“What does this mean?” Benny asked. “Is that it? Do we . . . shoot this thing into the sun?”
Jasmine looked confused for a second, and then shook her head. “No. No, no. This is just a test to see if it’s even possible to create something like this.”
“The ramifications of what you’ve done here . . .” Elijah murmured, stroking his short auburn beard. “If we were to take this technology and—”
“And use it to save the world,” Pinky said, appearing beside him. “Is that what you were going to say?”
“Two worlds, if we’re counting,” Drue said.
“So what do we do?” Benny asked, overwhelmed by both the excitement of this apparent breakthrough and his lack of understanding as to what would happen next.
“This is basically a model,” Jasmine said. “What we’ll create will be much bigger. Pito and I have looked at the schematics of Dr. Bale’s superweapon, and we’ve figured out a way for its energy to be released slowly. Vented, in a manner of speaking.”
“So if we encase the missile in the stone that my people can manipulate so well,” Pito said, “it will serve as both a protective insulator and a conductor.”
Jasmine nodded to Benny. “That’s what we shoot into their sun. Theoretically it could fuel their star for hundreds of years. Maybe more.”
“That’s all?” Drue asked.
Jasmine narrowed her eyes. “It’s better than what we’ve got now, which is nothing. It’ll give us time to think of a permanent solution. And, besides, we can always make another battery.”
Drue’s perfect white teeth slowly came into view as a thought dawned on him. “So, what you’re saying is, we need to create a bigger bomb to make a bigger battery after Earth is in the clear.”
“You’re banned from the chat,” Hot Dog said.
As they spoke, Benny’s mind revved into fourth gear, thoughts and possibilities coming so quickly that he could barely sort them out. In the end, one word came out of his mouth, cutting through Drue’s assurances that he was just trying to help.
“When?” he asked.
“In any other situation I’d say we’d need proper testing, small-scale experimentation, and, I don’t know . . . a decade of trials.” Jasmine shook her head. “But, with everything that’s at stake, I’d say . . . as soon as we can get the weapon exhumed?”
“Now,” Benny said. His head rushed, like he’d downed too many desserts from an elaborate Lunar Taj dinner. “Now!” he repeated.
“Get your glove ready, Benny,” Drue said. “You’re going to sleep for a week after getting that superweapon out, but it’ll be worth it when they’re naming cities after us on Earth and Calam.”
“No,” Elijah said, turning to them quickly. “There’s no way Benny’s doing this on his own.”
“Of course not,” Pito said. “We’ll have our crew bring the weapon to the surface as soon as we’re ready. It will be intensive work, but Vala has a fine crew, and she and I will oversee them. We can do it quickly.”
“Uh, excuse me,” Ricardo said, and it took Benny a moment to realize that his voice was coming from Jasmine’s HoloTek, propped up on one of the workstations. As the leader of the Pit Crew continued, Benny could see him and Kira adjusting some sort of metal brace over the left leg of his space suit. “Look, I may not be a science guy, but I know cars and speed. And if Calam is as far away as I think it is . . .”
“He’s right,” Kira said. “I personally tracked the top speeds of Vala’s mother ship. I wanted to know how fast something that big could move. It’s impressive, obviously. But it would still be, I don’t know . . .”
“A week’s journey back to Calam,” Pito said, some of the excitement from earlier faded from his harmonic voice. “In Earth terms. This is what I believe you would call the downside.”
“Okay,” Hot Dog said. “So, we just send Calam a message saying we solved the problem and that they don’t get to sic Tull on us anymore.”
“No,” Benny said, the buzz in his chest suddenly disappearing as he remembered the sphere from earlier. “The mother ship’s communications aren’t that strong. At least, they don’t reach far enough to have instant contact with Calam. Even back on Ganymede it took, what, almost a day for a message to get there?”
