скачать книгу бесплатно
“Because as soon as you got back from the asteroid field you tried and failed to hot-wire one of Elijah’s prototype muscle cars,” Trevone said.
Hot Dog glanced at Benny. “He obviously didn’t take notes whenever you stole that Chevelle.”
“Borrowed,” Benny said.
“Besides,” Trevone continued, “the McGuyvers have enough on their plates trying to repair the SRs that were damaged in the attack. They’re the best mechanics in the galaxy, but they’re only two people. The last thing they need is you causing problems.”
“I was trying to help!” Drue leaned over the holodesk. “We should know what we have to work with if we’re going to war with some aliens.” He shrugged. “Plus, it turns out that prototype didn’t even have an engine in it, so it’s totally not my fault I couldn’t get it started.”
“You’re going to get banned from the entire Taj,” Hot Dog said. “And we’re not going to war with the Alpha Maraudi. We’re …” She trailed off, biting her lower lip.
Drue looked back and forth between Hot Dog and Benny. “Really? Because I bet the aliens are pretty mad that we schooled them this morning. Maybe we should go on the offensive. Though we’d probably need more than lasers if we wanted to take down that big mother ship.” His eyes lit up. “I bet Elijah has all kinds of prototypes for crazy stuff in his files that we could use. Pinky, what have you got for us? Show me the biggest, most ridiculous thing he was working on. Where are all the killer robots like the ones we fought in the video-game room?”
The AI clasped her hands together on the holodesk. “Let’s put a pin in that.”
“We’re not going to attack anyone,” Benny said. “That would make us just as bad as they are. Besides, I told you guys, they’re kind of not what we expected. They’re … more like a space caravan.”
Trying to wrap his head round the idea of extraterrestrial life coming for Earth was one thing, but the realisation that the Alpha Maraudi weren’t really some evil alien race was another, more difficult notion to process. They were just trying to find a new home. Doing everything they could to survive. In a way, Benny understood where they were coming from, and he didn’t want to have to fight them.
That was the real problem, the thing sitting like a heavy lug nut in the pit of Benny’s stomach: what were they supposed to do now? The day before, the stakes had been terrifying, sure, but their goals had been so simple: stop the asteroid storm, keep Earth safe, protect humanity. Now there were so many variables.
And despite his insistence that he wasn’t the leader of the Moon Platoon, it felt like everyone kept looking to him for answers.
“Benny’s right,” Hot Dog said, taking a seat. “I just wish they’d find another place to set up camp.”
“This is like game theory,” Jasmine said, scrunching her eyebrows together. “Another species needs Earth to survive, but so do we. Normally I’d be into a logic problem like this, but it turns out this kind of thing isn’t nearly as fun in real life.”
“So …” Drue said, “we’re taking ‘blowing up the aliens who tried to kill all humanity’ off the holodesk?”
“Pinky, if he gets within a metre of a laser, let me know,” Trevone said.
“What about this guy on the dark side of the Moon?” Benny asked, turning his attention to the Pit Crew member. “Could he help? Any idea how we find him?”
As if the shock of everything that had happened during their battle in space hadn’t been enough, Trevone and Pinky had unexpected news when Benny had arrived back at the resort: the residents of the Taj weren’t alone on the Moon.
“Dr Austin Bale,” Trevone said. He tapped on the desk in front of him and a hologram of a man appeared above it. He was maybe fifty years old in the image, with thick wire-rimmed glasses and a shock of black streaked across the front of his otherwise silver hair. “No clue. He’s spent years avoiding all Elijah’s sensors and expeditions. We have no idea what he’s been up to.”
“How do we know he’s even alive out there, then?”
“Well, for one thing, he was probably the person who left supplies for Hot Dog when she crashed her Space Runner.”
“I didn’t crash,” Hot Dog said. “I was shot down. Big difference.” She leaned back in her seat and clicked her tongue. “I knew I wasn’t crazy to think someone left me stuff. I can’t believe Elijah tried to tell me I was confused.”
“Remind me why we should care about this guy again?” Drue asked. “Let’s imagine that I wasn’t listening too carefully earlier. We had just got back from blowing up a bunch of asteroids.”
“Dr Bale was Elijah’s right-hand man when he began the construction of the Lunar Taj and in-depth exploration of the Moon,” Trevone said. “A renowned astrophysicist and engineer. He was with Elijah when he first discovered the base on the dark side of the Moon.”
