The Heroes Return Page 5

  “I see.” The admiral steeples her fingers on the table. “What else?” Her voice is sharp and icy.

  “Sir?”

  “What else did you want to tell me? For example, what happened to Officer Matheson? This time, I want specifics.”

  “Well . . . she . . .”

  “Last night you said the Youli took her.”

  “That’s right.” What do I say? How do I convince her that the Youli want to cooperate? That Mira didn’t betray her people?

  “You need to flesh that out, Jasper. What exactly happened?”

  “I’m not sure. I think that was part of the deal. They get us out of the rift, but Mira goes with them.”

  “She’s their hostage?”

  “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “You think we should trust our enemy who took your friend hostage? That doesn’t make sense to me, Jasper. Is there something I’m missing?”

  “No.” As I say the word, the hope I’d held in my heart for Mira’s safe return starts to seep out. This was my one shot to get the admiral’s help, and I blew it. The way she just summed up the scenario—the suggestion that we should trust an enemy who took one of our soldiers hostage—even sounds ridiculous to me.

  Admiral Eames stands. “I don’t think there’s anything left to say on the matter.” She crosses to the door and opens it, leaving no question that our meeting is over. “You’d do well to remember, Officer Adams, that disloyalty to the Force is a grave offense. Thank you for your service.” She walks out, leaving me alone in her dimly lit briefing room.

  Like Denver said, everything is pretty messed up, and I just made things a lot worse.

  6

  I DON’T KNOW HOW LONG I stay in the admiral’s briefing room, but eventually I realize it’s probably not the greatest idea to be sitting here on my own. Someone’s bound to come in eventually, and when they do they’ll want to know why I’m here, and I have no explanation other than I’ve had no energy to move since the admiral left.

  I stumble into the hall. My legs feel like jelly. At first I think I’m just exhausted (which I am), but I begin to wonder whether it’s a side effect of my travels through the rift. Like maybe my body didn’t get put back together 100 percent correctly, or maybe hanging suspended in time and then jumping a whole year ahead just messes you up. I’ll have to ask the old aeronauts how they’re feeling. Their time jump was fifteen times as long as mine, so if jelly legs are a side effect, they would definitely have them.

  My mind replays my conversation with the admiral. I can’t believe how inept I was. Nothing I said made the admiral pause for even a moment to consider whether the Youli could be reaching out with a genuine gesture of peace. Or maybe she doesn’t want to believe it. Either way, we’re no closer to bringing Mira home than we were last night.

  When I get to the fork in the hall, the guard nods. I still have no idea where I am. I didn’t pay any attention when I was walking here this morning with Jayne. But I do know where Jayne is. She turned left for the press room when I turned right to meet with the admiral. That means if I walk straight I should run into Jayne, which hopefully means I’ll also run into Lucy. And if there’s one person who might be able to help me with the Mira situation, it’s Lucy.

  Just like this morning, tons of people buzz around the press hall reading their tablets, chatting excitedly with other officers, most of them paying zero attention to me. Some of them look up and do this weird double take when they see me, but I just keep walking.

  At the end of the hall, a wide door opens to a huge room filled with dozens of monitors mounted on every wall. I head in, hoping to spot Lucy. What I see instead is my face on at least half of the screens.

  “Why is my—”

  “There you are!” Lucy collides with me from the side, pulling me into a tight hug. Instead of letting me go, she sort of unravels, still gripping me by my arm and unfurling her other arm wide. “Excuse me! Excuse me! All eyes and ears over here! Everyone, this is Jasper, although of course all of you know that. Jasper, this is everyone!”

  This morning I thought something was different with Lucy, but now there’s no mistaking. First off, she’s taller—like a lot taller. I’m basically looking at her eye to eye. And it’s not because she’s grown that much. She’s wearing shoes that rise up on spikes in the back. High heels, I think they’re called. Second, she’s wearing tons of makeup, even more than this morning. The black spider eyelashes compete for my attention with her raspberry-pink lips. And her hair is pulled back into a tight knot. Not even her uniform is the standard issue. Sure, it’s still the Earth Force uniform, but it’s custom-made or something. It looks more high fashion than military.

