"Attention Squadrons D and F—proceed to Luna City""Attention Squadrons D and F—proceed to Luna City"
Cut all rockets and remain there until further orders. The remainder of Squadron F—ships one and two—will join Squadron A. Squadron A will stand by for further orders." Tom glanced at the clock and punched the intercom button.
"Have you got that course, Roger?"
"Three degrees on the starboard rockets, seventy-eight degrees on the up-plane of the ecliptic will put you at the corner of Luna Drive and Moonset Land in the heart of Luna City, spaceboy!" answered Roger.
"Get that, Astro?" asked Tom on the intercom.
"All set," replied Astro.
"Attention all ships in Squadron A—this is flagship—code name Starlight—am changing course. Stand by to form up on me!"
Tom turned back to the intercom.
"Power deck, execute!"
At more than five thousand miles an hour, thePolarishurtled toward its destination. One by one the remaining ships moved alongside until all six had their needlelike noses pointed toward the pale satellite of the Moon.
"I'd like to know what your plans are, Tom," said Strong, when the long haul toward the Moon had settled down to a routine. "Just idle curiosity, nothing more. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"Golly, yes," said Tom, "I'd be very grateful for your opinion."
"Well, let's have it," said the captain. "But as for my opinion—I'll listen, but I won't say anything."
Tom grinned sheepishly.
"Well," he began, "if I were in command of the invading fleet, I would strike in force—I'd have to, to do damage with only eight ships. There are three possible approaches to Luna City. One is from the Earth side, using the eclipse corridor of darkness as protection. Tomeet that, I've stationed two ships at different levels and distances in that corridor so that it would be impossible for an invasion to pass unnoticed."
"You mean, you'd be willing to give up two ships to the invader to have him betray his position. Is that right?"
"Yes, sir. But I've also sent Squadrons B and C to sectors eight and nine on chart seven. So I have a roving squadron to go to their aid, should the invader strike there. And on the other hand, should he manage to get through my outer defense, I have Squadrons D and E over Luna City itself as an inner defense. As for Squadron A, we'll try to engage the enemy first and maybe weaken him; at least reduce the full force of his attack. And then have Squadrons B, C, D and E finish him off, by attack from three different points."
Strong nodded silently. The young cadet was shaping up a defensive strategy with great skill. If he could only follow through on his plans, the invaders of Luna City wouldn't have much chance of success—even if willing to take heavy losses.
Roger's voice came on. "Got a report for you, Tom. From command ship, Squadron B. They've sighted the invaders and are advancing to meet them."
Tom checked his charts and turned to the intercom.
"Send them this message, Roger," he said. "From Starlight, to command ship, Squadrons B and C—approach enemy ships from position of chart nineteen, sections one through ten."
"Right!" said Roger.
Strong smiled. Tom was driving his heaviest force between the invading fleet and its objective—forcing the aggressors into a trap.
Tom gave more crisp orders to his squadrons. He asked Roger for an estimated range, and then, rechecking his position, turned again to the intercom.
"Astro, how much could you get out of this baby by opening the by-pass between the cooling pumps and the reactant chamber? That'd mean feeding the stuff into the motors only half cooled."
Strong turned, started to speak, then clamped his lips together.
"Another quarter space speed, roughly," replied Astro, "about fifteen hundred miles more an hour. Do you want me to do that?"
"No, not now," replied Tom. "Just wanted to know what I could depend on, if I get stuck."
"O.K.," said Astro. "Let me know!"
"Why use emergency speed, Corbett?" asked Strong. "You seem to have your enemy right where you want him now."
"Yes, sir," replied Tom. "And the enemy knows I have him. He can't possibly attack Luna City now. But he can still run away. He can make his escape by this one route."
Tom walked to the chart and ran his finger on a line away from the invader's position into the asteroid belt.
"I don't want him to get away," Tom explained. "And with the extra speed, we can cut him off, force him to turn into a position where the remainder of my fleet would finish him off."
"You'll do this with just thePolaris?"
"Oh, no, sir," said Tom. "I'd use theArcturus,Capellaand theCentauri, as well."
"Are you sure those other ships can equal your speed?"
"They've got exactly the same type engines as we have here on thePolaris, sir. I'm sure they could—and with perfect safety."
Strong hesitated a moment, started to ask a question, then stopped and walked to the chart screen. He checked the figures. He checked them four times, thenturned to Tom with a grin and an outstretched hand.
"I've got to offer my congratulations, Tom. This maneuver would wipe them out. And I've got a notion that you'd come off without the loss of a single ship, plus, and it is a big plus, keeping the invaders more than fifty thousand miles away from their objective!"
The captain turned to the teleceiver. "Rocket cruiserPolaristo control tower at Space Academy—"
There was a crackle of static and then the deep voice of Commander Walters boomed from the speaker.
"Spaceport control toPolaris. Come in, Steve."
In a few brief sentences, Strong outlined Tom's plan of action to the Academy commander. The commander's face on the teleceiver widened into a grin, then broke out in a hearty laugh.
