go. But Kipâs dad was having trouble with the instructions.
Nowâs 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.
Kipâs dad might be angry about the Space Stream at first. But Kip hoped heâd understand. He had to get to the Hoverport somehow. Earthâs future could depend on Kipâs 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, heâd 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.
âIâll look after it, Dad,â Kip called. âSpace Scoutâs honour!â
The Space Streamâs powerful engine throbbed as Kip hit the throttle. He understood why his dad loved flying it! It wasnât 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. Thatâs why Kipâs 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 MoNaâs 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 Streamâs control panel, then leapt out.
The Space Stream took off and MoNaâs voice came over the loudspeaker. âAirlock closed. Now stop wasting time and get to the bridge.â
Kip raced to MoNaâs command centre, where a familiar furry figure was waiting for him. It was Finbar, Kipâs second-incommand. Walking on two legs and covered in white fur, Finbar was half-human, halfarctic wolf.
âWelcome back,â said Finbar.
Kip couldnât help noticing that he sounded stressed. âIs the wormhole opening already?â he asked, looking out the giant windows into space.
Space Scouts used wormholes to travel quickly between different galaxies.
âBy the time youâve downloaded your mission brief, itâll probably be closed,â 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 Kipâs 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.
âThe wormholeâs up ahead,â said Finbar. âBut we donât have much time.â
Kip saw the wormhole, a clump of glowing, electric blue cloud. âLetâs go, Finbââ he began. âWaitâ¦whatâs THAT?â
A ginormous rubbery blob, nearly as big as MoNa, was hurtling out of the wormhole.