“Yeah, yeah, Elijah told us that part,” Drue said. “He wanted to warn Earth about the aliens, but Elijah didn’t want him to. So what’s he doing on the Moon? Why stay up here?”
“Well, things are a bit more complicated than Elijah may have let on,” Trevone continued. “Dr Bale did go back to Earth to warn people about everything he’d seen. He even took a bunch of artefacts from the Maraudi base with him.”
“You mean, he stole them from the Taj,” Pinky corrected. She drummed her holographic fingers on the desk silently.
“Right. But each time he tried to convince them that an extraterrestrial threat was out there some official would call Elijah, who assured them that nothing was out of the ordinary. He, uh …” Trevone paused for a moment. “He told everyone that being on the Moon had caused Dr Bale to lose his mind.”
“Yikes,” Hot Dog said.
“The messages Dr Bale sent to Elijah around this time were … intense,” Pinky said. “So much so that at my recommendation we beefed up security around the Taj. And you wouldn’t believe how much money Elijah spent keeping the man’s comments out of the media.” She shook her head. “I didn’t exist as an AI back then. I was just a human, and I trusted Elijah. I mean, Dr Bale did sound crazy, and he was definitely angry.” She took a deep breath. “Neither of them acted like they should have. And while I don’t love the idea of reaching out to someone potentially unstable, it’s true: he could be helpful.”
“Hopefully,” Trevone continued. “In the end, he came back to the Moon along with a few research assistants who were convinced he was telling the truth. As far as we know, they’ve been living on the dark side ever since. He’s masking his presence somehow, but we find evidence of old campsites every so often.”
“Maybe he’s using some of that alien tech to hide,” Drue said. “Maybe he knows more about these ETs.”
“Eesh,” Hot Dog said. “A few days on the dark side is one thing, but how can someone live out there for years? It doesn’t even seem possible.”
Trevone shrugged. “The man’s a genius. Or so I’m told. I’ve never met him.”
“I have,” Pinky said. “Or, at least, the real me has. And, yes, he is incredibly intelligent. Apart from Elijah, he’s likely to be the only person on Earth capable of surviving out there for so long.”
“But what’s he been doing?” Benny asked, more to himself than the rest of the room.
“That’s the trillion-dollar question,” Trevone said.
“Whatever it is,” Jasmine cut in, “he’s in danger. Scouts from that alien mother ship broke rank in the middle of the asteroid fight. We lost track of them, but they were headed in the general direction of the Moon. If they wanted to hide out, the dark side would be the perfect place.”
“Do we really need his help?” Hot Dog asked. “I mean, we’ve kind of been doing pretty good on our own.”
Benny thought about this for a moment, memories of the last few days flashing through his head – the asteroids, the mother ship, Commander Tull. Finally, he nodded. “We need all the help we can get. We just have to figure out where he is.”
“We could fly out to the dark side to try to spot him visually,” Trevone said. “But I have the feeling he’s the kind of person who finds you, not the other way round.”
Benny nodded. The idea was maybe a little dangerous, sure, but at least it meant they would be doing something.
“OK,” he said. “Then let’s head out.”
“What, now?” Trevone asked.
“Yeah, now. We can’t just sit around here talking all day or waiting to find a way to get in touch with Earth. We have to act, so why not start by finding this guy?”
“Because you’re not in charge,” a voice bellowed from the hallway.
Benny recognised it immediately. When the EW-SCAB winners had been split into four groups on the first day, Benny had ended up one of the Mustangs. The voice belonged to their leader, Ricardo Rocha, the “Beast from Brazil”. Benny spun round to find him standing in the doorway. Behind him were the other remaining members of Elijah’s Pit Crew – Sahar, and Kira and Kai Miyamura.
Ricardo held up a HoloTek as he glared at Benny. “I’m guessing this message came from you? How dare you think you have the right to give orders around here! You don’t get to decide what happens now, or who can come and go as they please. As the oldest member of the Pit Crew, the Taj is under my command.”
“In the event of Elijah’s absence, the chief operating officer would be Max Étoile, general manager and head of guest relations,” Pinky said. “He left, though. And since we don’t have any contact with Earth, the control of the Taj is actually sort of up in the air.” She raised an eyebrow. “Technically, I’m the senior staff member.”
