The Kid Kingdom by H. Badger Page A

go. But Kip’s dad was having trouble with the instructions.
    Now’s my chance! Kip thought.
    He felt a little guilty about sneaking off. At home, Kip had to do what his parents said, like any kid. It was only on Space Scout missions that he had complete control.
    Kip’s dad might be angry about the Space Stream at first. But Kip hoped he’d understand. He had to get to the Hoverport somehow. Earth’s future could depend on Kip’s next mission!
    With a goodbye wave to Jett, Kip sneaked aboard the Space Stream. It was docked a little way from the campsite.
    He jumped straight into the cockpit and commenced launch sequence.
    As an experienced Space Scout, Kip was confident flying most vehicles. Besides, he’d watched his dad piloting the Space Stream heaps of times before.
    With the roar of rockets powering up, the Space Stream took off into the air.
    Through the windscreen, Kip saw his dad look up from the camping gear. His expression quickly went from surprised to mega-cranky.
    â€˜I’ll look after it, Dad,’ Kip called. ‘Space Scout’s honour!’
    The Space Stream’s powerful engine throbbed as Kip hit the throttle. He understood why his dad loved flying it! It wasn’t long before Kip left the moon far behind. And only a short time later, he arrived at the Intergalactic Hoverport.
    All intergalactic space flights left from the Hoverport. That’s why Kip’s starship, MoNa 4000, was docked there. MoNa was a huge, glossy black ship, with a pointed nose cone and extra noisy thrusters, specially designed for extreme long-distance space travel. She was the ideal starship, apart from her bossy personality.
    Kip expertly piloted the Space Stream into the massive landing bay on MoNa’s lowest level.
    MoNa had a team of maintenance robots aboard. Straight away, the bots began refuelling the Space Stream so it could return itself to the moon.

    WorldCorp Maintenancebot
    Kip punched the co-ordinates for the moon into the Space Stream’s control panel, then leapt out.
    The Space Stream took off and MoNa’s voice came over the loudspeaker. ‘Airlock closed. Now stop wasting time and get to the bridge.’
    Kip raced to MoNa’s command centre, where a familiar furry figure was waiting for him. It was Finbar, Kip’s second-incommand. Walking on two legs and covered in white fur, Finbar was half-human, halfarctic wolf.
    â€˜Welcome back,’ said Finbar.
    Kip couldn’t help noticing that he sounded stressed. ‘Is the wormhole opening already?’ he asked, looking out the giant windows into space.
    Space Scouts used wormholes to travel quickly between different galaxies.
    â€˜By the time you’ve downloaded your mission brief, it’ll probably be closed,’ grumbled MoNa. She was an intelligent starship and could hear everything Kip and Finbar said.
    Kip and Finbar exchanged glances. MoNa could be so crabby sometimes! She was busy flying them from the Hoverport into deep space and she hated interruptions when she was concentrating.
    The bridge was packed with bleeping gadgets, but best of all was Kip’s holographic console. He waved his hand above his head to activate it. It formed a cylinder of blue light around him. Kip hit the button that downloaded his mission brief.
    SPACE SCOUT
KIP KIRBY
MISSION BRIEF
    WorldCorp has received friendly communications from the aliens of a planet called Yufe. The aliens request help with developing their technology.
    Your mission:
    Assist the local aliens and decide if Yufe could be the next Earth.
    Awesome! Kip thought. Friendly aliens were always a bonus.
    â€˜The wormhole’s up ahead,’ said Finbar. ‘But we don’t have much time.’
    Kip saw the wormhole, a clump of glowing, electric blue cloud. ‘Let’s go, Finb–’ he began. ‘Wait…what’s THAT?’
    A ginormous rubbery blob, nearly as big as MoNa, was hurtling out of the wormhole.