Serpents of the Abyss (The Darvel Exploratory Systems #2) Read online

  “Yes, sir!” the line shouted, and Lori struggled not to jump again, her face flushing as she nodded vigorously.

  “Good. I’m glad to hear it,” he said as he paced to the front of the line. “I will now go down the line, transmitting your information. No one has permission to break from position. The moment I deem we’re ready, we will proceed.”

  The group fell silent as Dowry made his way down the line, the only sound the double beep of his datapad and the comm being transmitted to. Lori fidgeted, staring out ahead, not sure of where exactly she should look. The docking bay was well-lit, with a few short-distance fliers and among them a surface transporter with numerous open cars lined up on its track. On the other side of it she could see a platform station and numerous rows of lockers. She reasoned that whole side had to be a workstation. It was strange to see it sharing space with the docking bay but perhaps it was to keep all the transport vessels localized in one area.

  Beside her, Vi hummed to herself. “Interesting layout they have here.”

  Lori nodded, her head ducking as the supervisor’s head turned toward them. She so didn’t want to get in trouble her very first day.

  “Relax,” Vi whispered from the corner of her mouth, her lips barely moving. “You’ll learn to read them. This windbag is mostly hot air. He’ll yell a lot but won’t actively make your life hell. Stand tall and firm.” She glanced with approval when Lori straightened her shoulders, her lips pinching together. “Perfect,” Vi hissed.

  With Vi at her side, Lori just barely managed not to flinch when supervisor Dowry stopped in front of her.

  “Raise your comm,” he ordered.

  She complied and watched with curiosity as her file came up on his datapad and then winked out with a chime before her comm pinged. Without another word to her, he stepped in front of Vi and repeated the process before continuing down the line.

  Vi opened her comm and looked down at it and grunted before glancing over at her curiously. “Ok, don’t keep me in suspense here, what did you get?”

  Opening the transmission, Lori looked down, aware of the fact that Vi was reading over her shoulder, and skimmed the orders. Disappointment soured in her gut. She had hoped for something indoors related to the mining operation.

  “Delta group, designation miner, first rotation,” she muttered as she closed it.

  Vi’s shoulder knocked against hers, throwing her out of her pity party. “That’s perfect—me too! Looks like he wasn’t kidding about the buddy system. Looks like we’re sharing a dorm. I may snore a little, but it’s not too obnoxiously loud, I don’t think.” She wrinkled her nose as Supervisor Dowry shouted for the group to follow him into the colony. “I guess off we go,” she observed as she winked down at Lori.

  Lori smiled at the other woman’s friendly candor. Most coworkers she had in the past had been almost overly polite, as if they were afraid of presenting anything that could be interpreted as inappropriate. Some did so as they looked for any and all means to climb the ladder—and stepping on those in their way—into a better position. Even Kris had been unhappy to rock the boat at all. So much so that, now with some distance between them, she wasn’t sure just how much she had known him. He let her have the most say on final decisions, even for something as simple as what they would have for dinner.

  Lori wasn’t sure she had ever known anyone quite so blunt as Vi. She wasn’t sure if she entirely enjoyed it, but it was a nice change to feel like she was dealing with a real person and not a perfectly crafted, socially accepted presentation.

  Exiting the docking bay into Raza, her eyes widened as she tried to look everywhere at once. It wasn’t like anything she had expected. Pictures of colonies showed high-rises that rivaled those on Earth, colorful splashes of signs and ads everywhere, dirty mean alleys and back streets hid from sight by the bustling well-kept roads as droids zipped about and people clogged the streets as they shopped or hurried by to their destination. Far from Earth’s rules, the colonies also showed signs of debauchery and, at times, forbidden interspecies pairings in entertainment. This wasn’t anything like that, but it wasn’t quite as dismal as the agri-farm colonies where tiny domes spaced far and wide across the surface of farming planets. It was simply… brutal.

