Deadly Mission by Max Chase Page B

In the blink of an eye, the small ship was gone, sucked down into the gooey Cos-Moat.

    Buuuurrrrppppp!
A giant bubble erupted from the moat and popped, spraying the outside of the
Phoenix
. The goo hissed and smoked as it ate through the ship’s outer shell.
    A frenzy of warning lights lit up the control panel.
    â€œThe moat’s shorted the cloaking device,” Peri shouted.
    â€œGet out of here!” boomed Otto, his scarlet skin paling to pink. “Th-th-that moat just ate a ship.”
    Peri lunged for the controls. He tried to pull the levers to maximum thrust, but it was as though they were covered in caramel. He hit the emergency boosters. The
Phoenix
still struggled to pull away. The moat was tugging harder, dragging the ship back.
    â€œPeri …” Otto’s voice was nervous.
    â€œNot now, Otto!” Peri cried, still struggling with the levers.
    Eee-ra, eee-ra!
Sirens erupted around the bridge.
    â€œ
Peri!
”
    Something in Otto’s voice made Peri tear his eyes away from the controls. The alien bounty hunter was pointing at the only part of the monitor that was not covered in goop.
    Fear filled Peri’s chest like liquid fire.
    â€œSpace-sharks!”

Chapter 2
    Eight huge space-sharks surged toward the spaceship. They had giant red heads and beady black eyes. Instead of tails, pulsing masses of tentacles powered them, flicking Cos-Moat slime as they moved. The sharks opened their hideous mouths, showing rows of jagged purple teeth. Bits of the smugglers’ ship were caught between them.
    Thuuuddd. Sccrrraatcch.
The sharks’ teeth gnashed at the
Phoenix
’s hull.
    â€œI told you they were real!” Diesel shouted as Otto hid behind his chair.
    Crrraaack!
Huge cracks were appearing across the 360-monitor. The
Phoenix
’s shell had been damaged. Peri’s Expedition Wear flamed red, as a cold sweat made him shiver.
    If the monitor shatters
, thought Peri,
we’re shark bait!
    â€œWhat’s that smell?” Diesel cried.
    Peri sniffed, looking around. “Oh no …” The Cos-Moat had pulled the
Phoenix
to its electrified surface, and its blue goo was oozing through the cracks onto the bridge. It stank worse than uranium-toe jam and cosmic-liver ice cream combined. As the goo mixed with the ship’s atmosphere, it erupted into sparks as bright as stars.
    â€œWe need shields,” Peri shouted, but before he could reach the control panel a hood sprang from his collar and encased his head in a transparent armored bubble.
Click.
It sealed him from the air in the ship.
Whoorrrl.
The protective helmet’s filtration system started.
    Peri and Diesel were both sealed in their Expedition Wear, but Otto had dropped to his knees and was gasping for air. Despite the countless blaster holsters, grenades, and survival packs strapped to his body, he had nothing to protect him against the smoke and gas filling the bridge. The Meigwor’s eyes bulged out of the black patches on his crimson face.
    â€œHang on,” Peri shouted over another
twaaack-craaack
. A space-shark was trying to gnaw its way through the 360-monitor. Every gnash of its teeth was showering the bridge with white-hot sparks. Peri’s hands danced across the control panel. “Now the shields aren’t working.”
    â€œWe’ve got to blast the sharks, or we’ll get sucked into the moat,” Diesel yelled.

    â€œWe’ve got to use the
Phoenix
’s pulsar-cannon belt.”
    â€œIsn’t it dangerous?” Peri asked.
    â€œYou know what they say,” Diesel said, a twinkle in his yellow eyes. “‘You can’t hunt Venusian crabs without losing a toe.’”
    Thwack
. Two space-sharks hammered against the craft. Peri knew they had to do something.
    â€œGo for it,” he yelled.
    As Diesel pulled a lever on the gunnery station, massive spikelike cannons shot out from the side of the ship. The sharks peeled away from the