Space Runners #3

by Jeramey Kraatz

  Once they’d agreed on how to proceed, they split up, running toward either the hangar or the sleeping capsules, anxious to take care of any last-minute preparations before powering up their hyperdrives.

  “Make sure everyone on the ground has their electromagnetic gloves!” Pinky called after them, heading to the hangar herself.

  Benny stayed behind on the bridge, wanting a moment to talk to Vala.

  “You’ll bring some kind of keys with you to the meeting, right?” Benny asked. “They’d be easy to hide in your tentacles.”

  “You wish to talk me out of doing so because the humans say they will not bring weapons?” Vala asked.

  “No,” Benny said. “I’m making sure you do because they may try to harm you. Even if Senator Lincoln says he won’t . . . I’m guessing he’ll bring Dr. Bale with him, and that guy isn’t very trustworthy when it comes to your kind. This could be dangerous for all of us, but especially you. They might try to kidnap you and get you to tell them everything you know. That’s why we’re trying to take so many precautions.”

  “I am aware of all of this,” Vala said. “But, as I believe you would say, this is bigger than both of us. Make sure you are looking out for yourselves as well.”

  Benny nodded. “Thank you.”

  “Wait,” Zee said, running over to the two of them from a spot where he’d obviously been eavesdropping. “These people are going to try to hurt you?” His tentacles were practically vibrating. “No way. They’re just humans. They don’t have the—the . . .”

  “Firepower?” Benny asked. “Guts? Planning? Because I can tell you right now, they have all those things.”

  Zee bared his teeth, groaning in frustration. Then, he said something in the alien tongue.

  “You might translate it into ‘the right,’ I think,” Vala said.

  Benny laughed once. “If you think not having the right to do something will stop them, you really do have a lot left to learn about humans.”

  “This is crazy!” Zee said. “We should bring fighter ships with us. Someone needs to protect you!” He planted his feet and raised his chin. “Give me a key. I can look out for you.”

  “Absolutely not,” Vala said. “I want you down in the cavern until I return.”

  “But—”

  The commander let out a single alien tone so loud that Benny actually jumped.

  Zee stared at Vala for a second before turning on his heel and darting off the bridge.

  The commander sighed. “I have thought long and hard about what this talk will mean for the future of our peoples. I am sure the burden is on your shoulders as well.”

  “Yeah,” Benny said. “I mean, it’s weird. We’re not even going there because we have a solution to all these problems. We’re just there to try to get everyone to agree there may be another solution. It seems like such a small thing. But . . .”

  “But it is everything.”

  “Yeah.” Benny nodded. “At least it feels like it. But our main priority is still to keep them from using that weapon and dooming us all. We should start with that, I think.”

  Vala nodded. “I agree. It would be best if they would hand the weapon over to us so that we did not have to take them at their word. But we shall see how trustworthy these men are.”

  There was a flash of blue behind Vala’s mask as she walked to the egg-like throne, waving a gold-tipped tentacle. A compartment rose from the ground, and she removed a shiny red mask. Benny recognized it as the same kind that the Taj invaders had worn.

  “It lets you breathe when there’s no air?” Benny asked.

  Vala nodded. “We could attempt to adjust the devices so that you could use them as well. Though we are not experts on your anatomy.”

  Benny knocked on the side of his space suit collar. “I’ll stick with a force field helmet for now. But thanks. I’d offer you one, but . . . you know. Tentacles.”

  The commander let out what Benny thought was a little laugh as she stared down at the red mask in her hands. “I heard from Calam in the night,” she said. “They are sanctioning this talk. But I am told that Commander Tull is against it completely. If things go poorly, they will likely give him clearance to retry his assault on Earth.”

  Benny took a deep breath. “Okay,” he said. “Then things go perfectly. No big deal.”

  “More of your humor,” the commander said. “I hope that it is a relief to you. Come. Let us join the others. We begin.”

