by Max Chase
Peri wanted to glare at the toll taker. His ship wasn’t junk. His parents had helped make the Phoenix better than anything in the universe. But arguing would only endanger the mission, so he kept quiet.
“Yes, you’re right, of course,” Diesel told the guard. “It’s almost embarrassing to fly—practically useless.”
Peri was impressed. Diesel was cool under pressure. It must have been his upbringing as the emperor’s son—he knew exactly how to deal with the toll taker.
“Access granted,” said the toll taker. “Please beam over payment.”
“Payment?” Peri whispered to Diesel. “What are we … ?”
“Certainly, officer,” said Diesel, cutting Peri off. “How would you like your payment?”
“Our scanners have already picked items of value.”
Peri held his breath, worried about what the Xions wanted to take. White ice crystals had formed over the screen. When he scraped them away and saw the InfoBox, he almost laughed.
IDENTIFIED: plastic storage devices and rich organic fertilizer.
“Peri,” Diesel whispered. “What’s ‘rich organic fertilizer’?”
“Umm …” Peri paused. “I think they want plastic recycling bins and the contents of our space-toilets.”
Text copyright © 2012 by Working Partners Limited
Illustrations copyright © 2012 by Sam Hadley
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
First published in Great Britain in February 2012 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published in the United States of America in May 2012
by Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers
www.bloomsburykids.com
Electronic edition published in May 2012
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Bloomsbury BFYR, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
available upon request
ISBN 978-1-59990-930-1 (e-book)