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  Edge of the Stars

  by

  Andria Stone

  Text Copyright @ 2017 Andria Stone

  All Rights Reserved

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any

  means whatsoever, including electronic, mechanical or otherwise, without the prior written

  permission and consent from the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, businesses and incidents are either

  products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales

  or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  PROLOGUE

  After the last war, most democratic countries on Earth united, combined their forces into one

  universal military. This led to a pooling of military funds, resulting in the construction of a new

  space station, spacedock, and shipyard. The military quickly became the primary spacefaring

  entity.

  The moon, now officially named Luna, was colonized with three underground military bases.

  Next, world leaders elected to discard the old nomenclature “Earth” meaning dirt or soil; formally

  christening the planet Terra, with Terran Military Defense (TMD) as humanity’s dominant armed

  forces.

  Mars was also initially colonized by the Martian Military Command (MMC) with three

  underground bases. Domed cities were built above each one, followed by a Martian Space Station.

  For decades life flourished on this newly developed world.

  But things are not always what they seem…

  Chapter 1

  “You move—you die.”

  Doctor Mark Warren froze. The man’s threating voice came from behind him. No doubt, the

  man could see Mark holding a gun, kneeling over a body. A dead body. Lying in a pool of blood.

  “Put your gun down. Slowly.”

  Mark leaned back on his heels. He placed his weapon away from the puddle of blood seeping

  onto the floor.

  “Arms behind your back.”

  Mark smothered the adrenaline surge to escape and complied. Shit. Less than fifteen minutes

  after docking on the Martian Space Station, he’d managed to find a corpse, and in all likelihood,

  get arrested.

  A burly MPLE cop snapped stun cuffs around his wrists.

  Mark gritted his teeth against the pain. These cuffs were designed to keep criminals

  compliant—the more you strained against them—the more voltage you received. Restraints. He

  hated them with good reason. Sickening flashbacks of being tortured by Beth Coulter streamed

  through his mind as the cop scanned his fingerprints into a tablet.

  He glanced over his shoulder at the pair of officers, another man, and a woman, in the MPLE’s

  glossy metallic helmets and copper colored ballistic-proof uniforms. All three trained their guns

  on him. The burly cop moved back to guard the doorway of the Chocolate Factory Emporium

  while the other two circled to face him.

  “Get back. Stand against the wall.” The lead cop motioned with the muzzle of his pulse rifle as

  the female knelt to pass her scanner over the deceased.

  The officer read his tablet. “You’re Captain Mark Warren, Terran Military Defense?” He tapped

  the screen and compared the image with Mark’s face.

  “I’m former TMD, just Dr. Warren now. Sometimes, they use me as a consultant. I arrived on

  the Science Vessel MAVREK-II about fifteen minutes ago. It’s docked on Deck 4, Berth B16. We

  accompanied two TMD Warships under the command of Colonel Sorayne.”

  “I’m Lieutenant Dandrige, Martian Planetary Law Enforcement,” he said, relaxing a bit. “What

  happened here?”

  “I came to pick up a birthday cake. The place seemed empty—so I walked around the display

  case to look for someone in the kitchen. That’s when I found him lying on the floor. I drew my

  gun, knelt to check for a pulse, then you entered.”

  The female cop glanced at Dandrige. “Lieutenant?”

  “What have you found, Tyler?”

  “The victim doesn’t work here and his prints aren’t in the system.” Officer Tyler continued her

  preliminary report. “He bled out within minutes from a severed brachial artery in his left arm. We

  found no weapon that could have caused the wound. The doctor’s gun has not been fired.”

  An ear-splitting crash of metal tearing and twisting like vehicles smashing into each other

  sounded from the back of the bakery’s kitchen area.

  Dandrige and Tyler raced into the kitchen.

  Mark instinctively moved for his gun, but got zapped by the cuffs instead. The big cop hauled

  him as far as the doorway to the kitchen. A giant ragged hole appeared where the back door must

  have been. Mark leaned his head against the doorframe to engage the comm unit in his ear.

  “Captain Malone, I may be arrested for murder. Send Axel to the bakery shop or the colonel won’t

  be getting any chocolate cake.”

  Dandrige ran into the alley. Tyler tapped her comm to request assistance, leaving the burly officer to guard Mark.

  “If you take off these cuffs, I can help.”

  “Not a chance.”

  Another unit of three MPLE officers rushed into the kitchen. One ran out through the hole to

  follow Dandrige. The other two stayed, and Tyler updated them.

  A high-pitched whistle came from the front door.

  Everyone turned around.

  Six foot one, 220-pound Axel Von Radach glared at them. The dark-eyed, black-haired man

  looked dangerous even before the cops saw the silvery high-powered sidearms on each thigh that

  held back a long black leather coat.

  What Mark saw was a friend. Axel had nearly died saving him not long ago. Mark killed to

  save Axel. They’d become brothers through this shared experience.

  Axel stepped forward. “What the hell’s going on here? Uncuff Dr. Warren, before I do

  something you’ll regret.”

