Marty turned to look back at the crew. “Well folks, this is it.”

Uma smiled. The rest had concerned expressions.

“Ten minutes to launch, Angie.”

“Thank you, Delphi.”

“You are welcome, Angie.”

The X-2001 taxied out onto the salt flat and stopped. The only sound was the gentle hiss of environmental air and the pulsating whine of the engines. The main screen showed a desert devoid of light.

"Flight Control has cleared us for launch, Angie."

"Execute on count, Delphi." Angie said.

“Yes, Angie.”

The ship leaped into the cool desert air and zoomed straight up. The image of Earth's darkened southern hemisphere rapidly shrunk on the main screen.

"This boat is much faster than the X-1001," Marty said.

"How long does it take to reach jump speed?" George asked.

"Not long."

"Ten minutes to jump, Angie."

"Put us at 20 AU of Alpha Centauri A, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

"Why so far out?" George asked.

"We have to scan both A and B for planets before we go in," Angie said. "If there are no habitable planets, we'll take some readings and return."

"We'll find good planets," Uma said. "I just know we will."

"I hope you're right," George said. "It would be a shame to go all that way for nothing."

"It all comes down to just how common planet formation is," Marty said. "Is our solar system unique?"

"I doubt it," George said. "It's a big universe out there. If it happened here, it's bound to have happened somewhere else."

"Jump in ten seconds, Angie."

"Execute, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

Various expressions of concern overcame the faces sitting behind Marty and Angie. The crew had little time to panic.

The stars on the main screen began to spin, accelerating to a blur. When the deck elongated, the crew sitting in the back became alarmed when their more forward seated crewmates disappeared into a tiny spot that everything was rotating around. George looked over at Uma who was seated next to him but was now reduced to thin twirling spindles that stretched to unknown distances in both directions. He felt like his skin was crawling with ants and he could only see multi-colored, twisted lines stretching to a parallax view.

He gasped when everything snapped back.

"We have entered normal space, Angie."

"Good. Bring us to LSR, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

The forward engines fired.

"See," Marty said with a big grin. "That wasn't so bad."

"I thought you had left us," Uma said.

"Actually, you arrived before we did."

"That doesn't make any sense," Uma said.

"Nothing about quantum physics does," Marty said. “We’re lucky that going through a jump doesn’t turn us inside out.”

“I felt like that,” George said. “Maybe we were for an instant.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Uma said. “It was frightening enough.”

“We are now at Galactic Local Standard of Rest, Angie.”

“Thank you, Delphi.”

“You are welcome, Angie.”

Now that the breaking burn had been completed, the crew was able to go to their stations around the periphery of the command deck. George began long-range visual, ultraviolet, and infrared scans. Uma searched for asteroids and comets, Ferris scanned for molecules associated with life and Lia scanned the radio spectrum for any unnatural signals. Marty searched for unusual energy signals and Angie had Delphi go through system diagnostics.

After an hour of concentration, Marty was restless. "Find any good planets, George?"

"I have four around A and three around B. One of the A planets--the second from the star--shows a water line in its spectra. It's orbiting at 1.35 AU and has a reasonable temperature. The others are too hot or cold. There are no gas giants around either star."

Angie turned to Lia's station. "Any signal, Lia?"

"Nothing but background."

She looked at Marty. "Any energy signals?"

He shook his head.

"Set a course for the second planet around Alpha Centauri A, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

When the engines came to life, Marty smiled at Angie. "In a hurry?"

"I don't like sitting dead in the water."

"Yeah, we make too good of a target."

"Concentrate on the second planet, people," Angie said. "But, keep an eye out for any activity elsewhere."

"I'm getting better images of planet A,” George said. “There's definitely water in oceans, but they're not as extensive as on Earth. The planet has a diameter of 17 thousand kilometers, roughly 0.8 of Earth." He turned to Marty. "But, nearly the same mass, 5.7 times ten to the 24th kilograms."

"What does that mean?"

"It probably has a larger iron core."

"What about temperatures?" Marty asked.

"I'm reading a mean of 278K. That's ten degrees colder than Earth."

