Dad has taken a seat on one of the stools and is just staring up at the image of the EPL captain I put up. We call them pirates, just like the other space pirates that go around stealing and attacking smaller ships. But this is an antiquated name that doesn’t even do this group justice. Pirates of ancient times pillaged and plundered, but this group is more like terrorists who don’t even blink an eye as they lay waste to whole planets. As long as it serves their agenda: stopping human expansion. They’ve been terrorizing Sol technological advances since the beginning of space travel.
“What about the treaty?” asks Dad, his voice choked with emotion.
I flip up pictures of the symbols we found on the machinery. “We knew pirates were working with the galactic troops and Ash Corp from these symbols we found. Since those pirates, at least the ones who were on this particular asteroid, are the EPL, then we can assume they’ve violated the treaty.”
“But they left the rest of my crew alive. The mine is still operational. That’s not usual for them.”
“I think they’ve had to change their tactics due to their somewhat tenuous allegiance with the galactic fleet. If they’re truly working together with Ash Corp and the galactic fleet, there’s no way the galactic command would want whole crews dead in their quadrants.” I look back down as more data scrolls across my tablet.
“That might be why they didn’t just go out past the Fringe to do their dirty little experiments.” Dad’s voice is bitter, and I look up quickly as he continues. “Although the pirates had to tone down their usual killing, they didn’t want to give in completely to their galactic partners. They still wanted a show. I bet their concession to their partner’s plan was using existing mines so they could still terrorize people and stay out of the Fringe. It’s who they are.”
I nod, agreeing. I see so much hate in my dad’s eyes that I shiver. After a lifetime of seeing death and looking into the eyes of psychotic criminals during investigations, it’s these pirates that truly scare my stoic father. I look to Red for some kind of assurance, but he’s staring at the floor. Great. We’re in a lot of trouble here.
“Does this change your plans, Red?” I’m thinking about Markov now, an innocent in the middle of something so horrible no one could see this coming.
Red just shrugs and looks back up at the images. I look between the two men. “You guys watch the data and see if anything else comes up. I’m going to go see Derek. He needs to know this is worse than we thought.”
As if coming out of a dream, Dad slowly looks at me. “You can’t go anywhere, Bren.”
I narrow my eyes at my father, listlessly sitting on the stool in front of me. “I’ll take the back route. You’ve taught me never to give up. So don’t you.” I look to Red. “You need to still keep working on your plan to get Markov. I’m going to go see Derek and tell him what we found.” I unplug my tablet and tuck it into my backpack. As I swing my pack over my shoulder I look back at my dad who looks like he can’t decide to be worried or mad at me.
“Don’t worry. No one will see me. Derek should be in one of the back rooms where other officers won’t find him.” I tuck my hands in my pockets so they can’t see my hands shaking. I need to get out of here, to process what I just saw and get myself together so the others don’t see how much this has rattle me.
I leave the two men in the quiet morgue with the data flowing overhead on the 3D screen and make my way through the freezer to the back corner where a solid door is tucked in behind a stack of body bags. After putting in my secret code, a song lyric from my childhood, the door opens with a blast of warm air and light. I step into the adjoining room and secure the morgue door closed again.
18
Dangerous Faction
The room on the other side of the morgue door is empty, which puts me at ease. I’m fairly confident where Derek will go to avoid any of his fellow security crewmembers. After the whole Sergeant Scott incident, it’s been hard for Derek to trust anyone on his team again. We’re fairly certain we figured out who all was working with the sergeant, but it’s still hard to get back to normal. I think knowing the people responsible for allowing Delta station to get rammed by a rogue ship were several of his friends and fellow security crew shook Derek up. Not to mention the sergeant had been his mentor and supervisor.
I shake my head as I quietly step through the next door into another empty room with two doors at the far end. Other than the whole jealousy factor, it’s no wonder Derek doesn’t like Markov. Markov was one of the medics who was here at Delta station during the attack. His med ship happened to be close by when we sent out our distress signal. When you don’t know whom to trust, you tend to not trust anyone. Especially strangers.
Automatically I place my palm on the next door to feel the temperature. I laugh softly at myself as I quickly remove my hand. It’s been months, and I’m still affected by the trauma we endured during and after the attack. I roll my eyes and take a deep breath before opening the door.
I find another room, this one with just a few crates stacked neatly to each side. This section of security near the morgue is just a nest of rooms connected by two doors each. One main door and one hidden door leading to a different room. It’s the same maze of rooms we took after the ship rammed Delta, breaching our hull. Along with several injured guards including Derek, Markov and I had to hope we could find a way to the hospital safely, each door representing possible death from exposure to space.
This time I step between several crates and feel the wall, not for temperature, but for the satisfying snick of the hidden door. I wait, listening for voices. I hear none, so I carefully open the door.
Another room with several dark consoles along the wall greets me. A single console is lit up in the corner. None of the security personnel usually uses these older consoles.
“Derek?” I don’t see anyone, but my heart races thinking maybe I guessed wrong about where I’d find him. Maybe one of the other guards discovered Derek had fixed several of these broken consoles.
