Of Sea and Stars (Partners Book 3)

by Melissa Good

  So here she was. Dev looked up at the ceiling, which partially revealed the stars and partially was opaque to the level above. This was far and above the fanciest place she’d ever been in on station, and it was hard to lie here and think about all the bio alts in the dorms below or in their sleep pods rotating along station edge.

  That had been her life. Six downworld months ago she’d left here and that had been all she’d known, and now?

  And now. But Doctor Dan said they’d wanted to put her back in the crèche, only he’d not allowed it. Dev could feel the truth in that, and she’d seen the discomfort in the admins’ and the proctors’ faces. In fact, she suspected the two proctors had been there to take her away.

  Doctor Dan had thought ahead about that and made sure it was okay. But Dev knew that even if he hadn’t, Jess would have. And now she knew for sure that she’d always felt a little different because she was.

  Doctor Dan had made her different. Had made her smart, and brave, and able to think with excellence so she could help Jess in a very good way.

  She smiled at that and squiggled down a little into a more comfortable position, sipping her tea in contentment.

  JESS SPENT A little while watching the stars, thinking about what they’d learned so far. It was good to spend a little while just reflecting, something she didn’t often get a chance to do in an insertion. Usually that was like their attack on the other science base, all action and violence, not so much time to stand quietly and think.

  But now she could. For a while. And after that she would grab her pack and go over to Dev’s room, where she would curl up with her in bed and be able to relax as much as she ever did, content that she’d be able to protect Dev in case anyone got any crazy ideas.

  She went over to the chair near the far wall and sat. Arranging her long limbs so that she could just look out the panel as she saw the streaks of light from the sun start to gild the station.

  It was cool. Jess folded her hands over her stomach and just watched. Being in space was cooler than she’d thought it would be, full of interesting things to see and null gravity to enjoy.

  Now she would have to carefully hunt down who the target was and make sure no one messed with Dev. A fairly easy assignment she reasoned, and maybe Alters would be done screwing around by the time she got back.

  She wanted him to be. She wanted them to decide the cavern was just an isolated freak and leave the Bay to grow some stuff in it to sell and move on. Let her move on. Let her go back to regular duty, maybe name a placeholder for her there to keep an eye on things.

  Maybe Alters would. He was getting close to retirement. Jess gazed thoughtfully out the panel, seeing some motion in the background, a white faint streak moving across her plane of vision.

  Did she care if Interforce took over the Bay?

  Jess’s nose wrinkled a little as she made a face. She did care. Even though going back there hadn’t ever occurred to her. There was a part of it that was a part of her deep in the gut, a wash of old memories of being a child there, of her parents.

  Of her brothers.

  Of swimming with her father in the bay she’d brought Dev to, herself a little kid squealing with laughter.

  She was the Drake of Drake’s Bay right now, and there was a connection to the old place that made the thought of Alters and the Interforce group rummaging around rub her raw.

  “And I was the idiot who brought them there.” Jess sighed, twiddling her thumbs. “I should have kept my stupid damn mouth shut.”

  She wanted to go back in time and not kill Jimmy and leave him in charge since he’d been elected head of the family committee in the absence of any clear legal stakeholder. Go back in time and not find the damn cavern. Go back in time and not tell Interforce.

  Too damn late for that. She hadn’t even thought twice when she’d told Alters.

  Idiot.

  Jess stood and lifted her pack up, trudging out the door to her room and going to the next door over. She knocked on the surface, ignoring the annunciator, and waited, hearing the soft sounds of motion inside.

  The door opened, and Dev was there. She looked tousled and adorable in her shorts and tank. “Hi.”

  “Hello,” Dev responded. “Would you like to come inside?” She backed up a step.

  “Yeah. I was bumming myself out in the other room.” Jess moved inside and dropped her pack near one of the chairs then sat down. “You scan this place?”