"What's that, sir?" asked Captain Strong.
"Very simple, Steve. All of us—all the Academy top brass—develop a foolproof test for cadet maneuvers. And then your young Corbett makes us look like amateurs."
"But didn't you expect one side or the other to win?" asked Strong.
"Of course, but not like this. We've been expecting a couple of days of maneuver, with both sides making plenty of mistakes that we could call them on. But here Corbett wraps the whole thing up before we can get our pencils sharpened."
"Better stuff cotton in Corbett's ears before he hears all this," rasped Roger Manning over the intercom. "Or his head'll be too big to go through the hatch."
"Quiet, Manning," came Astro's voice from the power deck. "Your mouth alone is bigger than Tom's head'll ever be."
"Look, you Venusian ape—" began Roger, but Commander Walters' voice boomed out again. His face on the teleceiver screen was serious now.
"Attention! Attention all units! The battle has been fought and won on the chart screen of the rocket cruiserPolaris. The Luna City attack has been repelled and the invading fleet wiped out. All units and ships will return to Space Academy at once. Congratulations to all and end transmission."
The commander's face faded from the screen. Captain Strong turned to Tom. "Good work," he said.
He was interrupted by a crackle of static from the teleceiver. A face suddenly appeared on the screen—a man's face, frightened and tense.
"S O S." The voice rang out through the control deck.
"This is an S O S. Space passenger shipLady Venusrequests assistance immediately. Position is sector two, chart one hundred three. Emergency. We must have—"
The screen went blank, the voice stopped as though cut off by a knife. Strong frantically worked the teleceiver dials to re-establish contact.
"PolaristoLady Venus," he called. "Come inLady Venus. Rocket cruiserPolariscallingLady Venus. Come in! Come in!"
There was no answer. The passenger ship's instruments had gone dead.
"Polaristo Commander Walters at Space Academy—Come in, Commander Walters!" Captain Strong's voice was urgent in the teleceiver.
"Just worked up an assumed position on theLady Venus," said Roger over the intercom. "I think she's bearing about seventeen degrees to port of us, and about one-twenty-eight on the down-plane of the ecliptic."
"O.K., Roger," said Tom. "Captain Strong's trying to reach Commander Walters now." He made a quick mental calculation. "Golly, Roger—if you've figured it right, we're closer to theLady Venusthan anyone else!"
The teleceiver audio crackled.
"Commander Walters at Space Academy to Captain Strong on thePolaris. Come in, Steve!"
"Commander!" Strong's voice sounded relieved. "Did you get that emergency from theLady Venus—the S O S?"
"Yes, we did, Steve," said the commander. "How far away from her are you?"
Without a word, Tom handed Strong the position that Roger had computed. Strong relayed the information to the commander.
"If you're that close, go to her aid in thePolaris.You're nearer than any Solar Guard patrol ship and you can do just as much."
"Right, sir," replied Steve. "I'll report as soon as I get any news. End transmission!"
"Spaceman's luck, end transmission!" said the commander.
"Have you got a course for us, Roger?" asked Strong.
"Yes, sir!"
"Then let's get out of here. I have a feeling there's something more than just the usual emergency attached to that S O S from theLady Venus."
In twenty seconds the mighty cruiser was blasting through space to the aid of the stricken passenger ship.
"Better get the emergency equipment ready, Tom," said Strong. "Space suits for the four of us and every spare space suit you have on the ship. Never can tell what we might run into. Also the first-aid surgical kit and every spare oxygen bottle. Oh, yeah, and have Astro get both jet boats ready to blast off immediately. I'll keep trying to pick them up again on the teleceiver."
"Yes, sir," replied Tom sharply.
"What's going on up there?" asked Astro, when Tom had relayed the orders from Captain Strong. Tom quickly told him of the emergency signal from theLady Venus.
"Lady—Venus—" said the big cadet, rolling the name on his tongue, "I know her. She's one of the Martian City—Venusport jobs—an old-timer. Converted from a chemical burner to atomic reaction about three years ago!"
"Any ideas what the trouble might be?" asked Tom.
"I don't know," replied Astro. "There are a hundred and fifty things that could go wrong—even on this wagon and she's brand new. But I wouldn't be surprised if it was on the power deck!"
"And what makes you think so?" asked Tom.
"I knew a spaceman once that was on a converted tub just like theLady Venusand he had trouble with the reaction chamber."
"Wow!" exclaimed Tom. "Let's hope it isn't that now!"
"You can say that again," said Astro grimly. "When this stuff gets out of control, there's very little you can do with it, except leave it alone and pile out!"
ThePolaris, rocketing through space at full space speed, plunged like a silver bullet through the vastness of the black void, heading for what Strong hoped to be theLady Venus. Tom prepared the emergency equipment, doubling all the reserves on the oxygen bottles by refilling the empties he found on the ship and making sure that all space suits were in perfect working order. Then he opened the emergency surgical kit and began the laborious task of examining every vial and drug in the kit to acquaint himself with what there was to work with just in case. He brought all the stores of jelly out for radiation burns and finally opened a bottle of special sterilization liquid with which to wipe all the instruments and vials clean. He checked the contents of the kit once more, and, satisfied that everything was as ready as he could make it, he went up to the control deck.
