. The morning light was beginning to stream in through the window as Metzger finished viewing the latest slides. He was ready to say it. They were at least fifty percent confident on one lay line. With such a wide margin, though, that he could only say that it defined a half light year wide swath through space. A loose …

. The newest batch of pattern matches came up on the screen and Metzger again scanned through them. Nothing greater than twenty percent. Nothing more promising than the previous run. He shook his head and flagged the more promising items for visual inspection. While waiting for them to pull up, his mind drifted back to the mädchen in the bed. …

. Commander Natalee Wilkins’ LRP squadron flew out of Abernathy. Despite that, she would never have known Jared was here if the commodore hadn’t pulled her in for the search. Now she sat across a dinner table from him in the Officer’s Club. She wished it could be a longer reunion. She had heard that her old squadron mate had …

. Commander Natalee Wilkins’ LRP squadron flew out of Abernathy. Despite that, she would never have known Jared was here if the commodore hadn’t pulled her in for the search. Now she sat across a dinner table from him in the Officer’s Club. She wished it could be a longer reunion. She had heard that her old squadron mate had …

. “Aviator, can you hear me?” Her eyes struggled open. They didn’t focus, only stared at the ceiling, but she spoke again. “First star…” He wondered if she had lost her place in the rhyme. “Yes?” “Second star… third star.” She seemed to run out of energy. He heard the nurse and Metzger coming in behind him, and held up …

. Ludow shook her head. “I can glean nothing further from the subjects in the photos, but I’m turning to the stars in the background, now. In most of the pictures, they’re hard to see. Too many bright sources in the picture. We can sharpen the stars up a little by superimposing consecutive shots and adjusting for motion. Also, we …

. Metzger considered the shapeless mass of wet cloth on the table before him with outright doubt. “This is her flight suit?” The nurse shrugged. “Her clothing had frozen to her skin. We soaked her in a cold saltwater bath to remove it. She must have been sweating pretty hard before she went out. We had to cut it away …

. “You maybe set large craft speed record for system,” Commodore Irena Markova said with a half-serious tone. “I must see if we keep such record.” She completed the stroll around her desk and grabbed Ross’ hand to give it a vigorous pumping. They had already exchanged salutes, but hers was so absent-minded, he wasn’t sure she was aware she …

. Metzger waited through another difficult-to-tolerate pause, as the Zindavoor worked out how to answer. “Aye, sir. To listen, for most of it. The sensitive relayed his pack leader’s speech, as that one conducted rituals of honor for the crew of the human craft. The rituals required recounting of the crew’s deeds. Also, much readings of old things… like Humans …

. Commander Reinhard Metzger felt a peculiar pride using this craft in the presence of Allies. The boat he rode away from the ship was a design borrowed from NASA. The ESDF called it a ‘Yankee’, in honor of its origin. The seven passenger pod could do orbital maneuvers and even emergency atmospheric re-entries. Most things the ESDF used were …