Cole jerks his head from side to side and balls his hands into fists. The variables are not falling into place for him.
“Come on, Cole,” I say. “Don’t pull a Desmond.”
Marco steps closer. His hands are balled into fists, too. “Don’t hold this up, Dr. Do-Good! It won’t be the first time you’ve gone against orders. Don’t draw a line in the sand that doesn’t exist.”
“Please, Cole,” Lucy says, taking Cole’s hand. “Just help us find the tube. If we get caught, we’ll just say we were exploring. The pod needs to stick together—you know, H2Os5.”
Waters’s Five. That’s the name Cole came up for us back on Gulaga for the Tundra Trials. Waters may not be around anymore, but reminding Cole of our pod nickname might be enough to push him into our corner.
Cole throws up his hands. “Fine. This one time. But don’t expect me to like it.”
Marco claps his hands and starts down the hall. “Great. Let’s plan while we walk back.”
I slap Cole on the back and take off after Marco. “For starters, we’ll need an excuse to walk around the Alkalinian Seat without an escort. That’s the only way we’ll find the tube. And the tube is our ticket over to the other side if we have to take out the shield.”
“I have an idea,” Lucy says, skipping to the head of our group. “Two words: Maximilian Sheek.”
Lucy’s plan hinges on Sheek. She’ll convince him to host a party for the Alkalinians in the Earth Force chambers back at the Seat. Sheek will give a long-winded speech about the history of Earth Force and how happy we are to forge the alliance with the Alks and all that nonsense. We’ll position ourselves near the back and slip out unnoticed while everyone’s distracted. (At least, that’s the plan.)
Cole—who’s still extremely disgruntled and particularly annoyed at Marco—thinks he can get us roughly to where the tube connects, based on our external observations from the Frog. I’m glad he’s confident, because all I feel on this planet is claustrophobic and confused. I would never be able to navigate to the tube.
When we reach the hangar, Lucy immediately tracks down Sheek. We hang back, but I can tell by the way he’s gesturing with his hands and laughing that he thinks Lucy’s suggestion to throw a party is a great idea. As soon as she turns to walk back to our group, Sheek leaves the hangar and heads for the room where we met with Admiral Eames.
Gedney and the juniors are in the hangar practicing with their blast packs. When he sees us, he passes out some protein bars and tells us to eat, then fly. He doesn’t even ask us where we’ve been. I don’t know if that means he’s giving us a longer leash as his senior pod or if it’s a Better for you if I don’t know situation. After all, he’s safer in the dark. If we share with him what we’re planning, he might feel even more torn than Cole. He might decide he needs to tell the admiral.
Of course, Addy gives me the third degree about where we’ve been as soon as I set foot in the hangar. I blow her off, but I know it’s only temporary. She’ll be back for info soon, and she’ll be relentless.
By the time we’re wrapping up to head back to the Alkalinian Seat, word has spread that Sheek is holding a reception in the Earth Force chambers, and it might even be filmed for future EFAN clips.
“Looks like your Sheek plan worked,” I whisper to Lucy as we climb aboard the Frog.
“Did you ever really doubt me?” she asks.
“Does this mean we’ll miss dinner?” Desmond asks. “I was looking forward to my egg salad sandwich with extra relish.”
“That’s what you picked?” I ask. “You could have anything in the galaxy, and you picked an egg salad sandwich?”
“Yes,” he says, “with extra relish.”
“It’s true,” Minjae says. “Don’t stop by our room at dinnertime. It stinks.”
Steve escorts us directly from the Frog to the room in the Seat that’s set up as Earth Force chambers. Most officers and cadets are already here, and some of Seelok’s top advisers buzz around on their thrones. Ridders and Han stand near the door talking with a couple of high-ranking Alks. Bad Breath is in the corner sulking. He’s wearing his Earth Force uniform—Admiral Eames probably made him return his gold suit and jewels. So far there’s no sign of Seelok, Sheek, or the admiral.
“What do we do?” Lucy asks.
