Meet the Miners

Posted on 29 Apr 2014 @ 8:40am by Lonar & Seeker Wisdom & Bruka & Zell Mokar & Crewman Draia Thero & Kamar Trisad & Taurus
Edited on on 29 Apr 2014 @ 8:41am

3,684 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: Lyshan III - Mining Colony, Mess Hall
Timeline: MD 02 - 0810 Local

[ON]

It was one of the more unpleasant days on the Lyshan mining colony, with heavy winds and dust storms plaguing the general vicinity of the rag-tag housing quarters present on the planet's surface. Visibility was poor, and nothing beyond a few meters could be seen due to the copper dust flying everywhere in the sky. In comparison, there had been many days such as this over the past few years, and despite the presence of terraforming equipment, stabilizing the planet's environment was a long and drawn out task.

Several miners and supervisors made their way through the dust storm to the mess hall where a congregation of almost fifty other colonists had gathered to discuss the recent problems the workers had been experiencing in the mines. Anxiety was high, working conditions were not ideal, and there was much hesitation and uncertainty regarding the future of the facility.


Colony Mess Hall

Zell sat alone at the far end of the room, slowly choking down a bowl of soup. It seemed to have a lot of fish in it, but mostly in the form of entrails and eyeballs. No doubt some obscure Cardassian dish.

Zell was a young Cardassian woman with an almost child like face and a body marred with scars and and wrinkles from stress. She was muscular but extremely lean. The tendons and blood vessels of her arms could easily be seen. She wore a short sleeved, dark blue coverall and tall black rubber boots. Her helmet was in the seat next to her. Her long braids were tucked into the collar of her shirt.

She picked up a spoonful of soup, her eyes closed. She plunged it in her mouth. She extremely hungry, so when she felt the slimey surface of a fish eye on her tongue, she took a deep breath and bit right through it, releasing a small gush of interocular fluid into her mouth. She grimaced and she forced herself to swallow.

Zell was a lonely woman. Thirty three years old, she lost her husband and her unborn child all in the same day. She used to be outgoing and cheerful and friendly. Now she just walks through the motions, moving from place to place, a ghost trapped in the empty shell of her body. She died the day that she lost everything she ever loved. At least, she died on the inside.

Lonar tromped his heavy footed way down the hall pulling at a human beer while he did so. A few human miners in his way he roughly bumped into and aside. Very few complained, at least to his face or within earshot. Everyone avoided at the expense of broken bones the mountain of muscle that was Lonar. He cared nothing for the humans and little about his fellow Cardassians. The only reason he was here at all was to make some money and then get the hell off this rock. It paid well and that was all that counted.

The damn slow downs, strikes and crap was putting a serious dent in his pay as was the weird rock he had encountered. The stuff kept breaking drills. Now this another stupid meeting that he did not care about. Lonar made it to the mess hall ignoring the dust and dirt that were ever present companions. He made his heavy footed pace up the rows until he got near the front that was already occupied.

"Yer sitting in my seat," he said tersely to one Cardassian miner. The man looked up and gritted his teeth but one look at Lonar's massive shoulders decided that it was not worth the argument. He got up and Lonar flopped into the spot glaring around. "Anyone else got a problem?"

From a crowded table, a voice like burnt caramel called out, "Your table?" The voice belonged to Draia Thero, and she scoffed at Lonar for good measure. Like the other Cardassian women in the room, Draia was clad in a dark blue jumpsuit, but hers was remarkably tight. It was a couple of sizes too small, in fact; a decision made intentionally by the young Cardassian. When Draia shook her head, her black ponytail whipped from side to side. "You didn't sit there yesterday," she remarked in an accusatory tone.

"I sit where I please," Lonar cracked back and smirked before swigging the bottle again. Lonar more or less knew Draia. She was rough and tumble, just what he liked but liking was as far as it went. "What you want some company?"

Draia scoffed and sent her ponytail bobbing with another shake of her head. She would probably kill herself if she recognized just how much she sounded like her haughty mother right then. "Not after watching you handle your drill down in shaft seventy-four today," Draia replied. She spoke loudly, as if she were an actor on a stage. She did so for the benefit of the other Cardassians at her table, rather than for Lonar, and she didn't much try to act naturally. In fact, betrayed the punchline in the way she delivered it. "You're all foreplay, Lonar. No penetration."

