The elevator doors zipped open for once. I wished they were that fast all the time. My stomach dropped as I stepped into the cockpit. It had rows of chairs separated by aisles like our ship, but that was only the first level. A set of four or five steps led even further above. I couldn’t see much of the top floor, but Surge’s salt and pepper head stuck out. He was there.

“Laura, support Manning. I’ll take point.” I waved away the scent of smoke. It wasn’t fiery smoke. It was more like the cigarettes people smoked when they decided to ruin their lungs. “Focus on keeping yourselves safe. If Surge tries anything, hand off Manning to me. That’s when you shoot—stun him, Laura. Please try not to add to your scar collection.”

She sighed deeply. “I’ll try my best.”

Each footstep toward Surge felt like I was leading myself off a cliff. My heart beat out of control as I stepped onto the second level. Surge stood facing a horizontally long control panel that seemed to take up the entire front of the ship. It was impossible to make out any of the screens from this distance. Blue light pulsed from his front, reducing him to a silhouette. Was that what we had come here for?

“I’m shocked you made it this far,” Surge said in that foreign accent of his. He didn’t turn around, so it was like we were talking to his back. “Frost’s pet, his friend, and an old war veteran up against a man they know nothing about. Yeah, this will definitely end with smiles and rainbows.”

I took deep breaths to keep myself under control. “You should never turn your back on your enemies. We could have wasted you as soon as we got here. I hope you realize that means we just want to talk.”

“That Z75 pistol of yours fires at a slow rate. I’d have heard it go off before anything actually left the gun. I get the point though; you want me to turn around. Fine.” He swiveled toward us. Unlike before, his space suit was on full display. It was black and white, kind of like his hair. Those must have been his favorite colors. Technically, though, neither was an actual color. “You want to talk? I’ve got time.”

Laura clenched the fist that wasn’t holding Manning up. “You think your gun knowledge makes you intimidating? My parents own a space suit company! That is one old Meteo Starstruck you’re wearing! Too poor to afford anything else?!”

I could have sworn I said we were going to talk, not trash-talk.

Surge raised an eyebrow. “It’s difficult to shop for a new suit when you lead a rebel army. Have you told Frost about this, or does she have to find out through the news?”

“I haven’t told her anything. I’m not the ‘pet’ you think I am! You should consider handing the shield generator over before she gets here though. Speaking of, I thought you were going to do this on Saturday? Maybe you don’t have access to a calendar, but today’s Friday.”

Surge closed his eyes. “So you knew. Nice job stopping me then. Saturday isn’t when I want the barricade up. It’s when I’m bringing it back down.”

Laura recoiled in confusion. “Are you capable of making sense, buddy?”

Surge’s brown eyes burned with contempt. “You don’t know Frost too well, but she’s impulsive. She may seem calm and collected, but when a foot steps out of place? She’ll shoot at it until it steps back in line. That’s exactly what she’ll do tomorrow.” Surge’s bangs covered his eyes as he lowered his head. “She’ll send battle ships, maybe even the Constellations here, and she’ll order them to shoot down the barricade.

That’s when I’ll lower it before her missiles and lasers can scratch it. They’ll miss the barricade, but they’ll hit—”

“Red City?!” I felt sick as I realized the true gravity of the situation. “You’re going to trick Frost into firing on a city of civilians?! You’re way more of a maniac than I thought!”

“It’s the only way to open their eyes!” Surge brushed his bangs aside, freeing his hateful gaze. “The civilians will be too confused to realize what happened. They may blame me, but they’ll also blame her! That’s when I’ll leave with this!”

He stepped aside and motioned to a freaky upside-down vase. It was gray with glowing blue bits, similar in fashion to the spears. It sat on top of the control panel but was doubtlessly also connected to it. It was my key to becoming an explorer. The very thing we’d chased all the way here.

“The shield generator!” Manning’s speech came out strained. “What is your grudge against Madam President? She isn’t perfect, but she is doing her best. She certainly hasn’t committed crimes worthy of a punishment like the one you’re suggesting.”

“Oh really, Theodore, sole survivor of Humanity’s Oath? I doubt it. You know, it’s funny how she didn’t tell any of you that I used to work for her. I was her mad-scientist-in-a-pocket. She had an idea for a weapon? She demanded that I make it. I saw the side of her that no one else did.” Surge lowered his voice, making it difficult to hear. “She’s my responsibility.”

