Fractured Era: Legacy Code Bundle (Books 1-3) (Fractured Era Series)

by Kalquist, Autumn

  “Are we looking for a traitor from the Perth?”

  “No. Zenith’s made on the Beijing, and Artex is made on the Perth. It’s too dangerous to manufacture them together on the same deka. I think we’re looking at a Moscow traitor. Someone from supply got a hold of this. Maybe traitors on the Beijing.”

  Tadeo swallowed back a bitter taste in his mouth. “Sir, you keep saying Perth colonists couldn’t have done this, but… McGill was from the Perth. Maybe—”

  Chief halted and pressed his index finger into Tadeo’s chest, making his suit stick to him. “I told you never to speak of McGill.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Chief searched Tadeo’s face. Then, apparently satisfied, continued on to the conference cubic.

  Lume bars glinted off shiny new panels at the end of the exec corridor. This was the spot where the hull breach had happened less than two weeks ago, after the terrorists had sabotaged the panels. The breach had taken on a new meaning now that he knew his mother’s spy had sabotaged it.

  Tadeo swallowed. “What kind of damage could this amount of Artex and Zenith do?”

  The chief swiped his shift card before the executive conference cubic and looked at Tadeo. His face had gone pale, and beads of sweat had collected on his forehead. “That much could take out more than a few levels. If you put it in the right place, it could cripple the ship beyond repair.”

  “Would you need special knowledge only a mining worker would have?”

  “No,” Chief said. “You just combine them together and apply high heat. That’s it. If someone wanted to make a bomb and knew nothing, this would be the best way to do it. During the meeting, you stand—you don’t sit. And you don’t say one word unless the president directly asks you a question. And if the board asks about your mission, you leave Era out of it. Focus on the terrorists. That’s an order. Now search this cubic.”

  The chief hurried out, and Tadeo took a deep breath, looking around the cubic. A wide table took up the center of the room, and a holo screen filled one wall. He needed to be looking for the explosives, not stuck in this room. Yet… yet he’d wanted to be invited into this room since the day he’d arrived.

  The most important decisions in the fleet were made here. Right here at this table, they decided the fate of every colonist on every deka. The captains had their own laws, but they had to follow any laws made here or risk losing command.

  Could his mother be right? Did everyone have spies on every ship? Was no one to be trusted?

  Tadeo licked his lips and pulled off the first panel. He could never let anyone discover the link between Tatiana and his mother. It would mean forfeiting his mother’s life. And if they learned he knew the truth…

  It would mean forfeiting his own.

  ∞ ∞

  Tadeo finished checking the last wall panel before the first board member arrived. Then he stood in the corner of the room, back straight, and waited. Sweat soaked through the underarms of his suit, and his hair stuck to his forehead.

  A faint beep sounded from the scanner outside the door, and it slid open. Tomas Nielsen, representative of the Meso and the Oslo, strode through the door. His broad shoulders took up the frame, and he peered at Tadeo from over a beaked nose, scowling as he took a seat.

  “You going to tell me what’s happening?” Tomas asked, folding his hands on the table.

  “Sorry, sir. I’m not at liberty to say.”

  “I guess I should expect Nyssa to invite an inexperienced half to the meeting.”

  Tadeo fought to keep his expression blank. Tomas knew exactly who Tadeo was, yet he’d been rude to him each of the few times he’d ever addressed him.

  The door slid open again, and Farida Mittal, representative for the Perth and London, and Jon Lau, representative for the Kyoto and Beijing, walked in.

  Farida was shorter than Tadeo but several inches taller than Lau. Her youth and beauty were a stark contrast to his age and girth. Her long space-black hair was pulled away from her face, and she wore a strained expression. Did she know about the bomb? They all seemed to be uninformed. Otherwise, they’d be in a panic, no doubt.

  Tomas grunted as the two took their seats. “About time you showed up.”

  “We’re not late.” Jon ran a hand over his ample stomach and gave Farida an annoyed look.

  The door opened again, and Nyssa, Chief, and Nassef Yasin, representative of the Dubai and Moscow, strode in.

