ng open, revealing a huge chamber, at least a hundred and fifty
feet long. At the far end a man dressed in white with a green band
across his chest sat in a beautifully carved chair. Arrayed on either
side of him were fifty or more men dressed in various shades of green.
The man in white lifted his hand and the patrol leader stepped forward,
pushing Astro before him. They walked across the polished floor and
stopped ten feet away from the man in white, the patrol leader bowing
deeply. Astro glanced at the men standing at either side of the man in
white. The bulge of paralo-ray pistols was plainly visible beneath their
flowing robes.

The man in white lifted his hand in the salute Astro had seen before.
Then the patrol leader straightened up and began to speak rapidly in the
Venusian dialect. Translating easily, Astro heard him report his
capture. When he concluded, the man in white looked at Astro closely and
spoke three words. Astro shook his head.

"He does not speak our mother tongue, Lactu," volunteered the patrol
leader.

The man in white nodded. "How is it," he said in English, "that you are
a native-born Venusian and do not speak the language of your planet?"

"I was an orphan. I had very little formal education," said Astro. "And
as long as we're asking questions around here, how about my asking a
few? Who in space are you? What's the idea of holding me a prisoner?"

"One question at a time, please, brother Venusian," said the man in
white. "And when you address me, my name is Lactu."

"Lactu what?" asked Astro belligerently.

"Your own name should tell you that we on Venus only have one name."

"Never mind that rocket wash!" barked Astro. "When do I get out of
here?"

"You will never leave here as you came," said Lactu quietly.

"What does that mean?" demanded the cadet.

"You have discovered the existence of our base. Ordinarily you would
have been burned to a crisp and left in the jungle. Fortunately, you are
a Venusian by birth, and therefore have the right to join our
organization."

"What does that mean?"

"It means," said Lactu, "that you will take an oath to fight until death
if necessary to free the planet Venus and the Venusian citizens from the
slavery of the Solar Alliance and--"

"Awright, buster!" roared Astro. "I've had enough of that rocket wash! I
took an oath of allegiance to the Solar Guard and the Solar Alliance, to
uphold the cause of peace throughout the universe and defend