Free The Slime Volcano by H. Badger

CHAPTER 1
    Why hasn’t someone invented an easier way to do chores? Kip Kirby grumbled to himself. After all, it IS the year 2354!
    Kip was twelve – old enough to stay home alone during the school holidays while his mum and dad were at work. But while they were away, Kip had to do chores around the apartment for his pocket money!
    Kip was used to working hard, though. As well as going to school, he had a job as a Space Scout.
    Space Scouts explored unknown galaxies in deep space. They were searching for Earth 2.The current Earth was running out of room, and another planet was needed for humans to live on. No other planet in the Milky Way had water or the right atmosphere.
    Being a Space Scout was an honour, but a huge responsibility. Earth’s future depended on Kip and the 49 other scouts.
    Kip was due to leave for his next Space Scout mission in an hour!
    In his apartment on the 2,342nd floor, Kip squirted cleaning liquid onto the bathroom mirror. It was the latest Best-U model. Instead of showing your actual reflection, the Best-U suggested cool new hairstyles and outfits.
    That day, Kip’s reflection had short, blond hair with a blue spiky fringe. His outfit was a sparkling gold spacesuit.
    Gold’s my colour, Kip decided, imagining when he might get to wear a gold spacesuit for real.
    The Shield of Honour presentation ceremony , he sighed. If only…
    After finishing a mission, Space Scouts earned one Planetary Point. Important discoveries on new planets earned two points. But the Space Scout who actually discovered the next Earth won the ultimate prize – the Shield of Honour.
    Kip wanted to win it more than anything. He pictured himself holding up the shield while the other Space Scouts cheered. There were also other prizes for the winning Space Scout, like a brand-new Turbo RoboHorse to ride on Earth 2. Of course, saving humanity would be awesome, too.
    Suddenly the doorbell rang, interrupting Kip’s daydream. It was Jett, Kip’s best friend from school. He lived on the 1,698th floor of Kip’s apartment building.
    â€˜Check this out!’ Jett grinned, holding a microphone with flashing blue and yellow lights.
    WorldCorp Turbo RoboHorse 8000

    â€˜No way!’ Kip said. ‘Your parents got you a Pro-Planet Star Mic?’
    Pro-Planet Star Mics were the latest craze at Kip and Jett’s school. You simply sang into the microphone and it recorded you, instantly adding backing vocals and a band.
    The microphone then beamed your performance to big screens on Earth, Venus, Mars and Mercury. Local aliens on each planet voted on the best singers. If they liked you, you could be in line for immediate interplanetary fame!
    â€˜They love me on Venus,’ Jett said modestly.
    â€˜Give me a go!’ Kip begged.
    Kip launched into one of his favourite hard rock songs, ‘Space Junk’. Then Jett had a turn, singing ‘Sun Spots’.
    Next, Kip belted out a rocking version of ‘Meteor Strike’, with air guitar and headbanging moves. But no matter what he did, Kip couldn’t get the aliens watching on Mercury to vote for him.
    â€˜They must prefer boy bands on Mercury,’ he muttered.
    â€˜Ewww,’ Jett said. ‘Gross!’
    Then Kip remembered that he was supposed to be finishing his chores before he left on his next mission. He quickly flicked on his SpaceCuff.
    SpaceCuffs were thick silver wrist cuffs with mini-supercomputers built in. Space Scouts used them to communicate with their starships on missions.
    He checked the time. It was 16:58 hours already!
    Kip had to leave for his mission in two minutes. A UniTaxi would be waiting for him on the roof of his apartment building to take him to his starship, MoNa 4000.
    The Pro-Planet Star Mic had completely distracted Kip from his chores. His parents would kill him if he didn’t finish them. Plus he’d miss out on his pocket money. All the same, he couldn’t abandon the