“That’s correct,” Pito said. “And there’s something else. We have to consider the chance that the elders of Calam will not believe this coming from Vala’s crew, especially when it is something rooted in a human design. A weapon, no less. I am told by Griida that trust in the commander has been brought into question. And, to be frank, I understand the pressure that the elders are under. I do not know that I would wait for a miracle solution when my planet was facing imminent doom, either. I would continue with the evacuation plans.” He paused. “And the reshaping of Earth.”
“We’ve discussed that,” Jasmine said. “And . . .” She hesitated, like she had a possible solution but she didn’t want to say it.
“What is it, Jazz?” Benny asked.
Silently, she tapped on the desk a few times. A hologram appeared: a huge, wedge-shaped ship, gunmetal gray and shaped like the head of a snake, narrowed to a blunt point at the front. It spun in the air, its backside a wall of hyperdrive engines—stories-tall triangles that burned a brilliant yellow.
The Orion.
Benny’s breath caught in his throat. Of course, he thought. This was both the most obvious solution and one that didn’t seem like a solution at all, but some kind of joke or one of Drue’s ideas that they might all roll their eyes at before reining their brainstorming back to reality. But immediately something in him knew that this made sense, that this was the only way. They needed speed. They needed something big enough to carry this bomb/battery hybrid. And the Orion was built to travel to Calam and deliver that weapon in the first place.
An incredulous sound escaped Elijah’s lips. “You’re not serious.”
“I definitely am,” Jasmine said. “We have the ship’s schematics. You’ve reviewed them, too. You know how supercharged these giant hyperdrives are. And we’ve seen how fast it can disappear. It’s not just that it can outrun Vala’s ships, it can quadruple the speeds. Maybe go even faster. Trust me, Pito and I have done the comparisons.”
Elijah shook his head. “That ship is helmed by a man who hates everyone in this room—would happily see all of us sucked into black holes—and who controls a fleet of New Apollo soldiers and weaponized Space Runners. And that’s literally the least of what we know about. There could be anything on that ship. An entire army.”
“Actually, we have a pretty good idea of who and what are on it,” Jasmine said, standing her ground. “We have several logs that contain information about what’s on board now that we have full control of the Taj’s servers again. Pinky’s helped us sift through them.”
The AI looked at Elijah for a fleeting moment before disappearing.
“You’ll never get him to agree to this,” Elijah said. “Trust me, I know Austin—Dr. Bale very well. He was stubborn even before living on the dark side for years turned him into the megalomaniac bent on destroying the Alpha Maraudi that he is now.”
“I don’t think they’re suggesting that Dr. Bale will willingly give us the Orion,” Ricardo said through the HoloTek.
He was right, of course. In his mind, Benny was already envisioning a fleet of alien ships descending on the Orion, the Comet Catcher latching onto its side, a sliver of alien rock finding its way into the minuscule seam of the hangar doors and then expanding, prying them open so that they could enter the ship. He wasn’t sure how they would get in, but they’d figure something out.
All that mattered was that this was the opportunity they’d waited for, and they had to seize it.
Drue shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first ship we hijacked.”
“Yeah,” Hot Dog agreed. “But I doubt Dr. Bale’s going to join up with us afterward like Vala ended up doing.” She frowned. “And we’ll have to figure out what to do with a
ll those New Apollo soldiers, too.”
“Absolutely not,” Elijah said. “It would be another battle like on the dark side, but with no trump card, no last-minute lie that will save you.” He shook his head. “We barely escaped the last time, and that was half by accident. You’re talking about going up against a group of humans equipped with weaponized SRs and who knows what kind of plasma guns inside.”
“Not all that different from breaking into an evil alien’s mother ship to rescue you,” Hot Dog said.
“And we have Vala’s soldiers now,” Benny said. “That’s something. They can help us. I mean, I’m guessing they will since it’s their world we’re trying to keep from being incinerated.”
“You also have to give us a little more credit,” Drue said. “We’re getting good at space battles.”
