"Joseph Green - Forgotten Star" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Joseph)

"Right," Ken replied.
"From now on," the sergeant said sternly, "you will use spacemen's language. The
proper reply to my orders is 'Aye, aye, sir!' Is that clear?"
"Aye, aye, sir!" the boys replied.
Once the air was pumped out of the lock, the spacesuits lost their feeling of clumsiness.
The material was soft and flexible, and the boys found they could move about easily.
They struck out across the rocky floor of the crater in single file behind Woody. The
Guardsman walked last, keeping a close watch on Jim and Ken. It was the first time the
boys had ventured out in a spacesuit and the sergeant studied their movements carefully.
The Space Guard Ship Galahad was a squat rocket-shaped machine, a good deal
smaller than the passenger ships. She had a blunt nose and short, wide tail fins.
A wire ladder was hanging down from the open airlock hatch. Following Woody, Jim
and Ken climbed up the ladder and into the airlock.
When they were all inside, Sergeant Brool closed the outer hatch and started the air
pumps. A minute later the air pressure registered normal on the spacehelmet gauge.
The Guardsman took off his helmet and opened the inner hatch to the corridor.
"Stow your gear in the locker," he ordered. "I'll be up on the control deck."
He climbed the wall cleats quickly and disappeared through the hatch into the
compartment above.
"Funny how we have to climb up and down when the ship is on land," Ken remarked as
he put away his spacesuit. "Once in space, we walk along the walls and find it natural."
By the time the boys joined the Guardsman in the control cabin, the reactors were
already humming with power.
"A spaceship is like a robot," the Guardsman told the boys. "You have to learn how to
give it orders. Then the ship takes care of everything by itself."
The boys stared at the bewildering array of instruments on the pilot's control panel.
Gauges, pressure dials and rows of meters ranged the half-circle panel in front of the pilot's
seat. Knobs and switches were everywhere. Several banks of telescreens and
oscilloscopes flanked the instrument panel.
Jim and Ken stared helplessly at the mass of instruments. Behind them, Woody
watched-a big grin on his face.
"Standard operations are all recorded on tapes, and these buttons," the Guardsman
pointed, "tell you what they are."
He pressed one of the buttons.
"I've just fed the tape for blast-off into the robot gyroscope," he said. "When I release the
power lever, the Galahad will blast off automatically."
"It ... it's simple, sir," Jim said. "That is, if there's nothing more to it."
"There's a great deal more, Jim, but only if the ship doesn't operate smoothly. If
everything is working fine, then that is all there is to it."
"And if there's trouble?" Ken asked.
"You cross your fingers and call for the Space Guard," Woody broke in.
"That's about it until you learn to repair and handle the ship manually," the Guardsman
said. "That will take a long time and a lot of study on your part."
"We'll do it, sir!" Ken said.
"I know you will," the sergeant replied. Then turning to Woody, he ordered, "Stand by the
radar scanner."
"Aye, aye, sir!"
"Check clearance!"
"Blast-off vector all clear, sir. Up and away!"
"Blast-off five seconds! Four ... three ... two ... one ... zero!"