Stand by for Mars!

by Carey Rockwell

  CHAPTER 2

  Tom Corbett's first day at Space Academy began at 0530 hours with theblaring of the _Cadet Corps Song_ over the central communicators:

  "_From the rocket fields of the Academy To the far-flung stars of outer space, We're Space Cadets training to be Ready for dangers we may face._

  _Up in the sky, rocketing past Higher than high, faster than fast, Out into space, into the sun Look at her go when we give her the gun._

  _From the rocket fields of the_...."

  Within sixty seconds, the buildings of the Academy rocked with theimpact of three thousand voices singing the last stanza. Lights flashedon in every window. Cadets raced through the halls and across thequadrangle. The central communicator began the incessant mustering ofcadets, and the never-ending orders of the day.

  " ... Unit 38-Z report to Captain Edwards for astrogation. Unit 68-Ereport to Commander Walters for special assignments."

  On and on, down the list of senior cadets, watch officers, and the newlyarrived Earthworms. Units and individuals to report for training orstudy in everything from ground assembly of an atomic rocket motor, tothe history of the founding of the Solar Alliance, the governing body ofthe tri-planet civilization.

  Tom Corbett stepped out of the shower in Section 42-D and bellowed atthe top of his voice.

  "Hit the deck, Astro! Make use of the gravity!" He tugged at an outsizedfoot dangling over the side of an upper bunk.

  "Uhhhh-ahhhh-hummmmm," groaned the cadet from Venus and tried to go backto sleep.

  Philip Morgan stepped into the shower, turned on the cold water,screeched at the top of his voice, gradually trailing off into countlessrepetitions of the last verse of the Academy song.

  "Damp your tubes, you blasted space monkey," roared Astro, sitting upbleary-eyed.

  "What time do we eat?" asked Tom, pulling on the green one-piececoverall of the Earthworm cadet candidates.

  "I don't know," replied Astro, opening his mouth in a cavernous yawn."But it'd better be soon. I like space, but not between my backbone andmy stomach!"

  Warrant Officer McKenny burst into the room and began to compete withthe rest of the noise outside the buildings.

  "Five minutes to the dining hall and you'd better not be late! Take theslidestairs down to the twenty-eighth floor. Tell the mess cadet incharge of the hall your unit number and he'll show you to the righttable. Remember where it is, because you'll have to find it yourselfafter that, or not eat. Finish your breakfast and report to theninety-ninth floor to Dr. Dale at seven hundred hours!"

  And as fast as he had arrived, he was gone, a flash of red color withrasping voice trailing behind.

  Exactly one hour and ten minutes later, promptly at seven o'clock, thethree members of Unit 42-D stood at attention in front of Dr. Joan Dale,along with the rest of the green-clad cadets.

  When the catcalls and wolf whistles had died away, Dr. Dale, pretty,trim, and dressed in the gold and black uniform of the Solar Guard, heldup her hand and motioned for the cadets to sit down.

  "My answer to your--" she paused, smiled and continued, "yourenthusiastic welcome is simply--thank you. But we'll have no furtherrepetitions. This is Space Academy--not a primary school!"

  Turning abruptly, she stood beside a round desk in the well of anamphitheater, and held up a thin tube about an inch in diameter andtwelve inches long.

  "We will now begin your classification tests," she said. "You willreceive one of these tubes. Inside, you will find four sheets of paper.You are to answer all the questions on each paper and place them back inthe tube. Take the tube and drop it in the green outline slot in thiswall."

  She indicated a four-inch-round hole to her left, outlined with greenpaint. Beside it, was another slot outlined with red paint. "Remainthere until the tube is returned to you in the red slot. Take it back toyour desk." She paused and glanced down at her desk.

  "Now, there are four possible classifications for a cadet. Control-deckofficer, which includes leadership and command. Astrogation officer,which includes radar and communications. And power-deck officer forengine-room operations. The fourth classification is for advancedscientific study here at the Academy. Your papers are studied by anelectronic calculator that has proven infallible. You must make at leasta passing grade on each of the four classifications."

