Splashdown Paul J. Joseph

In this first installment we find Sally unhappily at work as UN space commissioner, buried in paperwork and struggling with bureaucrats.  Earth is at war now with its first space colony, now hidden beyond the orbit of Jupiter, and everybody has a different opinion concerning which side was in the right.  In the midst of this, Ian discovers a mysterious ship approaching the solar system from somewhere far away.  And this ship appears to be from the future.  The implications of how this will affect the war are too big to ignor, and Sally must decide whether Ian's suggested mission is brave or foolish.  Either way, she will probably have to go.

The journey to Baltan City is turbulent.  The space port is filled with armed guards and terrorism is the watch word.  Worse, the hush hush nature of their departure forces them to trust people they don't know.  But things grow worse after the launch.  The ship goes off course for unknown reasons and their arrival on Baltan is anything but warm.

Sally's situation deteriorates further when she finds herself under arrest by an angry group of people known as the Mercy Party.  She soon finds out that Baltan City has been taken over during the time she was in flight, and the fact that she flattened one of their leaders won't help her case.  But what do they want from her?  More mysteries await.

Following the difficult meeting with Hans Melba, Sally is introduced to another of Baltan's secrets, namely the mystery of the Lower City, a vast area she originally assumed to be empty.  Next, on a tense visit to a hospital, she is introduced to the blight, a disease that is as strange as it is grotesque.  And finally, she meets the Sovereign Judge, the man who will ultimately determine her fate.

When Sally finally sees Jackie, she is forced to realize that Dr. Beasley may not be as innocent as she was led to believe.  She and Ian also get a better look at the approaching mystery ship, which is now moving to intercept the city.  Clearly somebody is flying the ship and it uses a technology that Earth knows nothing about.

The time has come to board the ancient ship and Ian and Diego are to be the first to see what is inside.  The ship is an ancient ruin, yet fits the design specifications of ships well known.  And there is one remaining crewmember onboard to greet them.  An ancient man, more machine than human, fragile and barely aware.  He pays homage to a long dead alien creature that is the stuff of nightmares!  But which of them was in charge of the ship?