On the Trail of the Space Pirates Part 30

"That might take too long, Astro," replied Strong. "No telling how much oxygen Tom has left."

"There's nothing else we can do, sir," replied Astro. "We can't brake her to land inside the _Polaris_ and we can't open the hatch to turn off the motor. We'll have to take a chance on Tom lasting until it runs out of fuel!"

Inside the roaring craft, Tom suddenly opened his eyes. He began to cough. There was a roaring in his ears. The stars overhead swam dizzily.

And then, as though through a billowing mist, he saw the jet boat ahead of him and the rope tied to his s.h.i.+p. He realized he had been rescued.

He tried to signal them. He had to let them know he needed oxygen. He tried to reach the communicator near the control panel but could not lift his arm. He fell back to the deck gasping for air; his lungs screaming for oxygen. Something, thought Tom through the haze that fogged his brain, something to signal them. Then, with the last of his strength, he raised up on one elbow and reached for the acceleration lever. His fingers trembled a few inches away from their goal. His face began to turn violent red. He strained a little more. The lever was an inch away. Finally, with the very last ounce of his strength, he touched the lever and pulled it back by the weight of his falling body.

Even before the black cloud swept over him, Tom could hear the jets become silent. He had signaled them. He had stopped the jet boat. They would know, now, how to save him.

CHAPTER 16

"... and you never picked up that static flash again, eh?" mused Strong, looking at Roger. "Well, the only reason I can think of is that someone aboard the _Avenger_ must have discovered what was happening."

"That's the way I figure it, sir," replied Roger.

The Solar Guard captain studied the scanner that was now working in perfect order. "It's a tough break that we couldn't get that fix on c.o.xine's position. I was counting on it. But at least we found Tom.

That's plenty to be thankful for."

"How is he, sir?" asked Roger.

"He'll be all right," replied the Solar Guard captain, his face showing the strain of the past weeks. "We gave him pure oxygen and he came to long enough to tell us what happened aboard the _Avenger_. Get me teleceiver contact with s.p.a.ce Academy as soon as possible. I've got to send a report to Commander Walters."

"Right, sir."

"You've done a good job, Manning. Your work here on the radar bridge did as much toward saving Tom's life as anything."

"Thank you, sir. After what Tom did on the _Avenger_, though, I don't feel like I've done very much. It took real courage to go aboard that s.h.i.+p with c.o.xine."

Strong smiled wearily. "Well, the boy is safe now and we have a good idea what part of the belt c.o.xine is operating in. With a little luck and a thorough fleet patrol, we might be able to get him before he can do any more harm."

Strong went below to the cadet's quarters where Astro was sitting quietly, watching Tom. The cadet was sound asleep. When Strong entered, Astro held a finger to his lips and met the captain at the door.

"How is he?" whispered Strong.

"He's been sleeping since he spoke to you, sir," said Astro. "He's pretty weak, but I don't think there's anything seriously wrong with him. After a good rest, he'll be as good as new."

"Thank the universe for that," breathed Strong. He glanced at the sleeping cadet and then turned back to Astro. "Better take your station.

He'll be all right now. I want to get back to the Academy as soon as I can."

"Yes, sir."

"Attention, Captain Strong," Roger's voice crackled over the intercom loud-speaker. "I've made contact with Commander Walters at s.p.a.ce Academy, sir. He's standing by for your report."

Strong returned to the control deck where he saw the sharp image of the s.p.a.ce Academy commander waiting on the teleceiver screen.

He told the grim-faced senior officer of discovering the static Morse code flashes sent out by Tom from the Avenger and the race to save Tom's life. When he finished, the commander's face seemed to relax.

"When Corbett wakes up, give him my personal congratulations, Steve.

That goes for Astro, Roger, and yourself, as well."

"Thank you, sir," said Strong. "Since c.o.xine seems to be operating exclusively out of the asteroid belt, I think it would be a good idea to concentrate the entire fleet of patrol s.h.i.+ps in that area."

