Legacy Code (6 page)

Tesmee looked nothing like her mother. Era had seen Tesmee’s father once. He’d been of Earth-Asian ancestry. Tesmee had his eyes and his straight black hair. She stared out at the crowd, shoulders slumped, longing on her face.

Tesmee’s father had died in a transport accident when the fleet first got to Soren two years ago. If rumor in the fleet was to be believed, she wasn’t ever allowed to leave Command home level by herself.

Era tore her gaze from the girl and headed for the crowd at the center. Dritan should be here. Zephyr and Tadeo were still in the same spot she’d left them. They talked, sitting close enough to touch, but neither of them looked at the other.

Era settled on the hard tile floor, and a moment later Dritan plopped down beside her. He pressed his lips to hers for a quick kiss, then cocked his head in Zephyr’s direction. “Went after the heir of the
Meso
, huh? Guess heading up one ship isn’t enough.”

Era jabbed him in the side. “Stop it. Give her a chance. She’s easy to love once you get to know her.”

“I didn’t say I didn’t like her.”

“Well she thinks you don’t.” Era lowered her voice. “Any news on the breach?”

“They’re looking into the panels we did.” Dritan rubbed his arm. “But they’ll see our work was good. Are you feeling okay today?”

“Haven’t been sick at all.” Era leaned back on her elbows. If Dritan wasn’t worried, why should she be? The president would see his work was good, and this would all go away.

A young girl with dark skin and braids bounced past, laughing as another child chased her. Era smiled. Today would feel special for them, a day free of the boredom and routine of hours spent in caretaker sector. Would she and Dritan someday sit here like this, watching their own child play?

Dritan must have had a similar thought because he gently placed a hand over the rise of her belly. A tiny flutter reverberated through Era’s womb, and she gasped.

“What?” Dritan sat up straight.

“Nothing. I thought I felt…” It was too soon for that, wasn’t it?
Babies
moved. A ‘collection of cells’ didn’t.

“You thought you felt what?”

“I thought…”
Another
tiny flutter. Era licked her lips and glanced sidelong at the couple sitting next to them.

“I think I just felt it move,” she whispered.

Dritan looked at her stomach. When he met her gaze, his hazel eyes had a new shine to them. “You sure? Does it mean…”

Does it mean our baby’s healthy?

“I’m not—” Era clamped her mouth shut, her eyes drawn to a scene at the entrance.

A group of guards had walked through the doors. The one at the front, with silver-brown hair and broad shoulders, turned and lifted his comcuff to his mouth. Chief Petroff.

Era leaned into Dritan, every muscle in her body tight.

The chief gestured to the other guards. They activated their eyepieces and began moving through the crowd.

The president and Tesmee came into view at the far side of the room, accompanied by two of their guards. They were heading for the exit. Era clutched Dritan’s arm and felt him wince as her nails dug into him.

One of the guards stopped in front of a group of colonists near Era and Dritan. A man rose to his feet, and Dritan tensed beneath Era’s tight grip.

The man was one of Dritan’s crew members—one of the maintenance workers from the list. He lunged for the guard and ripped the pulse gun from his holster. Then he darted forward, pushed through the colonists blocking his path, and went straight for Tesmee and the president.

The guards didn’t see him coming. He ducked around them and tackled Tesmee to the floor.

The area around Era grew quiet as the colonists near Era saw what she saw. The man had the pulse gun pressed against Tesmee’s temple. Her eyes were wide, riveted to her mother. The president stood still, her face pale.

Dritan leapt to his feet. Era tried to drag him back down, but he brushed her off and jogged straight for the guards. A small moan escaped Era’s lips, and she went after him. What did he think he could do that the guards couldn’t?

Dritan stopped just behind the uncertain guards, his body rigid, his fists clenched tight at his sides. Era reached him and laid a hand on his arm.

The attacker’s face was coated in sweat, and the hand holding the pulse gun to Tesmee’s temple shook. His wild eyes were focused on the President. “…I will. Gonna kill her. You think I care what happens to me? You took everything from me.”

