"Oh yes I am too aware of it, David." responded the cheery voice. "The gift of confidence. Do your Latin and find out what 'confidence' really means. Blessing and peace go with you men." A chorus of voices sounded in the background, also offering farewells.

Zip signed off. In minutes O344 was behind them.

When Lurton Zimbardo had first announced to Earth that he had aimed a huge asteroid through s.p.a.ce on a collision course, the news of impending doom spread over the farthest reaches of the globe, bringing with it hysteria and despair. Pockets of unrest and violence sprang up but the phenomenon was short-lived. The memory of the Collapse was too recent, and the populace would not permit violence to prevail-but there was nothing to take its place. Cities, nations, and then continents ground to a standstill as people left their jobs and homes and wandered from place to place aimlessly. The thought of utter, unprecedented destruction for the whole planet, the home of mankind, struck at the very heart of the people. The very elderly, who remembered the worst days of the Collapse, felt their spirits quail within them.

It was a time such as the world had never seen before. In the years to come it became known as The Day the Earth Stood Still. No one knew where to flee, how to flee, or even if fleeing could do any good. After a time the panic quieted down to a heartless agonizing despair, and a heavy, dark spirit fell over the planet.

"Cra.s.s, Lather, Bolcher! Get your men and go! The Earthmen have launched their detection equipment!" Lurton Zimbardo was giving orders over the intercom from the control center of his asteroid. Moments earlier the pirate leader had received a message which informed him of the launch time of Earth's freighters and other details of Earth's defense plan.

"There are seven freighters accompanied by twelve s.p.a.ce Command warships! Each of you take five ships. Find the convoy and destroy the freighters! At all cost, destroy the freighters!"

Zimbardo slammed down the communicator and watched his men scurry for their ships. At the speed they could travel, they should be able to intercept the convoy in about a week-a full day before optimal site for deployment of the microwave probes. Zimbardo had little doubt of the outcome of the encounter. Earth had no idea that the plans were known to him, and the pirate ships were invisible to their radar.

17: The Enemy Revealed

FOR NEARLY seven days, the convoy of seven NME freighters and twelve s.p.a.ce Command warships had sped away from the Earth-Moon system. The warships flew in a spherical configuration about five miles in diameter, at the center of which were the unmanned freighters in compact formation. The urgency of the mission gave the convoy no choice but to utilize the most direct route to the site of deployment, so that the probes could be put into action at the earliest possible time.

There was simply no time to follow any evasive flight plan. On the success of the microwave net rode the hope of Earth's survival from the threat of impact with the enormous asteroid Lurton Zimbardo had unleashed.

"There they are!" announced Mr. Lather, pilot of the Silver Cloud, as he looked at the radar screen. He was followed closely by five other pirate s.p.a.cecraft. Two other groups of six pirate ships were nearby, also searching the area of s.p.a.ce in front of them for the convoy.

"Inform Bolcher and Cra.s.s and give them the coordinates. Tell them that since I was the first to locate the freighters, I will attack first.

Their ships will follow me according to our plan."

"Yes sir, Mr. Lather," responded the Silver Cloud's navigator. The communication was completed and the details of the plan agreed upon.

Then the intership communications system was deactivated. The pirates'

ships, being sheathed to radar, were equally invisible to each other as to the men of s.p.a.ce Command, but each pirate captain knew where the others were supposed to be. The ships usually communicated by closed-system radio and thereby kept in close contact with each other, but now they could not risk revealing their position by engaging in radio contact when they were in the proximity of other ships.

Moments went by without a word being said. Lather could feel the adrenaline surging through him. He was eager to give the command to attack.

"One minute!" he announced to his own crew. "All hands prepare for battle!" After the designated time had elapsed, he shouted, "Go!"

Followed by five s.p.a.ceships protected by the radar bender, he sped undetected through the sphere of s.p.a.ce Command warships. On the screen before him the ma.s.sive freighters loomed up. "Fire!" he shouted. "Fire!

Fire!"

A laser cannon locked onto one freighter and ripped open its hull. In seconds the Silver Cloud was past it and through the other side of the sphere. Behind him came another pirate ship, and then another. As each pa.s.sed through the sphere, it fired laser cannons at the freighters.

None of the lasers struck a vital point in any freighter's fuel system, but the potent cannons, each set on highest power, ripped into the unmanned ships and tore them open to the vacuum. Lather's six ships shot through the sphere of guard ships without being detected or even shot it, but none of the freighters had exploded. Lather cursed when he saw that the damage he had inflicted was not crippling.

The s.p.a.ce Command warships were immediately aware of the attack and began to scatter the freighters by remote control. Some freighters decelerated, others accelerated, still others moved away from the center. Now the pirates would have a more difficult challenge to destroy the NME ships.

As his fleet circled, Lather waited to see what Bolcher's ships would do. He knew where Bolcher was supposed to be but could not communicate with him without revealing his position to the warships of s.p.a.ce Command. Lather could only watch the screen.

