“They?”
“The galactic commanders. The quadrant police. The—”
“I get the idea, Red. Yes, the commanders seem to think there’s something bigger going on here than raiding a few mines.”
“Because they’re not taking anything.” Red says flatly.
“They aren’t?”
He turns to look off into the distance where the mine floor slopes downward into a dark abyss. “Nothing we can tell anyway. They didn’t off load any of our minerals, equipment, or food. Killed our people for no reason as far as anyone knows.”
I turn to Markov. “Do you remember them saying anything about that in any of the reports?”
Markov’s face has more color now behind his oxygen mask. Like mine, his voice is only slightly muffled when he answers. “No. I think every report completely avoided any mention of anything taken or not taken. They went into a lot of detail about the attacks, the pirate ships, and the deaths. But no missing item reports, logs, or manifests.”
I take my oxygen mask off and breathe in deeply. The thick air just takes getting used to. I’ve been spoiled on perfectly balanced air for the last year. “That doesn’t surprise me with the amount of security they’ve wrapped around what I found. Maybe it’s more of the same kind of data they’re looking for? If so, they won’t want to admit they lost anything.”
“But everything was logged into official records.” Markov does the same with his mask but starts coughing. He puts his mask back on quickly.
“Yes, but they didn’t have a choice with that. I found the data inside a body. My dad and I log everything.” I smile.
“I heard what you found Brenna.” Red waves us to continue after him. “That sure might be worth killing for.”
“Wait.” I hurry after the miner. “How do you know what I found?”
He looks at me sideways without slowing down. “Someone like me who’s been around business and mines so long has ways of finding things out.”
I chew my lip and look straight ahead for a few steps. There were many times on Mars when I heard Mom working with the miners to get supplies the Colony refused to order for them. I’m not sure how she did it, but it was always during hushed conversations, and then I would watch a few days later as the goods came in on small private ships.
“The private couriers.” I stop in my tracks and the grav cart runs into the back of my legs. I hold out my hand to command it to stop and frown.
It’s always where you’re not looking. That is always where the answer lies. My mom would tell me all the time. When I was little it was like some confusing riddle. “That’s how you get your information.” I turn on the miner. “Not from other miners or pirates, but the private couriers who are everywhere. No one sees them or pays any attention to them.” I close my eyes and shake my head. I should’ve seen this sooner.
A tingle goes up my spine, and I open my eyes and look at Red in the dim light. “The pirates have been using that network too. Your couriers aren’t safe.”
He tilts his head as he studies me. “How do you know that?”
“There was a family onboard the Tempest, the ship we thought the crew had all disappeared. I had proven to be helpful in a few other investigations so one of my friends urged security to have me at least try to figure out the mystery on the Tempest.” I look at Markov. “We found almost all the crew dead. They had hidden themselves in empty emergency pod tubes. I think they were hiding from the same people responsible for all the mining attacks.”
“You think that crew’s deaths are related to all this?” asks Red.
I touch Red’s rough sleeve. “We need to keep walking. I have a feeling I don’t have much time before the commander catches up to us.” I walk alongside Red with Markov and the grav cart behind me. “We found a boy alive among the dead, but his parents, who were private couriers, died with the rest of the Tempest’s crew. They probably had just delivered the data stick when the Tempest was boarded. The Tempest is a science vessel so the captain knew he couldn’t outrun or fight against these people. So he tried hiding his crew.”
Red frowns and shakes his head. “But if these animals want that data stick you found, why keep attacking mines?”
“That, Red, is why I’m here. I can’t imagine the data I found was the only information these people are after. So there must be more to what they want. But we don’t know what exactly, or who else is involved.”
“Can you tell me what is so important on that data stick?” Red points to a side tunnel, and we follow it off the main artery. This smaller tunnel is much quieter.
I trace my fingers along the wall, noting the different textures of mineral formations. “I thought you already knew what was on the stick?”
“We know it has something to do with a new type of mining operation. One that is supposed to not need as many miners to run.” The tunnel narrows, and Red and I are shoulder to shoulder now. “But no one seems to know any details other than one of the mines is a testing area for whatever tech is on that stick.”
I stop dead in my tracks and look up at the ceiling. “Of course. That’s what they’re looking for,” I practically growl, and the dark words echo off the walls.
“What?” Markov and Red both say.
Markov comes to stand next to Red. I turn toward both of them, leaning heavily against the rough wall. “Whoever is doing this is looking for the prototype of this new tech. If one of the mines is testing it, then every mine is in danger of attack until the pirates, or commanders, or whoever is behind all this, get what they want. The working prototype.”
10
Deadly Alliance
I run my hands over the rough rock wall supporting me. “Maybe these people, whoever they are, figure if they can’t get the data on the tech, they’ll settle for the tech itself.”
“So do you think they’ll give up on finding the data? Then at least the couriers should all be safe?” asks Markov.
“No, I don’t think so. I don’t think what I found is the only data stick out there for sale. There’s no way something this important and that could possibly make a lot of money, is going to be trusted to only one backup. Or one customer.”
