be for some time.  She would not be giving any more orders
on this mission, that was for sure.  As the next senior
officer in terms of authority, that responsibility now
fell to her, whether she was ready for it or not.

Her first decision came almost immediately.  Earth was on
channel, wanting to know why communication silence had
been imposed.  Kay knew that was a polite way of asking
what the heck was going on.  They would want answers now.

As she sat in Control, the last few hours events vanished
from her mind.  Uppermost were the events of the previous
night.  First contact had been made with. . .  With who?
She couldn't even begin to formulate the events in her
mind, let along relate them to someone else.

Her train of thought was interrupted by an exclamation
from Taylor.  She looked to where he was pointing.  No
words where necessary.  The screen showed the path of the
object which had hit them.  From that information, it was
clear that it could not have come from Earth.  Its origin
was clear.  It originated from the second planet: Venus.

 Simon Wheatley

