On the Trail of the Space Pirates

  CHAPTER 2

  "Stand by for touchdown!" bellowed Captain Strong's voice on the bigspaceship's intercom.

  "Control deck standing by," replied Tom.

  "Corbett," Strong continued, "you may take her down as soon as you getclearance from Venusport traffic control."

  Tom acknowledged the order with a brisk "Aye, sir! In a few moments hereceived permission to touch down on the newly colonized planet. Then,turning his attention to the control board, he requested aground-approach check from Roger.

  "About two miles to touchdown, Tom," reported Roger from the radarbridge. "Trajectory clear!"

  "O.K., Roger," said Tom. Glancing quickly at the air speed and rocketthrust indicators, he flipped a switch and sang out, "Power deck, reducethrust on main drive rockets to minimum!"

  "Got ya, Tom," boomed Astro.

  "Closing in fast, sir," said Tom to Strong, who had come up from belowand now stood at the cadet's shoulder watching as Tom maneuvered the bigship through the Venusian atmosphere, his keen eyes sweeping the greatpanel of recording gauges and dials.

  "One thousand feet to touchdown," intoned Roger from the radar bridge.

  Reacting swiftly, Tom adjusted several levers, then picking up theintercom microphone, he threw a switch and yelled, "Power deck! Fullbraking thrust!"

  Deep inside the _Polaris_, Astro, who tended the mighty rocket powerplant with loving care, eased home the sensitive control mechanism,applying even pressure to the braking rockets.

  As the giant spaceship settled smoothly to within a few feet of thesurface of the concrete spaceport, Tom threw the master switch that cutall power. A moment later the huge craft dropped easily, then settled onthe landing platform with a gentle thump.

  "Touchdown!" yelled Tom. Then, glancing at the astral chronometer on thecontrol board, he turned to Strong, and saluting smartly, reported,"_Polaris_ completes space flight at exactly seven fifty-two-O-two!"

  Strong returned the salute. "Very well, Tom. Now, I want you, Roger, andAstro to come with me to the exposition commissioner's office for aninterview and detailed orders."

  "Yes, sir," said Tom.

  A few minutes later, dressed in fresh uniforms, the three cadetsfollowed their unit commander out of the ship, then stood by as Strongordered the chief petty officer of an enlisted Solar Guard working partyto prepare the _Polaris_ for moving to the exposition site.

  "Empty the reactant fuel tanks of all but enough for us to raise shipand touch down over to the fairgrounds," said Strong. "Better strip herof armament, too. Paralo-ray pistols and rifles, the three-inch andsix-inch atomic blasters, narco sleeping gas; in fact, everything thatcould possibly cause any trouble."

  "Yes, sir," replied the scarlet-clad enlisted spaceman.

  "One thing more," added Strong. "There will be a crew living aboard, soplease see that the galley is stocked with a full supply of both freshand synthetic foods. That's about all, I guess."

  "Very well, sir," replied the petty officer with a crisp salute. Heturned and began bawling orders to a squad of men behind him andimmediately they were swarming over the great ship like ants.

  Fifteen minutes later, a jet cab swerved to a stop in front of thetallest of the Venusport buildings, the Solar Alliance Chamber. Strongpaid the driver, adding a handsome tip, and flanked by his three cadetsstrode briskly into the building.

  Crossing a high-ceilinged lobby, they entered an express vacuum elevatorand five seconds later stepped out onto the four-hundredth floor. There,Strong slid a panel door to one side, and, followed by the cadets,stepped inside the office of Mike Hawks, exposition commissioner andretired senior officer of the Solar Guard.

  The office was impressively large and airy, with an outside wall forminga viewport of clear Titan crystal reaching from floor to vaulted ceilingand affording a magnificent view of the city of Venusport and, beyondit, the futuristic buildings of the exposition itself. Another wall,equally as large, was covered by a map of the exposition grounds.

  Mike Hawks, a man with steel-gray hair, clear blue eyes, and a ramrodmilitary bearing, sat behind a massive desk talking to two men. Helooked up when Strong and the cadets walked in and rose quickly with abroad smile to greet them.

