“Hey, big guy. Want me to do my levitation trick?” I asked the big alien.

“Can you carry all of us?” He asked.

“If you can hold onto everyone and give me a single target.” I said with a smile.

“We worked this out yesterday.” The big alien held his arms straight out to the sides. “Grab on.”

Two of the men put their wrists over one of his hands and one moved to his elbow, then the other man and the woman did the same thing on his other arm. The four of them hung there and let the magnetic restraint hold them onto the big alien's arms.

I laughed at the simple solution and picked us both up, then floated us all down to where the supervisor usually stood. Now that we were there well before everyone, I took the opportunity to look around with Detect Presence. Almost directly across from the supervisor's spot was the equipment storage warehouse that had a bunch of things inside it. That wasn't the surprising thing, though. I had wondered why the guards or The Order members never seemed to bring crates back down after they were delivered, and now I knew why.

They were produced in an automated factory that was right in front of me.

Only ten feet of rock separated the main shaft from the factory, and as far as I could tell, there was an asteroid smelter embedded into the bedrock and conveyor belts continuously fed ores of all kinds into the factory. I didn't look inside too closely, since crushing rocks to get the ore and then melting them into a composite metal wasn't really that interesting.

Forming the metal into crates caught my eye because of the possibilities, except that it poured into molds and those couldn't be changed because of the limited space. It also told me that the crates themselves could be taken apart instead of cut apart like I had planned. I was still going to have to cut the damaged ones, especially if the supervisor tries to screw me over and gives me all the really bad ones. If he does, I'll have to take matters into my own hands.

Actually, I think I will anyway. I thought with a smile and we stood around and waited for twenty minutes for all of the others to catch up to us, including the supervisor.

“You're lucky you didn't take off with the laser drills without checking them out first.” The supervisor said and stood in his spot, then handed out all of the laser drills to the workers and left our group for last. The big alien took his, even though he knew I had a nice one for him already.

“We'll be back in two hours.” I said with a smile.

“Yeah, yeah.” The supervisor said and waved us off.

We walked to a spot just out of his sight and I took the laser drills and stored them, then we did the levitation trick and the big alien carried the others as we floated quickly down to the end of the shaft.

“We're going to have to dig this out soon.” The big alien said as I handed out the drills to the other four people.

“That's all right. I'm going to make you a digger like this, too.” I said and took out the giant laser drill.

“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!?” The woman yelled.

“What the hell is that?” “What the hell is that?” “What the hell is that?” Echoed back to us.

“Sorry about that.” The woman said and we all laughed.

“You go high and I'll go low.” I said to the big alien and waved at the untouched wall on the side of the shaft.

“Thanks.” The big alien said and I took out seven laser drills, my six and the big alien's issued one, then we did the same five minute pattern all along the wall for sixty feet, which took an hour. It was absolutely ridiculous how many crystals we found, one for every drill hole, which meant we were in a deep rich vein. The others didn't even bother trying to use their laser drills and all they did was gather the crystals and pack them in the crate.

We filled the crate in only half an hour and I stored all the rest, nearly a crate and a half full. With the extra crystals from the other times I worked, I could fill two crates, easy. I stored all the laser drills, except the the one the big alien had, because he was a little reluctant to let it go.

“You know if you let him see it, he's going to confiscate it.” The woman said and touched the big alien's arm.

“It's so nice.” The big guy said. “It's the first time I've had anything that actually fit my hands.”

“I know.” The woman said. “You can see it again in two days.”

“No.” The big alien said and hugged it. “I wanna keep it.”

I chuckled. “I can drop it off at our cubicle if you want.”

“Really?” He looked at me with bright eyes. Even though he was nine feet tall and looked like a pile of large rectangular blocks, in that moment, he looked like a kid that you didn't want to lie to.

“As long as you hide it if anyone comes around.”

The big alien looked at the giant laser drill one last time, then handed it to me. I stored it and the others hung on the big guy's arms after he sat down on the crate, then I activated the cargo handle and pulled them all the way back to the supervisor.

“I don't want to know how you're doing this.” The supervisor said as I dropped off the issued laser drills. “I dropped the broken crates you wanted in the hallway.”

“Great.” I said. “I'll be back to talk about something, too.”

The supervisor gave me a look that said he didn't particularly want to talk to me and I chuckled and walked away with the crate behind me.

“I can't believe no one has said anything about my wrists and ankles being free.” The woman said.

“I can't believe no one reported me for killing that idiot that broke our deal.” I said.

“No one wants to piss you off.” One of the guys said and I turned my head and looked at the woman as I gave her a smile.

“Yeah, I got it.” The woman said and smiled back.

I took them back to the spot where all the broken crates were and saw that they were the worst of the worst. Crushed, twisted, busted, holes everywhere, and I held in my sigh. I could still use some of them for structural support, so I stored the best ones and used Presence to crush the rest into a dozen softball sized metal balls and stored them.

