Evil Star (5 page)

Chapter 5

‘There’s another trap!’ Otto boomed.

Peri turned to look, but all he could see between the
Phoenix
and the shimmering blue planet was blackness. He slammed on the turbo-brakes and brought their ship to a complete halt. ‘What do you mean there’s another trap, Otto?’

‘We’re in deadly trouble!’ Otto said. ‘It’s a dark-matter trapdoor!’

‘I don’t see anything,’ Diesel scoffed.

Otto flicked his black tongue towards Diesel’s face. ‘It’s made of
dark matter
! It wouldn’t be a very good trap if it was visible to the eyes of inferior life forms!’

‘But the Exo-Scanner should detect it,’ Selene said. She twisted a zip-dial and a monitor whirled from the control panel. The thermal image of the area revealed nothing. ‘Are you
sure
there’s something there, Otto? I’ve adjusted the wavelength range, but there’s no sign of anything.’

‘Isn’t that proof enough?’ Otto boomed. ‘Whoever owns that planet wants to keep unwanted visitors out! They’ve used a cosmic-catapult and a StellarTrip! A dark-matter trapdoor must be next!’

Peri stared into the darkness ahead of him. They hadn’t spotted either of the other space-hazards until it was too late. ‘I guess it makes sense . . . What do dark-matter trapdoors do, Otto?’

‘Nobody knows,’ Otto said, ‘because nobody has lived to tell.’

Peri clenched his fist in frustration. They were so close to completing their mission. All they needed to do was slip past the trap, then they could find and arrest Daxx and recover the Heart of Mars. He wished he could be in two places at once so he could trigger the trap without endangering the
Phoenix
.

The artery in his neck started throbbing, but it wasn’t his heart racing or his blood pressure increasing. It felt urgent, like a flashing button on the control panel but inside him. His bionic half was sending him a message.

Peri raised his fingers to his neck. He could feel blood beating under his fingertips, and behind the artery he could feel something else. A small button.

He pushed it.
Click!

Body Duplication activated
, announced a voice in his head.
Imagine secondary location.

Peri pictured himself on a mini-pod racing towards the blue planet. A blinding flash of light burst through his mind like a solar-flare. Suddenly, he was sliding down a long silver tube into a mini-pod, but part of him was still on the Bridge. His mind strained with astonishment.
I’m in two places at once!

He landed in a mini-pod with a
hurrrupt
. An astro-harness snaked around his body. He took a deep breath while he tried to understand what was happening. He could feel and touch the mini-pod as if his body was normal, but he was also aware of the part of him he had left behind on the Bridge. It felt like he’d left behind an energy shell that was able to see and hear what was happening, but was fixed to the spot, as still as a statue. The shell-Peri on the Bridge could not move or even speak.

Peri’s pod-self fired up the mini-pod’s engines and blasted towards the dark-matter trapdoor.

He became aware that, back on the Bridge, Selene was yelling at his energy shell. ‘You reckless idiot! I don’t know how you did it, but I know you’ve split yourself in half. Even split in half, you still have a heat signature.’

Peri’s pod-self hit the control panel to activate the com-unit. ‘This is going to work. Just keep watching the Exo-Scanner and record how big the trap is.’

As the mini-pod glided through the blackness, Peri could feel sweat trickling down his neck. His Expedition Wear suddenly felt stifling. At any moment the trap was going to spring into action. He placed his thumbs over the emergency-reverse thrusters so he’d be ready to escape.

Caaarraaaroorraar!
The space around him was ripped apart by a dark red light. Instantly, the mini-pod lurched forward. Being sucked into the dark-matter trapdoor was like being pulled into the jaws of the largest cosmic killer whale in the universe.

Peri slammed on the emergency-reverse thrusters, but nothing could escape the overwhelming force of the trapdoor. The straps of astro-harness cut into his chest – the dark matter was trying to rip him right out of the mini-pod!

He punched the controls again, trying to get the pod away from the trapdoor, but nothing worked. Instead he was spinning into the trapdoor’s jaws.
There’s no way I can fly the mini-pod out of here
, he realised.
I’ve got to use my bionic connection to escape.

