Billy swerved around another stone the size of a small house, “I need for you to calculate the effects of what we do, until you figure out where two big asteroids are going to collide and then calculate my flight path to get us there.”
“Without my machines, I do not know if I can.”
“I have faith in you.”
John said, “What size are the two asteroids you need?”
“The size of small mountains.”
“Oh my.” Koothrappally jumped from his seat and said, “I’ll be right back!”
Edgar shouted, “He’s firing!” A yellow beam missed the Argent by several feet and exploded a small boulder, sending bullet-like fragments in every direction. Several pinged off the Argent as Billy dropped the ship into a steep dive.
A shout of alarm came from the back of the ship, then Koothrappally returned, holding his head in one hand and a sheaf of papers and pencils in the other. He plopped into the seat next to Billy, peered into the distance, then scribbled numbers and equations at a rapid rate on the paper.
Billy pulled the Argent into an ascent as the Golden Man gave chase. Edgar said, “The Gold Man’s not flying real straight, Billy. Looks like it’s compensating for the left leg. There’s a dent in it, and a big one on its head.”
Bixie said, “Dat was Ian’s work wit da red sword. He hurt it.”
Billy said, “He was a brave, strong man, one of the strongest I ever met. I know we shot that gold robot with everything we had and couldn’t do what the Highlander did with his blade.”
Edgar yelled, “He’s shooting!”
Billy instantly cut the ship right, and the beam missed by inches. He said to the mathematician, “Give me a three ball combination fast, John, so we can get a breather.”
“You are referring to your billiard physics again?”
“Yes, what boulders do I need to hit and push others until all the combinations make two big ones collide?”
John wrote furiously, his pencils in both hands simultaneously scribbling calculations so fast it appeared his writing instruments were flying across the pages. Another yellow beam shot by the Argent’s window, brightening the interior like summer sun. Billy said, “Give me something, John.”
Koothrappally threw his papers and pencils into the air, where they floated against the ceiling. “I cannot write equations and watch the asteroids moving in front of us at the same time. I need an entire bank of my machines to attempt this.”
Billy said, “You don’t have them; all you have is your intellect. It will be enough. Trust yourself. I know you, John.”
Another beam shattered a boulder the size of a house, causing Billy to jerk the Argent into a barrel roll to dodge the large fragments.
Edgar said, “He’s almost on us!”
Billy said, “John, give me something.”
Koothrappally focused at the vast array of boulders and asteroids in front of them, beside them, all around them.
A beam missed them by inches.
“John.”
Another beam singed the hull in a graze, making the inside of the ship instantly twenty degrees warmer.
“John, we’re running out of time.”
Kooothrappally pointed ahead, “Hit that one on the left side and send it at a fifty degree angle from our trajectory.”
“Fifty?”
“When you get closer, I will advise you.”
Edgar said, “He won’t miss this next shot! He’ right on our tail!”