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  "The first part of the experiment was successful," Michelle announced, as she peered into her imager, "The drone reports that the ship has remained in stasis and that everything aboard is normal."

  "There is one more test to be completed yet," Anna said. "Now we have to see if we can accelerate everything through breaklight. Then we'll know if the whole experiment will be a success. Dyna, continue."

  "Compliance Anna," Dyna answered.

  Frank watched the wall imager as four objects became white lines and vanished into space. A half-hour later four white lines appeared on the imager momentarily and then became the same four objects which had left earlier.

  Michelle looked over her imager and made herself clear, "Now we can celebrate!"

  "Good work ladies, you've saved a lot of lives down there. Now let's go ahead and get the rest of those people out."

  That evening there was another small celebration honoring Anna and Michelle for their new invention.

  The next week was filled with work. Four more Kiruna-Corbyn engines were built and the other four alien spacecraft were pulled out of the black hole and placed in stasis. Dyna reported that the workbots inside of the black hole had collected up four billion metric tons of debris and converted it to neutronium, but it would take another two months to clean it out properly and make it safe enough to go in and get the singularity. On learning of this Frank decided that they would place a workbot station within the black hole and return there at a later date. Meanwhile, the collected neutronium was installed onto the hull of the Butterworth to build up its strength.

  Their next project would be the solar system that Suni, Paddy, and Heidi had discovered. Hopefully, they would soon find a place to drop off their cargo of black hole victims.

  Maria and Sandy were at the helm, but Frank and a few other crewmembers came up to the bridge to watch as the trip started.

  "Course laid in, Dyna?" Maria asked.

  "Affirmative Maria, course computed and locked in."

  "What about our guests, and the Kiruna-Corbyn engines?"

  "All external systems are ready. They're programmed to the same destination."

  "ETA to destination?"

  "Seven hours and forty-three minutes."

  "Engage."

  Once again, Frank watched as space distorted around him and the stars began to meld together as one.

  "Breaklight in ten seconds," Dyna announced.

  The forward imager turned violet and then pure white as the stars all changed colors. They were back into transpace. Seven and a half hours later, Paddy called Frank at the Zoo. He had been visiting there, watching the animals for the whole trip, Nikki and Tia at his side. They'd had a picnic under a tree that day under a simulated sun and sky.

  "Debreak in ten minutes, Frank," Tia said.

  Shifts had changed over the short seven and a half hour trip. Suni and Paddy were at the helm. Debreak was less uneventful and soon they were in a large orbit around the star.

  "It's an M-type star, small, with only four planets," Paddy explained.

  "Not much here, eh," Frank said.

  Heidi, Tia and Nikki had joined them on the bridge, and watched as Paddi scanned the four planets of the lone system.

  "No life form readings. Let's move on to the next planet."

  They moved out to the second planet and again found no life form readings.

  "No RF, no life forms, no nothing, it's just a dead planet. It doesn't even have an atmosphere. And it's icy cold. At the hottest point it's temperature is seventy below zero. I'm afraid we probably won't have much luck with the next two, they're even further away from their sun."

  They moved out to the third planet and found more of the same thing, only colder. The fourth planet was even worse off than the third.

  "Let's go back and have another look at the first planet. At least it had an atmosphere," Frank said.

  They returned to the first planet and looked it over in more detail.

  "The atmosphere is C-O-two and hydrogen. A point nine-five gravity and it's about twelve thousand meters across. The temperature is a little cold. You know, we could turn this into a right nice little planet with a little bit of molecule splitting. Put a few plants and trees on it, come back in about twenty years or so, and it'd be green as ever."

  Frank looked around and saw everyone looking at Paddy and wondering.

  "Are you serious?" he asked.

  "Of course. We know now that the star here is in its pre-red dwarf stage but it still has a few million good years on it. We could make this planet our own. No one else lives here. Why not us? It'd be a great vacation spot. There's plenty of atmosphere to make an ocean or two," Paddy explained.

