Space Runners #3

by Jeramey Kraatz

  “About half the EW-SCABers,” Drue said. “Give or take.”

  “That must mean that the squadron of Space Runners our satellites are tracking . . .”

  “Are those who decided to go back to Earth,” Benny said.

  “We’ll make sure they’re escorted home, then.” The senator pursed his lips. He was quiet, looking down at Elijah’s desk for a few seconds before he met his son’s eyes. “You’ll be at this meeting, Drue?”

  “Obviously,” Drue said as he crossed his arms. “I’m totally an important part of this.” Then, his eyes went wide as he grinned. “Oh, man, are you going to die when I tell you about where I carved our initials.”

  “What about my people?” Vala asked. “The ones you shot from the sky. Those who were at the Taj when you arrived. Where are they now?”

  Senator Lincoln raised his eyebrows as the camera shifted to the commander. “You’re asking about the invaders we rescued the Lunar Taj from?”

  Vala was silent, but her tentacles twitched and writhed as she nodded.

  Drue’s father stared at the commander for what felt to Benny like a long time before answering. “They’re still here,” he said. “We’ve moved them underground.” He paused. “Those who survived.”

  Vala took a deep breath. “It would be a sign of good faith to return those you are keeping prisoner to their home.”

  The senator let out a single laugh. “I could say the same for you. You’ve got dozens of underage humans held captive on your ship without permission from any parents or guardians.”

  “There are no prisoners here,” Vala said firmly.

  “Prove it, then. Show me those kids are there of their own free will—bring them to the meeting—and you’ll get your people back.”

  There were indecipherable voices from somewhere in Elijah’s office, which took the senator’s attention away for a moment. He turned back to the camera. “I have to go,” he said. “Remember our terms. We’ll hold up our end. And, all of you up there”—he focused on Drue—“be safe. I’ll be in touch.”

  And then, the hologram of Drue’s father and Elijah’s private quarters disappeared, replaced by a wobbly blue line.

  Benny let out a long sigh, sinking back into the egg-like chair. “That went . . . good?”

  “All things considered,” Jasmine said, “I think you’re right.”

  “We will see how well things truly end up,” Vala said. “The specifications of this meeting lean heavily in the favor of the Earth forces if we meet their demands.”

  “Yeah,” Hot Dog said. “But Benny’s right. If they try anything, we’ve got the electro gloves to help stop them.”

  “And you’ve got your”—Drue’s lips twisted—“uh, rock stuff.”

  “In Space Runners, we’ll have the advantage,” Ricardo said. “You’ve got part of the Pit Crew and a few of the other best pilots in the galaxy sitting around this table.”

  “How long do you think it would take them to get to Io, Jazz?” Benny asked.

  The girl shrugged. “Depending on what vehicles they’re in, a day? If they really want to push their hyperdrives.”

  “So we’ve got some time,” Trevone said.

  Drue leaned forward onto the table. “At least we don’t have to go anywhere far. That’s nice. I guess it’s a good thing they’re scared the Alpha Maraudi would try to attack again if we went back to the Moon.”

  “Right.” Jasmine frowned. “Or they just don’t want us anywhere near Dr. Bale’s superweapon.”

  And with that, the room went quiet.

  10.

  Once again, all they could do was wait. There was a churning in Benny’s stomach as a familiar feeling from the past few weeks began to creep through his body.

  Helplessness.

  But Benny was determined not to let that get the better of him. Or any of his friends for that matter.

  Jasmine, Trevone, and Ramona went back to work with Pito. Pinky—in her holographic form now that the call was over—returned to the bridge to continue monitoring the Alpha Maraudi tech, trying to learn as much as they could about it, hoping to find something useful. In the meantime, she assisted Griida in determining suitable coordinates for the meeting to send off to New Apollo.

  Hot Dog and Drue were more than happy to join Ash McGuyver and help her prep the remaining Space Runners since if all went as planned they’d be moving out again soon—though, Benny was pretty sure part of their exuberance was because helping out would give them the chance to claim which vehicles they wanted to drive. That left Ricardo and Kira, who Benny spoke with in the great underground cavern once they’d left the meeting room.

