"And if you do that for me, Roger,
I'll show you how to use the new electronic brain they recently acquired
at the Academy. Only one other person can operate it. But you definitely
have the potential."
Roger stared at him stupidly. "Huh? Yeah. Oh, sure!"
Gradually the mass of data was brought together and co-ordinated, and
finally, as Tom stood beside him, Major Connel checked over his
calculations.
"I can't see a thing wrong with it, Tom," Connel said at last. "I guess
that's it. Figuring we land on Junior at exactly seventeen hundred
hours, we'd reach the point of no return exactly two hours later."
"Shall I alert stations to blast off for Junior?" asked Tom.
"Yes," said Connel, "bring the _Polaris_ to dead ship in space about
three hundred miles above Junior. That's when we'll blast off in jet
boats."
"Yes, sir," said Tom. His eyes bright, he turned to the intercom. "All
right, you space babies," he announced, "this is it. Stand by to blast
Junior. Here we come!"
[Illustration]
CHAPTER 18
Dawn broke over the tangled jungles of Tara, followed by the bright sun
of Alpha Centauri rising out of the eastern sea and slowly climbing
higher and higher.
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