OLD AGANOON

Kimlon took Harris back to the control centre himself so that he did not get lost again, he also pointed out some not very well painted marks that helped point the way around.

During the time Harris had been taking to Kimlon the LightStar had made a jump and was now just on the edge of the area where Aganoon had been destroyed. In the so called control centre were Raftos, Mick and Packet, they were sitting around the table looking at the star maps. Raftos was tracing a line on one of the maps, this map showed the area they were now in. Raftos looked up as Harris and Kimlon entered.

Mick and Packet were looking at some of the scanner readings obtained that morning.

Raftos looked up from the chart at Harris.

" I've been to Aganoon Two but it is not there." He stabbed the paper with the end of his pencil, the end of the pencil broke off and skidded across the table. " Did I imagine it, was it all some hallucination some trick."

" If it was we were all suffering from it." said Kimlon.

" That has happened before." said Raftos. " We all know such things happen, but if it was an illusion where are my wife and children."

" Do you always navigate this way." said Harris looking at the line on the chart Raftos had drawn in an especially think pencil. " Some what crudely on charts with lines."

" And what is that suppose to mean." retorted Raftos almost shouting somewhat miffed at the question of his competence.

Raftos told Harris he had done alot more navigation in space than Harris had ever done and had never had any problems. He had learnt by the seat of his pants and had not been to fancy pilot school like Harris. Harris suggested, equally aggressively that perhaps he should have done, then got up and went over to the Navigon Unit still sitting in the corner of the room still switched well and truly off. Harris switched it on, then waited while the system struggled into life. Harris typed quickly at the keyboard moving the star maps around on the twin screens until he found the area of space they were sitting in.

Harris ask Raftos for the co-ordinates he was using to find the Old Aganoon, Raftos gave him the co-ordinates and Harris fed them into the machine. The star charts in the twin monitors rotated as the machine followed the flight path Raftos had taken in his space ship the Monitor, from the position on Aganoon to where they had found the Old Aganoon planet.

As the Navigon reached the end of the simulated flight everyone's eyes were on screens. The star charts stopped at the point where the rescue flights had ended, there was nothing there. Raftos looked at the chordates over Harris's shoulder.

" See." said Raftos with some slight satisfaction. " That's within a few centars of where I had calculated, I've already been there, seen it, got the tee shirt, there's nothing. Nothing for light years."

Raftos turned away from the screens and grabbed the whisky bottle from the table and pored himself a large glass full. He downed the drink in one gulp.

" When exactly did you make that rescue mission." ask Harris.

It was Kimlon who answered. He gave Harris the date.

" This is something you can't do on you paper charts." said Harris and pressed a few keys on the keyboard. The star charts started rotating backward, winding back time to the date of the original rescue from Aganoon. Harris began to retrace Raftos's flight plan.

" Now." said Harris with a tone of superiority in his voice." We have something."

Everyone gathered around the Navigon screens. Harris explained that the Aganon Star Knights were much better navigators then Raftos was giving them credit for. As the flight path of the Monitor was traced inside the memory banks of the machine, Harris realised the Star Knights had used solar dynamics to hide the true path of their flight. The first leg had taken the Monitor close to the second moon of Aganoon, the gravity of the moon had affected the flight path. The flight path between Raftos's navigation points were not straight lines, they all had a bend in them. Each leg of the journey took it near a planet, not too close but close enough to deflect the flight path. The last leg had been near a large planet that had accelerated the ship to twice its normal speed. As Harris adjusted all these calculations the projected flight path changed direction between each move to end millions of miles away form Raftos's original calculation.

"That is were you really went." said Harris in triumph pointing to the spot on the screen. Raftos was amazed and congratulated Harris and apologised for being uppity. The only trouble was, there was still nothing there.

Harris suggested that just because there was nothing on the star chart did not mean that it was not there. The data on sector five was patchy old and incomplete. Harris took out the data file of the star chart he had brought with him from Central Archives. This chart contained a wider selection of data than usually stored in Navigon units.

As the data was downloaded more data appeared on the screen. At the end of Raftos's flight path was now a marker. Harris punched up the code. On the information screens below the main monitors a single phrase came up. ' Qerri von Vevidon' which literally translated meant 'here be dragons'. It was an old phrase used by survey ships to describe an area that had something in it but where the surveyors thought it too dangerous to go. One could only hope that in this case whoever made the entry was wrong.

It was decided to they would go to the area, because basically they had no better options. They would jump to the very edge of the area Harris had found, then proceed slowly and with great caution.

While Harris was still sitting at the Navigon remembered the secret signal sent from Central and told Raftos about the strange message. Harris inserted the message pad and downloaded the information into the machine.

The star chart jumped as it displayed more of the sector and bright points were highlighted as the Navigon began to show the positions of other survey craft and military battle fleets. When the machine had finished displaying all the information Harris studded the chart. He studded it for rather along time.

" Is there something in there we should know about." said Raftos at length.

" There are a lot of ships out there." said Harris." And rather too many of them are heading to the exact point we're going."

" How can that be." said Mick.

" Well I'm sure Raftos here is not the only captain to escape the massacre in the Dark Zone, and amongst them there must be quite a few who have a good memory." said Harris. " And they probably know how to use Navigon units, enough at least to do exactly what I did. They have been heading in that direction for a while and some are very close."

" Well I suppose it doe's not matter if were not the first to arrive." said Raftos.

" On the contrary." Harris suggested." I have a feeling it is very important we are the first."

