Nolan stepped back and spread his hands toward the launching arena of the space station.
“Terrific news,” he said. “We’ll be launching in about forty minutes.”
The two men went into Nolan’s office and sealed it. Though everything was visible through clear partitions, no one could hear what went on inside.
“I’m so sorry I fell apart at that meeting, Rick,” Robert began.
“Don’t give it a thought, Bob. You’ve done very well for the project since then. This is a great offering you’re making.”
“The least we can do, in addition to making as many of the microwave probes as we could, is provide these freighters.”
“Ahead of schedule, too, by a little bit. All the companies pulled together and made the probes to Dr. Hoshino’s specifications. I like his design. His plan should work very well, very well indeed!”
“It’s a wonderful design, Rick! Dr. Hoshino is a genius to a degree above everyone else of this generation. We ought to be able to locate any asteroid that Lurton Zimbardo throws at us. But stopping it is a different problem.”
“If we find it in time, that shouldn’t be too hard, either.”
The two friends talked for a little longer, then went out to watch the launch. Seven unmanned NME freighters were prepared to carry Earth’s hope into space. They would be accompanied by a dozen armed ships supplied by Space Command. The rendezvous of freighters and warships was only a half-hour’s flight time from the space station. Then they would proceed on the eight-day journey to the site of deployment.