  Dr. Dale looked up at the rows of upturned, unsmiling faces and steppedfrom the dais, coming to a halt near the first desk.

  "I know that all of you here have your hearts set on becoming spacemen,officers in the Solar Guard. Most of you want to be space pilots. Butthere must be astrogators, radar engineers, communication officers andpower-deck operators on each ship, and," she paused, braced hershoulders and added, "some of you will not be accepted for any of these.Some of you will wash out."

  Dr. Dale turned her back on the cadets, not wanting to look at thesudden pallor that washed over their faces. It was brutal, she thought,this test. Why bring them all the way to the Academy and then give thetests? Why not start the entrance exams at the beginning with theclassification and aptitude? But she knew the answer even before thethoughtful question was completed. Under the fear of being washed out,the weaker ones would not pass. The Solar Guard could not afford to havecadets and later Solar Guard officers who could not function underpressure.

  She began handing out the tubes and, one by one, the green-cladcandidates stepped to the front of the room to receive them.

  "Excuse me, Ma'am," said one cadet falteringly. "If--if--I wash out as acadet--as a Solar Guard officer cadet"--he gulped several times--"doesthat mean there isn't any chance of becoming a spaceman?"

  "No," she answered kindly. "You can become a member of the enlistedSolar Guard, if you can pass the acceleration tests."

  "Thank you, Ma'am," replied the boy and turned away nervously.

  Tom Corbett accepted the tube and hurried back to his seat. He knew thatthis was the last hurdle. He did not know that the papers had beenprepared individually, the tests given on the basis of the entranceexams he had taken back at New Chicago Primary Space School.

  He opened the tube, pulling out the four sheets, printed on both sidesof the paper, and read the heading on the first: ASTROGATION,COMMUNICATIONS, SIGNALS (_Radar_)

  He studied the first question.

  " ... What is the range of the Mark Nine radar-scope, and how far can aspaceship be successfully distinguished from other objects in space?..."

  He read the question four times, then pulled out a pencil and began towrite.

  Only the rustle of the papers, or the occasional sigh of a cadet over aproblem, disturbed the silence in the high-ceilinged room, as thehundred-odd cadets fought the questions.

  There was a sudden stir in the room and Tom looked up to see RogerManning walk to the slot and casually deposit his tube in thegreen-bordered slot. Then he leaned idly against the wall waiting for itto be returned. As he stood there, he spoke to Dr. Dale, who smiled andreplied. There was something about his attitude that made Tom boil. Sofast? He glanced at his own papers. He had hardly finished two sheetsand thought he was doing fine. He clenched his teeth and bent over thepaper again, redoubling his efforts to triangulate a fix on Regulus byusing dead reckoning as a basis for his computations.

  Suddenly a tall man, wearing the uniform of a Solar Guard officer,appeared in the back of the room. As Dr. Dale looked up and smiled agreeting, he placed his finger on his lips. Steve Strong, Captain in theSolar Guard, gazed around the room at the backs bent over busy pencils.He did not smile, remembering how, only fifteen years before, he hadgone through the same torture, racking his brains trying to adjust themeasurements of a magnascope prism. He was joined by a thin handsomeyoung man, Lieutenant Judson Saminsky, and finally, Warrant OfficerMcKenny. They nodded silently in greeting. It would be over soon. Strongglanced at the clock over the desk. Another ten minutes to go.

  The line of boys at the slots grew until more than twenty stood there,each waiting patiently, nervously,
for his turn to drop the tube in theslot and receive in return the sealed cylinder that held his fate.

  Still at his desk, his face wet with sweat, Astro looked at the questionin front of him for the fifteenth time.

  " ... Estimate the time it would take a 300-ton rocket ship withhalf-filled tanks, cruising at the most economical speed to make a tripfrom Titan to Venusport. (a) Estimate size and maximum capacity of fueltanks. (b) Give estimate of speed ship would utilize...."

  He thought. He slumped in his chair. He stared at the ceiling. He chewedhis pencil....

