ONLY IF WE UNDERSTAND WILL WE CARE ONLY IF WE CARE WILL WE HELP ONLY IF WE HELP SHALL ALL BE SAVED Dr Jane Goodall primatologist and conservationist 27 4920 N 89 3634 E
1 SOMALIA KENYA TANZANIA Secychelles COMOROS INDIAN OCEAN MOZAMBIQUE MADAGASCAR ALDABRA ATOLL SEYCHELLES WHERE WAS ORION Seated beside Captain Roxas in the helicopter Cruz scanned the blue swells below for a crest of white Two days ago Explorer Academy’s flagship had sailed from Kenya Without him First a snowstorm had delayed Cruz’s flight from New York then mechanical problems with the plane had kept him grounded in Istanbul Finally he’d made it to Mombasa where Orion’s helicopter pilot was waiting to fly him out to the ship in the western Indian Ocean Cruz had enjoyed semester break with his dad in Kauai They’d worked at the Goofy Foot surf shop ate their fill of pepperoni and sausage sausage pizza with extra cheese and surfed whenever they’d had a spare minute It was like old times Still Cruz couldn’t stop thinking about his mother’s cell regeneration formula Four months ago Cruz wasn’t sure he’d be able to find even a single piece of the cipher and now he was halfway to his goal Only four pieces to go He was anxious to rejoin his friends and open the holo journal for the fifth clue An angular silhouette appeared on the horizon Cruz squinted against the glare of the noon sun off the ocean his heart thumping so loudly he was sure Captain Roxas could hear it above the engine Was that It was They’d found Orion The ship however wasn’t in motion It had stopped a few miles west of an island 5
Captain Roxas nodded to the elongated triangle of land Aldabra atoll The explorers had learned about Aldabra in Professor Ishikawa’s class The atoll was made up of a series of small islets that formed a reef around a lagoon Part of the Seychelles outer islands Aldabra was among Earth’s largest coral reefs No wonder the ship had dropped anchor here It was an explorer’s paradise Approaching Orion Cruz could see the Explorer Academy flag It flew high above the bridge a rippling beacon to welcome him home Request helicopter Academy One to Orion permission to land said Captain Roxas Request granted crackled the answer Orion standing by As they hovered above the helipad Cruz tried to see into the oval roost on the ship’s weather deck He wondered if anyone had come up to meet him Maybe his best friend Lani had not traveled with Cruz to visit her own family in Kauai over the break A new recruit with only a few weeks at the Academy under her belt she had decided to stay behind to catch up on schoolwork and complete her required survival
training with Monsieur Legrand Captain Roxas set the skids square in the middle of the giant EA on the pad so gently Cruz barely felt it The pilot cut the engine and the blades spun to a stop Cruz flipped off his headset unbuckled his seat belt and hopped out of the aircraft the second the captain opened his door Thanks for the ride Anytime The pilot handed Cruz his duffel bag Cruz had barely set foot inside the roost when a fluffy white blob came hurtling toward him He went to his knees and opened his arms Woof Hubbard’s pink tongue practically licked off his earlobe Laughing Cruz fell over on the fall leaves rug He’s missed you Taryn Secliff was standing behind one of the olive green chairs I’ve missed him too It may have only been two and half weeks but to Cruz it felt like ages Cruz rolled to his knees He glanced around the empty room It was a bit weird that none of his friends had come up to meet him He hoped nothing was wrong Don’t worry His adviser saw his frown You won’t be in trouble for missing the mission