"Wouldn't the oceans be frozen?"

"The albedo is too low for that. Maybe the reading is off. Wait. I see what's wrong. This planet is tilted almost fourteen degrees to the elliptic. I'm reading the cold side. But, the average of the whole planet is still colder than Earth."

"How's the atmosphere?" Angie asked.

"There's lots of nitrogen. I'm showing some oxygen but not as much. We'll need to launch a probe to get accurate readings."

Angie continued her quest for updates. "Any signs of life, Ferris?"

"I'm picking up chlorophyll –a and -b peaks in the oceans nearer to shore and in the green areas on the land. We're still too far out to detect animal life."

Lia glanced up to see Angie looking at her. "I'm not picking up patterned signals. The planet does have a strong magnetic field in excess of 0.7 gauss. Perhaps the signals are trapped, assuming that they exist."

"Five minutes to breaking burn, Angie."

"Thank you, Delphi."

"You are welcome, Angie."

"I can make out more of the planet," George said. "The planet is approximately fifty percent ocean. I can see clouds in the atmosphere."

"There are no signs of anything in orbit except two moons," Lia said. "The moons are smaller than ours. I am detecting a magnetic spike in the southern hemisphere. It's configured much like the one on Mars."

Angie and Marty exchanged concerned looks.

"Is it near a mountain or hill?" Angie asked.

"No. It's in what appears to be a forest, of what I have no clue."

"They're definitely chlorophyll producing plants," Ferris said. "It's difficult to tell if they're like our trees."

The breaking engines fired.

"We should be in orbit in an hour," Angie said.

###

"We have achieved stable orbit at 250 kilometers, Angie."

"Good, Delphi. Maintain stealth mode. Launch an atmosphere probe and transfer control of it to Ferris."

“Yes, Angie.”

A whooshing noise signaled the release of a data-gathering probe. Ferris guided the probe into the planet’s atmosphere and steered it into a dive.

“I’m leveling it off at 1000 meters,” Ferris said. “Readings are coming in: Oxygen is at eleven percent.” She looked up. “That’s about half of Earth's. Carbon Dioxide is at 0.01%. That’s about a third of Earth's. Temperature is five degrees centigrade.”

“I’m reading temperatures around ten degrees C near the magnetic anomaly,” Lia said.

“Get a bio reading, Ferris,” Angie said.

“I’m not detecting any DNA or proteins,” Ferris said. “However, the detection is based on Earth experience.”

“I don't see any large animals,” George said. “There’s no doubt that plant life is abundant, at least in the warmer regions. This planet has very extensive ice at the poles. I’m not surprised considering the temperatures. The low carbon dioxide probably helps that.”

“I see no evidence of civilization,” Lia said. “There are no structures or roads.”

"What's that?" George said in a more excited voice.

"What's what?" Marty said.

"Look at the planet," George said, pointing at the main screen.

All eyes focused on the planet's image.

"What the hell?" Marty said.

"It looks like a hurricane," George said. "I'm reading it at two hundred kilometers in diameter and slowly moving east at five kilometers per hour. I can't imagine how it could form on a cold planet."

"What kind of surface pressures are you seeing?" Angie asked Ferris.

"Around 700 millibars at the surface near the anomaly."

“We’ll have to go down and investigate the magnetic anomaly quickly before that storm interferes,” Angie said.

“We’ll need environmental suits,” Marty said. “And, weapons.”

“Are we expecting a fight?” Uma asked.

“No,” Marty said. “It just pays to be cautious.”

“I’ll go,” Angie said. “I’ll take Uma, Ferris and Lia. You two will stay with the ship. We need you to monitor the storm.”

“Yes, Captain,” Marty said, with a salute.

Angie got up. "Let's get cracking. We need to gather samples and check out the magnetic anomaly as fast as we can."

Uma, Ferris and Lia followed her into the elevator.

"I think we're being discriminated against," George said after the women left.

Marty smiled. "I'm glad they didn't pick me. The last thing I want is a bunch of women ordering me around. Besides, we'll get our opportunities."

