“Yes sir, Mr. Madera.”
“Let’s go, Mark.” The big Starman stepped up next to the console with Madera. Mark felt a bit of stage fright. Anxiety coursed through him as he suddenly realized that there was so little time left and that the ability to turn the asteroid aside depended on him. Having an audience of more than thirty men daunted him.
“It doesn’t depend entirely on you, Mark,” said Madera, appearing to read Mark’s mind. “Now let’s power up.”
Mark felt the anxiety drain away. He pressed the power button he had discovered before, when the Starmen had been escaping from the pirates. The computer screen surged into life. The men cheered, and Madera smiled. Joe stretched exultantly and appeared to grow two inches taller.
Zip’s brow remained furrowed. He showed little emotion. For him the time to exult would be when the asteroid had been diverted. This was only a vital step in the process. There were others ahead.
Mark kept his eyes on the screen but spoke to Mr. Madera. “I have a theory, Mr. Madera. There must be power enough in this system, and far more than enough, to turn the asteroid aside. We don’t need to find out what Zimbardo’s burned out. We should try to get access to the rest of the system. The diagrams I sent you show that there must be plenty of power. We just have to find out how to turn it on!”
“That’s sound reasoning, Mark,” nodded Madera. “And probably easier than trying to locate whatever damage Zimbardo did.”
For some time, Mark and Madera conversed quietly as Mark flipped through file after file. Diagrams appeared and Mark’s fingers flew over the screen as he pointed out what he had learned while journeying on the Star Ranger. Madera nodded, and pointed out several connections Mark had not seen.
Once, Madera handed a small diagnostic pack to one of the technicians and sent him to climb the iron latticework. The man returned in a few moments and gave a report. Madera nodded again and turned to Mark.
Three hours went by. Joe’s eyes were drooping, but Zip was still intent, his eyes on Mark.