The shuttle from the mercenary academy swept over the wide green plains north of Coock City. Vera was sitting at the side windows, looked out of them and just felt amazing.

She was on her way, travelling to an unknown part of the planet with her best friend Tammy. And she had a task. An important task which enabled her to show how reliable she was if she fulfilled it. And who knew what would be possible after that? Maybe she would actually play a bigger part in training missions. Maybe she would receive real combat training and would be allowed to show her skills in missions against the other mercenary groups. Or perhaps there were new challenges waiting for her that she even couldn't imagine. With her education, after all these lessons that she had passed, the possibilities were countless.

Even if she didn't become an apprentice at Hank's academy, but did something entirely different. Perhaps she would finally find a way to leave Geshtachius Prime like she wanted to.

"Here we go!" Tammy called from the pilot's seat. "We have reached the coordinates. You can assist me now, Vera."

Excited Vera jumped off her seat in the back part of the shuttle and took her place on the copilot's seat next to Tammy. Before the launch she had already taken a glimpse at the control panels and user interfaces she would work with, and Tammy had explained everything important to her. She even had started a little training program on the shuttle computer that introduced Vera to the most important displays and controls. Vera knew her tasks and was ready for them. And she already could make out the target area.

"Base, this is Alpha Four" Tammy sent a transmission. "Reached designated area. Starting first scan now.

She signaled Vera with her hand, who obeyed instantly. After she had grasped the functions of the shuttle computer and the sensors, her task wasn't difficult at all. On her command the scanner started examining the entire area. One sensor created a map with the heights and lows of the terrain, another one analyzed geological components. Vera had programmed everything under Tammy's supervision, so the computer was basically able to run on his own. All she had to do was to oversee the displays and make sure that everything worked as it was supposed to.  Vera kept a vigilant eye on the data while Tammy steered the shuttle into a wide bow above the area.

For a moment Vera allowed herself to take the eyes from the screen and look out the window. This region was different from the farm land back home - it was a lot rougher, fissured and jagged. The environment contained more grey and white stone than fields or woods. Between several large hills that were almost completely composed of stone was a green bush flashing up from time to time, but behind a cliffside that cut off one hill apruptly blossomed an extensive forest in brightest variations of green. Vera gazed at this landscape for a while and steadily realized why Hank would want to use this place as training grounds. It was peaceful and pretty, but a real challenge for people fighting there. And if someone put a base camp in that spot and knew how to properly defend it...

The computer signaled her with a gentle beep that it had gone through the first batch of data. "First scan completed" Vera reported to her pilot obediently. She tried to sound as mature and reasonable as possible, but even she had to admit that it didn't sound quite right in her own ears.

Tammy noticed it with a friendly smile in Vera's direction. "Good. Get ready for the second approach! This time we'll also use the sensors for energy readings. Just to be on the safe side."

Fortunately Vera knew how to do that. She couldn't help but assume that Tammy wanted to test her that way, to see if she really could handle the systems. It took her a short moment to find the right user interfaces, but then she had already activated the additional sensors. Tammy turned the shuttle around, approaching the area from a different angle the sensors would be able to exploit. With the push of a button Vera started the second scan.

From the data the sensors had collected the computer created a map of the entire location. Vera could observe on one of the displays how more and more data was added to the map, building up a three-dimensional image that got keener and more detailed by every minute the sensors were working. Only the calculations for the energy readings didn't appear on it. Which was no wonder at all - nothing out here existed that would produce any kind of detectable energy.

Until a gentle beeping came from that exact scanner. Vera looked up in surprise. There was indeed a weak signal. It wasn't anywhere near their designated area but far to their north. Undecidedly Vera stared at this signal, wondering what to do about it. It was outside her target area, and she had no orders to look into it any further. On the other hand, this could have been important. "Ehm... Tammy?" she carefully asked. "I've got something here."

Tammy stayed focused on steering the shuttle, so she wasn't able to take a look herself. "What is it, Vera?" she inquired.

"An energy source" Vera reported, making an effort to read out the relevant data from the screens. "Unknown origin. Direction Three-Two-Six. Distance..." Her eyes grew big as the beeping silenced and the signal disappeared from the screen. It was gone. The sensors didn't pick up anything in this direction anymore. "Wha..."

