by H. Badger
‘You need to stay here, boy,’ Kip said firmly to Duke.
Duke whined. His big brown eyes were seriously sad, but Kip knew it could be dangerous to take Duke with him. Kip patted his minisaur goodbye and opened up the hatch.
He and Finbar climbed out the back of the WaterWalker through the mini-airlock. Duke whined again as Kip shut the door firmly behind them. Finbar looked like he wanted to take Duke with him, too.
Once they were out in the water, walking along the seabed was difficult. The water SeaStockings had some weights inside to stop them from floating back up to the surface. But the weights also made every step feel heavy. It was easier for Kip and Finbar to half-walk, half-swim their way along.
Kip soon stopped noticing, though.The underwater city was spread out in front of them. Kip took in every dazzling detail. Thousands of towers rose up from the sand.The buildings weren’t made of super-strength glass like Kip’s apartment tower on Earth. Instead, they were covered in glossy black pearl. The towers were wide at the bottom and pointy at the top.
Between the towers were tall poles, poking up from the sand. Each pole had a small rotating dish on top. A blue light on each one blinked every few seconds.
But the city wasn’t just high-tech. It looked like fun, too. In a single street, Kip spotted lots of things that humans would like – a fun park, cinemas, restaurants and a bowling alley. The sign out the front of the alley showed a jellyfish holding a bowling ball in each tentacle.
The aliens here are pretty advanced, Kip noted. And they must like to have fun.
Kip loved Space Scouting. How else would he get to visit cool places like this underwater city? But sometimes he wished he could hang out more when he travelled. Instead, it was all work from the moment he arrived.
Everywhere Kip looked, there were dull grey bushes with square leaves.
Not the nicest-looking plants, Kip noted. So why are they growing everywhere?
‘Let’s explore,’ Finbar said.
Kip nodded. ‘Keep your eyes peeled for something worth trading, and –’
‘Not so fast, Earthling,’ said a voice behind Kip.
Kip spun around. Behind him was what looked like a giant floating jellyfish!
‘My name is Nurdor,’ the alien said in perfect English.
Kip tried not to show his surprise. He’d never met an alien who could speak his language before.
‘Welcome to the Kingdom of the Jelly People,’ said Nurdor with a strange smile. ‘But please, call us Jellies.’
CHAPTER 5
Nurdor’s entire body was transparent. His head and tentacles looked like they were made of gooey jelly. Instead of legs, he had a billowing skirt like a jellyfish.
He glowed pale blue, and was much bigger than Kip. Unlike a jellyfish on Earth, he seemed to have a skeleton made of jelly inside.
‘Great to meet you,’ Kip said. It was best to be super-friendly when meeting new aliens.
Nurdor smiled with his mouth, but not with his glowing eyes.
‘The Jellies would like to throw you a welcome party.’
Kip thought he heard a funny edge to Nurdor’s voice.
Finbar told Nurdor he shouldn’t have gone to any fuss. But Nurdor wouldn’t listen. He just flicked his tentacles busily.
One of the tentacles brushed Kip’s leg. He yelped. Pain burned his skin through the SeaStocking, itching and throbbing. The tentacles were poisonous!
‘So sorry,’ Nurdor said briskly. ‘This way, please.’
The Jelly turned and glided through the water. His jelly skirt rippled and his tentacles fanned out behind him like hair.
Rubbing his aching leg, Kip studied Nurdor from behind. He made Kip nervous. Still, the WorldCorp Manual of Space Scouting was clear.
SPACE SCOUT RULE 3.09(a):
Alien parties: a Space Scout
must accept invitations
from friendly aliens.
Kip and Finbar had a duty to follow Nurdor. And the party would be as good a way as any to check out Aquaron.
Nurdor set off through the city. Jellies were everywhere, all transparent and glowing blue.
‘The glow’s a kind of electrical charge,’ Finbar whispered. ‘Jellyfish on Earth produce it in their bodies. I think these Jellies are similar.’
They passed by a pole with a rotating dish. Maybe the Jellies harness their electricity to power those dishes, Kip thought. Very sophisticated – especially since I don’t think jellyfish have brains!
Some Jellies glided by in pairs, tentacle-in-tentacle.