  A prolonged silence followed.

  Tyler moved toward him. “Who are you?”

  “Axel Von Radach.”

  “ID.” She held out an open hand.

  Axel flipped his blue thumb-sized data chip to her.

  She caught it, snapped it into her tablet, read the data aloud. “It says here you’re Sergeant Von

  Radach, Armored Assault Unit.”

  “Former TMD, now I’m Head of Security for MAVREK Enterprises.”

  Mark caught Axel’s attention. He nodded toward the kitchen.

  The Head of Security took a step to the right for an unobstructed view of the back wall’s gaping

  hole.

  Axel tapped his comm unit to receive a message. “Yes, Colonel, Dr. Warren’s in cuffs. There

  are four MPLE’s standing around a dead body. You might want to come down here, take a look

  for yourself. The kitchen’s been remodeled.”

  Moments after he’d spoken the last word, an elegant but imposing woman in a TMD colonel’s

  dress uniform, strode into the shop. Her spiky platinum hair accentuated a striking face with one

  green eye and one blue eye; an inherited abnormality. The black cape worn over one shoulder

  revealed a fitted gray tunic suit trimmed i
n red, bearing her rank in gold.

  “I am Colonel Maeve Sorayne.” She pointed her gloved finger at Tyler, a much shorter female.

  “You. Release Dr. Warren. Now. Check your own space station surveillance vids. They’ll prove

  we were docking until a few minutes ago.”

  Under Sorayne’s intimidating stare Tyler first confirmed the colonel’s ID, while another MPLE

  officer verified the docking data. Tyler then entered a code into her tablet, unlocking Mark’s cuffs.

  She took Mark’s statement and returned his weapon. “Apologies for the misunderstanding, Dr.

  Warren. You’re free to go.”

  Not waiting to be invited, or uninvited, the three Terrans marched away from the coppery smell

  of blood straight into the kitchen where the aroma of cocoa, brown sugar, and cinnamon lingered

  in the air.

  Axel flashed a cocky smile, raised his human-like augmented left arm, clapping Mark on the

  shoulder. “I can’t leave you alone for five minutes.”

  Mark couldn’t keep a straight face either. “So, you’re Head of Security?”

  “I’m multi-talented.”

  They examined the ruptured opening.

  “Ripped open from the inside.” Sorayne traced the edges of the torn metal with the tip of her

  gloved finger. “Do they have any idea what did this?”

  “I doubt it. The cyborg must have been in the kitchen when I walked into the bakery.”

  “Did you recognize the dead guy?” Axel looked at Mark, then exchanged glances with Sorayne.

  “No, but the MPLE didn’t either. I got a faceprint. I’m sending it to Ohashi.” Mark’s fingers

  skimmed across his tablet. “Let’s see what our resident cyber wizard can find. I’ll have her research

  the business owner, see if there’s a connection. There are two possible explanations. His ID has

  been deleted, or he was smuggled onto Mars.”

  “Or, he’s a clone.” Axel grimaced.

  “No, too old. He’s about our age.” Mark rubbed at the redness from the cuffs on his left wrist.

  “Do you think it’s possible I could view the autopsy?”

  “Slim to none, unless you know somebody,” Sorayne offered.

  “I’ll have Ohashi check their medical examiner’s personnel roster when we get back on the

  ship. I need to find out if he had a neural implant.”

  Sorayne’s tablet pinged. “My shuttle’s leaving for the planet in ten minutes. The Interstellar

  Military Conference meeting; it might take all day. See you two back on MAVREK before dinner?”

  They waved a salute as she left.

  Mark glanced at Axel. “This has to be a total coincidence, right? Who knew we were coming?”

  “I don’t believe in coincidences,” Axel aid. “We ordered the cake from the ship before we

  docked. If our transmissions were hijacked, then it wasn’t an accident. What if the cyborg mistook

  the man he attacked for you?”

  “Well, shit.” Mark switched to rubbing the red cuff marks on his right wrist. “We can’t take a

  chance on letting the women come onto the station.”

  “You must be kidding. They’ve been planning for this the whole trip. If necessary, I’m sure

  Maeve will provide an escort.”

  Kamryn Fleming, another former TMD sergeant, and a member of their team, appeared in the

  alley behind the kitchen. A woman of Amazonian stature, she dressed identical to Axel, and still

  wore her chocolate brown hair in a spiky military cut. “Our pilot said there was an incident. So, I

  came down for backup. There are half a dozen MPLE officers out front. I found another way in.

  What the hell happened here?”

  Axel pointed to the jagged metal. “What’s it look like?”

  “Looks like a cyborg welcoming committee.”

  “Exactly what I thought.”

  Kamryn chuckled. “Well, this is going to be a fun trip.”

  “Let’s go back to the ship.” Mark started to leave by the alleyway. “I’ve had enough of this

  space station for today.”

  Axel caught his arm. “I’m not leaving without Maeve’s cake.”

  “Do we know how old she is?” Kamryn asked, trying to hide a smile.

