The Heroes Return Read online

  Oh my God.

  “And now you’ve returned from the dead!” Lucy claps her hands. “What a story!”

  “Mira’s not dead,” I say.

  “To us, she is,” Admiral Eames says before leaving the room, closing the door just as firmly as when she arrived.

  • • •

  I’m still shaking when they wheel in the lunch carts.

  “I need a break,” I tell Lucy, who’s squeezed into the space next to me so she can talk to Denver.

  “Perfect timing, let’s eat!” She calls Jayne over. “We’re breaking for lunch. Please go get those updated numbers from the press room.”

  “Seriously, Lucy,” I say. “I need to get out of here. Let me take a walk or something. Please!”

  “Jasper can come with me,” Jayne says.

  Lucy grimaces. I’m sure she’ll say no, but then she waves a hand at Jayne. “Fine, but don’t be long.”

  “Thanks,” I say to Jayne once we exit the room. She tries to make conversation as we walk through the halls, but I can’t bring myself to talk much. If I do, I’ll probably start screaming about how horrible the Force is, and then they’ll either lock me up or haul me back to that training room and not let me leave until our passenger craft is loaded and ready to leave for Earth.

  She stops at a chute cube and opens the door. I could have sworn this led to the structure with the sensory gym, not the one with the press room, but it’s not like my sense of direction is at all reliable.

  “After you,” she says.

  That’s right. Jayne refuses to go first. Just one of many things that have annoyed me since I got to the space station two days ago.

  When I arrive at the trough on the other side, I’m even more sure we’re nowhere near the press room. As soon as I climb out, Jayne slides in behind me.

  “Where are we going?” I ask.

  Jayne grins. “He speaks.”

  I follow her out of the chute cube and down the hall at her usual fast clip. “Are you taking me to the sensory gym?”

  Jayne smiles. “Nope.”

  She stops at the door to the pod hall. It buzzes open after scanning her eye. We walk into the dark hall. It smells faintly of dust and gym clothes.

  I’m still super irritated, but being in the pod hall makes me feel at least a tiny bit better. “How long since anyone’s been in here?”

  She shrugs. “A while. Shortly after the Battle of the Alkalinian Seat, Admiral Eames promoted the Bounders and overhauled the training program. Now all bounding exercises mimic military engagements and are conducted in the hangar or off-site. This pod hall hasn’t been used in months. Anyhow, I thought you’d enjoy visiting a familiar spot. Waters’s pod room is where the magic started, right? It’s where the all-star pod first bonded.”

  “If you say so.” A week ago I would have agreed. Now, I don’t know what to think. Our pod has been ripped apart. We stand on different sides of a huge chasm. Lucy and Cole feel like strangers. I don’t know when I’ll see Marco again. And I may never see Mira. As far as everybody else is concerned, she’s dead.

  We head to the last door in the hall, and Jayne stands aside to let me enter. At least our pod room hasn’t changed. There’s the same green grass carpet and starry sky ceiling. The familiar lava lamps and colored sticks line the shelves. Our bright beanbags dot the floor. I fling myself down on my favorite turquoise bag.

  Jayne sits cross-legged in front of me. “Okay, I’m an open book.”

  “What?”

  “I figure we have about thirty minutes before Lucy starts trying to track me down. I know you have questions about what you missed this past year. Fire away.”

  “Really? What about that data from the press room?”

  Jayne grins. “I downloaded it directly to my tablet during our morning session. Now, what do you want to know?”

  I can’t believe Jayne is making this offer. It must be incredibly risky, especially with all the paranoia about the mole. “Why are you doing this? You could get in huge trouble.”

  Jayne leans forward, staring at me somberly with her purple eyes. “You’re not wrong, but I think you deserve some answers. But if you want me to be one hundred percent honest, I’m doing it for Addy.”

  “My sister? Why?”

  “We’re friends, Jasper. Even now I consider her a friend. I know she’d want you to know the truth.”

  I smile. Jayne is totally right. How many times did Addy complain about me keeping things from her, especially when it came to Earth Force? “Addy always hated secrets. Okay, so what happened on Alkalinia? Who died?”

