The Jelly People by H. Badger Page B

backpack. It sealed perfectly. It would keep Duke warm enough to survive the short skywalk.
    Kip left the Rocket Bus and quickly jumped into MoNa’s landing bay.
    â€˜Your backpack!’ said a friendly, deep voice. ‘I think it’s alive.’
    Finbar, Kip’s second-in-command (or 2iC for short), had come to the landing bay to meet him.
    Finbar was two metres tall, and was a cross between a human and an arctic wolf. Normally, he was the only animal on Space Scout missions.
    Wonder if he’ll mind having a naughty minisaur along for the ride , Kip grinned to himself.

CHAPTER 3
    Duke jumped out of Kip’s backpack. Finbar bent down and tickled him under the chin.
    What a softie! Kip thought.
    Finbar was an Animaul, bred to protect Earth from alien invaders. But Finbar was so gentle that he’d failed Animaul training. WorldCorp reassigned him to be Kip’s 2iC. Finbar was calm and wise, not daring like Kip. His sharp wolf senses and loyalty made up for it, though.
    â€˜That creature is distracting you both,’ came MoNa’s voice. She saw and heard everything Kip and Finbar did.
    â€˜The wormhole to Aquaron is open,’ MoNa continued. ‘In case you haven’t noticed, I used my auto-pilot to leave the Hoverport. But you’re needed at the controls right away.’
    Frowning, Kip left the landing bay. Space Scouting would be heaps more fun without a bossy starship!
    Kip and Finbar strode along MoNa’s glowing blue corridors.With Duke at their feet, they headed for the bridge, MoNa’s control centre.
    At the round door to the bridge, a security laser scanned Kip’s eyeball. Only then were Kip and Finbar allowed inside.
    The bridge had sloping walls and a big window that was now looking over Earth. Kip and Finbar sat down in the padded chairs in the middle.
    Kip touched the air above his head. A blue holographic cylinder beamed down from above. Kip and Finbar were surrounded by it. MoNa’s controls were projected onto the cylinder.
    Expertly, Kip switched MoNa from auto-pilot mode. He took the controls himself. Flying a starship was tough, but Kip had studied intensively. In Space Scout training, Flying was his favourite subject.
    Soon, a strange, swirling red cloud loomed into view. The wormhole!
    They powered forward into the cloud. Colours exploded all around. Kip’s head ached and his skin prickled. Finbar turned green with space-sickness.
    But in 3.2 seconds, the trip through the wormhole was over. MoNa popped out into Aquaron’s galaxy.
    Wobbly legged, Finbar walked to the windows. A large, bright red planet filled one entire window. Aquaron!
    Kip felt the nervous thrill he always got when he was about to land on a brand-new planet.

    Space Scouts were trained to deal with the unknown. Tackling new challenges was one of the reasons Kip loved the job.
    Kip took in every detail of Aquaron. As a Space Scout, it was important to notice as much as possible.
    â€˜Earth’s got green patches of land,’ Kip said. ‘But this planet’s completely red.’
    â€˜My long-range telescopes say Aquaron’s covered with water,’ MoNa said.
    Finbar yelped. ‘An ocean planet? Wolves hate swimming!’
    â€˜Go to the landing bay,’ MoNa said, ignoring him. ‘A WaterWalker is waiting.’
    Kip had read about WaterWalkers in his Space Scout Vehicle Manual.They were clear, oxygen-filled capsules with motors.
    Kip wouldn’t be wearing his spacesuit on this mission. He took it off and slipped on a SeaStocking over his normal clothes – a thin, transparent suit that was better for swimming in than his spacesuit.
    I didn’t have to get changed at the bus-stop after all! he groaned to himself.
    When they were ready, Kip and Finbar headed for the landing bay. Kip wondered how the WaterWalker would get down to Aquaron.

    WorldCorp WaterWalker
    Normally, MoNa beamed Kip and Finbar to new planets using her Scrambler