Evil Star (4 page)

‘Space-tastic, Selene!’ Peri cheered. ‘Now let’s go and arrest Daxx.’

Peri blasted the
Phoenix
towards the planet while everyone kept their eyes on the sensors to make sure they steered well clear of the cosmic-catapult this time around.

The shimmering blue planet appeared on their 360-monitor again.

‘Diesel, Otto,’ Peri said, ‘let’s make sure we’re ready for anything they can –’

Before Peri had finished giving the order, he saw a flash of sparkling blue ahead of the
Phoenix
and another siren erupted.
Eeeaarraaa!

Peri shielded his eyes as all the lights on the Bridge glowed bright red.

‘We’re slowing down,’ Selene reported.

Peri pulled at the thrusters. ‘How is that even possible? All the engines are running at maximum thrust.’

The black patches around Otto’s eyes turned a ghostly shade of grey and he started murmuring in a low voice. ‘
Ra-cnar, fagh, marigngh, fro-fulra, duphrfrig, ghirfight! Fagh.
’

‘Is Otto praying?’ Diesel gasped. ‘I thought Meigwors weren’t afraid of anything.’

Otto strapped himself in the nearest chair and shook his head. ‘We’re only afraid when we’re going to die in the most painful way in the universe!’ he boomed. ‘You’ve just hit a StellarTrip! There is no escape!’

Chapter 4

‘What is a StellarTrip, Otto?’ Peri asked.

‘You space-monkeys know nothing!’ Otto boomed. ‘It holds a string of stars together. When something crosses the wire, it pulls all the stars towards the centre of the trap! We’re going to be blown apart! There won’t even be space dust left.’

Peri magnified the wire on the 360-monitor and followed it along its entire length. A thin purple laser-wire stretched around the ship and then out into deep space. Otto was right – the wire was threaded through hundreds of small but powerful stars. The ends of the wire folded towards them, smashing the stars together to create the deadliest fireworks display in the universe. As more stars were caught up in the explosion, the fireball swinging towards the
Phoenix
grew larger and larger.

We’ve got to outrun this
, Peri thought, slamming on the turbo-reverse.

The
Phoenix
responded with full power. Peri rammed the backward thrusters to ‘Maximum’. The Bridge shook as the ship gave it everything it had.
Chrrorrrraarr!
The engines screamed with effort, but nothing happened.

‘Stop it!’ Selene yelled. ‘You’ll strip the plasma-flux relays and destroy the engines!’

Peri released the thrusters and the engines fell silent. Glancing at the 360-monitor, he realised his manoeuvres had just tangled the laser-wire even more closely around the ship. ‘If we can’t escape the wire we have to break it.’

‘I have an idea.’ Selene started twisting a row of zip-dials. ‘Remember when we saved those moon-bats?’

Peri nodded. ‘We adjusted our hand-held lasers to shoot ice-beams.’

‘Exactly – we can use our laser array to make the wire cold enough to snap.’ Selene punched a series of buttons.

On her command, Otto and Diesel opened fire. Bright blue beams burst from the
Phoenix
and struck the StellarTrip.

‘It’s not working,’ Diesel reported. ‘They need to be colder.’

‘I’m on it!’ Selene said, making more adjustments to the laser controls.

Peri ran a scan. The beams had now dropped to the coldest temperature possible. He could see ice forming around the ship’s laser ports, but none on the laser-wire. The StellarTrip had been cooled, but only enough to slow down the stars crashing towards the
Phoenix
.

‘It hasn’t weakened the wire, but it has bought us more time.’ Peri swept his gaze across the control panel. His eyes stopped on the strange twisted button at the far end.

The Red Helix.

Peri reached for the button, then froze. His parents had warned him to use it only as a last resort.
Is this the right time?
he asked himself. This was a life or death situation – he needed to save his crew and the
Phoenix
– but the Red Helix was completely dark, unlike the Blue Helix, which had glowed when it was the right time to use it. An aching prickle flowed through his muscles. His bionic body was telling him,
Not now
.

