She'd tried to sound confident when Buzz instructed her to buy Star Command some time until he could find the cause of the asteroid attacks, but that confidence had faded the moment Buzz cut the transmission. Mira stared at the empty captain's chair to her left. She was in charge now. She, Mira Nova, had to defend Star Command until Buzz got back. She tried to hold her head up proudly. Wasn't this the sort of assignment she'd been wanting? A chance to prove herself? So why was she so nervous?

"Got any ideas, Mira?" Booster asked.

Ideas? Ideas, right! They had to do something to take the strain off the repulsar field. Sooner or later it would give out, and Star Command would be smashed to bits. Mira turned to Booster, forcing a smile. "Uh, well, you know, I-I'm sure I'll think of something. I mean, come on, it's not like we haven't faced worse situations than this before."

"Yeah." Booster's ears drooped. "But I wish Buzz were here..."

Me too. "I can handle this." Wiping her forehead, she looked back at the asteroids pelting the station's repulsar field. Already a shell-like covering of rocks had formed around Star Command, ready to cave in upon the station the moment the field went down. What do I do? What would Buzz do?

She frowned in frustration. Buzz had had twenty years of experience. She was just a rookie! How was she supposed to think like him? Buzz would find a way to save Star Command. All she seemed able to do was stare hopelessly at the asteroids hitting the repulsar field.

The asteroids... Of course! "Booster!" She spun around. "Don't those asteroids look kind of like... like a shell? They fit together into a cohesive structure!"

Booster considered this. "Yeah, I guess, but how does that help us?"

"Don't you see - if we fuse them together, we could create a protective shield against the other asteroids! It should hold long enough for Star Command to evacuate!" She leaned back, pleased with her own ingenuity.

"Oh, yeah, great idea!" nodded Booster. "Let's tell the commander!"

The commander... right. Her new-found confidence vanished. "W-Well, uh, we-we... Y-Yeah, I guess we should... tell him..." She wasn't entirely sure he'd be as thrilled with her plan as Booster was. Commander Nebula could be a very intimidating man, and he wasn't afraid to shoot down any ideas he found holes in. This is my first big assignment! If I mess it up in front of the commander, I'll never live it down! But if she did nothing, the lives of everyone on Star Command were at risk. Craters. Buzz, where are you when I need you?

Taking a deep breath, she told Booster to open a channel to Star Command.