are," said Jenna.

TC looked at her with disgust. "Jupe doesn't know anything about guns."

"Let's ask him," said Jenna.

TC decided that they had no better ideas, and the four of them went to Jupe's cabin. They found him standing and waiting for them.

"What do you know about the guns?" TC asked him.

"Only that I'm not helping you with it," he said.

"You're just as much a part of this as all of us," said Jenna.

"How do you figure that?" he asked her.

For the first time, TC saw something in his son that gave him heart. He was standing tall against them.

"Jenna's right," said TC, "the Bests will blame us all, you included, Jupe, if we fail to deliver for them. There's no way out of this one. We have to do what they want. Give us back the gun parts and we'll forget this happened. You don't have to be a part of this, that's fine if you don't. Just let us do what we have to do."

"This Lars Best," asked Jupe, "he has his men at T Station?"

"That's why we're worried here," said Thax. "It's not us you've done this to."

"Let them handle the problem," said Jupe.

"Yeah, that's why we're worried," said Thax. "You don't want those people doing this."

"If anything, they'll do a good job of it," said Cuthbert.

"Why not just tell them the truth?" Jupe pushed. "Make your contact, let them know the passengers and all their gear are on board and they can take what they like. No one has to get hurt."

"They won't like that," said Cuthbert.

"Then don't ask them, just do it. We've got the stuff for them, does it matter that much that we did a shoddy job of it? Tell the passengers about Bests men at the station. Make up some story for them, that you didn't know they'd be there, and they're threatening to blow up the ship, unless they give up their machines. That way, you can all avoid blame."

"You've got a lot of ideas," Thax started on him, ready to take him and force him to give up the parts.

"No, he's right," TC cut him off. "They don't have to know we're working with the Bests."

"And what you said, Cuthbert," said Jupe, "if we're too hopeless to do the job for them, they won't be."

"You've come around to us now?" Cuthbert asked him.

"This makes sense," Jupe persisted. "Keep the Bests happy, keep the passengers in the dark."

TC studied him and thought that he could see more of himself in him. "I knew you had potential," TC said with a proud grin.

"TC, you've done it," said Thax, "you've made a man out of him."

Jupe laughed them off. "I just want to be rid of this whole situation, get back to Earth. No offence, but this isn't the life for me."

"My thoughts exactly," said TC. "Let's get this over with. Jenna, you stay with Jupe and watch that no passengers escape out to the T."

"You want me to stay with him?" Jenna asked, disbelieving.

"If you don't mind," TC said in mock politeness. "You sorry guys, you come with me. I have some real men to find."

They left Jenna standing in the doorway to Jupe's room, looking at him with suspicion. He went and sat at his monitor and started looking over data that was coming from the station. He could see various shots of landing bays and small loading vehicles.

"What're you doing that for?" she asked, worried about him.

"I need to familiarise myself with the place," he said. "In case something goes wrong."

"What's going to go wrong?"

"They're about to find men who work for Lars Best, expecting a delivery of high-class machinery, and tell them they couldn't do the job but would they like to. And you're asking what might go wrong?"

"What did you do with the gun parts?" she asked, still not trusting him.

"Don't know anything about guns. Never have. Never want to. What use are guns out in space? The ship itself is the best weapon you'd ever need."

Jupe watched with interest as he saw the figures of TC and the Wilson brothers leave the ship's airlocks and step out into one of the station's many loading bays. He made sure that they were a good distance from the ship when he made his move. He jumped from his seat and ran past Jenna, who told him to stop, and ran after him when he didn't.

At the flight deck, Jupe locked and sealed all the doors leading off the ship. For good measure, he sent an automatic message to T Station's flight control that the ship was about to make an emergency exit and the area surrounding it must be vacated immediately. That was something he remembered seeing done when he was a boy.

He looked for that secret compartment near the pilot's controls. Near the floor, out of sight, there was that handle that he found when he was a boy. And inside was the same thing he had found then. Probably untouched since those days, the lightweight semi-automatic pistol that TC kept there, looked exactly the same since he had last seen it. It was a Kel-Tec, older model, and had never been fired apart from on the practice range.

TC had a gun and he could have used it on the passengers, but didn't. The Wilsons didn't know about it either, and if he was truly committed to their plan then he just would have tossed it to Cuthbert. Instead, he berated them and agreed to risk going to find Bests' men at the station. Those were obvious signs that he was not all bad, but nevertheless, Jupe's opinion of him remained unchanged.

Warning beacons and lights started up all around the ship.

"Whatever you've done, put it all back the way it was," Jenna demanded when she caught up to him at the flight deck.

"You can shut up," Jupe said as he forced her out, easily dodging her flaying fists. Once they were both out, he shut the door and locked it with the touch keypad controls.

Jenna tried to wrestle him, not knowing what else to do. But they both knew that he was stronger, and he shoved her down. She kicked him but he kicked her harder.

"Don't push me to hurt you," Jupe warned. "If it's you or the passengers, I won't hesitate on you."

"You wouldn't do this is Cuth was here."

"You're right," he said as he grabbed her by her arms and forced her to walk through to the passenger section. "Him I'd have to kill."

Jupe pushed Jenna through to the passenger lounge. She told him over and over that he wouldn't treat her that way if Cuthbert were there, or even Thax. He agreed with her, but didn't feel like saying so again. He was still amazed that TC had trusted him enough to leave him alone. Perhaps his father thought so lowly of him that he didn't think he was capable of taking control. Or perhaps highly of him, in that he was a Beggs and destined to this sort of thing; portraying himself as a hero to the people, when inside he hated the attention and wished he had done nothing to gain any fame. Jupe didn't have time to think of such things, nor ponder the irony. He knew his hardest task was in front of him, with the unknown prospect of how the passengers would react.

Here was someone that they had never met before, telling them that they were in danger and only he could help. From what he knew of them, they were not exactly the most trusting types, and some of them were probably spineless.

They were standing ready to walk off the ship and into the station. It would be a welcome change of scenery, and they were all impatient that they were made to wait. They assumed that TC was going to come through the doors and give them the good news that they could go into the T. Seeing Jupe forcing Jenna along was a shock that they couldn't comprehend.

"Jenna, what's going on?" Sarra demanded, the first to see that the picture wasn't right.

"He's gone and decided to change the plans," she said to her with a tough voice.

Jupe addressed them, not caring about either two women. "I know you don't know me—"

"Sure we do," Rebbi said, the calmest of them all. "You're Jupe, aren't you? Johnny's son?"

"Are we getting off the ship now?" asked Rolondo, expecting the door to open.

Morgan stepped forward, not wanting to miss anything that might be important. "There is a rumour that says this is as far as we're going," he said. "Is that true?"

"How come we haven't met you before?" asked Real.

"He's the other crew member," Taylor-Marie said to the children.

"I know," said Dorrington, exasperated that she thought that he didn't know.

"Ok," Jupe said as he raised a hand to them, "there'll be time to answer all your questions—"

Jenna became hysterical. "He's locked TC out! He's shut the doors on him and Cuthbert and Thax. Do something, you people!"

"You can't do that," Sarra said to Jupe.

"What's going on here?" Morgan asked, confused.

"If you would just let me speak, I'll tell you," said Jupe.

"Ro, do something," said Rebbi.

"Now you're talking to me?" he asked her.

"I want to know what's going on," said Morgan. "Where's TC?"

"Who is this guy?" Real asked no one in particular.

"You aren't going to Ancia," said Jupe.

"Hell you mean?" Real asked, angry. He had been impassive until the subject of Ancia came up.

"What are you saying?" Rolondo asked Jupe, just as annoyed as Real.

Morgan hushed them like they were unruly members of a business meeting. He then talked to Jupe like he was a child. "Young man, in case you are confused, we are all booked through to Ancia. This is merely a stopover. Can we see TC now?"

"Damn right, we're going to Ancia," said Rolondo, looking at Jupe like he was about to fight him.

"There's been a change of plans," Jupe explained, annoyed that this wasn't going anywhere as easy as he had somehow imagined. He saw now that controlling Jenna and getting down to the passenger lounge without her at least kicking him, had been the easy part. Now they were all focused on him, and poised to yell at him if he said something they didn't want to hear.

"Fact is," he said, unable to stop his voice from quivering, "you were never going to Ancia. TC brought you to T Station, and that's all he's going to do. This is the end of the line, as far as you're going. Sorry to break the news to you, but there's nothing I can do to make it sound any better."

"How can you prove what you say?" Rebbi asked, and while the question annoyed Jupe, he was partly relieved that she had listened to him. "We've never seen you before and you come in here all aggressive, it doesn't look good that we'll take you seriously."

"I want to see Beggs," said Rolondo.

"You can't see him," said Jenna, not taking her eyes off Jupe. "He's locked them all out."

"What do you mean, locked them out?" he asked.

"They're planning to kill you," said Jupe. "If you don't let them take your cargo, they'll kill you. They only waited to get you to T Station before they gave you the choice. Leave your cargo or die. They had guns, but I disabled them."

"Guns?" Taylor-Marie asked, remembering hearing about them.

"We know about the guns," agreed Rebbi. "But how do you expect us to believe you? We've never seen you before."

"I've seen him," said Dorrington, before Taylor-Marie hushed him.

"You know about the guns, then you know I'm telling you the truth," Jupe said. "And I can show you the guns, if you don't believe me."

"I helped!" Dorrington exclaimed.

"You helped with what?" Taylor-Marie asked him.

"You have to believe me," said Jupe, "that I'm here to help you. But we haven't got a lot of time. TC's sure to be back, and he probably knows how to open the doors, override the system or something. I wouldn't put it past him. Please, you have to make a decision. Will you believe me or not?"

"Young man," said Morgan, still talking like he was in charge, "I think you have not adequately explained your action. This ship is going to Ancia, that was the agreement."

"No it isn't," said Jupe. "It never was. TC's never been there."

"Yes, of course it is," said Morgan, not understanding, and refusing to face the prospect of what Jupe was saying. "We have all booked passage. We have contracts."

"You were lied to," said Jupe. "This is deep-space. Contracts don't mean anything."

"Dawn-Star Beggs," said Rebbi. "She was the one who booked us on the ship. She is TC's daughter. Are you saying she knew we'd be threatened? Take us to T Station and take our belongings off us? She knew that?"

"I don't know anything about what she knew or didn't know," said Jupe. "She's probably involved with TC, as much as the Wilson brothers. I don't know her that well. But you need to know one thing: If you go out there to T Station, they'll probably kill you. Least that will happen is they'll take your cargo and machines, and everything else you have. They've gone off looking for help, and I'm telling you, they'll soon be back."

"I find this preposterous," said Real, adding a slight laugh. "Who is this person? We all know Johnny Beggs is a hero. He helps people, like those people he rescued. And now you want us to believe he wants to rob us and kill us? The man's no murderer, everyone knows that. This is some kind of joke."

"He's working for Lars Best," said Jupe, "if that helps you believe me."

Morgan was horrified, asking, "Lars is here?"

"The gangster?" asked Real, sharing Morgan's fear.

"Who said anything about the Bests?" asked Rolondo, looking to Rebbi and Chera, as an automatic act of protection.

"His men are here, at the station," said Jupe.

"We have to get out of here," said Morgan, now panicked. "Yes, everyone, we are agreeing with this brave young man. Can you fly the ship?"

"You want to trust him now?" asked Taylor-Marie.

"We cannot risk anything with Lars Best," said Morgan.

"Your name is Jupe?" asked Real.

"Jupe Beggs."

"You can fly us out of here?" Real asked as he looked back to the direction of the station. What are you waiting for?"

"That's what I'm prepared to do," said Jupe. "Get you all back to Earth, safe."

"Wait on a minute, here," said Rolondo. "You don't look old enough to fly a spaceship. How old are you?"

"Twenty-one," said Jupe. "Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow you're twenty-one? So, you're twenty, today."

"If you don't want to be here, go say hi to the Bests," said Jupe, hating the subject of his age. He didn't feel like adding that he could fly the ship when he was ten.

"But you can really fly the ship?' asked Morgan.

"He sounds like TC," Jenna said spitefully. "With all his promises, where did it get you? Where did it get any of you? You can't trust any Beggs."

"Don't trust me," said Jupe. "And go back to the T. Myself, I'm going to Earth. We're leaving as soon as I get back to the flight deck."

"No, wait on a moment," said Real. "We don't want to return to Earth. We're going to Ancia. That's the contract. That's the agreement. We can't return to Earth."

"We're going to Ancia," Rolondo said in support, and then looked at Morgan.

"I think it is clear that we all intend to complete our journey," said Morgan.

"You're not serious?" asked Jupe. "You're about to be killed, and you want to argue about completing the flight? To Ancia?"

"I don't want to go to Ancia," Chera said, too softly and no one heard her.

"We are going to Ancia, young man," Morgan said more forcefully to Jupe. "The Calp family and everyone else. We have not come this far to turn back. Our home is Ancia, not Earth, and certainly not T Station. Can you pilot us, or will we need to hire new crew?"

Taylor-Marie turned to Morgan with her hands on her hips. "You have got to be kidding me, Morgan. After this, you still want to go to Ancia? The captain has betrayed us, and this person, who we've never seen before—"

"No, I know him!" Dorrington yelled. His brother Westminster punched him on the arm and their sister Maddison, overwhelmed by the tension around her, started crying. Taylor-Marie then struggled to separate the boys.

"Are you people for real?" Jupe asked them in disbelief. "We're in great danger here. The longer we stay, the sooner TC'll return with help. I don't know what kind of guns they'll have with them, but if he's found Bests' guys, they won't take long getting that door open."

"Are you certain you can take us to Ancia?" Morgan asked Jupe, no longer thinking himself better than him.

"I can take you to Earth, and that's what I'm going to do," said Jupe.

"No, I want to know," insisted Morgan. "Can you take us to Ancia?"

"I have no need to go there. I mean, do they have surf?"

"Surf?" asked Real, having no idea what he meant, thinking that it was some kind of jargon for the technicalities of space flight.

"What I am asking you," Morgan said slower, "is are you able to pilot us there? If so, then that is what we want. Some of us, at least, wish that to happen. We are here to go to Ancia, and we really don't care how, or by whom."

"I sure want to," said Rolondo. "Ancia or nothing."

"Is it possible for you to do that?" Morgan pressed Jupe.

"I guess I can, yes," Jupe said, annoyed at the thought, but not enough to admit that he was unable to help them. "Piloting isn't the hard part."

