"I mean," replied Strong, "_you_, in the sense that I won't be going along with you. Oh, don't worry!" said Strong, holding up his hand as a sudden look of anticipation spread over the faces of the three boys. "You're not going alone! You'll have a commanding officer, all right. In fact, you'll have the nearest thing to the perfect commanding officer in the Solar Guard!" He waited just long enough for each boy to search his mind for a suitable candidate and then added, "Your skipper will be Major Connel!" "Major Connel!" the three cadets cried in unison. "You mean Major 'Blast-off' Connel?" uttered Roger unbelievingly. "That's who I mean," said Strong. "It's the best thing in the universe that could happen to you!" Roger stood up and saluted smartly. "I request permission to be dismissed from this mission on the grounds of incompatibility, sir," he said. "Incompatible to what?" asked Strong, amused. "To Major Connel, sir," replied Roger. "Permission denied," said Strong with a smile. "Buck up! It isn't so bad." Strong paused and stood up. "Well, that's it. It's close to eleven A.M. and you're to report to the major at eleven on the nose. I hope you've got the _Polaris_ in good shape." "We were up all night, sir," said Tom. "She's ready to go." "She's in better shape than we are," said Astro. "Very well, then. Report to Major Connel immediately. Your papers have been transferred, so all you have to do is report." Strong rounded the desk and shook hands with each cadet. "This is an important mission, boys," he said soberly. "See that you give Major Connel all the support I know you're capable of giving. He'll need it. I doubt if I'll see you before you blast off, so this is it. Spaceman's luck to each of you!" [Illustration] CHAPTER 3 "Well, looks like we're big boys now," said Tom, as the three cadets strolled down the corridor away from Captain Strong's office. "They don't hand out secret and important missions to cadet units unless they're really on the ball!" "But we've got Major 'Blast-off' Connel to educate," grumbled Roger. "What do you mean 'educate'?" asked Astro. "You know he's the roughest officer in the Academy," replied the blond-haired cadet. "He eats cadets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And then has an extra one for dessert. He isn't just tough--his hide's made of armor plate. But I've got a hunch that if we play dumb at first, then smarten up slowly, we can make him feel that he's done it for us. So he'll be easier on us." "Say, it's after eleven!" exclaimed Tom. "We'd better hurry!" Suddenly, as if a rocket cruiser were blasting off in the corridors, a roar, deafening and powerful, filled their ears. And beneath its ferocity there were four unmistakable words: "_Polaris unit--staaaaaaaannnnnndddddd toooooo!_"