Theo Baker - Moon of Deception

2018 Rourke Educational Media

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

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Edited by: Keli Sipperley

Cover layout by: Tara Raymo

Interior layout by: Kathy Walsh

Cover and Interior Illustrations by: Alex Lopez

Series Concept by: Colton Sipperley

Library of Congress PCN Data

Moon of Deception / Theo Baker

(Galaxy Games)
ISBN 978-1-68342-337-9 (hard cover)(alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-68342-433-8 (soft cover)
ISBN 978-1-73160-297-8 (e-Book)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017931183

Dear readers,

In a time of universal prosperity, technology, and good will, Earth is still the home base for a thriving human civilization, which has spread across 50 or so planets. In addition to these colonies, the people of Earth are on friendly terms with hundreds of alien civilizations. Some of these aliens are humanoid, some are animal-like, and a few are truly unique! Almost all the civilizations Earth is in contact with are friendly, and military aggression is extremely rare but that has not always been the case. For many generations, conflicts and misunderstandings led to a galaxy in continual war. But this all began to change in U-year 13,154,333,701, when a visionary alien named Eno Therru called all the alien civilizations together for the first Galaxy Games!

With a mix of space science facts and science-fiction fun, the Galaxy Games series stars 12-year-old twins Gemma and Jones, Team Earths very own out-of-this-world athletes! The twins travel from planet to planet with their teammates to compete in the biannual Galaxy Games.

This series is nonsequential, so you can enjoy them in any order. And when the reading fun is done, theres lots of bonus stuff to dive into, including jokes, fun facts, scientist bios, websites to visit, and more. These books are a real blast!

Happy reading,

Rourke Educational Media

The Galaxy Games Village cafeteria was packed with thousands of aliens from hundreds of worlds. The immense domed room was noisy and raucous, filled with new friendships and good smells. The team from Garanzi Prime had made their legendary cake for dessert, rumored to be the most scrumptious and possibly delicious sweet in the known universe.

But the line snaked all the way to the door, and Team Earth stood at the back of it.

This is a waste of time, Felix Rip said, with a flex of his biceps. We should be training for the Gamatron.

Weve been training nonstop for days, said Gemma Estrella. And as our team captain, I say we need a break.

Gemma looked over to her twin brother, Jones, and caught his eyes. He flashed his goofy smile back at her. In truth, Gemma and Jones were co-captains. But Jones wasnt the type of co-captain to correct his twin sister.

Some break, Felix said, flexing his other bicep, and looking over the line. Ive had more fun watching paint dry.

Gemma was too happy to listen to Felix. It felt great to be out of that training room, and among new people. It didnt matter that most of those people werent actually human. She had been leading her teams training for weeks, preparing for the Gamatron. It was the oldest and most prestigious event in the entire Galaxy Games. But with all these interesting alien faces to watch, it was easy to forget about the Gamatron for a while. At every table, she saw alien races from across the galaxy sitting together, mixing and laughing over forkfuls of cake.

As Gemma ran her fingers across the spiral galaxy patch on her sleeve, the symbol of the Galaxy Games, she swelled with pride. What an honor it was to represent Earth at these Galaxy Games, she thought. What a responsibility it was to be captain of the team.

What a time to be alive!

Hey! You want the cake or not?

Gemma snapped out of it. Shed gotten so lost in thought, she didnt realize she was at the front of the line. A grouchy Garanzi glared down at her with his bug-like eyes, his neck gills flapping. So what will it be?

The cake, of course! Gemma blurted.

Youre a very lucky Earthling, the Garanzi said. You got the very last slice. Enjoy!

As Gemma stepped away with her plate, she scanned the great room for her team.

A strange and throaty voice spoke to her from behind. Youre going to eat that?

Excuse me? she said, spinning around.

A short, red creature with pointy teeth and giant ears smiled at her with a strange glint in his eye.

You dont know the first thing about Garanzis, do you? the alien asked.

I guess not, she said.

Theyre not the cleanest people in the galaxy, he said. Bad grooming habits. Never wash their hands. Fond of spitting. And of course, you know about snurkle rats.

Uh?

Nasty little creatures. The Garanzis keep them as pets. But not in cages or outside. They keep their snurkle rats in their pockets. I just happened to see a snurkle rat taking a nibble from the same slice you have.

Ew! Gemma cried.

Here, let me throw it away for you, he said, and took the plate from Gemma, who was glad to let him have it.

Gemma ran to her table. Dont eat that cake! she screamed. Its filled with snurkle rat droppings.

Who told you that? Jones asked, taking a huge bite.

That little alien over there, she said, looking around. Finally, she spotted him. He was at a table with a few others of his kind. And he was gobbling down her slice of Garanzi cake.

A deep laugh came from across the table, where a group of two-headed Zoins were dining. Never trust a Klaxian, one of them said. We learned that ages ago. Klaxians are not strong, or fast, or agile. But they are smart, and tricky. Devious. They live to cheat. To cheat with cunning and skill is their highest virtue.

Arent they ashamed of themselves? Felix asked.

Only if theyre caught, the Zoin said from her second mouth. There is nothing more shameful to a Klaxian than cheating poorly.

Just then, Coach Yanos came running up to the team. There you are, he cried. Theyve just posted the match-ups for the Gamatron event. Weve drawn the Klaxians.

A hush fell over the table.

Most unfortunate, the Zoin said. Here, friend, you better eat this. She slid over her slice of cake to Gemma. I couldnt eat another bite.

Speak for yourself, the Zoins other head said.

As everyone at the table laughed, Gemmas attention wandered to the windows. Her eyes roamed the red mountains and sands of Mars. And above the sands, in the strange purple sky, she saw the Martian moon Phobos. Her stomach dropped. Tomorrow she would be there, and so would the Klaxians.

Were not ready for this, Gemma said as the shuttle lifted off from the Martian soil. None of her teammates immediately answered her. No one had slept more than an hour the night before. Out the window, the Martian surface pulled away. In forty minutes, they would land.