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Selene muttered, almost to herself.
    ‘See if you can figure out what he was trying to do,’ Peri said. ‘I’ll check the computers.’
    He activated the main console. The flight data confirmed that the ship had escaped just before the IF Space Station had exploded. Peri searched for more, but there was little else in the memory. Jaxx had done a good job erasing the data, especially the security feed. Peri hunted around the ship’s programming for anything that the space pirate might have overlooked.
    ‘Gotcha!’ Peri found a back-up flight plan on the system. His neck tingled as he pulled it up on screen. Jaxx was planning to intercept a comet close to the rings of Saturn.
    But that didn’t make sense. Why was Jaxx returning to the solar system and not running as far away as he could?
    Peri turned to ask Selene what she thought, but she was fiddling with some sort of gadget. It looked a bit like her electro-pulse device, but she’d been made to leave that behind on the Phoenix .
    ‘What have you found?’ he asked.
    Selene quickly shoved the device into a bag. ‘Nothing useful.’
    Peri frowned. Why is she acting so weirdly? he wondered.
    ‘Did you find anything?’ she asked.
    Peri nodded. ‘A flight plan. I think Jaxx is heading for the rings of Saturn.’
    ‘We’d better get going then,’ Selene replied, slinging the bag over her shoulder and heading for the exit hatch.
    Peri ran after her and they raced back to collect the others.
    Diesel and Otto were still arguing with Awdus Erox.
    ‘Let’s go,’ Peri said.
    ‘Not now, Peri!’ Diesel shouted. ‘This ship is almost ours. We’re down to a thousand squares.’
    ‘It’s not worth more than nine hundred squares!’ Otto boomed.
    ‘Nine hundred squares?!’ Awdus Erox spluttered. ‘That’s daylight astrobbery!’
    ‘Don’t you know how to haggle?’ Diesel asked him. ‘You couldn’t sell space to an astronaut.’
    ‘Is that so?’ Awdus Erox huffed. ‘I sold a sleek one-person craft earlier today. It was a sweet deal, part-exchanged for that ship.’
    Awdus must have sold it to Jaxx , thought Peri. A one-person craft would be perfect for intercepting a comet. ‘We’ve got to go – now!’ he told his friends.
    ‘You and your precious Star Fighter mission!’ Otto boomed, shaking his head.
    Awdus Erox gulped. ‘You’re Star Fighters!?’
    Before any of them could react, Awdus had run off and there was a yell from a large pirate close by. ‘Star Fighters . . . Get them!’
    Peri spun around. There were three pirates armed with metal poles charging at them. ‘Smash the Star Fighters!’ one of them hollered.
    ‘Run!’ Peri screamed.
    Shouts for Star Fighters’ blood followed them as they fled. Otto took the lead, shoving aside anyone who got in his way. Peri leaped and dodged the aliens who had fallen as he ran, making sure Diesel and Selene were keeping up with them.
     

     
    The mob was getting louder as they knocked over stalls and crashed into people. Diesel, now ahead of Peri, stumbled. Something clattered to the ground from Diesel’s pocket and Peri snatched it up. He jumped over a sewer ditch and kept running. Peri glanced down at the object in his hands. It looked like the Mission Capsule Diesel’s father had given him. But there was no time to think about it. Peri raced on, hoping he’d survive the angry crowd long enough to find out the secret Diesel was keeping.

 
    Chapter 9
     
    ‘Hurry!’ Peri yelled to Selene. ‘The mob’s catching up!’
    Diesel was already on a teleportation platform. He was fighting back angry aliens who were trying to stop Otto taking over the controls. Peri stuffed the Mission Capsule into his jacket pocket so Diesel wouldn’t see it. Then he shoved through the queue of aliens and ran on to the platform with Selene right behind him. As he and Selene skidded to a halt, Peri shouted, ‘Let’s get out of here!’
    Otto slammed on the controls and they were beamed aboard the Phoenix .
    Peri