Tom and Astro weaved their way around the campus, pausing at intervals to glance at a map before rushing forward again. After doing that a few times, they found the hangar. Linda, Mike, Johnny, Orin, Martie, and Dot were already there. Someone in pilot gear was standing with them. Linda saw them first and waved them over. The two rushed towards them.

"You made it!" exclaimed Linda.

Astro grinned. "Obviously, thanks in no small feat to Tom. I would have gotten myself lost in more than one way.

Orin waved his hand dismissively and let out a pshaw. "Ah, I'm sure you would have been fine. Just look for the statue to orient yourself and go from there. It's no different than finding your way through any of the cities on Mars and Venus."

Astro shrugged. "Maybe, but Tom is faster at figuring this out."

"No argument there," quipped Orin.

"Hey!" blurted Astro before letting out a loud laugh.

The pilot glanced over the group. "Well, now we have an odd number. Someone is going to have to sit out on this."

Astro quickly raised his hand. "I'm better with the engine than the controls, sir, I'll stay on the ground. Just came since there was nothing else for me to do." He shrugged.

The pilot glanced between Tom and Astro. "Where is your third roommate, anyways?"

Tom sighed. "He comes and goes without letting us know anything, sir, he, well, to put it bluntly, he doesn't actually want to be our roommate and I bet he's working on getting a transfer."

The pilot sighed. "Well, better now than later. After a couple semesters, you're basically set as a team." He glanced at the others. "I'm glad you are all working out so far."

Johnny chuckled as he put an arm around Orin's shoulders. "I don't think Mike would trade a Martian for anyone else."

"Unless it was another Martian," quipped Mike. The others laughed.

"Either way, you are shaping up to be a great team." The pilot turned to Tom and Astro. "And you two seem to be shaping up pretty well yourselves. Too bad about your roommate. Hope he does get the transfer and your new roommate works as well as these two groups do."

"Ah, give us some time, we'll figure out how to push each other's buttons," remarked Mike.

Dot scoffed. "I already know how to push Linda's buttons."

"And I know how to push both Dot's and Tom's," remarked Linda with a cheeky grin.

Tom pointed at her. "Yeah, but I can push yours just as hard."

"Which is why I don't push hard," quipped Linda with a flip of her hair. "Even though I can handle more than you can."

"Oh ho ho, we'll see about that."

The pilot cleared his throat. "As, ah, as much fun as this would be to watch, I do have a schedule to keep. If you want to fly, we need to do it now."

Mike turned and saluted him. "Aye aye, sir. Just direct us to the gear. We'll help them set up." He turned to Astro. "You too, Astro. Better learn how to put on a suit now rather than later."

Astro shot him a grin. "I probably already know, but sure, I'll come."

The pilot scoffed. "I doubt it, these are military suits."

Astro's eyes widened. "Oh! Then no, no I don't know." He shot him a sheepish grin. "Sorry."

He chuckled. "That's alright. Soon you will know. Follow me." The group followed him into the locker room. Along the way, Tom and Astro were finally introduced to Ted McKay. Tom blinked. He had heard that name before, he knew he had, just, where? And when?

"You've heard that name before too?" Linda whispered in Tom's ear as Ted was helping Orin into his suit. Mike, Johnny, and Martie were changing into theirs with ease, due to their training in the Air Force.

"You too?" Tom whispered back.

"He had the same thought with me too! Maybe he had heard your name before as well! Do you remember where you know that name from?"

Tom shook his head slowly. "Not at the moment. Give me some time to think about it, I'm sure it will come to me." He furrowed his brow in thought. "Though, right now, I think it had something to do with our dads. Maybe we had never met, but our dads did and mentioned each of their names in passing. I know I've never met Ted before, so I bet it's his dad's name I've heard, or I met his dad briefly."

Linda nodded slowly. "That would make sense." She pursed her lips. "But then, were they on bad terms with each other?"

Tom shrugged. "Give me some time to think about it, I'm sure I'll remember soon." They ended the conversation there as Ted motioned for them to get into their gear. Mike and Martie came forward to help him get theirs and Dot's gear on. A few minutes later, they were heading out to the field. Four planes were already set up, ready to fly. Linda let out a squeal as her face brightened. Tom shot her a smile, his own excitement at being in a plane was also bubbling to the surface.

