Free The Slime Volcano by H. Badger Page A

mission.
    Saying a quick goodbye to Jett, Kip raced to his bedroom. He yanked on his spacesuit, which was bright green and custom-made to fit him perfectly.
    His matching helmet had glittering flames on the side. Kip’s space boots were brand new Cometchasers. According to gossip on the Space Scout intranet, Cometchasers were even better than Kip’s old boots, the Hummingbird Pros.
    It was time to leave.
    I’ll just have to do my chores when I get home , Kip decided. Whenever that is!

CHAPTER 2
    Kip jumped into the lift outside his front door. The lift hurtled up a thousand floors in 0.2 seconds.
    Kip raced onto the roof and spotted the waiting UniTaxi. It was green and pod-shaped, with a clear roof that opened automatically as Kip got closer.
    He jumped inside and punched in the co-ordinates for the Intergalactic Hoverport, where all space flights departed. The self-piloting UniTaxi rose into the air. In 2354, all spacecraft took off vertically. There wasn’t room for runways on Earth.
    The UniTaxi sped the 10 kilometres up to the Hoverport, where MoNa was docked.
    Every cell in Kip’s body buzzed with excitement. He loved heading into space. After all, not every kid got to explore unknown planets.
    Soon, Kip could see the Hoverport looming up ahead. It looked like a giant car park floating in the air. But instead of old- fashioned cars, it had rows of starships.
    Kip’s starship was one of the biggest. MoNa was gleaming black with a pointed nosecone and powerful thrusters. She was custom-built for extreme long-distance space travel.
    â€˜Please open the landing bay door, MoNa,’ Kip said into his SpaceCuff.
    â€˜NOW you decide to turn up?’ said MoNa grumpily.
    Kip rolled his eyes. I’m not even that late! he thought.
    But he said nothing to MoNa. She was very bossy. Plus, she liked to think she knew everything about space travel. Kip preferred to ignore her bad moods.

    MoNa’s external door slid open and the UniTaxi flew in. Kip leapt out into the landing bay.
    â€˜Welcome back!’ said a friendly, growly voice. It was Finbar, Kip’s second-in-command (or 2iC for short).
    Finbar was part-human, part-arctic wolf. He had fluffy white fur, ice-blue eyes and fangs peeping over his lips. He walked on two paws and towered over Kip.
    You’d never know that Finbar is such a softie , Kip grinned to himself.
    Finbar was an Animaul, bred to protect Earth in case of alien invasion. But he’d failed Animaul Basic Training for being too gentle. Finbar’s wolf senses, agility and intelligence made him an ideal 2iC. Plus, Kip was plucky enough for both of them.
    When not on missions with Kip, Finbar looked after MoNa.
    Finbar looked exhausted. ‘I’ve been cleaning MoNa all afternoon with my new Suckerbot,’ he explained.

    WorldCorp Suckerbot
    The Suckerbot was a cleaning robot with a nozzle shaped like lips. It could suck dirt out of the smallest corners.
    It circled around Finbar making soft buzzing sounds. Kip could tell it was one of those clingy robots.
    â€˜Time for some real work now,’ MoNa snorted. She saw and heard everything Kip and Finbar did.
    Kip sighed. MoNa was impossible!
    â€˜Download your mission brief,’ MoNa continued. ‘I’ll pilot us into space.’
    â€˜I thought I was captain of this starship,’ Kip joked.
    Still, he knew it made sense to let MoNa’s autopilot handle the easy flying tasks. For more complicated flying, Kip’s skills would be needed. He’d spent months in Space Scout training learning to fly a starship.
    Kip and Finbar strode through the glowing blue corridors toward the bridge.
    The bridge was MoNa’s command centre.
    The Suckerbot rolled along at Finbar’s paws, slurping at them as he walked.
    Located inside MoNa’s nosecone, the bridge had two giant windows looking out to space. The floor was a lit-up map of the Milky Way.
    Kip and Finbar took their seats in the