Underwater War Read online

  Napoleon and Eric ran to the right side of the ship and hung over the rail, searching the dark sea. They peered hard, the tense seconds ticking by.

  ‘There it is,’ Eric shouted at last.

  Napoleon caught a glimpse of the metallic shark-like shape just below the surface. It seemed to be heading straight for them. ‘It’s going to hit us,’ he yelled.

  ‘Negative,’ Skin replied. ‘Analysis indicates that it will miss by 2.3 metres.’

  Skin was right. The torpedo cut across the bow of the ship, just missing.

  The boys cheered. But a moment later another torpedo struck at midship, and the steamer was rocked by a mighty explosion. Worse still, the torpedo gouged a great hole in the side of the vessel and set it alight. A series of explosions followed as military supplies on board ignited.

  ‘We’re finished,’ Eric yelled. ‘We’ll go down for sure. Head for the lifeboats.’

  But before they’d even taken a step, another torpedo hit the bow. The blast was deafening. The ship shuddered and lurched sideways. Napoleon hung on, but Eric was pitched overboard.

  ‘Help,’ he screamed as he fell through the air into the churning sea. ‘I can’t swim.’

  Without thinking, Napoleon leapt over the ship’s rail. But by the time he hit the water, the other boy had been swept away by the current and was nowhere to be seen.

  ‘Where are you?’ Napoleon yelled, but there was no sight or sound of the boy. ‘We’ve got to save him, Skin. Do something.’

  ‘Scanning seascape as we speak, BB005.’ Skin paused, nano-computers whirring. ‘Subject located,’ he continued after a while. ‘Sector G12 at a distance of twenty-five metres.’

  A grid-patterned eye-screen dropped in front of Napoleon’s face, his head was automatically swivelled, and his vision zoomed in until he could see Eric. He was thrashing about, trying to stay afloat, but losing the struggle.

  ‘Activating Boot Boosters in Marine Mode,’ Skin added, and Napoleon went whizzing over the water.

  ‘Hold on to me,’ he shouted as he reached the boy. ‘And, Skin, we need extra flotation.’

  Eric grabbed Napoleon and clung tight. ‘That’s the second time you’ve saved my life,’ he shouted, coughing and spluttering. ‘But we’ll freeze if we stay in this water.’

  ‘The escort destroyer is heading this way at full speed,’ Skin reported. ‘But it will be several minutes yet.’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Napoleon said. ‘We’ll keep you afloat for as long as it takes. And we’ll keep you warm. Won’t we, Skin?’

  ‘Affirmative, BB005. Transferring thermal energy from the NukeBelt.’ Warmth immediately flowed into the other boy. At least now they wouldn’t freeze waiting until the destroyer arrived.

  But then, in the very next instant, Professor Perdu’s voice crackled on the Battle Watch.

  ‘I’ve located you at last, BB005. I thought you were completely lost.’

  ‘I’m okay, Prof. I just — ’

  ‘There’s no time to talk. This is an emergency. Do exactly as I say.’

  An Exit Beam appeared less than ten metres from Napoleon.

  ‘Exit immediately. I repeat: exit immediately.’

  ‘But, Prof — ’

  ‘That’s an order!’

  ‘I can’t exit yet, Prof. I need five minutes, maybe ten.’

  ‘You don’t even have one minute. MetaBook 7 has turned Techno-Feral. It could crash into chaos any second now. That would destroy your chance of ever getting out. It could even destroy you.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Prof, but I can’t go right now. It’s not possible. There’s someone I have to save.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous, BB005! Everything in that MetaBook is in the past. It’s — ’

  ‘I know. But I’m not leaving until I’ve done this. And that’s final.’

  ‘I’m warning you, BB005. If you — ’

  ‘I’m doing this whether you like it or not, Prof. Just keep that Exit Beam nearby.’

  Napoleon muted his Battle Watch.

  ‘Okay, Skin. We’ve must get to that destroyer asap. I want HoverVest with Maximum Gyration and Boot Boosters with TurboThrust times ten. Fifteen if possible.’

  ‘Affirmative. Activating now.’

  ‘And you’d better hold tight,’ Napoleon told Eric. ‘This’ll be the ride of your life.’

  Eric only just clung on in time as they took off. They shot out of the water and flew across the surface.

  Soon they were level with the destroyer. With Skin in Automatic Body Control Mode, they banked hard to the left until they were above the ship. Then they floated down and hovered several feet above the deck.

  ‘Beautiful work, Skin. Best yet.’

  ‘Thank you, BB005. I concur. The execution of that particular movement was of a remarkably high standard.’

  Napoleon turned to Eric. ‘This is where you have to get off. Quickly. No time to lose.’

  Eric let go and dropped the short distance to the deck. ‘Thank you, Napoleon,’ he called. ‘Without you I would have perished more than once.’

  Napoleon smiled. He could see the Exit Beam shining on the sea only a few metres away. ‘I wish I had more time, but I have to fly.’

  With a short burst of his Boot Boosters he peeled away from the destroyer. But just as he entered the beam, he looked out across the sea at the many people bobbing about. He could hear them calling for help, and wished he could save them as well.

  But in the next moment their calls were lost in the winds of time as Napoleon was sucked out of sight.

  ‘That was all very noble of you, BB005. But it was also very stupid. You were very close to being trapped in that MetaBook for the rest of time.’

  Napoleon was in a debriefing session with Professor Perdu. Her face was very stern.

  ‘How many times do I have to tell you?’ she said. ‘You cannot change what happens in a Battle Book. It is history; it has already happened. You are only a witness, there to observe and collect data. If that boy drowned in real life all those years ago, you cannot change that. Do you understand?’

  ‘Yes, Prof. But what you were asking me to do was impossible. I couldn’t swim into the Exit Beam and leave him, no matter how much he might have been part of history. Can’t you see that?’

  Professor Perdu nodded slowly. ‘Yes, yes,’ she sighed. ‘But I sometimes really wonder what we’ll do with you, BB005. You become far too involved.’

  ‘That’s because I’ve got feelings. I’m not a robot.’

  ‘I suppose so. Mind you, it would make things a lot easier if you were a robot.’ The professor ruffled his hair. ‘Off you go.’

  As Napoleon sat in his change cubicle, he wondered about all the people he’d seen bobbing about in the water. Skin interrupted his thoughts.

  ‘Information has just come to hand concerning the last Battle Bubble we entered in MetaBook 7. I think you will be interested, BB005. I managed to locate the particular convoy concerned, and I can state with 100 percent certainty that everyone from the torpedoed steamer was picked up by the destroyer.’

  That information sent a warm glow through Napoleon.

  ‘Thanks, Skin.’ He suddenly felt much lighter. ‘Thanks a million.’

  First published 2011 in Pan by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Limited

  1 Market Street, Sydney

  Text copyright © Charlie Carter 2011

  Illustration copyright © Russell Jeffery 2011

  The moral rights of the creators have been asserted.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

  National Library of Australia

  Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

  Carter, Charlie.

  Spying on the Past
/ Charlie Carter.

  9780330404327 (pbk.)

  Carter, Charlie. Battle boy; 15.

  For primary school age.

  A823.4

  Designed by Russell Jeffery, Emigraph

  Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group

  Papers used by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd are natural, recyclable products made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The manufacturing processes conform to the environmental regulationsof the country of origin.

  These electronic editions published in 2011 by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd

  1 Market Street, Sydney 2000

  Copyright © Charlie Carter 2011

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.

  This ebook may not include illustrations and/or photographs that may have been in the print edition.

  Battle boy 15: Underwater War

  Charlie Carter

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