Ezra knew how to operate the laser drill adeptly—what he didn’t know, was the fact that day would be the day his life changed forever.
The dark mines were dimly lit by hovering servo bots. Ezra hung from a thick cable in a massive hole that descended all the way to the molten core of Epsilon IV. At least he assumed it went that far. Truthfully neither he nor any of the other miners had ever gone that low, but the legends said it did and that was good enough for him.
Ezra hung there in the pit reading an adventure novel on his visor screen. I know I should be working, but I need to know what happens next. Once I finish this chapter I’ll get this last deposit.
Irene, an operator back at the station on the surface’s distorted voice buzzed through the comm-unit on his wrist, “Ezra, how are we looking down there?”
Ezra jumped in surprise and shouted into the comm-unit, the mines were so loud that sometimes he didn’t realize how loudly he was talking, “Looking good. Totally just down here working, no reason to suspect I’m not fully focused on my job. My storage bot is at 90% capacity. Once I knock down this last deposit I’ll be heading back. Say, you wanna get a drink tonight?”
Irene’s cruel laugh echoed in the darkness, “In your dreams. You know I don’t date miners. And right, no reason other than you being the last one still out yet again kid.”
Ezra rolled his eyes. “Our hands too rough for you prissy admin types?”
“If you really want to know, you miners always smell like hot garbage…and yeah, I think I do prefer soft hands. Now finish your work and get back here before Coleman has to bitch you out again.” She said in a voice that he almost thought he could hear a hint of consideration in.
Ezra sighed and fired up his laser drill. The rocky interior of the hole was a tesselating pattern of dark granite. Sporadic neon crystal formations stuck out like gems in a mine. His hands gripped the drill tightly as the vibrating cores inside of it spun rapidly. Ezra pulled the trigger and an intense beam of light shot from the barrel carving a red hot line around the crystal formation.
The screen on the interior of the visor buzzed with all kinds of real-time readings and analytics. Alrighty then, let’s get this wrapped up. I’ll sneak into the mess hall and get some food I can take back to my room, then I can get back to reading this chapter.
A robotic monotone voice emitted from his visor, “Crystal formation at 65% progress. Miner 88-S, it is advised that you signal storage bot 66-T to move into position.”
Ezra strained as he continued cutting the crystals free. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. This isn’t my first time, I know what I’m doing stupid robot.” He reached up and pressed a button on the side of his visor quickly three times. His visor began beeping rapidly and flashing red.
The cable holding him in place went suddenly slack and he dropped into an uncontrolled free fall. The walls of the pit turned into a nightmarish blur as he fell. Spinning out of control while the laser drill shot wildly into the interior of the pit Ezra cursed. Shit! Shit! Not good!
The robot voice returned in his visor over the chaotic array of noises and lights. “Danger miner 88-S, rapid descent detected. Correct your course.”
His stomach lurched into his throat as he dropped. I know that robot! Ezra tried to press the button on his visor that controlled his cable servo motor but it didn’t react. He smacked his visor hard and the cable pulled tight. Ezra came to a sudden stop and the force of it caused him to jerk his head forward and slam it hard against the rock wall. An explosion of fiery pain rocked him. His vision went black for a moment and then the world around him went blurry.
The cable started pulling him up in a controlled ascent and he moaned. Fuck this old janky equipment! One of these days I swear it’s going to be the death of me. Not like the Corporation gives two shits. Ezra reached his hand up and felt the bruised goose egg protruding from his forehead. He shook his head trying to regain his composure.
When he got back to the crystal formation he was working on Ezra exhaled deeply before turning the ignition key and firing his laser drill back up. With his equipment functioning as it was supposed to it didn’t take him long to finish drilling and loading the gems into the storage bot. While the servo motor whirred and the cable pulled him back up to the surface he ran his fingers through his dark hair. Is there any job in the system that would be bloody worse than busting my ass in these cursed mines?
Three red moons stared back at him beyond the vast barren wasteland when the cable pulled him up to the surface of Epsilon IV. He looked to the high-tech mining complex a few hundred yards above him. Hopefully, the other miners are adequately inebriated by now and I can slip in unnoticed. He ascended to the bottom of the facility and the hatch whirred to life opening up and pulling him into the empty staging area.