  “The whole story would take too long, but you being the hero is not just part of the Earth Force narrative. If you hadn’t gotten the shield down, we probably all would have died. As it was, all of the Bounders survived—except you and Mira, although we know now that you didn’t die, you were just lost in the rift. Some of the more senior Earth Force officers weren’t as lucky.”

  Jayne goes on to list many of the men and women who died that day. Some of the names sound familiar, but most of them were combat soldiers who I didn’t really know. The one exception is Chief Auxiliary Officer Wade Johnson—Bad Breath. I’m certainly not happy that Bad Breath died, but I don’t feel that awful, either. I’d rather it be him than one of the Bounders.

  Still, I’d rather no one had to give their lives that day. If only I could have gotten that shield down earlier.

  “You must have more questions,” Jayne says.

  Do I ever. “Why did my sister and Marco join the Resistance?”

  “I’m not sure, but I have my suspicions. They jumped ship after your funeral, immediately after we rolled out the war campaign. Sadly, I’m pretty sure the Force told your parents that Addy is now presumed dead, too, even though they know she’s with the Resistance.”

  I cringe. I hate to think about Addy and my parents believing I was dead, sitting through my funeral. My parents had to do that twice? They thought they’d lost both of their kids? I can’t dwell on that. We don’t have much time, and there’s a lot more I want to know.

  “Tell me about the Resistance.”

  Jayne folds her hands in her lap and tips her gaze to the grass-green carpet. When she finally lifts her eyes, her face is unreadable. “The Resistance opposes Earth Force. They disagree with the Force’s methods, their dominion over lesser developed planets, and the war with the Youli. They’re pushing for Earth’s entrance into the Intragalactic Council. Your old pod leader, Jon Waters, is at the helm, and a number of Bounders and Tunnelers have joined him.”

  That sounds a lot like the concerns Waters has hinted at since I met him during my first tour of duty. “The Force’s methods . . . Do you mean all the secrecy?”

  “That’s certainly part of it.”

  Addy was already fired up about those issues before joining Earth Force. And the truth is, I care about them, too. “When the Force informed the public about the Youli War, did they also tell them about the Resistance? Was that part of the war campaign?”

  “The Resistance? No. The Force hasn’t publicly acknowledged the existence of the Resistance. They did inform the people of Earth about the Youli, but let’s just say it wasn’t the whole truth. Lots of things were coordinated with the announcement—yours and Mira’s funeral, the propaganda campaign, the planetary curfews and lockdowns, the increased military presence, the criminalization of antiwar messaging.”

  “So what did Earth Force say about the war? And why did they say anything at all?”

  “There were too many rumors running around that came way too close to the truth about the Youli and the Bounder Baby Breeding Program. Earth Force needed to take control of the message. They, or I guess we should say we, blamed the Battle of the Alkalinian Seat on the Youli, although we didn’t give any details about the battle. The story is that we were engaged in a basic military operation and were ambushed. The Youli slaughtered our officers, including two young Bounders who died valiantly defending their p
eople and their planet.”

  “Me and Mira.”

  Jayne nods. “As you heard earlier today, we’ve now changed the story up a bit. You and Mira were kidnapped and went on to rescue the lost aeronauts. But back then, we turned all the panic buttons up to full volume, informing the public that all of Earth Force’s might would be put to defending the planet from the Youli. We scared the public into believing that an attack on Earth soil was imminent. That way, if the Resistance launched an operation, Earth Force could blame the Youli. And if there was no violence, well, then the Force’s efforts were working and deserved full support.”

  Wow. They really plotted it all out. The story even makes sense to me, although there’s barely an ounce of truth to it. The only fact they got right is that we’re at war with the Youli. “You know, I never really understood why the Youli don’t attack Earth, or at least knock us down a few notches in battle. They must have the ability to annihilate us.”

  Jayne again drops her gaze to the grassy carpet and bites her lip. Time stretches, and I think she’s not going to say anything. Maybe I stepped over some invisible line that she’s not willing to cross.

