Eagle Three cruised through space, the moon and Alpha behind, an unknown craft ahead. Pilot Peter Irving wore an orange 'pumpkin' space suit sans helmet and eyed the flicker of light in the distance through the cock pit window.

"I'm coming up on it now. According to my instruments it hasn't changed course and I'm getting minimal power readings—nothing more than some electrical discharge. I don't see any type of main thrusters or drive system operating. It's moving real slow."

Back at Alpha the broadcast from Eagle Three played on the view screen in Main Mission, holding the attention of all.

Paul sat at his console with John Koenig and Professor Bergman standing behind. He checked a read out and turned to Alan Carter who monitored the Eagle flight from his reconnaissance station. Paul nodded.

Carter transmitted: "Same readings we're getting down here, Pete. Now you just keep her nice and easy, you hear?"

"Roger that, Alpha. No joyrides today."

Paul kept his eyes on his instrumentation as he said, "Still no indications of main power on whatever it is. Does that mean it's adrift?"

Professor Bergman answered, "That is a reasonable assumption. But we've seen enough during our travels to know that even reasonable assumptions can lead us astray," he clasped his hands together and tapped the clenched fingers against the bottom of his chin. "Yes, it's best to play it safe for now."

"Assume the worst, Victor?" The Commander asked with a wry smile. "That doesn't sound like you."

The pilot's voice broke up their discussion: "I've got a visual. Man, check this out, Alpha. This thing is…it's really something."

Eagle Three relayed images to the view screen as the craft came in to focus. It was big; longer than a dozen eagles lined nose-to-baffle one after another and nearly half that size wide. A round area—most likely the bridge—sat at the end of a neck-like tube that ran back to a mess of a body. This area—the central area—was several levels tall and sprouted two more tubes, one stretching out to port, the other to starboard, each ending in a rectangular section. Additional decks led down into what had to be cavernous area.

"Not very pretty, Alpha," Peter Irving mused.

"Not very pretty at all," Victor Bergman echoed Irving's assessment. "But John, take a good look. The materials…the design…not too far off from our own type of spacecraft."

"That wasn't built on Earth, Victor."

"No, no, of course not," Bergman agreed. "There—look. Paul, zero in on that image; the central junction between the two wing-like beams."

Paul Morrow complied, freezing one image from Eagle Three's cameras and zooming in. The resolution was not sharp, but enough to show what drew the Professor's attention.

"Doors, John. Air locks," Bergman pointed excitedly. "Judging by the proportions, we're talking about beings similar in size and shape to ourselves."

Kano—sitting in the center of the action at his computer control console—read from a print out: "The nearest star system is less than one light year away. Perhaps they came from there?"

Sandra—sitting along the left row of consoles--optimistically suggested, "It would be nice if we could go to them."

Paul shared the bad news: "That system is not along our flight path. So unless you can get this moon to make a hard right turn, we're out of luck. Again."

Commander Koenig scratched his chin with his thumb and forefinger and considered Victor's hypothesis for a moment. Then he spoke to Sandra whose initial smile had reversed into a frown at Paul's news: "Any communication from that ship? Any response?"

"No, Commander. I continue to broadcast on all frequencies. If there is someone onboard they are not answering."

"Perhaps they can't," the Professor suggested.

"A sudden change to optimism, Victor?"

"Well…let's just say my curiosity has been piqued."

Koenig leaned forward with his hands on Paul's desk and asked Kano, "What more does computer have to say?"

Another slip of paper printed on the computer officer's control panel. He ripped it clear, read to himself, and then shared the information.

"Computer confirms…the ship is caught in the moon's gravitational pull. It will settle into an unstable orbit around the moon within the hour."

"Unstable?" Koenig asked. "Are you sure?"

"Commander, computer is very precise on the matter."

Victor raised a finger, tilted his head, and asked Kano, "Precisely how long does computer calculate we have until the orbit decays and the craft crashes into the moon?"

Kano licked his lips and, somewhat embarrassed, reported, "Adjusting hours to calendar measurements, computer says the space ship will impact the moon surface in four hundred and twenty seven years, eighteen weeks, and seventy-two hours."

Paul sneered, "That's what computer calls an unstable orbit?"

Kano repeated, "Computer is very precise on all matters."

Commander Koenig chuckled and said, "Okay, it's settled. Alan, I need two more Eagles on the deck ready for take off in ten minutes. Paul, you and Sandra are coming along for the ride with a security team and Dr. Russell from Medical," then he stood straight and told them all, "Looks like we have a new neighbor on the block. We're going to go over and knock on the door."

---

The retrorockets on Eagles One whined and then blasted the ship from the pad and into the sky above moon base Alpha. There it rendezvoused with Eagle Two and headed off into space to join Eagle Three.

