Blue Horizon PA1138

Captain's Diary

It has been a while since I last updated my diary. I just can't seem to remember to pull it out to write down what has been going on, but Merlin insists that I will be glad I did someday. I wonder if he now spends his evenings with Samantha in his study, reading back through old adventures. I probably could have asked when I spoke to her on the Com link last night, but I did not think of it at the time.

She and Merlin have finally settled into their married life. Sam says she missed life with us on the Horizon at first, but her days are now being filled with other duties and responsibilities. There are frequently long periods of inactivity on board a freighter that takes weeks to reach its intended destination, but Samantha has found her schedule full with day to day living.

When she first left the ship, she filled her time searching for a new home. After they bought a house, she went shopping to fill it with furniture, accessories and other necessities, much as they had to do when Merlin stocked up the new Blue Horizon. Then came preparations for the wedding... the wedding itself... and then the honeymoon.

With all that behind her, she looked to other things to fill her time. There are so many things to do in Grandstorm and she seems to love every moment of her new life. However, she also went through a time of depression after things settled down and became so routine that boredom began to set in. Merlin recognized the signs quickly and put into motion a plan that he said had been in the back of his mind for a while. She needs to go back to work.

Samantha's friend Alex Rogers is currently CEO of Holden Pharmaceutical, her father's company, and is doing an admirable job in his position. Samantha has no intention of taking over that role, but Aaron Ohren recently announced his upcoming retirement from the Dennier branch office in Grandstorm, so things are currently underway for her to take over operations there. She has a bit of training to go through with Mr. Ohren, but there is still some time before the effective date of his retirement. Sam has never really liked the thought of an office job, which is why she signed onto the Blue Horizon in the first place all those years ago, but she is meticulous enough that I think she will do okay.

As for myself, it has taken me a while to settle into my role as captain of the Blue Horizon. There are times when I am unsure of myself as a leader, even if over the crew of a common freighter, but I have started to see the support that everyone has for me.

The past few weeks have been rather tough, but Jerry assures me that I picked up some sort of bacteria on Se'rei that was not affected by our standard inoculations. I seem to have been the only one to catch this thing, and it really hit me hard in the emotional area. I am still not convinced that was completely to blame for my behavior, but I am feeling much better now and have an acceptable control over my temper.

 Doc has isolated that bacteria in his lab and is working on a paper to present to the scientific community, but I have cautioned him against it, as it would reveal the presence of the lost Se'rei colony and bring into question our method of getting there. I am not sure how he will handle something like this, but he says he has it under control. I have made him promise to show me his material before he submits it anywhere, even to a colleague.

I still have not yet had the opportunity to tell Merlin of that little adventure. It's not a tale I want to broadcast over a Com signal, and I’m not even sure that an encrypted channel would be secure enough for my comfort. I have written down the events so I won't forget anything, and I have locked the document in my captain's vault. Should the opportunity arise that I can get it to him, then I will. I am sure he would be very interested to know about our Particle Vault capability, but I don't want anyone else to know about it.

Our current assignment has us on the way to Hestra, my homeworld. We left Fyn three hours ago with a hold full of miscellaneous import goods, and we still have thirty-five hours left of the flight. Due to the higher gravity of the large planet, we won't actually be landing on Hestra herself, but rather at Sharra Base located on its moon.

Vashon is a large enough moon to hold a thin, pressurized atmosphere, but even that’s not enough to harbor sentient life on its own. The air pressure is low, but enough that a light pressure suit is all that is needed to exist on the surface.

When Hestra joined the Planetary Alignment, Sharra Base was established on Vashon as a transfer station for ships, personnel and visitors not equipped to handle the heavier Hestran gravity. Made up of transparent, pressurized geodesic domes, Sharra has grown over the years to the size of a small city. Some members of the populace have businesses operating drop jumpers, the Hestran transfer vehicles to ferry cargo and personnel back and forth from the planet.

 For non-Hestran visitors who have a need to drop down to the planet, there are endosuits that may be worn to allow the visitors to stand up and move around on the surface. These consist of a wire outer skeleton that gives the body form and helps keep it standing or sitting straight under a heavy gravity, while also providing a medium of lower gravity within its net so internal organs are able to function.

 However, I understand the endosuits are not comfortable and are nearly impossible to sleep in, so visits to the surface must be made in short durations. A few low-gravity buildings have been constructed for individuals who have a need for longer stays (such as the one where I saw Dragon, Wolf & Tiger in concert), but there are plenty of hotels inside Sharra Base for people to stay.

Fortunately for my crew, we won't be landing on Hestra herself, so the endosuits won't be a necessity for them. We will unload our cargo in a pressurized hangar on Vashon, and then restock with cargo bound for Alexandrius, which is only about thirty hours from Hestra right now.

I don't mind these one or two day deliveries within the same system. It allows us to make up lost revenue in a short amount of time before we return to an interstellar schedule.

--Capt. Taro Nichols

It was quiet during Max’s watch. Due to a worrisome reading on the engineering computer, Taro had authorized Pockets to drop the ship out of spatial warp temporarily to run down what might be a potential problem. They continued on their course at sub-light speeds; they were still traveling at comparatively high velocities, just not over the speed of light.

To his relief, there had been no one to distract Maximillian Sinclair from his studies during his watch. Due to a restrictive life on Quet and a transient lifestyle on board the Blue Horizon, Max had never had the opportunity for a formal education. Samantha had tutored him for three years and she felt that he had done well, but it seemed as if the more he learned about the universe, the more the German shepherd thirsted for knowledge.

Prompted by Doctor Bengoro, the tiger who had recently grafted a prosthetic in place of his missing finger for him, Max had looked into taking accredited online courses while he awaited the arrival of the Blue Horizon. The most promising appeared to be the University of Phoenix, a longstanding online degree program from Earth.

He knew that some higher-education programs required acceptance due to past educational experience to get in, but since he had no formal education, other avenues had to be pursued. The Phoenix system looked promising, so he had applied for the online testing in an effort to sign up.

He had not yet told anyone on board of this educational pursuit, and the bridge watch alone-time had given him ample time to finish the test without distraction.

The young mechanic smiled to himself as he prepared to submit his test responses. He keyed in the proper PA transmission code and then pressed the Data Connect control with a feeling of satisfaction.

It only took a moment, but the document was away now, without a chance for him to change his mind and retrieve it. Almost simultaneously, an incoming message chirped at him for attention.

He glanced at the intended recipient and was surprised to see that it was addressed to him, rather than someone else in the crew. The message originated from Pomen and he recognized the tracking code immediately. It was from his girlfriend, Wendy.

MESSAGE ORIGINATION:

Wendy Bengoro. Pomen Academy of Medicinal Sciences. MSG ID: PAMS1104

MESSAGE DESTINATION:

Maximillian Sinclair. SS Blue Horizon. MSG ID: PA1138

MESSAGE BEGIN………

Dear Max,

My father told me of your visit to his clinic and of how well everything went for you. I am sorry that I was not able to get away to visit you, but I was studying for exams and was unable to make it home. Dad said you looked good and he enjoyed working with you.

