Stand by for Mars!

by Carey Rockwell

  Produced by Greg Weeks, Ross Wilburn and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net

  STAND BYFOR MARS!

  A TOM CORBETT Space Cadet Adventure

  STAND BYFOR MARS!

  By CAREY ROCKWELL

  WILLY LEY _Technical Adviser_

  GROSSET & DUNLAP _Publishers_ New York

  COPYRIGHT, 1952, BYROCKHILL RADIO

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

  STAND BY FOR MARS!

  _The scarlet-clad figure stood before them_]

  CHAPTER 1

  "Stand to, you rocket wash!"

  A harsh, bull-throated roar thundered over the platform of the monorailstation at Space Academy and suddenly the lively chatter and laughter ofmore than a hundred boys was stilled. Tumbling out of the gleamingmonorail cars, they froze to quick attention, their eyes turned to themain exit ramp.

  They saw a short, squat, heavily built man, wearing the scarlet uniformof the enlisted Solar Guard, staring down at them, his fists jammed intohis hips and his feet spread wide apart. He stood there a moment, hissharp eyes flicking over the silent clusters, then slowly sauntered downthe ramp toward them with a strangely light, catfooted tread.

  "Form up! Column of fours!"

  Almost before the echoes of the thunderous voice died down, thescattered groups of boys had formed themselves into four ragged linesalong the platform.

  The scarlet-clad figure stood before them, his seamed and weather-beatenface set in stern lines. But there was a glint of laughter in his eyesas he noticed the grotesque and sometimes tortuous positions of some ofthe boys as they braced themselves in what they considered a militarypose.

  Every year, for the last ten years, he had met the trains at themonorail station. Every year, he had seen boys in their late teens,gathered from Earth, Mars and Venus, three planets millions of milesapart. They were dressed in many different styles of clothes; the looseflowing robes of the lads from the Martian deserts; the knee-lengthshorts and high stockings of the boys from the Venusian jungles; thevari-colored jacket and trouser combinations of the boys from themagnificent Earth cities. But they all had one thing in common--a dream.All had visions of becoming Space Cadets, and later, officers in theSolar Guard. Each dreamed of the day when he would command rocket shipsthat patrolled the space lanes from the outer edges of Pluto to thetwilight zone of Mercury. They were all the same.

  "All right now! Let's get squared away!" His voice was a little morefriendly now. "My name's McKenny--Mike McKenny. Warrant Officer--SolarGuard. See these hash marks?"

  He suddenly held out a thick arm that bulged against the tight redsleeve. From the wrists to the elbow, the lines of boys could see asolid corrugation of white V-shaped stripes.

  "Each one of these marks represents four years in space," he continued."There's ten marks here and I intend making it an even dozen! And nobunch of Earthworms is going to make me lose the chance to get thoselast two by trying to make a space monkey out of me!"

  McKenny sauntered along the line of boys with that same strange catlikestep and looked squarely into the eyes of each boy in turn.

  "Just to keep the record straight, I'm your cadet supervisor. I handleyou until you either wash out and go home, or you finally blast off andbecome spacemen. If you stub your toe or cut your finger, come to me. Ifyou get homesick, come to me. And if you get into trouble"--he pausedmomentarily--"don't bother because I'll be looking for _you_, with afist full of demerits!"

  McKenny continued his slow inspection of the ranks, then suddenlystopped short. At the far end of the line, a tall, ruggedly built boy ofabout eighteen, with curly brown hair and a pleasant, open face, wasstirring uncomfortably. He slowly reached down toward his right boot andheld it, while he wriggled his foot into it. McKenny quickly strode overand planted himself firmly in front of the boy.

  "When I say stand to, I mean stand to!" he roared.

  The boy jerked himself erect and snapped to attention.

  "I--I'm sorry, sir," he stammered. "But my boot--it was coming offand--"

  "I don't care if your pants are falling down, an order's an order!"

  The boy gulped and reddened as a nervous titter rippled through theranks. McKenny spun around and glared. There was immediate silence.

  "What's your name?" He turned back to the boy.

  "Corbett, sir. Cadet Candidate Tom Corbett," answered the boy.

  "Wanta be a spaceman, do ya?" asked Mike, pushing his jaw out anotherinch.

  "Yes, sir!"

  "Been studying long hard hours in primary school, eh? Talked your motherand father deaf in the ears to let you come to Space Academy and be aspaceman! You want to feel those rockets bucking in your back out in thestars? _EH?_"

  "Yes, sir," replied Tom, wondering how this man he didn't even knowcould know so much about him.

