Astrosaurs 21 Read online

  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 Treasure Hunters

  Chapter Two: Sinister Sentries

  Chapter Three: Secrets in the Sand

  Chapter Four: A T. Rex Trap

  Chapter Five: The Test and the Terror

  Chapter Six: Chilling Challenges

  Chapter Seven: Win or Lose?

  Chapter Eight: Deeper Trouble

  Chapter Nine: The Power of Keprish

  Chapter Ten: Menace in Mind

  Chapter Eleven: Crashing Down

  Also by Steve Cole

  About the Author

  Copyright

  About the Book

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

  When a spooky stone pyramid is uncovered on the plant-eater planet of Sphinx II, the astrosaurs are drawn into double danger. As a T. rex army attacks from space, a terrifying force is stirring beneath the desert sands . . .

  For Thomas Larkman –

  winner of the Astrosaurs

  Search For A Superfan

  competition for his suggested

  character, Tute

  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

  HADROSAUR –

  HAD-roh-SORE

  DIMORPHODON –

  die-MORF-oh-don

  TRICERATOPS –

  try-SERRA-tops

  EGYPTOSAURUS –

  ee-JIP-toh-SORE-us

  TYRANNOSAURUS REX –

  tye-RAN-oh-SORE-us REX

  THE CREW OF THE DSS SAUROPOD

  Chapter One

  THE TREASURE HUNTERS

  “Woo-hoooooooo!” yelled Captain Teggs Stegosaur, whizzing across the brilliant green ocean on a turbo-charged jet-ski. He laughed as a salty breeze blew all about him, soaking his red lifejacket. “I hate taking holidays – but I have to admit this is fun!”

  “It sure is!” Iggy Tooth, a tough iguanodon, drew alongside him on another jet-ski – then turned sharply away. “Come on, Captain. Race you back to shore!”

  Teggs whooshed away after him. He and Iggy were astrosaurs – dinosaur astronauts, more used to shooting through the stars than over the sea. But their incredible spaceship, the Sauropod, was in the Galactic Garage for its ten-billion-mile service. It would take five days to complete, and so the whole crew had been sent on leave. Teggs had chosen their destination – the holiday world of Sphinx II . . .

  The wind whistled past the spines on Teggs’s back as he went even faster. But then the rockets on Iggy’s jet-ski flared crimson, and with a surge of super-speed sent him hurtling up onto the shore, where he skidded to a stop in the sand.

  “The winner!” Iggy punched the air. “Although, to be fair, I might have tinkered with my jet-ski’s engines a little bit.”

  Teggs grinned as he swept up onto the beach. “I’d expect nothing less from the Sauropod’s Chief Engineer!”

  At the mention of their ship, Iggy sighed. “I wish I could’ve stayed on board and helped the space mechanics fix her up.”

  “Don’t start that again, Iggy Tooth,” came a firm female voice from behind them. “You’re as bad as the captain. You could both use a holiday.”

  “So you keep telling us!” Teggs smiled to see his communications officer, Gipsy Saurine, approaching with a tray of split-open coconuts. “Hi, Gipsy.”

  “I thought you dino-racers might like a drink.” The stripy hadrosaur had swapped her usual red uniform for a blue swimsuit, and looked very relaxed. “So I brought coconut cocktails.”

  “How kind.” Teggs quickly drained four coconuts, then swallowed the hard, hairy shells too. “Mmmm, delicious.”

  Gipsy frowned. “I see your stomach isn’t taking a break!”

  “Never!” Teggs shrugged off his lifejacket and patted his tum through his white T-shirt. He wasn’t only the bravest dinosaur in space – he was the hungriest too.

  “Thanks, Gipsy.” Iggy drank the remaining coconut then took off his own lifejacket to reveal a bright Hawaiian shirt. “Have you seen Arx around?”

  “Yes, what’s our fine First Officer up to?” Teggs wondered.

  “He’s playing volleyball in the hotel pool with the alarm pterosaur.” Gipsy pointed past the paved white plaza adjoining the beach, to where a bright green triceratops splashed with a flying reptile in a beautiful lagoon. “Only trouble is, between his horns and her beak they keep bursting the ball!”

  Teggs chuckled. “It’s good to see everyone enjoying themselves.” His crew were scattered all about the spotless grounds of the luxury hotel; from here he could see his pterosaur flight-team, the dimorphodon, playing weightless tennis in the zero-gravity courts . . . Alass the security chief was doing dino-gymnastics with her ankylosaur security guards in the open-air gym . . . the ship’s cleaners were playing edible golf on a delicious grassy course . . .

  And a boy dinosaur in white robes and a blue-and-gold headdress – who was NOT a member of the Sauropod crew – was striding purposefully along the beach towards Teggs and his friends.

  “Captain,” said Gipsy, “you never told us why you picked Sphinx II for our vacation.”

  “It wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that this was once a T. rex world, would it?” Iggy smiled. “Knowing the captain, he’s probably hoping there are a few of them still about to track down and capture. What better reason for coming could there be?”