  “No,” Axel said. “There are three questions you never ask a woman: her age, weight, and natural

  hair color.”

  ***

  The MAVREK-II had been retrofitted from a corporate business-class ship into a science vessel

  for the two resident Ph.D. scientists: Dr. Mark Warren, Human Cybernetics, and Dr. Eva Jackson,

  Molecular Nanotechnology. This ship was one of four Mark appropriated from the Terran Military

  Defense when he’d helped them seize BioKlon’s holdings. These ships carried a dark history of

  being part of the now defunct conglomerate, owned by Beth Coulter, the woman who’d captured

  and tortured Mark. The woman he’d killed.

  Mark couldn’t stop thinking how his first visit to Mars had turned upside down within minutes

  of stepping off his ship. Visions of the dead man were etched into his consciousness as he sat

  nursing his wrists. He occupied the primary seat at their conference table, his five partners sat in

  their usual chairs: another scientist, two soldiers, two cyber specialists, all former TMD military.

  In the middle of the table sat a pink box with the lid folded back, exposing an exquisite chocolate

  cake. It also captured the women’s attention.

  Eva screwed up her petite bronze-skinned face and craned her neck as she tried to peer in the

  box. “Who owns the bakery?”

  Ohashi, the Asian cyber specialist, read from her tablet. “Twins. Valerie and Victor Parker.

  Born on Terra, migrated to Mars five years ago…oh wait.” Her hands skipped across the large

  screen. “Their names were changed. Give me a minute.”

  Petra Deering, another cyber specialist, also a holographic expert, sat next to Ohashi. She wore

  her spiky black hair tipped in flame now, in honor of their visit to the red planet. Petra tapped her

  screen searching for data on a different project—the deceased.

  “You were doing so well, what’s the matter?” Kamryn gazed into the cake box, acting as if she

  might try for a taste of the frosting, before deciding against it.

  “Uh…” Ohashi stalled. “I can tell you, but you’re not going to like the answer.”

  An uneasiness grew in Mark’s chest. “We never do. Don’t let that stop you.”

  “They were born in Germany, orphaned, adopted, as adults they moved to North America for

  three years before coming to Mars.”

  “Germany?” He looked at Axel. Beth Coulter owned BioKlon, the German-based multinational

  corporation. “Another coincidence?” Without noticing, Mark started rubbing his left wrist again

  as his tension rose.

  “There aren’t any coincidences,” Axel reminded him. “Who adopted them?”

  “Don’t know. If I can find out,” Ohashi said, “it may take a while.”

  Axel switched gears. “In the meantime, do we have an image of the dead guy? I never got a

  good look at him.”

  Petra enlarged the face on her screen. She swiveled it around for everyone to view.

  They studied it, then one-by-one turned toward Mark.

  “What?”

  Eva raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “You don’t recognize the similarities?”

  “We’re both blond.”

  Petra read from her tablet. “He is—was a blue-eyed blond, six foot, 190 pounds. Not your exact

  body double, Mark, but close enough. His name was Carl Ivarsson. We’ve verified his
DNA from

  the blood on your pants.”

  “What was he doing in the bakery?”

  Exasperated, Eva said, “Buying donuts?”

  “All right, I’m a believer. Definitely not a coincidence now. Out of the whole universe, on our

  first trip to Mars, I find a dead man who looks like me, is killed by a cyborg, in a bakery owned

  by people from Germany. I know the odds for just about everything—Littlewood's law states

  everyone experiences at least one miracle a month—and this undeniably qualifies.”

  Ohashi stared at her screen. “Oh, jeez.”

  “What now?” Mark asked.

  “The Parker twins were Nadette and Nickolaus König in Germany.”

  “Let’s see them.”

  Ohashi swung her screen around showing their identical headshots. “Now they’re missing.”

  “Missing?”

  “They’re listed as the owners of the business except they live on Mars. Their baker plus the

  shopkeeper lived here on the station.”

  Axel leaned back. “Did they run, or were they kidnapped?”

  “The MPLE doesn’t know.”

  “That’s not what I asked.”

  Ohashi winked at him. “We arrived three hours ago. Since then, seven shuttles have left Mars.

  They’ve all docked here. However, no spaceships have left this station. All incoming. No

  outgoing.”

  “So,” Axel said, “the owners are either on the planet or up here on the station—with us?”

  Mark’s gut knotted. He leaned back, trying to relax. “I assume you’ve breached the station’s

  security protocols, to check for faceprints of passengers?”

  “I take umbrage at that remark,” Ohashi protested. “You and Eva consult within the scientific

  arena. Axel and Kamryn consult in the security arena. Petra and I consult in the digital-electronic-

  holographic arenas. Right now, we’re ‘consulting’ with the MPLE’s database to find out if these

  two ‘missing’ people have been recorded leaving the planet or arriving at this Station.”

  “Mea culpa,” Mark said, bowing his head in concession.

  Kamryn leaned back, opening her hands to the table. “Is no one going to mention the elephant

  in the room here?”

  Nonplussed, Mark asked, “Which is?”