"Then you can do it?" asked Morgan, nodding his head, hoping for a stronger affirmation than his I guess.

"I suppose I can get you there, if you have to go," Jupe said, hoping Morgan would get off his back.

"You suppose?" asked Real. "Are you a real pilot or not? You have your licence?"

And there was the question Jupe had been dreading. "Right now," he said, avoiding the answer, "our main concern is leaving this port. We can't stay much longer."

"Can you actually pilot?" asked Real.

"Tell us the truth, please," said Morgan.

"Yes, I can pilot," said Jupe, being clear that he did not want to admit it.

"You owe it to us," said Rolondo. "Our agreement was Ancia. Can you get us there?"

"Of course I can get us there," Jupe said like it was obvious. "If I can get you home, I can get you there too."

"Well, you can let me off first," said Jenna. "Open the doors and put me off. I was never going to Ancia, and I'm not starting now."

"I'm not going to Ancia either," said Sarra.

"You're free to leave, don't worry," said Jupe, barely looking at them.

Chera spoke up, this time so everyone could hear, "And me. I want off this crazy ship."

"I'm going to Ancia," said Rolondo, and Morgan and Real made it clear that he was speaking for them.

"Me too!" shouted Dorrington.

"Everyone who wants to go into the station," Jupe announced, "and take your chances there, you're free to go. I really don't care what you do. Leave if you have to. Everyone else...," he started and then paused to take a reluctant breath, "will be going to Ancia."

"Perhaps first," Morgan said with a hint of smugness, "we could allow our captive passenger to go free."

He looked to Real, and the others followed. Real tried to look innocent, but then nodded. Saying he will do it alone, he rushed down to the hold to remove the offending cargo before anyone from the Bests saw him.

* * * *

UDE's decision to place the Gerald Hughes fuelling depot, known as GH, in a long-range orbit of T Station was entirely due to safety fears. Three times it had caught on fire, but on each occasion it had not reached the point of actually exploding. Local pilots called it "the Russian," after Russian roulette, and many flew their ships to it by remote control, from the safety of T Station.

Jupe had no idea about either its nickname or history. He was just relieved that he needed to do little to get the ship there. The T Station ship-control simply guided the Burning Star to the Russian depot, and automatically fed in the fuel lines. There was no problem with the payment, since the Burning Star was of legendary status at the station, and as far as anyone was concerned, TC was still the captain.

Jupe took note that TC had neither contacted the station authority, and nor had he sent Bests men out to stop him. While there was a possibility that TC approved of Jupe getting the people away, he also knew that he just may have drunk too much and passed out. Unless the Bests had had him, and the Wilsons, killed.

When they left T Station orbit, Jupe was uncertain what to do next. When he assured the passengers that they were going on to Ancia, he was not being truthful. It was more a case of getting them off his back. But after seeing their excitement, and talk about being so lucky to have Jupe there to help them, he started asking himself if he could actually do it, and take them all that way. He was partly surprised to see that the ship had charts through to Ancia, since TC was always adamant that he had never been there and had no intention of going. Jupe wondered if that declaration by his father might not be entirely true, since he was the type of man who said one thing and then did the exact opposite.

Jupe examined the charts and saw numerous star-swings, three of them rated high in the required technical skill, but nothing that the ship's own computers could not handle. All that really needed to be done by Jupe was to accept or reject the ship's flight path suggestions. Any real piloting would be needed if any unforeseen object came across their path, and in deep-space, such objects could be seen hours before they became critical.

All right, he decided, if the ship accepts me, the passengers aren't questioning me, I must be the right man for the job, so let's see what this deep-space travel is all about. Probably not even as hard as facing big waves.

Jupe went to the main lounge, and found that the people were waiting and looking at him with respect. He tried not to show that no group of people had ever done that to him before, with the exception of a few drunk surfers and party girls.

"Those of you who want to head back to Earth," Jupe announced to them, "get yourselves out onto this fuelling station. You can get a ride back to the station in the supply pods. From there, if you can keep your heads down, you can hitch a ride back to Earth. Shuttles leave every other day. Those who still want to carry on to Ancia, stay aboard."

"You know I'm off," said Jenna. She added bitterly to them all, "Have a nice life at Ancia." She gave Jupe one last eyeful, and said, "Hate to be you when Cuth catches up."

"The children are coming with me, and that's final," Taylor-Marie said to Morgan.

They had been arguing non-stop about what they were going to do. Morgan tried to keep protesting, and surprised everyone by breaking down in tears. Taylor-Marie refused to change her mind, and told Morgan that he was a bad father for thinking that they should go on to Ancia under such conditions.

"I will go on ahead," Morgan said to his children, wiping his eyes. "I will establish a camp there, and get word to you that it's safe. Then you can get another voyage out. I'll take care of it, so don't worry. It will all work out, I promise."

"Take care of it like this one's turned out?" Taylor-Marie snapped. "Over my dead body you will. This is it for me, this space travel."

Rolondo looked at Rebbi and saw that she was making an effort to not look in his direction. He then turned to Chera. "You can still come, if you want."

"I always knew you were crazy," said Chera. "I should have listened to all that shouting in my head, that you were no good for me. No good for anyone, as it happens."

At that, Rebbi looked at Rolondo, and mumbled something to herself. Rolondo thought it was something he would not want to hear anyway.

Chera looked at Rebbi. "If you're saying I'm right, you don't have to; I know I am."

"I said," Rebbi announced to her evenly, "don't you talk that way about my man."

"Reb?" Rolondo asked, sensing she might be changing her mind.

"I still hate you some, you know that?" Rebbi said to him, crying and shaking her head. She walked close to him but stopped short of touching him. "But fact is, I love you more. Do you think I'm going to let you go all the way by yourself to Ancia? Ancia the wonder-planet, without me?" Then she hugged him. "But don't you dare cross me again. Don't you dare!"

"I assume you're staying?" Jupe asked Real. "Where's your partner?"

"I have that taken care of," Real said as a half-truth. "Meeting someone there. Don't worry about it."

"Then to Ancia we go," said Jupe. "What's left of you. And I will let you know, so you know I'm not hiding anything from you, I have no intention of staying. My plan is to drop you off there and get back to Earth as fast as I can. There will be no debate on that. And if you want to go anywhere else other than your 'wonder-planet,' then you can go find yourselves another ship."

* * * *

Jupe was left with four. Two solitary men, Morgan and Real, and one couple, Rolondo and Rebbi. They were four people who, in ordinary life, Jupe would have no interest in knowing anything about. They had nothing in common, and both sides were unsure how to talk to each other. But given that obstacle, Jupe felt something unusual, something he had never imagined; they were looking to him with respect, and he liked it.

They reached the point where the ship's main engines could be ignited, the area deemed far enough away from the station to avoid major chemical fallback. Although such laws and restrictions were not entirely scientifically proven, it made the residents of T Station feel a bit safer.

Jupe had an incoming comlink call. Assuming it was the station flight authority, he answered it casually.

"You're brave, I'll give you that," TC said straight off. "Taking the ship like that. Took a fair piece of explaining, but in the end the guys here are easy to persuade. They're not sent out here for their good grades, I guess. How I'll explain it to Lars is another matter, and that'll take some doing. Thanks for that."

"I have nothing to say to you," Jupe said, trying to sound like he was in control. He hovered his hand over the switch to turn his com off.

"Well, I do to you, so hear me out. Cut me off, it'll be the biggest mistake you'll ever make. Think about this first: There are many things out there you don't know. About the deep, I mean. Things you need to know, and fast."

"Not knowing never stopped you. Isn't that what you told me?"

"Believe me when I tell you, there are things you are better off not knowing. It's all in the logs, but some of it is marked, and it's best you don't go there. Just leave them alone."

"Like killing your passengers? That in your logs?"

"Trust your instincts, that's all. When it comes down to it, I know your instincts are good; they have to be, you got them from me. If everything else fails you, your skill, your education, your memory even, if that goes, then your instincts will get you through. You have to trust them, even if they make no sense. That's what got me through, and at times, it was all that did. Getting through to Khans Star, you learn to go with the flow, and that's a lot further than Gammond's world. A lot further."

There was silence.

"You've finished?" asked Jupe.

"Looks that way."

"The only thing I want to tell you is this: You rescued those people, not the ship."

"What's that?" his father asked, beginning to show some anger.

"You told me you didn't want to be the hero, and you were just trying to save the ship. I don't buy that, not at all. And I think you know that too. You were after saving those people."

There was a pause, and when he spoke again he didn't deny what Jupe was saying. "Being a hero costs you. And I guess you're about to find that out for yourself, aren't you."

At that, Jupe punched at the switch to the comlink, annoyed that TC may be right. He waited in silence for the station's flight manager to give him the all-clear to proceed. There was no goodbye to his father, or acknowledgment that they may never talk again. Jupe did not consider saying it, and nor did he want to hear it.

PART THREE

### TWO ARRIVALS

The sixteen-month journey to the Pyronna system, home to the fabled world of Ancia, was incident-free. Their safety was cause for surprise to them all, not so much because Jupe was a young pilot, or that he had no one to back him up, but that they had not been stopped by any UDE authorities. They had heard how the territory surrounding Ancia was heavily patrolled, and they considered the possibility that they would not find any access to the world. Their "plan B," should all attempts to land fail, would be to travel to that other, less appealing colony world of Harax Pras. But no one wanted to go there, or even think about it.

For Jupe, he was privately elated at their safe arrival. The scepticism from his father, that had been hanging over him for most of the flight, had lessened, given the thoroughness of the ship's charts. Even though TC had never been to Ancia, the amount of detail in the best ways to get there was inspiring. Jupe had somehow imagined TC to be as casual about the charts as he was about most things in his life, including his family, but now he saw that his dad actually was a professional star pilot, and perhaps someone worthy of his status as hero. And whenever Jupe started to think of him like that, he would remind himself about how he was planning to betray his passengers, as well as his son.

The three star-swings described in the charts as "high-risk," proved not worth the worry. The swings were within the ship's capability, and the ship's computers gave no warnings that Jupe should fly manually. He had practised regularly for such an event when he would have to take control of the ship, but it never came. The only other point of interest was in the fifteen times that they encountered "near" objects, which called for emergency stations. The objects were nothing more than large chunks of ice or wandering asteroids. In actuality, they all passed the ship further than the Moon is from the Earth, which was still considered a near-collision in space flight. The first five or six caused excitement from the passengers, who sought to view the objects, but then such encounters became mundane and forgotten.

The main interest for the small group of five, was the unlikely friendships that developed between them. Any hidden defences did not last long, and they soon felt like members of the same family. Jupe was looked upon as the new hero, and they all held nothing but contempt for TC, given his actions toward them, and the way Jupe talked about his childhood of fatherly neglect. Morgan spent hours teaching them about how to set up their own companies and find the best land, and plan to build their own estates and future empires. Jupe didn't say anything, but he was amused at all the talk of empire-building, since he had no interest in anything to do with Ancia. He planned to get away as soon as they moved their cargo off the ship. The return flight would be difficult if he was to do it alone, but he was determined to try.

Rebbi had almost forgotten Rolondo's lying and scheming with Chera, but she had not forgiven Real's involvement in his plan. She was polite to him, but she knew not to trust him, and told Rolondo that they should have nothing to do with him once they land.

As the red glow of the Pyronna star grew brighter, they shared in the excitement that they were finally at their great destination. The impossible had been obtained. As they began their approach to Ancia, Jupe admitted that he knew little about the place, and the ship's computers were not much help. He expected to receive early contact from the local flight-control, even before they reached the outskirts. He planned to portray the ship as an official UDE flight, until they were properly identified, or he could find a cold moon to hide behind. TC had all kinds of escape manoeuvres programmed into the flight system, so Jupe felt confident if they were confronted by some big UDE warship.

Four enormous gas giant planets were detected in the system. They each featured numerous moons, and had deathly poisonous and frigid atmospheres. Such planets were beautiful to behold, but, as the veteran spacefarers liked to say, were little more than decoration, of no use, but for eye-candy. The computers told Jupe that there were five near-star planets, and he assumed that one of them was Ancia. But then he saw that they were listed as heated and baked rocks of no interest, smaller than Earth's moon. The computer listed the moon of the largest gas giant as Ancia.

Rebbi came into the flight deck and sat at the co-pilot's seat, as she had become accustomed. She had started to enjoy watching the sight of endless space in front of them, and try to accept the idea that they were actually travelling in deep-space, far from their home.

"We're coming up," Jupe said, trying to hide his confusion.

"I heard," she said, a little breathless at the thought.

"The others aren't interested?" he asked, sensing that she didn't notice him.

"They are," she said, embarrassed over their behaviour. "But they are fighting over unpacking order. Nearest the door, that's all Ro wants. Last in, first out, he's saying. Sorry, Jupe, but they're only thinking about jumping out and finding stable ground as fast as they can, and getting their stake."

Jupe studied the comlink lines and saw nothing. He began to worry that the military was influencing his readouts, and perhaps they should draw back and think about it some more. But then, he knew that even if they weren't yet detected, the comlink should be picking at least something up. He decided to be positive, and allow the ship to take them to what it said was Ancia; the main moon of the largest gas giant.

"Are you really going to leave us?" she asked. "What if you like the place? Don't want to stay just a little time?"

"Does it have surf?" he asked, his standard reply that everyone reacted to with a shake of the head, tired of the joke.

"Probably does, yes," Rebbi said, humouring him, as she liked to do.

"Coming here wasn't my idea."

"Part of the way was."

"I'll give you that."

"You look your age, act older though. What you did to save us, that was heroic. It needs to be said. Before we get there and everyone forgets what happened here, I just want you to know that."

"I'm not looking for praise or pity here. All I want is to spend my naturals surfing. I'm serious about that, so you can laugh all you want. Soon as I get back to ground—Earth ground, I'm never setting foot in space again, and that's a promise."

No, everything about this place is wrong. But the charts still say it's Ancia.

"Does it not intrigue you," she asked, "a whole, fantastic world to call your own, your very own?"

"I may have a look, as I fly over it. Fact is, we'll have to remain discreet with the ship, seeing as you are not exactly registered. Don't expect a welcoming party."

"I think you may change your mind, stay for a while anyway. I'll be willing to wager that."

"Truth is, what puts me off the most, is the part about building your own cities. That sounds like nothing but work, all the live-long day."

"That's what the machines are for," she laughed.

