Commander Koenig and Dr. Russell remained away from the confrontation against one of the hard, cold walls of the Denapolis' large airlock chamber. What they had thought of as Lt. Juynan Hannah lay on the floor with blood, gore, and sparks coming from the wound in her gut. Two Vorion soldiers wearing white space suits with closed gold visors on round helmets stood above the motionless body; their weapons swept the area for any threats and found the Alphans.

Koenig raised his hands. The rifles maintained a casual aim in his direction.

"What have you done!" a voice called from the docking tube behind the invading Vorion soldiers. "This is a travesty!"

More Vorions came from their ship, several wearing helmets but several more only wearing the white suits with various patches and icons on their breasts and sleeves. One led the rest, pushing past the two soldiers who had confronted Juynan and dropping to both knees by her side.

The Vorions were certainly of reptilian design although the bipedal bodies resembled that of a human in general form and size. Their skin was a bronze, green color but the one who appeared distraught at Juynan's destruction wore scales that were more faded than the others, giving him an 'older'-looking disposition.

"You should not have destroyed her!"

"The construct was not the objective of this mission." That voice came from Captain Porg—Koenig recognized him from the view screen.

"She was one of a kind," the kneeling Vorion complained loud and then, softer, "one of a kind."

"Professor Skor," Porg used a stern voice; a Commander's voice that Koenig recognized as similar to his own. "This mission will not be complete until we have secured the Alliance's weapon and brought the computer back on line. I suggest you concern yourself with these matters."

Skor stood slowly; solemnly.

"You don't understand," he scolded softly like a grandfather to a child. "There will always be new and better weapons; but Juynan was special."

"I have seen a dozen other constructs that could pass convincingly for Alliance officers. She was a tool, Professor. I suggest you drop any unhelpful attachment you developed to your work."

"No, no," Skor dismissed Porg's assertions with the wave of a gloved hand. "She was different. One-of-a-kind, Captain."

Porg—apparently frustrated with the argument—took notice of the Alphans. He stepped toward them and, as he did, used his hands to gently press down the gun barrels pointed in the humans' direction. Behind him more Vorion troops and technicians boarded the vessel and proceeded deeper into the ship.

"You must be Commander Koenig."

"I am."

"I am Captain Porg. Your decision to remain neutral in this conflict was wise and appreciated. You do not want to involve yourself in a war that has been as difficult and as brutal as the one between ourselves and the Alliance."

"Of course not," Koenig replied stoically.

The alien Captain asked, "Is there any one else on board?"

"No," Koenig answered. "All of my people have left and the rest of the crew were dead when we came here."

Dr. Russell took the opportunity to step closer to Juynan's destroyed body. She peered as close as she dared at the wound. She could not discern any difference between the organs visible there and the organs of a thousand patients she had operated on during her career.

"You say…you say she was a device? A robot of some kind?"

Professor Skor lamented, "That is an understatement, my lady. The parts of her body—both inside and out—were artificially created in a laboratory to pass the most intense physical examination; even medical examinations. She represented a tremendous advance from the rubber-skinned constructs of the past that used metallic skeletons and elastic overcoats."

Helena remarked, "She looks…human."

"Human?" Skor struggled with the term. "Ah, yes, that is what you call your species and the physical resemblance between yourselves and the Alliance is obvious; as is the physical resemblance between ourselves and you…as well as the Alliance, I suppose. Certainly this is a natural phenomena brought about by the limitations and parameters necessary for fostering intelligent, functioning life on—"

"Skor," Porg interrupted. "There is no time for this." And then he turned to Koenig. "We have monitored actions on your base including the arming of defense screens and preparations of combat ships for launch. I assume this represents a defensive posture and not an aggressive one?"

Koenig nodded and admitted, "Yes. We took precautions to defend ourselves."

"Understandable," Porg agreed but then directed from his position of strength, "However, you will order your base to stand down in these preparations. I do not want to be concerned with potential belligerence on the part of your people, Commander."

Koenig had no choice. He nodded in agreement.

Porg went on, "You are free to leave in peace, Commander. This vessel—and all on board—are now the property of the Vorion Imperium."

"I understand," Koenig said and then turned to Dr. Russell. "Come on Helena, there's nothing more for us here," and the two Alphans started walking toward the docking port where Eagle 4 waited.

