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  But no one’s on board, he realized. Otto and Diesel couldn’t have made it back that quickly.

  Peri’s stomach twisted like a hatching space-eel. “Someone’s stealing my ship!”

  More blaster rounds exploded against the bench, showering Peri with splinters of orange marble, forcing him to duck. He couldn’t believe it. Everything was lost. The prince was about to be recaptured, and he was about to face his final fight. It wasn’t fair.

  Then the guards stopped firing and Peri peered over the bench. He saw the guards getting off their cruisers and walking toward him with laser blasters held ready.

  Something roared overhead. Peri expected to see another Xion ship. But it was the Phoenix! It had come to save him!

  The Phoenix fired at the palace guards, forcing them to retreat. As the Xions ran for cover, an electro-laser net whipped down from the ship. It caught Peri and lifted him up. Diesel, Otto, and the foil-wrapped prince were already hanging there.

  “We need to get inside the ship, Diesel!” Peri shouted as the Xion guards opened fire again from the courtyard below. “We’re sitting ducks in this net!”

  “Great plan,” Diesel called back. “Why didn’t I think of that? Oh, yes—because there’s no way in!”

  If the ship had listened to Peri’s commands once, it could do it again! “Evasive maneuvers,” he shouted, hoping the Phoenix would understand.

  “You’ve finally gone cos-mad, Peri,” muttered Diesel. “I told you, we can’t get back inside the—”

  But before Diesel could say another word, the Phoenix shot off. Peri was thrown against his gunner as the net skimmed the rooftops. The ship stayed low over the city to stop the cruisers attacking from below and prevent the heavier gunships from firing down on them. The net swung from side to side, narrowly missing jagged turrets and smoking chimneys.

  The Phoenix burst out of the city—heading straight for a floating minefield. Peri had never felt so terrified as the spaceship turned and twisted, dodging the huge spiked mines hovering like birds of prey. Deep down he knew he had to trust the ship. As soon as it cleared the minefield, it slowed down. Diesel pushed Peri away.

  “I wasn’t scared, you know,” Diesel said.

  Peri sighed, but it was good to have things back to normal. Above him, a hatch opened and the electro-laser net started retracting back into the ship.

  Maybe they were going to make it after all.

  Chapter 9

  The electro-laser net dropped them onto the bridge and vanished. The 360-monitor pulsed into life, showing the desert wastelands they were flying over. There was not a Xion vessel in sight.

  The ship’s robotic voice sounded through the speakers: “Autopilot disengaged. Cloaking device activated.”

  Every muscle in Peri’s body felt sore. Every wire and circuit felt burned out. A low hum pulsed in his head, accompanied by a short beep to warn him to recharge. It would have to wait. Diesel helped him to the captain’s chair, then positioned himself at the gunner’s station and began reviewing their weapons status.

  There was a shruupt behind him. Peri glanced around to see Otto vanish through the door with the prince. “Oh, great. Just when we need him, he disappears. How are we supposed to know how to get off this planet?”

  Diesel coughed. “Leave the plan to me. I can get us back into space.”

  Diesel pulled up a 3-D map of the space highway.

  “We can’t go back by the toll takers. I don’t think we can fool them twice. And even if we could, the Xion guards have probably issued a big wanted poster with our pictures on it.”

  “Why would we need to go back through the toll takers?” Diesel asked.

  “I don’t suppose you remember the Cos-Moat and the space-sharks?”

  “That was coming in!” said Diesel smugly. “If we use superluminal speed, we could just burst straight through the Cos-Moat. There’s no risk of crashing into a planet on the other side.”

  “I’ll check the energy gauges.” Peri’s hand darted over the control panel. The Phoenix had just enough power to activate superluminal speed, but not enough for them to navigate it accurately. “If we survive, we could end up anywhere.”

  “Do you have a better idea?” Diesel asked.

  Peri looked at the damage reports. The ship was in bad shape after its tangle with the palace guards. “No, I don’t,” he said. “Let’s go for it—superluminal, right through the Cos-Moat.”

