I look around the room, where even though the crew has gone back to their jobs, I can tell they're wondering the same thing. In a bit louder than normal voice I answer, "Yes, I do believe we can trust the commander." I turn to the captain and add, "Can you think of any other way?"
The captain looks at me, his eyes bloodshot, and a frown on his face. He crosses his arms over his belly. "No, I can't. My usual routes are always the smaller mines, and they then transport the supplies to the main mine. Security isn't as tight at the smaller mines."
"That's probably why the pirates are attacking those ones. Easy diversion and cuts the supply of weapons or troops to the main mine. Even though I know the main mine is where we need to go, where the research has to be, I wonder how they got through all the security in the first place?"
"I guess we're about to find out," Red says from right beside me.
I twist my head so I can see his face. His usual jolly expression is sour and matches his dark tone. I follow his line of sight to see he's looking at the main vid screen. Our ship is flying low over the ochre flatlands of Mars, the main dome looming larger and larger ahead. To either side of the large dome are groups of smaller domes surrounding it. On the far right is a large dark structure, half the size of the main dome. Where all the Mars domes are a milky opaque, this building is solid black metal. The only way in or out of Mars Colony. Space Dock 10. All around the crown of the dark mammoth are what look like rectangles clinging at random distances. But inside these seemingly benign boxes I know are huge laser cannons, ready to defend the oldest and most profitable mine in the galaxy.
A hush covers the bridge as we near the cold, dark entrance. The tension is high as we watch the rectangles anxiously to see if ugly shapes of weapons will appear.
5
Approach
The size of Space Dock 10 is incredible up close. While living inside Mars I didn't really appreciate just how large it was. Our ship is soon engulfed in its shadow while still ten minutes out.
I look over at Commander Guram, his normal scowl even deeper as he watches the security screens in front of him.
"Ready, Commander?"
He swings his head toward me and starts to get up. "Yes, I need to be in position before we get to the first checkpoint." As he steps weakly toward me he points up at the vid. In the distance we can see several outbuildings at equal distances from the dock. Each one is at least three stories tall, but still dwarfed by the closed maw of the space dock.
I nod and Derek and I walk ahead of the commander until the bridge door closes behind us. Once outside the bridge, Derek and I each take one of the commander's arms as we hurry toward the lift.
"You sure you'll be all right, Commander?" I feel very little muscle resistance as he leans heavily into Derek and me.
"Don't worry about me, Miss Teves. I'll just be sitting in my ship. And I have plenty of meds your friend Markov gave me."
I smile at the mention of Markov again. It's such a relief he's safe after our investigation down in the asteroid mine. Somehow Red had been able to make it look like Markov got separated from us, and wasn't part of going rogue from the galactic command. Now Markov is back at work on the hospital ship and apparently still helping me from afar.
"All right, then." We step into the lift and lean the commander against the wall. "What do we do once you get us into the dock?"
The commander turns slightly toward me without moving from the wall that is supporting all of his weight. "That is entirely up to you. You know the mine better than all of us. You need to figure out where the research is being done before they blow it up and remove the evidence again."
I look at Derek. He just shrugs. "You'll figure something out, Bren."
"But this main mine is huge. It's the original mine established a century ago. It has thousands of miles of tunnels. How am I supposed to figure out where the research is being done?"
"That's why I chose you for this mission, Miss Teves. You were born and raised here, and have amazing investigative instincts. There's no one else who can do this." The commander reaches out a hand and pats me on the arm.
I frown and adjust my backpack. "From the other investigations we know that the research is always done in recently abandoned portions of the mines. We'll need to find someone who has an updated pattern map. This mine digs and closes tunnels quickly, since its efficiency rate is the highest in the galaxy."
"Thanks to your mother," says the commander quietly.
My chest constricts at the mention of her again. "Seriously? You knew my mother too?" I bite my lip to keep the tears back.
The commander shakes his head. "No, I never had the pleasure to meet her. But I know of her. She was well known in the mining communities as quite a strong advocate of improving the living and working conditions of the miners. Efficient mines are usually due to having a happy and healthy mining crew."
I narrow my eyes at the commander. "And how would a commander of a galactic troop ship know about mining life?"
"I didn't always work for the galactic security forces."
The lift door opens and cold air washes over us. I shiver. Derek helps the commander out of the lift and we head toward his ship.
"What did you do before you went to work for the galactic forces?" I ask loudly, trying to be heard over the noise of the docking bay.
"I own one of the mines on the far side of Mars." The commander's eyes burrow into me.
I trip over my feet as that sinks in. I catch my balance on the wall as I stare at the commander's back with my mouth open. I try to picture everything I learned while in school here on Mars. From the names of all the domes and mines, to the names of the hills and valleys in between. My heart starts racing as I realize what's on the far side of Mars from us.
The attacks.
Derek and the commander have reached the small space ship and are lowering the door. I race across the dock and slow down only as I reach them, out of breath. "Wait." I hold up my hands as the commander is lowering himself into the small cockpit. "Don't close that yet, Derek."
