The door slides open and steals my breath. My body lifts off the landing, and the corridors of level six flash by.
There’s a hull breach.
And I’m being sucked into space.
Era’s eyes fluttered open in the pitch dark, and she sat up straight, gasping for air, one hand on her still swollen belly.
Just a nightmare. She hadn’t had one like that since after her father died.
She reached out a hand and found Dritan’s warm body at the edge of the bunk, against the wall.
She cuddled up to him, and he groaned and rolled over in his sleep to wrap her in an embrace. Her body relaxed, and she closed her eyes. Dritan had a way of keeping the nightmares at bay.
Era leaned against the sink and stretched her legs. Her hips ached, no matter what she did. She chose a helio sector suit from the rack and set it down on the bench.
Zephyr already had her suit on, and the white fabric made her skin look even paler. “Dritan doesn’t like me.”
Era sighed and slowly unzipped her suit, trying the whole time to think of a good response. “He does like you. He just takes a while to get to know.”
“Funny, he seemed to get to know you pretty fast.”
“It’s just—sometimes you say things.”
“What?” Zephyr placed her hands on her hips. “The things I say never bothered you before.”
“They don’t bother me…”
“Ha. Told you he doesn’t like me.” Zephyr faced the mirror and ran her fingers through her hair, working out tangles.
Era frowned and tucked her short brown hair behind her ears. Much more practical. So maybe Zeph wasn’t Dritan’s favorite person in the fleet. But he knew Era cared for her, and that was enough for him.
Era finished removing her boots and suit and placed them in a locker. She was stepping into the helio suit when a young woman left the showers. The woman scowled at Era’s bare belly.
Era’s cheeks warmed, and she zipped up the suit. Not like it covered anything. It was sleeveless, ended mid-thigh, and hugged her curves, accentuating her growing bump in a way her regular suits didn’t.
She walked to the sink and tapped it to rinse her hands in the small trickle of water that came out. Then she grabbed a rag from the bin of suit scraps and dried her hands.
“You ever gonna tell me what the big deal was last night at mess?” Zephyr asked.
“If I do, it won’t be here.” Era eyed the woman again in the mirror. The woman caught Era looking, frowned, and turned away to finish dressing.
Zephyr adjusted her too-tight suit and struck a pose in front of the mirror. She danced around Era to get to the door. “Can’t keep my lover waiting. Wouldn’t wanna ruin his whole midbreak.”
Era rolled her eyes and followed.
Dritan had eased her mind about the hull breach investigation last night, but she’d still half-expected guards to storm the cubic and arrest him. She’d been wrong, though. Only her nightmare had interrupted her sleep.
Era and Zephyr turned the corner and hit the wave of heat emanating from helio sector’s open doorway. The tension fled Era’s body, and her skin tingled in response to the warmth. She picked up her pace. Unlike the burn Zephyr would get, the super helio would give Era’s skin a warm glow and energize her. It always did. If only they opened helio sector for recreation every day.
A guard, his face coated in sweat, stood next to the scanner. He nodded to them as they swiped their shift cards.
They stepped into the vast space, and Era took a deep breath, relishing the sweet air. A new Earth would smell like this, infused with the clean air plants make.
The super helio hovered near the high ceiling, too bright to look at, and a crowd of colonists basked beneath it.
Helio sector’s tall, white hydropods had been moved to the edges of the space. The Paragon had hundreds of them—more than Era had ever seen in one place. Probably nowhere near the number the Meso had, but still more than any of the other dekas. And this wasn’t even all of them. There were more hydropods on Zero Deck. Other sectors that were off-limits—where they grew and made medicine.
Greens poked out of each pod, creating an effect like the trees Zephyr had images of on her family’s cubes. Tough to believe these lush greens were the same wilted fare turned out by the galley cooks.
A few colonists strolled the edge of the massive space, and Era and Zephyr dropped in behind them.
Zephyr gripped Era’s hand. “He’s here.”
