Odd ends

Dark of the Moon

  A shadowy figure slips out of a staff-entry door to lean against the darkened doorframe of a thick stone wall looking furtively both ways. His eyes take in a dark overcast night with a large black wall of clouds slowly moving above his position. For a moment he studies empty streets and the jagged tall building skyline of Appros, the Capitol city, for unusual activity. Does not see or hear any signs of being discovered. Darting eyes glance both ways along wide Founders Way running along the west side of the main Appros Museum building, pleased that the building casts a deep shadow. Toward the next shadow a tall slender wide-shouldered hooded figure wearing black with a backpack noiselessly slips across the lighted street. Under overcast skies threatening rain the figure in black slowly walks along the western face of the other smaller Appros Museum building down to and crosses 89th street just like he is just out for a stroll.

  Halfway past the crossroads he starts placing a force field barrier at a dim streetlight and in his ear he hears, "Dact, did you get it?"

  Instantly the street shadow named "Dact" is on everyone's security channel.

  Dact takes off running a zigzagging course for the first barrier thirty meters away, knows a Museum monitor speaker has already blared Maton's sentence out over a guardroom, and somewhere in the building a guard follows procedure and touches off defensive measures.

  "Shut up, Maton!" Dact yells returning the name dropping favor. Even running as fast as he can make his feet go for the next streetlight pole it seems much too slow.

  Suddenly, sirens wail from all four corners of both Museum buildings behind him and spotlights all around flood the area and sidewalk with light. Automatic weapons whine as they activate on every corner, scanners hunt movement, locate him, and send angry green energy bolts at a zigzagging target. All around him like hail angry green energy flashes. Each hit explodes showers of paving brick bits that sting, and only his constant changing directions keeps him from being hit. One running steps past the next barrier his finger taps a console on his wrist and a pale flickering green shield blinks on between the Appros Foreign Ministry building and the streetlight pole. Buzzing red and yellow flashes as energy bolts slam into the energy barrier, are absorbed, and protect briefly the black figure now running straight down the sidewalk counting out the short life of the shield.

  "One, two, three, four, five, six," and Dact yells, "second barrier," just as an energy bolt strikes a half meter to his left showering him with hot air and sharp red brick chips. Behind him a frizzing sound as another barrier pops into place. In the center of wide South Zornax Way with a swarm of hovercrafts headed his way along streets from all four directions like a hive empting angry bees, the black figure slips down into an already open manhole as the shield behind him fails. A green energy bolt splashes down on the manhole cover to his left making a red circle. Quickly, he climbs down without time to worry about replacing the manhole lid for overhead monitors saw he go to ground and computers direct all forces to this and other manholes to encircle him. Underground in a city service tunnel his fingers touch his wrist to switch to frequency two.

  Dact Tarky shouts into his mouthpiece, "Direct me!"

  "Go left three junctions and then right."

  The black figure does not have time to do anything but run splashing though an occasional puddle and gets extra speed from his anger at his partner's impatience. At the third junction of tunnels, Dact turns right, almost slips in a slimy puddle turning, makes the corner, and runs for all he's worth. Now, every searcher knew where he went to ground and is spreading out to cover all manholes in a wide circle. On each street access they will send down squads to search each tunnel, encircle him, trap him, and Dact's only hope is to find his exit shaft up into the Krader Building. Dact taps a spot on his wrist-console and a light flares forty feet further on. Putting his head down Dact forces his tiring feet to churn on for the light.

  Now, every moment counts. Dact yanks back his hood for more air. His only hope is to go up and out before they stop to think. At the light Dact jumps up, grabs the ladder, yanks it down, scrambles up, and shouts, "Light." Quickly he scrambles upward gulping air as the light below him blinks out.

  Breathing huge gulping open-mouth breaths trying to get more energy into his tired legs, Dact scampers up and out of an open manhole into the Krader Building basement as the ladder-spring lifts it. Trotting across the basement in dim safety lighting Dact touches his wrist. The basement access closes behind him, steps into an automated cargo-lift, and Dact frets over its slow rise to the first floor.

  When the freight-door opens Dact steps nine steps left to get his first break. The elevator is still stopped on the first level where he left it and sensors open the doors. His finger hits Level 6, his feet feel the floor rising, and even its faster speed seems slow to Dact who has had only one possible protection since the moment of discovery-speed.

