Astrosaurs 13

by Steve Cole

  “How should I know why!” the king gurgled. “But that is its name.”

  “If it’s top secret, how did you find out about it?” Blink twittered.

  Tonka smiled. “We have cracked the DSS’s communications code. We can listen in to anything they say.”

  Dasta nodded. “And to be certain you do not try to double-cross us, Teggs, we shall bug you.”

  “You’re already bugging me,” growled Teggs.

  Attila slapped a small metal disc on the stegosaur’s shoulder under his dinner suit. “This device will transmit everything you say and do back to FANG HQ. If you ask for help or tell anyone about us, we shall destroy your friends at once.”

  “And don’t think about trying to remove it,” Dasta added. “It is booby-trapped. If you tug on it too hard, it will explode!”

  Teggs gulped. “I always wanted to go out with a bang, but that’s going too far!”

  “Just shift, steg-breath,” snapped Tonka. “It’s time to start your criminal career!”

  “You’ve got twelve hours to get back here with the Mega-Spray Y and save your friends.” King Albu smiled nastily. “Some say revenge is a dish best served cold. But I say, revenge is a dish best served with poached eggs, lots of runny mashed potatoes and a large spoon!”

  “That’s because you’re totally fruit-loops!” Teggs retorted. He saluted Blink and Dutch. “Don’t worry, guys. Everything will work out fine, you’ll see.”

  “Indeed it will,” said Attila mockingly. “For us!”

  Two hours later and just a few million miles away, the Sauropod was patrolling space. Arx sat in Teggs’s control pit. Iggy and Gipsy stood at their stations, and the Sauropod’s pterosaur flight crew – fifty fast-flapping dimorphodon – pecked peacefully at their controls.

  “I hope Captain Teggs is having fun,” said Gipsy. “He never gets a chance to relax.”

  “Hang on.” Arx had spotted something on the scanner screen. “Look at that little spaceship go!”

  Iggy frowned. “That’s the same ship I saw on Asteroid Beta when I dropped off Teggs. He said it belonged to his friend, Dutch.”

  “The Astrosaurs Academy reunion is in the opposite direction,” Gipsy reminded him. “It can’t be the same ship.”

  “But it is!” Iggy insisted. “A one-of-a-kind Dungmaster!”

  “But why is it going so fast, and in the wrong direction?” Arx jumped up. “Perhaps someone has stolen it!”

  “I’ll try to contact them,” said Gipsy, flicking some switches with her hooves. “This is the DSS Sauropod calling Dungmaster ship. Identify yourself, please.”

  Then the astrosaurs gasped – as the image of Teggs appeared on the screen! He looked pale and tired.

  “It’s only me, Gipsy,” said Teggs. “Dutch said I could borrow his ship.”

  “Captain? What’s happening?” cried Arx. “We thought you would be having fun at the reunion by now – not zooming away from it.”

  “I . . .” Teggs sighed. “I couldn’t go to the reunion.”

  “But why?” asked Gipsy.

  Teggs wished he could tell his friends about the horrible things that had happened. But with the booby-trapped bug stuck to his shoulder, the FANG would hear every word – and they would squish Blink and Dutch for sure! “Er . . .” He struggled to make something up. “Um, Admiral Rosso called to say he’s got an urgent mission for me on SSSS-One.”

  Iggy frowned. “The Super-Secure Space Station in sector seven?”

  “That’s a pity,” said Arx. “Still, if the admiral’s involved it must be important. Shall we meet you there, Captain?”

  “No, Arx,” said Teggs quickly. “I’ll handle this alone. Stay on patrol and I’ll call when I can. Teggs out.”

  The astrosaurs watched their captain’s face fade from the screen.

  Arx raised his eyebrows. “I wonder what his mysterious mission can be?”

  “Perhaps we’ll find out,” said Gipsy, holding a hoof to her headphones. “There’s a call from Admiral Rosso coming through!”

  She nodded to a dimorphodon, who banged a button with his beak. Rosso, the crusty old barosaurus in charge of the Dinosaur Space Service, appeared on the screen.

  “Oh, hello, Arx,” he said with a smile. “I’d like to have a quick word with Teggs. Where is he?”

  Arx gave him a puzzled frown. “But surely you know he’s not on board, sir? You’ve only just sent him on an urgent mission to SSSS-One.”

