“We, we, we’re not in the Asteroid Belt,” George stammered. “Look, there’s the Belt over there.” He raised his hand and pointed. The slow rotation of the asteroid that gave it its slight gravity had brought the Belt into view over the horizon. Motionless on the asteroid’s surface, Zip and George were slowly moving into the dawn. A pale sun far away was coming into view, and a golden line of light began to grow over the 45-mile-long chunk of almost pure iron. The spacesuits’ faceplates automatically darkened slightly. The sunlight came through a scattering of asteroids orbiting at least a thousand miles away. “He’s moved the asteroid. He knows more about it than I gave him credit for,” Zip said grimly. “My plan will still work, but the situation has changed. Now we have to hurry. Let’s go back.” Back inside the hangar, Zip called a meeting of the fourteen men and explained his plan for escape. “Sounds good, Zip,” affirmed Mark, and Joe agreed. “What about food and water?” asked one of the miners. “What’s left?” responded Zip. “How many days can we go if we ration even more strictly?” “About five until the food runs out, and there’s about a gallon of water for each man left.” “We can do it. No choice anyway. Let’s get some sleep and start things rolling first thing tomorrow.” * * * * * Immediately after they awoke, the Starmen put Zip’s plan into action. Joe opened another of the alien spacecraft. The Starmen had taken a quick look at the other ships in the hangar and found them to be identical. Quickly they made the ship look as if it had been abandoned in panic. When they were finished, two men carried a small tank of oxygen into the storage area. Joe then piloted the ship through the airlock to a point where it hovered just above the asteroid. Zip, Mark, and two miners stood outside on the ground. An explosion rocked the ship, and a panel was blown out from the wall of the storage area. Joe had detonated the oxygen tank to make it look as if some cargo had ignited and destroyed the ship. Joe emerged from the main door and jumped to the ground. He had been tethered and the others pulled him in. They went back through the airlock and shut the door. They were still able to watch what happened through the immense window, transparent on their side. The ship began to drift away from the asteroid on a pre-arranged course Joe had set. “The pirates should be seeing that on their radar in a few minutes,” said Zip. “I figure the ship has to be at least a quarter mile from the surface for it to register on their screens.” But it was nearly ten minutes later that three pirate ships appeared. The pirates could easily see the ripped panel on the ship and took only a few precautions on approaching the derelict. Zip turned to a “reception only” channel on the communicator his suit provided.