"Good idea! I'll set it up. But get back here as soon as possible, Steve. c.o.xine and that crew on the _Avenger_ aren't sitting still."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"In the last three days we've had reports from seven s.h.i.+ps. Jet liners, pa.s.senger freighters, and supply s.h.i.+ps. All were attacked by the _Avenger_ and stripped of everything those criminals could load on their murderous backs. Blasters, paralo-ray guns, whole and synthetic foodstuffs, clothes, money, jewels, equipment. Everything under the stars that they could use. Any s.h.i.+p that even comes close to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, unless escorted, is a dead s.p.a.ce bird. And if we did provide an escort, we wouldn't have enough s.h.i.+ps left to carry on the search."

Strong listened to the news with rising anger.

"I'll blast back to the Academy as soon as I can, sir," said Strong.

"Fine!" said the commander. "End transmission!"

"End transmission!"

Strong turned off the teleceiver and called Roger onto the radar bridge.

"Have you got a course back to the Academy, Roger?"

"Yes, sir."

"All right, give it to Astro and let's get moving. Every minute wasted now is the difference between a s.h.i.+p looted and the future safety of the s.p.a.ce lanes. I have a feeling that c.o.xine is not just playing for the hauls he makes on those helpless jet liners."

"I don't get you, sir."

"Look at it this way, Roger," replied Strong with a grim smile. "A man smart enough to do what he did while he was confined to a prison asteroid might have bigger ideas now that he's free. Ideas about himself and the whole Solar Alliance!"

During the weeks following, the activity of Bull c.o.xine and his pirate crew justified Captain Strong's fears. Repeatedly, s.h.i.+ps were attacked on the fringe of the asteroid belt and stripped of armor, food supplies, and valuables. With the secret of the light-key, the vaults of the s.h.i.+ps were opened as easily as though there had been no lock at all. The totals had reached staggering amounts and the daring of the _Avenger_ was more p.r.o.nounced, as c.o.xine struck repeatedly, farther and farther away from the protection of the asteroid belt. It seemed as though he were taunting the Solar Guard with his exploits.

All defense measures seemed to be futile. When the s.p.a.ce freighters and jet liners were armed and tried to resist attack, c.o.xine blasted them into helpless s.p.a.ce junk at a frightful cost of life. When the s.h.i.+ps were escorted by powerful rocket cruisers, the pirate refused to attack, but the search squadrons were correspondingly depleted. The combinations of the energy locks were changed every day, but with the adjustable light-key, c.o.xine met every change easily. The entire Solar Alliance was in an uproar, and the citizens of the planets were clamoring for action.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _All Solar Guard defense measures seemed to be futile_]

Finally, the commanding officers of the Solar Guard noticed a change in c.o.xine's operations. Instead of merely attacking s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps and hijacking their cargoes, he now took over the vessel completely, sending the pa.s.sengers and crews drifting helplessly in s.p.a.ce in jet boats.

Three large, fast s.p.a.ce freighters of the same cla.s.s as the _Avenger_ were now in the pirates' hands.

Then, one morning, in his headquarters at s.p.a.ce Academy, Captain Strong received an electrifying report. c.o.xine had attacked a freighter escorted by a Solar Guard rocket scout. Outgunned, the scout had been destroyed, but it had inflicted damage on the _Avenger_. The last report from a dying communications officer on the scout was that the pirate s.h.i.+p was drifting helplessly in s.p.a.ce!

Strong, his face showing hope for the first time in weeks, burned the teleceivers, flas.h.i.+ng orders to the various elements of the search fleet to converge on the disabled _Avenger_.

"Attention! All s.h.i.+ps in quadrants C through M and Q through B-l!

Proceed full thrust to quadrant A-2, section fifty-nine. On approaching target you will signal standard surrender message, and if not obeyed, you will open fire!"

Behind him, the three cadets of the _Polaris_ unit listened to the decisive words of their commander and then let out an earsplitting yell.