  "Steve!" he exclaimed, rounding the desk to shake hands with his oldfriend. "I never dreamed we'd have you and the _Polaris_ unit at ourfair!" He nodded warmly to the cadets who stood at rigid attention. "Atease, cadets. Glad to have you aboard."

  "I was just as surprised to get this assignment, Mike," said Strong,pumping the officer's hand. Nodding toward the men seated in front ofHawks' desk, he apologized, "Sorry to bust in on you like this, old man.Didn't know you were busy."

  "It's quite all right." The commissioner smiled. "Just handing out a fewlicenses for the concessions in the amusement section at the fair.People expect to have a little fun when they go to a fair, you know. Bythe stars, they're going to have it so long as I'm commissioner." Heturned to the cadets. "Sit down, boys. You too, Steve. I'll be with youin a minute." He turned back to his desk and the waiting men.

  The cadets, at a nod from Strong, sat down on a leather couch thatstretched the length of one wall and listened while Hawks completed hisbusiness with the two men.

  "There you are," said Hawks, applying the seal of his office to a slipof paper. "That gives you the right to operate a concession in theamusement area as long as the fair is open."

  One of the men took the paper and glanced at it quickly.

  "Wait a minute, Commissioner. This is over near the edge of the area,"he complained. "We wanted to get in the middle. How do you expect us tomake any credits away out there by ourselves?" The man's tone was surlyand disrespectful.

  "Sorry, but that's the only location left. In fact," Hawks added acidly,"you're lucky to get it!"

  "Really?" sneered the heavier of the two. "Well, I'm sure going to findout about this!"

  Hawks stood up and eyed the two men coldly. "I've been appointedcommissioner of this exposition by the delegates to the Solar AllianceCouncil. I answer only to the council. If you have a complaint, then youmust present your case before that body." He cleared his throat andglared at them from behind his desk. "Good day, gentlemen!" he said.

  _Hawks stood up and eyed the two men coldly_]

  The two men, who until now had been seated facing the desk, got up, andafter glaring at Hawks, turned and walked toward the door. Tom gasped,and grabbing Roger by the arm, involuntarily pointed at the two men.

  "Look, Roger--those men--" he whispered.

  "Yeah," said Roger. "Those are the wise-guy space crawlers we met on themonorail, the ones who called us punks!"

  "How'd they get here so fast?" asked Astro.

  "Must have taken a jetliner from Atom City, I guess."

  Strong, who sat near Tom, heard the exchange between the cadets.

  "You know those men?" he asked.

  "Well--uh--not exactly, sir. We just had a little run-in with them onthe monorail returning from leave, that's all," said Tom. "Nothingserious. They don't think much of the Solar Guard, though."

  "I gathered as much," said Hawks dryly. He walked over from his desk. "Ihated to give them the license to operate, but I had to, since I had novalid reason to turn them down. They have a good idea, too."

  "That so? What is it?" asked Strong.

  "They have an old chemical-burning space freighter in which they'regoing to take fair visitors up for a short ride. You see, the big one,Gus Wallace, is an old deep-space merchantman. The smaller one is LutherSimms, a rocketman."

  "Hm. Not a bad idea at all," mused Strong. "They should make out allright."

  With that, the two Solar Guard officers dropped the incident of Wallaceand Simms and turned to exchanging news of mutual friends and of whateach had been doing since their last meeting. Finally, as theconversation was brought around to the exposition, Hawks got up and saton the side of the desk, facing Strong and the cadets. His eyes glowedas he spoke.

  "Steve," he said, "this is going t
o be the greatest gathering of minds,thoughts, and ideas in the knowledgeable history of mankind! There aregoing to be lectures from the greatest minds in the system on any andall subjects you can think of. In one building we're going to build awhole spaceship--a rocket cruiser--piece by piece, right in front of theeyes of fair visitors. In another building we're going to have thegreatest collection of musicians in the universe, continuously playingthe most beautiful music, in a hall built to seat a half million people.Industry, science, medicine, art, literature, astrophysics, spaceflight, to say nothing of a comparative history exhibit designed to showthe people where our forefathers went off the track by warring againsteach other. In fact, Steve, everything you can think of, and then more,will be represented here at the exposition. Why, do you know I've beenworking for three years, co-ordinating ideas, activity, andinformation!"

