Anderson smiled, and spread her toes into the warm sand, and stared up into the sky, an endless blue. It was just the way Anderson imagined the sky would look on Earth. Anderson had never been to Earth, of course. Nobody had been to Earth in a century; not since the Temorian War had knocked the planet out of its orbit, sending it out beyond Jupiter. The result had been the destruction of the planet's natural satellite and earthquakes that tore apart half the landmasses. With the loss of their only planetary base in the system, the humans had lost the war. Last anyone had heard, the Temorians were still blockading the entire quadrant – there was no intention of letting the humans access the treasures that their ancestors had left behind.

"Shore Leave," Anderson breathed, luxuriating in the very concept. Saburra Alpha might not be the most popular planet on the tourist circuit – too far from the galactic core - but it got Anderson away from the Volucer. Anderson liked her job, and she liked the ship – but after seven solid months of space travel, she was sick of it. Sick of the smells of sweat and oil, the cramped quarters, the processed food. As far as Anderson was concerned, right now her cabin on the Volucer was purgatory, and Saburra Alpha was heaven.

A familiar, long-armed, hairy figure hove into Anderson's field of view, and she frowned. It wasn't that Anderson was surprised to see Jiggs; the chimpanzee-like ModApe was pilot-communicator of the Volucer, and he was on leave, too. It was Jiggs' outfit that Anderson was surprised to see. The pilot-communicator wasn't wearing his casual personal wear, or any of the three different colours of planet uniform available. Instead, Jiggs was dressed in the angry orange of a light spacesuit, the sort the crew usually wore when travelling to and from the Volucer on dropships. His data transducer was connected no just to his translation box but to the port on the suit that linked him into Volucer's comm net.

"Jiggs," Anderson asked, sitting up. The purple ocean heaved in the distance, but her attention was only on the pilot. "Aren't you supposed to be on leave for another two weeks?"

Jiggs frowned, lips pursed expressively. A long, spidery finger depressed a button on the box that hung around his neck, and the ape's answer emerged in the form of a stilted, electronic voice.

"No longer. We have new orders."

"We?" Anderson asked. She could not keep the disappointment out of her voice.

"I just received the communication. Volucer," Jigg's speaker crackled and hissed with his reply, "has a new mission. We are all ordered back to the ship. Perhaps you would tell Himself? There's something under cypher for him."

'Himself' meant the Volucer's Captain, Telor Corpan. Corpan liked to remind his command crew that on the tinpot planet he'd grown up on, out in the Terada Sector, he was Subarchon Telor Corpan, cousin to the ruling Planarch. Corpan was probably not actually an idiot – he had survived a palace coup as a teenager – but he definitely acted like one. Anderson, who had a degree in Symbology - old starmap codes, in fact - found dealing with Corpan painfully frustrating.

"Why should I do it?" Anderson complained.

"You're the highest ranking officer on leave, aside from him" replied the emotionless, electronic voice.

Anderson sighed, forcing herself onto her feet. "Fine, but you owe me."

Jiggs shrugged, flapping his wide, round ears. He did not bother to engage his translation mechanism.

"Don't give me that look!" Anderson complained – but she went to find her commanding officer.

When she found him, the Captain was wearing the briefest pair of swim briefs Anderson had ever seen. Corpan was a physically handsome man, and he knew it. Pretending to be unconscious of the effect he might be causing, the Captain was parading around the dunes carrying a pair of beach balls, strategically placed.

"Shouldn't you be wearing a shirt, sir?" Anderson tried, averting her eyes.

"Nonsense, Anderson," he replied. "I am on leave. On a planet composed of nothing but purple oceans and little beaches. If I don't want to wear a shirt, I won't."

"Ah, about that, sir?" Anderson offered. "You're not on leave anymore."

Both dark eyebrows went up in surprise, then down in a scowl. "What do you mean, Anderson?"

"Jiggs says there was a message. We're all ordered back to the ship – and there's something encrypted for you."

"Very funny, Anderson." Corpan frowned.

Anderson blinked, and Corpan appeared to realise she wasn't kidding. Corpan began to swear, loudly.

A woman down the beach turned and stared, then clapped her hands over the ears of her fat and curious six-year-old. Anderson felt her cheeks grow red as the Captain continued his deluge of vituperation. Nervously, Anderson grabbed Corpan's hand, and began to drag him, physically, down the beach.

Telor Corpan grinned.

Walking towards the drop ship, Anderson was sure that Jiggs and the Captain were up to something. Jiggs usually wanted the help of one of the humans to swing him up into the drop ship – it was an old ship, from before the days of ModApe pilot-communicators – but he usually didn't walk over to the ship hand-in-hand with the Captain.

They didn't seem to be talking, which struck Anderson as strange. Everyone else was talking – complaining about the leave that had been cut short. A couple of the guys up at the front were even speculating as to the content of the encrypted message, even though they were in the Captain's hearing. Corpan didn't seem to notice, though. Anderson ground her teeth, quietly.

