Delta Fringe Series Boxset: Books 1-3

by Heather Lee Dyer

  I'm startled by a loud buzz. A short ramp extends from an open door and I see the commander standing in the entry, leaning heavily on the doorframe.

  I narrow my eyes as I study the previously formidable and sturdy commander. Not only did he lose weight, he looks like he can barely stand. His skin is pale and sweaty. I switch into medical mode and start issuing orders for a stretcher as Red and Derek hurry up the ramp to assist the commander.

  Since the doc is still unconscious up above, one of the crew grabs an emergency stretcher from the side of the bay. Derek and Red lower him onto it. I come over to his side and start assessing his vitals. He stays quiet and just watches me. I look at the sad assortment of medical supplies one of the crew shoves at me and shake my head. "We need to get him to the med bay."

  The commander reaches out and grasps my arm. Even in his weakened condition he has quite a grip. "No. Take me somewhere away from the crew."

  I frown and look up at the captain.

  It looks like it takes all of the captain's self-control to stay calm. "We'll take him to the bridge level. There's a larger conference room there we can use." He turns to one of the crew and instructs them to go and bring the doc's med kit, and the doc if he can.

  As we usher the commander out of the bay I notice that the captain goes ahead of us ordering crew elsewhere. They scramble before us like mice let loose out of a cage. No one wants to deal with a galactic commander; no matter how curious they are about one being on board their ship.

  We take the supply lift, since it's the only one deep enough for the stretcher. I suspect the captain feels we'll run into less crew this way as well.

  A wheezing sound prompts my attention back down to the commander. His breathing is labored and sounds like his lungs are full of fluid. I dig around in the wimpy emergency kit and find a portable air mask. As I fit it over his face he mouths thank you to me. Stunned, I just nod.

  The captain takes us up to one of the large conference rooms as promised. This one is sparse, just a large table and two chairs. It smells new like it's never been used either. The captain must not like to have visitors.

  One of the crew brings me a larger med kit and I get the commander hydrated and comfortable. The doc is still out cold, so I pull up a chair next to the commander to watch his vitals as I push meds into his thin arm.

  Red, the captain, and Derek stand awkwardly on the far side of the room whispering to one another as they watch me work on Guram. I get annoyed with people whispering in front of me and I'm about ready to send them out of the room, when the commander pulls his oxygen mask off and orders them to stop talking.

  I bite my lip and suppress a grin in the silence that follows. The looks on the captain and Red's faces are priceless and I almost want to hug the commander.

  Almost. Not quite. But I'm unable to suppress a smile and have to look away before I start giggling.

  "I know you're wondering why I'm here."

  My smile fades and I look back down at the commander, who is looking straight at me. I clench my hands as they start sweating under his scrutiny. "Yes. I'm sure we'd all like to know that," I manage to croak out.

  "I'm not here to turn you in if that's what you were worried about."

  I narrow my eyes at him. "Isn't that part of your job, to bring criminals to justice?"

  "You consider yourself a criminal?" His cold, dark eyes crinkle at the corners.

  I place the oxygen mask back over his mouth and nose, giving me time to think.

  "I am wanted by the entire galactic command."

  "So am I, now." The response is muffled somewhat by the mask, but everyone in the room understands. We look at each other with eyebrows raised.

  "What do you mean?" My hand stills on the heart monitor I'm adjusting.

  "The command doesn't know I'm here. They think I'm still on the medical ship."

  "That's why you brought that outdated personal shuttle. It's small enough to escape detection." Red steps closer so the commander can see him.

  The commander turns his head toward Red and pushes his oxygen mask off with one of his paper-thin hands. "It's not outdated, I've kept it in superior shape." He puts every ounce of energy he's got into each word.

  I gently place the mask back on him again. "I noticed it's been well taken care of. It's an amazing vessel. But that doesn't explain why you're here."

  He grunts and takes off the mask again. "Are we done yet? Am I well enough to be unhooked from all these machines?"

  "You're the one who came here in this weakened condition. You could've stayed on the hospital ship and received the best care in the galaxy." I watch the monitor as he tries to sit up. "But I think you're doing well enough to finish up here. As long as you rest."

  "And tell us why you're here," says the captain standing behind Red. We all nod in agreement. "It's not everyday I get a rogue galactic commander on my ship."

  4

  Teamwork

  I remove the IV and all the sensors as the commander watches me. I ignore him and concentrate on his medical condition, even though I'm anxious to get answers.

  Derek helps him to one of the chairs at the conference room table. Now that I've seen the commander up close I realize that he's not as old as I first thought. He's probably my father’s age, but he looks like he's had a rough life. His frown seems a permanent feature, engrained over the years.

  I guess being the commander of a galactic security vessel isn't as easy of a job as most fringe dwellers think.

  When we get him settled into the chair I hand him a med tab, which he obediently takes without question.

  The other three sit down around the large table. This feels strangely familiar, like an odd family social gathering, since less than an hour ago four of us were just doing this in the smaller conference room.