  Strong and the cadets sat transfixed as they listened to thecommissioner speak in glowing terms of the exposition, which, until thistime, by the cadets at least, had been considered little more than agiant amusement park. Finally Strong managed to say, "And we thought the_Polaris_ was going to be so big, it'd be the center of attraction." Hesmiled.

  Hawks waved his hand. "Look, I don't want to offend you or the boys,Steve, but the fact is, the _Polaris_ is one of the _smaller_ exhibits!"

  "I can see that now," answered Strong. "Tell me, Mike, just what do youwant us to do?"

  "I'll answer that in two parts. First, I would like the cadets to set upthe _Polaris_, get her shining and bright, and with quiet courtesy,answer any question anyone might ask concerning the ship, referring anyquestion they can't answer to the information center in the SpaceBuilding."

  "That's all, sir?" asked Tom incredulously.

  "That's all, Corbett. You open the _Polaris_ at nine in the morning andclose her at nine at night. You'll be living aboard, of course."

  "Yes, sir. Of course, sir."

  "That sounds so simple," drawled Roger, "it might be tough."

  "It will be tough, Manning," commented Hawks. "Don't fool yourself intoassuming otherwise."

  "Don't worry about these boys, Mike. Now, what is part two?" Strongasked.

  Hawks smiled. "Here it is, Steve. The Solar Alliance has decided to openthe exposition with a simple speech made by a relatively unknown person,but one who is deserving of such an honor. They left the choice of thatperson up to me." He paused and added quietly, "I'd like you to makethat opening speech, Steve."

  "Me!" cried Strong. "Me, make a speech?"

  "I can't think of anyone more deserving--or dependable."

  "But--but--" stammered the captain, "I can't make a speech. I wouldn'tknow what to say."

  "Say anything you want. Just make it short and to the point."

  Strong hesitated a moment. He realized it was a great honor, but hisnaturally shy personality kept him from accepting.

  "Steve, it may make it easier for you to know," said Hawks teasingly,"that there's going to be a giant capsule lowered into the ground whichwill contain a record of every bit of progress made since the inceptionof the Solar Alliance. It's designed to show the men of the future howto do everything from treating a common cold to exploding nuclear power.This capsule will be lowered at the end of your opening address. So,most of the attention will be focused on the capsule, not you." Thecommissioner smiled.

  "All right, Mike," said Strong, grinning sheepishly. "You've gotyourself a speechmaker!"

  "Good!" said Hawks and the two men shook hands.

  Tom Corbett could contain himself no longer. "Congratulations, sir!" heblurted out as the three cadets stood up. "We think Commissioner Hawkscouldn't have made a better choice!" His unit-mates nodded a vigorousassent.

  Strong shook hands with the cadets and thanked them.

  "You want the cadets for anything right now, Mike?" asked Strong.

  "Not a thing, Steve."

  Strong turned back to the boys. "Better hop out to the spaceport and getthe _Polaris_ over the exposition site, cadets. Soon as you set herdown, clean her up a little, then relax. I'll be at the Galaxy Hotel ifyou need me."

  "Yes, sir," said Tom.

  The cadets saluted sharply and left the office.

  Arriving at the spaceport, they found the _Polaris_ stripped of her gunsand her galley stocked with food. The chief petty officer in charge ofthe enlisted spacemen detail was roving through the passageways of therocket cruiser when Tom found him.

  "Everything set, chief?" asked Tom.

  "All set, Cadet Corbett," reported the elderly spaceman, salutingsmartly. He gave Tom a receipt for the list of the equipment that hadbeen removed from the ship and signed the logbook. Tom thanked him andmade a hurried check of the control deck, with Roger and Astro reportingfrom the radar and power decks. With the precision and assurance ofveteran spacemen, the three Space Cadets lifted the great ship up overthe heart of the sprawling Venusian city and brought it down gently inthe clearing provided for it at the exposition site, a grassy squaresurrounded on three sides by buildings of shimmering crystal walls.

  No sooner had the giant ship settled itself to the ground, than a crewof exposition workers began laying a slidewalk toward her, while anothercrew began the construction of an aluminum staircase to the entranceport in her giant fin.

