Delta Fringe Series Boxset: Books 1-3

by Heather Lee Dyer

  "We've told you our theories and what we've found."

  "Is there other evidence linking her?" Zion looks around at the machines surrounding us.

  "Several friends of hers told us bits of information too. But that's about as much as they knew," Derek says from behind us.

  I turn. "You didn't find any other devices?"

  He shakes his head, red Martian dust filtering down from his hair and settling on his tan uniform. "No, but the timers were on a ten minute delay, so we need to get out of here before they come back to investigate."

  My pulse spikes. I swing my backpack off and pull out my tablet.

  "You won't have any service down here, B."

  "I know, but I want to vid what we've found. Everything here including your men, the supplies, the AI that's still intact. This room contains all the answers we've been looking for from our investigation. This will help the commander stop this." I start the camera recording and walk around the cavern, making sure to get all of the men, machines and supplies on vid.

  Derek stations himself at the tunnel where the pirates left. Zion follows me as I record everything. When I get back to the AI stuck in the ceiling I hand my tablet, still recording, to Zion. "I want to see what this thing does if I unhook it. Something is going wrong with these experiments, and for some reason the scientists here think melding machine and man will fix it."

  Zion takes the tablet but looks uneasy.

  Standing on my tiptoes I reach up and disconnect the tube from the back of the dead miner's skull. Lights along the base of the AI start flashing, and so do the machines attached to the miner. I pull the tube slightly and let go, allowing it to retract back into the AI. The AI is now totally disconnected.

  I turn to make sure Zion is recording when a series of loud beeps start. I look back to see the AI trying to shimmy downward, toward the miner. I step back as I watch the machine shake and quiver like an alcoholic who needs a drink.

  "They've got the AI dependent on whatever it's getting from the men," I whisper.

  Derek steps up next to us and pulls on my arm. "We need to get out of here. The noise that machine is making is enough to alert anyone down the tunnel."

  Zion hands me back the tablet and I place it in my pack.

  "This is how they figured out how to control the AIs. The others probably went crazy just like starship AIs because they're alone in their own minds. But here, hooked up to a miner, the AI has another mind to talk to, to problem solve with, to live for. There were a few AIs in the other mines that were stuck up in the tunnels they had created. We had to blast them out. Those AIs must've just given up and turned themselves off."

  "Great. Depressed artificial intelligence." Zion growls as he grabs me by my other arm and I'm dragged back toward the exit.

  "More like codependent on the human body," I say as I shiver at the thought.

  As soon as we're back in the shadows I hear it. A high keening mechanical wail that chills me to the bone. Both Zion and Derek let go of me so we can all cover our ears as we hurry down the tunnel.

  Tears stream down my face as I numbly follow Zion. He's pulled his miner's cap tightly over his ears, but he never slows down as we take different tunnels in a pattern only known to him at this point. I had the pattern memorized but I feel like my brain has shut down with everything we've just seen and heard. The AI's metallic cry has severed my connection to reality.

  Zion finally stops at another intersection and bends over to catch his breath. I lean against the rock wall, which is freezing cold.

  That's strange. We must be getting farther from the main mine.

  I look at Derek, who has come up next to me. He's not having trouble breathing because he had his oxygen mask on.

  I roll my eyes at myself and take my pack off. I hand a mask to Zion and fit one on myself. I dry my tears and take a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart.

  "Where are we, Z?"

  He straightens up. "Do you remember when we got trapped in that cave-in years ago?"

  I nod. We were trapped for several days in the cold. I shiver just thinking about it.

  "After that your mom made the council construct an emergency communication system down here. This mine is so large and brings so much wealth to its Earth investors, they finally agreed."

  "Seriously? I didn't think they cared much for miner's lives." My sarcasm is muffled behind the mask over my face.

  "They don't. But with this kind of tech down in the mine, they could boast about how much they care. How important it is to invest in the Martian Mining Corp." Zion spreads his hands open, like the politicians we've seen on the vids as his sarcasm echoes in the tunnel.

