Zimbardo slammed down the communicator and watched his men scurry for their ships. At the speed they could travel, they should be able to intercept the convoy in about a week--a full day before optimal site for deployment of the microwave probes. Zimbardo had little doubt of the outcome of the encounter. Earth had no idea that the plans were known to him, and the pirate ships were invisible to their radar. 17: The Enemy Revealed FOR NEARLY seven days, the convoy of seven NME freighters and twelve Space Command warships had sped away from the Earth-Moon system. The warships flew in a spherical configuration about five miles in diameter, at the center of which were the unmanned freighters in compact formation. The urgency of the mission gave the convoy no choice but to utilize the most direct route to the site of deployment, so that the probes could be put into action at the earliest possible time. There was simply no time to follow any evasive flight plan. On the success of the microwave net rode the hope of Earth’s survival from the threat of impact with the enormous asteroid Lurton Zimbardo had unleashed. “There they are!” announced Mr. Lather, pilot of the _Silver Cloud_, as he looked at the radar screen. He was followed closely by five other pirate spacecraft. Two other groups of six pirate ships were nearby, also searching the area of space in front of them for the convoy. “Inform Bolcher and Crass and give them the coordinates. Tell them that since I was the first to locate the freighters, I will attack first. Their ships will follow me according to our plan.” “Yes sir, Mr. Lather,” responded the _Silver Cloud_’s navigator. The communication was completed and the details of the plan agreed upon. Then the intership communications system was deactivated. The pirates’ ships, being sheathed to radar, were equally invisible to each other as to the men of Space Command, but each pirate captain knew where the others were supposed to be. The ships usually communicated by closed-system radio and thereby kept in close contact with each other, but now they could not risk revealing their position by engaging in radio contact when they were in the proximity of other ships. Moments went by without a word being said. Lather could feel the adrenaline surging through him. He was eager to give the command to attack. “One minute!” he announced to his own crew. “All hands prepare for battle!” After the designated time had elapsed, he shouted, “Go!” Followed by five spaceships protected by the radar bender, he sped undetected through the sphere of Space Command warships. On the screen before him the massive freighters loomed up. “Fire!” he shouted. “Fire! Fire!”