Camp Alien

Text copyright © 2009 by Pamela F. Service

Illustrations copyright © 2009 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Service, Pamela F.

Camp alien / by Pamela F. Service ; illustrated by Mike Gorman.

p. cm. — (Alien agent)

Summary: Young alien agent Zack, surly Galactic Patrol Cadet Vraj, and shy human camper Opal team up to find some Duthwi eggs before they hatch and cause a planetwide disaster, while the Gnairt who were smuggling the eggs try to retrieve them.

ISBN 978–0–8225–8656–2 (trade hard cover : alk. paper)

[1. Extraterrestrial beings—Fiction. 2. Camps—Fiction. 3. Smuggling—Fiction. 4. Science fiction. 5. Humorous stories.] I. Gorman, Mike, ill. II. Title.

PZ7.S4885Cam  2009

[Fic]—dc22

2008020555

Manufactured in the United States of America

3 – B P – 7 / 1 / 1 0

eISBN: 978-0-7613-5032-3 (pdf)
eISBN: 978-1-4677-6660-9 (ePub)
eISBN: 978-1-4677-5119-3 (mobi)

For all my White Meadows camp counselors— though you never had campers like these.

—P.S.

To Mom and Dad, who paid for my education and allowed me to pursue a career that really didn't make much sense on paper. Thank you!

—M.G.

Agent Sorn walked to a table in the Galactic Union headquarters cafeteria and plunked down her plate.
The cafeteria's gurlg worms were never as crispy as her brood mother used to make them, but they would do. She'd just picked up an eating prong when she felt a buzzing vibration on her wrist that signaled an incoming call on her communicator band. She flipped up the two-way video screen and Chief Agent Zythis's face appeared in a fine haze of static. Even with the bad
reception she could see he wasn't happy. All of his many eyes were frowning at several reports being held by different tentacles. She could see an info cube in yet another tentacle. This couldn't be good.

“Agent Sorn responding, sir,” she spoke into the tiny communicator speaker.

As he looked up from the report, Chief Agent Zythis's multiple eyes zeroed in on her. “Agent Sorn,” he said gravely. “You have a urgent new assignment.”

Still tired from her recent assignment in Kwithtuth IV, she tried not to sigh. “Where to this time, sir?”

“A brief trip back to planet Earth. A crisis has arisen that our planted agent there needs to deal with.”

“But, the boy's not ready yet!” she protested. “He only just learned of his alien origins—far earlier than we'd planned—and already he was nearly killed by Gnairt assassins.”

Zythis sighed through his several mouths. “I know, but until the Galactic
Union invites Earth to join, he's the only near-native agent we have there, and you are his contact.”

The tentacle holding the info cube came into focus. “I've already made you an appointment in the Physical Alteration Lab. I know you hate to change your lovely purple skin for the boring shades that Earth humans seem to go in for, but at least you can keep your white hair. This info cube will be waiting for you when you get there—it will tell you everything you need to know. Don't worry. It's a simple assignment. He'll be in no danger. We're counting on you, Sorn, don't let us down. Over and out.”

His image faded from the screen, and Sorn angrily snapped the communicator band shut and started to prong some more gurlg worms. But she had lost her appetite. “A simple assignment,” she muttered. “Ha! So far nothing about planet Earth has been simple.”