Despite this, however, I am afraid I have some bad news for you. I am not sure how to tell you this, but… I have met someone. I met him here at the university a month ago and we have begun dating. He is another tiger with the same major as I, and we have many things in common.

I know you will take this hard, and I am sorry. I like you very, very much, but since you have no plans to move to Pomen to be with me, and I am working toward a medical degree that will take me places other than a cargo freighter, we both know that our long-distance relationship has no future.

It’s been fun, and I have enjoyed my blue-eyed friend, but I think it's time we both moved on with our lives.

Take care, Max. Please do well in everything you set yourself to do.

Wendy

MESSAGE END………

With a lump in his throat, Max lifted his new finger to the touch pad to delete the message, but decided to print out a hard copy instead. He picked up the letter and reread it several times.

How was he supposed to feel?  Before Wendy, he had never had a girlfriend before, so his whole experience with her had been new. There was a knot in the pit of his stomach, and he began to pant as the room suddenly seemed extraordinarily hot. He was not sure if he was supposed to be mad at Wendy, or sad that he had been rejected. What he did feel was confusion.

The door to the bridge slid aside and Jerry Somner entered the room. He held a thermos bottle in one hand, and a stack of medical records in the other.

"Hello, Max," he said with a casual smile. "I'm here to relieve you at the watch."

The German shepherd folded his letter and put it into the pocket of his tan shirt. "Hi, Doc. Thanks." Jerry watched the young mechanic as he stood up and shuffled toward the door, his ears back and his tail low to the ground.

"Is there something wrong?" the fox asked.

Max stopped before the door, but did not turn around. "I just got a letter from my… girlfriend," he muttered. "She's dating someone else now."

Jerry sat down sideways in the center seat, his full attention on the German shepherd. "I'm sorry to hear that, Max," he said in a quiet voice. "Long distance relations are not easy to maintain."

"Yeah…" Max muttered. He took a step toward the door, but then stopped again. Without looking up, he turned around and moved back to the Com station. He sat down with his hands between his knees and closed his eyes.  Jerry took a quick glance over the pilot terminal to make sure all was quiet, and then he returned his attention to the young adult after making a minor course correction.

"Max…" he started in a gentle voice.

"I… I already knew in my heart that something like this would happen," Max suddenly said in a rush. "It was inev… uhm, inevitable. I knew it couldn’t last… but it still doesn’t feel very good."

"It never does," the fox replied. 

Max looked over at him, feeling morose. "Has this ever happened to you?" he asked.

Jerry nodded. "Twice," he replied with a sigh. "The first was a vixen I’d grown up with as neighbors. She grew impatient waiting for me to finish my studies and married a mutual friend of ours."

"Wow…" Max whispered.

"The last time was about twelve years ago. I was dating the sister of one of my coworkers, and everything went well for a couple years."

"What happened?"

"She was a Flight Attendant on a PA cruise ship. We only saw one another every couple months, but we were nearly inseparable every time she came home. I thought we were getting serious, and I’d entertained plans of proposing to her."  Jerry looked over at Max and swished his tail across the other side of the seat. "Then one day, I got a letter from her stating that she married the ship's Entertainment Director and was pregnant with their kits."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"What did you do?"

Jerry raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "I moped around for a couple weeks, making myself and everyone around me miserable. It finally made me mad enough that I decided she wasn’t worth it."  He smiled at his companion.  "I'm sure you've heard Renny talk about how I used to be a carouser."

"Yeah, but you don't seem like that kind of a guy to me."

"True, I'm not that way now," the physician said, "but after I got that message from her, I started dating any vixen who would flirt with me. Renny used to call me the Vixenator…"

Max laughed in spite of himself. "The Vixenator? Heh… that's funny!" Jerry grinned, pleased that he was able to get a smile out of the young mechanic. Unfortunately, it did not last. Max grew quiet again and then put a hand in the pocket with the letter. "How should I respond to her, Jerry?"

"What’s your first thought about responding?"

"I dunno… I'm not sure I even want to write back to her. It seems pointless to reply."

"There's your answer. Go with your instincts. If she said everything there was to say in her letter, there's no need to respond. I know you liked her, but if she's lost interest in you, there's no need to pursue her. Let her go and find someone else on your own… find several someone else's, if you need to."

"I don't know if I can do that," Max said shyly. "I don't have a lot of experience. I… I don't think I could be a… a Maxinator."

Jerry saw a glint of sudden mischief in the German shepherd's eyes. He laughed out loud and reached for the thermos on the floor at his feet.  "Max, you don't have to become a carouser, and I'm not suggesting that you do.  All I am saying is that you can go ahead and mope about Wendy if you want to. You’re entitled, but please don't think that’ll be the end of your relationships. You are young and have a whole galaxy of women to —"

The astrogation computer suddenly gave off a warning blip for attention. Jerry swung around in his seat to face the controls and Max stood up to look over his shoulder.

"That's odd. We're off course," the fox reported.  He released the autopilot and corrected their heading slightly with the guidance shifts before he reengaged the automatic system. "Nothing looks amiss," he muttered after checking the system.

Max returned to his seat and sighed. "I appreciate your suggestions," he said, "but I don't think I can just shrug it off so easily.  I liked Wendy… a lot!"

"Wasn’t she a tiger or some kind of feline?"

"Yeah, she's a tiger," Max replied. "So’s the guy she's dating."

Jerry nodded. "Max, I'm sure the two of you had a great time together, but she's young and it's natural for a female to keep an eye out for potential male of her own species to have kittens with. The two of you would never have had any natural kids of your own."

"Yeah, that's because I've been—"

"No," Jerry interrupted quickly, "it's because you two don't share the same genetic background. Your plumbing may fit, but your seed and her eggs can't ignite the proper code to create life. There will never be a half canine, half feline mix – not naturally, anyway."

"I know, but…" Max clamped his lips shut and stared down at his shoes.

Jerry sat back in the seat and crossed his arms. "Listen, Max, it won't be easy, but feel free to talk to one or two of your shipmates about it. Closing up into yourself won't be good for you. Your friends may not have the answers you need, but sometimes it helps just to talk to someone who cares. There are others who have been through similar situations."

Max kept staring at his feet. "I'm not sure if I —"

The astrogation computer blipped again for attention, and they both looked up in unison.

"Here, take over the center station, Max."

The German shepherd did as told while the red fox moved to the navigation console. "What’s causing us go keep going off course?" Max asked, grateful to have a distraction away from their conversation.

"I'm not sure… Checking to see if any of the maneuvering thrusters are kicking in by mistake… No… Nothing is malfunctioning."  Jerry tapped controls on the screen before him, a frown increasing across his muzzle. "This is very odd. I instructed the astrogation computer to make automatic minor adjustments to our course and it’s suddenly gone completely active."

Even as he spoke, the system blipped for attention. "This time, it's telling us it needs a course correction that's more than minor." He looked up at the vidscreen window, peering out into the stars. "Something’s pulling us off course, but I don't think even Hestra's gravity would have affected the ship this far out. There must be another cause."

