Danger in Deep Space | Page 5

to repair anything
mechanical, was already a legend around the Academy. He cared for
the power deck of the Polaris as if it were a baby.
"Might as well pack in and grab some sleep before we report to Captain

Strong," said Tom. "He might have us blasting off right away, and I, for
one, would like to sleep and sleep and then sleep some more!"
"I've been thinking about what Alfie had to say," said Roger. "You
know, about this being a great adventure."
"What about it?" asked Astro.
"Well, you don't give this kind of overhaul for just a plain, short hop
upstairs."
"You think it might be something deeper?" asked Astro softly.
"Whatever it is," said Tom, getting up, "we'll need sleep." He rose,
stretched, and walked wearily to the exit port. Astro and Roger
followed him out, and once again they boarded the slidewalk for the
trip back to the main dormitory and their quarters on the forty-second
floor. A half hour later the three members of the Polaris were sound
asleep.
Early morning found Captain Steve Strong in his quarters, standing at
the window and staring blankly out over the quadrangle. In his left
hand he clutched a sheaf of papers. He had just reread, for the fifth time,
a petition for reinstatement of space papers for Al Mason and Bill
Loring. It wasn't easy, as Strong well knew, to deprive a man of his
right to blast off and rocket through space, and the papers in question,
issued only by the Solar Guard, comprised the only legal license to
blast off.
Originally issued as a means of preventing overzealous Earthmen from
blasting off without the proper training or necessary physical condition,
which resulted in many deaths, space papers had gradually become the
only effective means of controlling the vast expanding force of men
who made space flight their life's work. With the establishment of the
Spaceman's Code a hundred years before, firm rules and regulations for
space flight had been instituted. Disobedience to any part of the code
was punishable by suspension of papers and forfeiture of the right to
blast off.

One of these rules stated that a spaceman was forbidden to blast off
without authorization or clearance for a free orbit from a central traffic
control. Bill Loring and Al Mason were guilty of having broken the
regulation. Members of the crew of the recent expedition to Tara, a
planet in orbit around the sun star Alpha Centauri, they had taken a
rocket scout and blasted off without permission from Major Connel, the
commander of the mission, who, in this case, was authorized
traffic-control officer. Connel had recommended immediate suspension
of their space papers. Mason and Loring had petitioned for a review,
and, to assure impartial judgment, Commander Walters had sent the
petition to one of his other officers to make a decision. The petition had
landed on Strong's desk.
Strong read the petition again and shook his head. The facts were too
clear. There had been flagrant disregard for the rules and there was no
evidence to support the suspended spacemen's charge that they had
been unjustly accused by Connel. Strong's duty was clear. He had to
uphold Major Connel's action and suspend the men for a year.
Once the decision was made, Strong put the problem out of his mind.
He walked to his huge circular desk and began sorting through the day's
orders and reports. On the top of the pile of papers was a sealed
envelope, bordered in red and marked "classified." It was from
Commander Walters' office. Thoughtfully he opened it and read:
To: CAPTAIN STEVE STRONG: Cadet Supervisor, Polaris Unit
Upon receipt of this communication, you are ordered to transfer the
supervisory authority of the cadet unit designated as POLARIS unit; i.e.,
Cadets Tom Corbett, Roger Manning, and Astro, and the command of
the rocket cruiser Polaris, to the command and supervisory authority of
Major Connel for execution of mission as outlined herein:
1. To test range, life, and general performance of audio
communications transmitter, type X21.
2. To test the above-mentioned transmitter under conditions of deep
space flight.

3. This test to take place on the planet Tara, Alpha Centauri.
This communication and all subsequent information relative to
above-mentioned mission shall be classified as topmost secret.
Signed: WALTERS, Commandant, Space Academy
"So that's it," he thought. "A hop into deep space for the Polaris unit!"
He smiled. "The cadets of the Polaris unit are in for a little surprise in
two ways," he thought. "One from the mission and one from Major
Connel!"
He almost laughed out loud as he turned to the small desk teleceiver at
his elbow. He pressed a button immediately below the screen and it
glowed into life to reveal a young man in