What seems to be the problem Lieutenant?

I'm not sure. I'm having these strange nightmares. I often wake up in a sweat, breathing hard and afraid.

Describe them.

I see these strange faces that have large black eyes with no pupils and tiny nostrils and a slit mouth. They never show any emotion like dolls.

You've described what many people see as extraterrestrials. It's a common image.

Does that mean that they're real?

I believe it's the result of mass suggestion. People see what they want to see.

Marty and Angie smiled when they looked over their line of recruits who were standing at attention under a bright southwestern desert sun. These unlikely trainees were all attired in khaki pants and white tees making an amusing image to a seasoned warrior.

Neither Angie nor Marty was enthused about making their crew go through basic training. It smacked of military paranoia, but they had no choice. There's was not to reason why . . . .

"Step forward Lia," Angie said.

When she did, Angie saluted her. She returned it but hers was typical People's Liberation Army style.

"Lia is your drill sergeant," Angie said to the others. "She'll take you through precision marching."

"Why are we being tortured?" Uma said. "We are being made to run, jump and do pushups in the hot sun."

"It's to help shape up our bodies," Marty said.

"I do not need that," Uma said. "My body is in perfect shape."

Angie flashed a teasing grin at Marty, and he couldn't keep from smiling.

"We are not American citizens," Ferris said. "How can we be drafted into the American military?"

"Your respective governments have given each of you to us," Angie said. "Your service is extremely important to the security of all Earth's citizens." She pointed to Marty. "We were retired from the military, but we have been reactivated."

"Why me?" George said. "I'm too old to be drafted."

"Never too old to get in shape," Marty said, slapping his middle.

"Are we training for a military action?" Anna asked.

Marty turned to look at her. She was a well-endowed blond with eyes that flashed with arrogant pride. Her thin-lipped mouth and thin nose gave her a sharp look, but she was not really beautiful in the traditional sense.  She seemed younger than the rest, but that was a pure guess on his part. "You’re not being trained for any specific action, but I can assure you that you do not want to be taken alive by these aliens. It would be orders of magnitude more unpleasant than this training."

That resulted in only the sound of wind whipping up in the heat of the desert and a funny look from Angie.

How does he know what aliens might do to a human captive?

“Are we being trained to shoot aliens?” Uma asked, breaking the silence.

“You are going to be trained to use three weapon systems: the KLV-16 assault rifle, the ML-60 mortar and the TL-100 missile launcher,” Angie said. “We hope that no confrontation will occur, but if it does, we want you to be ready.”

After hearing no new complaints, Angie saluted Lia. "Commence."

"Attention," Lia yelled.

No one moved.

“When I tell you to come to attention, you come to attention. Do you understand?”

No one moved.

“You’re supposed to say: yes, sir and stand up straight.”

They all reluctantly said it and did it.

“Good,” Lia said. “That’s more like it. Now get your asses back to the barracks and make it snappy."

Again they remained motionless.

"Go," she screamed.

They took off running more from fright than obedience and Lia ran with them.

Marty and Angie ran after them.

“This is nuts,” Marty said. “We have no idea if we’ll ever have to confront aliens.”

“True,” Angie said. “But, there’s no harm in being prepared.”

Marty wasn’t sure if that was a valid assessment, but he decided to keep quiet. There was no telling what could happen out there in the final frontier.

###

Uma assumed the prone firing position and took aim with her KLV-16 assault rifle, an automatic weapon capable of firing 800 high velocity 30 caliber rounds per minute. She poured seven shots into a target that was three hundred yards away and all seven shots were in the innermost ring in a nice tight pattern.

“Nice shooting,” Marty said. “How did you learn to shoot so well?”

“I hate guns,” she said, adding a sour look to emphasize her feeling.

“Well,” Marty said. “Keep hating them like that and you’ll do fine.”

Angie approached. “They want us to report to the briefing room.”

Marty looked up at her from a squatting position next to Uma. “Now what?”

She gave him a perturbed look. “Does it matter?”

He got up. “No, not really. Let’s go see what’s going on.” He turned to the others. “Okay, people, you can have the rest of the day off.”

Cheers and claps greeted his announcement.

Marty and Angie walked to the command center in silence. They knew that something important was cooking and it implied danger.

