Free Anaz-Voohri by Vijaya Schartz

stepped outside to look up.
    In the clear night, four fighter jets chased a round, luminous object. It was too far to see it clearly. Much larger than the jets, it flew at incredible speed in erratic patterns. Obviously, no plane could fly like that. It was too large to be a missile. It stopped instantly, then reversed course, leaving the jets to trace wide circles in their attempt to follow. It could only be an alien craft. Was it Anaz-voohri?
    As Zack watched in excitement, the chase went out of range then returned shortly. After fifteen minutes of cat and mouse games, the object just went straight up and disappeared among the stars, as if it had never been there. A shiver of dread coursed along Zack’s spine. Had the Anaz-voohri engaged the military? Above Washington, DC? As if to challenge the US Government?
    Early the next morning, over scrambled eggs in the crowded mess hall, a young pilot in flight jacket sat across from him. Zack saw his opportunity. “What was that all about last night?”
    The pilot glanced at Zack’s civilian clothes and shrugged. “Just a routine scramble.”
    Staring at his eggs, Zack wondered whether the young man mocked him.
    The pilot smiled. “A scramble is a training exercise.”
    Zack nodded, feeling ignorant. “Was it your squadron up there?”
    “Yep,” the pilot said over a mouthful of eggs.
    “Not bad, although how can anyone catch up with that thing you chased, I can’t imagine." Zack tried to sound casual. “What was it?”
    The pilot looked around then whispered, “it’s classified.”
    Zack chuckled, trying to get the pilot to loosen up. “Weird would be a better word.”
    The pilot offered a half smile. “Yep. Welcome to weird season at Andrews Air Force Base.”
    “There are seasons for these... scrambling exercises?”
    “You bet." The pilot winked. “Summer, mainly, when the skies are clear.”
    “Did you ever catch one of those things?”
    The smile disappeared from the pilot’s face. “We’re not trying to. Only scare them away. Two years ago, I got too close to one... My instruments went berserk. I almost crashed."
    “Did you get a good look?"
    “Sorry, I’m not at liberty to discuss it." The young man clammed up, lost in the fascination of his coffee cup.
    “Don’t worry. I’m in the loop." Zack hoped his friendly attitude would bring forth more information, but the young man looked scared. Glancing at the clock on the wall, Zack rose. “Got to go. Nice meeting you. Good Luck.”
    At seven sharp, a jeep stopped in front of the mess hall. The driver called his name, and Zack climbed inside. According to instructions, he brought only a small bag of personal effects. No change of clothes, no cell phones, no watch, no computers, no recording devices of any kind. All would be provided at his destination, although he still didn’t know where that was.
    The jeep took him to a large troop transport at the end of a runway. Once inside the fat-bellied plane, however, Zack only saw a dozen young men and women sitting on the benches lining the sides. They seemed just out of college and rather quiet. Some even looked like geeks. He wondered what they all had in common to be in this special unit. Michalski said they all had brains as well as strong bodies.
    Zack suspected these young recruits knew nothing about their destination or their purpose. His attempts at social contacts only produced strained smiles and shy answers. Some of them looked scared, not the usual jocks you find in recruiting offices.
    Zack strapped himself on a bench. With no windows, he wouldn’t be able to see which direction the plane took. The unknown element made him nervous but excited as well.
    After takeoff, the deafening noise of the engines prevented all conversation. Zack wished he could listen to his favorite CDs, but with no electronic devices allowed, he had to leave them behind. To make the best of the flight, he opted to catch up on his sleep and soon dozed