Alien Inferno's Fall E-Book

Clara Carija

• Herausgeber: Titan Books
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

A gargantuan, horseshoe-shaped ship appears over the mining planet Shānmén, unleashing a black rain of death that creates Xenomorph-like monsters worse than the darkest of nightmares.As war rages among the colonies, a huge ship appears over the UPP mining planet Shānmén, unleashing a black rain of death that yields hideous transformations.Monstrous creatures swarm the colony, and rescue is too far away to arrive in time. The survivors are forced to seek shelter in the labyrinth of tunnels deep beneath the surface. Already the grave to so many, these shafts may become the final resting place for all who remain.Hope appears in the form of the vessel Righteous Fury. It carries the Jackals—an elite mix of Colonial Marines led by Zula Hendricks. Faced with a horde of grotesque mutations, the Jackals seek to rescue the few survivors from the depths of the planet. But have they arrived too late?BONUS FEATURE: An exclusive new game scenario based on the massively popular, award-winning Alien RPG from Free League Publishing!

Leseprobe

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Leave us a Review

Copyright

Dedication

Part I City of Woe

  1 Hard Signs

  2 Rumbles Above

  3 Outside The Lines

  4 Downward Circumstance

  5 First Steps

  6 Hidden Paths

  7 Tangled Opportunity

  8 Svarog Sounds

  9 Chances and Rust

10 Coffee and Connections

Part II Reign in Hell

11 Dark Rain

12 A Closed Door

13 Take Down

14 Tough Nut

15 Wagon Circle

16 Earth Cradle

17 Furious Burn

18 Mother’s Intuition

19 First Drop

Part III Hell is Empty

20 Rescue Interrupted

21 A Daughter’s Restoration

22 Behind The Door

23 Risking A Drop

24 Hold Them Tight

25 Penitent

26 The Waiting Game

27 Shadow Daughter

28 Decreasing Circles

29 Nightmare of Wings

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

About the Authors

THE COMPLETE ALIEN™ LIBRARY FROM TITAN BOOKS

The Official Movie Novelizations

by Alan Dean Foster

Alien, Aliens™, Alien 3, Alien: Covenant,Alien: Covenant Origins

Alien: Resurrection by A.C. Crispin

Alien 3: The Unproduced Screenplayby William Gibson & Pat Cadigan

Alien

Out of the Shadows by Tim Lebbon

Sea of Sorrows by James A. Moore

River of Pain by Christopher Golden

The Cold Forge by Alex White

Isolation by Keith R.A. DeCandido

Prototype by Tim Waggoner

Into Charybdis by Alex White

Colony War by David Barnett

Inferno’s Fall by Philippa Ballantine

Enemy of My Enemy by Mary SanGiovanni

The Rage War

by Tim Lebbon

Predator™: Incursion, Alien: Invasion

Alien vs. Predator™: Armageddon

Aliens

Bug Hunt edited by Jonathan Maberry

Phalanx by Scott Sigler

Infiltrator by Weston Ochse

Vasquez by V. Castro

The Complete Aliens Omnibus

Volumes 1–7

Aliens vs. Predators

Ultimate Prey edited by Jonathan Maberry & Bryan Thomas Schmidt

Rift War by Weston Ochse & Yvonne Navarro

The Complete Aliens vs. Predator Omnibus by Steve Perry & S.D. Perry

Predator

If It Bleeds edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt

The Predator by Christopher Golden & Mark Morris

The Predator: Hunters and Hunted by James A. Moore

Stalking Shadows by James A. Moore & Mark Morris

Eyes of the Demon edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt

The Complete Predator Omnibus by Nathan Archer & Sandy Scofield

Non-Fiction

AVP: Alien vs. Predator

by Alec Gillis & Tom Woodruff, Jr.

Aliens vs. Predator Requiem:

Inside The Monster Shop

by Alec Gillis & Tom Woodruff, Jr.

Alien: The Illustrated Story

by Archie Goodwin & Walter Simonson

The Art of Alien: Isolation by Andy McVittie

Alien: The Archive

Alien: The Weyland-Yutani Report

by S.D. Perry

Aliens: The Set Photography

by Simon Ward

Alien: The Coloring Book

The Art and Making of Alien: Covenant

by Simon Ward

Alien Covenant: David’s Drawings

by Dane Hallett & Matt Hatton

The Predator: The Art and Making of the Film by James Nolan

The Making of Alien by J.W. Rinzler

Alien: The Blueprints by Graham Langridge

Alien: 40 Years 40 Artists

Alien: The Official Cookbook

by Chris-Rachael Oseland

Aliens: Artbook by Printed In Blood

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ALIEN™: INFERNO’S FALL

Print edition ISBN: 9781789099942

E-book edition ISBN: 9781789099980

Published by Titan Books

A division of Titan Publishing Group Ltd

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First edition: July 2022

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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead (except for satirical purposes), is entirely coincidental.