  "_Well, you won't make it_ if I ever catch you disobeying orders again!"

  McKenny turned quickly to see what effect he had created on the others.The lines of bewildered faces satisfied him that his old trick of usingone of the cadets as an example was a success. He turned back toCorbett.

  "The only reason I'm not logging you now is because you're not a SpaceCadet yet--and won't be, until you've taken the Academy oath!"

  "Yes, sir!"

  McKenny walked down the line and across the platform to an openteleceiver booth. The ranks were quiet and motionless, and as he madehis call, McKenny smiled. Finally, when the tension seemed unbearable,he roared, "At ease!" and closed the door of the booth.

  The ranks melted immediately and the boys fell into chattering clusters,their voices low, and they occasionally peered over their shoulders atCorbett as if he had suddenly been stricken with a horrible plague.

  Brooding over the seeming ill-fortune that had called McKenny'sattention to him at the wrong time, Tom sat down on his suitcase toadjust his boot. He shook his head slowly. He had heard Space Academywas tough, tougher than any other school in the world, but he didn'texpect the stern discipline to begin so soon.

  "This could be the beginning of the end," drawled a lazy voice in backof Tom, "for some of the more enthusiastic cadets." Someone laughed.

  Tom turned to see a boy about his own age, weight and height, withclose-cropped blond hair that stood up brushlike all over his head. Hewas lounging idly against a pillar, luggage piled high around his feet.Tom recognized him immediately as Roger Manning, and his pleasantfeatures twisted into a scowl.

  "About what I'd expect from that character," he thought, "after thetrick he pulled on Astro, that big fellow from Venus."

  Tom's thoughts were of the night before, when the connecting links oftransportation from all over the Solar Alliance had deposited the boysin the Central Station at Atom City where they were to board themonorail express for the final lap to Space Academy.

  Manning, as Tom remembered it, had taken advantage of the huge Venusianby tricking him into carrying his luggage. Reasoning that since thegravity of Venus was considerably less than that of Earth, he convincedAstro that he needed the extra weight to maintain his balance. It hadbeen a cheap trick, but no one had wanted to challenge the sharpness ofManning's tongue and come to Astro's rescue. Tom had wanted to, butrefrained when he saw that Astro didn't mind.

  Finishing his conversation on the teleceiver, McKenny stepped out of thebooth and faced the boys again.

  "All right," he bawled. "They're all set for you at the Academy! Pick upyour gear and follow me!" With a quick light step, he hopped on therolling slidewalk at the edge of the platform and started moving away.

  "Hey, Astro!" Roger Manning stopped the huge boy about to step over."Going to carry my bags?"

  The Venusian, a full head taller,
hesitated and looked doubtfully at thefour suitcases at Roger's feet.

  "Come on," prodded Roger in a tone of mock good nature. "The gravityaround here is the same as in Atom City. It's the same all over the faceof the Earth. Wouldn't want you to just fly away." He snickered andlooked around, winking broadly.

  Astro still hesitated, "I don't know, Manning. I--uhh--"

  "By the rings of Saturn! What's going on here?" Suddenly from outsidethe ring of boys that had gathered around, McKenny came roaring in,bulling his way to the center of the group to face Roger and Astro.

  "I have a strained wrist, sir," began Roger smoothly.

  "And this cadet candidate"--he nodded casually toward Astro--"offered tocarry my luggage. Now he refuses."

  Mike glared at Astro. "Did you agree to carry this man's luggage?"

  "Well--I--ah--" fumbled Astro.

  "Well? Did you or didn't you?"

  "I guess I sorta did, sir," replied Astro, his face turning a slow red.

  "I don't hold with anyone doing another man's work, but if a Solar Guardofficer, a Space Cadet, or even a cadet candidate gives his word he'lldo something, he does it!" McKenny shook a finger in Astro's face,reaching up to do it. "Is that clear?"

  "Yes, sir," was the embarrassed reply.

  McKenny turned to Manning who stood listening, a faint smile playing onhis lips.

  "What's your name, Mister?"

  "Manning. Roger Manning," he answered easily.

  "So you've got a strained wrist, have you?" asked Mike mockingly whilesending a sweeping glance from top to bottom of the gaudy coloredclothes.

  "Yes, sir."

  "Can't carry your own luggage, eh?"

  "Yes," answered Roger evenly. "I could carry my own luggage. I thoughtthe candidate from Venus might give me a helping hand. Nothing more. Icertainly didn't intend for him to become a marked man for a simplegesture of comradeship." He glanced past McKenny toward the other boysand added softly, "And comradeship _is_ the spirit of Space Academy,isn't it, sir?"

