Tom Corbett Space Cadet

by Carey Rockwell

  His eyes showing his great fear, Roger watched the blip as it sped down like a maddened hornet toward the Polaris resting on its directional fins in the green jungle. He could hear the hatch slam closed below as Loring re-entered the ship, but he continued to watch the rapidly moving blip.

  Suddenly it disappeared, and Roger knew it had reached Tara. He slumped back in his chair. His eyes were glassy, his ears deaf to the roar of triumph from below as Loring and Mason, watching the flight of the jet boat on the control deck teleceiver screen, saw it explode. Roger couldn't move. He had fired a reactant bomb at Tom and Astro.

  * * * * *

  "By the craters of Luna," roared Connel, "we've been attacked!"

  The four Earthmen, exploring a valley several miles north of the Polaris, had been thrown to the ground when the bomb landed. Connel's reaction was immediate and decisive.

  "Get into the jet boat! All of you! We've got to get back to the Polaris! If our ship is smashed, we'll spend the rest of our lives fighting this jungle!"

  In a matter of seconds the four spacemen were rocketing over the jungle toward the Polaris. Presently they came to an enormous dust cloud that had mushroomed out over the trees. It was so thick Tom found it difficult to pilot the small craft.

  "Any danger of radioactivity in this dust, sir?" asked Astro.

  "Always that possibility, Astro," answered Connel. "We'll know soon enough!" He flipped on a built-in Geiger counter on the dashboard of the jet boat, and immediately the cabin was filled with a loud ticking that warned of danger.

  "The count is up to seven fifty, sir," said Astro. "Not enough to bother you unless you're in it a long time."

  "There's the Polaris, sir," yelled Tom. "She's still on her directional fins! They missed her! She's O.K.!"

  "By the blessed rings of Saturn, she is!" exclaimed Connel. "Go on, Tom, give this baby the gun! If we have to die, let's die like spacemen, in space, fighting with spaceman's weapons, not crawling around here in the jungle like worms!"

  The three boys smiled at their skipper's rousing statement. "This is the time," thought Tom, "when I'd rather have Major Connel in command than anyone else in the Solar Guard." If there was to be a fight, then they certainly had found the man who knew how to do just that! Fight!

  Tom swooped over the treetops recklessly, and fearing the blast had damaged the jet-boat air lock, brought the small craft to rest in the blinding dust a few yards away from the Polaris.

  Three minutes later the four spacemen had separated and were standing by their respective posts. Hasty but thorough checks were made to determine the damage, and finding none, they prepared to raise ship.

  "All clear forward and up," Alfie reported in a high squeaking voice.

  "Energize the cooling pumps," shouted Tom.

  Astro had already started the mighty pumps, their vibrations rocking the ship, and Tom began counting the seconds.

  "Stand by to raise ship. Minus five—four—three—two—one—zeeroooooo!"

  Paying scant attention to the crush of sudden acceleration, Tom gave the ship all the power she could take for the climb out of Tara's atmosphere, and soon they were rocketing through the airless void of space. Alfie and Connel hurriedly swept the area with the radar scanner for the attacking intruder.

  "There she is!" roared Connel. "There!" He placed a finger on a white blip on the scanner. "By the craters of Luna, that's an Earth ship!" The fear of an outer-space invasion by hostile people from another world had been in the back of his mind, but he had been reluctant to voice his fears in front of the cadets. "And she's an old one at that!" he exclaimed. "Not even armed. I know that class vessel. Corbett!" he shouted.

  "Aye, aye, sir," replied Tom.

  "Put the ship on automatic flight, attack-approach pattern number three. Then stand by to send a message to whoever's manning that ship!"

  "Aye, aye, sir!" replied Tom. He hurriedly set the delicate device that would fly the ship in a preplanned course of zigzag maneuvers and opened the circuits of the teleceivers.

  "All set for the message, sir," reported Tom.

  "Tell them," said Connel heavily, his voice cold, "whoever they are, that I'll give them two minutes to surrender. If they don't, I'll blast them into protons!"

  "Very well, sir," said Tom. He turned to the teleceiver and began twirling the dials.

  "Attention! Attention! Rocket cruiser Polaris to spaceship X. Polaris to spaceship X. You are ordered to surrender within two minutes or we will attack. By order of Major Connel, Senior Line Officer, Solar Guard."