The commander looks up at me as I catch my breath, his expression softened.
I wrap my hands around the edge of the door, the cold metal burning into my skin. "It's your mine that's under attack."
A muscle in his jaw flexes as he grits his teeth. Suddenly he doesn't seem so creepy or intimidating. He's a friend who lost his sister and is helpless to protect his mining crews. "Yes," he says quietly.
"Yet you're here helping us on this side of Mars." I squeeze the edge of the metal door tighter.
He sinks back into his seat and fastens his harness. "I told you that I believe you're the only one who can stop this. There's nothing I can do by myself for anyone at my mine. And I don't know who to trust in the galactic forces. But you can solve this problem so that the carnage can stop."
"I'm sorry, commander." I'm not sure what else to say. I can't even imagine how helpless he must feel.
"Just get down there and figure this out, Miss Teves. That's how we can help the miners here and the ones already attacked. We need proof of what's going on and who we can trust."
I take a step backwards. "I will, Commander. We'll find the proof we need for the Sol council to stop this."
Derek leans in toward the commander. "Even if we get there in time and find the proof, how do we know the Sol council will act upon on it? What if the pirates and their partners get away?"
"You just get the proof and be safe. We'll worry about the rest later." The commander's eyes are back to the dark, hardened glare that I first encountered on Delta station.
I swallow. "So you're just going to hang out right outside the space dock?"
The commander shakes his head as he presses switches and buttons to prepare his ship for takeoff. "No. I don't want to draw attention to Captain Fukuda's ship inside the dock. After letting you in, I'll skim the surface and see if I can reach a few trusted friends in the galactic forces. And I'll keep an eye on the attack a
nd let you know if they start coming this way. Do you have a comm?"
"I'm sure captain and Red will have some ear comms for us."
He nods and Derek and I step back. I watch as the door to the small ship closes and the commander's grim face disappears behind the opaque window.
Derek and I hurry back into the main ship. We watch as the commander's small Neptune is helped out of the dock by a tractor beam. Outside, the red landscape of Mars stretches past man-made domes and the sky is dark and dotted with a few visible stars. I smile at the familiar scene.
"Let's get back up to the bridge and let the captain know what's going on," says Derek as he takes my hand.
I reluctantly turn and walk with Derek to the lift. We're silent as we ride back up to the top level.
The bridge is as chaotic and loud as ever. We find the captain up front, Red sitting nearby watching the vids. The main vid screen has been split into four sections and different views of the attack and the rest of Mars are now visible all at once.
I stop to watch and am relieved that the attack is still in the same place and hasn't spread. Confirms that they're drawing attention on purpose.
"Captain Fukuda. I need to talk to you for a second." I nod to the side.
The captain finishes up with the crewmember he was talking to and then meets me over by Red.
I look between both men. "Commander Guram will go ahead of us to open the dock. Once we're in we'll need to quickly assess the situation."
"What do you mean? Are you expecting trouble within the dock? There's been no communication from the dock controllers." The captain waves his hand at the vid showing the doors of the giant dock.
My hands go cold. "That's not a good sign. What are the chances that there aren't any space pirates or EPL at the opening to the main mine? I know the research is down there somewhere, and they're probably desperately trying to dismantle it right now."
The captain shifts from one foot to another and looks over at Red. "That means they're already in there. What are we going do?"
I look to Red. "You hide. First you need to get me down there, and then you can find someplace safe to dock until we're done. I need to find one of the supervisors, someone who knows the current pattern. Otherwise, it would take me forever to search all the dead end points in this mine."
"She's right about that," says Red. He doesn't look as confident as he sounds. "But I think we'd better be ready for a fight. There's really no hiding once we get past that last checkpoint." He nods up at the vids.
I study Space Dock 10. It's attached to the main dome by a series of smaller domes. It looks quiet and deserted at the moment. The space between the last three-story checkpoint and the dock is nothing but flat Martian soil. There are no space rovers or men in suits doing repairs around the dock or domes nearby.
Too quiet.
"Once we get inside, we just wait around for you to figure all of this out and make it back to the ship?" Captain Fukuda's normally placid face is tense and tinged a slight pink.
I look over at Red and shrug.
"She'll figure something out, Captain. Just like I always do, don't I?" Red winks at me.
I give the captain a smile. "Just don't let him put you in the freezer." I sit down next to Red and cross my arms.
Derek chuckles.
The captain turns stiffly and gives instructions to his navigator. We watch as the large opening of the space dock fills our screen. We look at one another as we pass the final checkpoint and the doors remains closed.
"No sign of the dock opening," announces the captain in front of us.
"The commander will do it. Any response from inside yet?" I stand back up, unable to sit still. I pace as I wait for the captain to confer with his comm crew.
"Nothing. They're not responding to us at all."
I turn to Red. "Is that normal? Are they ignoring us because we didn't come through the proper security channels? I thought the supply ships had an understanding with the ground teams here."