Ricardo’s boots were heavy on the floor as he took a few big steps into the room. “I was his number two, Pinky, and you know it.” The fingers of his free hand curled into a tight fist at his side. “I’m the one in charge, and I say we’re going to find Elijah. Every resource we have will be put to that task.” He pointed at Benny. “That includes you, Pinky, and your friends here. No matter what it takes, we’ll get him back.”
(#u536c4ef4-e542-58fd-af42-37e2169cd628)
“Ricardo,” Trevone said, standing, “you know things are more complicated than that.”
“No,” Ricardo said. “They aren’t.”
“We don’t even know if Elijah’s still alive.”
“He may have survived the blast,” Kai said. “You know him.”
“If he did, he’s probably waiting for us to come and save him,” Kira added.
“Look, I’m just as concerned as the rest of you,” Trevone said, “but—”
“Are you?” Ricardo interrupted, glaring at the other Pit Crew member. “Because, without your help, would they have taken the Space Runners out in the first place? No. Elijah would still be here.”
“Don’t you put that on me.” Trevone’s voice was softer now. Benny thought he saw one of his hands shake. “It was Elijah’s decision to join the fight in the end. That was his call. That’s why we went up there.”
“Also, we saved the world,” Hot Dog said, raising her hand. “Let’s not forget that part.”
“What does that matter?” Ricardo asked, turning his furious gaze to her.
“So you were fine with Earth getting demolished and letting everyone die except us. Great. Good to know.” She shook her head. “I wonder when all of you stopped thinking for yourselves and just started repeating whatever Elijah told you.”
Trevone looked down at the holodesk. Sahar’s piercing eyes narrowed as the Miyamura twins both scoffed, looking bored. Benny could see the muscles in Ricardo’s jaw clench before he spoke again.
“Elijah had everything worked out. And you ruined it.”
“Hey,” Benny said, raising both palms into the air. “We’re all in this together now. If we start fighting each other, we won’t get anything done.” He gestured to the holodesk. “We’ve been going over how to get back in touch with Earth and what to do next. There has to be a way to save the planet. You remember what Elijah said, right? When he was in that tractor beam? He told us to finish what we started. That was his last order.”
Ricardo opened his mouth to say something, but only grunted and stared down at the floor. “I don’t care about what happens to Earth or these aliens. I only care about finding Elijah. I won’t stop until we do.” He looked back up at Benny. “It would be smart to stay out of my way.”
“Ricardo,” Pinky said, jumping to her feet, “there’s something happening underground. A few EW-SCABers have got into a bit of an argument about resources on one of the floating greenhouse platforms.” She sighed as she shrugged. “It would be best if you could address this before things get out of hand. Unfortunately, Elijah never got round to installing hologram projectors underground, so I’m little more than eyes and ears and a disembodied voice down there. Plus, the kids who went down there instead of flying out to try to stop the asteroids were following the Pit Crew, not me.”
Ricardo gave the AI a long look before glancing at the others.
“This isn’t over,” he said. He looked at Trevone and then cocked his head towards the door. “I could use your help with this. Some of the kids underground have been looking for you. It’s time for you to rejoin the Crew.” He paused, and when he spoke again his voice was quieter, though no less intense. “You owe it to Elijah to help his plans succeed. To get him back.”
Trevone nodded slowly and excused himself from the table. And then the Pit Crew was gone.
Silence settled on the room. Eventually, Benny spoke.
“So, the Pit Crew could be a problem. We may have convinced Elijah that Earth was worth saving, but I’m not sure Ricardo got the message.”
“Saving the world and Elijah aren’t mutually exclusive,” Jasmine said. “But he seems to think they are.”
“I can’t believe I kind of liked that guy,” Hot Dog said.
“Kind of?” Drue asked. “The jersey of his you stole is still in the rubbish bin over there.”
“It happens to the best of us,” Pinky said. “But cut him some slack. These wounds are fresh, and Elijah meant everything to his Crew. This isn’t easy on any of them.”
“So is everything OK underground?” Benny asked. “The EW-SCABers who decided to hide down there … It’s not getting bad or anything, is it?”
“Serves them right if it does,” Drue said. “We saved Earth.”
“How about you wait and hold that over their heads once we’re sure the planet is gonna stay saved?” Hot Dog asked.
“What? It’s true!”
“Maybe.” Hot Dog leaned back in her seat. “But arrogance has never been a good look for you.”
