“Gravity,” Ramona said.
“You could have warned us!” Drue shouted.
“Womp, womp,” Ramona replied.
As Benny’s eyes adjusted, he quickly found Dr. Bale floating near the center of the room, his gun aimed at Drue, who’d given his position away by yelling.
“Don’t!” Benny yelled.
But a blond streak flew across the bridge, planting a foot in Dr. Bale’s face. Hot Dog was using her electro glove, and was already two steps ahead of him.
“Yes!” Drue shouted. “KO that mad scientist!”
That’s when the lights came on again, and with them, the gravity.
Everyone crashed to the floor and scrambled to get up.
Soldiers tackled Hot Dog on the far side of the bridge. Drue disarmed one before rolling behind a terminal. Jasmine used her electro glove to smash a chair over another one’s head before ducking behind the remainder of the rock wall. Trevone was nowhere to be seen.
Outside, the battle suddenly seemed to slow down.
“She did it!” Jasmine said. “Ramona has control of the Orion and she’s freezing the SRs.”
“Uh, Ramona,” Trevone said over the comms. “We’re still trapped in here with guys carrying guns.”
“Think of something!” Drue said. “They’ve got Hot Dog.”
A beat passed, and then Jasmine’s voice rang from their collars again. “I have an idea! One sec.” Benny could see her crouched behind the wall, typing frantically on her datapad. “Ramona. Patch me into the Orion’s systems.”
“Sure,” Drue said, banging his head against the back of a terminal. “We’ll just hang out here. No problem.”
Benny was on the floor in front of the raised platform and feeling completely exposed. He started for a chunk of alien rock that had been blown off the wall by a plasma blast. If nothing else, maybe he could make another shield for him or his friends. Because if not, if they couldn’t get the soldiers on the bridge to stop coming after them . . .
He was almost within reach when Dr. Bale stepped in front of him.
Benny found himself staring straight into the end of a plasma rifle. Reflexively, he put his hands in the air.
“If your fingers so much as flinch,” Dr. Bale said. “I’ll shoot.”
Benny nodded slowly. “Understood.”
“Benny Love, right?” Dr. Bale asked. His eyes were wild as he spoke through clenched teeth. “I’ll make sure that the world knows that name. That every person on Earth has seen your face. So that when the asteroids strike and the fires begin, they will know exactly who to blame for humanity’s end.”
“Now would be a good time, Jasmine,” Hot Dog said, struggling against the two New Apollo troopers holding her arms.
The bridge doors opened, and the two remaining Alpha Maraudi soldiers sprinted in.
“Move closer and he dies!” Dr. Bale shouted.
Tooro grunted from the ground, and the Alpha Maraudi stopped.
Was that it? Benny wondered. Jasmine’s plan was to let the other aliens inside? It was a good idea, but not enough. They had control of the ship and the SRs, but here on the bridge Benny found himself helpless, all his tricks used up. Dr. Bale was right in front of him. Anything they tried would likely get him killed. Or them.
Jasmine’s voice came through his comms. “Here we go,” she murmured. “If you’ll all turn your attention to the screen . . .”
The front window of the bridge flickered. And then suddenly, a woman’s face took over the entire glass. Her black hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and her dark eyes stared intensely through the screen. She wore a blue suit which matched those of the men in decorated uniforms behind her, standing beside a large American flag.
“Is that . . . ?” Trevone asked.
“Yup,” Drue said.
“Whoa,” Hot Dog whispered.
Dr. Bale actually seemed stunned for a moment, doing a double take before his eyebrows drew together first in confusion, then frustration.
“Madam President,” he said. “This isn’t exactly an opportune moment to—”
“As I can see, doctor,” the president said. “You appear to be very busy holding an American child at gunpoint.”
Dr. Bale was completely still. Then he smoothed back the shock of gray in his black hair. “This isn’t what it looks like. These traitors to humanity would—”
“I know what they would do,” the president said. Her voice was so resolute that it gave no room to be argued with. “I’ve been briefed.”