General Wilson was waiting for them and his demeanor was strictly military. “We have a new mission for the two of you. The X-2001 has been upgraded. The engines have been made more efficient. You can now accelerate to 20 percent of light, which means that you can jump four parsecs at a time. The Antigrav system has been made more responsive. We’ve added a new weapon that the engineers call the Nova Buster and the shielding has been improved. Oh, and you’ll like the fact that you can steer into turns at high velocity.”

“Has the crew been notified?” Marty asked.

“No. Only you two will be going on this mission.”

“What is the mission?” Angie asked.

“You are being sent out to a comet. I believe it’s called V2Kon-Van-2007. This comet is on a collision course with Earth and your mission is to destroy it.”

“How large is this comet?” Marty asked.

“It’s somewhere between 40 to 60 kilometers.”

“How are we going to destroy something that large?” Marty asked.

“With the Nova Buster. You will deliver the weapon and get the hell out of there as quickly as you can.”

“This weapon can destroy a large comet?” Angie said.

“The Nova Buster is based on antimatter. As I understand it, the matter and antimatter are collided at near light speed and the resultant explosion is much more efficient than just allowing the magnetic containment field to drop. All I know is that you don’t want to be any nearer than a million kilometers when the thing detonates.”

Marty was impressed. “Wow! That’s one hell of a bomb.”

Wilson smiled. “Yes it is. Besides destroying a menacing comet, it should scare the bejesus out of any aliens who just happen to be watching.”

“I would think that an explosion of that magnitude will be easily visible from anywhere on Earth,” Marty said. “How are you going to explain it?”

“We will reveal the existence of the new ship when you are successful. And, you will be successful because otherwise there will be no reason to announce anything.”

Angie and Marty exchanged concerned looks.

Wilson saluted. "You're dismissed."

They both saluted. “Yes, sir.”

###

Marty looked over at Angie and sighed. “This sounds like a suicide mission. How are we going to deliver this insane weapon and get out of the way in time?”

“Five minutes until launch, Angie.”

“Thank you, Delphi.”

“You are welcome, Angie.”

“We’ll get in front of it, match its velocity and then fire it back at the comet just before we put the pedal to the metal. If we time it right, we should be at least a million kilometers away when it goes off.”

“If we don’t get the timing down perfectly, we’ll be toast.”

“Delphi can handle it,” Angie said.

“Do you really believe that this comet is going to collide with Earth?”

“They say it’s only seven months away. A comet that large would destroy all life on Earth.”

“And you believe that we’re going to save mankind. I find that hard to believe.”

She shrugged.

Marty smiled. “We are the ones.”

Angie looked around at the empty command deck. "Right now, we're the only ones."

"Yeah. There is no use in risking our crew's lives."

She sighed. "I'm getting too old for this shit."

"Amen to that."

"Launch in ten seconds, Angie."

"Execute on count, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

The X-2001 shot up to the stratosphere in less than thirty seconds. The image of the Earth shrunk quickly as the ship began its acceleration to a position near the orbit of Jupiter.

"I thought that most of these comets get pulled into the gas giants," Marty said. "Why is this one headed to Earth?"

"All of the gas giants are aligned and this comet approached from the opposite side. At least that's the explanation I was given."

"Do you really believe that this Nova Buster gadget is capable of destroying a large comet moving at over 200 kilometers per second?"

"I don't know, but we have four of them. If one doesn't work we can try another."

Marty's jaw dropped. "Four? There's enough antimatter in them to destroy an entire planet, if what they told us is true."

"You know how the military thinks: More is better. They should have called them Supernova Busters."

"I hope we don't get caught in the explosion or we'll become a supernova ourselves."

Angie set her jaw with determination. "We won't if I have anything to do with it."

Marty rubbed his jaw, which had a day's worth of stubble. "I've done some research on this particular comet and up to three weeks ago it was expected to miss Earth by at least a million kilometers. Why is it now headed for a collision?"

"Only two explanations: the original data was incorrect or something changed its trajectory."

"Could the aliens do something like that?"

Angie shook her head. "I don't know, but it is a possibility."

Marty slumped in his chair. "This is not going the way I thought it would."

###

"We are in range of the comet, Angie."

Marty straightened up. "Show time!"

