Space Station Rat by Michael J. Daley Page A

rose. “I need that robot now ! What are you going to do?”
    What could be wrong that they needed Nanny so desperately? Maybe he would have to tell. What could he say and stay out of trouble? Jeff was wondering, when he noticed Dad.
    While Mom and the captain stood in the door arguing about what to do next, Dad had been observing. Now he stepped toward the computer. Jeff almost gasped. The computer was still on—with rat skeletons and rat words! The words seemed to glow in neon:
    NEVER EVER EVER EVER PUT ME IN A CAGE AGAIN .
    SCIENTISTS USE CAGES. THEY ARE NOT SAFE. FREEDOM IS SAFE .
    Did Dad see them? Jeff willed the screen saver to come on.
    Dad picked up the toilet-paper-tube telescope next to the keyboard. Just as Jeff remembered doing, Dad looked in each end. They’d accused him of stealing those lenses. Would Dad remember that?
    Dad glanced briefly at Jeff. Jeff couldn’t imagine what his own face showed at that moment. Dad puzzled over the three pairs of neat marks. He fingered the charred spot on the tube. Then his eyes turned up to the air vent above the bed.
    â€œAre you listening to me?”
    Jeff wrenched his gaze away from Dad, who was lifting the tube to his eye, and looked toward the captain.
    â€œDon’t yell at him! This isn’t his fault,” Mom snapped. “Jeff, I know you’re always groggy when you wake up, but please pay attention. The captain asked if Nanny told you where it was hunting.”
    â€œI don’t remember,” Jeff said, hating to lie when she was taking his side. “I was mad. Nanny wouldn’t let me go. I didn’t pay attention. Why do you want to know, anyway? Are we going to die or something?”
    â€œWe’re scaring you. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to,” Mom said. “It’s not us, it’s the project … the world ! Just the most senseless thing has happened! If we don’t … we’ll miss … it’s just terrible!”
    Mom stopped abruptly. She was shaking.
    Dad slipped the tube into his pocket and put an arm around her. He said, “One of the meteors damaged a rocket stabilizer somewhere. It’s out of control. It keeps jiggling the station.” Dad glanced at his watch. “We have four hours and thirty-six minutes to find it and shut it off. Otherwise, we’ll miss solar maximum.”
    Jeff had no idea the critical time for the experiment was so close. He hadn’t been paying much attention to his parents lately.
    â€œOnly Nanny can work fast enough to find it,” the captain said. “There are thousands of those things. We’ve lost the records on some. Of course, it’s one of those that’s malfunctioning!”
    â€œSloppy,” Mom muttered. Then her fury got the better of her. “I just can’t understand how you could be so incompetent!”
    â€œI am not listening to that again!” The captain turned like a great blimp and stomped into the hall.
    Mom was right behind him, yelling, “Well, just what are you going to do? The fate of Earth is at risk here!”
    The captain said, “Only if you’re right, lady. Otherwise, this is just a royal waste of my time!”
    Boots ripped along the corridor.
    Mom poked her head in the doorway. Her face was splotchy. “That man! That ignorant man! Please, Jeff. Think hard. Any clue, maybe some place you went yesterday … anything might help. If we don’t … I mean … it’ll be another eleven years before we can try again. Too late! Those fools will begin global cooling.”
    She hurried after the captain.
    A surge of feeling hit the middle of Jeff’s chest. For the first time since arriving here, he wanted to help Mom.
    What a mess.

C HAPTER S EVETEEN
    A W ARM , D ARK S OFTNESS
    When the zipper had gone up, the cloth squeezed tight, squashing Rat hard. It pressed on her body like the sleeve in the lab. They slipped it over you, a stiff ribbed