CHAPTER 12
Olympia, the largest colony on Titan, was gripped by a wave of fear. Thebroad streets were empty; the shops and stores were deserted; and thepopulation waited in line at the spaceport, with their most valuablebelongings, for their turn to leave the threatened settlement. Slowlythe satellite of Saturn was dying, and through the methane ammoniaatmosphere, the glittering rings of the mother planet shone down on herdeath struggle.
Tom Corbett and Astro walked through the streets silently, overcome bythe desolation around them. Many parts of the city were completelyabandoned, and the few remaining citizens wore cumbersome oxygen masksas the deadly atmosphere of gas seeped through the force field to reachthe ground surface of the satellite.
As the two cadets continued their dismal tour, they could only find onesmall restaurant open, a self-service food center that required no help.They were the only customers. During the meal they hardly talked, asthey watched the slow procession of people outside, heading for thespaceport.
When the two cadets left the restaurant, a jet car suddenly blasted to astop beside them and a master sergeant, dressed in the scarlet red ofthe enlisted Solar Guard, jumped out to face them.
"All persons are required to wear oxygen masks, Cadets," the sergeantannounced, handing over two masks. "And I would suggest that you leavethis section of the city as quickly as possible. The screens are leakingbadly again. We may have to close off this section too."
Tom and Astro took the masks but did not put them on.
"Thanks, Sergeant," said Tom. "But we'll probably be around here forsome time. We're on special duty with Commander Walters and CaptainStrong."
At the mention of Strong's name, the sergeant started, looked at theboys closely, and then smiled. "Say, aren't you Corbett and Astro?"
"That's right," acknowledged Tom.
"Well, don't you remember me?" asked the sergeant.
Tom looked at him closely and then smiled in sudden recognition."Morgan! Phil Morgan!" he cried.
"Of course," chimed in Astro.
"Sure," said the sergeant. "We went through our first test together atthe Academy and I washed out."
"And you became an enlisted man!" exclaimed Tom. "Man, you're a realspace buster!"
"I figured if I couldn't get into space one way, I'd do it another,"said Morgan proudly. "A lot of times I wished I was still a cadet withyou, but now I don't think I'd change it for anything in the world."
"I can believe that," said Tom, smiling. "And a master sergeant at that!McKenny told us once it took a man nearly fifteen years to get toprating. It must really be a labor of love for you to have made it thisquickly." He stuck out his hand. "Congratulations, Morgan."
They shook hands. "Well, I've got to get rolling," said Morgan. "I surehope you fellows find out what's cooking here. I've got a lot of friendshere and they stand to lose everything they own if Titan is abandoned."
"With Captain Strong on the job, you can bet we'll find out thetrouble," declared Astro.
Morgan smiled. "See you around," he said, and jumped back into the jetcar. A second later it was roaring down the street to the western partof the city.
"Boy, sure makes you feel good to know that a guy loves space so muchthat he would fight his way to the top of the enlisted guard as Morgandid!" said Tom.
Suddenly Astro jerked Tom by the sleeve and pulled him back into therestaurant to crouch behind the door.
"Hey, what's the matter with you?" growled Tom.
"Sh-h-h!" hissed Astro and pointed across the street. "Look!"
Tom poked his head around the corner of the doorway and quickly jerkedit back again. Quent Miles was hurrying down the street.
"Wonder what he's doing around here?" whispered Astro, watching theblack-clad spaceman pass directly opposite them and continue down thestreet, seemingly unaware that he was being watched.
"He must be heading for the evacuated section," said Tom.
"How do you figure that?" asked Astro, as they peered cautiously aroundthe edge of the doorway.
"He's wearing his oxygen mask."
"Come on!" said Astro. "Let's find out what that heel is up to."
Hugging the buildings, the two cadets walked down the street, followingMiles. There was a puzzled frown on Astro's face as he stared at thespaceman, a hundred feet away. "I swear, Tom," he complained, "I'm aboutto bust a rocket. Every time I see that guy, I think I know him, butwhen I try to pin it down, it slips away from me."
"Watch it!" cried Tom. "He's stopping."
The boys ducked behind a deserted jet car as Quent Miles suddenly spunaround to stare suspiciously back down the street.
"I don't know if he saw us or not," whispered Tom.
"With that oxygen mask," replied the big cadet, "maybe he can't see verywell."
"He's going on," replied Tom. "Come on. We've got to find out what he'sup to. He wouldn't be concerned about someone following him if heweren't trying to hide something."
They slipped around the jet car and stepped back on the sidewalk. Aheadof them, Quent Miles was walking quickly, reading all the street signs.Suddenly he turned down a side street, and the two cadets raced afterhim.
They were in the outskirts of the city now. Great areas were coveredwith rolling grass fields where the citizens of Titan spent theirleisure hours playing ball and picnicking, and it was easy for thecadets to follow the black-suited spaceman. They had to put on theiroxygen masks as the deadly fumes of the methane ammonia atmosphere beganto swirl around them. They were near the outer limits of the atmospherescreen's effectiveness.
"I think he's going into that building up ahead, Astro," said Tom, hisvoice distorted to a low metallic hiss by the miniature amplifier in theface of the mask.
Astro nodded and they ducked into a gully as Quent Miles turned onceagain and glanced down the street.
"Wonder what's in that building?" mused Tom.
"One way to find out," said Astro. "Come on. He's moving again."
