failed to turn up the planetary system of the hated outspacers so patrols like his kept on searching. In a way he was glad that the initial encounter had taken place for it gave him a chance to get into space for long periods of time and it was then that Jo-Anne could be herself. Still it was hard on the people of Earth as they worked to build the ships and weapons necessary to find and destroy the aliens before they did the same to the Earth. The news media spoke of little these days other than naming the horrors that would result if this war was lost and the possibility of total annihilation kept everyone working to defeat this new alien threat.

Most international problems had been ironed out by the survivors of the nuclear war of 1982, but the destruction of the Russian space cruiser by the aliens in 2050 had sure gotten all of the groups on Earth working together. Joe had been in his third year at the Space Academy in New Mexico when the incident took place and he recalled that the first reports of an attack had been met with incredulity. He still regretted the swift retaliatory measures that had been taken against the lone enemy ship for it had been vaporized by a nuclear weapon before any attempt was made at communication. The strange part of the story was the fact that the alien vessel had not tried to escape after the Russian ship exploded and the order was given to attack and a declaration of war was made against the unknown alien race.

Jo-Anne noticed that one of her stockings was loose and she reached to tighten the garter being careful not to cause a run. After all, there were no stores in space and no reasonable girl could exist for long without stockings. Just like a woman thought Joe. The human race is in danger of destruction and she worries about a pair of stockings. Still in all, Joe knew that he wouldn't be where he was without her. She had been a part of him ever since that day 25 years before when he had tried on a pair of high heeled shoes and more than once he had cursed himself for wanting to wear feminine apparel. Jo-Anne however had been persistent and he really came to accept her during the three month long solo flight that completed his training at the Academy.

The psychological testing of applicants for the job of space pilot was extremely demanding and thorough and Joe worried

16