Tammy glimpsed at her shortly. "Now, what is it? Distance?"

But Vera gazed at the displays, completely unsure of herself. "It's not there anymore" she mumbled aghast. "Just gone." Suddenly she turned around to Tammy, glaring at her in mistrust. "Did you do that?"

"What?" Tammy was so baffled by that question that for a moment she couldn't give more than a quick laugh of disbelief as an answer. "What makes you think that?"

"Oh, come on!" Vera countered, triumphantly crossing her arms before her. As if she'd ever fall for something like that... "You have me turn on the energy sensors and make a small signal appear just at the edge of our reach, so you can see if I work thoroughly enough. I wasn't born yesterday, you know."

"Honestly, I don't know what you're talking about" Tammy contradicted, but that didn't convince her young partner.

"Sure, you don't know!" Vera's voice was dripping in sarcasm. "And you have never ever tried to pull a fast one on me..."

"Vera, I'm serious" Tammy insisted, looking at her with utter seriousness. "We're on a mission here, and we have important things to do. This is not the right moment to play tricks on each other. Whatever you have discovered out there, I've got nothing to do with it."

"I don't believe you" Vera replied defiantly. This made Tammy shrug indifferently.

"Have it your way then! But maybe you should get the last coordinates where that signal appeared from the computer and save them. Then we can take a look at it later on." Again the shuttle changed course. "Shall we take another round for a scan, or are you ready for the next phase of our mission?"

"I'm ready" Vera answered, looking out of the windows again. It was the same planet she had spent her whole life on. But the view over this empty, fissured landscape made it easy for her to imagine it being a completely different world. A world no one before her had ever set a foot on.

"You got everything you need?" Tammy asked. "Food, drinks..."

Vera glimpsed at her overstacked backpack on the rear seats. "Oh yeah! And I've brought your present with me, too." She tapped slightly with her left hand on her jacket. In one of the inner pockets was a little survival knife - as big as a finger, equipped with several tools and a special blade which could cut any lifeless material, but wasn't able to go through living tissue. No matter how Vera would use it, she was just unable to hurt herself with this knife. It wasn't much of a surprise that the inhabitants of Geshtachius Prime had invented this kind of knife. Life itself was sacred to them, especially the lives of children.

"Then I'm gonna land" Tammy declared, fiddling with the controls. "Alpha Four to Base: Second scan complete. Continuing recon on the ground..."

Early afternoon Vera returned to the landing spot. It had become quite a sunny day, and for the season it was remarkably warm. So she did feel a little exhausted when she settled down on a free spot next to the shuttle, with Tammy watching her in amusement. Her grown-up friend could still see that she was in the best of moods.

"I imagined how the base might look when it's built" Vera told after catching her breath and taking a big gulp from her juice bottle. "I have no idea how Hank's gonna do it later, but if he builds it like I picture it, the attackers will grind their teeth on it."

"You know I'm pretty sure he's open to your suggestions" Tammy responded diplomatically "That's why he sent you here with me. Have you found out something valid?"

Vera had, and she gushed it out already. With remarkable precision she described what paths were possible to be taken on foot, what spots seemed dangerous to her and where she would construct a firm defense if she lead the project. She had even collected rock samples from a few rocky places in the hills to have them analysed at the academy. If the people there would achieve to find out what the stone was composed of here, they would also find out whether it could be turned into a weak spot or reinforcement for the base. Resourceful mercenaries were able to turn certain materials into dangerous weapons by various means, and nothing came close to the unkindness of transforming the basic substance of a mountain into a gigantic bomb.

Having put everything into a datapad Tammy gave it a pleased nod. "That was very good work, Vera" she praised her. "I think you earned your pay well today."

Still Vera kept her scepticism. "I'm not sure if Dad thinks the same way. I don't know, but I don't feel like I have accomplished much."

"But you have" Tammy disagreed vigorously. "I don't know any mercenary at the academy who would have scouted out such a big area on foot and then would have delivered such a good description. Believe me, the attitude towards a mission is equally important to the skills you use to fulfill it. And no one would have done it with the same enthusiasm that you possess."

Slowly Vera's face brightened. "You're serious about this?"