  On Level 6 Dact steps over and sits down in a back-row hovercraft 14-17M76B an old model with handlebars, a seat, and basket behind. Quickly Dact opens an access hatch, pushes an override switch inside, closes the hatch, and taps "Forward," on the command console. With a jerk the old slow craft starts and Dact steers it out into the middle of a wide empty hallway.

  The dash clock reads 4:13 as his fingers press "Fast Forward" twice. A craft with a top normal speed of a trotting man suddenly takes off with a jerk racing down the hallway faster than a top sprinter can ever hope to run.

  Down a long dim empty traffic corridor Dact's hovercraft zooms, over a street in a tunnel, through the next building, over another street, and through another building. In their wisdom the City of Appros officials, a city of tall buildings, built bridging on the sixth and tenth floors between all tall buildings to reduce street level traffic and improve fire fighting.

  Down this long dark hallway with a string of yellow thumbnail-sized emergency lights, red ones at crossings, his cart zooms 4.3 kilometers before Dact abandons it at elevator 36179. Smiling over its smoking engine Dact sets the override switch back to normal, takes an elevator ride down to street level, steps outside, and quickly gets soaked in a steady cool downpour.

  Turning to look back toward the Museum Dact sees a flashing light ring of hovers in the air and brighter street lights. With a thank you nod at the thunderstorm that sends a streak of lightning at the planet confusing motion sensors and wiping out complains in a loud booming clap of thunder. With renewed hope and refreshed by the cool rain Dact at a fast trot splashes two blocks west. Lightning flashes, heavy rain, thick clouds, and rolling thunder make most ground sensors unreliable.

  Smiling a tired Dact sees the dark shape of their ship on the Soka Center hover-pad, a dark building devoted to daytime workers studying other planetary governments. He whispers in a rumble of thunder, "Kade." Nothing happens. When he repeats his call between thunder booms a dark hatch opens. Dact races up the ramp, through the hatch, sensors close the hatch and retract the ramp.

  Inside Dact shouts, "Get us out of here."

  As the floor tips and lifts Dact pulls off his backpack and pushes it into a lock-box. In the control room a cold drenched Dact plops down in his command seat, weak trembling legs, gulping air, and can only think about rest. While he gets back half of his wind his instrument panel show Appros Planetary Security Force sensors have already located their lifting off ship and pursuit hovers are swarming in from all sides.

  Safety-if there is any-is up. Dact's wet fingers tap "90" on his lift panel, slides across and down to the speed panel, presses "Maximum." An unseen force tries to drive him down through his cushion. At a hundred meters on the altitude panel his fingers change the lift course to "97" up and "147" southwest.

  "Sorry," offers a red-face sheepish short chunky Maton about all the trouble his impatience has caused as his fingers turn on long-range sensors. A view-screen pops on showing a heavy Kelk Class Destroyer and nine small patrol ships overhead turning toward their orbit point.

  Dact's fingers changes the up-lift to 87-degrees. Sha
king his head as all ships above and below almost instantly react to his change. Its desperation time again.

  "Compute a Star Jump."

  "Can't get a fix ... lifting to rapidly ... they're jamming."

  "Make it blind ... three degrees left of a star and half a solar ring past."

  "Which one?"

  "Pick one."

  "Me!"

  "You ... I'll be too busy. We don't have enough energy to lift into orbit, cloak, and jump. Only chance is a stop lift for a quick maneuver toward one, let power recover, take a quick shot at one, force on their shields, cloak, and Jump. All they will have to follow is a dissipating energy trail."

  "Computing," Maton responds.

  On the far right an Appros Security Fleet channel view-screen pops on with a split screen below the headline: Wanted Antiquities Thieves: Dact Tarkey, Retto Maton, and Kade without a known last name. There is only a black picture box for their unknown partner. Below their pictures was an image of a black Rynt 42D.

  Dact shakes his finger at the screen and Maton shakes his head over the price of his impatience being on screen 19.4 units after his outburst. Randomly picking star area 1155, star number 1155-5764, and Maton closes his eyes, hopes they don't fly into something first as the computer plots a course.

  "Orbit," Dact announces aloud, changing course to "128.7" turning straight at the massive Kelk Class Destroyer arming lasers. "All energy into Cloak and Jump," Dact shouts as his finger presses "Fire."

