I look up into Markov’s ice blue eyes. “That is kind of strange, isn’t it?” A shiver goes up my spine. He’s here keeping an eye on me. But why?
Markov looks uneasy at the idea as well, but he puts on a smile for me. “Let’s finish the tour, then we can dig into all that data you were given.”
That gives me hope. I can immerse myself into reading through everything on the tablet like a treasure hunt. We have until tomorrow before we reach the asteroid. “All right. Lead on.” I grin up at him.
We take another lift, and he shows me the highlights of the ship. Below the cafeteria level, we already visited is a whole deck for exercise and relaxation. The rest of the ship is hospital rooms, supply rooms, labs, and equipment for every kind of emergency. And of course a whole deck of surgery suites. This ship could take on the population of a small colony it’s so big.
The top floor is the bridge, which we don’t go anywhere near. We didn’t want to risk running into the commander again.
We return to the cafeteria level to grab some coffee and find a quiet corner in one of the restaurants. I turn on the tablet, and a 3D vid pops up showing the contents of the drive. I frown, looking around at all the people in the large room.
“Markov we might need to go through this somewhere more private. This has some special clearance stuff on it.” I bite my lip. If the commander is here to keep an eye on me because he doesn’t trust me, why did he give me such sensitive data?
Markov looks over the display. “Right. Since I’m studying to get my MD they’ve given me a large 3D display in my room here. We can setup there.”
I grin. “You’re going for your MD? You didn’t tell me!”
Markov’s neck and cheeks turn a light pink. “I didn’t want to say anything until I was further into the degree.” He looks down at the table, finding something in the pattern suddenly fascinating.
I place my hand on his arm and squeeze. “Well, congratulations. That’s a big step.”
Markov looks at my hand and then up at me. “Thanks. I wasn’t sure what you would think.”
I lean back into the booth, quickly putting my hands into my lap. I try to find something other to look at than his gorgeous blue eyes. “Did you think I wouldn’t approve?” And why would he care if I approved or not?
Markov finishes the rest of his coffee as my anxiety ratchets up a notch.
“You almost have your MD finished, and you’re not even eighteen yet. I’m almost twenty-five.” His quiet answer makes me look up again.
I’m so relieved his reason is educational and not anything to do with the flutters I’m feeling in my belly that I almost laugh out loud. “Yes, but on Mars they start our education sooner. I only had a few classes left when I came to Delta station.”
“So why are you in high school classes as well? That’s where you met Derek?” His lips turn down slightly at the corners.
I let out a sigh. “Yes, that was my dad’s idea. He’s making me do my senior year again in order to make friends my age. I do my MD classes in my free time. I even have my mom’s actual hardback medical books.” I smile remembering how many times I’d catch her pouring over those books even though she’d been a doctor for decades. She said she didn’t want to ever forget the basics.
“Amazing, Bren. I’m not sure how you find time to do all that. I struggle to get my homework done after the long days on call.”
I put both hands around my coffee cup. “Once I moved to Delta I had no social life so I was able to get almost finished with my MD classes. My dad has been great at helping me to study.”
“Your dad cares a lot about you. And you did make friends this year, like he hoped. Aren’t you still friends with Annie Clarke?”
I smile as I picture her happy face framed by impossibly soft blond curls. I automatically touch my kinky curls as I wish they would tame as well as hers. “Yes, Annie has become a wonderful friend. After being alone most of the year it’s nice having someone to hang out with.”
“And Derek.”
I look back up to Markov’s face and see an emotion pass quickly over it. Jealousy? I shake myself mentally. No, Markov and I are just friends. He’s older and deserves someone his own age. Why would he be interested in a high school girl? Besides I like Derek.
Knowing how I have a hard time stopping my thought trails, I force myself to stand up abruptly from the table and grab my tablet. “Yes, Derek and you now as well. I’ve gained a lot of friends out of all this tragedy.” I smile. “How about we get to work on this puzzle?”
He slowly gets up from the booth, and we walk to the lift without speaking.
Once on the lift I lean against the wall and study Markov. “So have you made friends on your new ship?”
He smiles. “A few. I’ve been so busy with trying to learn all the new machines and procedures along with studying at night, I haven’t had much time to socialize.”
The lift door opens, and we step out into the corridor. The walls of the residential levels aren’t stark white like everywhere else on this giant hospital ship. Markov tells me as we walk about how each residential deck has its own color scheme. This corridor is a light colored green. Although there aren’t any decorations, the change in color is refreshing.
People pass us in the corridor, all saying hello to Markov as they hurry toward the lift in different colored scrubs. I elbow Markov. “I think you’ve had more time to socialize on this ship than you have on your own.”
His face takes on the faint pink tint that makes me smile. For a big guy he gets embarrassed easily. “Mostly I know them from past medical classes or other ships I’ve been on.”
“I think I could get used to being on a huge ship like this. I feel like a squirrel in a cage on Delta. I’ve gotten to know every inch of her in the year I’ve been there.”
“Both this ship and the one I’m on are much bigger than the Carina ships.” He looks at me sideways.