  Nyssa took her seat at the head of the table, and Chief stood against the wall behind her. Nyssa’s face was pale, and she looked exhausted, like she hadn’t slept since Tadeo had last seen her.

  Nassef sat beside Farida and tapped his long fingers against the tabletop. He was dark-featured and tall, taller even than Tadeo. He was an imposing man, whose face was impossible to read. If he already knew about the explosives, he wasn’t showing it.

  There were six chairs, and one was still empty.

  Nyssa cleared her throat. “Where’s Nicolas?”

  Tomas snorted. “Probably passed out in his drink.”

  “We’ll wait a few more minutes.”

  “Everyone who matters is here,” Tomas said.

  “It’s important we’re all together when I tell you why I’ve called this meeting,” Nyssa said, folding her hands before her.

  Tomas scowled again and folded his arms across his chest.

  They waited a few more moments for the Vancouver and Seattle representative, and finally, the door slid open, and Nic Gonzalez stumbled through. His normally tan skin looked gray beneath the lume bars. As he took his seat near the corner where Tadeo stood, the scent of stale sweat and quin liquor wafted over.

  Tomas pointed a finger at Nic. “This is the last time you come to a board meeting drunk.”

  “I’m not drunk.”

  “You—”

  “Stop.” Nyssa pounded a fist on the table and everyone looked to her. “This is not caretaker sector. And I won’t put up with this.”

  Tomas grumbled but shut up. Nicolas screwed the cap back on his canteen.

  “One hour ago,” Nyssa said, her voice hard, “we found empty containers of explosives beneath the wall panels in paired sector. The terrorists we airlocked were planning something. We may have a bomb on this ship.”

  Voices erupted around the table, everyone shouting at once. Only Nassef stayed silent, his face a blank mask. Tadeo took a deep breath and pressed his back into the corner.

  Tomas grew red-faced and shouted above the rest. “How did this happen?”

  Nicolas made to stand. “I’m getting my family off this ship. You knew about this yesterday—”

  “I didn’t.”

  “Then why did you halt the transports?”

  Nyssa narrowed her eyes. “No one’s going anywhere. Sit down, Nic, and listen to me.”

  Nicolas sank into his chair and pinched the skin between his brows. “You have five minutes.”

  “Why did it take so long to notify us of this?” Jon asked. “We should have known immediately.”

  “We just found the explosives,” Nyssa said. “We know the terrorists who caused the hull breach were behind this. We found the empty canisters hidden in one of their bunks and behind the panels of one of the jobs their crew did in paired sector.”

  Tomas slammed a fat hand on the table. “How did this happen? What’s the extent of the threat?”

  “We don’t know if there is a bomb,” Nyssa said. “And we don’t know where the explosives are located yet. But if there is a bomb, or more than one… it could do a lot of damage. It could cripple the ship. We found five empty Artex canisters, and one empty canister of,” Nyssa took a deep breath, “Zenith.”

  The table erupted again. Farida and Jon exchanged tense glances, and all eyes went to them.

  “You could take out most of a deka with that much,” Farida said, her face pale.

  “The Beijing does not treat the manufacture and handling of Zenith lightly,” Jon said. “I swear to you all, the only shi
p that gets it is the Perth. And they’re the ones responsible for sending it to Soren.”

  Nicolas leaned toward Farida. “The damn Perth. Can’t you control your people? They’re trying to blow us all down to that bloody red planet.”

  Chief looked at Nicolas like he’d like to send him and his accusations about the Perth down to the planet.

  Farida gripped the edge of the table, her knuckles turning white. “And I can assure you, we don’t have traitors on the Perth. The Artex and Zenith canisters are well-guarded and fully accounted for. If I knew anything about this,” Farida said carefully, “Nyssa would have been the first person I told.”

  “Of course.” Nicolas unscrewed his canteen for another swig. “And you two probably would have kept it from the rest of us.”

  “You’re useless.” Tomas reached out and tried to tear the canteen from Nic’s grasp but failed. A splash of its contents landed on the table, and the sour scent of quin liquor filled the space. “Put that kak away.”

  “Have we questioned everyone on the crews the terrorists worked with?” Jon asked.