  They found the hangar to be a mess of people, with the Pit Crew ushering the EW-SCABers into their assigned Space Runners and prototype models—the same ones they’d flown up from the underground shelter. Most of them were in pairs, making it so they’d have to take fewer cars and allowing the better pilots among them to fly those without as much experience.

  Iyabo came up to Benny when she spotted him.

  “Hey,” she said with a grin. “Just so you know, I’m keeping my finger on the laser button. Anything starts to look fishy, and I’ve got your back.”

  “Thanks,” Benny said. And he believed her: Iyabo had been a great fighter against the asteroid storm and had rallied the EW-SCABers when he and the rest of the core Moon Platoon members hadn’t been around. “But hopefully it won’t come to that. And if it does, I’d rather everyone just get out of there. Jasmine will be calling the shots. Listen to her.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Iyabo said. She turned away from him and sighed as she made her way to a Space Runner with Mustang-red stripes across the side. “I just wish we could figure out a way to do all this without having to rely on a bunch of old dudes. That never works out well for us.”

  On one side of the hangar, Hot Dog gave him a thumbs-up before sliding into a Star Runner. Beside her, Drue was wiping off the windshield of one of the laser-mounted SRs. Ramona and Jasmine walked up to Benny, Pinky in tow.

  “This is it,” Jasmine said. “Are you ready?”

  “I better be,” Benny said.

  “Time for holo-jail,” Ramona said to Pinky, smirking the whole time.

  The AI sighed. “I look forward to one day being powered by more than just a datapad or SR system. I miss my old self.”

  Then Pinky disappeared, and the swarm of nanoprojectors and cameras that had been creating her image flew back to the silver band on Benny’s wrist—a holographic bracelet that Elijah West had given him as a reward for leading the Mustangs to victory in a video game battle against robots back at the Taj, which now seemed like ages ago.

  Benny raised the band to Vala and nodded to her.

  “Here,” Ramona said, holding a collar out to the commander similar to the one that produced Benny’s force field helmet. “Audio perfection.”

  “She means you can use it to connect to our radios,” Jasmine said.

  Vala took the collar, looking at it for a few second before fastening it around her neck.

  “Bad news,” Ash McGuyver said, jogging up to Benny. “Pinky told me about your worries that the Earth guys may try to hack your vehicles, but I haven’t had a chance to figure out a way to completely reconfigure the operating systems of all the cars in here.” She shook her head. “Sorry, but the SRs are still vulnerable.”

  “That’s okay,” Benny said, though his brain was filled with images of him and his friends trying to get hijacked Space Runners back under their control. “It was a long shot anyway. Thanks for trying.”

  The mechanic shook her head. “That’s the problem with the new models. The interface is incredibly advanced, but I don’t think Elijah ever imagined he’d be facing something like this when he was designing it. Security was always something that came second, after performance. I think he figured no one would ever be able to understand his designs enough to break them. Let’s hope Ramona and the others can fight off whatever they throw at us.”

  Two words repeated in Benny’s head. New models.

  His eyes darted across the landing area to the electric-green hood of a car in the back corner.

  “You seem . . .
excited,” Vala said. “Is this a positive thing?”

  “Jasmine,” Benny yelled, “do we have any of those stealth drives that are still put together that we can use?”

  “Just one,” she said. “It’s in the Comet Catcher.”

  “One is all I need.” He turned to Ash. “Feel like making a quick run to another moon with us?”

  “Sure thing,” she said, snapping her gum. “What’s the job?”

  “I think I may have a backup plan in case they try to take down our Space Runners,” Benny said. “At least something that would let us get Vala out of there if things go bad.”

  “And what plan would that be?” the commander asked.

  Benny grinned at her. “Have you ever heard of the term ‘American Classic’?”

  Soon, they were shooting through space, a small caravan of kids from all over Earth and the commander of an alien mother ship. Ash McGuyver brought up the rear, her oversized tank of a Space Runner towing the Chevelle that had been retrofitted to serve as a moon buggy behind it.

