Fringe Attack, page 2
part #2 of Delta Fringe Series
People hurry past us in every direction. The walkways are still off, so crew and visitors are jogging along the track. Derek is unable to answer me as we concentrate on not colliding into anyone.
I pull hard on Derek’s arm and turn us toward the greenhouse window. I push him into the window and press my face into his, holding him in place with my body. I try to ignore the tingling in my belly that always comes when I’m in contact with him. “Derek, tell me what’s going on.” My fingers are numb from anxiety, and I feel lightheaded.
Derek pulls his pinned arms out from between our bodies and grasps both sides of my face with his hands. “The alert on your implant means I need to get you to the security office right away.” He kisses me hard and pulls me back into the throng of bodies before I can ask any more questions.
I numbly follow him, my body on autopilot. Why would I need to go to the security office if there’s an emergency? If there were deaths or more injuries, it would make more sense for me to go to the morgue or to the hospital. I think of my dad, who should be heading straight for the morgue and will be wondering where I am. He’s going to worry. My heart sinks, as I feel helpless to avoid that right now.
The crowds thin, and I realize we’re not heading to the security office, which is located right next to the morgue. Confused, but on alert now, I start paying more attention to the crowd around us. Mostly security personnel are here, which is strange since we’re getting close to the main public dock. We should be seeing visitors and non-Delta staff heading this way to check in at their ships.
A line of security staff allows us through. I look back to see they aren’t letting anyone else past this new barricade.
Without the crowds or the background noise of the moving walkways, it is eerily quiet here. Derek slows us down as we head toward the dock master’s office.
I lean my head close to Derek, who is still a few inches taller than I am, and ask, “So why are we heading this way? You said I needed to be taken to the security office.” I point back the way we came.
Derek’s eyes nervously flit around the corridor before he says quietly, “We’ve set up a new command center over here.”
There’s a few more people now going in this direction, but Derek suddenly pulls me toward the outer wall. We slip into one of the connecting corridors. I open my mouth to protest, but the determined look on Derek’s face stops me. I’m usually quite stubborn, but after the dangerous and traumatizing situation Derek and I went through, I not only trust him, I find myself being all right with trusting him. Which is a big deal for me.
We stop at a door heavily armed with galactic troops. Their black uniforms stand out amongst our maroon and tan ones. A shiver goes up my spine as we pass the stone-faced muscle bound Galactic Corp soldiers.
We open the door to a room and find ourselves in total chaos. Or so it seems to me. It doesn’t look like it fazes Derek, and he just leads me smoothly through the crowd of people working at comm and nav consoles. At the back of the room a group of people are huddled together. I look quickly at Derek.
“We’re not going over there are we?” I loudly whisper in Derek’s ear above the chatter.
He grips my hand tighter and turns slightly toward me. “Trust me, por favor.” His gaze is intense, and all I can do is nod.
The group spots us and steps aside until we’re standing at the edge of their circle. All the heads of Delta’s departments are here, except for Annie’s father and mine. But Master Sergeant Abuchi stands opposite us giving me a disapproving look. I drag my gaze off him and instantly start sweating as I recognize several of Sol’s Galactic officers standing next to him.
Something bad has happened.
I anxiously look up at Derek. He doesn’t say anything, just stares straight ahead. But he does keep hold of my hand. I’m grateful for that at least.
One of the black uniformed galactic officers across from me claps his hands and says, “Now that we’re all here, let’s get started.” The medals lining his chest sway with his movements as he turns his whole body and attention toward me. His face is clean-shaven and chiseled. He has the look of someone used to better accommodations than the Fringe can give. I feel like a beacon of radiation has been turned on me as he looks me up and down.
My ears ring in the silence that follows his announcement. It’s as if this officer issued the command to the whole room to be quiet. I swallow and raise my free hand. “Um, sir,” I squint at the name on his uniform, “Commander Guram, I think I’m in the wrong place. I don’t think I should be here.” Derek shuffles beside me, his hands hot and sweaty.
“You’re Brenna Teves, right?” His voice booms across the room making me cringe. Derek holds me in place with a tight squeeze to my hand. He knows I’ll try to run. He knows me well enough to know that I don’t like people and confrontations.
So there’s obviously something very wrong here. Or he wouldn’t have brought me.
“Yes,” I choke out.
“Then you’re in the right place, and you’re the whole reason we’re here.”
I feel like I’ve been hit in the chest. “Me sir? I’m the reason for the security lock down?” My mind races to think what I could’ve done to cause this. Talking back to that snobby captain I stitched up couldn’t have done this. Right?
“Yes. You are.” He steps aside so we can all see the displays on the console behind him. It’s our new long-range security cameras outside the station showing a ship on a fast approach.
My breathing hitches as his words ring in my ears. But I can’t help but to watch the screen in horror, wondering what this has to do with me. It’s the same kind of ship that destroyed part of our station months ago.
“You recognize this type of ship, then?”
“It’s the same kind the rogue captain used to ram our station.” I answer flatly, as I stare at the image getting bigger on the screen. It feels like all the air has been sucked out of the room, and my skin goes cold.
