ve the command. "Fire!"

Before he could draw another breath, Tom felt himself pressed into his
seat as the _Polaris_ quickly accelerated and curved up and away from
the onrushing meteor in a long, smooth arc.

Captain Strong suddenly stepped through the hatch into the control deck.
Glancing quickly at the scanner screen, he saw the white blip that was
the meteor flashing away from the _Polaris_ and he smiled.

"That was nice work, Corbett!" said Strong. "Get us back on course as
soon as you can. Governor Hardy wants to get to Venusport as quickly as
possible."

"Shall I tell Astro to pour on extra thrust, sir?" asked Tom.

"No, just maintain standard full space speed. No need to use emergency
power unless it's really an emergency."

"Yes, sir," said Tom.

Strong walked around on the control deck, making a casual check of the
ship's operation. But he knew he wouldn't find anything to complain
about. Past experience had taught him that the three cadets kept a tight
ship. At the sound of the hatch opening, he turned to see Governor Hardy
standing just inside the hatch.

"I have to compliment you, Captain," Hardy said as he watched Tom
operate the great control panel. "Your cadets really know their
business. You've trained them well."

"Thank you, sir," replied Strong, "but they did it themselves. One thing
I've learned since I've become an instructor at the Academy and that is
you can't make a spaceman. He's born with the feeling and the instinct,
or he isn't a spaceman."

Hardy nodded. "I've got some important messages to send out, Captain.
I'd like to use the teleceiver for a while."

"Of course, sir," said Strong. "Right up that ladder there." The Solar
Guard captain pointed to the ladder leading to the radar deck.
"Manning's on duty now and will take care of you, sir."

"Thank you," said the governor, turning to the ladder.

A moment later, as Captain Strong and Tom were idly discussing the
forthcoming screening operations on Venusport, they were surprised to
see Roger climb down the ladder from the radar bridge.

"What are you doing down here, Manning?" inquired Strong. "I thought you
were sending out messages for Governor Hardy."

Roger dropped into the co-control pilots' seat and shrugged. "The
governor said he'd handle it. Said the messages were top secret and that
he wouldn't _burden_ me with their contents, since he knew how to
operate a teleceiver!"

Puzzled, Tom looked at Roger. "What could