"Is there anything on the long range sensors?" Max suggested.  Jerry immediately shifted his attention to the appropriate control panel as the astrogation computer blipped again.

"Uh oh…" the fox muttered.  "I've found the cause."

"What is it?"

"That!" Jerry looked up at the starboard vidscreen panel and put up the view from the long-distance starboard cameras. They were bearing down on a huge asteroid just slightly off their course, and its size and proximity were enough for its mass to generate ample gravity to pull the freighter toward it with increasing strength and speed. The sensors placed its size at nearly eighty kilometers in diameter, although its shape was not exactly rounded. Lorelei would have said it resembled a gigantic potato from Earth. Even with auto-correction by the astrogation computer, they could now feel a slight shudder in the deck plates beneath their feet.

Mesmerized, Max and Jerry stared at the massive rock as it grew larger, until the collision and proximity alarms suddenly went off. Still in the pilot seat, Max acted quickly and grabbed the guidance shifts. They refused to move in his grip until he remembered to shut off the autopiloting system. The instant it was released, the ship lost its auto-correcting ability and began to nose over toward the slowly tumbling asteroid.

With their current velocity, it would only take a matter of moments to reach the rocky bulk. "Max!" Jerry exclaimed. "Get us out of here!"  He would have taken the controls himself, but there was no time to switch places with the increasing gravitational pull. The Blue Horizon wanted desperately to go meet the interstellar Goliath.

The young German shepherd fought to pull the freighter away from the rock, but the closer they flew toward the asteroid, the stronger the gravity became.

The intercom chirped and Jerry reached for the nearest control as the ship's faulty inertial dampers began to slip. He stumbled against the nearest chair and sat down quickly.

"This is the Bridge," he gasped into the intercom microphone.

"What’s going on up there?" Taro's voice asked in a rush. "More pirates?"

"Asteroid!  Big one!" was all Jerry managed to say. The spatial rock loomed larger in the vidscreen as Max struggled to force the guidance shifts away from it.

"Max!" Jerry exclaimed. "Instead of trying to pull us away from it, increase our speed by one-third and skim in closer to it. If we're lucky, a combination of our speed and its gravity will sling us past the asteroid before it has a chance to pull us down."

The young mechanic's eyes went wider. "Are you sure?!?" he croaked.

"Trust me!" said the fox. "I'd do it myself if I was in your seat."

Max bit his bottom lip and flattened his ears. "I'm not sure…"

"Do it!" Jerry shouted irritably. He had to reduce the magnification on the vidscreen to keep it from filling up the view.

Maximillian jumped at the fox's command and pushed up the ship's velocity as ordered. The difference in the asteroid was significant, as it grew larger extremely quickly. The canine pilot braced himself as he altered their course in closer to the massive rock.

Jerry felt himself tightly gripping the armrests of his seat. The pockmarked grey surface of the stellar boulder stood out in stark relief from the distant sun's illumination. "Max…" he whispered, "we're getting awfully close!"

"That's what you told me to do!" the mechanic retorted through clenched teeth. Without waiting for further instruction, he increased their speed further and suddenly felt the guidance shifts lose a bit of their struggle. He suddenly understood what Jerry wanted and eased the controls ever so slightly.

Pockets stumbled in through the bridge door and nearly went to his knees when he saw the vidscreen. Instead, he backed up against the nearby wall and swallowed hard.

"Wha... wha… wha…" was all he managed to say.

A moment later, Taro burst in the room, nearly tripping over the raccoon. She stumbled around him and darted to the Com station seat while staring up at the asteroid. She buckled herself in and reached for the armrests before she realized she was in the seat she had broken on their previous voyage.

The Blue Horizon hurled closer, but the space rock was suddenly sheering sideways across the starboard vidscreen panel. Multiple finger-like outcroppings appeared to jut out at them as they sped by and Max had to maneuver the freighter down to avoid their touch.

Then, just as suddenly, the asteroid was behind them. Not convinced they were out of danger, Max continued their current speed to put distance between them and the rock.

Jerry managed to pry his fingers loose from the armrest and tap the control to reverse the angle on one of the vidscreen panels.  The asteroid still filled up the view, but it was receding slowly behind them.

"What happened?" Taro asked, breaking the silence. She looked over at Pockets as he slid down the wall to a sitting position.

Jerry answered, detailing everything that happened from the time the astrogation computer gave its first warning blip. Max remained at his post, saying nothing, but continually watched the instruments before him. The adrenaline would wear off in a moment, and he would then be glad his watch was over. He was already panting.

When Jerry finished, he gestured toward the young mechanic and said, "I'm glad to know that Max has what it takes to stay in control in an emergency like this. I don't think I could have gotten us out of there any better than he did."

"Thanks… thank you, Max!" Pockets finally spoke.

Taro unbuckled her harness and moved to the German shepherd's side. "Yes, Max," she said. "Thank you. I'm really proud of you."

The young pilot closed his eyes for a moment and then looked up at her. "Does it still count if I tell you I was scared?" he asked in a small voice.

Jerry chuckled. "Max, we were all scared!"

"You were entitled to be afraid," Taro assured him, "but you held yourself together even though you were frightened. That's what I'm so proud of you for, Max."

"Thank you," the youth replied. "C-can I make a request, though?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Max looked over at Jerry, feeling a little lightheaded. "May I go to my cabin now?  My watch is over and I think I'm going to be sick…"

"Here, Max," Pockets said with a hand on his friend's arm. "Come with me. I'll make sure you get back to your room."

Jerry gestured toward the door with a casual wave of his hand. "Go rest. You deserve it."

Grateful, Max locked the controls down with the autopilot and then slid out of the seat to stand up next to Pockets.

"How soon can we reengage the LightDrive?" Taro asked with a glance up at the vidscreen. "I’d like to get out of the reach of those space rocks as soon as possible."

"Anytime," Pockets replied. "I was on my up here to do it when the floor tried to go out from under me."

"All right, we can take it from here," the vulpine captain said. Once Pockets and Max were out the door, Jerry looked down at the navigation console and he began tapping commands into the astrogation computer.

"What are you doing?" Taro asked. She glanced back up to the rear view screen and felt a shudder at the thought of how close they had been to that behemoth.

"I'm recalculating our heading to put us back on course to Hestra," the male fox replied. "I’m not as quick as Renny is doing this, so I may be distracted for a few minutes."

"Are you okay?" Taro asked.

The physician glanced up at her with a wan smile. "I'm still coming down from the adrenaline, but yeah, I'll be okay if you want to go.

"Call me if you need anything," the captain replied.

The intercom suddenly chirped and Jerry gestured toward the Com station. "Can you field that for me while I do these calculations?" he asked.

"Yeah, I have a feeling there may be several calls. Do your ciphering. I'll handle the crew calls."

"Thanks."

"Do you feel that?" Justy asked.