Zell stifled a laugh at Draia's over the top exchange with Lonar. Zell had frequently fantasized about stabbing him through the throat with a pick. It was a fantasy she had been toying with since the day she met the self important, arrogant, bully that went by the name of Lonar. It was good to see Draia put him in his place.

Lonar narrowed his eyes and his dark Cardassian face clouded even darker. He gritted his teeth and moment and then laughed out loud. "It's that crappy Federation piece of shit that I got to work with." He swung the arm with the bottle wide and hit a human miner knocking him off the bench. Pretending to be friendly he put the bottle down and pulled the man off the ground easily.

"Sorry 'bout that friend," the last word sounded anything but.

Lonar turned his head back to face Draia, "Yeah, no penetration, that damn rock down there is about as tight as your c---."

"I know, yeah?" chimed in Draia. With an elongated vowel, her response was filled with the sound of shared frustration. She made no effort to hide the way she stared at the faces around her table to watch for any nods or noises of agreement. "What are we mining for anyway?" Draia asked, still in a stage timbre. "Neutronium? I'm sure not getting paid enough to handle no neutronium."

Lonar relaxed as the conversation turned to the one thing he was most familiar with. The problems in the mines lately. He had heard about other miners saying weird things going on but he had not experienced that and figured it was just too much fatigue, dust or bad drink. It was not a big secret that a few homemade stills were tucked in here and there. The thing that had gotten to him was there was some sort of rock that like Draia had said, was seemingly impervious to the drills.

"Yeah, I hear ya. All the good veins of ore seem to go on a bit and then run right into that crap whatever it is."

"That is the nature of any mining..." it was Reyn Trell that spoke up, his green eyes watching them from where he had snuck in and settled. He was one of humans here. And he was not as large as a Cardassian nor as strong. But what he had was stamina and he had made a relatively good name for himself as a steady worker. "If you want something a bit safer, I suggest getting off this rock," he directed towards Draia.

Draia frowned at Trell, like a schoolteacher chiding a pupil who had come to the wrong conclusion to the formula. "I wouldn't be happy picking roses," Draia said. It sounded like a non sequitur, but Draia had always imagined the primary form of industry in the Federation was gardening. "All I'm saying. Is we should get changes in compensation," Draia said ardently, and this time there was no artifice; "To match the changes in our working conditions."

"That is something I can definitely agree with you on. And some better equipment. Half of it is broken, missing parts and the rest is patched together. " Lonar leaned forward nodding. It had been that way especially now. That rock was not only hard on the equipment but it seemed things suddenly went missing as well. He had missed a couple of people on the crew he worked with, but just figured they had quit the mines though some of the others said they had not heard of anyone getting off of the rock.

Reyn shook his head with a weak smile, considering it all. "I just think if we have better equipment, we could do our jobs better," he said, almost diplomatic with it. "We get paid for what we do. None of us should be under any illusions that we deserve hazard pay just because it's a bit dodgy out there. Mining has never been a safe occupation."

"A bit dodgy is a bit of an understatement." Zell said from the back of the room. "I haven't seen Traiea or Korvak in in days, and I know they didn't just leave."

Blurting out a profanity in shock and excitement, Draia quickly followed it up with, "Zell's right! Where is Korvak? He never missed a meal in his life!"

A slight alarm went off in Seeker's room. "It's breakfast time Rock, are you coming?" The sound of Madeline's voice was on time at usual. "Yah, I'm coming mining mother, give me two minutes." He quickly finished reading the report on his monitor from The Intergalactic Study of Geology Quarterly called "The sub-fissure problems of Voltar IX and its implications for Geologic studies."

He got up and got dressed; his trusty therapy dog Sapphire got up and came over to him excitedly ready for the day as he attached his metal leg prosthesis. "Robotman is ready!" He exclaimed to Sapphire. He then fitted her with "Working Dog" vest and her leash and then walked out of his room. Seeker had taken an old small equipment room in the first section of the original caves and had it modified for him. Seeker did not want to be among others much except for when he was working in the mine and therefore did not live in the barracks or the miner's apartments.

