The Incredible Space Raiders from Space! Read online

  Jonah realized Captain White Shark could still lock them out of the bridge. If he did that, the Space Raiders could never take over the Squirrel. Jonah gripped his bonker and sprinted after him.

  “Space Raiders, charge!” Martin called, running after Jonah.

  The Space Raiders took up the call and charged after them.

  Captain White Shark made it inside and ran to the door panel. Jonah was still five feet away. If those doors closed, he knew they could never get them open again. Captain White Shark hit the panel, and Jonah dived. If he did one thing well, it was definitely sliding. He hit the floor and slid an extra foot or two, just enough that he managed to hold the bonker out with one hand and jam it in between the closing doors. They slammed into the bonker and groaned and strained but didn’t close on the slightly bending metal pole.

  He looked up and saw just the faintest hint of a smile cross Captain White Shark’s face. Not a smile of happiness. It was a smile of complete and utter disbelief.

  “No one can stop Jonah the Now Incredible!” Martin shouted, taking a flying leap over the bonker and into the bridge.

  Captain White Shark might have been surprised, but he wasn’t giving up. He lashed out with a boot just as Martin went airborne, catching the small boy right in the chest. He flew backward, slamming into the ground beside Jonah. He lay there for a second, staring up at the ceiling. Jonah scrambled over to him.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “I’m just going to lie here for a second,” he managed. “Get him for me.”

  Jonah nodded and scooped up Martin’s gun. Then he charged through the doorway, sliding to a halt when he saw the empty bridge. It was incredible. A massive, sweeping window covered the front of the room, just like the Bubble, looking out onto a panoramic view of space. Control stations were situated around the room, including spots for the pilot and navigator, and stations on the wall for the communications specialist and lead engineer. But most impressive of all was the metallic gray-and-black chair in the middle of the room, raised on a large circular podium so that it overlooked the rest of the bridge.

  He wondered what it was like to sit there.

  At that moment, Captain White Shark popped over one of the control stations, gun in hand. Jonah threw himself to the floor just as a sizzling blue laser shot by right where his head had been and blasted into the far wall, just barely missing a control panel.

  Crawling on his hands and knees, Jonah made a break for the nearest control station and flung himself behind it. He felt his hands sweating on the cool metal of the gun handle. He’d never even held a gun before today, and now he was in a gunfight in a room with a giant glass window covering half the wall.

  This was not good.

  He poked his head over the chair, and Captain White Shark fired again, being very careful to overshoot the equipment. As a result it sailed well over Jonah’s head.

  “Don’t hit anything!” the captain shouted.

  “So give up!” Jonah shouted back.

  “This is my ship,” he growled.

  Jonah peeked out from the side of the black control station and saw that Captain White Shark was slowly making his way around the bridge, staying low. Jonah prepared to pop out and fire. He just had to avoid hitting the glass.

  “Why are you even doing this?” Captain White Shark asked. “You’re going home.”

  Jonah frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Did you think we were dropping you off too?” he asked scornfully. “The commission would have my head. Your parents have been asking too many questions.”

  “My parents?” Jonah said. He took another peek. The captain was getting closer. “Didn’t they send me here?”

  Captain White Shark snorted. “Send you? They’ve started an interplanet search for you! And they’re starting to find clues, which Elling is not happy about. Why do you think Leppy is in the brig? He’s the idiot who forgot Jonah Hillcrest the first time and made me go all the way back to Earth. And he’s the same idiot who took you—Jonah L. Hillcrest—instead of the street rat Jonah R. Hillcrest who lives in the Charles Hodge Orphanage. He’s lucky I didn’t blast him into space. I still might, after all the trouble you’ve caused. By the time we found out, we’d wasted too much time. I told them I’d just drop the kids off and take you home after we were done. I expect Elling will meet with you first and explain what happens to your loved ones if you tell anyone where you’ve been.”