“Hang by the door,” Marco answers. “Once we’re able to ditch, we’ll head back to the siphon port and through those rear doors. The Alks always exit that way, so they must lead somewhere.”
“Of course they lead somewhere,” Cole says. He’s still annoyed at Marco.
I shake my head, hoping Marco will just ignore Cole. “The rear doors are as good a start as any to find a route to the lower levels,” I say, inserting myself between the two of them to cut down on the chance that they’ll start arguing and draw unwanted attention to our pod.
Our junior cadets appear in the chambers and head in our direction. Addy slides in between me and Marco.
Moments later Sheek shows up with the admiral and her honor guard. An EFAN cameraman trails behind him. Apparently, Sheek travels with a personal camera crew.
There’s still no sign of Seelok. He must want to make a grand entrance.
“Why are they filming?” I ask. “I thought the whole existence of the Alks was a secret.”
“Someday it won’t be,” Lucy says. “And I, for one, want to make sure I’m on film.” She steps in the direction of the camera.
“Drama Queen!” Marco whisper-shouts. “The plan!”
Lucy sighs and reluctantly returns to our group.
Finally Seelok appears at the door flanked by two Alks. He traded up in the throne department for this event. His flying chair is gold with shiny, iridescent trim like the inside of a clamshell. On his head he wears a woven net of sapphires.
“It sss-seemsss we have rea-ssson to sss-selebrate!” Seelok says. He waves his cyborg arm and the room shifts. The walls morph into mirrors that flash every color of the spectrum. The table in the center of the room disappears, and a dozen tall cocktail tables appear in its place. A bar in the corner has rows of fancy glasses and bottles.
The EFAN cameraman races around the room catching everything on camera. Then he zooms in on Seelok and films his every move. Seelok tips his head left, then right. He lifts his cyborg arm and twists it in a figure-eight wave to the crowd.
“Is it just me?” Lucy asks. “Or is he imitating Sheek?”
“Totally,” Addy says, rolling her eyes.
Lucy smiles at my sister. I think it’s the first moment of bonding they’ve had. Maybe they’re destined to be friends after all.
Seelok glides to a position of honor next to the admiral. He hisses at the Alks in the room, and they all bow their heads.
“Thank you, Admiral,” Seelok says, “for inviting usss to your chambersss for what I’m sss-sure will be an entertaining affair.”
“The thanks belong to Captain Sheek,” Admiral Eames says. “This reception was his idea. I’ll turn things over to him.”
Sheek crosses to the center of the room and smiles to the crowd. He gestures for the cameraman to pan around the room. Then, once the lens is focused on Sheek’s face, he tips his head left and right, elongating his neck and widening his eyes for the camera.
Only once all the posing is done does he start to speak.
“Good afternoon. I am Maximilian Sheek.”
The room swells with claps, clicks, and hisses.
“Are you kidding me?” Addy whispers.
“Thank you so much,” Sheek continues. “Alkalinians, or let me say friends, the citizens of Earth are so grateful for your hospitality and kindness to extend your home to us for the EarthBound Academy cadets’ third tour of duty. I know as Director of Bounder Affairs, I am incredibly glad that we’ve forged this powerful alliance. And may I just add that these changes you’ve made to the room are totally swank.”
Again the room explodes with noise.
Sheek waves his hands. “With our pla
nets united, the galaxy has no limits. Am I right?”
Everyone in the room screams and claps. Then a unified cheer rises up:
“Birthright, Bounders fight!
Birthright, Bounders fight!
Birthright, Bounders fight!”
Marco bumps my hip and nods at the exit. Lucy is already headed in that direction. I glance at Cole and Mira and nod, and we make our way toward the door. When we circle up in the hall, my whole pod is there.
My whole pod and Addy.
“What are you doing?” I ask my sister.
“Looks like whatever you’re about to do is a lot more fun than listening to Sheek. So I’m coming with you.”
“It’s not fun, it’s dangerous,” Lucy says. “Go back and listen like a good little junior cadet.”
“What did you say?” Addy glares at Lucy. Whatever girl bonding they shared a moment ago just went up in smoke.
