THE SPLENDOR of the Asteroid Belt stretched away in all directions, and
the piercing light of uncountable stars filled the background. Such a
view was possible only in airless space. Starman David Foster was
staring out of the window of his ship, the _Star Ranger_, but he was not
really seeing anything. His brow was furrowed with an uneasy doubt.
“Still no sign of ’em, Zip,” announced Joe Taylor. The lanky six-footer
had eased naturally into the position of pilot under David’s direction.
Joe had flown everything from ancient biplanes to interplanetary
rockets. He understood the principles of propulsion and flight, and with
amazing facility could learn to fly almost any vehicle designed for
traveling through an atmosphere or the vacuum of space.
Mark Seaton had naturally become the navigator and engine master of the
Starman crew. He specialized in engines and large, complex machinery. He
had always had a talent for understanding machines, and he knew the
workings of the average rocket from stem to stern.
David Foster, like all Starmen, was able to navigate and fly his own
ship, but had a specialty in Deep Space exploration and survival skills.
Whenever he was faced with a problem, he could think it through and come
up with a solution with the equipment available. He was a natural
leader. He excelled at organization and decision-making, and Joe and
Mark were glad to be a part of the Starman team under Zip’s leadership.
Joe continued to relate his observations. “I’ve scanned as far as the
instruments can reach, and there’s just nothing out there in any
direction--except the Earth ships, of course. They should be here in
about three hours.”
“No debris?”
“No, Zip. I’ve found where the explosion took place and examined that
more carefully than any other area. It was a violent blow. I think about
a third of an asteroid was turned into dust when it went off, and that’s
powerful enough to vaporize any ship that was carrying a weapon with
that kind of potential.”
Zip shook his head as if warding off a buzzing insect. “All right.
Nothing we can do about it.” He turned to the third Starman on the crew.
“Mark,” he called out. “Would you send a report to Mars please and ask
Commander De Koven what he wants us to do?”
“Okay, Zip.”
Mark prepared the message and sent it off. The response would come
through after a delay of several minutes. As they waited, Joe said, “You
seem uneasy, Zip. What’s there to worry about?”
“I just like completion. That ship we were chasing carried the last of
the pirates from Mars, and I’d just feel a lot better if there were some
debris, some evidence that they hadn’t escaped.”
“Zip,” came a deep voice from the lounge next to the flight deck,
“there’s a lot of uncertainties in life, ’specially life in space. I
been around a lot and believe me, the exception is when you really know
everything that happened--and that’s never.”
“Sure, Steve,” answered Zip, raising his voice. “I know. But I don’t
like it.”
“You’ll probably be uneasy most of your life then. C’mon, be like me.
Lie down, relax, take a nap. You’ve been rushing for days now,
especially the last couple when we were shooting through the void at top
speed. Give it up now, boy. You can’t do anything more.”
Zip didn’t answer, but he walked into the lounge. Steve Cliff was
completely relaxed, with his feet propped on a table. His huge frame was
sunk into the sofa deeper than Zip would have thought possible. Zip
picked up a book that Mark had been reading, and lay down. In less than
a minute, he was asleep with the open book face down on his chest.
* * * * *
“Up you go, Zip, it’s dinnertime.” Steve’s normally boisterous voice was
gentle and almost subdued. Zip took a deep breath and slowly opened his
eyes. He sat up, put the book aside and ran his hands through his red
hair.
“What’s going on?”
“You’ve been out almost four hours. Figured I’d make myself useful so I
whipped up some food. Here you go.” Steve set a tray down on the nearby
table. There were mashed potatoes, salad heavy on diced tomatoes just
the way Zip liked it, and a few pieces of very thinly sliced roast beef
in a luscious brown gravy.
“Looks delicious, Steve; thanks.”
“Coffee’s coming up in a minute, steaming hot with half a teaspoon of
sugar.” Zip reflected for a moment about how little time he had known
Steve and how well he fit in to the group of three Starmen. Steve
already knew how he liked his coffee--hot and fresh--and what his
favorite meal was. While he was enjoying the aroma of the meal before
tucking into it, Steve brought in the coffee.
Zip lifted a mouthful of roast beef and potatoes. “What’s going on?” he
repeated.
“Mark got hold of the big guys in Eagle City, told ’em what was going on
out here. They told us to wait until the Earth forces showed up and then
get on back to Mars. We’ve been under way almost an hour.” Zip nodded.
“Mark says there’s more and wants to talk to you whenever you’re ready.”