"Any other message from them yet, sir?" asked Tom.
"Nothing yet," answered Strong. "If I could pick them up on the teleceiver, maybe they could tell us what the trouble is and then we could more or less be prepared to help them." He bent over the teleceiver screen and added grimly, "If there is anything left to help!"
"Radar deck to control deck!" Roger's voice was tense. "I think I've picked them up on the radar scanner, Captain Strong!"
"Relay it down here to control-deck scanner, Manning," ordered Strong.
"Ummmh!" murmured the captain when the screen began to glow. "I'm pretty sure that's her. Here's that assumed position Roger worked up, Tom. Check it against this one here on the scanner."
Tom quickly computed the position of the object on the scanner and compared it to the position Roger had given them previously.
"If Roger's positioning was correct, sir," said Tom, "then that's theLady Venus. They both check out perfectly!"
Strong, bent over the radar scanner, didn't answer. Finally he turned around and flipped off the scanner. "That's her," he announced. "Congratulations, Roger. You hit it right on the nose!"
"How shall we approach her, sir?" asked Tom.
"We'd better wait until she sends up her flares."
"You mean the identification flares for safety factors?"
"That's right," replied Strong. "A white flare means it's all right to come alongside and couple air locks. A red one means to stand off and wait for instructions." Strong turned to the intercom.
"Control deck to power deck. Reduce thrust to one quarter space speed!"
"Power deck, aye," answered Astro.
"We'll wait until we're about two miles away from her and then use our braking jets in the bow of the ship to bring us within a few thousand feet of her," commented Strong.
"Yes, sir," said Tom.
"Work up an estimated range, Roger," said Strong, "and give me a distance on our approach."
"Aye, aye, sir," Roger replied. "Objective four miles away now, sir."
"When we hit three miles," said Strong to Tom, "have Astro stand by the forward braking jets."
"Aye, sir," said Tom.
"Three-and-a-half miles," said Roger a few moments later. "Closing in fast.Lady Venuslooks like a dead ship."
"That could only mean one thing," said Strong bitterly. "There has been a power-deck failure of some sort."
"Three miles to objective, sir," reported Roger. "I think I can pick her up on the teleceiver now, but only one way, from us to her."
"All right," said Strong, "see what you can do."
In a few moments the teleceiver screen glowed and then the silver outline of theLady Venusappeared on the screen.
"I don't see any damage to her hull," said Strong half to himself. "So if it was an explosion, it wasn't a bad one."
"Yes, sir," said Tom. "Shall I stand by with the flares?"
"Better send up a yellow identification flare, identifying us as the Solar Guard. Let them know who we are!"
Tom turned to the yellow button on his left and pressed it. Immediately a white flash resembling a meteor appeared on the teleceiver screen.
"There should be an answer soon," said Strong.
"Three thousand yards to objective," reported Roger.
"Fire braking rockets one half," ordered Strong.
Tom relayed the order to Astro and made the necessary adjustments on the control panel.
"Stern drive rockets out," ordered Strong.
Once again Tom relayed the message to Astro and turned to the control board.
"Cut all rockets!" ordered Strong sharply.
The great ship, slowed by the force of the brakingrockets, became motionless in space a bare five hundred yards from theLady Venus.
"They should be sending up their safety-factor flare soon," said Strong. "Keep trying to raise them on the teleceiver, Roger."
Strong was peering through a crystal port directly at the ship hanging dead in space opposite them. There wasn't any sign of life. Tom stepped to the side of Steve Strong and looked out at the crippled passenger ship.
"Why don't we go aboard, sir?" asked Tom.
"We'll wait a little longer for the flare. If we don't get it soon—"
"There it is, sir!" shouted Tom at Strong's side.
From the flare port near the nose of the commercial ship, a ball of fire streaked out.
"Red!" said Strong grimly, "That means we can't go alongside. We'll have to use jet boats."
"Captain Strong," shouted Roger from the radar deck, "they're signaling us with a small light from the upper port on the starboard side!"
"Can you read it?" asked Strong quickly.
"I think so, sir. They're using standard space code, but the light is very dim."
"What do they say?"
" ... reaction ... chamber—" said Roger slowly as he read the blinking light, " ... radiation ... leaking around ... baffle ... all ... safe...." Roger stopped. "That's all, sir. I couldn't get the rest of it."
Strong turned to the intercom. "Astro, get the jet boats ready to blast off immediately. Roger, send this message. 'Am coming aboard. Stand by to receive me on your number-one starboard jet-boat catapult deck, signed, Strong, Captain, Solar Guard.'"
"Yes, sir!" replied Roger.
