“How’re you feeling this morning, Mark?” asked Joe. “How’s your hand?”
“Couldn’t feel better, Joe! Had a good sleep at last, and my hand should be healed in a couple of weeks. It was a second-degree burn.”
A few moments later, Gene came out carrying Joe’s breakfast.
“Gene!” exclaimed Joe.
“Yes, Mr. Taylor. Just trying to help out a little,” said the erstwhile pirate.
“He cooks as well as he pilots,” said Mark.
“We’re safe, then.” Joe made it a statement rather than a question as he shook some pepper onto the steaming eggs.
“Yes,” said Zip. “The asteroid will sweep past the Earth in a week, missing it by about 50,000 miles. It will be visible for almost the whole night over the south Pacific, like a fast-moving star. Should be quite a sight!”
“Then what?” asked Joe between gulps of juice.
“Then what, what?” responded Mark.