  I laugh softly. "And how does that help us now?"

  "I know where all the comm boxes were installed. There's one nearby. We can upload your vid to the council and they can stop these people before they escape from the mine."

  I push off from the wall. "Yes, we need to do that. But I'm not sure the council will do anything. They can't see past their own political agendas. But I know who can convince them." I look over at Derek, who raises his eyebrows at me. "Commander Guram."

  "A galactic commander? How is that supposed to help us if the galactic forces are part of this?" Zion pulls his mask down and steps in front of me.

  "Because Commander Guram is on our side. We have people ready right above the surface. They're just waiting for our signal."

  "If they're still up there," Derek says quietly.

  Zion frowns. "Our comm system isn't that powerful. It's only designed to reach to the emergency station up in the main dome. It won't go outside the domes."

  "It will reach Commander Guram. He's in a Neptune ship hovering right outside the main dome."

  Derek looks skeptical. I ignore him and keep my attention on Zion.

  Zion's jaw is slack and he holds up a hand. "That's impossible. They don't use those ships anymore, and there's no way he could be that close to the dome without being spotted."

  I grin. "Get us to that comm relay and trust me, Z. It is possible."

  Zion shakes his head. "All right but if we can't reach him, we'll call the council."

  "Trust me," I stress again as we walk down yet another branching tunnel.

  "So how do you know the pirates haven't shut down this emergency comm system of yours?" asks Derek from behind us.

  I glance sideways at Zion and raise an eyebrow.

  "There's no way to turn this comm system off. They had to make it stable enough to last through collapsing tunnels, blasting, and temperature changes. It's some sort of frequency that's not blocked by any rock or mineral either. The only way to stop a message getting to the surface is if you took out the emergency team receiving it up top."

  I stop walking. "Charon's ice, Z. That's their next target. Where is the emergency crew located?"

  Zion stops and slowly turns toward me. "Right next to the local council chambers. Brenna, they could blow up all the leaders of Mars. With the attacks happening, protocol is to transport them all to the main dome since it's the most defensible location."

  "Why is the council here on Mars?" I demand.

  "They were working on a trade agreement for the last of the new red. Everyone has been arguing about it so they came here to talk face to face."

  I grit my teeth as I stare at Zion. "That makes this whole situation a million times worse. Why didn't you tell us they were all here?"

  Zion shrugs. "Didn't think it mattered. They're protected by the elite troops from the galactic fleet."

  "Get us to that comm station, now," orders Derek. I nod in agreement.

  Zion turns and we run as fast as we can on the uneven surface. After a few twisting turns in the tunnel he finally slows down. The luminescent lights snaking along the wall here are a faint green instead of the usual yellow. And the air is fresher, like there's a direct source. An active tunnel.

  Zion peeks around the next corner, his body rigid.

  He then relaxes and s
teps into the light.

  I peek around the corner to see him walking to the center of a small room. I hold my breath, waiting.

  He turns and waves us in. I let out my breath and follow him to a small computer sunken into the wall. Zion types commands on the half keyboard until a 3D image lights up above us. Numbers randomly run across the screen and I look at Zion. "What is all that?"

  "That's just the auto dial feature to the emergency station. You'll need to enter your codes here, otherwise it will go to the station above." He steps back so I can access the computer. I type in the codes the commander gave us and step back.

  The numbers scrolling across just turn into several straight lines and my stomach twists. If we can't get this vid to the commander we have no chance of stopping the pirates from leaving with the evidence.

  Loud static hisses from speakers embedded in the wall and I let out a few colorful swear words as I catch myself from sprinting out of the room.

  Zion elbows me. "Still got the miner's lingo in you, huh?"

  I blush and just elbow him back, still staring at the lines. A tingle goes up my spine as the commander's face appears above us. It's very grainy, and he looks even creepier disembodied like this.

