The Underwater Planet (Geronimo Stilton Spacemice #6) Read online

  her throat and stared

  at me.

  “What?” I asked. “I

  don’t want any more

  injuries

  , do you?”

  Thea rolled her

  eyes

  at me.

  “Geronimo, you of all mice should know

  what needs to be done,” she

  continued. “After all, you’re

  our captain! We have to follow

  the rules of the MouseStar 1:

  When someone finds a

  foreign

  object

  on board,

  the captain must start an

  immediate

  inquiry

  .”

  An inquiry? I was hoping I had

  misunderstood, but Sally confirmed it.

  “It’s true, Geronimo,” Sally said, a

  serious

  expression on her snout. “We have

  to go back to the

  control room

  and find out

  what this strange object is.”

  I sighed. It looked like my

  captain’s

  duties had followed me to the beach. So

  much for a

  relaxing

  day off!

  conGratulations,

  caPtain!

  Hmm ...

  let’s

  take

  a

  look!

  We all headed back to the control room,

  where we met

  Professor

  Greenfur

  .

  He’s

  MouseStar 1’s official scientist and an

  expert

  in alien life-forms.

  He immediately began testing the strange

  sphere

  .

  “Let’s start with a photonic scan,”

  Professor Greenfur instructed Hologramix,

  our onboard computer.

  Stellar Swiss cheese

  —

  what did that mean? We

  all watched as a

  ray of light

  Photonic

  scan

  Ultrasonic

  drill

  Magnetic

  storm

  illuminated

  the

  sphere.

  Soon the test results

  appeared

  on the control

  room screen.

  Identity: Unknown!

  “What?!” Professor

  Greenfur gasped. “But

  that’s

  impossible

  .

  Hologramix has always

  been able to identify a

  foreign

  object with

  a photonic scan.”

  “Maybe I can open

  it with my

  ultrasonic

  drill

  ,

  ” Sally suggested.

  She tried using her

  powerful space tool on

  the sphere, but

  nothing

  happened!

  Finally, she gave up.

  “I’m sorry,” she said apologetically. “It’s

  made of a very

  tough

  material!”

  “There’s one last option,” Professor

  Greenfur said. “Unleash the

  magnetic storm

  !”

  But even the magnetic storm didn’t work!

  Professor Greenfur approached me with a

  sad look on his snout.

  “Captain, I’m sorry to report that we

  can’t

  figure out what it is!” he said gravely.

  “Oh, don’t worry,” I said reassuringly.

  “You tried your best.”

  It was too bad that we hadn’t been able

  to

  identify

  the object. But at least the

  inquiry was closed and I could go back to

  my

  vacation day

  at the beach!

  “Well, I guess that settles it,” I began. I was

  about to tell everyone they were dismissed

  when I turned and the

  floating

  umbrella

  that was sticking out of my bag bumped the

  table the sphere was sitting on.

  The sphere fell and hit the floor.

  Crash!

  Solar-smoked Gouda! That thing had

  almost

  crushed

  my tail!

  I went to pick it up and put it back in its

  place when the sphere sent out a puff of

  blue

  smoke

  . Then the object began to

  rotate

  .

  My whiskers

  trembled

  with fear as the

  sphere continued to spin. Suddenly,

  blue

  markings

  appeared on its surface and

  seemed to be forming words and drawings!

  After a few seconds, the sphere slowed to

  a stop. So I braced myself, picked it up, and

  saw that the

  inscription

  was still on

  its surface. The others were still

  squeaking

  about ways to open the sphere. They hadn’t

  noticed a thing!

  “Um, excuse me,” I said slowly, holding

  out the

  strange

  blue sphere. “Look at this!”

  But no one was paying attention to me.

  “

  HELLO?!

  ” I squeaked loudly. “The

  sphere has been

  activated

  !”

  Everyone turned and stared.

  “That’s

  incredible

  !” Trap exclaimed.

  “Unbelievable work, Captain!” Sally said.

  “But how did you do it?”

  Sally’s praise made me

  blush

  from

  the tips of my ears to the end of my tail.

  “Well done, Cuz!” Trap said, slapping

  me on the back so hard I almost lost my

  balance

  . “You finally made yourself

  useful

  !”

  Professor Greenfur took the sphere from

  my paws and studied it

  closely

  .