That Surge had worked for Frost would explain how he got past the Asteroid Belt Formation. That was certainly information she should have given us. However, while he might have had a point, this dude wasn’t in his right state of mind. I knew what that was like. My tunnel vision regarding Beth was similar to his regarding Frost. I knew I could talk him down because we now had something in common.

“Kaela helped us get here because she believed that we could work together. We don’t have to fight.” The familiar grinding of metal made me pivot back toward the elevator. The doors were opening; someone was in there. “Here she is now. If you won’t talk to us, talk to—”

My words caught in my throat as I spotted the red peeking through the widening crack. Three ruabrum climbed out: one red and two orange. I recognized the red one, but I wasn’t happy to see him.

“Krim!” I willed my helmet to form so I could understand them. Laura and Manning did the same. “What are you—”

“Stop before I am forced to stop you.” His stomps filled the whole room. He sounded regretful, but his buddies sure didn’t seem like they’d hold back. “We owe Commander Surge for what he has done. All I want is to feel safe in this city again. If I must escort you out to do so, then I will not hesitate.”

“Time to learn how to shoot.” Laura reached for her pistol, but I held out my palm in protest. We wouldn’t stand a chance. She groaned and lowered her hand.

“I’m sorry about what happened, but there has to be another way! Now that everyone knows the truth, we can work everything out! We can reestablish the peace we had!”

“Nothing has changed!” He stomped so hard that I almost lost my balance. The rage in his eyes was ancient like it had been hibernating for years. “Would establishing new peace bring back all that we lost? I lost nearly everyone I held dear because you humans thought we were animals. You think we’ll flee once you kick us. You do not even realize that kicking an animal will only anger it.”

One of the other ruabrum ripped Manning off of Laura, and the remaining one held her in place. She screamed and struggled, but her captor didn’t even budge. Manning broke free by slamming the back of his fist against the ruabrum’s face. Then he clutched his side and coughed. The ruabrum seized him again, and he didn’t resist.

“No, no!” I pushed Krim, but it was like pushing a brick wall. He scooped me up like I was a feather and walked toward the elevator. “Krim, you’re making a mistake! Put me down. We can talk about this!”

“Not this time.” Krim’s voice was impossibly low. “If I cannot bring back those we lost, I will protect those we still have.”

“Wander, what do we do?!” Laura asked as she continued to struggle against someone who wasn’t even blinking.

Manning coughed as he limped alongside his escort. The elevator crept closer by the second, and I refused to get back in. The ruabrum deserved to be happy, but this city didn’t deserve to be blasted apart by President Frost tomorrow. Or did it? This was so confusing. I—I couldn’t stand in the middle. It was impossible to help the ruabrum and the city at the same time. I had to pick one…and I had to deal with the consequences myself.

That was what made a good leader.

“You must not have heard me.” I felt the heat surging through me. I focused on it and imagined drawing power from it. What had Surge said again? About electrocuting? “I told you. LET, ME, GO!”

BZZZT!

White and blue, a blinding mix of the two filled the air. It wasn’t light, but it wasn’t solid either. It was warm. It was exciting. It was…me? It crawled between the cracks of my suit and shot out of it. Krim screamed as his grip on me faltered. I fell slowly, almost as if I was floating down. The light disappeared once I touched the ground. The world was so much colder in its absence. My body was much heavier too. I felt as though I had just finished lifting weights.

Krim’s heart-wrenching screams made me jump. He covered his face as he convulsed. “Wha—what did you—”

He cut himself off with a fresh batch of screams. I backed away from the horrifying sight. My beautiful light had done something as horrible as that? I felt sick as well as tired.

His allies dropped my friends and ran to his side. They forced his hands away and got a good look at the wound. I deactivated my helmet and peered around them. They blocked my view, but the glimpse I caught was revolting. Silver liquid dripped from his hands. Blood. There was no way I could have done that. How was that any better than what the city had done during the march?

“There’s the lightning,” Surge said, brandishing a smirk. I was finally worthy of this jerk’s attention, and it was for something I wasn’t proud of. “You had me going, kid. I thought you’d never show me what Frost’s most dangerous weapon could do. Maybe she’s right to be so obsessed.”