“You don't have to keep trying to impress us, you know.” The woman said.

“I was just cleaning up the garbage.” I said with a chuckle and started walking back to the living area. “If I wanted to impress you, I'd tell you that someone is sneaking into your cubicle.”

“WHAT?!?”

“It's okay. I knocked him out.” I said and she stared at me like I was joking. “I'm not joking.”

“Hurry up and get us back there!” She said and I started to jog. They were all surprised when the crate didn't jostle or show any difference from when I was just walking.

“You can run with these things?” One of the guys asked.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

“People usually walk with them so they don't have to worry about the danger.” I said. “Imagine having a dozen of these things being pulled by people in the main shaft at different speeds. It would be a nightmare for everyone else to try to walk through.”

I dropped them off at the living area and followed the big alien over to his cubicle, then gave him the giant laser drill and a blanket to cover it. He didn't even look at me as he laid down on his huge bed and tucked it under his arm. I brought out a camera and took a picture, then ran away before he noticed. I grabbed the crate and took it all the way back to the start of the mine, popped on my restraints, then hobbled into view.

I dropped the crate off and waved to the guard there. She made several hand motions with her hands using guard signals and asked why I wasn't there for her patrol. I responded that I have to work every day and she stared at me with her mouth slightly open. I gave her another wave and hobbled back out of sight, stored my restraints, and ran all the way back to the supervisor.

“Can you let me into the broken parts warehouse again?” I asked.

“Can you fix another drill?” The supervisor asked.

“It depends on what's broken on it.”

The supervisor waved to the rack behind him. “Have a look.”

I used Detect Presence to look at it as I approached and then picked it up to look at the emitter. “Nope. The emitter's burned out, which means the regulator's probably blown, too.”

The supervisor sighed. “I guess there's no other drills left.”

“Not with the emitter in them, no. That seems to be the most common part to burn out.” I said. “You might want to think about ordering a shipment of them and the regulators. You're not going to have many drills left if they keep burning out like this.”

“I'll think about it.” The supervisor said.

“Don't think about it too long, because it'll probably be a couple months before the shipment gets here. If you're lucky, you won't have too many drills go offline by then.” I said. “Do you have the part numbers?”

The man sighed and I pointed to his datapad. He held it out to me and I typed in the two serial numbers for the emitters and the regulator circuit board. I had been sorely tempted to enter a serial code for different parts, because I wanted to try and order things without his knowledge. I decided that honesty was the best course of action this time and I was glad that I did. When the supervisor looked at the codes, I read his thoughts that he recognized that they were the right ones.

“Considering how many drills you have, I'd say a full shipment of a hundred each would be best.” I said. “Of course, if you can get me a proper tool set and fasteners, I wouldn't have to cobble together everything I fix.”

“That's not going to happen.” The supervisor said. “I showed The Order members the stats for your drill and they said it was impressive; but, they can't entrust others with your repaired pieces.”

“Hey, it's their loss, right?” I said. “So, can you let me into the warehouse or not?”

“I really shouldn't.” He said.

“How many crates of crystals are you short this week?” I asked.

“Two.” The man said.

“You know I can fill a crate fairly quickly, no matter who I work with.” I said and he reluctantly nodded. “What if... say... you had two empty crates dropped off in section six tomorrow?”

The supervisor thought about it for almost a full minute, then nodded. I followed him back to the right section and he took out the electronic key. I took out my electronics kit and covered it in Presence to put it into Stealth, then recorded the frequency that the key emitted to unlock the cargo hatch.

“Get in.” He said when the hatch dropped to the ground. “You're staying in there until shift ends.”

“Not a problem.” I said and stepped inside, entered Stealth myself, then ran back out and all the way back to the living area. I stopped and dropped the Stealth technique and casually walked into the living area and over to cubicle eight.

“Hey! I thought you were going to make me a place today!” Val said.

“I came to ask when the mandatory showers...” I started to say and then I felt someone enter my shortened detection range. “Never mind. This is probably them coming to escort us.” I said and turned towards the shaft and waited. Ten minutes later, the 'good' Order member and the female guard came into view and I put on my restraints.

“All right, let's go, people.” The Order member said and everyone that wasn't on shift that day formed two lines, side by side. We were marched all the way up to the start of the mine shaft and up to the junction, then went towards the administration building.

“You know, all you need to do is install a portable shower down in the living area, then you wouldn't have to go through all this trouble.” I commented to the female guard.

“It's not just to clean yourselves.” She said with a smile. “We inspect you, too.”

“Ah, contraband.” I said. “I'm not really sure how anyone here could have things brought in, though.”

“It could be stolen things, or improvised weapons, or a whole host of other items.” She said.

“Like special desserts?” I asked and she turned her head to look at the administrator waiting for us.

