"Who are you and what have you done with my son?" Annalise asked.
"I was just thinking we could go play the game now instead of waiting for you guys to get done talking."
"We were just about done," Annalise said.
Pete grinned at the boys. "Won't hurt to let them take the container back."
"That was pretty slick," Ulran said once they'd reattached the container and were flying back to the Licht claim. "Do you want to run over there now?"
"No way. You heard Mom, they'll be coming home soon. We have to play it cool, Ullie," Merley replied. "Besides, I really do want to play that game."
Ulran punched his brother's helmet. "I told you not to call me that."
"What? Are you crazy? I'm flying. Take the frakking helm, Priloe." Without further warning, Merley jumped from his seat and piled into the back where his brother eagerly awaited.
Weight of Dishonesty
"Priloe, could you come out here?" Big Pete called over the comm.
It was mid-way through the morning and Priloe was working on his studies. The tenor of Pete's voice was one he was starting to recognize and his mind spun through the jobs he'd had in the last few days, trying to anticipate what he might have forgotten. He looked to Silver for acknowledgement.
"Go ahead," she agreed.
Adrenaline soured his stomach as he made his way through to the station's topside where Big Pete was working. He suddenly regretted his decision to accompany the Licht boys to the Oberrhein claim. He had a good thing going with the Hoffens and hoped that trip hadn't put his future at risk.
"We've some damage on the sled," Pete was bent over, inspecting the leg Priloe had dragged along the asteroid when chasing the Licht boys. "Care to explain what happened here? This is pretty careless; looks like you dragged it for a distance."
Priloe knew there was only one correct approach with Pete and that was to tell the truth. Unfortunately, he'd have to sell out his new and only friends, Ulran and Merley, to accomplish that. He was pinched between what he knew was right to do and being a rat. If it was his old slum boss, Sephre, he wouldn't hesitate, but Big Pete and Silver had treated him like family.
"Well?" Pete pushed, looking at Priloe.
"It's my fault," Priloe said. "I got the leg into the ground and couldn't pull up. I was moving too fast; I guess I panicked."
"And you didn't want to say something about it? Priloe, I thought we had an understanding." Big Pete stood and looked down at the much smaller boy. "I have to say, I'm disappointed. This is several hundred credits of damage and I might not have seen it. If this leg had failed at the wrong time, someone could have been hurt."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Hoffen," Priloe said. "I should have told you."
"Darn right, you should have. I need to know I can trust you, Priloe. Trust is what keeps us alive on a mining claim," he said.
"I'm really sorry," Priloe replied.
"Sorry doesn't always fix everything," Pete pushed. "If someone had been hurt, you'd have been responsible."
Priloe didn't have an answer and knew from experience with much worse people than Big Pete, that remaining quiet was often the only answer. He'd been caught red-handed and shaded the truth to one of the few people he respected. Shame burned his cheeks.
"Remove this leg and take it to the shop," Pete said. "We don't have a replacement for that ankle, so you'll need to pull it apart and manufacture the broken pieces. And you'll do that on your free time. Now report back to Silver and don't let me catch your studies slipping."
"Yes sir," Priloe replied contritely.
***
"Oh man, it sounds like Pete came down on you hard," Merley said over the comm channel the boys had set up. Priloe was lying in his bunk, exhausted from the day's work. On top of his normal duties, he'd also been asked to service the station's septic systems, something he had no experience with. But with the help of his AI, he was able to figured it out.
"Did you really empty a septic cartridge on your suit?" Ulran asked.
"Just my boots," Priloe answered.
"Big Pete must have really been pissed," Merley answered.
Priloe wanted to talk about anything except his missteps in the septic systems. It was time to change the subject. "Did you guys go out to the claim today?"
"Yup. The supplies we left last time hadn't been touched, but we dropped some more, just in case," Merley answered.
"I put a meal bar and water pouch on top this time, so he could see it," Ulran said. "We're planning to go out day after tomorrow. Think you can get free?"
