"We've got twenty-four hours to soak up as much of
this Earth as we can. And I, for one, am going to have a good time!"

Without a word, the three cadets left the Tower building and made their
way to the monorail station, where they would catch the streamlined
express to Atom City. Each of the cadets was acutely aware of the
trouble that lay ahead of them, and with Captain Strong at the outer
edge of the solar system on a long haul to Pluto, not even a miracle
could get him back to Space Academy in time to help them.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER 6

A thousand spaceships, freighters, converted luxury liners, auxiliary
supply vessels, rocket cruisers, destroyers and scouts, all led by the
_Polaris_, blasted in even formation through the last charted regions of
the solar system. Inside the gleaming ships the colonists had settled
down for the long voyage to the new satellite of Roald. Their quarters
were cramped and uncomfortable. There was very little to do and their
only entertainment was the shipboard stereos. Many spent endless hours
at the long-range telescanners watching the sun star Wolf 359, seeing it
come closer and closer.

Aboard the _Polaris_, Tom, Roger, and Astro worked an endless tour of
duty, maneuvering the great fleet of ships into ordered formation so
that any vessel could be found without difficulty. Now that the fleet
was in position, and the early confusion of forming up was over, they
had hoped for a little rest, but were disappointed when Vidac suddenly
ordered them to report to his quarters.

Standing at the hatch outside of Vidac's room, Tom and Roger waited for
Astro as he climbed up the ladder to join them. The big cadet finally
made the top and stood breathing heavily.

"By the rings of Saturn," he grumbled, "I'm so tired I could sleep right
here. Right now!"

"Yeah," growled Roger. "You'd think Vidac would give us a break after
what we've done."

"We'll have plenty of time to rest on this trip," said Tom. "This is
just the beginning. I'll bet by the time we reach Roald we'll be wishing
we had something to do to pass away the time."

He turned and pressed the annunciator button and the hatch slid open.
The three cadets entered the room and snapped to attention.

"_Polaris_ unit reporting as ordered, sir," said Tom.

Vidac swung around in his chair and stared up at the three cadets, a
hint of a smile curling his lips.

"You've done a fine job, boys," he said. "The fleet is i