THE DISCOVERY

Harris and Packet sat in the extended observation pod looking at the stars before scanning the area where Harris thought the second LightStar might be. As they looked around there were far fewer stars than there had been last time. This place was remote even for sector five. What light there was came from a large dust cloud far below them. This gave a shadowy glow to the mass of broken debris in the area they were studying. It would be hard to find anything here. The object of there observations at the moment were not to look for the other LightStar but to find a hole in the debris field somewhere near where they wanted to be. A gap big enough for them to jump into without bumping into anything. This was far from an easy task.

As the instruments ticked away Packet stretched and ask Harris what that last message from Central had said. Harris said he had forgotten about it and had not translated it yet. Harris opened a comm unit and retrieved the file.

"Well its a bit more chatty than last time." said Harris reading the message. " But it is still a bit odd, it mentions the attack on us, which is very strange because we did not tell central about that. It says a Culourgon pirate ship attacked us because the transponder signal was not correct and they thought we were a military craft who were after them. Central have sent us the code for a transponder signal that says were a harmless Mimen unarmed survey ship. Well we are unarmed that's true. And they have also sent us a very illegal crack code so the undercode says the same thing."

"I did not know you could do that." said Packet.

"Nether did I." said Harris. " Lets not tell Raftos that one."

"Why a Mimen survey ship in particular." ask Packet.

"They are a very spartan people and don't carry anything anyone would want." said Harris. "The second part of the message is another update of the other ships that are in sector five. That will be interesting."

"Does it say anything about the ship that saved us from the attack, the mother ship the Streaks must have come from." said Packet.

"Nothing." said Harris." But there is a small message for you at the end."

"For me." said Packet somewhat surprised.

"Simple but to the point." said Harris. " It says tell Packet it's Jane. I assume that means something to you"

"It the end of that attack, the face on the Vissi screen, I shouted what's your name just as the screen went blank. That must be the reply."

"Is there something you're not telling me." ask Harris. "We're all alone no one can here us."

"What are you on about." said Packet.

"Well that woman seems to be following you about rather allot." said Harris." According to you she saves you from certain death, rescues you from a prison planet, saves us from a rocket attack and now sends you a message from Central Command. Is any of your story true. Is any of this trip true. Have I just fallen asleep at my terminal on Astor and dreaming this big adventure."

"Everything I've told you is true." said Packet. " I don't know about big adventure, I was happy in my life, the very last thing I would have ever wanted to do was this. A billion miles from anywhere, in an untested ship full of bandits, the only one who can drive it is two stops short of the depot and we are looking for a lost planet. I don't know about you but this was not my life style choice."

"Then who's this woman Jane." said Harris

"I don't know." said Packet. "I wish I did."

" I've always had the feeling someone on this ship was not telling the truth." said Harris. " I thought it was you, you were too good too clever, all this sophisticated equipment. You could be in touch with anyone and nobody would know. If you say you are clean and I know I have not got any hidden agenda, that leaves Raftos, his crew and Mick. Well as you say Mick's two pecks short of a parrot so I don't think its him. The Timmerons it's not in there nature so that leaves Raftos."

" I think we should take heed of Predlings advice." said Packet. " I think we are on the verge of becoming paranoid. If we look at this sensibly and take the politics out of it, we have a much simpler explanation of two men who want the same thing who by chance came to together at the one time when their two missions coincide. I think we are right when we say the Admirals behind this, he has lost the one thing that means the most to him, his daughter."

"Not just his daughter." said Harris. " His wife was on Aganoon when it was destroyed, there is always the chance she was evacuated to the Old Aganoon, another good reason to help Raftos."

"I did not know that." said Packet. " He must have pulled in very favour and every string he knew, risking everything, his position his career on this remote possibility of finding them. His daughter must have told him about the location a Aganoon Two being hidden in the Ancient poem. He was the one who ask you to bring that file, he knew it was written in ancient Aganon so needed some one who could speak it as he couldn't. Remember it is a language you have to be taught by a speaker, there are very few teachers. A few calls, a few names, you would be the most suitable, a military man you could be ordered across the galaxy without question and you could get his daughters file without raising suspicions at central. As for Raftos, he was on the same mission to find his family, his meeting with Mick was the coincidence that brought the two together, Raftos and the Admiral, LightStar was the catalyst. Predling was right when he said we should have never got away with stealing it, the Admiral let us have it, weather he knew we had Mick I don't know. My situation well I was set up by people on my home planet nothing to do with this mission, I do however think it was the Admiral that got me out."

"I'll go along with most of that." said Harris. " But when I first saw Raftos he told me he had ask for me on the mission to pay back for a favour, something that had happened when we were young. He described something even I had forgotten. So why would he have said that if I was the Admirals choice."