The screen shifted slightly as the president’s image moved to the left side. On the right, Elijah West stared back at them from inside his private quarters. “Hello, Austin,” he said. “It’s been a while since we’ve actually seen each other. It was so difficult to make out your silhouette on the bridge of the Orion while you aimed a laser cannon at me and my scholarship winners.”
Dr. Bale’s jaws snapped shut for a moment, spit flecking into the air as he growled through them.
“This is a trick,” he muttered. “A hologram.”
The video feed of Elijah split in two, and Senator Lincoln stared back at them from his bed in the medical wing of the Taj.
“Dad . . .” Drue whispered.
“Sorry it took so long,” Jasmine said, peeking over the wall. “I’m not very fast at messaging on a datapad.”
“Ohmigod, Jasmine, I love you,” Hot Dog said, all the words running together.
“New Apollo troops,” the senator began, “this is Senator Lincoln, your rightful commander.” He dug into the word, sneering as he said it. “I’ll remind the officers that your mission briefings contained a code phrase for a full retreat.”
He took a deep breath that seemed to pain him before he spoke again.
“Delta. Romeo. Uniform. Echo. Twenty Seventy-Two.”
Benny heard a small gasp filter through his comms as Drue stood up.
The New Apollo soldier who’d called for them to protect the bridge earlier, straightened her posture. Slowly, she lowered her rifle.
“I’ll cut to the point,” the president said. “New Apollo and its sorely mismanaged mission were created without my knowledge. But it is still an operation overseen by our military. As commander in chief, I hereby declare that Dr. Austin Bale is stripped of his leadership. The Orion will now be entrusted to the care of the representatives from the Lunar Taj and Alpha Maraudi Commander Vala. All New Apollo troops are ordered to stand down.”
“What?” Benny whispered, scarcely able to believe what he was hearing.
“Don’t worry,” Ramona said through the comms. “We’ve got this on every SR windshield and screen we could find in the Orion. Thank me later.”
“This is preposterous,” Dr. Bale said. “You can’t just . . .”
But the soldiers on the bridge had already trained their weapons on him.
“No,” he continued. “No, no! This is my ship. I designed it! All of this. You can’t—”
Drue puffed out his chest. “Get him off the bridge,” he said with a smirk.
The soldier who’d been holding Hot Dog had let her go, and she crossed her arms. “And take that weapon away from him,” she added.
Dr. Bale seemed to be in shock. He didn’t move, just stared at the screen as Benny slowly slid away from the aim of his rifle. In a few seconds, the six soldiers they’d been trapped inside with had Bale surrounded and disarmed.
“Benny Love,” the president said, and it was so strange for him to hear his name coming out of her mouth that he didn’t know what to say.
“Um, yes, your, uh . . . Madam . . . President?”
“Elijah has informed me what your ‘Moon Platoon’ has accomplished, and what you aim to do now. Under any other circumstances, I would never dream of entrusting such a task to the likes of you and your comrades. But the soldiers on that ship know nothing of the Alpha Maraudi or their world, and even less of this sun-saving invention that your team has created. Do what you must to save our
planet.” She looked around at each of the people standing on the bridge, and then back to Benny.
“We’re counting on you,” she said.
Beside her, Elijah West smiled.
18.
Everything moved very quickly after the president was off the line.
“You’re all okay?” Elijah asked once Dr. Bale had been removed from the bridge along with his assistants.
Benny looked around. The rock wall off to the side near the entrance had mostly crumbled in on itself following the barrage of plasma shots from Dr. Bale and was only a few feet tall now. Two Alpha Maraudi soldiers inspected Tooro’s shoulder, wrapping it with some sort of squirming cloth.
But other than that, things were . . . actually fine. Benny stood with Trevone, Hot Dog, and Drue in the middle of the room. Jasmine had already gone up to the main controls and was analyzing readouts.
“I think so,” Benny said. “Thank you. For getting in touch with the president.”
“Of course,” Elijah said. His brow furrowed, eyes crinkled with worry. “But it was Jasmine’s idea. I’m just glad everyone was able to get through to the Orion. If things hadn’t worked out like that . . .”
