Melissa poured another drink. She had spent most of the last three weeks pouring another drink, and crying. The tears were for her sister, the drink was for Alan. How could she possibly have fallen in love with an astronaut? Especially after Helena's experience. She certainly hadn't meant to fall in love with him. Her sister had introduced them. He was a friend of her sister's, or a friend of her sister's current astronaut boyfriend. He had been charming, with a dreamy Australian accent, a quick smile, and icy blue eyes that crinkled when he smiled. He loved to sail, he loved to fly, and he loved to love her when he wasn't involved in planning his next spaceflight. He had been very good at loving her.

She picked up the remote and clicked on the TV. The news was full of stories about the abrupt departure of the moon and the effects it had on Earth. Quakes, floods, storms, and an odd assortment of religious fanatics and panics over the millennium and signs of the apocalypse. She listened in a daze, stroking the bottle of scotch on the end table beside her, remembering the wicked Texas Margaritas that Alan used to fix, and feeling the tears coming again. Less and less was said about Alpha, its personnel, whether they could have survived, if there were any messages from them. They were being forgotten, as the conditions on Earth only got worse not better. The briefings she had received, as a family member, had been long on condolences, and short on assurances that everything was being done.

"Nothing is being done!" The television seemed to echo her thoughts. She saw a small neatly dressed woman, just past middle age, dark hair, slight accent of one of the romance languages. "The tragedies on Earth must be dealt with, of course, but to deny any attempt to rescue our loved ones is criminal, and inhumane."

Melissa raised her glass to the woman on the screen. "Here here Mrs.-" Melissa squinted to read the caption revealing the woman's name. "Verridi-Verridis-Very-something."

"I call on you, the members of the United Nations, to allocate the funds needed to rescue the survivors on Moonbase Alpha."

Melissa sat up and blinked. The news switched to the commentator who said that the woman's speech had been politely received, but no funds had been voted for a rescue attempt. Mrs. Verdeschi would be meeting in Denver with U.S. Senator Neil Harris, champion of the space program in the past.

Melissa reached for her laptop. She needed to get to Denver.

Using her connections in the travel industry, she was in Denver within six hours and checking into the same hotel as Mrs. Verdeschi. She was more sober now, and recognized the name. This had to be a relative of Tony Verdeschi, one of Alan's friends. If she wanted the people on Alpha rescued, she certainly had an ally in Melissa. She tried Mrs. Verdeschi's room, received no answer, then headed for the lobby to wait for her to return from the meeting.

Little more than an hour later a tiny dark woman bustled into the lobby. Her motions indicated she was angry. She headed straight to the elevators. Melissa stood and intercepted her. "Mrs. Verdeschi?"

"Yes? Are you a reporter?" the woman stopped and looked her up and down impatiently.

"No ma'am." Melissa pulled a strand of blonde hair from her face.

The woman sighed. "There are less and less reporters. My cause is no longer newsworthy."

"I-I came to help, if I could."

"Why?"

"My sister. She's Helena Russell. She's on Alpha, or at least she was. If she's still alive."

"Oh, they're alive my dear," the woman said, taking Melissa's hand. "I'm quite sure of that. And I'm quite pleased to meet you..."

"I'd know if my own son were dead. And he's not. He's not." She sounded so positive Melissa couldn't begin to doubt her.

"Tony? Tony Verdeschi is your son?"

"Why yes, do you know him?"

"He's a friend of a friend. I've met him a couple of times. He seemed quite sweet."

"A dear boy. And I know he is still alive," she said again with great assurance.

"How did your meeting with the Senator go? They talked about it on the news. That's how I knew to come here."

"Badly. Come, let's see if the hotel bar can make a decent cup of cappuccino and I'll tell you all about it."

By the time Melissa reached her room that night her mind was reeling. Angela Verdeschi was a dynamo of energy. While Melissa had crawled into a bottle, useless to herself and unable to even comfort her grieving and shocked parents, Angela had organized relief effort for volcano victims, and begun a campaign, single-handedly to rescue the survivors on Alpha. She had contacts in the space program and found information that could help. The rescue mission would cost though, and no one wanted to spend money on anything having to do with space. Her head buzzing with the caffeine in the coffee she had drunk, she was unable to sleep. She opened her laptop, plugged it into the phone jack and began the journey that would get this rescue operation under way.

Her first stop was Houston. She needed an astronaut, someone who could pilot an Eagle and get off the planet. It had to be someone who would do this despite the fact that it would destroy their career. She had decided to ask Tony Cellini for help. The last time she had talked to John Koenig, he had mentioned that he had recently talked to Helena's former patient who was beginning to recover from his ordeal on the Ultra Probe. John would have Cellini's address. Alan had a key to John's condo, and she had a key to Alan's place. She arrived late in the evening and pulled her rented car up to Alan's apartment. Melissa knew that the personal effects and affairs of those on Alpha were currently in limbo. She had Helena's power of attorney and was in charge of her assets while Helena was away. Helena's house had been leased shortly after Helena took the position on Alpha, and her personal things were in storage. They hadn't been declared dead, or even missing... yet... mainly because of all the chaos the disaster had spawned.