Rolondo entered with a loud cheer. "Yeah, the machines, we're just talking about that."

"I don't work digging machines either," said Jupe. "Can we have everyone up here now? You'll all need to get strapped in."

Rolondo nodded and went back to get the Morgan and Real. When everyone was ready, Jupe directed the ship to head for what the nav-computer insisted was Ancia, and begin a wide orbit. They still detected no comlinks, nor signs of other ships. Not just UDE; there was nothing from anyone.

They could see no clouds and the surface of the moon, which was a patchwork of dark red, with large chunks of dark brown here and there, all looking uninviting.

"That's odd," Jupe said to himself, not seeing any point in hiding the bad news any further.

"What's odd?" asked Rolondo, sensing his concern. "Something's wrong?"

"Is there a problem?" asked Morgan.

"No problem with our trajectory or target," said Jupe. "Speed is good. Ship is good. Everything is good, actually. Didn't do too bad a job getting us here, did I?"

"You said something was odd, what was it?" Rebbi asked quickly, knowing Jupe well enough to see that he was evading the question.

"Ancia," Jupe admitted. "I've got no comlinks, no nav-guides, no contact at all. If there's a GTD, they're hiding it. Nothing is registering on the scopes and from what I can see visually down there, it's nothing but a bleak rock. I can't even see any sign of atmosphere."

"Don't joke with us, don't you know how fragile we are right now?" Real said nervously.

"This is Ancia, right?" Rolondo asked, starting to panic. "You have taken us to the right place? The right star system?"

"Ro, don't..." Rebbi shushed him.

"Yes, it's the right system," Jupe said, mildly insulted. "That is Ancia. There's nowhere else in this system is anything like a habitable world."

"What are you saying?" Rolondo asked with a raised voice, ignoring Rebbi. "We have no contact? Is there something wrong with your scopes? That doesn't look anything like Ancia. Where are we?"

"How is it not Ancia?" Jupe said as he turned to him. "It's the only earth-like planet here, not to mention the only planet for light years. It's not like I missed Ancia and we stumbled on this planet instead. Is that what you think's happened? You think I missed it? Do you think that's what happened?"

"Then what's wrong, Jupe?" asked Rebbi.

"What's wrong," he said, "is it doesn't look anything like what Ancia should look like. Or sound like, given the complete lack of communication. There's no coms—what am I supposed to do, invent some for you?"

He looked out of the viewscreen to study the surface, and it horrified him. There was no life, at all.

"Lack of communication can be easily explained," Morgan said, sounding like he was in charge, or should be. "Since we are an unregistered ship, we will not be invited by the powers-that-be. Am I right?"

"I know the official Ancia authority would not be expecting us," said Jupe, having no idea what to do next. "Of course I know that. Do you think I want to be shot down before we hit atmosphere? I don't know, maybe I'm over-thinking this. There's something I must be missing."

"TC would know," Real remarked off-hand.

"TC?" Jupe responded with his own anger. "What, you're saying if TC were here, he'd figure it out? In case you've forgotten, TC tried to dump you all off this flight."

"Easy up, Jupe," said Rolondo, as if he was the only one allowed to shout.

"Perhaps we are over-thinking this," said Morgan. "Let's get closer. See what this place is. Should it not be Ancia, then perhaps it is another world that needs to be explored, and we may be the first humans to do so. Let's see if we can land."

Jupe could see no reason to object his idea, since he knew that they needed to find the truth sooner or later. As he dropped the ship closer to the surface he had the shields on full, in case it was a UDE trap of some kind. But the closer they got to the surface, the more detail was registered by the computers, and all they could detect was rock and sand.

"No, this is the wrong place," Rolondo announced, his voice cracking with his anger. "This idiot has taken us to the wrong place! Is this some kind of plan? You brought us here to kill us, or something? Is any of what you've told us true?"

Rebbi went between him and Jupe. If he had really wanted, he could have tossed her aside to get to Jupe.

"Look at the nav-charts, you don't believe me," said Jupe, feeling betrayed, but not surprised by his reaction. "It's Ancia, or what Ancia should be where they told us Ancia was."

"Has something happened to Ancia?" asked Rebbi. "Something terrible? Some disaster?"

"I doubt that," said Jupe. "Look at the surface. I don't even want to risk setting the ship on surface like that. Could be unstable; certainly looks it. And there's no real atmosphere."

"If this is Ancia and they suffered a great disaster," pondered Morgan, "would there be diminished atmosphere as a result? Could that be what happened? Could we have missed a war of some kind?"

"Or alien invasion?" asked Real.

"That's not Ancia," said Rolondo. "How can it be? Just look at it. You think it used to be Ancia and it's changed a little bit?"

"I have spent many an hour studying Ancia," said Real, "and I have to agree, from what we can see, it is nothing like this place. Is there any atmosphere at all, Jupe?"

"Trace, that's all," he said, and that meant there was nothing that could support human life.

"There are massive crevasses," Rebbi observed. "Look at that."

"Not anything like what they said in the advertising," said Morgan, not really listening and talking more to himself.

"No, there's no question to it, we can't land," said Jupe.

"Then what are we supposed to do now, genius?" asked Rolondo, with a glare that looked like he was about to hit him.

"There's another moon..." Jupe started.

"Ancia has no moon," said Real.

"All right," Jupe began again, "so there is this imaginary moon not far from us, looks a great deal more solid than this one, and perhaps has a little more atmosphere. We can try landing there. If you all don't mind?"

"I don't think there can be much doubt about what we have found," Morgan announced. "This is certainly the wrong star system. There is no possible way this planet is Ancia. It's a massive misjudgement in navigation, that's for sure. I'm not blaming you, Jupe, it's more a cause of error in the ship's charts. Perhaps TC envisioned our taking his ship and set up false charts. Who's to know. But it's not your fault, and we don't hold you responsible."

"It's the wrong place, then," Jupe returned to him with force. "Congratulations, we have discovered a black and gloomy coldrock. Anyone want to fight over who we name it after? How about you, Morgan? How much can you sell it for?"

"Man, what have we done?" Rolondo said with his eyes shut tight, his hands rubbing his head. "This boy's taken us on some mystery ride far into outer space? He doesn't know where we are, in deep space! Deep space!"

"Don't believe me, see if I care," said Jupe.

"I think we need to be calm here," said Rebbi. "This is clearly not Ancia. I agree with Morgan; something must be wrong with your charts. I don't see how you can think otherwise. Let's just take another look. See if we can figure out where Ancia actually is."

"The readouts are saying this is Ancia," insisted Jupe. "See for yourself. Ancia. Ancia. Ancia. This is Ancia."

"Then they're wrong," said Rebbi.

Jupe groaned and said to himself, "I should have never taken this job."

No one spoke for a while as they watched the rugged and lifeless surface of the second moon get closer.

"If no one objects," Morgan said, breaking the weary silence, "I volunteer the name Morgan, for the planet, and Calp for the previous moon. It is a new planet, and I believe protocol calls for the naming of a new planet, upon discovery. No one objects?"

No one did.

The ships' computers scanned the new moon and found it to be solid rock, full of craters and deep caverns, but no sand, and safe enough to land the ship. Jupe approved of the selected landing site and they all watched in silence as the ship landed itself, carefully and without fuss. They were on an alien world, a dark and cold place, far from any known civilisation and other human contact. Under better circumstances, they should have been celebrating their achievement.

"Can this moon be named Taylor?" Morgan asked.

No one gave him an answer as they all just sat and stared out at the lifeless rock. The red star Pyronna rose over the horizon, seemingly angry, like they were intruding, and breaking the natural order and peace of its rock-moons and nothing-planets.

* * * *

When Jupe said that he wanted to suit-up and go out to see what he could find with his own eyes, Rolondo was right behind him. It wasn't so much as support on Rolondo's part, but more suspicion, as if Jupe might make a break for it or something. He had not stopped eyeing Jupe and suspected that it was all some scheme to rob them, as TC had tried.

Rebbi initially thought that it was all a bad idea, and she told that to Rolondo the entire time he struggled to put on his airsuit. Jupe made a show of helping him, and wanted them to see that he was on their side. He was annoyed with the way he was being treated, like he was hiding something from them, and just brought them all to this wasted place as some sort of con. The con artist had been TC, not him. He was trying to help them, to get them to their prized world, and now he regretted it. He also felt like he had been hoodwinked by UDE, and the Bests, and even TC himself, and they had been led to another star, and the real Ancia was many light-years away. If he didn't know the ship's charts as well as he did, he would have believed that.

The two gingerly set foot on the alien moon. Jupe was first, and then came Rolondo, keen to not let him get too far away. The estimations from the computers were correct and the gravity was adequate enough for them to walk. They slowly edged away from the safety of the ship, as if they were doing a balancing act on the edge of a high edifice, fearing that the wrong move would result in death.

It came as a sudden realisation to Morgan that he was making a serious mistake by hanging back and letting them go out first. He hurried to get into his own suit, ignoring Rebbi's curious look. He was not wanting to have to explain his action to her, since she could message it to Rolondo. The moon did not look like much, but Morgan knew that there were plenty of occasions when great value came from ordinary things. If there was anything valuable, he wanted to be the first to discover it.

Rebbi shook her head as Morgan made his way out and then ran to catch the two. She glanced to Real to see what he thought, and found that he had slipped away unseen. She had learned that was typical behaviour for him, and she considered him to be the worst loner she had ever met. She sent a comlink to Rolondo and Jupe to tell them that Morgan was coming up behind them. Then she watched on the monitors that they had both stopped and were waiting for him.

All of a sudden, without any warning, Rebbi became overwhelmed in fear. Seeing most of her friends far off on an alien world, without anyone near her for the first time in nearly two years, it all became too much. She sent an urgent message to Rolondo for him to hurry back to the ship. He wanted to know what was wrong. She gave him no answer except he should hurry. Knowing her, he asked if she was feeling scared. When she admitted it, he said that she should come out and join them, that the view was great, and there was nothing to fear. She told him she would, but then regretted it. She fumbled at putting on her suit, and started to cry because she couldn't get it on quickly enough. But then she managed to find the arms and legs, and soon left the ship to join them. By the time she reached them she was shaking and crying.

* * * *

Real just stood and stared. The freezing-unit showed no signs of problems, that its occupant was fully protected, as well as when she first went in, still unconscious from the drugs he forced on her, so long ago, back on Earth. He could have set her free at T Station, and at least given her the opportunity to return to Earth. But all he could see was a better opportunity for the two of them on Ancia, so he left her there, with an unknowable amount of time left to survive. Now they were at a nowhere planet, he could see no other option of what he must do with her. His plans felt as wasted as the so-called Ancian world below them. So much for getting her into a safe place to let her out, he thought, since there was no hope for that now. He knew that if he plugged the freezer into the ship's mains, that might alert Jupe. The only other possibility was to let her out of the freezer right then and there, and welcome her to her new world, whatever that was. Every time he thought of doing such a thing, and know that he would have to look into her eyes to see her horror, the sense of shame became too much. There remained one option, and he knew that with most of the passengers off the ship, this was his best opportunity.

He pushed the freezer to the drop-hatch, the same place from where it had been loaded, and pushed the necessary buttons. As the motors whirred and the large box sank down below the floor, it gave the appearance of a coffin being lowered into the ground. Real could not help his eyes from watering as he watched her go.

"Goodbye, K," he whispered, and that made him cry with shattering sobs.

* * * *

By the time Rebbi caught up with the group, they had started asking themselves if they should turn back. Jupe, showing far more of an adventurous spirit than the others, wanted to go nearer to a high ridge that he guessed overlooked one of the moon's many craters. Morgan was trying to convince the others that they should be exploring down one of the moon's caves, as he predicted that it was more likely to find any evidence of life in such places, and not on such a barren surface. Rolondo caught the fear from Rebbi's voice and was starting to not see the lack of logic of them being out there at all.

In one of the black shadows something moved. They all saw it and it made them freeze in their tracks, to wait to see it again, to prove that they saw it at all. The more they waited, the more their terror built up.

Rolondo was the first to speak, and that was because he was the first to panic. "That was something alive! Did you see that? Something's alive!"

He caused Rebbi to start panicking too. "Are you kidding me?" she shrieked. "What was it?"

"How should I know?" Rolondo yelled, so loud it distorted their headphones.

"We need to get out of here," said Jupe.

"You know what it is?" Morgan asked Jupe, somehow reasoning that since he was a space pilot, he would know.

"What, are you kidding?" Jupe yelled at him. "I have no idea! Run!"

"But you know all about things like that, don't you?" Morgan protested, still debating if this was a good or bad thing. He took hold of Jupe's arm as the others headed to the ship, trying to hold him back. "TC would have told you?"

"I said I don't know, all right?" Jupe said, also starting to lose his cool and feel the blind fear of the others.

Rolondo and Rebbi ran ahead. They were followed by Jupe and a strangely reluctant Morgan, who then realised that he was lagging behind and screamed that they all stop to wait for him to catch up, which they didn't do. As soon as the ship's airlock opened, they burst through and up into the main ship, none of them stopping to change from their airsuits. They scrambled for the flight deck and strapped themselves to the seats, as if that would be enough to protect them.

"It was an alien, right?" Rebbi asked, gasping. "Right?"

"We've got to get out of here," said Rolondo, looking over the controls like he could operate them if he really had to.

"We can't go yet," said Jupe, angry with himself that he was shaking.

"We're going, you hear me?" Rolondo ordered, ready to hit him if he disagreed.

"It's not that easy."

"Get this ship out of here!" Rolondo was becoming hysterical.

"Calm down, will you?" said Jupe, first to him and then to the rest. "It's not that simple. Once the ship lands, the engines cool. I can't fire them up too soon or they run the risk of cracking."

From the hold, Real ran up to the flight deck, hearing their shouts, worried that something had gone wrong with a suit, or something like that. He was secretly fearing that they had seen K's freezer being unloaded from the ship.

"What's happened?" he asked.

"Something was out there," said Morgan. "We're not sure what."

"What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, we're sure," Rolondo countered. "Aliens are out there. I'm not kidding. This is the real thing."

A cold fear engulfed Real. "What you say?"

"Aliens!" Rolondo yelled at him like it was his fault.

"We don't know what it was," said Jupe.

"Yeah we do, aliens!" yelled Rolondo.

"Can you make him calm down?" Jupe asked Rebbi.

"Calm down?" she yelled back. "Why?"