"How are we going to split up?" Mike asked.

Ted rubbed his chin as he glanced over the group. "That's what I'm trying to figure out. I have you three, so each of us can take one of them up." He shrugged after a moment. "I guess it could be up to preference."

Mike laughed. "That definitely isn't much help, I prefer them all!"

"No help whatsoever," muttered Ted. Linda raised her hand. Ted gave her a look of relief. "You have an idea?"

"Well, first of all, Orin is technically the only one here without a license, so whoever goes with him will have to do all the flying."

Ted nodded slowly. "True, true."

"And since you are the instructor, how about you go with him, teach him a bit? You can also hang back and observe us."

Ted tapped his chin. "That is a good point."

"Oh, I know." The others glanced at Mike. "Martie can go with Tim, Johnny with Dot, and I'll go with Linda."

"Oh, pairing up boys with girls, huh?" Astro quipped. The others turned slowly to look at him and blinked. He grinned.

Martie turned to Mike. "You know, he's right." She then broke out in a grin. "Does that mean you like Kinda?"

Mike's face turned bright red. "N-no, that, that wasn't my intent! I just figured it was the best solution!"

"Oh, what, were you nervous about us girls showing you up or something?" Dot asked coyly. Martie gave her a high five.

Mike pinch his nose and groaned. "No, that isn't it! I know you are excellent in the cockpit!"

Johnny burst out laughing. "Quit teasing him, you know he's got blinders on, and he is just far too dense for that."

"Johnny! You are not helping!"

Tom laughed. "Alright you guys, that's enough. Mike meant well. But I might have a solution that will make it random."

Ted raised an eyebrow. "And what is that?"

Tom shrugged. "Rock Paper Scissors, but not quite."

"Huh?"

He pointed at the three military transfers. "You each pick one, either Rock, Paper, or Scissors, and hide it behind your back. We three will also pick one. Whoever matches will fly together. For instance, say Martie picks Rock and I pick Rock, we fly together."

Ted nodded, clearly impressed. "That's a great idea. Alright, Rock, Paper, Scissors, go!" They each made their selection. Johnny ended up with Tom, Dot with Martie, and Mike with Linda. Astro began snickering. Tom shot him a quizzical look. Astro merely waved his hand and mouthed "tell you later". Tom nodded before putting on his helmet and following Johnny to their plane.

Mere moments later, four planes were flying high. Mike called his team into military formation first. Thrills raced through Tom's veins as he experienced first hand a military drill. He paid close attention to the maneuvers Johnny made, attempting to commit them to memory. They passed close to Mike and Linda on one go through, and Tom could tell Linda was ecstatic, even with the helmet on. After another drill, the military transfers gave the controls over to Dot, Tom, and Linda. The three showed what they had learned. Both Mike and Martie were rather loud in their praises for Dot and Linda.

Johnny merely told Tom, "Great job, man!"

Tom grinned. "Thanks!"

"You three can stay up here a few more minutes, I think Orin has had enough for today," Ted's voice came through the intercom.

"But I think I can get the controls down if you give me more time!"

"It's not the controls I'm worried about, it's your inability to deal with Earth's gravity! You're still operating like you're still on Mars!"

"Oh, fine," grumbled Orin.

Mike's laugh came through the mic. "Don't worry about it Orin, this is only your first time up. Stick with me and Johnny and we'll have you flying like a pro before the semester's over!"

"Before the year is over," remarked Johnny.

"Don't make it too long!"

"Well it's better to make it long and finish with time to spare than giving him a shorter timeline when he might need more."

Mike grumbled. "Fine, fine, you have a point. Alright Orin, you'll be flying like a pro before the year's out."

Orin chuckled. "Thanks guys. See you back on the ground!"

"See you!" The others waved as Orin's and Ted's plane passed them to begin their landing sequence.

"I've only known Orin for a few days, but I can tell I can trust our lives with him." Johnny's voice startled Tom, but he quickly nodded.