She let herself into the familiar apartment which felt a bit like a tomb. When Alan was here, he usually liked to have the curtains and blinds open to let in the sun. At the moment, everything was shut tight and dark. She glanced at the drawer in the kitchen where Alan always stashed keys, but wandered from the kitchen to the living room to the bedroom. She sat down on the bed and clutched his pillow. It still smelled faintly of his after-shave. Tears came again and she curled up on the bed, holding his pillow.

Some time during the night she awoke and crawled under the covers. She slept better than she had in weeks. She now had a plan, a direction, something to do. When she woke, she showered and straightened the bedroom, feeling a bit like Goldilocks at the three bears cottage. She closed up the house and headed to John's place a few miles away.

John's apartment was also closed up and dark, but didn't have the same effect on her. She hadn't ever been here before. Fortunately, John was a good match for her sister, both were neat and orderly individuals, and his address book was in his top desk drawer near the telephone and John's computer. She had the address, used John's computer to make airline reservations and was on her way again.

She called her parents from New York. It was easiest to make connections to Europe from there. Her father answered the phone.

"Daddy?"

"Well, I guess we do have one daughter left. I was beginning to wonder."

"I'm sorry I haven't called. I just..."

"I understand sweetheart. It's been hard on all of us. It would do your mother good to see you though."

"I'm on my way to Italy right now. Daddy, have you talked to your friend the senator about trying to rescue Helena and the others?"

She heard her father sigh. "Melissa, I talked to Neil, but he doesn't make those kinds of decisions on his own. It's... complicated."

"Your daughter is lost out there in space somewhere. I'd think you could do better than that."

"Melissa. Don't you think I'd-" her father started shouting, then stopped abruptly. Helena was the one who always got along with him. Not Melissa. She'd been the rebel since they were toddlers. Now Helena was gone. "Look Missy, come see us, and we'll talk. I don't want to fight."

"Can't fight with the only daughter you have left." Melissa snapped. Her mother always said she was too much like her father to get along with him. Maybe she was right.

"Oh, Mis-" Her father's voice broke and she instantly regretted saying that.

"Look, Dad, I've got a plane to catch. I'll talk to you later."

"A plane. Missy? Why are you going to Italy? Missy?"

Melissa hung up the phone, fished the tickets out of her pocket and headed for the gate. The flight would be leaving soon.

Italy was a more chaotic mess than the States. Of course, the volcanos and earthquakes had taken their toll here. Fortunately, Angela Verdeschi met her at the airport. Together they headed to the small town where Tony Cellini was now living. It was a picturesque seaside village. As they approached, at first glance it appeared to be a peaceful fishing village, the white buildings with clay tile roofs looking like picture post card. But upon closer look, some buildings were missing their roofs, and the streets held drifts of fine white ash from the nearby volcano. Fortunately for this village, the lava flow was in another direction, but the streets were filled with refugees from other less fortunate villages.

"How will we find him here?" Melissa asked. She had traveled extensively in Europe, and spoke passable Italian, but she was glad to have a native speaker driving and guiding her.

"We'll go to the church, of course," Angela replied serenely. She guided the small car slowly but deliberately through the crowded streets. They drove up the hill to the small church, a whitewashed building in a drift of ash. A nun stood at the gate where a line of refugees stood. As they pulled to a stop another group of refugees arrived. The man in the lead was carrying a small boy on his shoulders and an elderly woman in his arms.

"That's him!" Melissa said. She recognized him from news reports despite the sweat and grime now covering him. She got out of the car and walked forward. He saw her and stopped in his tracks. Another man took the old woman from his arms and a woman carrying a pack on her back took the child from his shoulders. Melissa pulled blonde hair from her eyes and waited for him to approach her.

He walked slowly forward and stopped a few feet away from her. "I... thought you were on Alpha."

"My sister is on Alpha, Mr. Cellini. I'm Melissa Thompson. Helena Russell's sister."

He shook his head. "I see. I was not aware..."

"No reason you would be," Melissa said with a smile. "Helena isn't the sort to discuss her wayward twin sister with a patient."

"I'm very sorry about..."

"They're not dead, Mr. Cellini. Please don't offer condolences." She rudely interrupted him. Before he could respond she continued. "Helena, and John Koenig, Alan Carter, Tony Verdeschi. Along with the others have an excellent chance of being alive on Moonbase Alpha. They cannot return without help. I'm intending to make sure they get that help."