Elijah remained silent, but Benny could tell he was gritting his teeth. There were wrinkles forming at the sides of his eyes as he looked at nothing in particular. Something was going on in his head, and Benny wasn’t sure it would end up being something that would help them or not. He’d seen this sort of frustration on Elijah’s face before—and that was when he was trying to convince them that Earth wasn’t worth saving and that the best thing they could do was hide on the Moon while it was destroyed.
“We don’t even know where he is at this point,” Ricardo chimed in.
“I’ll see if I can solve that,” Elijah said, making for the door. “I’ll talk to Senator Lincoln right now. And then Major Stokes. Someone has to know. Or they’ll put me in contact with someone who does. They’re guests at my resort and if they want to stay, if they want Earth to be saved . . .” He paused before he walked out and turned to them. “What you’ve done here . . . What all of you have done has changed the course of human history. I want you to know that I understand that, and that you have my highest respect. But Dr. Parsi was right. We’ve put you in too much danger already. Ricardo could have been killed out there earlier. All of you could have been lost so many times over since you came to the Lunar Taj and became my responsibility. And what you’re suggesting now—even the very idea of flying to another galaxy, if you could take Austin’s ship—is quite frankly the kind of mission people don’t come back from. Pinky said that there were reserves being kept on Earth. If anyone can sway officials to send them to our aid, I can. Trust me. You don’t build a resort on the Moon without at least a little influence over world leaders, especially those in America. Those who are in charge of New Apollo.”
Benny stared at him, trying to understand what he was getting at. Bracing for the worst.
“And if they refuse to send backup?” Jasmine asked.
Elijah swallowed hard. “Then I’ll drive the alien battery into Calam’s sun myself. All of you will stay here in the protection of the Taj. It’s what the underground bunker was built for to begin with.” He shook his head. “I’m going to do everything in my power to save humanity. But if everything goes wrong . . . at least our best will survive.”
And with that, he was gone, the door sliding shut behind him.
No one spoke for a moment in the lab. Benny was finding it difficult to figure out what he was supposed to be feeling, how to sort through everything that had happened in the last few minutes. Even how serious Elijah was about doing this alone. All he knew was that he didn’t want to have to stay on the sidelines—couldn’t just sit back and let Elijah try to do this himself. Not after everything they’d gone through. And regardless of what Elijah thought, he needed their help. There was too much on the line.
And they didn’t have time to wait for another solution.
Finally, Hot Dog broke the silence.
“We should probably tell Vala and her crew about this, right?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Benny agreed, half out of instinct.
“I’ll forward our information to them,” Pinky agreed through their collar speakers.
“Yeah, that’s good,” Drue said, but his tone had something else behind it. Benny looked at him. His friend’s face was scrunched in thought, as if he were picking apart a difficult puzzle. Then, it cleared, and he smiled with half his mouth. “You know what, we should probably go talk to her ourselves, right, Benny?” He raised his eyebrows, as if willing Benny to figure out what was on his mind. “Over in her ship. After all, it’s her crew we need to get the superweapon out of the ground.”
“Sure . . .” Benny murmured, confused. He didn’t see what the purpose in going all the way back to Vala’s ship was when they could just call her up and talk to a holographic version of her. Unless . . .
Then it hit him. On Vala’s ship, they would be alone, free from Pinky’s eyes and ears, from Elijah telling them they were going to sit this one out. They could talk about what to do next, even if it was against what Elijah was planning.
They could even go and retrieve the weapon without him, if they wanted to.
Drue didn’t want to wait to save Calam either. He knew how quickly they needed to move, and that it would take more than one man to save Earth and the Alpha Maraudi planet. It would take the aliens, and everyone in that lab.
The Moon Platoon needed to act.
Hot Dog was already nodding, apparently catching on to this much faster than Benny.
“You’re right,” Benny said with more assertiveness. “The commander will be thrilled. I want to see that in person.” He nodded toward the door. “Let’s go.”
Jasmine cleared her throat before they exited. “I’ll see you in a bit, right?” she asked. She pointed at the battery. “I want to recheck some configurations, but I’m ready to make a giant, planet-saving version of this. And we’ll need Pito’s help.” She narrowed her eyes. “I’d hate to see anyone else try it.”
