After they left Gene, the smugglers Kimball, Lorry, and Jenner quickly gathered together their men and supplies and headed for the airlock to the launching pad. There were thirty-seven men altogether. All had their spacesuits on and most of them carried lights.
“How are we going to get out of here?” asked one of the men as they approached the airlock. “The airlock won’t open. Nothing’s working.”
“Portable power pack,” said Kimball. He took a small box from another man, set it down by the airlock, and in seconds had established a makeshift connection. The airlock opened. In that fashion, the men boarded their ships without delay.
Kimball lifted off first and entered the vast, stone tunnel that led to the outside. As soon as the enormous airlock became visible down the shaft, he fired a laser cannon at it. Unable to resist an attack from within, the great door, thousands of years old, shattered into fragments. The atmosphere of the launching pad rushed out, hurling the shards of the airlock door into space. Kimball’s ship then came through the tunnel and exited, followed in short order by the five other ships. They set a course for the Asteroid Belt and at top acceleration left the pirates’ asteroid behind them.
After Gene had fled out of earshot, Zimbardo turned to the few men who were behind him. “I’m lifting off in the Tartarus in ten minutes. It’s the only ship left on the asteroid. Meet me at the great doors. Tell everyone else you see.” He swiveled and walked to the stairwell to go up to his own rooms.
None of the men said anything to each other, but scattered, each going to his own quarters.
Ten minutes later, arrayed in his spacesuit and carrying a few items, Lurton Zimbardo stood at the great doors. Behind him was the asteroid complex. In front was the manufacturing center and beyond that was the launching pad where the Tartarus stood in solitary splendor. Only five men had joined the pirate leader.
“So,” said Zimbardo. “Only five of you. Five men left. Who are you?” He lifted his light a little so he could see their faces. “Ah, Mr. Gebbeth. I said before that I knew I could depend on you. I’ve always known it. You are the pilot. And Mr. Slant. Mr. Stagnum. Mr. Withers. And Mr. Poppy. No one else. Well, then, there are six of us altogether. Let us go.”
There was almost no talking. Each man seemed to know what to do without being told. They opened the airlocks to pass through the manufacturing center, and then into the airless launching pad. Without haste but without unnecessary delay, they entered the Tartarus, a gleaming silver and red ship that could support a crew of eighteen.
The six men strapped themselves into acceleration couches with Gebbeth in the pilot’s position. “Take us out, Mr. Gebbeth,” said Zimbardo. “I will tell you where to go when we are free.”
“Yes sir,” said Gebbeth, and initiated the launching sequence. In a short time, Lurton Zimbardo’s spacecraft had left the asteroid.
“Top speed, Mr. Gebbeth,” said Zimbardo. “Make sure the sheathing equipment is functioning. Head away from the sun.”
“Of course, sir.”
When Zimbardo burned out the asteroid’s power, much of the energy needed to power its sheathing apparatus disappeared. The sheathing plates then only received power through the solar energy panels, and they did not provide enough energy to hide the asteroid completely. It appeared on radar as a faint blip, allowing the Earth ships to locate it without difficulty. About two hours after Zimbardo’s departure, the fleet command ship Tempest came upon the asteroid. It was the first of fourteen ships from both Space Command and Starlight Enterprise that were expected to arrive within the hour.
The Tempest maneuvered carefully through the gaping orifice left when Kimball’s ship had blown the massive airlock, and set down inside the airless docking arena of the asteroid. Captain Mary Marks-Owens descended the ladder first, followed by several members of the crew. All were armed. Only the lights of the spaceship lit up the cavernous hall of shadows.
“Eerie,” observed Captain Marks-Owens as she set foot on the pavement. “Follow me. We’ll see if the place is as abandoned as it looks.” Nine space-suited figures fell in behind her as she approached the airlock into the manufacturing area. When she was unable to open it, she called for a portable power supply. Two additional men brought one from the ship, opened the airlock, and allowed the landing party to enter the complex. Once inside, the members of the crew were able to dispense with their helmets.
Slowly and carefully they made their way through the blackness, pushing it back with the radiance of the lights they carried. They were in awe of the huge, obviously alien place.
“The place feels almost haunted,” observed one man in a quiet voice.
“Somewhat,” agreed the Captain, “but there’s more to it than that. There’s something deeper. I don’t think this is an evil place. It is a place that needs to be cleansed.”
The party passed through the great doors. Before they had crossed the courtyard a man emerged from the far side, carrying a light. The members of the landing party quickly spread out, and the Captain ordered, “Halt!”
