by Steve Cole
“No!” Teggs shouted. “You can’t do that!”
“Wanna bet?” Tonka snarled. “I used to be known as Tonka the Traitor – even by my mum!”
Teggs dived towards him, but was too late. The mammoth yanked down on the lever. Instantly, bright green laser rays scorched through space and struck the Herbivore. A huge hole was blasted open and the pink ship sagged to one side.
“You double-crossing sack of slimy wool!” yelled Teggs in fury. He shoved the mammoth away from the lever and raised his spiky tail. “You will never hurt anyone else again!”
“Wrong!” said Tonka, whacking Teggs with his hairy trunk. “And if you take just one step closer, my friends at FANG HQ will blow up that bugging device on your shoulder!”
Teggs held the white case up against his neck and shook his head. “If they do, they’ll blow up the Mega-Spray Y as well!”
“Stop arguing, you fools!” King Albu’s voice squawked over Tonka’s space phone. “The DSS Herbivore is fighting back!”
Both Teggs and Tonka swung round to face the scanner – and found five dung torpedoes streaking towards them . . .
“Steer us away, you mammoth maniac!” Teggs shouted. “If that many missiles hit us head on—”
But even as he spoke, the dung torpedoes smashed into the ship and a stupendously smelly explosion tore through the control room. Tonka and Teggs were blown through the air as everything went black.
Teggs woke up aching all over. He was in a clean, pink room – with bars on the door. He tried to get to his feet, but found himself strapped to a stretcher. His dinner suit was reduced to rags, and his body was covered in stinky soot from the explosion.
“Where am I?” he croaked.
“You are now on board the DSS Herbivore,” came the prim voice he had heard before. “The same ship you tried to blow up after you ‘surrendered’ – you sneak! Luckily the damage isn’t too bad . . .”
“I didn’t fire at you,” Teggs protested. He noticed a clock on the wall – and gasped as he realized he had just five hours to get back to Tartara. “Where’s the Mega-Spray Y?” he asked desperately. “I need it!”
“Yes, I’m sure you do – thief!”
Teggs blinked as someone stepped forward to stand over him. She was a red, freckle-faced dinosaur with two sharp horns and a very cross expression on her pretty face. He recognized her at once – Damona the diceratops, his friendly (but quite annoying) rival from Astrosaurs Academy!
“It’s you!” Teggs smiled weakly. “I thought your voice was familiar.”
“Yes, it’s me,” said Damona, not smiling back. “I was looking forward to seeing you at the big academy reunion. But instead I had to leave it early and join the hunt for you!” She frowned. “My crew crossed to your ship and found you were knocked out. They brought you back here.”
“It wasn’t my ship,” Teggs told her. “It belongs to a mammoth. Did your crew find him on board?”
“No,” Damona informed him coldly. “Only you.”
“He . . . he must have been hiding,” Teggs realized.
“A likely story,” said Damona. She looked at him and then the words burst out of her. “Oh, Teggs, how could you have turned into a criminal?”
I’m not a criminal! Teggs wanted to yell. But he knew that the FANG were listening to every word he said . . .
“Wait a second,” said Damona. Teggs saw that she was staring at his shoulder through his ripped jacket. “What’s that little disc there?
Some sort of weird space gadget . . .?”
“Nothing,” Teggs insisted. He knew that if anyone tried to take off the bug, it would explode. “It’s – it’s just a badge.”
Damona leaned over and plucked at it. “Don’t lie to me! It’s stuck to your skin.” Teggs tried to twist away as she tugged at the disc again but the straps held him tight. “Let me see what it is.”
“No, Damona, don’t take it off!” Teggs struggled to break free with all his strength. “If you do, it’s the end for us both – and Blink and Dutch too!”
Chapter Seven
THE DEADLY INTRUDER
“What are you on about, Teggs?” Damona ripped the scorched and dented disc free from his skin and held it up to him. “Whatever this thing is, it’s totally broken.”
“Broken?” Teggs opened one eye a crack, then gave a long sigh of relief.
“It must have been splatted in the explosion . . . which means I can tell you what’s been happening without the FANG knowing!”
“Fang?” said Damona, baffled. “And why did you mention Blink and Dutch?”