"No, I think Jupe is right," said Morgan. "We need to think about this."

"Are you serious?" asked Real. "Aliens are out there? Aliens?"

"Yes!" they all yelled at him.

"Do we have guns?" asked Rolondo.

"What do we want guns for?" asked Jupe, remembering TC's Kel-Tec tucked away in the secret drawer.

"The aliens!" Rolondo said like he was stupid.

"Is the ship secure?" asked Rebbi. "Make sure they can't get in. They can't get in, can they?"

"Take it easy, can you?" said Jupe.

"What did it look like?" asked Real.

Rebbi went to tell him, but the fear made her start to scream, a high-pitched cry, followed by deep sobs, and she then madly hugged Rolondo, who looked accusingly at Jupe.

"What's with her?" asked Real.

"Hysteria," Morgan said thoughtfully. "Normal response to unreasonably abnormal circumstance."

"I heard, they can smell fear," said Real.

Jupe looked at Real in disbelief.

"Why are you being so calm?" Rolondo demanded of Morgan.

"Because I realise what a magnificent opportunity we have here," he said, already beginning to imagine how much money he might make for himself.

"We don't know what we're dealing with," said Jupe, knowing that he needed to calm everyone down, including himself. "For all we know, it was just shadows."

"Shadows," repeated Rolondo, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"No, I agree," said Morgan. "It would be irresponsible for us to rush to conclusions and leave. There are too many unanswered questions. We need to know why Ancia is not here when the charts say it is, and these moons are in its place. That is before we try to guess whatever it was we saw out there; shadow or something else."

"What do you mean, they can smell fear?" Rebbi asked Real, now that she had calmed down enough to talk.

"You think that was shadows?" Rolondo asked Jupe. "You need to take a closer look."

"What are you not telling us, Jupe?" asked Rebbi. "He knows more than he's letting on, Ro. Look at him, he's way too at ease with the situation."

"Trust me, I'm as much in the dark on this one as you," Jupe assured.

"Now we are all beginning to calm down and think about this reasonably," said Morgan, "let's look at where we are. Turning tail and jetting out is not the answer. Shadows, alien life, or something else, our duty is to investigate. This could be a major discovery, and I, for one, am not prepared to let this opportunity pass us by."

"Our duty?" Rebbi asked, incredulous. "Did you say duty?"

"This ship's safe, right?" asked Rolondo.

"I can't see anything out there," Real said at one of the side windows. "How big you say this thing was?"

"This could be an important discovery," Morgan continued. "Probably the most important in all space exploration history."

"That's good," Rolondo said to him. "Then you go investigate and send your report back to us, all about it."

"Well, let's not rush into anything," said Morgan. "We need to discuss."

Jupe looked at them and laughed. They reacted with outrage, and that made him laugh more. "Imagine if this was actual alien contact," he said as he regained his composure. "First Contact, and all that. What a bunch of cowards we are, running away and just wanting to leave. Don't think that'll be recorded in history books of the future. Take me to your leader, it says, but oh wait, they've all run off."

"I fail to see the humour here," said Real, still looking out the window.

"You're stalling," Rolondo said to Jupe.

"I'm not stalling," he said.

"No, you are," said Rolondo. "Go investigate. We'll all be here when you get back, I promise."

"I'm prepared to go," said Morgan.

"Ok, then, go," said Rolondo.

"I need someone to go with me," said Morgan.

"To hold your hand?" asked Rolondo.

"No, he's right," said Jupe. "Someone needs to go see whatever it was. It can't be me, though."

"Why can't it be you?" asked Rebbi.

"Did you want to lose the only one who can pilot this ship," he said, "because he fell into a crevasse, and none of his fellow crewmates knew about it or were too scared to leave the ship to help him?"

"Someone should go, I agree," said Real, still unconvinced at their story, but not so much that he wanted to go outside. "We'll send one, keep in comlink contact, so it's safe."

"We'll find a volunteer," said Jupe. "End of discussion."

"Where do you keep the straws?" asked Morgan.

Both Rolondo and Rebbi thought Morgan was joking. Jupe thought for a moment and headed to the mess. The drinking straws had hardly been touched during the voyage, until Westminster Calp decided he wanted to drink with them, and then all three of the children started fighting over them, forcing them to be packed away. Jupe brought back a handful, with one cut shorter than the rest. He handed them to Morgan.

"You are actually going to do the straw thing?" asked Rolondo. "There's aliens crawling around outside and we're playing games with straws?"

"Drawing straws," said Jupe. "I don't think it was these kind, in the straw-drawing thing. But it's all we have, so let's get it over with."

Morgan mixed them up behind his back. Jupe went first, drawing long. Rolondo was next, also drawing long. Rebbi looked at Rolondo, shook her head at the whole idea and drew a short straw. She cried when she saw it, the fear beginning to get to her again.

"That isn't right," Rolondo said as he took the straw from her. "I'll go in your place, babe."

"Can he do that?" Real asked, and then realised he missed out on drawing and he should keep his mouth shut.

Morgan took the straws from Rolondo and Jupe and resorted them in his hand. The others were confused as to what he was doing. "Now again, to see who goes with Ro."

"Wait on," said Real. "We know who's going with Ro. It's you."

"I didn't say anything about that," said Morgan, holding the straws for someone to pick from.

"It was your idea to go back out there," Real said, angry at him.

"You're as scared as we are, Morgan," said Rebbi. "All that talk about making money, and great opportunity, it's just to hide that fact that you're as scared as all of us."

"What if I am?" he asked, unfazed. "Draw again." He motioned to Jupe.

"You weren't in the first draw," Jupe pointed out.

"I'll be in this one," he said.

Rolondo grabbed one, drawing long. Real took a breath and grabbed one, long. Jupe was still partly amused with Morgan, and thought it was a pointless exercise as he drew one, and it was the short one.

"We have our two," said Morgan.

"You know what?" said Rolondo, tossing his straw to the ground. "We should leave right now, forget all this straw nonsense. Get out of here, get back to Earth. What do you say, Jupe?"

"Are you not the least bit curious about all this?" Morgan asked him. "It was certainly non-human life."

"I agree we should leave," said Jupe. "Not our world. Not Ancia either."

"Think about this," Morgan pressed, seeing that his chance at fame was slipping away. "This may be the actual First Contact, human to alien. Such an event is incredibly momentous, an encounter like this."

"Encounter?" asked Rebbi. "We could have walked on that thing if it hadn't moved."

"The point is," said Morgan, "there is a great deal at stake here. If this is the first encounter of alien life, there is enormous amounts of money to be made."

"There is more going on here than worrying about money," said Jupe.

"What was that?" Rolondo asked Morgan, realising why he was trying to convince them to go back out. "Is that all you care about? Money? Are you serious? You want to risk everything by going out there again? You have no idea what that thing is, but you're willing to risk everything to find out, because there is a slim chance of making wage over it?"

"It may not be important to you," said Morgan, "but it happens to be important to me."

"We're not saying it has no importance," said Rebbi. "What we're saying is we are in danger, and the longer we stay here the more danger we are getting into."

"I don't know if we are in danger," said Jupe. "We've been sitting here for a while, and nothing's happened. Now I'm not so sure about kicking it all in, and going back to Earth."

"You just said you were," said Rolondo.

"Aren't any of you curious about what happened to Ancia and all the colonists?" he asked.

"We would if we were actually at Ancia," said Rebbi.

"And I keep telling you, that is where we are," said Jupe.

"Sorry, not going to convince me," said Rebbi. "Out there is nothing like what we know about Ancia. Not even close."

"It's nothing like Ancia, Jupe," said Real.

"I'm not interested in convincing you," said Jupe. "The fact is, we need to stay to see what this place is, and what those things are. Is it Ancia and something's gone wrong, or is it somewhere else? Morgan's right, it may have great importance. Whatever that was out there, we need to know what it was."

"We'll vote," said Rolondo. "All those in favour..."

"There's no voting," said Jupe. "I'm the captain, I'm in charge. No discussion."

"Who do you think you are? TC?" asked Rebbi.

Jupe glared at her, and then at Morgan who was smirking. They didn't know it was the biggest insult that they could give him.

"Let's go," Jupe said to Rolondo.

"Go where? Out there? I'm not going out there again."

"You got the straw. Let's go see what's out there."

"I don't care what's out there. I'm not going."

"Real can go," said Rebbi. "He didn't see it. We've seen it and he hasn't. That's only fair."

"What are you talking about?" Real asked her.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," said Jupe. "You need to see it too, Real, so we've all seen it."

"What, are you crazy?" Real asked them all. "That doesn't make any sense." They kept looking at him. "What if it's dangerous?" he protested.

"Then we're in trouble," Jupe said to him, patting his back as he walked past. They all heard a short chuckle, and it reminded them of TC.

Real saw the others staring at him like he was a coward. Even though that was true, he knew that going outside into the great unknown, was a better option than looking any more at their accusing stares.

* * * *

Jupe helped Real with his suit and they went outside. As soon as his foot landed on the surface, fear returned, but he wasn't going to show it in front of Real. They walked in the direction, as best as Jupe could remember, where they had seen the unknown thing. Real was unfamiliar with the suit and he fell behind. He then started running to catch up to Jupe, and grabbed his arm when he got to him. When Jupe pulled his arm away, it caused Real to yell with fright.

"What's with you?" Jupe asked him.

Real looked at him, his eyes wide, and then turned to head back to the ship, without a word. Jupe watched him go in amazement, and then looked to the area of the thing, whatever-it-was, and continued walking there. There was a part of him that found the venture enlivening, even though most of his brain was yelling at him to follow Real and get back to the safety of the ship. The thought of finding an alien creature made him forget the danger. But there was more; he was curious in finding any sign of all those Ancian colonists who had come out to the world. Although he would have scoffed at the idea had anyone pointed it out to him, it was exactly the kind of brainless heroism that TC would have done.

He arrived at the site of where they saw the moving shadow. His heart raced so much that it set off warning signs in his suit, and his breathing became rapid. But then he saw that there was nothing there at all, and he felt ridiculous. He kicked at some loose rock, entertaining the thought that perhaps all they saw was falling rock; nevermind that the moon had no wind and there was nothing to make anything fall. He walked on further, taking occasional glances back to the ship, just for the reassurance that it was still within eyesight. The large rocks around him cast deep black shadows, but none of them moved.

Then his footstep felt odd, and the surface all around him turned to soft rock and dirt, and gave way under his weight. The dirt engulfed him and he felt himself falling deep under the surface. When he came to a stop he hit hard rock and the sensation caused blackout. When he came to, he frantically checked his life support, seeing he had only been out for a few minutes. Then he saw where he was. A large cave stretched before him, and he fumbled at the suit controls for an infrared viewing. When he turned that on he yelled so much that his visor momentarily clouded over.

It was like a wall of bugs around him, impossible to see where one started and ended, moving as one; legs, feelers, antenna, who-knows-what, waving randomly. Others moved rapidly over the top of the mass, looking like giant cockroaches, but dripping with liquid and goo. A couple suddenly flew away with such speed that it was almost like they disappeared. Then the walking ones dramatically increased their speed, and began to pick up the ones beneath them, two or three at a time, and run off with them. Some of the things had wings, some had long waving feelers, some were shiny, some were hairy; all were frightening.

Watching the mass of creatures, Jupe missed a tall, angular one moving toward him with purpose. This one had a shiny elongated head, no discernible eyes, and long probing antenna. Under a light shell, its body was full of scales with long hair at random places. It had two legs the same size as its body. Parts of it were dripping with transparent goo, and the rest was dry and flaky. Behind it came another, exactly like it.

"He will help us."

Jupe jumped at the voice, and when looking for where it came from, yelled with all his might at the sight of the two creatures peering down at him, again clouding his visor. He could not stop yelling, and because of that, could not see anything.

"We have hope."

The second voice was different. Jupe knew that it wasn't coming to him audibly, since it would have to have come through his suit's comlink. Convinced that he was about to die, he felt a sudden surge of boldness, and he stopped yelling long enough for his visor to clear. He looked up to the creatures and decided to disregard everything his brain was telling him, since nothing in his life had prepared him for such a moment, and therefore no rules applied.

"Talking to me?" he said to the creatures, beginning to feel the whole experience was a dream, and perhaps he was still unconscious from the fall.

"How else do you communicate?" came the second voice.

Jupe looked at them and knew his worst fear was happening to him, that not only were these things alive and horrible, they were also talking to him without the aid of comlink.

"What are you? Bugs?" he asked.

"What are you?" came the first voice, from the nearest creature.

Jupe had no idea what to say as they waited for him to respond. Was this the fabled First Contact? Was he the first man to meet and communicate with an alien race? If so, Jupe knew that he was entirely the wrong person for the job.

"I am a human."

"What is that?"

"From Earth."

"What is that?"

Jupe ran out of words to say.

* * * *

Rolondo gave the comlink a smack. Morgan told him that was a stupid thing to do. They had lost all track of Jupe for nearly half an hour and they were fearing the worst. Rebbi wanted one of the men to go out and find him, since they knew the approximate place where he was when they lost contact, but none of them wanted to look at her.

Then there came a loud scrapping on the starboard side of the ship. It sounded like something was repeatedly hitting the ship's outer hull. Unable to do anything else, they just looked at each other in sheer terror. The scrapping became louder and louder, and then was heard in different places. Rebbi suddenly screamed and Rolondo took her in his arms to try to calm her.

"There's got to be guns somewhere on the ship," said Real.

"The Wilsons must have left some," said Morgan.

"See what's doing that noise, first," said Rebbi, looking to Rolondo to do it.

"How we do that?" he asked her.

"Hull cameras," she said, pointing at a side set of monitors.

They all looked at the monitors and then to each other, wondering who would do it, and if it was a good idea.

"We have to know," said Real.

Morgan took a deep breath and sat in the small seat by the monitors, and turned them on.

Crawling over the hull in groups of five or more, were small black creatures that looked like bugs greedily descending over their helpless prey. They could not immediately tell the size of the things, given that they were more shocked at how fast and aggressively they were moving.

* * * *

Jupe had been picked up by the first creature, as easily as a feather. Feeling the force of its strength, told him that he was totally powerless against it. He was tightly pressed against its repulsive and oily torso, as it took him deeper into the cave. Since he was head-first on the thing, he did not know where he was going. Then he started shaking, and wild thoughts overwhelmed him, fearing most of all that his visor was going to break and he would find his face touching the creature. He feared that more than what he should have feared, that he might be eaten.