He shakes his head and stands up to look over at the navigator's screen. "Everyone down here understands that an unregistered ship usually means much needed supplies." He frowns at the screens in front of him. "And Captain Fukuda's ship is well known. But there's definitely something wrong here."
My heart starts racing and I stop in my tracks and look up. I study the four vids above us. On the one screen it looks like the attack hasn't progressed too much, with the same ships circling one another. Another vid is from farther back so we can see all of Mars. There are hundreds of ships joining the fight, but they're mostly concentrated at the far side of Mars where the attack is happening. I frown as I try to make out what I see in the third vid.
"There's the commander. He's on the other side of the space dock. There's probably a comm array over there." I point to the vid showing the commander's small ship hovering low between the space dock and the first set of domes, almost hidden in the shadows.
The bridge is quiet as we wait for the commander to open the large doors ahead of us. My palms are sweating as I stare at the vids.
"Captain, there are ships approaching," says the navigator in his high-pitched voice. His short-cropped hair is soaked with sweat and what I can see of his face is red and blotchy.
I look back up to the vids and see several small ships heading across the flat plains toward us. They look like courier ships, which are also probably invisible to the security scanners.
Anytime now, Commander.
Captain Fukuda leans over the front console, his knuckles white as he squeezes the metal cover. "Is there anyway to tell if they're on our side?" His question seems to be directed to the whole bridge, but it's Red who answers.
"Not yet. But we can't trust that they haven't been hired by the EPL or Ash Corp." Red looks over at me. I think this is the first time I've seen him this nervous. He always seems under control, knowing he has several plans in the works.
I guess he doesn't have a backup plan for this.
I feel helpless as well. We're totally reliant on the commander right now. I look over at the vid of the closed dock doors. "Come on, Commander," I whisper under my breath. Doubt creeps into my mind as the seconds tick by and the doors remain closed.
"Great. This is what we get for trusting a galactic commander," mutters the captain.
All across the bridge I can hear the crew fidgeting in their seats, and the air is thick with tension. My own body is strung tight and I find myself clenching my fists tightly at my sides. I can't take my eyes off the dock doors in front of us.
Just when I feel the need to blink my dry eyes, I see the dark crack between the two doors start to widen. A collective sigh goes all around the room as the doors continue to open in front of us. My body starts to unclench as I take in a few breaths.
Red lets out a whooping yell beside us, startling everyone on the bridge.
He looks around. "Sorry. That was just too close."
I put a hand to my chest, feeling my heart beating way too fast. "Seriously, Red?" I shake my head but I smile up at the vids as I watch the doors gloriously opening for us.
"Take her in," orders the captain.
As our ship enters into the dock, I look at the vid showing the courier ships behind us approaching. They haven't made it to the first checkpoint yet. I feel some relief until I realize Guram is still out there.
6
Space Dock 10
Derek shifts beside me as we watch another ship join the ones behind us.
"I hope the commander sees those ships," I say.
Everyone on the bridge is concentrating on their jobs and I don't think anyone heard me other than Derek. Out of the corner of my eye I see the captain turn toward me and I cringe as I see his look of horror.
"If we can't get the doors closed behind us quickly enough, those ships could follow us into the dock." The captain has his hand on the navigator's shoulder.
"As soon as you're inside, Andrew, set off tracer charges toward the ships b
ehind us." Red steps next to his friend. "They already know we're here, we just need to buy some time."
The captain's brows furrow but he orders one of his crew to do as Red suggested.
There is some deep trust between those two.
My stomach churns as I realize I'm jealous of that close bond. As if reading my mind, Derek slips his arm around my waist. I look over at him and smile. Derek hasn't had much reason to trust many people, either. I lean into him as we turn our attention back to the main vid.
The screen is split into two vids now. One view looking forward as the inside of the space dock is becoming visible. The second screen is the rear view with the incoming ships looming large. A shiver goes up my spine as I realize I've never been in a starship when it was attacked before. I look around and see the crew are all tense and waiting. Everyone is either looking at the main vid screen or their comp screens. The navigator next to me is sweating so much his shirt is soaked through.
Red and the captain are side-by-side watching the scenes unfold. Our ship slips inside the dock and swings around to face the others racing toward us. They aren't past the last security point yet, but the doors show no sign of closing.
"Bren." Red's gruff voice breaks the thick silence. "I don't see the doors closing." He looks at me and points to the computer station next to us. "The commander might've had some trouble with other ships like those behind us." There are more ships coming from the other direction.
A sharp electrical current runs through my body as I look up at Red. "And what can I do about it?"
"Try the bio scanner." On the computer in front of us is a hand bio scanner set into the console. "You might be able to close the doors."
I sit down, frowning. "Me? Why would it work for me?"
"Because you're still a Martian citizen."
I take a deep breath and place my hand on the bio scanner while entering codes with my other hand. Codes I had memorized years ago. "They probably changed all the codes, Red."
Delta Fringe Series Boxset: Books 1-3 Page 39