"A rescue party? You must be mad." Cellini scowled.

"If there were a way to rescue them, and we didn't try it, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

An ironic smile played around Cellini's lips. "I know the feeling."

"John never doubted you, when everyone else did. He convinced Helena to help you despite her orders. Can you turn your back on him now?"

"I never said-" He stopped and stared at her. "They left orbit at a phenomenal speed. We have no ships that could catch them. If there were any way I could help John Koenig, I'd face hell itself to do so. Hell cannot be any worse than what I see every time I close my eyes."

Angela had joined the two. "We have a way, Mr. Cellini. And we need your help."

Cellini looked from one woman to the other and noted their mood, earnest, serious, committed. He sighed. "Tell me what you want me to do."

Tony Cellini hadn't been in New York City since his return to Earth a little over a year ago. It didn't appear to have changed much. The panics and chaos of some parts of the world had touched lightly here. Melissa had outlined their plan on the plane and promptly turned over and slept all the way here like a soldier on campaign. He had to admit that she had a certain bravado. He knew his friend John was quite taken with her sister, the pretty lady doctor. He had to grudgingly admit that once he had allowed her to, Helena Russell had helped him. He wasn't convinced that Melissa could deliver what she said, but he would help as best he could, for his friend John, and for Melissa's sister.

They parted at the arrival gate with a nod. He knew what she required of him, and took a kind of pleasure in her trust. It had been a long time since anyone trusted him. It had been a long time since he had trusted himself.

Cellini found it surprisingly easy to steal the Eagle. The pass Angela Verdeschi had given him took him easily past the checkpoints within the airport. With the space program in complete disarray, there was no one who seemed to know him in the Eagle Ready room. The pretty young thing handling the paperwork had handed over an envelope with a filed flight plan to the small base north of Boston that Melissa had described. Melissa and Mrs. Verdeschi seemed to be well connected and the plan was well thought out.

He ran his preflight check in peace. There was plenty of time before he needed to land in Boston and he went over the flight plan carefully. Melissa had explained that she would meet up with him there, along with the rest of the team. It would be interesting to see who else she had talked into this insane idea. He also felt a bit of elation that he would soon be in space again, no matter what demons awaited him there.

It was late in the day when Cellini landed the Eagle at the base near Boston. There was a yellow rental truck and a BMW waiting for him on the runway. The flight had been short, fast and uneventful. He still didn't know who had authorized the flight, but he was grateful nevertheless. It felt good to be back in an Eagle again. It felt good to be in the air. He wasn't sure what demons might await him in space, but he was tired of hiding from them, and happy to be active again.

He landed quickly and close to the truck with a bit of a 'Top Gun' flourish. Despite their looks, Eagles were responsive little devils if you knew how to handle them. A young man with sandy blond hair cut just below his ears jumped out of the truck. Melissa slowly stepped out of the beemer. The passenger door opened to the car and an older gentleman with a beard stepped out. Cellini shut down the engines and headed aft.

By the time he opened the rear door of the Eagle the three were waiting for him. He stepped out as Melissa smiled at him.

"How was the flight?" she asked.

"Smooth and easy," Cellini replied.

"The next part may not be so easy. We won't have flight clearance," she warned.

"I spent some time getting the flight plan ready. We can be away from here and above the atmosphere before anyone knows we're gone."

"Excellent," the older gentleman replied. He looked vaguely familiar. His hair was thinning and he wore a neatly trimmed goatee.

"Tony," Melissa said. "This is Dr. Robert Shaw, a colleague of Helena's."

Cellini vaguely remembered the man from the hospital in London. He held out his hand.

"Mr. Cellini, I'm pleased to see you feeling better."

"Thank you sir."

"And this is Peter Stone. He's an associate professor of Engineering at MIT."

"Well, I was until today. I think I've resigned," Peter said with a nervous laugh. He shook Cellini's hand and added, "I'll turn the truck around. We need to get the engine in the Eagle."

"That's the prototype engine? Will it fit in the passenger section?"

"It better," Melissa growled. She was wearing a black scarf in her hair and a black flight suit that seemed to fit better than any standard issue flight suit ever fit anyone. The unrelieved black was highlighted by her bright red nail polish, lipstick and a touch of red at the tips of her blonde hair that Tony didn't remember seeing this morning.

Peter backed the truck right up to the cargo doors. It did-just barely-fit through the door. Peter placed a makeshift ramp from the gate of the truck and Peter and Tony carefully slid the crated engine into the passenger compartment. Dr. Shaw had made himself useful by arranging the furniture inside the compartment to accommodate the engine. Once Peter moved the truck away, Melissa handed in two large suitcases and two heavy cartons. "What's this?" Tony asked her.

"Just some things I'm taking to my sister. I also picked up some traveling clothes before I left New York and a few other necessities."