  And that smell! She smells like . . . roses!

  “What’s with the perfume?” I ask. “You getting beauty tips from Florine?”

  A couple of laughs escape around the room. Others avert their eyes so they don’t look like they’re eavesdropping.

  Lucy glares at me. But a second later, she waves her hand, and her smile returns. She snuggles up against me. “Oh, you silly boy! I’ve missed you so much! Now let’s head to my office, where we can have a private chat.” She links her arm in mine and pulls me away from the crowd of press officers.

  I glance around the room and spot Jayne in the back corner. She’s sitting at a desk against the wall watching me and Lucy like everyone else in the room. When I smile, she shakes her head and gives a small wave.

  Lucy leads me to a back hall. We pass an enormous office with a large desk that appears to float in the middle of the room. On the back wall, a huge painting hangs. It’s the face of Maximilian Sheek, four times, each face a different color.

  “Is that Sheek’s office? Not much for modesty, huh?”

  “Oh, that’s his office, all right. He never makes it here until after lunch, though. Unless he has appearances, of course.”

  The next office is smaller, but not by much. Lucy pushes the door open and leads me in. Everything in the office is pink. Pink lacquer desk, pink desk chair covered in pink feathers, pink faux-fur rug, pink wallpaper with pink stripes, pink flowers in a pink vase, pink paper with pink pens, which I’m sure have pink ink.

  “Well, what do you think?” she asks, twirling around.

  “It’s . . . pink. Is this stuff for real? It kind of reminds me of the VR in Alkalinia.”

  She slaps my hand. “That’s a nasty thing to say. Of course it’s real. I decorated myself.”

  “Why? I mean, why do they let you have all this stuff? And why do you need it?”

  Lucy frowns. “I told you this morning, Jasper, I’m the new face of Earth Force. It’s only fitting that I have an office that reflects that.”

  “So Earth Force’s new look is pink?”

  Lucy huffs. “No. This is my look. It’s important to have a signature style, don’t you think?”

  “A what style?” I want to plug my nose. Her whole office reeks of roses.

  “Signature. Look, Jasper, I know you’ve been gone a long time, and a lot has happened while you were away, but you need to understand I’m a very important person now.”

  “That’s one of the things I want to talk to you about,” I say. “You’re right, I’ve been gone a long time, but not that long. How did you become the new face of Earth Force in such a short time? And how did Cole rise in the ranks so quickly?”

  “Are you suggesting I don’t deserve to be the face of Earth Force?”

  “No, Lucy. As you always said, you were destined to be a web star. Really.” Hopefully, if I tell her what I know she wants to hear, she’ll answer my questions.

  Lucy’s lips lift in a small, unimpressed smile. “That’s sweet, Jasper. Now I know we have a lot of catching up to do, but let’s get through the talking points first, shall we?” She nods at her pink guest chair, expecting me to sit. “The way I see it, the heart of the story is your hero quest. It’s just amazing that someone our age—a Bounder—was the one to rescue Earth’s most famous aerona
uts. It really speaks to how special and important the Bounders are, wouldn’t you agree?”

  I have no idea what Lucy is going on about. “Talking points?”

  “Yes, of course. We’ll be making spin decisions imminently, and I thought we could chat first. Your inside perspective could be very helpful in creating the narrative.”

  “What narrative?”

  She rolls her eyes. “The rescue of the lost aeronauts, of course! And you as the hero of the homecoming story! Our very own poster boy returned from the dead! You always wanted to be popular, Jasper. It’s like this story is your destiny. Not to mention, it’s the hugest news since I came into the position. It couldn’t have come at a better time.”

  Jayne called me poster boy, too. “What do you mean, poster boy? And why is now such a good time for this news?” And why did she say I always wanted to be popular?

  She waves a hand. “Oh, nothing we can’t handle. Just that someone out there has been leaking information. Things can get ugly quick if we don’t have control of the message.”

