Delta Fringe Series Boxset: Books 1-3

by Heather Lee Dyer

  Red doesn't look at me, his attention still up on the vids. "Maybe, but we have to try."

  I nod, more to myself since everyone's attention is on the screens above us.

  Three ships come into view, just passing the last security checkpoint. They all look like something a two-year-old would design. They have mismatched shield panels, and sections of different types of ships welded into one. Each one a unique shape and proportion. Illegal. Unregistered. Space pirates.

  A light blinks green next to the bio scanner and I inhale sharply. I look quickly back up to the screen to see the large dock doors begin to close. My heart races as I realize it worked. I was able to get them to respond to my old codes and my handprint.

  But will they close in time?

  The doors seem to be closing extremely slowly. I don't dare move as I watch. My heart skips a beat. I'm going to die of stress before the pirates ever get here.

  And then just like that the doors close and we hear the seals pop as we're safely trapped inside the large dock. The bridge crew sits stunned and relieved as we stare at the massive metal wall. The captain doesn't wait more than a heartbeat before he's issuing orders. We slowly ease away from the doors and head deeper into the huge cargo dock. He's split the screen into three now so that we still have a vid feed to the outside. The three ships are stopped right at the doors.

  My hands are shaking as I look over the controls in front of me. I type in a few commands to lock the doors, but I'm not sure if that'll actually keep them out. I look up at Red. "Will they be able to get the doors open?"

  "If they're working with galactic security they'll eventually be able to get in. The security stations sure aren't doing anything about them. Let's get going." Red's expression is grim as he turns to talk to the captain.

  I pull my trembling hand out of the bio scanner and rub my hands together to get the blood flowing. Derek and I wait at the bridge door for Red. When he doesn't join us I walk back over to where he and the captain are bent over a comp screen.

  "What's the matter, Red?"

  Red straightens up and points at the computer. "Look for yourself. We have a slight problem."

  I look down at the screen, which shows several different sections of the dock ahead of us. There are only a few ships attached to each of the docks. Space Dock 10 is the busiest dock on Mars so there should be dozens of ships here. I zoom the vid feed to look at one of the few ships that is here and I gasp.

  I straighten up. "They really have already been here." The ship ahead of us is listing on its side as its front section rests crumpled across the dock.

  "How did they get in? There weren't any warnings or alarms that they had come in through the doors," Derek's deep voice says behind me. I turn to see that he's logged into a security computer, his expression angry.

  I look at Red and make a face. "They've already come up through the tunnels, haven't they?"

  Red pulls his lips into a tight line and nods. He leans over Derek's shoulder to read the security logs.

  I pull my backpack straps tight as I picture where we are in the dock and where all the entrances to the mines are from here. "We need to get down past all the cargo levels to the security level. If the pirates haven't been there yet, we could find one of the supervisors to get a copy of the pattern."

  "You can't just locate it in the computers somewhere?" asks Derek.

  "No, they keep any information about the mine digging patterns off-line. They save it on small data cubes that aren't capable of linking to any other tech. It has to be hand-saved on a special machine in security."

  "Can't someone just steal one of those cubes and sell it to the pirates?"

  "No, once it leaves the vicinity of the mines it self-erases." I turn toward the captain. "Can you get us down to the bottom level of docks? Have you detected any danger here?"

  The captain looks nervously at the wreckage of the ship we're passing. "No, our sensors aren't picking anything up, yet. This all must've happened before anyone knew of the attacks on the other side of Mars."

  "Good. Once we're at the bottom level, dock in one of the private docks. Hopefully, no one will notice your ship while we're here."

  "And then what, Bren?" Derek gets up from the security console.

  "We take the maintenance tunnels down to the security level. See if we can find anyone. If everyone has evacuated then I'll need to find a pattern cube myself."

  The captain hands me a small device. "Keep this with you so you can communicate with us." He hands others to Red and Derek.

  I place the comm in my ear. "How far down will it be able to transmit?" The captain has been supplying this mine for decades. He'll know just how deep it goes.

  "It can only go down through two levels. Same as your tablet. If you have to go to the bottom level, the comms won't work." He frowns as he studies an old mine pattern on the console in front of him.

  "How old is that one?" I ask.

  "About two months old. Before they moved the heart." He looks over his shoulder at me.

  "They moved the heart of the mine?"

  He nods. "Yes, when they discovered the new red we've been digging out the last year."

  "But that means they would've had to bring in twice the number of miners." My stomach sinks as I realize this situation is getting even more dangerous.

  "Afraid so." The captain sweeps his hand toward the front vid screen. "That's another reason it's so upsetting that there are only a few ships down here. With twice as many miners down below, they would need twice as many supplies. I've been doing double runs myself. Where is everyone?"

  I clasp my hands in front of me. "It's possible they all escaped into the domes." I frown. "But with that many people I doubt they all got out before the pirates got to them."

  Red and the captain look at one another. No words are said, but I can tell that some sort of communication passes through them.

  "What?"

  Red hesitates but then turns to Derek. "You'll need to take Bren down. I think we're going to have a fight on our hands up here."