“Seriously, Addy,” I say. “This isn’t for you. Go back inside.”
“I can’t believe you’re taking her side!” she says.
“Quiet!” Cole says. “We need to go!”
Marco takes off down the hall. He calls over his shoulder, “Let’s go, Adeline! You can come with me!”
Addy grins and runs to catch Marco.
I stand there, completely unable to move. I don’t want Addy coming with us, but why exactly? Am I protecting her? Am I annoyed that Marco told her to come along with him? I thought this was all about the pod. Our pod doesn’t include Addy.
Lucy and Cole run to catch Marco. Lucy throws me a nasty look over her shoulder.
Mira takes my hand. Let’s go.
Well, I guess Addy’s coming with us.
Mira and I chase after the others. Just as Lucy predicted, there’s not an Alk in sight. Probably most of them went to hear Sheek, but it’s strange.
“You ever wonder why there aren’t more Alks?” I ask. “Or if there are more, where?”
“We do keep seeing the same thirty guys over and over again,” Marco says.
“Maybe they’re on the lower levels,” Lucy says.
“One more reason to be quick and quiet,” Cole says, waving us forward.
We dash across the empty siphon port and through the rear doors used by the Alks, where we’re dumped into a hub of crossing hallways. On the opposite wall there’s a door with a keypad that looks like it might be an elevator.
Marco and I keep guard while Cole inspects the keypad. “I’m ninety percent sure it’s a lift,” Cole says, “and this looks pretty straightforward, as long as it doesn’t set off any alarms.” He presses a green button in the center, and the door slides open.
We crowd inside what we hope is an elevator. An interior control panel has buttons arranged in a vertical line and labeled in Alkalinian.
“Hmmm . . . I’m not sure what this is all about,” Cole says, surveying the control panel.
“When in doubt, go with common sense,” Addy says. She pushes the lowest button on the panel.
We all turn to stare at her. “Why’d you do that?” I ask.
She shrugs. “Odds are the lowest button will take us to the lowest floor.”
“Sounds about right,” Marco says as the elevator engages and starts to descend. He looks over at Addy, and they share a huge grin.
“Good thing that worked,” Lucy says. “Or you would have brought this mission to a quick end.”
“Good thing I pushed the button,” Addy says, “or who knows how long we’d be waiting for someone to do something?”
Before Lucy or anyone else can respond, Addy grabs Cole and me by the forearms. “Remember when we planned to hack the lift in Americana East? You guys owe me a joyride!”
“I had my fair share of elevators last tour, thank you very much,” I say, shaking free of Addy’s grasp.
I glance at Mira, and she squeezes my hand. Me, too, she thinks.
I haven’t even been able to adjust to our apartment building’s lift system after what happened on the Gulagan space elevator last tour. Mira and I watched as the Youli broke the elevator shaft in two. The cab was propelled off the shaft and collided with the space dock. Everyone in the cab was killed. Mira and I barely made it off the dock alive.
The elevator stops, and the door slides back. Marco leans out, then waves the rest of us forward.
As we spill out of the elevator, Cole says, “By my estimates, we need to make it roughly five hundred meters north and two hundred meters west to reach the approximate location of the tube.”
We take off down the hall. From the looks of it, this is where the Alkalinians sleep. Maybe. The rooms look more like hospital rooms than bedrooms. They’re all white and devoid of any personal items. Each room has ten beds, and next to each bed is a metal stand with tubes connected to the floor. But since there’s not a single Alk in any of them, I have to guess they’re not hospital beds.
The hallway goes on. We pass lots of opportunities to turn off, but Cole stays the course.
“Will you remember how to get back?” I ask.
“We haven’t made any turns, Ace,” Marco says.
Then why do I feel so turned around?
Don’t worry, Mira says.
Cole comes to an abrupt halt just before the next intersecting hallway. “I hear something up ahead.”
“Let me do the honors.” Marco pushes Cole aside and creeps to the end of the hall. He peers around the corner, then spins back to us. “He’s right. There are Alks up there. But they don’t look like the Alks upstairs. They look even more like snakes.”