Standing behind her, Peter carried a thin duffel. He raised an eyebrow and grinned at Cellini with a look that said, "women!"

Dr. Shaw retrieved his own small duffel and they were ready to go. Peter joined Cellini up front and Melissa and Dr. Shaw settled into the seats in the rear.

Cellini checked them on the screen. "We'll be accelerating quickly. Please make sure you are securely fastened in back there."

"We're fine, Tony," Melissa said, giving a tug to test her safety belt.

Per his statement, the Eagle went up fast. Despite the anti-grav shield, they felt the acceleration. At this speed it would only take hours to reach the space dock. Tony hoped to arrive without those aboard the dock having time to ask many questions.

During the flight, Tony grilled Peter about the proto-type engine. Could something that small really power a ship the size of the Meta Probe? He wanted all the details, how it worked, how fast it would take them? How would it hook into the standard controls? Installation? Navigation? Braking? There wasn't time on the short flight for all the questions to be answered.

As they closed on the Space Dock, Melissa came forward. "Can you contact them?" She asked.

Tony routed the call through, aiming the video pickup at Melissa. A dark haired man responded quickly. "Melissa? A pleasure to meet you. My mother speaks highly of you."

"Impressive praise, then. Your mother is something special."

"That she is."

"I know your brother, Tony. Alan Carter introduced us."

"Hopefully, we'll see them all soon. There is-a complication."

"What's wrong?"

"We received a visitor here yesterday. Unexpectedly."

"A visitor."

"Yes. Commissioner Simmonds showed up to assess the damage to the station. At the moment, we have him-subdued, and incommunicado. We'll need to decide what to do with him."

Beside her Cellini growled. Melissa laid her hand on Tony's shoulder. Her opinion of the Commissioner was equally low, but there might be uses for him. "Let me think about that and get back to you. Do you need to speak with my pilot about linking up or something?"

"Docking." Cellini supplied the word. She turned the pickup back, smiled and winked at him. Tony was a bright one. With most males it was so much easier to play the helpless female, but not with him.

Guido Verdeschi and Cellini spoke briefly and Tony sent Melissa back to her seat. Shortly, they were stepping off the Eagle and onto the Space Dock. Guido greeted them warmly and a small team of men began to immediately confer with Peter Stone about the engine. Guido ushered Melissa, Cellini and Dr. Shaw away.

"Let me show you the ship. Then we'll talk about Simmonds. It's imperative that we be away from here as quickly as possible."

"How many people will be going?"

"The four of us, Peter Stone as engineer; also Diana Morris for navigation. Tony, you're the only one who has any experience with this type of ship. I'll be relying heavily on you as chief pilot."

Guido met Tony's eyes and there was a pause as Tony considered what to say. Cellini disliked the need to look up at Verdeschi who was about six centimeters taller than him, but when he did he saw no malice or judgement in his eyes.

"The Ultra Probe was a sweet handling ship. But with this new engine, we'll all be learning as we go." He spoke calmly and levelly with no betrayal of the emotions playing below the surface. The Meta Probe was built from the same design as Ultra. It would be similarly outfitted, and he would be stepping aboard her in just a few minutes.

As if Melissa understood his turmoil, she took his hand, but she cloaked her concern in diplomacy and took Guido's hand as well saying impatiently, "Let's get going then." She tugged them both along the corner with an eagerness which, if faked, was a true stroke of genius.

As they stepped aboard the ship, Melissa turned and squeezed Guido's arm. "Oh, I brought a few things along. After you show me the ship, I'll need to go back to the Eagle for them." Her brief exchange allowed Tony the moment of adjustment he needed. Yes, it was similar to the Ultra Probe, but not identical. There was a different feel to the ship. No tragedy had struck here. No monsters waited. Being here was no more difficult than being on Earth or anywhere else in the universe with the memories of his dead shipmates.

Guido was assuring Melissa that her things, and those of the others, would be brought on board before they left.

The ship was completely supplied and ready to go. Melissa felt a pang as Guido assured them of that. Alan had been aboard this ship, made sure it was stocked and ready to depart. He'd even managed to send her one email telling her that John was planning to send him and Tony Verdeschi as replacement for the deceased pilots. He'd promised to write again soon with more details, and told her that he'd miss her terribly. Then the Moon left.

When they reached the command section, they found it occupied by a young woman who swung around from the co-pilot's seat with an imperious gesture. "Every second we delay makes this more difficult," she said, directing her remark to Verdechi.

"We need that engine. It will give us the speed to make this possible, love," Guido replied evenly. "Diana, this is Melissa Thompson, Dr. Robert Shaw, and Tony Cellini.

Diana moved out of the chair with a sensuous cat-like grace. She sized up each of the newcomers in turn. Melissa felt more exposed than she would during a full body x-ray. Diana gave Melissa a false smile, "You must be poor Helena Russell's sister. You look just like her. What have you done to your hair?"