"Get into your space suit, Tom, and give Astro a hand with the jet boats. I have to get a message back toSpace Academy and tell them to send out help right away."
"Aye, sir," said Tom.
"Roger," said Strong, "stand by to record this message for the teleceiver in case Space Academy should call our circuit while we're off the ship."
"All set, sir," came the reply from the radar deck.
"O.K.—here goes—Captain Steve Strong—Solar Guard—am boarding passenger shipLady Venus. Secondary communications signal message received indicates it is power-deck failure. Am taking cadets Corbett, Manning and Astro and boarding same at"—he paused and glanced at the clock—"thirteen hundred fifty one hours!"
"That all, sir?" asked Roger.
"That's it. Get that set on the open circuit for any one calling us, then climb into your space suit!"
In a matter of minutes, the four spacemen of thePolariscrew were making last-minute adjustments on their space suits. Astro picked up his heavy belt of tools and strapped them around his waist.
"What's that for, Astro?" asked Strong. "They'll have tools aboard the ship if we need them."
"If that lead baffle in the reaction chamber has worked loose, sir, the odds are ten to one that the control chamber is flooded with radiation. And if it is, the tools are probably so hot you couldn't use them."
"That's good thinking, Astro," complimented Strong. He turned to Tom and Roger and checked their suits and the oxygen supply and feeder valves on their backs. He then turned his back while Tom checked his, and Roger adjusted Astro's.
"All right, turn on your communicators and test them," ordered Strong.
One by one the boys flipped on the switch of the portable spacephones in their fish-bowl helmets and spoketo each other. Strong indicated that he was satisfied and turned toward the jet-boat catapult deck, the three boys following him in single file.
"Astro, you and Roger take number-one boat," said Strong. "Tom and I will take number two." His voice had a harsh metallic tone through the headset spacephones.
Roger hurried along with Astro to the number-one boat and climbed inside.
"Jet boat has its own oxygen system," said Astro to Roger. "Better make use of it while we're in here and save our suits' supplies."
"Good idea," said Roger. He locked the clear plastic airtight covering of the jet boat and began flicking at the control buttons.
"Strap in, you Venusian hick. Here we go!" Roger shoved a lever at his side, making the jet-boat deck airtight from the rest of thePolaris, and then, by pressing a button on the simple control board, a section of thePolaris' hull slipped back, exposing them to empty space.
The controls of a jet boat were simplicity itself. A half-moon wheel for guiding, up, down and either side, and two pedals on the floor, one for going and one for stopping. Roger stepped on the "Go" pedal and the small ship flashed out into the darkness of space.
Almost immediately on the opposite side of thePolaris, Captain Strong and Tom in the second boat shot away from the rocket cruiser and both boats headed for the stricken spaceship.
The hatch clanked shut behind them. Inside the huge air lock of theLady Venus, Tom, Roger, Astro and Captain Strong waited for the oxygen to equal the pressure in their space suits before removing their fish-bowl space helmets.
"O.K., sir," said Tom, "pressure's equal."
Strong stepped to the hatch leading to the inside of the ship and pushed hard. It slid to one side.
"How many jet boats do you have?" was the first thing Strong heard as he stepped through the door to the interior of the passenger ship.
"Al James!" cried Manning. "So this is your tub?"
The startled young skipper, whom Tom, Roger and Astro had met in Atom City, turned to face the blond-headed cadet.
"Manning!" he gasped.
"What's your trouble, skipper?" asked Strong of the young spaceship captain.
Before James could answer there was a sudden clamor from beyond the next hatch leading to the main passenger cabin. Suddenly the hatch was jerked open and a group of frightened men and women poured through. The first to reach Strong, a short fat man with a moonface and wearing glasses, began to jabber hysterically, while clinging to Strong's arm.
"Sir, this ship is going to blow up any moment. You've got to save us!" He turned to face Al James. "And he refused to allow us to escape in the jet boats!" He pointed an accusing finger at the young skipper as the other passengers loudly backed him up.
"Just a moment," snapped Strong. "There's a Solar Guard rocket cruiser only five hundred yards away, so take it easy and don't get hysterical. No one is going to get hurt if you keep calm and obey orders!" He turned to James. "What's the trouble, skipper?"
"It's the reaction chamber. The lead baffle around the chamber worked loose and flooded everything with radiation. Now the mass in number-three rocket is building and wildcatting itself. If it gets any higher, it'll explode."
"Why didn't your power-deck man dump the mass?" asked Strong.
"We didn't know it was wildcatting until after he had tried to repair it. And he didn't tighten the bolts enough to keep it from leaking radiation." The young skipper paused. "He lived long enough to warn us, though."
"What's the Geiger count on the radiation?" asked Strong.
"Up to twelve thirty-two—about ten minutes ago," answered James. "I pulled everybody out of the power deck and cut all energy circuits, including the energizing pumps. We didn't have any power so I had to use the combined juice of the three jet boats to send out the emergency signal that you picked up." He turned to face the little man with the glasses. "I had a choice of either saving about fifteen passengers on the jet boats, and leaving the others, or take a chance on saving everybody by using the power to send out a message."
