Through the Asteroids—To Hell!

"Through the Asteroids—To Hell!" by Leroy Yerxa is a science fiction tale from around the 1940s that follows Blair Freedman, a pilot in the Tunnel Patrol, who dreams of excitement as war brews between two space stations. Dissatisfied with his routine job of maintaining a safe path through an asteroid belt, Blair wants to join the elite Warrior Patrol. After Blair leaves his post, tragedy strikes when his friend dies in action, pulling Blair back to the Tunnel Patrol with a sense of duty and remorse. Alongside Sheila Graham, the daughter of his fallen friend, Blair confronts the looming threat of the Vestena fleet, leading to a fateful showdown aboard the Cutter ship where love and loss intertwine with themes of sacrifice and the harsh realities of interstellar conflict.