"Just following a whim," Melissa replied with fake cheeriness. Diana was the kind of woman who seemed to challenge every woman she came across, and Melissa would just as cheerily rake her eyes out at the least comment.

"Tony, darling, how dear of you to leave your looney bin just to rescue our dear John."

"Diana, it's comforting to know there are things that never change," Tony brushed past her and headed for the pilot's seat.

Diana didn't make a comment to Dr. Shaw. Melissa wondered if he was considered over the legal age limit for Diana's games. Lucky Dr. Shaw. Melissa had already developed an intense dislike of the woman and she had only been in her presence for a few minutes. Melissa decided to ignore her. She turned to Dr. Shaw and Guido. "Now, what about this Commissioner guy?"

"He's a very influential man," Guido said. "I have always believed that he has the best interests of the space program at heart."

"If he has a heart," Diana murmured.

"Oh, he has a heart," Shaw said. "And you're absolutely right, his dedication to the space program is quite genuine, but he has the soul of a politician, and plays the political game very well. Space research is not popular right now. That could make him even more dangerous."

"Once we leave, what can he do to us?" Melissa asked.

"To us?" Guido asked. "Nothing. If we survive and return we're all in enough trouble as it is. But there are others on the station who willingly aided us who will be remaining behind. He can destroy not only their careers, but their very lives if he wishes."

"And he would have no qualms about that," Tony added. He had been on that side of the Commissioner before.

"Then we should take him with us. He'll have no idea that way who helped us and who was coerced."

"Oh, pul-eeze" Diana drawled.

"He would not exactly be a congenial shipmate. We would need to watch him constantly," Dr. Shaw added.

"Let me talk to this guy. Perhaps he'll be reasonable," Melissa suggested.

"Darling, you don't know him." Diana warned.

"That might be an advantage. He doesn't know me either," Melissa countered. She headed back to the airlock, forcing the others to follow.

The Commissioner had been locked in one of the half dozen small cabins that served to house those working aboard the space dock at times when a commute to Alpha was not a possibility. There had been ten people on the space dock when the moon had departed. Most had been rotated quickly back to Earth, but the space dock had remained manned, with the Meta Probe attached to it. These two man-made objects were the few remaining structures outside the Earth's atmosphere belonging to the space program. The small room was barely big enough for a cot-sized bunk, a tiny lavatory and toilet similar to the kind on airplanes, and a fold down desk and stool. Simmonds was sitting on the cot staring at the door when Melissa slid the door aside.

"Commissioner," she greeted him, sliding the door shut behind her and claiming the desk stool.

"And just who are you, young lady?"

Melissa studied the man. He had fairly long hair and a neatly trimmed beard and mustache. His eyes were small and set close together and his nose was long, too big for his face. The facial hair was obviously cultivated to compensate for that. "My name is Melissa Thompson. I have a relative on Moonbase Alpha, and I'm here to make sure we use every possible means to resuce them."

The man looked closely at her then sat back and relaxed. "I'd say you must be a relative of Dr. Helena Russell. Her sister, perhaps?"

"Very good, sir. She is indeed my twin sister."

"She and all the rest on Alpha are most likely dead," he said shortly and brutally.

"I disagree with you. And I intend to use the Meta Probe to help them return."

"Young lady, are you aware of the high speed with which the moon left orbit? And can you possibly be aware of the speed that would be needed to overtake the Moon?"

"Have you heard of Dr. Peter Stone, and the work he has been doing with jump drive engines at MIT?" Melissa countered.

His eyes narrowed. "That's classified information. Highly classified. The engine is only experimental at this stage."

"But there is a proto-type. In fact, it was brought up here in the same Eagle I arrived in." Melissa moved her hand down her thigh and unzipped a pocket on her right thigh. She moved her hand inside and removed a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. "We intend to install the engine on the Meta Probe and head for Moonbase Alpha with the plans to make similar engines to fit aboard Eagles."

"Just what are you doing? You can't smoke on the space dock."

"I won't be able to smoke on the ship once I leave, but I thought it would be ok to smoke here."

"In essence, this is also a space ship. You cannot possibly light that here."

Melissa looked at the cigarette in her left hand regretfully. Then she slid it back into the pack and put the pack in the zipper pocket. "All right, Commissioner. I won't smoke. Now, I think you should come to Alpha with us."

"Don't be absurd. Why would I possibly wish to accompany you on such a fools errand."

Melissa leaned forward and used her most seductive voice. "I think you are very fond of your space program, am I right?"

Simmonds couldn't see any reason to deny that. "I believe it is quite important."

"And at the moment, it's in a complete shambles, isn't it?"

"We have had a number of tragic setbacks..."

