The screen flickered and the stars shifted; the asteroids vanished. Vanessa shook her head.

  "I don't see anything." She turned to Karen. "What's up?"

  "The sensors say it's right there in front of us. But I don't see anything either."

  "Hold on a second." Sandra stood up and walked to the front of the room to get a better view of the screen. "There!" She pointed at an empty section of space. "Did you see that?"

  "No, what?"

  "One of the stars vanished for a moment and reappeared. There's another one." Her finger was on another empty section when all of a sudden a star appeared in it's place. "Psi?"

  "Yes sir?"

  "Filter the input and assign different hues to the surrounding space and stars; a lighter shade please."

  "Yes sir."

  The image blacked out and then returned. The colors were wildly different with space being a swirling red and the stars twinkling a hot pink. In the center of the madness was the object that was slowly growing as it drifted closer.

  "There it is." She went back to her computer and pressed a few keys. The image on the screen flashed a few times and then disappeared to be replaced by 3-D rendering of the object.

  Brian laughed.

  "Oh that's a ship if I ever saw one. Look how symmetrical that is. There's no way that's a natural formation."

  Robert frowned as he tried to make it out.

  "Is there any way we can clean this up? It just looks like a black lump to me."

  Sandra punched a few more keys and the computer clarified the image and everyone could see the detail in the ship. Ramirez examined the picture.

  "There doesn't seem to be any symbols or identifying marks on the hull. I'm impressed at just how black the hull is; it's very sleek."

  "Calm down, your birthday is not for a few months."

  "Aww..."

  "Captain?"

  "What's up Psi?"

  "I've been examining the object since we made contact and I've observed something odd." He paused.

  "Well? Spit it out; don't keep us in suspense."

  "I believe the object is spinning on all three axises."

  "In other words, it's tumbling out of control."

  "Affirmative sir."

  Brian returned to his view of the ship.

  "That means it's engines aren't in operation. Think there's anyone on board?"

  "Viable question." Sandra folded her arms. "Doubtful I'd say. If there were they would have to be unconscious or otherwise they would correct their ship's attitude."

  "Think this might have something to do with that flash we saw earlier sir?"

  "It might Rob. Maybe it was an accident on their ship."

  "Or escape pods," said Vanessa.

  "Or an attack," added Gryphon.

  "Or probably one of a dozen things; we can't be sure." The Captain squinted at the screen in thought. He turned back around and looked at Karen. "You're sure this thing will do a half-gainer into the moon?"

  "Oh yes sir. Unless it changes course or spontaneously explodes, that sucker is goin' down right here." Karen hit one key on her control panel and the main viewer showed a picture of the moon surface. A box encased one section and expanded. This repeated a few more times until a circle appeared and marked the spot of the crash. "About twelve miles northeast of the Sea of Tranquility and about seventeen hundred miles from the Japanese Lunar Base."

  Everyone looked at it silently and the Captain pushed the intercom and his voice rang out through the ship.

  "Matthew, please report to Operations immediately. Repeat, Matthew to Operations immediately."

  Krista stood up.

  "What's your plan?"

  "I don't want to risk trying to stop it or attempting to board her while she's in motion."

  Karen giggled.

  "What I wouldn't give for a tractor beam."

  "I'm afraid we're going to have to let it crash."

  Brian was shocked and slapped his hand down on the table.

  "You can't do that! If it crashes it could irreparably damage the engines. Don't forget that this puppy was breaking the light barrier when we found it."

  "I agree with Bri; we should find a way to get this thing intact."

  "I'm sorry Sandra, Brian, it can't be helped. We don't have any way of slowing it down other than firing at it or ramming into it. Both would mess it up just as badly as it crashing and would put the Necronomicon at risk."

  Brain looked down, dejected.

  "Yes sir."

  The door opened again and Matthew came into the room.

  "You asked for me?"

