The following is a mystery divided into five acts. Each week, readers will vote on the way they want the story to progress in the next act. You have five weeks to figure out the mystery.

Get an audio version of the story here.

The Aurora Express: Act V (5)

I drum my fingers on the side of my leg as I think about what to say next.

“Uh, we really need to make a decision quickly,” Tyasia tells me. “I know I wasn’t 100% honest with you this whole time, but I really think the right thing to do here is to log in to Dr. Foster’s account and review her research for clues.”

I nod. I can see her logic. If Olivia Green really is the spy–we don’t want to alert her. And Dr. Basu is such a wildcard right now…she’s probably working for our company, the Nova Interstellar Community Consortium (aka, NICC), but could also be working for ExoTerra Expedition Enterprises (aka, EEE). Logging in to Dr. Foster’s account is the safest way to make sure we don’t alert the potential spy.

I hand the paper with the username and password to Tyasia. We’re still in Octavius Thompson’s room, where we found his journal. Tyasia motions for me to follow her back to our office. Walking down the hallways is…interesting. I have to try to look like nothing is wrong, so I shove my hands in my pockets and begin whistling.

“What are you doing?” Tyasia hisses as she fake-smiles at a passing acquaintance.

“Acting natural,” I whisper back.

Still under her breath, Tyasia says, “I have never seen you whistle the entire time we have been on this ship.”

I decide she has a point and stop whistling. It’s probably for the best. My rendition of Do You Know the Muffin Man was pretty pitchy.

When we get back to our office, Tyasia goes to the desktop comm station and signs in using Dr. Foster’s username and password. We comb through her research notes, which are mostly very technical discussions on using cyanobacteria to grow mycelium and shape it into buildings where people can work and live—well beyond anything I understand. It isn’t until the last entry that we see something that looks promising. At the end of her research entry, Dr. Foster appears to have randomly written: “Orchids are so beautiful in the Spring.”

“That has to be a clue,” I say to Tyasia.

She nods. “But what the heck does it mean?”

“Maybe something to do with the Greenhouse?” I guess.

“It’s as good a guess as any. Let’s go,” says Tyasia.

Still trying to look normal, we speedwalk as casually as possible to the greenhouse, where we find Jake Harris and Olivia Green attending to their daily work of plant care. Jake hums a song to himself while Olivia chatters to the plants, telling them all about her breakfast. They’re both acting very nonchalant given that their boss is missing.

“We need to clear this area for an investigation,” says Tyasia.

Jake Harris grins. “Aw right, break time!” he says. He grabs a guitar that was hidden behind some tomato plants and heads out.

“Anything I can help with?” asks Olivia.

“Nope. Detective business,” I say, puffing out my chest as I try to look official.

Olivia looks back and forth between me and Tyasia uncertainly. “Well,” she says. “If you’re sure….”

I take Olivia’s arm and gently guide her out the door. “We’re positive. Thank you so much for all your contributions to the greenhouse. Have a wonderful rest of your day!” I say, nearly pushing her out the door and then locking it behind her.

Tyasia has already found the orchids and is digging in the dirt around them. That can’t be good for the flowers, I think to myself.

“I found something…it’s…a button?” she says.

Then I hear a click, and a panel on the floor next to me swings open. There’s a ladder leading down. Tyasia climbs down first and I follow. We find ourselves in a giant laboratory.

“Whoa,” says Tyasia. “This sub-level is NOT on the ship schematics.” There are test tubes and petri dishes and something that looks like an igloo, but made of thin, white hairs rather than ice.

“It’s a hut made out of mycelium,” Tyasia explains. “She did it! She actually did it!”

Just then, from inside the mycelium hut, we hear a groan. We rush over, and on the ground curled up we find—Dr. Lily Foster. As I rush over to her, she murmurs, “Olivia Green. Spy,” and then loses consciousness. 

Three hours later, Tyasia and I sit in our office, rehashing the day’s events. Dr. Foster thankfully wasn’t injured, but she was heavily sedated. Unfortunately, Dr. Foster’s memory for the last several days is cloudy, probably due to the sedatives she was given. Dr. Basu is nevertheless sure that she’ll make a full recovery. Based upon evidence that Dr. Foster and Octavius provide, we’re able to officially determine that Olivia Green was definitely a spy for ExoTerra Expedition Enterprises, and Commander Xu authorizes locking Olivia into the brig—or ship jail—for the rest of the trip. Once we arrive in Aurora City, she’ll be sent back and local Earth authorities will decide her fate.

So, that’s it. All neatly tied up with a bow. Of course, there are still some things that I wonder about. For instance, why didn’t Dr. Basu just turn Olivia’s bio stat link back on once it was clear that Olivia was missing? Why was Octavius so unwilling to speak with us, when all we wanted to do was help find his aunt? Why is Jake Harris’ poetry so terrible?

Oh well. I guess some mysteries just aren’t meant to be solved. If I could go back in time, maybe I’d do things differently. But that’s impossible…right?