“Send him in.”
Mark came in as Zip put a fork into a chunk of tomato and lifted it out
of the bowl, dripping with dressing. “This really is delicious, Steve!”
he called out as Steve disappeared onto the flight deck, leaving the two
Starmen to themselves.
“Steve told you we’re on our way back to Mars, I’m sure,” said Mark by
way of preamble. Zip nodded. “Commander De Koven also said that we are
to report directly to Mars Base. We drop Steve off at Eagle City and go
right on to the Base without getting out of the ship.” Mars Base was
Starlight Enterprise’s headquarters on Mars. It was a huge plant,
covering several thousand acres of Martian desert near the north pole
and far from any other settlement.
“What’s up?” Zip’s gray eyes peered over the rim of the coffee mug as he
took a swallow.
“There’s no danger of further attack on Mars--everything seems to be
secure in Eagle City--but we’re to be given an assignment with a
‘significant time factor,’ as the Commander put it. Too sensitive to put
out over the radio even with scramblers and tight beam.”
“They must’ve learned something from the pirates they captured.”
Joe peeked around the corner. “No--I think they’re going to give us a
medal and a month off for liberating Eagle City!”
* * * * *
Two days later, the _Star Ranger_ was cruising at a good clip a few
miles above the Martian desert. Eagle City was behind them, and the
course was set almost due north. Mark was reminiscing about the parting
with Steve.
“Don’t worry about a thing, boys--I’ll make sure the little folk get
back to the Moon safely enough.” Steve was referring to Jack and Jill,
the diminutive citizens of Titan who had played a critical role in
rescuing Eagle City from the pirates during their assault on Mars.
Mark felt very badly that he hadn’t been able to see the Titanians. Four
days before, they had left Mars without notice to begin the frantic
chase of the escaping pirates, and now they were urgently called to Mars
Base with no time permitted to see their friends. Personal relationships
were important to Mark. As the _Star Ranger_ returned to Mars from the
Asteroid Belt, he had made a recorded greeting and farewell for Jack and
Jill and entrusted it to Steve. Mark was beginning to realize that for
him, the life of a Starman would be marked with frequent partings and
sorrows.
The always-ebullient Joe did not seem to be affected. “Don’t worry about
it, we’ll see them again. They’ll understand. Right now we’re off on
another adventure!”
As the _Star Ranger_ approached the pole, Mark shifted his mood and
hoped that Joe would be right.
“Oooh, yes! Look at that!” exulted Joe, pointing out of the front of the
ship. A light came over the horizon like a flame too bright to be looked
at comfortably. The sun was reflecting off the glass-sheathed buildings
of Mars Base, Starlight Enterprise’s primary headquarters on the fourth
planet.
As the _Star Ranger_ rapidly closed the distance, Mark radioed for
landing clearance.
“Gorgeous!” said Joe. From the pilot’s seat he could make out the
airport, the hangar, the sprawling laboratory and research buildings and
the manufacturing centers. Men, robots, and machines scurried around the
plant. Security was very high; ever since the pirate attack SE had
redoubled its efforts to keep out unauthorized personnel. This was the
area from which Starlight Enterprise conducted its Martian operations.
Immediately after landing, the Starmen were brought into a spacious
office. As they entered, a clean-shaven man with a rather long crew cut
looked up.
“Mr. Konig!” exclaimed Zip as he led the little parade into the central
portion of the complex. “I sure didn’t expect to see you here!” Konig
was in charge of security throughout the entire SE system.
“Welcome to the Base, Starmen!” Konig stood up and came around his desk
to greet each of them with a warm, two-handed handshake. He was a genial
man, large but by no means overweight, very strong, firm, and of almost
regal bearing. He gave the impression of being always available and
affable, but never to be taken for granted.
“Sit down,” he continued. “What I have to say is of vital importance and
I’m afraid we don’t have time to do more than get you briefed on the
situation. I can’t even take the time to commend you for the outstanding
work you did against the pirates. Richard is busting with pride over his
newest Starmen! I can’t say I blame him--you did marvelous work! You
three are wanted on Earth for some special recognition, but
unfortunately we have a brief mission for you first.”
“Richard” was Richard Starlight, the head of Starlight Enterprise who
had entrusted Mark and Joe with their Martian assignment.
“Thank you, Mr. Konig,” responded Zip simply.