Tadeo sat near some pods ahead, alone, his arms crossed over his knees, staring out at the crowd gathered in the center of the room. His straight black hair had fallen into his eyes, but he seemed oblivious to it.
“Well, go talk to him,” Era said.
“Come with me,” Zephyr said, dragging Era toward Tadeo.
He glanced up as they approached, and Zephyr dropped Era’s hand. His gaze went straight to Zephyr, and his brown eyes brightened.
“Why you sitting by yourself?” Zephyr asked. “Everyone’s over there.”
“I’m not here to see everyone.”
Zephyr looked like she was about to swoon right into Tadeo’s waiting lap.
Someone really needed to file an image of this boy’s face in the archives, under the word ‘enigma’. “I’m going to go wait for Dritan.”
Zephyr nodded without looking at Era and dropped down next to Tadeo on the floor.
Era continued walking the space and kept her eye on the entrance.
She’d walked half the sector when she saw the guards up ahead. Her stomach clenched, and she slowed her pace.
The guard closest to her stood straight, sweat dripping down his face, and watched the crowd. One hand rested on his pulse gun, as if he thought he might actually need to use it here.
Behind the guards, President Nyssa Sorenson and her fourteen-year-old daughter Tesmee sat on a blanket. Instead of standard helio suits, they wore sleeveless beige suits that looked new.
Era let out a breath and tried not to stare as she walked past, but she couldn’t help herself. She’d been here months and had only caught a few glimpses of the president and Tesmee.
The president wore her hair styled in a perfect blond bun kept in place by shiny metal pins. But her well-groomed appearance was marred by the deep lines creasing her face and the dark circles under her eyes. She shifted on the blanket and glanced toward the exit.
Tesmee looked nothing like her mother. Era had seen Tesmee’s father once. He’d been of Earth-Asian ancestry. Tesmee had his eyes and his straight black hair. She stared out at the crowd, shoulders slumped, longing on her face.
Tesmee’s father had died in a transport accident when the fleet first got to Soren two years ago. If rumor in the fleet was to be believed, she wasn’t ever allowed to leave Command home level by herself.
Era tore her gaze from the girl and headed for the crowd at the center. Dritan should be here. Zephyr and Tadeo were still in the same spot she’d left them. They talked, sitting close enough to touch, but neither of them looked at the other.
Era settled on the hard tile floor, and a moment later Dritan plopped down beside her. He pressed his lips to hers for a quick kiss, then cocked his head in Zephyr’s direction. “Went after the heir of the Meso, huh? Guess heading up one ship isn’t enough.”
Era jabbed him in the side. “Stop it. Give her a chance. She’s easy to love once you get to know her.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t like her.”
“Well she thinks you don’t.” Era lowered her voice. “Any news on the breach?”
“They’re looking into the panels we did.” Dritan rubbed his arm. “But they’ll see our work was good. Are you feeling okay today?”
“Haven’t been sick at all.” Era leaned back on her elbows. If Dritan wasn’t worried, why should she be? The president would see his work was good, and this would all go away.
A young girl with dark skin and braids bounced past, laughing as another child chased her. Era smil
ed. Today would feel special for them, a day free of the boredom and routine of hours spent in caretaker sector. Would she and Dritan someday sit here like this, watching their own child play?
Dritan must have had a similar thought because he gently placed a hand over the rise of her belly. A tiny flutter reverberated through Era’s womb, and she gasped.
“What?” Dritan sat up straight.
“Nothing. I thought I felt…” It was too soon for that, wasn’t it? Babies moved. A ‘collection of cells’ didn’t.
“You thought you felt what?”
“I thought…” Another tiny flutter. Era licked her lips and glanced sidelong at the couple sitting next to them.
“I think I just felt it move,” she whispered.
Dritan looked at her stomach. When he met her gaze, his hazel eyes had a new shine to them. “You sure? Does it mean…”
Does it mean our baby’s healthy?
“I’m not—” Era clamped her mouth shut, her eyes drawn to a scene at the entrance.
A group of guards had walked through the doors. The one at the front, with silver-brown hair and broad shoulders, turned and lifted his comcuff to his mouth. Chief Petroff.