“But we don’t have testing going on in our mine.” Red crosses his arms as he stares at me.
“You wouldn’t know. None of the miners would know. Whoever is behind this for some reason doesn’t want to start a new mine to test the tech. So they somehow sneak their tech and people into an existing mine. Maybe they don’t want to leave a trail of resources, or attract attention to a new asteroid. Maybe it’s illegal research not registered with the Galactic Mining Corp. I don’t know why, but I think there’s still something this tech, or its creators, need from an existing mine.”
I look at Markov. “We need to look for similarities between that tech and the current resources on each of the attacked asteroids.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t they all need the same kind of stuff? Air, water, places for the miners to live, machinery to get to the minerals?”
Red lets out a grunt. “Can tell he’s never been in a mine for very long.”
I grin. Although the light isn’t great in this tunnel, I can tell Markov is turning pink again. “Not everyone has worked in mines, Red. I just happened to be raised in one.” I turn away from Markov, smiling. “That’s how I know how easy it is to hide in a mine. The other kids and I would get lost for hours in the tunnels and even created a hideout the adults never found. We’d stash stolen goods from up top and would pretend we ran the mine. We even figured out how to syphon power and extra air to our little cave.”
Red’s mouth gapes open. “Kids? As kids you did that? You weren’t worried about a cave in, or the diggers turning toward your hideout?”
“Nope. We were all taught all the safety information the adults knew. And our hideout was in a dead-end part of the mine. One of the spots already dredged out and devoid of any value. That’s where we need to start looking.”
My p
ulse races, and I suddenly can’t stand still. “We need to hide our carts somewhere, and you need to show us where the dead-end tunnels are.” I push Red to get him going. He’s staring at me like I’ve grown antennas out of my head.
“What?” I ask.
He just shakes his head and leads on down the tunnel.
We hurry along in silence until it opens up into a chamber lit by a few well-used lights strung around the room. The small generator’s humming is the only noise in the empty space.
“You can leave your carts here, no one will bother them.” Red studies my face and shakes his head as if trying to figure me out.
“What do you think you’ll find, Bren?” Markov comes to stand next to me. “If the attackers have already been here and gone, they either found the tech and left with it, or didn’t find anything at all.”
“Right. I don’t think they found exactly what they needed yet, which is bad because that means there’ll be more attacks. But I’m hoping to find something that shows they were looking in places none of the other miners would have any reason to be near.”
Markov lays his arm comfortably across my shoulders. “Like your hideouts on Mars?”
I look over at him, suddenly aware of just how close our faces are. “Yes.” I glance over at Red and see he’s thinking the same thing I am. I duck under Markov’s arm and stalk across the room. I reach behind the generator and pull out two old miners’ flashlights. “So, which way?” I ask Red. I’m good at avoiding awkward situations.
He grins and points down one of the tunnels that branches off this main cavern. “This way.” He grabs one of the flashlights from my hand and leads the way.
“Why don’t we just use our flashlights?” Markov waves at one he grabs off our cart.
“Because the mining ones are designed especially not to interfere with whatever gas or mineral may be down in the mines. Depending on what’s in the rock here your flashlight could turn combustible.” I grin at him wickedly, illuminating my face with the light.
He tosses the flashlight back on the cart. “All right, then. Don’t want that to happen.”
I’m still grinning as Markov stumbles on the uneven rock beside me. I hadn’t thought much about how different my childhood was compared to almost everyone else I know. They have all grown up on habitat ships, or Earth or some kind of working ship like the couriers or barges. Most people raised in mining colonies settle there, generation after generation. It was only because of my mom dying that I left. Otherwise, I might’ve still been there, living the life of a miner. Would that have been so bad?
“Red, do you get off the asteroid much?”
He stops and turns toward me. “A couple of times a year I take trips to visit my other mines now and then. Why do you ask?” In the shadows I can see his expression is wary. “Am I one of your suspects?”
His stance is sturdy, and his shoulders are tense. I step toward him. “I was just thinking to myself that I would still be living in the mines if my mom hadn’t died. Most mining families stay for generations. I was just curious if you were one of those.”
“Oh. Well I have no family here, my parents live on one of the planets I visit in between mines.” He turns his head as he scrutinizes me. “Does that make my case better or worse?”
“You tell me.” I wave my hand around the narrow shaft we’re standing in. “You have us down here by ourselves. No one, I’m guessing, knows where we are, and now you’re suddenly defensive. Which shows you’re hiding something.”
Markov comes to stand next to me. “Are we in danger here, Bren?”
I don’t take my eyes off Red. “I’m not sure yet. Red? What’s going on here?” I’ve lived with and trusted miners all my life, but my heart races as I wait for his answer.
He stares a bit longer, and then he lets out a deep breath. “Good grief, girl. The only thing I’ve got to hide is you two.”
“What?” Markov’s deep voice echoes off the walls.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask.