The Professor glanced at the Alphans, at Juynan, and then touched Captain Porg's arm.

"Wait, wait, Captain, wait," the scientist's voice hinted at begging. "At least allow me to question these Alphans. They spent several hours with the construct. I would like to know their impressions."

"The computer is our priority."

"The technicians can see to that, Captain," and Skor pointed at the motionless body of Juynan saying, "Don't you understand? She was never supposed to work this well. I can not explain how or why she succeeded where so many others had failed. The Alphans might be able to shed some light on why."

Porg sighed, shook his head showing that body language might just be universal: Koenig clearly saw frustration there. The Captain turned to Koenig and said, "Commander, I will indulge Professor Skor's request only if you consent. But know I can not guarantee your safety except in regards to the actions of my own soldiers."

Skor pleaded to Koenig, "Please, Commander. Just a few moments of your time. You might find it all rather fascinating."

John looked to Helena. She nodded her head only in the slightest.

"Okay then," Koenig agreed. "Myself and Dr. Russell will stay on board, but only for a few minutes. It is not our intention to involve ourselves in your conflict."

"Of course not," Skor's lipless mouth stretched in what might be a smile. "I will not detain you for long."

Porg said, "Very well. I will accompany the first technical team to the bridge. The second team will descend into the cargo bay to examine the weapon. Professor, if you are required with either the computer or the device you will immediately comply, am I clear?"

"Yes, Captain, quite clear. As usual."

The other Vorions scattered toward their tasks.

---

Paul paced back and forth behind his console. Sandra watched him move worried that her friend might explode from frustration and tension.

The Denapolis dominated the center of the main view screen with the somewhat smaller Vorion ship toward the rear and Eagle Four docked on the port side toward the bow side of the center hub.

"Why have they not contacted us?" Sandra verbalized the thought in everyone's mind.

Bergman stood nearby holding his chin in his hand.

"I suppose it depends on what the Vorions found when they docked."

"Computer has not registered any changes in the status of the ships," Kano volunteered.

The communications console beeped.

Paul moved lightning fast.

"Alpha."

Koenig appeared on a small screen beneath the main viewer.

"Paul, this is Koenig. Myself and Dr. Russell are safe."

"That's good to hear, Commander," and Morrow let his frown turn into an expression of relief; relief shared by all in Main Mission.

Koenig went on, "The Vorions have no intention of threatening Alpha. Paul, you'll need to stand down from Red Alert and return all Eagles into the hangers. We don't want to make any moves that could be interpreted as hostile."

"I understand, Commander." Paul turned to Tanya and ordered, "Tell Carter to get his Eagle flight below decks. Turn off the meteor defense screens." He considered and finished, "But keep non-essentials in the emergency shelters for now."

"Paul?" She asked.

"Until we're clear of the Vorions we might as well stay buttoned up tight. They can't argue with us for hunkering down, now can they?"

Tanya relayed Paul's orders throughout Alpha.

"What about you, Commander?"

Koenig answered, "We're staying up here for a few more minutes. One of the Vorion scientists has some questions for us about Juynan."

Bergman stepped forward. "Is she..?"
"She was never alive," Koenig anticipated his question and confirmed what the scans of Juynan's head had first hinted at to Dr. Mathias. "She was an android, Victor."

"I see."

"No Victor, I'm not sure you do. I don't think any of us really saw."

---

Koenig returned his Commlock to its utility belt.

"I appreciate your indulging of my curiosity," Professor Skor said. "Please, come walk with me."

The Professor casually strolled to the starboard side of the chamber and along the corridor that led off there toward the crew quarters. The lights remained dim but that suited the conversation: a conversation about deceit and skullduggery.

Skor said, "I was shocked to see that her personality mode had been re-activated by the time we boarded. Was that the case when you arrived as well?"

Helena mumbled, "Personality…mode?"

"Yes, ah, what you would call her human persona. The person of Lt. Juynan Hannah. This was the person her programming made her for the purposes of this mission."

Koenig surmised, "You learned about the Alliance's weapon. And you managed to get Juynan assigned to the crew."

"Yes. While the Alliance's weapons and tactics are far superior to our own, we hold a technological advantage in terms of computers and electronics. Our intelligence service intercepted coded messages and we drew conclusions about the purpose of the mission and this new weapon. We breached the security of several Alliance computers and made sure Juynan was among the short list of candidates for the mission."