  "Anyone object?"

  Suni and Heidi were quick to join in and support Paddy in her project.

  "Alright, you've got your planet," Frank agreed.

  For the next week, everyone on the ship was either down on the planet that they had named 'Donnybrook’ after Paddy, or onboard the starship working out ways to convert the planet's atmosphere so that it could warm up and support life. After three weeks, large matter converting engines were in place all over the planet, ten in all were placed. Sandy, Anna and Michelle invented the matter converters.

  Frank asked how they worked.

  "What they do, is collect the carbon dioxide, split off the oxygen atoms and burn them into the hydrogen. Of the carbon that's left over, a small portion is released back into the atmosphere, while the rest is converted into nitrogen. We're using neutrons to bust up the carbon atoms and nuclear fields to reform them into nitrogen atoms," Sandy explained.

  "What about the plants we've put down there?" he asked.

  "They're right outside the exhaust ports of the matter converters. They'll have plenty of water, oxygen, and carbon dioxide, and there's plenty of dirt for them to grow in. We've left a little bit of fertilizer behind to help them grow, and also plenty of microscopic life to start breaking down the soils. In five years, the atmosphere should be completely converted over, and in ten years, the whole planet should be teeming with plant life, even if it's only microbial. We'll also be leaving a troop of workbots to tend the plants and spread them around the planet."

  So Paddy's project was completed as far as it could go for the time being. In ten of fifteen years time, they would be able to return to a lush green planet. Five weeks had been spent here and still on Frank's mind was where to deposit the five starships they had removed from the black hole.

  "I've found a shipping lane near here. It's heavily traveled and they're likely to be picked up in a few days. There's something odd about this particular highway though. It seems to have a turn point where starships actually change course. I've plotted the vectors and it's as though this lane is meant to avoid the black hole we recently visited," Sandy explained.

  "How far away is it?"

  "Twelve and a half light-years. And also I've found a very large source of the RF we've been monitoring. It's coming from a star about ninety light-years away. My bet is we'll find intelligent life there."

  Frank gaped for a moment. There it was. A chance to meet other intelligent life forms. And now he was not so sure he wanted to. Hesitation was in his thoughts as he mulled this over. Then he wondered about the defense of his ship and its crew.

  "How are our weapons systems coming along?"

  "Fairly well. We now have four weapons systems; tachyon cannons, neutron torpedoes, a magnetic defense shield and lase cannons. We're armed to the teeth."

  Frank thought for a moment, then said, "And still I hesitate."

  "Why?"

  "I don't know. It could be just fear of the unknown, but it could also be instinct. At any rate I'm uncertain."

  "I think it's natural to be a little hesitant. If you weren't I'd be worried. At least now I know your not going to blaze your way in recklessly. Whatever you decide, Frank, you've got my support—one hundred percent."

  "Thanks, Sandy."

  The trip to
the nearest point in the shipping lane would take six and a half hours. Frank was at the helm when the trip started. When they arrived at their destination they were one light-year away from the shipping lane, Suni was in command.

  "Alright, Dyna, send them off. Be certain to get the Kiruna-Corbyn engines out of there fast, don't let them stay for very long."

  "Compliance, Suni."

  "How long will this take?" Paddy asked.

  "About four hours. They're programmed to take the five alien spacecraft out to the shipping lanes, drop them off, hopefully without being detected, and get away before anyone knows what's happened. We can only hope they'll be picked up."

  Four hours later, the five Kiruna-Corbyn engines returned safe and sound, and reported no difficulties completing their task.

  "Dyna, where is Frank?"

  "Frank is in the recreation room, Suni."

  "Patch me through."

  A moment later, he answered, "Yes, Suni."

  "I'm ready to engage the drives for our next destination, Frank. I wanted to let you know beforehand."

  A few moments passed before he answered. "Okay, go ahead."

