The Tundra Trials

by Monica Tesler

  Intragalactic summit? Oh my god. That’s the summit everyone’s been talking about. That’s why Waters spoke to the Youli. He wanted to send a delegation! Next to me, Cole bounces on his toes. It’s probably taking every ounce of control for him to stay quiet.

  “Indeed. That is why it comesss at sss-such a sss-steep pricesss.” As the Alkalinian hisses and floats around the chamber floor, his long, scaly tail waves like an S in the air. His buddies stick near the admiral’s honor guard, watching their every move. “Of courssse, we are giving a deep disss-count to our new partnersss.”

  The admiral bows her head. “Your generosity is appreciated. With your access to intelligence and our military might, I have high expectations of a strong alliance between Alkalinia and Earth for years to come.”

  My feeling for these aliens can be summed up in one word: distrust. With the emotional vibe I’m getting from Mira, her word is disgust.

  The head Alkalinian speaks into a com device in a strange language of hisses and clicks. “It sss-seems you have met your sss-side of the bargain. I will transss-fer the coordinatesss.”

  “What about the map?” the admiral asks.

  “It is there, too. But first I have another requessst.”

  “We spent weeks negotiating terms, Seelok. The time for requests has passed.”

  “Thisss is not a demand, it is an invitation,” Seelok says as he circles the admiral. “I know you are training cadetsss. We invite you to sss-send the young Boundersss to Alkalinia for training, to sss-solidify our allian-ssse.”

  Alkalinia must be their home planet. The thought of sending Bounders there makes my skin crawl. I can’t imagine visiting those lizards on their home turf.

  “Thank you for your kind invitation,” Admiral Eames says, although something tells me she’s not too grateful. “The cadets are returning to Earth shortly, but we will discuss the possibility for a future tour of duty. Now, Seelok, I must insist you transfer the coordinates.”

  One of the Earth Force officers steps forward and lays the BPS case on a table set up on the platform. The Alkalinian flies his minithrone over and scans something into the coordinate sensor. The officer checks the BPS and nods at the admiral.

  “Thank you, friends,” she says. “My officers will see you out. Safe travels.”

  When the guards lead the Alkalinians to the rear tunnel, we cower in the cover of our carrel. As they fly by, I peek, catching a glimpse of the last Alkalinian’s scaly tail waving behind him.

  Down below, the admiral and her honor guard wait in silence until the Alkalinians are safely outside of earshot.

  “Thank goodness that’s done,” she says. “I couldn’t stand another minute of their slime.”

  Ridders reenters the chamber and confirms that the Alkalinian vessel immediately departed Gulagan airspace.

  “Excellent,” the admiral says. “It is time to test the Bounders in battle. Tomorrow we launch Operation Vermis, our offensive against the Youli. Primary target: intragalactic summit, Youli vessel.”

  She starts toward the ornately carved doors and stops. “Make sure to lift the shields. Now that we’ve partnered with the likes of the Alkalinians, we have to watch our backs.”

  We wait until everyone leaves the chamber before sneaking back to the Nest. When we finally arrive, I tell Marco, Cole, and Lucy what happened with Waters and the Youli at the Wacky outpost. They pepper me with questions, but I don’t have much to say. I’ve already told them everything I know.

  Mira rocks in the corner with a furry blanket wrapped around her. Lucy bites her lip as a lone tear snakes down her cheek. Marco paces back and forth. Cole sits on the bench jiggling his knees, with posture so straight he looks like a pole is stuck to his spine. Every few seconds, he asks another question I can’t answer.

  Eventually I can’t stand the questions anymore, mostly because I’m pretty sure he’s asking because he thinks I’m keeping secrets. “No! I don’t know what Waters planned to do at the summit! I don’t know anything about the history between Waters and the Youli! And I don’t know what Barrick and the Wackies have to do with it!”

  “Rebels,” Marco says.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Call them rebels. Wackies is derogatory. They’re rebels, not Wackies. And it’s the rebel outpost, not the Wacky outpost. This is a rebellion, Jasper. And it appears we’re caught in the middle.”

