CHAPTER 2
"There's no doubt that the success or failure of this project willinfluence the thinking of the Solar Alliance with regard to furtherexpansion, Governor Hardy," said Commander Walters to the man sittingstiffly in front of him. "And my congratulations on your appointment tohead the expedition."
A tall, lean man with iron-gray hair, the commander of Space Academy,sat behind his desk, back ramrod straight in his black-and-gold seniorofficer's uniform, and casually toyed with a paper cutter on his desk ashe spoke to Christopher Hardy, a short, thin man with a balding head andsharp features.
"Thank you, Commander," replied Hardy, in a thin, reedy voice. "It's agreat honor and I certainly don't foresee anything that can prevent theexpedition from being a complete success. We have the best equipmentand, I hope, we'll have the finest men."
The soft chime of a muted bell interrupted Walters as he was about toreply. He opened the switch to the interoffice teleceiver behind hisdesk, then watched the image of his aide appear on the teleceiverscreen.
"What is it, Bill?" asked Walters.
"_Polaris_ unit reporting for orders, sir," replied the enlistedguardsman. "Cadets Corbett, Manning, and Astro."
"Very well, send them in," said Walters. Switching off the teleceiver,he turned back to Governor Hardy. "Ever hear of the _Polaris_ unit,sir?" he asked.
Hardy paused, rubbing his chin before answering. "No, can't say that Ihave." He smiled. "From the look on your face, I see I should know aboutthem, though."
Walters smiled back. "I'll just say this about them. Of all the cadetunits trained here at the Academy in the last twenty years, these threelads are just about perfection. Just the material you'll need on yourinitial operation."
Governor Hardy raised his hand in mock protest. "Please! No braintrusts!"
"Well, they have the brains all right." Walters laughed. "But they havesomething else, an instinctive ability to do the right thing at theright time and that indefinable something that makes them true men ofspace, rather than ordinary ground hogs simply transplanted into space."
As the commander spoke, the massive door to his office rolled back andTom, Roger, and Astro stepped in briskly, coming to stiff attention infront of the desk.
"_Polaris_ unit reporting for duty, sir," said Tom. "Cadets Corbett,Manning, and Astro."
"At ease," said Walters.
The three boys relaxed and glanced quickly at the governor who hadwatched their entrance with interest. Walters came around in front ofthe desk and gestured toward Hardy.
"Boys, I want you to meet Governor Hardy."
The three cadets nodded respectfully. They knew all about the governor'sachievements in establishing the first colony on Ganymede, and hissuccess with the first exploratory expedition to outer space.
"Sit down, boys," said Walters, indicating a near-by couch. "GovernorHardy will explain things from here on in. Where is Captain Strong?"
"He said he'd be along in a few moments, sir," replied Roger.
"Well," said Walters, turning to Hardy, "no sense in beginning withoutSteve. Only have to repeat yourself." He turned to Astro but not beforehe saw a grimace of annoyance cloud the governor's face. "How are youmaking out with your classroom studies, Astro?"
"Uh--ah--" stammered the giant Venusian, "I'm doing all right, sir," hemanaged finally.
Walters suppressed a smile and turned to Hardy.
"One of the most important aspects of our training methods here at theAcademy, Governor," began Walters, returning to his desk, "is for thecadet to learn to depend on his unit mates. Take Astro, for instance."
The two men glanced at the big cadet who shuffled his feet inembarrassment at being the center of attention.
"Astro," continued Walters, "is rather shaky in the field of theory andabstract-scientific concepts. Yet he is capable of handling practicallyany situation on the power deck of a spaceship. He literally thinks withhis hands."
"Most commendable," commented Hardy dryly. "But I should think it wouldbe difficult if he ever came face to face with a situation where hishands were bound." There was the lightest touch of sarcasm in his voice.
