Read Online Si in Space by John Luke Robertson - Free Book Online

again, you’ll be able to spot Earth outside the window. . . .
    THE END
    Start over.
    Read “Look at the Stars: A Note from John Luke Robertson.”

DON’T STOP

    IT’S A GOOD PLAN, taking out the ships. You figure all those vessels you spotted in the hangar must be the ones that are going to attack Earth.
    â€œMission Control said they couldn’t detect the ship we’re on,” you tell John Luke. “Obviously they have some way of shielding themselves. Like a cloak thing. So you know what we do?”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œMake them permanently invisible. And blow them up.”
    You find what appear to be timer-controlled bombs in the weapons stash. And the strangest thing is that they look like six-packs of Diet Coke.
    â€œI think I understand what they’re trying to do,” John Luke says. “Everything they’re doing   —the people, theseweapons   —they’re hiding the truth. Nothing is what it appears to be. A teenager really isn’t a teenager. A cowbell   —”
    â€œReally isn’t a cowbell,” you finish for him. “John Luke, you went out in space and got smarter.”
    â€œMust be something in the air.”
    â€œLet’s each take a pack of Diet Coke,” you say. “We got some blowing up to do.”
    Before you’re able to get out of the armory, a woman in a pirate outfit walks into the room. You can’t help but start to laugh, but then you control it.
    â€œWhat are you two doing here?” she demands.
    Oh, man. You know you can say only a few things. But you’re betting only one response will be the right one. Isn’t that how it usually goes?

    Do you tell her you need these weapons for the mission? Go here .
    Do you tell her you’ve heard reports that some of these weapons aren’t working   —and that you’re trying to fix them? Go here .

COME TOGETHER

    FIRST THINGS FIRST: FIND JOHN LUKE.
    The astronauts are already captured, and you know they’re alive. Right now you need to get John Luke so the two of you can figure out a plan. Hey, two are better than one.
    The room you left John Luke in is empty. The teenage boys’ briefing must be over too. They will know their assignments and how to infiltrate high schools on Earth. World domination. They might even plant brain-zapping software in smartphones that will make everyone dumb so the aliens can be in complete control!
    Wait, maybe they’ve already done that!
    You start to head down the hallway when you hear someone call your name. It’s John Luke.
    “Over here,” he says, waving from a doorway.
    For a second you give him a strange look as you enter the passageway he’s standing in.
    “John Luke   — why are you dressed as a pirate?”
    He closes the door behind you. “That’s what the soldiers are dressed as. Have you seen them?”
    “I’ve seen a few, but I just thought   —”
    “Yeah, it’s kinda crazy. But maybe that’s the fashion.”
    “An army of pirates. Really?”
    “Space pirates,” John Luke says. “Come on   —this is a walkway that leads to an armory. They took us in there after the meeting. It’s where I got the outfit. And . . .”
    He holds up a triangular object in one hand and takes a drumstick   —not the chicken kind   —out of his back pocket. After further examination, you realize what John Luke is holding.
    “Is that a cowbell?”
    “Yes, but . . .”
    “This ain’t no time for playing games. We got a world to save, Jack.”
    “I know. Come on.”
    John Luke rushes down the dimly lit passageway, which forks three ways. He chooses one of the routes, and it ends at a closed door.
    “Stand back, Uncle Si,” he tells you.
    Then he bangs a couple times on the cowbell. It doesn’t make any noise.
    Instead the door in front of you blasts open. As if two laser beams tore through it.
    “Whoa,” you say. “What’d you do?”
    “This isn’t an ordinary cowbell.