Alan Carter sat at the pilot's controls with John Koenig in the other command module seat. The strange space ship closed in on the moon with the much-smaller profile of Eagle Three on its flank.

"What do you make of it, Alan?"

"She's no beauty queen, that's for sure," the pilot snickered. "But hey, Commander, in space it's not about aerodynamics. It's about function."

"And what do you see when you look at that? What kind of function?"

"To be honest, it kind of reminds me of one of the Cherbourg-class frigates the EU was workin' on back in the early 90s, to haul payloads to and from the moon, but armed incase the Chinese started acting up. Just take a look; definitely the bridge at the end of that neck but the center looks like a big square bucket to haul stuff. I'll bet if we look close we'll see some pretty big outer bulkheads for rollin' cargo straight into her belly."

"And the wings?"

"I dunno…maybe crew quarters and secondary storage areas. Hard to say."

They drew closer. The ship measured huge by Eagle standards; bigger than a couple of Ultra probes lashed together, but not even a noticeable speck on the biggest ship they had ever seen; the Darian generation ark. Still, its size nearly filled the cockpit windows.

The bulkhead door at the rear of the Command module slid open. Dr. Helena Russell took one step in.

"Are we there yet?" She asked, smiled, and admitted, "Sorry…I couldn't resist." Then she saw the beast in the window. "My God, John, that's big. Do we know how long it's been adrift?"
"Victor doesn't think it's been too long; we've picked up small electrical discharges; probably low power equipment like lights or door controls; so whatever it is, it isn't completely dead."

Carter chimed in, "Just no engine power. So yeah, it's drifting."

"But probably not for too long," Koenig added. "Maybe even hours."

Helena glanced at the ship. It wasn't intimidating, but it wasn't sleek, either. It had a purpose about it; little in the way of aesthetics. Yet as Victor had observed in Main Mission, the construction and the style suggested it was crafted by a race with an eye for spaceships similar to humans'.

"John, are you sure we should be getting involved?"

"Helena, it's going into orbit around our moon. We're involved whether we like it or not. Now go strap in, we're going to dock."

Helena stole another glance out the window and left; the bulkhead door shut tight.

Koenig pushed a switch on the co-pilot console.

"Eagle Two…Davis, there are air locks all around that central structure. Move in and dock at the one at the ten o'clock position. We'll latch on at the four o'clock slot."

"Understood, Commander," came the reply from the pilot who flew Paul, Victor, and Sandra to the ship.

"Eagle Three…Pete, you hang back and keep an eye on things from the outside."

"Will do, Commander."

Koenig turned to his pilot. "Okay Alan, take us in. Nice and easy."

"You're the boss."

The two Eagles split and approached the ship from different angles using similar tactics. They matched the slow-moving craft's speed, descended until parallel with their respective docking hatches, and then eased close using maneuvering thrusters. Once in perfect position, each of the smaller crafts extended short docking tunnels until they achieved a solid seal. Eagle Three hung back above the dormant engines of the alien ship, watching the entire docking process from afar.

"John," Victor's voice and face played on Eagle One's console. "I've got preliminary readings…oxygen atmosphere, approximately seventy-two degrees. It's breathable John, and warm enough. That means whatever happened here didn't happen that long ago."

"It also means," Carter cracked as he slid his pilot seat back, "That we don't need to wear a damn pumpkin suit."

"You might want one," Koenig said as he, too, unbuckled and stood. "Depending on what we find in there."

The two men exited the command module as Alan countered, "Depending on what we find in there, Commander, it's easier to run without one."

Moments later the Alphans of the two Eagles crossed their short docking tubes and opened the internal air locks to the strange ship. The crews entered on opposite sides of a large, wide-open chamber that served as the center of the large ship. They found it dark, with only scattered lights providing illumination; emergency lights, or so it seemed.

Three corridors led away from the central hub while in the middle of the rectangular chamber sat a circular well with a heavy door in the floor; a door that apparently led down to what Carter had thought of as a cargo bay.

Victor and Paul walked across from Eagle Two, leaving the pilot Davis at the door with his hand gripped nervously on a holstered laser. Sandra peaked out from behind the pilot like a timid animal nervous about leaving the safety of her burrow. Paul turned to her and waved. She smiled, nervously, and joined him.

Koenig, Carter, and Helena came out of Eagle One along with two security guards.

