"Carey Rockwell - Tom Corbett Space Cadet 05 - The Revolt on Venus" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rockwell Carey)

"Come on, Tom!" said the biggest of the five boys, his voice a low, powerful rumble as
he rooted for his unit mate.
"If Tom makes this one," crowed the cadet next to him, a slender boy with a thick shock
of close-cropped blond hair, "the Polaris unit is home free!"
"This is the last test, Manning," replied one of the remaining three cadets, the insignia of
the Arcturus unit on the sleeve of his uniform. "If Corbett makes this one, you fellows
deserve to win."
Aboard the rocket cruiser Polaris, blasting through the black void of space two hundred
miles above Earth, six Space Cadets and a Solar Guard officer were conducting the final
test for unit honors for the term. All other Academy units had been eliminated in open
competition. Now, the results of the individual space orientation test would decide whether
the three cadets of the Arcturus unit or the three cadets of the Polaris unit would win final top
unit honors.
Roger Manning and Astro kept their eyes glued to the telescanner screen, watching
their unit mate, Tom Corbett, drift slowly through space toward his starting position. The
young cadet's task was basically simple; with his space helmet blacked out so that he could
not see in any direction, he was to make his way back to the ship from a point a mile away,
guided only by the audio orders from the examining officer aboard the ship. His score was
measured by the time elapsed, and the amount of corrections and orders given by the
examining officer. It was an exercise designed to test a cadet's steadiness under
emergency conditions of space.
The three members of the Arcturus unit had completed their runs and had returned to
the ship in excellent time. Roger and Astro had also taken their tests and now it depended
on Tom. If he could return to the Polaris in less than ten minutes, with no more than three
corrections, the Polaris unit would be victorious.
Seated directly in front of the scanner, Captain Steve Strong, the examining officer,
watched the space-suited figure dwindle to a mere speck on the screen. As the regular
skipper of the Polaris crew, he could not help secretly rooting for Tom, but he was
determined to be fair, even to the extent of declaring the Arcturus unit the winner, should the
decision be very close. He leaned forward to adjust the focus on the scanner, bringing the
drifting figure into a close-up view, and then lifted the microphone to his lips.
"Stand by, Corbett!" he called. "You're getting close to range."
"Very well, sir," replied Tom. "Standing by."
Behind Strong, Roger and Astro looked at each other and turned back to the screen. As
one, they crossed the fingers of both hands.
"Ready, Corbett!" called Strong. "You'll be clocked from the second you're on range.
One hundred feet- seventy-five-fifty-twenty-five-ten- time!"
As the signal echoed in his blacked-out space helmet, Tom jerked his body around in a
sudden violent move, and grasping the valve of the jet unit on his back, he opened it halfway.
He waited, holding his breath, expecting to hear Captain Strong correct his course. He
counted to ten slowly, and when no correction came over the headphones, he opened the
valve wide and blindly shot through space.
Aboard the Polaris, Astro and Roger shouted with joy and Strong could not repress a
grin. The tiny figure on the scanner was hurtling straight for the side of the Polaris!
As the image grew larger and larger, anxious eyes swiveled back and forth from the
scanner screen to the steady sweeping hand of the chronometer. Roger bit his lip nervously,
and Astro's hands trembled.
When Tom reached a point five hundred feet away from the ship, Strong flipped open
the audio circuit and issued his first order.
"Range five hundred feet," he called. "Cut jets!"