n.

But in his office in the Tower of Galileo, Captain Strong paced the
floor, a worried frown on his face. He stepped around his desk and
picked up a paper to re-read it for the tenth time. He shook his head
and flipped open the key of his desk intercom, connecting him with the
enlisted spaceman in the next office.

"Find Kit Barnard, spaceman!" Strong called. "And give him an oral
message. _Personal._ Tell him I said he can't use his reactor unit
unless he changes it to more standard operational design." Strong paused
and glanced at the paper again. "As it stands now, his reactor will not
be approved for the trials," he continued. "Tell him he has until
midnight tonight to submit new specifications."

As Strong closed the intercom key abruptly, the three members of the
_Polaris_ unit stepped into his office and saluted smartly. Strong
looked up. "Hello, boys. Sit down." He waved them to nearby chairs and
turned back to his desk. The drawn expression of their unit commander
did not go unnoticed.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" asked Tom tentatively.

"Nothing much," replied Strong wearily. He indicated the sheaf of papers
in front of him. "These are reactor-unit specifications submitted by the
pilots and crew chiefs of the ships to be flown in the time trials. I've
just had to reject Kit Barnard's specifications."

"What was the matter?" asked Astro.

"Not enough safety allowance. He's running too close to the danger point
in feeding reactant to the chambers, using D-18 rate of feed and D-9 is
standard."

"What about the other ships, sir?" asked Tom. "Do they all have safety
factors?"

Strong shrugged his shoulders. "They all specify standard reaction rates
without actually using figures," he said. "But I'm certain that their
feeders are being tuned up for maximum output. That's where your job is
going to come in. You've got to inspect the ships to make sure they're
safe."

"Then Kit Barnard put down his specifications, _knowing_ that there was
a chance they wouldn't pass," Tom remarked.

Strong nodded. "He's an honest man."

The door opened and several men stepped inside. They were dressed in the
mode of merchant space officers, wearing high-peaked hats, trim jackets,
and trousers of a different color. Strong stood up to greet them.

"Welcome, gentlemen. Please be seated. We will begin the meeting as soon
as all the pilots are here."

Roger nudged Astro and whispered, "What's the big deal about a D