  “This is dangerous,” Ricardo said. “Dr. Bale and Senator Lincoln plotted to take over the Taj—for who knows how many years, by the way. While Elijah was still there, running the place. All behind his back. I don’t trust them any more than I really trust the Alpha Maraudi. Maybe even less.”

  “We could be the ones walking into a trap,” Kira added.

  “I know, I know,” Benny said, glancing around to make sure none of the aliens filtering through the cavern were listening. “But it’s our best bet right now. Something we can try.” He shrugged. “Plus, I don’t think they’re going to attack the aliens when a bunch of kids are around. It’ll basically just be us and Vala and maybe a few of their guards.”

  “They could try to make us come back,” Ricardo said.

  “You’re the best drivers around besides Elijah. You said it yourself. How are they going to make you do anything you don’t want to?”

  Ricardo didn’t look convinced, but he nodded. “We need to be prepared for anything.”

  “Right,” Kira said. “What would Elijah do?”

  “What can we do?” Ricardo asked. “SR prep? Strategizing?”

  Benny shifted his weight on his feet. “I need you to keep looking after the rest of the EW-SCABers.”

  Kira said something in Japanese that Benny could only imagine was a curse. Ricardo glared at him.

  “We’re the Pit Crew,” he said. “We’re not babysitters. And you do realize that you’re an EW-SCABer, too.”

  “I know,” Benny said. “But I—”

  “Look, I appreciate everything you’ve done so far. But you can’t keep sidelining us like this.”

  “It’s not because I want to keep you out of the action,” Benny said. “It’s because they look up to you.”

  Ricardo scoffed. “I could say the same about you.”

  Benny shook his head. “It’s different. You’re both older, one. And two, they knew who you were before any of them flew to the Moon. We all did. You said you’re the Pit Crew? That’s the reason you have to keep being there for them. I can make speeches, sure. And, honestly, I’m not even sure how I’ve managed to do those. But one-on-one with them? I freak out. I mean, I’m getting better, but not that good. And the last thing they need to see is the guy who’s supposed to be their leader totally losing his cool.”

  Ricardo grunted, but he didn’t disagree. “I hate this,” he said.

  “I know,” Benny said. “I’m sorry.”

  “What are you going to do, then?”

  Benny glanced down at the golden glove on his hand. “I’m going to make sure I’m prepared, too. I’m going to get some answers.” He looked back up at them. “This thing has helped us out so much and I don’t even know how it works. Imagine what it could do if I actually had a clue what it was.”

  Ricardo nodded in agreement. “Not a bad idea,” he said. Then he turned to the stairs leading up to the mother ship. “It’s a long climb, Kira. You’d think these aliens would have come up with elevators.”

  “I wonder if Pinky can get in touch with the caravan that left,” Kira said, following him. “I just want to make sure Kai’s okay. And Sahar, too.”

  Finally alone, Benny let out a sigh, trying to collect himself a little before making his next move.

  Ricardo paused halfway to the staircase and called back to hi
m.

  “One more thing,” he said, turning his head slightly, to where he was almost looking over his shoulder. “Don’t think for a second we’ve forgotten about Elijah.”

  “Not at all,” Kira agreed.

  And then they were off.

  Benny took a deep breath, mentally going over a checklist of where everyone was and what they were doing, making sure that he wasn’t missing anything. At least somewhat sure that everything was in order, he looked for Vala, who’d begun to make the rounds, updating her crew. He eventually spotted her on the far side of the cavern, standing among the alien plants that were thriving among huge, glowing boulders. When he got closer, he realized the commander wasn’t alone.

  “Oh, you,” Zee said, spotting Benny. He crossed his tentacles and turned back to Vala. “That human wouldn’t let me take any of their ships out earlier.”

  “Good,” Vala said. “Your experience with solo flight is practically nonexistent. You would have hurt yourself. Or others.”

  “Whose fault is that?” the alien kid countered. “The closest anyone ever lets me get to flying is . . .” Zee paused for a moment, then said something in the Maraudi tongue.

