Space Station Crisis: Star Challengers Book 2 by Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, June Scobee Rodgers Page B

between one image and another. “There! Like that.”
    “I didn’t see anything,” Mira said. He wasn’t sure she had even looked.
    He flicked the image back, pointed to a spot, then switched to the original starfield again, pointing to another place. “See that? The dot moved.”
    “If you say so.” Her voice sounded cool and distant.
    “Take my word for it, we’re making progress.”
    ***

Thirteen
    No one had gotten a glimpse of the Kylarn outpost on the far side of the Moon since JJ’s previous mission to the future, when King, Major Fox, and she had discovered the bizarre alien military base being built in secret. After the destruction of Moonbase Magellan, Earth’s space programs—now with the support of countless governments—had scrambled to put together a probe in order to get a snapshot of what the Kylarn were doing over there.
    The private International Collaborative Space Agency, or ICSA, had relied on old technology in its space programs for years, and they simply had nothing ready that could serve as a spy probe to the Moon. It had taken most of a year, but finally the pieces were coming together.
    “We know the Kylarn have been watching us, but until today we had no way to watch them back,” Stationmaster Ansari said. “Now we have our own probe.”
    Inside Central, JJ waited with King, Tony, and the mysterious Mira. Dyl and Song-Ye were still helping Dr. Romero take care of the sick crewmembers in Medical.
    “Even with the whole Sat team laid up with Salmonella, we need to find some way to launch the Eye in the Sky monitoring satellite—and soon,” Mira pointed out. “Eve trained with the team, so I can help.”
    Ansari considered. “That’s possible, Cadet. But for today, let’s see what Recon-1 can show us.”
    The Russian pilot gave a gruff snort. “Eye in the Sky will keep watch from a safe distance, but my probe will go right to the alien base! We’ll see how their secret outpost has changed over the past year.” Bronsky had an almost fatherly attitude toward Recon-1, since he had built it himself, converting the battered old Halley for one last mission.
    Bronsky had been the pilot of the supply ship that traveled from the ISSC to the Moon and back, delivering food and equipment, exchanging personnel. On its previous routine flight, the ship had passed over the far side of the Moon, where the Russian pilot was the first to spot the alien complex. When the Halley tried to make contact, the Kylarn had opened fire, forcing a crash landing from which Bronsky and his copilot had narrowly escaped with their lives. The discovery of the outpost stirred up the aliens, though, and they had destroyed Moonbase Magellan. The crewmembers barely made it back home in the repaired supply ship.
    Afterward, the Halley had been decommissioned, too damaged to haul passengers again. It was Bronsky himself, working with satellite team members Lifchez and Major Rodgers, who had refitted the old spacecraft and turned it into an automated ship packed with observation devices: Recon-1. Today, the probe would reach its destination after a slow, stealthy journey.
    “What’s the difference between the probe and the Eye in the Sky satellite?” Tony asked.
    “What’s the difference?” Bronsky said, sounding offended. “What is the difference?” He shook his head.
    “Eye in the Sky will be launched to an orbital stable point between Earth and Moon. It will keep watch from afar, but my Recon-1 is a real spy! It sneaks right up to the alien base and shows us what they are really doing!”
    “Unless the Kylarn see it first,” JJ said. “Won’t they just shoot it down? They’ve already proved they don’t like to be spied on.”
    The Russian frowned. “That is a possibility, but we have taken precautions. My probe was launched from this station and drifted on course to the Moon, completely silent. Maybe the aliens will not notice.”
    Stationmaster Ansari said, “Both the Recon-1 probe and the