  Jonah’s mind was reeling. He wasn’t a Space Raider. He wasn’t the special recruit. He was just a mistake. But that meant his parents hadn’t given him up. The fact that they were fighting for him to come home meant they weren’t sick of him. They really did love him. They really did want him.

  But another part of him was suddenly afraid. Somewhere along the way he’d started to believe that he really was special. That he could do these incredible things.

  But he wasn’t. He was Jonah L. Hillcrest, regular boy.

  The gun was trembling in his hands. He heard the captain’s footsteps.

  “I thought I’d leave you with the others,” Captain White Shark continued. “We didn’t want to take care of you. Clearly that was a mistake.”

  “I’m not a Space Raider,” Jonah murmured.

  The captain laughed. “No. And consider yourself lucky. Now turn the gun over. I won’t kill you, Jonah. I’d be tried for murder. Do it now and I won’t kill your friends, either. Not that I need to. I’m sure PER-7 will take care of that.”

  Jonah perked up. Maybe he wasn’t special. Maybe he wasn’t a Space Raider. But he still believed something was wrong on the Fantastic Flying Squirrel. And there was only one way to protect his friends.

  Jonah popped over the console and fired. Captain White Shark ducked out of the way, and the blue blast hit the glass and crackled across it with blue streaks and sparks.

  “What is Project Weed?” Jonah shouted, firing again as the captain ducked behind another control station.

  “How do you know about that?” Captain White Shark called.

  “I found the folder,” Jonah said, scurrying to another station. “What is it?”

  The Captain peeked out and fired. “It’s what your little friends are here for.”

  The blue blast just missed over Jonah’s head, and he felt his hair stand up on end.

  “Jonah!” Martin said, stepping through the door. “Did you get—”

  He yelped as Captain White Shark fired at the door. Martin dove out of the way, covering his head with his arms.

  “Guess not!” he shouted.

  Jonah saw other Space Raiders crowding around the door. In a matter of moments, they would flood inside and the captain would be overwhelmed. He saw it too.

  Captain White Shark sprinted for the door, obviously hoping to kick out the bonker and blow the panel, locking the others out. Jonah lifted his gun. He had one shot.

  Jonah pulled the trigger, and a blue blast lanced out across the bridge. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked. The blast hit the captain in his trailing leg, and he cried out and pitched forward as his leg went completely stiff. His gun spilled out a few feet in front of him. He tried to crawl for it, but Willona stepped in his way, pointing a gun at him.

  “You’ve been space raided,” she said quietly, and then looked at Jonah. “What do you think?”

  Jonah smiled and stood up. “Not bad.”

  Martin hit the door panel, and the double doors slid open. The assembled Space Raiders, those who weren’t guarding the downed pirates, streamed inside. At least a hundred of them crowded onto the bridge, and Captain White Shark pushed against the wall with his hands, unable to stand up. The commander walked in last, her green eyes immediately flicking to the captain. Her face visibly tightened.

  Jonah walked across the bridge, gun in hand, and the other Space Raiders stepped aside to let him pass. He saw the admiration in their faces. He knew that wouldn’t last long. When they found out he was a mistake, they would exile him again.


  He stopped in front of the captain. Before that happened, he wanted answers.

  “Where is this ship going?” he asked.

  The captain scowled. “I told you. PER-7.”

  Jonah heard the other Space Raiders murmuring amongst themselves.

  “What is that? Is it in the Dark Zone?”

  He laughed quietly to himself. “No, it’s not in the Dark Zone. It’s Possible Earth Replacement Seven.”

  Jonah frowned. They were the seventh load of Space Raiders.

  “What is Project Weed?” he asked again.

  The Captain met his eyes. “I told you that, too. It’s why they’re all here.”

  “But what is it?” Jonah insisted. “What are the Space Raiders? What are they supposed to do? Why were they chosen?”

  Captain White Shark sat there for a long moment, staring right at Jonah.

  “Why don’t you ask my daughter?” he said finally, shifting his eyes.

  Everyone quickly followed his gaze. Before he even looked, Jonah knew.

