Deadly Mission (3 page)

“All systems zip-zapped and moon-shaped.” Peri grinned as the hood on his jacket retracted. The air was breathable again. “One pest-free Cos-Moat ready to cross.”

Otto staggered to his feet. He looked a little battered but was still breathing. He pointed a shaky finger over Peri's shoulder.

Peri turned and instantly wished that the
360-monitor wasn't crystal clear again. He would rather not have seen what he was seeing: enormous tentacles swishing back and forth; a gigantic mouth with teeth the size of the smugglers' ship.

Diesel rubbed his eyes as if that could make it go away. “Is that … ?”

The enormous mother of all space-sharks was heading right for them.

“That thing could eat the
Phoenix
whole!” Diesel cried, as he fired all the pulsar-cannons into the space-shark's open mouth. The creature swallowed the shells like Martian mints. “
Klûu'aah
,” Diesel gasped in disbelief as the shark's sides bulged when the shells exploded inside it.

Phuuurrrp!
A cloud of smoke appeared behind the shark.

“This space-shark farts our best weapon,” Diesel muttered. “How do we kill this thing?”

“Blast it again!” Otto wailed, beating his chair.

The shark whipped its tentacles, driving it onto the
Phoenix
; then it swam away, revving up for another attack. Peri knew shooting it wouldn't help. They had to outsmart it.

“I've got a better idea.” Peri gripped the Nav-wheel and fired all thrusters. The
Phoenix
roared forward on a collision course with the shark.

“Are you crazy?!” Otto shouted, trying to wrestle Peri from the captain's chair. “This isn't a suicide mission.”

“Back off, dumboid,” Diesel said, pulling Otto off Peri. “Peri may be crazy, but he's not stupid.”

Peri held the ship steady. They whipped past the shark's open mouth and collided with its tentacles. It was perfect timing. The impact catapulted the
Phoenix
at the Cos-Moat. Peri flicked on the shields as the ship smacked into the dark-blue sludge. The thrusters died in seconds, but it didn't matter. The force of the shark's tentacles propelled the
Phoenix
out through the other side fast enough to avoid any damage from the acidic ooze.

Peri punched the air.

Diesel grinned at Otto. “See? Crazy and brilliant.”

A sudden burst of bright light blinded Peri. “What the … ?” he said as he shielded his eyes. Peri tried squinting at the source of the light, but only when the
Phoenix
tinted the 360-monitor could he see outside. Two Xion fighter jets had shooting-star-sized searchlights trained on the bridge of their spaceship.

“Attention. Receiving message from alien ships,” stated the calm voice of the
Phoenix
.

“
Zark, Sakar, Zarak
,” came over the com-unit. The alien spoke in a short, clipped language with a strange nasal growl, as if it had a cold.

Peri pressed the bulge under his chin to adjust his SpeakEasy computer chip. All cadets and Star Fighters had the device implanted so they could understand any alien they encountered. His skull crackled with static until he found the right wavelength.

“Diesel, set your language controls to frequency 08.12.77.”

Diesel nodded and they glanced at each other as they heard the message in English for the first time. “Entering Xion space without permission is an act of war. This is your only warning. Follow us to the tollbooth or be vaporized.”

“Any idea how we deal with the toll takers?” Peri asked as he followed the Xion fighter jets.

Otto licked the sweat from his neck with
his long tongue. “It doesn't matter! When they find me on board, we'll be obliterated before you can say, ‘Death to Xion!'”

Peri frowned. He wondered why the Xions and Meigwors hated each other so much. “Otto, you'd better hide.”

“Cowards hide!” Otto snapped. “Warriors lie in wait!”

“Well, go
lie in wait
, then,” Peri said.

Otto skulked off the bridge.

“What a lamizoid!” Diesel said as he sat down next to Peri. Almost instantly, he sprang out of the chair again. “Yuck! Meigwor sweat!” He wiped his hand against his pants. “The sooner we get him off our ship the better. Look,” he said, twisting around to show Peri the smoking holes in his Expedition Wear pants.

“Get your pants out of my face,” Peri said. “I need to concentrate.”

The Xion fighter jets guided them to the space highway's only ramp. A new message flashed on the monitor. “Get in line, or be disintegrated.”

Its bluntness made Peri realize how unfriendly the Xions were, but he already knew that. They hadn't given the IF Space Station a warning before they blew it to smithereens! His hands gripped the Nav-wheel tighter. He was going to stop these bullies if it was the last thing he ever did.

But, for now, he had a mission to complete.