Suddenly one of the freighters exploded into incandescent fury. The detonation destroyed the two freighters closest to the one that Bolcher's ship had hit. Within seconds a fourth freighter erupted into flame as its fuel system ignited. The three remaining freighters began to weave in a random pattern, and the s.p.a.ce Command warships began to close in, reducing the window of access to the center of the field.

Cra.s.s' ships began to zoom toward the remaining freighters, laser cannons ready. Being the most experienced pilot, Cra.s.s was confident that his team could eliminate the last three ships. Coming in at a fast clip, each pirate ship only seconds after its predecessor, Cra.s.s' crew strafed the freighters, scoring two direct hits.

With a grin of satisfaction, Lather saw that he would have one more chance to attack. The protective warships had drawn into a very tight formation to protect the last freighter. Its hulk was already torn with a long rip, but its engine still worked and it responded to controls.

The freighter turned and twisted in a random, spiraling forward motion with the warships close around it. Lather brought the Silver Cloud in for the kill.

Shooting smoothly through an opening in the protecting ships'

formation, he saw his target and fired. The last freighter blew up almost in his face. All seven freighters-and their contents-had been turned into diminutive pieces of whirling s.p.a.ce junk. The Silver Cloud sped through the detritus and pa.s.sed the far boundary of warships. As soon as he had pa.s.sed the last s.p.a.ce Command ship, three of them fired at him almost at once. Though he was invisible to radar, he was visible to the eye at the moment he was close to the exploding freighter.

One s.p.a.ce Command laser pierced the Silver Cloud-a narrow but tight beam. The shaft of weaponlight punctured the crew's living quarters, and air began to escape from the pirates' s.p.a.cecraft. Automatic seals quickly stopped the leak and Lather sped on. The exultation he had felt at having fired the final destructive bolt had instantly changed into a cold dread at his narrow escape. Followed by the other pirate ships, he sped on, back toward the great asteroid where Lurton Zimbardo awaited news of their successful mission.

Commander Benjamin Bennett of the s.p.a.ce Command ship Ignis sat motionless for ten minutes after the last freighter had blown up. He was a topflight career s.p.a.ce pilot who governed one of the few standard s.p.a.ce Command Fleets of Twelve. His black hair showed no signs of gray.

Because of his unspotted record and eminent trustworthiness, he had been given the responsibility for guarding the freighters. Usually looking much younger than his forty-one years, now he appeared much older.

No one approached him. Then he spoke, as if into the air.

"I suppose the pirates are gone now."

"So it would appear, sir," said a crewman.

"Obviously they weren't concerned with destroying us-just the freighters. I suppose in the long run it amounts to the same thing, though." No one responded. "Please raise headquarters and hand me the communicator." A crew member complied. Commander Bennett took the communicator. His message was terse but complete: pirates had attacked the convoy and all seven freighters had been lost.

Twelve minutes later the news came into Starlight Enterprise and was tranferred immediately to Richard Starlight, who was at work in his office. He finished listening to the message, then turned and looked out over the stark moonscape. Slowly, he smiled.

The next day, just after noon, Richard was again in his office. Joining him for lunch were John Rwakatare, Robert Nolan, Beowulf Denn, and Commander John Lewis and a few other visitors from s.p.a.ce Command.

Though the food was delicious, the meal was a dismal affair. Long faces and few words expressed the atmosphere of the gathering.

Richard, however, and Robert seemed not to share the gloom. Richard was an attentive host, carefully seeing to his guests' needs. "A little more water, John?" he asked, offering the crystal decanter. "Could you please pa.s.s the biscuits, Robert? Thank you. Good, aren't they?"

"Yes, Rick, they are, especially for biscuits made on the Moon,"

responded the head of NME. "Your chef is highly skilled."

Beowulf Denn couldn't take it any more. "You seem awfully lighthearted about everything, Richard," he said in a tone that verged almost on disrespect. Richard smiled but said nothing.

When the lunch things had been cleared away, Richard spoke.

"Thank you for coming, gentlemen. I apologize for not sharing your distress. Please forgive me for what must appear to be an appalling lack of empathy. When you learn why I have brought you here, you will forgive me, I think. I am expecting a message any moment now, and I wanted you to be here when it came in. It is coming from the commander of a large fleet of Starlight Enterprise ships." Richard glanced at Robert. The two friends shared a subtle smile.

"Encrypted message from Captain Marks-Owens, sir," came an artificial, mellow voice through the high-level communication system.

"Ah!" said Richard. "Transmit to my office."

The large screen on the wall behind Richard lit up. He turned his chair. The visage of a tall and slender woman appeared, with high cheekbones and honey-dark hair drawn back and held in place with a small circlet.

"Captain Mary Marks-Owens on the Starlight Enterprise ship Tempest, reporting on top security beam to Richard Starlight. Starlight fleet is in place. There were no incidents, and we are ready for your command, sir."

Richard smiled widely and said clearly, "Excellent work, Mary! Deploy the probes immediately!"

Beowulf Denn choked. "What is this?" he burst out.