The Space Pioneers

by Carey Rockwell

  CHAPTER 9

  "Do you think it will be safe there?" asked Roger, as he watched Tom andAstro push the half-completed communications set under a workbenchbehind several large cartons.

  "As safe as any place," replied Tom. "If Vidac has any idea we'rebuilding it, we could hide it any place and he'd find it. So, as thesaying goes, the least hidden is the best hidden. We'll have to take achance."

  "Besides," chimed in Astro, "here in the storeroom, Jeff will have hiseye on it all the time. If Vidac starts getting nosy, Jeff will be ableto shift it to another hiding place without too much trouble."

  "Well, that's all we can do now," said Tom, straightening up. "Come on.Let's get to the scout ship and blast off before Vidac wants to knowwhat we're doing."

  Checking the hiding place one last time, the three cadets left thestoreroom and headed for the jet-boat deck. In a few moments they wereblasting through space toward the rear of the fleet where a rocket scoutwas waiting for them. The scouts were being carried by the larger spacefreighters to save fuel. Now one had been fueled and was blastingalongside its carrier ship with a skeleton crew. When the cadets' jetboat came alongside, the crew of the scout transferred into the jet boatand the three cadets took over the scout.

  On the control deck, Tom checked his instruments and made preliminarytests on the circuits. Suddenly Roger's voice crackled over the ship'sintercom. "Blast that guy Vidac!" he yelled. "He's one jump ahead of usagain!"

  Startled, Tom called into the intercom. "What do you mean, Roger?"

  "The ship's communicator," snorted Roger. "I figured once we got aboardthe scout we'd be able to use this set to contact the Academy instead ofhaving to monkey around with the homemade job back on the _Polaris_. Butit's no soap."

  "Why not?" boomed Astro over the intercom.

  "The only open circuit here is beamed to the _Polaris_. And the radar istoo complicated to change over to audio communications. We haven't gotenough time."

  Tom clenched his teeth. He had had the same idea about using thecommunications set on the scout to contact the Academy. Now there wasnothing to do but hope Vidac wouldn't find the one they were building.He called into the intercom again. "Is the radar working well enough forus to search the asteroid cluster without plowing into any space junk?"

  "Yeah," growled Roger. "He left it in working condition all right, butif we burn out a tube, we're blacked out until we get back. There isn'ta spare nut or bolt in the locker for repairs."

  "But what happens if something happens to the radar when we're in thecluster," called Astro. "We'll be sitting ducks for every asteroid!"

  "That's the chance we have to take, Astro," said Tom. "If we complained,you know what he'd do."

  "I sure do," growled Astro. "He'd call us yellow again, because we'drefused to make the trip!"

  "That's the way it adds up," said Tom. "So I guess we'd better getstarted. Stand by to blast!"

  "All clear fore and aft," reported Roger.

  "Full thrust, Astro," ordered Tom, "but stand by for emergencymaneuvers. This is going to be a tough trip, fellows. Perhaps thetoughest trip we've ever made. So keep your eyes and ears open andspaceman's luck!"

  "Spaceman's luck!" echoed his unit mates.

  Under full thrust the speedy little ship shot ahead of the fleet towardthe gigantic mass of asteroids, planetoids, and millions of lesser spacebodies, whirling and churning among themselves at an incredible rate ofspeed. Hardly had they left the fleet when Roger's voice crackled overthe intercom again.

  "Say, you space monkeys!" he yelled. "I got an idea! How about takingthis wagon and heading back for the Academy?"

  "Can't," replied Astro, "we've only got forty-eight hours of fuel,water, and oxygen--and no reserves. We couldn't get one-tenth of the wayback before we ran out of everything, even if we wanted to go back."

  "What do you mean--_if_?" snapped Roger. "Wouldn't you go back? Howabout you, Tom?"

  "I'd think a long time before I would," said Tom. "Remember, Vidachasn't done anything we can actually pin on him."

  "What about making the colonists pay for their food," sneered Roger.

  "Vidac could say it was a precautionary measure," said Tom.

  "What kind of precaution?" asked Astro.

  "Well, Vidac could say that the colonists were using too much of thesupplies simply because it was free. And instead of imposingrationing, he's making them pay, but that he wouldn't actually taketheir profit."

