Pirate Spacecat Attack (Geronimo Stilton Spacemice #10)

Home > Childrens > Pirate Spacecat Attack (Geronimo Stilton Spacemice #10) > Page 2
Pirate Spacecat Attack (Geronimo Stilton Spacemice #10) Page 2

by Geronimo Stilton


  for my grandfather, the retired

  Admiral

  William Stiltonix

  .

  “Grandson!” he thundered. “Where have

  you

  been? This is a disaster. None of the

  ship’s equipment

  works

  anymore!”

  “I, er . . .” I squeaked. “Well, the alarm

  *

  Read all about the elfix in my book Away in a Star Sled!

  And that's

  my uniform!

  My uniform!

  clock went off late . . . um, my stylist gave

  me the wrong uniform —”

  “

  Enough with the excuses!

  ” Grandfather

  interrupted me. “Get to your station and

  start behaving like a real captain

  !”

  I

  hurried

  over to my captain’s chair,

  walking right past my cousin Trap.

  “Hi, Cuz!” he shouted. “So that’s where

  my

  clothes

  went!”

  I realized then that he was wearing

  my

  captain’s uniform!

  “What’s going on?” I asked him,

  pointing

  to his clothes. “Trap, why are

  you wearing my clothes?”

  “I don’t have a clue!” he replied. “This

  morning my automatic

  stylist

  handed

  me this uniform. He said it was

  Hologramix’s order. I thought it

  was a

  joke

  !”

  Hologramix, our

  ship’s super-high-

  tech computer,

  was usually very

  serious, and not

  big on

  pranks

  .

  I looked over at it

  —

  "

  HOLOGRAMIX

  IS SICK!"

  Ooohhh!

  and saw that its image was fuzzy and faded.

  How weird!

  “Do you know what’s happening?” I asked

  my sister, Thea. She has an

  explanation

  for just about everything.

  “We’re just not sure,” Thea replied.

  “Hologramix started acting strangely this

  morning, and now

  nothing

  on the ship is

  working

  properly

  .”

  At that moment,

  Sally

  de

  Wrench

  ,

  our ship’s technical

  genius, entered the

  control room.

  “I know what’s

  wrong,” she said.

  Is It a Virus?

  Shooting stars!

  This was

  serious

  !

  “The possibility that this would happen

  was

  one in a trillion

  , but it happened!”

  Sally explained nervously.

  “But how does a computer get

  sick

  ?!” I

  asked, incredulous.

  “The

  circuits

  are all fine, the memory

  is intact, and the processor has no damage,”

  Sally explained. “But

  something

  isn’t working

  like before! Hologramix looks too tired to

  perform the thousands of transactions it

  needs to complete each day. It looks like it

  might be some kind of virus

  .”

  “But you can

  fix

  it, right?” I asked.

  Sally shook her head. “Unfortunately I

  don’t know how to

  fix

  it because I don’t

  HOLOGRAMIX

  MouseStar

  1’s onboard

  computer

  Species:

  Ultra-advanced

  artificial intelligence

  Specialty:

  Controls all

  functions on the ship,

  including the autopilot function

  Characteristics:

  Considers itself to be indispensable

  Defining Features:

  Appears wherever and whenever

  it’s needed

  really know what’s

  wrong

  ,” she said, a

  worried

  look on her snout.

  Cosmic cheddar!

  Without Hologramix,

  the

  MouseStar 1 was stuck!

  Right then, my nephew Benjamin ran to

  me and gave me a huge hug.

  “Hologramix will get

  better

  , right,

  Uncle G?” he asked sweetly.

  “Of course!” I said confidently, trying

  to reassure him. “Sally, there has to be

  something

  we can do.”

  “I’m afraid the only one who can help

  Hologramix is Professor Twisterix,”

  Sally replied. “He was my teacher at the

  University for Lunar Physics and Galactic

  Engineering

  . He taught me everything I

  know about engineering, and he helped

  me design

  Hologramix many galactic

  years ago!”

  “Let’s call him right away!” I squeaked

  excitedly.

  “I’m afraid it’s not that easy,” Sally said,

  sighing

  . “The professor retired to spend time

  on his

  inventions

  . I think he might still

  live on planet Factorix near the university.

  But I don’t know his address; he’s

  extremely

  private!”

