The Dark Side of the Moon

(#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.