"The Space
Command ships came onto the site and found no sign of human presence.
They quickly replaced the sats, got them activated, and then checked
data. I don't know how to explain it, Richard, but an asteroid is
missing. Other than that, there is nothing different in the area of the
Belt that had gone dark, but obviously the pirates have done something
with an asteroid. It's not a very big one-only about 100 yards in
diameter, maybe a little more-but it's vanished."
The Starmen and miners had been walking more than three hours, and
covered a distance of about ten miles.
"A wall," announced Zip. "We've come to the end of it at last."
"You'd think that a race that can make elevators go sideways could have
come up with a way to traverse this gymnasium quicker and easier than
walking," grumbled Joe.
"Didn't I hear you say that this place is great?" inquired Zip.
"It is. Back then, I meant 'great' like 'magnificent'; but now it just
feels like 'great' as in 'really big.'"
The company came up to the wall. There was a bank of elevators in front
of them and several sets of doors to their right. In a large open
gathering place, there were many platforms like flat beds, with rods
coming out of one end and sticking up perpendicular to the beds.
"Joe," said Mark, investigating one of the beds.
Pages:
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145