... It is in times such as these, others in the universe see what makes humans so very special.... The EIS Alpha II was saddled alongside the dreadnaught Winnipeg. Large, ClearsteelTM umbilicals ran from one ship to the other as the two ships danced in a unified orbit around the ice-covered planet that orbited the star Altair.The Alpha and its crew were about to attempt another first in the history of humankind. This would be the first jump into hyperspace without the Sun as reference point alpha-a direct jump from Altair to Merak!..."Commander, you have got to see this!""What is it?""Not sure, ma'am. It just popped onto our long-range radar just outside of Altair V.""Do you think it's the Muckers? Do you think they finally found us?""Too soon to tell.""Well, if it is, we'll give them a thorough welcoming.""Yes, ma'am, but...""But what corporal?""This thing is big! Really big!"... With an atmosphere in turmoil, humankind's precipitous search for a proximate planet to colonize, the crew of the Alpha crossed paths with the Muckers, an alien race somehow tied to Earth's past.Now, their paths have become a collision course to Earth's final destruction.... "The planets Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Earth, and Venus will align in a pentad syzygy in thirty-one-point-one-hours," Hailey replied."We need to get around the Earth to that line!" I exclaimed."Why?" asked Hailey."I have hatched a plan! Get me the chairperson of the World Council on the line! I need to speak to her immediately!"