“She didn't share it.” The guard said, sadly.

“I'm sorry to hear that.” I said and she turned to look at me with wide eyes. “It really does taste a lot better when you share it. I have no idea why, though.”

“It's a chemical reaction between a person's saliva and another person's sweat.” The Order member said. “That's why you can only use your fingers to eat it.”

“You seemed to know a lot about it. Do you know know what it's called?” I asked.

“It's a really long and complicated alien name that I couldn't pronounce if my life depended on it.” He said with a smile. “We just call it Lover's Passion Fruit.”

My eyes widened because the Presence didn't waver.

He laughed at the surprise on my face. “I guess you've shared it with someone you aren't intimate with.” He said and managed to stifle his laughter. “It still tasted good, didn't it?”

“It was delicious.” I admitted, a tad reluctantly, since I knew I couldn't lie to him.

“Then there's something there.” The Order member said. “Whoever it was, they must have strong feelings for you.”

“Does it matter if they are good feelings or bad feelings?” I asked.

“Not even a little bit.” He said and couldn't help it and laughed again. “You could hate them with a passion and it still works... because it's still strong feelings.”

“It should be called the Fruit of Peace instead.” I said.

“That doesn't sound as poetic.”

“Or as embarrassing.” I countered and he laughed some more.

Val took a shower first and I was a little surprised that there were shutters on the viewing window.

“They weren't there the last time.” I said and nodded at them with my head.

“They were there, just not deployed.” The female guard said with a grin.

“You peeper!” I said loudly and she laughed.

“Next!” A male guard said and waved me into the booth.

“There you are!” The booth operator said.

“Long time no see.” I said and stripped off the old jumpsuit and tossed it in the trash. “Can I get an extra long shower for missing so many days?”

“I can give you an extra rinse, but that's it.”

“That's fine, as long as it's hot.” I said.

“Soap incoming.” She said with a grin.

I covered my hidden belt and bags of holding with solid Presence and then quickly lathered up. I covered most of the floor in Presence. “Okay.” I said and she hit the rinse button. I quickly scrubbed off the lather and let it fall into the drain while catching the water and making it invisible, then I stood there, dripping wet, and covered all of the floor with Presence. “Hit me.”

The booth operator stood there for a few more moments to stare at me, then she hit the rinse button again. I easily caught all the water and it turned out to be a significant amount. It was quite heavy as well, and I had to funnel it up and into two different bags of holding to hold it all. When the water finally cut off, I shook myself like a dog would to make her laugh.

“Get out here and dry off.” She said and held out a one foot wide and two foot long hand towel.

I absorbed the Presence from the floor and stepped out of the booth. “This might take a little while.” I said and took the small towel from her.

“We can wait.” She said and gave a slight head nod to the blackened viewing window on that side. I looked through it and saw the administrator as she stared at me. I knew she was thinking some pretty racy thoughts, so I figured I'd put on a little show for her. I turned around and took the little towel by the ends and twisted it behind my back. I wiggled my butt as I pulled the towel from side to side and down my back as I dried it off, then I did my butt cheeks.

Of course, I had to bend over a little to make sure I dried it off well, then I did my thighs. I actually heard her gasp when I bent over to dry my knees. Well, it might have been the booth operator, since it was pretty loud. I stood up straight and then turned around to dry off my chest, my abdomen, then my private part. Both women stared at it like it was hypnotizing them. I used Presence to push the water off of my feet and I held out the tiny towel to the booth operator.

She caught her breath when she took it and felt how warm it was. She quickly put her face into it and took a deep breath, out of sight of the viewing window of course, then she carefully hung it on the back of her chair. She grabbed a new jumpsuit for me and I put it on.

“Thank you.” I said and she looked at me with surprise on her face. I started to lean in close and a buzzer sounded.

“No personal contact.” A harsh woman's voice said.

“I was only going to whisper to her.” I said and looked at the booth operator. “Maybe next time.”

“We still can't touch.” She said.

I formed an invisible Presence Hand to touch her cheek and she caught her breath.

“Next!” A male guard said and she had to go back to her duties. I walked out the other way to join up with the other clean people and neither of us mentioned the side door opening and the towel going missing.

“You're CLEAN!” Val yelled and hugged me.

“Yes, it's such a rare thing.” I said and she laughed.

“I want to make you dirty again.” Val said.

“I have to finish your place before we can do that. I also need to repair some more digging machines. Just one is not going to be good enough.”

“Are you really going to wait for us all to march back?” Val asked.

“I'm not supposed to show everyone that I can take these restraints off.” I said and she sighed. “Oh, all right.” I said and looked at the female guard and The Order member. “Close your eyes for a second.”

When the both of them blinked, I covered myself in the Stealth technique and disappeared from their sight and perception. I took several silent steps and the both of them looked where I used to be. I stored the restraints and then took off running. I had to get back to work.