Tammy nodded. "Of course I'm serious. If you join the mercenaries later, I do think that you'll make an excellent scout."

"Ow, come on, you're exaggerating!" Such high praise made Vera blush out of bashfulness. Thoughtful she looked at the shuttle... and surpressed a grin. "I would surely feel better if we could check what this strange signal is all about."

Naturally Tammy saw through her instantly. But her grown-up friend laughed. "You rascal! Then get up, and let's go!"

Excited Vera got up on her feet again and dragged her backpack to the shuttle. Launch preparations had already been made - all mercenaries at the academy used to leave the shuttle's in standby mode for a quick launch, and Tammy was no exception to that. When Vera had taken her place again at the scanner controls the engines were already running, and the shuttle ascended to the cloudless sky. Vera activated the scanners and switched the energy seeker to maximum, in the hopes of finding the signal again.

"You still got the coordinates?" Tammy asked. Vera gave her the position she had saved in the system, and the shuttle headed north with high velocity.  Again Vera kept her eyes on all the displays, watching out for a single beep that would give away the source of that signal. But they soon approached the spot where the computer had discovered the signal for the first time. Finding nothing.

Still Vera suspected Tammy or someone else at the academy to have anything to do with this signal. She couldn't picture how they were able to pull it off, but she felt like it being a prank they pulled on newbies at the academy. She had observed other newcomers facing a sneaky twist in their training missions. But it would disappoint her deeply if Tammy really did have something to do with it because she trusted her without reservation.

Finally they reached the coordinates. Vera watched Tammy putting the shuttle in hovering mode and stopping it several feet above ground. "Are you sure these are the right coordinates?" the pilot finally asked. Vera watched her closely. And she began to feel queasy about this. Either Tammy was a really talented actress, or Vera had been wrong about her all along. Instead of gloating about Vera falling for her trick, she showed signs of worry and mistrust on her face.

"Yes I am" Vera confirmed, glancing at the displays again. They were hovering above the exact location where the energy source had shown up on her scanners. But as before, just after the signal had shown up for the first time, nothing appeared at all.

Tammy looked around, too, and checked all the displays at her disposal. "Well..." she said thoughtfully. "Nothing to see here. Perhaps we should do a complete scan with all our systems."

"Right on it" Vera answered eagerly, her fingers brushing over the control panels. Beside the sensors they had already used the shuttle was equipped with a wide array of scanners able to analyse things she could barely understand. If she put all the scanners on maximum performance she couldn't imagine anything still being able to hide from her.

"Good." Tammy reached for the comm system. "I'll contact the academy..."

A loud beeping cut her sentence off. "I've got something!" Vera shouted in excitement, pointing at a bright dot that had suddenly appeared on the screen.

One second later the beeping turned into an electronic howl. A howl which sent ice cold shivers down Vera's back, making Tammy yank at the controls of the shuttle with hectic movement. A howl echoing through the entire passenger section like the herold of damnation. More screaming signals sounded from Vera's control panel, getting mixed into the baleful howl, with colored lights blinking and flickering like in a wild panic on all the interfaces. Vera had no idea what was going on right now, but she had a very bad feeling about this: Deep inside she knew this could not end well.

"Hold on!" Tammy yelled, yanking the controls. She did this not even one second after the howl had started. But it was half a second too late.

Something hammered into the side of the shuttle. A deafening bang made Vera scream in terror while sparks were raining all over the passenger section. The entire shuttle shook and trembled like a wild animal. Vera instantly fell off her seat. As she was about to get off the floor again, another hit concussed the shuttle. With another bang and an evil sounding snap the console under Tammy's fingertips exploded, splashing sparks and glowing hot shards in all directions. The shrill alarm signals were almost drowned be the horrifying scream of pain Tammy let out as the shards hit her face.

That last scream was too much for Vera to handle. Controlled by her mere instincts she just wanted to run. But the constant shaking and quaking of the shuttle didn't allow her to move in a determined direction. Suddenly she felt hanging in the air, like a feather in the wind, motionless and without any weight, until she saw the backside of the passenger section coming towards her like an unpenetrable wall. She shut here eyes hard, in the last desperate hope for it being only a really horrible dream.

Then the shuttle fell out of the sky like a stone.