  He turned around and saw her pale cheeks flush as the other Space Raiders stepped away from her in shock, forming a wide circle. She stared at the floor for a few seconds, and then the commander managed two mumbled words.

  “I’m sorry.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  * * *

  * * *

  THE TRIBUNAL WAS HELD ON the bridge. It was one of the few rooms large enough to hold the entire assembled group of the Space Raiders, and it was still full to the brim.

  There was a lot to do before the tribunal could be held. The power to the crew’s quarters was restored by a closely watched Boggs, who used the welding equipment to fix the damaged power line. Of course, before the power was restored, they also had to free the captured prisoners from Sector Four and move the crew into the brig.

  Jonah was the one to swing open the brig door and release them, and he was met by a saluting Alex the Adventurer. When Alex found out that Jonah had led a takeover of the Squirrel, he quickly took him aside.

  “I owe you an apology,” he said, his eyes on the floor.

  “Why?” Jonah asked, confused.

  “I was the one who attacked Grouter,” he said quietly. “He chased me into a service shaft. He was right on my keister, so I jumped out and whacked him in the knee. It made a pop noise,” he continued, wincing. “He fell into a lower shaft. I knew they would get me for it, so I hid for hours before I ran back to the sectors. Then, like a coward, I let you take the blame.” He met Jonah’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Jonah the Now Incredible.”

  Jonah smiled. “No problem, Alex the Adventurer. Friends?”

  “I’d be honored,” Alex said happily, saluting again. “You’re the best Space Raider in history.”

  Jonah’s smile had faltered, and he’d just saluted and gotten back to work. He wasn’t looking forward to telling the others. He didn’t have to, he supposed, but they had a right to know. Besides, he needed to get home. His parents were waiting.

  When the power was restored and the crew—including Captain White Shark—were safely locked up in the brig and guarded by Eric the Excellent, the tribunal could finally begin.

  Whispers and rumors were running through the ship, all directed at the silent sixteen-year-old girl sitting alone in the captain’s chair, guarded by a grim-faced Erna the Strong. She had looked the most betrayed by the news, and she had immediately volunteered to guard the commander until the tribunal. Not that they needed a guard. The commander looked broken. Alone. Scared. Every time Jonah walked by, he just felt bad for her. Her fingers tapped the armrests.

  But he wanted answers. And he knew she had them.

  Jonah stood before the captain’s chair, the Space Raiders assembled around him. The former lieutenants stood at his side, and behind them stood Willona, Martin, and the rest of Jonah’s friends from Sector Three. The Space Raiders who had been hit by stun blasts were awake again, and though they were a bit groggy, they insisted on attending. Everyone wanted to hear the commander’s story. They wanted to know why she had lied. Even Sally was there, standing by the door. She looked uncomfortable.

  Jonah knew there were formalities and things he should say to start the tribunal. The commander always did. But he decided to just get to the point.

  “Is it true?” he asked.

  The commander kept tapping the armrest, faster than ever before. Finally, her tired green eyes found him through her lightning-streaked bangs. “Yes,” she whispered.

  The Space Raiders immediately started talking among themselves.

  “Silence!” Lieutenant Potts called.

  The crowd quieted again.

  “How long have you lived on this ship?” Jonah asked.

  She paused. “My whole life. I’ve never been off of it.”

  Jonah nodded. That explained her pale skin.

  “Why are we all here?” Jonah asked.

  Jonah saw tears start to dribble down the commander’s face.

  “You’re here because of Project Weed,” she murmured. “You’re the seventh batch we’ve taken. We’ve already dropped off six other groups.” Her voice faltered. “I didn’t want him to do it. But we needed the money. They were shutting down the Squirrel.”

  Jonah saw the confused looks on everyone’s faces. He knew it would get worse. Things were starting to click into place for him. And it wasn’t good.

  “What is Project Weed?”

