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.
* * * * *
On the evening of September 9, the asteroid streaked through the night
sky, drawing the awed attention of people all over the planet. It was
best seen from the island of Vanuatu in the south Pacific from just
after dusk to the hour before dawn when its glow was overwhelmed by the
dawnlight. Had the asteroid not been controlled, September 9 would have
been the first of the last days of life on Earth.
The day after, the President presided at a worldwide celebration in
honor of the Starmen--a celebration to honor them for their critical
role in freeing Mars from the clutches of the pirates. The celebration
had been postponed when the greatest threat ever to menace the Earth was
engineered by Lurton Zimbardo, and then turned aside.
The Starmen were the subjects of many award ceremonies, dinners and
receptions, interviews, and parades. With them were Richard Starlight,
Robert Nolan, Jesus Madera-Cruz, and others who had been instrumental in
freeing the Earth from destruction. The three Starmen were delighted to
see Steve Cliff again, for he was honored along with them for the part
he had played in the liberation of Mars. Jack and Jill were also
invited, but preferred to remain on the Moon out of the limelight.
The highlight of the celebration was a ceremony on the grounds of the
capital in New Washington, when the President presented medals to the
Starmen for their valor. The medals had been fashioned from plates in
the _Gloria_, the spaceship that had taken Lee High Eagle to Mars in
2014, the first spaceship to carry human beings to another planet.
When it was all over, the Starmen returned to their homes in Amundsen
City for a long and much-needed time of rest.
One afternoon, they were in Richard Starlight’s office. Richard had not
had an opportunity to hear the Starmen’s entire story from beginning to
end. He had invited them to join him, John Rwakatare, Robert Nolan, and
Beowulf Denn for a relaxing afternoon so that the top four leaders of
Starlight Enterprise and Nolan Mining Enterprise could hear firsthand
the complete tale of the Starmen’s adventures.
Tea and coffee were provided in a luxurious silver service that had been
in Richard’s family for generations--one of the few heirlooms that had
been preserved through the Collapse. On the silverware was engraved the
letter “R,” the only clue to Richard’s surname that still existed.
Nearly a century earlier, before founding Starlight Enterprise Richard’s
father Thomas had changed his name to “Starlight” and destroyed all
records that spoke of his past.
After the three Starmen had finished recounting their adventures, no one
spoke for a long time. Joe poured himself a fresh cup of tea. Most of
them gazed out of the panoramic window at the desolate beauty of the
lunar landscape.
At length Richard said, “Starmen, you’ve had some exciting adventures,
and in them you’ve gained something valuable and lasting: you are now a
team. You’ve learned how to work together, how to think like Starmen and
act like Starmen. You’re experienced, proven Starmen now! You managed to
escape from the clutches of the most dangerous, crazed maniac our
century has ever seen. And you’ve had contact, however fleeting, with
the second intelligent extra-terrestrial race that Earth has
met--certainly ahead of the Titanians and far ahead of us!
“But as far as Starman’s work goes, keep in mind that your adventures
were the exception, not the rule. I know you’ve got exciting careers
ahead, all three of you! You’re three brilliant Starmen and you’re a
credit to Starlight Enterprise--but your next adventure could be as
unglamorous as mapping geological samples in the canyons of Mercury.”
“What will happen to Gene?” asked Mark.
“He will be tried with the rest of the pirates. His assistance in
turning the asteroid aside and the intercession of Jesus Madera will
probably stand him in good stead when his sentence is pronounced.”
“What of the aliens aboard the asteroid, sir?”
“Well, maybe they’re still there and maybe they’re not. We saw no trace
of them after your first encounter. My guess is that there were just the
two of them, maybe a few more, and that they departed from the asteroid
about the time you did. We have plenty of time now to explore the entire
asteroid, and if they’re there, we’ll find them; and if not, we’ll find
whatever traces there are to be found!”
But Richard was wrong. Nothing and no one on Earth had the capability of
finding and entering the inner sanctum on the asteroid. The revelation
of the alien inhabitants would come only if and when the aliens wished
it, and even Richard Starlight could not determine or predict when that
might be.
Zip said, “But it’s not over yet, is it, sir? Whatever or whoever the
aliens were afraid of hasn’t even been identified, much less overcome.
And there are still six pirates who haven’t been captured. Zimbardo is
still free and we haven’t any idea where he is. And the independent
smugglers that Gene told us about disappeared without a trace.”
Richard suddenly looked serious. “You’re right, Zip--and there’s still
the matter of how Zimbardo knew our plans. Somewhere in our organization
he has an ally--at least one.”
Wulf Denn set his coffee cup down carefully and remarked, “But for now,
things are peaceful. There is no danger anywhere, and no sign of any
threat--and the amazing asteroid is ours to explore!”
“Right you are,” agreed Rock, “and there are many secrets it can reveal
to us. Time enough for us to face tomorrow’s dangers tomorrow.”
The Starmen were comforted. If even Rock was not on guard, they felt
free to relax.
“What will you do now?” asked Robert Nolan.
“Well sir,” said Mark. “David’s uncle and aunt have invited all of us to
go their farm in West Virginia--our parents and David’s sister, too--for
a long vacation. I love the stars, but frankly, spending time in the
woods and fields, eating home-cooked meals at a large table with fifteen
or so people, and sitting in front of a fireplace appeals to me more
than I can say!”
“I don’t blame you!” laughed Robert.
“But don’t get too comfortable,” warned Richard, with a chuckle.
“Something will come along before too long!”
“Maybe mapping geological samples in the canyons of Mercury,” suggested
Joe.
“Maybe,” said Richard.
* * * * *
A little more than two months later, as the Seatons, Taylors, and
Fosters prepared to celebrate Thanksgiving dinner on the farm, the
_Tartarus_ was speeding through the void.
“We’ve just passed the orbit of Neptune, sir,” announced the pilot.
“Thank you, Mr. Gebbeth. We’re making good time.” Those who had seen
Lurton Zimbardo in his last hours aboard the runaway asteroid would have
been surprised to learn that he could be a patient man. As he had done
almost obsessively since he had fled the asteroid, he sorted through his
thoughts.
“Hundreds of us reduced to dozens, and then dozens reduced to this
handful of six. The Superiors promised me power once I had obtained for
them the access codes to Earth’s primary systems. Access codes! That’s
all they wanted, and Earth was to be mine for payment! I did my best!
But now I will appeal to them directly and they will push these Starmen
aside without mercy!”
In the next book of the chronicles of the Starmen, JOURNEY TO THE TENTH
PLANET, the threat to Earth will take new form. In the dark reaches
beyond the orbit of Pluto, in the near-absolute zero of space, the
Starmen will finally encounter the overwhelming power of the true
enemies of Earth.