  “Maybe we can find his

  phone number

  in the Intergalactic Phone Directory,” I

  suggested.

  Sally shook her head. “I tried

  looking him up last year,” she

  said. “But his

  number

  isn’t

  listed!”

  “Well, we can’t waste any

  time!” Grandfather William

  thundered. “What are you

  waiting for, Geronimo? If Hologramix shuts

  down completely, we’re in supergalactic

  trouble

  !”

  “Um . . .you’re right, Grandfather,” I

  replied.

  “Of course I’m right!” he squeaked. “Start

  planning an expedition

  immediately

  !”

  Have I mentioned that it’s a

  terrible

  idea

  to contradict Grandfather William?

  Intergalactic

  Phone Directory

  “Yes, Grandfather!” I replied quickly.

  “Hooray!” Benjamin squeaked joyfully.

  “I’ve heard planet

  FACTORIX

  is home to

  the most mouserific inventions in the entire

  galaxy! I can come, too — can’t I, Uncle?”

  My little nephew looked up at me

  sweetly

  . He looked so excited, I couldn’t

  say no.

  “Of course you can,” I reassured him.

  And that was

  the beginning of

  our incredible

  intergalactic

  adventure!

  A Galaxy of

  Trouble

  Planning the expedition was especially

  difficult with

  Hologramix
/>   out of

  order.

  First of all, where in the name of cheddar

  was planet Factorix? Luckily, MouseStar 1’s

  superstellar GPS navigator seemed to be

  working. In a few seconds, it displayed our

  route.

  Thea overrode the

  automatic pilot

  so

  she could fly the ship manually. It wouldn’t

  have been a

  good idea

  to use the autopilot

  when Hologramix wasn’t working properly!

  Thank goodmouse Thea is such a good

  pilot, because we quickly ended up in a

  galaxy

  of trouble. She had to steer the ship

  Watch out

  for meteors!

  Argh!

  A magnetic

  storm1

  Uh-oh.

  Stardust

  ahead!

  through a thick meteor shower, a magnetic

  storm, and a cloud of stardust! Luckily, we

  made it through with

  no

  damage

  .

  “Can someone tell me what’s going

  on?!” Thea asked. “Why did the

  superstellar GPS navigator

  send us this way? This route is too

  dangerous

  !”

  Sally examined the device.

  “You’re right, Thea!” she replied. “I

  didn’t realize the GPS navigator wouldn’t

  be working correctly, but it makes sense. I

  forgot that Hologramix

  controls

  all the

  electronics on the ship!”

  Stinky space cheese, what were we

  going to do now?

  “Spacemice, forget about

  technology

  ,”

  Grandfather William said. “Today we’ll

  travel like we did in the olden days!”

  Space

  Atlas

  Then he slammed down a

  dusty

  book on

  the table.

  “Uh, as much as I

  love

  to read,

  Grandfather, I’m not sure this is the

  best

  time . . .” I began.

  “What are you talking about, Grandson?”

  he replied, a stern look on his snout. “This is

  a

  space

  navigation

  atlas

  ! You’ll need to use it

  to find Factorix.”

  Then he opened the book and began

  From the Encyclopedia Galactica

  SPACE NAVIGATION

  ATLAS

  The space navigation atlas is an

  ancient navigational system used by

  spaceship captains before the invention

  of the computerized space navigator. The

  atlas has thousands of pages, including maps of the

  entire universe, listed in alphabetical order by galaxy.

  Once he or she locates the map of the star or planet,

  the captain must use his or her skills to navigate there.

  looking for the map of the planet we were

  heading for.

  “You know, when I was growing up, we

  didn’t have

  computers

  . Instead,

  I had to learn to read

  space

  maps

  ,” he said.

  Then he exclaimed, “Ah, here’s Factorix!”

  “That’s mouserific, Grandfather!” Thea

  replied. “You’re the best!”

  “Thank you, Thea!” he said, looking

  pleased with himself. “Now go back to the

  navigation controls. I just need a minute to

  consult the map. Then I’ll help you figure

  out the best

  route

  through space.”

  A few moments later, we made a

  right

  turn

  after the

  Perseus

  constellation,

  proceeded

  STRAIGHT to the crossroad

  between Galaxy 643 and Galaxy 981, and

  sped past the very bright star Maia. Finally,

  we saw the planet Factorix in front of us!