He jabbed a finger at the ruabrum and barked gibberish. It was guttural noise to me, but the ruabrum nodded and responded with the same sounds. I’d heard a sneak peek of this back at the control center. This was their language. Surge spoke it too. No wonder they liked him. Krim’s screams had stopped, and now he just lay immobile. His friends picked him up by his arms and legs like a stretcher and hurried him to the elevator. I caught a glimpse of him as they passed, and wished that I hadn’t. His face was unrecognizable from its former appearance. It wasn’t much more than a mangled mess. It looked like my stomach felt.

“I’m sorry!” I tried to approach him, but his friends glared daggers that made me freeze. The elevator opened, so they shuffled into it and didn’t look back. Not even as the doors closed. “I—I’m so sorry.”

“Wander, it’s okay.” Laura appeared at my side and gripped my hand. Her helmet was down too. Thank goodness she didn’t get struck by the electricity. “We’re free now. There was no other way to get out of that mess. Plus you used your powers again!”

“I know.” I glared at my hands. I gave up a weapon…only to become one. Unlike the pistol, this was something I couldn’t escape. “Now I never want to use them ever again. Manning, is there really no way to—Manning!”

He was slumped against a wall, with blood dripping from his mouth. Laura and I rushed to his side. There was no way I was losing him after gaining these awful powers. Laura shook him and called his name, while I pressed a finger against his wrist. A faint thump greeted me, and he was still warm. I heaved a massive sigh of relief. Humanity’s Oath wasn’t dying today.

“Theodore’s injured?” Surge asked from the top of his mini-stairs. “I’m sorry. I can call someone to—”

“Enough!” I stomped up to the base of his stairs. “You can help after you lower the barrier! You’re so hell-bent on beating Frost that you’re turning into her! Or at least, what you claim she is.”

His face twisted with unnatural rage. “Don’t you dare compare me to that monster! You want to keep this up? Have it your way.”

A barrel popped up on Surge’s arm. He aimed it and shot a white beam. Laura grunted as it struck her chest. She fell back and went limp like she had been stunned. I leaped away from the next arm blast, which dissipated against the floor. Surge jumped down and fired, but I ducked the beam. I reached into my suit and ran at him then smacked his arm away with my wrench just as it fired off another shot. I reeled back my wrench. At that exact moment, I realized that his arm would be faster than mine. I yelped and shielded myself as he finally landed a shot.

The blast hit like a fist, but numbness followed the pain. My wrench fell from my limp hand. My legs gave out, and I fell. I felt like a giant marshmallow. The only thing I could still feel was my head. I could think and speak, but not much else. So this was what it felt like to be stunned. Almost. Stunned people were usually unconscious.

“As a fellow mechanic, you should appreciate this.” He gestured to his arm. “I modified it with parts from a Z73. It’s weaker but more effective than reaching for your holster.” He paused then blocked a jab from Manning with his arm. What was Manning doing up?! “Hole below your ribs. Quite the handicap. If not for it, you could have taken me.”

“I still can.” Manning spun and kicked Surge away. The hit was successful, but then Manning grabbed his side again. “Medical attention would be nice, but not while your objective remains so twisted.”

I summoned all of my willpower to move my hand. I swatted my fallen wrench as hard as I could. My hand throbbed from the impact, but it succeeded in sliding the wrench away. I mentally begged Manning to pick it up, but it seemed that his pain was blinding him.

“Shame. It would have been my honor to treat you. Just know that I appreciate your service.” He shot Manning, who crumbled like a stack of wooden blocks. No way he was getting up from that. “You three were easy enough to take care of. I wonder what Frost would do to get you back. Especially the kid.”

“Surge! This isn’t the way! Red City will never join you. Not like this!” I held up my head to say that, but then my neck began to hurt. I allowed my head to smack against the floor and sighed. “You’re making a huge mistake here. How can you fight for freedom when you’re also taking it away?”

“It’s about the greater good! You have no concept of this because you’re so young, but sometimes sacrifices are necessary. I don’t want to take freedom, but how else am I going to strengthen my forces? The Oppressed is composed mostly of teenagers such as yourself. They’re capable, but I fear that Frost may be too much for them.”