"I assure you, Governor," said Walters, "that wouldn't stop him either.But my point is this: Since a cadet unit is assembled only after carefulstudy of their individual psychograph personality charts and is passedand failed as a unit, even though a boy like Cadet Astro might make afailing grade, his unit mates, Cadets Manning and Corbett, can pull himthrough by making higher passing marks. You see, an average is taken forall three and they pass or fail as a unit."
"Then they are forced, more or less, to depend on each other?" askedHardy.
"Yes. In the beginning of their training. Later on, the cadets learn forthemselves that it is better for all of them to work together."
Once again the bell in back of Walters' desk chimed and he turned tospeak on the teleceiver to his aide.
"Captain Strong is here, sir," repeated the enlisted man.
"Send him right in," said Walters. Seconds later the door slid back andSteve Strong entered and saluted.
After the introductions were completed and the Solar Guard captain hadtaken a seat with his cadet unit, Commander Walters immediately launchedinto the purpose of the meeting.
"Steve," he began, "Governor Hardy here has been appointed by the SolarCouncil to head one of the most important projects yet attempted by theAlliance."
The cadets edged to the front of the couch and listened intently forwhat the commander was about to say.
"But perhaps I had better let the governor tell you about it himself,"concluded Walters abruptly and settled back in his chair.
Captain Strong and the cadets swung around to face the governor, whorose and looked at each of them steadily before speaking.
"Commander Walters stressed the fact that this was an importantproject," he said finally. "No one can say how important it will be forthe future. It might mean the beginning of an entirely new era in thedevelopment of mankind." He paused again. "The Solar Alliance hasdecided to establish a new colony," he announced. "The first colony ofits kind outside the solar system in deep space!"
"A star colony!" gasped Strong.
The cadets muttered excitedly among themselves.
"The decision," continued the governor, "has been made only after muchdebate in the Solar Council Chamber. There have been many arguments proand con. A week ago a secret vote was taken, and the project wasapproved. We are going to establish a Solar Alliance colony on a newlydiscovered satellite in orbit around the sun star Wolf 359, a satellitethat has been named Roald."
"Wolf 359!" exclaimed Roger. "That's more than thirteen light yearsaway--" He was stopped by Tom's hand clamped across his mouth.
Governor Hardy looked at Roger and smiled. "Yes, Wolf 359 is pretty faraway, especially for a colony. But preliminary expeditions haveinvestigated and found the satellite suitable for habitation, withfertile soil and an atmosphere similar to our own. With the aid of a fewatmosphere booster stations, it should be as easy for a colonist to livethere as he would on Venus--or any tropical planet."
"Where are you going to get the colonists, sir?" asked Strong.
Hardy began to pace back and forth in front of Walters' desk, waving hishands as he warmed up to his subject. "Tonight, on a special combinedaudioceiver and teleceiver broadcast to all parts of the Solar Alliance,the president of the Solar Council will ask for volunteers--men who willtake man's first step through deep space to the stars. It is a step,which, in the thousands of years ahead, will eventually lead to acivilization of Earthmen throughout all space!"
Tom, Roger, and Astro sat in silent awe as they listened to the plansfor man to reach toward the stars. Spacemen by nature and adventurers inspirit, they were united in the belief that some day Earthmen would setfoot on all the stars and never stop until they had seen the last sun,the last world, the last unexplored corner of the cosmos.
"The colonists," continued Hardy, "will come from all over the system.O
ne thousand of them--the strongest and sturdiest men out of thebillions that inhabit the planets around us; one thousand, to live onRoald for a period of seven years."
Tom, his eyes bright, asked, "Won't everybody want to go, sir?"
Walters and Hardy smiled. "We expect a rush, Corbett," answered Walters."You three and Captain Strong have been selected to aid in screening theapplicants."
"Will there be any special tests, sir?" asked Strong. "I have to agreewith Corbett that just about everyone will want to go."
"Yes, Strong," said Hardy. "Everyone _will_ want to go. In fact, weestimate that there will be literally millions of applicants!"
