Galactic Battle (16 page)

It took a long time, but eventually the applause died away. As the members of the Galactic Battle team let go of one another's hands and headed backstage in a daze, Kaal grabbed John's arm.

“I'm so sorry,” Kaal said. “I must have done something wrong to make the Defendroids go haywire. I should never have tried to fix them by myself.”

“It's my fault,” said John. “I told you to do it. And I'd be dead now if it wasn't for you.”

A little tunnel led under the Center, prepared with cold drinks and MorphSeats, ready for the teams to relax on.

Immediately, the other students cleared the way, offering the Galactic Battle team their choice of seats.

John threw himself onto a sofa, laughing with relief, and beginning to shiver with delayed shock. His teammates all piled on with him, Kritta gazing at Kaal in awe.

The big Derrilian was grinning from green ear to green ear.

“Did we really do that?” Dyfi asked. “I mean . . . wow.”

“We really did,” said Tarope. “I wish the crew back at my old spawning ground could see me now. ‘Tarope the wimp' no more!”

“So do you think you've gone out on a high enough note, Monix?” Kritta laughed.

“Oh, you had to bring that up!” Monix said, laughing, too. “You know what? I'm the lucky one.”

“Lucky?” Kaal said, puzzled. “How?”

“It's my last year here. Nobody's going to expect me to top that performance next year. But you guys, on the other hand . . . good luck!”

Everyone else laughed, but John could only manage a smile.

“What's wrong, John?” Kritta asked. “We did it! We beat the Defendroids and saved everyone on the ship!”

“I know,” John answered. “I should be happy. I just wish I could have straightened things out with Emmie, that's all.”

“So go and talk to her!” Kritta nudged him in the ribs. “She's over there.”

John leaped to his feet as he spotted Emmie in the corner of the tunnel, by the beverage machine. “Emmie!”

“We can cope without our fearless leader!” Kritta called. “Don't worry!”

Emmie saw John approaching and immediately seized him in a fierce hug. “Oh, John. I'm so sorry. I should have known, I should have seen! It was Mordant all along!”

John let out a long, relieved sigh. “I thought I'd have to convince you.”

“You don't have to convince me — I know exactly what's been going on. He's been playing mind games with me,” Emmie said bitterly. “Everything he's done — coming over all friendly, saying you two had been mean to me — it was all a trick. He wanted to steal my friendship for himself! And I believed him! But then I overheard him telling off G-Vez about the Defendroids, and that's when I just knew he'd been lying.”

“But what about your suit?”

“Mordant must have torn it up himself,” said Emmie angrily.

John said, “Wait! I saw G-Vez carrying a metal claw in the Junkyard. Mordant must have got him to find it, then used it to rip your suit up so it would look like Kaal had done it!”

Emmie's mouth was an O of astonishment. “That little creep! And to think I ran crying to him! He was so kind, so supportive, and all the time he was the one doing it!”

“Sounds like the Mordant we all know, huh?”

Emmie wiped her eyes angrily. “Oh, John, I've been so stupid — I should have trusted you from the beginning!”

At that moment, Mordant came swaggering through the crowd. He went up to Emmie and threw his tentacle around her. “Why are you talking to this jerk?” he asked. “Hey, Riley, you'd better not be bothering her.”

With lightning speed, Emmie span around and slapped him. The noise was as loud as the crack of a whip. Everyone nearby stopped talking and stared.

Mordant touched his cheek, as the black skin reddened. His familiar hateful sneer was suddenly back, as if Emmie had ripped off a mask. “You're an idiot, Tarz,” he hissed. “I'm glad I messed with those Defendroids. Too bad they didn't pulverize your precious little friends!”

“At least I have friends,” Emmie shot back. “And they never turned their backs on me. But you'll never know how good that feels.”

“Awww,” Mordant said. “Cute. You deserve each other.”

“Don't ever try to get between me and them again. Got it?”

Mordant glared for a moment, as Kaal came up to complete the group. Then he stormed off, seething, through the crowd. Alone.

“That was awesome,” John said.

“He had it coming,” Emmie replied with a glare in Mordant's direction. “These last few days have been so horrible. When I think of all the things that have happened . . . ugh.”