  “I’m not caught in the middle of anything,” Lucy says. “You said it yourself the other night, Marco. Waters has been keeping secrets all tour. Now we know why. He’s been meeting with our sworn enemy. I may not love Earth Force, but it’s clear whose side I’m on.”

  “How can you say that?” Marco jumps to his feet. “Tomorrow they’re sending kids—us—on a life-threatening military operation! You may be on Earth Force’s side, but they’re not on yours!”

  “They’re trying to protect the planet!” she screams. “You’re just looking for an excuse not to do your duty!”

  “I did not sign up for this! The entire Bounders programs is built on lies! You know that, Lucy! You’re just not willing to give up your Bounder star status!”

  Just as Lucy is about to skewer Marco, the door to the Nest flies open and Waters storms in. His hair sticks up in clumps, and there are mud stains on the knees of his pants. He’s breathing heavily, like he ran all the way here from the rebel outpost.

  He marches into my space and jabs a finger into the air between us. “I spent the better part of a decade laying the foundation for today’s meeting, and you go and blow it to bits! How could you do this?”

  My brain pulses. I know Mira is trying to tell me something, but I'm not listening. I've had enough. Enough of the secrets! Enough of the expectations! Enough of everything!

  I leap to my feet. “How could I do this? How could you do this? We’re at war with the Youli!”

  “Jasper Adams, you are way out of your depth,” Waters says.

  “If I’m out of my depth,” I say, “it’s because you’ve been keeping us in the dark!”

  “You know so very little about what’s happening,” Waters continues. “We were seconds away from getting invited to the summit! They were going to give us the coordinates!”

  “It’s the coordinates you want?” Marco stands and walks toward Waters with a stone-cold stare. “No problem. Now lay off Jasper and Mira. You’re the one who has explaining to do. Like Jasper said, you’re the one with the secrets.”

  Waters narrows his eyes at Marco. “What exactly do you mean no problem?”

  “I mean we have the coordinates. Or we will tomorrow, when Admiral Eames gives us the down and dirty on our mission.”

  Waters’s face goes slack. “What mission?”

  “Well, you see, Mr. Waters,” Lucy says, “we just so happened to be in the Parliament Chamber when this very important meeting took place between the admiral and these scary reptile aliens. And it turns out we have a new alliance with the Alkalinians where basically they sell us secrets in exchange for occludium. So now we have the coordinates for the intragalactic summit and the Youli docking station, which, according to Admiral Eames, is good news because she’s planning to send the Bounders to battle there tomorrow. So that’s what mission.”

  Waters’s face is stuck, like he’s replaying what Lucy says over and over but it doesn’t compute. “Are you saying that Alkalinians were here? On Gulaga?”

  “This was classic military bartering, Mr. Waters,” Cole says. “The Alkalinians sold us secrets. They must be intelligence brokers.”

  “To put it more than nicely,” Waters says. “The Alkalinians are bottom of the barrel, scum, worse than fleas on fleas on dogs. I simply refuse to believe what you’re telling me. Even Eames wouldn’t stoop so low as to fraternize with the Alkalinians.”

  “Oh, she has,” Marco says coolly. “Just as she’s stooped so low as to send kids to their deaths in the interest of Earth Force. There’s that. And let’s add to the list that Admiral Eames—and you, Mr. Wa
ters—have withheld information from the planet Earth about the existence of not one, but at least two alien species. There’s that, too. And let me take a wild guess and say that you didn’t plan to tell Jasper’s and Mira’s parents that you implanted alien technology into their brains. I really hate to say that, Mr. Waters, because I can’t believe you’d stoop so low.”

  Waters sinks to the ground. He buries his head in his hands. Lucy looks at me. I shrug. I have no idea what to do. I’m not about to apologize for busting up his meeting. Or for telling my pod mates about the brain patches. Just like Eames, he planned to put us in harm’s way without our true consent. Waters might have the right motives, but his methods fall far short.

  Waters presses his hands against his knees and stands. “I . . . I don’t know what . . . I need to find Gedney.” He staggers out of the Nest.

  “It had to be said,” Marco says once Waters is gone.

