"Carey Rockwell - Tom Corbett Space Cadet 03 - On the Trail of the Space Pirates" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rockwell Carey)

"Yes, sir," replied the scarlet-clad enlisted spaceman.
"One thing more," added Strong. "There will be a crew living aboard, so please see that
the galley is stocked with a full supply of both fresh and synthetic foods. That's about all, I
guess."
"Very well, sir," replied the petty officer with a crisp salute. He turned and began bawling
orders to a squad of men behind him and immediately they were swarming over the great
ship like ants.
Fifteen minutes later, a jet cab swerved to a stop in front of the tallest of the Venusport
buildings, the Solar Alliance Chamber. Strong paid the driver, adding a handsome tip, and
flanked by his three cadets strode briskly into the building.
Crossing a high-ceilinged lobby, they entered an express vacuum elevator and five
seconds later stepped out onto the four-hundredth floor. There, Strong slid a panel door to
one side, and, followed by the cadets, stepped inside the office of Mike Hawks, exposition
commissioner and retired senior officer of the Solar Guard.
The office was impressively large and airy, with an outside wall forming a viewport of
clear Titan crystal reaching from floor to vaulted ceiling and affording a magnificent view of
the city of Venusport and, beyond it, the futuristic buildings of the exposition itself. Another
wall, equally as large, was covered by a map of the exposition grounds.
Mike Hawks, a man with steel-gray hair, clear blue eyes, and a ramrod military bearing,
sat behind a massive desk talking to two men. He looked up when Strong and the cadets
walked in and rose quickly with a broad smile to greet them.
"Steve!" he exclaimed, rounding the desk to shake hands with his old friend. "I never
dreamed we'd have you and the Polaris unit at our fair!" He nodded warmly to the cadets
who stood at rigid attention. "At ease, cadets. Glad to have you aboard."
"I was just as surprised to get this assignment, Mike," said Strong, pumping the officer's
hand. Nodding toward the men seated in front of Hawks' desk, he apologized, "Sorry to bust
in on you like this, old man. Didn't know you were busy."
"It's quite all right." The commissioner smiled. "Just handing out a few licenses for the
concessions in the amusement section at the fair. People expect to have a little fun when
they go to a fair, you know. By the stars, they're going to have it so long as I'm
commissioner." He turned to the cadets. "Sit down, boys. You too, Steve. I'll be with you in a
minute." He turned back to his desk and the waiting men.
The cadets, at a nod from Strong, sat down on a leather couch that stretched the length
of one wall and listened while Hawks completed his business with the two men.
"There you are," said Hawks, applying the seal of his office to a slip of paper. "That
gives you the right to operate a concession in the amusement area as long as the fair is
open."
One of the men took the paper and glanced at it quickly.
"Wait a minute, Commissioner. This is over near the edge of the area," he complained.
"We wanted to get in the middle. How do you expect us to make any credits away out there
by ourselves?" The man's tone was surly and disrespectful.
"Sorry, but that's the only location left. In fact," Hawks added acidly, "you're lucky to get
it!"
"Really?" sneered the heavier of the two. "Well, I'm sure going to find out about this!"
Hawks stood up and eyed the two men coldly. "I've been appointed commissioner of
this exposition by the delegates to the Solar Alliance Council. I answer only to the council. If
you have a complaint, then you must present your case before that body." He cleared his
throat and glared at them from behind his desk. "Good day, gentlemen!" he said.
The two men, who until now had been seated facing the desk, got up, and after glaring
at Hawks, turned and walked toward the door. Tom gasped, and grabbing Roger by the