The space skipper sat down. Roger introduced him to Tom and Astro. There was a round of small talk.
"Whatever made you become a Space Cadet, Roger?" asked James finally.
"Oh, you know how it is," said Roger. "You can get used to anything."
Astro almost choked on a mouthful of food. He shot a glance at Tom, who shook his head as though warning him not to speak.
James grinned broadly. "I remember how you used to talk back home. The Space Cadets were a bunch of tin soldiers trying to feel important. The Academy was a lot of space gas. I guess, now, you've changed your mind."
"Maybe I have," said Roger. He glanced uneasily at his two friends, but they pretended to be busy eating. "Maybe I have." Roger's eyes narrowed, his voice became a lazy drawl. "At that it's better'n being a man in a monkey suit, with nothing to do but impress the passengers and order around the crew."
"Wait a minute," said James. "What kind of a crack is that?"
"No crack at all. Just the way I feel about you passenger gents who don't know a rocket tube from a ray-gun nozzle."
"Look, Manning," returned James. "No need to get sore, just because you couldn't do any better than the Space Cadets."
"Blast off," shouted Roger, "before I fuse your jets."
Tom spoke up. "I think you'd better go, Captain."
"I've got six men outside," sneered the other. "I'll go when I'm ready."
"You're ready now," spoke up Astro. He stood up to his full height. "We don't want any trouble," the cadet from Venus said, "but we're not braking our jets to get away from it, either."
James took a good look at Astro's powerful frame. Without another word he walked away.
Tom shook his head. "That pal of yours is a real Space Cadet fan, isn't he, Roger?"
"Yeah," said Astro. "Just like Manning is himself."
"Look," said Roger. "Look, you guys--" He hesitated, as though intending to say something more, but then he turned back to his dinner. "Go on--finish your food," he growled. He bent over his plate and ate without lifting his eyes. And not another word was spoken at the table until a young man approached, carrying a portable teleceiver screen.
"Pardon me," he said. "Is one of you Cadet Tom Corbett?"
"Why--I am," acknowledged Tom.
"There's a call for you. Seems they've been trying to reach you all over Atom City." He placed the teleceiver screen on the table, plugged it into a floor socket and set the dials.
"Hope's there's nothing wrong at home," said Tom to his friends. "My last letter from Mom said Billy was messing around with a portable atom reactor and she was afraid he might blow himself up."
A picture began to take shape on the screen. "Migosh," said Astro. "It's Captain Strong."
"It certainly is," said the captain's image. "Having dinner, eh, boys?
Ummmm--those baked shrimps look good."
"They're terrific," said Astro. "Wish you were here."
"Wish you could stay there," said Captain Strong.
"Oh, no!" moaned Astro. "Don't tell me!"
"Sorry, boys," came the voice from the teleceiver. "But that's it.
You've got to return to the Academy immediately. The whole cadet corps has been ordered into space for special maneuvers. We blast off tomorrow morning at six hundred."
"But, sir," objected Tom, "we can't get a monorail until morning!"
"This is an official order, Corbett. So you have priority over all civilian transportation." The Solar Guard captain smiled. "I've tied up a whole bank of teleceivers in Atom City searching for you. Get back to Space Academy fast--commandeer an air car if you must, but be here by six hundred hours!" The captain waved a cheery good-bye and the screen went dark.
"Space maneuvers," breathed Astro. "The real thing."
"Yeah," agreed Tom. "Here we go!"
"Our first hop into deep space!" said Roger. "Let's get out of here!"
[Illustration]
CHAPTER 12
"The following ships in Squadron A will blast off immediately," roared Commander Walters over the teleceiver. He looked up alertly from a chart before him in the Academy spaceport control tower. He began to name the ships. "_Capella_, orbital tangent--09834, _Arcturus_, orbital tangent--09835, _Centauri_, orbital tangent--09836, _Polaris_, orbital tangent--09837!"
Aboard the space cruiser _Polaris_, Tom Corbett turned away from the control board. "That's us, sir," he said to Captain Strong.
"Very well, Corbett." The Solar Guard captain walked to the ship's intercom and flipped on the switch.
"Astro, Roger, stand by!"
Astro and Roger reported in. Strong began to speak. "The cadet corps has been divided into squadrons of four ships each. We are command ship of Squadron A. When we reach free-fall space, we are to proceed as a group until eight hundred hours, when we are to open sealed orders. Each of the other seven squadrons will open their orders at the same time. Two of the squadrons will then act as invaders while the remaining six will be the defending fleet. It will be the invaders' job to reach their objective and the defenders' job to stop them."
"Spaceport control to rocket cruiser _Polaris_, your orbit has been cleared for blast-off...." The voice of Commander Walters interrupted Strong in his instructions and he turned back to Tom.
"Take over, Corbett."
Tom turned to the teleceiver. "Rocket cruiser _Polaris_ to spaceport control."
" ... Blast off minus two--six hundred forty-eight...."
"I read you clear," said Tom. He clicked off the teleceiver and turned back to the intercom. "Stand by to raise ship! Control deck to radar deck. Do we have clear trajectory forward and up, Roger?"
"All clear forward and up," replied Roger.
"Control deck to power deck ... energize the cooling pumps!"
"Cooling pumps, aye," came from Astro.