“Childr—how many did you kidnap?!”

“Watch your mouth! Each of them was given a choice.” Surge looked at his feet; hesitation flashed in his eyes. I wonder how he’d react if I told him about the fight going on below us. “It’s their future I’m fighting for. It’s why I can’t relent at a time like this. If I go, they’ll be dragged down with me. That is not happening.”

He aimed his arm at my head. A second shot would knock me out. That’d spell defeat for sure. My heart raced just thinking about it. We’d come too far to lose here, and we wouldn’t. I knew that because, as smart and prepared as Surge was, he had no one to watch his back.

Laura struck the back of Surge’s knee with my trusty wrench. He screamed as his knee buckled. Surge glared at her and pulled at his knee. It didn’t move an inch. The metal around it seemed warped.

“You were stunned!” Surge groaned through clenched teeth. “Moving a bit, sure. But this?!”

“I still can’t feel my toes or my chest, but it’ll take more than a stun to keep me from protecting my friends.” Laura triumphantly tossed the wrench into the air, then her eyes went wide as she realized what she’d done. She stepped aside as it crashed to the floor beside her. “Forgot how heavy that was for a second. Oh, and don’t bother trying to move. I dented your suit.”

“What?!” He looked down at his smashed crate of a knee. “How. How did you dent a suit strong enough to survive the darkness of space…with a wrench?!”

She smirked. “Told you my parents owned a space suit company. The Meteo Starstruck has a structural flaw that was swept under the rug. The knees dent too easily. Nothing major as long as you don’t bump into a crazy girl with a wrench.”

“You can’t—get over here and fix this! If not—well, I can still move my arms.”

He readied the arm cannon. Laura whipped out the pistol and fired. He screamed as his arm detonated, followed by blue smoke. I’d thought she would stun him, but, evidently, she had set it to blast. As long as his arm was intact, I’d allow it.

“I thought you could hear the Z75 before it went off?” Laura mocked as she holstered it. “All I heard was you whining. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my friend and I have a city to save. Do you know anything about friends, Surge?”

She pulled me up for what would hopefully be the last time. I could barely feel my arms, and everything else was still a marshmallow.

“So, did everything go more or less as planned?” she asked as we limped to the control panel.

“After this? I think making plans is a waste of time.”

The panel was just as insane as it looked from a distance. So many screens with too many numbers. There was no way we could deactivate the barricade with the panel, so the answer lay in the generator itself.

“I know this looks bad, but there’s got to be an off switch on this thing.” Laura rotated the generator and pulled it out of its socket. She rotated the glowing vase around, searching for clearly labeled buttons. It had many buttons, but none were labeled with any sort of sense in mind. “Dang it. Hey Jerkface McScruffy! How do we turn this thing off?”

Surge quit massaging his bleeding arm to glare at us. “Right, because that’s information I want you to have.”

Laura flashed a rude gesture with her finger and went back to the generator. Pushing random buttons might have the effect we wanted, but it might also fire lasers all over the city. I had an idea, but it was stupid. I just wanted to try it before we jeopardized this thing. We needed it safe for Frost.

“Laura, make sure Manning’s pulse is functioning as intended,” I said as I propped my numb body against the panel. “I’ll work with this.”

Laura spotted Manning’s unconscious form and winced. “Good idea. I’ll be right back!”

She ran toward Manning and stuck her tongue out at Surge as she passed him. I think he was too busy with his arm to notice. I rested a hand on top of the generator and concentrated. If this worked, then great, but if not, it was time for the wrench.

I still hated my stupid powers, and I was sure I always would. However, control over technology? That was crazy useful, so if I needed to call on them every now and then, so be it. The real problem was getting them to work. Which was why I had to concentrate so hard! I thought of the stuff that annoyed me, for instance, Surge, the Oppressed, this mission, but I also thought of the stuff I loved, for instance, Laura, Manning, and Beth. I had no idea which set of emotions did it, but warmth began to flood my body. Head to toe. Light consumed everything around me. I welcomed it, but the pain snuck up on me. I didn’t think the light could hurt me. I tried taking my hand away, but it was too late. What it had done to Krim had been a lesson, and I was the next student.

I fell.