  "You're not coming with us?" I step toward Red, studying his tense shoulders and the rhythmic muscle tick in his jaw.

  "No. If you're going to get back up here, I'll need to make sure there's safe passage. I think we'll be encountering more pirates soon." Red points to the screen where it's easy to see there are dozens of entrances into the mine from each docking level. Pirates could be hiding anywhere.

  "And you expect us to get past them without weapons?" Derek's voice is loud in the hushed bridge.

  "We're a cargo ship, not a security ship," says the captain from the other side of the computer consoles. "None of us have weapons. My ship has only defensive capabilities."

  I chew the inside of my lip as I watch my friends. Red is talking with his hands, the captain is rigid with his arms stiff to his sides, and Derek has his arms crossed. All of us have different careers, different backgrounds, and different temperaments. And I suspect different reasons for being down here in the mines trying to save Mars. But right now, we're a team and we're all we've got.

  Derek's face starts to tinge red as he argues with Red about it not being safe without backup. I place my hands on his crossed arms. "Derek, we'll be fine." I look at Red and the captain. "We all have jobs to do here, and Red knows that I can get us down there without running into any crew or pirates." I make eye contact with Red and a hint of his usual smile appears. "Red needs to help protect this ship and its crew. We can do this." I tug on Derek and step toward the bridge door.

  "Remember you still have friends down there, Bren." Red pierces me with his steel green eyes.

  Warmth flushes over me. The miners. There's bound to be someone still here that knows me. If they're hiding, I'll find them.

  I nod and turn to hurry out of the bridge. Derek and I take several lifts in silence to the docking bay. Once at the exit door we lean against the cold metal walls and wait for the captain to attach to a dock.

  "Y
ou really think you can get us down there unnoticed, Bren?" Derek's brown eyes meet mine.

  I smile. "Yes. We're on my turf now. Red's right. I have friends here, and other than the new tunnels, I know this whole mine better than anyone. Once I can get a copy of the new pattern, I should be able to figure out where they're doing the research."

  "Then what, Bren? We can take vids of the research and gather evidence, but we can't stop them. Not with just the two of us."

  "I'm hoping that'll be enough. We'll need to get to a comm station to upload the vids to Guram and whoever else we need to in order to get the Sol's council's attention. Once we have proof, the council can't just ignore it. They'll have to take action against the space pirates and whoever else is responsible. They'll have justification for the whole Sol government to back us up in order to protect their precious investments down here."

  A tremor rolls through the ship and Derek and I approach the hatch now attached to an airtight tunnel. Green lights illuminate the edges of the metal door as it rolls open.

  Derek and I stare down the empty corridor. We don't hear anyone so we carefully step out of the ship and into the tunnel. And away from safety.

  "Bren, how does it look?" Red's voice in my ear startles me and I fall into a crouch. I look over to see that Derek has done the same. I smile. Looks like our training has paid off.

  I stand back up, but still scan the corridor ahead. "It seems deserted so far."

  "Good, it looks like this dock hasn't been used in awhile so I'm hoping you won't run into anyone. We're going to disengage now so we're ready in case of trouble. You two be careful and keep me up to date."

  "Will do, Red."

  7

  Running

  Derek and I follow the narrow tunnel away from the dock until it meets up with a main corridor. I motion to Derek into a side branch. Here I feel around the maintenance hatch and pop it open, revealing a metal rung ladder leading down.

  "Here we go again," whispers Derek as we climb into the maintenance hatch. Derek knows I'm fond of using the maintenance accesses because it's easy to get around without being noticed.

  I let him go first so I can replace the hatch cover. We descend in silence. At each level we peek out of the hatch to see where we are. We pass two levels of docks before we find one that has crew within hearing distance.

  Derek and I look at each other as we concentrate on the voices to see if we can identify them as friend or foe. How is it that I keep finding myself alone with him in these intimate situations, but it's always when we're in danger or on a mission? I resist reaching out to touch him.

  After a minute I frown and shake my head. I start heading down to the next level. We quickly climb past the next two dock levels where we again hear unfriendly voices. It doesn't seem like there are a lot of them, but they're still stationed at each level's main entrance.

  The ladder ends and I climb down to stand next to Derek in the small space. This maintenance hatch is different than the others. I feel around the edge and find it has an old push button keypad.

  "It requires a code," I whisper to Derek.

  "Seriously? Why this door?"

  "We must be at the security level. They don't like surprises."

  "That's understandable. But how are we going to get through it then?" His breath teases the curls around my ear.

  A shiver goes through me and I have to restrain myself from reaching out to him.

  "I'm going to see if they changed the code. My friends and I used to sneak down here all the time." I touch the keypad and push the eight digit numerical code.

  Nothing happens. Derek and I are left standing in the dim corridor, stifling with warmth from the electronics that run through it.

  I frown and try a different code. Each level has its own set code, and I thought I had the right one, but maybe they changed all of them. My heart sinks as I wait.