  “I most certainly have not!” Rosso retorted. “You must be mistaken.”

  “But Captain Teggs told us so just a few moments ago, Admiral,” said Gipsy. “He’s on his way there right now in a borrowed spaceship.”

  Iggy looked uneasily at Arx. “Maybe someone’s playing a trick on him.”

  “Or perhaps he’s in some sort of trouble,” said Arx.

  “If SSSS-One is involved we can’t take any chances,” said Rosso gravely. “The Vegetarian Sector’s most secret inventions are stored there! Get after Teggs and find out what’s going on.”

  “Right away, Admiral,” said Arx as the ever-eager dimorphodon rushed to their controls. “Let’s get moving!”

  Seconds later, the Sauropod was speeding away towards the space station.

  Little did the astrosaurs know that, far away on Tartara, the four foul FANG members had used their communications-code-cracker to listen in on Rosso’s conversation.

  “So . . .” King Albu’s cold hiss filled the FANG’s control room. “The Sauropod’s crew think they can help Teggs, do they?”

  “No one can help him!” roared Attila the Atrocious. He stamped over to where Blink and Dutch sat helplessly in the grotty cell next door and did a devilish disco wiggle. “For if Teggs does not return to us swiftly with the Mega-Spray Y. . . he and his friends will DIE!”

  Chapter Four

  THE SECRET SNATCHER

  Teggs parked his borrowed spaceship and hurried aboard SSSS-One. His special all-access astrosaur “Captain’s Card” allowed him to go almost anywhere on DSS property, and so far no one on board had stopped to ask him why he was visiting the Super-Secure Space Station – nor why he was dressed in a dinner suit. As he galloped off to the Secret Inventions storehouse, he hoped it stayed that way.

  He had just seven hours left to get the Mega-Spray Y back to the FANG HQ.

  The storehouse had one of the biggest, thickest doors that Teggs had ever seen. It was made of ultra-tough metal and covered in huge locks. “No one can get in there without written permission from Admiral Rosso.” Teggs sighed. “Oh, well. I’ll have to try knocking . . .”

  Steeling himself, he took a run-up, curled himself into a large, spiky bundle – and launched himself at the storehouse door at top speed. Over and over he went, like a giant self-propelled bowling ball, until – KER-KLANNG! He crashed headfirst into the heavy door and smashed it off its huge hinges!

  At once, sirens went off and warning red lights began to flash. Rubbing his bruised head, Teggs hunted through row after row of metal cabinets for the Mega-Spray Y. Everything was in alphabetical order so it didn’t take him long to find the right one.

  Perhaps I can pay for the damages later, Teggs thought hopefully. With a well-aimed whack of his tail, he buckled the door to the “M” cabinet and wrenched it open. The only thing inside was a small white case. Teggs snatched it up and sprinted for the exit.

  But a thick metal barrier was sliding down over the doorway like a castle’s portcullis, ready to trap him inside.

  “They don’t call this place super-secure for nothing!” cried Teggs. Desperately, he slid along the floor on his tummy and just made it through the dwindling gap before the barrier closed.

  But before Teggs could get up again, he saw ten ankylosaur security guards charging down the corridor, pointing pistols straight at him. Their scaly faces creased in confusion.

  “Aren’t you Captain Teggs Stegosaur?” asked one of the guards.

  “Yes, and I managed to stop some thieves taki
ng this case,” Teggs panted, pointing down the corridor with his tail. “They went that way. Get after them, quick!”

  As the security guards ran off, Teggs sighed. This was the worst day of his life. He hated tricking good astrosaurs. But he knew there was no other way.

  With the sirens still wailing wildly, Teggs hurried back towards the spaceship bay with the stolen case, his heart pounding like mad. The maze of corridors was a blur as he ran. “Not far now . . .” he told himself.

  But as Teggs turned the final corner, he got a shock. Gipsy, Arx and Iggy were blocking the way ahead of him!

  “Captain, what’s going on?” Arx looked puzzled. “You told us Admiral Rosso sent you here – but he didn’t.”

  Iggy pointed to the case. “And where are you taking that in such a hurry?”

  Teggs longed to tell them the truth. But he remembered the bugging device under his dinner suit, and Attila’s parting words: If you ask for help or tell anyone about us, we shall destroy your friends at once . . .

  “Well, sir?” Iggy prompted him.