Teggs sighed. “You didn’t see them at the academy reunion, did you?” She shook her head, and he continued: “That’s because they’ve been taken prisoner by the Fearsome Army of Nasty Geniuses – the FANG – four of my deadliest enemies. I had to steal the Mega-Spray Y to save Blink and Dutch from being squished!”
Damona didn’t look convinced. “You’re making it up.”
“I’m not!” Teggs insisted. Then a loud beep sounded close beside them. “That’s Tonka’s space phone!”
“My crew found it lying on the floor beside you.” Damona fished the phone out of her pocket and it beeped again. “They thought it was yours.”
“It must have been blown there by the explosion.” Teggs looked at her desperately. “Damona, I know we didn’t always get on at Astrosaurs Academy, but please . . . you have to trust me now.” The phone beeped a third time and Teggs finally broke free of the straps on the stretcher and sat up. “Let me answer that thing – it’s the only way I can prove I’m telling the truth!”
Damona looked at him long and hard. Then she sighed and offered him the space phone. Teggs grabbed it and switched on the speakers. “Hello?”
A cold voice rasped: “Is that Captain Teggs?”
“Yes.” Teggs raised his eyebrows. “Is that King Albu, Crool Dasta, or Attila the Atrocious speaking?”
“Attila,” came the throaty growl. “What is happening? Where is Tonka?”
“I don’t know,” Teggs admitted. “His ship was blown up – and the explosion broke your bugging device. I was taken to the DSS Herbivore along with the Mega-Spray Y, and luckily they left Tonka’s phone with me.”
“Remember, you must tell no one that the FANG forced you to steal the Mega-Spray Y,” Attila hissed. “And if you do not bring it to us within five hours, Blink Fingawing and Dutch Delaney will be destroyed!”
Damona gasped. Teggs hastily shushed her. “It’s OK. I, er, have a plan to trick the captain and take over the DSS Herbivore. I will set a course for Tartara as soon as I can.”
“You had better . . .” Attila hissed. “And don’t forget, we are monitoring all DSS communications. Ask anyone for help, and your friends will regret it!”
The space phone went dead. Teggs passed it back to Damona. “Now do you understand?”
She nodded, her eyes wide. “I’ve heard of evil Attila and Dasta . . . but didn’t I read that King Albu the oviraptor had been eaten by a star-dragon?”
“I saw it happen,” said Teggs with a shudder. “When I found out he was still alive I got the shock of my life!”
“Oh, Teggs, you poor thing. What a horrible time you’ve had!” Damona patted his spiky back. “But things are looking up.”
“Oh?” He blinked. “Why?”
“Because now you’ve got me on your side.” Damona grinned cheekily. “And everyone knows I’m the greatest astrosaur ever in the universe!”
“Only because you’ve told them so!” Teggs teased. “Thanks, Damona.”
“Luckily I didn’t tell Admiral Rosso I had found you. I wanted to hear your story for myself first. And now I’ve heard it – next stop Tartara!” Damona picked up the white case. “On the way I’ll find you a spare uniform and give this Mega-Spray Y to my lab boys so we can find out what it actually does.”
Teggs nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe then we’ll learn why the FANG want it so badly . . .”
Not far
away, the Sauropod was still hot on the trail of Captain Teggs.
A red light started flashing on Gipsy’s controls, and she turned to Arx. “Urgent call from Admiral Rosso incoming!”
A dimorphodon banged a button and Rosso appeared on the scanner screen. The old barosaurus looked even more serious than usual.
“Any sign of Teggs, sir?” Arx asked.
“No, but I have two other pieces of news,” said Rosso. “Firstly, we now know that he has stolen the only sample of Mega-Spray Y – a brand-new liquid designed to dissolve scrap metal and plastic completely, leaving no mess or pollution behind.”
“That’s a great idea,” said Iggy. “Junkyards will be a thing of the past.”
Arx frowned. “But such a spray could also be a deadly weapon. It could melt all kinds of technology to mush.”
“Very true,” Rosso agreed. “And ‘deadly’ describes my second piece of news: Attila the Atrocious has escaped from space prison!”
“What?” Gipsy”s head-crest flushed blue with alarm.
“It seems that some weeks ago he built a dino-droid of himself from bits of scrap and left it in his cell,” Rosso went on. “The guards didn’t notice the difference till today! Now they’re checking all the other prisoners in case Attila sneaked anyone out with him.”
