Sim Sala Bim got right to work, and the _Vigilant Warrior_ was ready for takeoff within two hours. As soon as it was ready, the Starmen lifted off from Yellow City. As Joe piloted the ship into the heart of the Belt, Zip looked back for a brief, wistful moment and saw the unusual dark red color of the _Star Ranger_, his ship, on the field of Yellow City. * * * * * “That’s it,” said Mark, as the navigation equipment locked onto the asteroid that was the home of the elusive Montezuma Vly. “Hmmm. No wonder it’s so hard to find,” observed Zip, looking over Mark’s shoulder for a moment. “Not far from major travelways but so unobtrusive you’d never notice it.” “It just hovers almost in the shadow of that large, worthless chunk here. Should be able to see it out the window before too long.” Joe was busy threading the _Vigilant Warrior_ through the asteroids for the next few minutes. He kept the ship at a moderate pace and passed easily around the slowly turning asteroids. They were all moving at about the same speed and maneuvering was not difficult. “Should be coming up on it about now,” offered Mark. “There it is,” said Zip almost immediately. The _Vigilant Warrior_ had eased its way around an oblong worldlet--the “large, worthless chunk” that Mark had just mentioned--bringing into view a crescent-shaped, stony asteroid about a mile long. It looked almost like a fat banana with the ends tapering into sharp points. “Montezuma’s Castle,” breathed Zip. “Kind of looks like a moon for that large asteroid.” “I think it is,” answered Mark. “It rotates around the larger chunk and the two make almost a helix pattern in their journey through the Belt. They were probably a single asteroid at one time. One powerful impact must have split them, but the pieces haven’t drifted far apart.” “Well, let’s get down there. There’s no mistaking the shape of the ‘Castle.’ Whatever odd shapes you can find in the Belt, that’s got to be unique.” The Starman brought the _Vigilant Warrior_ slowly into the proximity of Montezuma Vly’s refuge. “See if you can raise him, Mark.” Mark Seaton flipped on the communicator. “Starman Mark Seaton on the starship _Vigilant Warrior_ calling Montezuma Vly on the Castle, requesting permission to land.” His voice was smooth, intimate, and confident. There was no response. A minute later, Mark repeated the message. The metallic voice of an automatic response system came on. “This asteroid is private property and visitors are not welcome.” “We understand that, sir,” Mark replied, “and we would not request permission to land if it were not a matter of urgent business of personal concern.” A human voice came on. “Yeah, like I haven’t heard _that_ one before! I don’t want visitors! If I wanted a social calendar, I’d go live in a big population center like Ganymede. Keep going! Next services are 3,000 miles away.”