"Bring us in front of the comet by 90,000 kilometers and match its speed, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

"That's kind of close, isn't it?"

Angie gave him a determined look. "This has to be a shot right up the gut and on the money. It can't be a glancing blow or be too distant. There's no margin for error."

He shrugged.

"Please arm the Nova device in aft tube number one, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie. Nova device is armed and ready."

"Please execute destruct sequence A-1, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

Marty swallowed hard when he heard the high-pitched screech of the Nova device shooting out of the back of the ship. The engines immediately screamed to life, causing the comet's image on the main screen to shrink quickly.

"Detonation in thirty seconds, Angie."

"Thank you, Delphi."

"You are welcome, Angie."

"We're at 800,000 kilometers," Marty said. "It's going to be close."

The main screen went totally white. There was no noise at first, but then a crackling, fizzing sound grew nearly deafening.

"Holy shit!" Marty yelled.

"That's just the radiation," Angie said. "The gravity wave should hit about now."

The ship shuddered and then vibrated violently. When the main lights flickered off, the ship shook with a thunderous bang.

"How far were we?" Angie calmly asked.

"Just at a million," Marty said as the lights flickered back on.

"Status, Delphi," Angie said.

"There was a 23 mega joule overload in the electromagnetic shield generators. The damage has been repaired, Angie."

"Turn us around, Delphi. Take us to the projected location of the comet."

"Yes, Angie."

Marty looked at her with surprised eyes. "Why are we going back?"

"To clean up the mess. If my hunch is right, there will be a sizable debris field. We have to make sure that there are no large chunks."

He smiled. "Otherwise, Earth will get many small hits instead of one big one."

"You got it."

At Area 51 ignorant bliss was the norm as a night breeze drove away the heat of the day and coerced many out of their hovels to see a spectacular cosmic display.

"What is that?" Uma asked in an excited voice.

"It's not a meteor," George said. "It's not moving. If it is a supernova it's the brightest I've ever seen."

"I heard that there was supposed to be a visible comet," Ferris said. "Is that it?"

"I doubt it," George said. "The light is fading."

"Where are Angelina and Martin?" Uma asked, looking around.

"I don't know," George said. "I haven't seen them all day." He continued to watch the fading point of light, wondering if it was a portend of new dangers to come.

On the X-2001, there was no time for pensiveness.

"We are approaching the comet's projected location, Angie."

"I show a wide debris field," Marty said as he peered through an eyepiece. "Several objects are in excess of a metric ton."

"Transfer helm control to me, Delphi," Angie said.

"Yes, Angie."

Marty looked up at her. "You're going to go to manual?"

"Yes. I'll drive. You shoot. Use the particle cannon on the big stuff and the energy beam on the small."

He wrapped both hands around joysticks. "Please activate forward weapons, Delphi."

"Yes, Martin."

Angie used a joystick to maneuver the X-2001 through the debris field, twisting and turning in order to miss collisions. Some of the misses were by a hair, but she didn’t react to them.

Marty used joysticks to center target grids on comet chunks and the joystick buttons to fire. And, he was rapidly firing at everything with particle cannon and energy beam simultaneously. Blinding white beams and plasma balls were smashing into comet chunks left and right, blasting them to bits.

"I have a communication from Mission Control, Angie. They request our status."

"Tell them that our status is fine and that we'll get back to them later, Delphi. We're too busy at the moment."

"Yes, Angie."

Angie saw a large chunk pop into view but she couldn't turn fast enough. "Get that!"

Marty blasted it. "Got it."

The shields shrieked from collisions with thousands of tiny fragments.

They didn't have time to congratulate each other. The next targets were dead ahead.

Marty zapped all of the large chunks and began concentrating on smaller pieces. He paused when he spotted a shiny metallic object.

"What in the hell?"

Angie's eyes ballooned. "Oh shit! She turned the ship around. "Take helm control, Delphi, and get us the hell out of here."

"Yes, Angie."

Marty looked at her. "What's wrong?”

"Increase speed to maximum, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

She looked at him. "I think that's an alien weapon."

"Oh, no!"

"The object is following us, Angie."

"What's its range and speed, Delphi?"

"The object is at 750,000 kilometers and is accelerating at 150 kilometers per second per second, Angie."