"Why do you struggle?" the creature asked him. It sounded like a kind parent, but that didn't help him.

"What is this? What's going on?" Jupe shouted.

"You are with friends, for now," said the second.

Jupe found himself being placed on stable surface with undue care. He quickly looked around and found that it was a small cavity in a secluded part of the cave.

"What is this place?" he asked.

"You are different from the others," said the first. "You did not come their way. Why are you different?"

"Is this some kind of joke? Who is that talking—how can you talk to me?"

"I am talking to you, with my companion," said the first. "Do you hear something else talking to you?"

"Who are you?"

"We are the Living," said the second.

"What?" Jupe asked, becoming hysterical and feeling like he may pass out. "The Living? What is going on?"

He tried to scramble back, to get away from them, but was unable to stand due to the low ceiling. Then he lost it, and just turned into a blind rage and started to yell at them.

"I've had enough of this, do you hear me? Do you think I wanted to come out here? Do you? I was kidnapped! By my own father! How do you think that makes me feel? Bad, is how that makes me feel! And then I find out, this great man, this hero, was just using us, using the passengers, to make money out of them. Was he taking them to Ancia? Oh, no, he wasn't. He was only going as far as T Station. And what was he going to do at the T? Abandon them, or worse, kill them. Right, so we got the ship off him and got away. So I agree—stupidly as it turns out—to take them to Ancia. Take them to what? This place? Full of aliens? Full of bugs? This isn't Ancia!"

"Ancia," said the first. "You speak of Ancia."

Jupe could not help becoming sarcastic. "I do, don't I? And just what have you done with Ancia?"

"This is not Ancia," said the first. "This is Ancia's moon."

Jupe looked at them and blinked a few times, and started to tell himself to get a grip on the situation. "This is Ancia's moon? And that rock of burned-out charcoal, that is Ancia?"

"That is Ancia," said the first.

"And it's covered in giant talking bugs, because?"

"We need your help," said the second.

"You what? My help? Guess what: I'm not helping anyone except myself. And don't tell me how you can talk to me. As far as I can see, you don't have mouths. Because I don't care! I'm leaving now, if you don't mind, and taking my ship and any passengers who want to accompany me, and we're getting out of this hellhole. Okay?"

Careful to not get too close to the creatures, he tried to search for a way out. He looked upward, to see a way out that way, knowing that reaching the surface was his only chance.

"You need to help us," said the first, its tone still gentle, almost understanding of his pain and fear.

"No, can't do anything to help you, not doing it. Get out of my way, I'm leaving."

"If you join our fight," said the second, "you can free many of your kind, and at the same time help our kind."

"Human," the first said to his companion. "From Earth."

Jupe stopped and looked at them. For them to mention Earth gave him a sense of dread, as if he had betrayed his world to them. He wanted to tell them to stay away from his planet, that they know nothing about the place, and nothing is worth knowing.

Another creature, with multiple arms and legs, and a large fat body and strange head, suddenly leapt down to them and began to hit the two creatures with a flurry of kicks from its legs. Little creatures began to fall off it, with even smaller ones falling off them. Jupe could not believe his eyes as the main creature's head detached itself from the body and climbed on top of the first, friendly creature, causing it to collapse. It had small legs and large eyes, and yet it was taking no notice of Jupe, even though he was plainly in its sight.

It then jumped onto the second creature and forced it down in the same way. In a flash, the head returned to its own body and the whole creature jettisoned away. All the little creatures that fell off flew upward and followed it. The first creature then took hold of Jupe and brought him close to its large mouth. A small tube shot out of the mouth and began to discharge goo all over him, with a smell so strong that it seeped through the suit.

"We are sorry," said the first.

Jupe was freaking out and screaming. "Get off me! What are you doing?"

"We do this to prepare you," said the second, "to protect you from the Master. This is your best chance to escape. You should go now."

"Go now," said the first, lifting Jupe up high above its head, toward a small opening. "Do you thank me?"

Jupe scrambled and bustled his way up the opening, barely big enough for him to get through, until he reached the moon surface.

"Do you thank me?" he heard again.

If he wasn't so terrified, he would have collapsed right there, but he ran as fast as he had ever run, back to the ship.

* * * *

Jupe was lost for words as he tore off his suit and ran up to the flight deck. They had all reacted with terror to the sound of the airlock opening, even though the other noises had ceased about fifteen minutes ago. His suit was covered in goo, and most of it was on his back. He didn't want to think about what it could be, or if it posed a danger.

"What happened?" asked Rebbi, horrified at his state.

"What's that on your suit?" Rolondo asked him. "It stinks."

"We're leaving," said Jupe, gasping for the words. He jumped into the captain's chair. "And I can confirm this is indeed Ancia's moon."

"How can you confirm that?" asked Real. "How would you know that?"

"Wait on," said Rolondo. "What is that goo?"

"No, tell us why you think this is Ancia," said Real.

"Let's just say I met some people who provided that information," said Jupe.

"People?" asked Morgan. "The colonists?"

"This isn't Ancia," said Rolondo. "Who are you fooling?"

"Jupe, was it the colonists?" asked Rebbi.

"I don't know," Jupe said reluctantly, wishing he had told them nothing. The only thing on his mind was to get the engines up and the ship out of there. "Just forget what I said."

"What's all that goo on your suit?" asked Real.

"It's just... traces of wildlife," said Jupe. "Don't worry about it."

"Wildlife?" asked Rolondo.

"There is alien life out there?" asked Morgan. "Did you make contact?"

"That's alien goo?" asked Rolondo.

"We're leaving," said Jupe.

"Jupe, tell us," said Morgan. "Did you make contact? First Contact?"

"Right now," said Jupe. "We'll prepare the engines in a slowfall orbit, that should be okay. It's been done before. I just want off this rock, and right now."

"It's the bugs, isn't it," said Real. "You got close to the bugs."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Jupe, not knowing how Real knew, or why he was being calm about it.

"Sure, the bugs," Real said with a shrug. "Like the ones who were attacking the ship. We saw them, on the monitors. They looked like insects, but really big. Way too big. And they moved really fast."

"Attacking the ship?" Jupe repeated.

"You weren't here," said Rebbi. "They were all over the ship. We decided to discharge one of the engines."

"You did what?" Jupe shouted at her.

"Easy up," said Rolondo. "It was the only thing we could think of, aside from going out there and whacking them. You weren't here. As if you would have been much help here anyway."

"Are you telling me you started the engines?" Jupe asked Rebbi. "You hit the controls without me even on board, with no one on board who has any idea about how the ship runs? Are you kidding me?"

"Calm down..." said Rolondo.

"Calm down?" Jupe yelled. "Are you telling me to calm down? Do you know what you could have done? Blown up the ship. How do you like that? Or damaged it so bad we all would be stuck here forever and a day. As for me, I couldn't imagine more worse people to be stuck with, anywhere!"

"You're just saying that because you're scared," observed Real.

"What?" Jupe yelled at him.

"Something out there really scared you," said Real. "We can see that. The way your eyes are darting, and your voice is high pitched, ever since you came back. You got close to those things, didn't you. Don't lie to us. Tell us what you saw."

"Did you make contact?" pressed Morgan.

"Is that where the goo came from?" asked Rolondo.

"What do you people want from me?" Jupe responded.

"We want you to tell us what happened out there," said Morgan "You were brave for going out there, we know that, but now you have to tell us. What did you see?"

"They're bugs, that's all," Jupe said, lying. "Big, slimy, downright scary bugs."

"You saw them?" asked Rolondo.

"I saw them and I'll do anything I can to forget them," said Jupe. He saw that they expected more. "The first ones, they had shells and hair, they were gooey, all covered in slime, and they put it on me. They told me some stuff, I forget exactly what." Jupe cringed at the memory.

"They talked to you," Real repeated, not wanting to believe it.

"Just a bit," said Jupe. "But they were scared of this other bug, that split in two. Its head came off, or something weird like that. It was very hairy, but the other half was this big round lump with legs. Many legs." He shivered as he remembered.

"I don't like this place," said Rebbi.

"Are you saying," Morgan asked slowly, "those things told you this was Ancia?"

"Ancia's moon, yeah," said Jupe.

"And you saw the people, the colonists?" asked Morgan.

"Didn't see any people," Jupe said like it was the end of the conversation. But then he thought about it and admitted, "I think they were talking about them. They wanted me to help."

"Help with what?" asked Real, looking at the others like Jupe was crazy.

"Freeing them, or something," said Jupe.

"They were really talking to you?" asked Real, becoming worried. "You understood them? How could you understand aliens? Bug-aliens?"

"We have to take stock of this situation, right now," Morgan announced. "Before we rush off into anything, like blasting off out of here. We have to figure out what is going on."

"If anyone is blasting out of here, it's not us, not yet," said Jupe. "I have to check those engines first, see if they're damaged, and if they are, hope I can fix them. By chance, are any of you any good at fixing sub-range engines?"

"If this is Ancia," Morgan continued, "then the colonists must be here somewhere. That's only logical. This was their destination as much as it was ours. We, however, did not come through the usual channel, so perhaps that is why we have been spared their fate. Those things out there, those bugs, whatever they are, they must have brought the colonists here on purpose, to trap them."

"What are you talking about, Morgan?" asked Rolondo. "All this is crazy. You know what it sounds like? Sounds like some bad movie. Take a walk back to the entertainment room and have a seat, watch your bad movie. This is real life, and that's where I'm staying. There has to be a better explanation for this. We just need to think about it first, before we react wrong and do something we'll regret. Can we do that? Can we think this through before we make our next move?"

"Everything that happens in real life would make a bad movie," Real observed.

"What, are you a philosopher now?" Rolondo asked Real angrily. "Don't give me that!"

"We can't fight, not now, not with this happening," Morgan scolded. "We have to be united if we're going to figure this out. This is a very important moment in our lives, and we need to react with intelligence and wisdom. If we are truly where the colonists are, then we need to think carefully about our next move."

"That's what I just said," said Rolondo.

"The only thing we're going to figure out," said Jupe, "is if the engines can fly us back to T Station."

"Listen to Ro and Morgan," Rebbi said to Jupe. "I agree, there could be hundreds of people down there. Those colonists—how many came out here?—we have to at least look."

"You know where the safety suits are," said Jupe. "Don't forget your airpacks, and have fun. And say hi to my new friends while you're at it. Me, I'm flying out of here as soon as the engines let me."

* * * *

Morgan and Real had been gone an hour when Rebbi said their lifesuits were registering again on the monitors. They had been beyond the ship's range for most of the time they were out there, and Jupe had to constantly turn down Rebbi's pleas that he did something to help. He told her that there was nothing he could do, and it would be crazy to try. It had been a surprise to everyone that Real had gone out there at all, but at Morgan's insistence he did. During the latter part of the voyage, the two had taken on an odd friendship, once they had discovered their common interest in all the ways of making money and getting rich. They had nothing else to talk about when money was not involved. The others assumed that by going to see what Jupe had seen, Morgan thought he was onto a way to make money, and for that reason Real wanted to stick with him.

When they safely arrived back inside the ship, their faces were pale and their eyes were fixed wide, still in shock over what they had seen.

"We saw the people," was the first thing Morgan said. "The colonists. They're wrapped up in some kind of yucked-out goo. And we saw your bugs, Jupe. The gooey ones, and the hairy ones, with the little ones falling off, and the one the hairy ones ride on, the fat lumps with all those little legs. I don't think I'll ever be able to sleep again, with that memory. What we've got here are aliens and a lot of them. This is it, the real thing. Not quite what we were hoping, but there you go. Life's kind of like that. But, at least we know the colonists are there."

"And what are we supposed to do about it?" asked Jupe.

"What would your father have done?" Real asked him, his voice weak, despite feeling noble for going out there and seeing it all.

"TC would have cut and run," said Jupe.

"Not Johnny Beggs," said Real.

"Yes, Johnny Beggs," said Jupe. "Cut and run faster than you can draw your next breath. And he wouldn't care who was on the ship or off; as long as he was on, then that's all he would care about."

"Everyone knows the man's not like that," Real said indignantly. "He would have fought those things to get just one person out of there. You have no idea, what it's like for them down there. By the looks of them, they're still alive."

"What, the same Johnny Beggs who tried to sell you all out?" responded Jupe. "Have the bugs made you forget that small part of the story?"

"That was more the Wilsons," said Morgan. "And they were just following orders from Lars Best. I agree that Johnny would have wanted to help the colonists, and I think we should too."

"The bugs you met," Rebbi said to Morgan and Real, wanting to change the conversation, "can you tell us about them?"

"We didn't get too close," said Morgan.

"They weren't chatty, like Jupe's," said Real. "But I did hear some bug talk."

"Can we call them aliens, please?" asked Rolondo, too loudly, his voice breaking. "They're aliens, not bugs."

"Which ones talked to you?" Morgan asked Jupe.

"Just two of the gooeys," he said.

"When they talked to you, what did they say?" asked Real.

"They may be able to help us," said Morgan. "From what you said, they protected you from the other bugs, the hairy ones? Isn't that what happened?"

"And I told you I don't remember," said Jupe.

"Do you think you can go back and find them again?" asked Morgan.

"I think no," said Jupe.

Real was about to pronounce Jupe a liar, but instead, as one, looked in the direction of the ship's airlock. It was the unmistakable sound of the airlock being opened. Something was coming inside the ship, using the door that required the operation of a set of outside controls. They looked at each other too shocked to move or say anything.

Morgan took the lead as they moved toward the airlock. Rebbi protested and thought that only one should go, but Rolondo said that they should all stick together. Jupe started laughing at the situation, as he thought the best explanation was that there was a fault on the door controls. He didn't stop to reason that since the creatures had been able to talk to him, and he could understand, then operating a standard airlock would probably not be difficult.

"There's no one else aboard, is there, Jupe?" Rolondo asked him hopefully.

Jupe gave him a shake of the head, not knowing if he should be insulted at the accusation that he was hiding yet another person. He wondered if they all thought he was just a younger version of TC. All the way they had travelled together, a vast distance through space, and they still did not trust him? He did not know how to respond to that, as the group moved to the door in silence

"Are we forgetting what we're doing here?" Real asked, having second thoughts. "I don't think this is a good idea. What if it's the aliens? We need to find something to defend ourselves with."

"They couldn't get in," said Jupe. "It's probably a fault with the locking system."

