Astrosaurs 19

by Steve Cole

  Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Warning! Think you know about dinosaurs?

  Talking Dinosaur!

  The Crew of the DSS Sauropod

  Jurassic Quadrant Map

  Chapter One: The Poisoned Planet

  Chapter Two: Into the Forest

  Chapter Three: Blooming Awful!

  Chapter Four: Forest Trickery

  Chapter Five: The Doors of Death

  Chapter Six: Going Underground

  Chapter Seven: Tunnel Visions

  Chapter Eight: Fear-Boom!

  Chapter Nine: Killer Countdown

  Chapter Ten: Potion Power

  About the Author

  Also by Steve Cole

  Copyright

  About the Book

  DINOSAURS . . . IN SPACE!

  Meet Captain Teggs Stegosaur and the crew of the amazing spaceship DSS Sauropod as the ASTROSAURS fight evil across the galaxy!

  Noxia-4 is a farm-planet; a world of plants that feeds billions of hungry dinos. But when the harvest fails and the farmers are attacked, Teggs and the team investigate – and soon learn that the Noxia-4’s dark forests are home to a strange and deadly evil that could destroy them all . . .

  For Zakaria Meddour

  WARNING!

  THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT DINOSAURS?

  THINK AGAIN!

  The dinosaurs . . .

  Big, stupid, lumbering reptiles. Right?

  All they did was eat, sleep and roar a bit. Right?

  Died out millions of years ago when a big meteor struck the Earth. Right?

  Wrong!

  The dinosaurs weren’t stupid. They may have had small brains, but they used them well. They had big thoughts and big dreams.

  By the time the meteor hit, the last dinosaurs had already left Earth for ever. Some breeds had discovered how to travel through space as early as the Triassic period, and were already enjoying a new life among the stars. No one has found evidence of dinosaur technology yet. But the first fossil bones were only unearthed in 1822, and new finds are being made all the time.

  The proof is out there, buried in the ground.

  And the dinosaurs live on, way out in space, even now. They’ve settled down in a place they call the Jurassic Quadrant and over the last sixty-five million years they’ve gone on evolving.

  The dinosaurs we’ll be meeting are part of a special group called the Dinosaur Space Service.

  Their job is to explore space, to go on exciting missions and to fight evil and protect the innocent!

  These heroic herbivores are not just dinosaurs.

  They are astrosaurs!

  NOTE: The following story has been translated from secret Dinosaur Space Service records. Earthling dinosaur names are used throughout, although some changes have been made for easy reading. There’s even a guide to help you pronounce the dinosaur names on the next page.

  Talking Dinosaur!

  How to say the prehistoric names in this book . . .

  STEGOSAURUS –

  STEG-oh-SORE-us

  IGUANODON –

  ig-WHA-noh-don

  TRICERATOPS –

  try-SERRA-tops

  HADROSAUR –

  HAD-roh-SORE

  GIGANTOSAURUS –

  jy-GANT-uh-SORE-us

  DIMORPHODON

  – die-MORF-oh-don

  LAMBEOSAUR –

  LAM-be-oh-SORE

  THE CREW OF THE DSS SAUROPOD

  Chapter One

  THE POISONED PLANET

  “Great galaxies!” Captain Teggs Stegosaur stared through the windows of his shuttlecraft in dismay. “I’ve never seen such a poorly looking planet.” He turned to his crewmates. “Have you?”

  Arx the triceratops, Iggy the iguanodon and Gipsy the hadrosaur all shook their heads in stunned amazement. As top-class astrosaurs – the pride of the Dinosaur Space Service – they had explored hundreds of incredible worlds in their spaceship, the Sauropod.

  But never one like this.

  Noxia-4 was a farm-planet, and to Teggs that brought to mind green meadows rich with mouthwatering plants. But all he could see were wilted leaves and dusty stalks, stretching out in every direction.

  “It’s like a dustbowl,” Teggs remarked as the shuttle came in to land. “I thought there were meant to be endless rolling fields?”

  “It looks like they rolled over and died!” said Iggy, the Sauropod’s rough and tough mechanic.

  “No wonder the planet’s farmers sent that mysterious message for help,” said Arx, Teggs’s bright green First Officer. “Remember what they said?”