"Ummmmh," said Strong to himself. He felt confidence in a young spaceman who would take a decisionlike that on himself. "What was that Geiger count again?" he asked.
"Must be better than fourteen hundred by now," answered James.
Strong made a quick decision.
"All right," he said, tight-lipped, "abandon ship! How many passengers?"
"Seventeen women and twenty-three men including the crew," replied James.
"Does that include yourself?" asked Strong.
"No," came the reply.
Strong felt better. Any man who would not count himself on a list to survive could be counted on in any emergency.
"We'll take four women at a time in each jet boat first," said Strong. "James, you and I will operate the jet boats and ferry the passengers to thePolaris. Tom, you and Roger and Astro get everybody aboard the ship ready to leave."
"Yes, sir," said Tom.
"We haven't much time. The reaction mass is building fast. Come on, James, we have to rip out the seats in the jet boats to get five people in them." Strong turned back into the jet-boat launching well.
"May I have the passenger lists, Captain?" asked Tom, turning to James. The young skipper handed him a clip board with the names of the passengers and crew and followed Strong.
"We will abandon ship in alphabetical order," announced Tom. "Miss Nancy Anderson?"
A young girl about sixteen stepped forward.
"Just stand there by the hatch, Miss," said Tom. He glanced at the next name. "Miss Elizabeth Anderson?" Another girl, looking very much like the first, stepped forward and stood beside her sister.
"Mrs. John Bailey?" called Tom.
A gray-haired woman of about sixty stepped forward.
"Pardon me, sir, but I would rather remain with my husband, and go later with him."
"No—no, Mary," pleaded an elderly man, holding his arm around her shoulder. "Go now. I'll be all right. Won't I, sir?" He looked at Tom anxiously.
"I can't be sure, sir," said Tom. He found it difficult to control his voice as he looked down at the old couple, who couldn't weigh more than two hundred pounds between them.
"I'm going to stay," said the woman firmly.
"As you wish, Madam," said Tom. He looked at the list again. "Mrs. Helen Carson?"
A woman about thirty-five, carrying a young boy about four years old, stepped out and took her place beside the two sisters.
In a moment, the first eight passengers were assembled into two groups, helped into space suits, with a special portable suit for the little boy, and loaded in the jet boats. The red light over the hatch glowed, then went out. The first load of passengers had left theLady Venus.
"They're pretty jumpy," Roger whispered, nodding toward the remaining passengers.
"Yeah," answered Tom. "Say, where's Astro?"
"I don't know. Probably went to take a look at the jet boats to see if one could be repaired so we'd have a third ferry running."
"Good idea," said Tom. "See if you can't cheer these people up, Roger. Tell them stories or sing songs—or better yet, get them to sing. Try to make them forget they're sitting on an atom bomb!"
"I can't forget it myself," said Roger. "How can I make them forget it?"
"Try anything. I'll go see if I can't give Astro a hand!"
Roger turned to face the assembled passengers andsmiled. All around him in the main passenger lounge, the frightened men and women sat huddled together in small groups, staring at him, terror in their eyes.
"Ladieeees and Gentlemen," began Roger. "You are now going to be entertained by the loudest, corniest and most miserable voice in the universe. I'm going tosing!"
He waited for a laugh, but there was only a slight stir as the passengers shifted nervously in their seats.
Shrugging his shoulders, Roger took a deep breath and began to sing. He only knew one song and he sang it with gusto.
"From the rocket fields of the AcademyTo the far-flung stars of outer space,We're Space Cadets training to be...."
"From the rocket fields of the AcademyTo the far-flung stars of outer space,We're Space Cadets training to be...."
On the lower deck of the passenger ship, Tom smiled as he faintly heard his unit-mate's voice. He made his way to the jet-boat deck of theLady Venusand opened the hatch.
"Hey, Astro," he called. There wasn't any answer.
He stepped inside and looked around the empty deck. Walking over to one of the jet boats, he saw evidence of Al James's attempts to send out emergency signal messages. He called again. "Hey, Astro—where are you?" Still no answer. He noticed that one of the jet boats was missing. There were three still on the deck, but an empty catapult for the fourth made Tom think that Astro might have repaired the fourth and taken it out in space for a test. The light over the escape hatch indicated that someone had gone out. It was odd, thought Tom, for Astro to go out alone. But then he shrugged, remembering how Astro could lose himself in his work and forget everything but the job at hand. He climbed back to the passenger deck.
When Tom opened the hatch to the main lounge, thesight that filled his eyes was so funny that, even in the face of danger, he had to laugh. Roger, with his hands clasped behind his back, was down on his knees trying to push a food pellet across the deck with his nose. The whole passenger lounge echoed with hysterical laughter.
Suddenly the laughter was stopped by the sound of the bell over the air-lock hatch. Strong and James had returned to ferry more passengers to thePolaris. Immediately the fun was forgotten and the passengers crowded around for the roll call.
