ut the drive rockets, but we didn't brake her. She's
probably drifted away from the radioactivity already."

"Corbett's right," said Connel. "A hot cloud would be a hundred miles
away by now." He pressed down on the acceleration lever and the jet boat
eased toward the ship. Edging cautiously toward the stern of the
spaceship, they saw the blasted section of the fin already cooling in
the intense cold of outer space.

"Think I'd better call a Solar Guard patrol ship, sir?" asked Roger.

"Let's wait until we check the damage, Manning," replied Connel.

"Yeah," chimed in Astro grimly, "if I can help it, I'm going to bring
the _Polaris_ in." He paused and then added, "If I have to carry her on
my back."

As soon as a quick check with the radiation counter showed them that the
hull was free of radioactivity, Major Connel and the three cadets
re-entered the ship.

While the lack of atmosphere outside had dissipated the full force of
the blast, the effect on the inside of the ship, where Earth's air
pressure was maintained, was devastating. Whole banks of delicate
machinery were torn from the walls and scattered over the decks. The
precision instruments of the inner hull showed no signs of leakage, and
the oxygen-circulating machinery could still function on an auxiliary
power hookup.

Completing the quick survey of the ship, Major Connel realized that they
would never be able to continue their flight to Venus and instructed
Roger to contact the nearest Solar Guard patrol ship to pick them up.

"The _Polaris_ will have to be left in space," continued Connel, "and a
maintenance crew will be sent out to see if she can be repaired. If they
decide it isn't worth the labor, they'll junk her here in space."

The faces of the three cadets fell.

"But there's no real damage on her power deck, sir," said Astro. "And
the hull is in good shape, except for the stabilizer fin and some of the
stern plates. Why, sometimes a green Earthworm unit will crack a fin on
their first touchdown."

"And the radar deck can be patched up easy, sir," spoke up Roger. "With
some new tubes and a few rolls of wire I could have her back in shape in
no time."

"That goes for the control deck, too!" said Tom doggedly. Then, after a
quick glance at his unit mates, he faced Connel squarely. "I think it
goes without saying, sir, that we'd appreciate it very much if you could
recommend that she be restored instead of junked."

Connel allowed himself