The Runaway Asteroid by Michael D. Cooper (mini ebook reader .TXT) 📕

Both ships began to drift away from the asteroid, so slowly as to be almost unnoticeable. Zip was hoping that when the pirates saw the blip on their radar, they would conclude it was the derelict and pay no attention. He was ready to drift for as long as it took to escape the notice of the pirates before turning on the power and setting a course for freedom. But now that the asteroid was not in the Belt any longer, he knew that they would have to drift for much longer than he had anticipated.

They were free. But the tension was thick. It would not dissipate for a long time.

Forty-two hours later, Marshal and Averette North witnessed the impact of an asteroid that turned their atmosphere plant into rubble. Within an hour of the impact, Lurton Zimbardo opened a channel that allowed him to speak through nearly every communication system on Mars. Gene had previously discovered a method for entering and using all communication bands on Mars except those that were most closely guarded. He had surreptitiously placed automatic signal points into the Martian system without activating them until this moment. Now that the moment had arrived, the voice of the pirate leader was heard throughout Mars.

"This is Lurton Zimbardo. The atmosphere plant at New Emmaus has just been destroyed by an asteroid impact. You were not able to detect the asteroid by radar. It struck without warning. This is to prove that I am able to render asteroids invisible and send them wherever I wish. You cannot see them and you cannot stop them. Within a day the four remaining atmosphere plants on Mars will be similarly destroyed. This will convince you that I have more power than you can imagine, and that you are helpless to oppose me. After the last asteroid has struck your planet, I will announce my demands."

Lurton Zimbardo shut off the microphone in the control center of the asteroid. A crowd of at least forty men jammed the center where Zimbardo sat at the console. The rest of the pirates were standing in the factory or at their assigned work places in the facility. All had heard the broadcast. A feeling of immense power and invulnerability surged through them. A few men began to cheer, and within seconds the enthusiasm had infected the rest of the pirates and the cheer became a roar. It rang throughout the control center and along the corridors, and filled the factory. Zimbardo's smile was wide. He looked down almost modestly, as if he were reluctant to accept the men's accolades.

When the cheers had died down at last, Zimbardo said simply but so that all could hear, "And now for the last step in the plan." The room was quiet. He took out a set of notes from his pocket. The paper was marked with scrawls, lines, and columns of figures. His eyes flicked rapidly from the notes to the controls. His fingers began to fly over the keyboard. He punched in coordinates and set the power grid. He marked the timing of various operations.

Gene, Zimbardo's closest associate, was watching. Gradually his smile narrowed. His eyebrows creased. Then his eyes widened and his face drained.

"Sir!" he exclaimed in a quiet voice. "Those are the coordinates of
Earth! If you use those, you'll take this whole asteroid directly to
Earth!"

"Exactly," nodded Zimbardo. "In about 32 days, as I figure it." He was smiling widely again as he pressed "Enter" and activated the asteroid's propulsion system.

14: The Shield of St. George

THE CONVERSATION was very quiet, but the microphone picked it up. The words that passed between Lurton Zimbardo and Gene were heard by every pirate on the asteroid. There was complete silence. The pirates' enthusiasm and their complete trust in Zimbardo's leadership was instantly badly damaged. Though no one spoke, many of the men began to doubt their leader's sanity, and became afraid.

"But sir," pleaded Gene. "This asteroid is the key to our success, and we're all its passengers. If you program it to collide with Earth, I…" words failed him.

Zimbardo smiled indulgently. "Gene," he soothed, as if explaining something obvious to a confused child, "I'm not going to cause us to smash into the Earth. We want to control Earth, not destroy it, and how better to do it than from a close orbit around the planet in this magnificent flying base? I'm taking us to Earth, and there will be plenty of time to adjust our course once we get close. We will accelerate until about midway there, then decelerate until we achieve orbital speed.

"I will, however, inform Earth that I have sent an asteroid more than forty miles long on a collision course-an asteroid they can't see and can't stop! They will meet any demands I make! They will definitely meet any demands I make, after we destroy the five atmosphere generators on Mars with pinpoint accuracy. Relax now. In a month or so, we will be the undisputed masters of the third planet-and all without leaving home!" He laughed.

Gene grinned and also laughed, but while Zimbardo's laugh was deep and genuine, Gene's was a little forced. He was relieved, but his trust in Zimbardo's leadership had suffered a severe setback. He would be on his guard from here on. He looked up and caught the eye of Mr. Lather. His face was hard and unsmiling; it was difficult to tell what he was thinking. Gene turned and looked at Gebbeth. His expression was marked with merciless determination. He, at least, appeared convinced and prepared to follow Zimbardo all the way. But Gene was no fool; he looked around and surmised that the majority of those in the room were harboring secret reservations.

Gene didn't blame them. He felt the same way. He would stay with Zimbardo for the time being, but he would keep a careful eye on the situation and look for a way to ensure his personal safety if it appeared that the pirate leader had lost touch with reality. The pirates were looking for power and prestige, not a suicide mission.