  “It’s . . . er . . .” Teggs gulped. “It’s my packed lunch.”

  Gipsy frowned. “Then why does it say ‘TOP SECRET INVENTION’ in red letters on the side?”

  “Captain!” Arx looked horrified. “I don’t believe it. You — you can’t be stealing . . .?”

  Behind him, over the sirens’ scream, Teggs could hear the pounding of heavy feet. The security guards were coming! “Guys, let me pass,” he snapped. “That’s an order!”

  Gipsy started walking towards him. “We are your friends,” she said. “If you’re in trouble, we want to help.”

  “Then stand aside,” said Teggs, checking his watch – he had only six and a half hours to get the Mega-Spray Y back to Tartara. “I can’t be caught now!”

  “Someone’s making you steal that thing,” said Iggy hopefully. “Right, Captain?”

  Teggs took a deep breath. “No more talk, guys. It’s time to go!” With that, he tried to push past his friends – but Iggy and Gipsy grabbed hold of him. Desperately, he shook them free. They crashed against the walls, looking stunned and dismayed, and Teggs felt terrible.

  “I – I’m sorry!” he told them.

  “Captain, have you gone space crazy?” Arx thundered. He reared up and shoved Teggs backwards.

  “I don’t want to fight you, Arx,” cried Teggs. “Get out of my way!”

  “I can’t,” Arx shouted back. “An astrosaur upholds the law, he doesn’t break it!”

  Teggs glanced wildly back at Gipsy and Iggy. They were already getting to their feet behind him. And any moment now the security guards would appear round the corner . . .

  “Please, Arx!” Teggs urged his old friend.

  “No, Captain.” Arx lowered his head, ready to charge. “If you want to escape . . . you’ll have to get through me first!”

  Chapter Five

  WANTED! – TEGGS STEGOSAUR

  “Forgive me, Arx,” said Teggs miserably. “But I have no choice!”

  He hooked one of his tail-spikes behind Arx’s head-frill and yanked him forward with all his strength.

  The triceratops went tumbling into Iggy and Gipsy and the approaching guards, and they all went down in a scaly heap.

  “Some day you’ll understand,” Teggs told them, wiping a tear from his eye. “I hope!” Then he dashed off again towards the spaceship bay. He charged headlong through still more guards, scattering them like skittles, until finally he reached Dutch’s Dungmaster.

  For a moment, Teggs looked longingly at the Sauropod parked nearby. “I’ll get back to you,” he swore. “I’ll make things right, somehow.”

  Then he climbed aboard his borrowed ship, fired up the engines and used a DSS priority code to open the space station’s outer doors. Moments later, he shot off into the endless starry night.

  Teggs stared at the scanner, watching for the DSS ships he knew would be streaking to the scene and planning how to avoid them. He was a fugitive now, running not just for his own life – but for Blink’s and Dutch’s too . . .

  Arx, Gipsy and Iggy ran back to the Sauropod with heavy hearts.

  “I just can’t believe the captain would turn into a crook!” Iggy exclaimed.

  “I can’t believe he just chucked us aside like that.” Gipsy sighed. “What did he mean, ‘Some day you’ll understand’?”

  Arx kept a stiff upper horn. “We must tell Admiral Rosso,” he declared.

  But as they entered the flight deck, they found the dimorphodon flapping about in alarm – and Admiral Rosso’s frowning face already on the scanner screen.

  “I’ve just been shown pictures from SSSS-One’s security cameras,” said Rosso gravely. “They clearly show Teggs stealing an invention. Look.”

  Rosso’s face was replaced by a film of Teggs smashing down the storehouse door and rummaging about inside. Gipsy turned away, unable to watch, and Iggy gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder.

  “We are trying to find out precisely which invention Teggs has stolen,” said Rosso, reappearing on the screen. “In the meantime, he must be captured and made to explain himself. I am sending all available ships after him – including you.” His head bobbed closer. “So get going!”

  The screen went dark, and the astrosaurs walked slowly to their places.

  Iggy shook his head. “Our own captain, a wanted dinosaur!”

  “There must be more to this than meets the eye,” said Arx fiercely. “Teggs wouldn’t give up on us if we were in trouble. So we must not give up on him.”

  Gipsy forced a smile and nodded. “Let’s find him – and fast!”

  Thousands of miles away, Teggs was roaring through space towards the FANG HQ on Tartara when the ship’s computer piped up.