  Matthew was tall and fairly pale with light blonde hair and blue eyes to match. His seemingly frail physique hid an agility and intensity that surprised anyone that tested him. He entered the Navy at an early age (having lied to his enrollment officer) in hopes of flying fighter jets and testing the latest in military ariel-technology. He was repeatedly denied access to the more advanced planes as those spots were given to the 'sturdier' pilots. He eventually got fed up with the whole thing and enlisted for a place aboard the Necronomicon. Krista was impressed with his skill and drive and everyone was impressed by how he handled himself in the single-manned fighters they had aboard for combat situations; his aptitude rivaled that of the Captain's. He was accepted aboard, but when the Navy discovered where he was planning on going after leaving the service they denied his resignation. Matthew had been AWOL ever since.

  "Got a mission for you Matt. I'm sure you've heard about our little friend zipping about."

  "A few rumors. What about it?"

  "It's going to plunge into the moon and I want you to fly a team over to investigate."

  "A walk in the park sir."

  The Captain smiled. Gryphon scoffed silently at the sound of another 'sir.' He looked at him.

  "Gryphon," he looked up, "you'll be leading the team."

  Krista's eyes went wide, but she kept silent.

  "I'm sending Ramirez and Heather along with you. Your mission is to basically find out anything and everything you can about that ship."

  "Do you want us to collect any samples?"

  "If possible." He turned back to Matthew who was standing at ease. "I want you to have the Jabberwocky prepped and ready to launch in two hours."

  "Will do." The Captain scanned the room.

  "You're all dismissed."

  Krista immediately got up and walked to the Captain's side. She stood there quietly as people shuffled out of the room. Brian skipped next to Gryphon.

  "I'll brief Heather on what's happening and give her all the materials she'll need. You'll probably find all of the sample containers you want in cargo bay two." They walked out together and Karen quickly followed. Matthew stopped Robert from getting up with a hand on his shoulder.

  "I have two hours before launch. That's plenty of time for a rematch stud."

  Robert wheezed.

  "I don't know, I'm going to need to bring the ship up into Lunar orbit." He looked pleadingly at the Captain who just smirked.

  "Oh, we have plenty of time before you have to worry about that. Besides, I'd love to see you guys go at it again."

  "He just doesn't want to be embarrassed again."

  "No I..."

  "Hey, I totally understand. It's not easy for a brother to admit to being an inferior athlete to a white boy. Especially one as scrawny as me."

  Krista laughed.

  "Ooo, now that's a challenge if I ever heard one."

  Ramirez looked expectingly at her champion who couldn't resist her beautiful brown eyes. Robert shrugged.

  "All right Matt; you're on."

  "Damn straight. I'll see you down on the court in a few minutes. I've got to suit up in my quarters." He walked out with a smile as Robert looked at Ramirez.

  "I do this for you you know."

  "I have faith in you. You'll beat him this time." They kissed briefly and stepped out.

  Sandra walked up to the Captain and Krista with Vanessa right behind her.

  "Sir, I just want to voice my concerns about letting the ship crash once again."

  "Noted. Anything else?"

  She stamped a foot and turned.

  "Damn it." They left and Krista adopted a concerned look.

  The Captain beat her to the question.

  "You're worried about my assigning Gryphon to lead the mission aren't you?"

  "Yes. You know as well as I do that he's not functioning well aboard."

  "I'm trying to help him Krista. I have faith in his abilities even if you guys don't. I'm hoping all he needs is a little push to realize that."

  "He's insubordinate."

  "We all are in our way. This isn't the most tightly run ship out there and I like it that way."

  "He's territorially aggressive."

  "He's male."

  "He's unwilling to incorporate himself and become part of this family."

  The Captain looked down, silently acknowledging her statement.

  "He denies self-improvement and attempts to undermine everyday functions on the ship."

  "I know Krista. But he's my problem and I'm trying to give him a chance." He looked back up. "I gave you one once."

  "I changed," she paused meaningfully. "He won't."

  They looked at each other for a few more seconds and she turned and left the room. He just stood there with his arms crossed in silent thought.

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On to Ch.2 - Gladiators and Weaponry

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