For almost two days the Starmen and the miners had been drifting in space, not using power of any kind, afraid that even using lights might draw the attention of the vigilant pirates on the asteroid. The distance between the ship and the massive iron asteroid with its fascinating interior was increasing incrementally, but not quickly enough to please Zip. He chafed with impatience.

Mark's first duty once the fourteen men were aboard ship was to
discover their location. Since the escapees were using no power at all,
Mark could employ only observation and mathematics to get his estimate.
He guessed that they were 1,023 miles from the nearest edge of the
Asteroid Belt and drifting roughly parallel to it.

The Starmen's plan was to head for the nearest SE facility. If Mark's estimate of their position was correct, the facility closest to them was an unmanned Starlight Enterprise station on O344, a medium-sized asteroid coming their direction. As soon as it was safe to use power Joe would pilot the alien ship to the station.

"We'll be okay in a few hours, Zip," said Joe. "You got us out of the asteroid with food and a ship. We all thought that would be impossible. We ought to be able to turn on the energy and get blasting out of here before too long."

"I know," responded Zip, with his characteristic furrowed brow. "We're caught between taking a chance on being recaptured by the pirates and depleting the food. We'll run out of supplies in a couple of days."

"I know-and the closest base is roughly four days away, depending on how speedy this beauty proves to be. But we'll make it." Joe went off to visit with Mark, who was gazing out of the window at the immense spread of the Milky Way.

George St. George came up to Zip, who was sitting alone at a table, doing nothing but staring down at his hands. He sat down opposite him; when Zip looked up, the miner smiled.

"You've brought us back into the heavens, young Mr. Starman," he said, "so you've got no reason to be covered with gloom. You won't get us to safety now any faster by worrying."

Zip pursed his lips and looked into St. George's eyes. "The man seems to be protected by a shield of innocence all around him," he thought. "His base was destroyed, he and his men were captured and taken into a massive iron asteroid by the Solar System's greatest enemy, and now he's floating in the void with only two days' food left, and he's still calm and trying to encourage me the way he encourages his men. Who is the real leader of these men? I make the decisions, but he strengthens their hearts. He even strengthens my heart."

St. George smiled. Almost as if he could read Zip's mind, he added, "Each of us has a gift according to the grace given us, which we are to use to benefit others. If it weren't for you, we'd still be locked up inside that room-or worse-under the control of Lurton Zimbardo. I have my gift, and you have yours, and we both employ our gifts well. We haven't come this far to fail now. Our success doesn't depend solely on you, you know. Relax and just do your part. There's still a lot to do, but the outcome isn't in doubt."

Zip smiled, and before he could say anything St. George had risen and strolled to the window where Joe and Mark stood.

All at once, Mark pointed and cried out, "Hey, look at that! Do you see what I see?" Several men came to the window and peered out. Zip Foster joined them. Joe answered.

"Yes! -the asteroid's moving!"

The dark bulk of the pirates' asteroid, which had loomed so close to them for two days, was gradually but visibly moving away. Its silhouette had been blocking half their view of the Asteroid Belt and the gleaming array of stars behind it, but now, even as they watched, its profile diminished and stars were winking into view around its edge.

"They're heading out somewhere-moving that entire asteroid! I wonder what's going on?" asked Mark.

"We'll be able to power up before too long, now! We'll be on our way ourselves," announced Zip, animatedly. "Soon we can get in touch with Starlight. It's been over a week since we've been in contact. We've got a lot to tell them." The shadow that had lain over Zip for two days had been lifted. "How long until we can turn on the power, Mark? When will we be out of the pirates' radar range?"

"Less than an hour, I'd say."

Zip raised his voice so everyone could hear. "We get under way in an hour, men!"

It was sooner than that. In 26 minutes, the asteroid was no longer visible to the eye. Zip waited a full 45 minutes then turned on the ship's power at its lowest setting. Using the radar, he scanned the quadrant where the asteroid had last been seen and turned up no object of significance. He hadn't expected to.

"That doesn't mean they can't see us," he mused to Mark and Joe. "That asteroid is probably sheathed just like their ships. But I think we're safe now-safe enough, anyway, to get moving."

"Right. Let's go," said Joe. "I'll jettison the derelict and power up!
I've been looking forward to this moment!"

Zip ran the power switch up to maximum and commanded everyone to prepare for acceleration. Joe ignited the propulsion system. With the lanky Starman at the controls the alien ship began its journey toward the Asteroid Belt. As the ship began to cruise easily, Zip began to think of communicating with Starlight Enterprise.

"Mark, contact SE right away. Fill them in on our recent adventures and see if, by any chance, there's a ship closer to us than the base on O344."

George St. George spoke up. "What if the pirates overhear your transmission, Zip? Won't they know we've escaped and be able to locate us?"

"I think it's worth the risk, George. They probably think we're still inside the asteroid and won't be looking for us out here. Even if they do overhear the transmission, I doubt they'd send some ships after us. The distance between us is growing rapidly, and if we have to we've got plenty of time to hide in the Belt. I'm worried about our dwindling supplies; we need some relief soon, and SE needs our information as soon as we can get it to them. Go ahead, Mark."

"I'm on it," said Mark.

"Provide