Red looks nervously between Markov and me. We’re standing side by side, both of us taller than Red. We have our packs over our shoulders full of supplies, while Red just stands there with a flashlight. I’m sure he carries some tools or weapons in his pockets, but he doesn’t look like he’s come ready to take on two young medics. And all the money in the galaxy isn’t going to help him in a dark mining shaft miles from the surface.
Red looks away first. “I’ve been on this mine or another close to my whole adult life. I know every crack and cranny. I know when something strange is going on. This mine is part of me, you know?” He looks back up at me, his eyes searching.
I nod “Yes, the miners could feel the shift of the walls, could sense when a fissure was headed their way. It was like,” I look over at Markov, “they were connected with the rocks and dirt and essence of the planet.” I shrug. “That’s what they believed. I wanted so bad to feel it, but as hard as I tried, as much time as I spent down there, I never was able to feel it the way they did.”
Red surprises me by slapping me on the arm. “That’s cause you already had a different path laid out for you. You’re blessed with medical aptitude, and it seems you’re also gifted with a unique sense of intuition. You have something similar to the old miners. You may not be able to ‘feel’ the mine, but you do seem to be able to use that same kind of gift to read people and the world around you.” He grins and waves for us to continue walking. “I’ll explain as we go. We need to keep walking.”
He walks ahead of us, his body slightly sideways so he can still talk. “I wasn’t supposed to give you a tour of the mine.”
I nearly stumble and curse myself silently. “What do you mean?”
“The galactic commander,” Red’s face contorts into an expression of hate, “chose one of his men to give you a tour. The man has only been down here in the mines twice during the so-called investigation after the attack.”
“So you didn’t want us to get lost with a newbie?” I ask carefully.
He looks back at me with a hardened expression. “No, I didn’t want you to get dead.”
Markov stumbles into me then, and I have to brace myself against the wall to stay upright.
Markov gets his footing and steps up toe to toe with Red. “You’d better start explaining faster, because that sounded like a threat.”
“I’m getting there, hang on.” Red holds up his hands.
“I agree with Markov, spit it out.”
Red puts his arms down, and his shoulders slump. “About a month ago I noticed an unauthorized supply shipment land. They said it was just a mix up, but it seemed to me there were more men that came out of the ship than got back onto the ship. It was our delivery day, so the docks were busy and crowded, so I think some of those men managed to make it down into our mines.” He holds up one of his hands. “I never actually saw them, but day after day, I got the feeling something was wrong way down here. It’s like I could feel an extra vibration.”
“Go on,” I encourage.
“Eventually, I did some snooping and found they had used one of our abandoned tunnels and set up some sort of equipment in there. I didn’t do anything at first; I just thought they were setting up some sort of black market storage or something like that. You remember how hard it was to get fresh food or rare household supplies?”
I do, but I’m not going down that path of memories right now. “Did you confront those men?” I ask instead of answering.
“I was going to, but then we were attacked. After that there were too many galactic troops down here for me to do anything right away. But yesterday when I heard you were coming to investigate, I decided to try to find that tunnel again.”
“And everything was gone,” I say flatly.
“Almost everything. There are a few things they didn’t take.”
“So, then, why all this secrecy? Why didn’t you just tell the galactic troops?”
“I can’t trust them. You’ll un
derstand. Let’s get going, I don’t want them to find us down here.”
“Is that why you decided to pretend to be our guide? Because you don’t trust the galactic forces?”
“It’s a bit more complicated than a trust issue. I want you to see what I found.”
We round a curve in the tunnel, and it opens up into a small area with two other tunnels branching off.
Markov leans close to me and whispers in my ear, “Do you trust him?”
I almost laugh out loud as I stare at the back of the miner as he chooses one of the two tunnels. It seems trust has become a major problem in my life. I look up into Markov’s pale blue eyes. “I would trust a miner over a galactic officer any day. And this one, although a little strange, seems to be genuinely concerned for us.”
Markov nods, and I take it to mean that’s good enough for him. We follow Red through the tunnel and quicken our pace.
After a few minutes we step out into a large cavern. The marks along the walls from the diggers carving through here are dull showing age. We’re in one of the abandoned sections of the mine. A shiver goes up my spine as I look around.
There are a few bioluminescent lights attached to the walls still glowing slightly. But as we shine our flashlights around, it’s obvious there was something here recently. The cavern floor is scuffed, and there are fresh holes in the rocky floor, where machines had been anchored into the rock and then yanked out.
Red walks to the far side where some mangled equipment lies under a heap of fallen rock. I shine my light up and see a fresh perfectly round hole in the ceiling that looks to go in fairly deep. I frown. Why would there be a hole going up?
I bend down with Red and scrutinize the mangled metal. It looks like supports to some kind of machine. “I think it was part of whatever kind of tech they were experimenting with,” he says confirming my suspicion.
“Do you think whatever they had made that hole?” I point up. Drilling overhead is risky and hard on machinery and the men using it. Most mines are drilled sideways, just like cutting tunnels.
Delta Fringe Series Boxset: Books 1-3 Page 24