  Benny rode in the car that took point, Ricardo driving. Vala sat in the backseat, the gleaming red mask covering her mouth. Zee’s shiny ball sat atop her pile of tentacles.

  “The insides of your vehicles are more comfortable than our own,” Vala said, her long fingers pressing into the supple fake leather of the backseat. “Our goal in creating ships has always been efficiency, using only what is needed. We give little thought to aspects that are not completely necessary.”

  “Yeah,” Benny said. “I kind of noticed that over the last few days.” He shook his head. “Say what you will about humanity’s progress, but I guess we really are advanced when it comes to luxury. At least in places like the Taj.”

  “Yes,” Vala continued. “Of course. But not all of humanity. The class system on your planet is so extreme. Tell me, is your place on Earth one of riches or squalor?”

  Ricardo scoffed. “Everyone in this group came from nothing.”

  “Yeah,” Benny said, thinking it best not to get into the fact that Drue had originally paid to get an invite to the Taj. “I come from the Drylands. That’s what we call the western part of the United States.”

  “Ah,” the commander said. “The great desert. That’s right. There are very few colonies there, as I recall.”

  “It’s mostly caravans,” Benny said, staring out the passenger window, checking on the ships behind him in the side mirror. “A bunch of rusted trailers and RVs traveling the sand, looking for water and a permanent place to settle down for good. Mine is a hundred people, give or take. Great people.”

  “I see,” Vala said. A few beats of silence passed. “And have you found a permanent home?”

  Benny shook his head. “No. I was going to make sure we did when I got back from the Taj, but now . . .” He trailed off.

  Ricardo glanced in the rearview mirror. “Now we’re just trying to make sure we have a planet to go back to.”

  Vala nodded, leaning back into her seat. “Your planet is so far away from ours, your civilizations so much younger. Perhaps we forget sometimes that you have the same basic needs and desires as we do, despite your short cycles.”

  “I told Commander Tull when I met him that I understood why you were after Earth,” Benny said. “That I knew what it was like to just want a place to live. I don’t think he believed me.”

  “Maybe he did not,” Vala said. “Or maybe he deemed that his ultimate task would be easier if he chose not to.”

  Benny thought about this for a moment. “What makes Tull so different from you? I mean, I know we met under different circumstances, but I pretty much can’t imagine Tull sitting in the backseat and not trying to kill me. That dude is intense.”

  Vala lowered the red ball into her hands, turning it over a few times before answering. “Commander Tull was not always as ‘intense,’ as you describe him. As you have been told, colonizing Earth is a last resort for my people. We have tried many other ways to ensure the survival of our planet. None of them were successful. And some of them resulted in great casualties. Commander Tull’s life mate was a scientist named Jarm. You should have seen her—bigger than Tull, as intelligent as she was strong.”

  “Sounds terrifying,” Ricardo murmured.

  “Jarm had a theory that a contained explosion in the heart of our middle sun could keep it from expanding,” the commander continued. “Or at least ensure us more time. It was a dangerous idea to pull off, but for the good of our people, Jarm led an expedition. It . . . did not go well. Many lives were extinguished, including hers. Many who returned were injured. Pito, for example.” Vala stared down at the red ball. “We lost many of our best on that day.”

  Benny let out a long breath, considering all of this. “And so Tull led the fight to take Earth.”

  “To make sure that our people did survive,” Vala said, pulling the ball back up into her tentacles. “So that our sacrifices were not in vain.”

  And then they were quiet for a while.

  Eventually, Io was before them, a sphere of lava, ice, and sickly yellow-green plains dotted with rocky cliffs. Looming in the background was the hulking mass of Jupiter itself, its surface roiling with storms and swirling gasses.

  “Those mountains on the moon below?” Jasmine’s voice came over the comms. “Some of Io’s active volcanoes. There are over four hundred of them.”

  “Super comforting, Jazz,” Drue said. “Glad you picked the sketchiest possible place for us to meet.”

  “Someone sounds scared,” Hot Dog said, and Benny could picture the exact way she must have been smirking in her Star Runner.