  “Yes.” Dev sat down in the chair next to her. “It’s possible there are devices here our scan won’t pick up,” she added, apologetically. “The systems downside are a lot less sophisticated.”

  Jess looked around the room pensively. “You think the doc’d let them put bugs in?”

  Dev had to think about that, and she did. They sat there together in silence for about ten minutes then she cleared her throat gently. “I would like to say no.”

  Jess smiled wryly.

  “But we were asked to come up here, and I do not know why,” Dev continued. “They do not need us to look at the set metrics, Jess. Neither of us really know what we’d be looking at. I took some basic DNA classes with Doctor Dan, but I didn’t get a chance to do anything advanced.”

  “Mmm.” Jess nodded.

  “Do you know why?”

  Jess pulled her pack over and removed a small slate from inside it, setting it on her knee and flexing her fingers. She started it up and began typing, scrounging over a little so Dev could see what she was doing.

  Jess typed:

  Don’t think it has anything to do with the newbios. Something else going on. Could be about the stuff he said tonight, could be the seed stuff.

  Dev nodded a little. “I see.” She went shoulder to shoulder with Jess and took over the keyboard.

  But he sounded like he didn’t know anything about the seeds, and I didn’t find anything in the logs showing that he did.

  Jess took back the slate.

  I know. That rang true to me, too. I don’t think he knew about that, but what if someone else here did, and made him ask us to come?

  Dev typed:

  I don’t think anyone could make Doctor Dan do anything he didn’t want to do. Just like with you.

  Jess chuckled softly.

  Not on purpose. What if they came up with a good reason to ask, but it was a scam? They could want to get us out of the way if they were sending more seed or whatever.

  “Oh,” Dev said. “That could be true.” Jess bent over the slate again.

  Can’t trust anyone but us, Dev. We go along with the game, but always keep your eyes out for something that doesn’t click. Doesn’t seem right. You know this place, I don’t.

  She waited for Dev to read it, and nod, then she deleted the page and turned the slate off. “You know what?”

  “What?”

  “I’m hungry.”

  Dev blinked at her. “Didn’t you enjoy the meal at Doctor Dan’s?” She reached for her pack. “I have some crackers.”

  “Yeah, it was okay.” Jess leaned back. “It was just...that was all vegetable, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “I want some fish.”

  Dev scrunched up her face. “Oh, Jess, I don’t think we have any of that up here. I know there are some tanks, but that’s for the director and people like that. We never got any.” She frowned. “Maybe we could get some protein bars from the night desk.”

  “Night desk.” Jess sounded interested. “Where is it?”

  “Downlevel, near the labs. It’s for the natural borns who work the late shift and a few of the sets who clean. They usually had the bars plus some tea always available.”

  “Sounds good.” Jess stood up. “Get your togs back on. Let’s go snooping.” Dev eyed her “For a snack?” “Sure. For a snack.”

  DEV WASN’T SURE at all if it was a good idea to go snooping. She was back in her jumpsuit, her scanner slung over her shoulder as she and Jess walked down the quiet, darkened hallway.

 
She hadn’t gotten out much in the late shifts. Once or twice when she’d gotten out of lab later than usual, and the night she’d eaten dinner with Doctor Dan right before she left. She looked down the passage and saw a guard near the drop tube right at the edge of the level. “Jess.”

  “Yes?” Her partner was sauntering along, dressed in her off-duty blacks. “Ah. I see.”

  As they approached, the guard half turned to face them, but kept his hands resting on the belt around his waist. “Evening,” he greeted them courteously.

  A natural born. Dev gave him a brief smile. “We’re just going down to the ops center.”

  The guard amiably moved out of the way to let them pass. “Please be careful of the drop tube. They were doing maintenance on it.”

  Jess regarded him. “What’s your deal? You keeping an eye on us or what?”

  The guard looked puzzled. “Ma’am?”

  “What’s your job?”

  “Oh.” He indicated the hallway. “I make sure no one bothers the people who live up here,” he said. “The admins and scientists. And guests.” he added. “Priv.”

