The Forgotten Shrine Read online

  Sheek waves his hands to quiet down the audience, but his lame attempt at humility only spurs on the crowd. “Thank you. You’re too kind. Thank you.”

  Slowly the noise dissipates as the spectators decide they want to hear what the coward has to say. I wonder what would happen if I butted my way to the microphone and told everyone how he hid during the Youli attack on the Paleo Planet. How he shoved me out of the way during the space elevator evacuation on Gulaga. If he’s the face of Earth Force, it’s because that’s all he has to offer: a pretty face.

  “Good morning and welcome to the Earth Force Aeronautical Port. We are pleased you could join us for the official launch of the third tour of the EarthBound Academy.” He pauses and lifts his jaw to the row of reporters standing to the left of the podium, maximizing his angles for a photo op, and opening up to more whistles and applause. Next to me, Addy screams like a true Sheek Shrieker.

  “Can you believe we have to listen to him drone on like this all tour?” Lucy says.

  Addy shoots Lucy a nasty look. Even I know it means shut up.

  “Oh, sweetie.” Lucy nods her head at Sheek. “That man loses his magic fast. And so does Marco. You’ll find that out soon enough at the Academy.”

  If there’s one thing Addy hates, it’s people talking down to her. Combine that with a reference to all she doesn’t know about the EarthBound Academy and a cryptic comment about Marco, and she’s fuming.

  Addy doesn’t respond to Lucy. She turns to me and says through gritted teeth, “I’m going to find Mom and Dad.” She pushes through the crowd and out of sight.

  “Way to scare off the young ones,” Meggi says to Lucy.

  “What’s with her?” Annette asks.

  “My sister’s sensitive about all the Earth Force secrets, that’s all.”

  “Her and everyone else,” Lucy says, relaxing into her standard mode of excessive talking. “My agent must have fielded two dozen calls from reporters begging for a live interview. If that Earth Force officer hadn’t shown up to remind me of my confidentiality commitments, I might have agreed. After all, you know . . .”

  I half pay attention to Lucy and the updates about her acting career, and half listen to Sheek. Throughout all of it, though, I worry about Addy. I promised I’d look out for her, and I’m doing a pretty awful job so far.

  “I’ve got to find my family,” I whisper when Lucy pauses to breathe. “I’ll catch you on the craft.”

  “Wait a second,” Lucy says. “Was that really the first time Marco met your sister?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  Lucy flicks her eyes to the flight deck and for a moment doesn’t say anything. Then she looks up with her signature smile and shrugs. “No reason. See you on board! Remember, we’re sitting as a pod!”

  3

  AS I MAKE MY WAY to the family area, I spy Mira across the crowd. Addy can wait another minute. I haven’t really gotten a chance to connect with Mira. I take off in that direction, but when I get there, she’s gone. I scan the crowd. Over by the sea rail, I spot a cadet with a long blond braid. I push my way over only to discover that it’s not Mira. It’s a new cadet. Her hair doesn’t even look that similar up close. When the cadet sees the annoyed look on my face, she runs off.

  I grab the railing and stare out at the ocean. It’s not the endless water to the horizon’s edge like last time I was here. Fifty meters away, several protest barges float. Their signs blaze with crimson letters:

  EARTH FORCE = LIARS

  SAVE THE BOUNDERS!

  YOULI? TRULY? WE NEED THE TRUTH!

  Who broke the code of silence? Who talked about the Youli and the secret alien war? Right now most of the population think these protestors are just radical conspiracy theorists. But the thing is, they have most of it right. Someone must be feeding them information. Could it be a Bounder? Someone standing right here on the aeroport tarmac?

  How long can Earth Force stay silent? And if they choose to confirm the rumors, what will happen here on Earth? No matter what, we have to keep our planet safe.

  I tried not to think about this stuff too much while I was at home. But now that I’m about to head to the Academy, everything is rushing back. There’s not just dissension here on Earth, there’s conflict within the Force. We know Waters didn’t agree with the Earth Force agenda. He was optimistic that we could make peace with the Youli. But now it’s hard to see how that could be possible after I watched their ship tear the Gulagan space elevator in two.