"Please arm Nova device in aft tube number two, Delphi."

"Nova device is armed and ready, Angie."

"Please fire it at the object, Delphi, and increase our acceleration to maximum."

"Yes, Angie."

The sickening scream of the Nova Buster preceded a sudden increase in engine whine.

"Detonation in thirty seconds, Angie."

"Thank you, Delphi. Maximize aft shields."

"Yes, Angie."

"That's how the aliens altered the comet's course," Angie said.

"You realize that if that thing has antimatter in it we're going to take a much bigger hit."

She shrugged. "Oh well."

The main screen went brilliant white. The radiation blast plunged the deck into darkness and the gravity wave pummeled the ship like a catagory-5 hurricane. The engines shut down and Antigrav stopped, plunging the two warriors into zero gravity. Angie used a small flashlight to check manual readouts.

"Delphi's off line," she said.

"I hope we don't run into anything. Without the computer we're vulnerable."

"Shit. I think we just got hit by the largest explosion in history," she said. "I think I can reactivate the secondary power units." She punched several buttons at the Engineering station. Dim lights came on and a few screens flickered on.

Angie continued punching keys. "Come on Delphi. I know you're still in there."

"What can I do?"

She pointed to the Opps station. "See if you can get any of the status screens on. We have no idea what damage we've suffered."

He floated over and began punching buttons. “I can’t seem to get anything . . . . Wait, I see something. I’m not reading any structural damage."

The computer lamp flashed. “Decentralized Electronic Logical Personalized Heuristic Intelligence is now on line.”

“Hello, Delphi,” Angie said, her lips twisting into a wry smile.

“Greetings, Angie. I have been off line.”

“Do a system check, Delphi,” Angie said.

“I didn’t know that’s what Delphi meant,” Marty said. “What do they mean by decentralized?”

Angie glanced over at him. “What difference does it make?”

“My circuits are intact, Angie. I will do an operations check.”

“We need Antigrav as soon as possible, Delphi.”

“I will make Antigrav my priority, Angie.”

Marty turned to Angie. “I can’t find any evidence of damage. I think we’re okay.”

“I agree,” she said. “Get back to the navigation station. We need to get a fix on Earth.”

“Aye, Captain,” he said before he started floating back.

Suddenly, the Antigrav came back, causing him to fall to the floor.

“Ouch, damn it!”

“Antigrav has been restored, Angie.”

Angie laughed.

“Thanks a lot,” he said with a sarcastic tone.

“Try to get the engines back up, Delphi,” Angie said.

“Yes, Angie.”

Marty got up and went to the Navigation station.

“Engines will be on line in five minutes, Angie.”

“Thank you, Delphi.”

“You are welcome, Angie.”

“We’re going the wrong direction for Earth,” Marty said.

“As soon as the engines come on line, we’ll fix that,” Angie said.

“We’re traveling at over 10,000 kilometers per second,” Marty said. “We’ll probably have to come to a full stop.”

“Forward engines are on line, Angie.”

“Bring us to a full stop,” Delphi. Take us to Earth at a velocity of 300 kilometers per second.”

“Yes Angie.”

Angie got up. “I need a trip to the little girls’ room.”

He smiled at her.

After a few minutes, Marty watched Angie return from the head and plop down in the pilot's chair. He smiled. "I haven't had that much fun in ages."

"I just hope that we got all of the big chunks," she said.

"We did a thorough search. I'm sure we got them."

"Raise COM to Mission Control, Delphi."

"COM up, Angie."

"This is the X-2001. We destroyed the comet and all large debris. We are returning at a slower speed to minimize any possible damage that may have resulted from the detonation. ETA is at 2100 hours on the 18th. End of message."

"How long till it arrives there?" Marty asked.

"About an hour."

"And, another hour till we get a response," he said.

"Not quite. We'll be closer."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot." He gave her a smirk. "I guess we're stuck with each other for a while."

She frowned. "Are you complaining?"

He held his hands up, palms out. "Not me. I enjoy working with you."

"Thank you, but we're not working."

"Technically, we are. We're just presently in a lull, just like when we were waiting for the next combat mission."

"So what do you suggest we do with this lull time?"

That made him flustered. "Well, I wasn't . . . . I didn't infer any . . .  "

Her eyes lit up. "I know what I want to do."