Drue gasped a little. Benny turned to Pinky. “So, like I was asking …”
“Don’t worry.” The AI smirked and inspected her holographic nails. “The Pit Crew will find things are in fairly calm order down there.”
“You tricked them?” Jasmine asked.
“I was merely de-escalating the situation here.” She shrugged. “No offence, but I don’t think the four of you could take on the Pit Crew if they tried to stop you from leaving, and I happen to agree that Dr Bale could be of some use – despite the horrible things he said about Elijah. If you want to hunt for him, I’d say now is the time to do it.”
Benny scrunched his eyebrows together as he looked at Pinky. Ever since Ramona had fully unlocked her personality, she’d been a huge asset to him and the others. Without her help, there was no way they would have been able to stop the asteroid storm. Still, he hadn’t had time to give much thought to the fact that with the AI’s newfound freedom, she’d also have the ability to act on her own accord. Fortunately, she seemed to have agreed with him and his friends so far, but if the AI turned against them, there was little they could do at the Taj.
“OK,” he said. “If there’s a dude living in some crater out there, we have to find him. Maybe he knows a way to help us get rid of those asteroids. Or how to communicate with the aliens or stop their ships – anything would be helpful.” He grinned. “So, who’s up for an exploration of the dark side?”
“Just the four of us?” Hot Dog asked.
“Yeah,” Drue said. “The original Moon Platoon.”
“Everyone’s still really shaken up by everything that happened earlier,” Benny said. “It’s probably not a good idea to send the whole fleet out when we’re honestly not even sure what we’re looking for yet.”
“Ricardo seems to have actually caused an argument underground trying to figure out what was going on, so you probably don’t have to worry about the Pit Crew for a little while. Get a plan together and go,” Pinky said. “You coming, Jazz?” Drue asked.
She nodded. “I guess now is as good a time as any to test out the things I learned in Hot Dog’s crash course. We should gather some supplies first, though. Drue, can you grab some extra first-aid kits and food and water just in case we run into any trouble? Or if Dr Bale needs help? Hot Dog, maybe see what kind of heat sensors the McGuyvers might have.” She turned to Pinky. “Any records Elijah has about Dr Bale and where you found these campsites would be useful in forming search parameters.”
“Gladly,” the AI said. “I’ll transfer everything I have to your HoloTek and we can form a strategy together.”
“Right,” Benny said. “Let’s take ten and meet down in the garage?”
“Aye, aye, Cap’n,” Hot Dog said.
Benny started to respond, telling her for what felt like the hundredth time that day that he wasn’t their leader. Instead, he nodded, and headed for the lift.
He wasn’t sure why he was going to his suite in the Lunar Taj until he was there alone, and suddenly his breathing was heavier and his pulse was racing as questions rushed through his mind. How had he become such an integral part in the survival of his family, his planet, his species in just a few days? And, perhaps more frightening, what would have happened if he hadn’t gone to the Taj? He took a seat on the edge of his bed and tried to get a hold of himself. They had a next move, which was good. But driving off to the far side of the Moon to search for some mysterious scientist who may or may not be able to help them didn’t seem like it was enough. Especially when his family’s safety was concerned. Whatever happened, he had to keep them safe. Somehow.
Benny looked at his nightstand where a silver hood ornament had been displayed for most of his stay on the Taj. It hadn’t been all that long ago that his father had given it to him, before the man had trekked into the desert in search of water and never returned. But it was gone now, left behind in the alien ship and no doubt destroyed when Elijah West blew up his hyperdrive engine, and Benny suddenly wished more than anything that he could hold it again, as if doing so would make the homesickness that was growing in his chest go away.
Now a gold glove sat on the nightstand, the one thing Benny had taken from the alien spacecraft – the only way they’d managed to escape. He picked it up and slid it over his hand. It covered his palm, but his fingers stuck out. He made a fist, then spread his hand out again. Analysis in the Taj’s research labs had confirmed that the glove was made up of unknown elements, which hadn’t exactly been a surprise. On the alien ship, it had somehow controlled the rock walls of the craft, allowing its wearer to open up doorways. But he didn’t know how it worked, and so far it had been useless on the Moon. He’d smashed it against the ground outside, but nothing had happened.
Still, if he was going out in a Space Runner, he felt like he should have it with him. Just in case.