"I agree," he said. "I know the same goes for Astro." Tom scanned the ground for the tall Venusian, but either he wasn't at the field strip, which would make sense, or Tom just couldn't pinpoint him among the scurrying figures. He did see that Ted and Orin landed quite well and were being helped out of the plane.

"Mars team, ready formation!" Mike's voice came over the mic.

"I don't think there are any rattlesnakes that need scaring here, Mike," quipped Martie as she and Johnny got in position behind Mike.

"Wait, your team's calling card was actually Mars?" Tom asked incredulously.

"With Mike as team leader, did you expect anything less?" Tom could hear the grin in Johnny's voice.

Tom laughed. "You have a point there."

"Now Mike, don't forget we have passengers," began Martie.

"Which is why this little run is perfect. They'll get to feel just how fast these things can go."

"Yes, but still, Mike, don't go too fast," warned Johnny. "They need to be eased into the speeds."

"This isn't a military base either, Johnny, so yeah, definitely not going that fast, especially not without permission."

"Just making sure."

"Of course you are."

"Are we gonna get going or what?" Martie asked impatiently. "We only have a few minutes."

"Just clarifying, Martie. Let's go!" The three military transfers sped up the planes bit by bit. Tom grasped the sides of his seat. He was finding it exhilarating, but he was definitely not used to these speeds. Mike turned his plane to the side and went around the tower. Johnny and Martie followed suit. They straightened and climbed a few hundred feet. Tom couldn't hold it in any longer and let out an excited whoop, followed by whoops and squeals from Linda and Dot.

Johnny laughed. "Looks like we didn't need to worry about our passengers."

Tom laughed. He glanced out the window to try and see his friends. He saw Dot had raised her hands as she and Martie flew past. But then he saw something else, an unidentified flying object. He squinted, it was getting bigger every second, but he couldn't quite make out what it was.

"Hey Tom, you alright?" came Johnny's concerned question as the girls were still squealing with joy.

Mike chuckled. "Did Tom black out on you, man?"

"I don't know. Tom, if you're still awake, answer me man."

It finally got close enough that Tom could make out what it was, and all the military movies he had ever seen came flooding into his memory. One word stuck out. It was probably the wrong word but it was sticking and he figured, he hoped, they knew what it meant. "Incoming bogey at eight o'clock! Repeat, incoming bogey at eight o'clock!"

"Oh golly, he's not kidding. Mars team, evasive maneuvers!" The planes broke formation, right as an unmarked plane whizzed past.

"What is that idiot thinking?" Martie shouted.

"I don't know, but I'm not waiting around to find out. Mars team, head back to base!" Mike barked.

"He's coming back around!" Dot cried out.

"Mars team, keep doing evasive maneuvers until you have landed!"

"Roger!" Johnny and Martie called out in unison. The three planes broke away into three different directions. Tom's heart went into his throat as he saw, and guessed, the bogey's intent as it closed in on one plane in particular.

"Mike, Linda, watch out!"

(Author's Note: Welcome back my rosy readers, and quite the cliffhanger! Don't worry, already working on the next chapter, so you won't have long to wait ... hopefully. As for your question, Elizabeth, it's a mix, sort of. In the original Tom Corbett series, the Venusians and the Martians are just like they are here, humans that have terraformed Venus and Mars. The other mythical races, the elves, mermaids, vampires, sprites, and whatnot, those are all added in as per my imagination, inspired quite heavily by Tom Corbett's humans on other planets and the Sims. I also see these as puzzles, once the pieces fit together, I continue on and work on the next pieces. This group of detectives just fit quite well together in my head. Also, Mary Louise, Eileen, and Josie are all characters from L. Frank Baum, and since I associate that name with fantasy, it just seemed to fit naturally. So, I guess it is more my inclusion rather than it being already in any of the series since Tom is the only one with something un-Earth-like. I hope that answers your question, if not, you can ask for clarification. Sometimes I can't quite find the words I need to use and go about it like beating around the bush instead of finding the words that get straight to the point. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter, and the Nancy Drew one! Only a few chapters left for Nancy's mystery, and it seems like it's taking a little longer than I had originally thought, but then, so did the original, so I guess it's on point. Plus, Bess and George will be in the next chapter! Woohoo! Can't wait till I can finish it so you can read it! Till next time! God bless!)