"And then she volunteered," Koenig understood.

Helena asked, "How long was she undercover in the Alliance?"
"Not long," Skor admitted as they walked along the corridor at a slow pace. "The construct was only completed a short time ago. In reality, this was her first mission. We were fortunate that the Alliance kept such secrecy around the mission; no one questioned the background files and service records inserted into their computers. A stroke of luck for us."

Koenig recalled Earth's own history and observed, "Luck is usually the most important weapon of war."

"Professor," Helena asked, "we found Juynan unconscious on the bridge. And you say you were surprised that she was in personality mode. What other 'modes' did she have?"

"The construct had two modes of operation: personality and automaton. She lived in her personality mode unaware of her true nature. We felt this to be critical to selling the illusion of what you would call her 'humanity'. This is how she lived with her crew mates. Obviously she would not carry out any subterfuge in such a state. Therefore, we sent an activation signal that automatically switched modes. In essence, she became a pure robot with very specific instructions."

Koenig knew those instructions. He stated them to Skor with no small measure of disapproval in his voice: "Kill the crew and prepare the ship for boarding."

The Professor heard the tone clearly. He stopped, ran a gloved hand over the aging scales on his forehead and admitted in an apologetic tone: "Very distasteful. It pains me to know of my part in those deaths. But Commander, we are in the midst of a war. A war that has killed millions of lives on both sides. The Alliance's new anti-matter device appears to have been built with the aim of wiping out entire planets."

"So you sent the signal," Helena—driven by curiosity—moved the conversation forward. "What happened?"

Skor began walking again. They joined him. He spoke, "The signal made it through and we received confirmation that the automaton mode had activated. At this point she must have carried out her orders successfully and then—as programmed—returned to the bridge to upload her memory banks to the Denapolis computer which were then to be transmitted to our ship."

Koenig asked, "You mean the data she had stored about the weapon, the Denapolis, and other Alliance secrets?"

Skor waved his hand in agreement, "Yes, yes, all of it. Everything from her memory banks. We could then sift through and discern the relevant pieces. Once that transmission was complete she would pilot the vessel to our location. That's when something went wrong. We lost contact with the automaton. We did not receive a transmission from the computer and then the activation signal was blocked."

"What happened?" Koenig asked as they neared the open bulkhead to the crew quarters.

"We don't know. I'm hypothesizing a kind of feedback during the upload process; an anomaly either inside the Alliance's computer—perhaps an advanced security protocol—or inside Juynan's programming; something we did not anticipate."

"When we found her," Helena told him, "she was unconscious on the bridge. We thought she had fallen and suffered a head injury but it turns out the blood we found was from the upload link you hid just below the skin at the base of her skull."

"Unconscious, you say?"

Helena explained, "We transported her to our Medical Center on our moon base. When she woke up she could not remember who she was."

"But she was in personality mode? That seems almost impossible."

Koenig said, "Her memories came back rather quickly."

"She told us," Helena said, "about her home. Her brothers who were killed in the bombings. All of it."

Skor scratched his chin and stopped as they came to the entrance to the crew quarters.

"That would have been her memory banks re-booting. But it still does not explain why our signal was blocked or why she did not transmit the data. Turning off that transmission and shutting down the computer would be an act to protect the Alliance; as if her personality mode had come to understand her mission and tried to stop it. Yet she was already unconscious by the time you found her? I can not logically explain what happened."

"Another anomaly?" Koenig quipped but without any humor.

Skor opened his mouth to answer but a buzz came from a communications device mounted on his wrist.

"Yes?"

Far below in the cavernous cargo bay, a trio of Vorion soldiers and technicians worked their way around the shimmering blue device.

"Professor," one of them transmitted. "Our readings indicate the device is stable. The Alliance linked the containment vessel to the main computer. The shielding remains in balance but we won't be able to extract the device until we can bypass that shielding."

"I see," the Professor's voice responded. "Continue to monitor the device. If need be we can keep it in the hold and take the entire vessel with us to the Imperium."