Era leaned into Dritan, every muscle in her body tight.
The chief gestured to the other guards. They activated their eyepieces and began moving through the crowd.
The president and Tesmee came into view at the far side of the room, accompanied by two of their guards. They were heading for the exit. Era clutched Dritan’s arm and felt him wince as her nails dug into him.
One of the guards stopped in front of a group of colonists near Era and Dritan. A man rose to his feet, and Dritan tensed beneath Era’s tight grip.
The man was one of Dritan’s crew members—one of the maintenance workers from the list. He lunged for the guard and ripped the pulse gun from his holster. Then he darted forward, pushed through the colonists blocking his path, and went straight for Tesmee and the president.
The guards didn’t see him coming. He ducked around them and tackled Tesmee to the floor.
The area around Era grew quiet as the colonists near Era saw what she saw. The man had the pulse gun pressed against Tesmee’s temple. Her eyes were wide, riveted to her mother. The president stood still, her face pale.
Dritan leapt to his feet. Era tried to drag him back down, but he brushed her off and jogged straight for the guards. A small moan escaped Era’s lips, and she went after him. What did he think he could do that the guards couldn’t?
Dritan stopped just behind the uncertain guards, his body rigid, his fists clenched tight at his sides. Era reached him and laid a hand on his arm.
The attacker’s face was coated in sweat, and the hand holding the pulse gun to Tesmee’s temple shook. His wild eyes were focused on the President. “…I will. Gonna kill her. You think I care what happens to me? You took everything from me.”
“Stop. Let her go.” The president’s voice wavered. “We’ll forget about this. You’re clearly—”
“The Defect is a lie. A lie. You killed our baby. You killed my wife—sent her to that planet. You’re gonna pay for that.”
The president went white and shook her head. She stole a glance at her guards, but none of them seemed to know what to do.
The Defect is a lie?
Dritan shifted, and Era squeezed his arm. He pulled away from her and stepped in front of the guards.
“Wait.” The president jerked one hand out to stop the guards. To stop Dritan.
But he walked past her and squatted down a few feet in front of his crewmate. “Sam.”
“Dritan.” Recognition dawned on Sam’s face. “Your wife—your wife’s pregnant. Dritan, it’s a lie. The Defect isn’t real. They’ll kill yours like they killed mine. I gotta stop her. One by one, everyone dies—”
“Sam. Listen to me. You said Lynn was proud to serve on Soren. That she believed in this fleet.”
Tears began to leak from Sam’s eyes, and he looked back at the president. “She killed them.” His nostrils flared, and he pressed the pulse gun deeper into Tesmee’s temple. She whimpered.
The president lifted a hand to her mouth. The rest of the guards arrived, finally aware of what was taking place. They clustered near the president, pulse guns primed.
Dritan inched closer. “Sam, look at me. Lynn would never want you to take another kid’s life.”
“It doesn’t matter now. Nothing matters. They’re gonna take me out, too, and she’s coming with me.” Sam shifted his hate-filled gaze to the president, and adjusted his finger on the pulse gun. One small movement, and it would go off, taking a chunk of Tesmee’s skull with it.
Dritan held out a hand and said something too low for anyone but Tesmee and Sam to hear. Sam hesitated and stared at the high ceiling for a long moment.
His whole body went limp, and he shoved the pulse gun into Dritan’s waiting palm. The guards were on Sam in seconds, and Tesmee scrambled into her mother’s arms.
Dritan handed the pulse gun to a guard and strode to Era. He wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his chest and inhaled, tears pricking her eyes.
She hit his chest. “Stupid. What if he pulsed you?”
Dritan brushed a short strand of hair out of Era’s face. “But he didn’t. He was going to kill her. You saw that.”
He stiffened, looking over Era’s head. She turned to find President Sorenson, Tesmee, and Chief Petroff standing before her. The chief activated his eyepiece and began to gesture commands.
The president gave Dritan a tight nod. “Thank you.”