  “Uh huh.” Jess moved forward again. “Nice.” She touched the tube entrance and watched it light up, the translucent door sliding open. “We’ll be back.”

  “Yes, ma’ams.”

  They stepped inside the tube and started dropping. “Now that’s interesting, Devvie.” Jess rotated as they drifted down, amusing herself. “Does he not know who you are? Someone forget to tell him?”

  “My collar is covered,” Dev responded. “It is possible he does not know since I am the only member of my set and he is a natural born. I don’t think I have seen him before, since bio alts are not allowed up on that level.”

  “Uh huh.” Jess tucked her knees up and did a somersault. “I really like this.”

  Dev steadied her as she completed rotating, and they approached the bottom of the tube. “Yes, I see that.” She was aware of her voice echoing and how quiet it was around them. “I don’t think you should do that during the day. There are too many other people in the tube.”

  They settled on the bottom, the door slid open, and Dev led the way out and turned to center.

  There were four bio alts there cleaning the floor, and as they spotted them, it was obvious that they at least knew who Dev was. They straightened up and looked at her with undisguised interest, watching them as they passed by and headed for the desk visible at the center of the hall.

  “NM-Dev-1,” one of them called out.

  Dev paused and turned. “Yes?” She waited for him to approach.

  He smiled at the recognition. “Are you well? They said you did excellent work downside.” He motioned the rest of his setmates over, and they eagerly complied. “It’s good to see you.”

  The BeeEff’s were tall, had brown curly hair, and a spattering of freckles across their noses. Jess studied them briefly, putting her hand on Dev’s back.

  “Thanks, BeeEff. This is my partner, Jess Drake. We work together, downworld.”

  “Hello,” The BeeEff said, timidly. “You are a natural born.”

  “I am,” Jess said. “And Dev here is a rock star.”

  The nearest one regarded her. “That is good?”

  “The best,” Jess clarified for him with a smile.

  The BeeEffs all looked at Dev with approval. “It’s good you have done such excellent work, NM-Dev-1,” the one who had spoken before said. “It’s good for all of us.”

  Dev drew breath to speak then paused as a proctor approached with a slate. “I think the proctor is looking for you,” she said, almost apologetically, as the man paused. “Nice to speak with you.”

  “Yes.” The BeeEffs nodded. “Good night.” They went back to their cleaning task, and Jess and Dev walked on, aware of the eyes of the proctor fastened on them.

  THE PEOPLE AT the night desk had their shorts in a twist. Jess recognized that immediately. She leaned on the counter as Dev politely requested some snacks, watching the supervisor on duty try to figure out a way to deny the request with her listening.

  “Is there a problem?” Jess finally asked. “We had a long day and we’re hungry.”

  “Oh, no. It will just take a moment,” he finally said, reluctantly. “I’m sorry for the delay. You are Jesslyn Drake?”

  “I am Jesslyn Drake,” Jess confirmed in an amiable tone. “The hungry homicidal maniac. Cough up the grub.”

  “Jess.” Dev put a hand on her arm. “The JayCee is coming with it. See? Over there.” She pointed at the hallway behind them where a bio alt was visible, heading their way pushing a cart. “It’ll just be a minute.”

  “Citizen Drake, you could have made the request from your assigned quarters,” the supervisor told her. “It would have been delivered to you.”

  “I didn’t make the request. Dev did,” Jess said. “But she can get goodies delivered to her bunk, too, right?”

  The man looked at her. “Ah, well—”

  “Because I sure wouldn’t want anyone here to diss my tech,” Jess cut him off in a flat tone. “I’m sure Dan Kurok warned all of you I’m easily irritated and like to hurt people who make me that way.”

  The supervisor’s eyes widened a little. “We were told to treat you as our guest, with courtesy,” he said. “But NM-Dev-1 is not a citizen. She is a biological alternative, and we have regulations regarding how they are to be managed here.”

