On the Trail of the Space Pirates_ A Tom Corbett Space Cadet Adventure - Carey Rockwell [353]
"Touchdown!" he roared triumphantly.
He closed the master switch and turned to look at the smiling faces of Mr. and Mrs. Hill.
"That was fine, Tom," said George, "but I don't want to do it again."
"Don't be a scaredy cat, George Hill!" taunted Mrs. Hill. "Tom handles this ship as if he were born on it."
Tom grinned. "We'd better hurry up. There must be something going on. There aren't any lights on here at the spaceport and all the administration buildings are dark."
He hurried to the air lock and swung it open, jumping lightly to the ground.
"Halt!" growled a rough voice. "Get your hands in the air and stay right where you are!"
Puzzled, Tom did as he was told, announcing, "I'm Space Cadet Tom Corbett, Polaris unit. I request immediate transportation to Commander Walters. I have important information for him."
He was momentarily blinded by the glare of a ring of lights around him, and when he finally could see, he found himself in the middle of a squad of Solar Guardsmen in battle dress.
"What's the password?" asked a tough sergeant whose shock rifle was aimed right at Tom's midsection.
"Juggernaut!" replied Tom quietly.
The word sent the sergeant into a frenzy of action. "Peters, Smith, get the jet car around here!"
"What's up, Sergeant?" asked Tom. "Why is everything so dark?"
"Martial law!" replied the guardsman. "Curfew from ten until six."
"Whew!" gasped Tom. "It looks as if I just made it!"
As George and Mrs. Hill climbed out of the air lock, a jet car raced up and skidded to a stop in front of them. A moment later Tom and the couple, accompanied by two of the guardsmen, were speeding through the dark and empty streets of Venusport. The car was stopped once at a mid-town check point, and Tom had to repeat the password. They picked up another jet car, full of guardsmen as escorts, and with the echo of the exhausts roaring in the empty avenues, they sped to central Solar Guard headquarters.
Tom had never seen so many enlisted guardsmen in one spot before except on a parade ground. And he noted with a tinge of excitement that each man was in battle dress. Arriving at headquarters, they were whisked to the top floor of the building and ushered into Commander Walters' office. The commander smiled broadly as the young cadet stepped to the front of his desk and saluted smartly.
"Cadet Corbett reporting, sir," he said.
In a moment the office was filled with men; E. Philips James, the Solar Delegate, Captain Strong, fleet commanders, and officers of the line.
"Make your report, Cadet Corbett," said Walters.
Tom spoke quickly and precisely, giving full details on the location of the base, the approximate number of fighting ships, the armament of each, the location of supply dumps, and finally of Major Connel's plan to sabotage the radar at noon the following day. Then, one by one, each official asked him questions pertinent to their tasks. Fleet commanders asked about the ships' speed, size, armor; Strong inquired about the stores and supporting lines of supply; Walters asked for the names of all people connected with the movement. All of these questions Tom answered as well as he could.
"Well, gentlemen," said Walters, "thanks to Corbett and the others on this mission, we have all the information we need to counter the Nationalists. I propose to follow Major Connel's plan and attack the base at noon tomorrow. Squadrons A and B will approach from the south and east at exactly noon. Squadrons C, D, and E will come in from the north and west as a second wave at 1202. The rest of the fleet will go in from above at 1205. Supporting squadrons are now on their way from Earth and Mars. Blast off at six hundred hours. Spaceman's luck!"
"Good work, Tom," said Strong, when the conference broke up.
"Yes, sir," said Tom. "But I can't help worrying about Roger and Astro and Major Connel. What's