“Sam’s coming down hard off grimp. He never would have—”
The president’s face darkened, and she held up a hand, “We will take care of it from here. Thank you for your help.”
“President Sorenson.” Chief Petroff pointed at Dritan. “This man’s on the list.”
The president’s eyes narrowed, and she turned and grabbed Tesmee by the arm. When she looked back at the chief, her expression was blank, unreadable. “Take him in.”
Era’s stomach knotted, and she pressed against Dritan.
Chief Petroff dropped his hand to his pulse gun at his waist. “You need to come with us.”
Dritan placed his hand against the small of Era’s back. “It’ll be okay.”
The feeling seeped from her limbs as he stepped in front of her and followed Chief Petroff to the exit. A group of guards filed past, several colonists in tow. All of them members of Dritan’s crew.
Tadeo crossed in front of Era and approached one of the guards. Era turned to find Zephyr at her side.
“What happened?”
“They arrested Dritan.” Era choked on the words. “They’re gonna blame him for the hull breach.”
Zephyr’s eyes widened, and she laid her hands on Era’s shoulders. “You gotta calm down. Breathe.”
I can’t. “He saved Tesmee—”
“Shh. Come on.” Zephyr grabbed Era by the arm and pulled her toward the exit.
Era took deep breaths, trying to calm the panic rising within her as Zephyr led her down the corridor. They reached the deserted dressing area, and Zephyr pushed her down onto the cold metal bench.
She checked the stalls and came back. Every inch of her exposed skin had taken on a scarlet hue that contrasted sharply with the white of her suit. “Now, what happened?”
“You’re burnt,” Era said tonelessly. They arrested him. There’s nothing I can do. Era put her head in her hands and willed her heart to slow down.
“Where is Dritan?”
“One of his crew members was coming off grimp and attacked Tesmee. Dritan stopped him. They took them both away.”
“Whoa. That’s—but why would they arrest him? I don’t understand. You said he helped Tesmee?”
“He saved her.”
“Are you sure they arrested him?”
“Yes. Maybe.” I don’t know.
“If he saved Tesmee…”
Era
lifted her head and swallowed. “I did something I shouldn’t have when I fixed the stationary yesterday. The president’s file pull was ready, and I looked at it. She requested personnel records from months ago, back when maintenance installed new panels where the breach happened. Dritan’s crew was the one that installed them.”
Zephyr sucked in a breath and sank down on the bench beside her.
“They’ll pin the breach on them,” Era said. “Make examples out of them, just like you said they did with the riot leaders they airlocked.”
“No. I never should’ve said that kak. Those rioters were guilty. You know they were.”
“But Dritan worked on that sector. And a member of his crew just-just attacked the president’s daughter.”
“And Dritan protected her,” Zephyr said. “He’s never even been in the brig for so much as a fist fight.”
Era shook her head and blinked back tears.
“They’re just questioning him.” Zephyr squeezed Era’s shoulder. “You’ll see. He’ll be out of there by last mess.”
“I never should have looked at those files,” Era whispered.
The shift buzzer sounded, announcing the end of midbreak.
Zephyr stood up. “Get dressed. You’re gonna go and do your job like the loyal fleet colonist you are.”
“Loyal? But I looked—”
The door slid open, and a group of women walked in.
“Anyone would have looked.” Zephyr kept her voice low. “You and Dritan follow the rules. You don’t complain. You never get in trouble…the president wishes we were all like you. Now come on.”
The pressure in Era’s chest lightened at Zephyr’s words, but not by much. She stood, took her black tech suit from the locker, and stripped off the helio suit.
Dritan was a good worker. He’d never been in trouble. And he did just save Tesmee. Zephyr had to be right. They were just questioning him.
Era stepped into her suit and gently zipped it up. Dritan would be waiting for her at last mess. Now all she had to do was get through the next six hours.
∞ ∞
Six hours never felt so long.
Era sat in a recording cubic across from the colonist. “Where’s this going?”
Fractured Era: Legacy Code Bundle (Books 1-3) (Fractured Era Series) Page 11