  “I know,” I say. “It just sounds really awful when you say it out loud.”

  Cole sinks onto the squishy bench. “I can’t believe tomorrow we’re going to war.”

  “Remember, it’s all about the pod,” Lucy says.

  “The pod doesn’t mean that much if we’re dead,” I say as I sit on the furry carpet and lean back against the bench.

  Mira rests her head on my shoulder, and the notes from the song we shared on the tundra snake their way into my mind.

  25

  THE NEXT MORNING, THEY WAKE us two hours earlier than normal. Senior officers bark orders, instructing us to dress in operations gear and prepare for a postbreakfast briefing with Admiral Eames in the Parliament Chamber.

  “Fun and games are over, kids,” Marco says, swinging down from his bunk. “Time to report for soldier duty.”

  “I knew they’d send us to our deaths sooner or later,” Regis says. “All hail Earth Force.”

  I laugh then cough to cover up the fact that I’m laughing. Did I just have a moment of solidarity with Regis? This is proof that I’m viewing this as us versus them. Cadets versus officers. Bounders versus typicals. Kids versus grown-ups.

  I’m just not used to being on the same side of versus as Regis.

  I have to shake that mind-set. If we’re going to stand a chance at carrying out our mission and arriving home safely, I need to be on the same side as Earth Force. Earth versus Youli.

  After breakfast, we’re marched to the Parliament Chamber. It’s noisy with chatter, grunts, and voice-box translations. Many Earth Force officers—both Earthlings and Gulagans—are already present.

  When we walk in, Neeka rushes to our side. “Oh! Oh! I’m not sure what’s happening, but I had to find you! Father has been chattering about an important mission! I’m so worried! Even for you, Marco!”

  “Thanks, Neeksters.” Marco lowers his voice and extends his hand. “I’m sorry again about you-know-what.”

  “Oh! You are most forgiven!” Neeka grips his palm with her paw. “I can’t stay! I’m not even supposed to be present! They only let me in because I said I had a message from Father.” Neeka hugs each of us with her furry arms then scurries from the chamber.

  “Do you think we’ll ever see her again?” Lucy asks as we watch Neeka go.

  “Of course we will, DQ,” Marco says, but his voice lacks its usual confidence.

  Minutes later, Sheek arrives flanked by cameramen from EFAN. They’re going to film this? You must be joking. Sheek takes the podium as the cameramen get in position. He lifts his chin for a right-side angle then tips his head for the left.

  “We’re about to go to battle, and he’s posing for the cameras?” Marco says.

  As it turns out, the filming is quick and limited. Sheek gives some Rah! Rah! Go Bounders! cheers for the camera, along with some crowd shots. After, Ridders announces Admiral Eames, and there are more crowd shots of everyone standing at attention. Then the EFAN crew is ushered out of the chamber. Gedney slips in just as the doors close on the camera crew.

  The admiral gestures for silence. I don’t need a brain patch to sense that the room sizzles with anticipation. Even though we don’t know the specifics of the mission, we know it’s serious. And we know it involves the Youli, which means it’s dangerous.

  “In three hours we will be commencing Operation Vermis, our formal counterstrike against the Youli for their attack on the Paleo Planet. This military operation has been months in the making.

  “We just received intelligence indicating the exact coordinates for an intragalactic summit between the Youli and their allies in the Outer Arm. Captain Han will review the battle plan.”

  Han steps to the podium and activates a projection of the Milky Way galaxy in the center of the Chamber. He zooms in on the Outer Arm, and then zooms again to the coordinates, revealing a relatively clear zone. That must be the location of the intragalactic summit.

  “An advance team will bound to the coordinates and detonate a diruo pulse to disrupt their shields and systems. Then our quantum fleet will bound to the coordinates and act as a decoy, engaging in disruptive maneuvers to confuse and distract the enemy.

  “At the same time, a small stealth unit will bound directly inside the Youli vessel. The specifics of that mission are classified, but the potential impact could permanently change the course of the war in our favor.”