“Stop. Let her go.” The president’s voice wavered. “We’ll forget about this. You’re clearly—”

“The Defect is a lie. A lie. You killed our baby. You killed my wife—sent her to that planet. You’re gonna pay for that.”

The president went white and shook her head. She stole a glance at her guards, but none of them seemed to know what to do.

The Defect is a lie?

Dritan shifted, and Era squeezed his arm. He pulled away from her and stepped in front of the guards.

“Wait.” The president jerked one hand out to stop the guards. To stop Dritan.

But he walked past her and squatted down a few feet in front of his crewmate. “Sam.”

“Dritan.” Recognition dawned on Sam’s face. “Your wife—your wife’s pregnant. Dritan, it’s a lie. The Defect isn’t real. They’ll kill yours like they killed mine. I gotta stop her. One by one, everyone dies—”

“Sam. Listen to me. You said Lynn was proud to serve on Soren. That she believed in this fleet.”

Tears began to leak from Sam’s eyes, and he looked back at the president. “She killed them.” His nostrils flared, and he pressed the pulse gun deeper into Tesmee’s temple. She whimpered.

The president lifted a hand to her mouth. The rest of the guards arrived, finally aware of what was taking place. They clustered near the president, pulse guns primed.

Dritan inched closer. “Sam, look at me. Lynn would never want you to take another kid’s life.”

“It doesn’t matter now. Nothing matters. They’re gonna take me out, too, and she’s coming with me.” Sam shifted his hate-filled gaze to the president, and adjusted his finger on the pulse gun. One small movement, and it would go off, taking a chunk of Tesmee’s skull with it.

Dritan held out a hand and said something too low for anyone but Tesmee and Sam to hear. Sam hesitated and stared at the high ceiling for a long moment.

His whole body went limp, and he shoved the pulse gun into Dritan’s waiting palm. The guards were on Sam in seconds, and Tesmee scrambled into her mother’s arms.

Dritan handed the pulse gun to a guard and strode to Era. He wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his chest and inhaled, tears pricking her eyes.

She hit his chest. “Stupid. What if he pulsed you?”

Dritan brushed a short strand of hair out of Era’s face. “But he didn’t. He was going to kill her. You saw that.”

He stiffened, looking over Era’s head. She turned to find President Sorenson, Tesmee, and Chief Petroff standing before her. The chief activated his eyepiece and began to gesture commands.

The president gave Dritan a tight nod. “Thank you.”

“Sam’s coming down hard off grimp. He never would have—”

The president’s face darkened, and she held up a hand, “We will take care of it from here. Thank you for your help.”

“President Sorenson.” Chief Petroff pointed at Dritan. “This man’s on the list.”

The president’s eyes narrowed, and she turned and grabbed Tesmee by the arm. When she looked back at the chief, her expression was blank, unreadable. “Take him in.”

Era’s stomach knotted, and she pressed against Dritan.

Chief Petroff dropped his hand to his pulse gun at his waist. “You need to come with us.”

Dritan placed his hand against the small of Era’s back. “It’ll be okay.”

The feeling seeped from her limbs as he stepped in front of her and followed Chief Petroff to the exit. A group of guards filed past, several colonists in tow. All of them members of Dritan’s crew.

Tadeo crossed in front of Era and approached one of the guards. Era turned to find Zephyr at her side.

“What happened?”

“They arrested Dritan.” Era choked on the words. “They’re gonna blame him for the hull breach.”

Zephyr’s eyes widened, and she laid her hands on Era’s shoulders. “You gotta calm down. Breathe.”

I can’t.
“He saved Tesmee—”

“Shh. Come on.” Zephyr grabbed Era by the arm and pulled her toward the exit.

Era took deep breaths, trying to calm the panic rising within her as Zephyr led her down the corridor. They reached the deserted dressing area, and Zephyr pushed her down onto the cold metal bench.