  That must be the mole Cole mentioned. “What are the leaks about?”

  “You may not know this, Jasper, but Earth Force informed the public about the Youli conflict. In fact, that’s what most of our press focus is about, that and the Bounders. It’s very important that the public have an accurate impression of how critical Earth Force’s efforts are for planetary prosperity and security.”

  “What about the Bounders?” Before we even left Earth for our last tour of duty, there were rumors and information leaks about the Bounders. An Earth Force officer came to our apartment and questioned Addy and me. Addy was furious. She almost joined the protestors at the Bounder launch.

  Lucy gives me that fake smile again. I wonder if it’s part of her signature style. “There’s been some minimal backlash about Earth Force withholding information about the Bounders from the public.”

  As in keeping the reason for the Bounder Baby Breeding program a secret for more than thirteen years? “Minimal backlash? Are you kidding? Lucy, this is me. Jasper. We’ve had countless talks about how awful it was for Earth Force to keep those secrets, how they even kept our true mission a secret from us!”

  “Now, really”—that smile again—“countless? I recall it coming up one or two times. But what’s important is how they’ve handled the information once disclosed, don’t you think? Not to mention that the Bounders have proven themselves invaluable in the ongoing war efforts. The public knows that many of us have risen in the ranks faster than any of the other aeronauts.”

  “Is that why they promoted you and Cole so—”

  “Oh, I hate to interrupt, but my first daily report is about to stream. Let’s watch.”

  She flicks her wrist at the pink wall and it morphs into a giant screen bearing the Earth Force insignia.

  The insignia fades into Lucy’s giant face. On the screen, she smiles and tips her head, kind of like the way Sheek always does. Then she says, “I’m Captain Lucy Dugan, and I invite you to face facts.” She turns her head to the side, then glances back at the camera, batting her enormous eyelashes.

  “That’s my signature line,” she tells me. “Get it? Face facts—with me as the new face of the Force. Pretty clever, right?”

  The screen shifts to an image of the space station, with Lucy’s voice talking over it. “Make sure to tune in later today as we bring you a breaking story that’s years in the making.”

  “Does that blush make my face look too angular?” she asks me.

  “That what?”

  She waves a hand at me. “Forget it.”

  On the screen, the image shifts to Lucy again. She’s standing in front of a backdrop with the Earth Force insignia. She continues to hype the story breaking later today. It must be the rescue of the lost aeronauts.

  The door cracks open and Jayne pops her head in. Lucy doesn’t seem to notice; she’s too focused on her giant face. Jayne winks at me.

  “Excuse me, Captain Dugan?” Jayne says.

  Lucy averts her eyes from the screen long enough to see Jayne. “What is it?” she asks impatiently.

  “The image meeting is about to commence. Reddy and the other aeronauts are already in the conference room.”

  “Oh yes, thank you,” she says, eyes still on the screen. “Is this being recorded?”

  “Of course,” Jayne answers. “We have the original footage we shot this morning, and we’re recording the web stream as you previously requested.”

  Lucy extends her hand toward the screen then pauses. She gazes at her image for another second. Then she flicks her wrist and the giant Lucy disappears.

  She stands. “Thank you very much, Jayne,” she says without a glance in Jayne’s direction. Jayne backs out of the room.

  Lucy flashes a smile at me that might not be fake. “Come here, you!” She waves me over and plants a kiss on both cheeks. “We’ll talk more later, okay?”

  “Sure,” I say to Lucy’s back. She’s already half out the door, and I’m left standing alone in the smelly pink room.

  What happened?

  I didn’t get an answer to any of my questions. I never had a chance to mention Mira. I couldn’t even slip in a plea to let me contact my parents.

  Maybe our return is huge news, but this homecoming sucks.

  • • •

  Once I get out of Lucy’s pink palace, my stomach starts growling. I haven’t eaten anything since I arrived at the space station. In fact, I haven’t eaten anything in a year if we’re talking Earth time, and for weeks before that I was eating virtual Alk food. I don’t even know what that stuff really was.