  That was the only word that came to mind as she stared at her surroundings. Although unlike many colonies, it had maintained most of the original white architecture, there was no real build-up that should have naturally happened over the course of the last several years since the Raza became operational. Instead, the buildings had merely dulled, and whereas most colonies attracted businesses that helped to grow the colony to more sustainable sizes, Raza still only had a business square that boasted a basic supply store, a comm station to send long-distance messages to family and friends, a couple of eateries, and a dimly lit bar. All of these Dowry briefly pointed out as they passed by, and every place looked nearly vacant as if she were looking at some old west ghost town with higher tech and plumbing.

  “The square is open at all hours, day and night, to accommodate all of our shifts and rotations. We don’t have many luxuries here, but the comm station does have connections where you can order goods to be delivered. It takes a few weeks to get them, but it is your best option!” Dowry shouted. “Otherwise, you can get your basic goods, new uniforms, a bite to eat and some entertainment right here. The bar does have a large viewing screen in the back where they have scheduled vids. You can use your datapad or comm to link into their systems for more information. Our reception is poor out here due to interference from the nearby asteroid belt, but you may be able to pick up some long-range frequencies in your quarters.”

  He pointed to several rows of apartments to the right of the square. “Those are the dorms. As I said before, since we believe in the buddy system, you will be sharing rooms with the person you are paired with. If you have any objections about who you’re paired with…” he squinted at their group, “…well then, that’s just too bad. Unless they are guilty of a serious infraction against you, I don’t want to hear about it. We don’t coddle our workers. Men and women are kept separate and will remain separate. We don’t care who you fuck—just make sure you return to your dorm after you are done. We do have family dorms if you are eligible for a license to marry.”

  “Great,” Vi muttered as Dowry led them past the dorms to a large communal building that seemed to dominate much of the dome. “And I thought Paltrez was hell—and I mean that almost literally, since the planet was mostly black rock and lava flows. At least it had some parties that were memorable. This place has managed somehow to be worse. It’s like it’s stuck in the exploratory phase.” She shook her head, disgruntled.

  Lori gave her a wry smile but kept silent as they stepped into the communal building. By the end of the tour, she was well on her way to agreeing with the other woman. Raza was about as drab and lifeless as they came. The cherry, however, was stepping into their tiny dorm that was barely big enough to fit them and their bunks. Vi sized her up before throwing her duffle on the lower bunk, mercifully leaving the less claustrophobic upper bunk free.

  She wasn’t sure if she wanted to kiss Vi or sit down and cry. This wasn’t at all how she had imagined living in a colony would be.

  Vi gave her a concerned look. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. Look on the bright side, you’ve got me. I’ll help you out. This kind of shithole stuff isn’t new to me at all. Not the first bunk or dorm I’ve had to share either. And you are a citizen. Find yourself a nice guy here and you can get into a family dorm easily.”

  Lori shook her head mutely. No, she couldn’t.

  Sniffling miserably, she climbed onto her bunk. She heard Vi sigh below her, but she just couldn’t face her at the moment. Instead, she lay there, wiping the tears off her cheeks with the back of her hand. She tried to remind herself that it was just a year. It would fly by. And yet a large part of her wondered why she hadn’t just swallowed her pride and ambition and moved back home instead.

>   Chapter 3

  Orientation started early and dragged on over half the day. They only had two days to learn everything that they needed to know to go out into the field and so were trying to cram as much information in as possible, which meant few breaks. By the third hour, Lori had determined that it was tantamount to torture, which was illegal in twelve of the fifteen known quadrants. By the end of the numerous lectures, she was half-slumped in her chair, struggling to stay awake as they went over atmospheric cautions that had to be observed on the planet. Even Vi, sitting in the chair beside her, looked ready to squeeze someone until their eyes popped out.

  It wasn’t as if the information wasn’t important, and she tried to take notes for everything, but it was too much all at once. Her head hurt with the stress of trying to absorb everything. A loud thwap of something being struck jolted her upright.

