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Updated: April 30, 2025
Astro had withdrawn into a shell, refusing to allow Roger to bother him and only an occasional rumble of anger indicated his true feelings toward his troublesome unit-mate. Tom maintained his role of peacemaker and daily, in many ways, showed his capacity for leadership by steering his unit-mates away from any storm-provoking activities. Strong finally broke the silence.
A crude tent was the result and both boys crawled in under, sprawling on the sand. Astro finished eating, lay down beside his two unit-mates, and in a moment the three cadets were sound asleep. The sun climbed steadily over the desert while the Polaris unit slept.
Roger, his face twisted into a grimace from the effort, finally slumped to the floor, gasping for breath. "Roger," asked Tom quickly, "are you all right?" Roger nodded his head but stayed where he was, breathing deeply. Finally recovering his strength, he rose and stood up against the hatch with his two unit-mates. "You and Roger just give a steady pressure, Tom," said Astro.
As Cadet Tom Corbett snapped orders into the intercom and his unit-mates responded by smooth co-ordinated action, the giant rocket cruiser Polaris slowly arched through Earth's atmosphere, first nosing up to lose speed and then settling tailfirst toward its destination the spaceport at Space Academy, U.S.A.
"Are you sure you want to do it?" asked Tom. He knew what such a request would mean. A black mark against Roger for being rejected by his unit-mates and a black mark against Astro and himself for not being able to adjust. Regardless of who was right and who was wrong, there would always be a mark on their records. "Look, Tom," said Astro, "if I thought it was only me I'd keep my mouth shut.
At two-thirty the sun and the heat were so overpowering that they stopped involuntarily and tried to sit on the hot sand only to find that they couldn't and so they stumbled on. Neither Roger nor Astro asked for water. Finally Tom stopped and faced his two unit-mates wobbling on unsteady legs. "I've gone as far as I can without water. I I don't think I can go another step.
"How about concentrating on the passes Richards is going to feed to Davison," Tom asked his unit-mates. "Never mind blocking out Richards and McAvoy." "Yeah," agreed Astro, "play for the ball. Sounds good to me." "How about it, Roger?" asked Tom. "Just play the game," said Roger. And then added sarcastically, "And don't forget to give them every chance to score.
As two thousand space cadets, crowded in the grandstands watching the annual academy tournament, rose to their feet and cheered lustily, Tom Corbett turned to his unit-mates Astro and Roger and called enthusiastically, "O.K., fellas. Let's go out there and show them how to play this game!"
"Let's get that hatch shoved aside and take a look." Astro jammed the heavy steel bar farther into the space between the hatch and the bulkhead, and then turned back to his unit-mates. "Get that piece of pipe over there," he said. "We'll slip it over the end of the bar and that'll give us more leverage."
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.
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