“Don’t shoot!” came the voice from behind the tiny light across the room. “I’m unarmed. I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Gene Newman. I was the control officer for Lurton Zimbardo. He’s gone.”
“Come forward slowly, hands up.” Gene walked forward cautiously with his hands extended over his head, holding his light in one hand. When he was a few yards away, Captain Marks-Owens ordered him to stop and directed two men to search him. When it was definite that he was unarmed, she called him to approach her.
“What’s been going on here?” she asked.
Gene explained that Zimbardo had aimed the asteroid at Earth, burned out the power system, and fled two hours earlier. The Captain’s face paled as he told the story.
“Radio the ships that are still en route and have them check the course of this rock,” she ordered one of the men, who put on his helmet and contacted the ship. “And tell Mr. Madera to come here at once.” The order was given.
While they were waiting for Mr. Madera, Captain Marks-Owens quizzed Gene further. “Why did you stay behind?”
“I—, I joined Putnam’s organization because it seemed a sure thing. He was captured, but Zimbardo took over and made it seem an even better proposition. But I could see him getting crazier and crazier! I’m not ashamed to say that he began to frighten me—and he frightened others, too! And when he aimed the asteroid toward Earth...” Gene’s eyes widened and he began to tremble, “I knew there was something seriously wrong with him! I had to get away! I wanted to fix things—if I could!”
“Are there any others here?”
“I don’t know. There may be. I haven’t seen anyone else. Apart from Zimbardo and the smugglers, there were seventeen men left on the asteroid. I don’t know how many went with him. There were also some prisoners—three Starmen and some asteroid miners, but they escaped from the room where they were being held and disappeared into the depths of the asteroid. I don’t know where they are now. We never saw a trace of them after that.”
“They escaped from the asteroid three weeks ago. In fact, we expect them to arrive here soon in their own ship.”
Gene’s face showed out-and-out surprise at this news. “They escaped? They got off the asteroid? How did they do that?”
At this point, they were joined by the young man for whom the Captain had asked. He was about thirty years old, with a full crown of thick brown hair and deep brown eyes. This was Jesus Madera-Cruz, Chief Ioneer for Starlight Enterprise. He was adept with engines and micro-electronics. Noted for a placid nature, nothing ever seemed to bother him, and his expertise in power systems had never failed the trust which Richard Starlight had placed in him.
“You asked for me, Captain?” he asked.
“Yes, Mr. Madera. We need your skills urgently. This is Gene, one of Zimbardo’s men. Zimbardo has been gone for two hours. Gene tells us that before he fled he burned out the power. Before the power went out, he also redirected the asteroid on a collision course with Earth. I’ve asked our ships outside to confirm that. In the meantime, I’d like you to check out the power system and see if you can bring it back up. Obviously, if what Gene says is true, this is a matter of extreme urgency, not just convenience.”
“Yes, ma’am,” answered the man with a brief nod. The Captain detailed several men to go with Gene and Madera to wherever Zimbardo’s former chief control officer wanted to take them. Gene took them first to the control deck.
Captain Marks-Owens detailed the rest of her men to search the complex in pairs. As other ships landed, minutes apart from each other, she directed their crews to the search. After an hour, ten other pirates had been located. All had been eager to turn themselves in. They were taken into captivity and led to one of the Space Command ships where they were fed and kept under guard.
Soon there were over a hundred men searching the facility. Operations officers began connecting portable power systems to various parts of the complex to reestablish the lights and get the airlocks working again. The atmosphere recycling system was not yet accessible, but the air would last for a long time.
An ensign brought a report to Captain Marks-Owens during the search, confirming Gene’s account that the asteroid was on a collision course with Earth.
“Details?” asked the Captain.
“The asteroid will collide with Earth in approximately eight days, at a speed of nearly 300,000 miles per hour,” responded the ensign. “It was vastly accelerated for a few minutes before the power burned out, and the sun’s gravity continues to increase the rate of acceleration. We have not yet determined precisely where it will strike, but we are forwarding the data to SE and that will be determined.”
At that point, Gene and Madera came up to Marks-Owens.
“Captain,” said Madera. “I have made a preliminary examination of the control system. Gene has been more than cooperative, I am happy to say. With his help, just by looking at the controls and hearing him describe what Zimbardo did, I can conjecture what kind of power we’re dealing with. If we can get the power back on, we should not have any difficulty in changing the course of the asteroid. Restoring the power, however, will not be easy. Gene has never been to the power plant. In fact, it seems that no one has, even including Zimbardo. No one knows where it is or how to learn its location.”
“Go back to the Tempest and contact George St. George and the Starmen. St. George is on Ceres and the Starmen are in the Star Ranger on their way here. These men have been inside the power plant and know how to find it.”
