by Tracey West
Alice shrugged. “I don’t think I’d miss it too much. Would you?”
“No, I guess not,” Simon admitted. “Except for the horses, maybe.”
He took a deep breath and pressed the button marked LAUNCH. The spaceship began to rumble and shake, and then suddenly . . .
Whoosh! The ship shot out of the mud and zoomed into the sky. The ship was whizzing past the clouds in the blue sky so fast they were just a blur. Below, they could see the islands of Poptropica floating in the blue water.
“Huzzah! Now this is fun!” Alice cheered.
Then they entered the blackness of space, and the blurry clouds gave way to blurry stars. In the distance, they could see a bumpy moon the color of dull metal.
“That must be where we’re going,” Alice reasoned. “Mordred said there was alien life on that moon. I wonder what the aliens look like.”
“I never really thought of that,” Simon said, suddenly sounding nervous. “What if they’re enormous? With pointy teeth and sharp claws?”
“We won’t know until we get there,” Alice said matter-of-factly. “And there’s no point in worrying about it now. We’ve got to face whatever’s in store for us.”
Then a loud beeping sound filled the craft. The lights on the control panel began to blink on and off. A message appeared on the screen.
WARNING. FUEL ROD DEPLETED.
“No fuel?” Simon asked. He glanced at the fuel rod to see that there was only a sliver left of the glowing green fuel. The spacecraft began to wickedly spiral toward the moon’s surface.
“Hold on!” Alice yelled. They both closed their eyes as Excalibur crashed into the surface of the moon.
Chapter Fourteen
Little Green Aliens
Crash! Everything turned upside down as the ship made contact with the surface of the moon. Lights flashed on and off, and smoke streamed from the control panel.
Simon pushed open the cracked dome and climbed out of the spaceship. He was shaken, but not hurt. Alice looked pale as she climbed out behind him.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
Alice nodded. “I can’t believe we’re not hurt. If Mordred built that machine, he knew what he was doing.”
Then she looked around. “Oh no! Where’s Merlin?”
To her relief, the owl flew out of the wreck, circled around them both, and settled on a metal sign that read Welcome to Pewter Moon. The sign was missing a big chunk out of it.
“It looks like whoever attacked Arturus hit this place, too,” Simon remarked.
“Everything seems calm now, though,” Alice pointed out. “So we know that this is the moon that Mordred traveled to. I guess we should start looking for him.”
“I hope we find him and not some horrible, snarling alien creatures,” Simon said with a shudder.
Suddenly, they heard a voice behind them.
“Welcome!”
They both turned around to see a creature wearing a white spacesuit with black trim. He had green skin with light green spots, bushy green hair, and two wiggling green antennae on top of his head.
Simon and Alice might have been frightened if he didn’t look so small and cute.
“Excuse me, sir,” Simon said politely. “But are you an alien?”
The green man laughed. “I live here, so I guess not. Seems to me that you’re the alien around here.”
He waved and walked away, leaving Simon and Alice just a little bit stunned.
“So this moon must be inhabited by little green people,” Alice reasoned. “These must have been here when Mordred landed. We should see if we can find any more of them so we can ask.”
“Good idea,” Simon said. “But where do we start?”
The two friends took in their surroundings. Luckily, they had crashed right in front of what looked like a space station. Metal towers rose from the surface on spindly legs. They surrounded a large, round metal building that stood about twenty feet off the ground. Right next to them was a strange-looking platform with the words Create Your Own Rocket above it. Next to it flashed a screen that read HOLOPAD CONSOLE.
Alice walked toward it, fascinated. “Do you think Mordred built this?” she said, touching the buttons on the console. “This might come in useful. Now that Excalibur’s in pieces, we’ll need a way to get home.”
An alien wearing a T-shirt with a rocket on it quickly approached her.
“Sorry, no messing around with this unless you talk with my boss,” he said in a cranky voice.
“Oh, sorry,” Alice said. “Maybe you can help us. Do you know a man named Mordred?”
But the alien just glared at her. He clearly didn’t like strangers.
“Come on, Alice,” Simon said. “Let’s check out the main building.”
As they made their way there, a friendlier looking alien walked up to them.
“The head mechanic might be able to fix that ship of yours,” she informed them, nodding toward their wrecked ship. “He’s inside.”
She nodded to the building above them. There were no stairs leading to the top. Instead, a levitating pad traveled slowly from the ground to the building and then back again.
Simon stared at it a moment in wonder. “This is amazing,” he said. “Just a few days ago, I was shoveling manure in a stable. And now . . . I’m here. It’s like a dream.”
“I know,” Alice agreed. “This beats scrubbing floors.”
The two of them jumped onto the levitating pad, steadying themselves as they landed. Merlin hovered next to Alice, flapping his wings as the pad carried them up to the shop.
When they reached the landing, Simon yelled, “Jump,” and they landed safely in front of the shop entrance. A sign above the door read, “Astrozone: For All Your Rocket Needs.”
Alice saw an alien pacing up and down the walkway next to the entrance.
“Excuse me, are you the boss?” she asked.