The ship was too familiar and Anderson too jaded to notice, but Volucer was, in many ways, beautiful. The huge metal bird accelerated silently among the stars, and Anderson sat with her arms crossed and her expression grim. The command staff were in the briefing room, watching Corpan pace in front of the big window, the starfield beyond melting into a blur of light. Finally the Captain wheeled, planting both hands on the table almost directly in front of Anderson.

"I have decided," he announced. "I will share the contents of the encrypted message."

Anderson resisted the urge to roll her eyes. If Corpan was putting on a show like this, it was inevitable that he'd tell them; there was no other reason for the theatrics.

"We are being sent on a mission of paramount importance," the Captain said. "I know you have all heard of our destination. Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to Earth."

The room exploded in a series of gasps. Anderson blinked in surprise; for once, Corpan's announcement was worthy of his dramatics.

"Why Earth? What about the Temorians?" The second officer demanded.

Corpan smiled. "Three stellar days ago, an intelligence officer in the service of my illustrious cousin, Planarch Delan Corpan of Terada Prime," this time Anderson most definitely did roll her eyes, "intercepted a message from Temorian command. There are some, hmm, shall we say political problems? Some political problems on Temoria. The Temorians are spread too thin to monitor Earth especially carefully at the moment. So we're going in."

Anderson's heart began to beat an uneasy tattoo against her chest. The Temorians wouldn't leave the Earth unblockaded for very long, and they'd still be monitoring it. Whatever of the planet's treasures they might be seeking, they would not have long.

The first view of Earth on the viewscreen was a shock to Anderson. The planet looked all wrong - the Temorian attack had knocked the planet out of its original orbit, throwing it out among its neighbours. It ended up near the huge gas giant in that system, Jupiter, and in that tidally powerful environment, the remains of the Earth's moon were nothing more than debris, asteroids tumbling in the inky darkness. Anderson shuddered. There was still some green on the shattered landmasses, but this far from the sun, the planet was growing cold and dark. The beautiful planet that had haunted Anderson's dreams was dying. She felt melancholy, nostalgic for something she had never experienced. She felt unmoored.

Anderson didn't understand why Corpan insisted she join him on the Planetary Descent. She had no desire to visit the dying world that spiraled through its death throes thousands of kilometers below Volucer. She reckoned she'd be more useful on the ship, helping Jiggs translate any intercepted Temorian communications that might come over the wires. But Corpan gave his order, and Corpan was the Captain. Anderson had no choice but to obey.

Jupiter was enormous in the sky when they landed planetside. Anderson was sure she could feel the strange planet pulling at her. It felt like something trying to draw out her soul; but perhaps that was just her distress at the barren hills. Corpan made her walk up the closest hill to the landing place, and they only stopped when something metallic clanked under his boot.

"Anderson!" Corpan bellowed, "You're a symbolist. Any good with old Earth Map Codes?"

Anderson shrugged. "I was alright." This was a lie; she was good. "Why, sir?"

Corpan knelt and pulled at the dying grass. Suddenly, a wheel of light seemed to explode from the ground. The blue light spread out, then formed into a pair of interlocked wheels, each surrounding a patch of tiny lights.

"Star map, Anderson!" Corpan practically chortled, "Have at it! It should be child's play for you, eh, Anderson? And whatever's in here . . . it's sure to be brilliant."

Anderson made a face, and reached out a hand, tentatively. The frisson of electricity that ran through her fingertips was a pleasant surprise - a hundred years, and the thing was still fully charged. She started to manipulate the holosymbols, dragging them through the circle.

Corpan strode in a circle singing a Teradan patriotic song, but Anderson hardly noticed. She wasn't sure what the star map was supposed to look like, what it was supposed to indicate. She tried the most common route codes, then the route codes for the most important colonies during the Temorian War. Nothing seemed to match the sky overhead.

Then it hit her. The sky had changed, of course. Earth had been much closer to the sun! She quickly wheeled and recalculated, pushing the holosymbol stars around like pieces of a child's jigsaw puzzle. It was simple. So simple. She keyed in the route from Earth to Temoria. There was a satisfying click. The key to the invasion - to turning back the whole war - that had to be what was about to be revealed, what the ancestors had hidden a century ago.

Corpan was looking over Anderson's shoulder, now, as the star map blinked and the blue light was gone.

"This had better be a heck of a weapon," he breathed, quietly.

The ground shook beneath their feet, and the side of the hill began to slide. Anderson and Corpan exchanged glances, as a hole opened up, smelling of earth and damp. Then, something began to rise up. Two dozen tiny, golden torpedoes met their eyes.

Corpan picked one up, laughing. "This is brilliant! These must be some weapon, some fantastic weapon that can destroy the Temorians! Humans will be restored to their rightful glory!  And my cousin will finally show me the respect I des - what are you doing, Anderson?"

Anderson had picked up one of the torpedoes herself, and unwrapped the clear cellophane around it. She had looked carefully at the funny, old-fashioned writing. Then she lifted the torpedo to her mouth, and bit into it.

"Sorry, sir. It's a snack. Not a weapon."

Corpan swore. Very loudly.

Prompt: Another long one, so go to the link and check it out, please! This is another entry for the Tevun Krus Smackdown! We had to use a set of pictures, and the theme had to include a crew engaging in space exploration. I hope you enjoyed.