The remaining four would be a shock to them and give him, Zimbardo, a
powerful psychological edge. He would need it for his last demand. Even
his most trusted lieutenants had no inkling of the enormity of his last
ploy.
"Now in contact with G670," uttered Zimbardo, referring to the asteroid
that Crass and his crew had rigged. The screen was lit up before him.
"Two minutes and four seconds to go from right...now!" A countdown
clock was set at his left. The pirate captain checked his figures one
more time. He had plotted the orbit of Mars, the thrust and direction
of the power units on G670, the speed of the red planet in its course
and its rotation, the anticipated acceleration of the asteroid, and the
time delay involved in making adjustments to its course. He had checked
his computations half a dozen times and then commanded three others to
do so.
Three, two, one... read the countdown clock. Zero. Zimbardo pressed the
button. He remained motionless for at least ten seconds. Then he sat
back and exhaled loudly. He had not noticed that he hadn't been
breathing. Then he turned and smiled broadly to his audience.
"Five and a half days from now, everyone in the Earth-Moon-Mars system
will know who we are!"
Oritz Konig was making another report to Richard Starlight.
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