"Where's Astro?" asked Strong, as he reappeared in the lounge.
"He's down on the jet-boat deck, sir, trying to fix another one," replied Tom. "I think he's out testing one now."
"Good," said Strong. "How're they taking it?" He indicated the passengers.
"Roger's been keeping them amused with games and songs, sir," said Tom proudly.
"They'll need it. I don't mind telling you, Corbett," said Strong, "it's a wonder to me this tub hasn't blown up already."
In less than a half hour, the forty passengers and crewmen of theLady Venuswere transferred in alphabetical order to the waitingPolaris. Roger kept up a continual line of patter and jokes and stories, making a fool of himself, but keeping the remaining passengers amused and their minds off the dangers of the rapidly building reaction mass.
"Just one passenger left," said Strong, "with myself and you three. I think we can squeeze five in that jet boat and get off here."
"That's for me," said Roger. "I'm the only man in the whole universe that's ever played to a packed house sitting on top of an atomic bomb!"
"All right, Barrymore," said Strong, "get aboard!"
"Say," asked Tom, "where's Astro?"
"I don't know," replied Roger. "I thought you went to find him half an hour ago!"
"I did," said Tom, "but when I went to the jet-boat deck, one was missing. So I figured he had fixed one and taken it out for a test."
"Then he's probably outside in space now!" said Strong. Suddenly the Solar Guard captain caught himself. "Wait a minute! How many jet boats were on the deck, Corbett?"
"Three, sir."
"Then Astro is still aboard the ship," said Strong. "He couldn't have taken a boat. James told me he couldn't repeat the message he sent out because he only had the power ofthreejet boats. One was damaged and left behind at Atom City!"
"By the rings of Saturn," said Roger, "a coupla million miles from home, sitting on an atomic bomb and that big Venusian hick decides to play hide-and-seek!"
"Never mind the cracks," said Strong. "We've got to find him!"
"Captain," said the little man with the round face and glasses who had first spoken to Strong when he came aboard, "just because my name happens to be Zewbriski, and I have to be the very last to get on a jet boat, I don't see why I have to wait any longer. I demand to be taken off this ship immediately! I refuse to risk my life waiting around for some foolish cadet!"
"That foolish cadet, Mr. Zewbriski," said Strong coldly, "is a human being like you and we don't budge until we find him!"
At that moment the bell began to ring, indicating that the outer hatch to the air lock was opening.
"By the craters of Luna," said Tom, "that must be Astro now!"
"But if it is," said Roger, "how did he get out there?"
From behind them, the hatch to the inner air lock opened and Al James stepped through.
"Captain Strong," he said excitedly, "you've got to come quickly. Some of the crewmen have broken into your arms locker and taken paralo-ray guns. They threaten to leave you here if you don't return to the ship within five minutes. They're afraid theVenusmight blow up and damage thePolarisat this close range." The young skipper, his red-brown uniform torn and dirty, looked at the Solar Guard captain with wild-eyed desperation.
"They can't leave us here," whimpered Zewbriski. "We'll all be blown to bits!"
"Shut up!" barked Strong. He turned to Tom and Roger. "I can do one of two things," he said. "I can order you to return to thePolarisnow, with James and myself, or you can volunteer to stay behind and search for Astro."
Without looking at Roger, Tom answered, "We'll stay, sir. And we won't have to search for him. I think I know where he is."
"Now that I think about it," replied Strong, "I guess there is only one place he could be."
"Yes, sir," said Tom, "down on the power deck trying to save this wagon! Come on, Roger! Let's get him!"
"What's the reading on the Geiger counter now?" asked Tom.
Roger looked down at the face of the radioactive measuring device and answered, "She's been dropping for the last five minutes, Tom. Looks like the mass in number three is cooling off. Fourteen hundred and ten now."
"That's not fast enough," said Astro, straightening up from tightening a nut on the lead baffle. "She's still plenty hot. That mass should have been dumped out of the rocket exhaust right away. Now the whole tube control box is so hot with radiation, it'd burn you to a crisp if you opened the hatch."
"Good thing you brought along those tools from thePolaris," said Tom.
"Yeah, greaseball," said Roger, "you used your head for once. Now let's see you use it again and pile out of this hunk of junk!"
"Fifteen hundred on the counter is the danger mark, Roger, and as long as we keep it under that, I'm going to try and save this wagon!" replied Astro.
"Why? To get yourself a Solar Medal?" asked Roger sarcastically.
"What do you think made this tub act up like this, Astro?" asked Tom, ignoring Roger's remark.
"Using special reactant feed, Tom," replied Astro. "This is a converted chemical burner—with an old-type cooling pump. It's touchy stuff."
"Well, couldn't we drive boron rods into the mass and slow down the reaction?" asked Tom.
"No, Tom," answered Astro, "the control for the rods are inside the tube control box. We can't reach it."
There was a sudden loud ticking from the Geiger counter.
