Deadly Mission (4 page)

“Next stop, Xion!” he shouted as the
Phoenix
burst forward.

The com-unit crackled into life with the sound of chattering teeth. “Will you … space-monkeys … turn up the … hea-hea-heating,” the Meigwor stuttered. “I'm f-f-f-f-free-eezing down here.”

Blue tears trickled down Diesel's cheeks all over the gunnery station as he shook with laughter.

“Sorry, Otto,” Peri replied, trying to ignore Diesel. He spun the thermo-dial back and saw his Expedition Wear change color again.

Outside, an asteroid-size superneon sign pointed to a way station. Behind the sign, an enormous transparent dome floated in the air. An instant translation appeared on screen.

“‘Food! Souvenirs! Lizard wrestling!'I wish we had time to check
that
out,” Peri said.

Shhhhuurpt.
The door to the bridge opened as Otto shuffled in.

Diesel leaned over and whispered, “Is it me or has he shrunk?”

Peri glanced over his shoulder. Otto's arms and neck did seem shorter.

“Cloak the ship!” Otto pushed Peri aside and stabbed at the control panel.
A map of the space highway appeared on the monitor. “Exit 1427-A7!”

Peri activated the cloak and navigated to the exit ramp. The astrophalt ended abruptly above a pulsing blue vortex big enough only for a single vessel.

“Local transport vortex detected,” the ship announced. “Hold tight.”

Before Peri could ask if they needed superluminal speed, the vortex spat the
Phoenix
out. They were hovering over a barren landscape. Small twisters of orange dust scoured the pockmarked ground. InfoBoxes popped up on the monitor, arrows scattered everywhere:
Collapsed CO
₂
mine, toxic waterhole, mining-lice infestation.

Peri stared at the swirling pools of putrid green and snotty-brown liquid. “No wonder they don't respect anyone else's planet. Look at those poisonous swamps.”

“Ignore them!” Otto said. “Aim for the smog.”

Peri steered the
Phoenix
over a huge crater filled with machines spewing rocks into the air. He then headed for a skyline that appeared to be wrapped in smog. In the center of the smoking chimneys and the concrete-block industrial buildings stood a sprawling marble palace.

“The Xion capital!” Otto said. “Depressing, isn't it? The prince is in that palace. Head to that abandoned factory! We can land safely in there!”

Peri guided the
Phoenix
into the hollow shell of the building that Otto had pointed to. He was careful to avoid the metal struts holding up the crumbling brick walls. A single knock would bring the whole building down.

The rubble floor shifted under the ship's weight, but the landing gear automatically
adjusted. Peri looked around and realized why Otto had chosen the spot. The walls surrounding the
Phoenix
would keep it hidden from alien eyes.

“Let's go!” Otto ordered. “We've wasted enough time. Let's go get the prince.”

“Wait a second.” Peri studied the blinking lights of the atmospheric sensors. “Diesel, adjust your oxy-modifiers to Carbon-4 Mode. Xion seems to be a carbon-rich planet.”

Peri pressed a nano-dial surgically implanted between his ribs. It beeped four times. His lungs twitched as if he needed to cough, then they expanded in his chest.

“What was that?!” Otto asked.

“Every IF cadet has a hydrogen bubble in their lungs,” Diesel replied, coughing as his lungs adjusted. “The oxy-modifier allows us to breathe in any atmosphere in the universe.”

“Otherwise we'd suffocate outside in about seven seconds,” Peri added.

Otto shook his head in disbelief. “You're so primitive!” he said. He led them down the mauve-lit corridor into the air-lock. “Come on, let's go.”

As they neared the end of the corridor, Peri noticed a small yellow button on the wall and stopped. He didn't know what it did, but his fingers tingled to press it. As he did, the ship announced, “Planet name: Xion. Recommend: footwear adjustment for lighter gravity.”

Robotic arms shot out of the walls, lifting him and Diesel into the air. Two more arms appeared. They peeled the thick magnetic soles off Peri's space boots and clamped on new super-thin ones. The boots turned dusty orange.

“Camouflaged too,” Peri said as the arms lowered him and Diesel.

Otto was shaking with laughter. “I can't believe what you have to go through just to go outside!”

“At least we've created the technology to do it,” said Peri, bristling.

“Yes!” said Otto, holding his belly. “But truly advanced species don't need such tricks!”

“What about you?” Peri asked. “You think a Meigwor can walk around unnoticed?”

Otto tapped the lumps on his neck. “Watch!”

He crossed his long arms behind his back, so that they were now on opposite sides of his body. They looked almost normal length. He yanked two rings from the side of his ammo belts. A cloak sprang from around his shoulders, hiding the extra length of his arms. He folded the collar up to cover his freakishly long, lumpy neck.