He got this funny feeling that she was up to no good. "What?"

"Watch a video."

“A video?”

Angie got up and moved to the Opps station. Marty swallowed hard before he got up and followed her. She began punching buttons on a console, and soon a monitor lit up with images of the decontamination chamber.

Marty’s eyes ballooned. “Oh my god! You mean to tell me that they record the video?”

“Yep,” she said with a satisfied grin. “Now I can see what you two bad boys saw.” When the video flickered to life, her eyes widened and she developed a scowl, but a few minutes in, she smiled and then laughed. “Wow! You two really got an eye full.” She flashed a teasing grin at him. “I hope you enjoyed yourself.”

“Well, I . . . I told George he was going to get us in trouble. Damn it.”

“Oh, my. I need to work out more. I’m beginning to sag.”

“They . . . You look to be in fantastic shape to me.”

“Thank you, but I’m not as young as Uma, Ferris or Lia. Theirs are firmer.”

“So what? It doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me.”

"I didn't mean that it didn't. I just meant . . . All I'm saying is that I believe that your . . . They're not really sagging that much. They look fine."

She grinned. "Thank you. I'm glad that you like them."

He was sweating now. "Not to change the subject, but don't you find that it's strange that our crew is international."

"So what?"

"You told them that their respective governments had given each of them to us. Wouldn't that imply that people outside of Area 51 know about the X-2001?"

She gave him a stern look. "Where are you going with this?"

He made the mistake of flicking his eyes to the monitor displaying the video.

Angie looked at what had grabbed his attention only to see a revealing image of her bending over to pick up a scrub sponge. "You guys really did get a show. Shame on you!"

"Hey, I told you I was sorry."

She laughed. "I'll bet you are."

He remained quiet. What else could he say?

###

Marty looked over at Angie and smiled when he saw her nodding off. "You look like you could use some shuteye."

She rubbed her jaw. "I'm sorry. It's been a long day."

"It certainly has."

She stared at him for a few minutes before turning to press a switch on her command console. "Delphi, take over. We'll be in my cabin. If anything comes up, let us know."

"Yes, Angie."

It was his turn to stare at her.

She gave him a benign look and stood up. "Come with me."

He hesitated, but when she frowned, he got up and followed her to her cabin. When the door swished close, she sat on the edge of her bunk.

"I don't want them to see or hear this," she said, sounding ominous.

"See and hear what?" he said, sounding concerned.

"I want you to see something." She stood up and pulled her tee shirt off.

"I've already seen . . . "

"Don't be silly." She turned her back to him and unsnapped her bra.

Marty swallowed hard when he watched the bra drop to the bunk.

"Look at my spine," she said. "See the little red spots?"

He ran his hand down her spine, examining each vertebra with his fingers as well as his eyes. "Yes. They look like you've had several spinal taps."

"That's the problem: I've never had anything like that."

"Interesting. I have the same problem."

She turned around wide-eyed with astonishment before squinting with doubt. "Show me."

He removed his shirt and turned around. He soon felt her exploring fingers.

"Oh my god! What is happening to us?"

He turned around. "Not is happening, but has happened."

"Now you're confusing me."

"I believe that these marks are from an alien abduction."

She laughed, mocking him. "Oh, come on. That's ridiculous."

"Let me ask you something: do you have strange dreams of faces with big black eyes and needles sticking into you."

She plopped down on her bunk. "Oh my god!" She stood up again. "Why us?"

"Why anybody? Many have reported being abducted."

She gave him a scowl. "Don't you consider it more than a coincidence that we are together on this project to find these very same aliens?"

"Oh, I agree. There's more to this than we've been told."

"I don't like this one bit," she said, picking up her bra but not putting it on. "It smacks of some military conspiracy." She turned her back to him and threw the bra in a dirty clothes bag.

Marty put his shirt back on. "I had better leave."

She turned her head to look at him with a confused expression. "Why? Delphi can handle the ship."

He looked at her with confused eyes.

What is she trying to do? She must be having a lapse of reason.

She unsnapped the belt that ringed her pants, pulled the pants down, sat on the edge of her bunk, removed her shoes and socks and pulled her pants off.

"Are you going to shower?" he asked, trying not to stare.