  Five seats away, Tom stacked his examination sheets neatly, twisted theminto a cylinder and inserted them in the tube. As he passed the line ofdesks and headed for the slot, a hand caught his arm. Tom turned to seeRoger Manning grinning at him.

  "Worried, spaceboy?" asked Roger easily. Tom didn't answer. He simplywithdrew his arm.

  "You know," said Roger, "you're really a nice kid. It's a shame youwon't make it. But the rules specifically say 'no cabbageheads.'"

  "No talking!" Dr. Dale called sharply from her desk.

  Tom walked away and stood in the line at the slots. He found himselfwanting to pass more than anything in the world. "Please," he breathed,"please, just let me pass--"

  A soft gong began to sound. Dr. Dale stood up.

  "Time's up," she announced. "Please put your papers in the tubes anddrop them in the slot."

  Tom turned to see Astro stuffing his papers in the thin cylinderdisgustedly. Phil Morgan came up and stood in back of Tom. His face wasflushed.

  "Everything O.K., Phil?" inquired Tom.

  "Easy as free falling in space," replied the other cadet, his softGeorgian drawl full of confidence. "How about you?"

  "I'm just hoping against hope."

  The few remaining stragglers hurried up to the line.

  "Think Astro'll make it?" asked Phil.

  "I don't know," answered Tom, "I saw him sweating over there like a manfacing death."

  "I guess he is--in a way."

  Astro took his place in line and shrugged his shoulders when Tom leanedforward to give him a questioning look.

  "Go ahead, Tom," urged Phil. Tom turned and dropped his tube into thegreen-bordered slot and waited. He stared straight at the wall in frontof him, hardly daring to breathe. Presently, the tube was returned inthe red slot. He took it, turned it over in his hands and walked slowlyback to his desk.

  "You're washed out, cabbagehead!" Manning's whisper followed him. "Let'ssee if you can take it without bawling!"

  Tom's face burned and he fought an impulse to answer Manning with astiff belt in the jaw. But he kept walking, reached his desk and satdown.

  Astro, the last to return to his desk, held the tube out in front of himas if it were alive. The room was silent as Dr. Dale rose from her desk.

  "All right now, boys," she announced. "Inside the tubes you will findcolored slips of paper. Those of you who have red slips will remainhere. Those who find green slips will return to their quarters. Bluewill go with Captain Strong, orange with Lieutenant Saminsky, and purplewith Warrant Officer McKenny. Now--please open the tubes."

  There was a tinkling of metal caps and then the slight rustle of paperas each boy withdrew the contents of the tube before him.

  Tom took a deep breath and felt inside for the paper. He held his breathand pulled it out. It was green. He didn't know what it meant. He lookedaround. Phil was signaling to him, holding up a blue slip. Tom's heartskipped a beat. Whatever the colors meant, he and Phil were apart. Hequickly turned around and caught Astro's eye. The big Venusian held up agreen slip. Tom's heart then nearly stopped beating. Phil, who hadbreezed through with such confidence, held a blue slip, and Astro, whohadn't even finished the test, held up the same color that he had. Itcould only mean one thing. Failure. He felt the tears welling in hiseyes, but had no strength left to fight them back.

  He looked up, his eyes meeting the insolent stare of Roger Manning whowas half turned in his seat. Remembering the caustic warning of theconfident cadet, Tom fought back the flood in his eyes and glared back.

  What would he tell his mother? And his father? And Billy, his brother,five years younger than himself, whom he had promised to bring a flaskof water from the Grand Canal on Mars. And his sister! Tom rememberedthe shining pride in her eyes when she kissed him good-bye at theStratoport as he left for Atom City.

  From the front of the room, McKenny's rasping voice jarred him back tothe present.

  "Cadets--staaaaaaaand _to!_"

  There was a shuffle of feet as the boys rose as one.

  "All the purple slips follow me," he roared and turned toward the door.The cadets with purple slips marched after him.

  Lieutenant Saminsky stepped briskly to the front of the room.

  "Cadets with orange slips will please come with me," he said casually,and another group of cadets left the room.

  From the rear of the room Captain Strong snapped out an order.

  "Blue slips will come with me!"