  “These lines ...two

  Xs and some

  numbers . . .

  hmmm

  . . .” he squeaked

  to himself softly.

  We waited to hear what he had to say.

  “There is no doubt about it,” he announced

  a moment later. “It’s a

  map

  !”

  i’m NOT CUT OUT

  for adventure!

  Benjamin came closer,

  looking

  excited.

  “It’s a

  treasure map

  , isn’t it, Uncle?!” he

  exclaimed, his eyes bright. “We have to plan

  an

  expedition

  !”

  Oh, Benjamin has such an imagination!

  “Benjamin, we don’t know what it is,”

  I explained carefully. “And even if it is a

  treasure map, we don’t know where it

  would lead us. It could be very, very

  dangerous

  “But Professor Greenfur is a fabumouse

  scientist!” Trap interjected. “I’m sure he can

  interpret

  the map for us.”

  “Why, thank you,” the professor replied.

  Aquarix

  “And now that you mention

  it, these numbers might

  be

  coordinates

  from<
br />
  space.”

  “That’s an interesting

  hypothesis

  ,” Thea

  agreed. “Let’s enter these

  numbers into the galaxy

  planetarium map and see what happens.”

  A second later, an image of the planet

  Aquarix appeared on the control room

  screen. There was a large

  redX

  in one spot.

  “That’s where the sphere is from!”

  Professor Greenfur cried. “

  AQUARIX!”

  “But how did it get onto

  our

  spaceship?”

  I asked.

  “Good question,” Professor Greenfur

  replied. He pressed a few

  buttons

  on

  MouseStar 1’s control panel computer.

  “Ah, I see,” he said. “The sand on our

  beach comes from

  Aquarix

  !”

  “Then this sphere came on board along

  with the sand!” Thea explained. “We have

  to take it back to where it came from.”

  TAKE IT BACK?

  Martian mozzarella!

  Something told me a

  big

  adventure was

  looming

  , and there’s nothing I dislike

  more than adventures!

  “B-but 99.99 percent of

  the surface of Aquarix

  is covered by

  water

  ,

  right?” I pointed out. “So

  what even exists there?”

  “Oh, nothing special,”

  Trap replied. “Just

  some underwater

  volcanoes

  ,

  deep-sea

  monsters

  ,

  and some FUR EATING

  seaweed.”

  W-what? My whiskers

  trembled

  with

  fear. There was no way I was even getting

  close to that planet! Luckily, I knew we

  didn't have the right

  equipment

  for it.

  “Well, that sounds like a really fabumouse

  adventure,” I fibbed. “It’s just too bad that

  we don’t have the right underwater

  navigational

  system to travel there.”

  “Er, Captain?” Sally interrupted. “I actually

  just finished building an

  underwater

  spaceship

  ! This would be the perfect

  opportunity to test it out, don’t you agree?”

  Stinky space cheese! What had I gotten

  myself into? I couldn’t say

  NO

  to Sally: It

  would be too

  embarrassing

  if she knew

  what a scaredy-mouse I am!

  “Y-yes, of course,” I agreed. “I’ll just stay

  behind on the MouseStar 1 while you go on

  From the Encyclopedia Galactica

  uNderwater spaceship

  Mechanical

  forceps

  Jet

  engine

  Escape pod

  Infrared

  super-telescope

  Panoramic porthole

  Headlights (for

  seeing into any

  dark, scary

  abyss!)

  the mission. I have a few

  CHORES

  to

  do anyway.”

  “

  Stellar

  Swiss

  , Grandson!” Grandfather

  William squeaked loudly. “How many times

  do I have to tell you that the

  captain

  always has to be present on discovery

  missions? You must leave with the others

  immediately!”

  Unfortunately, it’s impossible for me to

  argue with Grandfather.

  “Y-yes, of course,” I

  stammered

  .

  “So . . . hm . . . Thea, Trap, and Sally: Let’s

  get ready to leave.”

  “What about me, Uncle?” Benjamin

  asked. “Can Bugsy Wugsy and I come on

  the

  treasure hunt, too? Pretty please

  with cheese on top?”

  I couldn’t say

  no

  to his

  sweet smile.

  So I sighed and nodded.

  a fabumouse

  discovery!