  “I don’t know why, Jasper,” she finally says, “but I have suspicions. You’re right: if the Youli wanted to defeat Earth, we wouldn’t be here. Our planet would have been destroyed long before we were born. The Youli’s attacks are little more than a big brother’s slap on the wrist. I don’t think they want to destroy us. It’s just that there are rules in the galaxy, and Earth isn’t playing by them.”

  It almost sounds like Jayne is sympathetic to the Youli’s position—the Resistance’s position. Could that be true?

  Before I can ask, Jayne shrugs and laughs like her comment was nothing more than a joke. “But who says the Youli get to make the rules, right? We need to assert our rights. Our PR campaigns help unify our planet at a time of war. That’s important.”

  I guess, but that sounds a lot like something Lucy might say. I’m not clear at all on what Jayne actually believes, but there’s no time for that now.

  She answers a few more questions about what happened over the past year, but soon she checks her wristlet. We need to head back.

  “Wait!” I say when Jayne stands. “Before we go, there’s something else. Until Earth Force announced the Lost Heroes Homecoming Tour, my parents thought I was dead. They must be desperate to talk to me. Can you help me contact them?”

  Jayne scrunches up her face. “Hmmm . . . that’s tricky. There’s a strict ban on outside communication.” She paces the room, clearly thinking. “You know what I can do? Let’s record a vid message for your parents. I’ll be able to send it to them later today via our PR channels. But we need to hurry—Lucy will be wondering where we are.”

  I close my eyes. “That would be great. Thank you so much!”

  Jayne films me as I put on a happy face and smile for the camera, assuring my parents that I’m fine and looking forward to seeing them soon in Americana East, the third stop on the Lost Heroes Homecoming Tour.

  On the way back, Jayne rides in front on the chute. That must mean she’s starting to trust me. That we’re friends. It doesn’t change the fact that things totally suck, but it does make me smile for a second before I’m sucked into the chute.

  10

  IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO RIDE ON a passenger craft and not think about my pod mates. During my very first trip to the EarthBound Academy, I bonded with Cole and Lucy, chatting about the fierceness rankings of the famous aeronauts, hitting up plebes for snacks, comparing Evolution of Combat stats. Since then, every time I’ve ridden on one of these ships, I’ve been with my friends.

  Today, it’s me and the Earth Force propaganda machine.

  At least we finally made the shift to FTL. Now everything out the window is a blur. Before, I had a clear view of the dozen gunner ships escorting our passenger craft to Earth. First stop on the Lost Heroes Homecoming Tour: Eurasia East.

  Jayne tried to cheer me up, but I zoned out during her many attempts at small talk, and she quickly tired of my terrible mood.

  How could my attitude not be terrible? My sister and one of my best friends are AWOL and rumored to be joined up with the Resistance. My other two best friends have moved on and moved over me in Earth Force. And then there’s Mira—Mira, who didn’t want to come back with me, who chose the Youli over me, who left me to deal with all this mess alone.

  I close my eyes and try to shut out all the noise on the passenger craft.

  Mira? Can you hear me? Where are you?

  I open my mind as wide as I possibly can, all the while repeating my call for Mira like a beacon across the cosmos. A lonely, unheard cry in the dark.

  Puke. I sound as dramatic as Lucy.

  Then I sense a presence. Mira?

  A finger jabs my shoulder. “Scoot, kid.” Denver stands in the aisle staring down at me.

  I unbuckle and slide over. I can’t believe I thought I’d reached Mira. I must be losing my mind.

  Denver plops onto the chair I just gave up. “I’ve got some questions for you.”

  “You mean about the tour?” I haven’t paid attention to anything anyone’s said about the tour since the first half of our training session yesterday, and I certainly haven’t read the stack of materials Lucy hand delivered to me last night before I went to bed. “See, the thing is, I have the script, but I haven’t had a chance to memorize the speaking parts that Lucy—that’s Lucy Dugan, the assistant press secretary—gave me, and—”

  “Forget the script. We won’t follow that anyway, not if I can help it.”

  “Do you mean you plan to tell the truth?”