"Astro!" cried Roger. "The mass is building!"
"Here, lemme see!" shouted Astro. He took the instrument in his big hand and watched the clocklike face intently.
" ... fourteen hundred thirty—fourteen hundred fifty—fourteen hundred seventy—" He faced his unit-mates. "Well, that does it. The mass is maintaining a steady reaction without the energizing pumps. It's sustaining itself!"
"But how is that possible?" asked Tom.
"It's one of those freaks, Tom. It's been known to happen before. The fuel is just hot enough to sustain a steady reaction because of its high intensity. Once that baffle worked loose, the mass started wildcatting itself."
"And if it doesn't stop?" asked Roger tensely.
"It'll reach a point where the reaction comes so fast it'll explode!"
"Let's pile out of here!" said Roger.
The three boys made a dash for their space suits and the jet boat. Inside the air lock, they adjusted their oxygen valves and waited for pressure to equalize so they could blast off.
"Blast it," said Astro, "there must be some way to get to that rocket tube and dump that stuff!"
"Impossible, Astro," said Roger. "The release controls are in the control box, and with all that radiation loose, you wouldn't last half a minute!"
Tom walked over to the valve that would open the outside hatch.
"Wonder how Captain Strong is making out with those tough babies on thePolaris?" asked Tom.
"I don't know," replied Roger, "but anything would be better than sitting around waiting for this thing to blow up!"
"Ah—stop griping," said Astro, "or I'll shove you up a rocket tube and blast you from here all the way back to Atom City!"
"Hey, wait a minute!" shouted Tom. "Astro, remember the time we were on the ground crew as extra duty and we had to overhaul thePolaris?"
"Yeah, why?"
"There was one place you couldn't go. You were too big, so I went in, remember?"
"Yeah, the space between the rocket tubes and the hull of the ship. It was when we were putting in the new tube. So what?"
"So this!" said Tom. "When they converted this tub, they had standard exhausts, so it must have the same layout as thePolaris. Suppose I climb in the main exhaust, between the tube and the outer hull, and cut away the cleats that hold the tube to the ship?"
"Why, then everything would come out in one piece!" Astro's face lit up. "Reactant mass, tube, control box—the works!"
"Say, what are you two guys talking about?" asked Roger.
"Saving a ship, Roger," said Tom. "Dumping the whole assembly of the number-three rocket!"
"Ah—you're space happy!"
"Maybe," said Tom, "but I think it's worth trying. How about it, Astro?"
"O.K. by me, Tom," replied Astro.
"Good. You get the cutting torches rigged, Astro.Roger, you give him a hand and keep your eye on the counter. Then feed the torches to me when I get inside the tube. I'm going outside to get rid of a bad rocket and save a five-million-credit spaceship!"
Before Astro or Roger could protest, Tom opened the hatch and began to climb out on the steel hull toward the rocket tubes, main exhaust.
His magnetic-soled shoes gripping the smooth steel hull, the cadet made his way aft to the stern of the ship and began the climb down around the huge firing tubes and into the tubes themselves.
"Hey, Astro," he yelled into the spacephone, "I'm inside the tubes. How about those torches?" The cadets had adjusted the wave length so that all could hear what was said.
"Take it easy, spaceboy," said Roger, "I'm leaving the hatch now. You and your fatheaded friend from Venus are so hopped up for getting a Solar Medal—"
"Knock it off, Manning!" said Astro from inside the ship. "And for your information, I don't want a medal. I don't want anything except for you to stop griping!"
Roger reached the end of the ship and began to climb down inside the tube where Tom was waiting for him.
"O.K., spaceboy," said Roger, "here're your cutting torches." He started moving back. "I'll see you around. I don't mind being a little hero for saving people and all that stuff. But not for any ship. And the odds against a big hero staying alive are too big!"
"Roger, wait," shouted Tom. "I'll need...." And then the curly-headed cadet clamped his teeth together and turned back to the task at hand.
He made adjustments on the nozzle of the cutting torch, and then, focusing his chest light, called to Astro.
"O.K., Astro," he said, "shoot me the juice!"
"Coming up, Tom!" answered Astro. "And wait till Iget my hands on that Manning! I'm going to smear that yellow space crawler from one corner of the universe to another!"
"Never mind the talk," snarled Roger, who at the moment was re-entering the tube. "Just get that juice down to this torch and make it fast!"
Tom turned to see Roger crawling back into the tube and adjusting a cutting torch.
"Glad to have you aboard, Roger," said Tom with a smile that Roger could not see in the darkness of the tube. The two boys went to work.
Suddenly the torches came to life. And immediately Tom and Roger began to cut away at the cleats that held the tube lining to the skin of the ship. Steadily, the cadets worked their way up toward the center of the ship, cutting anything that looked as though it might hold the giant tube to the ship.
"Boy," said Tom, "it's getting hot in here!"
From inside the ship, Astro's reassuring voice came back in answer. "You're getting close to the reactant-mass chamber. The last cleat is up by one of the exhaust gratings. Think you can last it?"