"And if you were to be on the rescue team, when you returned, it would be to a hero's welcome." Her voice remained low and sensual.

Simmonds considered. Neither person moved for several minutes.

"What did you have in mind?"

"I want my sister, and the man I love, back. You take a ride out to Alpha with us aboard the Meta Probe. Once we've begun production on the engines needed to return those on Alpha to Earth, you return in the Meta Probe, along with a small group of Alpha survivors to prove that the others are on their way back. No matter what the method by which we left, you would be a certain hero, and returning first to receive all the glory. Your space program then has a number of jump drive ships-proven successful. You should be able to use these small ships as exploration vessels for nearby star systems, mining vessels for the asteroid belt. There are a number of possibilities. All the rest of us want is to bring our loved ones home, and you get all the credit and all the glory."

"Assuming you survive, and they have survived."

Melissa shrugged. "Life is a gamble, Mr. Simmonds. Do you care to roll the dice?"

The lights were on in the two story house on the hill. It was raining, as it had for days, a low pressure system, almost a hurricane, was sitting over Central Texas pumping unseasonable rain up from the Gulf of Mexico. It was all part of the insane weather experienced since the explosion on the moon.

Dinner dishes were washed and Susan Thompson settled on the sofa to watch the news. Robert had retreated to the nearby den, as he had nearly every evening since the horrible accident that had taken Helena away from them. Susan kept the news on most of the time, hoping some mention might be made of Moonbase Alpha. Melissa had called only once, briefly, since the accident. Susan knew Melissa was hurting too and wished she would turn to her mother for comfort, but as always, Melissa tightened her shell around her and forged onward alone. Helena was the only one ever allowed to see her vulnerable side. And now Helena was gone.

Her thoughts always seemed to return to that heart wrenching, mind numbing fact. Her beloved child was gone and everything they'd been told led them to the conclusion that she would never return. Nothing, not even Robert's past sins, long ago forgiven, had hurt this much.

The anchor began talking about a breaking story and a picture of the space dock was displayed behind him. Gina Peebles lovely face was featured next. Susan recognized the young woman as Melissa's college friend.

"Contact has recently been made with a group on the space dock. This reporter has been given exclusive permission to interview their leader whose intention is to use the Meta Probe to launch a rescue attempt for Moonbase Alpha."

Susan leaned forward at the mention of a rescue attempt. Robert had insisted that no rescue was possible. The screen split so that Gina could be seen in the newsroom and a transmission could be seen from the space dock.

"Hello, you are on the air live through CBN. Authorities have been assuring us that no rescue attempt is possible. What makes you think the Meta Probe can effectively rescue the people on Moonbase Alpha?"

The scene changed, providing a close-up of the space station transmission. Two men flanked a woman who sat poised and at ease.

"We represent a group of friends and relatives of those on Moonbase Alpha. A prototype of jump drive-"

"Robert! Robert!" Susan called. The woman was Melissa.

The distressed tone of her voice brought her husband quickly into the room.

"Robert, it's Melissa!" Susan pointed.

"-- the Eagles located on Alpha can be equipped with these engines and the people on Alpha may use the Eagles to return home." Robert stared at his daughter and sat slowly on the sofa next to his wife.

"Do you have the support of the space program in your efforts?" Gina asked.

"No," Melissa said firmly, "which is why we've taken matters into our own hands. The Meta project is for all intents and purposes a dead issue. The crew trained to fly her were either dead prior to the disaster on the Moon or were on Alpha at the time. Those who remain behind here on the Space Dock have been coerced into helping us and should not be blamed in any way for our actions."

Susan clutched her husband's hand as Gina continued the interview. She could see Melissa's determination. Robert shook his head impatiently. "They can't do it. Neil insisted there was no way."

Melissa was answering the questions calmly and cooly. The two men behind her remained silent. When Gina asked her why she was doing this she calmly replied that both her sister and the man she loved were on Alpha and she intended to rescue them. Gina wished the group luck and signed off.

The program continued with speculation about the Meta Probe, Alpha, the test engine and then broke for a commercial. Susan Thompson was oblivious to the happy jingle on the Television. She had retreated to her husband's arms and sobbed for her lost children.

Guido indicated the communications station as they entered the command section and Melissa took the chair and buckled the harness. She watched Tony ahead of her in the pilot's seat. He had on earphones and a mic and was deep in discussion with Peter who was aft, by the engines. Diana was absorbed in her own work at the navigation station behind the co-pilot's seat. She was muttering to herself. Guido settled into the co-pilot seat and began the preflight countdown.

Melissa had nothing to do but worry. But at least she was in the command module where she could see what was happening. Dr. Shaw was strapped in his bunk in the crew quarters section.