“I know. They have to be smaller because they go farther. The hospital ships are built for serving only one quadrant. Won’t you get bored being in the same section of the galaxy?”
“Maybe. But the ship I’m on is part of a larger organization, so they have ships in all quadrants. I’ve even heard talk of them following the Carina missions out of the galaxy.” He elbows me and grins.
“That does make sense, as we get more people out past the Fringe that we’ll need medical care to follow,” I answer.
We stop in front of one of the many doors in the corridor. They all look the same, and as I look down each direction of the corridor, I get a little bit of vertigo. “How in the world do you remember where your room is? They all look the same.” I hold up my hands.
Markov laughs as he hovers his wrist implant over a small square to the right of the door. It glows green, and the door pops open. He holds the door and shows me there are numbers faintly glow in the middle of the door, just at eye level. “The numbers are on all the time but get darker when you get close with your implant.”
Pretty cool tech. I step into his room and find it bigger than I expected. It actually has a living area with seating and a desk. There are two doors; I assume one is to his bedroom and the other to a bathroom.
“This is really nice, Markov. Much bigger than my room on Delta.”
He plops into a cushioned chair facing a blank wall. “Bigger than the room on my ship too.” A section in the arm of the chair raises up to reveal a keyboard. He types in some commands, and the whole wall lights up.
“Nice. That’s a large vid screen.” I sit in the chair next to him as I watch him place the familiar 3D schematic of the ship up on the wall.
“I do have this tech on my ship.” He grins. “It’s helpful with the medical studies. Easier to see details with the live surgery trainings.”
“We’ve had 3D tech for a few generations, but I didn’t think everyone would get access on such a large ship.”
He grins. “Another benefit to being on a hospital ship. They enco
urage learning.”
I shake my head. “Let’s see if I can figure out our current problem and make the galactic commander happy first, before I plan my next move.”
The bottom right corner of the screen blinks red, and “urgent” scrolls across the main screen. Markov types in a few commands, and the Delta logo pops up on the wall, larger than life. “Looks like you have an emergency message, Bren.”
“Me?” My heart races thinking of my dad and the recent attack on Delta.
“Yes. Do need to take it in your room? I can take you there.”
I shake my head. “I can’t think of any reason it would be private, just play it, please.”
Markov presses a button, and Derek’s face fills the screen.
“Derek! What’s wrong?” I try to look past him to see if there is any commotion or chaos, but all I see is one half of the comm room. Crew with headsets sit in rows, and Derek seems to be at my friend Annie’s station.
Derek narrows his eyes, and I realize he’s staring at Markov sitting close beside me. “We’ve had a hit on our ListServ request,” he says slowly.
I breathe a sigh of relief. “You scared me, I thought something had happened to the station. Everything there is all right?”
He peels his glare off Markov and gives a small nod. “For now. But this information is sensitive to our investigation.”
I look over at Markov and then back to Derek. “The galactic commander is here on the hospital ship and has me working with Markov and his team on this.”
Derek’s eyes widen. “He’s there on the hospital ship? Why didn’t he just take a fast shuttle back to the asteroid?”
I throw my hands up and grin. “I’d like to know that too. He gives me the creeps.” I put a hand over my mouth and glance over at Markov. “This is a secure connection, right?” My turn to blush.
He grins and relaxes back into his chair. “Yes, Bren it’s secure. But even high ranking officials could break privacy protocols.”
I feel my limbs grow heavy as I imagine the commander listening to my conversation. I frown. “Great, thanks for the assurances, Markov.”
“He’s actually right, Bren. And that’s why I’m calling you. Annie’s team extracted most of the data on the data stick. We had a feeling this went higher than Sergeant Scott and a few pirates. Although most of the data is still being decoded, what we do have so far shows it goes way higher than pirates and station security. So you need to be careful. Don’t trust anyone.” His eyes flick to Markov who is looking directly at him.
“But you won’t be able to tell Bren who over this transmission, will you?” Markov matches Derek’s stare.
Concern lines Derek’s face. “No. But even if it were safe, we don’t know exactly who we’re looking for. Only that several commanders among the galactic security teams are involved. And we found out one other thing, Bren.” He turns toward me, his brown eyes focused on my face.
Anxiety spreads throughout my chest like shock waves as I try to guess what might be troubling Derek. “Yes?” I whisper.
Derek takes a deep breath and glances behind him before he answers me. “We found the pirate captain who attacked Delta has ties leading back to Mars Colony.”
“What?” I stand facing the giant vid of Derek. “What are you talking about?”
“Like I said we haven’t deciphered the whole thing yet, but know the captain originally came from Mars Colony. He’s a legal citizen there.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “Mars doesn’t believe in meddling in anything outside of its colony. They don’t even encourage people to have business off planet. Other than the minimal needs for fresh supplies. And they definitely don’t support space pirates.”
Derek looks away.
“There’s more?” I cross my arms to keep myself together. I wish I were having this conversation with Derek in person rather than across a vid link. Although I can tell he’s hiding something, I would be able to read his body language better in person.