  “Strange things happening, please send astrosaurs, wibble-wibble,” recalled Gipsy, who was in charge of communications. “Funny sort of distress signal – especially as they sent it to a greengrocer’s on the planet Steggos instead of to us!”

  Arx nodded. “It took three whole days for the message to reach DSS HQ, and another day for us to get here. In all that time, no other messages were sent – and the farmers haven’t answered any of our calls.”

  Teggs opened the shuttle doors. “We’d better start investigating straight away. Millions of dinosaurs depend on food from farm-planets like this one. If the problems spread to the nine neighbouring crop-worlds . . .”

  “There will be famine across the Vegetarian Sector,” Arx concluded.

  “According to our maps, the dino-farmers’ dwelling dome should be just over this hill.” Teggs led the way outside. “Let’s check it out.”

  The astrosaurs trudged away through dry mud and dead plants. Farm machines – turbo-tractors, robo-reapers and sprinkler-bots – stood scattered around, abandoned. The only sounds were the crump of their footsteps and the wind rustling withered leaves.

  “There it is,” said Gipsy as they reached the top of the hill. “The dwelling dome!”

  The dome was like the cap of some giant metal mushroom growing out of the soil – an all-in-one living space for the farmers who worked here. It stood at the end of a wide path leading down the sloping hillside. But in all other directions, the dome was surrounded by a vast, sprawling forest of twisted, spindly trees and thick, thorny bushes.

  Iggy licked his lips. “That forest looks good enough to eat.”

  “It is,” Arx agreed. “That’s why it’s on the dome’s doorstep. The crops are needed on other worlds, so the farmers feed on the forest – that’s the way it works on all farm planets.”

  “Well, I could nosh a leaf or two myself,” said Teggs, his tum rumbling as always. “Let’s have a quick bite, just to keep us going while we explore . . .”

  He led his friends down the slope towards the forest’s edge and was just about to chomp on some juicy-looking branches when—

  ZZZAP!

  A laser blast scorched over his head and a tree went up in smoke.

  “Don’t move!” came a hoarse cry from outside the dome.

  Teggs, Gipsy, Arx and Iggy looked over to find a wild-eyed lambeosaur in muddy dungarees and a wide straw hat, holding a laser rifle.

  “It’s all right,” Teggs called. “We’re peaceful astrosaurs. We’ve come to help you.”

  “I’m glad about that.” The dinosaur kept a tight grip on his gun. “My name’s Leefer. I had to shoot – to warn you away from that forest.”

  Gipsy frowned. “But why?”

  “Because if you go in there, you’ll disappear like all the others,” Leefer warned them. “Mark my words, astrosaurs – that’s a forest of evil. Those who step inside are never seen again!”

  Once Teggs had introduced himself and his crew, Leefer invited them inside the dome. “Sorry about the mess,” the farmer said. “I wasn’t expecting
company.”

  The farmers’ dome looked like a giant indoor field – one that had been trampled by runaway mammoths. Six straw beds lay scattered around the circular edge of the dome, but only one looked slept in. The ceiling was tiled with TV screens showing views of different dusty fields across the planet, and in the middle was a large living space with tatty sofas and chairs. The floor was made of muddy grass. Teggs had a nibble but it tasted of farmers’ feet. “Yuk!”

  “I’m sure glad you’re here,” said Leefer. “I’ve been real lonely.”

  As he closed the dome’s door, Gipsy noticed a strong, sickly sweet smell. “Ugh!” She held her nose. “What’s that stink?”

  “I hope you’re not talking about my aftershave,” said Leefer sharply.

  Teggs took a cautious sniff – then gasped. “She is!”

  “I mixed it myself.” Leefer looked put out. “It’s better then smelling of muck and sweat like all the other farmers. ‘Sweet-pong Leefer’, they call me.”

  “They should call you Lucky Leefer, if you’re the only farmer left,” noted Arx. “Was it you who sent the call for help?”

  “Nope. That was Chief Farmer Frisbee,” said Leefer. “He sent it just before he went completely doo-lally.”

  “Doo-lally?” Teggs echoed. “Do you mean he wasn’t well?”

  “He started saying and doing crazy things,” Leefer explained. “As soon as he sent that call for help, he smashed up the communicator. See? Crazy!”