"No."

When he saw her pull her brief off, Marty nearly gasped.

"I want you to see something," she said before lying on her bunk face down. "What do you see?"

"I see a very beautiful behind."

She turned to look at him. "Don't be an ass. Look closely. You and George missed it."

"My father always said I couldn't see the forest for the trees." He moved closer. "You're talking about this mark on your derriere. Is that a tattoo?"

"No. Look at it."

He gently rubbed his fingers over a mark in the middle of the flesh of her buttock just left of the top of her crack. "Is that a burn? It looks like a two-inch circle with a Z inside. How'd that happen?"

She turned around and sat up, swinging her shapely legs over the edge of the bunk and folding an arm across her breasts. "I am the daughter of illegal immigrants. Fortunately, I was born in the United States, but my parents and I were indentured to a wealthy rancher outside El Paso when I was only three or four. As a matter of fact, I was one of several servant girls owned by Mr. Arnkoff. When I reached the age of sixteen, he stripped me, tied me to a post and branded me."

"That’s ridiculous. What the hell did he think you were: a cow?"

"Evidently, he must have gotten his kicks out of humiliating us. The pain was bad enough, but the humiliation was worse. He left me tied to that post until dusk. It was if I were just a piece of property that he could do with as he wished." She bowed her head. "I can't really complain, though. He sent me to the Air Force Academy."

"Why are you telling me this? More importantly, why are you showing me this?"

She gave him a subtle smile. "I thought that you would be interested in knowing. I needed somebody to hear my story."

"I understand. I'm curious. What did you tell the doctors who examined you in the Air Force and NASA."

She jutted her jaw out and her eyes radiated defiant pride. "The truth."

"We are approaching a debris field, Angie."

"Slow to 200, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

She stood up. "Back to work."

"I'll take care of this. You're out of uniform."

"You forget; we're alone. I don't need a uniform."

He grinned. "You're the commander, but I wouldn't recommend it. They may be recording all command deck activity."

Besides, I couldn't concentrate on work.

"Yeah, you're right. Get going. I'll throw something on and join you. We can continue this later."

Continue what?

He saluted.

###

Marty watched Angie enter the ship's mess, pour a cup of coffee and take a seat opposite him.

"Delphi's running the show?"

"Yep."

He stared pensively at her for a few minutes. "I don't wish to bring up unpleasant memories, but I'm curious. Surely, branding wasn't the only abuse you suffered while in bondage."

"Of course not. He had his way with us on a regular basis, and if we complained, he beat us."

Marty swallowed hard. "I'm sorry I asked."

"That's all right. I'm used to being despised for my past."

"I don't despise you. You are a fine officer and a great commander. I feel blessed to be working with you."

Her eyes glistened, but she didn't tear. "Thank you. I'm glad that we're together."

He grinned. "Besides, you have the most beautiful behind I've ever seen."

Her eyes widened. "What about the brand?"

"What brand?"

She giggled, something he had never seen her do.

"Angie, a vessel is approaching."

"Can you identify the vessel, Delphi?"

"It is the X-1001, Angie. They wish a COM link."

Marty smiled. "Brian! They sent him to check on us."

"We'll be right up, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

When Angie reached the command station, she activated her console. "Establish COM with the X-1001, Delphi."

"COM up, Angie."

"This is the X-2001. Do you read?"

The main screen displayed Brian's beaming face. "How are you two doing all by your lonesome over there?"

"We're fine," Marty said. "The ship is a little worse for wear, though."

"We're tagging along to make sure you two stay out of trouble."

Marty gave him his best cocky grin. "We never get in trouble; do we Angie?"

"Not us," Angie said with a grin of her own.

Brian laughed. "I'll bet." His expression became serious. "If you need any help, give us a buzz."

"Will do," Marty said.

###

General Wilson seemed more upbeat than usual. "You two really sent the science people back to their calculations. They hadn't predicted a debris field. You are to be commended for going back."

"It was her idea," Marty said, pointing to Angie.

"What disturbs me is this alien weapon that you found," Wilson said. "A weapon of that power could easily devastate the Earth."

"I think that they used the device to move the comet into a collision course with Earth,” Angie said.

"Why are they trying to destroy us?" Marty asked.

