STAR FIGHTERS BUMPER SPECIAL EDITION: Stealth Force (3 page)

‘Why, you low-down, cheatin’, yellow-bellied snake,’ the first cowboy said. ‘You can’t have an ace – I got all four aces right here!’

The bearded man stood up, pushing the table aside and swinging a punch at his accuser. Within seconds, everyone at the card table was fighting.

‘I hope we don’t end up in a bar-room brawl like this on Westrenia,’ Peri said to the others.

‘That’s my kind of place,’ Otto said. ‘A rough, tough place where arguments are settled with fists!’

‘You’re totally right!’ Diesel said, grinning.    

Peri couldn’t remember Diesel and Otto ever agreeing about anything before. They looked surprised and slightly embarrassed.

After a short, awkward silence, Diesel said, ‘You may be right but you’re still ugly.’

Otto flexed his double-jointed arms. ‘Shut up, Martian moon-head!’

That sounds a bit more normal
,
Peri thought.

‘We have a problem,’ Selene said. ‘We’re not dressed like those guys in the film.’

‘
Undercover Mode engaged
,’ the
Phoenix
announced.

The film flicked off. Robotic arms shot out of the ceiling and lifted the Star Fighters up off the floor. Steel arms dressed them in what looked like Expedition Wear but with a hint of the Wild
West. The suits clicked and rustled as they tightened to fit. Space-cowboy boots were slipped on to every foot – except Otto’s, as his were too big and not really foot-shaped. Peri stretched his legs and heard his metallic spurs clink.

‘Cool!’ Selene said, adjusting the belt around her waist and checking out her new gear.

‘Outstanding!’ Peri agreed. The outfit made him feel tough and adventurous – ready for anything. ‘How do I look?’

‘Pathetic,’ said Diesel. ‘Do we really have to wear these old clothes?’

‘They aren’t really old,’ Selene said. She twisted and turned, and the Expedition Wear moved with her.

‘What about me?’ Otto boomed. ‘Do I look like a Westrenian cowboy?’

Peri had to bite his lip not to laugh. Otto’s arms were far too long for Expedition Wear – the cuffs ended way above his double-jointed elbows – and the jacket didn’t even cover his weapons belt.

Selene gave him a sympathetic look. ‘Sorry, Otto. I don’t think you’ll be able to come on this mission.’

Peri nodded. ‘You just wouldn’t . . . blend in.’

‘But it’s not fair!’ Otto shouted. ‘That planet was made for someone like me – all that mindless violence!’

‘
Entering Westrenia’s orbit
,’ the
Phoenix
announced.
‘
Take your seats. Final camouflage initiated
.’

The crew sat down and their astro-harnesses snaked around them. Peri felt something digging into his thigh. It was a holster. He removed the weapon. It was quite small and made of purple metal.

‘Funny-looking weapon,’ he said.

Diesel tutted. ‘You couldn’t shoot through a spiderweb with that.’

‘Don’t you boys know anything?’ Selene said. ‘It’s a laser lasso.’

‘Oh, right,’ Peri said. ‘It’s one of those ropes that cowboys use to encircle and catch cattle – or enemies. It could come in handy.’

‘Yes, but this one’s not made of rope,’ Selene explained and switched Peri’s weapon on.

A sparking fuse of light shot out from the lasso, like a whip.

‘
Mh’nak
!
’ Diesel yelled and snatched the weapon. ‘I definitely need one of these.’

‘Er, Peri . . .’ Selene’s voice was a panicked croak. ‘Why am I turning green?’

Peri turned around as far as his astro-harness would let him. When he did, he gasped – Selene’s skin had definitely changed. It was now a pale, sickly green.

‘It’s happening to me too!’ Diesel said, pointing to his arms. His strip of hair had turned white with fright.

Peri looked down at his own hands, turning them over and seeing that he had also turned a little bit green. ‘It must be the Expedition Wear,’ he said. ‘It must be configured to make us look like the alien species we’re going to encounter on Westrenia.’

‘You look like lizard-people!’ Otto laughed.

Peri guessed Otto suddenly didn’t feel so bad about not getting to explore the alien planet.