There were no vehicles on the Jellies’ streets. They didn’t need them, Kip figured. Not when they could glide around so quickly and easily.
When the passing Jellies saw Kip and Finbar, they whispered to each other. Kip wondered what they were saying.
‘We’re here!’ Nurdor snapped suddenly. ‘The New Worker Centre.’
They were standing in front of a thick black door encrusted with pearl. When Nurdor floated up to it, it opened automatically.
‘The New Worker Centre?’ Kip echoed, confused.
‘Er, the New Party Centre,’ said Nurdor quickly.
They found themselves inside a pearl chamber. There were giant upturned clamshells on the floor. Beside them was a glittering golden chest.
‘Sit,’ Nurdor said. It sounded like an order, not an invitation.
‘Where are the other party guests?’ Finbar asked suspiciously.
‘Oh, they’ll be here,’ Nurdor said, his eyes darting around. ‘But first, you need one of our traditional Aquaron body decorations. No party is complete without one.’
Kip and Finbar sank down onto the shells. Nurdor stood over them, his tentacles swishing.
Nurdor took a sharp, white needle made of shell from the chest. Then before Kip knew what was happening, Nurdor flicked his tentacles at Kip and Finbar’s arms.
Owww!!
The pain was thousands of times stronger than when Nurdor had flicked Kip’s leg. Kip couldn’t move. His arms and legs were paralysed! Finbar could do nothing but howl.
Nurdor pushed the sleeve of Kip’s SeaStocking up to his shoulder. Horrified, Kip watched as the Jelly poked the needle into his bare skin, over and over again.
Kip knew that if he could have felt the needle, it would have been torture.
Next, Nurdor grabbed Finbar’s arm. Kip’s head was spinning. His mission was out of control! He could only watch as Nurdor did exactly the same thing to Finbar through his fur.
‘There’s no party, is there?’ Kip said, when he’d cleared his head. The movement in his arms was starting to return.
‘Of course not,’ Nurdor laughed. ‘Fool.’
Kip inspected his shoulder. Underneath the skin, he could see the glowing blue shape of a Jelly. Nurdor had used the Jellies’ own electrically charged fluid to make a tattoo!
‘It’s a tracking tattoo,’ Nurdor said. ‘Once you are above the surface, you’re not allowed to go further than three kilometres from Jelly City.’
Those poles with rotating dishes, Kip guessed. They’re electrical trackers!
‘Go further and we’ll send the eels after you. And if you spend too long above the water, the tattoo will shock you.’
We’ve got to get rid of these tattoos, Kip thought desperately. Then get out of here!
But Nurdor continued, as if reading Kip’s mind. ‘The tattoos can’t be erased,’ he said, cackling.‘You and your fluffy friend are slaves to the Jellies now!’
CHAPTER 6
Nurdor took two black waterproof suits from the golden chest. He shook them out.
At once, the suits puffed up to the size of a chubby human body. Instead of zips there were watertight seals. The suits had helmets with clear panels to see through.
Aquaron AirSuit
‘These are AirSuits,’ Nurdor said briskly. ‘Climb in, swim to the surface and fill the suit with warm water.’
‘Why?’ Kip scowled.
‘A SLAVE DOESN’T ASK QUESTIO
NS!’ Nurdor thundered.
But the Jelly seemed to want to prove to Kip how successful his alien race was. ‘Sea Sprouts have made the Jellies fabulously rich,’ Nurdor explained haughtily. ‘We grow them all over our city.’
Those grey plants everywhere, with the square leaves, remembered Kip. What’s so special about them?
‘They’re the most nutritious plant in any known galaxy,’ Nurdor said. ‘We trade them with other planets for millions.’
WorldCorp was right! Kip thought. There is a valuable resource on Aquaron.
That resource could probably feed humans…provided they didn’t mind eating grey vegetables.
‘The water down here is too cold to grow the Sea Sprouts?’ Kip guessed. ‘You need warm water from the surface.’
Nurdor muttered something. Kip’s training had taught him to miss nothing. It sounded like Nurdor said, ‘You’re as smart as the King said you’d be.’
Why would the King have been talking about us? Kip wondered. He had no way of knowing we were coming…did he?
‘Enough chat,’ snapped Nurdor. He tossed the AirSuits to Kip and Finbar.