George smiled back. "You're probably right."

On the equipment deck the mood was more hectic.

"We'll have to use the environmental suits," Angie said. "The oxygen is too low and the temperature is only four degrees centigrade."

"I hate putting these on," Uma said, frowning, but she quickly changed to a smile. "But, I will do it gladly."

Getting into suits required donning insulating form fitting inner ware. The white outer suit provided atmosphere and temperature control. Because the planet's atmosphere wasn't that bad as atmospheres go, the suit didn't need to be as bulky and heavy as a standard space suit. Even better, no pre-breathing exercises were needed.

Angie handed a 9 mm automatic and holster to Lia. "Have you had weapons training?"

"I was a lieutenant in the Peoples Liberation Army."

"Anyone else?"

Seeing no takers, Angie strapped a weapon on, patted it and smiled. "Just in case." She pointed to the EVL launch bay. "Mount up."

The EVL ship was small but highly maneuverable. Its engines were not as powerful as those on the main ship and the Antigrav system was limited. Obviously, the External Vehicle Lander wasn’t meant for extensive missions.

The four women strapped into the cramped cockpit and prepared for launch. Angie was on the left in the pilot's seat. Lia took care of navigation and communications on the right. Uma and Ferris were strapped in seats behind them.

Unlike the main ship, the Lander had a windshield and there was limited computer control. The computer provided fly-by-wire and navigation as well as life support. Shaped like a lifting body, the craft was designed for the rigors of planetary exploration.

"We have clearance for launch," Lia said.

Angie nodded and hit the separation button. A hatch slid open and the Lander was detached from its bay in the bottom of the ship. As soon as the craft had drifted a hundred meters away, Angie fired the breaking engines, slapping everyone hard into their restraining straps. The craft penetrated nose first into the planet’s atmosphere.

Uma felt her stomach trying to exit through her mouth. "Yieee!"

Angie leveled out at 2000 meters. "Sorry about that."

Alternate regions of forest and water passed under the small craft. The landscape was moderately hilly but no mountains could be seen.

"There's a well defined clearing at the location of the anomaly," Lia said.

"That's where we'll land," Angie said, pointing the Lander at the ground and leveling out at the last moment to make a soft landing on three struts. After the atmospheric pressure was equalized with that outside, Angie opened the hatch.

A forest of large plants with flexible branches that swayed gracefully in a gentle breeze surrounded the clearing. The sky was a dark azure color and there were some puffy, pink-tinged clouds being driven along by an obvious weather front.

“This clearing is devoid of any life,” Ferris said. “I’m not picking up any radiation other than the strong magnetic field, the center of which is right over there.” She pointed to an object protruding from the ground.

The women moved quickly to the object, which was in the shape of a round cylinder approximately a meter in diameter.

“Oh my god!” Lia said. “This is the same writing that was on the object that was found on Mars.”

Ferris was even more astounded. “Look at this!” She bent down to examine a crop of black plants near the object. “These look just like the plants we saw on Mars.”

“What did they say about the Mars plants?” Angie asked.

“They’re alien,” Ferris said.

“I don’t need a PhD in biology to know that,” Angie said.

“What I mean is that the DNA of the Mars plants resembles nothing from any Earth plant. These plants don’t employ chlorophyll, at least not the same molecule.”

Uma looked up. "Look! There are two suns."

"Yeah, the other one is A," Angie said. "It's interesting the way there are two shadows."

"This would be confusing," Uma said.

"I thought there were three suns," Lia said.

"There are," Ferris said. "But, the other one is too small to be easily seen."

Angie activated long range COM. “Hey, are you guys asleep up there?”

Marty chuckled. “Yeah, Angie. We’re up here in our underwear drinking beer and playing cards.”

Angie suppressed a chuckle. “We’ve landed and are investigating the magnetic anomaly in the clearing. Lia says it resembles the Mars object. We’ll send an image up to you along with images of plants near it.”

“Copy that. We’ll check it out.”

“We’re going to move into the forest to collect samples.”

“Keep in touch.”

Angie pointed to the forest. “Let’s get cracking.”