  The door lurches open, engulfing us in a wave of choking smoke. Derek and I instantly fall to a crouch and cover our mouths. Peering out of the hatch I see that the smoke is thin and mostly hovering at the top of the corridor. Red lights strobe through the smoke in eerie silence.

  "Is there another level we can go to? It looks like they've been here too." Derek whispers in my ear before covering his mouth back up.

  "Not from here. And this is the level I need in order to find the pattern cubes."

  "Since someone silenced the emergency alarms," Derek points up to the red lights running along the middle of the ceiling, "they could still be here."

  "We don't have a choice. Or the time. I can't start to figure out where the research is hidden without either someone from security or that mine pattern." I sit back on my haunches and pull two oxygen masks out of my pack. I hand one to Derek and place the other one over my nose and mouth.

  Once Derek has his on and I'm sure neither one of us will give ourselves away by coughing, I motion to move forward. Derek stays next to me as I follow the corridor for a few meters until I come to several doors. I read the signs next to each door. I continue down the corridor until I find the one I'm looking for.

  Derek grasps my arm as I reach for the bio scanner to open the door. "HVAC systems? Why are we going in here?"

  I turn, our faces just inches apart. "If we put 'computer room' on the label, anyone unauthorized would be able to find these pattern cubes. Every door on the security levels is miss-labeled on purpose." I turn smiling from Derek and place my hand on the bio scanner.

  The door slowly opens to reveal a decompression room. I step in and urge Derek to follow. The door behind us closes, leaving us in the brightly lit chamber.

  "A decomp chamber? Why do we need to decompress?" Derek looks nervously around the tiny space.

  "It's another false security measure. It's only a decontamination room. They don't want Mars dust to get anywhere near the main computers."

  A breeze blows over us as our skin and clothes are cleaned by the invisible tech. A whooshing noise sounds as all the contaminates are sucked out. Then the door in front of us rolls open to reveal a small room filled with several rows of computer consoles. Each of the other three walls has another door inset. There is no one in here.

  "How did you know there wouldn't be any space pirates in here? They could've figured out the false signs." Derek walks around the room checking the readouts on the lit consoles.

  "The bio scanner. If they had tried forcing or rerouting the doors, the bio scanner wouldn't have worked for me."

  "This place has a lot of security in place for a colony that doesn't welcome tech."

  I grunt and sit down at one of the consoles. I enter a few codes and wait. "Exactly. But they only developed these in the last few years. This part I know my mom helped with. That's how I know all the codes. I'm just glad they haven't been changed in the past year."

  The computer chimes and I get up and go over to a row of replicators. After a few seconds a small black square materializes and I grab it out, the material still warm. I swing off my pack and pull out my tablet to hook the cube up. Just as I insert it, every console in the room starts beeping loudly. Derek and I look at each other.

  "This way." I throw my tablet and the cube back into my pack and head toward the door at the far end of the room. I type a few commands into the computer next to it. Live vids pop up and show in both directions of the corridor we were just in.

  "Now we know where the smoke is coming from," I say as I point at the vids.

  Making their way down the corridor toward us are a dozen or so space pirates. They're heavily armed and look angry by their facial expressions and body language. Several continue using their energy weapons on the bio scanners next to each door in our corridor.

  "And they've figured out the fake signs," says Derek darkly.

  I slap my hand on the bio scanner and the door next to us opens up into another computer room. Derek looks at me, his brows furrowed. I pull him inside the room and seal the door.

  "Do you remember the maze o
f doctor offices and storage rooms on Delta? They were like honeycombs connected on all sides."

  Derek shrugs as I lead him across the room to another door.

  "This computer level is built the same way. That's how I was able to orient myself so well on Delta during the breach from the attack."

  "I was a bit feverish at the time so I just thought I was hallucinating all the rooms you dragged me through." He squeezes my hand.

  I turn to see he's grinning. I step close and kiss him quickly on the lips. "That's right. I was so worried about you that whole time. I bet you can't remember most of it." I lead us into another computer room that looks exactly like the last one.

  Except this time I choose one of the side doors. It leads into what looks like a maintenance closet lined with shelves with boxes neatly stacked to the ceiling. I pull Derek into the small space and seal the door behind us. It stays dark so I take my tablet out for light. I have Derek hold my tablet while I feel around a few of the boxes for the door switch.

  A loud crunching noise comes from the room we just vacated. My hand starts sweating as I finally find the switch and depress it, my heart beating hard hoping they won't hear us.

  The whole wall, shelf and all, swings outward. I peek through the small opening and then close my eyes to listen carefully past the loud machinery clicking and hissing in the next room.

  I smile and open my eyes. A vibration goes through the closet as many footsteps come toward us. I hurry to pull Derek into the warm room and carefully close the hidden door and wait for it to seal before I turn to find Derek staring in awe at the large room behind us.

  We're not in the heart of the mine, but we are in the heart of the Mars Colony's computer system. Even though they outwardly say they're against new tech, when it comes to the actual mining Martians know what it takes to run such a large operation. We look up toward the ceiling where several stories of row upon row of computers reach. Thousands of them are perched on shelves being cooled by humongous fans built into the ceiling and walls.