  “I’m sure there are words for that in Earth’s languages. You should ask our guests about them.”

  Zee gritted his teeth, and then spoke again in English. “All I get to do is drive the videos with the fake ships. You know what I mean.”

  Flight simulators, Benny thought. The Alpha Maraudi must have had their own version of flight training.

  Vala let one of her tentacles alight on Zee’s shoulder. “Even a Bazer must learn to walk before it leaves the ground behind. Do not get ahead of yourself. You have many, many cycles to live through.”

  Zee groaned in a tone that sounded like metal wrenching against metal to Benny and turned away. Then he snatched something yellow and doughnut shaped off a nearby vine and bit into it viciously.

  Benny blinked. “Um, is this a bad time?”

  “I was checking in on Zee’s lessons,” Vala said. “He has been . . . distracted since your arrival.”

  “You’re the one who told me I could learn from these humans,” Zee said through a wad of half-eaten food. From what Benny could tell, the fruit or vegetable had caused the inside of his mouth to glow purple. “Even if a lot of it is about what not to do.”

  “Actually, speaking of lessons,” Benny said, holding up the gold glove, “I was wondering if there was anything you could teach me about this. You saw me back in the garden. I’m not very good with it.”

  Zee’s four tentacles weaved over the back of his head in a crisscross pattern. “And why does he get to have that? He’s a . . . a newborn basically. Earlier than me! And I’m not supposed to get one of them for how many more cycles?”

  “If you listen closely, perhaps this will be informative for both of you,” Vala said. She held a hand out toward the dark lake at the other side of the cavern. “Come. Let us move to a more suitable location.”

  The commander started walking. Zee made a gargling noise in the back of his throat, buried the scraps of his food under some soil, and followed, with Benny bringing up the rear. The farther they got from the front of the chamber, the colder the air was, and Benny couldn’t help but shiver in his space suit. He was beginning to realize he was definitely not cut out for lower temperatures.

  “What do you know of the glove?” Vala asked.

  “Not much,” Benny admitted. “It’s made up of elements we don’t have on Earth. And somehow it can control alien rock. I mean, that glowing rock that you guys use.” He motioned to the walls. “It seems like everything you have that’s gold can . . . make the minerals grow or move? Whether the gold is on your tentacles or a glove or even inside your chair on the bridge of your ship.”

  Vala nodded. “You are observant.”

  “It’s pretty obvious,” Zee grunted.

  “What I don’t get is how it works,” Benny said. “I’ve used it a few times, but I have no idea how, really.” He shrugged. “Mostly I’ve just punched rocks away.”

  “Humans,” Zee said. “Maybe I do know everything I need to about your kind.”

  Benny flexed his fingers. “I’ve used it to melt rock, too. When I got covered in it back on the Moon. And to open a hole in the hull so we could get into the hangar of the mother ship.”

  “It is strange, as I mentioned, that you can use it at all,” Vala said. “These gold items, as you call them, are what we refer to as . . .” She was silent for a few beats. “I think they might translate into something like keys in your language. They’re usually tuned to a single Alpha Maraudi because one must be so precise in their intent when using them. So sure of what they are to do.” A tentacle scratched beneath the commander’s chin. “Perhaps it is because you are so young that you can tap into its power. So earnest, as I said before. Or perhaps it is because you believe it will work.”

  “Or maybe it’s a mistake,” Zee said. Then he grinned. “Let me try it on and see.”

  Benny looked at Vala, but the commander shook her head, continuing her stride.

  “Benny Love of Earth has earned the right to wear this glove,” Vala said, in a tone that gave no room for disagreement.

  Zee rolled his two red-pupiled eyes and didn’t say anything else about the subject.

  The farther they walked into the cavern, the harder it got to see. In fact, it seemed like Vala was leading them toward the darkest section of the chamber. Benny was just beginning to have to squint to make sure he was still walking on solid ground and not about to trudge into the inky lake when the commander stopped abruptly. Benny half tripped over himself to keep from running into her.

  “Careful, two eyes,” Zee said with a snort.

