“Uh, you came to destroy us,” Drue muttered under his breath.
Ricardo looked back at him and glared. Drue didn’t say anything else.
Benny stared at the commander, trying, impossibly, to place himself in Vala’s shoes. The humans were putting up more of a fight than the Alpha Maraudi had expected. They were defeated, if only momentarily. But of course that was probably enough to instill fear in them. Or at least worry. This wasn’t just a space battle they’d lost—their entire civilization was on the line.
So was his.
“Look,” Benny said. “Those Space Runners were from Earth, yeah, but they don’t represent everyone on the planet. We came to your ship because we need each other’s help.”
“Help?” Vala asked. A tentacle unwound from the elaborate headdress and reached down, removing the commander’s gold mask and pulling it up, placing it in front of the glowing red orb. Two diamond-shaped eyes stared back at Benny, white with flickering red pupils. In the center of Vala’s head, a third eye burned a stunning blue.
Benny heard a few of the others gasp behind him.
“What ‘help’ do you bring the Alpha Maraudi?” Vala asked. “Perhaps I am misunderstanding the idea.”
“I spoke with Commander Tull,” Benny said slowly, trying to choose his words carefully. “You expected to destroy humanity and take Earth as your own as a means to save your people. I get that. But humanity isn’t going to just let that happen.” He pointed to the hologram. “Obviously.”
“You are here to threaten us, then.”
“No.” Ricardo stepped forward. “We’re here to work with you.”
“There has to be a way to save your people and ours,” Benny said.
“There’s so much we can teach each other,” Jasmine piped up from the back.
“We have learned all we need to of you and your kind,” Vala said, inching closer to the hologram, staring at the alien ships being torn apart in the sky above the Taj.
“If that were true, you would’ve taken the Lunar Taj,” Trevone said. “And we would never have been able to board your ship.”
Vala turned back to them, but said nothing.
“Listen,” Benny said. “I don’t want either of our species to become extinct, but not all humanity thinks that way. The people you’re fighting right now have a superweapon that could destroy your entire planet before you ever got the chance to evacuate. And there are people who are ready to use it against you.”
“This isn’t the easy invasion you might have expected,” Ricardo said. “This is a war now.”
“What if in trying to save your people—and in us trying to save ourselves—we end up destroying each other?” Benny asked.
The room filled with the sounds of minor chords as the Alpha Maraudi all began to speak in unison. Vala raised a slender four-fingered hand, trying to appease them. “Why should we believe you?”
Benny walked closer to the commander, until he was a few feet in front of the alien. He tossed his silver magnetic glove onto the floor of the bridge. “Look at us. We’re not an army. We could have just stayed on the Moon and let them use whatever superweapon they have against you. But we didn’t. We came here to warn you.” He paused. “Also, we kind of want to bring other people to your ship. There are more of us, a small group on the Moon. We’re caught in the crossfire.”
Vala stepped closer, until the alien was only inches away from Benny, staring down at him, twice his height. “Such short life spans you have. So young. The plants you walked through existed for many cycles before you ever drew breath.”
“We are just trying to survive,” Benny said. “The same as you. We’re each other’s best chances of doing that. This is much bigger than any of us. Commander Tull told me the Alpha Maraudi were peaceful and valued reason. You may have been pushed to attack us out of desperation, but there have to be other options.”
“Working together,” Ricardo said, the others gathering beside him, “you’d be surprised at what we can do.”
Vala looked over Benny’s shoulder at his friends, and then at the silver glove on the floor. The commander grunted. “Of course, you are not saying what is also true. You have us at a disadvantage.” The alien bent down and took the silver glove in its hand. “You would take the ship anyway, if we fought against you. Or you would try.”
Benny didn’t say anything.
Vala looked down at the glove. “So unexpected.” The commander looked up at Benny. “And then again, not. Young human, it is possible we know your kind better than you know yourselves. This is why I believe you when you speak of a weapon that might destroy our home.”
The commander turned to one of the robed Maraudi and barked some kind of order. The sounds of the alien language filled the air of the bridge—they seemed to be arguing with each other. Eventually, Vala’s mouth opened wide and a single sound came out. It was beautiful, ringing through the bridge like the final chord of a symphony. Afterward, it was quiet again.
Vala looked back to Benny. “We will grant you and your like-kind passage on our ship for now. It is possible we do have things to learn from one another. You are lucky you stand in front of one who lives up to the Maraudi’s principles of reason and peace. Of knowledge.” Vala turned, walking back toward the hologram. Then the commander paused, looking back over an armored shoulder. “But if you try to harm anyone or our home planet in some way—if this is some sort of trick—I will not hesitate to destroy this ship and everyone on it to protect my people.”
