Three-sixteen had learned to expect the unexpected. No shift was ever the same as the last and given what happened last cycle, he wouldn’t have been surprised if he returned to a pit full of angry miners, or even if the magistrates had hung up the dead man as a deterrent.
What he hadn't expected was to arrive and find five magistrates on the observation deck.
“This blows.” Vianni whined. “Can’t you two keep a few little numbers in line?”
Magistrate Luck and the dark haired magistrate from before exchanged glances. Three-sixteen saw some exchange pass unspoken in their eyes, but he couldn’t begin to guess at it might have been.
The dark haired magistrate sighed, and said, “Considering your pit is chronically understaffed with flagging production, I can see how you misunderstand the situation. It is not a lack of control we face, but a surplus of courage fueled by a fresh crew after heavy losses.” He uncrossed his legs, sitting forward in his chair as his gaze landed on Vianni. “Actually I believe that was your fault, wasn't it? You should know better than to play games with my subordinates, even if they are only numbers. Your insubordination is what allowed the recent streak of rebellion to take place and thus you are responsible for the situation we find ourselves in.
Magistrate Vianni shot a sharp glare at Luck, her lips twisted in anger as her fists clenched tight.
Magistrate Luck shrugged dismissively. His calm demeanor a stark contrast to the tension building among the other magistrates.
Vianni spat on the floor before she turned and jumped over the railing. Three-sixteen didn’t hear her land, but he was sure she made it safely.
Another magistrate, one Three-sixteen had never seen before, sighed as he shook his head. The man’s brows pinched together and his cheeks flushed with frustration.
“Do you two set out to make things difficult, or do you just lack all sense of foresight?” he asked, his voice soft and kind, though Three-sixteen suspected that was only an act.
Magistrate Luck answered, saying, “So she gets an attitude over orders and it’s somehow our fault? You’re the one in charge here, so I won’t tell you how to do your job, but if I was you…” Magistrate Luck held up his hands making a circle with one hand and sticking his finger through it. “She just needs some fine tuning and to turn that bitter snap into a sweet, sweet song.”
The magistrate sighed again, but this time there was a hint of anger in it. “I didn’t ask for advice. I asked a question. Now I see why my predecessor never promoted you despite your record for results.
He stood and walked off the deck in the direction that led to the magistrate offices.
The last magistrate, one Three-sixteen recognized from Vianni's pit, stood and brushed a hand through her hair. “If you’re looking for something to ‘tune’ I’ve been hearing a sifter queen in heat. The way she howls for a mate, I’m sure she’d welcome even your tiny dick, if you could manage to get it up in her presence.”
Luck smiled. He opened his mouth to speak, but the dark haired magistrate beat him to it.
He said, his voice flat and without emotion,
“If you two are done with this, can we move on? obtaining the heart will take careful planning and we already squandered one shift, let’s not make it a whole cycle.”
Did they mean a crystal heart? Three-sixteen thought it was the only thing that made sense.
The female magistrate scoffed and turned to leave. When she noticed Three-sixteen watching, she glared at him and said,“Don’t you know better than to eavesdrop on a conversation between magistrates? We might be forced to silence you permanently if we so much as think you overheard anything important.”
Three-sixteen knew better than to respond thoughtlessly. He carefully considered his words, then said, “My apologies, ma'am.” He bowed his head and lowered his gaze as he waited for her to leave.
When she was out of sight, he looked back to Luck and the dark haired magistrate, wondering if he should come onto the deck or go somewhere else.
Luck gestured to Three-sixteen, beckoning him over.
Three-sixteen was surprised. He hesitated only briefly before stepping up to the observation deck.
Luck looked him over with a smile and said,
“Three-sixteen, do you recall what I told you before, about leadership?”
He did, although he wished he’d forgotten. He nodded.
Luck leaned forward and patted oh Three-sixteen on the back. He said, “Good. I thought perhaps it fell on deaf ears when I saw your interactions with Five-ninety-one after your last shift. I’m helping you, ya know.”
Three-sixteen felt like his head was spinning, but he wasn't sure why. He couldn’t think of a single way Luck could be helping him. He was tormenting him, that was all. Of course he knew he couldn’t say that. “Yes magistrate Luck, thank you for looking out for me.”
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The magistrate smiled. “Because of me, you’re being assigned an important duty. Magistrate Arukmir’s crew located a crystal heart last shift. I put in a good word and we’ve all agreed to appoint you as the lead number over the retrieval option.”
Three-sixteen had been a part of a previous crystal heart retrieval and he was pretty sure that wasn’t a real position. He nodded along anyway. “Thank you magistrate, I’ll do my best.”
Luck stood. He pulled Three-sixteen close and said, his breath hot on Three-sixteen's cheek. “I think this job will be perfect for you. You only need to place sonar devices and pulse hammers in the other pits.”
“But that would draw in sifters.”
Luck stepped back and smiled at Three-sixteen. “Exactly.” Then he walked to the railing. He hopped over it, landing with ease on the ground far below.
The dark haired magistrate also stood. He offered a wink and a smile as he said, “Good luck.” Then he too jumped off the edge and followed Luck into a shaft at the bottom of the pit.
