He gazes toward the pink ship. “You’re a fugitive teenager with the whole galactic command looking for you.”
“I know.”
“No plan huh?” He turns back to face me.
I look down and frown. I know he’s right, that I shouldn’t go to Mars. Especially without a plan. I always have some sort of plan. “Right.” I look down at the floor, the metal scuffed away by years of use.
“I hope you weren’t planning on going without me.”
My head jerks up, and I stare into those warm brown eyes I love so much. “What? Really?”
He grins. “Just because I hate the idea doesn’t mean I’m not going to go with you.” He holds his arms open, and I lean into his hug.
His embrace is familiar and comforting as we stand in this strange docking bay with dozens of crewmembers rushing around. I feel grounded despite all that has gone on, and surprisingly calm now that I feel like I have someone on my side.
I pull back slightly. “Are you sure you want to go with me? As you said, it could be dangerous. And I seriously only have an idea of a plan.” I blow a curl off my face.
He leans down and kisses me until we’re both breathless.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” I grin up at him.
He’s about to open his mouth to say something when I grab his hand and pull him toward the pink ship. Don’t want him to think about it too much and change his mind.
“You think you can get a ride on that ship, Bren?”
“I’m not sure, but this one is our best bet.”
“Why this one?” Derek frowns at the sturdy transport ship.
“Because it’s from Mars.” I point at one of the landing struts as we walk past. “Mars dust. It gets everywhere.” I wrinkle my nose.
We side step several crew before we get to the ship’s loading ramp. I stop and study the crew as they unload. Most of them are wearing heavy working clothes, warm enough to stand the Mars topside docks. The main docks that aren’t sunken into tunnels aren’t very well insulated.
I lead Derek up the ramp and head toward the man I’m guessing who’s in charge. He’s directing the crew where to place crates and opening others to inspect them. Like the other crew, he’s wearing insulated work clothes and has his hat pulled down over his ears.
“Excuse me, can I talk to you for a minute?” I have no idea what I’m going to say, but I figure I could just ask to talk to the captain.
The man pulls his hood back and frowns at Derek and me, his lined face showing years of hard work. “Don’t have much time for talk.”
I’m about ready to argue with this grouchy man when I feel someone grab my elbow and twist me around. I’m pulled several feet away from the supervisor, my heart racing. I finally come full circle in front of a crewman with his hood pulled low, and a black mask over his face. I try to rip my arm out of his grasp, but he holds tight.
“Just stay calm, Brenna, so we don’t draw more attention to ourselves.”
“Red?” I whisper.
I feel Derek come up behind me.
“Yes.” He pulls a portion of his facemask up so we can see beneath. A face covered with bruises and weeping stitches.
I hear Derek gasp behind me as he too recognizes Red.
My hands reach toward Red. “What did they do to you?”
He quickly pulls the mask down. “I’ve already had medical attention, don’t you worry about me, Brenna.”
“All right, then how did you get here? And why are you here? We heard the hospital ship was going to pick you up. And that Commander Guram was in a coma.” I put my hands on my hips and glare up at him. “You’re a long way from that frozen asteroid.”
His eyes look weary as he looks between Derek and me. “And you’ve got too many questions as always, Brenna. Let’s get somewhere less visible first, and then I’ll answer them.” He turns and strides toward the far wall of the busy bay, limping.
I look at Derek. He rolls his eyes and walks after Red. I smile at their backs as I slowly follow along. For people who don’t want to trust others, we sure keep finding each other.
Red pulls open a small side door and waits until Derek and I step into the corridor beyond before closing it behind us. I hear the hiss as it seals. I look around and find we’re in one of the maintenance tunnels. It is narrow and lit up by electronics and light panels that cover every wall.
Red is leaning against the door. I’m not sure if he’s resting or waiting for me to argue. I mentally roll my eyes and give in. “So are we going to just stow away on this ship?”
“Pretty much.”
“And you’re going to let me go to Mars?”
“Could I stop you?” He pulls his hood off his head.
I grin. “No.”
He pushes off the wall. “Well then I guess we’re all going to Mars.”
24
Plan Against All Odds
Red unzips his jacket and takes the facemask off. Derek and I get a good look at the damage done to him back on the ice asteroid. I hear Derek suck in air as we see the bruises and stitches seem to be all around his head and neck.
I narrow my eyes at him and unzip my own jacket. The small corridor is getting warm with our body heat. “Any broken bones?”
“Nope.” He looks down, and I step nearer.
“But close. Who did this to you? One of the galactic troops?”
He looks back up and behind his exhaustion simmers anger. “No. They just watched. Someone from the EPL did this. I was lucky. The galactic commander was lucky. We were left alive.”
“Why would they leave you alive when you know so much?” I want to check him for other wounds and injuries, but I keep my hands clasped in front of me.
He shakes his head. “I’m not certain. Although they made sure the commander couldn’t talk for some time.”
“Because he could recognize the troops that were there. Which makes sense. But not outright killing him doesn’t make sense either. It would be more efficient and more in line of the EPL to make sure the commander doesn’t talk.” I bite my lip. There’s still something we’re missing here.
