finest--the most terrif--"

The officer smiled at Astro's inability to describe his feelings.
Jenledge was proud of his power deck, proud of the whole establishment,
for that matter. He had conceived it, had drawn the plans, and had
constructed this space station.

Throughout the solar system it was considered his baby. And when he had
asked for permission to remain on as senior power-deck chief, the Solar
Alliance had jumped at the chance to keep such a good man on the job.
The station had become a sort of postgraduate course for power-deck
cadets and junior Solar Guard officers.

Astro beamed. So, the great Jenledge had actually heard of him--of
humble Cadet Astro. He could hardly restrain himself from ripping off
his blue uniform and going right to work on a near-by machine that had
been torn apart for repairs. Finally he managed to gasp, "I think it's
great, sir--just wonderful!"

"Very well, Cadet Astro," said the officer. "There's a pair of
coveralls in my locker. You can start right to work." He paused and his
eyes twinkled. "If you want to, that is!"

"Want to!" roared Astro, and was off to the locker room.

Jenledge turned to Scott. "Leave him with me, Scotty. I don't think
Cadet Astro's going to care much about the rest of the station!"

Scott smiled, saluted, and walked away. Tom and Roger came to attention,
saluted, and followed the young officer off the power deck.

"Astro's probably happier now than he'll ever be in his life, Tom,"
whispered Roger.

"Yeah," agreed Tom. "Did you see the way his eyes lit up when we walked
in there? Like a kid with a brand-new toy!"

A moment later Scott, Tom, and Roger, in a vacuum elevator, were being
hurtled to the station's upper decks. They got out on the observation
deck, and Scott walked directly to a small door at the end of a
corridor. A light over the door flashed red and Scott stopped.

"Here's the weather and meteor observation room," he said. "Also radar
communications. When the red light's on, it means photographs are being
taken. We'll have to wait for them to finish."

As they waited, Tom and Roger talked to Scott. He had graduated from
Space Academy seven years before, they learned. He'd been assigned to
the Solar Alliance Chamber as liaison between the Chamber and the Solar
Guard. After four years, he had requested a transfer to active space
operations.

Then, he told them, there'd been an accident. His ship exploded. He'd
been badly injured