  His face suddenly crimson, McKenny spluttered, searching for a readyanswer, then turned away abruptly.

  "What are you all standing around for?" he roared. "Get your gear andyourselves over on that slidewalk! Blast!" He turned once again to therolling platform. Manning smiled at Astro and hopped nimbly onto theslidewalk after McKenny, leaving his luggage in a heap in front ofAstro.

  "And be careful with that small case, Astro," he called as he driftedaway.

  "Here, Astro," said Tom. "I'll give you a hand."

  "Never mind," replied Astro grimly. "I can carry 'em."

  "No, let me help." Tom bent over--then suddenly straightened. "By theway, we haven't introduced ourselves. My name's Corbett--Tom Corbett."He stuck out his hand. Astro hesitated, sizing up the curly-headed boyin front of him, who stood smiling and offering friendship. Finally hepushed out his own hand and smiled back at Tom.

  "Astro, but you know that by now."

  "That sure was a dirty deal Manning gave you."

  "Ah, I don't mind carrying his bags. It's just that I wanted to tell himhe's going to have to send it all back. They don't allow a candidate tokeep more than a toothbrush at the Academy."

  "Guess he'll find out the hard way."

  Carrying Manning's luggage as well as their own, they finally stepped onthe slidewalk and began the smooth easy ride from the monorail stationto the Academy. Both having felt the sharpness of Manning's tongue, andboth having been dressed down by Warrant Officer McKenny, they seemed tobe linked by a bond of trouble and they stood close together for mutualcomfort.

  As the slidewalk whisked them silently past the few remaining buildingsand credit exchanges that nestled around the monorail station, Tom gavethought to his new life.

  Ever since Jon Builker, the space explorer, returning from the firstsuccessful flight to a distant galaxy, came through his home town nearNew Chicago twelve years before, Tom had wanted to be a spaceman.Through high school and the New Chicago Primary Space School where hehad taken his first flight above Earth's atmosphere, he had waited forthe day when he would pass his entrance exams and be accepted as a cadetcandidate in Space Academy. For no reason at all, a lump rose in histhroat, as the slidewalk rounded a curve and he saw for the first time,the gleaming white magnificence of the Tower of Galileo. He recognizedit immediately from the hundreds of books he had read about the Academyand stared wordlessly.

  "Sure is pretty, isn't it?" asked Astro, his voice strangely husky.

  "Yeah," breathed Tom in reply. "It sure is." He could only stare at theshimmering tower ahead.

  "It's all I've ever wanted to do," said Tom at length. "Just get outthere and--be _free_!"

  "I know what you mean. It's the greatest feeling in the world."

  "You say that as if you've already been up there."

  Astro grinned. "Yup. Used to be an enlisted space sailor. Bucked rocketsin an old freighter on the Luna City--Venusport run."

  "Well, what are you doing here?" Tom was amazed and impressed.

  "Simple. I want to be an officer. I want to get into the Solar Guard andhandle the power-push in one of those cruisers."

  Tom's eyes glowed with renewed admiration for his new friend. "I've beenout four or five times but only in jet boats five hundred miles out.Nothing like a jump to Luna City or Venusport."

  By now the slidewalk had carried them past the base of the Tower ofGalileo to a large building facing the Academy quadrangle and the spellwas broken by McKenny's bull-throated roar.

  "Haul off, you blasted polliwogs!"

  As the boys jumped off the slidewalk, a cadet, dressed in the vivid bluethat Tom recognized as the official dress of the Senior Cadet Corps,walked up to McKenny and spoke to him quietly. The warrant officerturned back to the waiting group and gave rapid orders.

  "By twos, follow Cadet Herbert inside and he'll assign you to yourquarters. Shower, shave if you have to and can find anything to shave,and dress in the uniform that'll be supplied you. Be ready to take theAcademy oath at"--he paused and glanced at the senior cadet who held upthree fingers--"fifteen hundred hours. That's three o'clock. All clear?Blast off!"

  Just as the boys began to move, there was a sudden blasting roar in thedistance. The noise expanded and rolled across the hills surroundingSpace Academy. It thundered over the grassy quadrangle, vibrating wavesof sound one on top of the other, until the very air quivered under theimpact.

  Mouths open, eyes popping, the cadet candidates stood rooted in theirtracks and stared as, in the distance, a long, thin, needlelike shipseemed to balance delicately on a column of flame, then suddenly shootskyward and disappear.