  “You’re about to meet the reason.” Teggs pointed to the approaching white-robed dinosaur. “Iggy, Gipsy, I’d like you to meet an old friend of mine from the planet Egyptus – Tute the treasure-hunter!”

  “Teggsy, you old space-slug!” Tute charged
up and hugged the stegosaurus. “How’re you doing? It’s been years! You’re looking fat! Glad you could make it. And your friends!” He kissed Gipsy’s hoof while slapping Iggy chummily on the back. “Who are you? I don’t know! But if you’re mates with old Teggsy you’re all right by me.”

  Teggs quickly introduced his baffled friends. “Tute and I used to meet each year at school space camp,” he explained. “He was the only dinosaur there who liked adventures as much as me!”

  “So we became friends,” Tute agreed. “But while Teggsy trained as an astrosaur, I studied ancient treasure-hunting! I’ve explored the whole Egyptus star system, digging up long-lost relics and searching out smugglers’ gold . . .”

  “How exciting!” Gipsy declared.

  “This planet is at the edge of the Egyptus system, isn’t it?” said Iggy, and Tute nodded. “Are you looking for treasure here?”

  “Not any more. Because I’ve found it!” Tute pulled a satchel from under his white robes and held it upside down. Iggy and Gipsy gasped as huge gemstones came tumbling out.

  Teggs went boggle-eyed. “That lot must be worth a fortune!”

  “I’ll say it is.” Tute nodded proudly. “And I reckon it’s just a taster of the treasure I’ll find once I get inside this old T. rex pyramid I’ve found in the desert. It’s got to be the find of the decade! Of the century! Of for ever!” He grinned. “So naturally, I spilled the beans to old Teggsy in a space-mail straight away.”

  Iggy crouched to admire a large, round ruby. “Why?”

  “Because if I’m right about the riches there could be inside this T. rex temple,” said Tute, “the T. rexes themselves might take an unhealthy interest.”

  “Members of the DSS will be needed to protect the pyramid.” Teggs smiled. “So since we had nothing on for five days, I thought I’d catch up with my old pal and explore an ancient pyramid full of treasure! What holiday in the universe could top that?”

  “How about one where your closest crewmates come along too?” Iggy angled hopefully. “We’re up for it, aren’t we, Gipsy?”

  Gipsy nodded. “And I’m sure Arx will be too.”

  “The more the merrier!” Tute scooped up the jewels from the sand. “I’ll bet there’s so much treasure inside that pyramid it’ll take loads of us to shift it . . .”

  “I never heard of T. rexes building pyramids,” said Gipsy. “Are you sure it’s theirs? Have you seen inside?”

  “Well, no,” Tute admitted. “I haven’t been able to open the door yet. But it must be theirs.

  T. rexes were the first dinos ever to come to Sphinx II, and they left a thousand years ago.”

  Gipsy’s eyes had grown wider. “But why did they leave?”

  “No one knows for sure,” said Tute. “T. rex history is kind of hazy – they keep eating their historians! But according to legend, five hundred T. rexes disappeared overnight and the rest fled the planet. Their rulers declared that Sphinx II was a cursed world. That’s why the carnivores never came back!”

  “It might have been cursed for them, but it’s a plant-eaters’ paradise.” Iggy frowned. “Why didn’t the T. rexes take their treasure with them? Why leave it all behind in a pyramid?”

  “Perhaps we’ll find out,” said Teggs.

  “Anyway, my space-car is parked outside the resort’s main entrance,” Tute told them. “Fetch your friend and meet me there as soon as you can, yeah?”

  “Will do,” called Teggs, grinning at Iggy and Gipsy. “Well, you heard Tute. Let’s grab Arx – and get treasure-hunting!”

  Chapter Two

  SINISTER SENTRIES

  Teggs, Gipsy and Iggy ran over to Arx and told him Tute’s news. Arx was so excited he did a double backflip right out of the pool, and almost sent the alarm pterosaur flying!

  “Of course, plant-eaters have only been holidaying on Sphinx II for a hundred years.” Arx shook water from his horns. “Nine hundred years before that, T. rexes lived here. They were ruled by Lord Ganster, who was very clever by T. rex standards.”

  Gipsy scoffed. “You mean he could talk and eat at the same time?”

  “No, he really was bright. And his followers thought he was fab. They did anything he said.” Arx frowned. “It’s so strange that they all vanished from this world and never came back. The T. rexes who ran away were teased by other carnivores for ages. They never talked about what happened.”

  “Good,” squawked the alarm pterosaur. “I like meat eaters to keep their mouths closed!”

  Teggs smiled. “Can you tell the rest of the crew where we’ve gone? I can’t wait to get exploring!”

  “I’ll tell them,” she replied, flapping away. “I’ll tell them – SQUAWK!”

  The astrosaurs hurried to the hotel gates. Just as they arrived, a large, rusty red planet-rover pulled up. “All aboard, me old mates!” called Tute through the driver’s window. “Next stop, the pyramid of plunder!”

  Teggs ushered his friends on board the chunky transport. “Hey, Tute, meet my fab friend Arx.”

  Tute beamed. “It’s a pleasure, horn-head!”

