The Space Pioneers

by Carey Rockwell

  CHAPTER 7

  "All set, Tom," called Roger, adjusting the valves that supplied asteady stream of oxygen into his space suit. Tom nodded and turned toAstro, seated behind them, his hand on the remote-control switchgoverning the huge air-lock portal on the jet-boat deck.

  "Open her up, Astro," he ordered, his voice crackling through thespacephones inside his space helmet. Astro pressed the lever opening thesliding panel in the side of the hull of the _Polaris_ and the coldblackness of outer space came into view.

  Seated at the controls of the jet boat, Tom pressed down on theacceleration pedal, sending the tiny ship rocketing out of the _Polaris_like a projectile. As they circled their mother ship, Roger pointed outthe vessel they were going to and Tom settled down to full throttle inthe direction of Roald colony vessel Number Twelve. The huge convertedluxury liner carrying many of the colonists was several lanes away inthe sprawling formation of ships and it would take several minutes forthem to traverse the four hundred miles to Number Twelve.

  The three cadets were under orders to tour the fleet and observeconditions aboard the other ships. It was obviously a nuisanceassignment since any extraordinary conditions could have been reportedby teleceiver. But they were glad to get away from Vidac and ProfessorSykes if only for a little while.

  Holding the small vessel at full throttle, Tom settled back and pointedout several of the large star clusters in the clear airless void ofspace around them. Andromeda Galaxy whirled above them like aFourth-of-July pin wheel. And the sun stars of Regulus, Sirius, and theSeven Sisters sparkled like diamonds on black velvet.

  "Think we'll ever reach those babies?" mused Tom in a quiet voice.

  "We're on the first step right now with this expedition," replied Astro.

  "A short step," commented Roger. "To us Wolf 359 is a long way off, butwhen you stack it up against the distance to Regulus, for instance, it'sjust an inch."

  "I'd sure like to go to Regulus," said Astro.

  "So would I," snorted Roger. "But we'd probably wind up with a spacecrawler like Vidac for a skipper. That you can have!"

  Nearing the first stop in their tour, Tom signaled ahead to NumberTwelve to be taken aboard. He waited for the outer portal of the ship'sair lock to be opened and then sent his tiny spacecraft into a shallowdive, applying his braking jets expertly to bring it to a dead stopinside the jet-boat deck of the converted space liner. The outer portalslid closed and a moment later the air pressure on the deck had beenbuilt up enough for them to remove their space helmets.

  As they climbed out of the jet boat, the inner air-lock portal slid openand Tad Winters, the civilian captain of the liner, appeared. There wasa scowl on his face and he made no attempt to hide his annoyance.

  "Whose idea was this to come snooping around while we're in flight?" hesnarled.

  Astro bristled and stepped forward, towering over the smaller spaceman."If we had anything to say about it, Mr. Winters, your company would bethe last we'd want!"

  Winters glanced at Tom and Roger who stood to one side silently, theirfaces grim.

  Tom stepped forward. "Vidac sent us, Winters. We're here to check thedepartments and see that everything is in order."

  "Vidac, eh?" sneered Winters. "What's the matter? Can't he do ithimself, instead of sending a bunch of space squirts?"

  "The lieutenant governor is busy," said Roger sarcastically. "Very busy,in fact."

  "Doing what?" asked Winters.

  "Trying to keep the rest of his space rats in line!" snapped Roger.

  "Listen, you!" growled Winters, taking a threatening step toward Roger."I don't have to take that from you. One word outta me, and Vidac'llbury you in the brig."

  Tom quickly stepped between Roger and the angry civilian spaceman toprevent the impending fight. He stared at Winters and smiled. "What'sthe matter, Winters? Need Vidac's help in everything you do?"

  "Aw, go blast your jets, you space-brained jerks!" snorted Winters. Heturned back toward the hatch, but there was noticeably less swagger tohis walk.

  The three cadets smiled at each other and followed him into the mainbody of the ship.

  While the _Polaris_ was the command ship of the fleet, the nerve centerof the entire operation, it was still hardly more than a prison ship forthe cadets. In direct contrast, the space liner was bright, gay, andfull of life. Everything imaginable for the convenience of the colonistshad been installed aboard the massive ship. As the three cadets walkedthrough the ship on their way to the control deck, they passed theauditorium where stereos were shown in the evenings and indoctrinationlectures were given during the day. They passed a number of compartmentsthat served as a school for the children of the colonists. There wereworkshops where the colonists could make objects for their future homesin their spare time. And in the heart of the ship was one of the mostcomplete and extensive libraries in the Solar Alliance. Audioslides,soundscribers, story spools, question-and-answer tapes, everythingdesigned to answer just about any question the human mind could ask.