  Eva Daily, whose name had sent Vi into an impolite laughing fit when they read over their itinerary the night before, glared out over the room full of recruits.

  “Sandstorms are no joke, ladies and gentlemen,” the instructor said at the front of the room, her long pointer rod tapping against her palm now. She peered at them with a no-nonsense look. Her graying brown hair pulled up into a severe bun, she appeared hard as gunmetal as she stared them down, walking slowly across the front of the lecture hall from one side the other.

  She folded her hands behind her and addressed them bluntly.

  “When you are out there, you will be facing any number of dangers. Besides sandstorms, you can experience atmospheric sickness if you are exposed too long to the air.” She held up a hand to belay the alarm. “It is safe, but the gas composition can build up and make you ill over time which is why we have rotations, one week one and one week off. This is the least of your concerns, however. You have to wear your protective gear correctly to make sure you aren’t breathing in too much dust when you’re out working the mines and so you’re not otherwise injured.”

  She discontinued her pacing and turned to look out over her class. “Everything you learn here and with your mentor is designed to keep you alive. Despite the apparent desolation of this place, there are predators. Don’t assume that M285 is safe just because it looks empty. Because of the dangers, we only mine during the day. There’s no leaving the colony after dark. Do not even think about disobeying that regulation. We will not come out looking for you if you’re out past nightfall.”

  Lori exchanged a look with Vi as the instructor continued on about the perils of M285, and the other woman’s lips tilted. The interaction was brief, but it made her feel better. Vi’s confidence gave her confidence in turn. She could do this—go out on this dangerous planet and work.

  She let out a slow breath, her stylus jotting the last few notations down on the datapad that Darvel had provided for her. The sound of the door opening interrupted her thoughts just as she exited her notes, and she lifted her eyes and watched as several men and women piled into the room, each giving a polite nod to Instructor Daily.

  The instructor smiled for the first time since they piled in that morning.

  “I am happy to announce that your mentors have arrived. Each of them has the names of the pair assigned to them. When they call out your name, you will stand and meet with them and exit the room. You will spend the rest of the day, including mealtime, with your mentor. They will be the ones acclimating you to work out on the rock, so we feel that it is imperative that you begin developing a relationship of trust with them right away.”

  The mentors were mostly men and had the weathered, attractive air of men who spent long hours laboring. If not for her damned contract, more than one of them she would have been delighted to spend some one-on-one time with.

  She slanted a look at Vi only to find the woman staring at the men like dishes presented at a buffet. Feeling Lori’s eyes on her, she glanced at her from the corner of her eye and smirked as she ran one finger back and forth in the circle created by her opposite index finger and thumb in a universal crude gesture. It was juvenile, but Lori choked back a giggle and made a face at her friend, causing the other woman’s shoulders to move with silent laughter. They were being silly, but in light of everything going on, it felt really good, and Lori felt some of the tension that had been piling on throughout the day ease.

  An attractive man built with lean muscle and a hint of salt and pepper around the temples stepped forward. He squinted at his datapad and glanced up at everyone, his hazel eyes crinkling with humor. Tanned from the sun, he would turn anyone’s head, but when he spoke a lilting accent that she couldn’t quite place rolled over her—perhaps from one of the colony planets.

  “Looks like I have a Violet and Lori. Come on down, ladies.”

  “Vi,” her friend corrected as she stood, her things already put away in her bag, leaving Lori to scrabble to stuff her datapad and stylus into her own bag and rush after her.

  “Greetings, Lori and Vi,” he amended amicably, dropping his datapad into the small bag strapped across his chest as he gestured them to proceed ahead of him out the door. “I’m Eddie Wik. It seems that we will be stuck together permanently or until one of us either drops babes or dead.” He chuckled. He smiled at Lori’s shocked look. “Obviously I won’t be dropping babes, but you two ladies look to be in the right years for child-popping, but who am I to say? In any case, until that happens, if it does and you get reassigned a more comfortable position in the dome, I will be at your side day in, day out.”

