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.
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