  The astro-harness strapped him in. Something warm tingled up his back. It wasn’t frightening, but refreshing. A trickle of power was flowing from the chair into his body, giving him the extra energy he needed.

  A small monitor appeared from the chair’s armrest and flashed into life.

  “Looks like we’ve got trouble, Diesel,” Peri said. “The Phoenix has detected Xion ships heading our way.”

  Peri powered up the Phoenix and set a course for the space highway. The ship shook as it tore through the atmosphere into space.

  Peri dodged around yet another minefield of micro-clusters before ducking between the vast, shifting tangle of astrophalt. They swooped across a dozen-lane mega highway and swung down toward a vortex slipway, narrowly avoiding being sucked back down to the planet. They burst free of the space highway and hurtled toward the Cos-Moat.

  “Prepare for superluminal speed!” Peri shouted into the com-unit. They had to engage the engines before hitting the corrosive goop.

  With a touch of his hand, the smooth red superluminal speed panel slid open to reveal two switches. He flicked them and braced himself, but nothing happened.

  The display flashed up: More Power Needed.

  “Diesel, cut power to everything!”

  Peri and Diesel shut down everything except the superluminal engines and the shields. The 360-monitor and the bridge lights flickered out. The display flashed green. The superluminal engines were a go!

  The ship rumbled as though there was a spacequake. The Phoenix shot forward, then slowed as it hit the gooey Cos-Moat.

  “Come on!” urged Peri. “You can do it!”

  Like an elastic band snapping, the Phoenix pinged free and was catapulted across the galaxy at a speed faster than light. In complete darkness, Peri listened to the engines as their high-pitched whine trembled through the ship. It began to drop down, lower and lower, until the sound of the engine vanished.

  Peri blinked as the bridge lights came back on and the 360-monitor flashed to life. He activated the deep-space scanners for hostiles and dangers, but even the Space Spotter’s Guide found nothing to report. They were in the middle of nowhere, just floating in empty space.

  Solar-tastic, thought Peri, a bit of peace in space for us!

  His back tingled as the chair started boosting his energy levels again. As Peri stood up, he noticed a flashing light on the message panel.

  “Diesel, we’ve got a message. It’s using IF code-encryptions.”

  “Do you think it’s from Earth?”

  “We’d better find out before Otto returns.”

  Peri pressed the button to play the message. A com-screen rose from the control panel and the message began to play. It was Selene! Her eyes were wide with panic. Her voice was barely above a whisper. She was obviously scared of something.

  “Peri, Diesel, I—crrrk, crrrk—listen—crrrk … be careful—crrrk—the Meigwors are not what they seem. They were lying about …” A blaster appeared in the screen and was pressed against Selene’s temple. The image on screen faded to white noise. The transmission was cut.

  “Selene!” exclaimed Peri.

  As the screen retracted into the console, Peri felt something sink inside of him. All the nagging doubts he had about Otto and the Meigwors could no longer be ignored.

  “Diesel, we need to talk,” said Peri. Shruupt. The doors to the bridge opened as he was speaking, and Otto strolled in. Peri closed his mouth. The lumps on Otto’s neck were throbbing in time with the strange whistling noise from the back of his throat.

  �
��Talk about what?!” asked Otto. “Talk about our successful mission? When we return to my planet, I will be honored with a special parade and endless riches.”

  Peri stared at the message console. Someone had been threatening Selene. He needed time to think.

  “That’s what we need to talk about,” replied Peri. “We can’t return to Meigwor right away.”

  The black patches around Otto’s eyes darkened and spread across his crimson face. The lumps protruding from his neck twitched. “What?!”

  “We don’t know where we are. The ship’s sustained great damage. It needs repairing. Most of all …I’m exhausted. The ship doesn’t fly without me as pilot.”

  “I suppose we have no choice!” Otto said slowly. “It’s a shame! Your companion, Selene, must be missing you terribly!”

  Peri turned to the Phoenix’s controls to hide his anger. How could Otto lie to his face?

  But what were the Meigwors lying about? Whatever it was, Selene was in real danger.

