They all looked at each other, fully aware of what lay in store for them. Finally Astro growled, "I don't care what he does to me. I won't tell him a thing!"
"Same here!" exclaimed Roger.
Tom merely nodded, his face a grim, expressionless mask.
Suddenly three men led by Brooks, the radar operator, appeared in the passageway outside the brig. Brooks stepped forward, opened the door, and gestured with the paralo-ray gun in his hand.
"All right, you punks! Outside!"
Astro started to lunge for the pirate, but Tom grabbed him by the arm. "Take it easy, Astro. That won't get us any place."
"You can say that again," sneered Brooks. "One crazy move like that, kid, and I'll freeze you solid as a cake of ice! Now come on! Move!"
Tom, followed by Astro and Roger, walked slowly out of the brig, and guarded closely by the three pirate crewmen they were taken to the main air lock.
"All right," said Brooks. "The big ox and blondie, get in there!"
One of the crewmen opened the air-lock portal while the other two jabbed Astro and Roger with ray guns. The two cadets stumbled into the chamber and the door was slammed behind them.