Tom flicked the many switches off on the great board, glanced at the
time of arrival on the solar clock, and reported to Major Connel.

"Touchdown at one-nine-four-nine, sir."

"Very well, Corbett," answered Connel. Then he added grudgingly, "That
was as fine a job of control-deck operations as I've seen. Keep up the
good work, spaceman."

Tom gulped. The unexpected compliment caught him off guard. And he was
even more pleased that for the first time Connel had referred to him as
spaceman!

"I'll be needed at the space station commander's quarters for a while,
Corbett," said Connel. "Meanwhile, you and Manning and Astro acquaint
yourselves with the station. Report to me back aboard the ship in
exactly two hours. Dismissed."

Tom saluted, and Connel disappeared toward the exit port.

"Well, _spaceman_," Roger drawled casually from behind, "it looks like
you've got yourself in solid with the old man!"

Tom smiled. "With a guy like that, Roger, you're never in solid. Maybe I
did get a pat on the back, but you didn't hear him cancel any of those
demerits he gave me for not signing the logbook after that last watch,
did you?"

"Let's get some chow," growled Astro, who came hustling through the
hatch. "I'm half starved. By the craters of Luna, how many times can you
change course in five minutes?"

Astro referred to the countless times Tom had had to call for
fraction-degree course changes in their approach to the gaping entrance
port.

Tom laughed. "With Connel on the bridge, you're lucky I didn't give you
twice as many," he replied. "Can you imagine what would have happened if
we had missed and hit the station?"

"Brrrrrr!" shuddered Roger. "I hate to think about it. Come on. Let's
rustle up some grub for the Venusian. I could use some myself."

The three boys quickly changed to their dress blue cadet uniforms and
left the ship. A moment later they were being whisked up an electric
elevator to the main--or "street"--level. The door opened, and they
stepped out into a large circular area about the size of a city block in
the rear of the station. The area had been broken into smaller sections.
One side of the "street" was devoted to shops, a small stereo house
which was playing the latest Liddy Tamal hit, "Children of Space" (a
sensational drama about the lives of men in the future), restaurants,
and even a curio shop. The Venus space station handled ninety per cent
of the traffic into and out of Venusport. I