“That measly meat-chomper!” said Iggy fiercely. “Hey, you don’t think Attila’s swapped Teggs with one of his dino-droids, do you?”
Gipsy sat up in her seat. “He might have something to do with the captain acting so strangely!” she agreed.
“Well, I’ve got two hundred ships looking for Teggs – perhaps they’ll find Attila by accident!” Rosso sighed. “Let me know if anything turns up, Arx.”
“I will, sir,” Arx promised as a dimorphodon squawked in his ear.
“Actually, it seems there’s a badly damaged ship up ahead, close to a pair of wrecked pursuit probes. We’ll check it out.”
“Action, at last!” Iggy cried.
“I’ll take a look in Shuttle Alpha.”
“I’m coming with you,” said Gipsy.
The pair of them ran from the flight deck to the Sauropod’s shuttle bay. Iggy fired up the dung-burners, opened the bay doors, and started to take the shuttle out into space. But then Gipsy caught sight of a silvery shape streaking towards them.
“What’s that?” she asked urgently.
“It looks like a space-lifeboat,” said Iggy. “It must have come from that wrecked ship.”
“It’s heading straight for us!” Gipsy cried. “Steer out of the way, Ig!”
Iggy grabbed the controls – but too late! The space-lifeboat crashed into the nose of the shuttle and knocked it flying. Iggy and Gipsy were sent tumbling as the shuttle smashed back inside the Sauropod. It landed on its back, dented and smoking.
“Gipsy,” Iggy groaned, “are you OK?”
“Just about.” She kicked the door open. “Whoever’s inside that space-lifeboat must be driving without a licence!”
“Maybe it’s the captain,” said Iggy, crossing his claws. “Perhaps he’s hurt and needs our help!” He closed the bay doors, took Gipsy’s hand and they clambered outside . . .
Only to find a scorched, slimy and slightly sooty mammoth standing in the space-lifeboat – aiming a cement shooter right at them!
“I don’t believe it!” Iggy gasped. “It’s Tonka – leader of the mammoth wrecking crew!”
“Long time no see,” snarled the mammoth. “Now, where’s Captain Teggs?”
“We don’t know,” Gipsy snapped. “And we wouldn’t tell you if we did. Last time we tangled you almost destroyed a whole planet – and the Sauropod!”
“Shut up,” growled Tonka, waving the weapon in their faces. “This time, I need your ship. So lead me to the flight deck, dino-fools – I’m taking over!”
Chapter Eight
PAINS, PLANS AND PERIL
Arx looked up as Gipsy and Iggy came gloomily back onto the flight deck. “You’re back quickly,” he said. “What did you find?”
“Trouble!” roared Tonka, just behind them. He shoved Iggy and Gipsy ahead of him, and the dimorphodon squawked and scattered.
“Tonka!” Arx jumped up from the control pit. “Where did you spring from?”
“Shut up and take this junk-heap to Tartara, right now!” said Tonka. “I don’t know where Teggs has gone, but with you lot as my prisoners, he will soon be back under the FANG’s control.”
“The FANG’s control?” Despite the danger of the situation, Arx felt a rush of hope. “Do you mean that you and this FANG have forced him to act like a criminal?”
“Er . . .” Tonka went cross-eyed. “Yes. Attila the Atrocious kidnapped his friends, Blink and Dutch – so he has to do as we say.”
Gipsy gasped. “You mean Teggs hasn’t gone bad?”
“I knew Attila had to be mixed up in this!” Iggy hooted with joy.
“That’s brilliant!”
“Oh, dear.” Tonka scowled. “I – I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.”
“Mind in a muddle, is it?” Iggy looked at him closely.
“Dear, oh dear – you’re covered in oil too!”
“It’s like you’ve swum in the stuff,” Gipsy agreed.
“Sh-sh-shut up, both of you!” Tonka’s hairy head was twitching. “Just g-g-g-get moving!” He shoved his cement shooter up against Arx’s nose. “NOW!”
The Sauropod wasn’t the only spaceship speeding towards Tartara. Damona’s craft, the Herbivore, was getting closer all the time.
Teggs sat beside Damona on the flight deck, happier now he was back wearing an astrosaur uniform. “OK, FANG, open up,” he said, speaking into the space phone. “I’ve locked away the Herbivore’s crew and brought you the Mega-Spray Y.”
