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nerves
fizzing with the need to reach shelter and safety.
    “Tomorrow, at first light we leave here and complete our journey,” she
repeated firmly.

 
    Chapter Three
     
    Andreas sat in the pilot’s seat staring at all the equipment with every
sense focused tightly on the gauges and dials. Herman, his copilot sat beside
him, just as alert. All the other men would be watching on the screens in the
dining rom. The ship was slowing down and coming in to land. They’d pinpointed
the exact place they needed to land, and the images were amazing. It was an old
village that had been left to disintegrate under the weather. He’d run all the
checks three times, but there was so sign of any disease there so he could only
assume the people had fled. Right now Herman tested the ocean and the deep
village well for water quality. Any disease might have permeated the drinking
water. The ocean was unlikely to be poisoned. It was much too big for any
disease to penetrate. Well, that’s what he hoped, anyway. Although he supposed
the sand of the shoreline might be dangerous.
    “Check the land besides the ocean is safe as well. Who knows what these
uncivilized barbarians might have done to it.
    “You’re hundreds of years too late. Poisoning the land was a tactic of
war dating back well before 2030,” Herman said.
    Andreas threw him a look and Herman added, “All right I’ll check
anyway.”
    Very gently Andreas set the ship down in the only more-or-less flat
space large enough to hold it. He guessed this had been the city square
although there were no statues in it. Just buckled concrete with grass growing
up in the cracks. The area was surrounded by what had once been stores,
buildings only two stories tall and almost completely covered with green
plants, even over the roofs. Although many of the roofs had disappeared.
    “Test the air quality. Are you certain we can breathe it?”
    “Absolutely. Seventy-eight percent nitrogen, twenty-one percent oxygen,
one percent argon. Almost exactly what we were told to expect before we left and
very similar to Mu Arae 7. The trace elements are
slightly different so air will taste unusual to us until we get used to it. But
it is perfectly breathable for us.”
    “Good.” Andreas checked all his instruments again, and then pressed the
intercommunications speaker button. “Herman assures me the air, soil, and
water, are all safe for us. The instruments show no life forms in this area of
the village. There are some very small mammals at the top of the hill, probably
rodents. Chad and Erle check the north quadrant. Fletcher and Boris, take the
south quadrant. Take your communicators with you and Herman will send backup to
you if anything is worrying. Don’t wait for danger. Contact Herman the moment
anything appears unusual.”
    Andreas couldn’t afford to have any of his men killed. Every one of
them was necessary for their mission to succeed.
    “Duncan, you and I will disguise the ship. Gabriel, remain on duty with
Herman.”
    Andreas stood to leave and said, “Your ship, pilot.” It was formal
acknowledgement that if anything did happen to him, Herman would be in charge from
now on. Not that he expected danger. That’s why they’d spent the past hours
checking everything. But it had to be said.
    “Yes, sir.” Herman replied just as formally as he’d done.
    Andreas left the pilot’s pod and hurried to the store room. Duncan was
already there taking out the camouflage net. It was very lightweight fabric,
yet would protect the ship from heat, cold, rain, and even snow to a certain
extent.
    Andreas unclipped a ladder from the wall where it was attached, and
slung a reel of hair-thin wire over one shoulder.
    Together he and Duncan stretched the net over the ship, hiding it from
the air, and from anyone standing on the top of the hill or on the roof of one
of the houses. They clipped the wire into tiny holes and then strung it well
above head height and bolted the net to the walls of