"From what I recall." Raftos turned and paced up the room. " It was quite a small planet and not big enough to take the place of Aganoon as a transit station. The other captains must know that as well."

" Precisely." said Harris. " So why the big interest. Why the big rush to that point, did they all leave wives there."

"That is very unlikely." said Raftos. " I suggest we jump as soon as possible to the edge of that place then access the situation while we scan that final point."

A certain sense of urgency filled the air as they moved to prepare for the jump.

The jump was made and the LightStar was now sitting stationary on the very edge of the area where the Old Aganoon planet should be. Packet set the sensors to scan the area for any signs of life, if there was any life out there, he would find it.

Raftos had called a meeting for everyone in the so called control centre, he decided all the crew should be there except those on essential duty, it was pretty crowded around the long wooden table.

Raftos had wanted his crew to be there as they had considerable experience especially two of the older members, Myat and Craso, both of them well over two hundred years old, the Timmeron can live a long time and do not seem to age much.

"We're now moving into unknown waters" said Raftos by means of an introduction. "As most of you know we've been in tricky situations before, we've boldly gone as they say but suddenly something in the pit of my stomach tells me the waters have suddenly got alot murkier. During the war all the situations we got ourselves into were a calculated risk, we knew what we were doing most of the time anyway. Suddenly stuck out here I feel we are being used as pawn in a game we did not know we were playing." Raftos paused then simply said " Harris."

Harris was taken by the surprise at introduction and started by saying that he was not quite sure what Raftos wanted him to say. That he had been roller coasted into this trip, that he knew nothing of the LightStar till a couple of days ago. He knew there would be a search for a new Aganoon type planet in the fifth sector but alot of people knew that. Harris was a librarian form an archive planet buried on the edge of the eastern sector, nobody knew him apart from a few friends, suddenly he gets a call from the Grand Council, no less, ordering him half way across the galaxy with no explanation.

Harris continued, turning his head toward Raftos, it turns out the biggest outlaw in the galaxy knows me. There was a small ripple of laughter round the tightly packed room. Somebody knows more about what we are doing out here than we do, Harris went on, he took out the little silver case he was carrying, flipped it open and held up the data file. He told how he had been ordered to being the data file in person, this particular data file, number JHPDF888 and that no one on this mission had yet spoken about it. Harris looked round the table.

" Does anyone here know what this contains." Harris looked directly at Raftos.

"Should we." said Mick.

"No." said Harris." There are no listings of this file on any index or any catalogue anywhere, it is a personal private log, to even find it you would need the highest security clearance at Archives and then bypass the access codes. Then you would have to know where to look, it would be looking for a needle in a haystack."

"What's on it that is so important." ask Packet.

"I don't know." said Harris. " But there must be something that is crucial to our mission and some one, some where, must know what that is."

Packet then told the group that he had been thinking of late that his breakout from the prison planet was rather too easy. He said that LightStar was an odd ship, it did not travel it just arrived, this gave alot of time for thinking. Packet knew he should not have been convicted, although he had shot somebody, the evidence he had been given was so strong any proper court would have thrown out the case, he was set up, Packet said by persons unknown. He had never heard of a break out like the one he had made, although money can buy alot even on a prison planet, it was all a bit slick. He ask Raftos what he had paid. Raftos had to admit only a fraction of what he thought he would have to pay.

One of the Timmerons then suggested that stealing the LightStar itself was a bit too easy. Even if Raftos had told Central Command he could make it work, such a secret project could not be let out, for all Central knew Raftos was just going to be sell it to the highest bidder. Such a thing could change the balance of power in the whole sector. By rights Central Command should have blown them all up in the hanger.

"Everything points to the Admiral." said Raftos at length. "Perhaps we have all been set up, the only person with enough authority to do that is the Admiral."

" If he has done it I think that he has put himself out on a limb, risking everything on the one very slender chance that somehow we might find his daughter." said Harris. Harris turned to Raftos. "Did you know that the Admirals daughter was on board LightStar Two."

"No." answered Raftos.

" That is one very big gamble." said Packet.

" Perhaps a gamble is right." said Raftos. " In his position it is the only game in town, perhaps his only chance ever of finding his daughter, wouldn't you take it." said Raftos. "I'm only here to look for my wife and family, nothing else matters, I don't want to find Aganoon Two, I don't give a dam, Good luck to the Aganons for disappearing, all I want is my wife and if I have to break there silence to find her so be it."

" If the Admiral is behind everything it begs the question do we have the Admirals spy on board." Packet looked at Harris " I saw the Admiral take you to one side after the briefing, what did he whisper in your ear."

" All he whispered." replied Harris " Is ' my daughters name is Jasmine Hallow."

"That was an odd thing for him to say." said Mick." Remember I worked with her on the project, I knew her quite will, every one called her Rachel, even the Admiral called her that. Why would he give you that name."

"Was that here real name." ask Harris.

"Yes it was." replayed Mick. " But I can tell you she would sock you in the mouth if you called her that to her face, she absolutely hated it."

"Well it makes some kind of sense if the Admiral is behind this trip." said Raftos. "I can understand where he's coming from."

"I think." said Predling " We should finish our mission before questioning our motives too much, I have seen too many missions end suddenly when anything except the obvious motives were questioned, We are all adrift on an empty sea lets not rock the boat."

Suddenly as Predling finished specking there was a long low growl. Harris said he hoped that was not the alarm signal he thought it was. Packet looked across the room at a monitor flickering in the corner of the room, a series of numbers were flashing red.

"It is" shouted Packet.. "Incoming missiles."