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Again, barring the door behind him, he sat before the audioceiver and began calling the Polaris. "This is Cadet Corbett aboard rocket ship Space Knight in quadrant four, chart C for Charley. Corbett aboard spaceship Space Knight in quadrant four, chart C for Charley! Come in, Commander Walters! Come in!"
"That's just it," said Roger. "I remember distinctly loading all of them in the locker near the main scanner on the radar deck." "Then we have to get it from another ship," said Tom. "The chances of getting one here, aboard the Polaris, are zero." "Say, Roger," suddenly asked Astro, "do you think you remember enough about that triple vacuum tube to draw me a blueprint?" "Sure," said Roger.
Then faster and faster, pushing the four spacemen deep into their acceleration cushions, it hurtled spaceward. In a few seconds the Polaris was gravity-free. Once again, Earthmen had started another journey to the stars. "Stand by to reduce speed three-quarters!" roared Major Connel. "Aye, aye, sir," replied Tom, and began the necessary adjustments on the control panel. He spoke into the intercom.
A split second later there was a deafening silence, followed by a heavy muffled thud and the creak of straining metal as the Polaris came to rest on the ramp. "Touchdown!" yelled Tom. He quickly cut all power to the control board and watched as one by one the gauges and dials registered zero or empty.
"Every time I think about that Connel kicking us out of space for twelve months I wanta pound his head in with a wrench!" snarled Loring. Mason snorted. "Well, what's the use of hanging around here?" he asked. "That Connel wouldn't have us aboard the Polaris, even if we were cleared and had our papers. There ain't a thing we can do!" "Don't give up so easy.
Glancing quickly at the scanner screen, he saw the white blip that was the meteor flashing away from the Polaris and he smiled. "That was nice work, Corbett!" said Strong. "Get us back on course as soon as you can. Governor Hardy wants to get to Venusport as quickly as possible." "Shall I tell Astro to pour on extra thrust, sir?" asked Tom. "No, just maintain standard full space speed.
"Listen, you curly-haired twerp!" roared Astro, and it seemed to Tom that he could hear his friend without the loud-speaker. "We're going to give you the hottest run of your lives when we get going!" "O.K., Astro," said Tom. "If you can contact Roger, tell him to get in touch with Captain Strong right away. He's probably blasted off on the Polaris by now." "Right, Tom. End transmission."
He turned and gazed helplessly at the gleaming hull of the Polaris. "So they know," he said bitterly. "They're trying to stop me from even reaching Venus." The three cadets looked at each other and then at the burly spaceman, bewilderment in their eyes. "What's this all about, sir?" Roger finally asked. "I'm not at liberty to tell you, Manning," replied Connel.
Indeed, any words which might have been considered as unparliamentary he asked me to construe as gratitude to God. Our captain was a passenger on and prospective captain of the S.S. Tigris when she picked up those members of the ill-fated Polaris expedition who had been five months on the ice-pans.
"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 cruiser Polaris. The Luna City attack has been repelled and the invading fleet wiped out. All units and ships will return to Space Academy at once.
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