The Enemy's Lair (5 page)

Peri tapped the Velocity View as the numbers clicked down. He had no idea what was happening. Could Otto have sabotaged the ship? But that was impossible. He wasn’t smart enough. Plus, he’d had no opportunity.

The Velocity View read 0 miles per second now.

Peri scanned the 360-monitor. The infinite blackness of space surrounded them, and countless stars glowed like tiny floating jewels in the distance.

And right in front of the ship, was something very strange.

‘Diesel,’ said Peri in a low voice. ‘I’m seeing things, aren’t I? That’s not really a giant red thumb, floating in space . . . is it?’

‘
Ch’açh
!
’ Diesel said, running his hand through his now yellow strip of hair. ‘That’s an intergalactic hitchhiking device. I’ve heard of them; they force passing ships to stop. It’s the first one I’ve ever seen.’

The thumb curled up and seemed to flick something invisible in the direction of the
Phoenix
.
A moment later there was a
Ping!
and a string of words appeared on the Bridge, hovering in the air like black, unwavering smoke.

Peri read and reread the message. The 360-monitor flashed as information from
The Space Spotter’s Guide
appeared.
The
Space Spotter’s Guide
contained info on all the life forms, guns and gadgets they were likely to find in the furthest, darkest corners of space.

Diesel grabbed the control panel and started to engage thrusters.

‘Wait.’ Peri brushed Diesel’s hands away. ‘We have to help him, don’t we?’

‘Are you crazy? We have enough to cope with already!’

‘We can’t just leave him out there.’ Peri grabbed Diesel’s arm and ushered him out of earshot of Otto and the prince. ‘That’s not the Intergalactic Force way. We help those in trouble. It might be a long time before another ship comes along. Like, a few thousand years.’

He located the Universal Message Transmitter on the console and typed:
Welcome aboard.

Then he lowered the
Phoenix
’s
shields.

The thumb exploded in a shower of red stars, which faded and disappeared.

A moment later, there was another passenger on the Bridge.

Chapter 6

The new arrival was one of the strangest creatures Peri had ever seen. And the most colourful. His skin was sky blue. His hair and beard were green. His eyes – all seven of them – were pink. He was wearing red shorts and a golden vest. He had no legs or arms that Peri could see – just two big feet that poked out of the shorts, and two hands that poked out of the sleeves of the vest. He was short, reaching only to Peri’s chest. He looked rather like a multicoloured penguin.

‘Oh, you saved me!’ he said. His voice sounded like a swarm of crickets having an argument with a swarm of bees. ‘Oh, my lovely saviours, my oh-so-special saviours!’

‘It was nothing,’ Peri said. ‘Anyone would have –’

‘Oh no, you are special. So trusting and generous,’ the Fooswaylian said, and waddled towards Peri and Diesel at surprising speed.

His flipper-like hands extended and hugged them together tightly. He jumped up and down, making Peri and Diesel bounce up and down with him.

‘
S’fâh
!
’ said Diesel. ‘There’s no need to –’

The Fooswaylian backed off. He was smiling. Peri shuddered. There was something unpleasant about the little alien’s smile. And not just because his teeth were maroon.

Peri heard what sounded like a low chuckle from Otto. It was hard to be sure because of the gag, but Otto appeared to be grinning.

‘What’s going on?’ Peri asked. He tried to move towards Otto, but was immediately pulled back. A strange, sticky purple gel had glued him to Diesel. They were literally joined at the hip.

‘What is this stuff?’ Diesel shouted in disgust.

‘Fooswaylia one, Earth nil!’ sang the Fooswaylian.

He waddled over to Otto, ungagging and untying him. Then Otto and the Fooswaylian did a strange, shuffling dance together, which ended with them touching noses.

‘Thanks, Kahatama!’ Otto’s voice echoed around the Bridge. ‘Smooth work!’ Otto smacked his hands together over his head in salute. He smiled a lipless smile at Peri and Diesel. ‘It’s good to see you two have become so close!’

‘Don’t mess about, Otto!’ Peri screamed. ‘Let us go!’

‘You thought you could outsmart me? The greatest bounty hunter in the history of the universe? The most cunning, ruthless, unstoppable –’

‘This is getting boring.’ Diesel yawned. ‘Can’t we skip this bit?’

‘Don’t get cheeky with me!’ Otto stopped smiling. His eyes bulged like a pair of Krespossian Water-Figs. ‘You two space-monkeys are going to fly me home and we’re going to hand over the prince to the Meigwor authorities!’

The prince, who’d been watching intently, began to struggle against his bonds. He shouted through the gag in his native tongue.

‘I’ll be decorated with medals and honours,’ Otto went on, ‘and you two, along with your friend Selene, will be handed over as specimens for live dissection at the Meigwor Exobiological College! How does that sound?!’

‘Pretty bad,’ Peri admitted.

‘Not so cocky now, are you?’ Otto smiled again. He extended his long double-jointed arm, to the hitchhiker. ‘Kahatama, the weapon!’

The Fooswaylian produced a mega laserpulse as big as himself.
Where could he have hidden that?
Peri wondered.

Kahatama started to laugh, which was a strange combination of panting and wheezing. He flashed his maroon teeth and pointed the weapon at Peri and Diesel.

‘Don’t move!’ Otto shouted. He took out a laser penknife and zipped through Peri’s and Diesel’s bonds. They broke apart. Strands of the purple goo were still stuck to them.

‘Peri, you will plot a direct course for Meigwor High Command. Diesel, you will be blown to shreds if he doesn’t do as he is told.’

The Fooswaylian swivelled and pointed the laserpulse directly at Diesel’s head.

‘And programme the ship to go into Superluminal mode,’ Otto said, ‘as soon as the power cells are recharged!’

Peri swallowed. He really didn’t like taking orders from Otto. Reluctantly, he went to the control panel and re-engaged the course, shifting from the coordinates for Selene to the ones for the Meigwor High Command. Otto craned his long, thick, crimson neck over Peri’s shoulder to watch.

‘And now,’ Otto said, ‘expand a holding cell, if you’d be so good!’

Peri scanned the control panel for the right button, dial or touchpad.

‘Get on with it!’ Otto shouted.

Then Peri remembered how easy the
Phoenix
made it. ‘Holding cell,’ Peri said in a voice barely above a whisper.

‘Speak up!’ Otto demanded. ‘I don’t think the ship heard you.’

‘Holding cell,’ Peri said and a portal opened to his left.

‘That’s it!’ Otto bellowed. ‘Now, all of you quick march – left right, left right, left right!’

With the Fooswaylian aiming the mega laserpulse at them from the rear, they marched through a white corridor, the prince shuffling awkwardly because of his bonds, while Peri and Diesel did their best not to trip each other up. They reached a section of wall with a golden image of a prison gate on it. Otto touched this and a section of wall slid back.