  Low energy red laser bolts make a long red dotted line reaching out toward the destroyer, too low powered to more than scratch it, but the destroyer's computer instantly flips on greenish shields. Shields slow their ability to return fire.

  As Dact feels that old queasy nauseating and pulsating feeling of entering a full power Cloak his fingers ends laser fire and on the course panel presses "Auto."

  "Two armed torpedoes," Dact shouts and feel an expected force start pushes him back against his cushion. Less than the blink of an eye later Dact feels queasy in his gut, the incoming torpedoes blur, and the last word he hears for a time is Maton shout, "Now!"

  Dact hates that brief blackout of a full power Star Jump. When able to think again stars make streaks on the front portal. A panel reads out the Star Jump time remaining at 99:59:46. Now, they have time to think, stretch, and hope Kade does not run into anything. His eyes follow the course-line on the star chart out through and past a red line. Turning toward Maton he grumbles another complaint.

  "You just typed number 1155-5764 on the computer keyboard. 1155 is a restricted zone. You did not make a safe choice. To all the other charges against us you added a fifteen rotation-cycle zone violation."

  "Sorry," Maton answers as he usually does to each and every mistake.

  "I know ... and I don't want to talk about it or what I got. I'm going to put on dry clothes, swallow a little warm food, and take a long nap." Dact glares at Maton who nods. Dact adds, "When I wake up you can have yours. Then, we will talk and look at what I found."

  Matron only nods.

  At 81:43:14 of their Jump Dact opens his backpack to pull out what he went after, a titanium necklace with a variety of precious green and yellow stones that looks like old royalty. Other found things were a gold comb of obvious primitive manufacture, a tabletop-sized piece of ancient woven linen fabric, a silver jewel-handled knife, the Appros Museum master catalog cube, and the captain's log book from Zellezar Dawn.

  Appros history said that spaceship Zellezar Dawn brought the first colonists. Except that on the last four entry pages the log shows a list of prisoners being transferred from Bryony to the Tice Prison colony on the third Delkyn Moon. In flight their ship suffered a major explosion and crashed freeing all prisoners. They killed the one surviving guard and looked for Captain Hote Nyson. Before they hunted him down Captain Nyson hid his log book and set the emergency beacon on an eleven month and twenty day delay. When outsiders from Emiteria follow the beacon down they found struggling and half starved farm families calling themselves Bryony Colonist with new safe names.

  "They'll never stop!" an angry Dact says slamming the log book down.

  "Who won't," a puzzled Maton asks. "It's just a book!"

  "Thought I had something, Captain Nyson's log book, but I'm wrong. I should have left it. Maton, they found this book seven years later while scraping out the ship for its metal. It makes all Appros early history a lie; every legendary founder a convict and murderer. Some idiot hid it away ... should have destroyed it. That book affects a huge number of families. They will never stop looking, pay any price to get it back, and will terminate any and all that have read it or know about it."

  "Send it back to them," Maton suggests.

  "It won't make any difference! They will believe we read it and may have made copies to blackmail them with later. I'd bet you any amount they have already put out a sizeable bounty on us. Every hungry head-hunter in all eleven solar systems is on the lookout for easy money-killing us."

  "What can we do?"

  "Friend, Retto Maton, we stay alive as long as we can."

  "I'm for that!"

  II

  On the East lawn of the White House a crowd gathers on Saturday April 10, 2031, President Lyon's birthday. At three in the afternoon he plans to keep a campaign promise to return to the Moon. The crowd, ticket holders and International and American Press, wait for the new President to introduce the Astronauts going back to the Moon. This mission is the first step toward the construction of a lunar shelter for a mining colony.

  Tall handsome bachelor President Caswell Leander Skellenger Lyon, a descendant of General Nathaniel Lyon of the Civil War Battle of Wilson Creek fame, and whose personal claim to fame is a Harvard Liberal Arts degree and eight years as Third Vice-President of Skellenger Toys. President Lyon is trying to keep one of his campaign promises made during the election to return to the Moon.

  Not one of the assembled political pundits and journalists had worried about that promise.

  In fact, Caswell Lyon was a surprise candidate, a bigger surprise party primary winner, and a shocking winner in the general election. He carried 83.7 percent of the women vote squeaking out by the slimmest of margins 13 state victories, winning the presidency with one extra Electoral vote.

