t this wagon in shape," said Tom. He turned to the
instrument panel and the great control board.

A moment later the three cadets were busy shining the few bits of brass
and rechecking the many controls and levers. Suddenly there was the
sound of a hatch slamming below and then Astro's voice came whispering
over the intercom, "... watch it, fellows. Here he comes!"

The airtight hatch leading to the control deck slid back, and Major
Connel stepped inside. With one sweeping glance he took in the control
deck and the evidence of their work.

"Unit--_staaaaand to!_" he roared.

Astro climbed into the control deck and snapped to attention with his
unit-mates as Connel began a quick but thorough check of the many dials
and switches and relays on the control panel.

"Ummmmh," he mused. "Been doing a little work, I see."

"Oh, nothing special, sir," said Roger.

"Well, from now on it's going to be special!" roared Connel.

"Yes, sir," acknowledged Roger quickly.

"All right, at ease," ordered Connel. As the three boys relaxed, Connel
stepped over to the astrogation board and snapped a switch. Immediately
a solar chart filled the huge chart screen. It was a black-and-white
view of the planet Venus.

"This is where we're going first," he said, placing a finger on a
ball-shaped satellite in orbit around the misty planet. "This is the
Venus space station. As you know, Venus has no natural satellite of its
own, so we built one. We'll blast off from here and go directly to the
space station where the _Polaris_ will be fitted with hyperdrive for
deep-space operations. While at the station you will acquaint yourselves
with the operation of the new audio communications transmitter. When I'm
satisfied that you can handle it under the prevailing conditions of an
extended space flight, we'll blast off for a test of its range and
performance."

Major Connel paused and faced the cadets squarely. Then he continued:
"This is an important mission--one which I hope will enable the Solar
Guard to establish the first base outside of our solar system. Our
destination is Tara, in the star system of Alpha Centauri. Tara is a
planet in a stage of development similar to that of Earth several
million years ago. Its climate is tropical, and lush vegetation--jungles
really--covers the land surface. Two great oceans separate the land
masses. One is called Alpha, the other Omega. I was on the first
expedition, when Tara was discovered, and hav