CHAPTER 13
"_Polaris_ to Commander Walters at Space Academy--Come in, CommanderWalters!" Captain Strong's voice was urgent in the teleceiver.
"Just worked up an assumed position on the _Lady Venus_," said Rogerover the intercom. "I think she's bearing about seventeen degrees toport of us, and about one-twenty-eight on the down-plane of theecliptic."
"O.K., Roger," said Tom. "Captain Strong's trying to reach CommanderWalters now." He made a quick mental calculation. "Golly, Roger--ifyou've figured it right, we're closer to the _Lady Venus_ than anyoneelse!"
The teleceiver audio crackled.
"Commander Walters at Space Academy to Captain Strong on the _Polaris_.Come in, Steve!"
"Commander!" Strong's voice sounded relieved. "Did you get thatemergency from the _Lady Venus_--the S O S?"
"Yes, we did, Steve," said the commander. "How far away from her areyou?"
Without a word, Tom handed Strong the position that Roger had computed.Strong relayed the information to the commander.
"If you're that close, go to her aid in the _Polaris_. You're nearerthan any Solar Guard patrol ship and you can do just as much."
"Right, sir," replied Steve. "I'll report as soon as I get any news. Endtransmission!"
"Spaceman's luck, end transmission!" said the commander.
"Have you got a course for us, Roger?" asked Strong.
"Yes, sir!"
"Then let's get out of here. I have a feeling there's something morethan just the usual emergency attached to that S O S from the _LadyVenus_."
In twenty seconds the mighty cruiser was blasting through space to theaid of the stricken passenger ship.
"Better get the emergency equipment ready, Tom," said Strong. "Spacesuits for the four of us and every spare space suit you have on theship. Never can tell what we might run into. Also the first-aid surgicalkit and every spare oxygen bottle. Oh, yeah, and have Astro get both jetboats ready to blast off immediately. I'll keep trying to pick them upagain on the teleceiver."
"Yes, sir," replied Tom sharply.
"What's going on up there?" asked Astro, when Tom had relayed the ordersfrom Captain Strong. Tom quickly told him of the emergency signal fromthe _Lady Venus_.
"_Lady--Venus--_" said the big cadet, rolling the name on his tongue, "Iknow her. She's one of the Martian City--Venusport jobs--an old-timer.Converted from a chemical burner to atomic reaction about three yearsago!"
"Any ideas what the trouble might be?" asked Tom.
"I don't know," replied Astro. "There are a hundred and fifty thingsthat could go wrong--even on this wagon and she's brand new. But Iwouldn't be surprised if it was on the power deck!"
"And what makes you think so?" asked Tom.
"I knew a spaceman once that was on a converted tub just like the _LadyVenus_ and he had trouble with the reaction chamber."
"Wow!" exclaimed Tom. "Let's hope it isn't that now!"
"You can say that again," said Astro grimly. "When this stuff gets outof control, there's very little you can do with it, except leave italone and pile out!"
The _Polaris_, rocketing through space at full space speed, plunged likea silver bullet through the vastness of the black void, heading for whatStrong hoped to be the _Lady Venus_. Tom prepared the emergencyequipment, doubling all the reserves on the oxygen bottles by refillingthe empties he found on the ship and making sure that all space suitswere in perfect working order. Then he opened the emergency surgical kitand began the laborious task of examining every vial and drug in the kitto acquaint himself with what there was to work with just in case. Hebrought all the stores of jelly out for radiation burns and finallyopened a bottle of special sterilization liquid with which to wipe allthe instruments and vials clean. He checked the contents of the kit oncemore, and, satisfied that everything was as ready as he could make it,he went up to the control deck.
"Any other message from them yet, sir?" asked Tom.
"Nothing yet," answered Strong. "If I could pick them up on theteleceiver, maybe they could tell us what the trouble is and then wecould more or less be prepared to help them." He bent over theteleceiver screen and added grimly, "If there is anything left to help!"
"Radar deck to control deck!" Roger's voice was tense. "I think I'vepicked them up on the radar scanner, Captain Strong!"
"Relay it down here to control-deck scanner, Manning," ordered Strong.
"Ummmh!" murmured the captain when the screen began to glow. "I'm prettysure that's her. Here's that assumed position Roger worked up, Tom.Check it against this one here on the scanner."
Tom quickly computed the position of the object on the scanner andcompared it to the position Roger had given them previously.
"If Roger's positioning was correct, sir," said Tom, "then that's the_Lady Venus_. They both check out perfectly!"
Strong, bent over the radar scanner, didn't answer. Finally he turnedaround and flipped off the scanner. "That's her," he announced."Congratulations, Roger. You hit it right on the nose!"
"How shall we approach her, sir?" asked Tom.
"We'd better wait until she sends up her flares."
"You mean the identification flares for safety factors?"
"That's right," replied Strong. "A white flare means it's all right tocome alongside and couple air locks. A red one means to stand off andwait for instructions." Strong turned to the intercom.
"Control deck to power deck. Reduce thrust to one quarter space speed!"
"Power deck, aye," answered Astro.
"We'll wait until we're about two miles away from her and then use ourbraking jets in the bow of the ship to bring us within a few thousandfeet of her," commented Strong.
"Yes, sir," said Tom.
"Work up an estimated range, Roger," said Strong, "and give me adistance on our approach."
"Aye, aye, sir," Roger replied. "Objective four miles away now, sir."
"When we hit three miles," said Strong to Tom, "have Astro stand by theforward braking jets."
"Aye, sir," said Tom.