“Like Serena?” Lucy asks.
“Yeah, but not so big and old,” Marco says.
Addy jogs ahead and peers around the corner.
I yank her back. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Seeing for myself, that’s what.”
“You’re going to get us busted,” Lucy says.
Addy rolls her eyes. “Those things look exactly like the other Alks. They just aren’t sitting on flying thrones and don’t have cyborg arms. They’re like the ones who showed up on the scooters when we first arrived.”
“Why do they have arms and the others don’t?” Lucy asks.
“They have cyborg arms, remember?” Cole says. “Alks must amputate their natural limbs when they install the robotic ones. I’m guessing it’s a status symbol.”
“It doesn’t matter what their arms look like,” Marco says. “We have to get by them.”
“Let me take a look.” I sneak up to the corner and slowly lean forward.
Half a dozen Alks cruise on scooters like the escorts Addy mentioned. They’re transporting something down a long, narrow hall. As one turns into a room near our end of the hall, I get a clear view of what he’s carrying on the rear of his scooter. There’s a tray loaded with small glass vials filled with yellow liquid.
Whoa. My stomach twists, and my heart jumps into my throat.
I’ve seen those before.
A vial. Yellow liquid. A syringe plunged deep into my neck.
20
I WHIRL BACK TO MY pod mates. “Those vials! I’ve seen them in my dreams!”
“Quiet!” Lucy whisper-shouts. “They’ll hear us.”
“Right.” I try to steady my breath and lower my voice. “Remember how I described the testing? The Alks have been injecting us with whatever’s in those vials.”
“Are you sure?” Lucy asks.
I nod as a shiver rips through me. What on earth is going on here? What are the Alks doing to us at night? Whatever they’re planning, it’s no good. They’ve duped Admiral Eames. And I have a growing suspicion that we’re about to be blindsided in a big way.
“What are you talking about? What testing?” Addy asks.
“He’ll explain later,” Marco says. “We have to get by those Alks.”
He’s right. We have to stay on track, or this whole plan is a bust.
Just then the door next to us opens, and out scoots one of the Alks. He almost plows
directly into Lucy, but he course-corrects around her.
“We . . . um . . . we . . . um . . . we . . . ,” Cole stammers.
Marco elbows Cole. “Shut up, Wiki. He doesn’t understand you.”
The Alk turns and disappears down the hall where we spotted the others. On the back of his scooter is a tray of eggs.
“That was weird,” Addy says. “Obviously he saw us. He just didn’t seem to care.”
No emotions, Mira says.
You’re right. “Mira says the guy didn’t give off any emotional vibes.”
“Was he carrying eggs?” Lucy asks.
“We can talk later!” Marco says. “We’ve got to move! Cole, let’s find an alternative route.”
“Wait a second,” Addy says. “We don’t need another route. Those Alks don’t care that we’re down here. That guy didn’t even notice. I say we just walk down the hall like we know what we’re doing. Maybe we can even learn something about those vials in the process.”
“You have a point,” Marco says.
Lucy puts her hands on her hips. “You’re not possibly saying you think that’s a good idea.”
“We can’t get across that hall without them seeing us,” Marco says. “We might as well act like we belong here. I bet that’s the quickest way to the tunnel, too.”
“Let’s not stand around talking about it. Come on!” Addy turns the corner and heads up the hall.
Marco is right behind her.
“Jasper!” Lucy says. “You have got to control your sister!”
“Have you met Addy?” I ask. “That’s not going to happen.”
Lucy glares at me for another solid second and then storms around the corner.
Cole, Mira, and I follow Lucy. The hall is not so different from many of the ones we’ve been down before, although this one is a flurry of activity. Alks like the one we just saw are zooming up and down the hall on their low scooters. Most of them carry the tiny vials. One of the Alks zooms so close I could pluck a vial off his tray.
Just like Addy predicted, none of them seem to care about us. They’re just doing their jobs. We hurry down the hall, following Marco and Addy. Marco looks over his shoulder. He points to a room at his side and then rushes on.
The Forgotten Shrine Page 18