Read an excerpt from the first chapter of GalactiCATS: Showdown with Pickles and Roaches—the first book in the GalactiCATS series.

Chapter 1

“Hold on to your fur!” Sergeant Smiley’s right paw danced frantically across the control panel, triggering a symphony of red and yellow warning lights. His iron left paw—a permanent souvenir from a previous mission gone wrong—hovered above the delicate buttons while his organic paw worked double time. The control panel erupted with high-pitched alerts. “Prepare for scorching entry!”

Planet WHISKERS-OU812 filled the windshield, its swirling pink-and-green atmosphere growing larger by the second.

Marble Games clamped her claws into her chair’s armrests. Her helmet rattled against the headrest with every violent jolt. “What’s going—MROW!” The spacecraft bucked violently.

Dixie Brains held her breath, fear surging through her. Her gray tail puffed to twice its size. “This isn’t normal!” she hissed, ears plastered flat inside her helmet.

Sitting behind Marble and Dixie, Chunky Monkey’s head bobbled with each bump of the spaceship, his whiskers twitching as he snored through a dream—probably about tuna fish. After all, it had been quite some time since he’d enjoyed a fresh can of tuna.

The control panel continued blaring, and Sergeant Smiley’s organic paw trembled. It had been a year since the Catnip Festival—his last flight behind the controls of the Vanguardian. He yanked the flight stick to the left with his iron paw, then to the right. Then he pressed the blue stabilizer button in rapid succession until the ship jerked upright and steadied.

“Whew!” he said. “An asteroid just blindsided us!” His fur prickled, slowly settling beneath his suit.

Smiley glanced at his team sitting behind him. “Everyone still got all nine lives?”

“I need a fresh flight suit,” Dixie growled in the co-pilot’s seat next to him, sensing a hairball brewing.

Marble released her death grip on the chair. “Next time, I’m flying.” She had earned her title as the Vanguardian’s lead pilot, but even the best paws needed rest. And after spending two weeks hunched over the controls during their last mission, she couldn’t say no to Smiley’s offer to take the stick for their journey home.

Smiley looked at Chunky, seated at the turret, for his response, but all he got in return was a particularly loud snore. “Someone wake up Chunky!” he ordered, turning back to the controls.

The GalactiCats were returning from a crucial meeting with Professor Toad Croak on the planet WARTHOLE—a two-day flight from their home on WHISKERS-OU812. The professor had alerted the cats to a looming danger—the kind that hadn’t been seen in years.

Sergeant Smiley could barely contain his anticipation to relay the vital information he and his team had received from Professor Croak to their commander in chief.

As the GalactiCats pierced their planet’s atmosphere, their claw-shaped spacecraft tilted steeply, the nose slicing toward the vast landscape. At two hundred feet up, the ship shifted into a soft glide, locking onto the runway and cruising to a touchdown.

Marble and Dixie popped their seatbelts free as the ship coasted into the hangar.

Marble yanked off her helmet, smoothed the tufts of calico fur, and rose quickly, glancing back at Chunky.

Chunky stretched and yawned. “That was a quick re-entry,” he remarked, his voice thick with sleep.

“That’s because you slept the whole time, duh!” Dixie snapped.

“I trust Smiley’s flying enough to catch some shut-eye,” Chunky replied with a lazy grin.

Smiley overheard the exchange and called back, “I heard that.” He flicked a few switches to shut down the controls, unbuckled his seatbelt, then approached the side hatch. Swinging it open, he gestured for Marble and Dixie to disembark first. “After you, ladies.”

Marble and Dixie side-eyed Smiley as they stepped off the Vanguardian and into the spacious hangar.

Smiley leaned over the seats, casting a glance at Chunky, who was still lingering in his chair. “You coming, sleepyhead?”

Chunky adjusted his helmet, fussing over the orange and white fur on his head until it lay just right. He was always particular about his appearance, never wanting anyone to see him with messy fur. “Just a sec,” he mumbled.

Smiley chuckled. “You got a hot date or something?”

Chunky rolled his eyes, finally standing up. “I’m ready. Let’s get everyone up to speed on the threat.”

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