Free Stories of the Confederated Star Systems by Loren K. Jones

while the other two had been unreachable in one of Earth’s few remaining wild areas. Captain Reordan fumed at the loss, but secretly wished that she had thought of that.
    The Wells made her way out of the system south of the plane of the ecliptic, rather than taking her accustomed path north. The captain had agreed with her TSO that the greatest safety lay in not doing the same things as usual. As the temporal flux drew the ship through the barriers of time and space, the captain reflected that there were reasons that no timeship was sent to the same year twice.
    The emergence into normal space was marked by the cessation of the violent shaking that accompanied time travel. “Get me a fix immediately,” the captain ordered unnecessarily. Her crewmen and women were all well trained professionals who were just as interested in getting home as she was.
    “Earth, early to mid Twentieth Century. We are analyzing radio broadcasts for…there we go. December 4 th , 1945. Right on the button.” Lieutenant Deeson turned and smiled at his captain.
    “Keep it up, Templeton. XO, maintain condition ZEBRA. I have a very bad feeling about this mission.”
    Commander Frazier looked at his captain with a questioning expression, but obeyed when she didn’t elaborate. Condition ZEBRA was the highest level of damage control readiness, and was normally set only during battle to temporal transit. “Aye, Ma’am.”
    The night passed quietly as the crew of the Wells waited for morning to reach the North American east coast. Fort Lauderdale was located, and the sensors began recording everything that they could about the primitive world beneath them. At 1410 local time, the last of the five planes that they had come to observe took to the air and the saga began.
    The planes headed east, and history recorded their goal as Chicken and Hen Shoals, fifty-six miles from Fort Lauderdale on a course of 091. Once there one plane went low and circled as the other four climbed and began bombing runs against a derelict ship. This continued for nearly twenty minutes before the planes departed on the same course again. Their second historical goal was Great Stirrup Cay, one hundred thirteen miles from Fort Lauderdale. This leg also went without any problem, and the flight turned north at 1510 on a course of 346 true. At 1550 the first message that history recorded of the incident was reported.
    “Powers, what does your compass read? Powers? What does your compass read? I don’t know where we are. We must have got lost after the last turn.”
    Lieutenant Robert Cox, an instructor pilot with another flight, FT 74, heard the message at the same time as the Wells , and sent the message on to Fort Lauderdale. “Fox Tare seven four. Fox Tare 74 to Nan How Able One, Nan How Able One, there seems to be either a boat or plane lost and is calling Powers. Suggest you inform tower of it. Over.”
    Operation Radio, Fort Lauderdale, call sign NHA-1, answered immediately. “Nan How Able One, Roger.”
    Lieutenant Cox then tried to contact the calling aircraft. “This is Fox Tare 74, plane or boat calling Powers, please identify yourself so someone can help you.”
    Fort Lauderdale’s radio called Lieutenant Cox with a request for more information. “Nan How Able One to FT-74. Tower asks if they have any recognition or identification . . .do they have any recognition?”
    Lieutenant Cox replied, “Negative. Not as yet known.”
     
    “Flight 19,” Commander Frazier muttered. “Don’t you people know each other?”
    “Sss!” hissed the sensor tech, grimacing in apology for hissing at the XO.
    Commander Frazier grimaced on his own, but in embarrassment, not anger, and shrugged.
     
    Lieutenant Cox and the Wells overheard more inner-flight chatter moments later. “Does anyone have any suggestions? . . .I think we must be over the Keys.”
    Lieutenant Cox tried again to contact the lost men. “This is FT-74 calling lost plane or boats. Please identify