“The pirates only had a few men placed here at the Base, but they were
enough to shut down operations for the few days they needed to paralyze
Eagle City. Frankly, it was a surprise for us and Richard wanted me to
take personal charge of security on Mars until it was quite clear that
the threat was past. Actually, I flew in with the invasion fleet. My
most important assignment here is to set up a secret base for Starlight
Enterprise, which will be a backup and defense unit prepared for any
events such as the one we’ve just experienced.”
“A secret base?”
“Yes. I’ll be looking for the best site, recruiting the right people to
man it, and drawing up plans for construction and the tasks it will have
to perform. I don’t need to tell you that the project is highly
confidential. I’m only telling you about it because you’re Starmen, and
it will be a resource you’ll need to become familiar with. Of course,
there will be much more information coming your way later.”
Oritz Konig spoke cleanly and clearly, but gave the [DB1]impression that
his thoughts were racing faster than he could speak. He had had to
discipline himself to speak so that others could follow him. There were
few wasted words when he had to get a message across, but he was able to
converse in a way that assured his listeners that he valued them as
people and needed their cooperation. Konig manifested an extremely rare
combination of being a “people person” as well as having a supremely
disciplined and task-oriented mind.
“We interrogated the pirates while you were in the Asteroid Belt. We
started with Troy Putnam, of course, but he won’t say a word. He’s got a
strange kind of strength to him--genial in a lot of ways, but utterly
inflexible and unbreakable when he doesn’t want to cooperate.
“We questioned other pirate leaders, too, of course, and a lot of the
rank and file. Not all of them cooperated, but enough did that we
learned that they have a base in the Belt. It’s no ordinary base. Most
of the pirates don’t know its origin but they can describe what it looks
like.
“It’s a fairly good-sized chunk of hard stone, mostly iron. It’s hollow,
and the base is inside. The access port is concealed. More to the point,
it cannot be detected by radar.
“Some of the toughest of the pirates sneered that we’d never find
it--that it couldn’t be seen even if you were right on top of it.”
Joe jumped in. “But sir, this technology is not new. There have been
craft since the late twentieth century that were invisible to radar.
There are other ways to find them--gravitational influences, to name
one.”
“Of course, Starman Taylor. This asteroid, however, appears to be the
work of some advanced race, other than Earth. The pirates didn’t create
it--they took it over. Its sheathing system is highly effective, highly
effective indeed. The pirates could be lying, of course, but once the
word got out to them that we knew about the asteroid, most of them
seemed to swell with a kind of arrogant pride, even welcoming the fact
that we had the information. They were confident that we couldn’t do
anything about it.”
“And that explains, I’m sure, why we couldn’t find them in spite of an
exceedingly thorough search of the area,” concluded David Foster,
feeling somewhat vindicated.
“So are we to go find the asteroid?” put forth Joe, leaning forward in
his chair.
“No, Mr. Taylor. We want you to find the man who discovered it.”
Joe leaned back into his chair, a puzzled look on his face. Oritz Konig
continued.
“The asteroid was discovered almost twenty years ago by an asteroid
miner named George St. George. He’s a loner, like so many of the
asteroid miners. He makes a good living, but has no fixed address. He’s
constantly on the move and spends most of his time away from settlements
in the Belt. He’ll disappear for months, maybe a year or two--then show
up on Ceres or in Eagle City with what he has found in the Belt and turn
it into cash and supplies. Then he’s gone again.
“Apparently he discovered this remarkable asteroid the pirates took
over. He’s a trusting, almost naïve, decent man. He spoke unguardedly
about his find at one time and Troy Putnam learned about it. Putnam had
St. George take him to the asteroid and paid him a good price for the
knowledge. St. George showed Putnam where it was, and then disappeared
into the Belt. Putnam went on to build his empire of pirates.”
“And now you want us to find St. George so he can show us where the
asteroid is,” inferred Zip.
“It’s not that simple, Starman. We’ve also learned that the pirates who
escaped are the most dangerous of the lot. Their leader is a very bad
number named Lurton Zimbardo. The pirates were willing to obey Troy
Putnam because he encouraged them. They liked him. He was a charismatic
leader who gave them visions of grandeur and made them think that they
could pull off the impossible. But they are afraid of Zimbardo--for good
reason, from what we hear. He is a merciless, calculating spaceman,
patiently willing to play second-in-command to Putnam while waiting for
his chance to take over. That chance has now come.
“The pirates are greatly reduced in number now, but those who are left
are extremely dangerous. They will be fierce, uncompromising enemies.