  "Pull in your eyeballs!" McKenny's voice crackled over the recedingthunder. "You'll fly one of those firecrackers some day. But right nowyou're _Earthworms_, the lowest form of animal life in the Academy!"

  As the boys snapped to attention again, Tom thought he caught a faintsmile on Cadet Herbert's face as he stood to one side waiting forMcKenny to finish his tirade. Suddenly he snapped his back straight,turned sharply and stepped through the wide doors of the building.Quickly the double line of boys followed.

  "Did you see that, Astro?" asked Tom excitedly. "That was a Solar Guardpatrol ship!"

  "Yeah, I know," replied Astro. The big candidate from Venus scratchedhis chin and eyed Tom bashfully. "Say, Tom--ah, since we sort of knoweach other, how about us trying to get in the same quarters?"

  "O.K. by me, Astro, if we can," said Tom, grinning back at his friend.

  The line pressed forward to Cadet Herbert, who was now waiting at thebottom of the slidestairs, a mesh belt that spiraled upward in a narrowwell to the upper stories of the building. Speaking into anaudioscriber, a machine that transmitted his spoken words intotypescript, he repeated the names of the candidates as they passed.

  "Cadet Candidate Tom Corbett," announced Tom, and Herbert repeated itinto the audioscriber.

  "Cadet Candidate Astro!" The big Venusian stepped forward.

  "What's
the rest of it, Mister?" inquired Herbert.

  "That's all. Just Astro."

  "No other names?"

  "No, sir," replied Astro. "You see--"

  "You don't say 'sir' to a senior cadet, Mister. And we're not interestedin why you have only one name!" Herbert snapped.

  "Yes, sir--uhh--Mister." Astro flushed and joined Tom.

  "Cadet Candidate Philip Morgan," announced the next boy.

  Herbert repeated the name into the machine, then announced, "CadetCandidates Tom Corbett, Astro, and Philip Morgan assigned to Section42-D."

  Turning to the three boys, he indicated the spiraling slidestairs."Forty-second floor. You'll find Section D in the starboard wing."

  Astro and Tom immediately began to pile Manning's luggage to one side ofthe slidestairs.

  "Take your luggage with you, Misters!" snapped Herbert.

  "It isn't ours," replied Tom.

  "Isn't yours?" Herbert glanced over the pile of suitcases and turnedback to Tom. "Whose is it then?"

  "Belongs to Cadet Candidate Roger Manning," replied Tom.

  "What are you doing with it?"

  "We were carrying it for him."

  "Do we have a candidate in the group who finds it necessary to providehimself with valet service?"

  Herbert moved along the line of boys.

  "Will Cadet Candidate Roger Manning please step forward?"

  Roger slid from behind a group of boys to face the senior cadet's coldstare.

  "Roger Manning here," he presented himself smoothly.

  "Is that your luggage?" Herbert jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

  "It is."

  Roger smiled confidently, but Herbert merely stared coldly.

  "You have a peculiar attitude for a candidate, Manning."

  "Is there a prescribed attitude, Mr. Herbert?" Roger asked, his smilebroadening. "If there is, I'll be only too glad to conform to it."

  Herbert's face twitched almost imperceptibly. Then he nodded, made anotation on a pad and returned to his post at the head of the gapingline of boys. "From now on, Candidate Manning, you will be responsiblefor your own belongings."

  Tom, Astro, and Philip Morgan stepped on the slidestairs and begantheir spiraling ascent to the forty-second floor.

  "I saw what happened at the monorail station," drawled the third memberof Section 42-D, leaning against the bannister of the moving belt. "Bythe craters of Luna, that Manning felluh sure is a hot operator."

  "We found out for ourselves," grunted Astro.

  "Say, since we're all bunkin' togethuh, let's get to knowin' each othuh.My name's Phil Morgan, come from Georgia. Where you all from?"

  "New Chicago," replied Tom. "Name's Tom Corbett. And this is Astro."

  "Hiya." Astro stuck out a big paw and grinned his wide grin. "I guessyou heard. Astro's all the name I've got."

  "How come?" inquired the Southerner.

  "I'm from Venus and it's a custom from way back when Venus was firstcolonized to just hand out one name."

  "Funny custom," drawled Phil.

  Astro started to say something and then stopped, clamping his lipstogether. Tom could see his face turn a slow pink. Phil saw it too, andhastily added:

  "Oh--I didn't mean anything. I--ah--" he broke off, embarrassed.

  "Forget it, Phil." Astro grinned again.

  "Say," interjected Tom. "Look at that!"

