It had worked with the asteroid they’d diverted for use to build the colony ship, but that asteroid had been a fraction of the size of Apophis-approximately a quarter of the size. Theoretically, it should work just as well with Apophis, and in that case they only had to nudge the huge asteroid a few thousand miles out of its current path, but no one really wanted to base the future of the entire human race on that theory, however sound it seemed.

    Not to be too melodramatic about it, but were man’s days numbered whatever they did, Sybil wondered abruptly, feeling her belly execute a strange little freefall? She considered herself a realist with a positive attitude, but she’d been born in 2000, grown up in the midst of the Armageddon hysteria that reached a crescendo in 2012 and hadn’t actually abated a lot since even though the ‘big one’ didn’t hit in 2012. Was it that attitude of impending doom that had descended upon her? Or did logic and reason fit into it anywhere?

    It was the sense of overwhelming odds, she decided finally. They’d faced every trial head on and yet they just kept coming. Every time they managed to dodge a bullet, they discovered another one right behind it, and the realization that they might now have to fight an alien race, that was far more advanced and, one would presume, more powerful, to eke out an existence

    “Fuck!” Spencer exploded, abruptly surging to his feet. “They’re sending us out there to get our asses shot off! They might as well paint a fucking bull’s eye on the damned ship, because that’s what this is all about-to see just how focused the aliens are on Venus!”

    “You’re skating thin ice, soldier,” Powell growled warningly. “Get a grip if you don’t want to end up facing charges of insubordination.”

    Spencer sneered at him. “So throw me in the brig! I didn’t volunteer for this anyfucking-way and I sure as fuck didn’t sign on to be used as target practice!”

    Powell shot to his feet. “Sit down,” he growled. “Now.”

    Spencer glared at him for a long moment but finally resumed his seat.

    The scientists, who’d looked more than a little alarmed at Spencer’s outburst, shifted uncomfortably in their own seats as if struggling with the urge to vacate the conference room. “We don’t know any of this for a fact,” Holly Rains said finally. “I’m sure it’s occurred to everyone that it’s a possibility that the aliens, if they are responsible for the changes, might feel threatened and might shoot us down. You should consider the whole picture, though, before you make any conclusions. Clearly, they’re a more advanced race than we are. If we presume that they are behind the UFO sightings and abductions that have been reported over the years, then they’d been here, studying us, for many, many years. If they were aggressive, don’t you think they would’ve invaded Earth years ago? Long before we had any weapons that might be any possible threat to them?”

    Spencer snorted. “Who the fuck would want Earth after what we’ve done to it? We don’t even want it any-fucking-more!”

    “Speak for yourself! Not everybody agrees with you on that. Anyway, she has a point,” Sybil put in, reigning her own temper in with an effort. “If they’d come purely for conquest, they could’ve done it. The first sightings date back to around WWII, right? We sure didn’t have much to throw at them then-not when we didn’t have any space flight capabilities, and the Earth was a much more habitable place then-not nearly as polluted or overpopulated as it is now.”

    “We developed the a-bomb then,” Spencer shot back at her. “They probably thought they’d just wait until we destroyed ourselves and then move in!”

    “All of this is pure conjecture!” Kushbu interrupted. “We don’t know anything-they haven’t made any attempt to contact us-and we aren’t going to learn anything until we get out there. It’s our belief that they’re here purely for study, that they’re scientists. We believe that’s supported by the fact that they’ve been around so long and haven’t shown any aggression toward us. I don’t care for the idea of getting my ass shot off anymore than you do. I wouldn’t have volunteered to go if I thought there was any real risk in that respect.”

    Spencer’s lips tightened. “You’re assuming it’s the same aliens that were sighted over the years. What if it isn’t? I mean-they spent sixty or seventy years studying us and now, all of a sudden, they decide they want to move in? Give me a break!”

    “Earth is still the most habitable planet in this system,” Sybil said pointedly. “Besides, they aren’t from this solar system. That means they have capabilities far beyond ours, which also seems to suggest they could’ve looked around for something better, that would take less work to make it livable. I’m inclined to agree with them-that it is scientists and they’re more focused on what they can learn than threatening us in any way.”

    “Maybe,” Powell said grimly. “But we’ve been looking for Earth-like planets since the Kepler was launched back in ’09. We’ve found thousands, and as far as we’ve been able to determine, they’re pretty damned close-nothing we have any hope of reaching with our current technology, but pretty appealing. If they have the technology we believe they do, why focus on our corner of the galaxy-or even our corner of the universe? There must be something particular to our solar system that’s drawn them here.”

    Rains shrugged, smiling grimly. “At the risk of sounding conceited, maybe it’s us? Maybe we’re just the most interesting species they’ve encountered?”

    Powell studied her for a long moment. “Maybe. And maybe it’s the fact that this particular solar system has three worlds within the habitable zone for a species similar to ours. I could be wrong, but I don’t recall that we found another system that fits that particular criteria. Granted, all of the real estate needs a good bit of fixing up to make it even close to comfortable,” he added wryly, “but they’ve clearly got the technology to do it.”

* * * *

    Venus, Year 2 Post Sumptra

    Anka’s expression was grim as he stared out over the landscape of Venus. Although it was a reflection of his feelings in regards to the alien landscape when he first took up his position, the view dimmed shortly after he’d turned to study it and he saw the landscape of his home world, Sumptra, in his mind’s eye instead. The scorched ground, barren, rocky slopes, and molten rivers didn’t differ a great deal from his last view of his home world if it came to that, but it differed vastly from the world he’d grown up in.

    The world the natives of the system called Earth most closely resembled it-the land, the sky, and the sea, not the cities themselves and not the people.

    For a few moments, he indulged the ache inside him that was never far from his awareness no matter how hard he worked, and tried to summon the images to his mind that he’d worked so hard to banish. Ghostly, wavering, indistinct images of his family filled his mind- his mother and sisters and brothers, his nieces and nephews, his lovers and his own children, but they were like smoke. The harder he tried to grasp them and bring them into focus, the more indistinct they became.

    A mixture of pain and anger flooded him, churning in his gut like slow burning acid. His throat closed. He’d banished them because he couldn’t bear to think of them-gone, all gone- and now he couldn’t summon them to him anymore to sooth his loneliness and fill the aching void they’d left behind. Giving up the fierce battle inside after a moment, he turned, sucking in a harsh breath as if he’d been holding his breath or truly fighting a battle. At once, the starkness of the base they’d erected chased the shadows of the past away, but it was almost more painful to look at than the images in his mind… or the hostile environment of the world the aliens had named Venus.