Astrosaurs 3 (2 page)

“That would make it
a fish.
Get it?” called Gipsy Saurine from her seat. Gipsy was a duck-billed hadrosaur with scaly, stripy skin. She handled the ship's communications and much more besides. “Anyway, there
is
no seaside on Aqua Minor. Only sea!”

“Calling Captain Teggs . . .” The gruff voice of Admiral Rosso, the crusty old barosaurus in charge of the Dinosaur Space Service, suddenly crackled from the
Sauropod's
speakers. “Captain Teggs, can you hear me?”

“At last!” spluttered Teggs through a mouthful of moss. He rose up from the control pit – eight metres long from tail to beak, with jagged bony plates running down his orange-brown back.

Gipsy trotted over to Teggs. “Shall I put the admiral on the scanner screen, Captain?” she asked.

“Yes please,” said Teggs.

Gipsy whistled the order through her snout to the dimorphodon. These plucky pterosaurs were the
Sauropod's
flight and they loved to be bossed about.

The team leader flapped down and pecked scanner control happily
with his beak. A moment later, Admiral Rosso's wrinkled face appeared.

“Ah, there you are, Teggs,” said the old barosaurus. “Sorry to keep you waiting, but running an entire space fleet keeps me busy. And when you get to my age . . .”

Teggs saluted. “What's up, sir?”

“It's what's
down
that's worrying us,” said Admiral Rosso. “Down below!”

Arx and Gipsy swapped puzzled looks. But Teggs just smiled at the thought of a brand new adventure beginning at last.

“Something very big and very dangerous is swimming about in the seas of Aqua Minor,” the admiral went on. “The cryptoclidus who go fishing there are getting very worried.”

Teggs frowned. “Crypto-who?”

“A race of sea reptiles from the planet Cryptos,” Arx explained. “They have run out of food in their own world, so now they fish the waters of Aqua Minor for squid and shellfish. Then they send it by rocket to the folk back home.”

“Very good, Arx,” smiled Admiral Rosso. “Teggs, you have a first-rate first officer there!”

“He's the best,” Teggs agreed. “So, what's been happening on Aqua Minor?”

“Five undersea fish factories have been
wrecked, along with several submarines.” Admiral Rosso sighed. “But no one knows who's doing it – or why!”

Teggs nodded. “And you want us to find out.”

“That's right,” said Admiral Rosso. “The cryptoclidus may not be vegetarians, but they are still our friends and neighbours in space. They've asked us for help in solving this mystery.”

“So what are we waiting for?” asked Teggs. “Let's get to Aqua Minor and see what we can find!”

Once Admiral Rosso had given them a map and some orders, Teggs, Gipsy and Arx went to the shuttle bay. The air was smoky and thick with the smell of the burning dung that fuelled the engines. Iggy Tooth was waiting for them by the shuttle.

“The engines are all fired up, Captain!” said the stocky iguanodon. “We're ready to go!”

Once they were safely strapped in, the shuttle blasted off. Soon they were soaring through the brilliant blue skies of Aqua Minor.

“Wow!” said Teggs, peering through the window. “What a view. There's so much sea to see!”

Below them, the ocean stretched out endlessly to the horizon. Enormous spaceships floated above the waves,
trailing fishing nets behind them. Teggs watched one spaceship rise higher than the rest. Its net was bulging with shimmering, silvery shellfish that sparkled in the bright sunlight.

“No wonder the cryptoclidus need our help,” said Arx. “This is a very big ocean for something nasty to hide in.”

“Where are we going to park the shuttle?” asked Iggy.

“On one of their floating factories,” said Gipsy, checking her wrist tracker. “It's not far from here.”

“It was the first place to be attacked, a month ago,” said Teggs. “We'll take a look and search for clues.”

Soon the floating factory came into sight. It looked like a large square of shiny metal, covered in long huts. In the middle of the square, a small, grey shape started waving at them.

“Who's that?” asked Iggy, as they came in to land.

“That must be Commander Cripes,” said Arx. “He'll be showing us around.”

The shuttle landed safely, and its doors slid open. A strong smell of shellfish filled the air.

As the astrosaurs stepped outside, Cripes came waddling up to greet them. Like all cryptoclidus, he looked like a cross between a seal and the Loch Ness monster. He had a long neck and four flat flippers, and his belly dragged on the ground as he moved. A broad-brimmed hat was perched on his head, and a shiny cape kept the sun off his long, smooth back.

“Welcome to Aqua Minor, guys,” said Cripes. “Admiral Rosso said you were on your way. Glad you could make it!”

“Thanks,” said Teggs. “This is Arx, and this is Iggy.”

Cripes smiled. “And this cute little hadrosaur just
has
to be Gipsy.” He took her hoof in his flipper and kissed it. “Now, let me show you around. This factory stretches down almost to the sea bed . . .”

Cripes led them into a hut and then into a large lift. It took them down deep under the water. When it finally stopped, Teggs led the way out into a large, crumbling workplace. The machines and conveyor belts stood silent. The walls were cracked. The floor was flooded with smelly, oily water.

“Hard to believe that this place was brand new six weeks ago, isn't it?” sighed Cripes. “Just two weeks after opening,
this
happened.”

Teggs stared around. “Something has torn the whole place apart!”

“And this was just the first attack,”
Cripes reminded him. “In the last month there have been lots more. Every new factory we build in this area gets wrecked!”

“What are they used for anyway?” asked Gipsy.