Joe looked out the window again and saw that laser cannons had begun to destroy the ships. Through the horrifying, rapidly expanding concentric vapor shells, he saw the Vigilant Warrior crumpling into a heap. The other ships were either completely destroyed or well on the way.
“What is this? Who are they?” exclaimed Mark. He, Zip, and George had followed Joe to the control center and were watching the laser beams sweep the landing field. The ships were being indiscriminately reduced to molten slag.
“Their laser beams are immensely powerful, and they’re operating at full capacity,” observed Zip, grimly. Just then the lights went out and every apparatus in the control center went dark.
“They found and destroyed the power plant,” whispered George, the tenseness evident in his voice. “But they’re not touching the inhabited parts of the base.”
Suddenly Zip turned to their host. “George!” he said urgently. “Do any of your crew know that we are Starmen?” George turned a distracted face to Zip and stared as if he wasn’t comprehending what Zip had said.
“Do any of your crew know that we are Starmen?” Zip repeated carefully.
“I—I don’t know. I didn’t tell anybody, I think, but I didn’t keep it a secret.”
“Look! Gather them all together and tell them not to say anything about us to these invaders! Our safety may depend on it, as well as any chance we all have of eventually escaping!”
“Ah—all right,” George stammered.
Since the power was out, there was no way to make an announcement through the communication system, but the rest of the crew was assembling anyway. The refectory was located not far from the control center and the men were coming together there, so the Starmen and George went to join them.