"That'll have to wait until the Solar Guard is finished with him. Come on!" Tom started toward the door.
"Where are we going?" asked Hill.
"To the Polaris! I've got to warn the Solar Guard of their plans. They're going to attack the Venusport garrison and take over Venus!"
"By the stars!" gasped Mrs. Hill. "Here I've been feeding that man all these years and didn't know I was contributing to a revolution!"
Tom was out of the door and running toward the Polaris before she had finished talking. George followed right behind him.
As the cadet raced across the dark clearing one hope filled his mind—that the Polaris would be in the same condition in which they had left it.
The port was still open where Sinclair had caught him and he climbed inside the giant ship quickly. As soon as he entered, he snapped on the emergency lights and searched the ship carefully. After examining every compartment, and satisfied that there was no one aboard, he made his way back to the radar bridge. There, he saw immediately why Sinclair had felt free to leave the ship. All radar and communications equipment had been completely smashed.
The young cadet returned to the control deck and called down to George Hill, waiting in the air lock. "George! Get Mrs. Hill aboard quickly. We're blasting off!"
"Blasting off?" the foreman called back. "But I thought you were going to contact Venusport!"