  And so that’s how I found myself

  traveling

  to Aquarix in an underwater spaceship

  with Thea, Sally, Trap, Professor Greenfur,

  Benjamin, and Bugsy Wugsy. I was trying

  not to think about the fact that I would soon

  be

  underwater

  . I only like to sit near

  the ocean, not go

  under

  it!

  When Aquarix became visible from our

  porthole, Trap approached me, a bag of

  crunchy

  blue cheese crusts

  in his paw.

  “Want some?” he asked as he

  crunched

  on a mouthful of the snacks. “They’re really

  good!”

  “No, thank you,” I replied. “I’m not hungry.”

  “What’s up, Cousin?” Trap asked. “You’re

  awfully

  quiet

  . Don’t tell me you’re

  scared?!”

  “Wh-who me?” I asked, clearing my

  throat. “

  Of course not!

  ”

  Trap put his arm around my shoulders.

  “Look, I was just

  kidding

  before about

  the volcanoes, the monsters, and the fur-

  eating seaweed,” he explained. “Just relax!

  This treasure hunt will be

  fun

  !”

  “Buckle your seat belts!” Thea announced

  a moment later. She was at the controls.

  “

  Prepare

  to submerge!”

  With a

  whoosh

  , the spaceship suddenly

  sank into the

  deep

  waters of Aquarix.

  We were all squeakless from the view. We

  were surrounded by

  blue

  water, and the

  alien fish swimming by had the most unique

  COLORS

  and

  shapes

  !

  “How

  wonderful

  !” Sally gasped.

  “How

  bizarre

  !” Benjamin exclaimed

  as he pointed to a fish with six

  eyes

  .

  Meanwhile, Bugsy Wugsy was snapping

  photos.

  “These will make a great impression at

  school

  when we study water planets!”

  she explained.

  Professor Greenfur checked the map and

  we began to

  navigate

  toward the big

  X

  .

  The trip was turning out better than I had

  expected. Sally’s underwater spaceship was

  so

  comfortable

  that I found myself

  drifting off to sleep in my comfy captain’s

  chair . . .

  Suddenly, I awoke with a start.

  “That’s it! That’s it!” Professor Greenfur

  squeaked

  . He was pointing to something

  outside the spaceship.

  “What is it?” I asked, still


  dazed

  from

  my little ratnap.

  “

  Superboost seaweed!

  ” Professor

  Greenfur explained enthusiastically. “It’s been

  a few cosmic years since I saw a specimen.

  It’s an

  extremely rare

  seaweed with exceptional

  nutritional properties. We

  absolutely

  must

  collect a sample for my

  research!”

  “Of course!” I agreed.

  Professor Greenfur

  was a true expert in

  intergalactic

  botany

  , and I knew finding a rare species

  in a hidden corner of our galaxy was very

  important

  to him!

  Thea slowly maneuvered our vessel close

  to the seabed. Then Sally used the ship’s

  external mechanical forceps to pick two

  tiny

  sprigs of the precious seaweed. She

  was very

  careful

  not to damage the

  plant.

  a squeaky-clean

  Getaway

  A moment later, the entire spaceship began

  to

  shake

  .

  “Wh-what was that?” I asked Thea.

  “Something seems to have hit us,” my

  sister explained

  calmly

  .

  Then a second, stronger

  tremor

  struck.

  I lost my balance and almost

  crashed

  to

  the floor of the ship!

  “Uncle, what’s going on?” Benjamin asked

  with a

  shaky

  voice.

  I looked out the porthole. Holey craters!

  Enormouse

  green

  tendrils were wrapped

  around the outside of our spaceship!

  “Oh no!” Professor Greenfur said

  desperately. “It’s fierce fur-eating seaweed,

  the

  deadliest

  seaweed species in the

  universe.”

  Martian mozzarella! We were

  doomed

  !

  The underwater spaceship continued to

  shake as we

  bounced

  around inside it.

  “I thought you told me you were

  kidding

  about the fur-eating seaweed!”

  I yelled at Trap.

  “Well, it was meant to be a

  joke

  ,

  but I guess I got it right!” Trap

  shouted.

  But my brave,

  fearless

  sister didn’t

  back down. Thea tried to break free of the

  tendrils with a few fancy

  maneuvers

  , but

  the plant’s hold on our ship just got tighter

  and tighter. So Sally used the mechanical