  Gipsy eyed the broken equipment. “So that’s why you didn’t reply to our calls.”

  “The last two weeks have been terrible.” Leefer shrugged sadly. “First the crops started to die. Then Frisbee went crazy. And not long after, the other farmers went crazy too, one after the other, and ran off into the forest.”

  Iggy counted the beds again. “Were there really only six of you farming the whole planet?”

  “Sure. Robots do all the tough stuff,” Leefer explained. “They plough the fields, sow the seeds, harvest the crops – and we oversee things from here in the dome.” He pointed to the screens on the ceiling. “Clever cameras give us a perfect view of every last field on the planet. My main job is looking after them. ‘Camera-Expert Leefer’ they call me.”

  Teggs nodded. “Did your cameras show anything strange or suspicious two weeks ago – around the time the plants started dying?”

  “It was just after a real bad thunderstorm, so it was dark and cloudy,” Leefer recalled. “But I didn’t see nothing.”

  “I’d like to study these poisoned crops to see what’s wrong with them,” said Arx. “Do you have any samples?”

  “Nope. And I can’t get none, neither,” said Leefer. “See, Chief Farmer Frisbee thought the crops had been poisoned on purpose by someone – or something – from space. So he made Yokul programme the robots to protect them – or what’s left of them – at all costs.”

  “Who’s Yokul?” asked Teggs.

  “Our robot expert,” said Leefer. “ ‘Robot-Expert Yokul’, we called him.”

  “Well, can’t you just turn the robots off?” asked Gipsy.

  Leefer shook his head. “Only Yokul can do that. And he was the second of us farmers to go fruit-loops and vanish into the forest.”

  Arx waggled his horns thoughtfully. “It’s quite unusual for a robot expert to go into farming, isn’t it?”

  “Oh, Yokul just loved nature and wildlife. It was his hobby, you know?” Leefer sighed. “Three days ago, we all went deep into the forest looking for Frisbee. We didn’t have no luck, but Yokul said he’d found something incredible out there . . . Something terrible and scary . . .”

  Gipsy gulped. “What?”

  “Dunno. Yokul went batty as a bathtub before he could tell us! He ran around bopping himself on the head, then rushed out into the forest. He never came back. I was so sad.” He sniffed. “ ‘So-Sad Leefer’, they called me.”

  “Didn’t you go after him?” asked Arx.

  “Course! The rest of us looked all over that darned forest.” Leefer shook his head. “Not a trace of either of them. And then the other three went loopy too. It’s that forest, I tell you! It used to be fine . . . but now it’s turned evil!”

  “Well, dinosaurs don’t just disappear,” said Teggs. “And forests are food, not frightening. I think it’s time we found your friends – and solved this mystery.” He jumped up. “Robots or no robots, we need some crop samples for Arx to study. Iggy, you’re a top mechanic – see if you can undo whatever Yokul did.”

  Iggy rolled up his sleeves. “I’ll get un-programming right away!”

  Teggs smiled. “Arx, Gipsy – you come with me. It’s time we explored these wild woods.”

  Arx saluted, and Gipsy swallowed hard. “Let’s just hope that whatever happened to the farmers doesn’t happen to us!”

  Chapter Two

  INTO THE FOREST

  Teggs strode from the dome and paused at the edge of the forbidding forest. The thick, twisted trees stood tall as houses, their branches tangling high overhead, blocking out the sunlight. Strange, alien plants stood about like sentries.

  Leefer followed Teggs out with Gipsy and Arx. “Er . . . I don’t have to come with you, do I? After losing so many of my friends in there . . .”

  “Why not stay and help Iggy?” Teggs suggested.

  Gipsy surveyed the forest. “It is a bit spooky, isn’t it? Especially with creepy plants like that around.” She pointed to a huge spindly thing standing some way inside the forest.

  Teggs frowned. It looked like an overgrown Venus fly-trap. It had thick roots and its stem was crowned with a bulging, bell-shaped bud almost like a head. A big, blue butterfly fluttered past – and the bud split open like a hungry mouth. SNAP! The plant’s jaws snapped shut and the butterfly was no more.

  “Ugh,” said Gipsy. “That poor little insect.”