"That's a good question," Wilson said. "But, I'm sure that it has something to do with the fact that we can travel to the stars."

"How do they know? They must have us under surveillance."

Wilson sighed, something that either one of them had ever seen.

"These aliens have been coming to Earth for quite some time and doing damn well anything they pleased."

"How long has the government known about them?" Angie asked.

"Since Roswell."

Marty almost laughed. "You're kidding." He noted Wilson's frown. "You're not kidding. That's wild. I've always believed that Roswell was an urban myth manufactured by UFO nuts."

"Unfortunately, it wasn't. The incident has been kept secret for a long time."

Marty frowned. "If that's the case why weren't we informed of their existence and the threat they represent?"

"We thought that they had gone off and were bothering someone else." Wilson averted his eyes. "Obviously, we were wrong."

"Why are they trying to destroy us?" Angie asked. "We haven't done anything to them."

"They must view us as a threat," Marty said. "Now that we have a starship, we can go to their planet. If only we knew its location." He attempted a laugh. "This means that all these crazy UFO sightings and alien abductions are true."

"Only about ten percent of them have been verified," Wilson said. "However, the frequency of such incidents has declined in the last few decades."

"Maybe now that they know we have antimatter bombs, they'll leave us alone," Angie said.

"Yeah, but they know where we live," Marty said. "We have no clue where their home is."

"That's why you're going out there," Wilson said.

"We need a diplomat," Marty said. "Maybe we can strike a deal."

"That has been suggested," Wilson said. "I'm a soldier, not a diplomat. That's why I've made sure you have the best weapons for the job." He saluted. "Good hunting."

They returned his salute.

###

When Marty and Angie walked into the barracks, they were greeted with claps and handshakes. Except for Uma: she kissed them.

"Our heroes have returned," she exclaimed. "We have been saved."

"They told us what you did," George said. "It must have been fun."

"We came very close to destroying the ship," Marty said. "Two antimatter bombs are a bit more than the shields can handle."

"Are we going on a mission soon?" Ferris asked.

"Yes," Angie said. "As soon as they repair the ship."

"We were told that we're getting a new crewman," Lia said. "He's a diplomat."

Angie and Marty exchanged surprised looks.

"Do you get the feeling that we're in a time warp?" Marty said.

Angie answered with a knowing smile.

All heads turned to the entrance of the mess. A tall middle-aged man in a dark blue suit appeared. He was clean shaven but his peppered hair was a tad longer than most males his age, but it complimented his long face and squinty eyes.

“I say, am I in the proper location?"

Obviously British, Marty surmised. "Depends on who you are."

"Tyler Stewart here," he said with an infectious smile. "Your new crew person."

Marty gave him a big grin. "Well, Tyler, welcome aboard." He gestured to Angie. "This is Angelina Sarasota, our commander." He went down the line. "Uma Bharatiya is our geologist. George Taylor is a planetary physicist. Ferris Sani is the exo-biologist. Anna Petrovka is an astronomical chemist and Lia Baidu here is a linguist. You'll need her." He extended his hand. "And, I'm Martin Sinclair, the pilot and chief bottle washer."

Tyler gave him a polite smile before looking over the crew. "I say, we are the international group."

"Indeed," Marty said. "We're a miniature UN."

"That's not so bad," Tyler said. "When we encounter extraterrestrial intelligent life, a more cosmopolitan mix may play well."

"Are you familiar with the Roswell aliens?" Marty asked.

"Not really."

"That's too bad. It would help if we knew more about them."

Tyler smiled. "I may be of assistance on that." He pulled a data disc from his duffle bag. "This contains your government’s top secret interior dossier on them."

That grabbed everyone's attention.

Marty was especially impressed. "Wow! Imagine what that would be worth on the internet."

"Yeah, about twenty years at Leavenworth," Angie said.

"It was only a parenthetical statement." Marty said.

"Why don't we check it out," George said. "We're probably the only humans outside the intelligence community to see this."

Tyler handed the disc to George who promptly inserted it into the common mess computer. After the Usual top secret warnings, the report's top page was entitled: Roswell Extraterrestrial Studies. Photographs of two obviously dead aliens on an autopsy table followed. Angie noticed the startled reaction from Marty and she knew it wasn't because of the autopsy.