  The main living quarters of the ship were arranged so that each familyhad a small apartment, complete in every detail, to preserve as much ofthe family life as possible. There were no governors or supervisors tocontrol the colonists. It had been decided to allow the colonists tochoose their own leaders aboard the ships. But they were living togetherso peacefully, they hadn't found it necessary to select any oneindividual to be a leader. The ship was a miniature city.

  As the Space Cadets made their rounds of the power deck, control deck,and radar deck, they were amazed by the excellence of the equipment andthe care given it. And because they saw nothing to substantiate theirsuspicions of Vidac, and his hand-picked crew, on Number Twelve, theyfound themselves confused about their feelings toward him.

  On the power deck, Astro had questioned a rocketman closely about thearrangement of the baffling around one of the firing chambers. Thepower-deck officer, Shilo Speed, heard Astro's questions, agreed withthe cadet, and made the rocketman rearrange the baffling. Then, on thecontrol deck, the pilot had been careless in maintaining his positionwith the other ships in the fleet. Tom mentioned it to Winters, andWinters immediately ordered the man off the bridge, and replaced him.Such action for the safety of the colonists had made the cadets wonderabout Vidac's ability.

  After inspecting the ship from radar mast to jet exhausts, the threecadets started back for the jet-boat deck. As they retraced their steps,they passed through the library and encountered Hyram Logan and his sonBilly.

  "Hello, Mr. Logan," greeted Tom with a big smile.

  "Well, hello, Corbett," Logan replied. "Didn't know you were aboardNumber Twelve."

  "We're not assigned to her, sir," replied Tom. "We're just making aninspection for the lieutenant governor. How do you like the way she'sbeing run?"

  Logan's endorsement was immediate. "Just fine, Corbett. This ship isalmost a colony in itself."

  "Yeah, including school," chimed in Billy sourly. The three cadetslaughed. Then the boy grinned and stuck a finger gently into Roger'sstomach. "She ain't here, Cadet Manning. My sister is teachingkindergarten right now."

  "Be quiet, Billy!" barked his father.

  Roger's face turned a slow red while Tom and Astro grinned. After a fewmore words, the three cadets again headed for the jet-boat deck.

  "That Billy will make a fine radarman someday," drawled Astro.

  "How do you figure that, Astro?" asked Tom.

  "Did you see the way he spotted Roger's roving eye looking for hispretty sister? Why, in ten years, he'll be picking up asteroids the sameway."

  Back in their jet boat a few minutes later, blasting through space onthe rest of their tour, Tom turned to his unit mates, a troubled look onhis face.

  "Did you notice anything aboard Number Twelve that looked--well,suspicious?" he asked.

  Astro and Roger shook their heads.

  "Me neither," said Tom. "Maybe we've got Vidac pegged wrong. Maybe--"

  "I thought of that, Tom," interrupted Roger
. "But there's one thing thatdoesn't seem right."

  "What's that?" asked Tom.

  "Your report to Captain Strong," Roger replied. "You sent it to him tendays ago. You should have had an answer by now."

  "He's out on Pluto," said Astro. "Space Academy might not have forwardedit to him."

  "You know the rules," said Roger. "Any official communication to a SolarGuard officer is sent through regardless of where he is in the universe,if communications are at all possible."

  "You're right, Roger," said Tom finally. "I should have had some sort ofanswer by now."

  "You think," mused Astro slowly, "maybe Vidac didn't send the report?"

  Roger hesitated and then replied, "There's one way to find out."

  "How?" asked Tom.

  "Take a look in the communications logbook on the control deck."

  "We can't, Roger." Tom shook his head. "Vidac's got his own men plantedin every one of our departments."

  "Yeah," growled Astro. "I been watching the way that guy Smith takescare of the power deck and, believe me, it makes me burn. Why, he hasn'twashed down the atomic motor casing once since we blasted off!"

  "Wait a minute!" cried Roger suddenly. "Jeff Marshall!"

  "Jeff?" asked Tom. "What about him?"

  "He can get to the control deck and take a look at the logbook,"answered Roger.

