Mission Moon Read online

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the

  product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to

  actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 by Drew Brockington

  Catstrofont software copyright © 2016 by Drew Brockington

  All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the

  scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the

  permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual

  property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review

  purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at

  [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Little, Brown and Company

  Hachette Book Group

  1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104

  Visit us at lb-kids.com

  Little, Brown and Company is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  The Little, Brown name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned

  by the publisher.

  First Edition: April 2017

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Brockington, Drew.

  Title: Cat-stronauts : Mission Moon / by Drew Brockington.

  Description: First edition. | New York ; Boston : Little, Brown and Company, 2017. |

  Summary: Alerted to a global energy crisis, the President consults with the World’s

  Best Scientist, who suggests sending a special group of astronauts to turn the Moon

  into a solar power plant.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2015039108| ISBN 9780316307475 (hardcover) | ISBN

  9780316307451 (trade pbk.) | ISBN 9780316435208 (ebook)

  Subjects: LCSH: Graphic novels. | CYAC: Graphic novels. | Astronauts—Fiction. | Space

  flight to the moon—Fiction. | Presidents—Fiction. | Cats—Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.7.B76 Cat 2017 | DDC 741.5/973—dc23

  LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015039108

  E3

  FOR

  MY DAD

  CHAPTER 1

  Good morning,

  Mr. President.

  Good morning,

  Shelly.

  Your first

  meeting starts in

  10 minutes, sir.

  Thanks. I’ll

  read a little

  until then.

  Hmmmm…

  That was odd.

  HEY

  NOW!

  I’m trying to

  read here!

  Much better.

  I got coffee

  up my nose.

  Mr. President,

  are you OK?!

  The paper says

  that we have

  an energy crisis!

  Looks like the

  paper’s telling the truth,

  Mr. President.

  How can we run

  this country if the

  lights can’t stay on?

  We could switch

  to using only

  batteries.

  We need to solve this

  problem now! I want

  to talk to the

  World’s Best Scientist.

  Hello?

  Hello. World’s Best

  Scientist? This is the

  President.

  Mmmm-

  hmmm…

  Of the

  United States.

  Yes…

  Of America.

  MR. PRESIDENT?!

  I am so sorry! I didn’t

  mean to kee—

  Never mind all of that.

  I’ve just learned that

  our country has a huge

  energy crisis.

  Yes, due to all the new gadgets

  in the world, there is more energy

  consumption. We’ve actually been

  tracking this for quite some time.

  Did you get the memo I sent?

  Memo?

  Oh. Well, now the

  problem has reached

  critical mass.

  We use more power

  than we can produce.

  Any ideas on how we

  can solve this and get

  things back to normal?

  Well…

  We could stop

  using toasters

  and lightbulbs.

  No.

  Use electricity every

  other Tuesday?

  No.

  We use only

  batteries!

  That’s what Shelly

  said! But…no.

  I want a long-term

  solution! We’re going to

  need the public’s support

  to get this accomplished.

  The plan has to be exciting

  to win them over.

  What if we went

  to the moon?

  I don’t

  understand.

  We could fly to the moon

  and build a solar power

  plant on the surface.

  The power plant would

  collect all the sun’s rays.

  Then energy from those rays

  could be sent back to Earth

  through microwave signals.

  Once those signals

  reach Earth, we’ll convert

  them into clean usable

  energy!

  Uh, Mr. President?

  TO THE

  MOON!

  Yes, sir!

  I know just the

  cats for the job.

  CHAPTER 2

  CATSTRONAUTS,

  YOU ARE

  NEEDED!!

  WAFFLES,

  you are

  needed!

  MAJOR

  MEOWSER,

  you are

  needed!

  POM POM,

  you are

  needed!

  BLANKET,

  you are

  needed!

  TO THE

  MISSION BRIEFING

  ROOM!

  Pom Pom,

  what happened

  to Waffles?

  He was right

  behind us!

  CatStronauts,

  thank you for

  joining me.

  I have an urgent

  mission for you.

  Psst, Blanket!!

  What did I miss?

  This one comes

  directly from

  the President.

  Our world is facing a

  massive energy crisis.

  If we don’t do something soon

  to solve it, we’ll be left

  in the dark.

  This is where

  you come in.

  You will be traveling

  to the moon in our

  latest and greatest

  rocket design.

  When you arrive, you will,

  build a solar power plant

  on the surface.

  Because the moon is always

  covered in sunlight, we will

  be able to constantly collect

  solar energy.

  Once it’s running, the power

  plant will beam energy back

  to Earth with hyperadvanced

  microwave technology.

  Blanket, you’ll be

  the Technical Specialist,

  resp
onsible for the

  actual power plant

  construction.

  Pom Pom, you are

  the Chief Science Officer.

  You’ll be running calculations

  to ensure that the

  power plant will function

  at 100% performance.