Derek clears his throat beside me. He has taken his jacket completely off, and I can feel his body heat radiating next to me. “It seems whatever compromise they made by not killing you but making sure the commander couldn’t talk means their plan on Mars is going to happen soon. Whatever it is.”
My skin crawls cold in the warm corridor. “That’s what we’re missing. Mars is the real target. The EPL was willing to compromise with all of Ash Corps research sites, being their ally in destroying evidence and even allowing survivors, in order to get to their end goal. Destroy Mars.” I look at Red, panic constricting painfully in my chest. “The EPL doesn’t care about the mining research. They want it all stopped. They must have some plan to destroy not only the research on Mars, but at the same time make a point so catastrophic that the Sol government would have no other choice than shut down expansion outside of our galaxy. This is what the EPL has been planning for years. Do you have a way of communicating with Mars? We need to warn them. Now.”
Red shakes his swollen head and points down the corridor. “I’ve been trying, but my usual channels have either been compromised or their courier operations shut down by the galactic command. Come on, let’s go somewhere safer. And cooler.” He turns and shambles down the corridor with Derek and me following close behind.
We take the maintenance tunnels as they wind around the dock and then climb a few ladders to get to the upper floors. I can hear Red groaning from the exertion and pain even though Derek is between us. I wince each time I hear him.
My hand grasps the last rung, and I pause. Derek and Red are already in the corridor above, and I hear them talking to someone. I hang there listening. There doesn’t seem to be an argument, and the other person eventually walks away. Frowning, I pull myself up the rest of the way and step into the bright corridor.
There’s a pin stripe of colored light about halfw
ay down the wall ahead of me that runs both ways down the corridor. To the right it glows red, to the left it glows blue. The rest of the walls are stark white, as is the floor, despite being a Mars supply jump ship.
Confused, I look at Red, who is shrugging off the rest of his warm clothes. Derek helps him get the coat past his arms, which I now see are bandaged up past his elbows. I groan.
“Brenna, I’m fine.” Red’s voice is a command, but his eyes are gentle. I just shake my head and hitch my pack up farther on my shoulder.
“So where are we?” I glance down each corridor. “Shouldn’t we hide somewhere?”
“We won’t need to hide up here.” With his arms full of outer garments, Red walks down the corridor, following the blue stripe. After a few turns he stops at a set of double doors and places first his eye, then his implant in front of the scanner.
I involuntarily step back holding my breath. My pulse is pounding loudly in my ears when the doors finally roll open to show the bridge of the ship. A more modern bridge than I would’ve assumed for this old supply ship.
I gasp and look at Derek, who looks just as shocked.
Red steps inside but Derek and I stay rooted to our spots. Red drops his jacket on the seat of an empty console, and my mouth gapes as he walks right up to the captain of the ship.
The captain, a short round man, is bending over his navigator’s console and doesn’t see Red yet. The view screen that spans the width of the room is split into two. One screen shows our current location on Captain Parson’s ship, the other shows Mars. My heart is racing because not only are we wanted fugitives but Red has walked us right onto a bridge full of crew that most likely saw our wanted ad on the lift ride up here. My fingers tingle as I keep my eye on Red.
Red turns right before he gets to the captain to look back at us. He grins and waves us to come inside.
Derek and I look at each other. I shrug and step forward. “It seems Red knows everyone,” I whisper. Derek follows closely as we work our way toward where Red is now shaking hands with the portly captain. It’s like we’re watching long lost friends or family that haven’t seen each other for a while. As I get closer and study the captain, I decide old friends. They have no family resemblance.
“I’d like you to meet Brenna Teves and her friend Derek Paz.” Red gestures to us formally.
I stop next to Red and notice he’s holding on to the back of one of the console chairs for support. I dip my gaze up to his face, and his fierce stare dares me to say anything about his injuries. I give him a glare for good measure and then turn to greet the captain.
“This is Aubrianna’s girl?” The captain takes my offered hand in both of his dry, thin hands. “Quite grown up now. And by the looks of you, every bit your mother’s daughter.”
I give him a thin smile and pull my hand back. “I lived on Mars until I was sixteen, and in the last month I’ve met more people who knew my mom, but I have no recollection of.” I look at Red, angry to once again be surprised by yet another stranger who knew my mother.
If the captain takes offense to my words, he doesn’t show it. He just lets out a high laugh. “I reckon it’s not a surprise you don’t remember us. Your mom was protective of you. Never let you come along on supply trips with any of us. Felt you needed the grounding and safety of life under the domes.” He shakes his head and makes a clicking noise with his tongue. “Of course, now that I see what’s come about with all our business, I can see why she did what she did.” His watery blue eyes look at me, and then he turns away as some memory or thought gets the best of him.
I look to Red. “So have you figured out that my mom’s research, or business dealings, or whatever she was doing, is part of what is going on now?” My voice is louder than I intended, and I look around quickly. A few crewmembers’ heads dip back down to their consoles. I bite my lip.