  Jasmine sighed. “We’ll be fine as long as we stay at our coordinates. So far, there are no signs of Earth ships on the radar.”

  “What are the chances they’re all equipped with stealth devices?” Ricardo asked.

  “No way of knowing,” Jasmine said.

  “I’m pinpointing the coordinates of the meeting location now,” Pinky said, her voice piping through the SR’s speakers.

  A blinking light appeared on their windshield, directing them where to go. When they were closer to the moon, Jasmine spoke again.

  “We can hold up here while the ground team continues,” she said. “Sound like a plan?”

  “Let’s do it,” Benny said.

  “I’m following you,” Drue said as Ricardo’s Space Runner broke away from the group.

  Hot Dog chimed in. “I’m taking a flanking position near one of these cliffs in case I need to swoop down fast. It’ll be easier if I don’t have to worry about the rest of the group getting in the way.”

  “Same,” Kira said.

  “Good luck down there,” Trevone added.

  Benny sat up in his seat. “Thanks. Pinky, keep the comm channels quiet except for the core units. Only what we need to hear.”

  They soared down, past a few rocky mountains coursing with thin streams of lava, until finally they landed in a huge, shallow crater.

  “Temperature readings are adequate,” Pinky said. “Quite comfortable, even.”

  “Great,” Benny murmured as he watched Drue land a few yards away from them.

  Ash’s voice crackled over the comms. Her SR and the Chevelle were floating above them. “Where do you want her, kid?” she asked.

  “Give me a second,” Benny said. He turned to Ricardo, tapping on his neck and manually deploying his force field helmet. “I’m going to scope things out. Will you stay with the commander?”

  Ricardo nodded, turning on his own helmet as the cabin depressurized and Benny stepped out onto the yellow surface of Io.

  The gravity wasn’t too different from what it had been on the Moon, so at least in that sense Benny had a good idea of how to maneuver himself. The crater they were in had walls that sloped at low inclines, meaning it would be easy to drive out in any direction—one lucky break, at least.

  He spotted a small boulder not too far away, the top of which was more orange than the rest of the landsc
ape.

  “There,” he said, pointing to it. “You see that? Can you put it beside the rock?”

  “You got it, boss,” Ash said.

  She sat the Chevelle down with such care that it barely bounced on its shiny, heavily treaded tires, the hood almost touching the orange boulder. And then Ash shot off into the space, ready to wait in the wings in case someone needed to be towed.

  “I’m going to get the escape car ready,” Benny said. “You guys okay here?”

  “Duh,” Drue scoffed.

  “Make it fast,” Ricardo said.

  Benny jogged to the Chevelle as quickly as he could. The keys were in the ignition, meaning that at least he wouldn’t have to hot wire it—unlike the last time he’d been behind the wheel. A simple twist, and the retrofitted muscle car powered on, the specialized engine barely even humming as it idled. The dashboard lit up.

  “And here we go,” Benny murmured.

  He reached forward and pressed the blinking red button of the stealth drive he’d swiped from the Comet Catcher. The hood and rest of the exterior of the car disappeared.

  “Nice,” Drue said. “You’re totally invisible.” He paused. “Uh, just remember where you parked it.”

  “Right,” Benny said, glancing again at the boulder in front of them. “If the SRs are hacked and frozen, this’ll get Vala out. I’ll make sure of it.”

  “You can drive it?” the commander asked through the comms.

  Benny grinned to himself. “Oh, yeah. Yeah, I can.”

  “Guys,” Jasmine said, “I’ve got two dozen SRs approaching. Fast.”

  “This is it, people,” Ricardo said.

  Benny got out of the Chevelle and did his best to make a mark on the ground outside the driver’s door with his boot, ensuring he’d be able to find it again. Then he hurried over toward the other two Space Runners.

  The Earth forces paused far above the surface, sending only four vehicles to the ground itself. Benny spotted plasma cannons on the sides of each of them, the kind that had shot down so many of the Alpha Maraudi back at the Taj.