Theo Baker - Space Face Off

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.

www.rourkeeducationalmedia.com

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

Space Face Off / Theo Baker

(Galaxy Games)
ISBN 978-1-68342-335-5 (hard cover)(alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-68342-431-4 (soft cover)
ISBN 978-1-73160-298-5 (e-Book)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017931181

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 rarebut 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

February 19, 2238
Galaxy Games Village, Pluto

Team Earth had kept the balloon in the air for two hundred seventy-three hits. It was quite possibly the longest rally of keep-it-up in recorded history.

Like any great keep-it-up session, it started by accident. The team was fresh off their fifth consecutive hockey win. Although they were headed to the gold-medal match, they were bruised and battered and beat, sipping hot chocolate in the Pluto cafeteria. But then Felix Rip, their fearsome enforcer, began batting around a Galaxy Games balloon. Soon everyone on Team Earth was at it, diving to the floor, leaping chairs, and sliding across tables to keep that half-deflated balloon from touching the ground.

There were dozens of other alien races in the cafeteria. And at first, they looked on with confusion and annoyance at the Earth team jumping and diving like malfunctioning robots. But soon enough, an alien from the Coopra System figured out what the game was all about, and got into the action. It helped a great deal that the Cooprans had flexible hands with webbed fingers. It wasnt long before nearly everyone in the cafeteria was immersed in keep-it-up.

Gemma Estrella, co-captain of Team Earth with her twin brother, Jones, leaped across a chair and just got her fingertips under the balloon. The little pink balloon fluttered and seemed destined to hit the ground. Get it, get it! she yelled at a pair of giant boots.

From her spot on the floor, she saw a large beefy hand reach down and grab the balloon.Oh no, she shouted. You cant catch the

But then she watched as the beefy hand placed the balloon on the floor, right underneath one of those giant boots. The boot came down. The balloon popped, making a pathetic squeaking sound.

Nooooooooo! nearly everyone in the cafeteria screamed.

Hey! Whyd you? Gemma began, until she looked up at the face belonging to those boots. He was huge and round and thick. His skin was gray and calloused, as if hed spent his childhood hauling bricks and shoveling ice. But then she saw his eyes. Youre ... human? she said.

Lobelian, the boy said.

Thats not possible, Gemma said. Id recognize a human face anywhere. Youre from Earth, arent you?

Dont worry about my sister, Jones Estrella said, helping Gemma up. Im Jones.

Jedidiah, the boy grunted. He nodded at another giant kid sitting across from him. My baby brother, Cojo.

Baby brother? Gemma said. He looks full-grown to me.

Jedidiah just breathed slowly out his nose.

You want to play keep-it-up with us? Jones asked.

Jedidiah raised an eyebrow.

Leave us alone, Cojo grunted.

Come on, sis, Jones said to Gemma. Well see them tomorrow. At the face-off.

Coach Yanos stood at the front of the video room, showing the team footage of the Lobelians in action. The Lobelians were all as massive as Jedidiah and Cojo, and from the look of it, they played a bruising game. They seemed to prefer high-sticking, cross-checking, boarding, spearing, and brawling over touch passes and skillful puck handling.

Theyre a bunch of goons! Felix shouted. Wheres the skill and grace? That was rich coming from Felix Rip. He was Team Earths enforcer, and last anyone checked, he had little interest in puck-handling. Only body checking.

Theyre goons all right, Coach Yanos said. But theyve perfected their goonish game. He clicked his remote, and a picture of the starting line showed on the screen. Under each of their pictures, it listed their positions. There wasnt a center or a wing to be found: everyone was an enforcer. You will all need to be careful.

But how tough can they really be? Gemma asked as she examined the faces. Theyre human. Theyre not Ridiths or Zomegos, but human. I can see it in their eyes.

Coach Yanos shook his head. Theyre Lobelians. They dont consider themselves human. Not anymore. Theres has been no official contact between Earth and Lobelia for a hundred years.

They were an Earth colony? Gemma asked.

Yes, Coach Yanos said. One of the earliest. They left over a hundred and fifty years ago. But they cut off all contact with us, and no one really knows why. Whatever their reasons, they dont seem to like Earth very much. From the look of it, we think theyve genetically modified their appearance. They made themselves bigger, and hardier, and tougher.

Gemma shook her head. Theyre still human.

They may not be human anymore, Coach Yanos said. They may have changed their DNA so much that theyre no longer our same species.

But its not right, Gemma said. If they came from Earth, we should be friends.

Gemma stayed up half the night poring through databases, looking for anything she could find about the Lobelians. There wasnt much. According to the records, they were one of the first groups to colonize a planet around another star system. Their planet was livable, but cold and barren and harsh. For fifty or so years, they traded with and kept contact with Earth. It seemed that their planet had tons of Ezekian ore buried deep in their ice. Ezekian ore was what every Earth spaceship used to fuel faster-than-light travel.