  Still, I can’t help feeling that Earth Force doesn’t have it all right, either, and it’s not just because of the secrets and lies. That’s one of the reasons it was so hard to talk up the Academy to Addy. My heart’s not fully in it. And neither is hers.

  The water below looks cold and menacing. My chest tightens, almost like the water is compressing me, seeping inside and slowly drowning me. I take a step back, but I can’t shake the feeling that everything is about to unravel, that even the strongest bonds are threatening to break.

  “Hey, kid!”

  I shake myself back to the moment. An EFAN cameraman is standing next to me.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be on board?” He cocks his head at the new 770. “They announced last call a few minutes ago.”

  Oh no. I push away from the rail and run for the passenger craft.

  When I pass the family area, my dad grabs my arm. “Hey, Jasper! Where have you been? We were so worried!”

  Mom waves me closer to the rope and throws her arms around me. “If you weren’t about to blast into space, you’d be grounded.” She kisses my head, letting me know all is forgiven.

  “Sorry, I kind of spaced. Where’s Addy?”

  “She’s already on board.” Dad leans in for a quick hug. “Careful with the zone-outs. We’ll see you in six weeks. Now go!”

  “Bye!” I take off for the craft, then stop. I turn back to my parents. “Don’t worry. I’ll watch out for Addy!”

  All but a few of the Bounders have already boarded. Sheek and Florine stand next to the boarding ramp and pose for photos. That must mean we’re seconds from departing.

  I slide by Sheek, drawing a nasty glare, and hop onto the ramp of the new 770. As soon as my feet hit the incline, it starts rolling, so that I don’t even have to walk. No expense was spared in making these tourist crafts luxury rides. Inside it’s like a theme park. The top third of the wall in the entrance hall is lined with screens playing video footage from the Paleo Planet. The lower part is a long mural of the planet’s grasslands. A flock of fuchsia birds are painted across the mural, and every few seconds a bird flies from one screen to the next, giving the effect that the mural itself is animated.

  I follow the path of faux paw prints on the carpet until I bend around the mural wall and enter a huge room with tables and a bar. The sign above the bar says THE WATERING HOLE, and there are pictures of drinks with trying-to-be-clever names like Sabre Catini, Wildeboar Brew, and the Mammoth.

  “Ex-cuuuse me.”

  The smell of roses nearly knocks me down as I turn to face Florine Statton.

  “We are filming in this area,” she says. “And you most certainly are not supposed to be present.”

  “Sorry,” I mumble. I jet for the stairs at the side of the room and head up to the passenger cabin.

  The cabin is huge, but nearly every seat is taken. The EarthBound Academy has easily doubled in size. I scan the crowd for Addy. It’s hard to find anyone in the sea of matching indigo uniforms.

  “J-Bird!” a voice bellows. Marco stands in the back row, waving his hands in wide arcs above his head.

  I take off in that direction. Halfway down the aisle I see Addy sitting next to identical twin sisters with red hair and freckles. They’re all chatting excitedly.

  I place a hand on Addy’s shoulder and kneel beside her. “You okay?” I ask when she turns around.

  “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “I just thought I’d check. I didn’t see you board.”

&nbs
p; Addy rolls her eyes. “That’s because you weren’t there. Mom and Dad were freaked when boarding started and you were MIA. Where’d you go, anyway? Never mind. Go be with your friends, Jasper. I’m fine.” She doesn’t say she’s annoyed, but I can tell that she is. She turns away and starts talking with the twins, who now look like they’re bickering.

  I stand there for a second, trying to think of something else to say, but I draw a blank. So far I’m not doing so great at looking out for my sister.

  I jet up the aisle and find my pod mates—even Mira—last row, dead center.

  “Nice of you to show,” Marco says as I squeeze into the seat between Cole and Mira.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I say. “Thanks for saving me a seat.”

  “Thought we’d get in a bit of pod bonding before we arrive at the space station,” Lucy says. “I’m excited to catch up, just us.”

  “Actually, we need to talk tactics,” Cole says. “Do you think the degradation patch we planted on the Youli vessel was successful? How do you think the Bounders fit into the current war effort? And what if Gedney’s right, and they plan to send us to Alkalinia?”

