t to Commander Walters' office on the double!"

Without another word the cadets hurried to the slidestairs, each of
them hungry for excitement. Already having participated in three
outstanding adventures, the cadet members of the _Polaris_ unit were
eager to begin a fourth.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER 2

"There's no doubt that the success or failure of this project will
influence the thinking of the Solar Alliance with regard to further
expansion, Governor Hardy," said Commander Walters to the man sitting
stiffly in front of him. "And my congratulations on your appointment to
head the expedition."

A tall, lean man with iron-gray hair, the commander of Space Academy,
sat behind his desk, back ramrod straight in his black-and-gold senior
officer's uniform, and casually toyed with a paper cutter on his desk as
he spoke to Christopher Hardy, a short, thin man with a balding head and
sharp features.

"Thank you, Commander," replied Hardy, in a thin, reedy voice. "It's a
great honor and I certainly don't foresee anything that can prevent the
expedition from being a complete success. We have the best equipment
and, I hope, we'll have the finest men."

The soft chime of a muted bell interrupted Walters as he was about to
reply. He opened the switch to the interoffice teleceiver behind his
desk, then watched the image of his aide appear on the teleceiver
screen.

"What is it, Bill?" asked Walters.

"_Polaris_ unit reporting for orders, sir," replied the enlisted
guardsman. "Cadets Corbett, Manning, and Astro."

"Very well, send them in," said Walters. Switching off the teleceiver,
he turned back to Governor Hardy. "Ever hear of the _Polaris_ unit,
sir?" he asked.

Hardy paused, rubbing his chin before answering. "No, can't say that I
have." He smiled. "From the look on your face, I see I should know about
them, though."

Walters smiled back. "I'll just say this about them. Of all the cadet
units trained here at the Academy in the last twenty years, these three
lads are just about perfection. Just the material you'll need on your
initial operation."

Governor Hardy raised his hand in mock protest. "Please! No brain
trusts!"

"Well, they have the brains all right." Walters laughed. "But they have
something else, an instinctive ability to do the right thing at the
right time and that indefinable something that makes them true men of
space, rather than ordinary ground hogs simply transplanted into space."