Bounders (34 page)

Waters kept his word. As soon as we reached the mines, they loaded us onto the passenger craft to return to the space station. When Tunnelers wheeled Marco in on a stretcher, I tried to talk to him, but Malaina Suarez waved me back. She directed him into a side room with some other cadets who were injured in the attack.

I join Cole in the back row of the craft and collapse onto the seat next to him. I'm not sure where Lucy is, but I'm too tired to find her anyway. I don't have the energy to talk or even listen to her talk to me.

Once we clear the atmosphere, I flip around in my chair. The Paleo Planet looks just like Earth must have looked millions of years ago. More green. More green because we haven't built any cities or blasted through any mountains or decimated any forests. More green because the temperature is lower and photosynthesis is working and the ground hasn't been peeled back to reach its ore. Or actually, I'm forgetting the occludium mines. I guess that is starting to happen on the Paleo Planet, too.

As we make the shift to FTL, I remember how Earth looked when we took off for the space station. All my nerves about the EarthBound Academy were momentarily replaced with a pure sense of awe at the majesty of our planet. I feel none of that awe gazing down at the Paleo Planet. It is many things: a mine, a future tourist destination, a target for an alien enemy. But nothing that inspires awe. It occurs to me then. When the aliens see Earth, they don't see something awe-inspiring. In fact, with the clutter and waste and ruin, I shudder at what it might look like through their lenses.

The flight back seems to take twice as long, not to mention the craft smells awful. Who thought it was a good idea to trick Regis and his loser friends into drinking tons of pomagranana juice? When we finally glide past the gunmen and coast into the hangar, Gedney and Mira are there to greet us. The knot in my chest unties when I see Mira. Waters had confirmed she'd made it to the Ezone, but I'm happy to see her with my own eyes.

The other cadets head for the dormitories, but I'm too worried about Marco to sleep. I'm sure Ridders will bust me for skipping out on head count, but I don't care. I head to the med room viewing balcony that Marco and I found on our first night. I sit in the second row and rest my head and hands on the back of the chair in front of me.

In the med room below, Marco lies on a bed in the corner. His head is wrapped in a big bandage, and one of his legs is suspended in a harness. The Tunneler who treated me when I was in the med room checks his vitals. Marco isn't the only patient. The room is filled with cadets injured in the battle.

So this is what happens in war. There are injuries. There are casualties. And in our case, there are kids who are casualties.

I am so not ready for this.

Tomorrow is the last day of the Bounders' first tour of duty. After the closing ceremony, we're leaving the space station. Earth might be scarred, but it's home. And I desperately need to be home.

Maybe Mom will make chocolate chip cookies.

“Jasper.” A quiet voice interrupts my food fantasy.

Waters stands in the aisle. His face is flushed, and his hair sticks up at funny angles. He looks more like Gedney than Gedney does sometimes.

“How's he doing?” Waters nods at the glass. Below, the Tunneler hooks Marco up to an IV.

“I'm not sure,” I say. “He looks pretty banged up.”

Waters slips into the chair beside me and takes a deep breath. The signs are clear. We're headed for a serious talk. I'll probably have to fess up to the whole mess with the alien in the cellblock. I can't muster the energy to be nervous. So much has happened since then.

“Gedney says this is where you first spotted our prisoner,” he says.

I can't tell if he's mad or not, so I just nod.

“Relax, Jasper. You're not in trouble. On the contrary, we owe an awful lot to you. You probably saved the lives of all the cadets today. You probably saved my life.”

I don't really deserve the credit. Everyone pitched in. “Marco held off the aliens, and Cole and Lucy coordinated with the other Bounders. Mira slowed the wildeboars so the others could escape. If it wasn't for her, we would have been trampled.”

“Don't sell yourself short. Mira is special. But you're special, too. She relies on you. And so do the others. Mira alone is nothing compared to Mira and you together. When the whole pod is involved, you kids really are limitless.”

I shrug. Maybe Waters is right. The others do rely on me. But I'm a floundering mess where Mira is concerned.

“Mira
is
special,” I say. “She communicated with the alien prisoner—you know, brain to brain.”