"I don't know. Big Pete was pretty mad," Priloe said.
"Play it cool," Merley said. "Adults don't stay mad for long. Act all quiet again tomorrow and the next day. Silver will think Pete's past punishing you and we'll get Mom to invite you over for the weekend. Trust me, it'll work."
"I don't feel right manipulating Big Pete and Silver," Priloe said. "We should tell them what's going on."
"First, you're not manipulating them. They want you to do the punishment and learn your lesson. Sounds like you have. Second, we can't say anything; my dad would kill us," Merley reiterated. "Besides, we don't know if he's still there. The stuff we left last time hadn't been touched."
"What if he's dead because we didn't say anything?" Ulran asked.
"What if he's gone and Dad goes on a tear because we're over at the Oberrhein claim," Merley said. "Don't be such a drama queen."
Priloe chuckled at the sounds of the ensuing furball as the avatars of the Licht boys entered an all-too-familiar fighting sequence.
***
"Annalise called this morning," Silver announced at breakfast. "She wanted to know if Priloe could visit this weekend."
"I don't know," Big Pete answered. "Do you think you can be more responsible with my equipment, Priloe?"
Silver put her hand on Priloe's arm and gave her husband a look. "Pete, don't you think you've made your point?"
"Have I?" Pete looked at Priloe directly. "Tell me, Priloe. What have you learned?"
"Don't hide it when I break something," Priloe replied. He knew that Pete was looking for something more, but his guilt at hiding their discovery on the Oberrhein claim was weighing heavily on him. "People might get hurt otherwise."
"Trust, Priloe," Pete answered. "If we can't trust each other, what's the point? I have to be able to rely on you. How would you have felt if Silver had gotten hurt because you didn't want to admit to damaging that leg?"
"Pete ... that's not fair," Silver interrupted.
"Priloe?" Pete asked, ignoring her.
"I'd have felt bad," Priloe replied, dropping his head. "I didn't want to let you down."
"I found it anyway," Pete said. "And I knew just who'd done it. Look Priloe, I understand that things happen. People make mistakes. Take responsibility for yours and to hell with what anyone else thinks. A man's character is defined by his integrity."
"I understand," Priloe answered.
"Integrity is a daily struggle," Pete continued. "It's all about the small decisions we make. I want you to think about that."
Priloe nodded.
"I appreciate that you accepted your punishment without complaint."
"I'll let Annalise know you'll be coming over after work," Silver said.
Priloe considered the events and just how correctly Merley had predicted the outcome. The thing was, he really did feel bad for damaging the sled and he wanted to be that man of integrity Pete was talking about. It made his secret with Ulran and Merley that much harder to keep.
Demetria
"He took 'em," Merley said as they approached the asteroid. The supplies they'd left near the forward airlock were no longer visible.
"At least that means he's still alive." Ulran breathed a sigh of relief.
"We should try to make contact," Priloe said.
Merley frowned. "How?"
"Knock?" Priloe answered.
The Licht twins exchanged a glance, shrugged and answered in unison
. "Why not?"
The boys exited the Licht's smaller ore-sled and were careful to secure it before making their way to the airlock.
"Give me one minute," Priloe said as he jetted aft toward the rent in the ruined spacecraft where he'd previously entered. It was a tight fit as he wriggled through the mass of cables and flexible piping. "
Movement from above caught his eye just as he was about to break free into the engine compartment. His finely tuned survival instincts caused him to roll into the blow just before it landed. Pain shot through his neck as he drove forward into the small, open space with his arc-jet boots. While he wasn't much of a fighter, years of being the smallest on the streets of Nannandry had taught him much about close quarters combat.
"What's going on, Priloe?" Ulran's urgent voice came over his comm.
All he was able to manage was an "ungh" as he accepted a second blow on his back from the pipe wielding assailant. The second strike was easily absorbed by the vac-suit's fabric and the effect of the swing in nonexistent gravity caused his opponent to fly back against the heavily damaged bulkhead.
