Attack of the Ninja Kittens! (4 page)

When Butch had completed the engine preparations, Rocket sent coordinates to Poppy, who steered the
Dogstar
through a bright swirling portal located behind Earth’s moon.

‘WOOOO HOOOO!’ cheered the Spacemutts as they shot through a tunnel of rainbow light that looped and curved wildly, spiralling through the galaxy. The dogs howled with joy at the
incredible speed, noses forward and ears flapping on the side of their heads.

The wormhole jump was a rollercoaster ride through space and time, but the journey was over in the shake of a tail and moments later the
Dogstar
burst through the exit portal in the
Catnip Nebula.

In a flurry of movement Poppy hit the brake jets, Butch cut the engines and Rocket shut down the ship’s computer, leaving only basic functions running as the
Dogstar
coasted
silently through enemy territory. The Spacemutts then gathered at the cockpit and peered out into the Catnip Nebula. The vast red gas-cloud twinkled with distant stars as they passed through a
minefield of small local planets.

‘I can hear the pulse,’ said Rocket, tilting his head and twitching his ears. The Captain then darted away and leapt on to the central hub, where he pulled down the periscope and
scanned the skies until he located the source.

‘GRRRR!’ he growled, transferring the image to the giant screen.

Butch and Poppy joined Rocket at the hub, and even Duke lifted his head as the image flickered into view. It showed the clockwork
Mouseship
tumbling through space with a shivering Baldy
clinging to the top. The hairless servant was making a constant racket as his chilly paws grappled with the key.

‘
That
was the pulse?’ said Rocket. ‘Baldy banging on the ship?’

‘It’s too easy,’ said Poppy. ‘It has to be a trap!’

‘The
Mouseship
appears to be completely without power,’ said WOOF, scanning the systems of the clockwork craft. ‘Which is why I could not identify its electronic
signature.’

‘A sitting duck!’ drooled Butch.

said Rocket, wagging his tail excitedly. ‘And when she’s safely in our custody, planet Earth will finally be safe from the feline forces!’

‘But how will we get to her?’ asked Poppy.

The Spacemutts thought hard. A Space Walkies to the
Mouseship
was the obvious choice, but with Lady Fluffkins waiting for them inside it was far too dangerous to attempt.

‘The Cheese Magnet!’ declared Butch.

‘Huh?’ said Rocket and Poppy together.

Butch bounded to the back of the ship and returned wheeling a large crane with a fishing reel attached to the base. Dangling from the line at the other end was a holey metal wedge that looked
like a lump of cheese. Butch swept the dust from the contraption and patted it proudly.

said Rocket and Poppy again.

‘I invented the Cheese Magnet to fish for the
Mouseship
in outer space,’ Butch explained. ‘Unfortunately the line was too short for it to work long-distance, but we can
use it to reel her in through the cargo doors!’