  He turned smartly and followed the last of Lieutenant Saminsky's cadetsout of the room.

  Tom looked around. The room was nearly empty now. He looked over atAstro and saw his big friend slumped moodily over against his desk.Then, suddenly, he noticed Roger Manning. The arrogant cadet was notsmiling any longer. He was staring straight ahead. Before him on thedesk, Tom could see a green slip. So he had failed too, thought Tomgrimly. It was poor solace for the misery he felt.

  Dr. Dale stepped forward again.

  "Will the cadets holding green slips return to their quarters. Thosewith red slips will remain in their seats," she announced.

  Tom found himself moving with difficulty. As he walked through the door,Astro joined him. A look more eloquent than words passed between themand they made their way silently up the slidestairs back to theirquarters.

  Lying in his bunk, hands under his head, eyes staring into space, Tomasked, "What happens now?"

  Sprawled on his bunk, Astro didn't answer right away. He merely gulpedand swallowed hard.

  "I--I don't know," he finally stammered. "I just don't know."

  "What'll you do?"

  "It's back to the hold of a Venusport freighter, I guess. I don't know."Astro paused and looked at Tom. "What'll you do?"

  "Go home," said Tom simply. "Go home and--and find a job."

  "Ever think about the enlisted Solar Guard? Look at McKenny--"

  "Yeah--but--"

  "I know how you feel," sighed Astro. "Being in the enlisted section--islike--well, being a passenger--almost."

  The door was suddenly flung open.

  "Haul off them bunks, you blasted Earthworms!"

  McKenny stood in the doorway in his usual aggressive pose, and Tom andAstro hit the floor together to stand at attention.

  "Where's the other cadet?"

  "He went with Captain Strong, sir," answered Tom.

  "Oh?" said Mike. And in a surprisingly soft tone he added, "You twopulled green slips, eh?"

  "Yes, sir," they replied together.

  "Well, I don't know how you did it, but congratulations. You passed theclassification tests. Both of you."

  Tom just looked at the scarlet-clad, stumpy warrant officer. He couldn'tbelieve his ears. Suddenly he felt as if he had been lifted off hisfeet. And then he realized that he _was_ off his feet. Astro was holdinghim over his head. Then he dumped him in his bunk as easily as if hehad been a child. And at the same time, the big Venusian let out a loud,long, earsplitting yell.

  McKenny matched him with his bull-like roar.

  "Plug that foghorn, you blasted Earthworm. You'll have the whole Academyin here thinking there's a murder."

  By this time Tom was on his feet again, standing in front of McKenny.

  "You mean, we made it? We're really in? We're cadets?"

  "That's right." McKenny looked at a clip board in his hand and read,"Cadet Corbett, Tom. Qualified for control deck. Cadet Astro. Powerdeck."

  Astro took a deep
breath and started another yell, but before he couldlet go, McKenny clamped a big hand over his mouth.

  "You bellow like that again and I'll make meteor dust out of you!"

  Astro gulped and then matched Tom's grin with one that spread from earto ear.

  "What happened to Philip Morgan?" asked Tom.

  "What color slip did he have?"

  "Blue."

  "Anything besides green washed out," replied Mike quickly. "Now let'ssee, you have a replacement for Morgan in this unit. An astrogator."

  "Greetings, gentlemen," drawled a voice that Tom recognized without evenlooking. "Allow me to introduce myself to my new unit-mates. My name isManning--Roger Manning. But then, we're old friends, aren't we?"

  "Stow that rocket wash, Manning," snapped Mike. He glanced at the clockover the door. "You have an hour and forty-five minutes until lunchtime. I suggest you take a walk around the Academy and familiarizeyourselves with the arrangement of the buildings."

  And then, for the first time, Tom saw the hard little spaceman smile.

  "I'm glad you made it, boys. All three of you." He paused and looked ateach of them in turn. "And I can honestly say I'm looking forward to theday when I can serve under you!"

  He snapped his back straight, gave the three startled boys a crispsalute, executed a perfect about-face and marched out of the room.