“Come and sit with us and tell me and Kaal all about it,” John suggested. “He's been worried about you, too.”

The rest of the Galactic Battle team made room for Emmie on the sofa, and she poured out the story.

“The Neptune nuts were what started it all,” she went on. “I found a bunch grated into my Zorbalene soup.”

“You don't like them?” Kaal asked.

“I'm allergic. They make my face swell up. If I'd eaten them, I wouldn't have been able to take part in the Space Spectacular! That's what I meant about ending up in the medical wing. Mordant stopped me just in time — he said he could smell something funny. I was so grateful. Now I know the truth.” She made a revolted face. “He said he had a hunch who'd done it, so we snuck into your dorm room . . .”

“Oh, now I get it,” John said, remembering the box of Neptune nuts he'd found by his bedside. “Didn't you suspect he'd planted them, though?”

“He'd been with me all day!” Emmie said. “It seemed like it couldn't have been him! And after practice yesterday, I went to take my shower, and my shampoo bottle was full of jet engine oil.” She shuddered at the memory.

“And Mordant led you to our dorm on another ‘hunch,' didn't he?” Kaal asked angrily. “John, remember the oil smudges on the door panel?”

“Yeah,” John said. “He really worked overtime on this one.”

“Then there was my suit . . . He tricked me,” Emmie said, and fresh blue tears began to well up. “My two best friends, and I turned on you. I can't believe it. I've been so stupid . . . Why am I always so STUPID?”

“You are not stupid, Emmie,” John said firmly. “Mordant played this one like a pro. Anyone would have been convinced.”

“He put you all in danger!' she raged. “Sabotaging the Defendroids — everyone's families could have been hurt! We can't let him get away with that!”

“I still don't know how he did it,” Kaal confessed. “How could he have found out the codes to put the robots in training mode so he could sabotage them? How did he plant those Neptune nuts and put oil in the shampoo while he was with Emmie?”

John suddenly remembered the tiny metallic shape he'd seen, hovering up in the shadows in the Belly. It had been there when Master Tronic had given him the code.

It hadn't been a bat, it was . . .

“G-Vez!” he said. “That's how!”

“Of course!” Kaal groaned. “While Mordant was buttering up Emmie, his loyal little droid was out doing his dirty work. G-Vez must have followed us into the Belly and memorized the codes.”

“He goes on errands for Mordant all the time,” John agreed. “I should have figured it out sooner!”

“Mordant Talliver's got to pay for this,” Emmie said in a blood-chilling tone. “He wants to play games? Well, he's going to learn that other people can play them, too. That slap's going to seem like a kiss on the cheek when I'm through with him!”

“You don't need to take revenge on him,” John said. “You, Kaal, and I are friends again, and Mordant the loser is out on his ear. That's the best revenge we could hope for!”

Emmie's scowl immediately dissolved into a smile. “Oh, come here!” She hugged John and Kaal at the same time.

They sat together on the sofa for a while, not saying a word, and not needing to.

“Attention, all students!” announced Zepp. “The Center has now been restored to its usual configuration! Any students who wish to meet their parents for an after-show meal may now do so. Have fun!”

The Galactic Battle team sprang up off the sofa. It was time to go their separate ways. Dyfi, Tarope, and Monix all headed up to the Center, promising to catch up later, while Kaal and Kritta went to speak with their families. Only John and Emmie remained.

“I'd better go,” John said.

“No way! Come and meet my folks,” she insisted. “They've heard a lot about you!”

Brannicus and Morghaine Tarz, John soon discovered, had heard everything about him.

“She never shuts up about you,” Brannicus said, his eyes twinkling through blue wrap-around sunglasses. “All these adventures you've had together! Flying shuttles on volcanic worlds, going space-walking with only one of her suit designs to protect you, preventing interplanetary war . . .”

“Brannicus's colleagues on the Galactic Council were particularly impressed with that one,” said Morghaine. “Tell me, John, do you think Emmie might follow her father into politics?”

“Of course she won't,” Brannicus chimed in. “And one galactic diplomat in the family is more than enough, surely!”

“Well, I'm just glad you're here to keep her feet on the ground,” Morghaine said with a sigh. She laid a golden hand on John's arm. “Emmie is somewhat of a free spirit.”

“Yeah,” John said. “That's okay. We like her that way.”