  I need to brave the mess hall. I ask Jayne to walk me there, but she’s too busy. She grabs another press officer and has him take me. Before we go, another officer snaps a dozen pictures of me against a wall with the Earth Force insignia.

  My stomach is practically seizing by the time the first officer drops me off at the mess hall door. I’m greeted by the smell of day-old hot dogs. It’s still disgusting, but at least some things about this place haven’t changed.

  As soon as I walk in, Ryan spots me. He rushes to my side and pulls me over to a table filled with familiar faces: Meggi, Annette, Desmond, Orla and Aela, even Hakim and Randall. Before I reach them, everyone at the table is on their feet clapping. Meggi runs over and wraps her arms around me. Even Hakim shakes my hand, which is weird because I can’t even look at him without seeing his old pal Regis.

  “When Ryan told us you were back, we could hardly believe it,” Meggi says.

  They give me a seat and insist I tell them what happened.

  I’m sure the admiral is going to put a gag order on me soon. The true story of the rift will be classified above my own security clearance level. But as of now, no one’s told me to keep quiet.

  “Let me get some food first. I promise to tell you everything you want to know about the rift as long as you fill me in on everything I missed this past year.”

  Now I’ll finally get some real answers, not rosy pink spin.

  After I’ve choked down a grilled cheese and a couple of yogurt squeezies, I launch into the tale. As I talk, cadets from other tables gather round. The crowd hangs on every word I say.

  When I reach the part where we find the lost aeronauts in the rift, Meggi reaches over and squeezes my hand. “You really are a hero, Jasper.”

  That’s what Lucy said. Maybe she and Meggi are right. Maybe I am a hero.

  I smile at Meggi, kick my feet up on the orange table, and go on with the story. There will be plenty of time to catch up on what I missed later.

  7

  JUST AS I’M DESCRIBING MY bound to the Ezone with the lost aeronauts, the Bounders’ com links start beeping.

  “Welp, I guess that’s it for lunch,” Ryan says, shoving another huge bite of tater tots into his already-full mouth.

  Meggi dabs her lips with a napkin, then stands with her tray. “It’s so great to see you, Jasper. I can’t wait to t
alk more later!”

  “Wait a minute!” I swing my legs off the table. “Where are you guys going? I have tons of questions!”

  “Duty calls.” Annette’s face is as expressionless as always. “That much hasn’t changed.”

  I stand. “Seriously, where are you off to?”

  “There’s a captains’ briefing,” Hakim explains as I follow the Bounders to the tray line. I can’t believe he’s friends with my friends! At least Regis is still gone.

  “You guys are all captains?”

  “Yep,” Ryan says, his mouth still full with his last bite of tater tots. “No more pod leaders, no more classes, no more kid time. We’re full-fledged officers of the Force now.”

  “What does that even mean?”

  “Pod patrol, military engagements, bounding drills—there’s no time for much else,” Meggi says. She and Ryan hang back, letting the other Bounders exit the mess hall first. They promise to meet up later and fill me in on what I missed. For now, I ask them to drop me at the suction chute leading to the sensory gym.

  “I suppose Cole’s going to be at this briefing, too?” I ask, trying not to sound too annoyed.

  “He’ll probably be leading the briefing,” Meggi says.

  “Why?” Ryan asks. “You hoping to talk to him? Good luck.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Ryan sneers. “Only that Cole doesn’t have time for the little people.”

  Meggi glares at Ryan then smiles sympathetically at me. “It’s not like that, Jasper. Cole’s just very busy these days. The best time to catch him is first thing in the morning. He wakes up super early and heads down for breakfast.”

  “Come on, Meggi,” Ryan says. “Cole is all business these days. You should have heard his lecture about confidentiality when he found out I’d told Jasper about Addy and Marco.” Ryan looks around, making sure no one heard him, then shakes his head at me. “Thanks for ratting me out, by the way.”

  “Really? You got in trouble for that? Sorry.”