Standing next to the koala on the Recreation deck in front of the large vidscreen window, Lorelei tilted her head to the left as she tried to listen hard. Justy smirked as she said, "I don't hear anything."

"Feel, Lori, not hear. Do you feel that?"

The bunny tilted her head to the right. "Nope," she said. "I still don't hear anything."

"Give it up, Justy," Amanda said with a chuckle from across the room. "I don't think she's feeling much right now. I caught a whiff of incense from her room a bit ago. I'm not sure what she's been burning in there, but it was rather strong!"

"Are you sure it was incense?" Justy asked with a shake of his head. He scratched one of his large round ears and left the rabbit standing in front of the forward window. He joined the coyote on the couch and sat cross-legged up on the cushions. When Amanda did not reply, he gave her a nod.  "There it is again. Did you just feel that?" he asked.

"I am not sure what you’re referring to," Amanda answered.

"It's a slight shifting of the deck plates, almost as if we are sliding a little to the port as we fly through space."

Amanda looked surprised. "Just how would you feel that without an atmosphere or other frame of reference?"

"I dunno... Just a feeling, I guess. I've gotten so used to the way the ship feels beneath my feet that I guess it's just a subtle inclination. I do have a bit of heaviness in my stomach, so maybe that means something."

"I didn't know you were psychic," the coyote deadpanned.

"I'm not," Justy replied before he realized she was teasing him. She gave him a wide grin and a wink, causing him to laugh. "Okay, I guess that means you didn't feel it either!

"Nope," she teased. "I didn't hear anything."

"All hands, all hands," Taro's voice suddenly emanated from the overhead intercom. "We have just passed into the Hestran gravity curtain, so you may feel a little heavier until we can compensate with the Horizon's deck plates and readjust our current heading. Hestra should be visible on your monitors as a bright star in the lower left if you have the view angle facing directly forward. It will grow larger over the next hour as we approach Hestran orbit to match up with Sharra Base. Depending upon Vashon traffic, we should be landing in about two hours, so be ready for cargo detail in your light pressure suits at that time."

"Wow, you are psychic!" Amanda seemed impressed. "You felt the Hestran gravity before Taro could announce it!"

Justy grinned and wiggled his ears. "Pockets says I must get good reception on these things. Perhaps he's right!"

"Aw, that's mean…" the coyote said with a mock pout.  Justy chuckled with a shrug of his shoulders, secretly pleased that Amanda seemed to be coming out of her shell. Ever since she had joined the crew, the Business Coordinator had preferred to stay quiet and always in the background, but lately she appeared more relaxed. He was not sure what might have changed for her, other than simply getting more used to the crew, but he was glad, whatever it may be. The two of them had joined the crew at the same time, and he felt a certain kinship with her because of it.

"No worries," he replied. "He may be right!"

Amanda snickered and stretched with a yawn, her pink tongue curling in on itself. She closed her eyes with a smile and kicked her shoes off onto the carpet next to the couch.

"You seem to be in a good mood," Lorelei lilted as she plopped down on the couch between the coyote and koala. She leaned closer to the female and grinned. "What’s up?"

"I've lost weight!" Amanda exclaimed.

"Yay!" Lori replied. "What size are you down to?"

"I don't want to burst your bubble," Justy commented, "but you’re about to gain it all back."

"What?" Amanda and Lori said in unison, both of them gifting the koala with a glare.

Justy could not keep the smirk off his face. "We're all going to gain weight as we get closer to Hestra!" he said with a laugh.

"Oh, you!"  the coyote gasped with a grin.  "That doesn’t count!"

"You’re evil!" Lori added with a poke to the koala's middle. Justy grinned as both females took turns swatting and poking him.

Hestra loomed great in the forward vidscreen, a large world where colony life had flourished despite its heavier gravity. It was a mountainous planet with hardy vegetation covering most of the surface like a lush carpet, and its single ocean measuring some thirty-two hundred kilometers across meandered like a continuous giant river near the equator. The landscape was dotted with myriads of freshwater lakes, with whirls of cloud formations across its skies.

Early settlers to the planet nearly perished from the gravity, but those who somehow managed to survive lived on with an equally hardy determination to make the lush world their own. The mortality rate was high in the beginning, but the children that survived became stronger, their physiology becoming denser as they grew more accustomed to the environment. Generations later, the Hestrans were considered the muscle men of the Planetary Alignment, but their numbers were still small compared to the other colony worlds. 

One such Hestran stood on the bridge of the freighter at her command, silently reminiscing about her childhood. The vixen had lost her family and hometown to a terrorist attack several years earlier, but oddly enough, she felt at ease and was not concerned with the past. For the first time in weeks, she was confident, felt sure of herself, and in control of her emotions.

"We are now in lunar orbit, Captain," Jerry reported automatically. Although he was also a red fox, the pilot was not Hestran. "It will take us approximately twenty minutes to catch up to Sharra Base on Vashon in this orbit."

"Very good," Taro replied. She looked at her two bridge companions and asked, "How are you guys doing?"

Renny held up his hand and let the others see the subtle trembling of his fingers. "Although the Horizon's deck plates are compensating for the Hestran gravity, I'm still shaking a little," he said.

"There's not much I can do for you, medically," Jerry told him. "You might want to put on an endosuit if it gets too bad."

Taro reached over to her friend and put a gentle hand on his shoulder.  "Do you want to sit out while we unload the cargo?"

Renny raised an eyebrow. "I said I was shaking a little," he retorted, "not weak as a kitten. I'll survive and do my duty to the cargo, thank you."

"Glad to hear it," Jerry replied with a smile. "I didn't want to carry your load for you, anyway!"

Taro moved to the Com station and picked up her headset with a chuckle. She keyed in a registry code and thumbed the call control.  "Sharra Base, this is the Blue Horizon, PA one-one-three-eight. We are now in lunar approach."

"Blue Horizon, this is Sharra Base," instantly replied a nasal voice. "We have you on approach in lunar traffic, estimated time of arrival seventeen minutes. You will be directed to dome twenty-three in through air hatch seven, where you will hover in a null-gravity field until the hatch is pressurized. You will then proceed into the dome, where you will be guided to landing pad DC. Please make sure your bay doors are oriented toward the warehouse when you set down. The dock master will greet you upon your arrival and arrange to transfer cargo with your load master.  Welcome to Vashon."

"Blue Horizon acknowledges instructions," Taro replied. "Thank you for the welcome."

Fifteen minutes later, the blue elliptical saucer descended toward the southern pole of the moon. Unlike most planetary satellites, Vashon was not a dead body. Although its pressure was light and no sentient creatures had ever developed there, the moon did have its own ecosystem of vegetation and atmosphere. There were no oceans or lakes, for its water reserves were underground, but nearly the entire surface was covered by flowers, grasses and shrubs. There were no real trees to speak of, but the population had been experimenting with transplanted Hestran trees inside the domed Sharra Base.

Renny continued to pass on navigational data to Jerry as he piloted the freighter down toward a directional beacon. "We're on final approach to Dome 23," the red fox reported.