  "Say, that's right," said Tom.

  "Come on," said Roger. "Let's finish off this tour and get back to the_Polaris_. If Vidac's on the level, he'll have sent your report toCaptain Strong. If not, we know where we stand."

  Astro shook his head slowly. "Honestly, fellas, I don't know whether tohope he did or didn't."

  * * * * *

  Their tour completed, the three cadets returned to the _Polaris_. Theyquickly audioscribed their report to Vidac and then hurried to theobservatory to find Jeff Marshall. Luckily the sergeant was alone andthey were able to give him all the reasons for their suspicions of Vidacand tell him what they wanted him to do.

  "But what can I say I'm looking for in the logbook?" Jeff Marshallprotested.

  "We passed through a cloud of meteor dust the other day, didn't we?"asked Tom.

  "Yeah," replied Jeff, "but what's that got to do--"

  "You had to report it to central weather control," said Tom. "Tell thepilot you lost your own copy of the report and want to get the officialpath out of the log. Tell him the professor wants it."

  Jeff thought a moment, then nodded his head. "O.K. I'll see you later."

  The three cadets returned to their quarters to wait while Jeff went upto the control deck. He walked in with a smile, chatted with the pilot afew moments, and then made his request.

  "I want to take a look at the log a minute, Johnny," he said casually."The professor lost his notes on the meteor dust we passed through theother day."

  "Sure," said the pilot. He tossed the dog-eared book to the sergeant.Jeff flipped through the pages and found the day Tom's report was tohave been sent. He checked carefully, continuing through the entries forthe succeeding days, ending with the last entry made just an hourbefore. There was no mention of Tom's report. Jeff turned to give thelogbook to the pilot when Vidac and Professor Sykes stepped through thehatch. Seeing Jeff with the log in his hands, Vidac frowned.

  "What are you doing here, Marshall?" he snapped.

  Jeff was trapped. He came to attention and remained silent. Vidac walkedacross the control deck and stood in front of him.

  "Well, Marshall?" he barked. "Answer me!"

  "I needed some information about the meteor dust we passed throughrecently, sir," said Jeff.

  Vidac turned to the professor. "Did you send him up here?"

  Sykes merely shook his head.

  "I lost the professor's notes and needed the information in the logbook,sir," said Jeff.

  "What are you talking about?" growled Sykes. "The notes are still in mywork journal. You put them there yourself!"

  "What have you got to say to that?" demanded Vidac.

  "I repeat, sir," said Jeff, "that was my reason for looking in the log."

  Vidac paused, and when he spoke, his voice was cold. "The control-decklogbook contains classified information, Marshall. You know that. Iwon't say you're lying about reasons for looking at it, but that doesnot excuse the fact that you _did_ look at it without my permission. I'mconfining you to the brig for ten days."

  Jeff didn't bat an eyelash. The fact that he had found no entry of Tom'sreport to Captain Strong in the log, and the unreasonable annoyanceVidac expressed over his having looked into the logbook, convinced himthat the cadets were not wrong in their suspicions concerning thelieutenant governor.

  Vidac dismissed him and the enlisted sergeant was escorted to the_Polaris_' brig by two hastily summoned crewmen.

  When the cadets learned of Jeff's punishment they immediately went toVidac's quarters and requested permission to speak with him. Aftermaking them wait for nearly three hours, Vidac finally received them.

  "Well, what now?" demanded Vidac.

  "We would like to ask a question, sir," said Tom.

  "Speak up!" snorted Vidac impatiently.

  "It's about Sergeant Marshall, sir," said Tom.

  "What about him?"

  "We would like to know, sir, under what article of the space code wasSergeant Marshall sentenced to the brig?"

  Vidac's eyes sharpened. He spoke quickly and crisply. "I suspected thatthere was some connection between Marshall looking in the log and yourcoming here to see me. I don't know what you have in mind, Corbett, butI'm going to lay it on the line. This is the last time you will questionmy authority. From this moment on, and until you are released from myjurisdiction, _I_ am the space code. Do I make myself clear?"

  "Very clear, sir," said Tom tightly. "Then will the lieutenant governorplease put in writing any further orders he might have for us?"

  "I will not!" snarled Vidac. "But I tell you what I will do. I'llconfine you to your quarters for ten days for that impertinent request!And if I so much as see your noses outside your quarters, I'll reallyget tough! Dismissed!"