The soldier continued: "Professor, our readings also confirm that this device is as powerful as initially believed. I would estimate its power to be one hundred times greater than our largest thermonuclear war heads. The anti-matter explosive chain reaction triggered by this weapon could destroy an entire continent on home world within seconds."

"I understand," Skor responded into his wrist communicator and then finished, "Continue to monitor the device and report any changes in status immediately."

The reptilian scientist shook his head and mumbled, "Such a powerful device. What destruction it could wreak."

"Why are you at war with the Alliance?" Helena asked.

"What's that? Hmm?" The question confused Skor. He thought for a moment and then understood what she asked. "Ah, yes, a purpose. A reason. Who fired the first shot and whatnot? I wish I could tell you, my lady. I was much younger when it all began. Certainly there were many justifications in those days. We were filled with outrage. With a blood lust for some injustice or another; this provocation or that. No doubt the Alliance shared similar feelings with their own slant on whatever the truth might have been. I suppose that in all this time the purpose has been lost."

Koenig said, "That is true of most wars. My own people have suffered our fair share, on our home world."

"Perhaps you can use this chance to find an agreement," Helena hoped. "This weapon is so powerful…now you have it, and so does the Alliance. Maybe the threat of mutual destruction could end your conflict."

"I am a scientist, not a soldier," Skor said. "Nor am I that most monstrous of beasts: a politician. I find the arenas of battle and diplomacy equally distasteful. But science…here there are truths that cannot be argued; that cannot be dismissed."

"And Juynan?" Koenig asked.

Professor Skor peered into the quarters where Juynan had stayed; he saw the pictures of her planet and of her pet—the one that resembled a horse to the Alphans.

"She was a masterpiece," the Professor told them. "But one born of serendipity." He faced the humans and spoke. "We poured time and resources into the construct program nearly from the beginning of the war. We knew that our technological advantage would be our hope in defeating the Alliance. They were—they are—better masters of war than us. We sent constructs into battle to confuse them; to approach their lines, to serve as decoys, to operate in their rear areas. But each time these simple devices were recognized for what they were and destroyed. So we focused on improving the physical appearance of the machines."

Helena noted, "I'd say you succeeded."

"Yes, yes we did. Juynan's body is proof of this. I gather she even fooled your medical scanners. At least for a while. But the physical form was never the problem. Dozens of constructs with the physical bodies of Juynan were sent behind lines and were found and destroyed rather quickly."

Koenig stepped forward and said, "I find that hard to believe. She resembled a human being in every way."

"The problem lay not in the bodies, Commander, but in their programming. You see, we could duplicate the skin, eyes, hair, and attributes of a person but not the personality. The fault in those original constructs was in the programming. They resembled a person in every way until they interacted with people; until they spoke and lived whatever phony lives we created for them. That is when they stood out from other people as clearly as if they wore metal skin."

Helena started, "But Juynan—"

"Yes!" Skor smiled as best he could with no lips. "That's what made her special, dear Doctor. Something in her programming. You see, we had little time to prepare the construct for this mission when we learned of the Alliance's anti-matter device. We hurried Juynan through the process, throwing together a collection of memories and images from a phony past. Myself and the entire scientific team felt certain she would fail miserably; that her robotic programming would betray her at her first interaction with others. But that did not happen."

"Why?" Helena asked. "What made her different?"

"We don't know," Skor admitted. "That's why I wanted her preserved. As best we can tell there was some anomaly in her programming; something in the combination of memories and personality pre-sets that was greater than the sum of her parts."

"Amazing," Helena remarked. "I can not believe that software and programming could produce something so life like."

"And that's just the point, Doctor. It's as if Juynan were truly alive."

"We can vouch for that," Koenig said. "She came across as completely human. She was emotional…she cared about her crew…she was devoted to her mission…and at the end she was ready to sacrifice herself to stop you from boarding. If she had had a few more minutes, she would have self-destructed the ship to keep the weapon from your hands."

"We will never know," Skor lamented, "what made her special."

The communications device on the Professor's wrist beeped. Captain Porg's voice spoke: "Professor, we need your assistance in bringing the computer back on line."

He responded, "Very well, Captain, I am on my way to the bridge." Then he turned to Commander Koenig and Helena and told them, "I am sorry our time is being cut short. I have enjoyed your company and wish that we could spend more time together. You strike me as rather intelligent people with a pleasant disposition…um, given the circumstances, of course."