  Vi raised an eyebrow. “Well, that should make bathroom breaks interesting.”

  Eddie’s crinkled with amusement. “Wouldn’t be anything I haven’t seen before, but I think I will pass on that and just wait for you outside. For now, let’s get some chow and have a sit-down with some of our team so I can start introducing you. Fair enough?”

  “Sure, why not?” Lori said, trying to feel optimistic. Eddie was nice. It seemed reasonable to hope that others in her team might be as well, judging from his example.

  She dredged up what she thought was a friendly smile only to note how everyone cleared off from the table and left, nodding only in Eddie and Vi’s direction. The sting of tears formed in her eyes, and she bolstered her smile so that Vi wouldn’t worry. She could already see the concern on her friend’s face.

  Eddie laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, that was unusual. There must have been something they were getting off to. Maybe we can catch up with them later.” He slapped his hands together and rubbed them. “Now, who’s hungry? I’m starving.” He didn’t give them a chance to reply before hauling them up to the cafeteria line.

  The synth-meat and sauce combination slathered over bread that the cafeteria worker dubbed “sloppy joes”—whatever that was—made her stomach turn just looking at it. The vegetables on the side were foreign to her and completely unimpressive. She stabbed at her food glumly as Eddie and Vi ate with relish.

  Noticing her lack of appetite, Eddie gestured to her plate. “Eat up. It’s good.”

  “I don’t know what this slop is,” she mumbled as she gave it another prod.

  Eddie chuckled, and Vi snickered around a mouthful of food.

  “That about says it right there. Slop it is. It’s an old Earth recipe that fed many a non-gratas even as far as the colonies,” Eddie informed her with a grin.

  Vi nudged her. “Come on, Lori, it’s really good. We don’t get real meat, so I’m sure it doesn’t taste the way it did back then, but it’s been my favorite since I was a kid. If you’re going to live with non-gratas, you might as well learn to enjoy eating like one.”

  Eddie nodded as he shoveled in another bite. “True enough. That’s the only kind of fare you will see served here unless you’re of rank to order from the private menu.”

  Staring down at the unpalatable food, Lori grimaced. She couldn’t deny that they had a point, though. Scrunching up her nose, she took a nibble, barely landing the smallest morsel of food on her tongue. To her surprise, the spice in the sau
ce tingled pleasantly, enough so that it flavored the synth-meat in a way that was appetizing. The soggy bread was less desirable, but she cut through it all with her fork and took a larger bite, a soft sound of contentment escaping her.

  “See? Told you,” Vi teased. “Stick with us and you’ll be another one of the grunts in no time.”

  Lori gave her an unconvinced smile and took another bite. She doubted it, but at this point, what did it hurt?

  Chapter 4

  Lori sucked another glob of nutritional paste into her mouth and studied the landscape outside of the colony habitat. Nothing but reddish-brown stone for as far as the eye could see. No recognizable plant life of any kind—just rock.

  She could see why no one would volunteer to come if they didn’t have to. It wasn’t Darvel’s promised adventure on a brand new world, and it certainly wasn’t worth the three months sleeping in stasis. It was depressing.

  Her contract said that she had to be there a year, not including the transport time, and she was feeling every minute of it. As far as she was concerned, it was a year too long. Orientation and training were brutal, and almost everyone avoided her like she had the plague—everyone except Vi , of course, and her mentor, who seemed to have taken it on as his personal mission to get her integrated with the lot of them.

  As if she wanted that. Lori rolled her eyes. She had at first, but after the last few days of watching everyone studiously avoid her, she stopped caring. Vi was the only part of Raza she really liked. Well, she liked Eddie too, even if she found him exasperating after a while with his unfailing good humor. He made her feel like a stick in the mud. That he, like Vi, stuck by her side and didn’t dump her to go hang out with the other non-gratas when invited made her grateful for the two friends she managed to make.