by Jonny Zucker
Max could hear the moans and screeches of the locked-in Guzzlets.
“And don’t forget to put any litter in the bins provided,” added Max. “We don’t want anyone messing up this marvelous transport system.”
“You’re a natural,” laughed Arcan. “There are some Hopper driver’s jobs open at the minute. Why not apply?”
Max grinned. “Maybe one day,” he replied.
Arcan braked suddenly.
“I believe this is your selected destination,” he announced to Max.
The Hopper screeched to a halt.
Max looked at the station sign just outside the driver’s carriage.
DELTA BLACK HOLE 1713.
Arcan shrugged his shoulders. “What do you want to do with that lot back there?” he enquired.
Max spied a button labeled TILT in front of him.
He pressed DOORS OPEN and followed this with TILT.
The Hopper’s two passenger doors slid open. The train leaned steeply to the right.
The Guzzlets tumbled out of the carriage, straight into the mouth of the black hole.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” shrieked the Guzzlets. It was too late. They were already being sucked down into the depths of the swirling mass.
Max and Arcan did a high five. They both burst out laughing.
“You really showed those dudes,” chuckled Arcan.
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” Max grinned.
“Where to next?” enquired Arcan.
“Back to planet Zockra!” shouted Max with relief.
Arcan flipped the Planet Hopper around. Within minutes they were back on Zockra. Max clambered out of the Hopper. He turned to say goodbye to Arcan. “Thanks for everything,” he said.
“It’s my pleasure,” the friendly alien replied.
“If you’re ever on Earth, I’ll take you on a bus. It’ll be a lot less cool than traveling in your Hopper, though!” said Max.
And with that, Arcan waved and zoomed off. Max waited until the silver taillights of the Hopper had disappeared over one of the six horizons in view. Then he started walking over to the Community Center.
On entering, he stopped in his tracks. He was amazed at the transformation of the room. The Zockrans were buzzing around the place. They were no longer pale, frail, and desperately ill.
I did it! thought Max. I saved them!
Nineth picked his way through the crowds and reached Max’s side.
“Welcome back,” he smiled, his face looking far more alive than before. “Your colleagues from the DFEA are currently sleeping after their experiences. They were hoping to be up to bid you farewell. Zavonne is keen for you to return immediately. I’ve arranged for your spaceship to be brought here from the Hedra Docking Station.” Nineth placed his hands on Max’s shoulders. “Your bravery will never be forgotten on Zockra,” he declared.
“Glad to be of service,” Max said proudly.
Max was back in the spaceship. He was heading home. He went over everything that had happened on his mission to the Hedra galaxy.
No one at school would believe even the tiniest fraction of it!
It had been a crazy trip. Max suddenly felt very sleepy. His eyes began to close. He would have slept the whole journey back if it hadn’t been for the loud voice booming out from the flight panel.
“THROTTLE OVERRIDE! SHUTTLE TRAVELING AT UNACCEPTABLE SPEED! ACTIVATE BRAKES.”
Max opened his eyes. He scanned the flight panel for a BRAKES control. It was nowhere to be seen.
“ACTIVATE BRAKES!” the voice repeated.
Max looked to his right at the ship’s navigation screen. It showed their exact position. They were nearly upon Earth.
Max looked at the flight panel again.
Where are the brakes?
He gulped in horror.
If I don’t stop this thing soon, I’ll be dust.
Frantically, Max thought back to his session in the flight simulator with Hunter. He was sure Hunter had talked about the brakes. He couldn’t recall where they were.
He checked the navigation screen again. The shuttle was rapidly going down. Earth was getting bigger and bigger.
“IMPACT IMMINENT!” announced the panel. “APPLY BRAKES IMMEDIATELY!”
Max threw himself against the flight panel. He pressed every single switch. He was desperate to stop the craft.
The brakes must be somewhere!
And then he saw it. A small foot pedal wedged quite a way in beneath the bottom of the panel. It had a narrow sign reading BRAKES.
What a ridiculous place to put it!