Waters runs his fingers through his hair, leaving even more of it sticking up. “Oh, kid, I don't want to know that.”

He drops his head. A long moment passes.

“Back up,” he says, lifting his eyes to mine. “I really didn't mean that. You should tell me that kind of stuff, Jasper. You
need
to tell me. And you can talk to Gedney. But I don't want you to tell anyone else. That information is very dangerous in the wrong hands.”

“So I guess I shouldn't tell anyone that I communicated with the aliens, too.”

Waters's eyes open wide. “You did?”

“Yep, on the Paleo Planet, although they didn't make any sense. All they said was ‘leave.' ”

At first Waters looks confused, then a strange realization crosses his face, and he shakes his head. “That might make more sense than you think. I bet they're not very happy we're mining on the Paleo Planet and disturbing the native humanoids.”

“But I thought they attacked the humanoids.”

“No,” Waters says. “In fact, the whole battle might have been about protecting the humanoids from us.”

“Is that why the Tunnelers were so anxious when Sheek made us go in for a closer look at the humanoids? Had the aliens attacked before?”

Waters shrugs. “I'm not sure. The information hasn't all come out yet. But it seems clear it wasn't the first time the Youli visited the Paleo Planet.”

“The who-lee?”

“The Youli. That's what the aliens are called.”

The Youli: green bipedal aliens with huge pulsating heads who can penetrate your brain. The prisoner in the cellblock. The guy I tackled on top of the spaceship. The aliens with the advanced technology. Our enemies.

The Youli.

“Can I ask you something?” I say to Waters.

“Of course.”

“Why didn't the Youli just kill us? I mean, they must be able to, right?”

Waters stands and crosses to the window with the one-way glass. “There's a lot about the Youli you don't know and I can't share. Let's just say the battle lines are a bit blurred.”

Great. More secrets.

We stay silent for a while. In the med room below, a doctor checks on Marco, running scans and inserting medication into his IV line.

“What do you think we should do about the closing ceremony tomorrow?” Waters asks, returning to his chair. “As first-place pod, you're supposed to free-bound in front of the entire Academy, but Marco clearly won't be up to it.”

“I think we should wait,” I say. “Hopefully, he'll be better when we're back this fall for our next tour.”

“Sounds like the right choice. And anyhow, Gedney mentioned something about the winning pod taking the first free-bound before we even left for the Paleo Planet.” Waters's smile tells me we're not in trouble for breaking into the cellblock.

“I wish things were different, Jasper,” he continues. “You kids shouldn't have to bear this burden. And it's only going to get worse. When you return for your next tour of duty, the situation will have escalated. And your responsibilities will be greater. I'm glad this tour is ending. You need a break. We all need a break.”

I'm only half listening. My mind has leaped ahead. I'm on the launch platform, running to hug Mom and Dad, finally seeing Addy, taking a bite of a chocolate chip cookie.

Waters shakes my shoulder. “Did you hear me?”

“Huh?”

He laughs. “I said get some rest. Tomorrow you're heading home.”

“HE'S WAKING UP!” LUCY SHOUTS AS
she runs into the mess hall with Mira. All morning we've been taking shifts sitting with Marco. First we switched off packing. Cole and I shoved Marco's stuff into his duffels after we'd stowed away our own. Then the girls had an early breakfast while we kept watch. They came to relieve us not too long ago. I shovel a last bite of waffles into my mouth and take off for the med room.

Sure enough, Marco is sitting up in bed when we enter. His leg is still suspended, but the head bandage is off. Aside from a nasty bruise, he doesn't look that bad.

When we walk in, he raises his hand in the air for a high five. “Ace, I heard about your jump off the spaceship. You really are the Red Baron!”

I smile and slap his palm. “I'm glad you're okay, dude. You had me worried. That was one extreme kamikaze mission.”

“It worked out, right? I mean, we're here. This isn't a repeat of the Incident at Bounding Base 51.”

“Actually,” Cole says, “since this conflict involves the same parties, it has a lot of similarities to the Incident at Bounding Base 51.”

Lucy laughs. “Yeah, with the key difference being our atoms aren't adrift in space.” She gives Marco a gentle hug. “Happy you're safe, Marco.”