  Don’t worry, Selene, he thought. We’re coming for you!

  Chapter 10

  Otto stomped toward the controls. His tongue flicked out and narrowly missed Peri’s nose. “Show me these damage reports!” he said.

  “Sure,” Peri said, changing the display on the 360-monitor.

  As Otto studied the reports, Diesel spoke. “Can I meet your prince? I’m sure he’d want to thank me. I did rescue him, after all.”

  Otto spun around and glared at the gunner. “Not on your life, half-Earthling!” he snapped. “I must send a message to my general and tell him about your incompetence!”

  “Our incompetence?” shouted Diesel. “I think you’ll find we’re the ones who saved your stupid long neck.”

  Otto flicked his black tongue across his lipless mouth like a lizard.

  “Come on, Diesel,” Peri said, “help me to the Med Center.” The last thing he needed was another fight breaking out between Otto and Diesel. He needed time to think and talk to his gunner without the Meigwor around. “Give Otto the bridge so he can send his message.”

  Diesel nodded, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Otto. “Don’t make yourself too comfortable.”

  Peri let Diesel support him to the nearest portal. All he had to do was think of the Med Center, and when the portal hissed open, there it was. In the center of the room, a medical table lay waiting. Around it the latest medical technology clicked and whirled.

  As the portal closed, Diesel coughed nervously and Peri glanced at him.

  “There’s something I need to tell you, Diesel,” Peri said.

  “You’re not human, are you?” Diesel said bluntly. “After what happened on Xion, you can’t deny it. You have superstrength. You can send out a pulse that stops laser fire—I checked the inventory; we don’t have a gadget that does that. So what are you?”

  Peri stared at his gunner, trying to decide whether he could trust him with the truth. Diesel was not fully human, either. He was half-Martian, and the son of an emperor. In a way, he was as different as Peri.

  Peri glanced at the portal. Otto wouldn’t be able to hear them here. “My full name is Experiment. I’m part bionic. I was modified by my parents to operate the Phoenix. I think being on the ship flipped some sort of bionic switch inside me.”

  Diesel’s eyes opened wide. “No kidding? You’re part of the ship! I always thought there was something weird about you.”

  “But you can’t tell anyone,” Peri warned. “If the Meigwors find out, they’ll never let us go. I’ve got to fully recharge, and then we’ve got to find out what Otto’s really up to.”

  Peri scanned all the buttons and dials in the Med Center. He closed his eyes and stretched out one hand. He needed to concentrate on what the ship wanted him to do. He started to walk, being pulled like metal to a magnet. His fingers tingled. He opened his eyes and punched the glowing button beneath his hand.

  The Med Center went dark, and thousands of thin blue lines of light scanned Peri from every angle. The lights flashed on, and a deep-blue pulse shot from the button he pressed and zapped him right between the eyes. He heard the computer voice inside his head: Energy low. Specimen is self-charging. For more energy, eat fruits and vegetables and sleep.

  Peri was a bit disappointed. He’d hoped for something more high-tech, but he’d been programmed by his parents, who were always trying to get him to eat healthily.

  Diesel took a step back and looked Peri up and down. “So …”

  “I’ll be fine,” Peri said, with a shrug. “We’ve got bigger things to deal with.”

  Peri found a com-panel in among the medi-lasers and internal probes. He touched the screen and whispered, “Computer, show us the location of everyone on board.”

  The screen blinked as it pulled up a map of the Phoenix. Four flashing lights appeared.

  “Those two must be us,” Peri told Diesel, pointing at each in turn. “This must be Otto, and this … is the prince.”

  Diesel twitched his head from side to side. “Where is he?”

  Peri enlarged the image on the screen. “Otto’s sleeping quarters. Come on.”

  He imagined themselves outside Otto’s quarters and approached the portal.

  Hiiissssss. The portal opened exactly opposite Otto’s sleeping chamber. Peri glanced around to make sure they were alone. He placed his hand on the scanner beside the door. A bar of blue light moved down the panel. It turned red. Sparks erupted from Peri’s fingers. The light flickered and turned green. The door to Otto’s room slid open.

