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As the braking rockets quickly stopped all forward acceleration, the main rockets were cut in and the giant ship dropped toward the surface of the tropical planet tailfirst. Tom's face glowed with excitement as he adjusted one lever and then another, delicately balancing the ship in its fall, meanwhile talking into the intercom and directing Astro in the careful reduction of thrust.
"That thing can penetrate other star systems in our galaxy. And that's a long way off!" "Nearest thing to us is Alpha Centauri in our own galaxy, and that's twenty-three and a half million million miles away," commented Astro. "That's not so far," argued Tom. "Only a few months ago the Solar Alliance sent out a scientific exploration to take a look at that baby."
"We were only going at half speed and using just three rockets!" "When we got rid of that hot tube back in space," explained Astro grimly, "we dumped the main reactant mass. There isn't a thing we can do!" "We've got one choice," said Tom hollowly.
"You're very strong, Astro," he said, "but you are altogether too contemptuous of a fellow Venusian." He nodded to the small assistant. "That's right," said Astro. His grin hardened and he leaned forward slightly, balancing on the balls of his feet. "That goes for you and every other green space monkey in this place. Drop that ray gun and I'll tie you up in a knot!"
For a moment, thinking it was Tom, his heart nearly stopped, and then he breathed a silent prayer of thankfulness when he recognized Charley Brett. He felt the man's heart. There was a faint beat. Astro opened the valve on Brett's oxygen mask wide and waited until the man was breathing normally. Then he began feeling his way back to the ladder.
"You," he shouted at one of the guards, "get up here and keep them apart!" A guard stepped quickly between Tom and Connel, and the conversation ended. At the exit Connel and Tom stopped involuntarily at the sight before them. Astro had entered the canyon near twilight, but the two spacemen got a view of the Nationalists' base under the full noon sun. Connel gasped and muttered a space oath.
"And here I thought Vidac was O.K. after the way he worked during the past ten days setting up Roald City." "I've been talking to some of the other men," said Logan bitterly. "They feel the same way I do. Something's got to be done about this!" "But what?" asked Roger. "And how?" chimed in Astro. "Force, by the stars!" yelled Logan.
With the threat of the tyrannosaurus gone, they could face the strange happenings around the clearing. "Come on," said Tom. He started for the burning buildings in back of the house. Just at that moment a group of the green-clad men came around the side of the house. Astro grabbed Tom by the arm and pulled him back. "What's going on here?
"Astro," continued Walters, "is rather shaky in the field of theory and abstract-scientific concepts. Yet he is capable of handling practically any situation on the power deck of a spaceship. He literally thinks with his hands." "Most commendable," commented Hardy dryly. "But I should think it would be difficult if he ever came face to face with a situation where his hands were bound."
"Vidac just assigned us to work with Professor Sykes on charting the new space regions." Jeff smiled. "Nothing wrong with that. The old professor isn't so bad. He sounds worse than he really is." "Listen," growled Astro, "you don't have to tell me what Professor Sykes is like. I had a class with him at the Academy. That guy is so sour, vinegar is sweet by comparison."
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