  He switched the teleceiver for reception and waited. In a moment the screen blurred and then an image appeared. Tom gasped. It was Roger!

  "Tom, Tom," yelled Roger. "Tom, this is me—Roger!"

  "Roger! What're you doing out here? How'd you get here?"

  "I can't explain now," said Roger. "I—I—"

  Tom interrupted him. "Roger, you've been cleared! The investigation of the crash on the station proved that Loring and Mason are guilty. They're wanted for the crash and the deaths of Jardine and Bangs!"

  "What! You mean—" stammered Roger.

  "Yes. Loring and Mason did the whole thing!" supplied Tom.

  "Look, Tom," pleaded Roger, "give me ten minutes. Don't fire for ten minutes! I'm going to try an idea. If I'm not successful, then open up and blast us back to Mars!"

  "Roger, wait!" shouted Tom. "What's going on? What're you doing on that ship?"

  "I can't talk now," answered Roger. "Loring and Mason are on the ship with me. Remember—ten minutes—and if I don't contact you, then open fire!"

  CHAPTER 13

  Roger flipped off the teleceiver. He stared at the darkened screen and began estimating the chances of success for a plan he had in mind. Deciding that, regardless of what happened, he had to take over the ship, he got up and turned toward the hatch and the gun locker. He stopped cold. Loring stood framed in the doorway, a paralo-ray gun in each hand.

  "Just stand right where you are, spaceboy!" snapped Loring. "You want ten minutes, huh? Ten minutes for what? I thought there was something funny going on when we missed the Polaris with that bomb!"

  "You knew all along I didn't have anything to do with that crash back on the station, didn't you?" shouted Roger. His eyes blazed angrily.

  "Yeah. So what?" growled Loring. "Hey, Mason," he yelled over his shoulder, "get up here in a hurry! We gotta work fast!"

  "What are you going to do?" asked Roger.

  "You're still valuable to us, Manning," said Loring with a crooked grin. "You're going to ensure our getting what we came after!"

  Mason stepped through the door. "Yeah, Loring?"

  Loring quickly told him of Roger's attempt to work with Connel.

  "Take our spaceboy down below and lock him in a storage compartment." He handed over one of the paralo-ray guns, and Mason shoved the muzzle into Roger's stomach.

  "Get moving, Manning!" he snarled. "I'd like nothing better than to let you have it right now!"

  Roger smiled, knowing Mason still harbored a grudge for the beating he had taken earlier on the trip.

  "When you have him locked up, get back on the control deck," said Loring. "We're going to do some old-fashioned bargaining with 'Blast-off' Connel!"

  "Bargaining?" exclaimed Roger.

  "Yeah! One slightly used Space Cadet for what we came after—the copper satellite!"

  "Connel won't bargain," said Roger. "Not for me, not for anything. You don't know him!"

  "I know this, Manning!" said Loring. "I'm going to get on the teleceiver and tell Connel that if he doesn't blast away from here right now, you're a dead Space Cadet!" He jerked his head toward the door. "All right, take him below and tell Shinny to stand by on the power deck. In case Connel won't bargain, we'll have to make a run for it!"

  "Right," said Mason as he shoved the paralo-ray gun deeper into Roger's stomach. "Move, Manning!"

  Roger climbed down the ladder and through the long passageway of the Space Dev
il. He passed Shinny on the way down.

  "What's going on here?" demanded Shinny, seeing Mason with the paralo-ray gun.

  "We missed with the bomb," said Mason, "and Connel raised ship. He's ready to blast us if we don't surrender right away. Loring's trying to make a deal with him."

  "What kind of a deal?" asked Shinny.

  "Hot-shot Manning for the satellite!"

  "He hasn't told you everything, Mr. Shinny," said Roger in his casual drawl. "They are the ones who caused the crash of the Annie Jones and the deaths of Jardine and Bangs. They framed me!"

  "Then," mused Shinny, "you're cleared?"

  "Yeah," growled Mason, "he's cleared! Cleared for a long swim in space if Connel doesn't do what Loring tells him! Get in there!" Mason shoved Roger into the cramped storage compartment. He locked the door and turned to Shinny.

  "Loring wants you to stand by the power deck in case Connel won't play ball. We might have to make a run for it."

