The Revolt on Venus Part 4

The girl behind the counter ran her finger down a pa.s.senger manifest, nodded, and then suddenly frowned. She turned back to Tom and said, "I'm sorry, Cadet, but your reservations have been pre-empted by a priority listing."

"Priority!" roared Roger. "But I made those reservations two weeks ago.

If there was a change, why didn't you tell us before?"

"I'm sorry, sir," said the girl patiently, "but according to the manifest, the priority call just came in a few hours ago. Someone contacted s.p.a.ce Academy, but you had already left."

"Well, is there another s.h.i.+p for Venusport today?"

"Yes," she replied and picked up another manifest. Glancing at it quickly, she shook her head. "There are no open reservations," she said.

"I'm afraid the next flight for Venusport with open reservations isn't for four days."

"Blast my jets!" growled Roger disgustedly. "Four days!" He sat down on his gear and scowled. Astro leaned against the desk and stared gloomily at the floor. At that moment a young man with a thin face and a strained intense look pushed Tom to one side with a curt "Excuse me!" and stepped up to the desk.

"You're holding three reservations on the _Venus Lark_," he spoke quickly. "Priority number four-seven-six, S.D."

Tom, Roger, and Astro looked at him closely. They saw him nervously pay for his tickets and then walk away quickly without another look at the ticket girl.

"Were those our seats, miss?" asked Tom. The girl nodded.

The three cadets stared after the young man who had b.u.mped them off their s.h.i.+p.

"The symbol S.D. on the priority stands for Solar Delegate," said Roger.

"Maybe he's a messenger."

The young man was joined by two other men also dressed in Venusian clothing, and after a few words, they all turned and stepped onto the slidewalk rolling out to the giant pa.s.senger s.h.i.+p preparing to blast off.

"This is the most rocket-blasting bit of luck in the universe!" growled Roger. "Four days!"

"Cheer up, Roger," said Tom. "We can spend the four days in Atom City.

Maybe Liddy Tamal is here. We can follow Captain Strong's suggestion."

"Even she doesn't make four days delay sound exciting," interrupted Roger. "Come on. We might as well go back to town or we won't even get a room."

He picked up his gear and walked back to the jet cab-stand. Astro and Tom followed the blond-haired cadet glumly.

The stand was empty, but a jet cab was just pulling up to the platform with a pa.s.senger. As the boys walked over to wait at the door, it opened and a familiar figure in a black-and-gold uniform stepped out.

"Captain Strong!"

[Ill.u.s.tration]

"Corbett!" exclaimed Strong. "What are you doing here? I thought you were aboard the _Venus Lark_."

"We were b.u.mped out of our reservation by an S.D. priority," said Astro.

"And we can't get out of here for another four days," added Roger glumly.

Strong sympathized. "That's rough, Astro." He looked at the three dour faces and then said, "Would you consider getting a free ride to Venus?"

The three cadets looked up hopefully.

"Major Connel's taking the _Polaris_ to Venus to complete some work with Professor Higgleston in the Venus lab," explained Strong. "If you can get back to the Academy before he blasts off, he might give you a ride."

"No, thanks!" said Roger. "I'd rather sit here."

"Wait a minute, Roger," said Tom. "We're on leave, remember? And it's only a short hop to Venus."

"Yeah, hotshot," added Astro. "We'll get to Venus faster than the _Venus Lark_, and save money besides."

"O.K.," said Roger. "I guess I can take him for a little while."

Strong suppressed a smile. Roger's reluctance to go with Connel was well founded. Any cadet within hailing distance of the hard-bitten s.p.a.ceman was likely to wind up with a bookful of demerits.

"Are you on an a.s.signment, sir?" asked Tom.

"Vacation," said Strong. "Four weeks of fis.h.i.+ng at Commander Walters'

cabin at Sweet Water Lakes."

"If you pa.s.s through New Chicago," said Tom, "you would be welcome to stop in at my house. Mom and Dad would be mighty happy to meet you. And I think Billy, my kid brother, would flip a rocket."

"Thank you, Tom. I might do that if I have time." He looked at his watch. "You three had better hurry. I'd advise taking a jetcopter back to the Academy. You might not make it if you wait for a monorail."

"We'll do that, sir," said Tom.

The three boys threw their gear into the waiting cab and piled in.

Strong watched them roar away, frowning in thought. An S.D. priority, the highest priority in s.p.a.ce, was used only by special couriers on important missions for one of the delegates. He shrugged it off.

"Getting to be as suspicious as an old s.p.a.ce hen," he said to himself.

"Fis.h.i.+ng is what I need. A good fight with a trout instead of a s.p.a.ce conspiracy!"

CHAPTER 3

"Blast off--minus--five--four--three--two--one--_zero_!"

As the main drive rockets blasted into life, Tom fell back in his seat before the control panel of the _Polaris_ and felt the growing thrust as the giant s.h.i.+p lifted off the ground, accelerating rapidly. He kept his eyes on the teleceiver screen and saw s.p.a.ce Academy fall away behind them. On the power deck Astro lay strapped in his acceleration cus.h.i.+on, his outstretched hand on the emergency booster rocket switch should the main rockets fail before the s.h.i.+p could reach the free fall of s.p.a.ce. On the radar bridge Roger watched the far-flung stars become brighter as the rocket s.h.i.+p hurtled through the dulling layers of the atmosphere.

As soon as the s.h.i.+p reached weightless s.p.a.ce, Tom flipped on the gravity generators and put the _Polaris_ on her course to Venus. Almost immediately the intercom began to blast.

"Now hear this!" Major Connel's voice roared. "Corbett, Manning, and Astro! I don't want any of your s.p.a.ce-blasted nonsense on this trip! Get this s.h.i.+p to Venusport in the shortest possible time without burning out the pump bearings. And, Manning--!"

"Yes, sir," replied the blond-haired cadet.

"If I so much as hear one wisecrack between you and that overgrown rocket jockey, Astro, I'll log both of you twenty-five demerits!"

"I understand, sir," acknowledged Roger lazily. "I rather appreciate your relieving me of the necessity of speaking to that s.p.a.ce ape!"