The women moved to the edge of the forest, pausing to scan for animal life.

Ferris looked up at the top of a large plant. “This resembles an ancient fern with a leaf structure that I’ve never seen before. The ancient ferns of Earth often grew over a hundred feet high during the Carboniferous period.” She snapped off a leaf that had strange square pedals. “It’s amazing that a plant this large could grow so well at a lower temperature.”

“Maybe that’s why they resemble ferns,” Uma said. “The fern is a more primitive plant.”

“Yes, but the giant ferns of the Carboniferous period grew in a warmer climate.”

As they moved into the woods, the available light grew dimmer, casting ominous shadows over what looked like broad-leaf grass.

“Watch out for animal life,” Angie said, holding a reassuring hand on her gun. “No telling what might be running loose in here.”

That heightened the wariness of everyone.

The mood was more relaxed back on the ship.

“This writing is identical to that of the Mars object,” Marty said as he examined images sent from the surface. “The aliens that put these here sure get around.”

George rubbed his jaw. “How is the antimatter stored on this vessel?”

Marty looked at him with a blank expression. “I don’t know. I'll call up the schematics.”

When a schematic of the jump drive was displayed, Marty zoomed into the antimatter core. “It looks as if they’re using a strong shaped magnetic field, George. Why did you ask?”

George began to pace. “Do you suppose that the aliens are stashing antimatter in these objects?”

“Why would they do that?”

George stopped pacing. “There are only two logical reasons: to create a bomb or to store fuel.”

Marty shook his head. “It wouldn’t make sense to create a bomb. Mars and this planet are not occupied, at least not by intelligent life. I could see the aliens storing emergency stashes.”

“Why would they need to store fuel on planets?”

“The only reason that I can think of is that they can’t generate antimatter on the fly like we can.”

“You may have hit the nail on the head,” George said. “If only we could read the inscriptions on the objects.”

“Maybe we can,” Marty said, pulling up an image of the object’s writing. “This cartouche looks like it contains an eye, albeit an eye without a pupil.”

“Maybe these aliens don’t have eyes like ours. Maybe they have eyes like insects.”

“Could be. I think that this eye symbol translates to a warning.”

George scratched his head. “A warning about what?”

“I’m not a nuclear physicist, but I think this symbol is a matter and antimatter particle smashing together.”

“As in a warning to not mess with this or kaboom.”

Marty smiled. “A big kaboom!”

George glanced back over at the main screen. “That storm is on the move. It’s wandering toward the eastern shore of the area where the object is located.”

“What is the projected landfall of the storm, Delphi?”

“Two hours and forty minutes, Martin.”

“Keep us informed if it changes speed or course,” Marty said.

“Yes, Martin.”

On the surface the pace was more hectic.

“Is that what I think it is?” Angie said, looking closely at a long stick-like dark green object on the bark of a fern tree.

“Yes,” Ferris said, joining her. “It’s some sort of insect. I don’t know it I can catch it.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t,” Angie said. “We have no idea if it’s dangerous.”

"I'm seeing something moving," Uma said, her breathing rate escalating.

"Where?" Angie asked with a hand firmly on her gun.

Uma pointed at what looked like a jagged-leafed bush. Ferris moved in the direction.

"Be careful," Angie said.

"It's some sort of lizard," Ferris said. "I wonder how it functions on a cold planet."

"All the life on this planet is retarded," Lia said. "If the Centaurus system is as old as ours, why is the life so primitive?"

"Perhaps, the original life was destroyed from an impact," Ferris said. "What we're seeing is life starting over."

Angie detected an incoming message from the ship. "Hey, Angie. Delphi has detected an alien craft approaching this system with an ETA of forty minutes. Maybe you should get back up here."

"Copy that. We'll be up as soon as possible."

She waved to the others. "Collect your samples. We have to get back to the ship."

"What's wrong?" Uma asked.

"There's an alien craft on the way. We don't want to be down here when it arrives."

Marty struggled with the long-range scanners. "It looks like a saucer, but it's hard to tell at this distance."