  _The speedy little ship shot ahead of the fleet towardthe gigantic mass of asteroids_]

  "Yeah," growled Astro. "And there's just enough hokum in that to makeeveryone back at the Academy happy."

  "I'm afraid we'll have to go on with it," said Tom. "Not only thisexploration of the asteroid belt, but we'll have to wait for Vidac toreally tip his hand."

  "From the way he operates," said Roger disgustedly, "that might benever."

  Blasting farther ahead through the unexplored region of outer space, thecadets, who had seen a great many space phenomena, were awed by thethickening groups of stars around them. It was Tom who finally realizedthat they were getting closer to the inner ring of their galaxy and thatthe stars and suns they were unable to see from Earth, or other SolarAlliance planets, were some fifty to sixty billion miles closer.

  Gulping a cup of tea and a few sandwiches, the three cadets continuedtheir advance toward the uncharted, unknown dangers of the asteroid beltthat lay ahead of them.

  Meanwhile, back on the _Polaris_, Jeff Marshall walked into theobservatory quietly. He stood and watched Professor Sykes adjust theprisms of his telescopes, then settle himself to an hour of observation.Jeff knew that the professor would remain there for the next two hours.He felt safe in going to the storeroom and taking out the communicationsunit to work on it. But just to make sure, he called out, "Will you beneeding anything, sir?"

  "No, I won't!" barked Sykes. "If I did, I'd ask for it!"

  "Yes, sir!" said Jeff. He turned away with a slight smile on his faceand left the observatory. He walked quickly through the passageways ofthe ship until he came to the storeroom hatch. He glanced aroundquickly and then stepped into the quiet chamber. Pulling the cartonsaway from the bench, he took out the half-completed tangle of wires, andby the light of a small flashlight, he peered into the maze, trying tofigure out where Roger had left off. He had traced the connections andwas about to go to work when suddenly the overhead light was switchedon, bathing the storeroom in light. Jeff whirled around to see Vidac,standing in the open hatch, staring at him.

  "Well, Sergeant Marshall," he said, advancing toward the enlistedspaceman, "some secret experiment, no doubt!"

  "Yes, sir," replied Jeff. "I've--I've been working on a new type ofcommunications set."

  Vidac stepped closer to the set and gave it a quick look. Suddenly,without warning, he picked up the delicate instrument, smashed it to thefloor, and then trampled on it. He whirled around and faced Marshall.

  "What's the meaning of this, Marshall?" he demanded.

  Jeff was stunned by Vidac's violent action and could only stammer, "Ihave nothing to say, sir."

  "Is Corbett or Manning or Astro in on this?" asked Vidac.

  "No, sir," Marshall said quickly.

  "I warn you, it won't go easy with you if I catch you shielding thosecadets," snapped Vidac.

  "No, sir," said Marshall, swallowing hard several times, "I am notshielding them."

  "Very well, then. Tell me, what was the purpose of this 'experimental'communications set?"

  "To make contact with amateur communicators back in our solar system,sir."

  "I'll bet!" said Vidac coldly. "All right, pick up this piece of junkand get out of here. Any more experiments will take place in theobservatory, and not unless I give my permission, is that clear?"

  "Yes, sir," said Jeff. "I understand, sir."

  Vidac turned and walked away without returning Jeff's salute. Theenlisted spaceman looked down at the twisted mass of wire and metal andmuttered a low oath.
Then, picking up the pieces, he turned and walkedwearily back to the observatory. All of Roger's effort was destroyed.But worse than that, now Vidac knew about the attempt to build the set.

  * * * * *

  "Watch out, Tom."

  Roger's voice blasted through the intercom from the radar deck. "There'sthe biggest hunk of space junk I've ever seen bearing down on us!"

  Tom flipped on the control-deck scanner of the rocket scout quickly,estimated range, angle, and approach of the onrushing asteroid, andcalled to Astro on the power deck.

  "Emergency course change!" he bellowed. "One-quarter blast on thestarboard jets, ten degrees down on the exhaust steering vanes!Execute!"

  In the cramped space of the power deck, the giant Venusian quicklyresponded to his unit-mate's orders. Opening the induction valvesleading to the reactors, the cadet shot full power into the radiationchambers, sending the little space scout into a long downward curve,safely out of the path of the dangerous asteroid.