“Bren?” His head rises from behind a row of consoles to my left. My heart just about stops as I realize if it hadn’t been Derek I might’ve just given myself away. Great job being invisible, Bren.
In the room lit only by the blue light of the console, I see Derek’s lean form move toward me, and I’m soon engulfed in his arms. I wrap my arms about his waist and pull him close. Over the racing of my heart I realize he’s shaking. I pull my head back slightly, but he just turns his head away and holds me tighter.
“Derek? You all right?”
I feel him shift slightly. “Am now. I was just so worried about you. I wanted to hold you and make sure you were all right after you came back from the mine. But all I could do was hold your hand and hope you would wake up soon. And then we had no time to be alone.”
“You were with me the whole time?” I relax into him. Now that I’m here with him I realize just how much I missed him. And how much my absence and near-death has affected both of us.
“Your dad and I took turns sleeping and keeping an eye on you. I think he dislikes Red even more than I did at first.”
I pull back so we are face to face. “At first.” I grin. He tries to pull away but I hold tight around his waist. “So you’re warming up to him?”
Derek’s dark eyes look down into mine. “I told you I would do anything for you. I gave him a chance for you. He seems to be smart and has far-reaching contacts. I think he might actually be able to help us.”
I lean up and kiss him, and he pulls me against him. I actually feel warm since I woke up, and we kiss until we’re out of breath.
He places his forehead against mine as we just enjoy being alone together.
“Bren, about—” He’s cut off by an insistent beeping in my backpack.
I grimace and untangle myself from Derek. I stoop down to where I dropped my pack on the ground and pull out my tablet. I look up at Derek. “It’s Dad’s private channel.”
Derek frowns. “I
wonder why he didn’t just come here.”
I shake my head as I push the answer button. “Yes, Dad?”
“Are you with Derek?” It’s Red, not my dad. And he sounds out of breath.
“Yes, what’s happening?”
“His ship is docking with Delta. Right now.”
“The galactic commander?” My heart starts racing. “He must’ve figured I was still on the morgue ship somehow.”
I hear Derek swear softly beside me.
“No. I don’t think it was that, Bren. Did the commander give you some sort of comm device before you got to my asteroid?” I hear some sort of loud noise in the background. “You know, when he outfitted you with all new tech?”
My stomach drops, and I sit back on the hard floor. Derek kneels down beside me. “Yes, he did. I didn’t even think of that.” I dig through my pack until I find the shirt I was wearing when they placed the comm on it. “I have it right here. Should I destroy it? So he can’t locate me?”
“No, I have a better idea. Bring it back to the morgue. I’ll show you what else I found.” Red’s voice sounds strained.
“On my way.” I shove everything but the tablet and comm back in my pack and stand up, Derek right next to me.
“And Bren?”
“Yes?”
“Bring Derek with you. They know about you two.”
I look at Derek, a flash of anger going through my body. “Is he in danger?”
“As much as you are. Just get here.” The comm goes silent.
Derek already has the door open, and we dart back through the rooms I just came through. When we step into the morgue freezer I hesitate. I put a hand on Derek’s arm.
“What’s wrong Bren?” Derek says right next to my ear, tickling the hairs against my skin.
“Red just didn’t sound right.” I look around the morgue. “And someone’s been through here since I was just in here.”
“Maybe your dad is continuing with the autopsies?”
I grind my teeth. “Maybe.” I walk slowly toward the opposite door, counting bodies. All the bodies are here. My nerves are strung tight.
The morgue door has a layer of fresh frost on it. I put my hands on the wall next to it, the thinnest part of the freezer and lean into the metal wall, straining to hear anything outside.
I close my eyes as I concentrate on voices talking back and forth. One of them is Red’s unmistakable loud booming high voice. He sounds upset and is swearing colorfully. But the other is not my dad. My skin crawls. I quietly step back away from the door and motion for Derek to follow me.
I duck behind several stacks of bodies and look at my tablet. Besides the notice telling me I had a call on my dad’s private channel, there’s a notice that an important work order has been sent to me via the morgue duty roster. I touch the message, hoping it’s not an audible one.
My heart pounds as the message opens up silently to reveal one printed sentence. Relief floods through my body when I realize it’s from Red and my dad. Dock 3c Red Zone bodies 2.
I hold the tablet so Derek can see it and point to the secret door we just came out of. He takes my hand and we walk quietly back to the door. In the freezer, even our tiptoeing sounds loud, and I cringe at every noise, straining to listen for the other door to open.
We get out of the morgue and don’t talk until we’re back in the room where Derek was on the computer. My heart is pounding out of my chest as we carefully close the invisible door behind us. Derek immediately sinks into his chair. I sit down next to him.
In a hushed voice Derek asks, “We’ve been found, haven’t we? Was it the galactic commander in there?”
“It wasn’t the commander, but it was someone from the galactic ship. There’s no way Red would’ve given us up if they weren’t threatening my dad or someone else important to me.”