Peri turned back to face the 360-monitor. Westrenia now filled the whole screen. It was an Earth-type planet with oceans, ice caps, mountains, forests and large areas of yellow desert and green plains. A pulsing red light showed the location of the SOS signal, coming from what looked like a small town at the edge of a wide desert. Peri beckoned the control panel towards him, initiated the cloaking device and guided the ship down, being careful to keep a safe distance from the settlement. He couldn’t let the inhabitants of Westrenia see the
Phoenix
.

The ship touched down gently. The doors opened to reveal a landscape of sand and rocks, with a few tall cactus-like plants growing here and there. In the distance, Peri could see a town and a mountain range behind it.

‘Let’s go and find the source of that distress signal,’ Peri said.

Selene, Peri and Diesel ran down the ramp on to the sand. It felt good to be out in the open after so long aboard the ship.

‘I suppose I’ll have to stay here with the
Phoenix
,’ Otto grumbled from the top of the ramp.

‘I don’t think that would be safe,’ Peri said. ‘We can’t risk the
Phoenix
being found by someone on this planet. We’re going to have to shrink the ship and take it with us.’

‘But then I’ll be shrunk too!’ Otto shouted.

‘It won’t hurt,’ Peri told him.

There was a dial labelled ‘Expansion Packs’ on the control strip on the wristband of his Expedition Wear. Peri twisted it anticlockwise. The door closed on Otto and, within seconds, the
Phoenix
was the size of a small car . . .

Then the size of a rugby ball . . .

Then the size of an egg.

‘That should do it!’ Peri said, putting the miniaturised
Phoenix
into his pocket.

Then Peri and his crew set off through the desert towards the town. He could feel it in the excited buzz of his circuits – they were heading for a real adventure.

Chapter 3

They soon came to a dirt track that led towards the huddle of buildings they’d seen in the distance. The sun was fierce and Peri felt the sweat trickling down his back.

The sandy, cactus-dotted landscape stretched away as far as their eyes could see. A few whitened cattle-bones lay bleaching in the sun. Peri saw another road that joined the dirt track from the left – it was wide and pitted with wagon-wheel ruts.

‘That must be a trade road leading to another town,’ he said. ‘See those wheel marks? That’s where all the stagecoaches have passed along it.’

‘I wish we had a stagecoach,’ Diesel muttered, wiping blue sweat from his forehead.

‘Look,’ Selene said. ‘There are people working over there.’

A group of aliens, stripped to the waist, were swinging sledgehammers. From here they looked like humans, with the right number of arms and legs, but as the Star Fighters drew closer, Peri saw that their pale green skin was scaly and wrinkly. Their eyes were a deep, dark black. They looked like a cross between a human and an iguana. They were hammering wooden sleepers into the ground while chanting a song in their alien language.

‘They’re building a railroad,’ Peri said. ‘Remember
The Space Spotter’s Guide
said that Westrenia has only just invented trains?’

‘I wish we had a train,’ Diesel grumbled again. ‘My feet are killing me.’

‘We’d better tune in our SpeakEasies,’ Peri said, touching the slight bulge in his neck.

Once the Star Fighters had tuned in to the translator, they were able to understand and speak the aliens’ language. After a few moments, Peri heard the words of their chant come into focus. They were singing: ‘Hammer, hammer, hammer. Hammer all day. Hammer, hammer, hammer.’

A boring song
for a boring job
, Peri thought.

‘Shall we go and talk to them?’ Selene asked.

‘I’m not sure,’ Peri said. Some instinct was warning him to be cautious. ‘Maybe we shouldn’t draw attention to ourselves until we’ve found out a bit more about Westrenia and what’s making someone send an SOS.’

‘Leave it to me,’ Diesel said. As they passed the men, he dipped his head and drawled, ‘Howdy, pardners.’

The men broke off their chant. They raised their sweaty faces from their work and stared at him. Nobody spoke. The men’s gaze just followed them as the Star Fighters walked on.

‘What was that all about?’ Diesel said. He touched the bulge in his neck. ‘Do you think the SpeakEasy chip couldn’t translate “Howdy” into Westrenian?’

‘I think they heard you,’ Peri said, ‘but they didn’t want to respond.’ He had a feeling that strangers might not be too welcome on Westrenia.

At last the town loomed large ahead of them. They passed a wooden sign that announced:
Buckskinville. Population:
1,032
. They followed the road between two rows of silent wooden houses, all with their blinds down.