  Benny assumed that nickname wasn’t a compliment.

  “Can you see?” Vala asked. “I’m unsure how much light your kind needs.”

  “Uh, not really,” Benny said. Even with his eyes adjusting to the dimness, he could barely make out the two aliens in front of him. Sweat started to prickle his brow as a nervous flutter erupted in his chest—why had they brought him this way?

  “Good,” Vala continued. “I’ve seen you manipulate rock, even if you weren’t able to close the hole you created in the wall of the bridge. But can you tap into the light inside it?”

  “You mean that circuitry-looking stuff that glows?” he asked. “And the veins that light the sleeping tubes?”

  “That’s right.”

  Benny shrugged in the darkness. “I wouldn’t know what to do.”

  “Crouch down,” the commander said. “Touch your glove to the floor. Close your eyes. Imagine the light inside you flowing through the key and into the stone.”

  “That’s all it takes?” Benny asked.

  “Try it,” Vala insisted. “We will see.”

  Benny looked at the gold glove—which seemed to shine softly, even in the darkness—and took a long breath. Then he got down on one knee, placing the palm of the glove on the rock floor. He closed his eyes, unsure what Vala meant by “light.” After all, it wasn’t like he had a glowing third eye or anything like that. Maybe there was something he was losing in translation. And so he tried to focus on happy things, figuring that was close to whatever Vala was talking about. He thought about racing over sand dunes in his dirt buggy back home in the Drylands, his brothers, Alejandro and Justin, shouting from the backseat, begging him to go faster. He remembered the taste of the cinnamon cookies his grandmother always seemed to be able to make on special occasions, no matter how limited their supplies and resources were. The way his dad used to laugh for no reason every time he’d tear open the RV door at the end of the day before collapsing onto their threadbare couch. And moments from more recent days filled his mind, too. The thrill of seeing a satellite shoot by the window during his very first ride in a Space Runner. The electric feeling that came from stopping Tull’s asteroid storm. The relief of knowing that his friends had his back. That he wasn’t in this
alone.

  He pictured all of this pouring out of him, through his palm and into the glove. He imagined the ground bursting with rivers of light so bright that others around him would have to shield their eyes. The key was warm, vibrating at the same frequency as the buzzing in the back of his chest. He was doing it, he was sure.

  Benny smiled as he opened his eyes.

  If anything, it seemed even darker than before.

  “Was that it?” Zee asked.

  Benny stood slowly, nodding his head. “Yeah. I tried.”

  “Maybe it is not meant to be,” Vala said. “Or maybe the time has simply yet to come.”

  The commander waved a tentacle. There was a flash of gold, and then suddenly veins of light shot through the ground below them, up into the wall a few yards away, illuminating the entire area and reflecting off the edge of the dark lake nearby.

  “As I said,” she continued, “the keys are meant to work in harmony with individual Alpha Maraudi. Who knows what you can and cannot do with them as a human. Light may be beyond your control, unlike the rock itself.”

  Benny stared down at the glove, now reflecting the glowing webs in the ground. He knew he shouldn’t think of himself as a failure for not being able to light the stone up—that this was something no human had ever done before. Still, he felt like he should have been able to do more.

  One of Zee’s thick tendrils brushed a stray piece of food from the shoulder of his tunic. “No wonder the humans never got as far into exploring the universe as we did.”

  For a moment, Benny thought about smashing his finger down on the side of his other glove, and holding Zee in the air just to watch him squirm. But the flash of annoyance passed.

  “What about moving rock?” he asked. “Can you tell me how to get better at that?”

  “You said it earlier,” Vala said. “It worked for you when you were acting on instinct. You must trust yourself.” The commander stepped forward, raising the gold mask from her eyes. “On our planet, we show our faces not only to see another’s true self,” she said, “but to allow another to see that we are speaking truth as well.” Vala glanced at Zee to make sure he was listening, and then looked back to Benny. “You faced a most fearsome enemy and lived to tell of it when you were taken aboard Tull’s ship. You earned this golden prize, Benny Love. It would do you well to remember that. The actions you are taking for your people are . . . admirable.”