CHAPTER 14
Major Connel paced nervously in front of the group of spacemen. Tom,Roger, Astro, Alfie, and Mr. Shinny were lounging around the smallclearing between the _Polaris_ and the _Space Devil_. A piece of thinspace cloth had been stretched between the two ships to shield the menfrom the blazing sun. Connel stopped in front of Roger and Shinny.
"And you say the satellite is three-quarters solid copper?" askedConnel.
"Yes, sir," replied Roger, "at least that's what Loring and Mason toldus."
"Where is it?" asked Connel. "I mean, where exactly?"
"I spotted her coming in, sir," replied Roger. "I'd say she was aboutthree hundred thousand miles outside of Tara in perfect orbit."
"By the blessed rings of Saturn," exclaimed Connel, "it's almost toogood to be true! The whole Solar Alliance needs copper desperately. Andif what you say is true, that's enough to last for a hundred and fiftyyears!"
"Didn't you have any idea they discovered it, sir?" asked Tom. "I mean,when they took that unauthorized flight on your first trip out here?"
"Didn't suspect a thing, Tom," replied Connel. "I thought they hadgotten a little space rocky on some homemade rocket juice and just wenton a wingding. Imagine the colossal nerve of those two wanting to cornerthe market with the largest deposit of copper ever found."
"How do you plan to get it back, Major?" asked Shinny.
"I don't know, Shinny--"
"_Mr._ Shinny!" snapped the wizened spaceman. "_I'm_ not one of yourcadets!"
"Still the hotheaded rocket buster, eh?" asked Connel, eying thetoothless spaceman. "It was the same thing that got you kicked out ofthe Solar Guard twenty years ago!"
"Wasn't either! And you know it!" snapped Shinny. "You retired mebecause I busted my leg!"
"That helped," said Connel, "but the main reason was because you weretoo hotheaded. Couldn't take orders!"
"Well," said Shinny doggedly, "I ain't in no Solar Guard now, and whenyou talk to me, it's _Mr._ Shinny!"
"Why, you old goat!" exploded Connel. "I ought to arrest you for aidingcriminals!"
"You can't do a thing to me," barked Shinny. "Prospecting isprospecting, whether it's in the asteroid belt or out here on Tara!"
Unable to hold back any longer, the four space cadets suddenly roaredwith laughter at the sight of the two old space foes jawing at eachother. Actually, Connel and Shinny were glad to see each other. And whenthey saw the boys doubled up with laughter, they couldn't help laughingalso. Finally Connel turned to Roger.
"Can you find that satellite again?" he asked.
"Yes, sir!" Roger grinned.
"All right, then," said Connel finally, "let's go take a look at it. Istill won't believe it until I see it!"
"Who's hardheaded now?" snorted Shinny, climbing into the _Polaris_.
Later, as the rocket cruiser blasted smoothly through space, Conneljoined Roger and Alfie on the radar deck. The two cadets were bent overthe radar scanner.
"Pick her up yet?" asked Connel.
"There she is, right there, sir," said Roger, placing a finger on acircular white blip on the scanner. "But the magnascope shows prettyrugged country. I think we'd better take a look on the opposite side.Maybe we can find a better place to touch down."
"Very well, Manning," replied Connel. "Do what you think best. Tell Tomto land as soon as possible."
"Aye, aye, sir," replied Roger.
Leaving Alfie on watch at the scanner, Roger hurried down the ladder tothe control deck where Tom was seated in front of the great board.
"Tom," called Roger, walking up behind his unit-mate, "we're going totake a look at this baby on the other side. See if we can't find abetter place to touch down. Stand by to pick up the surface of thesatellite on the teleceiver as soon as we get close enough."
"O.K., Roger," said Tom. "Where are you going?"
"Down to Loring and Mason in the cooler! I want to see their faces whenI tell them they finally are getting where they wanted to go, but underslightly different circumstances!"
Tom laughed and turned back to the board. "Power deck, check in!"
"Power deck, aye," replied Astro. "When do we set down on the preciousrock, Tom?" asked the Venusian.
"Should be soon, Astro," said Tom. "Better stand by for maneuvering."
"Right!" replied Astro.
Tom turned his full attention to the control board and the teleceiverscreen above his head. He was happier than he had ever been in his life.The report sent back to Space Academy by Major Connel had been answeredwith a commendation to both Roger and Shinny for capturing Loring andMason. With Roger back in the unit, Tom was at peace. Even Alfie wasoverjoyed at seeing Roger back aboard the _Polaris_.
And Tom had noticed that Major Connel was beginning to call them bytheir first names!
"Radar deck to control deck!" said Alfie. "From casual observations,Tom, the surface of the far side of the satellite is more suitable for atouchdown. I would suggest you observe the planetoid yourself with themagnascope and draw your own conclusions."
"O.K.," replied Tom. He switched the teleceiver screen on to the morepowerful magnascope and studied the surface of the small celestial body.He saw a deep valley with a flat hard surface set between two tallcliffs. It would be a tricky spot for a landing, but it looked like thebest place available. Tom snapped open the intercom.
"Attention! Attention! Stand by for touchdown. Power deck stand by fordeceleration. Radar bridge stand by for range and altitude checks!"Sharply, crisply, Tom's orders crackled through the ship.