“But they did,” Trevone said. “The hardest part is over.” He paused. “Sort of.”
“Lookin’ good, Dad,” Drue said. “I mean, sir.” He grinned. “And thanks for sounding so authoritative. It was a nice touch.”
“It’s how a Lincoln speaks,” Drue’s father said. And then his face softened. It looked like he was about to start to say several different things before finally settling on, “Be careful out there.” And then, after a pause. “Make the family proud.”
“We should go,” Benny said. “We have a lot to do before we head for Calam.”
“Fly true,” Elijah said. “I’ll keep working here. You kids . . .” He shook his head, smiling a little. “See you soon.”
Senator Lincoln nodded.
The communication cut off.
Finally given a moment of peace, Drue looked around the ship. “I knew this place was big, but it’s like . . . whoa, big.”
“I can’t wait to jump to hyperspeed,” Hot Dog said, scarcely able to hide a grin.
“Ahhhh!” Drue buzzed. “It’s going to be the best.”
“We can’t do that until the missile is on board,” Jasmine said. “I’m opening the loading bay doors now.”
“Okay,” Benny said, turning to his friends. “Let’s go.”
Trevone, Drue, Hot Dog, and Jasmine stayed on the bridge while Ramona and Pito oversaw the transfer of the superweapon to the Orion. Benny borrowed a New Apollo Space Runner and went back to the mother ship. There were questions he had for Vala in terms of how they should proceed, of course, but he also hadn’t forgotten about his promise to her: that he would take Zee with them to Calam.
He found the commander in her throne, Zee by her side, along with several other crew members who’d gathered around her. They parted as Benny approached. Zee didn’t even look up or complain about how he’d been locked away during the infiltration. That in and of itself made Benny worry that something terrible had happened.
Vala’s gray skin looked lighter than it had before, like wood that had burned so hot in a desert bonfire that it had turned to pale ash. She lay back inside the shadows of the egg-like throne, her tentacles draped around her shoulders in a way he’d only ever seen when she was unconscious on the Moon.
He immediately took a knee in front of her.
“Benny,” she wheezed, her voice quiet and brittle sounding.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Vala seemed to smile. It was always difficult for him to tell what was happening with the Alpha Maraudis’ expressions, given how strangely wide their mouths were. But Vala seemed actually happy in this moment.
“Of course I am,” she said. “Did I not tell you time and again that this would wipe me?”
“She turned an entire ship invisible, two eyes,” Zee said. “You’d be tired, too, if that was even something you could do.”
“Yeah,” Benny said, mostly relieved that Zee had seemed to move past any anger he might have had and on to talking about how impressive his guardian was.
“You managed to do the first part of the unthinkable,” Vala said.
Benny nodded a little. “Tooro was injured. I’m sorry. But we couldn’t have done it without him and the others. And the ships fighting outside.” He inhaled sharply—with everything that had happened, he hadn’t considered what their losses might have been. “Is everyone . . . ?”
“You wonder about the pilots,” Vala said. “A few took heavy damage, but they are being retrieved. As for Tooro, I am told he will recover. With time, he will be good as new.” She held up the arm that she had broken on the moon of Io, which now seemed to be just fine. “Our bodies heal quickly.”
“Good,” Benny said. “And you’ll be back to normal soon, right?”
“I will be with rest, yes.” It was here that her face seemed to fall a little. “But I cannot go with you. I wish I could. I long to see Calam and, more so, to feel its ground beneath my feet. But I am too frail to move. Pito will represent my crew.” She nodded to her side. “Along with Zee.”
Zee looked back at her, his eyes blazing. “Wait. You mean, I really get to go?”
“If there’s anything you wish to take with you on this journey, I would grab it now.”
The young alien let out an excited yelp and jumped to his feet. He was a few steps away before he stopped abruptly.
“Wait. If I walk into my room, is the wall going to close behind me?” His tentacles flared out. “Is this another trick?”