  "And that," drawled Roger, strolling to the bunk nearest the window, "isthe corniest bit of space gas I've ever heard."

  "Listen, Manning!" growled Astro, spinning around quickly to face him.

  "Yeah," purred Roger, his eyes drawn to fine points, hands hangingloosely at his sides. "What would you like me to listen to, CadetAstro?"

  The hulking cadet lunged at Manning, but Tom quickly stepped betweenthem.

  "Stow it, both of you!" he shouted. "We're in this room together, so wemight as well make the best of it."

  "Of course, Corbett--of course," replied Manning easily. He turned hisback on Astro, who stood, feet wide apart, neck muscles tight and handsclenched in hamlike fists.

  "One of these days I'll break you in two, Manning. I'll close thatfast-talking mouth of yours for good!"

  Astro's voice was a low growl. Roger stood near the window port andappeared to have forgotten the incident.

  The light shining in from the hallway darkened, and Tom turned to seethree blue-clad senior cadets arranged in a row just inside the door.

  "Congratulations, gentlemen. You're now qualified cadets of SpaceAcademy," said a redheaded lad about twenty-one. "My name is Al Dixon,"he turned to his left and right, "and these are cadets Bill Housemanand Rodney Withrop."

  "Hiya," replied Tom. "Glad to know you. I'm Tom Corbett. This isAstro--and Roger Manning."

  Astro shook hands, the three senior cadets giving a long glance at thesize of the hand he offered. Roger came forward smartly and shook handswith a smile.

  "We're sorta like a committee," began Dixon. "We've come to sign you upfor the Academy sports program."

  They made themselves comfortable in the room.

  "You have a chance to take part in three sports. Free-fall wrestling,mercuryball and space chess." Dixon glanced at Houseman and Withrop."From the looks of Cadet Astro, free-fall wrestling should be child'splay for him!"

  Astro merely grinned.

  "Mercuryball is pretty much like the old game of soccer," explainedHouseman. "But inside the ball is a smaller ball filled with mercury,making it take crazy dips and turns. You have to be pretty fast even totouch it."

  "Sounds like you have to be a little Mercurian yourself," smiled Tom.

  "You do," replied Dixon. "Oh, yes, you three play as a unit. Competitionstarts in a few days. So if you've never played before, you might godown to the gym and start practicing."

  "You mentioned space chess," asked Roger. "What's that?"

  "It's really nothing more than maneuvers. Space maneuvers," said Dixon."A glass case, a seven-foot cube, is divided by light shafts intosmaller cubes of equal shape and size. Each man has a complete spacesquadron. Three model rocket cruisers, six destroyers and ten scouts.The ships are filled with gas to make them float, and your power isderived from magnetic force. The problem is to get a combination ofcruisers and destroyers and scouts into a space section where it couldknock out your opponent's ships."

  "You mean," interrupted Astro, "you've got to keep track of all thoseships at once?"

  "Don't worry, Astro," commented Roger quickly. "You use your muscles towin for dear old 42-D in free-fall wrestling. Corbett here can pounddown the grassy field for a goal in mercuryball, and I'll do thebrainwork of space chess."

  The three visiting cadets exchanged sharp glances.

  "Everybody plays together, Manning," said Dixon. "You three take part ineach sport as a unit."

  "Of course," nodded Roger. "Of course--as a unit."

  The three cadets stood up, shook hands all around and left. Tomimmediately turned to Manning.

  "What was the idea of that crack about brains?"

  Manning slouched over to the window port and said over his shoulder, "Idon't know how you and your king-sized friend here passed theclassifications test, Corbett, and I don't care. But, as you say, we'rea unit. So we might as well make adjustments."

  He turned to face them with a cold stare.

  "I know this Academy like the palm of my hand," he went on. "Never mindhow, just take it for granted. _I know it._ I'm here for the ride. For aspecial reason I wouldn't care to have you know. I'll get my trainingand then pull out."

  He took a step forward, his face a mask of bitterness.

  "So from now on, you two guys leave me alone. You bore me to death withyour emotional childish allegiance to this--this"--he paused and spitthe last out cynically--"space kindergarten!"