"There's hatch seven," Taro replied and gestured to the vidscreen with a pencil, She paused to listen to a message over her headset. "We have been invited to enter."

Jerry dropped their altitude until they were only a few meters above a field of long pale grasses and then moved forward in through a set of huge bay doors in the side of the translucent geodesic dome. The Blue Horizon was nearly four stories tall, but the airlock they flew in through could easily hold a vessel three times her size.

On the facing wall before them inside the bay was a control tower window with several figures inside.  A set of red lights flashed rapidly when the Horizon was in the center of the chamber; Jerry stopped all forward movement of the vessel. A null field surrounded the freighter so hovering thrusters were not needed to maintain its altitude above the floor. The airlock doors traveled quickly behind them, shutting out the low pressure atmosphere in a matter of seconds.

It took longer to pressurize the chamber, but it was so efficiently done that it was only a few moments before internal doors were opened for them with an alternating set of green and blue lights to signal them to continue.

Jerry eased the controls forward, following a directional set of lights embedded in the flooring below them. They moved through a long corridor of landing pads that were occupied by other cargo carriers of the Planetary Alignment. Most contained Okami, Sakura, Prairie Dog and Carico-class freighters, all common designs, but others held the smaller, heavy-duty Drop Jumpers that would be transporting incoming cargo down to the planet.

The directional markers presently indicated an empty pad beside a small warehouse. "Landing pad DC," Taro read aloud from a large sign affixed to the side of the building.

"We're home, dear," Renny lilted with a smile.

Jerry said nothing as he positioned the Horizon over the landing pad and then rotated its axis to line up their cargo bay with the warehouse. The blue freighter set down gently and then the bridge crew began to shut down the flight systems.

"All hand, all hands," Taro broadcast over the ship-wide intercom, "Report for cargo duty. Expected light-pressure suits won't be needed, so you can all work in your shirt sleeves. I will meet you in the hold."

Jerry stood up and stretched his legs. "How long is shore leave this time, boss-lady?" he asked. "I've never been here before and might need a little time to explore."

"You can have your standard three days," Taro replied with a smile, motioning her companions to follow her out into the corridor. "However, you may get bored before it's time to leave. Sharra Base may not contain enough entertainment to occupy your attention for more than a day or so, unless you're a female who loves to shop!"

Jerry exchanged looks with Renny. "Uh oh... I think we've been had," the physician said.

"Leave it to a lady captain to find a shopping mall to deliver our goods..." Renny quipped. He expected to get swatted for the remark, but Taro merely turned around and walked backward into the lift, her tongue sticking out at them. Jerry shook his head in amusement and entered the lift with the cheetah beside him.

Damien blew his nose on a handkerchief and felt his eyes water. Within moments of opening the cargo bay door, his sinuses had started to clog. The mastiff had no allergies that he was aware of, but something in the air at Sharra Base did not agree with him. He tried to ignore it while he worked, but now that the cargo had been unloaded into the pad-side warehouse, he could feel a headache coming on.

Everyone else had scattered in twos and threes for shore leave, but suddenly he did not feel like roaming around in an atmosphere hostile to his senses. He clutched his handkerchief and headed for the nearest lift after the ship's bay door had been closed and secured.

When the lift door opened, Pockets stood inside wearing a bright blue and yellow flowered shirt with a travel bag slung over his shoulder. The raccoon looked out at him with wide eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You don't look well."

Damien sneezed into his handkerchief and peered down at the engineer with bloodshot eyes. "I think I'm allergig to somthin here…"

"I think Doc's already gone," Pockets replied. "Can I do anything for you?"

The mastiff narrowed his eyes as he fought back another sneeze. "Ah thot you din't wan' to have anything t'do with me…"

Pockets frowned and lowered his ears. "Yeah, about that..." he said in a quiet voice.  "I'm sorry for what I said and how I acted. You didn't deserve that. I'm the one who got in trouble, but I took out my frustrations on you."

Despite his clogged sinuses, Damien's expression softened. He put his free hand on the raccoon's shoulder and said, "Apology aggepted, Poggets."

Pockets smiled up at the load master and put a small hand on top of Damien's. "Thanks," he said. "I've felt bad about what happened ever since, and I would like things to be okay between us."

"Thaggs. Be too."

"Now… can I get you anything?"

The mastiff nodded as he stepped into the lift beside the raccoon. "Hep me find somthin in Sig Bay for mah zinuzes?"

"Sure, let's go up and see what we can find."

"Wow, that was a great movie!" Max exclaimed as he, Justy, Lorelei and Amanda walked out of the Sharra Base theatre.

"What was your favorite part?" Lori asked as she hooked a hand around the young mechanic's arm. The German shepherd's friends had taken him out in an effort to get his mind off of Wendy, and for the moment, the tactic had worked. "I liked it when Blackthorne showed up at the last minute to save Chieko! The way they looked at one another was so saucy!"

Max grinned. "I liked the destruction of the Shraeloni super-fortress!  The effects made it look real, and the sound system made you feel like you were there!"

The coyote beside him laughed. "That's just like a guy!" Amanda said. "Did anything but the explosions interest you?"

"Of course they did," Max defended himself with a grin, "but Lori wanted to know what my favorite part was.  My favorite was the explosions!"

"Of course!" Amanda replied.

"Of course!" Lori echoed. She looked over at Justy and tilted her head. "What was your favorite part of the movie?" she asked him.

Justy dipped another hand in his popcorn bucket and contemplated the snack for a moment. "I liked the bedroom scene," he muttered before eating the handful.

"Justy, there wasn't a bedroom scene in this movie…" Amanda said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes there was," Justy countered. "It was on while you were out at the concession stand getting your Raisinettes."

The coyote female's eyes flashed to Lorelei in a panic. "I missed the bedroom scene?" she asked. "Ah, no! The line at the stand was too long! What did I miss? I want details!"

"It was hot and juicy," Justy told her. "It was full frontal for all three characters that involved…"

"…all three?!?"

"…several milk bottles, a lawn chair and a tuning fork," Justy continued.

Lorelei began laughing at the coyote's distress when she stared at the koala. She put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head. "Justy's pulling your tail, Mandy! There was no such scene…"

Amanda stopped in her tracks, making her companions look back at her. "There wasn't? Really?" Justy and Max laughed at her, and she suddenly felt foolish. "Justy…."

The koala cackled aloud and had to trot ahead to avoid getting swatted. "Nyah, nyah!" he said back to her. Amanda heaved a sigh and gave Justy a look to let him know she would get him back for teasing her, but it only made him laugh again.

A local alarm suddenly sounded, causing them and others around them to clasp hands to their ears. When everyone looked up, all the public vidscreens stationed around the Base avenues lit up with a red sign stating the words "Attention - Emergency Announcement" written in Standard.

A male red fox in a tailored grey suit suddenly appeared at a news desk with the globe of Hestra as a backdrop behind him. Other pedestrians in the area gathered around the Blue Horizon crew mates to watch the screen.