  Han goes on to explain the decoy maneuvers in detail. I really should pay attention, but I can’t help thinking about the stealth unit bounding inside the Youli ship. It sounds just like the Navy SEALs, the old American military units trained in small, insular groups to carry out deadly missions in complete independence.

  Which sounds kind of like a pod.

  And kind of like what we’ve been preparing for all tour in the Tundra Trials.

  When I tune back in, Ridders is standing at the podium. “Officers, cadets, please proceed directly to the space elevator. Your captains will explain the mission in more detail at the staging area. Waters’s pod, please stay behind for a secondary briefing.”

  Marco catches my eye. “Stealth unit?”

  Could that be it? Are they ordering our pod to bound to the Youli vessel?

  As Regis walks by our carrel, he laughs. “I’d be jealous, if I didn’t like living so much.”

  Chants rise up as the cadets march out of the chamber:

  “Birthright, Bounders fight!”

  “Birthright, Bounders fight!”

  “Birthright, Bounders fight!”

  When the other cadets and officers have left, and the chamber falls silent, Ridders waves us down to the floor. Only Gedney and a handful of elite officers remain.

  Admiral Eames leaves the podium and joins our pod. “You’ve been selected for the stealth operation aboard the Youli vessel.” Her voice is quiet, concentrated. It’s the same tone I’ve heard her use with her inner circle, Ridders and Han and the other aeronauts. I feel myself getting sucked in by her attention. There is no mystery why she’s admiral. She makes you want to please her.

  “I am not going to parse words,” she continues. “What you’re being asked to do is extremely dangerous. I can’t guarantee your safety. But I can assure you that you’ve been chosen based on your skills, and that we have every reason to believe that the mission will be a success. You will bound by quantum ship piloted by Captain Han to the summit coordinates. As soon as you arrive, Captain Han will detonate the diruo pulse, and you will free-bound to the Youli vessel. Once there, you will make your way to the systems room. When you locate the bio server, you will install a patch carrying a preloaded virus.”

  Patch? Like . . . ? Mira lifts her hand to the back of her neck. Yeah, like that.

  The admiral turns to Gedney. “Kindly explain the patch placement.”

  “Yes, Admiral,” Gedney says. “The patch contains Youli prime cells. When the patch is fused with bio material, the cells contained in the patch merge with the host cells and start to create new pathways. The technology was intended to create pathways for growth and development—”


  “Mr. Gedney,” the admiral interrupts. “Please simply explain the logistics of the patch placement.”

  Gedney shakes his head but continues, “We’ve imprinted a viral worm on the patch that will forge pathways into the Youli systems and degrade those systems over time. Once the patches are planted, the subsequent degradation should be system-wide.”

  “So this patch will shut down the Youli systems?” Cole asks, his eyes as big as dinner plates.

  “Not right away,” Admiral Eames says. “In fact, once they get their systems back online from the diruo pulse, the Youli should perceive no difference whatsoever. That’s the beauty of Mr. Gedney’s patch. By the time the damage starts, we’ll be long gone.”

  The admiral beams at Gedney. You’d think he’d be basking in her praise. Instead, he hangs his head.

  The door to the Parliament Chamber flies open and Waters rushes in. “Admiral, a word?”

  “We’re in a closed session, Jon. I will speak with you after today’s successful operation.”

  “About that—”

  “I’m not sure how you got past my guards, Jon, but this meeting contains classified information above your clearance.”

  Waters opens his mouth like he’s about to shoot back a retort. He pauses, looks around at the bevy of soldiers holding guns, and shakes his head. In a quiet voice, he asks, “If I can just have a minute with Gedney and my pod.”

  The admiral sizes up Waters, and I’m not sure whether she’ll agree. She waits until Waters drops his head like a dog cowering before an alpha. “One minute, Jon. The cadets need to get to the space elevator right away.”

  “Yes, of course, Admiral.”

  Admiral Eames and the other officers head for the doors.

  Seconds later, it’s just Waters, Gedney, and our pod standing in a circle on the chamber floor. If it wasn’t for the horrible circumstances, this would be a nice remember-when moment.

  “If you just give me the coordinates—” Waters starts.