Kip’s eyes narrowed. Putting on the AirSuit went against every instinct in Kip’s body. He’d been trained for action, to defend himself and help his people. Going along with Nurdor felt like giving up.
Still, Kip hadn’t forgotten the pain of Nurdor’s tentacle. One wrong step and Nurdor would sting him again. Or worse!
Kip pulled the AirSuit on over his SeaStocking. The AirSuit was heavy, and Kip’s whole body felt clunky and useless.
‘Hurry up,’ Nurdor snapped at Finbar, whose furry paws were struggling with the seal on his suit.
Kip glared at Nurdor, and pulled the suit closed for Finbar.
Tentacles rippling, Nurdor led Kip and Finbar out of the pearl chamber. They made their way back through the city.
They reached the entrance to the dome. Then Kip noticed something. The WaterWalker was gone! And Duke was still inside.
‘Worried about your little friend?’ Nurdor asked, seeing Kip stiffen.
‘Where’s Duke?’ Kip asked, glaring at Nurdor.
‘His Majesty might like Duke as a plaything,’ Nurdor said. ‘Or perhaps for dinner.’
Kip’s knees wobbled. His head throbbed. He thought being a slave to the Jellies was the absolute low point of his Space Scout career. But things had just gotten worse.
‘Don’t you dare hurt him,’ Kip growled.
‘Ah, little human,’ Nurdor smiled. ‘Soon you will learn that the Jellies are superior. We do exactly what we want, when we want. Because we can.’
He pushed Kip and Finbar through the entrance and out into the open sea. ‘Get to work,’ Nurdor ordered. ‘You have one hour to return with warm water. Your tattoo will pulse with electricity to remind you.’
The monster eels swam aside to let them pass. Kip and Finbar were on their own. But they were far from free.
CHAPTER 7
Since the Jellies could track them, there was no point plotting an escape yet. And there were too many Jellies for Kip and Finbar to take on alone.
Kip felt powerless, and he hated it. As far as he could see, their only option was to swim to the surface.
Teeth gritted, Kip launched himself upwards. His AirSuit was uncomfortably hot with the SeaStocking on underneath. Plus he couldn’t stop thinking about Duke. A million rescue plans popped into his head. None of them seemed possible, at least not with a Jelly tattoo on his arm.
Finbar followed Kip. Being a wolf, he hated water and wasn’t used to swimming long distances. Back in Jelly City, Finbar had been using the only stroke he knew - doggy paddle. But it tired him out. He soon lagged behind Kip.
Kip paused, treading water until Finbar caught up. Then he noticed a long shape wriggling towards him. A giant leech!
Gross! Kip had completely forgotten that the sea was infested with leeches.
Hurry up, Finbar! he thought desperately.
The leech wriggled towards Kip. Slowly, it wrapped itself around Kip’s neck. It was looking for a way through his AirSuit to suck his blood!
Shuddering, Kip tried to pull it off. But the leech stuck fast. Working from the tail, Kip tried again. It took all of Kip’s strength to rip the giant leech off his suit. But another was heading in his direction.
At last, Finbar paddled out from behind a transparent seaweed forest. Leeches crawled all over him.
Kip helped Finbar to rip them off. Then he grabbed Finbar under the arms and frog-kicked them both all the way to the surface. Luckily, fitness was one of Kip’s strong points.
Finally, they burst through to the surface. They bobbed on the red water easily.
Above sea-level, Kip’s SpaceCuff had reception again. He switched it on at once.
‘Are you calling MoNa?’ Finbar asked.
Kip thought for a moment. If MoNa sent two Scrambler Beams, he and Finbar could escape right then.
His mission was complete, because he knew what the Jellies were trading. And he was sure Aquaron wasn’t Earth 2, not with the evil Jellies in control.
But if they escaped now, they’d have to leave without Duke.
‘I can’t go. Not without my minisaur,’ Kip said quietly.
He switched his SpaceCuff to Map Mode. An instant satellite image popped up on the screen.
‘What’s that?’ Kip wondered out loud, studying the map.
Aquaron was covered by sea. But the SpaceCuff had picked up what seemed to be a group of tiny islands! Kip zoomed in. He saw the islands weren’t rock, but woven reeds – and they were floating in the sea.