  “Which truth?” Denver laughs and rolls his eyes. “I don’t like it any more than you, kid, but it’s what has to be. Our esteemed Admiral Eames had words with me last night. Apparently, planetary security depends on me toeing the party line. I don’t particularly want to be court-martialed.” His voice softens. “And, truth be told, I trust her, so I’ll do as she asks. I suggest you do, too.”

  I nod. If anything has been made crystal clear to me over the last forty-eight hours, it’s that I’m expected to follow orders.

  Denver crosses his leg over the opposite knee. “I’m here because I want to talk about you.”

  “Umm . . . okay . . .” This has taken a turn for the strange.

  “Here’s the thing, kid. Our fellow officers have done an admirable job bringing me up to speed on recent history, and I’ve spent much of my downtime reading historical web reports, but I still have questions.”

  “And you think I have the answers?” The concept that anyone would think to come to me for answers about anything is almost laugh-out-loud funny. I bite my lip so I don’t accidentally let a laugh slip.

  “On this subject, yes,” he says. “I don’t understand what you do, as a Bounder, that is. I understand the science behind quantum bounding, of course. I was one of the original aeronauts. But bounding without a ship? That’s all new to me. No one has been able to explain it to me in a way that makes sense. So I figured I’d ask a Bounder, and you’re the only one I know.”

  “You must know Lucy.”

  “The PR princess? Sure, but I wasn’t about to subject myself voluntarily to another round of her incessant talking.”

  This time, I do laugh out loud. “Yeah, Lucy can be chatty.”

  “That’s an understatement.” He scans the craft until he spots Lucy in the far corner talking to some of her staff. “Do you know her well?”

  A small, sad smile settles on my face. “She was my pod mate. A few days ago she was quizzing me about a crush in our quarters in Alkalinia, although that was more than a year ago in Earth time. A lot has happened since then.”

  “You’re telling me, kid.” Denver sighs and shakes his head. “Don’t take me down that road. It’s a slippery slope filled with potholes and black ice and roadblocks. Back to my question. What’s this shipless bounding like? Do you just wave your gloved hands and—presto?”r />
  “Not really.” How do I explain bounding to someone who has no experience with the gloves? I think back to our first time in the Ezone. “You have to merge with the gloves in a way. They become part of you and make you bigger than yourself at the same time. It’s like they amplify what’s already there. When I use my gloves to tap into my deeper consciousness, the universe makes sense in a way I can’t explain. And it’s not just that I can see and understand at a heightened level, it’s that I can actually manipulate matter like I am the universe.”

  “You’re the master of the universe. Right.”

  “That’s not what I mean. With the gloves, I can see what I’m made of. Literally. And I can use that knowledge to move myself, replicate myself, anywhere in the galaxy.”

  Denver’s face is scrunched in thought. “So the gloves enable you to map and replicate atoms just like the computers on the bounding ships?”

  “Yeah. Kind of.” That’s not how it works at all, really, but I guess it’s as close as someone who has never experienced the gloves can come to understanding.

  “And this is how the aliens—the Youli—magically appear places?”

  “Basically,” I say. “In fact, the glove technology came from them.”

  He sits back in his seat. “What do you mean?”

  “If you ever thought your time in the rift was for nothing, you’re wrong. It’s above my clearance, but I think Earth Force took a Youli prisoner during the Incident at Bounding Base 51. It was after the Incident that they were able to develop the gloves. The gloves are made from Youli biotechnology.”

  Denver runs a hand through his hair. “That’s a lot to take in. Why didn’t I know this?”

  “Maybe it’s above your clearance level now, too.”

  He rolls his eyes. “A lot of things are above my clearance, and as we heard yesterday, I can’t be sure anything I’m told is the truth. Never mind that now. Show me.”

  “Huh?”

  “Show me how you bound.”

  I laugh. “No. Like I said, I need the gloves to bound. And even if I did have my gloves—which I don’t, since they were lost on Alkalinia—I couldn’t use them here. I’m sure they have bound detection activated and probably even a quantum scrambler. It’s the primary defense against the Youli.”