“No,” he replied. “I’m keeping an eye out for the Binary Bard. He attacked us once, and he’s likely to do it again.”
Alice and Simon looked at each other, confused.
“Binary Bard? Who’s he?” Simon asked.
“He’s a powerful sorcerer who lives across the galaxy,” the alien explained. “He wants to steal our technology. Some say he is creating machines to carry out his evil plans.”
Simon turned to Alice and said, “So do you think this Binary Bard is the one who attacked Arturus?”
Alice frowned. “I was sure that it was Mordred,”
she said thoughtfully. “But then again, we don’t really know what happened to Mordred once he arrived here. Maybe this Binary Bard captured Mordred and the Princess!”
Simon shook her head. “This is getting pretty confusing. Let’s go find that green guy’s boss and see if we can fix the Excalibur. We can’t do anything if our ship doesn’t work.”
They walked inside Astrozone and found themselves in a bright space with shelves lined with rocket fuel, tools, rocket fins, and other rocket parts. A green alien with a spiky haircut stood next to the door.
“Are you the head mechanic?” Simon asked him.
“Sure am,” the alien replied. “Welcome to Astrozone.”
“A girl outside said you might be able to fix our ship for us,” Alice said.
The alien laughed. “That wreck? Not a chance.”
Alice and Simon exchanged worried glances. “Could you lend us one of yours, then, please?”
Alice asked.
“No way,” the mechanic replied. “The last time I lent a ship to a human I never saw it again.”
Simon looked excited. “A human? Was his name Mordred?”
The alien shrugged. “He didn’t tell me his name. Guess I should have asked for it.”
“So
you’ve never heard of a Mordred around here?” Alice pressed him.
“Nope,” the alien replied. “Sorry.”
“Another dead end,” Simon said glumly.
“Maybe not,” Alice said. “We still have those coordinates the Queen gave us, remember? The ones the knights left her? We can travel to those places and keep looking.”
“But we don’t have a ship, remember?” Simon said.
Alice turned to the mechanic and flashed him her best smile.
“Please, sir,” she said. “We have come such a long way. We’re on a rescue mission. The Princess of our kingdom has been taken, and we fear the worst. But we cannot save her if we don’t have a ship. Can you please help us?”
The alien’s green cheeks blushed as blue as a cornflower. “Tell you what,” he said. “Leave me your ship for scrap, and you can build a new one on the holopad.”
Alice’s face lit up. “Oh, thank you so much! We’ll be sure to tell the King and Queen how kind you were to us.”
The mechanic blushed again.
“Thanks for your help,” Simon added.
They jumped back on the floating pad and got off on the moon’s surface. Back at the holopad, the cranky alien nodded to them.
“The boss just buzzed me. If he says it’s okay, I guess it’s okay,” he said.
“So how do you work this thing?” Simon asked, but the unfriendly alien had already wandered off.
Simon shrugged. “Pressing buttons seems to work. Let’s try this one.”
He was in luck, because the big screen turned on and an image of a basic rocket ship appeared. Simon read the instructions out loud.
“‘You can choose what kind of body shape, wings, and door you want,’” he said. “‘Just click on each part, and the graphic on the left will show you the balance of speed and shields in each design.’”
“Shields? I guess they must protect the ship,” Alice said. “That sounds like a good idea.”
“Speed is important, too,” Simon countered. “We’ve wasted enough time already. I want to find the Princess, fast.”
“Well, the instructions say we need a balance,” Alice reminded him.
“A little faster won’t hurt,” Simon said. He started clicking the buttons until he came to a rocket with a thin body that tapered to a point, streamlined wings, and a sleek steel door.
“That does look impressive,” Alice admitted.
“Now for some color,” he said. “How about orange, green, and blue? For the knights?”
Alice nodded. “Nice touch.”
Simon hit DONE, and the finished rocket appeared on the rocket pad. Green stripes ran down the blue body, and the door and wings were trimmed in orange.
The cranky alien had wandered back.
“Not bad, for a couple humans,” he said, admiring their ship.
“Thanks!” Simon said. He reached in his pocket and took out the coordinates the Queen had given him. “So can I just type these in, and the ship will take me there?”
The alien’s eyes grew wide. “You’re going there? Good luck, then,” he said. “If your shields get low, just teleport back here.”
“What do you mean, there?” Simon asked, but the alien just shook his head and walked away once more.
“That didn’t sound too promising,” Alice said worriedly.
“Nobody said rescuing the Princess was going to be easy,” Simon said. “If there’s danger ahead, we’ll face it bravely, just like Sir Pelleas, Sir Cador, and Sir Gawain!”
Alice took a deep breath. “You’re right,” she said with a nod.
Inside the ship, they found a control station with a large screen. Simon switched it on, and a map appeared. In the center was home, and the Pewter Moon was close by. The map showed three other planets: the Jungle Planet, the Ice Planet, and the Fire Planet.
“Where should we go first?” Simon asked.
Alice looked thoughtful. “Well, they all sound a bit dangerous. In the stories I’ve heard, jungles are dark and filled with snakes and deadly creatures. Fires can burn you. So maybe the Ice Planet?”
