Robot Ruckus

By Denise Shea and Thomas Kingsley Troupe

The Star Belchers crew has a problem. Judy needs a new stabilization core. Without one, the Star Belchers will be grounded permanently. Tensions and stakes are high when they set out to find the replacement part, and the crew learns that choices sometimes come with consequences.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
• Release date: May 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781496591258

Denise Shea

Amit Tayal is a multi-award winning illustrator. Working for almost a decade Amit produced a wide range of illustration styles, using both digital and traditional methods.Amit has worked in various publications and animation studios.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

THE BEGINNING OR THE END?

Go, go, go! I shouted. I leapt through our spaceship Judy’s side hatch and mashed the button inside to close the door. Nothing happened.

Kurby, what did you do? Risk called, looking back at me.

He sat in the cockpit next to Carma. She was busy trying to get Judy to take off.

But since the door wasn’t closing, she had a bit of a problem. And while I might not know a whole heck of a lot about spaceships, I knew one thing for sure.

We weren’t jumping into outer space with the door open.

Did you get the sample? Carma asked.

Yeah, I got the sample, I cried, waving the small airtight container over my helmet. But those monsters are going to get a sample of us!

I peered out of the hatch opening. I saw glowing green eyes through the darkness. Those big-fanged gilkills were still coming. That’s what I called them, anyway. They had gills and they really seemed to want to kill me. And only because I took a little water out of their pond! Judy’s exterior lights made their scaly silver skin twinkle. The gilkills had giant teeth and slobbery tongues, making them look like lizard dogs. I couldn’t see all of them, but there were at least eleven of the things, clawing over each other.

Judy, Risk shouted to our spaceship’s Artificial Interface. I need you to reroute circuits A3-1F and C5-9S immediately!

You got it, Risk Novason, Judy’s computer voice said, calm as can be. I’m hap-hap-happy to help.

At any moment, we would have unwanted passengers with us. My palms started sweating with dread at the thought. I glanced out the door again. A gilkill squatted down on its haunches and leapt.

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The door closed with a swish, followed by a dull thud. The alien outside of our spaceship howled. Risk headed back toward the cockpit and acted like his quick repair was nothing at all.

As Judy lifted off of the dwarf planet Boren-Dell, I plopped down on my seat and depressurized my helmet. I shut off my OxyGenerator backpack too. Boren-Dell might’ve not had oxygen for me to breathe, but Judy’s cabin had more than enough.

Let’s get out of here, Risk said. I can’t believe you talked me into this job. I knew this whole thing was a bad idea.

Ouch, I thought as I caught my breath. Risk had a way of making me feel dumb without actually saying it.

Hey, it wasn’t like I planned on getting us into a dangerous situation. It seemed like a simple gig. We had the weekend off from school. My mom thought I was staying at Risk’s. His parents thought he was staying with me. Simple. Until it wasn’t simple. The jobs I signed us up for just happened that way sometimes. Well, a lot of the time, in truth. But the danger wasn’t always my fault.

Ever since our teacher, Mrs. Andrix, paired Risk and me together during a planetary field trip on Gammerk 5, we’ve been partners. We found Judy, a marooned spaceship, stuck in a dried-up swamp. Judy told us that when she crashed on Gammerk 5, she wasn’t able to complete her journey. She’d said something about treasure.

The