  "Yeah, yeah," said Shinny, "I'll stand by the power deck."

  Mason turned and walked away. Shinny followed him, a curious gleam in his eyes.

  Up on the control deck, Loring was twisting the dials in front of the teleceiver screen.

  "Space Devil to Polaris—Space Devil to Polaris—come in, Polaris." He twisted another dial and watched the darkened screen anxiously. After a moment the screen blurred, and Tom's face gradually came into sharp focus.

  "Loring!" gasped Tom. "Where's Roger?"

  "Never mind him, you punk!" snarled Loring. "Tell that fatheaded Connel I wanta talk to him! Make it fast!"

  Tom's face disappeared to be replaced by the raging features of Major Connel. "You murdering space rat!" he roared. "I've given you two minutes to surrender and, by the craters of Luna, you've only got thirty seconds left!"

  "It'll only take ten seconds to tell you that if you don't get outta here Cadet Manning gets blasted!"

  "What?" roared Connel.

  "That's right," snarled Loring. "You're the one that's got thirty seconds to get out of here, or Manning takes a swim in space!"

  "Why, you—" Connel's face was twisted with rage. "You can't threaten me!"

  "I ain't threatening you," said Loring, "I'm telling you! If you don't get started, you'll never see Manning again. Or if you do, you won't recognize him! Now make up your mind, Connel!"

  The Solar Guard officer hesitated. "Give me two minutes," he said, "and I'll call you back. Two minutes."

  "Two minutes," repeated Loring, "and if I don't hear from you by then, or if you try any funny stuff, Manning gets it!"

  Aboard the Polaris, the screen darkened, and Connel, his fists clenched, turned to Tom.

  "We're helpless, Tom," he said softly. "Now that we have proof of Roger's innocence, I have to do everything in my power to save him."

  Tom didn't say anything. Suddenly Connel smashed one huge fist into another. "But by the blessed rings of Saturn, when I do get my hands on that Loring, I'll—I'll—" He broke off suddenly and turned back to the teleceiver. "I'm going to do what he wants, Tom. Roger's life is worth a dozen like Loring, and we'll have to take a chance that Loring will keep his word. After all," continued the big officer softly, "our mission is complete. We've tested the transmitter and found it to be more than we expected. No real reason why we should stay around here any longer."

  "Yes, sir," stammered Tom. "Sir, I—I—"

  Connel waved him silent with his hand. "You don't need to say anything, Tom. It's just one of those things. Still I can't help wondering what they came out here for." He turned to the dials on the teleceiver and began twisting them. "I'll call him, and you stand by to blast out of here."

  * * * * *

  Nicholas Shinny sat on the power deck and listened to Loring issue orders over the intercom.

  "I don't know if Connel will go for it, or not," said Loring, "but just in case he doesn't, we gotta get outta here fast! You got that, Shinny?"

  "Yeah," answered Shinny, "I got it!"

  "Mason," yelled Loring, "you take over on the radar bridge!"

  "All ready up here," said Mason.

  "Well, be sure we've got a clear trajectory out. Better take us into the sun Alpha Centauri. That way, maybe they'll miss us on their radar. The sun will show all sorts of blips on their screen."

  "O.K.," said Mason. "You think he'll go for it?"

  "I don't know," answered Loring, "but if he doesn't, it's going to be space dust for Manning."

  Shinny got up and walked around the deserted power deck. His legs felt weak. The plan he had made was a desperate one. Over and over, he checked the operation in his mind. It would have to be quick, sure, and sudden. That was the only thing that would ensure success. "Yes, sir," he thought, "if we can surprise 'em, we can get away with it." He dug out a piece of chewing tobacco, took a bite, eyed the remaining piece, and then shoved the whole thing in his mouth. His cheek bulged.

  He went to the intercom and flipped it on. "Hey, Loring," he yelled. "I've got to check the timer on number-three rocket. She's not acting just right. It'll take me about a minute."

  "O.K.," came Loring's reply, "but make it snappy."

  The timers were to the left of the control board, but Shinny turned to the right and the ladder leading to the lower deck. He eased the hatch open, glanced around, and then climbed down quickly. He stopped at a locker, opened the doors quietly, and took out two paralo-ray guns and two rifles. Then, closing the doors, he made his way to the opposite side of the ship.

  "Hey, Manning!" he whispered through the closed storeroom hatch. "Can ya hear me?"