“Don’t worry, Jazz,” Benny said as the door opened. “We’ll see you in a sec. I promise.” He paused. “Be ready.”
12.
They called ahead, letting Griida and Vala know that they were on their way. As Benny, Drue, and Hot Dog crossed the courtyard, they eyed the sleeping Bazers, which were now surrounded by stone-slab cages reinforced with thick metal bars. Three Alpha Maraudi crafts hovered over one of the creatures. As they rose into the air, the gold caps on the backs of the ships flashed, and the cage below began to lift off the ground. After a few moments, the convoy sailed across the gray expanse of the Moon along with the aliens, off to a deep crater somewhere far away from the Taj.
“At least we don’t have to worry about them anymore,” Drue said through the comms.
“Until they wake up,” Hot Dog corrected him. “Then I bet they’ll be really mad.”
“Let’s just hope those Maraudi cages hold them,” Benny said, pushing any fears about the monsters out of his mind. They had much bigger things to be concerned about, and if anyone on the Moon knew how to handle the Bazers, it was Vala and her crew.
“No one worry,” Drue said. “I already made sure they put the Galaxicle in the garage.” He glanced at the building, and when he spoke again, it was quieter. “I better get the chance to ride it again.”
Benny almost told him that of course he would—who was going to stop him? But he knew what Drue meant. What they were about to discuss put all of their futures in jeopardy.
An alien guard stood at the base of Vala’s ship where it connected to the newly created landing pad of stone. With so many people coming and going between the ship and the Taj, a staircase had been crafted leading up into the bottom of the ship for easy access, like the one they’d climbed up and down to get to the Maraudi base located far beneath the surface of Ganymede. The guard nodded, and a gold-tipped tentacle flicked. The wall in front of them melted away, revealing the stairs.
They were halfway up to the first floor when their force field helmets disappeared. The sound of their breaths filled the air.
“We are going to talk about what the Moon Platoon is going to do now, right?” Hot Dog whispered. “Or was I totally misreading all those looks you guys were giving back in the lab.�
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“Can we maybe wait until we’re up on the bridge?” Drue wheezed. “I’m pretty sure the air must be thinner in here, because I would totally rock these stairs back on Earth.”
“Not a bad idea,” Benny agreed, sweat prickling on his forehead.
As they walked up more stairs and through the halls, they began to pass members of Vala’s crew, mostly in groups of twos and threes. Their gold eye masks glinted in the light, and they stopped talking once they caught sight of Benny and his two friends, heads turning as they passed. Benny could only imagine what the aliens must have thought of them, given everything they’d been through. They’d come to the Moon to take the Taj, had failed and been imprisoned, and were now being told that a bunch of young humans were actually allied with their commander. He could hear their harmonic tones begin again once they were mostly out of earshot.
He wondered if any of the Maraudi he saw had reclaimed the sleeping tube he’d taken for his own during his time on the mother ship, the one with the gold frame that projected a hologram of an alien family a galaxy away from where they were now. But he tried to shake this thought from his head—he needed to focus on the bigger picture right now. If he thought too much about the particulars of what was at stake, he didn’t know if he’d manage to not freak out completely.
They found familiar faces on the bridge. Ramona sat in front of Griida’s workstation, which was now partially taken apart. A collection of wires and spare HoloTek parts and strange alien devices Benny didn’t recognize were all connected in a circle around her. She read something on the datapad strapped to her forearm while simultaneously tapping on a holographic ribbon of light floating above the terminal. Griida himself was at the great window at the end of the bridge steps away from the commander’s chair, staring out and overseeing the second Bazer’s removal.
Vala and Zee were nowhere to be seen.
Trevone stood in front of the great hologram near the center of the room, which was now projecting schematics of both the Orion and Dr. Bale’s superweapon, the latter of which was accompanied by hand-drawn markings from Jasmine. His goggles were on, and his hands were behind his back as he stared at the images, a HoloTek tucked under his arm.
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