  “There isn’t anyone left to question.” Nicolas spat, glaring at Tomas. “You all voted to send them to die on Soren.”

  “Yes,” Nyssa said, her voice strong, cutting through room. “As we agreed, all the crews involved with the terrorists were sent to Soren. And everything’s been taken care of. Just after our last meeting, I received word that all the crews we sent down on that transport were lost to a cave-in.”

  Everyone around the table exchanged glances, and Tomas drove a finger down at the table. “While we waste time up here, what’s being done to find the explosives?”

  Nyssa gestured toward the chief. “Chief Petroff, please brief us.”

  Chief stepped forward and kept his eyes straight ahead, not looking at any of them. “My recommendation is that the board and president evacuate until we track down the explosives. Right now, squads are searching every job the terrorists did. Then we’ll search the rest of the ship. And we’re investigating potential traitors in imports and exports. We’ve been bringing them up to Central for questioning, but with hundreds of workers on zero deck, this will take some time.”

  Jai Florian worked in imports. Tadeo had a name. He could speak up, tell them about what he’d found. But he wouldn’t. They’d turn on him and his mother in an instant, the same way they turned on one another.

  “We need an immediate lockdown of this ship. And if you’re investigating imports,” Tomas said, “what about the supply deka? The Moscow isn’t trustworthy. We’ve caught them too many times feeding the black market.”

  Everyone turned to Nassef at the accusation against one of his ships. He crossed his hands before him, stoic despite the attention. “Tomas is wise to consider a lockdown,” Nassef said, his deep voice low and even. “And if the Moscow had any hand in this, I can promise all of you, the perpetrators will face swift justice.”

  Nassef leaned back in his chair, looking unperturbed by the entire situation.

  “That’s it.” Nicolas said. “I’m getting my son and wife and we’re leaving on a transport. I’ll be on the Vancouver waiting this out.”

  The president laid a hand on Nic’s shoulder. “We don’t even know—”

  “You don’t know much,” Jon said. “I’m with Nicolas on this. I need to get my family to safety. There could be more terrorists aboard—they could set off a bomb at any moment.”

  “You’re going to let terrorists scare us off our own damn ship?” Tomas asked. “We need to hunt them down—not flee.”

  “No transports have been given clearance to leave or board this ship,” Nyssa said, her voice harsh. She still clutched Nic’s shoulder tightly and pressed him back into his chair. “And this meeting is not over yet.”

  “We’ve been orbiting Soren for too long,” Tomas said. “That’s why we have this unrest. This is your doing, Nyssa.”

  “I did not give you leave to speak, Tomas,” Nyssa said, challenging him with a direct gaze. Nyssa stepped away from Nic and wiped her hands together. “Lieutenant Raines, do you have any leads? Brief us on what you’ve discovered.”

  Tadeo stiffened as every pair of eyes settled on him. Only one thought raced through his mind. My mother sent Tatiana to spy on you. If he said it, they would turn on her. Convict her and airlock her for treason.

  “Lieutenant Raines?” Nyssa snapped.

  Tadeo stood tall. “President Sorenson, my squads found the canisters, and we’re cross-referencing data to help Chief’s search in imports and exports. If terrorists remain on this ship—we’ll find them.” Tadeo’s voice came out deep, full of confidence he didn’t feel. “I think the terrorists are or were targeting you, just like they were with the hull breach. I agree with Chief’s recommendation for evacuation. You should all get off this ship until we’ve located the explosives and removed any and all threats to your persons.”

  Nyssa pressed her lips together in a thin, pale line, and Nassef leaned back in his chair, considering Tadeo. He stepped back into his corner and stared over the top of their heads, his chest tight. He was a liar, holding back information they needed. But they seemed to suspect nothing.

  “I’m not running away,” Tomas said. “Do you realize what that will look like? How the colonists will respond if we just abandon the ship and leave them all behind?”

  “But, Tomas,” Nassef said, his voice smooth, “the Meso and Oslo need your leadership. All of our dekas need us. And if we’re the targets, perhaps removing ourselves will dissuade these terrorists from setting off their bomb.”

