Vidac turned and walked away without returning Jeff's salute. The
enlisted spaceman looked down at the twisted mass of wire and metal and
muttered a low oath. Then, picking up the pieces, he turned and walked
wearily back to the observatory. All of Roger's effort was destroyed.
But worse than that, now Vidac knew about the attempt to build the set.

* * * * *

"Watch out, Tom."

Roger's voice blasted through the intercom from the radar deck. "There's
the biggest hunk of space junk I've ever seen bearing down on us!"

Tom flipped on the control-deck scanner of the rocket scout quickly,
estimated range, angle, and approach of the onrushing asteroid, and
called to Astro on the power deck.

"Emergency course change!" he bellowed. "One-quarter blast on the
starboard jets, ten degrees down on the exhaust steering vanes!
Execute!"

In the cramped space of the power deck, the giant Venusian quickly
responded to his unit-mate's orders. Opening the induction valves
leading to the reactors, the cadet shot full power into the radiation
chambers, sending the little space scout into a long downward curve,
safely out of the path of the dangerous asteroid.

"Whew!" breathed Roger over the intercom. "That was fast thinking, Tom.
I wouldn't have had time to plot a course change. And with all that