  Suni looked over at Paddy for a moment and Paddy looked back at her, both wondering why he had hesitated.

  "Dyna… engage the drives."

  "Compliance, Suni. Drives are engaged."

  "ETA?"

  "Seventeen hours, thirty-seven minutes to destination."

  Seventeen hours and forty minutes later, Frank was at the helm with Heidi, and they were being hailed.

  "Translation, Heidi?"

  "Working, Frank. I'll have it in a few more minutes."

  Frank watched the main bridge imager as three little alien starships sat in front of him barring his way. They weren't moving, but neither was he. And he had no intention of moving until he knew what they wanted. Nikki and Tia had joined them. Frank felt that a double command crew would be able to handle more problems.

  "Tia, how's your scan going?"

  "Scan completed, Frank, compiling data now."

  And they waited. The minutes felt like hours to Frank.

  "Scan completed, Frank," Tia said.

  "Talk to me."

  "The three spacecraft are nearly identical. Their hulls are made of a simple steel alloy, their weapons appear to be a laser cannon and nuclear torpedoes. Each carries a crew of four. The drive Systems they use are similar to the ones on the spacecraft we pulled out of the black hole, but I'm still not sure how they operate. Also, they've attempted to scan us, but were unable to do so."

  "Thank you, Tia."

  "I have it, Frank. I have the translation,"' Heidi interrupted, "It's certainly direct."

  "What are they saying?"

  "We’re under arrest."

  Four

  "Under arrest? For what?"

  "Well, if I've sifted through all the legal jargon correctly, I think it's for operating an unlicensed spacecraft in a controlled sector."

  "They sure have a lot of guts."

  "What do you mean?"

  "They don't look very threatening. How can they arrest us with only those tin cans they’re in?"

  "I suppose it's like the lone policeman. He doesn't look very threatening to the heavily armed gunman, but he has a whole army behind him if he has any trouble. And I'm certain they have a radio link. Someone on the planet below is watching every move we make."

  "Confirmed," Tia said. "All three patrol craft are transmitting encrypted information to the planet below."

  "Can you decode it?"

  "It would take a while."

  "It doesn't matter. They’re probably telling them that they’re scared out of their shorts right now."

  Heidi laughed. "That could be. If you want to talk to them, I think I can translate for you."

  "Okay, tell them we come in peace, that we're an exploration vessel, and that we're not familiar with the laws governing this sector of the galaxy, I shouldn't say 'galaxy' should I. Then they'd know how far we came."

  "If we want to keep our secrets, it wouldn't be wise," Heidi agreed.

  "Then just tell them we're not familiar with the laws of this region."

  "Translating now… okay, transmitted, and I've also sent a friendly greeting."

  "Good idea."

  They waited for a half an hour before they were contacted again. Frank was getting bored and began running through the data that had been gathered from the scan Tia did on the three alien spacecraft. They watched their monitors as large cargo ships came in from stars unknown to make landfall, and as other cargo ships took off again. He felt it very important that the aliens had not been able to scan his starship. That would give him an edge in dealing with these people.

  "Oh, they're back," Heidi said, "They say, 'You are ordered to make landfall at the following planetary coordinates, and they've given us some strange numbers here. I'll have to translate them."

  "Tell them we'll comply."

  "What?" Sheila was surprised.

  "Don't worry, we're not going to take the whole ship down, we'll go down in a shuttle… armed."

  "With what?"

  "With warbots and spybots. Tia, have you analyzed the atmosphere yet?"

  "Yes, Frank. It's seventeen percent oxygen and the rest is helium and nitrogen. You shouldn't have any problem breathing."

  "What about microbes?"

  "If you wear a neutronium skin-suit, it should filter out everything," Nikki interrupted.

  The neutronium skin-suit was Frank's idea, but Nikki and Tia had designed and developed it with Anna's help. Dyna optimized the design and supervised their construction.

  "Yes, but how long can I wear it before I have to take it off and bathe?"