  Forty-one-year-old President Caswell Lyon's full bushy brown hair, gray hidden by careful weekly dye work, waves in a gentle southwest breeze as he walks to the front flanked by Director of NASA Martha Carroll and Party Chairperson Ellen Andersen. The Director and Party Chairperson stop and smiling President Lyon steps forward two more steps to the podium. An aid, Corene Layce-Mueller, hands him a leather-bound folder which President Lyon accepts with a nod, lays it on the podium, but does not open it. Still smiling President Lyon stares at a teleprompter and reads his speech-writer Edna Coleman's speech.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow's lift off from Kennedy Space Center of a lunar satellite with the latest mineral imaging equipment will help us choose the best of three possible locations. The next step will be to land a ground survey team in the chosen area four weeks later. This time, on the lunar surface we will gather site information for planning and constructing a lunar shelter to house a lunar mining operation. Our survey team is: Module Command Pilot Colonel Lena Roxbury, Module Co-Pilot and Pilot of the Lunar Module Lieutenant Colonel Ann Kistzler. Our Mission Specialists are: Major Judy Kaffenberger, Major Rose Goldwaite, Major Sarah Crawford, Captain Mary Hon, Captain Maria Chenango, and Lieutenant David Mills.

  Behind and to the left of President Lyon each officer stands as their name is called and after the last one the audience applauds. As the noise fades President Lyon turns and orders, "Colonel Roxbury will you explain the mission ... Colonel."

  III

  Three light-cycles and eight hours later their Star Jump ends with a huge dark black shape suddenly filling the front portals-both of them. Dact throws his head back; Retto Maton ducks. As Kade continues rapidly forward Dact gathers his wits enough to re
ad 8,000 kilometers to the dark surface of the moon in front of them.

  Maton pushes the required "Slow normal."

  "Emergency," Dact yells as his fingers desperately punches, "Turn left 147-degrees", shouts, "Right hand thrusters all full", and a desperate second later taps "Front thruster on full too." His fingers slide the engines down to "Maximum slow."

  "What are you doing?" Retto Maton yells back puzzled by the turn and unaware of the danger.

  "Hang on" Dact yells at Retto as his finger presses "Emergency turn" to increase thrusters by 16 percent above maximum.

  "What are you doing?"

  "Retto, it takes 10,000 kilometer to change from Star Jump speed down to normal drive and that black thing in front is now 7,600 kilometer away. My impatient friend, we will be down to normal power and speed," and he shouts the last of his comment, "2,400 kilometer after we hit it!"

  That new thought freezes Maton and his face turns pasty white as Kade slowly turns left but both can see that it will not make it. "Oh, it's too slow," a suddenly white-faced frightened Maton gasps.

  "Need ideas ... desperation time," Dact yells as his fingers turns the direction of the turn to 180-degrees, turns off front thrusters, and turns engines up to "Normal."

  It seems to speed the turn.

  Much too rapidly for Dact's nerves Kade now hurtles sideways at the moon surface and tries every trick he can think of to turn tail-first toward the Moon. At 167-dregrees Dact yells, "Right side thrusters off. Here goes nothing," and jams the engine power slide down to "Maximum."

  Kade jerks, finishes the turn in a rush by tapping right thrusters on and off. At 180-degrees with engines roaring full Kade slides more slowly down tail-first toward the dark Moon's surface.

  Starting to hope again Dact grins and yells, "Retto, tell me if you feel a big bump."

  Not liking the possibility Retto Maton closes his eyes for an instant.

  Kade slips down deeper into the darkness ever closer to the Moon's dark rocky surface, and Maton's finger turns on all flood-lights.

  Dact thinks that funny and laughs. "Want to see what we hit, Retto?"

  All either of them can do now is sit watching numbers fall less slowly. Altitude meter numbers creeps downward to read 205, 204, 203, and stay on 202 meters for a long time. Kade has stops falling for it does not hit 201 and creeps upward. At 203 both laugh.

  Kade starts normal uplift. At 863 kilometers Dact's fingers press "Slow Normal" and "Orbit" breathing normally again.

  Slowly Kade creeps left toward the edge orbiting the Moon. In front of them in bright sunlight both stare at a white and blue planet off in the distance.

  "Cloak," orders Dact. Again he feels that queasy pulsating feeling. Slowly Kade drifts two cloaked orbits around the moon. On each orbit they listen to planetary signals on dozens and dozens of frequencies and discover this Moon does not rotate.

  On the back dark side Dact presses "Descend to Land."