  Brave of him, really.

  Jess put her hands on the counter and boosted herself up, leaning forward. “She’s an Interforce tech. With credentials,” she said. “You realize that makes her a citizen downworld, right? And we agents don’t put up with desk wonks insulting our partners.”

  The man turned his head slightly and looked at Dev, who was standing just to one side, hands folded in front of her.

  Dev remained quiet. She knew the super was really mad. Behind him she saw the bio alts on shift, the ones straightening the ops center and doing some data entry, and knew they were listening closely to what was going on.

  Jess would get points with them. Dev glanced aside as the JayCee arrived. She broke up the uncomfortable tableau as she went and retrieved the plas case he had on the cart. “Thank you, JayCee.”

  “You are welcome, NM-Dev-1.” The bio alt smiled at her. “It was my pleasure to bring it.”

  Dev smiled back then half turned. “This is my partner, Jess,” she said. “Jess, this is JayCee. I was in class with his set.”

  Jess waved. “Hi there.” She straightened up. “We’ll head back to our bunks now so you can relax,” she told the supervisor. “Don’t let me catch anyone being a jackass, okay?” She pushed away from the counter and held her hand out. “Gimme that, Devvie. I’ll carry it for ya.”

  Dev eyed her. “If you are going to tumble in the null tube again, I’d better hold onto it,” she said. “You’ll make a mess.”

  “Point made. Let’s go.” Jess let her eyes travel around the group, seeing the stoneface expression on the supervisor and the imperfectly hidden delight on the faces of the bio alts. She winked at them, then sauntered after Dev, letting out a low whistle under her breath.

  “Are you causing people discomfort on purpose?” Dev asked, as they walked down the now empty hallway.

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because when you knock people off balance they don’t have time, sometimes, to think about how they react, and you learn things like that,” Jess said in an unexpectedly serious tone. “And, I don’t want them to be comfortable with the idea of treating you like you belong here. You don’t.”

  “I see,” Dev said, thoughtfully. “The sets here seem to find that interesting. I think they like you.”

  Jess chuckled, bouncing a little as they approached the tube again, looking forward to the drift upward. “This might end up being cool, Dev.” She palmed the tube entrance open and kicked away from the pad, zooming upward with a low rumble of delight.

  “It’s going to end u
p being something.” Dev closed the door and kicked gently up herself, unable to stifle a chuckle of her own.

  JESS FOUND AN encrypted squirt waiting for her the next morning, delivered to her on a slate. “Thanks.” She took the slate from the bio alt who delivered it, moving back into the room she’d been assigned and sitting down to open it and read.

  Dev was sitting in the open area, waiting. They were due to meet Dan Kurok shortly, and he’d told them he’d come to get them and lead them to breakfast.

  “Now what?” Jess presented her eyeballs to the slate and waited for the message to decrypt. “We’ve been up here less than a day.”

  The slate cleared, and April’s image appeared. “Good morning,” she said, clearing her throat. “Science team just left. They took samples. We scoured the back beyond and found two more gun emplacements, but they were empty. No one wants to take cred.”

  “Hmph.” Jess grunted.

  “We deactivated them,” April continued. “Doug parsed the records comp here and extracted transport movement. It’s embedded. Two trips didn’t have point of origin.”

  “The seeds, I guess,” Jess muttered. “Would they take an entire transport?” She looked up at Dev.

  “No. The other was probably the synth dirt,” Dev said. “That’s quite bulky.”

  “Ah, sure.” Jess triggered the message to continue.

  “We also found a script. I embedded that, too.” April looked troubled. “I think it’s code, but I’m not sure. Maybe Rocket can look at it.” April looked around then back at the screen. “That’s all for now. Hope your trip’s profitable.”

  She signed off, and the slate went blank. The attachments bubbled up, and she brought up the script first, leaning to one side as Dev came over to look at it. “Whatcha think, Devvie?”