The Space Pioneers | Page 4

with us some
night, Mike!" he yelled to the departing figure.
"And interrupt the happiest hours in Astro's life?" bawled Mike. "No
thank you!"
Tom laughed and turned to the huge open doorway of the Tower where
Roger and Astro waited for him impatiently. In a few moments the
three were being carried to the upper floors of the crystal structure by a
spiraling band of moving plastic that stretched from the top of the
Tower to the many floors below surface level. Tom glanced at his wrist
chronograph as they stepped off the slidestairs and headed for Captain
Strong's quarters.

"We're about twenty minutes late," he said to Roger and Astro. "Hope
Captain Strong's in good spirits!"
"If he isn't," said Roger, "we can--"
"Don't say it," protested Astro. "I only just finished working off my last
bunch of galley demerits."
They stopped in front of a door, straightened their uniforms, and then
slid the door to one side and stepped smartly into the room. They came
to rigid attention before a massive desk, flanked by two wall windows
of clear sheet crystal reaching from ceiling to floor. Standing at the
window, Captain Steve Strong, Polaris unit cadet supervisor, his broad
shoulders stretching under his black-and-gold uniform, turned to face
them, his features set in grim lines of trouble.
"Polaris unit reporting for orders, sir," said Tom. The three cadets
saluted crisply.
Strong snapped a return salute and walked to the front of his desk.
"Getting pretty big for your britches, aren't you?" he growled. "I've
been watching you from this window. I saw the messenger deliver my
orders to you, and then, I saw you return to your game and finish it,
apparently deciding that the business of the Solar Guard can wait!"
"But, sir--" Roger started to say.
"Close your exhaust, Manning!" snapped Strong. "I'm doing the
talking!"
"Yes, sir," stammered the blond-haired cadet.
"Well, Cadets," asked Strong in a silken voice, "if I sent you to
Commander Walters' office on the double, do you think I could trust
you to get there on the double?"
"Oh, yes, sir," replied Tom. "Yes, sir!" The other two boys nodded
violently.

"Then blast out of here and report to Commander Walters for your
assignments. Tell him I'll be there in a few minutes."
"Yes, sir!" said Tom, and the three cadets saluted sharply.
"Unit--" bawled Strong, "dis--missed!"
Outside in the hall once more, the three cadets wiped their faces.
"Captain Strong definitely was not in a good mood!" commented
Roger.
"I've never seen him so angry!" said Tom. "Wonder why."
"Think it might be something to do with our assignments?" asked
Astro.
"Never can tell, Astro," said Tom. "And there's only one way to find
out. That's to get to Commander Walters' office on the double!"
Without another word the cadets hurried to the slidestairs, each of them
hungry for excitement. Already having participated in three outstanding
adventures, the cadet members of the Polaris unit were eager to begin a
fourth.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER 2
"There's no doubt that the success or failure of this project will
influence the thinking of the Solar Alliance with regard to further
expansion, Governor Hardy," said Commander Walters to the man
sitting stiffly in front of him. "And my congratulations on your
appointment to head the expedition."
A tall, lean man with iron-gray hair, the commander of Space Academy,
sat behind his desk, back ramrod straight in his black-and-gold senior
officer's uniform, and casually toyed with a paper cutter on his desk as

he spoke to Christopher Hardy, a short, thin man with a balding head
and sharp features.
"Thank you, Commander," replied Hardy, in a thin, reedy voice. "It's a
great honor and I certainly don't foresee anything that can prevent the
expedition from being a complete success. We have the best equipment
and, I hope, we'll have the finest men."
The soft chime of a muted bell interrupted Walters as he was about to
reply. He opened the switch to the interoffice teleceiver behind his desk,
then watched the image of his aide appear on the teleceiver screen.
"What is it, Bill?" asked Walters.
"Polaris unit reporting for orders, sir," replied the enlisted guardsman.
"Cadets Corbett, Manning, and Astro."
"Very well, send them in," said Walters. Switching off the teleceiver,
he turned back to Governor Hardy. "Ever hear of the Polaris unit, sir?"
he asked.
Hardy paused, rubbing his chin before answering. "No, can't say that I
have." He smiled. "From the look on your face, I see I should know
about them, though."
Walters smiled back. "I'll just say this about them. Of all the cadet units
trained here at the Academy in the last twenty years, these three lads
are just about perfection. Just the material you'll need on your initial
operation."
Governor