"This is an emergency worldwide announcement carried on all Hestran bands. To repeat, this is an emergency worldwide announcement carried on all Hestran bands.  It was confirmed just minutes ago that an asteroid previously monitored passing harmlessly through the Centaurus star system was sighted by an incoming cargo vessel, its path apparently altered by the Hestran gravity well. What originally was only of casual interest to backyard astronomers has suddenly turned into a deadly threat. Trajectory analysis projects that the seventy-nine kilometer rock is on a parabolic course into Hestran orbit that is predicted to intersect with the planet within nine hours." 

Gasps from the gathered crowd were almost in unison, and frightened conversations suddenly broke out. Someone yelled "Quiet!" and the hushed congregation returned its attention once more to the public vidscreen. Max swallowed hard, remembering their earlier close encounter with the subject asteroid. Taro must have made a report to the local administration.

"Authorities explain that planetary long-range sensors have been offline, undergoing upgrades for the past week, and were unavailable for detection of the asteroid's altered trajectory. Once operational, the extended range for spatial objects such as this would have been nearly tripled in sensitivity. Little use does this do for Hestra now, as there is now no time to effect plans to deflect such a massive object."

"Does that mean it's going to hit Hestra?" someone behind Max asked in a voice full of emotion.

"Dunno," someone replied. "They only said it was coming within our orbit."

"Hush!" said a third voice. Max's ears swiveled to and fro to hear the comments, but like the rest of the crowd, he realized that the news reporter was still speaking.

"...further calculations will have to be made to determine its full effect on Hestra. Even should the rock not strike the planet, its sheer size will likely affect the tides and possibly cause a few quakes. The Hestran Emergency Response Authority is currently in session with planetary scientists to determine a course of action. Stay turned to local broadcasts for further instructions. Whatever it is we are to do in the face of this crisis will have to be executed quickly to minimize disruption."

"A disruption?" Justy muttered hoarsely. "What do they think this is, a simple local disturbance?" An advertisement for a new Prime-class freighter suddenly dominated the screen, so the crowd began to disperse.

"Do you think that Taro will —?" Amanda's DataCom unit chirped before she could finish her thought. She thumbed the call switch and lifted it up to her face. "This is Amanda," she said.

"Mandy?  This is Taro. I need the crew to assemble at the ship immediately. I don't know if you've heard the news, but we have an emergency on our hands. Shore leave has been canceled."

"Yeah, we just saw it on a public vidscreen," the coyote replied as the others gathered around her.

"We? Who's with you? I haven't gotten in touch with everyone yet, only you, Renny and Doc so far."

"Lori, Justy and Max are here with me. We just got out of a media theatre."

"Good, that's four of you with one call. Please return to the Horizon as quickly as you can."

"Yes ma'am. We're on our way."

"Taro, out."

"Does that answer your question what Taro will —?" Justy asked with a smirk as they made their way through the thickening crowd in the entertainment district.

"Yes, but this is no time to be smarmy," Amanda rebuked. "This is serious!"

"Yeah, this is serious!" Lori echoed.

Justy exchanged amused looks with Max and then shrugged with a big grin. "I agree this is serious, but I can still be smarmy if I want to..." Both females snorted in unison, which only served to give Justy the giggles.

Max shook his head. "Come on, folks. Let's get going."

Lori slipped an arm around Max's waist and gave him a nod. "Yes sir, Captain, sir!" she said crisply.  Amanda turned her back on the koala and then took up a position on the German shepherd's other side. Justy maintained his smile as he followed along behind them.

It took twenty minutes for them to make their way back to the Blue Horizon. By the time they stepped in through the main hatch, everyone else was already present in the cargo bay. Damien sat on an empty crate looking sleepy, miserable, and had a handkerchief up against the end of his nose while Jerry looked him over with a pen light.

"Any further news?" Justy asked.

"Actually, yes," Taro replied when she had everyone's attention.  "I just got word through the dock master than trajectory analysis has determined that Vashon's orbit around Hestra may put us in the asteroid's path. They are guessing that it will hit the moon, rather than the planet. Either way, it will be a disaster. Evacuations are encouraged to begin as soon as possible."

Pockets looked up suddenly and trotted to the airlock. "Looks like the news just  hit," he called back. "People are running for their ships!" Indeed, they could all hear upraised voices in alarm and panic out in the hangar.

"How long before we have authorization to launch?" Renny asked. "We passed a lot of parked ships on the way in."

Taro started as if the thought had not occurred to her. "We'd better get up to the bridge and prepare for liftoff," she said. "We haven't even reloaded our air reserves and food stores yet, and we'll need to have the Com system open for official authorization."

There was a roar from outside the hatch and Pockets looked back inside. "Another ship is taking off," he reported. "I'd wager it's without permission."

The crew moved forward and filed out on the ramp beside the raccoon. A green striped Prairie Dog-class freighter lifted off a nearby landing pad. One of its multiple cargo bay doors was still open, and they could see crew members inside scrambling to keep their footing. They were trying to get the door closed even as the rectangular vessel rotated in mid-air to nose toward the distant dome hatch.

"I don't like the looks of this," Jerry muttered as the ship moved away faster than was usually allowed inside the structure.

"Right," agreed Taro. "Everyone inside and prepare for launch. We may have to lift off in a hurry, so do what you need to do quickly."

Following her lead, everyone moved back inside and headed for the lift. Max and Pockets made for the engine room, apprehension clearly in both their minds.

At a complete surprise to everyone on the Bridge, Taro growled impatiently. Although the situation was grim, Renny looked back at her with a small look of amusement, quietly reflecting that Taro was probably unaware she had taken up Merlin's old habit. Perhaps it was an attribute that all starship captains eventually acquired; stresses of command, and all that…

Outside the forward windows, the hangar was clogged with traffic. Freighters of all colors, shapes and sizes vied for position to get their ship out through the airlock. Due to the rapid congestion, the Blue Horizon had not yet even made it off its landing pad. The engines were primed and ready, but only on standby as they awaited their turn.

Not for the first time, Taro looked up at the geodesic dome above them, fervently wishing they had been able to set down on an outside pad as usual. The building was only slightly pressurized; they could have easily used light suits to unload their cargo. Had that been the case, they would have already launched away from the Hestran satellite.

Time was running out for the Vashon moon and Taro wanted to be as far away as possible when the strike came. The Hestran government was preparing to launch a military warhead at the asteroid, but due to its size and nearness, the effectiveness of the action was in question. World leaders quarreled and bickered over where the fault lay in the disaster, and it was unlikely to be resolved even after the catastrophe.

Taro had no love of politic, and wanted only to leave in time to make it to safety. She growled again and fidgeted impatiently.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing," Amanda whispered. She, Justy and Lorelei were belted into cushioned foldout launch chairs on the recreation deck. The vidscreen on the far wall was tuned to a local broadcast, although its sound was muted so they could listen for Taro's launch announcements. Justy could watch in silence no more, so he turned on the volume while keeping an ear out for anything from the Bridge.