"This is payback for a favour." said Packet." I would not think you were much of a friend if you ask me along on this trip. Perhaps he was briefed by the Admiral, although I don't think Raftos would lie like that, perhaps it is just another coincidence. Or..."

"Or what." sad Harris.

"Or perhaps there is some third player, something all of us are unaware of." said Packet." Perhaps we had better listen to Predling and not question things too deeply until this is all over."

"Well if we find LightStar two we will have completed the first part of the mission." said Harris " And if our instruments are right we have just found that hole we have been looking for."

Packet leaned over to the intercom.

"Captain."

"Raftos here."

"Start the generators for the jump, we have the co-ordinates, we are starting to retract observation pod now."

The LightStar made the jump into the area found by Packet, it seemed a larger space once they were in there than it had when they scanned it. It was still however smaller than Mick would have liked for safety. Harris and Packet had stayed in the observation pod during the jump, although in the retracted state they could not see much because of the structure of LightStar, they could however see forward and it was quite an experience. The rocks and asteroids dimly lit by the plasma cloud below seemed become a slightly transparent blur is if suddenly moved, only to be replaced by other blurred shapes that transformed into transparent bodies then solid rocks. Harris and Packet did not feel anything themselves, they did not feel anything, it was as if it had all happened outside and they had not moved at all.

The intercom crackled and Raftos's voice told them the jump had been made and they could start scanning again.

Packet started the pod on its slow extension outside the perimeter of the jump rings. The area was full of rocks of all shapes and sizes. It suddenly struck Harris that perhaps this was the Old Aganoon and it two had been destroyed. Harris put a scan on several of the bigger rocks, this quickly dispelled his thought, they were far too young in age to have ever been part of a planet.

Harris and Packet started scanning. This time it would be different, this time they would be looking for life forms, well more macabrely, signs of dead life forms. After three hours of fruitless scanning Harris suggested they went back for some food and rest before trying again. Packet readily agreed. There must be something in the process of giving up that triggers fate. Just as they were shutting down the scanners there was a short beep. A familiar beep. Packet said he thought it was that mining satellite again. Harris knew better, that had been shut down and this was a different sounding transponder beep. Harris sent the inquiry signal, the answer came back almost instantly, flashing in the center of the data screen was the simple returned message 'LightStar' Then the signal stopped and the screen went blank.

"Was that for real." said Harris.

"Telescopes." said Packet sliding a new control panel out in front of his seat.

Two of the screens filled with images as two of the onboard telescopes uncovered and angled themselves round to the position indicated by the transponder signal. The smaller one meter telescope picked out a large asteroid rotating very slowly. The big sex meter telescope could not swing round far enough. Packet pressed the auto switch, big gyros adjusted the position of LightStar and brought the big telescope to bare onto the same asteroid the smaller telescope was holding in its sights. The telescope scanned across the rocks surface, it was a very large asteroid perhaps the size of a small moon, it was crescent shaped with a rough surface. The telescope found nothing.

Then the transponder signal sounded again, both telescopes homed in on the point the signal came from. Right on the horizon where the asteroid was rotating onto view, they saw an object. The big telescope was wound up to maximum power as the greenish object came round more and more into view.

"I suppose it was inevitable the way they would have jumped into here." said Packet.

Packet pushed the intercom button. " You watching." he said.

Raftos's voice came back " We're watching."

The LightStar must have crashed into the asteroid somehow and started it rotating which is why they lost the transponder signal. The pictures showed that only half the ship was remaining, like two half donuts sitting on of the surface, some of the accommodation modules were still there and one of the two big generators. Every one watching knew when a ship is chopped in two like that no one survives.

Although each crew member knew what to expect if they did find LightStar Two, the mood round the table in the command room was somber. It is one thing knowing you are going to find a disaster quite another finding it. The was some debate as to whether they should try to communicate with the ship on the off chance there was anyone alive on board. Packet said he had tried the standard radio emergency bands and they were not transmitting, what communications equipment there was on LightStar Two would have been located in the missing half of the crashed ship.

There was hardly any debate about the fact that they would have to take the shuttle down to the crash site to inspect the ship. That seemed to have been taken by everyone as something they would just have to do. The only thing to be decided was who would go down, Raftos decided four should go, Kimlon, Harris, Packet and Predling. Rather surprisingly Mick said that he should be one of the team. Mick was the least experienced spaceman and also the most nervous member of the crew, if anything happened to him everyone else was stuck. Mick however pointed out that he was the only person on board who knew the complete design of the ships. He knew things about the ship no one else did. Raftos ask him if he was prepared for what he might see if they did find any of the crew, it would not be a very nice. Mick said that after the places he had been living during the past few years there was not much left that could turn his stomach over. Reluctantly Raftos agreed and Mick was to go in place of Predling. The four went off to prepare the shuttle for the trip down to LightStar Two.

