d switches. "This board makes the
manual we worked on at the Academy look like it's ready for Galaxy
Hall!"

"Yeeeooooooww!" Three decks below, Astro had discovered the rocket
motors. Four of the most powerful ever installed on a spaceship,
enabling the _Polaris_ to outrace any ship in space.

Roger stuck his head through the radar-bridge hatch and gazed in awe at
the array of electronic communicators, detection radar and astrogation
gear. With lips pulled into a thin line, he mumbled to himself: "Too bad
they didn't give _you_ this kind of equipment."

"What'd you say, Roger?" asked Astro, climbing alongside to peer into
the radar bridge.

Startled, Roger turned and stammered, "Ah--nothing--nothing."

Looking around, Astro commented, "This place looks almost as good as
that power deck."

"Of course," said Roger, "they could have placed that astrogation prism
a little closer to the chart table. Now I'll have to get up every time I
want to take sights on stars!"

"Don't you ever get tired of complaining?" asked Astro.

"Ah--rocket off," snarled Roger.

"Hey, you guys," yelled Tom from below, "better get down here! Captain
Strong's coming aboard."

Climbing back down the ladder to the control deck, Astro leaned over his
shoulder and asked Roger, "Do you really think he'll let us take this
baby up for a hop, Manning?"

"Get your head out of that cloud, Astro. You'll pull about three weeks
of dry runs before this baby gets five inches off the ground."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Manning!" Strong's voice boomed out as
he climbed up through the control-deck hatch. The three boys immediately
snapped to attention.

Strong walked around the control deck, fingering the controls lightly.

"This is a fine ship," he mused aloud. "One of the finest that
scientific brains can build. She's yours. The day you graduate from the
Academy, _IF_ you graduate, and I can think of about a thousand reasons
why you won't, you'll command an armed rocket cruiser similar to this.
As a matter of fact, the only difference between this ship and those
that patrol the space lanes now is in the armament."

"Don't we have any arms aboard at all, sir?" asked Tom.

"Small arms, like paralo-ray pistols and paralo-ray rifles. Plus four
atomic war heads for emergency use," replied Strong.

Seeing a puzzled expression cross Astro's face, the Solar Guard officer
continued, "You haven't studied armament yet, Astro, but paralo rays are
t