Peri parked the
Phoenix
behind a ship surrounded by huge translucent sheets of solar-cloth. It looked like a floating angel.

“It's beautiful,” whispered Peri.

Suddenly, the angel's wings unfurled like old-fashioned sails. The ship slid gracefully
forward. A thick purple beam of light blazed from the toll taker as it scanned every micro-particle of the craft.

An electric jolt of fear passed through Peri. “Diesel, what do we do if the scan detects Otto?”

“I guess we could say he's a stowaway and hand him over,” Diesel replied. “Only a cosmic wastoid couldn't notice something that big, ugly, hot, and sweaty.”

“That's it!” Peri exclaimed, his mind tingling with excitement. “He's hot and sweaty. They're scanning for heat signatures. If the
Phoenix
is cold enough, it'll hide Otto's body heat.”

“Oh, sure, freeze us to death to save our Meigwor tour guide,” Diesel scoffed.

Peri spun the thermo-dial to cool the ship, and an icy blast of air surrounded them. But their teeth barely had time to
chatter before their Expedition Wear turned red and started to warm them up.

“You see, not a problem,” Peri stated. “I love this ship.”

The vessel ahead of them entered the space-highway ramp, and the
Phoenix
glided to a stop behind a barricade of pulsing red light. An announcement from the toll taker interrupted him: “Prepare to be inspected. Approach slowly.”

The Nav-wheel was slippery with ice, but
Peri guided the
Phoenix
toward the striped guard pod with expert skill.

Durrr-ing!
The com-screen rose from the console and flashed into life. A Xion appeared. He wore a bright-blue uniform, braided with pink, and a scarlet cap.

“This is Toll Taker Xerallon.” A beam of purple light pulsed through the bridge. “The following fines have been added to your toll: crossing the Cos-Moat without permission, not using proper drawbridge protocol, and endangering local wildlife. State your name and your reasons for visiting Xion.”

Peri gulped. He could have kicked himself. He should have thought of a cover story. “I … I …,” he spluttered.

“Peace in Space, Toll Taker Xerallon,” Diesel said. “We apologize for our rude behavior. We're astro-nomads. We need extra fuel as well as repairs to our
Nav-system. My pilot is quite useless without a navigation computer telling him where to go. Last week, he almost flew us into a moon. We were lucky to crash into your lovely Cos-Moat.”

The screen was icing up, but Peri could see the toll taker nod. “Your ship's certainly a relic from a technology-stunted solar system. I'm surprised that junk can fly.”

Peri wanted to glare at the toll taker. His ship wasn't junk. His parents had helped make the
Phoenix
better than anything in the universe. But arguing would only endanger the mission, so he kept quiet.

“Yes, you're right, of course,” Diesel told the guard. “It's almost embarrassing to fly—practically useless.”

Peri was impressed. Diesel was cool under pressure. It must have been his
upbringing as the emperor's son—he knew exactly how to deal with the toll taker.

“Access granted,” said the toll taker. “Please beam over payment.”

“Payment?” Peri whispered to Diesel. “What are we … ?”

“Certainly, officer,” said Diesel, cutting Peri off. “How would you like your payment?”

“Our scanners have already picked items of value.”

Peri held his breath, worried about what the Xions wanted to take. White ice crystals had formed over the screen. When he scraped them away and saw the InfoBox, he almost laughed.

“Peri,” Diesel whispered. “What's ‘rich organic fertilizer'?”

“Umm …” Peri paused. “I think they want plastic recycling bins and the contents of our space-toilets.”

Diesel's band of hair went limp and turned green. He cupped a hand over his mouth. “You mean … they want our … ? Yuck!”

“Thank you, officer,” Peri told the toll taker. “Beam away.”

A light flashed to confirm the toll had been taken, and the barrier blocking the ramp onto the space highway vanished. On the com-screen Peri noticed another uniformed toll taker rush into the booth. The official whispered something into the other toll taker's ear. Both glared at the
Phoenix
.

This can't be good
, thought Peri. He
activated the main engines. “Let's get out of here,” Peri shouted to Diesel as he roared the
Phoenix
down the nearest lane of the space highway.

The silver-and-purple astrophalt shimmered as the space highway twisted and stretched around the orange-and-blue planet below. If it weren't for their mission to rescue the kidnapped prince, Peri could have raced along the shifting astrophalt all day. It was just like playing a 3-D game, except that the web of ice crystals over the 360-monitor made it harder to see where he was going. The lane ahead looked clear, so Peri pulled the throttle to maximum.