The broadcast showed panic. People of all species were running to and fro, children, luggage and prized possessions gripped tightly in their arms as they rushed to find escape. In the midst of the pandemonium were others who used the situation to smash shop windows and loot anything in sight. Older couples who had settled on Vashon during its original establishment refused to leave their home and all their possessions, even knowing they would likely perish with it all. Local religious centers saw packed congregations, and scam artists hawked good-luck charms in the streets. Among the population were those who scoffed at the impending doom, blaming the government for scaring the public with such nonsense, and who refused to leave their homes open to looters and vandalism. The regional law enforcement was stretched thin as those still on the job attempted to quell riots and stop a sudden rash of panicked killing, including those who tried to defend their homes.

Outside one of the Sharra Base domes, a small group in light pressure suits had gathered around a series of telescopes to watch the incoming asteroid, which was easily visible even to the naked eye.

A steady stream of freighters, cruisers and drop jumpers cycled through the massive warehouse airlocks, and some smaller vessels had doubled up through them in an attempt to speed up the evacuation. The Blue Horizon, however, was too large a vessel to attempt a quick getaway. They were stuck in a traffic jam, but the asteroid would wait for no one.

The trio on the recreation deck watched in horror as the on-scene reporter suddenly went down under a hail of large rocks thrown by laughing gang members of a local organization. The news camera operator tried to make a run for it, but the brave individual was run down by the mob and beaten in front of the camera.

"Turn it off!" Lorelei wailed.  "Please!"

Justy thumbed the remote without a word and transformed the vidscreen back over to clear, forward-facing windows. Amanda closed her eyes and rested her head back against the launch cushion while Lori sobbed quietly beside her. Justy rubbed his eyes and wondered if they would make it out in time.

Down in the engine room, Pockets moved from gauge to gauge for the hundredth time, making sure all settings were correct so they could launch immediately. Max was strapped into his launch chair, quietly watching the raccoon pace back and forth.

"Don't you think you should be belted in?" he asked his partner. The chief engineer thrust his hands into his namesake pockets and looked over at him with a frown.

"I should be," he admitted, "but I can't sit still!"

"The inertial dampers are still not working right," the German shepherd reminded him. "If we take off while you're pacing the floor, I'll have to call Jerry down here to scrape you off the back wall."

Pockets looked at the young mechanic in annoyance, but he knew he was right. He padded over to his chair and started to get into his harness.

"What's that?" Max suddenly asked. Pockets looked up and saw the canine's ears perked up and his head tilted to the side. He strained his hearing and suddenly heard a muted thumping from the direction of the cargo bay.

Both of them unbelted and ran out into the empty hold. They saw Damien run toward the main hatch and it was then they realized that someone was pounding on the outside door.

The mastiff activated an external camera and he saw a crowd of locals gathered at their airlock. There was no audio, but he could see them yelling in a panic and pounding on the hatch.

Damien thumbed the intercom and a moment later, there was a signal chirp.

"This is Taro. Make it quick, we're about ready to move."

"Captain, there's a crowd outside our main airlock, pounding on the door to get in!" The medication the doctor had given him had quickly started to clear up his sinuses, so he was able to breathe well enough to be understood when he spoke.

On the Bridge, Renny activated the right-hand vidscreen to match the image picked up by Damien's external camera.

"What do we do?" the cheetah asked. "If we launch with them standing there, they'll be blasted by the thrusters!"

"Are they looters, or are they trying to escape?" Jerry asked with a frown. "Crowds are gathering at other ships, too."

Taro studied the scene in a brief instant and shook her head. "I don't see anger in their faces," she said. "They're afraid for their lives and are looking for a way to escape." Unbidden, memories of the devastation of her hometown during the Taquit Fever terrorist attack came back to Taro. The people there had been unable to escape their doom, with no way to escape. She made a quick decision and thumbed the intercom.

"Damien, open the airlock," she said. "Let in as many people as will come on board and have them sit on the floor of the cargo deck. We'll try to make our launch as smoothly as possible, and then return them when the danger has passed."

"Aye, Captain!"

Damien closed the connection and then tapped out a sequence on the control panel before him. He turned to Pocket and Max and said, "You two better get back to the engine room and lock the door. Panicked crowds can get ugly, and the Bridge may need you in an instant."

"Right!" Pockets replied. He and Max trotted back to their domain and shut the door behind them just as the airlock completed cycling.

Damien opened both the inner and outer hatch doors and called out in a loud voice, "Inside quickly!"  There were a few cheers from the crowd outside, and the mastiff also heard sobs of relief. As people of all kinds poured into the hold, Damien shouted out instructions. "Please move as far inside as you can and sit on the floor. Our inertial dampers are not working well and you will need to be as low to the floor as you can when we take off!"  He had to repeat this every moment or so as others scrambled to get inside the freighter.

It became noisy inside as everyone attempted to get situated, and a few arguments broke out as some fought for their own piece of flooring. Nearly the entire throng of evacuees was inside the vessel when a crowd trying to get inside another ship noticed the open airlock and surged toward the Blue Horizon en masse.

Moments later, Damien was finally able to close and seal the hatches. He began re-pressurizing the cargo deck and then signaled the Bridge. "Captain, we're secure again. The hold is three-quarters full of frightened people and I've cycled pressurization."

"Acknowledged. Prepare for launch."

Damien skirted around the crowd toward his office and was about to call for everyone's attention when a Dalmatian tugged on his shirt sleeve.

"Are we going to get out of here in time?" the guy asked. "That rock is going to be here any minute!"

"We're going to get out of here as soon as we can, sir," the load master replied.  He stepped up on a tethered crate of freight tie-downs near his office and held up both hands.  "May I have your attention, please?" he said in a loud voice.  He had to repeat himself over the crowd noise twice before it was quiet enough to continue.

"Listen folks," he said as his eyes swept the assembly, "my captain has informed me that we should be launching at any moment. This is an emergency situation and we will do all we can to get you out of the danger zone, but we'll need the cooperation of everyone."

"This is all your fault for not alerting us sooner!" someone shouted. There were a few echoes of agreement until Damien called back at the jackal who had spoken out.

"Sir, this ship does not belong to your local government and we are not an appointed rescue vessel. This is a commercial freighter trapped up in the same situation with the lot of you. We could have easily just left you standing on the tarmac to face the asteroid on your own, but our captain chose to give you the opportunity to escape with us." Damien swept his gaze across the crowd once more. "We will try to accommodate you as best we can, but you will have to be patient. We're in this just as much as you are."

"Why aren't we moving? You've got the hatch shut and now we're just waiting?" called a woman in the back.

"We are awaiting our turn to leave, ma'am," Damien replied. "You saw the hangar out there – we can't all leave at the same time. There are a number of ships in front of us."

"Is there any other way out of this building?" someone else asked.

"Not for a starship, sir."

"Why don't we just blast through the dome?"

"Yeah, it's only glassteel under a metal frame!"

"That metal frame is what's keeping us from going through it. It's stout enough to puncture our hull," Damien replied in exasperation. "Listen! We're getting out of here as soon as we can. Please, just bear with us!"