“Amazing!” Diesel exclaimed, sarcastically. “I hadn't realized you Meigwors were such masters of disguise.”

Otto smiled. Peri shook his head and pressed the panel for the exit. The door swung open and hot sticky air blasted them. Peri's and Diesel's Expedition Wear turned blue to cool them, but it was still hot. The ramp appeared, and they followed Otto to the ground and through the abandoned factory.

As they walked the streets of Xion, Peri realized that Otto's disguise worked. It wasn't a good disguise, but in the hazy light he went unnoticed. Luckily, the Xions appeared to look almost human but had webbed fingers and smelled of Saturnian squid.

Peri whispered to Otto, “Why don't they have pincher claws and antennae like the Xions who beamed aboard our ship?”

“Shh,” Otto hissed back. “The Xions wear special battle suits to scare their enemies! Now follow me and keep quiet!”

The enormous palace walls cast shadows over the many small shops selling everything from “organic fertilizer, fresh for eating!” to “live-grubs jewelry!” Peri felt sick. The creamy maggots squirming along the necklaces looked revolting.

Thankfully, as they got closer to the palace, they left behind the traders cooking up foul brews, and the streets became deserted.

The palace walls were covered with cameras and laser wires. Peri and Diesel stopped. The palace gates were huge and made from twisted bits of ships, carefully molded into decorative swirls. In among alien names, Peri noticed the names of ships from the IF fleet lost on deep-space
missions: IFSS
Blade
, IFSS
Grace
. Despite the humid heat, even his circuits felt cold with fear. If the Xions had defeated the pride of the IF fleet, what chance did he and Diesel have of avenging the Milky Way against such a terrible enemy?

“Is Otto crazy?” Diesel asked. “Does he think he can just walk in?”

Peri saw Otto marching up to the gates. There was a shout of “Stop or Die.”

Out of the shadows beside the gates, four guards stepped out, pointing assault blasters straight at them.

Oh no
, thought Peri.
Otto's got us into deep cosmic-trouble.

Peri couldn't believe it. Otto kept walking even as the guards charged their assault blasters. It was like Otto was offering himself up to a firing squad.

A guard raised a webbed hand to warn Otto back. “Don't come any closer.”

“Stay behind Otto,” Diesel whispered to Peri. “If they shoot, they'll hit him first.”

Otto stopped beside the nearest guard, who looked as surprised as Peri was. What was the Meigwor up to?

Otto pulled down his collar. Before the
guards could react, Otto uttered a low, guttural sound. His neck bulged and twisted. He sounded a bit like a giant Martian wildcat purring, and it made the circuitry in Peri's head buzz.

Peri clamped his hands over his ears. It was a horrible noise. He wondered why Otto was doing it. But then he noticed that the guards had stopped moving. It was as if
Otto had turned them to stone. Peri couldn't believe his eyes.

Diesel prodded one of the guards. “Cool, guard-cicles.”

“Stop messing around!” Otto unhooked a communication device from a guard's belt.

Peri expected some sort of explanation from the bounty hunter. Instead, Otto pushed the gates open and walked into a huge courtyard of polished orange marble. Peri looked at Diesel, but the gunner just shrugged and followed Otto. Peri ran after them both.

The courtyard was surrounded by a dozen buildings that dripped with gilding, statues, and ornate decorations. Otto made for the most imposing of the palace buildings. Above the palace's massive wooden doors was the inscription:
Respect the King or DIE PAINFULLY
.

Otto pulled Peri and Diesel to the side of the door. The Meigwor peered inside. “Listen, space-monkeys!” he said, turning to them. He was trying to whisper but his booming voice carried. “Xions can't handle low-frequency noise! If we can break into their communications channels, we can frazzle their entire nervous systems! Watch this!”

Peri and Diesel peeked around the door. A group of guards stood in the corridor. An officer was issuing orders. Otto raised the communications device to his neck and pressed a button to communicate on all channels. His neck throbbed again and a deep noise rumbled from his throat. The officer seized up in midspeech, along with the other guards.

Peri felt an electric shiver run through him. “You mean you've frozen everyone in the palace?”

“Of course, how else can we get our hands on … I mean,
rescue
the prince?!”

Peri smiled at the bounty hunter, but he felt a little uneasy about Otto's ability. If he could do that to Xions, what could he do to humans and Martians?

Otto led them through the ornately carved corridors. The walls and ceiling were covered in gold leaf. Holograms of Xion battle victories lined the walls, as well as empty suits of their fearsome black-shell battle armor. Peri couldn't help imagining the suits' bulging eye slits watching them.