The shuttle looked like a complete and total disaster. That is exactly what it was but the surprising thing was how much equipment inside had actually survived the crash. This included a good bit of the electronic hardware that Jack would have figured for a complete write off. The one critical piece that was missing was their vehicle. That alone was the greatest problem they were currently facing. It was the second most worrisome problem that Jack faced. The first being their lack of water.

As the tents went up Dee kept herself from thinking about all that had happened, and the shape they were in, by staying busy. She was hurting from head to toe but she could do that up and moving just as well as lying down. Dee never was one for just sitting. She assembled what she thought was the most important piece of gear and brought it to the GP Medium tents they were using as a common area. She ran a pole up through one of the chimney holes and folded out the dish array.

Once the cable had been strung she turned on what looked like an ordinary laptop and began watching the screen. She played around with a small control pad, that moved the dish, until her computer began beeping and displaying a message for her. Dee keyed in a code and hit enter. "I got it!"

Jack rolled off his cot and rubbed his eyes. He was hurting as well. Red was sitting at a fold out table eating a dehydrated meal. He put it down and looked back over his shoulder at her. Pete had his ribs taped and was lying on another cot dead asleep. That was mostly thanks to the effects of pain medication. He did not bother to get up.

"I don't believe it," remarked Jack.

Dee was all smiles. She slammed her fist down on the table her work was sitting on. "Son of a bitch is still there!"

Julia entered and walked right over to check on Pete. "I'm glad somebody has a reason to smile. What did you find?"

"OK's probes left behind a little watcher around each of the planets," explained Dee. "We weren't sure how long they would stay operating. They were just here to take long-term weather and geological surveys. Unless otherwise instructed they radioed this information back to Earth every two years. Well I was just able to access the one in orbit around Moe. I can send a situation report back to Earth! I can let them know we landed alive."

"Well don't let us stop you," said Jack. He moaned as he rose to his feet. Julia had been playing mother hen to him as well. Jack brushed her off. "I got stuff to do woman. Where's Pam and Harry at right now? Are they finished yet? They should have made their report already."

"Look whose grumpy today old man," chuckled Red.

Jack was less than amused as he replied, "I think there might have been a time when I thought that was funny Red."

Red went back to his food. Nobody seemed to be in good spirits lately. Jack just ignored him and hobbled outside the tent. The first people he saw were McCandles and Gina. They were fooling around with the atmospheric condenser. Right now it was the only real source of water the group had. This planet being mostly water had a much higher humidity factor, on average, surface wide and even in a desolate place like this.

That was some good news. The bad side to that was the condenser had been partially damaged. It's output of water every morning was far from satisfactory. It was prolonging the supply but was not producing enough to keep up with the groups consumption rate.

With a nod to them, to keep working, Jack then wandered out to a small nearby dune. Harry, Pam, and Vitosk were playing with their own little toys. Vitosk should have been elsewhere presently. His being here explained why the report was not at the main tent just yet. "So what's the word you three?"

"It's like we thought Jack," responded Harry, "the atmosphere here is pretty thin compared to sea level back home."

Jack kneeled down and then finally just decided to sit. "I don't get it. I suspected that when it didn't slow us down like it should have. Only thing is, now, that we've been here for a week… Well let me just say I've spent a good deal of time in the mountains. You know fishing up in Alaska, or out in Colorado on leave. It took me time to adjust to the thin air. Here, I don't feel any effects at all. I mean you say we're high up and the air is thinner than comparable altitudes back home. I can still walk around without giving out of breath though?"

"It's the oh-two," replied the Russian. "All of the samples we've looked at so far indicate one thing. This is a far more oxygen rich environment than back home. The air can be thinner and still refresh you far more because there is lot more in it that is better for you."

Pam closed up her equipment into its traveling case. "You know he's right. This is the kicker too. Near as I can tell it's almost perfect. I mean..."