Max kicked his leg forward. He couldn’t reach the pedal. He kicked out again, but still without luck.
“DANGER OF DEATH! DANGER OF DEATH!” boomed the panel voice.
Max looked at the navigation screen. He could see the DFEA Space Base rapidly approaching.
In a last, desperate attempt to avoid death, Max pulled his leg back and threw himself onto his front. He squashed his body down against the floor. He wriggled forward under the flight panel. He managed to get further than his leg had stretched, but even this wasn’t far enough.
“CRASH SITUATION! CRASH SITUATION!” bellowed the panel.
Straining every muscle, Max made one last attempt to activate the brakes. He just managed to catch the edge of the panel with his hand.
The spaceship came to a violent halt. It caused Max to bang his head on the underside of the panel. He winced in pain. He slowly pulled himself out. He stared in horror at the navigation screen. The craft was hanging no more than one hundred and fifty feet above the opening hatch on top of the Space Base.
If he’d been a fraction of a second later, he wouldn’t have made it.
Max guided the spacecraft into the docking station. He breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Hunter was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. He had a very concerned expression on his face.
“I can’t believe there was a throttle override,” said Hunter when Max reached the bottom of the steps.
“I can’t believe the brakes were so hard to get to!” replied Max.
Hunter frowned. “That must have been Operative Dawson. He’s got very long legs. He must have moved the pedal to suit his frame.”
“Er, why didn’t you check that out before you sent me up there?”
Hunter scratched his ear and looked embarrassed. “Time was tight. I couldn’t cover every base. Looks like you did OK up there, though! Change out of the spacesuit. I’ll take you to where your father is waiting. We contacted him when news of your return came through on the monitor. He’s anxious to see you.”
Max pulled off the spacesuit with some regret. It was much cooler than his school uniform, that was for sure!
Hunter led Max back to the shrubs. The shrubs parted to reveal Max’s dad’s car parked by the side of the road.
“Well done, Max,” said Hunter. He shook Max’s hand.
Max’s dad jumped out of the driver’s seat. He gave him a hug. “I want to know everything. First of all, are you OK?”
“I’m fine, Dad. It’s great to be back in one piece!”
His dad steered the car back down the road. Max began a blow-by-blow account of his second DFEA operation. By the end of the hour-long journey, Max had told his dad pretty much everything.
His mom was waiting for them by the front door. They pulled up to the house. “Well done!” she beamed. “Zavonne wants to see you straight away.”
She doesn’t waste a second!
Max nodded. He headed down to the cellar. Back in the communications center, Zavonne’s face was already on the plasma screen.
“You certainly cut it a bit close to save the Zockrans,” she said coldly.
“I did it as fast as I could,” Max replied.
Zavonne pursed her lips. “Operative Larsson has filled me in on your escapade on Guzzle. So those Guzzlets were planning on invading Earth and enslaving us all?” she asked.
Max nodded. “You migh
t have warned me about them! Anyway, I think I’ve put the Guzzlets out of action for a while,” he smiled.
Zavonne’s expression remained frosty. “Let’s hope so. I trust you only used your gadgets in extremely dangerous situations?”
“Of course,” Max replied.
“Then this debrief signals the successful end of your mission,” noted Zavonne.
“Will there be another mission for me?”
Zavonne fixed him with her icy stare. “That remains to be seen.”
Before Max could say anything else, the image of Zavonne fizzled out. The plasma screen turned blank.
Typical, thought Max. Zavonne the ice queen would be right at home on planet Guzzle …
EPILOGUE
In Black Hole 1713, as the Guzzlets were turning and spinning in the infinite blackness, one of them hesitantly made his way over to the Guzzlet Chief.
“I suppose we should look on the bright side,” suggested the junior Guzzlet. “I mean, we were encased in ice for hundreds of years. We’re used to being stuck in places with a terrible view.”
The howls of the other Guzzlets could be heard in every galaxy within a one-hundred-million-mile radius.
IT’S TIME FOR MAX’S THIRD TOP SECRET MISSION …
