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 t.i.tan who had played a critical role in rescuing Eagle City from the pirates during their a.s.sault on Mars.

Mark felt very badly that he hadn't been able to see the t.i.tanians.

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 gla.s.s-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 s.p.a.cious 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 a.s.signment.

"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 a.s.signment 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 a.s.sured 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 naa?ve, 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 s.p.a.ceman, 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 a.s.signment 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 s.p.a.ceport, 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 a.s.signment. 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 b.a.l.l.s of paper. One man reached for a pitcher of water that was on the table and slowly filled his gla.s.s. Zimbardo continued.