Strong flipped a switch on the intercom to direct contact with the
waiting ship and gave Sticoon the oft-repeated final briefing,
concluding, "Do not go beyond the necessary limitations of fuel
consumption that are provided for in the Solar Guard space code. If you
return here with less than a quarter supply of reactant fuel, you will
be disqualified. Stand by to blast off!"

"Uh-huh!" was all the acknowledgment Strong received from the Martian.
Famed for his daring, Sticoon was also known for his taciturn
personality.

"Clear ramp! Clear ramp!" Strong boomed over the public-address system.
When he received the all-clear from the enlisted spaceman on the ramp,
Strong flipped both the public-address system and the intercom on.
"Stand by to raise ship!"

He glanced at the astral chronometer. "Blast off, minus five, four,
three, two, one--_zero!_"

Tom, Roger, and Astro crowded to the viewport in Strong's command shack
to watch the bulky Martian's ship take to space. With Sticoon at the
controls, there was no hesitation. He gave the ship full throttle from
the moment of blast-off and in three seconds was out of sight. There
wasn't much to see at such speed.

The three members of the _Polaris_ unit left the shack to return to
their task of inspection. They passed the maintenance hangar where Kit
Barnard was readying his ship for blast-off in the next half hour.

"Any last-minute hitches, Kit?" asked Astro, vitally interested in the