Secret Weapon (7 page)

Jaxx raised his eyebrows. ‘Strange boy,’ he said. ‘Well, he won’t be missed. I have the Heart of Mars and that is all that matters!’

He unscrewed the lid of the cylinder and peeped inside.

Peri saw his forehead crease up in a puzzled frown.

Jaxx peered in more closely. He shook it. It made no sound.

Peri gasped in surprise.

What had happened to the Heart of Mars?

Jaxx turned the cylinder upside down. When nothing came out, his face crumpled – he looked like a little child who had just been stung by a Venusian flying jellyfish. He let out a wail so piercing that Peri had to put his hands over his ears. ‘It’s gone!
Gone!
’

Peri saw his chance. He beckoned to the control panel and it glided over to him. He quickly re-enabled on-board weapons capabilities. His phaser gave a little bleep, indicating that it was operational once again.

He kept it trained on Jaxx as he pulled out the Bits and Bobs drawer from the wall. But Jaxx was showing no signs of hostility. He gazed into the empty lead cylinder, moaning to himself: ‘I was so close . . .
So
close!’

Peri took out a pair of laser-scissors and cut through Selene’s and Otto’s bonds. They both sat up and peeled away their gags, wincing and gasping for air.

‘Are you OK?’ Peri asked them.

Otto growled, extending his snake-like neck in Jaxx’s direction.

‘Easy,’ Peri said. ‘Maybe something happened to him. Maybe he’s gone temporarily insane.’

‘No, he’s always like this!’ Selene said.

Peri realised that she had not jumped to her dad’s defence as she normally would have done. Instead she was staring at him with hatred.

She ran to Jaxx and gripped his collar with both hands. ‘What have you done with my dad?’ she shouted.

Chapter 8

‘Selene,’ Jaxx said, ‘you need to calm yourself. Maybe a little lie-down would do you good.’

He gave Selene a violent shove and sent her sprawling across the floor.

Peri felt a surge of anger. He pointed his phaser at Jaxx. ‘You leave her alone!’

‘Yes, I will,’ Jaxx said. He seemed to have got over his disappointment and was his cool, collected self again. ‘As long as she leaves
me
alone. Now, excuse me – I have a call to make.’

He took out a communicator and flipped it open.

Peri ran to help Selene to her feet. ‘Are you hurt?’ he asked.

She shook her head. ‘I’m fine –’

‘She may not be hurt,’ Otto bellowed, ‘but someone soon
will
be!’

‘Captain Flintbeard,’ Jaxx said into the communicator, ‘I want you to –
errrfff
!
’

Otto had charged forward and knocked him flat on his back. Otto sat astride him, his knees pinning Jaxx’s arms to the floor. ‘Got you! You’re heading straight to an IF prison!’

Peri looked at Selene, confused. ‘Let me get this straight. Jaxx – your dad –
is
the space pirate?’

‘No,’ Selene shook her head. ‘But
he
is.’ She pointed to Jaxx.

Now Peri shook his head in complete and utter confusion. Had Selene lost her mind? ‘What? That is Jaxx.’

‘No, his name is Daxx,’ Selene said.

‘Now I’m really confused,’ Peri said.

Selene’s voice was a snarl that Peri had never heard her make before. ‘He’s my dad’s identical twin,’ she said. ‘My uncle.’

‘But – what happened to your dad then?’ Peri asked.

‘Daxx beamed himself aboard while you were down on the Trojan Crab, and beamed Jaxx off!’ She knelt and shouted into Daxx’s face. ‘What have you done with my dad?’

‘If you want to see him again,’ Daxx said, ‘tell this Meigwor maniac to get off me.’

Selene hesitated. Then she tapped Otto on the shoulder. ‘You’d better get off him.’

‘Can’t I just rough him up a bit first?’ Otto said.

Selene cocked her head as if she was considering it. ‘He deserves it,’ she said, ‘but I don’t think it would help me get my dad back.’

Otto reluctantly stood up. Daxx got to his feet, dusting himself off.

‘Sooooo,’ Peri said, drawing the word out. ‘You’re the evil twin.’

‘I prefer to think of myself as the
smart
twin,’ Daxx said with a smirk. He picked up the fallen communicator. ‘Captain Flintbeard, sorry for the interruption. Uncloak the
Space Wolf
, would you?’

‘What about my dad?’ demanded Selene.

Daxx sneered at her. ‘Patience, please, my dear niece.’

‘What’s the
Space Wolf?
’ Peri asked.

Daxx pointed to the 360-monitor. A spaceship was gradually becoming visible. It had masts and silver sails like an ancient galleon. A white flag flew from the tallest mast. It had a strange image of a skull-and-crossed-swords. Peri knew from old Earth movies about sea pirates that this type of flag was called a ‘Jolly Roger’. Space pirates called them a ‘Cranky Roger’.

