63 THE CHAOS

CHAPTER 63 THE CHAOS The crew stared in disbelief at the chaos outside. Animals had taken over the sea and the sky. Whales were sending wave after mountainous wave crashing against the station. And, mysteriously, the water was glowing pale blue. George pulled Akiko aside and said, "I think I was wrong about Roz. With your permission, I'll go ask if she can call off the animals." Before Akiko could reply, a warning flashed across her computer. Something was wrong with the engines. The crew had no idea that the engines were under attack by a vast swarm of zooplanktons. More of those tiny creatures kept joining the fight, and now a glowing sludge was thickening and hardening around the propellers. The engines strained and struggled. There was a terrible gnashing noise, and then each of the propellers ground to a halt. Without engines to stabilize it, the station started bobbing in the waves. Everyone aboard went flying. BOSUNs toppled over. Brightbill and Glimmer

fluttered away as Roz stumbled against a wall. Crew members fell out of their chairs and slid across the floor, grasping at anything that was bolted down. The station settled, until it was gently swaying with the movement of the ocean. Then the humans burst into a panic. "What is happening?" yelled the electrician. "I didn't sign up for this!" yelled the mechanic. "How are we gonna survive?" yelled the engineer. "Stop yelling!" yelled the station manager. Akiko took a deep breath and said, "I've seen enough. We need to abandon the Juggernaut." "What about Roz?" said George. "We don't have time for her," said Akiko. "We have to get our crew off the station." The assistant manager snapped into action and shouted instructions to the crew. "Let's put on our cold- weather gear! Then we'll calmly take the stairs down to the launchpad and we'll board the airship together!" The crew members pulled on their heavy boots and thick coats and warm hats and gloves, and they headed for the stairwell. But they stopped when they glanced out the window. You see, the Juggernaut was slowly sinking, and as more waves rolled in, they started washing over the platforms and surging between buildings and pouring back into the sea. One wave slammed a BOSUN against a stack of steel beams.

Another wave smashed through doors and flooded into rooms and hallways. In the freezing temperatures, sheets of ice quickly formed, and BOSUN 5 tumbled down a slippery flight of stairs. And then a wave went rolling toward the launchpad. BOSUN 2 saw it coming. He tried to secure the airship, but he wasn't fast enough. The huge wave swept over, and when it had passed, the airship and the robot were gone. Water continued pouring through the gash in the station, flooding the lower compartments. There were pops of electricity. Fires crawled up the interior, setting off a series of explosions. Smoke billowed from air vents. Flames shot out from windows. The Juggernaut was ablaze and adrift.