  That snake den? The home of our new reptilian allies? I really hope they’re not planning to send our pod there. I’ve been ignoring that horrible possibility since we learned about it on Gulaga. Last tour we spied on the Alks’ meeting with Admiral Eames in Gulagaven. The small, reptilian creatures with the cyborg arms and flying minithrones sold secrets to Earth Force that helped us launch an attack on the Youli. Waters was horrified that the admiral even agreed to talk with the Alkalinians. Everything about them shouts deceitful scum.

  “Shut up, Wiki,” Marco says. “I hate snakes. The point is, we wanted to sit as a pod, and you almost ruined it, Ace. Do you know how many junior cadets I had to stare down to save your seat?”

  “I can’t believe how many cadets are on this craft,” I say.

  Mira slips inside my brain. An army.

  The flight to the space station goes by in a blur. It’s great to connect with everyone. Meggi, Annette, and Ryan share hilarious stories about their trip to the Paleo Planet with Sheek. Apparently, all these rich people were on the trip, and they kept asking the cadets to pose in pictures with them, saying things like “I can’t wait to tell my grandkids that I met a real-life Bounder,” as if we’re just like the alien sabre cats or amphidiles. And I guess Sheek had this colorful safari tent with climate control and tons of servants. He came out only when the EFAN cameras were rolling.

  Meggi says it was fun, though, to be in space without all the pressure of you-know-what. And by you-know-what, she meant the Youli and the alien war.

  The best part of being on board the craft is that Regis isn’t. That must mean he’s been expelled from the Academy. Gedney really came through for us on that score. I can’t wait to see Gedney at the Academy and tell him how much I appreciate it.

  There’s definitely a new vibe, and I think a lot of it is because of the junior cadets on board. We’re the seniors now, and we need to set a good example.

  Addy buzzes around the bottom of the craft the whole trip, getting to know the other juniors. I give her space. She doesn’t need her big brother butting in. Plus, she’s kind of annoyed at me, last time I checked. When the captain announces we’re preparing to exit FTL, Addy looks up and smiles. That must mean everything is okay.

  When we shift out of FTL, the space station is visible out the front windows. A hush falls over the juniors. I remember seeing the station for the first time—the dozens of structures connected by the curving tubes that look like metal snakes, the launchpads and hangars, the flight deck and the bounding fleet—it’s overwhelming.

  The perimeter of the space station is surrounded by small ships. As we close in, I see that they’re gunner ships like the ones that escorted us to the Paleo Planet.

  “We must be on red alert,” Cole says.

  “Plenty of gunners,” I say.

  “I don’t know if that makes me feel more or less safe,” Lucy says.

  “Hey, juniors!” Marco shouts. “Welcome to the Earth Force Space Station!”

  As the new cadets turn around to look at Marco, Addy catches my eye. Not all of the juniors know why there are so many gunner ships, but Addy does. And she’s no longer smiling.

  “Please remain in your seats and wait for further instructions,” the captain says over the intercom once we’ve pulled into the hangar.

  “Why?” Lucy whispers. “We’ve been on this craft for hours. Why can’t they just let us off?”

  “They’re probably getting things prepped for the oath,” Meggi says from the row in front of us. “Is your sister excited, Jasper?”

  Soon Addy will be Officer Adeline Adams. I’m still not sure whether she’s excited. For all the secrets I ended up spilling about Earth Force, Addy managed to keep many of her feelings to herself. I know she’s mad, but I know there’s more than anger beneath the surface. She’s been waiting her entire life for today.

  Sparks go off in my brain, courtesy of Mira. She must be telling me to pay attention, because two Earth Force officers are now standing at the bottom of the row. I recognize them from my first tour. They were part of our notoriously unfriendly wake-up crew.

  “Attention!” one of them hollers. The back half of the craft, where the senior cadets sit, springs to life. Cadets hop to their feet in salute. Down below, the junior cadets are a mess. Some try to imitate us, some stay sitting, some stand and stare at the officers like they’ve seen a ghost.

  “Salute your senior officers!” the second officer shouts.