He shakes his head sadly but doesn’t seem worried about talking in front of this crew. “No. It’s all speculation. But it’s looking more and more like she was involved, even if it was just the spark of an idea for the mining machine.” He steps closer to me. “That’s how I knew you were going to go to Mars even when I told you not to. Because like us,” he nods to the captain who is staring out at the stars on the vid screen, “we need to know. And we all care about what happens to Mars.”
“So you knew Bren would look for a ship going to Mars.” Derek takes my hand in his.
Red nods. “She’s stubborn like her mother.”
“Well it’s not like I can just let all those people get injured or killed,” I hiss under my breath. “We now know who is behind all this, and why the attacks are happening. So now we’ve got to figure out what my mom has to do with all this, and how to stop it.” I lock gazes with Red, daring him to try to talk me out of it.
“And that is why we’re heading to Mars.” The captain’s voice startles me. He has wiped his eyes and is standing taller, his belly pushing at the buttons of his uniform. “We’re getting ready to depart in a few minutes. I suggest you go to the atrium for the duration of the flight.” He turns back around, effectively dismissing us.
Red ushers us back out of the bridge. I look at Derek on the way out and mouth “atrium?” He just shrugs.
There are many crewmembers hurrying back and forth in the corridor, making it impossible for us to talk further. I wonder to myself as I watch the unknown faces walk by me how many ships I’ve been on the last week? At the lift, we get on, Red pushes one of the lift buttons, and we go up instead of down as I was expecting.
“What in Orion’s belt are we doing, Red?”
Despite his pain and exhaustion, his eyes are twinkling. “You’ll see.”
I blow out an exasperated sigh and lean heavily against the wall. My foot taps against the floor.
“Whatever it is, this is so much better than stowing away in some dark compartment somewhere,” Derek says as he leans against me.
Below us, we feel the thrust of the engines, and a vibration works its way through the walls of the lift.
I turn my head toward Derek. “I guess so.” I actually agree one hundred percent. But I’m frustrated with all the secrets upon secrets entwined into my life lately. Why can’t things be simpler, like when I lived on Mars?
And then I remember all this started on Mars, and I frown. I just wasn’t aware of what was happening around me, then. That’s why it seemed simpler.
Always able to read me, Derek asks, “Are you sure you want to find out what is actually happening on Mars? And what part your mom played in all this?” He squeezes my hand. “We could always work out a deal with the galactic command with what we already know and let them sort things out.” There are dark circles under his eyes, and I hesitate to answer. That would be the safe thing to do.
But then I picture my mom and how hard she worked on Mars, and I realize I need answers. “Yes, I’m sure. I need to figure this out.” My pulse races as I wait for his answer.
He interlocks our fingers tightly and smiles. Which is good enough for me, because just then the lift doors open and we step wearily out of the lift.
I gasp as it looks like we literally stepped out into space.
All around us are stars.
We’re in a large room made of thick glass, giving it the feeling of actually being out into space. Although not technically open to the sky like an atrium, I can see why they call it that. Even the floor is clear, and I have to suppress the desire to race for the nearest emergency suit.
I look at Derek, and he’s staring down between his feet open-mouthed, into nothing but darkness and a vast carpet of stars. This atrium must’ve been on the far side of the ship, because we would’ve noticed this big of a glass bubble sticking out.
“This is amazing, Red.” I let go of Derek’s hand and walk carefully across the invisible room to the other side where I can touch the glass and stare outside. The glass is smooth and cold under my fingers.
Red steps next to me and chuckles. “Kind of disorien
ting at first, but it gives one a sense of openness, freedom, and a clearness of mind you can’t find anywhere else.”
I look through my dark fingers to watch the stars twinkle between them. As if I could just curl my hands around them. It occurs to me I’m actually out among the stars. I mean, I know I am, we all are, but not in the sense that I really know it. I’ve done what I set out to accomplish – my dream of being among the stars. I thought the Carina mission was the only way to touch the stars, but I was living among them this whole time. Especially on Delta. There I was living at the fringe of known and unknown space. I’d been onboard asteroids, big and little spaceships, and now I’ll be stepping foot soon on my birth planet, Mars.
Derek wraps his arms around me and leans his head against mine as we stare out the window. The three of us stay standing until we’re too exhausted. We find chairs lined up against the back wall of the room and collapse into them.
I’m happy knowing I have friends along for this journey, yet secretly nervous what I’ll find out about my mom. It’ll be several hours before we get to Mars, and although I desperately want to keep my eyes open to watch the stars go by, I slowly sink into a blissful sleep.
My dreams are plagued with walls breached out into space, AI machines crawling around with arms and legs and eyes, and space pirates enclosing me in a body bag. Yet through it all, I know even though I’m going against seemingly insurmountable odds, I’m on my way to do something bigger than anything I’ve done before. I have no choice but to keep fighting, keep moving forward, and I work my plan.
<<<
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
MARS COLONY. Copyright (c) 2018 by Heather Lee Dyer. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Heather Lee Dyer.
Delta Fringe Series Boxset: Books 1-3 Page 35