  I stay close to the commander so I can make sure he doesn't keel over. He's still looking pale, and I think it will take a few weeks for him to fully recover. But I'm not going to anger him by ordering him to bed. Besides, I'm curious to see why he defied his own chain of command to come here.

  Even the new bag of supplies brought up from the med bay doesn't have everything I'd like to have to treat the commander. I think about the med supplies back on the asteroid. They would be very useful here, but I had to leave them behind in order to be smuggled out on a body ship. I narrow my eyes at the commander as I remember he's the reason that happened.

  It seems we share the experience of being frozen nearly to death.

  The commander takes a deep breath and places his thin hands in his lap. He looks up and makes eye contact with me. "It wasn't an accident that you were selected to investigate the mining attacks."

  "We figured," is all I say. I want him to elaborate.

  "I made sure you were on that team."

  "Why?"

  I hear the others shift in their seats as the commander draws out answering my questions.

  Guram looks sideways as if looking for help that's not there. "I had family on the Tempest."

  My mouth gapes open as I hear Derek's intake of breath. I look at Red who's also got a surprised expression on his face. So he didn't know either.

  "I'm so sorry," I manage to stammer as the commander looks back at me.

  "That's also why I traded quadrants with another commander. So I could figure out what happened to my sister."

  I bite my lip. There are a thousand questions I want to ask.

  He turns slightly so he's facing me in his chair. "I heard how you figured out what happened in there. That kind of intuitional thinking is what we need to stop whoever is behind these attacks. Our current resources haven't been able to stop them so far."

  "If you wanted me to investigate, why did you send troops after me in the mines?" My heart races as I remember running through the mine with Red trying to stay one step ahead of the galactic troops.

  "Those were the another commander's troops. He was suspicious of why I switched commands. I tried to find you," he
glares over my shoulder at Red, "to warn you, but he kept you hidden."

  I look back at Red. "Red didn't know you were trying to help. None of us did. All I knew was that there were galactic security force troops working with these people. We didn't know whom to trust. How was I supposed to know you were on our side?"

  I pause as I look around the room at the others then back at the commander. "You are on our side, right?"

  "Yes." He smiles, which about makes me fall off my chair. I'm not sure I've ever seen more than a frown or glare on his face.

  A small niggling doubt burns in the back of my mind. I learn forward and look into his eyes. "I was literally frozen to death hiding from you. If you hadn't been on that body ship I would've made it back to Delta without having the need to be thawed out and my heart restarted."

  "I'm sorry. I tried explaining—"

  "Explain nothing. All you did was demand that we give Bren over to you. How is that supposed to show us trust? We had just discovered that someone from one of your ships was working to blow up innocent miners." Red is standing now, practically growling in the commander's face.

  I hold up an arm to prevent Red from getting closer. "Let him explain now. He still hasn't told us much more than we already know. And we still need to know why he's here." I look back at the commander and slowly lower my arm.

  "Back at the mine I was trying to get you away from the others because I didn't know who to trust on my own ship." He takes a deep breath and sinks back into his chair. "I didn't realize you had made the connection yet about the rogue galactic security troops."

  "And again, why are you here?"

  "I know you've figured out something. I want to help."

  Exclamations come from the others behind me and I hold up my hand for quiet. "First, how did you know we figured out something, and second, why do you want to help?"

  "And why would we need your help?" Red's gruff voice comes from beside me. I stiffen, ready to move, but Red doesn't come any closer to the commander.

  I watch the commander struggle to sit up in his chair, nervously looking at Red. "I know you've figured out something because you're here right before the attacks on Mars. There's no apparent connection between today and any of the other attacks. None that I can figure out, anyway." He takes a deep breath again, as if drawing energy into all his words. "And I already told you why I want to help. I'm the one who got you on the investigative team to figure out what happened to my sister on the Tempest."

  "How did you know the Tempest was related to the mining attacks?" Derek asks from my other side.

  The commander looks at Derek, his expression neutral. "I read all of your security reports."

  "Of course. You would have access to everything." Derek sounds disgusted as he absently raps his knuckles on the table.

  "Yes, and that's exactly why you need me. I can get you down to Mars safely, and get around the security protocols."

  "We have ways of getting around security without you, commander." The quiet voice comes from the other side of the table where the captain is pacing along the wall. I watch as he fidgets with his hands, anxious to do something instead of just sitting here and talking. I can completely understand his desire for action.

  "To a certain point, captain. No one knows I'm gone yet, so I'll still have access to codes for security, planetary supply routes, communications, and the planetary defenses."

  Derek gives out a low whistle. "How can you be sure they don't know you're gone and didn't disable all your codes? That would be the first thing we would do as security."

  The commander looks around me at Derek. "Because I programmed firewalls around all my data. They can't get to my codes and permissions to delete or block them. And your friend Markov will make sure I'm not discovered missing."