‘That’s the
Space Wol
f
,’ Daxx said. ‘Isn’t she a beauty?’

‘Is that where my dad is?’

Daxx waved at Selene to be quiet. ‘Captain Flintbeard, an escape-pod was ejected from the
Phoenix
about a minute ago. Send out a Stealth Snapper to track it down and capture it. But don’t destroy the pod. There’s something on board that I need.’ Daxx listened for a moment. ‘No, of course it doesn’t matter if you kill the pilot!’

Peri felt a jolt of horror. Diesel was arrogant and spoilt and there was no denying he could be a cosmic pain in the neck. But he was still a comrade. Peri had to help him out – somehow.

On the 360-monitor, he saw a small craft emerge from the belly of the
Space Wolf
. It was black, with a pointed snout. It had no masts, no sails and no flag, but a Cranky Roger was painted on the side. It shot off in the direction that Diesel’s mini-pod had been heading.

Peri felt his pulse quicken with dread. Mini-pods weren’t designed for speed. The Stealth Snapper would catch Diesel in a matter of minutes.

Peri pulled the control panel to him. He opened the ship’s Power System and deftly programmed it to give a massive charge of extra power to one of the remaining mini-pods.

‘What are you doing there?’ Daxx demanded.

Peri didn’t answer. He simply thought the words
Super-charged mini-pod
.
Then he
headed for the wall of the Bridge. The wall opened silently and there was the pod, its roof already lifted.

‘Oh no you don’t!’ snapped Daxx as he lunged for Peri.

Otto’s long crimson arm shot out, caught Daxx around the waist and flung him to the floor. ‘Oh no
you
don’t!’ the Meigwor boomed.

Peri didn’t stay to watch what happened next. He jumped into the mini-pod. The roof closed over him as an astro-harness clicked into place. He pulled the twin thrust-levers and the mini-pod zoomed away from the
Phoenix
, into outer space.

The g-force slammed Peri back into his seat. The mini-pod was definitely charged up!

‘Diesel?’ Peri said into the com-unit. ‘I’m coming after you.’

‘Don’t try to bring me back!’ Diesel said. ‘I have to keep the Heart of Mars safe. I’ve called the Martian Imperial Fleet to come and pick me up.’

‘They’ll never get there in time,’ Peri said. ‘There’s a pirate stealth ship after you!’

‘Kriimb’ la-kooshwoggle!’

‘Take evasive action for as long as you can,’ Peri said. ‘I’m coming to help!’

The mini-pod roared silently through space. Ahead, Peri saw the Stealth Snapper. The Proximeter on the instrument panel told him it was only a hundred kilometres away. At this speed, that was almost touching distance.

A moment later, Peri saw Diesel’s mini-pod. The Snapper was almost on it. ‘Dodge!’ he shouted into the radio.

A nanosecond later, Diesel’s pod veered sharply, just as a bright yellow ball appeared where he’d only just been flying.

Peri was impressed with Diesel’s piloting skills. But he was also worried – because the Snapper was firing Incinerator Balls.

The IF had outlawed Incinerator Balls as weapons over a hundred years earlier. They were super-hot clouds of blazing hydrogen that briefly enveloped a target. They burned and died out in a nanosecond. They would not destroy a ship, but anybody inside would be fried.

Peri lined the Snapper up in his laser cannon sights and fired.

A blinding white ray shot through space and clipped the side of the Snapper.

Now it knows I’m here
, Peri thought.

He was already tugging on the Nav-wheel as the Snapper swung round and fired back at him. The mini-pod rocketed above the Incinerator Ball, then he saw it explode below him and felt a wave of heat.

In the middle distance Peri saw a silver-blue sphere hanging motionless in space. It was Io, one of Jupiter’s moons. He would have to be careful not to get too close, or its gravitational pull would suck him towards it.

The Snapper turned back to Diesel’s pod and fired another Incinerator Ball. This one came close enough to knock Diesel off course and send his pod spinning towards Io.

The Snapper re-aligned so that its weapon could track Diesel. It was getting ready for a final, decisive and deadly strike.

Before it could fire, Peri blasted his laser cannon again.

This time the white ray found its mark.

The Stealth Snapper lit up, its colours reversed for an instant – its black hull turned white, and its white Cranky Roger turned black. Then it went careering off course. Peri breathed a sigh of relief.

He radioed Diesel. ‘Are you OK?’

‘I can’t break free of Io’s gravity,’ Diesel said in between cries of fear. ‘I’m going to have to crash-land!’

Peri hoped the mini-pod’s boosters would be powerful enough to slow its descent. Otherwise it would smash up on impact.

He heard an ominous bleeping noise and glanced at his radar screen. Three dots were heading his way, fast.