  Finally the new cadets fall in line, and even though their form is horrible, everyone stands at attention.

  “At ease,” the first officer says. The old cadets drop their arms. Most of the new cadets don’t move.

  “He said ‘at ease,’ B-wads!” the second officer shouts.

  As the junior cadets look back to us for example and drop their arms to their sides, a voice calls out, “We didn’t know what that meant!”

  Addy, please don’t start.

  The officer approaches my sister’s row. “Do you have something to say, cadet?”

  I jerk in my chair. Marco puts a hand on my shoulder. “She can handle herself,” he whispers.

  “Yes.” Addy’s voice is clear and cold. “I said we didn’t know what that meant. We’re trying our best.”

  He glares down at Addy. “What’s your name, cadet?”

  “Adeline Adams.”

  “Did I ask your opinion, Adams?”

  “No,” Addy says.

  “No, what?”

  “No, sir.” Her lips curl in a defiant smile.

  Marco leans over and whispers, “How’d she know the ‘sir’ part?”

  I smile. “I told her the story of how you humiliated Bad Breath.”

  Marco slaps me five.

  “That’s right, I didn’t,” the officer continues, “so shut up! And the rest of you, listen up! I need the following cadets to come with me: Lucy Dugan, Cole Thompson, Mira Matheson, Marco Romero, and Jasper Adams. Adams, huh?” He looks at me, then Addy, then back at me. Then he laughs. And let’s just say there’s nothing friendly about his laugh.

  Lucy grumbles, “And here I thought we weren’t going to be singled out this tour.”

  We slide out of our row and head down the aisle. I glance at Addy when we pass. She mouths, Whatever, suggesting that the issue with the officer was no big deal. But her arms are crossed tight against her chest, and her jaw is clenched. She’s not happy. I wish Addy were excited about taking the oath and officially becoming a Bounder, but at best, I think her feelings are mixed. She raises her eyebrows, silently asking me why my pod was called out. I shrug and try to act casual so she won’t be freaked. Although, knowing Addy, it would take more than that to freak her out.

  We exit the cabin, descend the stairs, and cross in front of the mural wall. As we step onto the automated boarding ramp, Cole asks the officers, “A
re they sending us to Alkalinia?”

  “No questions,” the officer on the left says.

  “Are we going to miss the oath?” I ask.

  The officer on the right laughs. “Why? Afraid you’ll miss your sister getting sworn in?”

  “Can’t you just tell us where we’re going?” Lucy asks.

  “Shut up!” the other officer says. “Save your questions for the admiral!”

  I wish I had a better feeling about this, but I don’t. All signs point to another field trip for our pod, this time to the home of our sneaky, snaky allies.

  4

  MIRA’S MIND DOUSES ME WITH inquisitive energy, like she’s asking me if I know what’s going on. When your superior officer tells you to shut up, it’s pretty convenient to brain-talk.

  No clue is my response. Just because we can connect doesn’t mean I have anything awesome to add. Plus, I don’t even want to think about the possibility that the admiral is sending us to Alkalinia.

  The officers stop in front of the entrance to one of the senior briefing rooms. The one on the left speaks quietly into his com link, then the door buzzes open.

  “Bounders,” he says, holding the door for us to enter, “welcome back to space.”

  Lucy enters first, with Marco close on her heels. The rest of us follow them in.

  The room is small, but it radiates power, mostly because Admiral Eames sits at the head of the table. She may be small, but her presence is enormous.

  The table’s surface is a giant screen loaded with graphs and graphics. Eight other Earth Force officers crowd around. Most of them I recognize but don’t know personally. There’s one notable exception: my first-tour nemesis, Chief Auxiliary Officer Wade Johnson, a.k.a. Bad Breath.

  “Cadets, welcome,” Admiral Eames says. “Thank you for joining us.”

  All of the officers stare at us. I’m not exactly sure what to do. Lucy leads us around to the end of the table so we’re standing in a crescent shape facing the admiral.

  “I apologize in advance for the short notice,” the admiral continues. “We’re sending you on a mission at zero seven hundred tomorrow morning, and you need to be briefed.”