"If it's a fault, then why are we all going to check it?" asked Rebbi.

"Because we're all terrified of what's out there," said Morgan. "But it's vitally important we confront them if any of them have come aboard."

They entered the airlock room and froze. Just inside the airlock, inside the ship with them, the tall bug-like alien stood tall. Its long shiny head moved from side to side, like it was studying them. There was nothing to obscure it now that it was under the ship's lighting, and its form was disgusting. From its large mouth dripped a steady stream of goo, and its antenna began to move toward them.

Rebbi shrieked and clung to Rolondo, who was also started yelling in terror. Morgan gestured for them all to stand their ground, and he clung to Real's arm to stop him from running away. Jupe felt faint as he studied the alien, seeing more details to its hideous body and ugly face, thinking that he had actually been picked up and carried by it. Was this the thing that he had talked to, and actually befriended?

If any one of them had been alone, they would have run away, but as a group they felt enough courage to stay where they were. In reality, the only reason they didn't run, is that they were waiting for someone to take the lead, like they had no idea how to act in such a situation. Had one bolted, they all would have bolted.

"Greetings."

They all heard the voice inside their heads, even though it wasn't audible. Rebbi screamed at the thought of it and Rolondo held her close like he was protecting her. She was crying now.

"It talks?" Morgan remarked absently.

"Pardon my manners," it said, "but the shock you are feeling towards me, know I feel the exact same way to you."

"You're the one who helped me," Jupe said to it, recognising its voice. "How did you get in here?"

"I followed your example," it said.

"This is First Contact," Morgan hissed at Real, and then looked at the creature in fear that he had been overheard. The prospect of fame pushed back his fear.

"I think the colonists already met them," said Real.

"Can you tell us why Ancia is not Ancia?" asked Jupe.

"The world you call Ancia," it said, "is what we call bait."

"How come you talk English?" Real asked, ignoring what it was saying.

"I am communicating," it said, "on a level different from what you are accustomed. It is the way my people communicate, and to you it appears as if in your own language."

"What do you call yourselves?" asked Morgan.

"We are the Living," it said.

"We are humans, from Earth," said Morgan.

"I've already told them that," Jupe said to Morgan.

"You we call Also-living," it said.

Morgan took a shaky step toward it and held up his right hand. The rest watched in stunned awe as the creature moved an antenna to his hand and lightly touched it. Unsure what to do, Morgan grasped it. The antenna was squishy, and Morgan stopped himself from crushing it. He then found that it had secreted smelly gooey gunk on his hand.

"What are you doing?" Rebbi asked him, cowering back further into Rolondo's arms.

"What do you know about Earth?" Real asked it.

"I have no interest in your world," it said. "Do you thank me?"

"Of course, you want to know about our world," said Real.

"Don't tell him about our world," Rolondo said to Real. "They might want to invade it. Do you have any idea about these things?"

"Wait on," said Jupe. "What was that you said about Ancia was bait? Can you further explain for us, please? Are you sure you used the right word?"

"The world of Ancia is an invention, to attract many of the Also-living, as would other species attract they prey. Gullible minds you have, and the notion of such a world, such a paradise, is reason enough for you to ignore problems and questions and accept such a world is real. As you have now discovered, it is not real, but merely reason to attract you here. Do you thank me?"

"You see now?" Jupe said to the others. "That horrible black moon we saw? That's Ancia, the real Ancia. The charts were right, and I brought you to the right place. Everything else we know about it is false. It's all lies."

"What are you saying?" Rolondo asked him. "Ancia was never real? This alien told you it's not real, and you believe him? Or it. Whatever it is, it looks like a filthy big bug I'd squash under my boot, back at home. I don't know how it's talking to us, but it must be some kind of trick."

"Why are you not believing this?" Morgan asked Rolondo. "It's true, I've seen what's below the surface of this moon. From what our friend here is telling us, it must be the same on the main moon, but a thousandfold."

"That would be the planet Morgan, if I'm not mistaken," said Rolondo.

"What's below the surface?" asked Rebbi.

"See this guy?" Real said as he indicated to the creature. "Millions of them. And others, different but still like him, if you get what I mean."

"Yeah, I pretty much saw the same thing," said Jupe.

"We need you to help," said the alien.

"Help with what?" Morgan asked it.

"Our uprising," said the alien. "Do you thank me?"

"That's the thing," said Real. "They've got humans, trapped, wrapped up, using their bodies for something. Our friend is trying to take control of these other kind of... aliens, that came along after the humans first arrived. I heard more, but I've forgotten it."

"Will you help us?" it asked again, now almost pleading.

"Do something, Ro," said Rebbi.

"I will, babe," he said to her.

Jupe could see a look of panic in both Rebbi and Rolondo, and he realised that they were starting to lose their grip on reality.

"We need to discuss what you said, with ourselves," Jupe said to the creature. "So if you could leave now, we can discuss it. If you could go now, the way you came, is that okay?"

The alien moved its antenna and said nothing for a short time, and then turned and moved toward the airlock. Jupe helped with the controls and he managed an awkward wave as it left.

"First Contact," Morgan said, breathless and shaken, but somehow also elated at the thought.

* * * *

It was only when the creature left the ship that the real shock hit them, and it hit them hard. The only one not seemingly affected was Morgan, who walked around with his arms raised in apparent triumph, saying over and over, "First Contact." Real curled up into a ball, foetal position, like he was trying to forget about his entire life.

Rolondo tried to help Rebbi stop screaming, but he felt faint and passed out for a few minutes. Then Rebbi couldn't stop sobbing, and nor did she want to move out from Rolondo's arms. When he came to his senses, he glared at Jupe like it was his fault.

Jupe knew that he was looking at him, but couldn't return his stare, thinking that maybe he was right. Maybe he had been reckless and the alien thing had followed him back, and they were all in danger. As soon as he had returned, he should have risked the engines and just gotten out of there.

"Did you see that thing?" Rolondo yelled at Jupe.

"There are many more," said Jupe. "Like that one but worse. You have no idea what was down there."

"It was all gooey," Morgan said as he looked at his hands. "I wanted to shout out and wipe it off, when I first touched it, but I didn't want to be impolite to our alien guest. What do you think, should I have risked being impolite? Do you think that might have offended it?"

"Impolite?" Rolondo returned. "It was a bug. You said that yourself."

"I thought you wanted to call them aliens," said Morgan.

"Why are you so calm about this?" Rolondo yelled.

"Is this really happening?" Rebbi sobbed.

"Of course it's happening," Rolondo said, his voice raised at her even though she was in his arms. "Where've you been, woman?"

"Don't shout at me," she said as she pulled away from him. "I'm finding this very troubling, if you don't mind."

"Let's just take a minute and think about what our strange new friend was saying," said Jupe.

"Our what?" Real asked, peering up from the ball that he had turned himself into.

"Our friend, the alien," said Jupe.

"Can you call it something else other than 'our friend'?" asked Real.

"What, then?" Jupe snapped.

"Bug!" yelled Real.

"Gooey Bug," Morgan corrected.

"We'll call him Friendly Bug, if that will help," said Jupe. "But what does it matter what we call him? The fact is, he wants to help us. And we also know that since this is Ancia, nothing we knew about Ancia was true. Was ever true."

"Johnny Beggs knew," said Real, standing up but still shaking.

"You're probably right," said Jupe. "Other people too. The Wilsons, certainly. Perhaps all of UDE. All except the paying travellers on the Burning Star."

"Beggs had us come here on purpose?" asked Morgan.

"What, he had Jupe on the ship to fly us here from T Station?" Rolondo asked him. "He knew Jupe would do that? How could he know that?"

"That Baxter Gammond," said Real, contemplating what he knew about Ancia, "he must be in on it. We all saw Gammond telling us about it. He was on talk-shows, all over the place."

"TC would never have worked with Gammond," said Jupe.

"You don't think they were both in on it?" asked Real. "With Lars Best?"

"The Bests have to be in on it too," said Rolondo.

"Would that be right, Jupe?" asked Rebbi.

"How should I know?" Jupe shouted at her, getting frustrated with them and the conversation.

The thought that his family were connected with this new version Ancia, was abhorrent to him. And then there were other thoughts, like perhaps TC had been out here before and knew about the aliens, and all his talk about never seeing one was a lie too. Perhaps he did set Jupe up to take the ship. Such thoughts were getting to be too much for him.

"Maybe he's working for them, maybe not," he said. "I don't know, okay? What we have to do is decide what needs to be done. Do we stay and try to help the others? Or do we just get out of this place, and save our own necks?"

"Where can we go?" asked Real. "Can we reach T Station?"

"Bests men will be waiting for us," said Rolondo.

"There's Harax Pras," said Jupe.

"We can reach there?" asked Morgan.

"From here, it's closer than T Station," said Jupe.

He didn't want to think about the problem of the navigation charts and the great unknown, since there was never any traffic between Ancia and Harax Pras. But then, if TC had actually been to Ancia, it may be on the ship's charts, and he would need to search for it. Maybe he wasn't being completely suicidal in making such a suggestion. TC could have made the journey many times before, during his days as a test pilot and explorer, but at that moment, Jupe didn't believe anything he had ever been told about his father.

"You can set up your little Ancian colonies there," Jupe continued. "It won't be easy, that's true, but at least you won't be bug-food."

"They're eating them?" Rebbi asked in a sudden panic. "Are you sure? They're eating the colonists?"

"I don't know," Jupe said with a low voice to try to calm her. "I was just being hypothetical. I just don't think we should be here any longer. Let's get out while we have the chance."

"But what about the colonists?" asked Rolondo. "How many people are there down there?"

"There were too many to count," said Morgan.

"We have no way of knowing how any could still be alive," said Real. "They sure didn't look alive."

"Didn't Mr Friendly say there were many more on the main planet?" asked Jupe.

"We have to help them, don't we?" asked Real. "Don't we?"

"I'm thinking we should think about warning the others who are yet to come," said Morgan. "How many more colony flights are there to be? To come to this place? To face those things?"

"Is that a vote for leaving, Morgan?" asked Jupe.

"If those things have people tied up; and put their goo over them," said Rolondo, "then we've got no choice here. We have to help them. Get them out of there, no question. We've got to try. What kind of nightmare must they be going through?"

"What are you saying?" Jupe asked him. "You want to get them now? Are you serious?"

"We have to."

"And then what, bring them back here?"

"And get them out this place. Get them out of that hell they're in. They'd do it for us, and I'll fight anyone who says different."

"Can we do that?" asked Real. "Can we really do it? How much of a risk is it? We don't know anything about the bugs. Anything at all. Some were so creepy..."

"Tell me how," said Jupe. "Getting the people out—who may not even be alive—and getting them back to the ship without lifesuits, and without the bugs noticing? You tell me. How many millions of bugs are there, and you want none of them to notice us taking their captive humans? Some of them fly, you know. And they move really fast."

"We've got to try," said Rolondo. "That's all. We can't leave them. Not like this. Not with the chance to help."

"I agree we should try," said Morgan. "But if it proves impossible, then we must get ourselves away to safety, and go to Harax Pras. That must be our priority."

"Right now," said Real, "Harax Pras sounds like Paradise."

"But we must try, first," said Morgan.

"Are you with us, Jupe?" Rolondo asked with a threatening tone.

Jupe eyed him with contempt. "Should I remind you, you weren't down there. Myself, Morgan and Real have seen what it's like down there, and trust me, it's no place you'd ever want to go back to. But you know what? You want to go see who we can grab out of there? You really want to risk facing a similar fate? Then we do it after we know exactly what's going on. When we know what this place is. When we know who these aliens are. When we know what they want with us."

"And if we don't, what then?" asked Real.

"Then we leave," said Jupe. "With or without survivors, I intend to get us out of here and somewhere we know to be real, and that's Harax Pras."

* * * *

The so-called "Friendly Bug" returned to the ship and knocked on the hull with a slow and lumbering rhythm. They watched a monitor as the tall and appalling alien thing deposited a stack of objects near the airlock door. It then walked away a short distance before turning to sit and stare at the ship. Morgan hurried to don his airsuit to go out to meet it, and the others were quite happy for him to volunteer. He made sure to remind them all that he was the pioneer of the First Contact.

"This is to help," Friendly Bug said to Morgan. "Once discarded from the body, the shells have many uses. Cover your body with one and you will be accepted. In that way you can get past the guards and get to your kind. Do you thank me?"

"We thank you," Morgan said, and gave a prolonged salute, that he hoped the creature would interpret as a sign of allegiance.

The creature left him and Morgan collected the shells. He found that he could only carry three at a time, and he took them into the ship.

"What was that all about?" Rolondo asked Morgan when he returned inside with the first three.

"It was its custom."

"You don't know that. It might have been dangerous, waving your arm out like that."

"It seemed to be happy with it. I think it was the right thing to do."

They inspected one of the large black oval objects and saw that it looked like a piece from off the creature's torso. Jupe kicked it over, reluctant to touch it, and Morgan urged him to treat it with care, saying it will one day be very valuable, and in a museum.

"So, they're shells?" asked Real. "Is that what he said?"

"Looks like it," said Jupe.

"What are we supposed to do with them?" asked Rebbi, intrigued, but not wanting to touch them. She did not know why, but seeing the alien object, without the alien creature there, made her feel calmer.

"I think it is quite obvious," said Morgan. "We are to wear them, and by them gain access."

"Do what?" asked Rolondo.

"Friendly wants us to use them as disguise," said Morgan.

"We don't know that," said Jupe.

"Did he say that to you, Morgan?" asked Real.

"I got the impression he did," said Morgan. "They are big enough to cover us. I think it could work."

"Do you think they're safe?" asked Rebbi. "They could have some sort of..."

"Disease?" Rolondo finished. "Yeah, they probably do. But if we're going to go help those people, it's something we'll have to live with."

"The suits will protect us, right?" asked Real.

"I'm sure they will," said Morgan. "Let me get the other shells inside. He brought enough for all of us."

"How do we know this isn't a trap?" asked Rebbi.

"It could be," said Jupe. "I can take us back to the safety of Harax Pras, and we can wonder about that question for the rest of our lives. Or we can go and get some of our people out of there."

"Thanks, Jupe," Rolondo said, putting on his suit and going out to get the other shells.

Jupe watched them go and the thought struck him that they were still looking at him like he was their leader. "Let's be clear," he told Real and Rebbi, "if there's any trouble, or anything that's not right, we're getting out of here. If this is a trap, I'm not hesitating in getting the ship off this coldrock any way I can."