  "Who is it?" asked Roger.

  "Me—Shinny," hissed the wizened spaceman. He opened the hatch and Roger quickly stepped out.

  "What's the idea?" gasped Roger when Shinny shoved a rifle and pistol into his hands.

  "I ain't got time to explain now," said Shinny. "We've got to hurry if we're going to take over this tub."

  Roger's eyes glowed. "You mean—"

  "Never mind what I mean," said Shinny. "Just listen. Loring's on the control deck and Mason's on the radar bridge. Loring's just talked to Connel. He's trying to make him blast outta here. If Connel doesn't, Loring's going to dump you in space!"

  "Yeah, I know. That murdering space crawler!" snarled Roger. He gripped the rifle tightly. "I'll blast him—"

  "Now wait a minute," hissed Shinny. "You go up and get Loring, see? Make it look like you got out by yourself. If you can handle him, O.K. I'll stay in back, and if anything goes wrong, I'll back you up!"

  "Fine," said Roger. He patted the spaceman on the back and smiled. "Don't worry, Mr. Shinny, nothing will go wrong!"

  "Watch your step. That Loring is a smart cookie!"

  Roger turned into the passageway and made his way silently to the control-deck hatch. He peered around the edge of the hatch and saw Loring sitting in front of the teleceiver screen, his back toward Roger. The cadet quickly stepped into the control room, leveled the rifle, and said quietly, "All right, Loring, keep your hands in view!"

  Loring spun around and stared openmouthed at Roger. "Mann—" he gasped.

  "Yeah, me!" said Roger. "Call Mason and tell him to come down here on the double. But one wrong move, Loring, and I'll give you a quick freeze with this ray gun!"

  Moving slowly, Loring turned to the intercom and flipped the switch. "Hey, Mason," he yelled. "Come down here a minute, will ya?"

  "What do you want?" growled Mason. "I've got to figure out this course."

  Roger stepped close to Loring, raising the gun.

  Loring licked his lips and turned back to the intercom. "Don't gimme any back talk! I said get down here!"

  Suddenly the teleceiver came to life. "Polaris to Space Devil! Come in, Loring! This is Major Connel on the Polaris calling Loring on the Space Devil!"

  The suddenness of the voice startled Roger, and for a split second he took his eyes off Loring. In that instant Loring leaped for the boy, grabbing at the rifle. The quickness of his lunge cau
ght Roger off guard and he was thrown back against the bulkhead, but he held onto the rifle as Loring tried to twist it out of his grasp.

  "What th—" cried Mason from the ladder leading to the radar bridge. When he saw Roger and Loring struggling, he grabbed for the paralo-ray gun at his side. Just at that moment Shinny stepped through the hatch and fired his rifle. Mason was frozen into a rigid statue, unable to move.

  "All right, Loring," yelled Shinny, "step back or I'll blast you like I did Mason!"

  Roger wrenched the rifle out of Loring's grasp and stepped back. "Good work, Mr. Shinny!" he said to the little spaceman. "You sure figured it right!"

  "Attention! Attention! This is Connel on the Polaris. Come in, Loring…"

  Shinny looked over at Roger and winked. "Better answer him, while I get this joker locked up." He motioned to Loring who stood backed up against the bulkhead, his hands high over his head.

  "You dirty double-crossing space rat!" he snarled at Shinny.

  "Now, now, none of that," said Shinny, leveling the rifle. "If you get too noisy, I'll freeze you like I did Mason to keep your trap shut!"

  Loring cast a sidelong glance at Mason, who stood as if carved out of marble. The effects of the ray blast were devastating, having paralyzed his entire nervous system. While the victim was still able to breathe and his heartbeat remained normal, he was unable to move so much as an eyelid. The gun was developed after all lethal weapons had been outlawed by the Solar Alliance. Though any victim could be released from its paralyzing effect by a neutralizing charge from the same gun, while under its power the victim was reduced to a state of mild hysteria. He was able to hear, see, and think, but not to act. When released, it was not unusual to see a man crumple to the floor from exhaustion.

  Mason was frozen into a rigid statue, unable to move

  Loring marched meekly in front of Shinny to the storage room that had held Roger. The cadet spaceman remained on the control deck. He twisted the dials of the teleceiver and spoke into the mike.