  “Warning!” it stated. “Super-Secure Space Station-One has launched pursuit probes.”

  “Oh, no,” groaned Teggs. Pursuit probes were like electronic guard dogs. They flew through space, large, round and bristling with every weapon you could imagine. Once their sensors caught the scent of a spaceship’s exhaust, they would never stop following. “Set speed to maximum,” he said.

  “It already is at maximum,” the computer told him.

  “Then make it maximum-plus-a-bit-more!” Teggs urged it.

  “Impossible,” said the computer.

  Teggs sighed. If only Iggy were here, he would have the engines going faster in no time. He missed his fine ship and his brave crew. Once Blink and Dutch were safe, he would find a way to make the FANG pay for what they had done . . .

  “Pursuit probes are gaining on us,” said the computer calmly.

  “HALT!” A mechanical voice grated over the ship’s speakers. “This is Pursuit Probe One. Surrender or I shall open fire.”

  “I would if I could but I can’t!” Teggs cried. “Computer, can we fire back?”

  “The ship is unarmed,” replied the computer.

  “Then give me manual control!” Teggs took the giant joystick in both hands and steered sharply to the left. Then he looped the loop and sent the ship shooting upwards. He had to get away . . .

  But suddenly, the ship lurched, and the lights turned warning red.

  “This is Pursuit Probe Two,” rasped a slightly lower voice. “I am flying alongside your ship. You have just been hit by a warning shot.”

  “If you do not surrender, we will open fire on the count of three,” said the first pursuit probe. “One . . . two . . .”

  Teggs shut his eyes tight as twin explosions shuddered through the ship and slammed him to the floor . . .

  Chapter Six

  CARNAGE IN SPACE

  “Pursuit probes destroyed,” said the computer calmly.

  “What?” Teggs raised his head from the floor and opened his eyes. “But how? You said this ship wasn’t armed!”

  “This ship is not,” the computer agreed. “But that one is.”

  Teggs looked at the scanner screen. It showed a large, ugly vessel armed with mas
sive space cannons floating just ahead of them. A huge hatch was opening in its front to reveal darkness beyond – and it was getting closer.

  “Unknown craft has activated space magnet,” said the computer. “It is dragging us inside.”

  “That’s right, Teggs,” snarled a low, gruff voice. “I’m taking you in!”

  Teggs recognized the voice at once. “Tonka the mammoth! So this is a FANG ship!”

  “Correct.” Tonka’s leering face appeared on the scanner. “You were doing such a rubbish job of escaping, I came to give you some help.” His eyes glinted. “We don’t want anything to happen to the Mega-Spray Y, do we?”

  “Just what is this Mega-Spray Y?” Teggs demanded. “Why is it so important to the FANG?”

  “That is our business,” snapped Tonka. “Just bring it to my control room. There are other DSS ships coming and we must escape to Tartara at once.”

  Teggs scowled as he picked up the white case. He hated taking orders from a crooked mammoth. Reluctantly, he stomped out of Dutch’s spaceship and into the mammoth’s dark, smelly vessel. A lot of the corridors had been left unfinished, and hundreds of half-drunk mugs of tea littered the floor.

  Following his nose, he found Tonka in the control room. The big, brutish mammoth’s eyes lit up at the sight of the white case. Then a loud beep sounded.

  “That’s my space phone,” Tonka realized, pulling a metal cylinder from his work belt.

  “Tonka, this is FANG HQ.” Attila’s voice came hissing out of the phone. “A large DSS spaceship is coming your way. They might have seen you pick up Teggs. Change direction quickly—”

  But Attila’s warning had come too late. “Unmarked vessel, this is the DSS Herbivore,” came a prim female voice over the ship’s speakers. “We suspect you of destroying two pursuit probes and helping a criminal escape.”

  “Hang on,” muttered Teggs. “She sounds familiar . . .”

  Tonka ignored him and switched on his scanner. A large, pink, egg-shaped ship was approaching fast. The mammoth cursed and crossed to the ship’s communicator. “Fair enough, Herbivore. You have caught me red-handed and red-trunked too. I give up.”

  Teggs stared at him. “You do?”

  Tonka turned off the communicator and chuckled. “As if!” He curled his trunk around a big lever. “But now she thinks I’ve surrendered, she won’t be expecting me to fire my death lasers!”