Derek looks at the computer screen in front of him. Then he asks, “Was that message from your dad? What does it mean?”
“I think the galactic trooper made Red call us. I thought he was just out of breath, but he was probably being forced to say those things. I think one thing is true — the galactic ship is here.” I hold up my tablet. “This message was probably sent as soon as they figured out something was wrong and they had nowhere to go.”
“What does the message mean?” Derek slumps further into his seat.
“Unfortunately, I think it means we need to get to Dock 3c.”
Derek taps a few keys on the computer and looks up at me. “But that’s one of the private docks. The galactic ship just one dock over.”
“Red probably has a ship there for us. That’s what the Red zone means, I think. To trust him.”
“And the two bodies?”
I try to smile. “That makes it look like official morgue business. But I’m pretty sure he’s making sure you go with me.” I’m relieved Red had the foresight to send me this message, but I’m worried about him and Dad at the same time. At least I have Derek here with me, and I know I need to somehow keep him safe. But now I not only have to figure out how to get Markov away safely, I need to get Red and Dad away from the galactic forces as well. And hope it’s only the galactic forces I’m dealing with right now. The alternative makes my stomach heave.
19
Tunnels Again
Derek stands up and hugs me tight. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. At least we’re in this together this time. And I’m not injured and useless.” He points down at his screen. “I’ve also confirmed Markov was on that ship.”
“Was?”
“Yes. But somehow he’s been transferred to a small courier ship and is on his way back to his hospital ship.”
I let out a long breath. “That’s good then, right? Red was able to do that much before they found us.” Hope flutters in my belly as I think about Markov being let go.
“I hope it’s a good thing. I’m not sure how to confirm it’s true without giving ourselves away.”
“Charon’s ice! I forgot about the comm again. Red mentioned it under duress I’m sure.” I pull the comm off the shirt. I hold up the small tech. “What should we do with it?”
Derek takes it and turns it over. “They already know we’re here. Destroying it might endanger Markov, Red, and your dad.”
“Really?”
He holds out the device toward me like it’s on fire. “I’m just trying to guess what a desperate galactic commander with something to hide would do. If he thinks you know something that could destroy him, he won’t stop to think about hurting any more people. Look at all the deaths already.”
Tears come to my eyes as I think of the danger my friends and my dad are in because of what I’ve discovered. Fear and sadness quickly turn to anger when I remember Red’s theory of my mom’s death being murder and not an accident. “We need to figure out who’s doing this and stop them.” I take back the comm and hide it behind one of the dead stations.
“Are you done there?” I point to the lit up screen in front of Derek.
“Yes, I didn’t have time to find out anything more.” He exits out of his log-in and turns the computer off. “So, how are we going to get to the docks without being seen?”
I grin and hold my hand out to him. “Remember how we got away from the sergeant?”
Derek’s eyes go wide, and he lets out an exaggerated groan. “The tunnels again?”
“Yep. Let’s go before they realize we didn’t fall for Red’s call.” I grab his hand and walk toward the opposite door in the tiny room. I listen carefully before I open it.
This next room is stuffed with racks of security uniforms. We have to push our way through the rows of pressed shirts and pants to get to the other wall. The one with the hidden door.
Derek pulls me close and whispers in my ear. “We’re heading toward the security docks. Toward where the galactic ship is, Bren. I thought we were going to the ventilation tunnels.”
I turn my head slightly so I can see his face. “There’s another set of tunnels that
start near the docks. It’s at the beginning of the ventilation lines.”
Derek frowns. “And you know all of this because you needed to avoid me and my stupid friends last year.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “That’s in the past now. And now look at how useful my discoveries have become.” I kiss him before he can say anything further. “Let’s go.”
The spot on the wall depresses slightly under the pressure of my fingers, and the door opens up into another room. I hesitate, listening, before I step into the room stacked with blue crates.
Derek steps next to me, sealing the door behind us. All of these doors are airtight once they’re sealed shut. They’re seriously the only reason Derek, Markov, and I are still alive after the Delta breach. Each of these rooms sealed up automatically against the outside breach, we just had to find which rooms weren’t compromised in the concussive blast.
I step around the plastic crates stacked almost to the ceiling. At the far end is the regular door, but I know it leads out into the main corridor running behind security and opens up to the dock. The far side of the corridor is a glass wall, so we’d be spotted immediately.
Instead, I have Derek help me push crates out of the way. Behind these is a hidden door leading to yet another storage room. But this room has a large vent. I look up at Derek and grin. He just shakes his head at me. He knows no matter how crazy of an idea it is, it’s our only option.
I carefully remove the vent and slide into the tunnel. I wait as Derek slides in behind me and fastens the vent back. I’m hoping all the crates in front of the vent will hide our escape long enough to get to the dock.
On hands and knees, we crawl through the tunnels, trying to be as quietly as possible. The air here is fresh, since the one reason for such large ventilation tubes is to refresh Delta station’s air with the natural air from the greenhouse.
Delta Fringe Series Boxset: Books 1-3 Page 31
