Suddenly Gus Wallace could be heard screaming over the teleceiver, his face a mask of fear and panic.
"Bull! Bull!" he shouted. "The Solar Guard! We just spotted them! Squadrons! Heading straight for us! We've got to get out of here!"
"What?" roared Coxine, turning to his radar scanner. The blips on the screen verified the alarm. He shouted into the teleceiver, "Man your guns! We'll wipe them out right now!"
"But, Bull—" whined Wallace. "They'll blast us out of space!"
Coxine roared into the mike. "The first one of you yellow crawlers that tries to run for it will be blasted by me! Man your guns, I said! This is our big chance! Wipe out the Solar Guard now and the Solar Alliance is ours for the asking! Fight, men! Fight!"
Tom, Roger, and Astro looked at each other, mouths open, not knowing whether they should laugh or not at the dramatic speech of the huge spaceman. But whatever the private feelings of the criminals, Coxine had roused them to fever pitch and the boys could hear them racing through the Avenger, preparing to fight the squadrons of Solar Guard ships bearing down on them.
Coxine strapped himself in the pilot's chair and began barking orders to his battle stations, whipping his men into action relentlessly.
And then suddenly Captain Strong's voice, vibrant and firm, came over the audioceiver, demanding the surrender of the pirate captain and his fleet.
"Never!" roared Coxine. "You'll get my surrender from the barrels of every blaster I have under my command!"
"Then," replied Strong, "I have no alternative but to attack!"