Three-sixteen didn't understand what the two men were up to. He couldn't figure out why they wanted to draw the sifters.They’d have enough trouble once they disturbed the heart. It would draw creatures of all sizes to come and battle for its pieces.
Three-sixteen sighed as he left the observation deck. He supposed he'd just have to wait and see what happened.
As he entered the equipment room, he realized that didn’t know how many pits Luck expected him to sabotage. Was it just two? Or did he want them all attacked? Should he start with the closest or the furthest and did it matter if the pit had already been abandoned?
Three-sixteen shook his head and tried to focus. It didn't matter. Five-ninety-one would be on her own until he was done.Given that her ankle healed, she should be able to work, but that was part of his concern. Since no one knew about her ankle that would be fine, but what if she got injured while working, if a magistrate noticed and it healed unnaturally she would be killed immediately.
Three-sixteen didn’t have time for this fools errand. He needed to finish with his assignment and then find her before heras soon as possible.
He gathered the sonar devices and pulse hammers and loaded them onto a cart. The sonar devices were simple boxes with a switch on the back. Once activated they’d send out sound waves and generate a three dimensional holographic topography of everything within a two mile radius.
The pulse hammers were the larger, more difficult to handle of the two. They were each the size of a small child and the power packs attached to them were heavy and unwieldy. Usually they were only used to break down large ore deposits, but Three-sixteen had seen one used to disorient sifters. The intense vibrations and loud noise seemed to confuse the beasts.
Three-sixteen only managed to get three pulse hammers and six sonar devices in the cart. Fortunately it was a self propelled cart or he might not have been able to move it at all.
Once he was on the track Three-sixteen was able to navigate without issue. He reached pit five and found a handful of miners waiting for him.
He unloaded some of the devices and showed the miners how to set them up. He wasn’t sure if they knew what the magistrates were planning, but he decided they should know. Best they be prepared to defend themselves and the devices or Sifters might run free between pits, killing anything in their path. Three-sixteen also found the pits blast spears andtaught the miners how to use them.
Leaving the miners on their own to set up the sonar and pulse hammers, Three-sixteen went on to the next pit. He skipped pit four and headed to pit three. He knew it would be empty like most of the others, but it would be easy for the magistrates to reach in a hurry.
When he reached pit three he noticed that many of the shaft entrances were collapsed and marked with the “dead dig” symbol. That meant they were abandoned and unlikely to be reopened.
It didn’t seem like a good idea to set up in this pit, but Three-sixteen told himself not to worry. The magistrates must have had a plan or they wouldn’t have asked him to do this. Maybe they hoped the devices would draw some of the sifters away from the crystal heart. Maybe they just aimed to confuse and disorient them. Three-sixteen really couldn’t say, but it wasn’t his place to question magistrates.
Since the pit was empty, Three-sixteen chose to set up two pulse hammers and no sonar devices. This way if any sifters came near the pit they’d be confused and have trouble navigating, but they wouldn’t necessarily be drawn into the pit.
Before going to the next pit, he had to go back to the equipment room for more pulse hammers. He found himself wishing the cart was bigger, or faster, or both. At this pace it would take half the shift just to finish this line. He didn’t even want to think about the other, further off pits.
The task certainly didn’t feel special either. Three-sixteen was almost certain it was only meant to keep him away from five-ninety-one. The thought made his pulse quicken. How closely had magistrate Luck been watching. How much did he know about what Five-ninety-one was up to.
Three-sixteen couldn’t let himself think about that now. He had work to do. With three more hammers loaded, he got on his way to the next pit.
The third pit was a little different. When he arrived it was already occupied. By a couple of people dressed in black with silver pins—magistrates. The female was kicking small stones against a wall while her male companion sat on a large boulder with his face in his hands.
Three-sixteen decided to skip that pit. He didn’t want to risk any delay from dealing with magistrates and he thought the pit had enough protection in the event of an attack. He hurried on the final pit in this line and was shocked to find explosive charges on nearly open surface. If one blast went off it would set an off chain reaction that would turn the whole pit into a heaping pile of rubble. It might also destabilize neighboring pits.
Three-sixteen knew he couldn't leave the devices here. He had to find the miners who placed them and stop them from setting them off. If he could, he needed to get them out of the pit too.
The last thing he wanted to do was go back to pit two, but he didn’t have a choice. The two magistrates were still in the pit, each appearing bored as they leaned against the wall, watching the entrance to a tunnel.
“There’s an emergency in pit one. Someone’s rigged it with enough explosives to destabilize the whole mine,” Three-sixteen shouted down from the observation deck.
The two magistrates looked up at him then rolled their eyes and shook their heads dismissively.
They didn’t believe him. Three-sixteen couldn’t give up though. His plea more desperate, he shouted again, “Please! I need your help.”
“Shut up and go do your job,” the male magistrate replied.
Picking up a stone and smiling devilishly, the female added, “Or stay right there and I’ll show you an explosion.”
Three-sixteen could feel the tension and frustration growing inside him. He didn’t have time for this. He needed help.
Three-sixteen left the pit, running back to pit four. Hopefully magistrate Luck would listen.