"The control tower reports that it will be another thirty-five minutes before we can leave our launch pad just to get in line..." Taro said in irritation. She dropped the headset onto the console and moved to the forward windows. She leaned on the counter beside Renny and heaved another sigh.  "They also report that the asteroid is within an hour of striking Vashon, its velocity increasing as gets drawn further into Hestra's gravity well."

"This is not good," Jerry muttered. "This is not good at all."

Renny flattened his ears against his head. "At this rate, we won't make it out of the building by the time that thing hits."

Suddenly a loud roar penetrated the Bridge from the outside. The larger Carico-class freighter on the pad next to them suddenly lifted off the ground, its thrusters stirring up dust and other debris.

"Did the Leroux just get clearance to leave?" Renny asked.

"I don't think so..." Taro replied as she glanced down at the landing pad and saw several bodies sprawled on the thruster-heated concrete. When she looked up, the rectangular vessel continued to rise toward the dome, far above the airlock corridor. The ship gained altitude and picked up speed.

"It's going to go through!" Jerry exclaimed.

Before anyone else had a chance to comment, the blunt nose of the Leroux struck the geodesic grid with such a force that the entire structure shook violently. Pressurized glassteel panels shattered and fell to the ground below while the metal framework buckled and the air within escaped into the thin Vashon atmosphere. The ship's thrusters brightened with increased power and it pushed through the grid at an angle.

The action was not without its consequences. Steel girders from the dome framework penetrated the freighter's hull near its stern as it passed through the ragged opening it had made. More of the grid peeled outward with the ship, but it began to hold fast.

The Leroux sheered suddenly toward the port, its thrusters now pushing against a different direction. The vessel spun out of control, and everyone watched in horror as it nosed back toward the base of the dome in an inevitable crash.

Even while glass and other debris continued to rain down upon the ship, Taro spun around and barked an order to Jerry. "Launch immediately," she said through clenched teeth. "That hole's big enough for the Horizon!"

Keyed up for the past hour, Jerry jumped at the command and ignited their thrusters instantly. Before anyone had a chance to steel themselves against the launch, the Blue Horizon rose quickly toward the breech in the dome.

Taro lost her footing on the tilting deck and tumbled over a chair. Renny tried to snare her leg, but he grasped empty air; Taro slid along the floor and slammed into a control panel. She clung to the counter supports and held on tight.

Damien's body strained against his launch harness as the Horizon shot upward. Mindful of their living cargo, Jerry tried to take the freighter straight up, but the wind sheers borne of equalizing air pressure between the internal atmosphere and that of the outside buffed the elliptical saucer. The floor tilted crazily, and although the gravity deck plates were on, the faulty inertia dampers could not keep things in place.

 Evacuees piled up together as they slide across and over one another, and there was little to hang onto. Those who were near the freight tie-downs recessed into the floor tried to hang on tightly, but other bodies tumbling into them knocked them loose to slide into others.

Screams of fear and cries of pain filled the air amidst the roar of the ventral thrusters. Damien was unaware of the situation outside that prompted such a rough launch and quietly cursed Jerry's piloting skills. There was nothing Damien could do for their unwitting passengers, but watch and hope their flight would smooth out quickly.

The Blue Horizon passed through the torn opening in the dome ceiling with only meters to spare on all sides. A concussion fireball from the Leroux's destruction took out a large section of the building's support base, and the structure quickly began to collapse upon the ships and people still inside.

Jerry saw none of this with his attention riveted to his instruments. He pushed the vertical thrusters for all they could give him, since he was unable to tilt the nose upward and use the main engines to drive them up out of the atmosphere.

Air resistance decreased quickly and suddenly they were away from the doomed satellite. Hestra loomed large to their starboard, and the planet's gravity began to tug at the ship's mass.  Free of Vashon's influence, Jerry gently nosed the ship's leading edge forward and engaged the main engines. The Blue Horizon shot away from the moon's southern pole and he aimed for deep space without a heading.

"Renny..." Taro gasped from the back of the command center.

"Are you okay?" the cheetah asked as he struggled out of his harness. He knelt down beside the vixen and helped her into a nearby seat.

Taro coughed and rubbed her ribs. "I'll live..." she said at last.  "Jerry, alter heading and take us toward the asteroid."

"Toward the asteroid!" Renny and Jerry exclaimed in unison.

"We'll circumvent it, using its mass gravity to slingshot us away from the area to avoid collateral damage from expelled debris when that thing hits Vashon!"

Renny exchanged looks with the pilot and both knew the captain was right. They needed to be as far from the strike zone as possible, and they could use the incoming rock to increase their speed to do it.

"May I request that either you or Renny take over the flight controls," Jerry said with a frown. "That was a lousy take-off, and I would assume there are some injured passengers in the hold."

"You did the best you could under the conditions," Taro told him, "but you're right. You should grab your med kit and get down there. Take Mandy with you, and have Lori and Justy prepare water and paper cups for our guests. I would imagine we have a bunch of frightened people on board, so try to deal with them as well as you can."

"Right, we'll get on it right away."

It had seemed like an eternity, but the flooring beneath the evacuees finally calmed down when the ship left the thin Vashon atmosphere. Jumbled and stunned, groans and cries began to permeate the air as everyone tried to disentangle themselves from one another.

"My leg is broken!" someone cried out.

Damien thumbed the intercom control.  "Bridge," came Taro's immediate response.

"Send Jerry down to the cargo hold," the mastiff said in a rush. "We've got some injuries from the launch."

"Doc and Mandy are already on their way."

"Okay, thanks." Damien made his way the aft end of the hold and found a ferret with a twisted leg threaded through one of the immovable cargo tie-down rings embedded in the floor. The fellow looked up at him with tears streaming down his cheek fur.

"Our doctor is on the way," he told the ferret in a soothing voice as he knelt down next to him. He was examining the leg and wondering if he should attempt to pull it free of the tie-down when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Mister, I can't find my brother," a young bobcat said to him. Damien glanced around and saw passengers clutching arms, legs and heads as they began to take inventory of their aches and pains.

"Is that him over there?" he asked. The female bobcat followed his pointing finger to see a younger male bobcat with his back up against the cargo bay door clutching a plushie that resembled himself.

"Yes!" the girl exclaimed. "Thanks, mister!"  She bounded away toward her brother just as a door opened across the hold.  Jerry and Amanda dashed out of the lift toward the nearest injured individual and the fox started treatment right away. Damien waved to the coyote and called her over.

Amanda knelt next to him and took the ferret's hand as she made a cursory examination of the twisted leg. "The doctor is here and will be with you shortly if you can hang on, sir," she said in a calm voice.

"It hurts!" the ferret cried.

"Is there anything you can give him for the pain?" Damien asked as he appeared to have made a decision.

The coyote shook her head. "Jerry didn't give me anything to dispense," she answered apologetically. "I'm not a nurse, and I think he has different meds for different species."

"Do you have a pencil?"