‘Those islands are exactly three kilometres from Jelly City,’ Finbar said, looking over Kip’s shoulder.
‘Maybe there are other slaves there!’ Kip said. ‘They can’t go any further than that.’
Kip wasn’t sure the other slaves would be friendly. And they had less than an hour above the water to find out.
But hope soared inside Kip anyway. Other slaves would know more about the Jellies. They might be able to help rescue Duke!
Bobbing in their AirSuits, Kip and Finbar swam towards the islands. They soon came into view. Kip was right! There were figures on top, all wearing AirSuits. More slaves. Finbar’s superior wolf vision saw every detail.
The aliens were shaped like humans, but each had four eyes instead of two.
Swimming a final stroke, Kip grabbed onto the reed island. One of the aliens reached down to help Kip up.
‘Hello, I’m Virgil,’ said the alien. ‘I am a Gird.’ Just like the Jellies, Virgil spoke Kip’s language perfectly.
‘These are some of my people,’ Virgil said, waving a hand around the small island. Kip counted twenty more Girds.
‘The others are collecting water for the Jellies,’ Virgil said. ‘Like you, we’re slaves.’
Kip introduced himself. He explained to Virgil what he and Finbar were doing on Aquaron.
Then Virgil told Kip the story of Aquaron. ‘Once, Girds and Jellies shared this planet peacefully,’ said Virgil. ‘Aquaron was icy. Girds lived on the land and Jellies in the sea.’
Virgil explained how a meteorite had knocked Aquaron out of orbit, pushing it closer to the sun. The ice had melted, covering Aquaron in an ocean.
‘Then the Jellies took over?’ guessed Kip, suddenly understanding.
Virgil nodded. ‘My people have been their slaves ever since,’ he said.
Kip imagined life as a Gird. No freedom. Nothing but endless work and misery.
It would be his and Finbar’s life too, if Kip didn’t do something to stop it.
CHAPTER 8
Questions flooded Kip’s brain. The Jellies didn’t need slaves. They were obviously smart enough to work out how to pump warm water from the surface.
Virgil put a hand on Kip’s shoulder. He seemed to know what Kip was struggling to understand. ‘They keep us as slaves to show us that they’re more powerful.’
Kip was about to reply when his SpaceC
uff buzzed.
MoNa’s message didn’t make sense! She seemed to be saying the Jellies sent the messages to WorldCorp. But why would they want Earthlings to know about their trade in Sea Sprouts?
Unless . . .
Kip shivered. The Jellies sent those messages to lure us here, he thought. Humans are known throughout the galaxies for being smart. By making us slaves, the Jellies could prove that they’re smarter.
Once Kip looked for it, the evidence was clear. The whirlpool, for example – it could have been made by the Jellies’ giant propellers. It was designed to suck Kip and Finbar under the water.
Now Kip was sure of one thing. The Jellies were expecting us!
Kip seethed. Being a slave was terrible. Walking into a trap was worse.
Kip’s tracking tattoo began to tingle with electricity. Time was running out! If they didn’t get back down to Jelly City with a suit full of warm water soon, the eels would come after them.
But there had to be something he could do to take back control.
‘We’ve got to erase the tattoos,’ Kip said firmly.
‘Girds have been trying for years,’ replied Virgil, shaking his head. ‘It is painful to have part of the Jellies inside us.’
‘The fluid is like the Jellies’ version of blood,’ Finbar said, thinking aloud.
Kip said nothing for a second, but his mind was racing. Then –
‘That’s it, Finbar!’ Kip suddenly yelled. ‘The fluid is like blood!’
Finbar, Virgil and the rest of the Girds looked at Kip like he was mad.
‘The giant leeches under the surface!’ Kip added. ‘Maybe they can suck the Jelly fluid out of our arms.’
Virgil shook his head. ‘Your plan won’t work,’ he said. ‘The Death Slugs are poisonous. If they touch your skin, you’ll die instantly.’
‘Death Slugs?’ Kip said, puzzled. ‘They just look like leeches.’
Kip thought back to Space Scout training. He remembered a long, boring lecture called Identifying Alien Sea Creatures. He never thought the lecture would be important. But now, it was coming in very handy…