"You should try, Professor," Helena pleaded, "try to find a way to end this war. If you no longer recall the purpose for it, then what purpose does it serve to continue?"

"As a scientist, I agree with you, doctor. But I am merely a scientist."

Koenig corrected, "You are a scientist who might have discovered the secret to sentient life. That might just be a discovery that could transcend the differences between you and the Alliance."

Skor sighed, "I, of course, will try, Commander. But I am an old voice. For now, duty calls. I must help the Captain activate the computer so we can take our prize back to the Imperium."

"And your war will become more dangerous," Koenig noted.

---

Commander Koenig's voice echoed through Main Mission.

"Paul, we're leaving now."

Matching his words, the viewer showed the Eagle—small compared to the other two ships—detach from the Denapolis, hover for a moment, and then move away from the docked crafts.

"What's your status down there?"
Paul responded, "No change, Commander. We've cancelled Red Alert as instructed but I've kept non-essential personal in the shelters."

"Good," Koenig answered. "As long as that bomb is anywhere near the moon…well, let's not take any chances."

Eagle Four began its return trip to moon base.

---

Professor Skor arrived on the bridge of the Denapolis. Captain Porg and several Vorion technicians moved about the chamber interacting with the various controls and systems.

Porg growled, "Confounded Alliance technology. It is primitive in comparison to our computers yet we can't get it activated."

"Easy, Captain, easy. Let me see what I can do. Ah yes, it appears the primary core has been placed into hibernation mode. That left only essential services operating. Perhaps now we can figure out why our activation signal was blocked."

"How long?"
"A few moments…patience, Captain. All of your enemies onboard this ship have been dealt with. Nothing to fear."

---

The drone of Eagle systems, engines, and the constant electric buzz from the components of the cockpit surrounded Koenig and Dr. Russell. Koenig piloted the craft toward the moon which filled the small windows of the command module.

"Amazing, John. She was so life like. Do you think..?"

"Do I think she was alive? I don't know," he mumbled; more so grumbled. She caught the tone in his voice.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine."

"What's bothering you? Something is on your mind."

He admitted, "Yes. Something is wrong. I can't quite put my finger on it, Helena."

"It makes you wonder," she remained focused on the robot they had known as Lt. Juynan Hannah. "It makes you wonder if we're not just a bunch of memories and impulses. How different are we from her?"

Koenig's eyes widened. He looked to Helena and she saw sheer panic in them. John pushed down hard on the controls and the Eagle accelerated, pinning Helena in her seat.

"John? John what is it?"

He ignored her and raised Alpha on the communications console.

"Paul, keep everyone in the bunkers. Close all blast doors."

"Commander--?"

"Do it."

Eagle Four accelerated through space hard and fast toward the moon at full throttle.

Koenig fumbled with the communications console. Helena—puzzled, dazed, confused—alternated her eyes from him to the fast-approaching moon and back again at rapid pace.

"Professor Skor, this is Commander Koenig calling, can you read me? Do you hear?"

On the bridge of the Denapolis Professor Skor worked alongside Captain Porg running through the last series of switches to re-activate the computer. A light on his wrist-mounted communicator caught his attention.

"What's this?"

"Is that our activation signal?" Porg asked.

Skor told him, "No, it's coming from outside our usual frequency band. Let's see," and he switched the device on. Commander Koenig's voice came through with a burst of urgency: "Professor Skor, can you hear me?"

"Ah, it's our Alphan friends."

Porg noted, "He sounds upset."

"Yes, um, Commander, this is Professor Skor, I hear you."

Onboard Eagle Four Koenig continued to fly the ship fast and furious away from the Denapolis and toward the moon. Helena wondered if he aimed to fly straight through the surface.

"Professor, you said Juynan's automaton mode was ordered to upload its memory banks into the computer for transmission to your ship? Is that right?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"All of her memories, Professor? Or just information about the weapon and the Alliance?"

"All of them. More efficient that way. We could easily siphon the planted memories and experiences to find the pertinent data."

Onboard the Denapolis, Captain Porg waved his hand at Skor and mumbled, "We don't have time for these theoretical conversations, Professor. We have to complete our task," and he walked to the main computer console to finish the activation process.