He looks up with an almost apologetic expression on his handsome face. “The data mentions tu madre. Your mother. It seems she knew about this new mining tech.”
I sit heavily back into the chair. “That’s not possible. She was only a doctor and the coroner on Mars, nothing else. She wasn’t on the mining board or governor’s commission. She only knew enough of the mining process to help treat mining diseases and accidents,” I say flatly.
Derek’s miserable expression turns to relief as he looks to the side. My dad steps up next to him and stares right at me.
“Dad?”
“I’m sorry Bren. Derek’s right. We don’t know how your mother was involved in all this, only that she was mentioned by this captain in his report to whoever higher up than him sent him to Delta to retrieve the data stick.”
“But Mom’s been dead over a year.” I’m at a loss on how to connect my mother to the atrocities committed by this pirate captain.
“This research was started years ago, when she was still alive. We don’t know yet what part she had in all this. I’m betting she was just mentioned as someone who found out about it. I think she would’ve told me if she was working on something this big.” Dad’s shoulders slump, and his expression is heartbreaking. It’s like I’m watching him all over again as I tell him over the vid about Mom’s accident. I knew then he still loved her.
“Dad,” I say softly. “She can’t be the only one on Mars Colony that knew about this.” Mars was the original mining colony. Many generations of miners grew up there. Just about everyone knows everyone else, and it’s the birthplace for modern mining.
He pulls his head up, his dark eyes widening. “Then they could be the next target.”
8
Research
I look between my dad and Derek. “We don’t know how many targets there are still, or why they’re attacking these mines. But if Mars is mentioned, it’s a good bet.” My fists tighten in my lap. “We need to figure out why these people are attacking mining colonies. We should be at the mining asteroid by tomorrow morning. You guys need to keep working on getting the data unencrypted. We’ll try to figure out what these people are looking for in the mines.” I look over at Markov, a frown on his normally carefree face.
“You be even more cautious over there, Bren. I wonder now if they sent you on this mission because someone knew of your mother’s connection to all this.”
I turn my head up to the image of my dad. “You they think whoever is involved in this believes she told me something? Or I was involved somehow? I don’t remember anything like this. I’m sure I would’ve remembered her saying anything about new mining tech, or any new process that would cause the loss of mining jobs. She was extremely protective of the miners,” I finish softly.
He shakes his head. “Whatever it is we’re missing here, I just want you to be safe.” He pins Markov with that dad-stare of his. The one that is intense and makes you freeze in place. No matter who you are. “Since you’re going over there with her, you make sure she stays safe.”
Markov manages to nod, sweat breaking out along his forehead.
I turn to Derek who’s grinding his jaw as he stares between Markov and I. “I’ll be fine, Derek. This ship is huge, there are a ton of people on it, and no one’s going to do anything dangerous near a galactic commander, right?” I paste on a smile.
We say our goodbyes, and disconnect the vid. I sink into the chair and rest my head on the back, staring up at the ceiling.
Markov breaks the silence. “So, what are your thoughts on your mother being mentioned with all of this?” I glance over and see he’s turned slightly toward me but doesn’t reach out to touch me. I appreciate him keeping his distance because my body is strung tight with anxiety right now.
I loll my head the other direction and take in the rest of Markov’s temporary living space. This room is even bigger than the one Mom and I shared on Mars. And of course, our housing was the old fabricated kits that were pieced together decades
ago. My heart sinks as sadness tries to overcome me and drag me down into the depths of darkness. I allow myself to grieve my mother for a moment. Then I sit up straight in the chair and motion to the vid remote.
“I don’t know what she has to do with any of this, but let’s get studying so we can make this asteroid mine reveal its secrets to us.”
Markov grins and pulls up all the files downloaded for me. I read through all the file names, and I pick a few that are the most recent. “Let’s go backwards in the timeline. Then we’ll go through again chronologically.” I pull out my tablet and start taking notes as we watch vids of the aftermath of the attack on the asteroid mine, the actual attack, and right before the attack. The whole attack didn’t seem to take long. The attacking ships seemed to know exactly where to go and didn’t linger. Except for the unlucky ship back at Delta station.
We scroll through crew rosters of nearby ships and the mining crews. I send Annie a few of the names to cross-reference and do background checks on. I rub my eyes trying to get them to focus as I send her the last list of names.
“Let’s take a quick break, Bren. Get some food, stretch our legs.” Markov says from beside me.
He’s been so quiet as we’ve watched everything I’m startled at first by his voice. I look over, and he’s got dark circles under his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Markov. I can finish all this in my room so you can get some sleep. You probably still have work and studying of your own to do.” I start gathering up my tablet and other items I’ve taken out of my pack.
Markov places a hand on my arm. “No, it’s all right Bren. They’ve taken me off my normal work rotation while we research this asteroid. This is my job right now.” He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes he’s so tired.
“That’s great, and I appreciate it, but you look as exhausted as I feel. We still have another eight hours before we reach the asteroid. You can get some rest and rejoin me in a few hours.” I cover my mouth as a yawn escapes.
Delta Fringe Series Boxset: Books 1-3 Page 22