  Tomas nodded, but he looked uncertain now. “The Meso and Oslo do need my advocacy.”

  “They absolutely rely on your advocacy.”

  Tadeo’s nostrils flared. Amazing how Nassef managed to calm Tomas… with transparent lies. Did either of them really believe that kak—that the Meso wanted his “advocacy”?

  Nyssa stood, and the lume bar above brought out the deep hollows beneath her eyes. “We’re the most likely targets of an attack. Command level will be cleared until the chief can locate the explosives. It’s settled then. You will evacuate.”

  “And you? You can’t stay here,” Farida said. “You can come with me to the London. They’ll take good care of us there, until we can come back.”

  “Oh, you want us to leave so you can gain full control over this ship? Over the guard?” Tomas said, his voice rising.

  Nyssa leaned toward him, locking eyes with him. “I already have full control over this ship and the guard, Tomas. You’d be wise to remember that.” She looked at the rest of them. “This meeting is adjourned. Get your families and belongings quickly and quietly, then get to the hangar bay. My guard will escort you. I’ll ensure transports are ready within the half hour.”

  The board members got to their feet and filed out the door, but Tomas stuck around until the other four had gone through. When it was his turn to leave, he pointed at Nyssa.

  “The Paragon hasn’t faced this many problems in over a century,” he said. “I’m leaving because the Meso and Oslo need me. But when we get back, there will be changes, and you will support them. We’ve replaced presidents before. Don’t think we can’t do it to you.”

  Nyssa took a few steps in his direction and stopped an inch from his face. “We’ve replaced board members before, too. Don’t think I won’t do it to you.”

  Tomas’s face reddened, and they stared at each other for another moment. Finally, he broke eye contact and strode from the room.

  The door slid shut, and Nyssa turned to the chief. Her shoulders caved a little as she went to him and rested her hand on his chest. The chief reached down and caressed her sleeve.

  Tadeo’s brows went up, and he stiffened. Had they forgotten he was still here?

  “You have to take Tesmee and leave,” the chief said, his voice rough. “Go with Farida.”

  “They can’t use fear tactics on me. The colonists on this ship are my responsibility.”
<
br />   “You have to do it for Tesmee.”

  “I’m not putting Tesmee on a transport,” she said.

  “She’s in more danger here than on the London.” The chief cupped Nyssa’s chin in one hand. “No one expects you to go there.”

  The chief and Nyssa? Tadeo wasn’t sure whether to be shocked or repulsed. Chief was far below her station… but it wasn’t like someone as old as Nyssa would pair again after losing a husband. At least this explained why she trusted Chief so much. As the two of them stared into each other’s eyes, Tadeo shifted, uncomfortable. They definitely seemed to have forgotten his presence in the corner of the cubic. He cleared his throat, and the chief jerked his hand away from the president. She whirled to face Tadeo, her cheeks flushed.

  “Chief is right,” Tadeo said. “If there are still terrorists on this ship, you’d be their number one target. If you’re not here—maybe they won’t set off the bomb. You might protect this ship best by leaving.”

  Nyssa stared at the tile floor for a long moment and then straightened her shoulders. “Then I’ll do it. I’ll take Tesmee and go.”

  “We’ll keep everyone on their levels until you get out,” Chief said, his face stern, fully himself again. “No one will be allowed in the stairwell. Raines, grab the files you’ve been cross-referencing. Then meet me on zero deck. Once the president and board are off the ship, we’ll fast-track the questioning in imports and exports.”

  “You are both authorized to use any means necessary to locate these explosives,” Nyssa said, her usual demeanor returning.

  “Any means?” Chief asked.

  “Yes. Any means necessary. Get the drugs. If you find anyone who may have been working with the terrorists, you do whatever you need to do to uncover the details of this plot and the location of the bomb. We’ll clean up the mess when I get back.”

  ∞ ∞

  One name cycled through Tadeo’s mind as he headed back to Central for his data. Jai Florian. He had to meet up with Chief on zero deck, so he had to move quickly and make sure there was no link between his mother, the terrorists, and the single Meso transfer who worked in imports.