  I smile and look back at Derek. He actually looks impressed. Red even looks less skeptical. Seems our team is warming up to Guram. I reach into the med bag and grab a small bottle of light green liquid and shove it toward the commander. "Drink this. If you won't let me keep an IV in you, I at least need you to drink a few of these."

  The commander doesn't argue. He simply takes the lid off and drinks back the bitter liquid, handing me back an empty container.

  "Good. Now, if you're going to be helping us, we need to know exactly what you've learned about the research and the people doing it."

  The room is suddenly bathed in red light and the captain swears across the table. This time he brings up his second-in-command on the 3D vid at the other end of the room so we can all hear.

  "Captain, we're in place around Mars. There's a lot going on, but we're some distance from main fighting."

  "You've placed us over the main dome? Have we been spotted at all?" The captain walks over to face the projected image.

  "Yes. And we're not emitting any signals and have cut our engines completely. Waiting for your next orders."

  The captain looks back at me. I stand up. "We need to get into the supply dock for the main mine somehow without being seen."

  "That's impossible," answers the second from the screen above us.

  The captain waves his hand. "What he means is that we can slip down unnoticed just fine, but in order to get into the main airlocks, we would then be identified by our codes."

  "That's where I come in," Commander Guram says as he struggles to his feet.

  The second on the screen blanches as he notices the commander behind us.

  We all look back as Guram steadies himself on the table. "I can use my codes at the locks without setting off any warnings." He glances over at me. "I know I can do this. This is why you need me here."

  I go over the layout of the main domes in my head to see if he's right. As I think about the Mars docks and the mines my stomach drops as it hits me that this was my home. I don't trust my voice at the moment, so I just nod at the captain. He turns and gives his second the coordinates.

  "We'd better get up to the bridge." He dismisses the 3D vid and steps close to me. "Are you sure he's well enough to join us?"

  Behind the words I can feel a warning. The captain still isn't happy about having an injured galactic commander on his ship.

  "Yes, the meds I gave him will help with pain and healing, but won't cloud his thinking. He's just not going to be jaunting all over the mines with us, however." I look back at Guram, who winces as he takes a step forward.

  "Fine with me. Meet you up there." The captain exits and we're left staring at the commander.

  "Just help me," he grouches. There's a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead, but the color seems to be returning to his face. I remember those first few hours after being unfrozen, and know exactly what he's feeling.

  I grin to myself. This is kind of a twisted type of payback.

  I leave the med supplies in the conference room, and Derek and I assist the commander up to the bridge. We lower him into an empty chair in front of the main vid display. Derek and I lean against the console beside him.

  I watch as the pilot takes our ship down through the invisible security barrier around Mars. I hold my breath as I wait for the signal that we've made it through undetected. I see a crewmember in front of us bent over his console, staring intently. The screen shows Mars and all the layers of security that our ship is capable of detecting. We've definitely made it through the first layer, and the others look clear. I let my breath out and turn to the commander.

  I point to the navigator's screen. "Are there more levels of security we need to worry about on the way down that we can't detect?"

  Guram's beady eyes study the screen in front of the nervous crewman. "Yes, there are a few other layers that only the galactic forces can detect, but this ship should be able to slip past all of them. We shouldn't need to worry about security until we reach the docks."

  The sweaty navigator glances at Guram. He looks hopeful, but not completely relieved as he turns his attention back to his screen.

  "So you just enter some galactic code into the syst
em to get us through the locks?" Derek stares at the commander, his expression unreadable.

  The commander looks away. My stomach drops and I frown.

  "It's not exactly that easy." He looks back up to me. "I need to get to my ship. From there I can make sure the lock opens for you and doesn't send out an alert signal."

  "Why from your ship?" I push away from the console and stand in front of him.

  "Because I've got the descrambling tech in my ship to do it. It's not like entering a gate code. It's more like my ship's computer talks the Mars security system into something it doesn't know it wants to do." He looks over at Derek.

  Derek knew it wasn't as easy as the commander made it seem.

  I frown. "I just told you that you're not ready to be running around Mars. You're still too weak."

  "I won't be landing on Mars. In order to let you back out, I need to stay right outside the dock. The descrambler tech needs to be within ten meters of the lock, and it has to be unlocked going in and coming back out."

  The bridge goes silent as that sinks in. None of us thought far enough to make plans to get back out of the mine.

  "What do you mean? Usually getting out is the easy part," Derek says.

  "Not exactly in this situation," answers the commander. "Security is just as tight, or worse trying to get out of Mars. They don't want just anyone leaving with their precious minerals."

  I feel like I've been punched in the stomach. "He's right. I'd forgotten about that. If all goes as planned, and we figure out what's going on down there, then we'll still need to leave before anyone figures out that we're there." I bite the inside of my lip as I run through scenarios in my head.

  "Just get me to my ship, Miss Teves. Leave the escape plan to me." His gaze is intense.

  Chatter has started back up around the bridge and the captain steps next to me. "Are you sure we can trust him?" he whispers to Derek and me.