Seeker walked to the service elevator and took it up to main level; when he entered the rest of the miners addressed him: "Rock", "Heya Rock", "Rocky!", "Robotman" and other such friendly calls. He barely made a smile as he grabbed his tray and walked down the cafeteria line. Madeline and several other of the "lunch ladies" stood waiting to fill his tray. The other ladies addressed him, "Good to see you Rock" or "Great morning huh Robotman?" as he took his food. Madeline, his personal attendant waited for him at the end of the line. "'Bout time you made it Rock. My food is getting cold again." He gave her his trademark slight smirk, "Not that it matters if this stuff is cold or not." She laughed and led him to their "regular table" in the corner away from the others.

Bruka strode into the mess hall. His sharp, almost beady eyes shifted around the room looking specifically for the supervisors and administrators he was hoping would be there. He wasn't there to socialize, or to even eat the shit they called food. He was there to ensure management heard their concerns. He was quite fed up with recent events, and while he normally didn't say anything about their living conditions his recent experience in the mine was something he didn't want repeated again. He'd missed most of the interaction between Lonar and Draia, which was probably for the best. Bruka was easily annoyed by most of the people he worked with. For the most part, a lot of people left him alone. His reputation proceeded him, and he was usually seen as someone you didn't trifle with. There were rumours that people that got in his way mysteriously ended up in the infirmary, or just simply vanished. These were just rumours of course, and the truth was usually clouded and purposefully kept vague. No one was close enough to know what his past was, but it was generally accepted that he may have served in the military in some capacity. Bruka may even be behind most of the rumours, but people believed anything from him serving in Militia 41, to even being a member of the know defunct Obsidian Order. He tried his best to blend in to the background near the rear of the Mess Hall, even though his imposing stature would make him stand out. He crossed his arms, and waited for management to show.

Lonar had just finished his bottle and his bitch about the rock when Bruka, the Rock came through the line. He was about as big, but even Lonar had not ever pressed the issue with the man. Not that he had any reason to, they worked different places but just for a show of somewhat being friendly he nodded his chin the man's way in acknowledgement.

Taurus moved into the room with a firm, strong stride. He was a tall Cardassian, broad in the shoulders but had the slenderness of athleticism in his body. If the presence of his tall frame and confident, commanding air hadn't caught attention when he moved into the room, the look on the manager's unimpressed and clearly annoyed features did. Jaw tense, clear blue eyes dark, lips pressed together, he was angry that grown adults were behaving like scared children and disrupting progress in the process. He used a baton he carried on his belt to hit hard against a metallic post, sending the loud noise echoing around the room to get silence. "Let's get this over with," he called out across the workers, his displeasure for the whole affair laying in the clipped way he spoke.

Seeker looked up from his breakfast with no emotion on his face as usual. He looked around to see others reactions but was not going to speak until there was something that needed to be said. After all, the rocks and the spirits in the rocks could wait a little longer. Sapphire sat up at hearing the metallic bang but then soon laid back down uninterested.

For her part, Madeline just looked over at Taurus and sat back in her chair awaiting the discussion to come. She looked over at Seeker to see if had become agitated at the noise but glad to see he was not.

When the baton struck, Draia Thero's head snapped in the direction of the noise. Profanity fell out of her mouth without her even realizing she was saying anything. She narrowed her eyes on Taurus and made a show of covering her ears with her hands. When he never looked her way, she put down her hands and watched the man intently.

Reyn's eyes seemed to shine as he raised his mug to take a long swallow from, his eyes on the Cardassian. He lowered the mug, a small smile curling his lips. Now this was going to be interesting. He kept his eyes on Taurus though. He seemed even more tense than usual.

Lonar cursed as well but leaned back against the table.
He felt agitated after all the talk, and the ideas that had been floating around and besides, there was a lot of miners and crowds made him nervous.

Bruka had watched Taurus the moment he had walked in. His lip had curled as if he'd smelt something foul. He had anticipated the noise and didn't flinch. He did however move to an empty chair that put him uncomfortably close to Seeker.

Seeker nodded over to Bruka, "Mornin' Bruke," using the nickname he created for him, "Looks like this's about ta get interestin.'"

Taurus looked around the gathered group, his eyes shining, but his features otherwise locked to a cool expression. "This nonsense has gone on long enough!" he snapped, looking to the different faces, to leave no doubt he had his eyes, at sometime or another, on all of them. "We are losing time, resources and money over childish fears!" he called across the room, to ensure all could hear him, his voice carrying easily. "This lack of commitment to your work is unacceptable!"