  "Commander," I greet him hoping he can hear me.

  "Bren. Good. What have you got?" Right to the point. This time I appreciate his bluntness.

  "I have a vid you need to see. The pirates are still here; they're heading up the lifts now. You don't have much time to get everyone notified. I think they'll attack the main dome first. The whole Sol government council is here," I say in a rush of words.

  "Seriously? No wonder they're not responding." Commander Guram frowns as he looks down on me.

  I take my tablet out of my pack and sync it with the comm system so I can transfer the vid to the commander. As the commander watches the vid I give him more details about the horrors we saw and what Zion said about why the council leadership is here. He swears even more colorfully than I did and types furiously on his computer.

  The commander's normally impassive face is seething with anger.

  "Commander? What's going on up there?"

  "The EPL just brought their flagship out of hiding by the mouth of the mine. You hang on down there. I've notified everyone. Stay at that comm station." The 3D vid cuts to dark lines again and we're left in silence.

  The three of us look at one another as the news sinks in.

  "So all we can do is wait?" ask Zion. He starts pacing in the small alcove.

  "What else are we going to do, Z? By the time we get up top the attack will be all over."

  Zion's arms fly up in frustration and I can see tears in his eyes. "I don't know. But they killed my friends and coworkers for what? A better mining machine?"

  "I think Mom was killed because of this too," I say quietly.

  Zion stops in his tracks and looks over at me. "I'm sorry, B. That's why you agreed to come here for this investigation, wasn't it?"

  I throw my pack on the floor and find a space against one of the walls to sit down. The rock is cold against my back but I sink into it. "Partly." I wrap my arms around my knees.

  Derek sits down in front of me, our legs entwined. He just watches me, allowing me to process everything.

  Zion comes and slides down the wall to sit next to me. I cough as he stirs up dust.

  "Sorry."

  I open my mouth for a retort but close it again before I inhale more dust. After the dust settles I turn toward Zion. "Did Mom mention anything about this AI tech or working on ideas for improved digging machines to you?"

  A deep boom sounds overhead and we all scramble to cover our heads. I can feel the vibration coming our way through the rock. As it gets nearer, the small alcove we're in shakes and small rocks fall from the ceiling.

  Derek covers me with his body, his mouth right at my ear. "Was that a mining explosion?" he asks.

  I shake my head. "Felt like an energy weapon," I yell over the noise.

  "They're actually attacking the mine?" Zion yells on my other side.

  "They're trying to destroy the evidence," I yell back.

  I turn my head and peek out under Derek's shoulder to see the terrified look on Zion's face. His eyes find mine. "And we're part of the evidence," he mouths among the noise.

  The room shakes violently as the vibration wave hits us. I squeeze my eyes shut and hold my breath. We're tossed around, but Derek keeps hold of me.

  The vibration dies out slowly and we're left scrambled across the room coughing in the dust. I pull my oxygen mask back up over my mouth and nose and turn to Derek who is already pulling his back on. We're both covered with red Martian dust and there's now way of telling at a glance if we're bleeding or not. I move my arms and legs carefully and don't feel anything broken. Derek does the same and gives me a small smile.

  Relief floods through me as I turn to look at the room, now filled with rocks and dust. My heart stops as I spot Zion a few meters from us buried under rocks. And he's not moving.

  16

  Trapped

  I climb over the rocks toward Zion. It seems to take forever since there are so many and I’m trying not to kick up more red dust. I get to him and uncover his face. He's still breathing. My heart races as I assess the damage to his body. Derek helps me get all the rocks off him. Zion's unconscious, but once I calm down enough I can tell his vitals are steady. I take off his cap and use it to staunch the blood at the back of his head.

  "Derek, can you get the med supplies out of my pack?"

  Another vibration hits us, not as powerful as the last one but I cover Zion's body with mine, and Derek wraps his arm around me to keep me stable.