Vitosk cut in, "almost? It is perfect for humans. The light atmosphere here means that your lungs do not have to work as hard to pull in and push out. The high concentrations of oh-two mean that your heart doesn't have to work as hard to supply the body with red blood. The only disadvantage that I see to it is that fire is going to be a problem with this place."

That was a problem for later. While the oxygen might be in good supply for combustion there sure as hell wasn't any fuel in this desert to help it along. "Pam, what about microorganisms? Have your samples turned up anything particularly dangerous yet?"

There was silence. The three of them exchanged glances while keeping Jack in the dark. Finally at the urging of Vitosk, Pam told him, "Well that's the really weird part. I haven't found the first one."

Not being that familiar with biological sciences, that went over Jacks head. "Well we are in a desert right now."

"No," replied Pam, "you don't seem to understand Jack. According to everything we know about evolution, about eco systems and all that jazz, that can't be possible. Even in a desert there should be all kinds of stuff. I mean back home we had dust mites and they were just a fact of life on planet Earth. No matter where you were. I haven't even found any of those."

"Obviously not on Planet Moe," was all Jack could figure.

The crew certainly did not bring any with them. They had been sterilized from head to toe before final boarding. The air on the ship had been mixed with gases to make it impossible for such organisms to survive in. They even had most of their bodies upper epidural layers burned off and pounded with all sorts of UV's.

"Jack," added Vitosk, "don't you see what the young lady here is trying to tell you. We know that higher forms of life are here. Plants are all over in other parts. Even a few here in the desert. There are those little furry animals with the teeth that keep chewing into our food crates. The point is that all of that should not exist if there are no bacteria or microorganisms. As a matter of fact, Pam here, as of yet has been unable to even detect a virus."

"Well I think that one or two text books are going to have to be rewritten when we get home," what else was Jack suppose to say? So far all of this sounded like good news. The real question that went right to their very survival was what he really wanted to know, "So do you think we can make the trek over the mountains without running out of air?"

"Maybe," was all Pam could say. The mountains in the distance looked to be as tall as those that one might find in Tibet. They were certainly the largest on this planet. If they were at a high elevation here in the desert then up on those peaks could prove to be fatally lacking in atmospheric pressure. The oxygen content of the air now shed a little more light on the subject at least.

The fact was that they had no choice any more. Just as soon as Pete could get up and walk around, in at least as good a shape as Jack was now, it was time to go. They knew from the global survey, which they did have the data from, that there were green pastures on the other side of those mountains. That would of course mean water. Hopefully it would be water safe to drink.

Pushing himself back on his feet Jack then brushed himself off, "Well Pam, I'll take that as a yes. Maybe in a week or so we can get moving. Get a little sight seeing in on this paradise of yours."

Saiid stopped on the small rise and looked around. He had never actually been to what his family would have called the old country. His grandfather had left Lebanon in the early nineteen eighties. He had fled the turmoil of a civil war. Saiid had been born and raised in Pittsburgh and his knowledge of Lebanon was no more than any other Americans. He thought of the entire Middle East as a place like this, basically a barren and desolate heap of sand and rock mixed with grit, and lifeless. To him there was no wonder why anybody would want to leave.

The crack of an M-16 being fired brought Saiid back to reality. McCandles had issued one to everybody along with a sidearm. Only Dee had been so stubborn as to not take one. While Saiid questioned his ability to actually use the thing, and hit something besides his own foot, he was no fool. This was an alien world and there was no telling what was out here. He had vowed to become proficient with his weapon if he ever got the time.

The shot had come from Joey. He lowered the rifle sights and took a look around. All he saw was sand. The target was long gone by now. The little furry rodent things were tunnel rats of a sort. They could easily plow their way through loose sand. It had cost the party an entire case of dehydrated rations to discover this. They had simply shifted under the tent without detection and had eaten most of it by morning. The crew was lucky that an entire night here was only about six and a half to seven hours long. If the night went by as long as it did back home the tunnel rats could have done more damage.

"Would you say something next time Joey!"

The twelve year old slung his weapon, "If I had done that the little shit would have gotten away before I could have even popped a cap."

