There was Tom Corbett, an average
young man in this age of science, who had been selected as the
control-deck and command cadet of the _Polaris_ unit after rigid
examinations and tests. Topside, on the radar bridge, was Roger Manning,
cocky and brash, but a specialist in radar and communications. Below, on
the power deck, was Astro, a colonial from Venus, who had been accused
of cutting his teeth on an atomic rocket motor, so great was his skill
with the mighty "thrust buckets," as he lovingly called the atomic
rockets.
Now, returning from a routine training flight that had taken them to the
moons of Jupiter, the three cadets, Corbett, Manning, and Astro, and
their unit skipper, Captain Steve Strong, completed the delicate task of
setting the great ship down on the Academy spaceport.
"Closing in fast, sir," announced Tom, his attention focused on the
meters and dials in front of him. "Five hundred feet to touchdown."
"Full braking thrust!" snapped Strong crisply.
Deep inside the _Polaris_, braking rockets roared with unceasing power,
and the mighty spaceship eased itself to the concrete surface of the
Academy spaceport.
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