She checked the stalls and came back. Every inch of her exposed skin had taken on a scarlet hue that contrasted sharply with the white of her suit. “Now, what happened?”

“You’re burnt,” Era said tonelessly.
They arrested him. There’s nothing I can do.
Era put her head in her hands and willed her heart to slow down.

“Where is Dritan?”

“One of his crew members was coming off grimp and attacked Tesmee. Dritan stopped him. They took them both away.”

“Whoa. That’s—but why would they arrest him? I don’t understand. You said he helped Tesmee?”

“He saved her.”

“Are you sure they arrested him?”

“Yes. Maybe.”
I don’t know.

“If he saved Tesmee…”

Era lifted her head and swallowed. “I did something I shouldn’t have when I fixed the stationary yesterday. The president’s file pull was ready, and I looked at it. She requested personnel records from months ago, back when maintenance installed new panels where the breach happened. Dritan’s crew was the one that installed them.”

Zephyr sucked in a breath and sank down on the bench beside her.

“They’ll pin the breach on them,” Era said. “Make examples out of them, just like you said they did with the riot leaders they airlocked.”

“No. I never should’ve said that kak. Those rioters were guilty. You know they were.”

“But Dritan worked on that sector. And a member of his crew just-just attacked the president’s daughter.”

“And Dritan protected her,” Zephyr said. “He’s never even been in the brig for so much as a fist fight.”

Era shook her head and blinked back tears.

“They’re just questioning him.” Zephyr squeezed Era’s shoulder. “You’ll see. He’ll be out of there by last mess.”

“I never should have looked at those files,” Era whispered.

The shift buzzer sounded, announcing the end of midbreak.

Zephyr stood up. “Get dressed. You’re gonna go and do your job like the loyal fleet colonist you are.”

“Loyal? But I looked—”

The door slid open, and a group of women walked in.

“Anyone would have looked.” Zephyr kept her voice low. “You and Dritan follow the rules. You don’t complain. You never get in trouble…the president wishes we were all like you. Now come on.”

The pressure in Era’s chest lightened at Zephyr’s words, but not by much. She stood, took her black tech suit from the locker, and stripped off the helio suit.

Dritan was a good worker. He’d never been in trouble. And he
did
just save Tesmee. Zephyr had to be right. They were just questioning him.

Era stepped into her suit and gently zipped it up. Dritan would be waiting for her at last mess. Now all she had to do was get through the next six hours.

Six hours never felt so long.

Era sat in a recording cubic across from the colonist. “Where’s this going?”

“The
Seattle
,” he said.

Era slid a blank cube into her handheld and activated her eyepiece. The colonist couldn’t see it, but her eyepiece displayed a holo interface between the two black vidrelay rods on the table. She tapped the interface and nodded to the colonist to begin.

“Name: Orin Xian. Message for: Hani Xian. Destination:
Seattle
,” he said.

Era tried to focus on his message, tried to pay attention to ensure he didn’t say anything on the flagged list—nothing about the riots, or the president, or anything negative about the
Paragon
and the fleet.

But the scene from helio sector played itself over and over in her mind. Sam pressing the pulse gun to Tesmee’s head, Tesmee’s wide eyes, Dritan inching closer.

The Defect is a lie.

Before everything on Earth had gone wrong, they’d been in the golden age of genetic modification—the science to solve all the world’s problems. Only it hadn’t. It’d made everything worse. That gen-mod technology caused a worldwide famine that led to the Last War. Not many were protected from the fallout.

But before that, they’d tried to improve human immunity. It had worked, but they discovered, too late, that it affected the children of those who had been modified. So many children died from the Defect. Their organs didn’t develop right. They only lived for minutes or days after being born.

After the wars, Infinitek Group had stepped in and provided a way to save humanity from extinction. A lucky few had made it onto their fleet, but all carried the altered genes. The Legacy Code.

The Legacy Code was the mistake that followed them after Earth. A known fact. It
couldn’t
be a lie.