  "You can wear it indefinitely. It does everything for you. As long as you wear it, you're clean."

  "What about… bodily functions?"

  "All taken care of, Frank. The skin-suit does everything, and it's virtually undetectable. You'll appear to have a very tough skin over your entire body. It also provides you with power assistance. You'll have four times your own strength. Remember this when you shake hands with someone."

  Tia giggled.

  "What about eating?"

  "When you eat, the suit will look for microbes and poisons. If microbes are present, the suit will kill them, if poisons are present, you won't be able to put the food in your mouth. You'll be completely safe," Nikki continued.

  "What about fire? Will it protect me from fire?"

  "That depends on how hot the fire—"

  "No, no, I mean gunfire."

  "Oh, definitely, but we don't really know very much about their hand-held weapons. However, there is a limit to how much abuse the suit can take."

  "Okay, Nikki. Thanks."

  "One thing more, Frank."

  "Yes?"

  "We've analyzed their scanners. It's important to remember that as long as you're wearing the skin-suit, you can't be scanned. But if you remove it, they may be able to know what you're thinking. You mustn't take it off if you wish to keep our secrets."

  "I'll remember that."

  Later, the crew had a group discussion on the bridge, and after a while, it was decided that Frank and Anna would make landfall on the planet with Trong, Kong, Spydre, and Sprent as their escorts. Spydre and Sprent would remain in hidden compartments inside of Trong and Kong. It took a few hours for Nikki and Tia to modify the neutronium skinsuits with voice translators, but the three spacecraft "detaining" them seemed patient enough.

  Heidi had some difficulty translating the number coordinates given them for making landfall and had to contact their "captors" again and get clearer instructions. After a while, she was fairly certain about where Frank and Anna were supposed to land their shuttle. Everyone except the command crew was in the shuttle bay to see them off. Frank had only seen the shuttle a few times, but rarely this close.

  "This is big for a shuttle," he said to Anna, as they walked toward it. "When I first imagined building a
starship, I imagined one about this large. But this is only a small craft inside of a much larger one."

  The shuttle was three hundred and fifty meters long, easily ten times the size of the any one of the three alien spacecraft that now held them up. Frank was certain he could easily outrun or outgun them, but what would be the point, he thought. He came here to meet aliens and see their world, and that's what he was going to do. Frank and Anna stepped aboard the shuttle and settled into their seats as pilot and co-pilot. Trong and Kong were already aboard and fastened down.

  "I forgot to ask about armament, does the shuttle have armament?"

  "Of course, Frank," Anna answered, "but it only has defense shields and a lase cannon. Those two should be more than sufficient to handle anything we have to deal with right now."

  "I sure hope so. Shuttle bay cleared, Dyna?" Frank asked as he scanned the external-view imagers.

  "All clear, Frank," Dyna answered.

  "Fire her up and let's go."

  "Shuttle bay doors, Frank?" Anna reminded.

  "Oh yeah."

  The shuttle bay doors opened, the shuttle eased its way out and began a nose-dive for the planet surface. One of the three patrol craft broke away from the group and followed them.

  The microset crackled as someone opened a channel.

  "Frank, Heidi here. I've found out the name of this planet, it's called Iskol."

  "Thanks, how'd you find that out?"

  "It seems to translate that way."

  "Dyna, are the coordinates locked in for where we're supposed to go?"

  "Affirmative, Frank."

  "Unlock the controls. I'd like to take a tour of this planet from the air."

  "Compliance, Frank. Controls unlocked."

  The controls were released and the shuttle began to drift. Quickly, Frank grabbed them and steered the shuttle down into the atmosphere.

  "I don't know how to fly this thing, Anna."

  "It's alright, Frank. It's very simple, have you ever piloted an airplane?"

  "Yes."

  "It's very much like that, except you can't stall it. And if you like, it can hover like a helicopter."

  "Ah, okay. I don't think we'll have to worry about burn-up on re-entry either."