Serpent of the Abyss by S.J. Sanders
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 sauce 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?