Below, you’ll find Chapter Eight of the Life of a Miner short story. If you’re interested in reading the chapters as they’re released, please subscribed to my newsletter.
artwork by Roberto Gabriel Garcia
Chapter 8 – Weight of Dishonesty
“Priloe, could you come out here?” Big Pete called over the comm.
It was mid-way through the morning and Priloe was working on his studies. The tenor of Pete’s voice was one he was starting to recognize and his mind spun through the jobs he’d had in the last few days, trying to anticipate what he might have forgotten. He looked to Silver for acknowledgement.
“Go ahead,” she agreed.
Adrenaline soured his stomach as he made his way through to the station’s topside where Big Pete was working. He suddenly regretted his decision to accompany the Licht boys to the Oberrhein claim. He had a good thing going with the Hoffens and hoped that trip hadn’t put his future at risk.
“We’ve some damage on the sled,” Pete was bent over, inspecting the leg Priloe had dragged along the asteroid when chasing the Licht boys. “Care to explain what happened here? This is pretty careless; looks like you dragged it for a distance.”
Priloe knew there was only one correct approach with Pete and that was to tell the truth. Unfortunately, he’d have to sell out his new and only friends, Ulran and Merley, to accomplish that. He was pinched between what he knew was right to do and being a rat. If it was his old slum boss, Sephre, he wouldn’t hesitate, but Big Pete and Silver had treated him like family.
“Well?” Pete pushed, looking at Priloe.
“It’s my fault,” Priloe said. “I got the leg into the ground and couldn’t pull up. I was moving too fast; I guess I panicked.”
“And, you didn’t want to say something about it? Priloe, I thought we had an understanding.” Big Pete stood and looked down at the much smaller boy. “I have to say, I’m disappointed. This is several hundred credits of damage and I might not have seen it. If this leg had failed at the wrong time, someone could have been hurt.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Hoffen,” Priloe said. “I should have told you.”
“Darn right, you should have. I need to know I can trust you, Priloe. Trust is what keeps us alive on a mining claim,” he said.
“I’m really sorry,” Priloe replied.
“Sorry doesn’t always fix everything,” Pete pushed. “If someone had been hurt, you’d have been responsible.”
Priloe didn’t have an answer and knew from experience, with much worse people than Big Pete, that remaining quiet was often the only answer. He’d been caught red-handed and shaded the truth to one of the few people he respected. Shame burned his cheeks.
“Remove this leg and take it to the shop,” Pete said. “We don’t have a replacement for that ankle, so you’ll need to pull it apart and manufacture the broken pieces. And you’ll do that on your free time. Now, report back to Silver and don’t let me catch your studies slipping.”
“Yes sir,” Priloe replied contritely.
***
“Oh man, it sounds like Pete came down on you hard,” Merley said over the comm channel the boys had set up. Priloe was lying in his bunk, exhausted from the day’s work. On top of his normal duties, he’d also been asked to service the station’s septic systems, something he had no experience with. But, with the help of his AI, he was able to figured it out.
“Did you really empty a septic cartridge on your suit?” Ulran asked.
“Just my boots,” Priloe answered.
“Big Pete must have really been pissed,” Merley answered.
Priloe wanted to talk about anything except his missteps in the septic systems. It was time to change the subject. “Did you guys go out to the claim today?”
“Yup. The supplies we left last time hadn’t been touched, but we dropped some more, just in case,” Merley answered.
“I put a meal bar and water pouch on top this time, so he could see it,” Ulran said. “We’re planning to go out day after tomorrow. Think you can get free?”
“I don’t know. Big Pete was pretty mad,” Priloe said.
“Play it cool,” Merley said. “Adults don’t stay mad for long. Act all quiet again tomorrow and the next day. Silver will think Pete’s past punishing you and we’ll get Mom to invite you over for the weekend. Trust me, it’ll work.”
“I don’t feel right manipulating Big Pete and Silver,” Priloe said. “We should tell them what’s going on.”
“First, you’re not manipulating them. They want you to do the punishment and learn your lesson. Sounds like you have. Second, we can’t say anything; my dad would kill us,” Merley reiterated. “Besides, we don’t know if he’s still there. The stuff we left last time hadn’t been touched.”
“What if he’s dead because we didn’t say anything?” Ulran asked.
“What if he’s gone and Dad goes on a tear because we’re over at the Oberrhein claim,” Merley said. “Don’t be such a drama queen.”
Priloe chuckled at the sounds of the ensuing furball, as the avatars of the Licht boys entered an all-too-familiar fighting sequence.
***
“Annalise called this morning,” Silver announced at breakfast. “She wanted to know if Priloe could visit this weekend.”
“I don’t know,” Big Pete answered. “Do you think you can be more responsible with my equipment, Priloe?”
Silver put her hand on Priloe’s arm and gave her husband a look. “Pete, don’t you think you’ve made your point?”
“Have I?” Pete looked at Priloe directly. “Tell me, Priloe, what have you learned?”
“Don’t hide it when I break something,” Priloe replied. He knew that Pete was looking for something more, but his guilt at hiding their discovery on the Oberrhein claim was weighing heavily on him. “People might get hurt otherwise.”
“Trust, Priloe,” Pete answered. “If we can’t trust each other, what’s the point? I have to be able to rely on you. How would you have felt if Silver had gotten hurt because you didn’t want to admit to damaging that leg?”
“Pete … that’s not fair,” Silver interrupted.
“Priloe?” Pete asked, ignoring her.
“I’d have felt bad,” Priloe replied, dropping his head. “I didn’t want to let you down.”
“But, I found it anyway,” Pete said. “And, I knew just who’d done it. Look Priloe, I understand that things happen. People make mistakes. Take responsibility for yours and to hell with what anyone else thinks. A man’s character is defined by his integrity.”
“I understand,” Priloe answered.
“Integrity is a daily struggle,” Pete continued. “It’s all about the small decisions we make. I want you to think about that.”
Priloe nodded.
“And, I appreciate that you accepted your punishment without complaint.”
“I’ll let Annalise know you’ll be coming over after work,” Silver said.
Priloe considered the events and just how correctly Merley had predicted the outcome. The thing was, he really did feel bad for damaging the sled and he wanted to be that man of integrity Pete was talking about. It made his secret with Ulran and Merley just that much harder to keep.
