Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
The black-suited spaceman suddenly dove straight at Astro and the cadet caught the full force of his body in his stomach. He sprawled on the deck, gasping. Miles was on top of him in a second, hands at Astro's throat. Fire danced in the cadet's brain as Ross Miles' steely fingers closed around his windpipe.
"New Chicago," replied Tom. "Name's Tom Corbett. And this is Astro." "Hiya." Astro stuck out a big paw and grinned his wide grin. "I guess you heard. Astro's all the name I've got." "How come?" inquired the Southerner. "I'm from Venus and it's a custom from way back when Venus was first colonized to just hand out one name." "Funny custom," drawled Phil.
Tom and Roger jumped to Astro's side and each grabbed one of the powerful arms encircling McAvoy. It took all their strength to break the viselike hold the giant Venusian had on the other cadet, but slowly they pulled the muscular arms back and McAvoy slumped to the grass. The three victorious cadets paused and looked down at the beaten Capella crew, then looked at each other.
Astro saw Connel and ducked behind an overturned jet car, yelling, "I'm unarmed! Nail them, Major!" In a flash Connel dropped to the pavement, and firing from a kneeling position, cut the Nationalists down expertly. When the last of the enemy was frozen, Connel rushed to Astro's side. "What about Roger?" he asked. "I couldn't reach him," replied Astro.
Astro's voice boomed out over the tops of the trees, where the birds fluttered in sudden fright. It echoed through the darkness around him, where smaller creatures crawled and slithered into the protection of their holes. The voice of the big cadet was loud, but it was not loud enough for his mates to hear. Astro was lost. He couldn't understand how it had happened.
He turned to the intercom, but before he could speak, Astro's voice roared into his ears. "Report from the power deck, sir," said Astro. "Acceleration normal. Request permission to open up on hyperdrive." "Permission granted!" said Connel. "Look, sir," said Tom, "on the teleceiver screen. Junior is getting his bumps!" Connel glanced up at the screen.
"How do you figure that?" asked Astro, as they peered cautiously around the edge of the doorway. "He's wearing his oxygen mask." "Come on!" said Astro. "Let's find out what that heel is up to." Hugging the buildings, the two cadets walked down the street, following Miles. There was a puzzled frown on Astro's face as he stared at the spaceman, a hundred feet away.
"That's good thinking, Astro," complimented Strong. He turned to Tom and Roger and checked their suits and the oxygen supply and feeder valves on their backs. He then turned his back while Tom checked his, and Roger adjusted Astro's. "All right, turn on your communicators and test them," ordered Strong.
By the time Deimos had risen in the sky, they were sound asleep. "Eeeeeeoooooooow!" Astro's bull-like roar shattered the silence of the desert. "There up ahead, Tom Roger a building!" Tom and Roger stopped and strained their eyes in the bright sunshine. "I think you're right," said Tom at last. "But I doubt if anyone's there. Looks like an abandoned mining shack to me."
Astro stood still. The man came up to him and felt the cadet's uniform for a hidden weapon. Then he jammed the ray gun into Astro's back and ordered him down the hill. Astro started walking, hardly daring to breathe, but suddenly the man stopped. "Where are the others?" he demanded. "They ran out on me." "Ran out on you. I thought you three were supposed to be such good buddies?"
Word Of The Day