  “Likewise.” Arx noticed the satchel full of gemstones hanging from Tute’s seat. “Is that the treasure you’ve found?”

  “Sure is.” Tute steered the planet-rover up into the air and zoomed away. “Funny thing is, they’re different types of gem, but all the same size – and all perfectly round.”

  “Perfect full stop!” Gipsy grinned. “What amazing luck to discover an ancient treasure trove in all those miles of desert.”

  “It wasn’t luck, Stripy, it was hard work!” Tute protested. “I was scanning Sphinx II’s surface with special X-ray beams for months, looking for any traces of T. rex treasure in the sand. Finally I found the pyramid and managed to dig it out.” He scowled. “Now, if only I could get inside the thing!”

  “I’m sure we’ll find a way,” said Teggs.

  The journey took several hours, and Teggs fidgeted impatiently the whole time. There was nothing to see but the desert wilderness all around.

  Finally, Tute pointed through the windscreen. “There it is – up ahead!”

  As the space-car drew closer Teggs eagerly drank in the details. The pyramid stood alone in the middle of a huge pit. It was as big as four houses stuck together, built from pale stone that shone almost gold in the sunlight. He’d expected a thousand-year-old building to be old and crumbling but it stood so straight and proud it could easily have passed for new. A large rectangular door had been cut into one side of the pyramid, with strange signs and symbols carved all around it.

  Tute parked a short distance away and led the astrosaurs outside. Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound. The silence and the emptiness around them made Teggs feel a little uneasy.

  “Bless my horns!” Arx peered at the pictures on the pyramid. “I had no idea T. rexes were so artistic.”

  “Or so rich.” Gipsy picked up a ruby from the sand, identical in shape and size to the other jewels. “Why would they leave a fortune like this outside a sealed pyramid?” Iggy shrugged. “Perhaps it’s stuffed so full of treasure it’s overflowing!”

  “Possibly,” said Arx thoughtfully. “Or perhaps there’s another reason . . .”

  Teggs banged on the door with his tail. “Seems pretty secure.”

  “It is,” said Tute. “I’ve tried everything – pushing, pulling, lifting, lowering, socking it with a super-shovel . . . but it won’t budge an inch.” He pulled a small white square from inside his robes. “I’ve got a blasting charge here – an explosion-in-a-box that might just crack the door open – but I don’t want to risk damaging whatever’s in there.”

  “Er, guys?” Gipsy gulped and pointed to the far side of the pyramid. “Perhaps we should ask them how to get in.”

  Teggs turned and gasped to find two towering creatures shambling into sight from round the corner. Walking on their hind legs, they were wrapped in filthy bandages from the tops of their heads to the tips of their tails. Their eyes glinted like dark jew
els, and their skinny arms ended in dirty, jagged claws.

  At the sight of Tute and the astrosaurs, they paused, staring intently.

  “What are those things?” Iggy whispered.

  Teggs grimaced. “They look like T. rexes to me.”

  “Not just any T. rexes.” Tute was staring at the bandaged behemoths, transfixed. “Mummy T. rexes. Thousands of years ago, back home on Egyptus, they used to preserve the bodies of dead dinosaurs by wrapping them up, just like that.”

  “Only these mummies are very much alive,” Arx pointed out.

  “YOU,” hissed one of the creatures in a voice like crunched-up ice-cubes. “You wish . . . to enter . . . the pyramid . . .?”

  “Never mind that,” said Teggs. “This is a plant-eater world now – meat-eaters have no right to be here.”

  “Us have EVERY right,” snarled the larger one. “This be OUR pyramid.” Baring their teeth, the gruesome creatures stomped forward . . .

  “You’d better stay back, Tute,” Teggs warned his friend as the mummified monsters broke into a blundering charge. “The astrosaurs will handle this!” And with a super-strong sweep of his spiky tail, he tripped the closest creature.

  “OOF!” the T. rex yelled as it fell to the sand with a crash.

  Iggy quickly jumped on top of the carnivore’s bandaged bonce. “Ha! That’s one way to get ahead!”

  Gipsy and Arx, meanwhile, took on the second T. rex. “Let’s charge it from different directions,” cried Arx. “It won’t know which of us to fight first!”

  But the still-standing mummy dodged their attack with surprising speed. Gipsy and Arx crashed into each other! Losing their balance, they tripped over the first T. rex and knocked into Iggy and Teggs. With a chorus of cries, all four tumbled down together beside the pyramid door.

  Teggs saw the second mummy drag its fallen comrade back to its feet, and braced himself to battle on. But the bandaged monsters turned from their prey and scrambled away up the sandy slope opposite.

  “Weird,” said Tute, scurrying forward to help the astrosaurs. “They could’ve rushed you while you recovered – so why run away?”

  “They’re not running away.” Gipsy pointed. “They’re running on the spot!”

  Teggs realized she was right. The wrapped-up ’rexes seemed to be doing a strange kind of dance on the top of the dune, their rear legs sending a steadily thickening stream of sand surging back down the slope towards Tute and the astrosaurs . . .