“Happy we're all safe,” he says. “I got lucky. My leg is broken, but that's it. Some of the Bounders are a lot worse off.” His voice grows soft. “And two of the Tunnelers didn't make it.”

“Is Charkeera okay?” Lucy asks. “I heard she was hit by a boulder.”

Marco shakes his head.

Whoa. Charkeera was killed. I don't even know what to think.

Mira covers her face with her hands.

Lucy crosses her arms against her chest. “I hate those horrible aliens.”

“The Youli,” I say.

“What?” Cole asks.

“That's what they're called. The Youli.”

“What kind of ridiculous name is that?” Marco asks.

I shrug. “I think it suits them.”

One of the doctors rolls a wheelchair alongside Marco's bed. “Can you kids take him down to the closing ceremony?”

I grin at Marco. “Definitely.”

“I don't trust the two of you with that chair for a second,” Lucy says. “I'll push.”

“Fine,” I say.

The doctor helps Marco into the wheelchair, and we walk as a pod to the lecture hall. By the time we arrive, the hall is brimming with cadets, aeronauts, and other Earth Force officers. Ryan waves us over. He saved seats near the front. Lucy parks Marco's wheelchair at the edge of the row, and the rest of us get settled in our chairs.

“Admiral on deck!” Ridders shouts from the front stage.

As the honor guard escorts Admiral Eames to the podium, we all stand at attention. All of us except Marco, that is. I bet he's secretly happy he has an excuse for defying military decorum.

“At ease,” she says. “Bounders, this is a momentous day—more momentous, perhaps, than your induction into Earth Force—for today we acknowledge the magnitude of your coming contributions to your planet and its defense.”

Here we go. Is she going to disclose the true purpose behind the Bounder Baby Breeding Program? Operation
Ultio
?

“These are perilous times for Earth,” she continues. “These aliens—who we've learned are called the Youli—seek to destroy us. But you, Bounders . . . you have stared at the face of our enemy, and you did not cower. You have what it takes to defend your planet. In you, the Youli have met their match. Today we celebrate your first victory in battle!”

The admiral claps, and cadets leap to their feet, peppering the air with hoots and whistles. When the Earth Force officers join in, our pod stands. Even Marco knows to clap. Waters and Gedney slowly rise.

All this feels false, like it's just another piece of Earth Force's grand propaganda machine. How come everyone is so jazzed about fighting a bunch of aliens? Why did the admiral imply that Earth Force just found out about the Youli? And why did she call the battle a victory? That's not exactly how I remember it. I catch Marco's eye, and he shakes his head.

“In a few months,” the admiral says, “you will return for your second tour of duty. Be prepared. Your training will intensify. Your obligations will increase. You may again be called to defend your planet. Make no mistake, defending Earth is your birthright.”

No joke. We were bred to be soldiers. We were literally born to fight the Youli.

The admiral scans the audience, making eye contact with each cadet. When her eyes reach mine, I hold her gaze. She spreads her arms wide. “Be safe. Be well. We will see you soon.”

She gives the podium to Ridders, who reviews our confidentiality obligations and mentions that the first free-bound will be deferred to the second tour. Then each pod leader says a few words about what a great success the first tour of duty was. Waters is grumpy but brief, which is good because all the cadets care about is saying their good-byes and boarding the craft for home.

Finally Florine takes the podium. No one is too interested in what she has to say. I can hardly hear her above the chatter in the lecture hall.

“Quiet!” The microphone screeches with feedback from her scream. “Quiet, puh-
leeeze
.” She smooths her black suit and adjusts her sunglasses. “The EarthBound Academy is off to a successful start. And we owe a lot to you, Bounders. However, we owe even more to our aeronauts who taught you everything you know.”

Uh, yeah, sure. Sheek was teaching us an awful lot when he hid in the hover during the battle.

“Don't forget to tune in to the next episode of
Chic with Sheek
on EFAN,” she continues. “The special guest will be none other than your Director of Bounder Affairs, herself. Me! Isn't that right, Sheek?” She flashes her teeth at him across the lecture hall.