Vala waved a tired hand. “Then don’t pack anything. That is also fine.”
Zee narrowed his eyes at her for a moment before grinning. Then he headed off the bridge.
“Where will you go now?” Benny asked. “Or will you stay here?”
“Back to your moon,” Vala said. “There is still the danger that Tull will attack. If that happens, your planet will need every available resource to stop him. We will help as much as we can.”
“Speaking of which,” Benny said, not sure how to broach the subject. “We have fifty New Apollo soldiers on the Orion that we don’t really need to go with us. I haven’t talked to them, but even if there are some who are excited about the idea of seeing another galaxy . . .” He hesitated. “We know what those weaponized Space Runners can do. They’re extremely good at taking down your ships.”
Vala’s head tilted to one side. “They would be of more aid on Earth.”
“Right.”
One of her tentacles curled up underneath her chin. “You are going to ask if they can be transported with my ship. In my hangars.”
Benny shrugged. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure what we should do. I’ll leave it to you. After everything we’ve gone through with New Apollo, I kind of like the idea of them being stuck in Space Runners for a few days on their way back to Earth. It’s a long trip. Plenty of time to think about what they’ve signed up for.”
Vala shook her head. “Any of them who wish to go the long way may, but those who would fly with us will be welcome. So long as they bring no weapons other than their Space Runners. We will see that they are treated fairly, though with a watchful eye. We are in this together now, after all.”
“You’re sure?” Benny asked.
She raised her gold mask. “I am sure,” she said. “I am not so weak that I cannot command and control this ship. And you have seen my warriors. They are strong.” She bared her teeth a little. “Bring this Dr. Bale here. I will create a chamber for his comfort and personally deliver him to Elijah West.”
Benny laughed once. “You sure you want to deal with him?”
The gold coating the inside of her throne flashed. “He will not be a problem.”
“Sounds good to me.” Benny got to his feet. “I’ll contact you when everything is in place and we’re leaving. Other than that . . .” He hes
itated. He hadn’t thought about the fact that it would take a day for word to reach Vala if they succeeded. Benny couldn’t imagine what a horrible wait that would be. “We’ll fly back as soon as we know we’re successful. Maybe we’ll beat messages from Calam. I’d like to be the person to tell you the good news.”
Vala made a soft wheezing noise and reached out a hand, placing it on his gold glove. “Benny Love of Earth,” she said. “When this is over, I promise you that I will do everything in my power to heal your world. The Alpha Maraudi will not forget what humanity has done for them, but more important what you and your crew have done. Any way that we can help you and your people, we will provide.”
Benny nodded.
“Oy, B-Man,” Ramona said as she walked onto the bridge from the hallway. She had two overstuffed duffel bags on her shoulders. “Transfer ready.”
“Me, too, if that means we’re taking off!” Zee said, rushing past her, a bag made of alien fabric slung across his body. “Let’s go!”
Vala sighed. “You’re not leaving without coming to my side again, young Zee.”
“I’ll be waiting in the hangar,” Benny said as he passed the alien kid.
“If you leave without me, I’ll take revenge on Earth,” he called over his shoulder.
“Zee!” Vala shouted with more energy than Benny had expected her to have.
He left them to it, already thinking about which Space Runners were still parked in Vala’s hangar that he could take back to the Orion. His thoughts flashed to the first Space Runner he’d thought of as his own, the one that had exploded in Tull’s hangar, and he realized that he’d left his dad’s hood ornament back at the Taj.
He stopped, just for a moment. Long enough to curse himself for being so stupid, and to remind himself that they had to get moving if he ever hoped to see it again. That his father would want him to keep fighting.
Benny lifted his chin to Ramona as he passed and took one of her duffel bags, which was far heavier than he expected.
“Jeez, did you pack every tool you had?”
“Bzzt,” she said. “Don’t be dumb. I sent my warez with Pito and J. This is stuff the newbz left behind. Foods. Drinks. Some ET grub I’ve been eating.” She clicked her tongue. “So, what’s the mess hall like on the O-ship?”
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