“You know,” said Ken, “it really does look as if it’s getting ready to let go. Was this what that other one looked like when they were trying to put together the Johnson mission?” He was checking his notebook, then shaking his head. “No, actually, it doesn’t. Betelgeuse looked pretty calm compared to this one.”

“Maybe we should leave,” said Wally. He added a smile but he wasn’t kidding.

Derek took a sip from his coffee. “We won’t be staying long. Barry, you see anything of interest?”

“I have so far located two planets in the system.”

“Is either in the habitable zone?” asked Ken.

Beth frowned. “Let’s hope not.”

“One is a gas giant, pretty far out. The other is a rocky world.”

“It’s not likely to matter,” said Derek. “The habitable zone around this type of star tends to be pretty big. But as the star swells, the zone keeps moving. So, there isn’t much time for life to take hold. And if it does, it would boil pretty quickly.”

“Did you want to take a look anyhow?” Hutch asked.

“How long will it take us to get there?”

“We can make it by dinner.”

Derek smiled. He looked at his companions. Nobody raised an objection. “All right,” he said, “let’s do it.”

•  •  •

The gas giant had lost none of its prominence. But the planet in the zone provided a surprise: It was green, covered with vegetation. Cumulus clouds drifted through its skies, and blue oceans covered vast areas. The polar caps were tinged with white, and the continents supported mountain chains, deserts, and broad plains. Under a different sun, the clouds would probably have been white. These were crimson-tinted, adding a lustrous delicacy to the landscape.

It could almost have been a second Earth, especially when a large, cratered moon drifted into view. “Get pictures,” Ken said.

Barry was already doing that. All except Hutch were seated in the passenger cabin, where the display had been activated again, allowing them to watch through the telescope. Forests and harbors and lakes drifted past. And a magnificent waterfall, the largest Hutch had ever seen. “It’s not the same one,” Ken said.

Hutch, on the bridge, could hear the disappointment in his voice. She usually stayed out of casual conversation over the allcomm, but sometimes she couldn’t resist. “I’ll always remember this,” she said, “as the waterfall flight.”

“This place would make a great tourist attraction,” said Wally. “Especially with that bomb in the sky. But it’s kind of a long ride to get here.”

Hutch saw movement above the trees. “They’ve got birds,” she said. And more: Something that looked like a small dragon with an exceedingly long neck was walking casually through the surf along a beach’s edge, apparently looking for fish.

“That is incredible,” said Derek. “That’s why we need to check these things out.”

Then Wally almost screeched. “Look!”