Attack of the Ninja Kittens! (5 page)

‘Bring the
whole ship
aboard the
Dogstar
?’ gasped Poppy.

‘Actually, it makes sense,’ said Rocket, pacing up and down. ‘Once Fluffkins is inside she won’t be able to escape. Then all we have to do is get her into the
maximum-security cat basket!’

Planet Puss

The Cheese Magnet shot out through the
Dogstar
’s rear cargo doors and drifted towards the
Mouseship
, landing with a CLUNK! on its shiny black nose. Baldy
quickly clung to the key as the clockwork craft was reeled in to the docking bay, and then held on even tighter when he peered down at three familiar Spacemutts and one giant dog.

With the docking bay secured, Rocket approached the metal door of the
Mouseship
, put down the maximum-security cat basket and was joined by Poppy and Butch. The Captain then nodded to his
crew and hit the external door-release with a paw.

The Spacemutts were prepared to pounce as the door dropped down, but the ship was pitch black inside and nothing moved or made a sound. Rocket frowned at his crew and then slowly padded up the
steps to board the enemy craft.

Deep in the darkness, two green eyes flicked open.

‘YEEEEEAAAAAWWWW!’ screamed a white ball of fur as it shot from the
Mouseship
, paws briefly landing on Rocket’s head as a springboard to freedom.

In a blur of movement, Lady Fluffkins raced along the curved walls of the
Dogstar
, darting back and forth as the Spacemutts chased after her. Duke was too big to join in so he hid inside
the
Mouseship
, while Baldy watched everything from the safety of the clockwork key.

The Persian shot around the
Dogstar
like a hissing ball of lightning, always a whisker away from the barking Spacemutts. Lady Fluffkins knew she was trapped and would be caught
eventually, so her sharp eyes studied the
Dogstar
controls each time she whizzed past the cockpit.

Once she’d gathered all the information she needed, the empress darted up the nose of the
Mouseship
, snatched Baldy from the key and threw him at the dogs. This gave her just enough
time to put her plan into action. While Rocket, Poppy and Butch ducked to avoid the yowling servant, Lady Fluffkins back-flipped over their heads and landed in the pilot seat of the
Dogstar
.

‘NOOOOO!’ howled the Spacemutts as Fluffkins used all four of her snowy white paws to cut the autopilot, ignite the turbojets and plunge the steering levers
down.

The result was a rapid nosedive at incredible speed that threw the ship into zero gravity. The empress quickly dug her claws into the padded pilot seat and cackled wildly, glancing back with
glee as the Spacemutts tumbled around the ship.

While Poppy and Butch spun through the air, Rocket flipped himself upright and peered through the observation window.