Page 37 of Kranow (Brides of the Mylos #4)

Casey ventured out into the hallway. Her father was busy putting her bed together and Fritz was antsy, sniffing around their front door, eager to go check out the new, exciting scents. She checked her pockets. Dog treats, check. Baggy of disinfectant wipes, check. Bags for poop, check. Wad of folded super absorbent paper towels, check. That should cover the possibilities. “ Come on, Fritz, ” she said to the small dog and led him along with the leash. They made it to the elevator without Fritz making a mess.

Casey glanced down the corridor to the door of their quarters. She hadn ’ t gone very far and she ’ d been gone less than five minutes. Deciding it wasn ’ t enough exercise for Fritz, she palmed the door of the elevator open like Kranow had showed them and remembered what the orientation video had said. “ Level three for the recreation area, ” she said to herself. She looked at the alien numbers on the buttons. Was the keypad the same as on a human elevator? Oh I can ask the ship ’ s AI. Captain Kranow said it can hear me everywhere and on our ship, its name is … it sounded like a number … Oh, I know!

“ Xero? ” she called out experimentally.

“ Hello. How may I be of assistance? ” came the reply.

“ Oh, um, I ’ m Casey. Casey Montgomery. I just moved here with my dad. He ’ s uh …”

“ Hi, Casey. I know who you are. I see Fritz is with you. ”

“ You know my dog ’ s name? ”

“ Your bio signatures and physical images were uploaded to me prior to your arrival. You are in the elevator on your residential deck. Where do you wish to go? ”

“ I wanted to take Fritz for a walk in the park. ”

“ There is a small park onboard ship on level three, in the recreation area. I have lit the appropriate button for you so you can see which one to press the next time. ” Casey looked and noted the position. She felt the elevator begin to move.

“ Thanks, ” she said.

“ My pleasure. Just call my name if you need anything else, Casey. ” The elevator stopped and the door opened.

The recreation area turned out to be a circular track with greenery around its perimeter and within the inner ring of the track. She spotted three Mylos males jogging along the track. She urged Fritz forward, careful to keep him on the grass. After he ’ d done his business and she ’ d bagged it, she looked about for a place to throw it away. Spying a trashcan by a bench, she hurried over. More people were arriving in the area. Three more joggers made an appearance as did a human female on a bicycle. She sat and people watched, thinking how quite ordinary feeling this actually extraordinary scene was. While it looked like they were outdoors, from the grass, to the feeling of air moving against her skin like a gentle breeze, to sun and sky that she reckoned must be projected by a giant viewscreen, it could be any one of a dozen similar places she ’ d been to on Earth. But it ’ s not. We ’ re in space. With gravity even.

She stiffened in her seat as a human woman and her human male companion settled onto the bench behind her and began to have a conversation. Casey didn ’ t mean to eavesdrop, but the loud whisper the woman spoke in made it impossible to not hear. She ’ d probably be quieter if she just spoke in a normal, low voice. What made Casey remain though, was the topic of conversation. If she left now, she might draw more attention to herself and the fact that she ’ s actually heard what they were talking about. She realized it was better to wait until she could go without drawing attention to herself.

“ Look, Jeff got lucky with the jammer. The AIs will be looking for any kind of anomaly like a sudden dead spot, though. And I don ’ t how he got the materials up here, much less assembled them. That doesn ’ t matter. They think the Human Right chick did it, that Marley did it, okay? They have her locked up and are keeping tabs on things in case she has any co-conspirators. That ’ s where you come in. I need you to go back down planet-side and call the woman whose name I gave you. She works in a warehouse that ships goods to the Fleet. ”

“ And she ’ s going to do what? Put something in a shipment? I don ’ t want any part in blowing people up. ”

“ She ’ s going to fabricate an order for something, but it ’ ll actually be a 3-D printer inside the box. It will arrive a few days before you return but I ’ ll accept the package for you. In the meantime, she ’ ll email you a link to a file with the pattern to use in the 3-D printer. ”

“ A pattern for what? ”

“ Just bring a pair gloves back, in your pocket, okay? ”

“ It ’ s for a gun, isn ’ t it? ’

“ Don ’ t say that so loud! There ’ s a kid sitting behind us! Look! ”

“ They probably have ear buds in. See? She ’ s not even listening. Look, why do you even need me? ”

“ Don ’ t be like that. If this gets out, they ’ ll think you ’ ve been part of this from day one. ” The woman ’ s tone was menacing.

Casey focused on her breathing. Her heart was thundering within her chest. Just play it cool, Casey. She began bopping her head and humming as if she was listening to music, as they thought she might be.

The couple got up and moved away. Once she saw they were gone, she waited several more minutes before leaving the area herself. I need to go tell Daddy. He ’ ll know who to tell. She made it to the elevator. “ Oh crap. I forget the level we ’ re on. Xero! ” she called out.

“ Your heart rate is elevated. Is everything all right? ”

“ I gotta go home. I need to tell my dad … they said they were going to get a gun, using a 3-D printer, and someone named Jeff made something that I think was bad and they think some lady did something with it but she didn ’ t. ”

“ Elevator doors locked. Casey, I am patching you through to our Chief of Security. ” Casey ’ s back slid against the wall and she sat down on the floor. Fritz licked her face and she scooped him onto her lap. A man ’ s deep voice came over the speaker.

“ Casey? I am Sachuu, chief of security. Your father will be joining my team. ”

“ Hi, sir. ”

“ I want you to stay right there. I ’ m coming with your father to where you are. You can tell us what has you so frightened. ”

“ I wasn ’ t trying to listen, ” she said. “ But I couldn ’ t help it and it sounded bad. ”

“ Just relax. We ’ ll be there in a few minutes. Xeranos will verify who we are before opening the door, okay? ”

“ Okay. ” She buried her face in her dog ’ s fur. “ See, it ’ s gonna be okay, Fritzie. Daddy and his boss are gonna stop the bad guys. ”