hat cut
all power. A moment later the huge craft dropped easily, then settled on
the landing platform with a gentle thump.

"Touchdown!" yelled Tom. Then, glancing at the astral chronometer on the
control board, he turned to Strong, and saluting smartly, reported,
"_Polaris_ completes space flight at exactly seven fifty-two-O-two!"

Strong returned the salute. "Very well, Tom. Now, I want you, Roger, and
Astro to come with me to the exposition commissioner's office for an
interview and detailed orders."

"Yes, sir," said Tom.

A few minutes later, dressed in fresh uniforms, the three cadets
followed their unit commander out of the ship, then stood by as Strong
ordered the chief petty officer of an enlisted Solar Guard working party
to prepare the _Polaris_ for moving to the exposition site.

"Empty the reactant fuel tanks of all but enough for us to raise ship
and touch down over to the fairgrounds," said Strong. "Better strip her
of armament, too. Paralo-ray pistols and rifles, the three-inch and
six-inch atomic blasters, narco sleeping gas; in fact, everything that
could possibly cause any trouble."

"Yes, sir," replied the scarlet-clad enlisted spaceman.

"One thing more," added Strong. "There will be a crew living aboard, so
please see that the galley is stocked with a full supply of both fresh
and synthetic foods. That's about all, I guess."

"Very well, sir," replied the petty officer with a crisp salute. He
turned and began bawling orders to a squad of men behind him and
immediately they were swarming over the great ship like ants.

Fifteen minutes later, a jet cab swerved to a stop in front of the
tallest of the Venusport buildings, the Solar Alliance Chamber. Strong
paid the driver, adding a handsome tip, and flanked by his three cadets
strode briskly into the building.

Crossing a high-ceilinged lobby, they entered an express vacuum elevator
and five seconds later stepped out onto the four-hundredth floor. There,
Strong slid a panel door to one side, and, followed by the cadets,
stepped inside the office of Mike Hawks, exposition commissioner and
retired senior officer of the Solar Guard.

The office was impressively large and airy, with an outside wall forming
a viewport of clear Titan crystal reaching from floor to vaulted ceiling
and affording a magnificent view of the city of Venusport and, beyond
it, the futuristic buildings of the exposition itself. Another wall,
equally as large, was covere