  Almost before they realized it, Tom, Roger, and Astro found themselvesbusy with a hundred little things concerning the ship and their part inthe fair. They were visited by the subcommissioner of the exposition andadvised of the conveniences provided for the participants of the fair.Then, finally, as a last worker finished the installation of aphotoelectric cell across the entrance port to count visitors to theship, Tom, Roger, and Astro began the dirty job of washing down thegiant titanium hull with a special cleaning fluid, while all around themthe activity of the fair buzzed with nervous excitement.

  Suddenly the three cadets heard the unmistakable roar of jets in thesky. Automatically, they looked up and saw a spaceship, nose up,decelerating as it came in for a touchdown on a clearing across one ofthe wide spacious streets of the fairgrounds.

  "Well, blast my jets!" exclaimed Astro, his eyes clinging to the flamingexhausts as the ship lowered itself to the ground.

  "That craft must be at least fifty years old!"

  "I've got a rocket-blasting good idea, Tom," said Roger.

  The exit port of the spaceship opened, and the three cadets watched GusWallace and Luther Simms climb down the ladder.

  "Hey," yelled Roger, "better be careful with that broken-down oldboiler. It might blow up!"

  The two men glared at the grinning Roger but didn't answer.

  "Take it easy, Roger," cautioned Tom. "We don't want to start anythingthat might cause us and Captain Strong trouble before the fair evenopens. So let's leave them alone."

  "What are you afraid of?" drawled Roger, a mischievous gleam in hiseyes. "Just a little fun with those guys won't hurt." He stepped to theside of the clearing and leaned over the fence separating the two areas.

  "Tell me something, spaceman," he yelled to Wallace, who was busy withsome gear at the base of the ship, "you don't expect people to pay toride that thing, do you?" He smiled derisively and added, "Got insuranceto cover the families?"

  "Listen, punk!" sneered Wallace, "get back over to your Solar Guardspace toy and keep your trap shut!"

  "Now--now--" jeered Roger, "mustn't get nasty. Remember, we're going tobe neighbors. Never can tell when you might want to borrow some balingwire or chewing gum to keep your craft together!"

  "Look, wise guy, one more crack out of you, and I'll send you out ofthis world without a spaceship!" snarled Wallace through grating teeth.

  "Any time you'd like to try that, you know where I am," Roger snappedback.

  "Okay, punk! You asked for it," yelled Wallace. He had been holding alength of chain and now he swung it at Roger. The cadet ducked easily,hopped over the fence, and before Wallace knew what was happening,jolted him with three straight lefts and a sharp right cross. Wallacewent down
in a heap, out cold.

  Luther Simms, who had been watching the affair from one side, now rushedat Roger with a monkey wrench. With the ferocity of a bull, Astro roaredat the small spaceman, who stopped as if pulled up by a string. Rogerspun around, made an exaggerated bow, and smiling, asked, "Next?"

  At this point, aware that things were getting a bit thick, Tom strodeacross the clearing, and grabbing the still smiling Roger, pulled himaway.

  "Are you space happy?" he asked, "You know you goaded him into swingingthat chain, Roger. And that makes you entirely responsible for what justhappened!"

  "Yeah," growled Astro. "Suppose he had hit you with it, then what?"

  Roger, still grinning, glanced over his shoulder and saw Simms helpingWallace to his feet. He turned to Astro, threw his arm over the bigcadet's shoulder, and drawled, "Why, then you'd have just taken themapart to avenge me! Wouldn't you, pal?"

  "Aw, stow it," snapped Tom. For a second Roger looked at him sharply,then broke into a smile again. "O.K., Tom, I'm sorry," he said. "O.K.,let's get back to work," ordered Tom.

  Back at the _Polaris_, as they continued cleaning the hull of the ship,Tom saw the two men disappear into their craft, throwing dirty looksback at the three cadets as they went.

  "You know, Roger, I think you made a very bad mistake," he said. "Oneway or another, they'll try to even the score with you."

  "And it won't be just a report to Captain Strong," added Astro darkly.

  Roger, cocky and unafraid, broke out his engaging grin again andshrugged his shoulders.