The asteroid where the ship had crashed was about seventy five miles away, not far for the shuttle. Landing on it however would not be easy, The asteroid was very misshapen and had a very low density which meant any pressure on it would alter its dynamics, the landing would have to be very good. Harris was voted as the best option as pilot. Harris was going to protest until Kimlon pointed out that nether Packet or Mick were pilots and he never been taught, he only learnt to fly in battle, where things like soft landing never occurred. Harris would take the controls.

Harris, much to his satisfaction made a perfect landing about a hundred meters from the crashed LightStar. Harris then lowered the blast shields from the front windows. As the shields dropped away the awesome sight of the wrecked LightStar towering above them was revealed. The misty light from the plasma cloud in the distance made the scene look like some strange fantasy painting.

Mick was to stay on the shuttle while Harris, Packet and Kimlon were to put on space suits and investigate the wreck.

The hundred yards to the wreck seemed to take a long time to cover. The low gravity and sheer size of the what remained of the craft made the whole journey seem unreal. Packet had some electronic equipment and started setting it up, Harris walked around videoing everything he could while Kimlon set up some powerful lights. The lights were needed because soon the rock would be rotating into the dark zone. As the three went about there business not much was said.

Packet studied his instruments, the one remaining main generator was giving out about five percent power, plenty for a stationary ship. It had not automatically cut out so there must be something on board using the power and a reasonable amount or it would have overheated and shut down. There were no external lights on the ship and all the blast covers were in place over the portholes so you could not see if any lights were on inside. Packet ran a long wire out from his instrument package and placed a magnetic microphone against the hull of the ship. Going back to his instruments he switched off his space suit communications and plugged himself into the instrument package and listened. When there are no other sounds to distract you it is amazing what you can hear. The huge ship was creaking and groaning the with stresses and strains as it moved from what little heat there was from the plasma cloud to the cold of the shadow. These noises Packet thought were like the singing of deep sea creatures, in the background however were other constant more familiar sounds. Circulation fans, pumps, the hum of control systems. Is it possible thought Packet someone could be still in there. He listened, there were no other sounds, no movement no voices nothing else at all. Packet switched his communications back on. " You getting all this he said."

All the information Packet was gathering was being sent back to the shuttle to be recorded.

"We're getting all your stuff Packet." said Mick." Nothing unusual but don't approach the ship again, leave all the equipment where it is and return to the shuttle directly. Harris has found some thing that affect what we do now. That goes for you to Kimlon return directly."

"Returning." said Kimlon and Packet.

The three walkers returned to the shuttle and with relief took of their space suits. It was never nice in space suits even the best fitting ones. Mick had made everyone a warm drink which went down very well. Through the front windows of the shuttle the large shape of the crashed ship grew ever dimmers as the asteroid rotated into its dark zone. Only the lights set up by Kimlon lit part of its superstructure.

Harris put his drink down and switched on the video he had been making while Packet had been taking his electronic measurements. Everyone watched in silence while the images of the ship, the impact points and the rock flickered across the screen. Harris began to explain the rather sobering facts.

The rock they were on was very porous very light and full of cavities, where the ship had impacted with the ground they could see on the video it had penetrated into the ground filling theses cavities. The missing part of the ship was inside the rock.

Everyone realised the implication of what Harris was saying, LightStar Two had jumped to a position occupied partly by the rock and had fused with it.

"That can't happen." said Mick." Two bodies cannot occupy the same point in space, that is why we are being so careful. If they try to do so they explode as the nuclei try to repel each other."

"I think there was an explosion." said Harris " A big one look at theses other pictures."

The group watched as the Harris showed images of a large crack in the rock next to the crashed ship. In places they saw deep holes in others pits filled with crushed rock. Then a deep cavity that seemed to go right through the entire asteroid.

Harris explained that he thought the ship had caused a large explosion but because of the porous nature of the rock it had absorbed most of the shock otherwise the ship would have been blown apart. The explosion was large enough however to blow the asteroid into two halves, and the crack seen on the video was the junction between the two halves. The two halves of the asteroid were probably blown apart, but its own gravity had gradually brought the two halves back together again. Harris thought here was very little holding the two halves together and any pressure would cause them to move apart. Even Packet crossing the crack to attach his microphone could have moved the two sections apart.

This crack between the two halves was on the very edge of the LightStar between the shuttle and the crashed ship. Harris suggested that in the light of this discovery they should not risk staying on this side of the asteroid. They would leave the equipment where it was and when they came round to the light side again take the shuttle across to the other half of the rock where most of the crashed ship was entombed.

All were agreed and it was decided to rest until horizon dawn when they could relay this information to Raftos aboard LightStar.