‘LEFT!’ yelled Gizmo.
‘RIGHT!’ screamed Scrummage.
Maxie desperately yanked the controls and, at the very last moment – whoooosshhhh – the Toxic Spew darted sideways and whizzed past the massive space bus, with only the thickness of a bus ticket between them … and only to meet another huge spaceship immediately behind it! And more behind that one, all bearing down on them at incredible speed!
COLLISION ALERT! COLLISION ALERT!
The crew all screamed again. ‘Aaaaarrrgh!’
SWERVE …
WHOOSH!!!
‘We’re going up the down space-lane!’ cried Maxie.
‘Computer!’ gasped Harvey, clinging to the arms of the captain’s chair in terror. ‘What’ve you done?’
‘Oh, whoops! Sorry!’ it said cheerfully.
‘SORRY!?’ cried Scrummage clinging onto the edge of his desk, his turquoise eyes wide with terror.
Gizmo was too busy throwing up into an empty paper cup to speak, and Yargal had flung all six of her tentacles over her three eyes. Even Snuffles crouched and whimpered under the flight desk.
The computer’s keyboard lights flickered frantically. ‘Oh, chill! I just made a little mistake in my sums,’ it said, bleeping busily. ‘Oh look – I added seven when I should have taken it away. I didn’t do it on purpose!’ it bleeped huffily.
COLLISION ALERT! COLLISION ALERT!
‘AHEAD! REVERSE!’ yelled Gizmo and Scrummage.
‘QUIET!’ ordered Harvey. ‘Maxie doesn’t need you two bellowing at her. And turn off that alarm – it’s making us nervous!’
‘Thanks,’ said Maxie without taking her eyes off the vision screen.
DART …
ZIIIP …
The Toxic Spew narrowly missed a Stella-Line Q656 cargo carrier.
Maxie sat hunched forward, her fingers flying over the controls as she swerved like a striker weaving round the defence. Harvey didn’t know how to pilot a spaceship, but he knew talent when he saw it. Blimey he thought, how can she be that brilliant at her age? It was only her outstanding skill as a pilot that was keeping them all from instant death.
SWERVE …
WHOOSH …
They zipped around a pangalactic cruise ship with hundreds of holidaying aliens onboard and on its way to the popular tourist planet Verudia.
‘Can’t we pull over?’ asked Harvey.
‘That’s illegal!’ said Maxie.
‘What, and going the wrong way isn’t? Let’s just stop!’
‘No! That’s not allowed either. I could lose my pilot’s licence.’
Harvey reckoned that was going to be the least of their problems. But suddenly the word
STOP!
… in massive red letters flashed onto all three vision screens and a loud bossy voice boomed around the bridge.
‘THIS IS THE INTERGALACTIC TRAFFIC POLICE. PULL OVER AND STOP!’
‘Oh no!’ wailed Yargal.
‘Flickering spew!’ spluttered Scrummage.
‘What are we going to do?’ cried Gizmo.
It seemed pretty obvious to Harvey. ‘Pull over and stop!’
‘NO!’ yelled the crew.
‘We can’t get caught with a cargo hold full of Explo-Foam!’ cried Scrummage.
‘STOP AND PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY! THAT MEANS: RIGHT NOW!!!’ boomed the voice.
SWERVE …
WHOOOOOOSH!
They just missed a tiny starport taxi.
Harvey hardly dared look. But he forced himself to … and immediately wished he hadn’t.
ZAPP! ZAPP! ZAPP-ZAPP!
Streaks of angry red rays zipped past the vision screens.
‘Shields UP!’ barked Gizmo.
‘They’re shooting at us?!’ cried Harvey in disbelief.
‘Of course!’ said Scrummage. ‘The Intergalactic Traffic Police have the most powerful NovaBlaster ray guns in the entire Galaxy. And they’re not afraid to use them – in fact, they enjoy it!’
ZAPP! ZAPP-ZAPP! ZAPP!
‘Oh, Captain, I’m too young to be zapped by the most powerful NovaBlaster ray guns in the entire galaxy!’ wept Yargal, and strings of slimy grey snot spluttered out of her nostrils.
Suddenly …
ZIIIIP! FLASH, FLASH, FLASH!
The police craft sliced across in front of them, with millimetres to spare, forcing them to swerve right off the HyperspaceWay. Its blue lights blazed angrily and then its giant red brake lights came on as the mighty craft slowed to a halt in front of them.
‘Maxie! LOOK OUT!’ cried Harvey.
The engines of the Toxic Spew screamed and the booster rockets screeched as Maxie hauled on the supersonic handbrake. The crew plummeted forwards in their seats and Yargal was thrown across the bridge and hurled against the front vision screen with a mighty
SQUELCH!
The rear brake lights of the Intergalactic Traffic Police’s ship loomed horribly closer.
Desperately Maxie clung onto the supersonic handbrake with both hands … ‘Captain, help!’ she cried. ‘I can’t hold it any longer!’
Harvey leapt up, grabbed the flight joysticks and yanked them over to the left for all he was worth.