By:  John Whitman Published by Bantam Books April 1998 Tash, Zak, and Uncle Hoole need a special mineral for the Shroud's engines.  The only place to get it is a mining colony . . .  in the middle of an asteroid belt infested with space slugs. The journey to the mining colony is filled with danger.  But nothing prepares Hoole, Tash, and Zak for what they find when they reach their destination. An ancient life-form has been released from its tomb.  It has lurked there, waiting, for many years.  It cannot be seen.  It is made of pure evil. And its name is Spore.

    Hodge strode past the statue to the sealed door behind it.  Tash noticed he had brought a long metal bar with him.  It looked like a cross between an ax and a pry bar.
    With an expert thrust he jammed it into the door frame.
    "No!" Fandomar suddenly shouted.  "Stop!"
    Hodge ignored her and pried at the door.  The seal looked very old, but it held firm.  He leaned his weight into the next push.  A tiny crack appeared in the seal.
    At that moment, Tash heard a tremendous BOOM! from behind them, and the solid rock beneath their feet shook as though a groundquake had begun.  A cloud of dust shot up from the ground and hung in the air like a curtain.
    When the dust cleared, they could see that an enormous block of stone had dropped from the ceiling of the tunnel and crashed to the floor, closing off the tunnel behind them.
    They were trapped inside the asteroid.