Peri pulled his hand away. If his bionic connection with the ship didn’t want him to press the Red Helix, what else could he do? The explosive fireball was getting larger and hotter with every nanometre as it got closer to the ship. Peri could see it without magnification now. They didn’t stand a chance against its awesome power.

Help us
,
Phoenix
!

A tingling feeling spread up Peri’s hands and arms. At first he thought it was fear, but then he realised that the
Phoenix
was trying to send him a message. He took a deep breath and listened to the ship, but what he heard didn’t make sense at all.

Big . . . Think.

Peri took another breath, trying not to panic.
Concentrate
,
he told himself.

Think Big!

His eyes drifted towards the Expansion Pack controls. His fingers twitched, wanting to activate them.

But how can they help?
Peri wondered.
They only make the
Phoenix
bigger, which would mean we’d be too bulky to fly fast . . .

‘That’s it!’ Peri exclaimed. If they made the ship bigger, then maybe the StellarTrip laser-wire that was tightening around them would be stretched to breaking point. They could snap it and escape!

Peri started flicking the switches to expand the ship. The ship’s plan on the control panel glowed as the
Phoenix
was transformed.
Schurrrpt!
The ship gained algae-growing generators and swimming pools. Peri pressed more buttons to add a solar-sampler unit, fully functioning astro-labs and a gymnasium. The
Phoenix
was now one hundred times bigger, but Peri activated even more Expansion Packs. Firing ranges, manufacturing rooms and moon-buggy racing tracks appeared on the plan. The display of corridors and compartments was dazzling.

The tangled laser-wire contracted tighter, but the
Phoenix
kept on growing. Peri pushed the last Expansion Pack button. The ship reached its maximum capacity.

Ting-ting!
Peri and his crew stood still as they listened to the strange noise echoing through the Bridge.
Ting-ting-ting-ting!
It sounded like the laser-wire was stretching.
Ting-ting-ting!
The
Phoenix
shuddered under the strain.
TING-PING-PING!

KRRRAAACCCKKKK!
Peri covered his ears as an almighty noise ripped through the Bridge. He gripped the control panel to steady himself as the ship shook. Peri saw the laser-wire recoil into the Astro-Void. The StellarTrip had snapped and was throwing stars spiralling off into space.

Peri and the others cheered, but the sound was drowned out by the howling of sirens. Angry red letters flashed across the 360-monitor:
Hazard Alert!
He checked the scanners. Part of the StellarTrip was spinning towards the
Phoenix
on a collision course!

Peri slammed a button to collapse all the Expansion Packs, which vanished in seconds.

‘Let’s go,’ he said, smacking the pyramid-shaped button to activate the engines.

As the ship shunted forward, Diesel yelled, ‘Peri! Port side!’

On Peri’s left, a gigantic snake-like whip of laser-wire and exploding stars was smashing towards the
Phoenix
.

Peri slammed on the dodge mechanism, sending the
Phoenix
sliding sideways to starboard. The snake of stars swept harmlessly past.

‘Hold on,’ Peri yelled as the stars spun around to strike again. He yanked the Nav-wheel hard. The
Phoenix
swept up and around as the StellarTrip sliced close to one side, then the other.

There’s no way to outrun it
, he realised.

There was only one option left. He’d have to turn the whip’s power against itself.

‘What are you doing?’ Diesel and Otto shrieked in horror, as Peri turned the
Phoenix
in the direction of the StellarTrip.

‘Trust me!’ Peri yelled. As the fiery whip curled up and lashed out, he yanked down the thrusters. The
Phoenix
soared ahead, pulling the whip along in their space-wake. Peri turned and twisted the Nav-wheel, sending the ship in a wide loop and setting the whip on a collision course with itself, then he jerked the ship straight up and out of the way.

Shaannaa-baaaam!
The whip snapped, tearing itself apart, sending stars flying off in all directions.

‘
Mars’rakk!?
’ Diesel cheered as he high-fived Peri.

Behind them, Selene and Jaxx were punching the air.

But Otto was staring up at the 360-monitor. Peri could tell from the look on the Meigwor’s face that they weren’t out of trouble yet.