They had been named after a
menacing insect found in certain hostile swamps on Mars. The tiny craft
served mostly as a deterrent, since smugglers and other lawless types
avoided any settlement that showed it was ready to defend itself
against marauders.
Commander John Lewis was to issue similar orders to Space Command ships
in the vicinity of the microwave net. There were enough SE ships close
to the course the pirate fleet was taking that Firewasps could be
launched to intercept the pirate ships within an hour.
John Rwakatare and Richard Starlight remained alone in Richard's
office. They were seated on a sofa, looking out over the vast lunar
landscape. An enormous dark gray field stretched out for several miles
before breaking up at the far side into jumbled, light gray boulders.
"What do you make of it, Rock?" asked Richard. "Why did Zimbardo tell
the entire planet that he was going to pulverize it, and then set his
projectile on a fly-by course?"
"I don't think he merely made a mistake," said Rock. "He's shown he can
guide asteroids to near-pinpoint accuracy."
"Hmm, yes...but those were much, much smaller and were aimed at much
closer targets. You don't think he could have just...aimed and missed?"
"Possible, Rick, but I'm not convinced. Consider this: where did the
communications from Zimbardo come from? An asteroid base.
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