“Yes ma’am.” Madera bowed his head slightly and turned toward the airlock that led out to the launching pad. He showed no signs whatever of being ruffled. In sharp contrast, Gene was visibly anxious.
“Gene,” said Captain Marks-Owens; “you’ve apparently been eager to cooperate. Mr. Madera is easy to get along with but hard to please. If he commends you, I am satisfied that you are not a threat to us. You go on to the Tempest also and get some food and some rest, as you need. We can’t do more until we hear from the Starmen or St. George. We’ll want you later, and you’ll need to be rested.”
“Yes ma’am,” said the distraught man. He turned toward the SE flagship, swallowed hard, and stepped toward the airlock. He ran to catch up to Madera.
Captain Marks-Owens watched them for a moment, then turned her attention back to the activity of the men who were supplying the temporary power to the complex before her. The grandeur of the view impressed her.
“This place that seemed so menacing when we first landed is beginning to look a little less threatening now,” she thought. “Hard to believe we are aboard a runaway asteroid that will destroy Earth in eight days, unless we can turn it aside somehow.”
20: Desperation
THE STAR RANGER sped through space toward its rendezvous point with the racing asteroid. Given the urgency of the situation, Zip had ordered the maximum acceleration that their bodies could tolerate. Mark had programmed their course to bring them as quickly as possible up to boarding speed with the asteroid. Having done that, he pored through the printed material he had taken from the asteroid’s power plant. He felt hopelessness creeping over him since he didn’t know what Zimbardo had done to burn it out.
Zip came over and stood near where Mark was seated with a dim lamp illuminating the papers in front of him. The lamp was designed to burn with a soft light tinged with the faintest trace of light green, to be easiest on the eyes. It was devised for periods of long study.
“Anything yet, Mark?” Zip asked, knowing that the question was pointless. If Mark had found even a tiny piece of information which could be remotely connected to the situation on the asteroid, he would have spoken up.
“No, Zip,” replied Mark. “I can follow the diagrams pretty well now, and I think I understand how one part connects to another, but I can’t envision how any part of it could have burned out. I’ve tried to calculate how much power Zimbardo would have needed to generate the EMP of the size he did, but I can only guess at it. Even at my highest estimates, I can’t see how it would burn out the power supplies of a huge iron asteroid that can be used as a spacecraft. All I can imagine is that much of the power supply of the asteroid had been shut down before.”
“You mean that its reserves were not in place?”
“Something like that. We have guessed that the asteroid was a huge spacecraft. We also know that it had been stationary and abandoned—or at least unused—for eons. I suspect that the asteroid’s full power had never been accessible to Zimbardo. He was able to operate life-support systems, lights, airlocks, and so forth in his own section without drawing much power. When he tried to ‘power up’ the asteroid and move it out of orbit, he reached the limit of its available power. Then he suddenly initiated the electromagnetic pulse to fry the microwave probes, but he also fried his own system. But the asteroid must have more power than that to be able to do what it must have done in the past. You saw the power plant as well as I did! Did it look to you as if Zimbardo could have burned that whole thing out with one EMP, no matter how intense?”
“Makes sense, Mark. Where, then, is the rest of the power?”
Mark looked up at Zip with a wan smile. “If you want to find it, you can help me look through these papers, if you want.”
“All right, I will,” said Zip, and sat down. Mark handed him a stack of paper, showed Zip what to look for, and went back to his own study.
Joe remained on the flight deck, keeping careful watch on the instruments. He preserved the Star Ranger’s course precisely so that there would be no unnecessary delay in meeting the runaway asteroid. Before him was a scattering of white stars in the blackness. A few large ones stood out.
“Mark would love this,” Joe thought, but he didn’t bother his friend.
The best minds of Starlight Enterprise and Space Command had been working for more than twenty-four hours on the problem of diverting the runaway asteroid, and had not even been able to restore power. Twenty-five ships had docked inside the landing area, and more than 300 men were inside the facility. Some had been detailed to explore and take an inventory of what was found, others had been ordered to provide temporary light and power using portable equipment from the ships, and still others worked under Jesus Madera-Cruz in the desperate attempt to restore power to the asteroid.
From the communications center aboard the Tempest, Mr. Madera had been in contact with SE’s best engineers and the Starmen. SE’s best hope was in the Starmen since they had been aboard the asteroid and had walked through its power plant. By electronic communication, Mark had been able to provide some of the plans for the power plant to Mr. Madera, but the plant was simply too large and too complex for the plans to be of much use.