Benny nodded slowly. “Understood.”
“There are some here who are not comfortable sharing a vessel with such a destructive species.”
“We’re the danger?” Hot Dog asked quietly behind Benny.
“They can understand us?” Jasmine asked.
“We live much longer cycles than you do,” the commander said. “And we champion the study of cultures other than our own. Most can understand your language, though it is difficult for us to speak. They know your world well. As such, those who do not wish to share this bridge with you will disembark in our smaller ships. As the commander of this vessel, I am allowing them to do so. Now, send for your people. But they must be quick.” The commander looked at the hologram, where so few of the Maraudi ships remained in motion. One tentacle moved, bringing the gold mask back down over the alien’s eyes as it reached out a hand, fingers hovering just above the Taj. “We cannot stay here long.”
“Thank you,” Benny said. He hurried back to his group.
“This isn’t really how I imagined this going,” Trevone said. Beside him Ricardo kept his eyes locked on the aliens, not relaxing at all.
Benny took a few deep breaths. “I kind of made it up as I went along.”
Drue grinned. “I guess some of my charm must’ve rubbed off on you.”
“The point is it worked, you guys!” Hot Dog said.
“I’ll contact Sahar and the others immediately,” Trevone said.
“Tell them to bring supplies,” Jasmine said. “Food, medical equipment—who knows what they have on this ship.”
“Uh, maybe some extra space suits?” Hot Dog suggested.
Ramona glanced up from her HoloTek. “I require snacks and soda.”
30.
Benny and the rest of the Moon Platoon stayed on the bridge while Trevone and Ricardo went with a group of the aliens back to the hangar to await the arrival of everyone from the underground bunker. Benny noticed that both of the Pit Crew members kept their fists clenched, ready to use the magnetic gloves at a moment’s notice.
Several of the Alpha Maraudi chose to leave, fleeing the mother ship for destinations unknown to Benny. In the end, there were only six aliens on board with them, including Commander Vala. Benny hardly thought to wonder where the others might be headed in the vastness of the universe—he was much more concerned with where they would be going next.
“My priority is to leave the immediate reach of Earth’s forces,” Vala said when Benny asked. “O
ur original mission was to collect samples from the moons of the planet you call Jupiter, before we were diverted to your Moon after what happened to Tull. A few of our scholars are still on those satellites. We will return there for the time being, as we discover what sort of ‘help’ we can offer each other.”
“Scholars,” Jasmine said, a hint of excitement in her voice.
Vala leaned back in the egg-like throne. “We have much to discuss once we begin this journey.” A few other aliens leaned in close to their commander, speaking quietly.
Benny and his friends gathered around the hologram in the center of the bridge. Silver Space Runners were beginning to land in the courtyard of the Lunar Taj, troops filtering out, charging into the resort. They were taking it back. He wondered where Dr. Bale and Drue’s dad were inside. What were they planning? How much time did they have before they tried to use this superweapon of Dr. Bale’s?
“You know,” Drue said, “I didn’t expect to feel so weird about leaving the Taj behind.”
Hot Dog glanced at him for a split second before turning her gaze back to the aliens in the room. She’d hardly taken her eyes off them the entire time they’d been there. “It’s not the Taj you’re sad about,” she said. “We’re leaving Earth, too.”
“And everyone on it,” Benny added, turning to the translucent quartz window behind Vala’s egg throne and looking at the hazy blue-and-brown ball in the distance. Wishing so badly that he had a clearer view.
What were his grandmother and brothers doing? He realized he wasn’t even sure what time or day it was anymore, or how long he’d been in space. Eventually, his family would start to worry about him, once it became clear that he wasn’t returning from his EW-SCAB vacation after two weeks. His stomach churned as he thought about this, not wanting to worry them. He could feel pressure building behind his eyes—there was still so much to do, so many things that could go wrong.
But he reminded himself he was trying to do what was right, and he couldn’t let fear keep him from fighting for that. He hoped for the best.
“Benzo,” Ramona said, interrupting his thoughts. “Hit that wrist hardware.”
He stared back at her for a moment. “You mean . . . the bracelet?”
She clicked her tongue. Benny tapped on the silver loop, causing another him to appear by his side.
An alien made a crackling sound behind him.
“It’s all right,” Benny said, waving his hand through his clone. “It’s just a hologram.”