  She hesitated. “It’s a top-secret commission project. Earth is too polluted. The ozone layer is collapsing.” She was trembling. “They couldn’t send the entire population to the other planets in our solar system. They couldn’t put billions of people in domes. They needed new planets. Earth replacements.”

  She met Jonah’s eyes.

  “But the commission needed to know if humans could survive on the planets before they sent waves of people there. They don’t know the planets well enough. If there are diseases. Weather patterns. Creatures.” She paused again. “Intelligent life.”

  The Space Raiders were really whispering now. They looked scared.

  “People weren’t going to just volunteer,” she said. “And so they decided to solve two problems at once.” She looked behind Jonah. “There were too many orphans.”

  This caused the loudest stir yet. Jonah suspected many Space Raiders were starting to guess at the truth. But they believed the commander’s story too much. They weren’t there yet.

  “They decided to send orphans to colonize the worlds. Two hundred at a time. One hundred boys. One hundred girls. They used young kids, and only two hundred, because they wanted to be able to take the worlds back if they wanted them. My dad told me if new settlers get comfortable, they stop taking orders. They fight for their homes. Kids wouldn’t do that. They’d just be happy the adults had finally arrived. If they survived the first few years.” Her voice cracked. “The Squirrel was going to be decommissioned. It was an old passenger ship. But Elling came to my dad and offered him the contract. He said our ship was perfect: No one would notice it was gone.”

  She looked out into space.

  “My dad needed the money. He took on the contract and hired this filthy crew—pirates and mercenaries that he found in the old run-down dives by the spaceport. People who didn’t mind abducting orphans and dropping them off across the galaxy. People that could keep them in line. And now we’ve been doing this for almost three years.”

  Jonah glanced behind him. He saw Willona watching with shaking hands. Alex looking betrayed. Jemma looking scared. He wanted to stop asking questions. He wanted them to keep believing. But he couldn’t.

  They deserved to know.

  “Did you make up the Incredible Space Raiders?” Jonah asked quietly.

  The commander put her hands to her eyes, the tears streaming through her slender fingers. “Yes.”

  It finally hit home. He heard the gasps. The whimpers. The frightened voices.

  “Why?”

  The commander turned and
looked right at Sally Malik. “The crew told the first batch what was happening. Where they were going. Sally was one of them. It was terrible. Kids cried and wept and begged to go home. They got angry and tried to take over the ship. One was killed. The rest were locked up until we got to PER-1. I remember the crying as they loaded them onto the shuttle,” she whispered. “But one of them escaped. We’d become best friends, so I let her out of her cell. She hid on the ship, and she’s been here ever since.”

  “The Shrieker,” Jonah murmured, looking at Sally.

  She flushed and looked away.

  “Yes,” the commander said softly. “I get to see her sometimes, but not much. Not while Space Raiders are on the ship. Sometimes I slip away, though, and Sally and I just sit in Home Sweet Home. When the Space Raiders are gone, we spend most of our time together. But we’re never happy. We know where the others are going.”

  The commander shook her head.

  “I begged my dad to stop the trips. But he wouldn’t. So I made up a story. I wanted the kids to feel special. Like they’d been chosen for something important. They needed rules and uniforms and weapons. These big passenger ships always have boxes and boxes of emergency clothes, in case there’s a disease outbreak. They sanitize everyone, burn their clothes, and give them these jumpers. The Squirrel never had an incident, so they were all still there. I also had bonkers. Those are just replacement parts for the core. They burn up all the time, so they keep thousands of extras. Sally agreed to make the noises and run around so no one would leave the sectors and go to the Unknown Zone. She knew what it was like to know the truth. And so she helped me cover it up.”

  “Why make up the story about the EETs?” Jonah asked. “Why not just say we were being sent to try to populate a new planet?”

  “It was easier to keep an army in order,” the commander said. “An army that had an enemy.”

  “Why were they chosen?” Jonah asked. “There are lots of orphans.”

  The commander paused and then looked at her feet. “They only chose orphans who ran away or caused trouble. Or ones nobody was adopting. The ones who stayed behind.”