George St. George had given Madera the proper combination of buttons in the elevators to give him access to the warehouse, but even after the portable units had restored power to the elevators they could not deliver men to the warehouse. The elevators would not descend beyond a certain level since Zip had previously destroyed all the panels when the pirates were pursuing them. Consequently, Madera had had to detail men to descend manually through the shaft to the warehouse floor and repair the controls at the warehouse level for one elevator. That had taken nearly eleven hours.
Except for one brief nap, Madera had not slept since the Tempest had landed. Once the elevator had been repaired, he went with about thirty men through the same passages that the Starmen had traversed. Since the temporary lighting and power had been set up only in the facility that the pirates had been using, Madera and his companions walked in darkness as deep as the inside of a cave.
Madera hefted a huge but lightweight lamp for use in the power plant. To illumine their way through the warehouse and corridors, others carried personal flashlights. As they made their way through the facility, the lights they carried cleaved the darkness. But behind them, the absolute darkness closed up again.
After leaving the warehouse, Madera had to use the codes the Starmen had provided to come to the immense power plant. Although the men had been told in advance what to expect, when the doors of the elevator opened, they were just as awed as the Starmen and miners had been when they first beheld the scene.
Though the power plant was completely dark and silent, there was a feeling among the men at the elevator door that they were at the edge of vastness. Madera activated his lamp and shone it into the iron cavern. Its light penetrated about half a mile; in its cone the latticework, panels, and tubing were revealed. When Madera saw the extent of the plant, he smiled with deep appreciation, then encouraged the men to get to work.
He assigned them to three groups. They were to spread throughout the plant and search for evidence of any burnout or other damage. The men went forth with lights, tools, and electronic equipment. Madera himself set out to study one of the power stations and try to learn its secrets by personal examination.
At one end of the asteroid was the huge landing facility that Troy Putnam had taken over. About two-thirds of the length of the asteroid away was the port through which the Starmen and miners had escaped. Between was an enormous complex of habitable space. At the lowest level was the power plant. Above the power plant was an immense compound, secure from any chance encounter by Earthmen. Access could be given only from inside, and no Earthman would be able to enter by force, short of taking the entire asteroid apart. Indeed, no Earthman even suspected it existed.
Inside this compound, several tall, slender, humanoid figures were working frantically at a panel. Endless banks of dials, screens, switches, and other electronic paraphernalia were set out in the huge room where they worked. The room was dark. Several portable lights had been set in a semi-circle around the panel where the figures were working.
Conversation was minimal and quiet, barely above a murmur. Tools were requested and exchanged. A light was brought over and placed so as to reveal the inner workings of a cabinet filled with circuits and connections.
One figure walked slowly to the far end of the room, carrying a small light. He passed through a doorway, traversed a short corridor, and entered an enormous chamber. He paced along a catwalk. The power in this room was operative. Far above him was an indigo sky with silver stars. A pale blue dawn was showing at the horizon. To his left was an extensive mirror-smooth lake in which the sky and stars were reflected in unutterable beauty. In the lake, trees grew in profusion. It appeared to be an orchard in flood time, but it was apparent that the trees grew best in a watery environment. Heavy, thick, almost circular leaves covered the trees. Fragrant white blossoms promised fruit in the next season. On the shore were numerous small boats for skimming and a few large ones for working in the orchard.
The catwalk led for about a mile across one end of the lake and had several side passages, all on the right. At the fourth side passage, the walker turned and passed through an airlock. After he had come through the second door, he entered a lightless room that gave an impression of immense spaciousness. Revealed in the shadow of his light were many horizontal gold and clear quartz capsules about eight feet long and two feet in diameter, stacked in rows. Each capsule was connected to cables that led into a large box. Boxes were spaced about twenty feet apart and each was connected to about forty capsules.
The walker opened the top of the box and peered inside. He raised a small communicator to his lips and spoke into it. After receiving a reply, he reached into the box with a long tool. A moment later, dim lights went on in the room and a very low hum started up. The walker smiled broadly and closed the box. Then he retraced his steps.
Captain Mary Marks-Owens woke Jesus Madera out of a deep sleep.
“Mr. Madera,” she said, approaching him gently where he had fallen asleep in his chair. He had returned to his office and workshop aboard the Tempest to study some diagrams he had made in the power plant. “The Star Ranger has arrived. The Starmen are waiting for you.”
“Thank you, Captain,” said Madera, lifting his head and rubbing his brown eyes. He ran his hand through his hair quickly, left his room, put on his helmet, and descended the outside ladder to the floor of the launching pad. He turned toward the control center and saw the Starmen on the other side of the wall. They all waved at him. Madera was one of the Starmen’s favorite acquaintances from Starlight Enterprise. He strode across the tarmac and passed through the airlock and hailed the young men.
