“Tasha,” Hutch said, “release your hold on the AG. We’re going to have to ditch in the water.”

“You sure?”

“Do it, Tasha.”

“You can’t do that, Priscilla,” said Derek. “If we lose the lander, we’ll never get out of here.”

“If we don’t, we’ll kill them.” She turned away from the island.

“You’re too far out,” said Derek. The beach suddenly looked far away. He started to reach for the controls but she pushed him away.

“Can’t help it.”

It didn’t matter. Another of the couplings let go and they went into near free fall, splashed into the ocean, submerged briefly, bobbed back up, and began to sink. “Nice work, Priscilla,” he growled. “I think you managed to miss everybody. But you’ve probably killed us.”

Hutch ignored him. “Sorry about that, guys. Everybody out.” They were about three hundred meters offshore.

“By the way,” said Derek, “I’m not the world’s best swimmer.” He climbed out of his seat and opened the inner airlock hatch.

“It’s all right, Derek,” said Ken. “I’ve got you. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

“So much,” Beth said, “for keeping the aliens from finding out we’ve come.” She picked up a container of fresh water as Derek pushed into the airlock. Hutch got up and hurried back to the storage cabinet. The couplings were in a plastic bag. She grabbed them and followed the others to the airlock. Derek opened the outer hatch and climbed out onto the wing. Water began spilling in.

They piled out with him. Derek’s face was drained as he slipped into the sea. Ken went in behind him, and Beth moved to help where she could. Hutch was still on the wing when another wave lifted the lander and dropped it again. She held on and realized her baseball cap was just going to get in the way. She tossed it inside and closed the outer hatch to keep any more water from getting in. They would probably have no further use for the vehicle, but there was no point letting the ocean into it.

Beth looked toward her. “You got them? The couplings?”

“Yes.”

“Good. You need a hand?”

“I’m fine. Long as there aren’t any gators out here.”

The lander slipped below the surface and she was afloat, riding the waves toward shore, trying to keep the bag out of the water. It was supposed to be waterproof, so the contents should be secure as long as she kept it closed. But she was taking no chances.

•  •  •

It was a long swim. Ken stayed with Derek, but they seemed to be managing okay. She was impressed that the boss didn’t lose his cool. The waves kept breaking over his head in a recurring rhythm. He was choking and coughing up water, but he stayed calm.