  They all turned to look at the floor they were passing. Near the edge ofthe step-off platform on the fourth floor was an oaken panel, inscribedwith silver lettering in relief. As they drew even with the plaque, theycaught sight of someone behind them. They turned to see Manning, thepile of suitcases in front of him, reading aloud.

  " ... to the brave men who sacrificed their lives in the conquest ofspace, this Galaxy Hall is dedicated...."

  "Say, this must be the museum," said Tom. "Here's where they have allthe original gear used in the first space hops."

  "Absolutely right," said Manning with a smile.

  "I wonder if we could get off and take a look?" Astro asked.

  "Sure you can," said Roger. "In fact, the Academy regs say every cadetmust inspect the exhibits in the space museum within the first week."

  The members of Section 42-D looked at Roger questioningly.

  "I don't know if we have time." Tom was dubious.

  "Sure you have--plenty. I'd hop off and take a look myself but I've gotto get this junk ready to ship home." He indicated the pile of bags infront of him.

  "Aw, come on, Tom, let's take a look!" urged Astro. "They have the old_Space Queen_ in here, the first ship to clear Earth's gravity. Boy, I'dsure like to see her!" Without waiting for the others to agree, the hugecandidate stepped off the slidestairs.

  "Hey, Astro!" yelled Tom. "Wait! I don't think--" His voice trailed offas the moving stair carried him up to the next floor.

  But then a curious thing happened. As other boys came abreast of themuseum floor and saw Astro they began to get off and follow him,wandering around gazing at the relics of the past.

  Soon nearly half of the cadet candidates were standing in silent awe infront of the battered hull of the _Space Queen_, the firstatomic-powered rocket ship allowed on exhibition only fifty years beforebecause of the deadly radioactivity in her hull, created when a leadbaffle melted in midspace and flooded the ship with murderous gammarays.

  They stood in front of the spaceship and listened while Astro, in ahushed voice, read the inscription on the bronze tablet.

  "--Earth to Luna and return. 7th March 2051. In honor of the brave menof the first atomic-powered spaceship to land successfully on the planetMoon, only to perish on return to Earth...."

  "Candidates--staaaaaaaaannnnnd _too_!"

  Like a clap of thunder Warrant Officer McKenny's voice jarred the boysout of their silence. He stepped forward like a bantam rooster and facedthe startled group of boys.

  "I wanna know just _one_ thing! Who stepped off that slidestairs_first_?"

  The boys all hesitated.

  "I guess I was the first, sir," said Astro, stepping forward.

  "Oh, you guess you were, eh?" roared McKenny.

  Taking a deep breath McKenny launched into a blistering tirade. Hischoice of words were to be long remembered by the group and repeated tosucceeding classes. Storming against the huge Venusian like a pygmyattacking an elephant, McKenny roared, berated and blasted.

  Later, when Astro finally reached his quarters and changed into thegreen coveralls of the cadet candidates, Tom and Phil crowded aroundhim.

  "It was Roger, blast him!" said Tom angrily. "He was getting back at youbecause Cadet Herbert made him carry his own gear."

  "I asked for it," grumbled Astro. "Ah, I should've known better. But Ijust couldn't wait to see the _Queen_." He balled his huge hands intotight knots and stared at the floor.

  "Now hear this!!!"

  A voice suddenly rasped over the PA system loud-speaker above the door."All cadet candidates will come to attention to receive the SpaceAcademy oath from Commander Walters." The voice paused. "_AT-TENT-SHUN!_Cadet candidates--Staaaaannnnd _TO_!"

  "This is Commander Walters speaking!" A deep, powerful voice purredthrough the speaker. "The Academy oath is taken individually.

  "It is something each candidate locks in his spirit, his mind and hisheart. That is why it is taken in your quarters. The oath is not a showof color, it is a way of life. Each candidate will face as closely aspossible in the direction of his home and swear by his own individualGod as he repeats after me."

  Astro stepped quickly to the window port and gazed into the blueheavens, eyes searching out the misty planet Venus. Phil Morgan thoughta moment, and faced toward the wall with the inlaid star chart of thesky, thinking of sun-bathed Georgia. Tom Corbett stared straight at ablank wall.

  Each boy did not see what was in front of him yet he saw further,perhaps, than he had ever seen before. He looked into a future whichheld the limitlessness of the universe and new worlds and planets to belifted
out of the oblivion of uncharted depths of space to come.

  They repeated slowly....

  " ... I solemnly swear to uphold the Constitution of the Solar Alliance,to obey interplanetary law, to protect the liberties of the planets, tosafeguard the freedom of space and to uphold the cause of peacethroughout the universe ... to this end, I dedicate my life!"