Roger emitted a long, low whistle. "It'll take years to screen all ofthem, sir."
Hardy smiled. "Not really, Manning. The psychographs will eliminate thehundreds of thousands of misfits, the men who will want to go forselfish reasons, who are running away from the past, or are dissatisfiedwith their lack of success in life and embittered because of failure. Wecan expect many criminal types. Those will be eliminated easily. We haveset a specific quota from each of the satellites, planets, and asteroidcolonies. I have already established the stations for the preliminaryscreening. We will screen the remainder until we have the requiredthousand."
"What will our part be, sir?" asked Tom.
"Once each applicant has been approved by the psychographs, hisbackground will be thoroughly investigated. We may find criminal typeswho show the blackest of careers, but who would turn over a new leaf ifgiven the chance and prove to be more valuable than men with the best ofbackgrounds who merely want to get away from it all. We don't want thatkind of colonist. We want people who have faith in the project; peoplewho are not afraid of work and hardships. Your screening job will besimple. Each of you has a special talent which Commander Walters feelsis outstanding. Corbett in leadership, administration, and command;Manning in electronics; Astro in atomic power and propulsion. You willtalk to the applicants and give them simple tests. An important point inany applicant's favor will be his ability to improvise and handle three,four, or five jobs, where a less imaginative person would do but one.Talk to them, sound them out, and then write your report. Captain Strongwill review your opinions and make recommendations to me. I will finallyapprove or disapprove the applications."
"Will this cost the applicants anything, sir?" asked Roger. "Forinstance, will the rich applicants have a better chance than the poor?"
Hardy's face turned grim. "Only the people that fit our standards willbe allowed to go, Manning. Regardless."
"Yes, sir," said Roger.
"The Solar Alliance," continued Hardy, "has established a fund for thisproject. Each applicant will be lent as much in material as he needs toestablish himself on Roald. If he operates an exchange, for instance,selling clothes, equipment, or food, then the size of his exchange willdetermine the size of the loan. He will repay the Solar Alliance byreturning one-fourth of his profits over a period of seven years. Eachcolonist will be required to remain on the satellite for that seven-yearperiod. After that, should he leave, he would be required to sell allhis rights and property on Roald."
"And the farmers, sir," asked Tom, "and all the rest. Will they all betreated the same way?"
"Exactly the same, according to their individual abilities. Of course wewouldn't take a man who had been a shoemaker and advance him the capitalto become a farmer."
"Will the quota of one thousand colonists include women and children?"asked Astro.
"No, but allowances have been made for them. One thousand colonistsmeans one thousand men _who can produce_. However, a man may take hisfamily," Hardy went on, adding, "providing, of course, that he doesn'tmean twenty-three children, aunts, uncles, and so forth."
The three cadets looked at each other dumfounded. The very idea of theproject was staggering, and as Strong, Hardy, and Commander Waltersbegan to discuss the details of the screening system, they turned toeach other excitedly.
"This is the greatest thing that's happened since Jon Builker made histrip into deep space!" whispered Tom.
"Yeah," nodded Astro, "but I'm scared."
"About what?" asked Roger.
"Having the responsibility of saying No to a feller that wants to go."
The big cadet seemed to be worried and Tom attempted to explain what thejob would really be.
"It's not a question of saying an outright No," said Tom. "You just askthe applicant about his experience with motors and reactors to see if hereally knows his stuff."
Astro seemed to accept Tom's explanation, but he still seemed concernedas they all turned to Commander Walters, who had finished the discussionaround the desk and was giving Captain Strong his orders.
"You and the cadets, along with Governor Hardy, will blast off tonightand go to Venusport for the first screenings." He faced the cadets. "Youthree boys have a tremendous responsibility. In many cases yourdecisions might mean the difference between success or failure in thismission. See that you make good decisions, and when you've made them,stick by them. You will be under the direct supervision of CaptainStrong and Governor Hardy. This is quite different from your previousassignments, but I have faith in you. See that you handle yourselveslike spacemen."
