Danger in Deep Space Part 3

"Hope it's in our favor, sir," suggested Mason. He was shorter than Loring and, seated, his feet hardly reached the floor. His eyes darted nervously about the huge room, and he kept rolling a dirty black s.p.a.ceman's cap in his hands.

"Yes, I've reached a decision," said Strong slowly. He faced the two men and looked at both of them with a steady cold stare. "I've decided to sustain Major Connel's action. You are both grounded for the next twelve months. Earth months!"

"What?" shouted Loring, jumping to his feet. He banged his fist down on the desk and leaned over, his face close to Strong's. "You can't do that to us!"

Captain Strong didn't move. "I can," he said coldly. "And I have."

"But--but--" Mason began to whine. "But s.p.a.ce flight is all we know! How will we live?"

Strong sat down and leaned back in his chair to get away from the foul odor of Loring's breath. He stared at the two men.

"You should have thought of that before you stole a rocket scout from the expedition and made an unauthorized flight while on Tara," Strong replied. "You're lucky you're not accused, tried, and convicted of theft of a Solar Guard s.p.a.ceship!"

"We had permission to take that flight," snarled Loring. "That Major Connel is so blasted s.p.a.ce happy he forgot he gave us permission. Then when we came back, he slapped us in the brig!"

"Do you have any proof of that?" asked Strong.

"No! But it's our word against his!" He slammed his hat down on the desk and shook his finger in Strong's face. "You haven't any right to take away our papers just on the say-so of a lousy Solar Guard officer who thinks he's king of the universe!"

"Take your filthy hat off my desk, Loring!" barked Strong. "And watch your language!"

Loring realized he had made a mistake and tried to backtrack. "Well, I apologize for that. But I _don't_ apologize for saying he thinks he's--"

"Major Connel has been in the Solar Guard for thirty years," said Strong emphatically. "He's been awarded the Solar Medal three times. No other living s.p.a.ceman has achieved that! Not even Commander Walters! He rose through the ranks of the enlisted Solar Guard and was commissioned as an officer of the Solar Guard in s.p.a.ce during an emergency. He qualifies higher than any other s.p.a.ceman, and he has never been found to be unjust! He's one of the finest s.p.a.cemen ever to hit the wide, deep, and high!" Strong stopped, choked for breath, and turned away. It wasn't often he lost his temper, but something had to be said in defense of his fellow officer, and particularly since that officer was Connel. He turned back to face the two s.p.a.cemen, and his voice was hard and cold again.

"You are hereby suspended from s.p.a.ce flight for twelve Earth months. Any further pet.i.tion for appeal of this decision will be denied!"

"All right! All right, Mr. Big!" snapped Loring. "Does this mean we can't even ride as pa.s.sengers?"

"No rights under the Universal Bill of Rights of the Solar Alliance have been denied you, except that of actively partic.i.p.ating in the flight of a s.p.a.ceship!"

The signal bell of the teleceiver began to chime softly, and on the desk the teleceiver screen glowed again. "Cadets Corbett, Manning, and Astro are here for their a.s.signments, sir," announced the enlisted man outside.

Loring glared at Strong. "I suppose you're going to send some punk kids out on the next trip to Tara and leave us experienced s.p.a.cemen to rot on the ground, huh?"

Strong didn't see the door slide open to admit the three cadets who entered quietly. His whole attention was focused on the ugly glaring faces of Bill Loring and Al Mason.

"Get this, Loring!" snapped Strong hotly. "The a.s.signments of the _Polaris_ unit, whether it be to Tara or the Moon, has nothing to do with your own breech of conduct. In any case, if they were to be a.s.signed, they'd do a better job than you 'experienced' s.p.a.cemen who are disrespectful of your superior officers and break regulations! If either of you makes one more crack about the Solar Guard or s.p.a.ce Cadets, or _anything_ at all, I'll take you out on the quadrangle and pound some common courtesy into your heads! Now get out!"

"All right, all right--" muttered Loring retreating, but with a sneer on his lips. "We'll meet again, Mr. Bigshot s.p.a.ceman!"

"I hope so, Loring. And if we do, I hope you've taken a bath. You even smell bad!"

From the rear of the room came a burst of laughter. Tom, Roger, and Astro, un.o.bserved, had been listening and watching their skipper in action. When Loring and Mason had left the room, they advanced to the desk, came to attention, and saluted.

"_Polaris_ unit reporting for duty, sir!" snapped Tom crisply.

"At ease," said Strong. "Did you hear all of that?"

"Yes, sir, skipper!" Roger smiled. "And believe me, you really gave it to those two s.p.a.ce b.u.ms!"

"Yeah," agreed Astro, "but I don't think even _you_ could do much for Loring. He's just born to smell bad!"

"Never mind that," said Strong. "I suppose you heard the part about the a.s.signments?"

The three cadets a.s.sumed looks of pure innocence.

"We didn't hear a thing, sir," said Tom.

"You'll make a fine diplomat, Corbett," Strong laughed. "All right, sit down and I'll give it to you straight."

They hastily took seats and waited for their skipper to begin.

"You've been a.s.signed as cadet observers on a mission to test the range of a new long-range audio transmitter." Strong paused, then added significantly, "The test is to take place in deep s.p.a.ce."

The three cadets only beamed their enthusiastic approval.

"Tara," continued Strong, "is your destination--a planet like Earth in many respects, in orbit around the sun star Alpha Centauri. You'll take the _Polaris_ directly to the Venus s.p.a.ce station, where the transmitter has been given primary tests, outfit the _Polaris_ for hyperdrive, and blast off!"

"Excuse me, sir," interrupted Tom, "but you say 'you'?"

"I mean," replied Strong, "_you_, in the sense that I won't be going along with you. Oh, don't worry!" said Strong, holding up his hand as a sudden look of antic.i.p.ation spread over the faces of the three boys.

"You're not going alone! You'll have a commanding officer, all right. In fact, you'll have the nearest thing to the perfect commanding officer in the Solar Guard!" He waited just long enough for each boy to search his mind for a suitable candidate and then added, "Your skipper will be Major Connel!"

"Major Connel!" the three cadets cried in unison.

"You mean Major 'Blast-off' Connel?" uttered Roger unbelievingly.

"That's who I mean," said Strong. "It's the best thing in the universe that could happen to you!"

Roger stood up and saluted smartly. "I request permission to be dismissed from this mission on the grounds of incompatibility, sir," he said.

"Incompatible to what?" asked Strong, amused.

"To Major Connel, sir," replied Roger.

"Permission denied," said Strong with a smile. "Buck up! It isn't so bad." Strong paused and stood up. "Well, that's it. It's close to eleven A.M. and you're to report to the major at eleven on the nose. I hope you've got the _Polaris_ in good shape."

"We were up all night, sir," said Tom. "She's ready to go."

"She's in better shape than we are," said Astro.

"Very well, then. Report to Major Connel immediately. Your papers have been transferred, so all you have to do is report."

Strong rounded the desk and shook hands with each cadet. "This is an important mission, boys," he said soberly. "See that you give Major Connel all the support I know you're capable of giving. He'll need it. I doubt if I'll see you before you blast off, so this is it. s.p.a.ceman's luck to each of you!"

[Ill.u.s.tration]