Saiid listened to the way the boy talked now. He had been cooped up for two and a half years with Nobel Prize winners and doctors of all sorts and what did he pick up? He quickly learned the way the military types on board conversed. That is what he had really studied all this time.

"Yeah well you missed him anyway. And.. and don't say that in front of your mom, please? I can't take her bitching on a good day."

Out of the corner of Saiid's eye he thought that maybe he had spotted movement. He looked across the dunes to see if that was truly what it was. He saw nothing at all. Saiid took out his binoculars and scanned. "Did you see anything kid?"

Joey did not see anything but, now, he sure heard something. It was kind of like a very low volume, but high pitched, squealing sound, "No, but do you hear that?"

Dropping the binoculars half way Saiid then closed his eyes and concentrated on his ears. It was there! That noise was very real. Saiid got excited and grabbed the radio dangling from his belt, "base camp! We have contact out here! Repea... I mean say again, we have contact with something!"

The M-16 assault weapon may have been retired US Army junk but, then again, a great deal of their landing and survival gear was too. The US government was going to cut corners on whatever it could. This did not matter to McCandles who had a fondness for the M-16 in his hands. The feel was right to him. It was a nostalgic trip into the past when he was a new recruit and the army had been far simpler.

"Gina, you and Red come with me. Everybody else stay put," ordered McCandles. He flipped the selector switch on his weapon to semiautomatic fire.

Julia had nothing against guns for the most part. She grew up in Texas after all. She knew how to shoot and even used to go hunting with her dad. She still didn't bother lugging the thing around. It was propped in a corner next to where Pete was lying on his cot. Julia grabbed it now. She tried to remember, "Oh yeah, the charging thing a doo hicky."

"Now wait a minute a Julia…" said McCandles as he watched her have to think through getting the weapon ready to fire. That was not good if they actually had to fight. A soldier did not think he just did.

"No, you just wait a minute Sergeant Major. That's my son out there so don't even give me this crap about I'm not going."

The exodus left Dee as the only person in the tent that was conscious. She ignored them as they ran off. Dee was still uploading the message to her satellite in orbit. When the status bar showed one hundred percent she started to activate the satellite’s alignment program. Before she finished issuing the commands that would cause it to point towards earth, open it's array, and transmit, Dee noticed a small message at the bottom of her screen. It was waiting to download data gathered during its mission.

The information could not hurt. Dee scrolled the pointer down and clicked on the window. It began transmitting several years worth of readings and images to the planet that Dee would most likely call home for a good long while. When it was done and the satellite appeared to be doing what it should be, with the new commands, Dee then called up the downloaded files and started browsing through them.

The infrared scans of the surface were numerous. Only a few of those had actually made it back to Earth yet. Dee decided to take a look at them. She checked out the area that Jack wanted to move into. The high resolution optical pictures came first. There would be time for the enlargements later on. That was until she saw the giant red spots on the surface. Dee called up a grid mat and overlaid it on the area. Little numbers appeared in the right hand corners of each box. She started getting the surface in greater detail.

The tent flap opened, then again, maybe it had been open? Had Gary been standing there all along, "What you got there Dee?"

Dee hit the escape button and closed the laptop. "Uh, nothing really. It's just the satellite uplink. I'm sending a message home."

Gary walked on in the tent. He left his weapon propped against the tent pole right at the flap. He slid his vest off and sat down. "Really, well that is good news. What else were you doing?"

Dee turned the laptop power off. She stood up and went on the attack. "Let me get one thing straight, right now, Gary. Seeing as how I don't think your mind has actually comprehended it yet. You work for me on this trip. Do you understand that? You do what I say. You do not ask me questions unless I tell you too."

"That's funny, you know you sound just like you did on that trip we took up to Vermont that time. Remember that one? I thought we had a great time."

There was nothing about her days of living in Boston, with him, that Dee wanted to remember. She certainly did not want any of the nostalgia being brought up. She stayed on subject. "I know what you're trying to do Gary. I know how good you are at manipulating people. You can probably imagine I'm just a little ticked about what you told Vitosk. You lying bastard, you know it wasn't true."