"You keep saying that," said Rebbi.

"Because it's true," he said.

Rebbi was concerned that Jupe was suggesting that he would leave Rolondo out there, but her husband returned before she said anything, and he was excited by what he found.

"There was a large one there," he said, all trace of his fear gone. "It's for me."

"One for you?" Rebbi asked, confused.

"I'm the biggest here," Rolondo said as he showed them the shell, "so this must be mine."

"You think he brought a large one so it would fit you?" asked Jupe. "Is that what you're telling us? You think he selected one just for you?"

"Are you doubting its intelligence?" asked Morgan. "The very fact it can communicate with us, that tells us of its intelligence. No, I think we can assume these creatures are aware of a thing or two, such as Rolondo is a little taller and broader than everyone else."

"Some sort of telepathy, right?" Rolondo asked Morgan. "That was how they were talking?"

"Can we just get about the rescue?" Jupe asked, trying to get them to focus. "We can wonder about all such fascinating details when we're safely en-route to HP."

* * * *

No one wanted to say the obvious, that they did not know what kind of fate they were walking into. Rolondo told Rebbi not to go with them. Her initial reaction was to tell him that she wasn't scared, but she knew that she was, and she could not hide that from anyone. She just wanted to help. The others agreed that she should stay behind, so she was out-voted. As they covered their lifesuits with the alien shells, she tried to give them moral support, but she was not convincing. For her, the wait alone would be worse, knowing that she might not see them again, while trying not to think of being alone on the ship while waiting for the aliens to get inside. She thought about waiting until they left, and then following along behind, but then she saw Rolondo's eyes, looking at her like he knew what she was planning, and he wanted her to stay where it was safe.

They fixed the shells to their sides by tying them down with some of the ship's ample repair tape. In the end, they knew that they looked ridiculous, but they also knew that they had no other choice. The shells forced them to walk in a waddle, and they could barely turn their heads from side to side. But they persisted, and stepped outside the airlock and back out onto the alien surface.

When they left, Rebbi found herself looking at the last remaining shell, the one meant for her. Chosen for her by a mysterious alien creature. She no longer saw it as scary and repulsive. She picked it up and studied it. It was not long until she tried it on, and she was amazed at how comfortable it felt. It was like she was in a peaceful place, a safe place; alien and yet reminiscent of home.

She carefully sat down on the floor with the shell, and became so relaxed that she fell asleep. Not once did she check the lifesuit readouts of the four who were outside on the hostile moon, as she had promised she would. She didn't care, having found for herself a way to block her mind of all the problems of the moon, the flight, and even of her life.

By contrast, the four walked with growing terror. They were all thinking the same, that this was just some trap and they were all fools for believing the apparently friendly alien. No one wanted to be the first to show weakness, and question what they were doing. What there was of conversation, was jokes mixed with bravado, and none of it sounded convincing.

Jupe almost made a comment about his desire to be surfing instead of this, but he knew that his joke had well and truly grown old. Anything would be good to say, to give them some distraction, but he could not think of anything else. With effort, he looked at the others and saw the same vacant expressions, as they tried to focus on what they needed to do, while trying not to think about it too much.

A large alien then appeared in front of them, and by its actions they assumed it was Mr Friendly Bug. The creature turned and led them down a steeply sloped cave, at first walking too fast for them to keep up, but then slowed its pace.

They came to the opening of a giant subterranean cave. There was no sign of life, either human or alien, and the atmosphere felt dark. With the aid of infrared inside their suit visors, they could see human-like mounds embedded in the walls. They were rows and rows high, and continuing deeper into the cave where they couldn't see. With as much courage as he could muster, Rolondo strode to the nearest mound with all purpose. He scraped and kicked at the outer layer that surrounded what was a human body.

Their suits registered no detectable life signs, and Morgan was about to tell Rolondo to stop. But then Jupe went and took a closer look at the mound and found that he could see a person's face, that of a young woman, perhaps only a teenager. He then joined with Rolondo in trying to get her out.

Real joined them and tried to break through the outer layer with a long-handled tool he had taken with him from the ship. Designed for welding, it sent out a shower of sparks, so they could not see what damage he was doing. The others told him to stop, knowing that it was sure to attract the aliens. Real turned it off and looked around fearfully, as if they were already descending on him. Morgan inspected what Real had tried to burn, and found just the smallest of scratches.

"Try it at full power," Morgan told Real.

"That was full power," he said.

Jupe looked back at their alien friend, who was just standing near and doing nothing. "What do you suggest?" he asked it, but no answer came.

"Are they all like this one?" Morgan asked about the mounds.

Rolondo took a careful look at some of the others and nodded.

"This is not going to work," Jupe said as he walked toward the alien like he was expecting it to offer advice. "We don't know what we're doing here. Standing around like this isn't helping. We could end up like them if we're caught."

"What else do we have on the ship?" asked Real.

"Rivet guns, wielders, that's it," said Jupe.

"What about our enviromakers?" asked Real.

"What good will they do?" asked Morgan.

"We have to do something," said Real.

"Can we discuss it at the ship?" pleaded Jupe.

"You saw them, Morgan," Rolondo said as they made their way back. "You should have told us we'd need to bring can-openers or something. You should have known it'd take more than a welder to get them out."

Their walk back was worse than the walk there. In going there all they had was fear of the unknown, but on their return they were burdened with the feeling of failure. Their alien friend did not go with them, and instead just stood without moving, like it was profoundly disappointed with them. One by one, they discarded their shells.

Once inside the ship, they couldn't find Rebbi. Rolondo started to panic that something had happened to her, and he sent the others through the ship to look for her. Then he realised that she was curled up inside the lone alien shell near the airlock, still sleeping. When he reached in and touched her, she woke up angry. When he told her to take it off, she refused and became hostile. Rolondo knew that she was being irrational and he busted the shell with his bare hands, and forced her out. When she was free, she began to cry. She shook her head when he asked what was going on, unable to give an answer.

The others were worried about her, blaming themselves for leaving her, and thinking that an alien had come inside the ship and done something to her. An emotional Rolondo tried to explain about the shell, but he made little sense.

"That's it, we've got to get out of here, right now," Jupe said quickly, unhappy with the situation. He instinctively knew that they were losing control of what was happening. They still knew nothing about the world they were on, and they didn't know anything about their so-called friend. And now Rebbi had been affected by one of the alien shells. Any feeling of control he thought he might have had, was gone.

"We're rescuing those people first," Rolondo insisted, still holding Rebbi close to his chest.

"I think we should make another attempt, at least," agreed Morgan.

"And I don't," Jupe said sternly, his voice raised and with too much emotion. "Listen, what they need is an army, not a group of idiots like us. They need to be blasted out of there with actual high-tech weapons, and all those bugs blasted at the same time. I can't see anyone here who can do that. And those shells, we don't know anything about them, and yet we went out there wearing them? And even if we could get them free from those cocoons, how many can we carry anyway? There's too many of them to get aboard. How many colony ships have there been? That's thousands of people. This is just not going to work!"

"We can't leave," said Rolondo.

"Unless you know where an army is, that's exactly what we're doing," said Jupe.

"I agree we need to try again," said Morgan.

"We will, but with an army," said Jupe.

"Where are you going to get an army from?" asked Real, as angry with Jupe as the others.

"Harax Pras," said Jupe. "They have defence forces there. Once we get word to them of what's happening here, we won't be able to stop them coming here. And they're sure to tell Earth. UDE is sure to send out a massive force. This place will be scorched pretty soon. Burnt bugs everywhere. Won't know what hit them. Sooner we get to HP, sooner they'll get back here and blast them."

"Don't you think we should at least try to free them, one last time?" Rebbi asked, having regained her senses. "We could get one out, if we tried. You never know."

"Come on, who are we?" Jupe asked her. "Want-to-be colonists? That's all. One man without his family. Another one who lost his frozen girlfriend? Me, a surfer too far from his sea. I'm no pilot, I'm a surfer, and that's all I want to be. Face the facts: We don't have a single weapon amongst us. We have no idea how to break through that whatever-it-is that's around them. If we go back, we're risking ending up the same."

He knew he could try the Kel-Tec pistol, but that would mean admitting that he had it, keeping it secret, and he just could not bring himself to tell them. He also knew that the ship had weapons designed to use on other ships, but he could not think how to use them on the cocoons without killing the captive passengers.

"And we don't even know if they're alive," Real agreed, now dejected.

"I think Jupe's right," Morgan said, sighing. "Don't want to admit that, but I think he is."

"You too, Morgan?" Rolondo asked him.

"This is a job for the military," said Morgan. "We have no guns, right Jupe?"

"We're not long to Harax Pras?" Rolondo asked Jupe, stopping him from lying to Morgan.

"From here, it's closer than Earth," he said. "Be there before you know it. If we go while we still can, and that's now."

"Then I agree too," said Rolondo. "Let's go get help from Harax Pras." He looked at Rebbi to see what she thought, and saw that she was holding a small piece of the shell. He took it from her hands and she gave no reaction.

"You know, I'm not sure about leaving," said Real, looking in the general direction of the cave that they were in. "What if we stay a little longer and we figure something out?"

"You can stay if you like," Jupe told him as he went to the flight deck. "But this ship's leaving."

* * * *

Jupe was having the ship's computers do last-minute safety checks, as part of the pre-flight preparation, and he was telling it to hurry. Morgan came to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Friendly Bug is outside," he said with a sad tone.

"Too bad," Jupe said, not looking up from the monitors.

"Can you really leave without saying goodbye?"

Jupe swung him a look to say you-can't-be-serious, and saw that Morgan was holding a can of Terro bug repellent, with a smirk.

"I thought you liked Friendly Bug," Jupe said, taking the repellent.

"See what he wants," he encouraged.

"And dose him if he gets too personal? Is that what you're thinking? It might just make him angry, you know."

"He was asking for you. Said he knows how to help."

That stopped Jupe. He looked at Morgan and wondered if they shouldn't just get out of the place when they had the chance. Get out into open space where there are no horrible aliens and threat to their life. After a moment or two of silence, Jupe nodded and headed to the airlock. The others watched without a word as Jupe suited up and left. They all knew the risk, that if they lost their pilot they could not leave. But there was also the possibility that there was another way to rescue the colonists.

Friendly Bug was waiting not far from the ship. Jupe was careful to survey all around, before venturing out to meet him. It didn't make sense to Jupe that there could be another way to help, since the alien had been right there with the captive colonists and didn't give a word of advice.

"My species will die if you do not help us," said Friendly Bug. Jupe noted a mournful tone. He may even have been crying.

"Why put that on me?" Jupe returned. "Until a few days ago you had never seen me. Who do you think I am that I could offer help to you?"

"When you help us, you help the survival of your own kind."

"I'm leaving. Did you understand that? The ship is going to blast off out of here."

"You do not want to help your kind?"

"Look, this is all too much for us to handle, all right? For your information, we've never met an alien before, and how you're talking to me—what is it, telepathy?—whatever it is, it's creepy, okay? In fact your whole world is unbelievably creepy, and we don't want to be here anymore, okay?"

Jupe stopped himself before he revealed his plan to come back with an army. As far as he was concerned, this seemingly friendly creature was as much a dangerous alien as the others. All that was important was rescuing whoever of the passengers was alive. He did not care at all about the alien's problems.

"I cannot stop them."

Jupe looked at the alien and was about to ask what it meant, and then he knew. Behind the creature came a hoard, spread as far as he could see, and they were moving at a tremendous speed toward the ship. Jupe nearly tripped and stumbled as he turned to sprint back to the ship. But then he did trip, and he fell down a small hole. Into the hole jumped a new multi-legged thing, trying to get him. It had a large head covered with black eyes, and was twitching rapidly.

Jupe went for the bug repellent but dropped it. The alien quickly enveloped Jupe with its legs, and then stopped, like it was sizing him up, or perhaps gloating over its success in capturing him. Jupe picked up the can and dosed its contents, sending pine-scented mist shooting upward. When the mist hit the creature, it gave a loud scream and reeled, and began to frantically wave its legs. The parts of it that were touched by the repellent began to melt.

Thrilled at the sight, Jupe emptied the can on it, and watched it shrink and melt into a small ball. Then Jupe realised that he had finished the can, wasting it on just the one alien. But a worse realisation followed, that he was being watched by as many aliens as could surround the hole. Jupe held up the empty can and as one, they moved back.

"Who dies next?" Jupe yelled to them. He expected to hear them talking back, but there was nothing.

He walked out of the hole and back to the ship, keeping the can aloft. The creatures keeping their distance but still following. At about the last five metres to the airlock, he ran as fast as he could and jumped inside the ship.

"Get me more Terro!" Jupe yelled when he was in the airlock.

"The bug repellent?" asked Real. "We're out."

"Any sort, then."

"Why, Jupe?" asked Rebbi.

"It kills them."

"Here's some," said Morgan, who had run back from the stores. He had followed on the monitors what had happened, and as soon as he saw Jupe kill one, he knew what to do. Jupe saw that he had handed him Regal, which was a competing brand to Terro, and cheaper. The can felt nearly empty.

"Is this all there is?" asked Jupe.

Morgan nodded gravely.

The ship began to rock as the aliens reached it and were hitting it, climbing all over it, looking for the way in.

"It's time to leave," said Jupe. "And now we know how to kill them, we'll be back."

Real said nothing as everyone strapped themselves into chairs in the flight deck and waited for the blast into open space, but his mind was a battlefield of torment. He could not help thinking about K still being out there, somewhere, and by now probably a victim of the aliens, the same as the colonists. He knew she didn't deserve such a fate. She had been kind to him at a point in his life when he needed help, and the only thing she had ever done to upset him was to not agree to go with him to Ancia. He now knew that she had been right when she said that if they were to go to Ancia then it should be official. The more he had talked about it, the more she didn't want to hear. She had been right to refuse to go, as the ship was run by the Best crime family and the famous Johnny Beggs was a fraud. And now she was trapped inside a freezer-unit that was considered illegal for carrying animals, left on a planet swarming with hostile alien creatures, with only the unknown time of the freezer's batteries keeping her life going. Real closed his eyes when he felt the ship move, knowing that if there were any justice in his life then the ship would either explode of fall back and crash on the moon, where the creatures could get them.

"I don't know if I should mention this," Rebbi said as they cleared the moon and the Ancian world, "but why are we assuming Harax Pras will be any different to this place?"