  "Lights," yells Maton. Slowing in the center of the backside of the Moon with lights blazing, Maton yells, "Right."

  As Kade descends Dact moves the ship to the right until he sees what Maton saw-an ancient smooth large lava flow. Dact gently sets Kade down, pleased over only raising a small dust cloud, and turns off all exterior lights and engines. A small emergency engine runs a generator to power life-support and cabin lights. Portals are blackened.

  Dact and Maton settle down for their usual forty light-cycle tournament of "Glaed Three" interrupted only by agreed on sleep times to decide share size. Last time Dact's winnings earned him 53 percent. Maton is out for revenge.

  IV

  Eleven light-cycles later Dact tries to nap after winning three straight games to be four ahead. Strangely Retto Maton cannot shake a feeling of unease, not related to his present danger of being on the edge of loosing a fourth. Retto studies his next move. Impatient Retto thinks about giving up, but decides not to.

  On the edge of sleep Dact closes his eyes and drifts off.

  To rid himself of that feeling of unease Retto stands and paces while planning his next move hoping for a new strategy. To have something to do other than making a wrong move, even though he was told not to, impatient Retto switches on the ship's short-range sensor. A moment after the screen blinks on Retto sees a silver streak and presses "Record." After a difficult time trying to decide if he should wake his partner, Retto shakes his partner. He tells a sleepy Dact, "Look" and points at a short-range scanner view-screen.

  "I don't see a thing."

  "Watch," and Maton presses "Repeat" and sunlight reflects on a small silver object orbiting overhead before it passes over the horizon. Altitude sensor reading is "158 kilometers."

  "It's something ... and Dact waits a long moment, "here it comes again."

  "Satellite," Maton asks?

  "A small metallic thing is orbiting. It's too small to be a space ship. This is a restricted zone. They do not have space ability yet," Dact reminds him.

  Maton just shrugs. "If they don't, what's that up there ... space dust ... maybe captured space debris orbiting this Moon?"

  "Does it have any power readings?'

  Maton shrugs.

  Both wait for the thing to come around again. Its absence is scarier than seeing it.

  After a time Dact suggests, "Let's turn full power on the short-range scanner." A brighter screen locates three minutes later a satellite overhead without a power signature. "It has done its job and is out of power. I don't think it reported us," Dact turns off the scanner.

  The partners return to their Glaed Three tournament. This time Retto Maton wins three straight.

  Dact cannot seem to consecrate for something nags at him and the game turns against him. Suddenly, in the middle of losing game four he blinks the game-screen off, "I concede. Retto, there is a satellite up there. They might have already made landings on the other side of this rock."

  "Might," replies a smiling Maton recording his fourth straight win.

  "We are stealers of antiquities are we not?"

  "Mother wouldn't be please, but we are."

  "Don't give me that Adorbian space pirate mother garbage! Want to go look and collect up all the junk they left behind. It might be worth something ... antiques even.

  "Sure ... I'm only behind two games."

  V

  Down on earth NASA has already started on a final countdown. Pauses briefly with only five minutes of scheduled countdown before the last normal twenty minute hold for a final check of instruments before countdown to lift-off.

  Bill Debiler of THAY News, main reporter for the newest and smallest fifth over-the-air digital network, uses this short time to try to increase his station's ratings to number four on this project. Debiler explains the mission to his listeners again.

  "The main Module, 'New Sunrise,' is commanded by Colonel Lena Roxbury. The main Module will orbit overhead. The Lunar Module commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Ann Kistzler will land on the old Apollo 12 site. Mission specialists Captain Maria Chenango and Lieutenant David Mills are going to go out, walk on the surface, collect rocks, and drill core samples to verify satellite information."

  After explaining the details, Bill Debiler has to stop when the countdown resumes.

  VI

  On the back side of the moon a black spacecraft's engines suddenly displays three red spots in the blackness. A sleek black Rynt Conglomerate 76-271-42D class, the largest of the small class space vehicles, with two grav-bands around it, hums and vibrates as three overly large engines for its size warm.

  The Rynt 42D is a favorite vessel for small freight companies and smugglers. Shippers on both sides of the law nicknamed it "Runner D" for its ability to run fast and deep. The fact that goods stolen on one planet can be sold on another planet with less risk puts the Runner D in great demand for uses other than hauling legal cargoes.

