Free Astrosaurs 3 by Steve Cole Page A

They’ve asked us for help in solving this mystery.”
    â€œSo what are we waiting for?” asked Teggs. “Let’s get to Aqua Minor and see what we can find!”
    Once Admiral Rosso had given them a map and some orders, Teggs, Gipsy and Arx went to the shuttle bay. The air was smoky and thick with the smell of the burning dung that fuelled the engines. Iggy Tooth was waiting for them by the shuttle.
    â€œThe engines are all fired up, Captain!” said the stocky iguanodon. “We’re ready to go!”
    Once they were safely strapped in, the shuttle blasted off. Soon they were soaring through the brilliant blue skies of Aqua Minor.
    â€œWow!” said Teggs, peering through the window. “What a view. There’s so much sea to see!”
    Below them, the ocean stretched out endlessly to the horizon. Enormous spaceships floated above the waves,trailing fishing nets behind them. Teggs watched one spaceship rise higher than the rest. Its net was bulging with shimmering, silvery shellfish that sparkled in the bright sunlight.

    â€œNo wonder the cryptoclidus need our help,” said Arx. “This is a very big ocean for something nasty to hide in.”
    â€œWhere are we going to park the shuttle?” asked Iggy.
    â€œOn one of their floating factories,” said Gipsy, checking her wrist tracker. “It’s not far from here.”
    â€œIt was the first place to be attacked, a month ago,” said Teggs. “We’ll take a look and search for clues.”
    Soon the floating factory came into sight. It looked like a large square of shiny metal, covered in long huts. In the middle of the square, a small, grey shape started waving at them.
    â€œWho’s that?” asked Iggy, as they came in to land.

    â€œThat must be Commander Cripes,” said Arx. “He’ll be showing us around.”
    The shuttle landed safely, and its doors slid open. A strong smell of shellfish filled the air.

    As the astrosaurs stepped outside, Cripes came waddling up to greet them. Like all cryptoclidus, he looked like a cross between a seal and the Loch Ness monster. He had a long neck and four flat flippers, and his belly dragged on the ground as he moved. A broad-brimmed hat was perched on his head, and a shiny cape kept the sun off his long, smooth back.
    â€œWelcome to Aqua Minor, guys,” said Cripes. “Admiral Rosso said you were on your way. Glad you could make it!”
    â€œThanks,” said Teggs. “This is Arx, and this is Iggy.”
    Cripes smiled. “And this cute little hadrosaur just
has
to be Gipsy.” He took her hoof in his flipper and kissed it. “Now, let me show you around. This factory stretches down almost to the sea bed . . .”
    Cripes led them into a hut and then into a large lift. It took them down deep under the water. When it finally stopped, Teggs led the way out into a large, crumbling workplace. The machines and conveyor belts stood silent. The walls were cracked. The floor was flooded with smelly, oily water.
    â€œHard to believe that this place was brand new six weeks ago, isn’t it?” sighed Cripes. “Just two weeks after opening,
this
happened.”
    Teggs stared around. “Something has torn the whole place apart!”

    â€œAnd this was just the first attack,”Cripes reminded him. “In the last month there have been lots more. Every new factory we build in this area gets wrecked!”
    â€œWhat are they used for anyway?” asked Gipsy.

    â€œThe floating factories prepare the fish we catch before we send it back home to feed our people,” Cripes explained. “On the bottom levels, we suck in thousands of ammonites and belemnites from the pens on the sea bed. We take off the shells and rinse them clean. And then a submarine delivers them here for packaging.”

    â€œWe’re under the sea, aren’t we?” asked Iggy. “So how come this place isn’t