The Shrinking Race (6 page)

LOGCobaltKIP KIRBY, SPACE SCOUT #50

Not totally true
, Kip admitted to himself.
But I'm not lying either.

While Kip was typing, Finbar unpacked a LunchPod he found in the bridge.

LunchPods were lightweight, portable metal ovens. You put the ingredients in and then the LunchPod cooked your lunch.

‘Your mum packed us a picnic,' said Finbar.

‘What is it?' said Kip. After nothing but sugarmelons for the entire mission, he was starving.

Maybe it's a Mega Meaty Big N Cheesy pizza
ice-cream!
he thought, drooling.

‘There's a massive steak for me,' said Finbar, and then he paused. ‘And, er, a cauliflower casserole for you.'

Kip rolled his eyes.

‘But she packed dessert too,' Finbar added.

Kip's eyes lit up.

WorldCorp LunchPod

‘Sweet Brussel Sprout Pops,' Finbar finished. He made a strange sound, somewhere between a bark and a laugh.

Suddenly Kip had an idea. He scribbled something down on a slip of paper and stuck it to his LunchPod plate.

‘Hey, MoNa,' he said with a grin. ‘Can you send a Scrambler Beam down to Cobalt? I want to give them something.'

Dear Blutor,
Here's a healthy meal to get
you started. Good luck!
From Kip

Kip grinned as his lunch disappeared with the note, beamed down to Cobalt by MoNa. His mum would never know.

Besides,
he thought,
the Baltians need it
way more than I do.

And luckily, Kip had a snack-sized can of BurgerMousse in his backpack for emergencies!

THE END