  It has two unusual abilities for a freighter: a Star Drive and a large cargo area. To increase sales the Rynt Conglomerate advertised that t
hey added cloaking to conceal shipments from space pirates. It did that and made 42D into a best seller, earning for the Conglomerate an 87 percent market share. Smugglers in cloaked Runner D's could now leave and enter planets undetected.

  If earth imaging equipment had been in orbit around the moon they could easily have seen bright spots in the continual blackness on the back side of the Moon as a Runner D warms. Inside, two sets of eyes watch a yellow-line climb upward and wait for it to reach "Ready."

  At the control panel Dact watches the line climb and when it reaches "Ready" his finger taps "Prepare for Lift."

  Maton, the navigator, works to point energy toward the surface and engines on low power slowly lift their Runner D. They nicknamed their ship "Kade" to confuse unwanted ears into thinking it is a third person.

  As Maton checks panels, Dact presses "Normal lift" on his command panel and Kade easily lifts from the dark Moon surface. At five hundred meters altitude Dact orders, "Cloak."

  "Cloaking," Maton responds turning to work on another panel.

  Feeling queasy again Dact turns Kade in the same direction as the orbiting satellite. At 587 meters his finger presses "Orbit" and lets the computer fly the ship.

  "Retto, what are they looking for? A moon like this is only useful as a space station or for mining. Do you suppose a mineral scan might be valuable?

  A smiling Retto nods turning the scanner on "Mineral-imaging" and presses "Record."

  Dact watches out a front portal for trouble as Retto adjusts the scan to their altitude and speed.

  Retto looks up and tells Dact in a pleased voice, "Adjust for four orbits. Would that satellite be worth anything?"

  "Good thought Retto. Finish your scans and then we'll grab it."

  VII

  Below a NASA craft is less than halfway around earth in its first orbit. In the Module command chair a voice orders in the commander's ear, "Nominal ... Go for orbital burn."

  "Roger...Go for orbital burn," Colonel Lena Roxbury repeats the order and presses a switch to tell the computer to go for orbital burn. Number 8 flashes on the screen, followed by 7, 6, 5, and at 4 Roxbury shouts, "Grab your girdles, Ladies ... Catapult time. ... Here we ...," and the last part of her yell is lost in the sudden roar of engines behind them.

  All feel a push backward against their cushions.

  VIII

  With Kade on it's first Moon orbit Dact shouts, "Debris 50-degrees, probe at 60, and probe at 70." On the second orbit Dact reports, "Debris at 40, 50, and 75." During the third orbit Dact reports, "Debris 40 and 75 and a probe at 80," and on the fourth orbit, "Debris at 40."

  "Scan complete and recorded. Give me time to put it on a cube and we can go catch that satellite. How many landings did they make?"

  "I counted seven and three probes ... they've been busy."

  "Okay ... I'm free to operate the tractor beam."

  "Retto my good friend I'm removing cargo hold atmosphere and opening cargo hatch, turning 19 points right, 23 up angle, and speed down to Level 2."

  Watching screens they close on the satellite and Retto, who seldom has any ideas had one. "Dact, catch it on the dark side. If they are monitoring it, they will believe it crashed back there. On this side they will wonder why it disappeared."

  "Good man," Dact tells him following the satellite over the horizon into darkness, turns a spotlight on it, uncloaks, and closes to within 38 meters. Slowly the tractor beam pulls the small satellite into their cargo hold.

  "Computer, chart us a course to pick up our treasures."

  After a long moment Dact's course screen show a strange almost raindrop-shaped course with hover spots marked. Grinning Dact feeds it into the computer, Cloaks again, changes cloak to overhead only, crosses out into the light side, and lowers Kade toward the surface. He sets the speed at "Nominal Auto" and flies at only an altitude of 91 meters. According to the computer Kade will clear all obstacles, but it leaves Dact nervous.

  "I'll keep watch that we don't fly into a volcano or mountain. You collect."

  For a tiring three-quarter of a light-cycle Dact is the eyes of the operation. Retto operates the tractor beam and the computer does the flying. Retto's tractor beam collects: probes, platforms, vehicles, and assorted items until their cargo bay is more than half full. After collecting the last item a tired Retto frees a nervous Dact for higher flight.

  "Altitude?"