After he had removed his helmet and exchanged hasty preliminary greetings, he led them across the quad in front of the manufacturing center and through the great doors.
“What have you discovered?” asked Mark.
“I think I can power up the computer system, but it will take a lot of energy to do so. I used submicroscopic robotic probes to provide detailed maps of the computer in the power plant, and some of the wiring, machines, and selected other equipment inside this amazing facility. I’ve detailed men to take portable power packs down to the power plant and arrange them in sequence to give us enough power to jump-start the computer. When we do that, we ought to be able to get into the files you found earlier, Mark. Getting the power packs down there is not easy, but with dozens of men working, I estimated that we could get it hooked up in a couple of hours. That was the time I was taking to study some diagrams I’d made, but instead took an involuntary catnap.”
“Why didn’t you enter the power plant through the hangar from which we escaped?” asked Zip.
“We looked for the opening in the place you’d indicated, but found no evidence of any kind that there was an airlock. We even tried locating it with radar, but the entrance is concealed so effectively that we could find no trace of it. We needed the personnel at this end, so we abandoned the search. Getting to the power plant through the complex here is the long way around, but we knew that we could do it and just couldn’t take the time to look further on the surface for the shortest means of ingress.”
“We’ll have to find some way to open the airlock from the outside when we’re not so rushed,” responded Zip. “We haven’t kept up with the time limit. What’ve we got?”
Madera sighed. “If we can’t move the asteroid, impact with Earth will take place on Thursday, September 8, at 2:33 p.m. That’s about six days from now. It will strike in the Atlantic Ocean just north of the West Indies.”
“How much time have we got to turn it aside?”
“Just a coupla days. After that time, no matter what we do the asteroid will still strike the Earth somewhere. But we’ll be able to move it.”
“You sound confident, Mr. Madera,” said Joe turning his head briefly as the four of them approached the elevators.
“Don’t worry, Joe,” said Madera. “Earth is not ready yet for its Judgment Day.”
Somehow the Starmen believed him. He was not a Starman nor a reputed scientist, but he was a man of deep dignity who exuded confidence and easily won the affections of the people around him.
Moments later, they were at the site of the activity. The last portable power pack had been set up and connected to the closest console in the power plant.
“Set?” asked Madera of the technician who had overseen the procedure.
“Yes sir, Mr. Madera.”
“Let’s go, Mark.” The big Starman stepped up next to the console with Madera. Mark felt a bit of stage fright. Anxiety coursed through him as he suddenly realized that there was so little time left and that the ability to turn the asteroid aside depended on him. Having an audience of more than thirty men daunted him.
“It doesn’t depend entirely on you, Mark,” said Madera, appearing to read Mark’s mind. “Now let’s power up.”
Mark felt the anxiety drain away. He pressed the power button he had discovered before, when the Starmen had been escaping from the pirates. The computer screen surged into life. The men cheered, and Madera smiled. Joe stretched exultantly and appeared to grow two inches taller.
Zip’s brow remained furrowed. He showed little emotion. For him the time to exult would be when the asteroid had been diverted. This was only a vital step in the process. There were others ahead.
Mark kept his eyes on the screen but spoke to Mr. Madera. “I have a theory, Mr. Madera. There must be power enough in this system, and far more than enough, to turn the asteroid aside. We don’t need to find out what Zimbardo’s burned out. We should try to get access to the rest of the system. The diagrams I sent you show that there must be plenty of power. We just have to find out how to turn it on!”
“That’s sound reasoning, Mark,” nodded Madera. “And probably easier than trying to locate whatever damage Zimbardo did.”
For some time, Mark and Madera conversed quietly as Mark flipped through file after file. Diagrams appeared and Mark’s fingers flew over the screen as he pointed out what he had learned while journeying on the Star Ranger. Madera nodded, and pointed out several connections Mark had not seen.
Once, Madera handed a small diagnostic pack to one of the technicians and sent him to climb the iron latticework. The man returned in a few moments and gave a report. Madera nodded again and turned to Mark.
Three hours went by. Joe’s eyes were drooping, but Zip was still intent, his eyes on Mark.
Mark clapped his hands and turned to Madera. Madera smiled and raised his eyebrows. With an open hand, he gestured to the control panel. Mark nodded his thanks and pressed several buttons. The files changed rapidly at each new command. Then Mark made fists and clenched a few times as if massaging his fingers. Then he raised his hand and prepared to press a button off to the side of the panel.