"Yes, you shouldn't have mentioned it," said Jupe.

No one spoke for a while, in part because they wanted to see if Jupe could actually get them away from the moon.

"If it is," Jupe said with strong determination, "then we'll go back to Earth and come back with all the bug repellent we can fit on the ship, and wipe them out. All of them. No more aliens."

Rolondo led the cheer that lasted probably not as long as it should have.

EPILOGUE

HARAX PRAS

At fifteen light-years from Earth, the world Harax Pras was very harsh, yet liveable for humans. When the first survey team arrived in 2077, the planet was known as Rockworld, since it was all rock, steep mountains, sharp gorges, and no water. Four years later, the Harrison-Paxon company dealt to the many gorges, by moving mountains and creating plains. The Provost-Vas company then worked to bring moisture to the atmosphere, and after almost a decade the air was finally declared suitable, and humans could exist without lifesuits. That was the biggest breakthrough in the planet's history, and with it came a flood of private enterprises, each intent on working the world into a new Earth. There had been big plans for the newly titled Harax Pras, but they had all fallen into oblivion when news came of the perfect paradise world of Ancia, and it was now home to only the hardiest of colonists. They were people keen to take advantage of cheap land, and able to ignore the possibility of their life-support running out at any time. The land still produced no food, and water was rare; it all had to be shipped in from Earth, and at great expense. It was no place for a holiday.

The Burning Star quietly pulled into near-world orbit and waited for landing instructions. For most of their journey, Jupe had kept to himself. In that time, he had become convinced that everyone had known about the Ancian aliens and deception; TC and the Bests on a low level, but of far greater blame was Baxter Gammond, with his tireless campaign to encourage colonists to go there. Jupe alternatively wanted to never see any of them again, or couldn't wait to return to Earth to confront them.

Aside from Rebbi, who never lost interest in what was left of the alien shell, no one wanted to discuss the aliens at all. They were relieved to discover, while still a long way out from Harax Pras, that it had human population and culture, and no sign of any alien bug-like species. That was when Jupe first noticed a change to the others, that their focus became different, and all talk centred on buying and developing land.

The first city who returned their comlink call was Verne, and they sent up code to allow for an immediate landing. The ship was automated to a precise landing in one of the city's outer port bays, and it went perfectly to plan. They were then told to wait for radiation clearance, which usually took about an hour. Harax Pras, it was explained to them, was a young world especially vulnerable to radiation attack. Everyone on board wondered how the planet would deal with the Ancians, if they were that worried about something as relatively easy to deal with as radiation.

"We've come from Ancia," Jupe told one of the ground crew as soon as they were allowed to step out. All he received as a reply was raised eyebrows. No one had ever arrived at Harax Pras from Ancia, and no one had any reason to think that anyone ever would. Harax Pras was a world that needed generations of hard labour, whereas Ancia was the great perfect world only the privileged were allowed to see. You go from here to there, not the other way around.

Asking for the nearest HP Defence office, Jupe received a quick reply, since it was an area few of the locals had any knowledge of. He was told to go to the centre of the small city, to the UDE office. The HPD never visited small places like Verne. For many years a military base, the world was then given over to terraformers and farmers only when they ventured deeper into space. The common joke was: why anyone want to invade Harax Pras? Certainly not to find anything of value. There were no natural resources, and the minerals were all of a low standard, compared to Earth. And the Verne area was one of the poorest.

"Help you, son?" Sammy Beck asked Jupe. The bored and sleepy UDE recruiter had been watching the young man since he had burst into the recruiting office and then stood there looking lost. After studying his face, Sammy decided that Jupe must be a new arrival. Perhaps the flight out had convinced him that farming wasn't for him and he desired a career path with—and this was the hook he used—the hope of excitement and danger.

"Looking for a great career, you've come to the right place. New world like this, needs constant protection. From there, the galaxy awaits, as you can be fast-tracked into UDE and even a deep space exploration mission."

Jupe eagerly walked to Sammy's desk. "I need to see someone important."

"You've met him. I carry a lot of weight here."

"Good, let's get started."

"Just arrived, huh?"

"Yeah, a long flight."

"What service did you have in mind?"

"What do you have?"

"Well, let's start with how you see yourself in five year's time. Ground-based, or off-world?"

"No, it's not about that. I need your help. I need to raise an army. As soon as possible. The longer we wait, the worse it's getting."

"Excuse me?"

"Do I need to speak to someone else?"

"There's no one else here," Sammy said uncertainly. He meant that Jupe would see no one until he had any idea what he was talking about.

"I need an army." Jupe paused and added, "I'm not telling this right, am I. Let me start again. There's a lot to get through."

"Son, this is Harax Pras Defence. Are you sure you're in the right place?"

"Let me start at the beginning, can you let me do that?"

The recruiter shrugged and sat back in his chair, thinking that this one wasn't suitable. But it had been a long time since anyone had come into the office, and he knew that if anything, the interview would be good for a laugh.

"Ancia is controlled by bugs," Jupe said like he was announcing an amazing discovery, forgetting to start at the beginning. "I mean aliens, that look like bugs. Really big bugs. And its moon, too. They have the Ancian colonists wrapped up in these cocoons. We couldn't break them out, but we tried as best as we could. Gammond's been telling lies. The whole thing's a lie. We need an army to rescue them. And we've got to get back there as soon as possible."

"You don't say?"

"We tried to release them, we really did, but they were too well sealed. Must have been that goo they secreted—it was everywhere. That's what we thought, anyway. You have no idea how horrible it all was..."

"There were others with you?"

"My crew. From my ship."

"Your ship? You have a ship? Of your own?"

"I flew them from Earth. Actually, from T Station. It's a long story, but that can wait."

"You piloted a ship? From the T to Ancia? By yourself? And then you came here? Are you telling me you have flown from the T to Ancia, and then to Harax Pras? A spaceship?"

"Why are you questioning me about that? Don't you want to know about the bugs?"

"It's an off-world position you want, then?" Sammy asked, laughing at his own joke.

"You don't believe I can fly a ship? How do you think I got here from Ancia?"

"I don't know. The mind boggles. As if anyone ever comes from Ancia to this place. I guess you must be the first."

Jupe looked at the man and saw that he thought it was all a big joke. He considered telling him about how TC was his father and in case he hadn't heard of him, he was a big deal back on Earth. Then he realised he would be using his relationship to TC to help him, and he was loath to do that. But then, if it would help...

"Son," Sammy said slowly, "I don't think this is the right place for you."

"Heard of TC Beggs? Johnny Beggs, is how most people know him."

"Johnny Beggs the pilot? Sure, who hasn't?"

"Jupe Beggs. I'm his son."

"I'm sorry to hear that. And where is the great man these days?"

"I don't know."

Sammy stood up from his desk, put one consolatory hand on Jupe's shoulder and the other took his right arm, and led him to the door, saying, "Perhaps you can go find him."

Before the door closed behind him, Jupe heard a raucous laugh, and that made him go back.

"There are people dying on Ancia," Jupe yelled at the man, "and I'm going to help them. This will be on your heads, all of you, that you didn't help when you had the chance. What, do you want me to go back and bring you a bug before you believe me? Maybe I will!"

"Son," Sammy sighed, "if you stay here any longer, I'm going to have you arrested. And I've never had to do that before, so it might be a bit rough."

Jupe saw that the man was giving a not-so-subtle threat, and that his humour had ended. Seeing that he had chosen the wrong place to make his case, he left, kicking himself for not being more patient and finding someone who had both the will to listen and the means to help.

Close by the recruiting office was a tavern. Jupe decided to try a different approach. Inside was a comfortable atmosphere and delightful décor, with soft music playing. Large monitors on the walls showed scenes from Earth: a beach, a forest, idyllic lanes in the countryside, everything that Harax Pras was not.

"I have something important to say," Jupe announced to the few patrons who were paying attention to him, since they had nothing better to do. "Listen up, would everyone please? I have just landed from Ancia."

"You came here from Ancia?" someone asked. "Is your name Crazy McLunatic?"

"There is no Ancia, the way it was shown. Baxter Gammond lied. It's just a black rock, that's all. There are no rivers and meadows, or whatever they told us. Nothing like what they say," he indicated to the monitors.

"Dirk," someone joked to the bartender, "don't give him any more drinks, he's had enough."

"No, listen to me, it's true," said Jupe.

"Is this a set-up?" asked another, annoyed. "Are you playing us for fools? It's not too early to drink, if that's what you're suggesting."

"Can't you just listen? I need an army."

That statement was met by general laughter.

"For the bugs," Jupe continued. "Ancia is run by bugs."

"We know," someone else said. "HP is run by bugs too. Have you not noticed our flies? They're our only wildlife. Of all the creatures to bring here, we bring flies."

"They have people wrapped up, like cocoons."

The bartender came out from his confines and pointed to the door for Jupe to leave, saying, "Take your show somewhere else, thanks. I don't mind such antics, provided you've bought a selection from our range first, but I don't think you have."

Jupe left and walked down the street without knowing where he was going. He noticed an older man, sitting on a porch of a store, on the other side of the wide street, doing nothing but passing the time. He seemed out of place. Thinking of no reason not to, Jupe walked over to him and they exchanged pleasantries.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Jupe asked him.

"Not if it's for money," the man said, not showing if he was joking.

"What would you think if you heard Ancia was not actually the Ancia of the news reports, that it was actually a hive for aliens that look like bugs, and they're storing the Ancian colonists, to eat later?"

"Is that your question?" the man asked as he shook his head. "Time you came in from that sun. You're not on Earth anymore."

"I have another question for you."

"Did I do something bad to you some time? Or to your family?"

"If you had a story like that, how would you say it? Without being laughed at, I mean?"

"I've not seen you before, so I'll assume you don't know who I am. Do you know how long I've been here? I was one of the original terraformers, that's right. I came here when there was nothing. This place has changed so much, but people don't care. They don't care for the work that's been done here. They only think about what this place's going to be. They only care about the future. I think I deserve some respect; at least a little bit. Why don't they put up a statue of me, or something? They're planning to put up a whole lot of statues or people who help with the new world, but no one's asked me about it."

Jupe realised the man just wanted to talk about himself, so he walked away.

"It's young people like you who don't care," the man called. "Don't care about what came before them. You think you'd have any sort of world here if it wasn't for the likes of me? We have to work for what we believe in, young man. Pay more attention to your history."

Jupe walked away with the old man's words buzzing in his ears, he finally asked himself if he was just like that old man, saying things no one was interested in. Why should they be interested? They have their new world to build. If any of them had any interest in Ancia, they would have gone there. This was no Ancian dream, no ready-made paradise, but a world that would be a constant life-long struggle to make liveable.

* * * *

Jupe was amazed at how fast his passengers had worked in unloading the ship. Morgan had been so anxious to get to his cargo, that he paid for the landing bay's ground crew to unload both Real and the Rees'. He cursed his earlier decision to store his furthest from the loading door, since that made him the last out. Real and Morgan paid Jupe no attention, as they were busy comparing their land deals. Jupe knew that was their main goal, to buy up as much territory as they could, and he would have to wait his turn. He went into the main passenger area of the ship and found Rolondo and Rebbi having a heated discussion.

"It creeps me, you know?" Rolondo pleaded to her.

"You're not touching my shell," Rebbi said firmly, holding the small piece of the alien shell that she had saved. They had had numerous fights over the shell, and each time it had broken. The piece she had left was only about the size of a dinner plate.

Rolondo saw Jupe returning, and he acted like they were not talking about the shell. "I'm going to get some land," he said to Rebbi. "Maybe Jupe can talk some sense to you."

He grabbed Jupe in a friendly manner and took him through to another room. "She's got hold of that shell again," he said to Jupe in confidence. "Can you get it off her? She won't listen to me."

"That's exactly what I was planning on doing," said Jupe. "But I need your help. No one's believing a word I say. I've been all through Verne, and they all think I'm joking."

"The story can wait, can't it? The land won't. This is the time to buy, and buy big. We can't waste this opportunity. There's so much land out there, you wouldn't believe."

Jupe then found himself alone with Rebbi, who was sitting and facing away from him, holding the shell close to her chest. The only proof he had. "Hey, Rebbi," he said in a friendly and casual way, "I see you have that shell out again."

"Aren't you going to get some land too?" she asked, not trusting him.

"This isn't my world. No surf here."

"Got your army yet?"

"That's the thing. I'm going to need that shell—"

"You touch it, you're dead."

Jupe took one look at the glare in her eyes to see that it wasn't going to work. He left her alone and returned to find Real and Morgan.

"Land deals going all right?" he asked them, and they missed that he was being sarcastic.

"Better than we expected, actually," said Real.

"I'm going to need that help we talked about," said Jupe.

"Jupe, we need to talk," Morgan said with reluctance.

"If we are to live here successfully," said Real, "we need to have a good reputation."

"Making a name for yourself, that's the key," said Morgan.

"We can't..." Real started.

"Can't go around babbling about alien bug-like creatures?" Jupe finished. "That Ancia is a hoax and there's no colony there? But wait, there's good news, we can kill them with common household bug repellent? Little too crazy? Can't let anyone think we're lunatics, been out in deep space for too long?"

"It's nothing personal," said Real.

"Show them Rebbi's shell," Morgan suggested.

"Morgan, you were going to be famous for your First Contact, remember?" said Jupe. "That's all you talked about for weeks."

"There are other matters at hand," Morgan said quietly, unable to look Jupe in the eye.

"You're leaving me little choice," said Jupe. "If you won't help me, I have to find someone who will. And not on this wasted planet, either."

"What, you're going back to Earth?" Real asked, seemingly wanting to explore all of his options.

"Where else do you think I'm going?" Jupe asked and then laughed. "Wasn't my idea to come out here in the first place. But you know, I kind of like it. I guess the old man was right, in his own way. We have to work for what we believe in, and I believe in Ancia, what we can do there."

"You're saying you think your father was right to force you to go to space?" Real asked, thinking of how often Jupe had spoken of his ordeal.

Jupe looked at him and realised that the "old man" could have meant TC. And now here he was, wanting to be the hero, like his father. If he succeeded he would be greater than his father. For the first time in his life, he wondered if his father would have approved of his actions. Would TC be doing the same, had he had the chance, had he been in such a helpless position? Who was he, if not his father's son? An image he thought he could never live up to, and for most of his life he had not tried. Yet he now realised, he was not really that far from him.