Simon clicked on the Ice Planet on the map and read from it. “‘The planet is surrounded by dangerous mechanical space sharks. Space sharks are virtually indestructible, but even they cannot withstand the pull of a black hole.’”
Simon turned a little pale. “Space sharks? Don’t sharks have lots of big, sharp teeth?”
“So what?” Alice asked boldly. “Do you think Sir Pelleas cares about space sharks? He eats them for breakfast. I know because I make him his breakfast every day.”
That made Simon smile. “You’re right. We’re not afraid of any space sharks. Ice Planet, here we come!”
Chapter Fifteen
Danger on the Ice Planet
Simon’s stomach lurched as the rocket lifted off the holopad and soared into space. Through the window they could see nothing but black sky.
On the screen, the images of planets had disappeared. Instead, a grid of coordinates appeared against a backdrop of black space.
“I guess now is when we can use the coordinates,” he said. “It looks like the ones we’re closest to are X-73, Y-83.”
“They must lead to the Ice Planet,” Alice guessed.
Simon steered the rocket while watching the coordinates change on the screen. “All right, now we’re at X-73, Y-59. Almost there.”
Then a message appeared on the screen: WARNING. APPROACHING BLACK HOLE.
“Black hole? That doesn’t sound good,” Alice remarked.
“Don’t worry. The planet’s in the opposite direction,” Simon said, steering the rocket away. “Let’s see. Y-78, Y-79 . . . there it is!”
Through the ship’s window they could see the ice-covered planet. Three gigantic mechanical sharks circled the globe.
“Boy, they sure are big,” Simon said with a gulp.
“But you built this rocket to be fast, remember?” Alice said. “Just zip right through them.”
Simon gritted his teeth and accelerated the rocket. He tried to steer between the tail of one shark and the head of the next, but there wasn’t enough room.
Bam! One of the sharks head-butted them. The screen began to flash.
SHIELDS LOW!
“Steer away!” Alice cried. “We can’t take another attack or we’ll crash!”
Simon quickly obeyed, leaving the orbit of the Ice Planet. The sharks resumed circling the planet, waiting for the next intruder.
“That was close,” Simon said with relief, leaning back in his chair.
Alice frowned. “This is a problem. We can’t get past those sharks, especially with our shields so low.”
Simon looked thoughtful. “There’s got to be some way to get past them. Some kind of strategy.”
Alice read the map on the screen again. “The map says a black hole can destroy them. So if there was a way to get them to the black hole . . .”
“It’s risky, but it just might work,” Simon said.
“You can do it,” Alice told him. “You’re pretty good at steering this thing.”
Simon grinned. “I’m the only one in the stables who can ride that stallion Blackheart without getting thrown. Compared to that, this is pretty easy.”
“Then let’s do it!” Alice cheered.
Simon steered the rocket back to the Ice Planet. This time, he approached the mechanical sharks slowly.
“Hello there, giant space sharks with the sharp teeth,” he said sweetly. “Try and catch us!”
He slowly steered toward the black hole, and the mechanical sharks began to follow.
“It’s working!” Alice cried. “Hurry, before they hit us! Our shields can’t take it!”
WARNING. APPROACHING BLACK HOLE.
&
nbsp; “Slow down!” Alice yelled. “We’ll get sucked in.”
“Make up your mind!” Simon yelled back at her. “Should I slow down or hurry up?”
Alice’s face was as red as her hair. “I don’t know!”
Steadying himself, Simon slowly steered closer and closer to the edge of the swirling vacuum with the sharks right on their tail. Too close, and they’d be pulled in just like the sharks.
Alice bit her lip. “We’re so close.”
“Almost there . . .” Simon said calmly. He steered right to the edge . . . and at the last second, made a sharp left turn. The ship escaped the black hole—but all three sharks got sucked in!
“You did it!” Alice cheered.
Simon let out a deep breath. “Thank goodness.”
He steered the rocket back to the Ice Planet’s coordinates and landed the craft on an icy ridge in the middle of a frozen sea.
“It looks pretty cold out there,” he remarked, gazing out the window.
“I think I see something up on top of that mountain, just across the water,” Alice said, gazing out the window. “We can get across by jumping on those chunks of ice.”
Simon nodded. “I hope we find something here. It wasn’t easy getting rid of those sharks.”
Alice turned to Merlin. “You stay here and watch the rocket for us, okay?” The owl replied by blinking its glowing eyes.
Simon and Alice stepped out onto the frozen planet. Alice carefully eyed the ice chunks floating in the water. They each seemed to be floating in one place, not drifting, which was good.
“It’s just like the pond in winter,” Alice said. “This shouldn’t be hard. Come on!”
She jumped to the first ice chunk and was able to keep her balance, so she made another quick leap to the second ice chunk. Simon jumped on next to her.
Alice grinned. “So far, so good,” she said. At that moment something jumped out of the water and sailed over her head!
“What was that?” Simon cried.
“It looked like some kind of fish—a robot fish,” Alice said in disbelief. “We’ll have to watch out for them. They jump high, though, so if we’re standing still when they jump over us, we should be fine.”