Working together with the ease and thoroughness of men well acquaintedwith their jobs, Astro and Shinny on the power deck, Roger and Alfie onthe radar bridge, and Tom on the control deck handling the delicatemaneuvering, combined to bring the great ship to a safe landing on thedry valley floor of the satellite.
"Touchdown!" yelled Tom and began securing the ship. Two minutes laterthe entire crew faced Major Connel for briefing.
"We'll all go out to different parts of the satellite and makegeological tests," announced Connel. "We'll pair off, two to a jet boat.Astro and Roger, Alfie and Mr. Shinny, Tom and myself. This is a simpletest." He held up a delicate instrument and a vial full of colorlessliquid. "You simply pour a little of this liquid, about a spoonful, onthe ground, wait about five minutes, and then stick the end of this intothe spot where you poured the liquid." He held up a two-foot steel shafta quarter inch in diameter, fastened to a clock-face gauge with numbersfrom one to a thousand. The other end of the shaft was needle sharp."When you stick this into the ground, there'll be a reading on themeter. Relay it to me. This way well get an estimate of the amount ofcopper in a three-mile area for a depth of a hundred feet. It must bemore than two hundred tons per square mile to make it worth while!"
He held up the testing equipment for all to see and explained its useonce more. Then, giving each team a kit, he ordered them to the jetboats.
Just before the crew of Earthmen left the _Polaris_, Connel gave themlast-minute instructions.
"Report back to the _Polaris_ in one hour. Make as many tests as you canover as wide an area as possible. Don't forget to leave one man in thejet boat while the other is making the test. Keep your audiocommunicator in the jet boat on at all times. And be sure your beltcommunicator is always open. Check your oxygen supply and space suits.All clear?"
One by one, the spacemen checked in through the audio communicators thatall was clear. The sliding hatch on the side of the _Polaris_ wasopened, and the jet boats blasted out into the brilliant sunlight ofAlpha Centauri, going in three different directions.
Tom piloted his small craft over the rugged surface of the satellite,circling the larger peaks and swooping into the small valleys. Connelwould indicate when it was time to stop, and Tom would set the craftdown. While Connel made the tests, Tom would talk to the others over theaudio communicators. The three small ships covered the satellite quicklyin evenly divided sections, reporting their readings on the needlelikeinstrument to Conn
el, who kept recording the reports on a pad at hisknee.
An hour later the boats returned to the _Polaris_ and the Earthmenassembled in the control room. Connel, Tom, and Alfie were busy reducingthe readings of the tests into recognizable copper ton estimates persquare mile.
Finally Connel turned around, wiped his brow, and faced the others.
"This is one of the greatest discoveries for Earthmen since they learnedhow to blast off!" The big officer paused and then held up the resultsof the tests. "This satellite is _really_ three-quarters solid copper!"
There was a loud mumble as everyone began talking at once.
"How are we going to get it back home, sir?" asked Tom. "Wouldn'thauling it back in spaceships cost too much?"
"Yes, it would, Corbett," answered Connel, "but I've got an idea how wecan lick that problem."
"Can't see how you can lick it," snorted Shinny, "unless you take thewhole blasted satellite back!"
"That's exactly what I'm going to do!" answered Connel.
"What?" exclaimed Roger, momentarily forgetting he was addressing asenior officer. "How in blazes are you going to do that?"
Connel turned to the chart-screen projector and switched it on.Immediately an image of Earth and its Moon, and much farther away thesun, was visible. Connel stepped to the screen and pointed to Moon.
"The Moon is a captive satellite of Earth, revolving around Earth thesame way Earth revolves around the sun. It's the same situation we havehere. This satellite is a captive of Tara, and Tara is a captive ofAlpha Centauri. The difference is that the satellite is a peanutcompared in size to the Moon, being only about fifteen miles indiameter. I'm not sure, but I think I can get enough reactant energy outof the _Space Devil's_ fuel supply to blast the satellite out of Tara'sgrip and send it back to our solar system in one piece!"
"You mean, sir," asked Tom, perplexed, "you'll tear the satellite out ofTara's gravitational pull?"
"That's right, Tom," replied Connel, "using the same principle to cleargravity that we use on the _Polaris_ or any spaceship. Enough power fromthe rockets will blast the _Polaris_ off Tara. Well, if you can getenough power, you can blast this satellite out of Tara's grip also,since the only thing holding it here is the gravity of Tara--the samething that holds the Moon in orbit around Earth!"
Astro's eyes bulged. He looked at Connel blankly. "Why, sir," hestammered, "it'd take--take--a _ton_ of reactant fuel to pull somethingthat size away from Tara. The _Polaris_ is a kiddy car in comparison!"
"You're right, Astro," said Connel, "but there's one thing you'veforgotten. The copper of the satellite itself. That's going to be themain source of power. The reactant fuel from the _Space Devil_ willserve only as a starter, a trigger, you might say, to make use of thecopper as fuel!"
Once again Astro gasped. "Then--then--there isn't anything to stop you,sir," he finished slowly.
Connel smiled. "I know there isn't. I'm going to contact Space Academynow for permission to pitch the biggest ball in the history of man!"