"That's consistent with the object we found on the Moon. Evidently, these aliens don't like anyone messing with their stashes."

"What I want to know is how do they know that we're messing with them?"

"Good question," George said. "Maybe these things have proximity detectors."

"Man, if they do, the aliens that put them in place sure are quick to react."

George leaned back. "Sure makes you wonder if some of the UFO sightings and alien abduction reports are real."

Marty sighed. "I often have nightmares about that. They seem so real they scare the hell out of me."

"I've read reports that say that nightmares about alien abduction are actually repressed memories."

"What are you trying to say, George: that I was actually abducted?"

"I'm only reporting what I've read."

"Hey, you two, we've docked. Get this tub moving."

Marty jumped up. "You heard the woman, Delphi. Take us back home."

"Yes, Martin."

"Hey, Angie. You need any help?"

"Yeah, you could come down here and scrub our backs when we go through decon."

"Oh sure," he said with a smile. "That would go over like a lead balloon."

"You can scrub my back, Martin," Uma said. "I would like that."

"Yes, Martin," Angie said in a teasing voice.

What did they breath down there: happy gas?

"You people had better hurry," Marty said in a scolding voice. "We'll be going to jump soon."

"We'll make it," Angie said. "Where's the alien ship?"

"Delphi shows it at six hundred thousand kilometers. It hasn't turned toward us yet."

"Good. Keep me informed."

"Yes, Captain."

Marty settled into the navigator's chair so that he could keep an eye on the alien craft. If it turns he may have to take action, something he really didn't want to do.

After a period of silence, George had an interesting observation. "Did you know that you can watch them if you want."

Marty turned. "Watch whom: the aliens?"

George chuckled. "Not the aliens; something much more interesting. You can watch the women go through decon in glorious detail."

Marty's eyebrows rose. "How?"

"In that monitor," George said, pointing to a screen in a field of a dozen screens at the Opps station. "It's displaying the decontamination chamber."

"Oh my god! Why in the hell do they have surveillance video in there?"

George got up and moved to the Opps station. "They have them all around the ship. I guess they figured it was necessary in the decon chamber. Since the engineers are all men, they couldn't imagine that mixed crews would fly these ships"

Marty stood up but didn't move from the navigation station. "If they find out that we can watch them, we're going to be in big trouble." His feet finally obeyed his glands and he moved over to the Opps station.

"Surely they must know that there's a video in there."

George typed on a keyboard. "Did you know that you could zoom the video?" He flashed a grin back at Marty. "The Captain sure has a deliciously sexy chassis, doesn't she?" He returned his attention to the screen. "Would you get a load of the pair on Uma."

Marty's eyes grew to saucers. "Oh my god! She's going to kill us."

George laughed. "Hey, that's what they get for sending us out with a female crew. Besides, this is much more fun than looking at planets."

"Yeah, they're all just heavenly bodies."

"They sure as hell are."

They laughed, but their laughter was cut short.

"The alien craft has changed course, Martin."

"Oh, shit! Are they on intercept, Delphi?"

"Yes, Martin."

"How soon to jump, Delphi?"

"Thirty minutes, Martin."

“How soon to intercept, Delphi?”

“Twenty eight minutes, Martin.”

Marty rubbed his face. “Increase acceleration to give us a five minute advantage at jump, Delphi. Inform me of any change in the alien’s speed.”

“Yes, Martin.”

Marty raced back to the navigation station. “Quit fooling around over there, George. I need you to try and get a reading on the alien.”

“Yes, sir.” George reluctantly got up and moved back to the long-range scan station.

"The alien craft has increased speed, Martin. Intercept will be at one minute before jump."

"How much faster can we go, Delphi?"

"We are at 0.08 of C, Martin. Engines are at 85%"

"Hold present acceleration, Delphi."

"Yes, Martin."

"I'm reading the alien's energy signal," George said. "It's fluctuating."

"What does that mean?"

"My guess is that they're pushing their engines, probably over their limit."

"Good. Maybe we can coax them into an overload."

The elevator door swished open.

"What's happening?" Angie said as she burst onto the command deck.