Suddenly he leaped back a foot, his hands lifted as if he had touched a hot surface. His face was white, his eyes were wide open, and he was breathing hard. His body was trembling as if he were deadly frightened. Zip shot forward, pushing his way through the crowd to reach Mark.
“What is it, Mark? What’s wrong?” His voice was urgent.
“The power plant—it’s thousands of years old!” Mark wasn’t looking at Zip—he was still looking forward, as if his eyes were being drawn to the controls. “Pressing this button...” he stopped and swallowed hard, and blinked twice. “Pressing this button is the last step in activating the rest of the power plant. It should give us the power we need, but—but it’s clear that it hasn’t been activated for thousands of years. There’s no way to tell whether it’s safe. This is a complicated system. If something is wrong,” Mark slowly turned to face Zip, “If something is wrong, if a bolt has slipped into the wrong place, if Zimbardo bypassed a vital circuit somewhere, or if a conduit is stopped up anywhere, all the energy this plant can produce could blow back at us. The entire works could explode into a million pieces.”
Zip looked at the floor for an instant, then looked up again and stared directly into Mark’s eyes. “You’re right, Mark; but there’s no other choice. You have to do it.”
Mark’s exhaled quickly. “Oh, I know, Zip—I know. But as I reached out my hand, I had a sudden chill that our destruction was a second away. It just didn’t feel right. And if this asteroid blows into fragments, then Earth will be peppered with hundreds of devastating impacts!”
Zip slowly turned and faced the silent crowd. Every face was marked with grave intensity. Joe stood at the back, his face drawn and tense.
“You all heard,” Zip said. “But you all know that we have no choice.” No one said anything. A few men dropped their eyes and shuffled their feet. Zip turned to Mr. Madera in silent appeal. Madera nodded very slowly.
Then Mark wiped both hands on his shirt and slowly reached out and pressed the last button.
A distant grinding noise as of gears engaging sounded from far away. There was a whooshing sound as of air filling a giant bag. The grinding sound leveled off into a bare hum. The lights gradually came on.
The men cheered. Mark looked relieved. The tension under which he had been operating quickly released. His face wrinkled up and tears began to flow down his cheeks.
Then the bare hum began to build. It turned into a whine, and then into a shriek. The floor began to shudder. Mark wiped his eyes and stared at the screen.
“The reaction is starting, but the energy level is climbing much faster than it should! Something’s wrong! Something’s wrong!!”
The men began to hear small explosions. There was a popping sound as a flexible tube burst a few yards away. Tinkling glass rained down in several places as light bulbs popped with the influx of too much energy. Mark began to flip rapidly through files on the screen.
All at once a panel a hundred yards away blew out in a monstrous explosion. A burst of brilliant white light blinded the men momentarily. As their eyes returned to normal a loud hiss cut through the air and continued to build. Yellow and orange sparks erupted in a spectacular shower from the damaged panel. Mark turned toward the site with a look of panic. Without warning a connector at the panel lit up with a coruscating orange color. Unable to handle the power surge, it began to melt and fragment. In less than a second, the damage shot through the connector and came to where it entered the computer terminal. There was a sickening, deep “brrzzz” sound, and the screen went dark.
Mark slumped toward the floor. Madera grabbed the Starman before he fell and eased him to the iron deck. Joe ran forward.
21: The Asteroid Over Vanuatu
ZIP was already hunched over Mark when Joe came to the front of the crowd. A few of the men hovered nearby, which others ran to the site of the explosion. Most stayed in place, looking around nervously.
“Is he...?” stammered Joe.
“He sustained a powerful shock,” said Madera. “The energy was too much for that panel and it backed up to the terminal here. Mark had his hand on the keyboard.”
Zip was taking Mark’s pulse. Mark’s right hand was blackened and his sleeve was frayed up to the elbow. “His pulse is strong. I think he’s just unconscious. It must have been quite a blow!”
“Yes, it was,” said Madera. “I could feel the power of it just standing nearby! But his heart is beating strongly! Let’s get him back to the Tempest where he can receive some care!”
“What about the power?” asked Joe, getting to his feet.
“Look around you, Joe,” said Madera with a wave of his hand.
Joe and Zip looked out toward the plant.
“Hey!” exclaimed Joe. “It’s okay! It’s leveled off!” The shriek had diminished to a gentle hum once again, and the sounds of popping conduits and breaking glass had disappeared. “What happened?”
“I think that the panel over there was a huge breaker for this part of the power system. Mark was right. There was enormous danger in starting the plant up after so long. The energy surged through it and even the breaker couldn’t handle it very well. It blew up when it couldn’t handle the strain any more, and diverted the energy it couldn’t absorb back into the terminal here. Fortunately for Mark, by that time there was only a little left.” Madera glanced down at Mark. “He’s a brave man.”