As he tried to lift his hand to his neck, Peri realised that the gravitational pull of the dark matter made his hand weigh more than his entire body – and it was getting heavier every second. It felt like the trapdoor was trying to rip his hand from his wrist.

Activate Fight-or-Flight
, he shouted in his mind.

Energy buzzed through Peri’s body as his muscles swelled. He fought against the pull of the dark matter, dragging his hand slowly up to his neck. But even with superhuman strength it wasn’t easy. His whole body was screaming with pain. He clenched his eyes shut and reached for the hidden button.

Click!

Peri didn’t know if it was too late. It felt like the black hole was ripping him apart, like his muscles were being torn from his bones and his circuits were melting.

Then there was a blinding flash and the pain vanished.

Peri opened his eyes. He was standing on the Bridge, surrounded by Selene, Jaxx, Otto and Diesel.

I’m alive!
he thought, taking a step forward and smiling at his friends.

‘That was easy,’ he said, just before his legs collapsed under him and he was plunged into darkness.

Chapter 6

Peri felt as if he’d been stretched between two moons. Every muscle in his body ached and his head was pounding, but his energy levels had regenerated back to normal. He opened his eyes and found himself in the captain’s chair.

‘Is everyone OK?’ he asked.

‘Did you have a good nap?’ Diesel replied. ‘What a wastoid, sleeping on a mission.’

‘Hey, I almost burnt out my circuits,’ Peri snapped.
Another argument won’t help anything
,
he told himself, taking a deep breath. ‘Did we get what we needed?’

‘Yes, thanks to your crazy manoeuvre,’ Selene said. ‘I’ve never seen anything so recklessly brave. We were able to chart the dimensions of the trapdoor and pilot around it. But we were waiting for you to recover before we approached the planet.’

‘Great! Let’s go and get Daxx,’ Peri said. He clicked his fingers and the control panel slid over to him. ‘Selene, set the cloak to “Max”.’

Peri plotted a course to avoid a string of defensive satellites between them and the shimmering planet. ‘Diesel, Otto – be on alert! But don’t activate weapons until I say.’

Peri’s fingers automatically twisted a zip-dial marked ‘Ultra-Stealth thrusters’. He turned it to ‘Maximum’ and pulled the  lever all the way down. The
Phoenix
roared towards the planet, but the Bridge’s lights turned red and started flashing.

‘
This is the MezzStar
,’ a voice boomed over a radio channel. ‘
Surrender peacefully or die.
’

Peri brought the ship to a halt.

Jaxx put a protective arm around Selene. ‘This is very bad! I’ve heard such horrible stories about what happens on the MezzStar. It’s a planet created and owned by the Mezzoka Clan. It’s their secret headquarters. If Daxx flew here, he must be working with them. We’d better surrender.’

Peri shivered and opened a com-channel. ‘This is the
Phoenix
. We are surrendering peacefully.’

A red laser shot up from the MezzStar. ‘
Follow the laser to your landing bay or be destroyed
.’

Peri followed the red light. As they got closer, he realised that the MezzStar was not actually a planet – it was a massive space-base. One side had been scooped out and resembled a giant dish. At its centre was a transparent dome that stared at them like a giant eye. Parked in rows around the sides of the dish were colossal flying rubbish-trucks with large pincers.

‘Why are there so many dump-jets?’ he asked.

‘The Mezzoka Clan use space-rubbish collection as a cover for their criminal activities,’ Jaxx replied.

‘So the MezzStar is the centre of their entire intergalactic criminal operation?’ Peri said as he guided the
Phoenix
into a parking slot between the dump-jets.

Jaxx nodded. ‘The Mezzokas are the most organised and vicious criminals in the universe. We must proceed cautiously.’

Diesel started activating drawers from under his gunnery station. ‘Where’s my Eterni-chew?’

Peri frowned. ‘You’re worried about chewing gum at a time like this?!’

Diesel pointed at the dump-jets. ‘This place must be a garbage collection centre for the whole universe. It’s going to smell awful.’

As the
Phoenix
stopped, a voice boomed over the radio channel, ‘
Leave your ship immediately. No weapons allowed
.’