Marty held his hand up to signal he needed silence. "Increase engine power to 90%, Delphi."

"Yes, Martin."

He turned to Angie as she slid gracefully into the pilot's chair. "The alien is on intercept. He's obviously trying to prevent us from jumping, but George thinks he's at engine overload."

"How soon to jump, Delphi?"

"Five minutes, twenty-two seconds, Angie."

"I think the alien has run out of gas," George said. "His energy signal is weaker." He sat up straight. "Wait! I'm detecting a spike."

"Did he blow?" Marty said.

"No. He's launched some sort of missile."

Marty turned back to Angie. "I guess we're going to find out if our weapons work."

"Prepare to fire particle canons at the alien missile when it's in range, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

They didn't have long to wait. The whooshing sounds preceded a blinding flash. The ship rocked from the energy flux of the missile's demise causing gasps from some members of the crew.

"Ten seconds to jump, Angie."

Angie smiled at Marty, the kind of teasing smile he used get from his second ex when she knew his secret. "Execute on count, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie.”

###

Angie and Marty watched General Wilson and Clarence enter the briefing room. Neither looked happy.

"We've read your mission reports," Wilson said as he leaned his massive frame on the podium. "Your evasion of the alien ship and the destruction of their weapon were well done."

"We're very fortunate that our choice of the particle canon worked," Marty said. "If that missile had detonated near the ship just as it jumped we might not be sitting here."

"Your experience gives us valuable intel on the aliens . . . "

"Who are these aliens and why are they mad at us?" Marty asked interrupting Wilson.

Wilson glanced at Clarence before continuing. "Dr. Taylor's theory about the objects you've found on Mars and the Centauri planet is tenable. The aliens are possessive and consider these locations as theirs."

"I'll give them the Centauri planet, but how can they claim Mars?"

Angie raised her hand. "If we're supposed to be going to star systems to search for life, how can we avoid these aliens?"

Wilson held his hand up. "We're working on that. When the engineers have a plan in place, we'll send you out again. In the meantime, you two will spend time on the simulators honing your combat skills."

They both replied in unison. "Yes, sir."

Clarence had something to say. "By the way: we've added a new member to your crew. Anna Petrovka is a renowned astronomical chemist. She just happens to be a Cosmonaut. She should be at the barracks."

Angie glanced over at Marty fully expecting him to react negatively to this latest revelation but he seemed transfixed in a daze.

Wilson wasn't finished. "We've ordered your crew to go through basic training. They'll be under your command from now on. You two have been reactivated and you will put your new recruits through the paces."

Marty frowned. "But, they're civilians."

Wilson grinned. "They've been drafted. They need discipline and you are going to see that they shape up."

Marty tried to object but Wilson saluted. "Dismissed."

Angie and Marty returned the salute and then exchanged confused looks.

###

Angie looked bleary eyed at Marty as they walked back to the barracks. "Did you ever imagine that we'd be back in the Air Force?"

"No way, and it doesn't make any sense. I think that the government knew about these aliens and had set in motion a program to go to war with them. The construction of the X-1001 was just a prelude to the development of this star ship, which just happens to be bristling with weapons."

"You sound like it's a conspiracy."

"I wouldn't go that far, but I do believe that there's a hidden agenda operating here."

She managed a weak smile. "Gee, just because we're at Area 51 doesn't mean that there's an agenda."

"Yeah, right."

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Angie stopped.

"I wonder if they've informed the crew."

Marty smiled. "George is going to be really upset."

"What about poor Uma?"

"Oh shit! I forgot about her."

They continued walking in silence.

Angie flashed an ornery grin. "Did you two enjoy the show?"

Marty swallowed hard. "What show?"

"Don't give me that crap. You know what I mean."

Marty shook his head in shame. "I told George that he'd get in trouble." He looked up at her with contrite eyes. "I'm sorry."

She laughed. "You were bad boys."

He bowed his head. "I know we were." He looked up at her. "Did the others know?"

"Of course."

"Are they mad?"

"Heavens no. They're not prudes."

"I'm surprised."

"Don't be."

He smiled. "Okay."