  Quickly Dact turns off the Auto program, readjusts to a comfortable height of 190 kilometers for the flight back to a dark side lava flow landing. Two light-cycles for the metal to warm and cargo area to gradually refill with atmosphere, and only then can they go back to inspect, sort, and catalog their treasures.

  After it is complete, they return to Glaed Three. Dact wins the first two and loses the next five as a new nagging thought distracts him. Before he can put it into words the short-range sensor view-screen that they left on minimum shows an unknown spacecraft overhead.

  "They followed us," Maton blurts out. But, the ship does not come down for them. It goes on around in an orbit.

  "No, we've got a weak signature. If it was bounty hunters they would have followed it down to hover over us. This one is in orbit, don't think they know we're here, and must be from that blue and white planet."

  Two orbits later they are sure. Now, all they can do is wait. They wait for two light-cycles before a smaller craft follows it. Both disappear and the small one makes a landing on the light side for only the larger one returns.

  Every game, all fourteen, of Glaed Three Retto Maton wins for that unclear idea nags at Dact. On the seventh light-cycle the idea clears in Dact's head as he loses his sixteenth.

  "Retto, remember that moment we first decided to steal that old sandal on display and sell it to old man Bosdell for enough to spend a day at Gesen Amusement Center. It changed our lives and we've been stealing and selling ever since."

  Retto nods and frowns wondering where this is going.

  "Well, my friend, I do believe that we are at another of those moments. When they leave we can go back, sell our collection to the highest bidder, and sooner or later the law or a head-hunter will get us-two short rich lives. Or, we can follow that ship above us back as their first visitors from another solar system, from another planet, and maybe live a long time-and a lot poorer. I choose to live as long as I can. Retto, I choose to follow them. But, you're the big winner. You've got the say on this one."

  Retto frowns, stares at his old friend and long time partner, paces back and forth in the control center, and finally sits back down. Retto Maton holds out his hand. "Friend Dact, I'm with you."

  A grinning Dact shakes his hand and asks, "Wonder what they will pay for this junk. It's theirs. If not much, we might start a freighter service to their moon mines. Say Retto, bring forward two of those colored cloth pieces on poles ... maybe if we carry those they will know we're friendly."

  "Can't hurt," chuckles Maton getting up to go get two.

  Two light-cycles later engines ignite on the vessel overhead for an orbital burn creating a long red streak across the darkness, and disappear beyond the horizon. A blink of an eye later dark red spots glow in the darkness as Kade's engines warm. When a panel light turns yellow Dact pushes, "Normal lift," on the control panel and upward Kade climbs. At 138 Dact sets an orbital course and taps "Forward Speed 6" to catch up with the other craft. Just before the light rim Dact shouts, "Cloak," and feels queasy again.

  Out in the light sensors locate the other vessel and Kade catches up almost too quickly. Dact is forced to slow to "Nominal" and finally after repeated adjusting settles on "Slow to l.6." During four long light-cycles they follow cloaked six kilometers behind listening to chatter back and forth with ground control.

  IX

  None of the "Big Four" over-the-air networks are covering astronauts bringing back more Moon rocks. Only little THAY network is and sent Bill Debiler.

  "Ladies and Gentlemen, it has been a flawless trip; except for maybe missing the landing si
te a half mile. They expected to find debris from Apollo 12 but strangely found nothing. In a minute or two we will see New Sunrise approach the landing strip. There's New Sunrise ... slowing and coming in. Wheels down, touching down and tipping over on the nose wheel, main chute deploying ... slowing ... rolling ... rolling to a stop. In a few moments we will see the crew exit on slide-chutes. There the door is opening, slide-chutes have deployed, and here comes the crew. One ... two ... What ... What is that! What's behind New Sunrise? Did you see that? Nothing was there and the next second shadows and now something is! It's a space ship. Look, the strangers have opened a hatch, lowered a ramp, and I do see two individuals walking down. What are they lifting up and carrying ... Now, I can see it? It is two flags ... two American flags.

  Ladies and Gentleman, our first visitors from outer space and you saw it on THAY first. Gone are the arguments over are there other planets and is there life on other planets. That ship and those two walking toward our astronauts carrying American Flags answer all that. A historical moment, so please watch them. I'm going to try to get a cameraman out there to get us some close-up shots. I'll be back in a moment."

  The camera showing the pair of flag waving strangers walking forward goes silent.

  Seven

  Science Fiction: I wrote this after a rash of stories on television about space stations and of course the death star of Star Wars.