Skor communicated, "Commander, I appreciate your curiosity but now is not the time to—"

Koenig—still driving the Eagle away from the alien ships faster and faster—cut off the Professor and shouted, "You created life, Professor! You said it yourself, it wasn't her body it was her programming; those memories and experiences that you created for her and those she experienced with her crew. There was an anomaly…and it was the spark of life!"

"All very good," Skor's puzzled voice broadcast, "But all was lost, I'm afraid. I don't think we could duplicate the results again; it was all rather serendipitous, as I said."

The Eagle's engines roared; the force of acceleration into the moon's gravity well pushed Helena and Koenig deeper into their seats as he swooped toward the surface intent on putting as much distance between his ship and the Denapolis as possible.

"Not just any life, Professor! The life of an Alliance officer! An Alliance officer who would do anything to protect her people; even sacrifice herself!"

"I don't understand your point, Commander, if you—"

"And you uploaded all that programming INTO THE COMPUTER! The computer is blocking the activation signal because it's protecting the Alliance! Lt. Juynan Hannah isn't dead, Professor! DO NOT TURN ON THE COMPUTER!"

Onboard the Denapolis, Professor Skor stared at his communicator and digested the Commander's words. The dots connected one by one in his mind. His heart raced; his mind spun but his actions moved too slow.

"Captain," Skor turned to face Porg who stood over the computer console, "do not activate the—"

"There," Porg said with satisfaction as the lights rose to full power in the cockpit and systems buzzed and hummed as they came on line. "That should do it."

Skor's eyes darted from display to display; panel to panel. He felt surrounded by a pack of angry predators. All the while Koenig's voice shouted from his wrist: "Don't turn on the computer, Skor!"

Too late.

The computer's voice—a voice nearly identical to Lt. Juynan Hannah's--broadcast from all around the invading Vorions.

"Anything for the Alliance…anything for my home…"

In the belly of the cargo ship the blue glow from the Alliance weapon grew as brilliant as a sun, blinding the Vorion soldiers keeping watch until they, the Denapolis, the Vorion vessel, and the entire horizon above moon base Alpha were engulfed in a gigantic explosion; a fireball of blue and white.

The energy signal of the anti-matter detonation pegged the gauges on the Eagle's console. The glow from the blast wrapped around the shuttle craft and blared in through the windows as its brilliance reflected off the moon. The Eagle shook as if trapped in an earthquake in space.

"John! What is it John? What happened?"

"Screens to full power. Helena…hold on! Hold on!"

The first shockwave rammed the vessel from behind, pushing it forward even faster than Koenig had pushed the machine. Sparks flew as systems overloaded from the cloud of energy enveloping Eagle Four.

"I'm losing control!"

The dusty surface and the craters of the moon's surface reappeared as the glow from the blast faded. Close. Too close.

Eagle Four wobbled starboard to port and back again; retro rockets fired in vain; fuel and fluids vented into space from ruptured lines.

The shockwaves reverberated through Main Mission as well, tumbling clipboards and coffee cups; knocking some Alphans from their feet. Paul held his ground through the tremors and kept an eye on the Main Viewer which filled with light from the detonation.

A beep on Sandra's console sounded the alarm.

"Paul, Eagle Four is out of control!"

The viewer cleared and the screen found the tumbling, falling image of the Commander's ship. It had survived the initial blast, but had the shockwaves dealt a fatal blow?

"Eagle Four, come in. Commander, do you hear me?" Paul broadcast frantically.

Kano examined a slip from his console and informed: "Computer indicates thirty seconds until impact." He read closer and then stared at Paul as he informed, "Point of impact…Alpha Moon Base."
Paul ignored the grim news, punched a button and commanded, "Rescue Eagle and emergency Medical team to Launch Pad Two."

"Alan," Kano said as he read from a slip of paper spit forth by computer. "If they crash—"

"Not now, Kano. Not now!"

They watched the viewer as the Eagle continued to rock. Onboard Four Koenig fought the controls, one moment getting no response, the next getting too much response. It felt like trying to control a car sliding on ice with a steering wheel that only worked when turned in one direction.

"John!" And she pointed forward at the sight he could certainly see for himself. "Alpha. John we're going to hit Alpha!"

The sprawling complex lay before the falling ship like a bull's eye.