Commissioner Simmonds had declined to come with them, but had offered an acceptable compromise. He would vouchsafe for the crew remaining behind on the spacedock and would also lay the groundwork for the Alphans' homecoming. He promised to work diligently to keep them from being presumed dead, and would use all the means he had to keep the space program viable as long as possible. Melissa had included Guido in the talks with him and Guido had contacted his mother who would be working with Simmonds and keeping a close eye on him.

The conventional engines would be used to take the ship out of Earth orbit, and far enough away from other celestial objects for the jump drive to work. Peter would be using the three days of acceleration to complete the installation of the jump drive. Diana was sweating bullets about the new drive and the types of complications it provided for navigation. That was fine with Melissa. Anything which kept Diana occupied was fine with her.

There was no ground control for this flight, so there was no countdown. Tony glanced at his co-pilot, said, "let's go" and they went. The acceleration pressed her deep into her seat, but she'd experienced worse on roller coaster rides. However, this wasn't momentary, and the acceleration continued long after a roller coaster ride should be over. Melissa hated the waiting, and didn't understand most of the comments being made by the other three in the command section, but she kept quiet and watched. Despite her lack of experience, Diana's gasp didn't need any technical interpretation. Something was wrong.

"They're gone!"

"What do you mean?" Cellini asked.

"The moon! I've been tracking it. It was there before, but now-- it's just gone!"

Guido tapped something on the keyboard before him. Melissa assumed he was accessing Diana's data. "She's right, Tony. They're gone."

Tony spoke into his microphone to Peter, then listened. He nodded, then realizing that Peter couldn't see he said, "Yes, I understand." He turned to the others. "Peter thinks he knows what's happened. Diana, transfer your data to him. He will meet us in the galley."

Melissa understood even less of what was said in the galley. Diana and Peter seemed to be speaking some other language that was more mathematics that linguistics. Guido looked serious and mostly kept quiet. Melissa found a coffee pot and made coffee, continuing to listen and hoping something would begin to make sense.

It was Tony who seemed to direct the meeting. Since this was not a trip sanctioned by the space commission, there could be a chance of power plays among the crew. Guido seemed to think he was in charge, but he had already shown a tendency to defer to Melissa. Melissa felt that was probably to cover him with officials back on Earth. It would be much easier to salvage his career by pointing the finger at Melissa, and she really didn't care, as long as this worked. As independent as she had always been, she felt incomplete with both Helena and Alan so far away. Guido now seemed to defer to Tony, perhaps for the same reason. Someone else could take the blame if something went wrong. Tony finally spoke to Guido, Diana and Peter in turn and sent them back to their duties. Melissa slid into the booth across from him and refreshed their cups.

"Can I have the plain English version now please."

Tony took a sip and looked at her steadily. Then he nodded. "You understand there has been a complication?"

"Yes. But it sounded as if Peter doesn't find it as serious as Diana does."

"True. And if they can manage to work together and get this worked out, there's probably a Nobel prize for Physics waiting for both of them."

Melissa laughed shortly. "I'd put money on Diana being unable to work together-- with anyone."

Tony smiled with her, but it was a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He shook his head. "And ordinarily I wouldn't be cheering her on either. But this time we must give her all the support we can, and put up with her little idiosyncracies. Unless she succeeds, we will not reach Alpha."

"Then, go Diana," Melissa gave a quiet and unenthusiastic cheer. "What's the deal?"

"Peter's jump drive works by bending space and pushing the ship from one place to another."

"Come again?"

Tony pulled a cloth handkerchief out of a pocket of his flight suit. He spread it on the table. "Think of this handkerchief as being space."

"Ok."

"Now, this corner is where we are. And this corner is where the moon is. To get there, we have to move from one corner to the other, Right?"

"Right."

"And covering that distance will take a certain amount of time. Just like driving from Rome to Naples."

"Right."

"But what if you were to bend space," as he said this, he picked up the handkerchief in the middle. "So that the two spots were much closer together." He pressed the piece of cloth together so that the corners were touching.

Melissa stared at the cloth then at Tony. "Then you'd just... be there."

"Exactly."

"And Peter's engine will allow us to do that?"

"Well, Engine is a bit of a misnomer, but yes, the device should bend space so that we can be from here to there with no time passing."

"Didn't Einstein have something to say about that? Like we can't go faster than light?"

Tony smiled with approval. "Bright girl. But see, we bend the rules when we bend space. We don't ever go faster than light. We just go from here to there." He pointed at the corners of the handkerchief again.

"And the problem is?"

"The problem is, that it appears that the moon just did the same thing-- without Peter's device."

"So do they have a device like his?"

Tony shook his head. "No, We are fairly certain they don't. There are only a few people knowledgeable enough in physics on Earth to be able work out the physics to make the device. Most had a hand in working with Peter. None were on the moon."

"Helena says John is pretty bright, couldn't he--?"