Ramona took out her Taj HoloTek and hit a few buttons. The hologram changed, and Pinky was standing in front of them.
The AI crossed her arms. “Okay, that’s the last time I get stuck in your datapad,” she said to Ramona, her voice piping out of their collars. Then she turned to Benny. “You don’t mind if I borrow this for a while, do you? It’s not quite the tech I had at the Taj, but there are some cameras and sensors in these nanoprojectors. At least this way I can tell what’s going on.”
“Not at all,” he said. “It’s kind of nice to see you.”
“Are you in contact with the Taj?” Jasmine asked.
“Not from all the way up here,” she said. “We’re lucky I could even get in touch with Sahar and the others via the radio.” She turned around in a full circle, taking in the bridge. “This is . . . certainly a lot to process. Perhaps once we know more about their technology . . .”
The hologram in the center of the room suddenly rippled, as though it were made of water and someone had tossed a stone into it. A ribbon of green appeared above it, looping—dancing in the air.
“What’s happening?” Benny asked.
“A communication,” Vala said, standing and walking toward them. “I sent out a distress beacon the moment you broke into this room, explaining that humans had infiltrated my ship.” Vala glanced at him, a flash of blue shining behind the gold mask. “We did not know what you were here for.”
“So who’s calling back?” Jasmine asked.
Vala’s tentacles all seemed to constrict at once. “I must warn you now that you should not mistake my actions for any sort of unity between our peoples. Many of the Alpha Maraudi will not be pleased with this development.” The alien turned to the hologram. “Certainly not this commander.”
Vala stepped forward and said something in the Maraudi language. The hologram in the center of the room morphed in front of them, until there was another alien standing in the center of the room, a clear quartz throne in the background. Two thick tentacles were raised above its head like slick black horns. Unlike Vala, its body was thick, muscled, and bulging beneath a gemlike breastplate.
“Commander Tull,” Benny said.
“Oh, crap,” Hot Dog said.
Tull’s wide mouth twisted. “You.” There was a pause. “What a problem you have become.”
And then Vala and Tull were speaking to each other in their own tongue. Benny couldn’t be sure, but it sounded as though they were disagreeing, shouting over each other. Finally, Vala spoke for a long time, uninterrupted, and Tull’s reaction was simply to grunt.
Tull turned to Benny. “This weapon,” the commander said. “You will tell us everything you know about it.”
Benny opened his mouth to speak, but realized how little they actually did know. Finally, he just nodded. “Like I told Commander Vala, we can work together and help each other.”
Tull’s lips curved into something like a smile. “Perhaps. It would be in your interest to keep us happy. As I recall from my observations of your world, this one is quite popular. I am certain you’ll want to keep him safe.”
Tull motioned to something offscreen, and in a flash there was another hologram, someone pushed into view. A man now stood in front of them wearing a deep maroon space suit. A gold mask had been placed over his eyes, but Benny could make out the three stripes shaved into the man’s short, auburn beard. And of course, he recognized the gold-studded driving gloves on his hands, which were bound in front of him.
“It’s . . .” Hot Dog started.
“Elijah!” Pinky shouted.
Drue gasped. Jasmine raised a hand to her mouth. Even Ramona looked up from her HoloTek.
“Somebody get Ricardo,” Benny said, his heart ramming against his rib cage.
One of Tull’s tentacles reached over and pulled the mask from Elijah West’s face. Elijah blinked for a moment as his pupils adjusted to the light, and then he was staring back at Benny and the others. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at them, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
“Benny,” he finally said, raising an eyebrow. “What in the name of the Milky Way galaxy have you done with my resort?”
About the Author
PHOTO BY DRUE DAVIS
JERAMEY KRAATZ is the author of the Space Runners series and the Cloak Society series, and he is a graduate of the MFA writing program at Columbia University. He’s actually pretty scared of outer space. Jeramey lives in Texas, where he sometimes teaches, sometimes writes cartoon scripts, and is always up for queso. You can find him at www.jerameykraatz.com or on Twitter@jerameykraatz.
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Books by Jeramey Kraatz
Space Runners #1: The Moon Platoon
Space Runners #2: Dark Side of the Moon
The Cloak Society
Villains Rising
Fall of Heroes
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Copyright
SPACE RUNNERS: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON. Copyright © 2018 by Full Fathom Five, LLC. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express
written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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Cover art by Antonio Javier Caparo
Cover design by David Curtis
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017942895
Digital Edition © FEBRUARY 2018 ISBN: 9780062446022
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-244600-8
1819202122PC/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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Dark Side of the Moon Page 23