"All set," replied Astro.
"Attention all ships in Squadron A—this is flagship—code name Starlight—am changing course. Stand by to form up on me!"
Tom turned back to the intercom.
"Power deck, execute!"
At more than five thousand miles an hour, the Polaris hurtled toward its destination. One by one the remaining ships moved alongside until all six had their needlelike noses pointed toward the pale satellite of the Moon.
"I'd like to know what your plans are, Tom," said Strong, when the long haul toward the Moon had settled down to a routine. "Just idle curiosity, nothing more. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"Golly, yes," said Tom, "I'd be very grateful for your opinion."
"Well, let's have it," said the captain. "But as for my opinion—I'll listen, but I won't say anything."
Tom grinned sheepishly.
"Well," he began, "if I were in command of the invading fleet, I would strike in force—I'd have to, to do damage with only eight ships. There are three possible approaches to Luna City. One is from the Earth side, using the eclipse corridor of darkness as protection. To meet that, I've stationed two ships at different levels and distances in that corridor so that it would be impossible for an invasion to pass unnoticed."