Part 24 (2/2)

”Yeah, she's fixed. But I don't work on another job until you give me another helper. That asteroid head you gave me doesn't know a--” Astro stopped. Something out beyond the double doors caught his eye. It was the sight of Tom and Connel entering the wooden building.

”What's the matter with him?” demanded the foreman.

”Huh? What? Oh--ah--well, he's O.K., I guess,” Astro stammered. ”It's just that he's a little green, that's all.”

”Well, get to work on that heater in chamber number one. It's burned a bearing. Change it, and hurry up about it!”

”Sure--sure!” The big cadet grinned.

”Say, what's the matter with you?” asked the foreman, staring at him suspiciously.

”I'm O.K.,” replied Astro quickly.

The foreman continued to stare at Astro as the big cadet turned to his a.s.sistant nonchalantly. ”Come on, genius, get that box of tools over to the heater!” he shouted. As he turned away, the foreman nodded to the green-clad guard, who followed closely behind Astro, his hand on the b.u.t.t of his paralo-ray gun.

Seeing the little a.s.sistant struggling with the heavy box, Astro stopped and picked it out of his arms with one hand. Grinning, he held it straight out and then slowly brought it around in a complete circle over his head, still holding it with only one hand. The guard's eyes widened behind his plastic helmet at this show of strength.

”You're very strong, Astro,” he said, ”but you are altogether too contemptuous of a fellow Venusian.” He nodded to the small a.s.sistant.

”That's right,” said Astro. His grin hardened and he leaned forward slightly, balancing on the b.a.l.l.s of his feet. ”That goes for you and every other green s.p.a.ce monkey in this place. Drop that ray gun and I'll tie you up in a knot!”

Frightened, the guard pulled the paralo-ray gun out of its holster, but Astro quickly stepped in and sank his fist deep into the guard's stomach. The man dropped like a stone. Astro grinned and turned his back to walk toward the heater. He heard the other workers begin to chatter excitedly, but he didn't pay any attention to them.

”Astro! Astro!” His little a.s.sistant ran up beside him. ”You hit a division guard!”

”I did, huh?” replied the big cadet in an innocent tone. ”What kind of a division?”

”Don't you know? Venus has been divided into areas called divisions.

Each division has a chief, and every Venusian citizen in that division is under his personal jurisdiction.”

”Uh-huh,” said Astro vaguely. He climbed up on to the machine and began taking off the outer casing.

”The best men in the division are made the Division Chief's personal guards.”

”What happens to the second and third and fourth best men?”

”Well, they're given jobs here according to their knowledge and capacities.”

”What was your job before you came here?”

”I was a field worker on my chief's plantation.”

”Why did you join?” asked Astro. ”Did you think it better to have Venusians ruling Venus, instead of belonging to the Solar Alliance?”

”I didn't think about it at all,” admitted the little man. ”Besides, I didn't join. I was recruited. My chief just put me on a s.h.i.+p and here I am.”

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