Priloe seized his advantage and rushed the small figure. As they grappled, Priloe realized he had physical superiority, a position he rarely found himself in. He struggled with the figure, finally subduing him in a bear hug.
"Stop," Priloe said over the public comm channel. "We're not here to hurt you."
"Ooh-kay-deet." The figure spoke in a language Priloe didn't recognize and tried to shrug free of Priloe's hold.
On his HUD, the AI translated the request – 'Get Away'.
"Priloe, talk to us!" Merley requested excitedly. "We're coming to you; we're inside the ship."
Priloe ignored his friends. For the moment, his focus needed to remain where it was. "Are you going to try to hurt me again?"
"Nyet."
Priloe didn't need the translation. He'd had enough experience with the Russians who comprised Oberrhein to recognize the negative affirmation. Releasing slowly, he allowed the figure to push away. Once free, however, he scrabbled toward the opening in the ship's side.
"Stop," Priloe demanded, cutting off the exit.
"We're coming through," Ulran warned.
"Can you understand me?" Priloe asked.
"Dah," the figure replied, darting looks between Priloe and the hatch leading back into the ship. The manual wheel was slowly rotating.
"We're not going to hurt you. You're in trouble, let us help," Priloe answered. "Can you speak common?"
"You are with Loose Nuts and will make me a slave," the girl replied in the common language of most of humanity.
"Who says?" Ulran asked, as he and his brother poured through the door. The girl moved defensively away as they did.
Priloe held his hands out to slow the approach of the Licht twins.
"It is well known that Liam Hoffen hunts the remnants of Oberrhein," she answered defiantly.
"Will you talk with us?" Priloe asked. "If you ask it of us, we will leave after we've talked."
"How do I know you aren't trying to trick me?"
"Look around," Merley answered. "You're trapped. If we wanted to force you to do something, we could."
She leaned forward, still keeping Priloe between her and the Lichts. "And you would be bloodied for your attempt."
"Nobody's forcing anyone to do anything," Ulran said. "My brother just gets excited. What's your name? I'm Ulran. The dumb one next to me is Merley and that's Priloe."
"Demetria," she replied. "Demetria Borisova."
"Let's go up to the bridge where we can talk," Merley said. "By the way, I'm not the dumb one."
"Do you promise to leave me alone?"
"If that's what you want," Merley replied and turned to head back into the ship.
Priloe gestured to the open door after Ulran crossed through. "You first."
"Pridurok," Demetria muttered but moved through all the same.
"You know my AI translates, right?" Priloe asked as he closed the manual airlock behind them.
She huffed an indignant laugh. "I was counting on that."
"What happens when you run out of O2 and water?" Merley asked, settling into a tattered pilot's chair. "I checked your systems, you maybe have a month left if you're careful."
"That's with what we brought over," Ulran added.
Demetria practically snarled at him. "My mother will come back for me."
"Was she part of Kiirilov's crew?" Merley asked.
"Kiirilov is a pig," Demetria said. "He left me here and took my mother with him."
"Kiirilov is in jail," Merley replied. "If your mom was with him, she is too. It was big news on Nuage not so long ago."
"She's coming back," Demetria demanded, tears running down her face.
"You really need to come with us," Priloe said. "You can't keep living like this. You'll die."
"No one cares," Demetria replied. "Only my mother cared for me."
Merley rolled his eyes. "It's all tragedy for you Russians, isn't it?"
"Do not speak of things you know nothing of," Demetria spat. "We are strong."
"We gotta get going," Ulran said. "Mom's going to wonder where we are."
"We can't leave Demetria by herself," Priloe said.
"I'm not going with you. I will not be sold to the slave market," Demetria whined. "I would rather die out here."
"We'll bring her food and atmo," Ulran said. "Maybe her mother is actually coming back. We can't tell Dad and we certainly can't take her with us. He'll punish us for months."
Priloe nodded his head. There would definitely be trouble over this.
Trust is Earned
"How was your weekend, Priloe. Did you have a good time with the Licht boys?" Silver asked at breakfast.
