Chapter One
THE EDGE OF EGG-STI NOTION!
In a very big hall full of very big dinosaurs, a very big announcement was about to be made.
The Hall of Learning on the planet Odo Minor had never been more packed. Doctors, professors, scientists, TV cameras â they were all squashed up together. The sound of excited dinosaur chatter filled the hall. What was the big news? What had the great Professor Sog discovered now?
But two people in the hall already knew. And one of them didnât seem to care very much.
âI donât see why we had to come all this way!â grumbled Captain Teggs Stegosaur. âI havenât been in a learning hall since I passed my astrosaur exams!â
âBe patient, Captain,â his companion Gipsy hissed. âAs soon as the talkâs over, our mission can begin!â
âAbout time too,â Teggs declared. He was a captain in the Dinosaur Space Service, and he lived for adventure. With his brave crew of astrosaurs, he travelled through space in the DSS
Sauropod
, the finest ship in the Jurassic Quadrant.
Gipsy, a stripy hadrosaur, was his communications officer. She and Teggs had come here to escort Professor Sog back to the
Sauropod â
along with some very special guests . . .
She knew her crewmates would be busy up in orbit. Arx Orano, Teggsâs brainy triceratops first officer, would be checking over the
Sauropodâs
systems. And Iggy Tooth, the tough iguanodon engineer, would be stoking the shipâs mighty engines.
Their latest voyage into outer space would be their longest yet . . .
âAt last,â cheered Teggs, making Gipsy jump. âHere comes Professor Sog now!â
Sog was a small, twittery old creature who belonged to a breed called compsognathus. The audience hooted and stamped their feet politely as the funny little figure walked onto the stage. He stopped beside a mysterious, lumpy bundle hidden beneath a black blanket.
A great hush fell on the hall. The dinosaurs waited breathlessly for the professor's words.
Sog struggled to put on a small pair of spectacles. He had trouble reachinghis head since his arms were so short. But finally he managed it, and he peered round at the curious crowd.
âWelcome, my friends,â he cried. âYou are about to hear of a most exciting discovery!â
A bright light started glowing above his head. Seconds later, a hologram of a large, long-necked dinosaur appeared. It looked a bit like a stegosaurus but with a longer neck and tail, and no spiky plates running down its back.
âThis is a plateosaurus,â said Sog. âSweet, peaceful â and almost totally extinct.â
âExtinct?â asked a puzzled journalist in the crowd.
Sog nodded sadly. âTheir race has almost completely died out.â
âDined out?â asked Teggs, perking up. He was famous for his large appetite â some said it was the largest in the whole Dinosaur Space Service. âDined out where? Can we come too?â
âNot dined out,
died
out!â groaned Gipsy.
Professor Sog continued his talk. âAs you all know, we dinosaurs left the Earth long ago. We escaped in spaceships before the meteor struck, never to return. In those days there were many plateosaurus. Nowadays there are hardly any left.â
âWhy?â someone called.
âHomesickness,â said Sog simply. âAtfirst, they settled on a fine planet called Platus. But they didnât like it as much as Earth, so they tried to return.â He shook his head sadly. âTheir space fleet flew into a cosmic storm. Many of their ships were destroyed. The few survivors limped back to Platus . . . to find that T. rexes had taken over.â
The audience murmured their disapproval.
âI remember reading about that,â whispered Teggs. âThe T. rexes wouldnât budge. There was a big battle.â
Gipsy nodded sadly. âAnd the plateosaurus lost.â
âOther vegetarian
John Dechancie
Harry Kressing
Josi Russell
Deirdre Martin
Catherine Vale
Anthony Read
Jan Siegel
Lorna Lee
Lawrence Block
Susan Mac Nicol