The gas began to thicken now, and the two cadets found it difficult tosee more than a few feet ahead as they moved cautiously through theswirling death around them. After what seemed like an hour, but wasactually hardly more than a few minutes, they found the building Mileshad entered.
"I'd give two weeks' leave for a ray gun now," said Tom.
"Want me to try the door?" asked Astro.
"Go ahead. We can't learn anything standing out here."
Astro put his hand on the circular latch and twisted it slowly. The doorslid back on rollers, exposing a dark interior. The two boys slippedinside.
"Better close the door, Astro," said Tom. "The ammonia doesn't seem tobe so thick in here."
Astro twisted the latch on the inner side and the heavy door rolled backinto place. They turned slowly and saw a room that was dark except for asingle light gleaming weakly through the haze of the gas. When theireyes became adjusted to the semidarkness, they moved, searching foranother door in the huge room.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" asked Astro.
"I can't be positive," said Tom. "The stuff outside was too thick--" Hestopped, touched Astro on the arm, and pointed to his left. There wasthe sound of a door sliding back and light filtered into the murky room.Quent Miles stood framed in the doorway, the unmistakable outline of aparalo-ray gun in his right hand.
"Drop to the floor," hissed Tom.
The two cadets dropped lightly to the floor and lay face down, whileQuent Miles walked toward them fanning the gun around menacingly. Then,as he was about to step on Astro's hand, he turned and walked quicklyback to the door. "You must be nuts, Charley," the two cadets heard himsay. "There's nobody here."
The door rolled closed and the light was cut off. Tom and Astro rose andquietly made their way toward the door. They stopped, leaned against thedoor, and tried to hear what was going on inside, but were unable todistinguish more than a vague mumble of voices, because of their masksand the thickness of the door. Suddenly, however, they were conscious off
ootsteps approaching from the other side.
There was no time to hide. Each boy flattened himself against the wallon opposite sides of the door and held his breath as the door openedslowly.
* * * * *
"There can be no doubt about it, Steve," said Commander Walters to theyoung captain. "What we need are more powerful pumping stations foroxygen _and_ additional generators for supplying power to the forcefield."
"How do you figure that, sir?" asked Strong.
"It's simply this," replied Walters. "The population here has nearlytripled in the past two years. The force-field screens were set uporiginally to accommodate only a minimum number of miners and theirfamilies. With the heavy demand for crystal, and therefore, morecivilians to dig it out, the force field has been overloaded."
"But I still don't see how, sir," Strong protested.
"The more people, the more oxygen needed to keep them alive, right?"
Strong nodded.
"The force screens hold back the methane ammonia gas and create a vacuuminto which we pump oxygen, right?"
Again Strong nodded.
"Now we have a demand for more and more oxygen, and we pump it into thevacuum, but eventually we arrive at the point where the pressure of theoxygen inside is greater than the pressure outside. Therefore, thescreening force field is broken in its weaker points and the oxygenescapes. When the balance is restored, the rupture isn't sealed and gasseeps in."
Strong glanced questioningly at Captain Howard and at Kit Barnard, whohad been asked to remain on Titan and lend his assistance to the problemof the screens.
"Well, gentlemen?" asked Walters, noticing Strong's glance. "That is mytheory. Do any of you have a better one? Or a more reasonableexplanation?"
Strong, Barnard, and Howard shook their heads. A complete check of everypossible source of trouble had been made by the four men and they hadfound nothing.
"We still have to wait for a report from the electronics sections, sir,"said Howard, rubbing his eyes. He started to get up and then suddenlyslumped to the floor.
"By the craters of Luna!" cried Walters, jumping to the young officer'sside. Howard was picked up and placed on a nearby couch. While Strongand Kit loosened his clothing, Walters grabbed the nearest oxygen maskand slipped it over the spaceman's face.
"Funny that he should pass out like that," commented Strong, sniffingthe air. "I _still_ don't smell anything."
Kit looked up at Strong and grinned. "He's not gassed. He's asleep."
"Asleep!" exclaimed Walters.
The enlisted spaceman standing on guard at the door stepped forward andsaluted smartly. "Captain Howard hasn't slept for the last five days,"he said. "He's been working night and day."
Walters smiled. "All right, Sergeant, take him to his quarters." Then heheld up his hand. "No, let him stay where he is." He turned to Steve."Come on, Steve. You too, Kit. Let's see if we can't get a report fromthe electronics section before we speculate any further."
The three men left the control-tower office under the watchful eyes of asquad of Space Marines. Trouble had already started at the spaceportwhen a crowd of excited miners had charged a detachment of enlisted menguarding Solar Guard cruisers. The crowds were growing panicky as thedeadly gas filled the city, unchecked.
Strong, Walters, and Kit Barnard climbed into a waiting jet car, amidthe hoots and catcalls from the waiting miners, and hurtled away to thegiant building housing the electronic "brain" that controlled theforce-field screens.
Walters' face was grim. Beside him, Strong and Kit were silent as theyraced through the empty streets. If there was no positive discovery bythe electronics section of the huge screening operations, then it wouldhave to be assumed that Commander Walters was right in his theory ofoverpopulation. To remedy that situation would require completereconstruction of the satellite settlement and temporary abandonment ofTitan. Millions of dollars would be lost and thousands of people thrownout of work. It would be a severe blow to the Solar Alliance.
The jet car slowed to a stop. They were in front of the electronicsbuilding and the three men climbed out wearily. They would know in a fewminutes now.