Emmie's golden skin blushed, and she gave him a proud grin.

“She takes after her mother,” said Brannicus with a wink. “John, I hope you'll join us for a meal?”

“Sure!”

Morghaine waved across the Center to Kaal's parents. “Vorn! Dulâna! Let's all grab a table together. One big party!”

“If there's one thing my mom knows how to do,” Emmie whispered to John, “it's celebrate.”

And so, Kaal's parents, Emmie's parents, Kulvi, Emmie, Kaal, and John all ended up crammed into Ska's Café, laughing and gorging themselves on plate after steaming plate of bizarre delicacies. Serve-U-Droids constantly hovered in and out of the room, whisking away empty dishes and bringing in new ones covered in transparent domes.

John created a little island of Earth food at his end of the table, with Zepp's help: there were hot dogs, chips, a huge jug of Coke with ice, ketchup, and for some reason, a little package of honey.

“Aha!” cheered Brannicus Tarz, as a Serve-U-Droid brought in a steaming bowl of something purple, along with a little flask of clear liquid. “The Emperor's Delight has arrived!” The bowl was a deep, rich gold, with engraved dragon-like creatures chasing one another around the rim.

“I do confess, I've always wanted to try one of these,” Vorn Tartaru said. “A Sillaran delicacy, so I'm told.”

“
The
Sillaran delicacy,” Morghaine said, smiling. “No expense spared tonight.”

Emmie bounced with excitement. “Can I do the honors? Please?”

Morghaine leaned over to John. “Ever since she was a little girl, it's always been Emmie who ignites the Emperor's Delight. It's a sort of family tradition.”

Just like me with lighting birthday candles for Mom and Dad,
John thought.

Emmie opened the flask and shook in the contents, and a startling column of purple flames roared upward, then died away. “So who gets the lucky first gulp?” she said breathlessly.

Brannicus stood up and passed the bowl to John. “The honor goes to you today, young man.”

John could hardly refuse, not after that. He took a small sip. The stuff was like warm fish oil mixed with toenail clippings. He forced himself to smile.

Brannicus nodded, pleased. “Pass the bowl to your right.”

John passed it to Kaal, who took a huge, greedy swallow. “Dad, it's delicious!”

“Just one gulp, then pass it on!” Brannicus said.

John couldn't help wondering what his own parents would make of all this. Would his dad crack jokes with Kaal's father, while his mother praised Emmie's mom's fashion sense? It was so easy to imagine them here . . . and that just made it hurt worse to know that they couldn't be.

Just as he was starting to feel sad again, he felt Emmie's dad put his arm around him.

“You must think of yourself as part of the family, John,” he said. “There's always room for you in our house on Sillar, anytime you feel like visiting. Maybe you could stay with us for a vacation sometime?” He grinned. “Emmie needs someone to go flying with.”

“Wow. That would be really cool,” John said, amazed. “I'd love to!”

Suddenly, in a ball of glowing energy, Lorem appeared beside John. “Pardon me butting in, everyone,” he said. “But, John, I wanted to tell you that I have just sent an email to your parents. I thought they deserved to know how hard you have worked on this Space Spectacular, especially in your role as team leader.” He smiled slightly. “Naturally, I needed to change a few details.”

“Headmaster,” John said, “I have to tell you —”

“About the Defendroids?” Lorem said seriously. “Yes, John, I know the danger you faced was more real than the audience realized.”

“You knew? But you didn't stop them! We could have been hurt, or killed!”

“I saw that you were able to win without my help,” Lorem said. “It was your victory. I could not take it away from you. And as for the person responsible . . .”

“You know about that, too?”

“What Mordant did was very serious. He didn't just put your team in grave danger — he put the whole audience at risk. He will be spending the rest of the semester in daily detention, which will give him plenty of time to reflect on matters such as friendship and fair play. The only reason he hasn't been expelled is that he did not intend for you to be harmed — he was only trying to prevent your team from performing. He obviously underestimated your team's determination and spirit.” Lorem shook his head. “Young Miss Tarz was right when she said how important it is to have loyal friends. To have no true friends at all . . .” Lorem frowned. “That is a punishment far worse than anything an Examiner could inflict. I would not wish it on anyone.”