The invisible enemy

The starship Nesbitt arrives in the Hyades after a long voyage to find a smaller vessel lying half-buried in the yellow sands of an unknown planet. Its crew is gone, the ship’s force field stands at impossible angles, and the silent landscape offers no obvious explanation for what happened. Commander William Warrick orders an investigation, even as the men under his command wonder whether they are being sent into the same danger.

Harley Allison, the Nesbitt’s computer specialist, is less enthusiastic. He already suspects that the commander’s calculations and determination are leading them toward trouble, but military orders leave little room for objection. As technicians gather data from above and prepare the expedition below, Allison must use the ship’s computer—and his own judgment—to identify an enemy that cannot be seen, measured, or easily fought.