  “A whole lot of bugs get eaten by them there plants,” Leefer explained. “That’s why Yokul named ’em ‘fearblooms’. He just loved studying them ’cause they’re real mysterious. They’ve never been found nowhere else.” Leefer kicked a twig, sadly. “I sure hope you find him, and the others.”

  “So do I,” said Teggs. “Ask Iggy to call us once you’ve got the crop sample – and we’ll call him if we find trouble!”

  “Will do,” said Leefer gratefully, scurrying back inside.

  Quietly, carefully, Teggs ventured into the silent forest.

  Arx and Gipsy stayed close behind, and all three kept well away from the fearbloom.

  The deeper they went, the gloomier the woods became.

  “Look!” Gipsy pointed with delight as another beautiful blue butterfly flew past. “I’m glad those horrid fearblooms haven’t scoffed them all.” The butterfly settled lightly on her head for a moment as if to thank her. Then it fluttered away.

  Teggs followed its progress – and as it passed a large tree, he frowned.

  “Hey, look. That bark’s been badly scratched.”

  Arx and Gipsy studied the gashes in the trunk.

  “They look like claw marks to me,” said Gipsy.

  “And look here.” Arx nudged the muddy forest floor with his nose. “Footprints!”

  Teggs inspected the tracks. “They’re enormous.”

  “Whoever left them should be easy to find,” said Gipsy nervously. “It looks like they were heading into the middle of the forest.”

  “Let’s follow them,” said Teggs.

  Slowly and quietly, the three astrosaurs moved deeper into the wild wood . . .

  “Blast this computer!” Iggy cried crossly. Working in the dome’s control centre with Leefer, he was tangled up in wires. “Blast it to bits!”

  Leefer raised his laser rifle. “OK, if you insist.”

  “No!” said Iggy quickly. “I’m only saying ‘Blast it’ because I’m cross. The computer won’t let me switch off the robots – Yokul programmed it too well.”

  “I’ve always hated computers,” Leefer grumbled. “ �
�Computer-hating Leefer’, they call me.”

  “Well, we need those crop samples,” said Iggy, crossing to the door. “So we’ll just have to take some.”

  Leefer splashed on some more pongy aftershave, then followed Iggy out into the sunshine to the field at the top of the hill.

  “There! Plenty of withered plants going begging.” Iggy crouched to pull one out from the soil. “If I’m quick, those robots won’t even notice – YEEOW!” Suddenly, he found himself sprayed with a high-speed stream of seeds. The tiny missiles stung his skin, stuck in his eyes and got in his nose and mouth. “Urph!” Iggy spluttered, jumping backwards. The seed spray only stopped once he was clear of the field. Iggy wiped his watering eyes and saw a small red, cannon-shaped robot further along the field, pointed his way. “What is that thing?”

  “An automatic seed-sower,” said Leefer ruefully. “That was just a warning. I saw Yokul test them – if you try to steal another plant, it’ll hit you harder.”

  Iggy scowled. “With more seeds, I suppose?”

  “Yep.” Leefer helped him up. “Only this time it’ll fire them when they’re still in their packets.”

  “Then I’ll use a shield,” Iggy declared. He ran down the hill, used his thumb spikes to tear off some tree bark, and held it up like a riot shield. “This’ll fix it.”

  “I don’t think so,” said Leefer.

  As soon as Iggy set foot on the field, the automatic sower fired seed packets at a hundred miles per hour. They bounced harmlessly off his tree-bark shield. “Ha!” said Iggy, and crouched to grab another plant . . .

  This time, a turbo-tractor came zooming up – and ran Iggy over! “OOOF!” he gasped as its huge wheels squashed him flat into the mud. As he struggled up, a sprinkler-bot squirted water in his face, fifty times faster than a firefighter’s hose.

  Coughing and gasping in the flood of water, Iggy was again forced back off the field where he collapsed in a squashed, soggy heap.

  “Told you so,” said Leefer glumly.

  “I’m not beaten,” Iggy growled. “We’ll get that crop sample yet – just you wait and see!”

  Deep in the dark forest, Teggs, Arx and Gipsy were facing struggles of their own. “We’ve lost the trail of whatever made those footprints,” Teggs grumbled.

  “Oh well.” Gipsy nudged him in the ribs. “We did say we wanted to explore!”