"Well, if he can't," snarled Roger, "he's sure to get that medal anyway!" He inched up a little. "Move over, Corbett, I'm skinnier than you are, and I can reach that cleat easier than you can."
Roger slipped past Tom and inched his way toward the last cleat. He pulled his torch up alongside and pulled the trigger. The flame shot out and began eating the steel. In a moment the last cleat was cut and the two boys started their long haul down the tube to the outside of the ship.
As they walked across the steel surface, back to the air lock, Tom stuck out his hand.
"I'm glad you came back, Roger."
"Save it for the boys that fall for that stuff, Corbett,"said Roger sarcastically. "I came back because I didn't want you and that Venusian hick to think you're the only ones with guts around here!"
"No one has ever accused you of not having guts, Roger."
"Ah—go blast your jets," snarled Roger.
They went directly to the power deck where Astro was waiting for them, the Geiger counter in his hand.
"All set to get rid of the rotten apple?" he asked with a smile.
"All set, Astro," said Tom. "What's the count?"
"She seems to have steadied around fourteen hundred ninety—and believe me, the ten points to the official danger mark of fifteen hundred is so small that we could find out where the angels live any moment now!"
"Then what're we waiting for," said Tom. "Let's dump that thing!"
"How?" snarled Roger.
Tom and Astro looked at him bewilderedly. "What do you mean 'how'?" asked Astro.
"I mean how are you going to get the tube out of the ship?"
"Why," started Tom, "there's nothing holding that tube assembly to the ship now. We cut all the cleats, remember? We can jettison the whole unit!"
"It seems to me," drawled Roger lazily, "that the two great heroes in their mad rush for the Solar Medal have forgotten an unwritten law of space. There's no gravity out here—no natural force to pull or push the tube. The only way it could be moved is by the power of thrust, either forward or backward!"
"O.K. Then let's push it out, just that way," said Astro.
"How?" asked Roger cynically.
"Simple, Roger," said Tom, "Newton's Laws of motion. Everything in motion tends to keep going at the same speed unless influenced by an outside force. So ifwe blasted our nose rockets and started going backward, everything on the ship would go backward too, then if we reversed—"
Astro cut in, "Yeah—if we blasted the stern rockets, the ship would go forward, but the tube, being loose, would keep going the other way!"
"There's only one thing wrong," said Roger. "That mass is so hot now, if any booster energy hit it, it would be like a trigger on a bomb. It'd blow us from here to the next galaxy!"
"I'm willing to try it," said Tom. "How about you, Astro?"
"I've gone this far, and I'm not quitting now."
They turned to face Roger.
"Well, how about it, Roger?" asked Tom. "No one will think you're yellow if you take the jet boat and leave now."
"Ah—talk again!" grumbled Roger. "We always have to talk. Let's be original for a change and just do our jobs!"
"All right," said Tom. "Take an emergency light and signal Captain Strong. Tell him what we're going to do. Warn him to stay away—about two hundred miles off. He'll know if we're successful or not within a half hour!"
"Yeah," said Roger, "then we'll send him one big flash to mean we failed!Bon voyage!"
Fifteen minutes later, as theLady Venusdrifted in her silent but deadly orbit, Tom, Roger and Astro still worked feverishly as the Geiger counter ticked off the increasing radioactivity of the wildcatting reaction mass in number-three rocket tube.
"Reading on the counter still's going up, Astro," warned Roger. "Fifteen-O-five."
"Hurry it up, Astro," urged Tom.
"Hand me that wrench, Tom," ordered Astro. Thebig cadet, stripped to the waist, his thick arms and chest splattered with grease and sweat, fitted the wrench to the nut and applied pressure. Tom and Roger watched the muscles ripple along his back, as the big Venusian pitted all of his great strength against the metal.
"Give it all you've got," said Tom. "If we do manage to jettison that tube, we've got to keep this part of the power deck airtight!"
Astro pulled harder. The veins standing out on his neck. At last, easing off, he stood up and looked down at the nut.
"That's as tight as I can get it," he said, breathing heavily.
"Or anyone else," said Tom.
"All the valve connections broken?" asked Astro.
"Yep," replied Roger. "We're sealed tight."
"That's it, then," said Tom. "Let's get to the control deck and start blasting!"
Astro turned to the power-deck control board and checked the gauges for the last time. From above his head, he heard Tom's voice over the intercom.
"All your relays to the power deck working, Astro?"
"Ready, Tom," answered Astro.
"Then stand by," said Tom on the control deck. He had made a hasty check of the controls and found them to be similar enough to those on thePolarisso that he could handle the ship. He flipped the switch to the radar deck and spoke into the intercom.
"Do we have a clear trajectory fore and aft, Roger?"
"All clear," replied Roger. "I sent Captain Strong the message."
"What'd he say?"
"The rebellion wasn't anything more than a bunch of badly scared old men. Al James just got hysterical, that's all."