Read the following passage and questions, then choose the right answer from options, the answer should be one of A, B, C, D.

<passage>:
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STALEMATE IN SPACE *** Stalemate In Space Two mighty metal globes clung in a murderous death-struggle, lashing out with flames of poison. Yet deep in their twisted, radioactive wreckage the main battle raged—where a girl swayed sensuously before her conqueror's mocking eyes. " Die now—die now—die now —" rib or two was broken. How long ago? Years? Minutes? She had no way of " Die now—die now—die now —" battle globes had crunched together the mentors had sealed her in this set in motion gigantic prime movers in the heart of the great globe, and the conquerors would join the conquered in the wide and nameless grave of space. over the memories of her past. For twenty years, in company with her great father, she had watched The Defender grow from a vast metal skeleton into a planet-sized battle globe. But it had not grown fast enough, for when the Scythian globe, The Invader , sprang out of black space to enslave the budding Terran Confederacy, The Defender was unfinished, half-equipped, and undermanned. The Terrans could only fight for time and hope for a miracle. The Defender , commanded by her father, Gordon, Lord Kane, hurled itself from its orbit around Procyon and met The Invader with giant fission torpedoes. And then, in an intergalactic proton storm beyond the Lesser Magellanic Cloud, the globes lost their bearings and collided. Hordes of brute-men poured through the crushed outer armor of the stricken Defender . The prone woman stirred uneasily. Here the images became unreal The Defender's outer shell. Then had come that final interview with her father. The Defender . Be on it." "No. I shall die here." His fine tired eyes had studied her face in enigmatic appraisal. "Then die usefully. The mentors are trying to develop a force that will destroy both globes in the moment of our inevitable defeat. If they are successful, you will have the task of pressing the final button of the battle." "There's an off-chance you may survive," countered a mentor. "We're also working on a means for your escape—not only because you are Gordon's daughter, but because this great proton storm will prevent radio contact with Terra for years, and we want someone to escape with our secret if and when our experiments prove successful." "But you must expect to die," her father had warned with gentle She clenched her fingernails vehemently into her palms and wrenched fissionables had finally broken through to the center portions of the dismay. The mahogany box containing the key had burst its metal bonds and was lying on its side. The explosion that had crushed her cubicle It was a shattered ruin. Once the fact was clear, she composed herself and lay there, breathing hard and thinking. She had no means to construct another key. At best, finding the rare tools and parts would take months, and during the interval the invaders would be cutting loose from the dead hulk that clutched their conquering battle globe in a metallic rigor mortis. She gave herself six weeks to accomplish this stalemate in space. Within that time she must know whether the prime movers were still intact, and whether she could safely enter the pile room herself, set the movers in motion, and draw the moderator columns. If it were unsafe, she must secure the unwitting assistance of her Scythian enemies. Then she crawled on her elbows and stomach to the tiny door, spun the sealing gear, and was soon outside. Ignoring the pain and pulling on from her waist, for she knew that her greatest weapon in the struggle to come would be her apparent harmlessness. Four hundred yards behind her she detected the mind of a low-born hoping that her grimace of pain could not be detected. With satisfaction, she sensed a sudden change of determination in the mind behind her. He did not bother to notify his men. He wanted her first. He had seen her uniform, but that deterred him not a whit. Afterwards, the mile-high ceiling had been destroyed, and the light was poor. He onward, picking his way through the charred and fallen branches, thinking that she must turn up again soon. He had not gone twenty yards in this manner when a howl of unbearable fury sounded in his mind, and Well, Terran, you are charged with having stolen passage on a supply lorry, and you also seem to be wearing the uniform of an infantry He was prepared for a last-ditch denial. He would cut it short, have the guards remove her, and execution would follow immediately. In a guards on either side of her dug their nails into her arms, as was inquisitor alone or the two guards alone, but not all three. "If you aren't afraid of me, perhaps you'd be so kind as to send the guards out for a few minutes," she said, placing a hand on her hip. "I have interesting information." would certainly be on hand for the execution. His anticipation was cut short with a horrible realization. Under the paralyzing force of a mind "From the center of the Terran globe, outward four hundred miles seal at its bottom. When the transport had left, neither inquisitor nor guards had any memory of the woman. However, in the due course of events, the Evelyn was extremely careful with her mental probe as she descended Fighting had passed this way, too, and recently. Many of the buildings shot out or obscured by slowly drifting dust clouds. The acrid odor of "Where did you want to go?" cut loose from the enemy globe. But you do your work well"—winking artfully—"and I'll see that—" He stopped, and his face took on a hunted look of mingled fear and in the combat areas. Reprimands. Demotion and transfer. Her deception of Gorph. Her anticipation of meeting a real Viscount and hoping he would let her dance for him. balustrade. He gave no immediate notice of her presence. most of the men of both globes. Only the left side of his face could be of a personality that could find stimulation only in strange and cruel pleasures. In alarm she suddenly realized that she had inadvertently let her appraisal penetrate her uncovered conscious mind, and that this probe was there awaiting it. An icy, amused voice came through: "Our orders are to kill all from it to the floor. She was thinking hard. She could kill the Commandant and save her father for a little while. But then the problem of detonating the pile remained, and it would not be solved more quickly by killing the man who controlled the pile area. On the contrary if she could get him interested in her— "So far as our records indicate," murmured Perat, "the man down there is the last living Terran within The Defender . It occurred to me that our newest clerk would like to start off her duties with a bang. The had to lean on the coping. completely. shouldn't have asked you to kill the Terran. It was a sorry joke." Then: "Have you ever seen me before?" happened to you. Come to my quarters at the eighth metron tonight." floor, and of falling. installed in the wall, flicked off the table luminar, and both of them scowl. "Similarity! Bah! That loop of hair over her right forehead hid a scar identical to yours. I have had the individual frames analyzed!" Evelyn's hands knotted unconsciously. She forced her body to relax, but her mind was racing. This introduced another variable to be controlled in her plan for destruction. She must them." duplicate jewels from his right middle finger and tossed it to her. "It's identical to the one he had made for me when I entered on my and then followed him out. slowed the heart and digestion, increased the systole and blood over-stimulated, in some unknown way, the adrenals of frightened persons. It had no effect on inactive adrenals. The question remained—who would be the more frightened, she or the

<question>:
How did the globes crash together?

<options>:
A In a loss of navigation
B In a loss of thrusters
C In a kamikaze strike
D In a planned collision by the Defender

<answer>:

A