"Three-and-a-half miles," said Roger a few moments later. "Closing infast. _Lady Venus_ looks like a dead ship."
"That could only mean one thing," said Strong bitterly. "There has beena power-deck failure of some sort."
"Three miles to objective, sir," reported Roger. "I think I can pick herup on the teleceiver now, but only one way, from us to her."
"All right," said Strong, "see what you can do."
In a few moments the teleceiver screen glowed and then the silveroutline of the _Lady Venus_ appeared on the screen.
"I don't see any damage to her hull," said Strong half to himself. "Soif it was an explosion, it wasn't a bad one."
"Yes, sir," said Tom. "Shall I stand by with the flares?"
"Better send up a yellow identification flare, identifying us as theSolar Guard. Let them know who we are!"
Tom turned to the yellow button on his left and pressed it. Immediatelya white flash resembling a meteor appeared on the teleceiver screen.
"There should be an answer soon," said Strong.
"Three thousand yards to objective," reported Roger.
"Fire braking rockets one half," ordered Strong.
Tom relayed the order to Astro and made the necessary adjustments on thecontrol panel.
"Stern drive rockets out," ordered Strong.
Once again Tom relayed the message to Astro and turned to the controlboard.
"Cut all rockets!" ordered Strong sharply.
The great ship, slowed by the force of the braking rockets, becamemotionless in space a bare five hundred yards from the _Lady Venus_.
"They should be sending up their safety-factor flare soon," said Strong."Keep trying to raise them on the teleceiver, Roger."
Strong was peering through a crystal port directly at the ship hangingdead in space opposite them. There wasn't any sign of life. Tom steppedto the side of Steve Strong and looked out at the crippled passengership.
"Why don't we go
aboard, sir?" asked Tom.
"We'll wait a little longer for the flare. If we don't get it soon--"
"There it is, sir!" shouted Tom at Strong's side.
From the flare port near the nose of the commercial ship, a ball of firestreaked out.
"Red!" said Strong grimly, "That means we can't go alongside. We'll haveto use jet boats."
"Captain Strong," shouted Roger from the radar deck, "they're signalingus with a small light from the upper port on the starboard side!"
"Can you read it?" asked Strong quickly.
"I think so, sir. They're using standard space code, but the light isvery dim."
"What do they say?"
" ... reaction ... chamber--" said Roger slowly as he read the blinkinglight, " ... radiation ... leaking around ... baffle ... all ...safe...." Roger stopped. "That's all, sir. I couldn't get the rest ofit."
Strong turned to the intercom. "Astro, get the jet boats ready to blastoff immediately. Roger, send this message. 'Am coming aboard. Stand byto receive me on your number-one starboard jet-boat catapult deck,signed, Strong, Captain, Solar Guard.'"
"Yes, sir!" replied Roger.
"Get into your space suit, Tom, and give Astro a hand with the jetboats. I have to get a message back to Space Academy and tell them tosend out help right away."
"Aye, sir," said Tom.
"Roger," said Strong, "stand by to record this message for theteleceiver in case Space Academy should call our circuit while we're offthe ship."
"All set, sir," came the reply from the radar deck.
"O.K.--here goes--Captain Steve Strong--Solar Guard--am boardingpassenger ship _Lady Venus_. Secondary communications signal messagereceived indicates it is power-deck failure. Am taking cadets Corbett,Manning and Astro and boarding same at"--he paused and glanced at theclock--"thirteen hundred fifty one hours!"
"That all, sir?" asked Roger.
"That's it. Get that set on the open circuit for any one calling us,then climb into your space suit!"
In a matter of minutes, the four spacemen of the _Polaris_ crew weremaking last-minute adjustments on their space suits. Astro picked up hisheavy belt of tools and strapped them around his waist.
"What's that for, Astro?" asked Strong. "They'll have tools aboard theship if we need them."
"If that lead baffle in the reaction chamber has worked loose, sir, theodds are ten to one that the control chamber is flooded with radiation.And if it is, the tools are probably so hot you couldn't use them."
"That's good thinking, Astro," complimented Strong. He turned to Tom andRoger and checked their suits and the oxygen supply and feeder valves ontheir backs. He then turned his back while Tom checked his, and Rogeradjusted Astro's.
"All right, turn on your communicators and test them," ordered Strong.
One by one the boys flipped on the switch of the portable spacephones intheir fish-bowl helmets and spoke to each other. Strong indicated thathe was satisfied and turned toward the jet-boat catapult deck, the threeboys following him in single file.
"Astro, you and Roger take number-one boat," said Strong. "Tom and Iwill take number two." His voice had a harsh metallic tone through theheadset spacephones.
Roger hurried along with Astro to the number-one boat and climbedinside.
"Jet boat has its own oxygen system," said Astro to Roger. "Better makeuse of it while we're in here and save our suits' supplies."
"Good idea," said Roger. He locked the clear plastic airtight coveringof the jet boat and began flicking at the control buttons.
"Strap in, you Venusian hick. Here we go!" Roger shoved a lever at hisside, making the jet-boat deck airtight from the rest of the _Polaris_,and then, by pressing a button on the simple control board, a section ofthe _Polaris_' hull slipped back, exposing them to empty space.
The controls of a jet boat were simplicity itself. A half-moon wheel forguiding, up, down and either side, and two pedals on the floor, one forgoing and one for stopping. Roger stepped on the "Go" pedal and thesmall ship flashed out into the darkness of space.
Almost immediately on the opposite side of the _Polaris_, Captain Strongand Tom in the second boat shot away from the rocket cruiser and bothboats headed for the stricken spaceship.