“Of course we won’t let it happen again, so you don’t have to worry about that.” His tone is softer, and I glance quickly over at him to check to see if he’s making fun of me. For some reason his deep, oily voice gives me the shivers.
Satisfied that he’s serious, I return my attention to the screen and watch as several huge galactic ships intercept the cruiser. We’ve seen this before. Our security forces thought they had the other cruiser trapped, not realizing it would make a suicidal run directly at the station.
Derek squeezes my hand again, and I take a breath. All the ships are still stopped and just sitting there hanging in the darkness of space. No one in the room moves or says anything.
“Cancel the red alert,” the galactic commander says suddenly. I’m not the only one who jumped at his words. I look around and see several crewmembers sitting back down in their seats.
I let my pulse slow a bit before I tear my eyes away from the view screen and back to the intimidating galactic commander. “And what does all this have to do with me, sir? I’m confused.” And scared out of my mind.
He points a long arm toward the screen. One of the galactic security ships has released a smaller ship and is heading toward the cruiser. “That pirate captain says you have something that belongs to him.”
I whip my head back around to the commander. “What?” is all I manage.
“He says Sergeant Scott stole his research. All the information on the flash drive supposedly belongs to him.” The commander practically spits out the words.
I’m betting he’s had bad run-ins with space pirates before.
“But I gave the drive to security.” I look at Master Sergeant Abuchi. His face is a dark emotionless mask. I swallow. “Or it’s been given back to the Ash Corp.” I bite my cheek. Ash Corp is a corrupt, far-reaching company, and they don’t deserve the money that will be made in the future off those plans on the drive.
“Maybe,” the galactic commander says. “But that’s not the only reason we’re here. There are two other issues I’m here to deal with as well. The first problem is this pirate captain is claiming that the data belongs to him, and secondly that Ash Corp stole it from him.”
I pull my hand out of Derek’s so I can rub my temples. Is this really happening?
“All right, despite the fact that none of that makes logical sense, I still don’t see what it has to do with me. Let the galactic lawyers figure out who the drive belongs to.”
“Oh, they will. Once we can get them more information.” He steps forward and stands in the middle of the circle of officers, right in front of me. “But he says you have a copy of the drive. He wants it, and so do we.” The menace in his voice has me shrinking back into Derek, who wraps an arm tightly around me.
I look around at all the serious faces as I picture the copy of the drive still inside the space shuttle model on my desk. The only people I told that I even made a copy are ones I trust completely. So how would these pirates know I still have a copy?
3
Space Pirates
I look up at the commander and narrow my eyes. “You’re actually taking the word of a space pirate seriously?”
“Yes, and unlike the last space pirate you dealt with, this one has demands.”
I look around the circle of important people. I turn toward Derek, who still has hold of my waist. He looks as surprised about this new bit of information as I am.
I go over all I remember about the timeline of the attack, and the information we got in interviews with the traitor Scott. That pirate ship didn’t communicate with us at all before it rammed us. Even surrounded by ships, it got clear and went for straight for Delta station without one word. Strange.
Sounds start ramping up behind us. Communications between Delta and ships docked here, and the chatter of confused personnel all around the station escalates. Everyone seems to want to know what’s going on and why they’re all locked down.
I look at Derek’s boss, Master Sergeant Abuchi. He’s not from this quadrant, but so far, I like his style of leadership. “This pirate is talking to us because he doesn’t have anyone else here on Delta station. We’ve dealt with all security leaks. Right?” Hope lightens the anxiety in my chest as my mind starts to process the situation.
He looks sideways at the galactic commander before he responds. “That’s right. We only found one other person in league with Scott and the other two officers, and that person has been removed to the prison ship.” He smiles nervously, like someone not used to playing with the big boys.
After all I’ve gone through, I don’t care about the ranks of these people or who they are, I need to know what they intend to do with me. I step out of Derek’s comforting warmth and forward in order to stand face to face with the galactic commander. “If you think I’ve got what those pirates want, then why lock down the entire station?”
The circle of officers swivel their heads toward the commander. It’s so comical I almost laugh out loud. I bite the inside of my cheek instead and try to look respectful. I still don’t know who he is, since he hasn’t introduced himself.
The commander steps toward me until we’re standing toe to toe. I don’t like people this close to me, but I don’t back up. I won’t show him any weakness. There’s obviously something strange going on here if they are taking the word of a space pirate seriously.
“The captain of this pirate vessel says you have something he wants,” the galactic commander reiterates. No emotion on his face. I can’t read him, neither his face nor his body language. He’s through and through galactic military. They are highly trained not to divulge any kind of information about themselves or their intent. “If you do have a copy of this data, it needs to be handed over to us immediately.” The word “us” comes out sounding like the hiss of a snake. And he still doesn’t answer my question.
When our security and comm personnel interviewed me, I told them I made a backup. They swore me to secrecy and ordered me to keep it hidden. They still weren’t sure how far this conspiracy to steal and sell Ash Corp secrets went. With all the reconstruction going on and how busy I’ve been, I had forgotten I even had the drive still.