  Waffles, you are in charge

  of piloting the spacecraft

  and the lunar lander.

  Major Meowser, you’re the

  Mission Commander. You must

  make sure everyone does

  their job the best they can.

  Any questions?

  When do we

  start?

  Immediately. The world only

  has 60 days of full power left.

  Training for this particular

  mission will be much shorter

  than you are used to.

  This will be some of the

  most intense training

  of your careers.

  Good luck.

  All right, team, we

  leave for the training

  center in 15 minutes!

  Bring only what

  you need!

  Major Meowser, what

  about my Cat-Stro-Bot?

  I’m almost finished.

  Can I bring it along?

  There won’t be time

  for that, Blanket. You’ll

  have to finish your robot

  experiment when we return.

  But I…

  I’m sorry.

  We have our orders.

  Let’s hurry up and pack.

  OOOF!

  This is heavy!

  Lift with

  your legs!

  Blanket, your bag looks

  a little…different.

  WHAT?!

  It’s the same

  bag as Waffles’s!

  Oh brother…

  Let’s get this bird

  in the air!

  CHAPTER 3

  Effects from the

  energy crisis can be

  seen everywhere now.

  I can’t keep

  my fish cold

  anymore.

  Yesterday I was reading

  a book, and then the lights

  went out. So’I stopped

  reading. It was awful.

  One thing is for sure.

  With more lights off,

  there is plenty of time

  for catnaps.

  In other

  news today…

  the President has

  confirmed that we

  will be going back

  to the moon.

  Supposedly, this moon

  mission will help to eliminate

  the current power outages

  around the country by…

  Not again!

  We’re going back.

  Good luck,

  brave kittens.

  Director Maisy!

  Sorry I’m late!

  Glad you could

  join us, Ozzie.

  What is it?

  Why did you call an

  emergency meeting?

  Cats of

  Mission Control…

  We are going back

  to the moon!

  OK. OK. Let’s settle down.

  Now, because the last moon

  mission was almost 30 years

  ago, there are a few things we

   need to take care of before

  the launch.

  First we must construct a

  new rocket to make the journey to the

  moon. Then we will monitor and assist

  the CatStronauts during the mission.

  To keep us on task, giant clocks

  have been installed all over the place.

  When we run out of time, Earth

  runs out of power.

  Let me be clear, we

  cannot afford to

  run out of time.

  So we won’t.

  We can do this.

  You all know your tasks.

  I’ll leave you to your work.

  The moon–

  I can’t

  believe it!

  I know, Patches!

  It’s a dream

  come true.

  Whoa, that

  is gigantic.

  You said

  it, Luna.

  Is that what

  I think it is?

  The new

  rocket.

  This…is…

  so…cool.

  This…is…

  going to be…

  a lot of work.

  I found the

  instructions!

  SPANGSY!

  Check out all

  the doodads

  on this thing!

  You scared

  us silly.

  Should we start

  at the top or

  the bottom?

  Spangsy, you’re

  holding it

  upside down.

  What do you

  think this

  is for?

  CHAPTER 4

  Team! Hold up

  a second and

  gather round!

  Our training is almost

  complete. We only have

  a few more exercises

  to master.

  Major

  Meowser?

  Yes, Waffles?

  When is lunch?

  Trust me, you’ll want

  to wait until later.

  This machine simulates the

  extreme speed and gravity

  that we experience during

  takeoff!

  Aren’t you glad

  you waited

  for lunch?!

  These cords help

  duplicate the moon’s

  low gravity.

  One small leap on

  Earth is the same as

  one giant leap on

  the moon.

  This plane flies really high

  and then drops really fast.

  During the fall, we’ll be

  weightless, just like in space.

  Ready?

  READY!!

  READY!!

  READY!!

  We’re all finished on

  our end of the rocket, Ozzie.

  How close are you?

  Almost…there…

  Crud.

  You broke the

  last piece!

  There are no

  extra parts!

  Don’t worry, Luna.

  Everything is

  under control.

  How is yarn

  going to help?!

  There.

  Good as

  new.

  With a little luck,

  we won’t have

  any trouble.

  World’s Best Scientist?

  The rocket

  is nearing

  completion.

  Great, I’ll inform the

  CatStronauts to head

  to the launchpad.

  Thanks, Director Maisy.

  Moon ship, this is

  the President.

  Mr. President, so far

  everything is going

  according to plan.

  You’re cleared

  for landing…

  Excellent news.

  CHAPTER 5

  Well, team, tomorrow is

  our final training session.

  What will it be?

  The splashdown landing.

  I want everyone to

  get a good night’s

  sleep tonight.

  You gonna eat

  that, Blanket?

  Major Meowser is

  right. We all need to

  be in top condition for

  this. There is no room

  for error! Also…

  I do not want

  to get wet.

/>   I can’t believe

  tomorrow is

  the last day of

  training.

  Major, do you think