The three cadets saluted sharply, and after shaking hands with theircommander, left the room.
Later that evening, their gear packed, the three members of the_Polaris_ unit were checked out of the Academy by the dormitory officerand were soon being whisked along on a slidewalk to the Academyspaceport. As they neared the spacious concrete field, where the mightyfleet of the Solar Guard was based, they could see the rows of rocketcruisers, destroyers, scouts, and various types of merchant space craft,and in the center, on a launching platform, the silhouette of the rocketcruiser _Polaris_ stood out boldly against the pale evening sky. Restingon her directional fins, her nose pointed skyward, her gleaming hullreflecting the last rays of the setting sun, the ship was a powerfulprojectile ready to blast off for distant worlds.
_Her nose pointed skyward, the_ Polaris _was ready toblast off_]
Reaching the _Polaris_, the three cadets scrambled through the airlock into the spaceship and prepared for blast-off.
On the control deck, Tom began the involved check of the control panel.One by one, he tested the dials, gauges, and indicators on theinstrument panel that was the brains of the mighty ship.
On the radar bridge, above the control deck, Roger adjusted the sightsof the precious astrogation prism and took a checking sight on the PoleStar to make sure the instrument was in true alignment. Then turning tothe radar scanner, the all-seeing eye of the ship, he began a slow,deliberate tracking of each circuit in the maze of wiring.
And below on the power deck, Astro, stripped to the waist, a leatherbelt filled with the rocketman's wrenches and tools slung around hiships, tuned up the mighty atomic engines. He took longer than usual,making sure the lead baffling around the reactor units and the reactionchamber was secure, before firing the initial mass.
Finally Tom's voice crackled over the intercom, "Control deck to allstations. Check in!"
"Radar bridge, aye!" came Roger's reply. "Ready for blast-off!"
"Power deck, aye!" said Astro, his booming voice echoing through theship. "Ready for blast-off!"
"Control deck, ready for blast-off," said Tom, and then turned to thelogbook and jotted down the time in the ship's journal. The astralchronometer over the control board read exactly 1350 hours.
Fifteen minutes later Captain Strong and Governor Hardy climbed aboardand Tom received the order to raise ship.
The young curly-haired cadet turned to the control board and flipped onthe teleceiver. "Rocket cruiser _Polaris_ to spaceport control tower,"he called. "Request blast-off orbit and clearance!"
The traffic-control officer in the spaceport tower answered immediately."Control tower to _Polaris_. You are cleared for blast-off at 1405hours, orbital tangent 867."
Tom repeated the instructions and turned to the intercom
and begansnapping out orders. "Power deck, energize the cooling pumps!"
"Power deck, aye!" replied Astro. The slow whine of the powerful pumpsbegan to scream through the ship. Tom watched the pressure indicator andwhen it reached the blast-off mark called to Roger for clearance.
"All clear, forward and up!" declared Roger.
"Feed reactant at D-9 rate!" ordered Tom. And far below on the powerdeck, Astro began to feed the reactant energy into the firing chambers.
Hardy looked at Strong and nodded in appreciation of the cadets' smoothefficient work. They strapped themselves into acceleration cushions andwatched the red second hand of the astral chronometer sweep around, andthen heard Tom counting off the seconds.
"Blast off--" bawled Tom, "minus five--four--three--two--one--_zeroooo!_"
The giant ship lurched off the blast-off platform a few feet, theexhaust of the powerful rockets deflected against the concrete surface.Then, poised delicately on the roaring rockets, the mighty ship pickedup speed and began to accelerate through the atmosphere.
Pushed deep in his acceleration chair in front of the control board,unable to move because of the tremendous pressure against his body, TomCorbett thought about his new adventure. And as the ship hurtled intothe black velvet depths of space, he wondered what the future held forhim as he and his unit mates began a new adventure among the stars.