I look around the room, familiar eyes intent on me. I clench my hands. My friends on Delta are counting on me to keep this secret. And now, it seems we need to figure out the rest of the mystery that goes along with the secret flash drive. I square my shoulders. I’ve got to think of something to say. This is exactly what Mr. Clarke and the Delta security were afraid would happen someday. I glance quickly at Derek. He’s grinding his jaw. I never told him Abuchi ordered me to keep the drive. I’m going to have some explaining to do later.
But right now, I’m facing the top officers in our nearby fleets, and some from Sol’s galactic fleet. And I’m not sure whom to trust.
“Commander, do you know how many people died on the Tempest and here on Delta station because of that drive?” I pace the small circle, trying to buy time for an idea to kick in.
“Of course, it was in all the reports. What was not in the reports was that you had a copy.” The commander snags my arm in a tight grip as I pass by, and I stumble to a halt.
“Let go of me,” I say between gritted teeth. I try to pull my arm out of his grip but he only tightens it, surely causing bruising under my skin.
“So you do have the drive? Did your security lie to the galactic forces?” He swivels his head toward Abuchi, who shows no emotion, and then to Derek who just glares back. Derek’s muscles are tense, and I’m afraid he’s going to do something rash when Abuchi finally steps forward.
“Let go of her, Commander. You have no right to treat one of my crew this way. You’re on my ship, and she’s our only hope of stopping all of this.”
My eyebrows come together as I wonder what he means. I know the Master Sergeant knows I have the drive. He’s the one who told me to just keep it hidden away. So why isn’t he saying so? I look up into the dark, empty eyes of the galactic commander. He must not know if he can trust this commander.
The commander releases his grip on me but doesn’t move. I don’t either. I look him right in the eyes. If this commander is on the side of the pirates, we’re all in trouble. There’s more to this ongoing situation than just data on a drive. There have been lives lost, and the information on that drive is priceless.
I turn slowly and face Abuchi. “Why do you think I can stop this?” I wave my arm toward the view screen where the ships are still frozen in place around the pirate vessel. “And by ‘all of this,’ you mean the pirating of tech secrets? ’Cause I’m saying again, you have the wrong person here. I’m just the coroner’s daughter.”
The Master Sergeant beckons me over to a console while staring down the galactic commander, daring him to interfere. “I want to show you something Miss Teves.”
Tension leaves my shoulders, as I get farther away from the galactic commander. I’m hoping this is all a big mistake, and all they need from me is the drive. Why isn’t Abuchi ordering me to give it to him? Also niggling at the back of my mind is the fact that my dad’s not here. I step next to the Master Sergeant and stare down in disbelief at the screen.
The communication screen is split into four sections. Three of the screens are inside shots of terror and human pain and suffering as bands of pirates attack mining workers.
My heart clenches as I stare at the images, and I can feel myself down there with those people. I was raised in the red mines of Mars, and even though this is definitely not Mars by the color and texture of the natural walls, I identify myself with them. I clench my fists again, determined not to cry in front of these officers.
The fourth screen is a view from above the mining asteroid. The aftermath. Dirty oxygen escapes through holes blown in sections of the asteroid, and galactic security ships enter the view as several pirate ships speed away from the damaged asteroid.
“When did this happen?” I try to keep my voice steady. I heard there had been some issues on several mines, but I didn’t think it would be this serious.
“Right before this vessel showed up here at Delta. Even though he couldn’t have been at this particular asteroid when this attack happened several hours ago, but he could still be responsible.”
Derek steps next to me, comforting with his warm presence. I give him a weak smile and turn to Abuchi. “You said I could help stop all this. How am I supposed to help you stop pirates from doing that?” I point to the carnage on the screen. “I’m not in security or trained like Derek or any of the officers in this room. What do you want of me?”
“The galactic hospital ship is still docked here. I want you to go with her to this asteroid and help with retrieving the dead miners,” he says loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.
I look at Derek, who is just as shocked as I am to hear this. I look between the pirate ship outside and the vids of the nearly destroyed asteroid mine. There’s a connection there, otherwise the Master Sergeant wouldn’t be asking me to be involved.
“Why don’t you send my dad?” I ask quietly.
Abuchi straightens. “We need him here as our main medical incident commander. He has experience with station rebuilds and disaster management. He says you’re more than capable of helping investigate the deaths on the mining colony.”
I bite my lip. They’ve already talked to my dad. I understand my dad has more experience and is needed here, but I wonder if the Master Sergeant has chosen me because he knows I have the data drive.
Ash Corp, the largest mining conglomerate has discovered a method to mine asteroids without having to first create artificial atmospheres for the miners. The plans I saw on the drive were for an anti-grav machine that could dig and crawl through an asteroid like a drone and pull all the minerals out in a fraction of the time a team of miners could. And only a few humans would be needed to oversee the drone and fly the raw materials to a processing plant. It would make Ash Corp extremely rich, and would put hundreds of thousands of miners out of work. Generations of families growing up in the mines would no longer be needed. I grind my teeth. It’s always about politics or money.