"John is a good practical engineer. But this is thinking 'outside the box', so to speak. It takes a leap of creativity that I do not believe John has time for at the moment. Life on Alpha without the Earth will not be particularly easy, despite the claims that they were self sufficient. John has his hands full."

Melissa nodded. She'd tried to imagine what it would be like on the tiny base with three hundred people who didn't expect to be cut off from Earth. She had the feeling that John and Helena would adapt all right, but others, who had families on Earth, were looking forward to leaving soon, they would be having a difficult time adjusting. And even those who liked being on Alpha could get tired of the isolation eventually.

"So what happened?"

"Peter thinks that they must have been travelling at a speed high enough to increase their mass to a point where the moon bent space without any kind of device. At that point, the moon moved from the point where it was... to somewhere else."

"Where?"

"That's what we'll have to find out. Hopefully we can learn how to use the device Peter has installed not only to manipulate space, but to detect places where space has a tendency to bend, such as the spot where the moon was, and learn how the moon may have bent space and follow it. If Diana can sort out the data, and learn to navigate through these bends in space, she's practically guaranteed a spot in history as the inventor of interstellar navigation."

"And if she fails, we fail."

"If she cannot find a way to follow the moon by the time we reach the area of space where the moon moved between to points in space, we will have to consider the possibility of turning back."

Melissa looked stubborn, but Tony kept her from speaking by putting his hand over hers. "We will wait until then, but continuing without some sort of idea of how to return would result in certain death."

Melissa clutched at Tony's hand. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Can you cook?"

"Quite well, actually."

"We could all use something to eat. Don't expect Diana to be pleasant. She's not a pleasant person. But she is probably the best person to figure this out, so make sure you keep her well fed. I doubt she'll remember to eat by herself."

Over the next five days Melissa endured the tension that everyone felt, as well as Diana's occasional temper tantrums. During one meal, Diana actually threw the food on the floor and told her it tasted like garbage. Guido did his best to sooth her and Tony pulled Melissa out of the command cabin before she could scratch Diana's eyes out. It was an impressive display of reaction time on the part of the two pilots. Guido seemed to understand Diana the best and later quietly thanked Melissa quietly for her patience. Guido also made sure Diana rested, or at least left her console for a few hours each day. The bunks weren't quite sound proof and Guido's methods for relaxing Diana were obvious.

There wasn't much to work with. There were no fresh foods. Dr. Shaw did find a small area set up for hydroponics and he spent his time initiating the hydroponics unit, and growing some of the seeds sent along, green beans, tomatoes, strawberries and a few herbs. Melissa had a rehydrator and a microwave oven. The foods were similar to ones she had used on camping trips like the one she had taken to Machu Picchu a couple of years before. All foods were freeze-dried to reduce mass, or made of some kind of paste.

She fell into a routine. Melissa would awaken and fix breakfast. Then she would go to the tiny area set aside for exercising, don headphones, and go through a thorough workout routine. Then she would shower and collect clothes and use the tiny washer and drier. Then lunch. Then she would retreat to her bunk and listen to music for an hour or watch a movie-most of the library she had seen before. Or she would play a game of chess with Dr. Shaw, or occasionally Tony. Then she would fix dinner. Then several of them would sit around the crew section and drink a pot of coffee and talk or play cards. Then she'd go to sleep, and everything would start over again.

The first jump occurred five days out, they were in the same spot the Moon had been in. Everyone strapped down and Tony used Diana's calculations to activate the jump drive. It was the most terrifying and disorienting experience Melissa had ever endured. She had been caught in a rip tide once while surfing and had been pulled down under the surface and out to sea. Without panicking, she managed to hang on to the breath in her lungs and relax enough to ride with the tide until she could make her way cross current and then to the surface. This was worse. Instead of being tugged in one disorienting direction, this felt like she was being pulled apart. She had no recollection of breathing at all, and there was no way to relax into this or make sense of the things that were going on around her. The ship appeared to be stretching in odd directions and spinning. Even closing her eyes didn't seem to work since she didn't seem to be able to control her body. There was also a cacophony of sound beating against her ears.

Suddenly it was over and everything returned to normal. All were still strapped in. Everything had been secured, so there was nothing out of place. Diana immediately sat up and began working again. Tony and Guido made observations for her and sent data to her. Melissa kept quiet, hoping they would spot the moon shortly. She listened to their chatter, unable to follow most of it. Peter reported in that the drive had worked flawlessly.

Little by little she began to realize there was a problem. The moon was not here. They were a long way from Earth, but they hadn't reached their destination. They would have to try again, and again, and again. Melissa shuddered, and their daily brush with death began as they tried a new jump each day. There was no talk about turning back. All of them were committed to the rescue of Alpha.

Maureen J. Long

May, 2000