Astrosaurs 3 (4 page)

“How could it just vanish?” wondered Teggs.

Suddenly a warning light came on in the shuttle.

“Sea water is getting into the engine pipes,” said Iggy.

“OK, Iggy,” sighed Teggs. “Better head back to the surface, fast!”

“Aye-aye, Captain,” said Iggy.

He steered the shuttle sharply upwards. A few seconds later, it burst from the sea like a great white whale. The warning light went out, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Teggs turned to Cripes. “Is there somewhere we can go to plan our next move?”

“The nearest base is Sea Station One, fifty miles north of here. It's where the
fishing teams live while they're staying on Aqua Minor.”

“Will the shuttle get us that far?” asked Arx.

“Just about,” said Iggy. “We don't have enough power to fly, but we can chug along the surface like a motorboat!”

“Good,” said Teggs with a grin. “I just hope there'll be some food about. I'm
starving!”

“Wow!” said Gipsy as the shuttle sailed into sight of Sea Station One. It was like a cross between a grand hotel, a beautiful harbour and a busy spaceport. Some cryptoclidus were splashing about in enormous pools of salty water. Others sat in cafes eating buckets of fish.

In the distance, rockets blasted off from the floating factories, filled with food to take home to Cryptos. And as Gipsy followed her friends off the shuttle, a large oily tugboat sailed in to the sea station, filled with gangs of chattering cryptoclidus.

She turned to Cripes. “What do you need old-fashioned boats for? I thought you had spaceships to pull your nets?”

“The tugboats ferry our workers to and from the floating factories,” Cripes explained. “Few of us dare to swim in the sea at the moment.”

“Well, we'll have to
sea
what we can do about that,” Teggs chuckled.

“Have you marked where the monster attacks took place?” asked Arx.

Cripes took out a map of Aqua Minor from his raincoat and Gipsy helped him unfold it. “X marks the spot,” he said.
“Several
spots.”

“So all five attacks took place in the south of the planet,” noted Arx.

“That's right,” said Cripes. “All our other floating factories are in the north. We've been trying to build new ones in the south to meet the demand for shellfish back home . . .”

“But every single one has been destroyed,” growled Iggy.

“It looks like someone – or something – is fed up with you fishing here,” said Gipsy.

“And it's our job to find out who,” said Teggs bravely. “Once we've had a quick snack . . .”

“Of course.” Cripes led them to the nearest café and slapped his flippers together. A waiter paddled straight over with a massive plate of sticky, slimy seaweed.

Teggs took a cautious nibble. It tasted like a wet, salty dishcloth.

“Delicious,” gasped Teggs weakly. “But perhaps I'll skip the snack. I should start searching the sea.”

“I'll come with you,” said Gipsy.

“You know it's risky,” Cripes warned them.

“Of course,” beamed Teggs. “But if we're to help you, we need to find out more.”

“I wish I could let you guys take a sub,” said Cripes. “But we don't have any left. We tried looking for the monster in them. But the subs are so noisy, I guess the monster heard us coming a mile away. It chewed them all up!” Gipsy looked worried. “Did the pilots get out?”

“Only just,” said Cripes. “They were lucky to escape with their lives! But by the time they'd wriggled out of the wrecks, there was no sign of the monster at all.” He clicked his tongue. “Oh, well. Maybe you'll have more luck in the diving bell.”

“What's a diving bell?” asked Teggs.

“It's like a big metal case with a window in the side,” Arx explained. “It'll take you underwater!”

“We take you out to sea,” said Cripes. “Then we lower you down into the water on a chain so you can take a good look about.”

“How will we breathe?” asked Teggs.

“It's completely airtight,” Cripes assured him. “But there's also deep-sea diving gear on board in case of emergencies.”

“What if we get into trouble?” asked Gipsy.

“Just press the help button,” said Cripes. “We'll have you back out again in no time!”

“Fair enough,” said Teggs. “Meanwhile, I'd like Arx to check over those chewed-up subs for clues.”

“No problem,” Cripes told him. “They're all piled up in a storeroom downstairs.”

“Can I see some wreckage from that floating factory, too?” asked Arx.

“We'll pick some up for you.” Cripes
rose and adjusted his hat. “Well, if you guys are ready . . .”

“We sure are!” Teggs jumped to his feet. “Let's get going!”

The shuttle's engines were still soggy, so Cripes took them out in one of the tugboats to the wreck of the floating factory. Teggs was wearing his battle armour, and Gipsy had slipped on her combat suit.

“I've never tried using my electro-tail underwater,” said Teggs thoughtfully.

“Arx said our armour would work wherever we were,” said Gipsy. “And if we do meet any monsters down there, I'm glad about that!”

Once they had reached the wreck, Teggs and Gipsy squeezed inside the orange diving bell. There was just room for the two of them and the diving gear.