“Yes, he is,” confirmed Joe with some animation. He and Zip picked Mark up. With the help of two others, they carried him to the elevator. In less than a minute, all the men were on their way back to the control center and the Tempest.
Within ten minutes they were back in the main hall. Through the great doors they could see more than two dozen spacecraft arrayed on the extensive launching pad.
Mark sighed deeply, then moaned. The four men who were carrying him kept up the pace. Joe called out, “Mark! How’re you doing?”
Mark moaned again, blinked, then opened his eyes. He stared up at the ceiling, appearing not to see anything. Then suddenly he began to struggle.
“Hey! Hey, what’re you doing?” he cried out. “Put me down!”
“Easy, Mark,” said Zip. “You had a shock, but you’ll be okay!”:
“I’m okay now! Put me down! I have to fix the panel! Where are you taking me?”
“Everything’s fine, Mark,” said Mr. Madera. “The system leveled out and the power is back on and controlled.”
Mark sank back with another sigh. “Great,” he said. “Put me down, though. I’m all right.” The men set him on his feet, but supported him as he wobbled, trying to get his balance.
“Wow! Am I tired!” he said at last. “Somebody help me to my bunk and wake me when it’s over.”
“I’ll go with you, Mark,” said Joe. With Joe trying to support the larger of the two Starmen, the two of them walked slowly across the quad to the airlock that led to the launching pad.
“We’re still not finished,” said Madera. “We have to steer the asteroid out of its collision course. For that, I think we’ll need some help from an unlikely source.”
“Gene,” stated Zip.
“Gene,” affirmed Starlight Enterprise’s Chief Ioneer.
Jesus Madera reached for his communicator and asked that Gene be sent to him from where he was being held in the Tempest. Madera dismissed the men who had been with them in the power plant, then turned to the red-headed Starman.
“I’m sure that Joe or even I could pilot the asteroid if we had to, but it is best that Gene do it—best for him.”
“Of course, Mr. Madera,” said Zip. “I understand.”
While they waited, the Starman gazed around. Far above was the roof of the great chamber like an iron sky. The natural lights of the complex once again blazed throughout the structures. The air seemed fresher.
He and Madera watched Gene descend the ladder and jump the last few rungs to the pad. Then he turned and paced quickly to the closest entrance in the great wall. He came through the airlock, discarded his helmet, and hurried to the small group that was waiting for him.
“We have restored power,” said Madera.
“So I see!” said Gene with a great smile. “That’s terrific! Do you want me to pilot the asteroid away from Earth?”
“That’s exactly what I want you to do. Let’s go.”
The three men made their way along the corridors, hastened past open doorways, and took the elevator up one flight to the control center. They passed dozens of SE men and members of Space Command. Captain Mary Marks-Owens was supervising their work.
Once in the control center, Gene took his seat at the main console, glanced at the Starman and the other men in the large room, then stared at the screen before him. He scratched his head, then placed his hands on the keyboard and activated it.
“Whew!” he exclaimed a moment later. “Well over 290,000 miles per hour! It would be better to turn this asteroid aside and pass by the Earth rather than try to bring it into orbit, as Zimbardo had planned at first. We’re going too fast for that!”
“My thoughts exactly,” said Madera, seating himself on a stool next to Gene. “Let’s see how you do it.”
Gene plotted coordinates and tracked the trajectory of the runaway asteroid, then calculated the amount of thrust needed to pass the Earth at a safe distance. He figured how much he could slow the asteroid down without putting too much stress on the inhabitants. When he was finished, he turned to Madera.
“Okay?”
“Looks right to me!”
“Well, then...here goes.” Gene entered the figures into the primary guidance system and activated it. Tears suddenly came into his eyes. “Oh, please let it be enough, let it be right, let it work,” he whispered.
The Starmen woke after twelve hours of sleep aboard the Star Ranger. Uncharacteristically, Joe was the last one up. He found a note in the washroom that read, “We’re on the Tempest. Join us for breakfast whenever you’re ready.” He washed up quickly and hastened to the SE fleet command ship.
Readily admitted, he found his two colleagues in the dining area. Mark and Zip were just finishing a large platter of scrambled eggs and cheese, potatoes, freshly-squeezed juice, and hot coffee. “I’ll have the same, but with tea,” he announced, and sat down.
“Yes sir,” came a voice from the galley.
“How’re you feeling this morning, Mark?” asked Joe. “How’s your hand?”
“Couldn’t feel better, Joe! Had a good sleep at last, and my hand should be healed in a couple of weeks. It was a second-degree burn.”