  “Neat trick,” Diesel exclaimed. “Wish I was part bionic!”

  They stepped inside. Peri gasped when he saw the prince chained to Otto’s upright sleeping station and still wrapped in the silver blanket.

  “This doesn’t make any sense,” he muttered. “Why would Otto treat a Meigwor prince like this?”

  “You heard Selene,” Diesel said. “He’s been lying to us.” He tried to melt the chains with his laser blaster. He shook his head. “It’s no use. It’s some sort of special Meigwor metal alloy. I can’t cut through it.”

  Diesel stood on a chair and yanked the silver blanket from around the prisoner. The prince’s neck was not freakishly long or lumpy. His skin was not red, and he had no dark patches around his eyes. In fact, he looked almost human except for his webbed fingers and a strong squidlike smell.

  “He’s not from Meigwor,” Peri said, feeling a numbness flow through him. “He’s from Xion!”

  The prisoner’s eyes bulged at the sight of Diesel and Peri. He spat out the gag stuffed in his mouth. “I demand you let me go,” raged the prisoner. “I am Prince Onix, firstborn son and heir to the throne of Xion! Untie me or your deaths will be even more excruciatingly painful than they will be for this treason.”

  “I don’t understand,” Diesel whispered, ignoring the prisoner. “Did Otto rescue the wrong person?”

  Peri wished it was true, but he knew deep down it wasn’t. Otto had been too pleased with himself. “I think this was General Rouwgim and Otto’s plan all along. The Meigwors wanted to kidnap the Xion prince, and they duped us into helping them!”

  “Don’t for an instant think that a Xion will be held hostage by a Meigwor any longer!” bellowed the prince. “They won’t get another drop of fuel in ransom!”

  Peri shook his head. “What do you mean ‘be held hostage by a Meigwor’?”

  “Insolence! Don’t talk to me unless I tell you to!” shouted the prince. “Everyone knows the Meigwors are the greatest intergalactic bullies! Well, this is the last straw. My father, the king, will make sure that this debt is paid in the green blood of the Meigwors. And you, the stupid subspecies of humans, you will be treated harshly for aiding those galactic criminals! And, another thing, huuumphh, aaagrahh!”

  The prince couldn’t say anything more, because Diesel had stuffed the gag back into his mouth.

  “Diesel!” Peri objected.

  “What else am I supposed to do? Listen to him?”

&
nbsp; Peri shrugged. He couldn’t argue with that. “Sorry, Your Highness,” Peri said to Prince Onix, giving a little bow. “We’ll think of something. We won’t let Otto get away with tricking us into cosmic kidnapping.”

  Peri turned to Diesel. “Help me cover him up and let’s get out of here. We’d better go back to the Med Center in case Otto gets curious.”

  Diesel nodded. The prince squirmed and protested, but Peri and Diesel finally covered him just like they had found him. Peri sealed the door to Otto’s quarters.

  As they stepped through the portal back to the Med Center, Diesel asked, “Who’s really our enemy—the Xions or the Meigwors?”

  “They both are. We’ve landed in the middle of a galactic war,” Peri said. “And one side is as bad as the other. The Meigwors are holding Selene hostage. The Xions have attacked Earth! There’s only one side to be on now—our own!”

  “So what’s the plan, Peri?”

  “I’m tired of being pushed around. It’s about time we did what was right for us,” Peri replied. “We’ve got to rescue Selene, then get out of this galactic conflict without the whole thing going supernova!”

  Peri realized this was going to be their most difficult mission yet.

  Will Peri and Diesel make it back to

  Meigwor to rescue Selene?

  Can they outsmart the double-crossing Otto?

  Find out in

  Read on for a sneak peek …

  “That treacherous double-crossing snake in the grass!” Diesel slammed his fist into the wall as he and Peri walked along the corridor that led to the bridge of the Phoenix.

  “I don’t think they have grass on Meigwor,” Peri said.

  “What do they have?” asked Diesel.

  Peri shrugged. “Trees, mostly. It’s a jungle planet.”