Priloe picked at his meal bar. His guilt was at a level that felt entirely new to him. He'd always relied on himself, and the idea of disappointing Big Pete and - even worse - Silver again was almost more than he could take.
"We're starting on a new hillock on the topside this morning," Pete said. "I'm going to show you how to lay out the mining bags."
This piqued Priloe's interest. Learning to mine was enthralling. The idea that you could harvest a material from your surroundings and make a living for yourself stuck with him. On Nannandry, he'd only survived by taking from others, but a miner actually produced something valuable.
"I'd like that," Priloe said, the fog of doubt lifting slightly.
"You seem rather glum today," Silver said. "Anything you want to talk about?"
"No. I'm just tired from this weekend."
"Don't be sad, 'Riloe," Milenette climbed up onto his lap and hugged him. The change in her ability to correctly pronounce words surprised him.
"I'm not," Priloe replied and hugged her back.
"Sometimes a man needs some time to work things out," Pete said. "There's no better way to do that than with some good old-fashioned manual labor. You mind if Priloe skips today's lessons?"
Silver smiled down at the kids. "He's making good progress. I don't see why not."
"Then let's get to it," Pete said.
Priloe struggled to keep up with the enigmatic Pete Hoffen as he learned how to bore holes into the asteroid with a mining laser and blast them apart with quickly expanding gas bags. The blankets Pete had been talking about were laid across the unbroken rock face and held down by heavy gravity generators. By the end of the afternoon, Pete and Priloe had loosened up an entire section of the small hill.
Unfortunately, as soon as the activity slowed, Priloe's mind went right back to Demetria. He felt a strong affinity for her, as he'd been orphaned and left behind as well. A part of him still believed his mother would someday return, but now he knew this was nothing more than wishful thinking.
"We'll pick all this up tomorrow and pre-sift it. Good iron content here."
Pete was almost chatty and his exuberance made it even more painful for Priloe, as the weight of his deception continued to drag him down.
<
br /> "Strawberry or Raspberry?" Silver asked, picking up on Pete's good mood as she handed out meal bars. It was an old Hoffen joke that Priloe had once found humorous. The idea that meal bars could be distinguished from one another was something only the packaging seemed to take seriously.
"I need to talk to you," Priloe said, ignoring the proffered food.
"Oh?" Silver asked.
"Sounds serious," Pete said, sitting in a chair.
"I know I haven't earned your trust, but I need to do something," Priloe said. "I need to borrow an ore-sled."
"What's this about?" Silver asked.
"I can't tell you, I made a promise. But I need to make something right," he replied.
"This does sound serious," Pete said. "Why would you need one of my ore-sleds?"
"I know I don't deserve this, but I'm asking you to trust me. I'll take whatever the consequences are and your sled won't get hurt."
"You're asking for a lot here," Pete said.
"I know I haven't earned it. But if I tell you, I'll break a promise."
"Nope," Pete answered. "My job is to make sure you're kept safe. I can't allow it."
"I have to go," Priloe said. "Someone is in danger."
Silver frowned in concern. "Who?"
"I can't say."
"I'll give Annalise a call, maybe she knows what's going on," Silver answered, looking at Pete.
Priloe jumped up, his eyes starting to water. "No. Please!"
"Then take me with you," Pete said. "Trust is two-way. I'll trust you by not asking any more questions and you'll bring me along."
Priloe sighed. There was no getting around it. "Agreed."
***
"What have you been doing in the Oberrhein claims?" Pete asked as they approached. "Those Licht boys put you up to this?"
"Remember our deal?" Priloe asked. He knew he was pushing his luck, but he still had some hope of saving Ulran and Merley.
"Claim-jumping is serious business," Pete said. "The Oberrhein folks aren't known for their kindly ways."
"We're not mining. Set down over there by that ship," Priloe instructed. "You need to stay in the sled."
"Someone's here?" Pete asked. "You're not going by yourself."
Life of a Miner (Privateer Tales Shorts Book 1) Page 4