St. George is the only person outside of the pirates who knows where the
asteroid is, how to find it, and has some knowledge of how it works.
Where Putnam was willing to let St. George go about his business,
Zimbardo will certainly determine to eliminate him. Zimbardo will try
hard to find St. George. You must find him first. Protect him, and learn
from him where the asteroid is.”
“What do we know about him? How can he be found?” asked Zip.
“He hasn’t been heard from for over a year, and he could be anywhere in
the Belt. But he has a friend named Montezuma Vly. If anyone knows where
St. George is, Vly will know--and we know where Vly is.”
“Why not just ask Vly where St. George is?” asked Mark.
“That’s where your assignment begins,” answered Konig. “Like St. George,
Montezuma Vly is an asteroid miner. Unlike St. George, he doesn’t wander
far from his home. But Vly has a deep distrust of any authority figures.
He lives on an asteroid he calls Montezuma’s Castle. He claimed it over
thirty years ago and enjoys his privacy. No government officials have
any right to enter his domain. He is completely independent. We’re
hoping that where officialdom can’t act, you young Starmen can. When he
knows that George St. George is at risk, I’m sure he’ll help you.”
“Where do we find Montezuma Vly?” asked Mark, who was the navigator for
the trio of Starmen.
“Montezuma’s Castle is not far from Ceres. You can get to Vly in less
than a day from Yellow City.” Yellow City was the major center on Ceres,
the largest and most important asteroid in the system, with a population
of around 100,000. It doubled as a spaceport, and was a stopping-over
and refueling point on the long voyage between the Inner and Outer
Planets.
“Go to Ceres first and check in there. Since the pirates will be
searching for St. George, you’ll have to conduct your search
quietly--using the _Star Ranger_ and wearing Starman’s red uniforms
won’t do on this assignment. You’ll need to change ships and clothes in
Yellow City. The rest of the information you’ll need will be provided
for you in files which you can read as you travel.”
* * * * *
Lurton Zimbardo called his five most trusted leaders to a meeting in one
of the libraries on the pirates’ asteroid. Each was dressed in the gray
and black uniform that Troy Putnam had designed for the pirates for
their failed mission to take over Mars. The meeting had been going on
for several hours and had involved a lot of detailed organizational
work. The men were tired and showing it. As usual, Zimbardo showed no
signs of fatigue.
“Yes, gentlemen,” said Zimbardo, “You know what to do now. We will need
to get all of our men busy and you must drive them, drive them
relentlessly! I don’t want to take any longer on this work than we need
to. We’ve been moving slowly out of the Asteroid Belt for almost three
days.”
His laser pointer made a few small red circles on a chart in the
library. “This is where we were, and this is where we’re going to be.”
The chart was nearly a full wall of smooth quartz, illumined from the
inside and showing the nearby configuration of asteroids.
The table was strewn with large books opened to star maps, note pads, a
couple of small computers and calculating machines, and a huge number of
crumpled balls of paper. One man reached for a pitcher of water that was
on the table and slowly filled his glass. Zimbardo continued.
“The manufacturing will begin tomorrow--that’ll be for Stubb to oversee.
Once the sheathing device has proven effective we can begin work on
restoring and disguising our fleet. After that, Crass, you’ll take care
of the rest.”
One of the men looked up. “What about St. George? If anyone discovers
him he could put a serious crimp in our plans.”
Zimbardo looked annoyed. “St. George will be dealt with, Mr. Slant. I
have not forgotten him; you can leave that to me. He will never speak to
the Starmen or anyone else.”
Another spoke. “Is it really necessary to silence him? It will take a
large number of men to make a search--men we could use on the urgent
projects at hand. Since you’ve moved the asteroid from its original
site, he can’t find us now or show anyone else how to find us.”
“He can’t find us, but he knows how this asteroid works--almost as well
as I do. If the Starmen learn what he knows, it could be disastrous for
us in the unlikely chance that they ever locate us. I don’t like taking
chances, and I don’t like leaving any loose ends. St. George is a loose
end we can’t afford.”
“Do you know where to find him? He doesn’t have any fixed place he calls
home.”
“Our men have quietly inquired for him on Ceres and learned that he has
a good friend, another asteroid miner named Montezuma Vly. We know where
Vly lives, and Vly will know where St. George is. Vly doesn’t receive
visitors, but his resistance won’t keep a small fleet from landing. One
way or another, Vly will tell us where to find George St. George--and
soon.”