Lonar almost bit his tongue in two keeping from yelling but the empty bottle crushed into splinters as his fist tightened around it. He ignored the small sharp stabs, they were nothing that he was not used to with rock shards flying around.

He finally grumbled outloud, "Ain't no childish stuff that there is rock that makes our drills useless."

Seeker nodded in agreement, "The spirits in the rocks are tryin' to tell us sumptin' T-man." Using the nickname he gave to Taurus, "You knows it and I knows it and all of us knows it. There is sumptin' here tryin' to sends us a message. I aint afraid. Nuthin' scares 'Robotman' by we best be respectin' what the rocks is tellin' us and we best be a listenin' to what they be sayin' T-man."

"Whatever it is," Trell spoke up, lifting his chin slightly. "I agree with equipment that works, but for whatever reason there is, we should all stay calm and not act like old women. Give gifts to the gods, pray for their mercy. But it slows down work more than anything else."

Taurus sighed with impatience. "I cannot believe what I am hearing. Spirits? Are we children? There is no such thing! The only intelligent life here is us. Although at this moment, I am starting to wonder if that assessment is accurate," he paused, shaking his head as he looked around. "The rock, yes, now that is real. We have what we have. You are sorely mistaken if you think there is a treasure trove of shiny new equipment to be had. We have no choice but to work around it until we figure out what it is and how to shift it. For now, we map the areas that are impenetrable to get an idea of how far it spans, and we mine where we can."

Taurus walked slowly across the front of the stark mess, his hands clasped behind his back. "That is why it is even more important to keep working at our full capacity. Everyone, working as fast and as efficiently as possible," he stopped, his hand motioning across the room. "We do not need any more distractions and time wasted over 'ghosts' and 'ghouls' and children's stories in the dark."

Trell glanced around with a weak smile. He could have seen that happening. He looked at Taurus, his eyes following his movement. "So what will happen, Sir? Just...in theory?" he asked but it was a playful question. Meant to stir things up again.

Taurus met Trell's eyes, holding them for a long moment as he considered his words. "In theory? I am not sure you all realise how lucky you are. We have been really very...patient, considering the delays and stalling these ghost stories have caused. But now, they're going too far. We have a Cardassian ship in orbit. And I think you may find that the Gul's patience is not as...generous as ours."

"The Gul's patience is not as.. generous as ours." Seeker repeated in a Darth Vader's voice then chuckled to himself as he finished his breakfast. Madeline looked over at him and rolled her eyes.

"Send them," announced Draia, her voice loud and flat. "Send the Gul and his crew down in the mines with us. Then you'll see. They won't be able to watch us once they start getting the flutter behind their eyes too."

"Them coming over here is not a good thing," Reyn said as he looked at the others, standing up. "For all our differences, for all that is going on...we are here. All. Together. And that changes things for us all. We all have to consider how we deal with this. It's becoming...political."

"Could give a crap less about politics! No work, no pay and now just a bunch of prima donna's thinking they can just snap a bunch of fingers and make it all work. Yeah, I'll show 'em that rock, maybe shove a head or two into it to wake them up." Lonar grumbled.

"Yes, and I'm sure the Gul is very well trained in patient conflict resolution," Taurus replied, the sarcasm dripping from his tongue. "Trust me. They only care about one thing. Getting their shipments. You do not want to become an obstacle. Now, I look out for my workers. But anymore talk of strikes, well...if you're not working, you're not my workers. And anyone who is not working, I shall not consider my problem anymore, and they can take their chance with the Gul. Do we understand each other?"

"Do you have the replacements in line?" Zell retorted with a yawn, "You know, for when we all disappear like the others."

Taurus frowned, shaking his head to him. "The only way people are going to 'disappear' is if they stop working and we have to replace them. People have taken themselves off. No more. They will come back when they are tired of their game and run out of food. Or perhaps I should say 'drink'."

OFF:

Seeker Wisdom
Miner
Lyshan III
(PNPC Jacob)

Lonar
Miner
Lyshan III
(PNPC Allyndra)

Draia Thero
Miner
Lyshan III
(PNPC Kohl)

Taurus
Administrator
Lyshan III
(PNPC Blake)

Kamar Trisad
Supervisor
Lyshan III
(PNPC Mott)

Zell Mokar
Miner
Lyshan III
(PNPC Miir}

Bruka
Miner
Lyshan III
(PNPC Beaumont)

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