Several futile attempts had been made to contact a space station by radio, and it wasn’t until this point that the Northern Cross was able to establish its first contact over the crippled set. This was by way of a continuous signal beamed out through space by a rotating antenna atop the outermost artificial satellite, the radio relay station, 50,000 miles from Earth.
Hugh signaled for an operator and when he came in, Hugh gave the name of the ship and its position.
“Who did you say you were?” Rock heard the operator ask in amazement.
“The Northern Cross,” Hugh answered, “serial number A45-J, World Spacecraft, manufacturer.”
There was silence on the other end for several moments. Hugh winked at Rock. “We’ll have some fun with them,” he said.
“When did the ship go out?” the operator asked.
“Twenty years ago,” Hugh replied.
“Is this a joke?” the other retorted.
“Not at all,” Hugh assured him.
The radioman chose not to argue any further. “I’ll give you approach instructions,” he said.