The Zero-G Headache (Astrokids) - Softcover

Elmer, Robert

3.54

13 ratings by Goodreads

9780764223570: The Zero-G Headache (Astrokids)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0764223577 ISBN 13: 9780764223570

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers, 2000

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

Welcome to 2175! Meet the Astro Kids Dee Bee, Buzz, Miko, Mir, and Tag five friends learning biblical truth through out of this world adventures aboard space station Cleo 7. All the kids are excited when news reaches them that Zero G, the hottest band in the solar system, is coming to their space station. But when the band arrives, things don't go quite as planned and the gang learns a lesson in hospitality. Also, find out amazing, real life space facts in "RealSpace Debrief"! Theme verse: "We all have different gifts." (Romans 12:6)

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:

Robert Elmer is a graduate of St. Mary's College and Simpson College in San Francisco. He has written four series for middle grade readers: Adventures Down Under, The Young Underground, Promise Of Zion, and Astrokids. He got his writing start as a newspaper reporter but has written everything from magazine columns to radio and T.V. commercials. Now he writes full time from his home in rural northwest Washington state, where he lives with his wife Ronda, and their three busy teenagers.

Space Headache

It should have worked.

Memory circuits okay? Check.

Power supply online? Check-check.

Sensors working? Check-check-check.

It even looked like a real drone. It had a round silver body about the size of a basketball. Two red camera-sensor eyes. And three long arms with grabber-claw hands on the ends.

Only, this one belonged to me, DeeBee Ortiz.

Never mind that it was made out of spare parts. I thought it looked kind of cute, actually. And when I flicked on my remote control, it should have floated about a meter off the floor.

But instead, that’s when all the trouble started.

Okay, so a few parts were still missing. Minor memory chips, power phase controls, that sort of thing. I figured I’d add them later. I can usually find extras in my dad’s shop. He’s the chief solar tech on CLEO-7, our space station. Mr. Fix-It.

But, suffering satellites! I didn’t expect what was about to happen. Neither did the other AstroKids who walked into the shop just then.

“Hey, big retsis!” yelled Tag. “GUESS WHAT!”

Did I say “walked” in? Not quite. Tag, Miko, and Buzz came busting into Dad’s workshop as if they were shot out of a loose laser cannon.

I’d expect that from Tag. Because little brothers ... well, you know what I mean. Like his whole backward-words thing. Saying “retsis” instead of “sister.” Get it? Ha-ha. I think it’s pretty lame, too, IMHO. (That stands for In My Humble Opinion. It’s kind of the way I talk. You’ll catch on.)

Now, Buzz, who is definitely not a pest, was just a little ways behind Tag. And Miko? I could tell she was excited, but she didn’t say much. Of course, she hasn’t said much since she stowed away on a shuttle to get here to CLEO-7.

Question 01:

So what’s all this about CLEO-7?

Answer 01:

Glad you asked. CLEO stands for Close Earth Orbit. It’s a big space station where the AstroKids live (that’s me and my friends). It’s 400,000 kilometers from Earth and right near the moon. Can you figure out how many miles that is? (There are about eight kilometers for every five miles.) It’s pretty easy, actually. But then, everyone says I’m really smart. I’m not, really.

Now, about that poor drone. Just as the other AstroKids came running in, it started spinning—right there on the floor. A warning buzzer went off, too, which must have scared Tag. (It doesn’t take much to scare Tag. Say “boo,” and he hits the ceiling.)

“Yaa!” Tag slipped and hit the floor, scrunched the drone, and spun on his back. (The floor in the shop is kind of slippery.)

“Watch it!” called Buzz. He tripped over Tag. Miko was too close behind him to stop, so she went flying, too.

“Are you all right?” I asked, but the drone didn’t answer. My poor little machine just kept spinning as if someone had hit the Fast-Forward button. Over and over. Faster and faster. One of his arms loosened up and slapped Tag in the back.

WHAP!

“Ow!” Tag tried to get out of the way.

WHAP, again!

“If this thing would just—”

WHAP, a third time!

“—leave me alone.”

By then, the drone was finally slowing down. Maybe it was all the whapping. It made a sort of whooosh sound, like it was breathing its last breath. (Drones don’t really breathe, though.)

Finally, Buzz reached out and caught it.

“Sorry. I think it’s broken.” He stood up and held it out to me as Tag got up, too.

I groaned when I saw the poor drone. It was almost working before, and now ...

“I’m reaalllly sorry, DeeBee.” Tag looked up at me with his big brown eyes. I knew he didn’t mean to fall on it. I just wished he were more careful sometimes.

“I know. It’s all right.” I took my drone and turned back to the table. I totally hate it when things don’t work.

But it wasn’t just that. If I didn’t get this drone working in four days, I wasn’t going to pass my drone-tech class at school. And I’d been working on that class for a long, long time.

Ahh! Four days!

“We haven’t even told you what we came to tell you!” Tag perked back up.

I took a phaser-probe and poked at the mess of light-wires sticking out of the drone’s arm. “This is going to take at least another two days to fix,” I said.

“Don’t you even want to know that Zero-G’s Gravity Groove Tour, 2175, is coming this way?”
Zero-G?

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.