The Jelly People (3 page)

Without warning, the whirlpool suddenly stopped.The sandy water cleared.

The whirlpool had sucked the WaterWalker down to the sea floor. Directly in front lay a massive transparent dome. Inside the dome, glittering black towers soared upwards from the sand.

Something valuable is being traded on
Aquaron
, Kip remembered.
It could come
from this underwater city.

But could humans ever live under the sea? With a fresh air supply, maybe. It was definitely worth looking around. For the first time since landing on Aquaron, Kip fired up the WaterWalker's engine.

Finbar spotted what looked like the main entrance to the city. On either side, there were two massive propellers. The blades were still, but the sand around the towers had been blown away.

Those propellers must have been used recently
, Kip thought.

Then Kip noticed something else. There was a pair of eels guarding the city entrance. Like the leeches, they were thousands of times bigger than any eel on Earth. They were bigger than Rocket Buses!

The eels had dagger-sharp teeth. Thick black liquid dripped from them, spreading inky clouds through the water.

Kip gazed at the transparent dome and the glittering city inside. It would be tough, but he was determined to sneak past the monster eels and into the city.

ALIEN EELS

Size varies between planets - can be as big as a bus.

Found on most planets with water due to the eels' excellent adaptation skills.

Easily trained, they are useful guards.

FILE: EELS

‘Look!' said Finbar suddenly.

The eels had spotted the WaterWalker! Strangely, it looked like they were using their tails to wave Kip and Finbar inside.

Space Scout training had taught Kip to trust his instincts. This time, though, his instincts had told him the eels weren't friendly.
Instincts can be wrong sometimes
, he thought.

Kip piloted the WaterWalker through the automatic doors in the side of the dome. Finbar rummaged for OxyGlobes and flippers in the WaterWalker's supply cupboard.

‘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!