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transporting several of the ship’s planetologists to a moon when it ran into a piece of orbital debris. The ship was vaporized instantly. That is why we can’t return Miss Rykand’s body to you.”
    “There were others killed?”
    “A total of eight, according to the report by Magellan ’s captain. I am afraid that is all we know about the incident until the ship docks and sends down its full logs.”
    “Perhaps I can talk with the captain to get more information,” Mark said.
    Amalthea Palan sighed and cocked her head in an odd gesture. “I am afraid that is impossible. The ship is still out beyond the orbit of Mars and two-way communications are not yet practical. Speed-of-light delay, you know.”
    “When will it arrive?”
    “Within a week.”
    “Perhaps I can visit the captain then, both to hear what happened to Jani and to pick up her personal effects.”
    “We’ll deliver her effects to you. You certainly won’t have to go to the expense of going all the way to orbit to retrieve them.”
    “I am rich. I don’t mind the expense.”
    “I understand your pain, but there is really nothing constructive you can do in orbit. Captain Landon will not be able to meet with you, anyway. First, there is the mandatory quarantine period and he will be very busy preparing the ship to go out again. I will tell you what. We will forward a copy of the captain’s log entry as soon as we receive it. Will that be acceptable?”
    Mark gazed at the pretty blonde opposite him. Her expression reminded him of the professional lamentation of a mortician. Perhaps it was his lack of sleep or the fact that his senses had been stretched taut. Something about her manner told him that she was not telling him the truth, at least not the whole truth. He frowned, and then nodded. “I suppose it will have to do.”
    They talked for another ten minutes, after which Mark found himself deftly herded back to the transport station. He climbed into a bullet car headed south and watched Amalthea Palan as she stood on the platform until his car had left the building.
    Mark mulled over his next move. If the survey thought that he would go back to California and give up, they were in for a surprise. Someone was to blame for his sister’s death and he was not going to rest until he found out whom that someone was!

CHAPTER 3
    Nadine Halstrom, World Coordinator, and arguably, the most powerful single human being alive, sat in the dark and watched the images shimmer in the depths of the holocube. Beside her sat Anton Bartok, director of the Stellar Survey. Beyond the darkened office, a late afternoon storm sent booming thunder across the Toronto cityscape while rain pelted the side of the hundred-story office building that housed the bureaucracy serving the World Parliament.
    The record of Magellan ’s fight with the alien starship and its aftermath ended in a flicker of static as the lights came on in the coordinator’s office. Nadine Halstrom blinked rapidly in the sudden brilliance.
    “My God, Anton. So it’s true!”
    “Yes, Madame Coordinator. Captain Landon squirted that recording and his report to me via secure comm link as soon as Magellan dropped sublight.”
    “Where is Magellan now?”
    “Just crossing the orbit of Mars, inbound. She should be here in about a week.”
    “I have to admit to some skepticism when I received your initial message, Mr. Director. After seeing this, I must say that you understated your case. Have you considered the implications?”
    Bartok nodded. “I’ve thought of nothing else for the last day and a half, Madame Coordinator.”
    Nadine Halstrom sighed. She, too, had thought of little else. “I think we have a major problem here.”
    “I agree.”
    “Have we any idea at all where these aliens come from or their military potential?”
    Bartok’s expression was doleful as he shook his head. “None.”
    “Then we’d best keep this under wraps until we’ve learned more.”
    “Is that wise? The