A burden seemed to lift from Ash Lander’s spirit.

Crystal and Celeste sped away from the space school, feeling giddy at the prospect of their impulsive adventure. Celeste set a course for Earth when suddenly Crystal became quiet.

There is still something I haven’t told you, Celeste… Crystal began.

Well, what is it? Celeste asked as she calculated the exact distance to the tiny speck of light that they could barely make out, it was so overpowered by the sun.

Before I came across the Nebula X on Europa, I found another ship on Callisto, Crystal confessed.

Yes, I know. You told me you found a lot of cargo pods. Everyone knew it, Crystal. Where else could you have gotten all the goodies you were selling at school? Celeste offered.

This was no cargo pod, Celeste! It was an Earth ship, and there were two astronauts nearby. They needed my help. One was having some kind of seizure or something. I scanned him and found a chip embedded in his neck. I removed it, and I think I saved his life.

Well that’s great, Celeste. Really. He’s lucky you came along.

Yes, i guess he was. But it’s the other man that I can’t get out of my mind, she said, with a far away look in her eyes.

MEANWHILE…

P. J. Raygun calmed down some time after his ship exited the main asteroid belt. He gradually became aware of a star that he could not identify. At first, he couldn’t say why it caught his attention at all, but as time went on, he could clearly see that it was growing brighter. Even Nebula X’s extensive resources could not identify it.

MEANWHILE…

Flash was met on the tarmac by Ash Lander and Krate Azimuth. He was finally home. Though everyone had burning questions about Flash’s experience in space, the thrill of having him back was enough for the moment. There would be time enough for all the questions to be answered eventually.

For the first time in months, a burden seemed to lift from Ash Lander’s spirit. The men met with handshakes and hugs, and very few words needed to be spoken.