“Prepare to exit Gamma Speed,” chirped a bright voice on the flight deck of the Cloud Leopard.

STEAM 6000, a three-foot-tall, oval-headed robot, punched a series of buttons on the spaceship’s console. “All life-forms, prepare for rapid deceleration lest you be hurtled into oblivion.”

Dash Conroy glanced up from the comic book he was reading and smiled. “Thanks, STEAM,” he said. “I’ll let everyone know.”

“That’s what you said ten minutes ago,” STEAM chided. “Now it is really the time, yes sir.”

Dash flipped ahead in the comic, scanning for a good stopping point. “How long until we get there?”

“Entering orbit around planet Infinity in…countdown: ten minutes…,” the robot verified. “Nine minutes fifty-nine seconds…nine fifty-eight…nine fifty-seven…”

“Whoa,” said Dash. He laid the comic over the arm of his chair to hold his place. Only nine minutes to get everyone rounded up and secure?

He slid out of the captain’s chair, his heart already thumping with anticipation. The Cloud Leopard crew was about to arrive at the fourth stop on their six-planet tour of the universe. Each new planet so far had brought a unique blend of mystery and danger. It was time to get ready…for anything.

Dash hurried toward a panel on the wall. He studied the map of the tunnel system the crew used for traveling around the ship.

“No time for games.” STEAM waddled over to Dash. “Prepare to exit Gamma Speed, in nine minutes twenty-six seconds, yes sir,” the robot said. “Nine twenty-five…get a move on, sir; you better shake your bacon.”

The robot’s quirky chiding nudged Dash out of his strategizing. “Sure. Thanks, pal.”

“That is what friends are for, yes sir.” STEAM went back to work. A crew of ZRKs buzzed alongside him, busily helping out. The golf ball–sized robot assistants darted and hovered, extending their mechanical arms here and there to tinker with things.

Dash traced his finger over the map in the longest path he could think of. Oops, force of habit. He shrugged. Sure, he had to hurry, but taking a few extra seconds to try for the record wouldn’t hurt anything. The panel opened, and he plunged himself feetfirst into the tunnel. Moments later, after a whooshing, winding ride, Dash shot out of the tunnel and landed in the crew’s recreation room. He smoothed down the sleeves of his flight suit and checked his distance—good, but not good enough to overtake the record.

Dang.

A smiling black-haired girl sat cross-legged in the middle of the carpet, speaking Japanese to a two-foot-tall, squarish robot.

“Hey, Carly! Hi, TULIP,” Dash said. “We’re almost to the next planet.”

“Hiya, Dash,” Carly Diamond said.

TULIP beeped and squawked in greeting. The small robot’s belly glowed, a side effect of the gallon of molten metal she carried. She radiated warmth.

Carly glanced past Dash, toward the tube system. “Ha,” she said. “I’m still in the lead.” Ever since they first boarded the Cloud Leopard nearly nine months ago, the crew had been competing to find the longest tunnel path between two points on the spaceship.

TULIP beeped, as if to cheer. Carly and TULIP had been spending a lot of time together lately. The small robot didn’t speak any human language, but talking to TULIP in her own first language made Carly feel at home.

“Yeah, yeah.” Dash grinned at the pair of them. “We’re about to arrive at Infinity,” he told Carly. “Report to the flight deck, pronto.”

TULIP whistled softly, perhaps in response to Dash’s unusually urgent tone. Carly smiled at the slogger. Then to Dash she said, “I’ll head right up.”

A soft, vibrating alarm began sounding from the Mobile Tech Band attached to Dash’s arm like a sleeve. He quickly silenced it.

“What was that?” Carly asked.

“It’s nothing,” Dash lied. He wished she hadn’t noticed the alarm. He had it set to vibrate for a reason. Only Chris and Piper knew about his need for daily shots, and he wanted to keep it that way. The reminder alarm usually took precedence over anything, but right now, STEAM’s countdown echoed in Dash’s head. The ship’s course was predetermined. It would stop whether the crew was strapped in or not. Being hurtled into oblivion would not be a great outcome.

“Let’s get ready to stop,” he said.

“Right,” Carly agreed, getting to her feet.

“I’ll get Chris,” Dash told her. “Have you seen Piper or Gabriel?”

“Piper was in our room a little while ago. I’ll see if she’s still there,” Carly said, and zoomed off through the tunnels.

Dash reset the alarm on his MTB for the following day. He felt guilty about keeping this secret from his friends. Every day, he considered telling them the truth: the shots were saving his life. But he also didn’t want to worry them unnecessarily.

He rode the tunnels to the ship’s lower level, emerging in the corridor outside the engine room. It still wasn’t the longest path through the tunnels, but Dash was sure he was getting closer.

Dash hurried toward Chris’s quarters. As he passed the training room, Dash heard the sounds of an argument coming from inside. He punched the door release and rushed into the room.

“Traitor!” Piper Williams said.

“You’re the traitor,” Gabriel’s voice responded angrily. “My revenge will be sweet.”

Gabriel Parker stood at one end of the room. On the other side, Piper hovered in her air chair, the space-friendly gadget that took the place of the wheelchair she used back on Earth. Both were armed with very long swords. They were so focused on each other that they didn’t notice Dash enter.

“Guys—” Dash started, but his voice was drowned out.

“Prepare to die!” Piper yelled. She zoomed toward Gabriel at top speed, her blond hair whipping behind her. Gabriel ran forward to meet her. Dash dove backward, pressing himself against the wall to get out of the way. His heart raced strangely fast. Was it nerves? Adrenaline? He breathed deeply to steady himself.

The swords clashed in a sickening crunch. Then both fighters pulled back for a second shot. They swung swords toward each other again, but at the last second, Piper twisted her chair sharply to the side. Gabriel’s blade strike caught the metal arm of her chair. With a victorious whoop, Piper reached down and drove the tip of her sword into his stomach.