Gary stood and collected his things, "Oh really Dee. I'm not the one who hid those pictures. I'm not the one who's been evasive here. I would seriously suggest that you give a little more thought to your actions. Oh and, by the way, I guess you decided to let your hair grow back out. Looks nice, keep it up."

When the flap closed and he was gone Dee's face was still red. "I hate that man!"

"Damn Saiid," said the Sergeant Major while peering through his binoculars. "You'll make a good soldier yet son."

"There is something out there then?! Where is it Sergeant Major?" replied Joey as he scanned with his glasses.

The entire party was lying on the backside of a dune. They were peering just over the summit. Not everybody had binoculars but, everyone with them had put them to use. Julia reached over and grabbed her sons despite his protests, "I don't see anything."

The Sergeant Major slid just a tad back down from the summit and sat up. He put away all but his essential gear which was his weapon. Off to the groups right was the furrow and debris field left from the wreck. It ran for several miles. It made the perfect beacon for someone to find them if they wanted. McCandles did not feel like taking any chances.

"Julia, you and the kid,” McCandles considered, “and Saiid, stay here and cover us."

Julia looked back down at him, "cover you with what?"

"On second thought," replied McCandles, "Red you stay here and Saiid you come with me and Gina. We're going to get a closer look at this thing."

In one respect it certainly was a let down. In another it caused complete fascination in the three who saw it. They had managed a high point just above the thing that seemed content to go about its business. It had two long legs that rose into a rounded body. It also had a long neck that turned into a fairly small head that was crowned with some kind of yellow flap of skin. The nose actually appeared to be some kind of beak and it made that high pitched whistling noise that they had heard sense coming out here. The thing just wandered around and pecked at the sand. Finally it was rewarded. It yanked a screaming tunnel rat from the dirt and rolled its head around before it finally swallowed the rodent whole.

"Maybe we need to get one of those," remarked Saiid.

Gina grabbed the binoculars off of Saiid's belt. She focused it on the thing. "No hair visible and it seems to have three toes or claws on its feet."

"What is it Gina?" asked the Sergeant Major. "Looks almost like some kind of dinosaur or something."

The thing looked up and around until it spotted the source of the sounds it was hearing. It then dropped its head at lighting speed and kicked up sand. It's head rose in defeat with nothing in it's mouth. Gina got a good look at its belly during the process. "No, it's not a dinosaur for sure."

As far as Saiid was concerned his interest in dinosaurs had faded as a kid. That was until now. This thing, with its long tail, standing upright, and with what appeared to be scale like skin, certainly looked like pictures he had seen as child. "How can you be sure about that?"

"This you ought to like Saiid," remarked Gina with a sly grin, "because she has tits. I counted at least six when she looked up here."

While the Sergeant Major was far from what he would consider educated, at least in present company, the truth was that he did have a four-year degree in liberal arts. That was the easiest and fastest education that he could acquire from the on line school that the paper was issued from. This by no means made McCandles stupid. The revelation of Gina's was not lost on him in any small part, "you mean that thing is a mammal?"

"Outwardly..." Gina hesitated. She really needed Harry here right now. This was his big thing. "I would have to say maybe. I mean I don't know. Have you ever seen anything that looks like that?” She tilted her head and looked at it from all kinds of angles. "I mean if you kind of look at it right, you would almost swear it was a plucked chicken."

"Yeah, and I bet it probably tastes like a chicken too," sarcastically remarked Saiid.

The Sergeant Major raised his rifle and lined up the sights, "might not be a bad idea to find out. Those MRE's are getting old if you catch my drift."

"I don't know Sergeant Major," Gina was not convinced, "we don't know if the thing is even digestible. I mean it might even be intelligent."