A few moments later, Gene came out carrying Joe’s breakfast.
“Gene!” exclaimed Joe.
“Yes, Mr. Taylor. Just trying to help out a little,” said the erstwhile pirate.
“He cooks as well as he pilots,” said Mark.
“We’re safe, then.” Joe made it a statement rather than a question as he shook some pepper onto the steaming eggs.
“Yes,” said Zip. “The asteroid will sweep past the Earth in a week, missing it by about 50,000 miles. It will be visible for almost the whole night over the south Pacific, like a fast-moving star. Should be quite a sight!”
“Then what?” asked Joe between gulps of juice.
“Then what, what?” responded Mark.
“Then where does it go?”
“As Gene said yesterday,” explained Zip, “it’s moving too fast to enter an orbit around the Earth, so Gene steered it into a course around the sun. It will take about seven months to circle the sun just inside Earth’s orbit. Then it will catch up to the Earth and can easily be placed into an Earth orbit at that time. Scientists from Starlight Enterprise will live on it and try to learn its secrets. In fact, a ship will be launched from SE in a couple of days with a crew of them. They’ll intercept the asteroid and start the exploration right away.”
Mark continued bringing Joe up to date. “The Captain’s got a team replacing the huge airlock on the surface of the asteroid, and the temporary power supply packets are being reloaded on the ships. We’re in complete control of the asteroid now.”
“Where’s Madera?”
“He finally got a full sleep, then went back into the complex. He can’t wait to find out how it all works. He’s hoping that Richard will put him in charge of the exploration team.”
Joe scooped a large helping of potatoes into his mouth, then talked around it to ask, “Well, when do we leave?”
“I’m excited about this place, and would like to explore a bit myself,” said Zip, “but more than anything, I’d like to go home. We can leave any time we want to.”
“I’d like to see Mr. Madera one more time before we go, and then take off for home.”
A day later, the Star Ranger was well on its way to Amundsen City. The Starmen were relaxed, seated comfortably at a small table in the lounge, with the ship on automatic pilot. The strains of Bach’s Little Fugue filled the ship.
Joe asked, “Is that the disk Montezuma Vly gave us?”
“No,” said Mark. “That was destroyed when Lather melted the Vigilant Warrior. This is just part of our standard library. Beautiful piece. But I sure wish we hadn’t lost that disk Montezuma gave us. What a tragedy!”
“Yes, well, Vly did say that we could visit him again. Maybe he’ll give us another.”
“I’d like to see him again, but not for a while. I don’t want to leave home for a long time!”
At the end of their journey, the Star Ranger touched down gently on the tarmac at Amundsen Base, near the south pole of the Moon on the edge of the largest city in the Earth-Moon system—Amundsen City, with over eight million inhabitants. The Starmen debarked from their ship, crossed the field and entered the airlock that led into the receiving area. Through the second door, they could see an enormous crowd.
“Man! This place is jammed!” said Joe. “I’ve never seen so many people here!” As air filled the airlock, the Starmen removed their helmets and tucked them under their arms. Moments later they entered the public terminal. A roar went up from hundreds of voices.
“What’s this?” yelled Mark to Zip and Joe. He could barely make himself heard above the clamor.
“Look!” cried out Zip. “Our families!” With a big smile on his face, he pointed to the front of the crowd. There were the boys’ parents—Allen and Elizabeth Foster with Zip’s eight-year old sister, Kathy; Keith and Barbara Seaton; and Charlie and Laura Taylor. All were smiling hugely.
“Wow!” exclaimed Mark. “All these people are here for us!”
Although the crowd was being kept behind a light barrier of stanchions and ribbons, as soon as the Starmen came through the airlock, Zip’s sister Kathy ducked under the ribbon and ran toward them.
“David, David!” she yelled. When she was still a few feet away from her brother, she leaped and flew into his welcoming arms. “David, I missed you!” she cried, snuggling her head into his shoulder. “I was so worried!”
Zip smelled the little girl’s hair and realized how much he loved her and his home. A lump came into his throat and he unexpectedly burst into tears, kissed her forehead and her cheek, and whispered, “Oh, Kathy, I missed you too, even more than I knew.”
Zip’s mother Elizabeth had the same red hair that he had, while his father Allen had dark hair, now turning a dignified salt-and-pepper. But Kathy had inherited the best of both hair colors. Her deep maroon hair shone with health. Zip picked her up and she wrapped her arms around his neck; then, pressing his cheek to hers, they came to where their parents were waiting for him. Joe and Mark, neither of whom had any brothers or sisters, were already greeting their parents.