  "Whew!" breathed Roger over the intercom. "That was fast thinking, Tom.I wouldn't have had time to plot a course change. And with all thatother stuff around here, we might have missed this one and hit twoothers!"

  "Yeah," agreed Astro. "It must have been good, because I'm still here!"

  "Got your radar sweeping ahead, Roger?" asked Tom. "Any sign of anopening in this stuff?"

  "Radar's going all the time, Tom," replied Roger. "But I don't thinkwe're going to find a passage large enough to take the whole fleetthrough."

  "I'm afraid you're right," said Tom. "I guess we'd better get out ofhere. How much fuel do we have left, Astro?"

  "Enough to hang around here for another fifteen minutes. But let's notcut it too fine. We might have to spend a little time looking for thefleet."

  "I don't imagine Vidac would lose any sleep," sneered Roger, "if we gotlost!"

  "Well, fifteen minutes is fifteen minutes," said Tom, "so we might aswell take a look."

  Roger gave the course change to Tom and the small ship shot to anothersection of the asteroid cluster while the electronic finger of the radarprobed ahead, searching for an opening through the mass of hurtlingrock. Time and again in the past fifteen hours, the cadets haddiscovered what they thought to be a way through, only to find it toosmall for the massed flight of spaceships to maneuver safely. Now afterthe many hours of concentration the boys were tired and more thanwilling to return to the fleet.

  "Time's up," Tom finally announced. "Plot a course back to the_Polaris_, Roger. Stand by for a course change, Astro. We're headinghome!"

  Tom's remark about heading "home" went unnoticed, since the three cadetshad long since thought of the giant rocket cruiser as being their home,more than Space Academy or their real homes with their families.

  After making contact with the _Polaris_, Roger quickly plotted anintersecting course that would put them alongside the command ship ofthe fleet in a few hours. Then, safely out of the dangerous cluster offlying meteors and asteroids, the three cadets gathered on the controldeck and relaxed for the first time since the beginning of theirscouting trip. They discussed their chances of contacting Space Academywith the communications set they had left hidden in the storeroom.

  "How far did you get with the tube, Astro?" asked Roger.

  "You'll be able to send out a message four hours after we get back,"replied Astro between bites of sandwich.

  "Too bad we don't have the tube with us," said Tom. "Now that we'realone we could vacuumize it without worrying about Vidac."

  "I've already tried to make another one here," said Astro. "But thesescouts don't have any kind of tools or equipment. We'll have to waittill we get back."

  In a few hours Roger picked up the welcome outline of the _Polaris_ onhis scanner and, shortly after, the rest of the fleet. After receivinginstructions from Vidac to return the scout to the freighter and comeaboard, the three cadets made quick work of transferring to the jet boatand a short while later were waiting impatiently for the hiss of oxygento fill the air lock of the _Polaris_. No sooner had the dial indicatedthe equal pressure with the rest of the ship than the inner portalopened to reveal Vidac waiting for them.

  "Well?" he demanded at once. "Is there a way through the asteroidcluster?"

  "No, sir," said Tom. "We searched practically the whole thing. There area few openings, but none large enough to let the whole fleet through."

  "I thought so," sneered Vidac. "You just blasted to the edge of thecluster and waited for enough time to pass and then came running backhere!"

  "Why, you--" growled Astro. He took a menacing step toward Vidac. Theolder spaceman didn't move.

  "Yes, Cadet Astro?" said Vidac coldly. "Did you want to say something?"

  Before Astro could speak, Tom stepped forward. "Regardless of what youmay think, sir," he said, "we did search the belt and there wasn't anyway through it."

  "I have to accept your word, Corbett," said Vidac. He turned and startedback down the companionway, then stopped and whirled around to face themagain. "Incidentally, something happened while you were away. JeffMarshall was found experimenting with a homemade communicator. Do youknow anything about it?"

  The three cadets were dumfounded. Finally Roger shook his head."No--no, sir," he muttered. "We don't know anything about it."

  Vidac smiled. "All right. That's all. Make out a full report on thescouting mission and send it to me immediately."

  When the lieutenant governor had disappeared, Roger turned to face Tomand Astro. "Well, what do we do now?"

  Tom answered between clenched teeth. "We're going to see GovernorHardy!"