Once they were settled, Zip began to tell George about the pirates and Zimbardo’s likely determination to find and eliminate the one man who knew where the pirates’ asteroid could be found. Before he got too far into the story, George lifted a hand and smiled. “Yes, yes, I know,” he said. “Monty told me all about it.”
The Starmen leaped out of their chairs, absolutely stunned. Before they had left Montezuma’s Castle Zip had impressed upon Vly how vital it was for St. George’s safety that they not communicate until his friend was safe. Zip had begged him to send just a quick, encrypted message that Z25 was to expect three visitors who had Vly’s seal of approval—no more.
“George!” gasped Joe. “That message could have been intercepted by the pirates! They must be looking for you!”
“We told Vly not to communicate with you! It could mean your life!” continued Mark, suddenly heartsick with anxiety.
George chuckled. “Don’t worry, Starmen! The pirates already tried to find me through Monty, but the greegles protected him, and the pirates’ll never find me without cooperation from Monty—which they’ll never get. There’s really no need to worry. We’re completely safe here. We’ll have dinner, you’ll stay here to sleep, I’ll show you around the operation, and you can go back to Ceres.”
The Starmen were speechless for a moment. Joe’s eyes nervously scanned the room and Mark stared at George with his mouth agape. Then Zip spoke.
“What are greegles, George?”
George chuckled again. “You haven’t heard of this ‘asteroid miner’s legend’? Most people think it’s in a class with leprechauns and mermaids, the story of the greegles, but it’s all true. The greegles are the inhabitants of the asteroids. Don’t know if they’re alive or not. They’re made of metal—some kind of metal—or maybe they just wear a metal suit. They’re about a foot high. Now, don’t stare at me like that; you’re looking thoroughly obflisticated, probably thinking I’ve been out in the vacuum too long, but I’ve seen them! They’re little and they’re old, very old, but they’re powerful! No one can beat them! Usually no one ever sees them and they don’t have any need to interfere with human beings. They don’t mind it too much, though, if a solitary asteroid miner sees them once in a while.”
“And wh—, what do they have to do with Montezuma?” asked Zip, keeping his voice steady.
“Why, a short time after you left the Castle, about five ships tried to land on the Castle by force—pirates, for sure. No doubt they wanted to force Monty to tell ’em where I am. But Monty knows how to contact the greegles. There’s a lot of greegles on Adamant.” George chuckled again.