  Even from far away I could tell it was a very

  modern

  planet covered in tall, high-tech

  buildings.

  “Thea, Sally, Trap, Benjamin: Prepare for

  landing!” I ordered. “I’ll meet you in the

  Teletransportix

  room!”

  Sally cleared her throat.

  “Um, I don’t think the Teletransportix is

  From the Encyclopedia

  Galactica

  PLANET FACTORIX

  This extremely modern

  planet is the location of

  the University for Lunar

  Physics and Galactic

  Engineering.

  Aliens

  from

  galaxies all over the universe study

  and live here peacefully together.

  the best

  way

  to

  go

  right now, Captain!”

  she squeaked helpfully.

  Superstellar

  Swiss!

  She was right.

  How

  careless

  of

  me! With Hologramix

  out of order, we

  couldn’t risk using the

  Teletransportix

  . I didn’t want

  to end up on Factorix while my tail was left

  behind on the MouseStar 1. I’m too fond of

  my fur for that!

  “Thanks, Sally,” I replied. “We’ll use a

  space

  pod

  instead. See you at the launch

  dock!”

  Sally was the last one to get to the pod.

  She had disconnected Hologramix and

  placed the computer in a

  special

  container

  full of protective Parmesan cheese slices that

  had been prepared by our ship’s onboard

  scientist

  , Professor Greenfur.

  “Captain, with Hologramix out of order, I

  had to set MouseStar 1 on

  standby

  mode

  ,”

  Sally told me.

  “

  Standby

  what?” I squeaked.

  “It’s as if our

  spaceship

  has

  been turned off,” Sally explained. “Only

  the lighting, air, and water systems are still

  running.”

  shooting stars!

  This was

  serious

  .

  The

  MouseStar 1 had never been turned

  off

  before.

  “Quick! Let’s get moving!” I told my crew.

  “We can’t

  waste

  any time — we have to

  cure

  Hologramix!”

  Welcome to

  Factorix!

  After traveling for another galactic hour,

  Thea steered the space pod into Factorix’s

  very crowded spaceship port.

  Galactic Gorgonzola

  , there were so

  many spaceships!

  “A lot of

  aliens

  visit Factorix every

  day,” Sally explained. “There are scientists,

  students on exchange programs, and

  aliens looking to purchase the

  latest

  and

  greatest

  inventions.”

/>   “

  It’s not going to be easy to find

  parking

  ,” Thea muttered.

  “There’s a spot!” Trap squeaked.

  My sister started pulling into the spot,

  when . . .

  B

  E

  E

  E

  E

  E

  E

  E

  E

  E

  E

  E

  E

  E

  P

  !

  An alien driving a sporty

  spaceship

  zoomed right past us, missing us by a

  whisker.

  “Holey craters, what terrible manners!”

  Thea squeaked as she performed a series

  of complicated

  maneuvers

  . An

  astrosecond later, our

  space pod was parallel

  parked

  perfectly

  !

  Watch out!

  Vrooommm!

  There's

  so much

  traffic!

  Whoosh!

  Beeeeep!

  “Here we are!” Thea announced as she

  turned off the engine. “I think it’s best

  if I stay here with the ship. Let’s stay in

  touch with our

  wrist

  phones

  . Good luck

  scouting around!”

  “Sounds good!” I said. Then I

  turned to Sally. “Um . . . where

  are we going?”

  “To the

  university

  ,

  of course!” she replied. “If I

  recall correctly, it should be

  that way!”

  She pointed to the left and we started

  walking. Luckily, we found some

  signs

  that confirmed Sally had been right.

  In no time, we reached an

  enormouse

  ,

  elegant,

  modern

  building.

  This way

  This way

  This way

  That way

  That way

  “Here we are!” Sally squeaked.

  “

  Wow!

  ” Benjamin exclaimed as he

  looked around him, awestruck. “Uncle G,

  when I’m old enough, do you think I can

  study

  here? I want to become the most

  mouserific inventor in the whole universe!”

  I looked at my nephew proudly.

  “If you work hard in school now,

  I’m

  sure you can, Benjamin

  !” I replied.

  From the Encyclopedia

  Galactica

  UNIVERSITY FOR

  LUNAR PHYSICS AND

  GALACTIC ENGINEERING

  This is the biggest university in the

  Cheddar Galaxy, and the home of the

 

‹ Prev