"Helena…I can't…I can't control…"

John dared take one hand from the sticks and reached toward the auxiliary power controls on the main console. He fought the g-force and found his mark, releasing a small cover where another series of red and blue buttons waited. He punched two, first cutting off power to the main motors and then re-routing that power to maneuvering thrusters.

"One chance…" he said to himself, to Helena, and to whatever divine power had guided their fortunes since leaving Earth.

He took both hands off the pilot sticks and found more controls, cutting off those sticks and giving the Eagle the flying quality of a falling brick. And while that would normally be disastrous, at least a falling brick fell in a stable fashion.

"John…John we're still—"

"I know! Hold on!"

He worked his fingers across the rocket control buttons like an expert typist crafting a novel. But instead of letters each punch of his fingertips fired the rockets situated on the landing pods and beneath the passenger module. Each burst rocked the ship side to side and…and slowed it.

Alpha moon base disappeared from the front windows as a thruster burst shoved the nose cone up and level.

A proximity warning alert blared through the cockpit.

"It's too late, John!"

With a grunt, Koenig punched three firing control sequencers at once, causing a small explosion of fuel beneath the belly of the ship. The slam against their under carriage felt as if they hit ground but, in fact, they had hit a force opposite to their momentum. Both of them jumped in their seats; if not for tight restraining harnesses they would have been flung into the ceiling, badly injured or worse. Instead they suffered only bruises and scrapes on their shoulders from the taught belts.

Another jolt came a second later as Eagle Four hit the moon's surface. Once again the safety harnesses held Koenig and Dr. Russell in place; once again suffering only bruises and scrapes.

Outside, two of the four landing struts collapsed from the shock, listing the ship; a coolant leak sprung from port side aft like a geyser; and a pair of nearly-melted engine baffles dropped from the bottom.

But structural integrity held, none of the sparks spurred a fire or explosion, and Eagle Four came to rest on dusty ground less than ten meters from the windows of an engineering lab in Technical Section.

High above the surface of the moon where Eagle Four had finally touched down, the last remnants of brilliant light faded from the anti-matter explosion leaving nothing but the dead quiet of space.

---

The red-striped rescue Eagle eased to the landing pad where a docking tube extended to meet it. The doors opened and both Helena and John Koenig walked gingerly into the travel tube, leaving behind the Medical team that had extracted them from Eagle Four.

Professor Bergman waited inside the tube.

The bulkhead shut, the three passengers sat, and the vessel moved away from the launch pad area on its journey toward the heart of Alpha.

Victor could not contain his curiosity. He clasped his hands together as if preparing to savor a delight and asked, "Well? What happened up there?"

John and Helena shared a glance. Koenig answered, "She wasn't real, Victor. A robot. Nothing more."

"Really? That's it then, is it?"

Again another glance to Helena. Behind them, as background, the travel tube hummed and shook and lights flashed as they proceeded onward.

Helena said, quietly, "She was alive, John. As alive as you and I."

"It was just programming, Helena. No different then the software in Kano's computer."

She insisted, "The Vorions said, there was an anomaly. Something different." Helena added, "Her body looked like one of us. Her medical scans confirmed it."

"But she wasn't real, Helena. She was a lie."

"Oh, I don't know," Bergman contemplated. "One man's veins and nerves are another man's wires and electrodes, I suppose. What is our heart other than a pump? Our brains other than processors? Our muscles might be motors, it could be imagined."

"She was alive," Helena repeated. "As real as you and I. And that life was uploaded into the computer where another version of Juynan Hannah did what a Planetary Alliance officer would do: she sacrificed for her people."

John considered, looked to Helena, looked to Victor, and said with a heavy heart, "Is that it then? Is that what life is?"

Bergman said, "Space is vast, John. Larger than our minds—" he tapped his head, "can possibly contemplate. Even out here, among the stars, with all the planets we've seen and all the beings we've encountered, the truth is that sentient life is incredibly rare in the universe. Perhaps, where it does occur, it's nothing more than an accident."

Helena whispered, "An accident that causes one to be more than memories, emotions, and instinct. More than what the Vorions might call programming."

John brought the thought to a finer point: "An anomaly."

The travel tube carried them back to Alpha; back to home, and the wandering moon continued on its journey through the dark void of space.

series created by

Gerry and Sylvia

Anderson