Just two Earth days later, Jacob found himself competing in the third Battle Supreme. The final battle was administered at the sole discretion of the king, who had given away no hints of what he had in store for Jacob and Mick.

Jacob had barely gotten used to the fact that he was still in the race, and he was incredibly furious at Mick, who had reached new depths of dirty deeds and bad sportsmanship, even by Mick’s extremely low moral standards.

But Jacob knew he had to focus on winning the last battle. It was anybody’s election to win, particularly since Astrals had taken very kindly to the announcement that Jacob was partly one of them. Mick was clinging to the narrowest of leads in the polls.

The king stood up from his throne and the room hushed. Jacob detected just a hint of melancholy in the king’s demeanor, but he still held himself with his usual confident and regal bearing.

“Welcome, everyone, to the third Battle Supreme. Before we begin, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for bestowing on me the honor of leading such a wonderful community of space humans for all these years. I have no reservations whatsoever about leaving Astrals in the care of one of these two fine young men. There can, of course, be only one winner, but I have every confidence that whichever of them you choose to lead you will do so with honor and dignity. Thank you, thank you, everyone.”

Jacob immediately stood up and clapped, and others in the room followed suit. After a moment, Mick grudgingly stood up and clapped as well.

“Thank you,” the king said, and Jacob noted a new glint in his eye. “Now, you are all probably wondering what we have in store for the last Battle Supreme. Well, it is quite simple. I want Jacob and Mick to show us which of them wants to be president the most.”

There was a murmur in the crowd. Jacob glared at Mick, who met his eyes and smirked.

“They say that where a man’s treasure lies, there you’ll find his heart. Michaelus Crackenarium, the physical object you value the most is your spaceship, Mick Jr.”

The smile on Mick’s face waned. Jacob knew he hated to hear the sound of his real name.

“Jacob Wonderbar, the physical object you value the most is your grandfather’s pipe.”

The king snapped his fingers, and images of both objects were projected onto two large screens. “These are live recordings. I have rigged the spaceship Mick Jr. and the Wonderbar pipe with explosives.”

The king handed small handheld devices to both Jacob and Mick. “And these are the triggers to the explosives. The first candidate to blow up their prized possession will show us that they want to win this election more than their opponent. The third Battle Supreme starts now.”

At that, the king sat down.

“What?” Jacob gulped.

“Whoa,” he heard Dexter say in the audience.

It couldn’t be true. The king really wanted him to destroy his dad’s pipe? Jacob had so many memories about that pipe, and now that he knew his dad really was an Astral, it meant more to him than ever. It had belonged to his grandfather, an imposing man Jacob’s dad had said was German, but Jacob realized in his flash that the reason his grandfather had had a faint accent must have been because he was an Astral. The pipe was Jacob’s connection to space and to his Astral heritage, and no matter how much he wanted to win the election, and no matter how frustrated and disappointed he was by his father, that pipe was bound up with so many emotions and memories and mysteries. His mom didn’t take many pictures when he was growing up, and there wasn’t any trace of his father left. He couldn’t bear to press the trigger on the one thing he had left that belonged to his dad. It might as well have been a choice to blow up his own father.

He glanced over at Mick Cracken, who was clearly doing some soul-searching of his own. A bead of sweat dripped down his forehead. Jacob knew Mick loved that ship more than anything, and after Jacob had defaced it, Mick had used the time in the shop to not only restore it to perfection, but to add still more enhancements.

Neither of them wanted to destroy the object they prized the most, but Jacob had a feeling that Mick would go first.

And when he thought about it, Jacob had to admit that Mick probably did want to win the election more than he did. Mick wanted it more than anything in the entire universe. He had been the one to convince the king to have elections, and he had been thinking about and preparing for the election for his entire life. The more Jacob thought about it, he realized there was no doubt about which one of them wanted it more. It was definitely Mick.

But then an image of Earth popped into his head. Could he really be so selfish that he wouldn’t blow up a pipe when it meant saving his planet?

Jacob didn’t know what to do, but he knew he had to trust his heart. He could lose the battle and still win the election. He had to be himself.

Mick held up the trigger, and Jacob heard him whisper, “Three… two…”

“Stop!” Jacob shouted. He threw his trigger away so there was no doubt about his intentions. “Don’t do it.”

The room silenced, and Mick paused.

“There’s no need to blow up your spaceship. You want this more than I do. I’m forfeiting this battle. You win this one. But just this one.”

Mick raised his fist in triumph and basked in the applause, and the sight of Mick Cracken’s patented smirk almost made Jacob run over and blow up Mick Jr. himself. After a few moments of gloating, Mick suddenly realized something and said, “If anyone tells Mick Jr. about this, I will have you arrested when I’m president.”

“I’m still going to win,” Jacob snapped.

The king stepped up to the platform and signaled for attention. “Splendid show, candidates, splendid show. However, I must remind Candidate Wonderbar that it isn’t within his rights to forfeit this battle, as I am the sole and final judge. And I haven’t yet had my say.”

Jacob wasn’t sure where the king was going with his speech, and from the murmuring throughout the room, he could tell he wasn’t alone.

“In my experience, the best leaders are not the ones who desire power the most, who crave attention, or who most want to be in charge. Leading isn’t about winning, it is about doing what is right. The best leaders are humble, selfless, and wise. They might not even really want to be leaders in the first place. This Battle Supreme was a test of the challengers’ humility. I intended all along to reward the candidate who wanted to win the least, because the less you want to be a leader, the better leader you shall be.”

The king paused.

“And therefore I declare Jacob Wonderbar the winner of the third Battle Supreme.”

Sarah, Dexter, and Catalina screamed their applause. The rest of the room started speaking at once in confusion.

Mick slammed the trigger to the ground, and yelled, “I hate you!” at his father. The room quieted. Once again, Jacob had seen the king step on the dreams of his own son, and even though he was grateful for the victory, Jacob was beginning to wonder if the king was as fair and good as he had once thought. It seemed like a trick designed solely to humiliate Mick Cracken.

Even though he had just won the third Battle Supreme and the presidency was tantalizingly close, Jacob couldn’t help but feel a little bit bad for Mick.