Deadly Mission Read Online Free

suffocate outside in about seven seconds,” Peri added.
    Otto shook his head in disbelief. “You’re so primitive!” he said. He led them down the mauve-lit corridor into the air-lock. “Come on, let’s go.”
    As they neared the end of the corridor, Peri noticed a small yellow button on the wall and stopped. He didn’t know what it did, but his fingers tingled to press it. As he did, the ship announced, “Planet name: Xion. Recommend: footwear adjustment for lighter gravity.”
    Robotic arms shot out of the walls, lifting him and Diesel into the air. Two more arms appeared. They peeled the thick magnetic soles off Peri’s space boots and clamped on new super-thin ones. The boots turned dusty orange.
    â€œCamouflaged too,” Peri said as the arms lowered him and Diesel.
    Otto was shaking with laughter. “I can’t believe what you have to go through just to go outside!”
    â€œAt least we’ve created the technology to do it,” said Peri, bristling.
    â€œYes!” said Otto, holding his belly. “But truly advanced species don’t need such tricks!”
    â€œWhat about you?” Peri asked. “You think a Meigwor can walk around unnoticed?”
    Otto tapped the lumps on his neck. “Watch!”
    He crossed his long arms behind his back, so that they were now on opposite sides of his body. They looked almost normal length. He yanked two rings from the side of his ammo belts. A cloak sprang from around his shoulders, hiding the extra length of his arms. He folded the collar up to cover his freakishly long, lumpy neck.

    â€œAmazing!” Diesel exclaimed, sarcastically. “I hadn’t realized you Meigwors were such masters of disguise.”
    Otto smiled. Peri shook his head and pressed the panel for the exit. The door swung open and hot sticky air blasted them. Peri’s and Diesel’s Expedition Wear turned blue to cool them, but it was still hot. The ramp appeared, and they followed Otto to the ground and through the abandoned factory.
    As they walked the streets of Xion, Peri realized that Otto’s disguise worked. It wasn’t a good disguise, but in the hazy light he went unnoticed. Luckily, the Xions appeared to look almost human but had webbed fingers and smelled of Saturnian squid.
    Peri whispered to Otto, “Why don’t they have pincher claws and antennae like the Xions who beamed aboard our ship?”
    â€œShh,” Otto hissed back. “The Xions wear special battle suits to scare their enemies! Now follow me and keep quiet!”
    The enormous palace walls cast shadows over the many small shops selling everything from “organic fertilizer, fresh for eating!” to “live-grubs jewelry!” Peri felt sick. The creamy maggots squirming along the necklaces looked revolting.
    Thankfully, as they got closer to the palace, they left behind the traders cooking up foul brews, and the streets became deserted.
    The palace walls were covered with cameras and laser wires. Peri and Diesel stopped. The palace gates were huge and made from twisted bits of ships, carefully molded into decorative swirls. In among alien names, Peri noticed the names of ships from the IF fleet lost on deep-spacemissions: IFSS
Blade
, IFSS
Grace
. Despite the humid heat, even his circuits felt cold with fear. If the Xions had defeated the pride of the IF fleet, what chance did he and Diesel have of avenging the Milky Way against such a terrible enemy?
    â€œIs Otto crazy?” Diesel asked. “Does he think he can just walk in?”
    Peri saw Otto marching up to the gates. There was a shout of “Stop or Die.”
    Out of the shadows beside the gates, four guards stepped out, pointing assault blasters straight at them.
    Oh no
, thought Peri.
Otto’s got us into deep cosmic-trouble.

Chapter 5
    Peri couldn’t believe it. Otto kept walking even as the guards charged their assault blasters. It was like Otto