  "Aftershocks," I say to Derek once the tremor dies away. He just grunts and finishes rummaging in my pack. He hands me the small med kit.

  As I clean and wrap his head wound, Zion's eyes fly open. Once they focus on me, they grow wide and he tries to sit up. Derek helps me push him back down.

  "Careful, Z. You've got a nasty head wound. Just stay still."

  "What about the attack?" he chokes out.

  "We've only felt aftershocks after that first hit, so maybe our friends have taken care of whoever shot at the mine." I quickly change out the filters in our oxygen masks, the old ones now saturated with the fine red dust.

  "You really think your friends could do that? Go up against all the space pirates here? And the EPL? There's so many they've taken over the whole mine." Zion's dark eyes look up at me, wet tear lines streaking down the red dust covering his dark skin.

  I look over at Derek. He stays silent and I can't tell what he's thinking.

  Thanks for the help. I chew my lip and look back down at Zion.

  "Our friends are under the radar layer. No one saw us come in, just like the pirates probably did. There's only so much fighting they can do before someone near the ground takes notice. And I'm sure someone noticed the energy weapon that just hit us."

  Zion takes a deep breath. "That will definitely catch the ground security's attention. But that means both your friends and the pirates will be caught."

  I pause as that causes a wave of fear to wash over me. I bite my lip. "I think our friends can handle themselves. The ship we came down on is one of the main delivery ships here. Captain Fukuda. He knows his way around."

  Zion moves to look up at me. He swears as the sudden movement moves the gauze along his wound. He grits his teeth for a long moment before speaking. "I know Fukuda. Good man. How did you get him to help you with this? He's known for staying out of politics."

  I wrap a bandage around Zion's head to keep the gauze in place. I'm relieved Zion's making sense after the nasty crack he got on his head. "He was a good friend of Mom’s and our new friend Red. Red can be very persuasive." I look at Derek, who this time backs me up by nodding in agreement.

  I sit back on my haunches. "And we can trust that Captain Guram sent the vid out to whoever needs to see it as evidence. Along with the evidence I gat
hered at the other scenes against Ash Corp, the EPL, and a few galactic troops that we've identified so far, we should be able to stop the further destruction of Mars. But I'm not sure putting a few people in jail will stop the research itself and the quest for making money on this AI tech." I sit back hard on the rock floor. "There's so many people involved. Someone will start up the research again. And there will always be someone who will buy it. Politics and money."

  Zion struggles to sit up. Derek helps him lean against a large rock that just barely missed all of us. I smile at Derek, grateful to have him here with me.

  "What if someone else had developed the tech first? They'd have the rights to it and these people wouldn't be able to legally continue the research or sell it. Right?" Zion asks as he looks between Derek and me.

  I narrow my eyes and lean toward him. One of his pupils doesn't look right. "Yes, that would stop them in their tracks, at least legally. What do you know, Z?"

  Zion closes his eyes and then opens them, making eye contact with me. "Your question to me before the quake. I know where your mom's research is kept." His eyes dart away from mine.

  I place my hand on his leg. "It's all right, Z. If Mom were to trust anyone, I'm glad it was you."

  He looks up at me, hurt in the depths of his eyes. And I don't think with his concussion he's focusing on me completely.

  "So what are you trying to say, Zion? Did you discover research related to what we saw in that cavern?" asks Derek.

  "Kind of. She wasn't using humans though. I told you she would never do that." Zion looks at me, his expression pleading.

  "I know that, Z. But why didn't you tell me earlier?"

  He tilts his head slightly and I'm almost afraid he's going to fall over. "We were kind of busy running for our lives. I didn't know exactly why you were here, remember? Or what we'd find down there." He shivers and looks away. Derek steadies him.

  I squeeze his leg. "Now that you know all of this is connected, what do you know? Do you have proof she was researching some type of digging AI machine?"

  Derek leans over to me and whispers in my ear, "Are you sure you can trust what he's saying? Do you see his eyes?"