Eventually, even that small bit of contact would be curtailed.
The cost of the ore-refining equipment was very high, but for a decade the elders had been saving and planning for the day when they could start their own refining operation. Then they would be able to send shipments directly to the central temple on Karos, where the Celestial Pilgrim himself had lived. All part of some glorious plan she had never been worthy of sharing, she thought darkly. How many women like herself had spent their entire lives working in service of that plan? Did any of them every really understand what they were working for?
Her train of thought was broken when someone sat down beside her. It was Moriah. The girl smiled at her nervously.
"Thank you for your help earlier," Moriah said quietly. "I hope you don't mind me sitting with you."
She looked unsure of herself, almost as if she were afraid Bethany might stand up then and there to accuse her of immoral behavior. Bethany smiled, wanting to ease the younger woman's fear.
"It's nice to have company," she said softly. "I grew up here, but I left when I was fourteen. I don't feel like I really know the people here anymore."
"Yes, I remember hearing that your husband had passed," Moriah replied. "Was it terribly hard for you?
I felt like my life was over when they told me Ger—my husband—had died in the mines. I was seven months pregnant…"
"I'm so sorry," Bethany said. She could see the girl was still troubled. It was hard to understand why a woman would be sad over losing a husband. Then again, not all husbands were like Avram had been…
"I take it you had a love match?"
"Yes," she replied softly. "I was betrothed to his older brother, but he died before we could marry. I practically grew up with Ger. I fostered with his family after the betrothal. I hate to admit it, but part of me was happy when I heard his brother was dead. I don't think I could have stood living so close to Ger as his sister-in-law…I guess I should just be glad for the time we had."
"Was he a blaster?" Bethany asked. Setting explosives in the mine was one of the most dangerous jobs on the station. Unlike other dangerous jobs, it couldn't be given to slaves. As an elder, her own father had managed to avoid working the mines for many years.
"Yes, a blaster," Moriah said, her voice trailing off. "I never thought things would turn out like this," she added in a bitter voice.
Bethany nodded. There was nothing else to say. Her father had hurt this woman and would probably hurt her again. There was nothing either of them could do to prevent that from happening.
They sat without speaking for several minutes. Finally, her food finished, Bethany set down her spoon and looked intently at Moriah.
"I realize I can't help you much," she said quietly. "But I just wanted to let you know that you aren't totally alone, here."
"I realize that," Moriah said smiling at her shyly. "It's good to have a friend."
Bethany nodded. They shared a situation, and now they shared a secret. It was good to have a friend.
* * * * *
Jess lay quietly. He'd been resting, and listening, all day. One time she’d nearly caught him. She'd been cleaning out in the main room, and had abruptly walked into the storage room to get something.
Fortunately, he had just returned to his pallet after getting a drink of water. If she caught him up and moving the game would be over.
It was easy enough to track movements through the area during the day. There were very few visitors.
The blasters wouldn't come through until the slaves had returned from the mines; to Jess' surprise, there didn't seem to be any regular guard patrols. Just two men who stood outside the slave quarters, and those stationed at the head of the mineshaft.
Of course, the slaves were usually far too tired to do anything that might upset their captors in the first place…
A plan was starting to take shape in his mind, but he still had quite a few details to work out. He had realized not long after he'd first arrived that it would be relatively easy to overpower the guards watching the mine if their slave implants were out of commission. While armed, they were vastly outnumbered.
Their communication equipment was poorly maintained. Failures had become commonplace, and no one gave it any thought if they fell out of touch with each other. If he and the other slaves could jump the guards one by one, no one would notice their absence for an hour or more.
But once they got rid of the guards, they faced a whole new set of challenges. There were only two ways out of the mine. One was with the ore, which ran on a large conveyor up and out to the transport ship, where it was loaded and taken to the processing plant. Unfortunately for the slaves, the conveyor ran through the same area that housed much of the equipment used to produce a protective force shield over the settlement. It kept them from being destroyed by other asteroids. But the base equipment also produced a disruptive electro-magnetic field that would kill any human who came too close to it. The entire system had to be powered down before it could be serviced. There was no way they'd be able to get out that way. Of course, if they could disable it somehow… So far, he hadn't been able to come up with a way to do that.
But their other option, the main doorway, was a great deal more promising. It was locked from the outside, and guarded by two men. The tunnel was narrow, designed so those two men could defend it easily against a large group of escaping slaves.
Assuming those men were paying attention to their duties.
But every time Bethany went to the doorway and knocked to be let out of the slave quarters, he noticed that they took several minutes to respond. What were they doing? He suspected they abandoned their post regularly. After all, it had to be incredibly boring to simply stand guard at the end of a narrow tunnel day in and day out. That boredom could make all the difference for the slaves as they tried to escape.
Yes, there were possibilities all right. It wasn't time to give up and die just yet…
* * * * *
Fifth cycle after the mine collapse
"Can I have some water?" Jess whispered as she came into the storage area at the beginning of the next work cycle.
She gasped, and dropped the bucket she carried.
He was awake.
She realized Bragan was sitting up next to him, smiling.
"Look who woke up during the night," Bragan said, waving an arm toward Jess. "I'm out of water, though. He needs more and I have to get ready for work. Can you help him?"
"Of course," she said, eyes lighting up.
The sudden relief was incredible. She felt light, almost giddy, so excited that she could hardly think. He was awake, and he was going to live.