While McCandles thought that either of those possibilities were far fetched, she had a point in the fact that there was too much they did not know. Besides that, the standing orders were not to shoot without clear and present danger. Neither of those conditions existed at the moment and McCandles was too old to start breaking orders now. No matter how much his stomach grumbled about his present rations.

Everyone listened with great interest as the three recounted their experience with the largest life form encountered so far. Pam was the first to comment. She was particularly curious about the possibility that this was, in fact, a mammal, "damn, I wish you guys had shot it. I'd love to cut it open and see what makes it tick."

Pete was finally sitting up on his cot. Not that the act was painless. Every breath Pete took was putting his body through torture. His visible discomfort kept Julia hovering over him constantly pestering him to lie back down. As it was, this conversation was far more important to him than his physical disposition. He had fulfilled the dreams of countless past generations of astronauts. Pete had landed, if you could call it that, on another planet. He was not about to miss a second of it. "No, Sergeant Major McCandles you did right."

Jack had to agree with his fellow Marine, "Yeah, we don't know what would have happened had you shot that thing. Anyway, as it goes, we'll go out tomorrow and see if we can get some pictures of it. Maybe we can make some kind of use of it.” Jack was thinking more along the lines of a beast of burden. They had a lot of equipment and right now no way to carry it. Jack didn't like the idea of having to abandon anything. In the future, there was no way of knowing what they would need and what they would not.

Vitosk had remained silent all during the conversation. He was leaning up against a table, his arms crossed, and his chin resting in one of his hands. His eyes were distant. Jack took note, "What are you thinking Yurgani?"

"I'm thinking that I do not as of yet know what to make of all of this."

"What is there to make?" replied Jack. "Maybe this thing is even the source of your mysterious picture."

Vitosk smiled politely, "yes, but I doubt that it was the source of the thing that destroyed Hermes."

"It's cold as hell out here," bitched Harry. He bundled up in his jacket even more so than before.

While Red was cold he was a bit slacker with his apparel than was Harry. It might have been true that Red was a journalist before undertaking this trip but, that had only been his job once his body was getting too old to go out and make the news. Red had once been an Air Force Pilot and a combat veteran of more than one fight. While his skills at living in the field were rusty they came back quick. Red had slowly accustomed himself to his environment whereas Harry sought shelter every chance he got.

The night vision goggles that Red used turned the short night into a green haze. To save on batteries, only one guard a night used them. Since Red was far more experienced at making something out of an image that would have made a 1950's TV set look high tech he was wearing them. Every now and then Red would let them hang down around his neck as to not loose his natural night vision. It was far easier to see here at night on Moe. There was no moon to shine down on them but, the nearby star of Proxima Centauri was prominent in the sky at night. It kept the conditions a bit more illuminated than on a full moon back home.

"Well did you see anything?" asked Harry of Red after the last sweep with the goggles. Harry desperately wanted to see one of those chicken mammal things that Gina had told them about. "If you see something. I want to know about it."

Harry had actually volunteered for guard duty tonight. Red thought that was crazy. He preferred to sleep when he could get it. Red put the goggles back up to his eyes. He looked over the desolate landscape once again. This time a black image in the distance caught his eye. It moved on him and then was joined by another. The two things just stood there on top of a nearby rise.

"You see something don't you," exclaimed Harry as he watched Red adjust goggles into a better focus. "Come on, let me see!"

"Shut up!" Red now had a far better view. He had the night sights on full magnification. The details were hard to make out, but, "Harry, now Gina said this pet of hers had a long neck, small head, plump body and it stood about three to fours meters high, right?"

"Come on," Harry was grabbing at the goggles as Red was slapping his hands away. "You see one don't you!"

"Well if that's the description of the Moe Chicken," Red took in a deep breath, "Then that's not what I'm looking at here." Red pulled his radio up, "Base camp, we got visitors out here, over."

Harry's mouth dropped wide open. “Visitor” was the code word. It was THE code word! It meant that what Red was looking at was not the Moe Chicken. In fact, it would only mean that what Red saw was something that he thought was intelligent life. Harry really started grabbing for the goggles now.