Thank the stars. Ezra was alone in the huge chamber full of unclipped cables. He unclasped his harness and took off all his gear placing it in his locker. He kicked his harness twice for almost murdering him earlier and headed off for a shower. The hot water in the showers was expended for the day and he shivered as the ice-cold water washed over him. Grease and muck swirled the drain like a miniature whirlpool. Ezra was in and out of the shower in the blink of an eye.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
One day it would be nice to sit and relax in a hot shower. I suppose a cold shower is worth avoiding those idiots berating me though. He dried off with a coarse patchy towel and threw on his standard-issue corporation monochromatic sweatpants, shoes, and a thermal shirt. He exited the locker room and dragged his feet on the diamond plated floor panels making his way reluctantly to the mess hall.
Ezra scanned his badge and the door slid open revealing the crowded cafeteria. Dirty looks shot his way and he did his best to ignore them. He grabbed a tray and a worker bot dropped two scoops of gelatinous green slop on his tray. Yum, my favorite, flavorless artificial vegetable medley. He picked up his tray and tried to head for the door to the living quarters. Ezra sighed when he looked up and saw the group of burly men standing in his path.
Mining unit overseer Coleman flashed a crooked smirk at Ezra. “Look boys, everyone’s favorite orphan finally decided to grace us with his presence.”
The other men cackled and a miner with a bushy red beard pointed a fat finger Ezra’s way. “What do you think Coleman, is today the day little Ezra finally gets canned? Last one to finish his work every day for what now, one hundred days in a row? We should put one of those prissy admins in the mines and see if they do a better job. My gut tells me they honestly might.”
Coleman put his hands on his hips. “Well, now I suppose it’s nice to have someone to make us all look good day in and day out. But it’s certainly crossed my mind to write the lazy orphan up and get him fired. He only needs one more bad mark and he’ll be terminated. Tell me, boy, if you lose this job where would you go? Maybe you could be a sewer tech in one of the big cities? Cleaning the shit off the streets would suit him, eh guys?” The men all roared with laughter.
Ezra gritted his teeth and kept his eyes on his feet. “Very funny as always Coleman, you know you might have a career in show business as a comedian. I don’t want any trouble though, I’m just gonna take my food and retire to my quarters. Harness almost killed me again today so I’m exhausted.” Ezra tried to walk past the men to the door.
Coleman stepped in front of him. “If you performed your job with any sort of efficiency we might not give you the old equipment. As it is just know you’ve been on thin ice for too long. You better watch yourself or you just may fall through. Come on boys lets let the orphan cry himself to sleep in his quarters. Who’s up for a few games of cards?”
Ezra sighed and walked to his room. Screw those guys. They think they’re so great just because they were born on Epsilon IV. They’re all trash and karma will catch up to them eventually. He scanned his badge at the door marked 88-S and it slid up. Ezra stepped into the tiny room and placed his tray on the small rusted metal desk and plopped down on his bed. He put his pillow over his face and screamed. I just don’t know how much more of this I can take.
After some time spent in the dark corners of his mind, he got up and sat down at his desk powering on his dated computer. Ezra’s stomach grumbled and he looked down at the slop on his tray and sighed. His computer booted up and a notification popped up, the monotone voice chimed, “One new message.”
New message, no one ever messages me. Maybe I finally got fired. Ezra touched the message icon and a letter popped up on the cracked screen.
Dear Ezra,
I’m so sorry for never reaching out to you before today. I promised your parents when they were alive that I would stay away from you. They always viewed me as a bad influence and didn’t want my hectic lifestyle to rub off on you. Though I wished to know you, I felt I owed it to your father to respect his wishes, he was a good man.
Unfortunately, circumstances have come up and I have fallen terminally ill. By the time you receive this letter, I will have passed on from this life. Don’t despair however, it’s been a fun ride and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. I have devoted my life to operating a traveling circus. We moved from world to world captivating new audiences with the strange and incredible.
It was never highly profitable and most of the time we barely scraped out a living, but every day was an adventure. I have seen worlds, beings, and things that would blow the minds of most men. I have provided a good life for freaks and outcasts from around the galaxy.
With my inevitable passing, I need to hand the torch and though I wish to respect your father's wishes, you are my only living relative. With that said I have something very big to ask of you—I would like you to take over as ringleader of my circus. It won’t be an easy job, but I can promise that every day will be an adventure, and you will see and do incredible things.
I understand this is a lot to ask of you, but if you accept my offer I have arranged a shuttle to take you to the capital of Epsilon IV tomorrow at sunrise. There you will meet Anastasia she was my right-hand woman, she will get you up to speed. I wish circumstances could have been different and we could’ve spent more time together. My heart tells me your father's blood pumps through your veins and that you are an incredible man.
With all the love in the galaxy,
Your loving uncle, Emyr Pendragon
----------------------------------------
[https://i.imgur.com/Z9CDc0V.gif]