"John, it's fantastic!" Victor exclaimed and his voice bounced around the high-ceilinged chamber. "Clearly the beings who made this ship are of the same type as ourselves; perhaps even human, in a fashion. The doors, the gravity, the air it's all—"

"Victor, let's save the celebration for now until we know why this ship is floating unpowered through space." He turned and spoke to the gathered teams. "First stop is the bridge, which I'm guessing is that way," and he pointed toward a corridor that lead off in the direction of what he felt was the front of the ship. That would be the 'neck', or so it appeared from space. "Victor, you and Paul with me. The rest of you stay here with the ships. If that is the bridge, maybe we can figure out what's wrong. But I don't want any exploring until we get back, now is that understood?"

"John…"

"Helena, if someone is injured up there I'll come get you. But don't argue with me. Not now. Carter, I want you and Davis ready to blast us out of here at a moment's notice, got it?"

"Like I said, Sir," Carter cocked a grin. "Easier to run without the space suit."

"Sandra, contact Kano back at Main Mission and let him know we've docked safely and so far…well, so far no welcoming committee."

"Yes, Commander."

John tapped the laser holstered to his side. Paul carried one, too, but not Bergman. He led them toward the front of the ship. As was the case in the center chamber, the long corridor that stretched toward the bridge was illuminated by a handful of lights, giving the passageway a twilight feel.

As they neared the front they heard the faint sound of equipment at work; nothing more than a subtle hum but it suggested something still lived on the ship, even if just the craft's machines.

The 'bridge' consisted of a circular room with a wide, thin window looking out at space. Koenig could see the moon growing larger and larger as the vessel eased into a loose orbit.

Between that long window and the corridor from which the Commander and his two friends entered ran three rows of chairs and several long, sweeping consoles both in front of and overhead of the seats. Despite being of large size, the sheer volume of instrumentation—particular that built into the ceiling—gave the bridge a tight, confined feel.

Several of the buttons blinked and flashed as did a couple of monitors. And while none of them knew what those buttons controlled or what those monitors displayed, it was easy to see that the controls were made for fingers and thumbs and minds similar to their own.

"Looks like you were right, Professor," Paul said as he ducked to pass beneath a low-hanging cluster of gauges. "Very much like us."

Professor Bergman approached a panel near the front of the bridge. Several lights there as well as an electronic read out caught his eye.

"John, this technology is very similar to our own; the makers of this vessel must be at a similar technological level; perhaps slightly more advanced, but not that far off."

"Your point, Professor?" Paul asked.

Bergman pointed at the controls in front of him but carefully avoided actually touching.

"The wavelengths depicted on this scanner suggest a signal; a transmission coming to this ship but it appears to be being blocked."

Paul's face screwed in confusion and he asked, "By what?"

"I don't know. Perhaps if we can find a way to unblock it, we could learn a little more. Of course, that's all conjecture; an assumption that they are, in fact, as like us as first glance suggests."

Koenig interrupted their conversation from his position between rows of work stations. He spoke but his eyes remained fixed on the floor.

"Conjecture, Victor? I think it's safe to say that whoever built this ship is a lot like us."

Bergman and Paul heard an edge in the Commander's voice, saw that he stared at something on the floor, and hurried to his side.

Koenig repeated, "Very much like us."

There, wearing a blue jumpsuit with an insignia of a cluster of planets and some kind of rank, lay unconscious a brunette woman who looked very much like any other human being.

MARTIN LANDAU

BARBARA BAIN

SPACE 1999

THIS EPISODE

Eagle Docking with an unknown, large spaceship… Red Alert flashes on a screen on a Commpost…a massive explosion in space above the moon…THIS EPISODE…Dr. Mathias examining brain scans on a light box in Medical…a dark haired woman in a blue jumpsuit flipping a Security Guard in a room in Alpha…an alien with brownish/bronze reptilian skin on the viewer in Main Mission…Carter and Victor with flashlights moving through a dark corridor…an Eagle flying around the big, unknown spaceship…a big cylinder device glowing with blue energy in the middle of a darkened room…THIS EPISODE…a dark-haired woman in a blue jump suit sleeping in a bed in Medical…a humanoid in a white spacesuit with a closed, gold faceplate wielding a nasty-looking rifle of some kind…a large silver ship passing overhead of Alpha…a dark-haired woman holding an Alphan laser gun and pointing it at Helena…an out-of-control Eagle falling out of space right at Alpha moon base…Sandra holding her head and screaming in terror.

A Note from me (consider this a commercial break)

I invite you to read some of my original work currently on display in the electronic slushpile named 'authonomy'. Just follow the link below and you'll find my profile there, from which you can read and—hopefully—'back' (kind of like voting for) and/or comment on my stories (one is the first book in my Beyond Armageddon series that was nearly published by Baen books a few years go). If I manage to get in the top 10 anytime soon, I promise to write at least two more Space 1999 fanficts! See my profile for the link!