“You cut it fine, Teggs – you had only one hour left,” gurgled King Albu. “We haven’t got space in our base for a ship that size. Take one of the Herbivore’s shuttles and come here at once.”
The large crater in the planet’s surface slid open to reveal the secret tunnel beyond.
Teggs switched off the space phone and turned to Damona. “OK, here’s the plan.” He held up the white case. “I will do as they say and exchange this stuff for Blink and Dutch’s freedom. As soon as the FANG opens the secret tunnel again to let us go—”
“I will zoom in and catch them all,” Damona interrupted. “It’s quite a good plan, I suppose. But what if they don’t open the secret tunnel to let you out?”
“Then it was nice knowing you,” said Teggs grimly.
“Goodbye, Teggs.” Damona saluted him. Then she kissed him on the cheek. “That’s for luck!”
Teggs pulled a face. “For yuck, more like!” Then he smiled. “See you soon – and stand by for action!”
With that, he ran off to the shuttle bay and hopped into a small pink ship. He took a deep breath. Then, as the bay doors opened, Teggs zoomed off into the blackness of the winding tunnel.
Soon he reached the parking bay. Teggs jumped out with the white case. The door in the wall was open, and he walked through it warily.
It led into a dark and smelly control room full of bones and bits of technology. Big TV screens showed amazing views of SSSS-One, the Herbivore and surrounding space. “Must be their monitoring system,” Teggs muttered. Then his heart beat faster as he saw Blink and Dutch, still in chains, shuffle out of the gloom, prodded by Crool Dasta and Attila the Atrocious.
“Ah, Captain Eggs — I mean, Teggs!” said King Albu, pushing past his fellow FANGers. “Hand over the Mega-Spray Y.”
“First things first,” Teggs snapped, turning to Blink and Dutch. “Are you OK, guys?”
“We’ve been better,” Blink admitted. Dutch nodded. “I can’t believe you’re giving them that stuff, dude!”
“Neither can I.” Teggs winked at him, then waved his white case at the three sinister carnivores. “I’ve done as you asked.
Now set Blink and Dutch free and let us go.”
“
Very well,” said Attila. “The Mega-Spray Y dissolves any metal. Use it now to remove your friends’ chains.”
Teggs frowned. “Er, what?”
“You heard,” hissed Dasta. “It will be a useful demonstration of the invention.”
“Yes, go on, Teggs,” Blink urged him. “These chains weigh a ton!”
But still Teggs hesitated.
“Do it!” roared King Albu.
Teggs slowly opened the case and pulled out a spray bottle. Suddenly, Attila did a funky disco leap and snatched the spray away. Before Teggs could stop him, he had squirted a cloud of the stuff at Blink and Dutch’s chains . . .
And absolutely nothing happened.
“I knew it!” growled Attila, spraying the air in front of him and tasting it with his tongue. “This is not Mega-Spray Y. It’s water!”
“So . . .” Dasta’s eyes narrowed. “You tried to cheat us!”
“You stupid stegosaur!” King Albu hopped up and down with rage. “Did you really think you could trick the FANG with such a simple swap?”
“Well, I thought I’d have a go,” Teggs confessed. “The real Mega-Spray Y is still on board the DSS Herbivore. I’ll let you have it once Blink, Dutch and I are safely away from here.”
“Another pitiful attempt to trick us!” roared Attila. “But your plans are doomed to fail, Teggs. Because you don’t know where Tonka is right now, do you?”
“I don’t much care either,” Teggs retorted.
“You should!” King Albu pointed to the screens on the wall.
Teggs’s heart leaped at the sight of his huge silver spaceship soaring into view. “The Sauropod!” he cried.
But then the view changed to show the ship’s flight deck. And there, in the control pit, sat Tonka!
“I have taken charge of the Sauropod!” The mammoth’s slightly mangled body rocked with laughter. “Arx, Iggy, Gipsy and your entire crew are my helpless prisoners.”
Teggs felt his blood boil. “You haven’t won yet!” he shouted at the screen. “I still have the real Mega-Spray Y!”
“Wanna bet?” Tonka held up a familiar-looking white spray can, and dragged someone else into view with his trunk – Damona!