© 2022 20th Century Studios.

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P  A  R  T     I

C  I  T  Y    O  F   W  O  E

1

H A R D   S I G N S

The rhythmic scream of the klaxon woke Toru McClintock-Riley from a dead sleep. She lurched out of her cot, bleary-eyed, bones and muscles aching from a twelve-hour shift down the Svarog mine.

Getting out of bed was usually a process, a series of stretches to convince her fifty-year-old body to comply. Yet outside, in other tents, sleep-deprived miners scrambled to alert. As she wiped her eyes and took an assessment of her family’s assigned geodome, she realized with a stomach-clenching lurch she was the only one there.

Toru forgot all her aches and pains as she shoved on her boots and pressed away any immediate panic. Where were her loved ones? They’d only been on Shānmén a couple of weeks, but that howling siren might be for them. She barreled out of the geodome to join the rush of sweaty, confused miners heading to Shaft Two.

The heat and humidity of the planet usually made her grumble and long for the cool temperatures below. This morning Toru didn’t even notice it, as she joined the mass of workers hustling to see what help they might offer.

Around her, miners and staff streamed out of geodomes like a nest of disturbed ants. They came from everywhere—from maintenance to the offices. Pumping her arms, gasping in the thick air, her feet leaden in her boots, Toru was swept along with the crowd.

In the chaos they passed the supply dome, and she caught her daughter’s voice calling out. Toru dodged out of the flow and jostle.

Lena Waipapa-Riley’s height and neatly braided dark hair was unmistakable. Toru let out a sob of relief. Her daughter carried a box of foil-wrapped ammonium nitrate fuel oil for their deep assault in Shaft One.

Nearby, their synthetic, Carter, placed explosive charges in a locked box onto the bed of the mine utility vehicle parked outside. His crafted, handsome face reflected concern, but he could not experience the visceral fear of a human worker.

Lena and her family of miners had arrived a short time before, setting up equipment and planning their assault on the deeper seams. Now, all that work would have to wait. The alarm meant that harvesting Eitr had once again claimed more lives. This was the dread the miners shared every day.

While the siren wailed on, Toru felt the first rumble. The echo of an explosion from beneath rose through her feet, shook her gut, and brought everything into sharp focus.

Carter’s eyes fluttered blankly for an instant as he tapped into the mine’s synthetic network. Still in silent communion with other AI, he turned unseeing toward the family and voiced the words that each of the seasoned miners already understood, deep in their bones.

“That was an explosion in Shaft Two.” It wasn’t in the area the Combine assigned them to work, but miners from Earth to the Weyland Isles still held to the code. When something went bad, everyone ran toward the problem—not away. Two other members of their family company, known collectively as the Knot, sat in the MUV’s cab, focusing their attention on Toru, waiting for her orders.

Bianca Ting-Riley—once married to Toru’s oldest son Oliver, now widowed—perched in the driver’s seat, her hard hat in place. The only member of the Knot to have military experience, she’d plied her trade for fifteen years as a sharpshooter for the Union of Progressive Peoples. Though it had been a huge part of her life, she never talked about those experiences.

Nathan Bennetts-Riley, Toru’s nephew, didn’t catch on as quickly as Bianca did, but when she handed him his hard hat, he jammed it on, too.

On instinct, Toru calculated where the other members of her team should be in relation to this new threat. Two Knot members were absent. Her daughter, Jīn Huā Deng, worked in comms—that section had been a mess when they arrived—while their minerals specialist, her cousin’s child Pinar Osman-Riley, would be on her way up from Shaft One. That special protective suit of hers could be damn useful.

Toru, Lena, and even Carter grabbed hard hats off the seats of the MUV and piled into the bed. It would be a bumpy ride, but they would get there first. Bianca punched the accelerator as far down as it would go.

Clever pilot that she was, she managed to not collect any concerned miners on the slope toward the tunnel head. She threaded the way with stunning accuracy among the half-dozen domes between them and Shaft Two.

Toru’s pulse thundered in her head. The hot air blasted her eyes and the MUV wobbled under them, but what lay ahead would be far worse. The group whipped past other miners, some still dirty from their last twelve-hour shift, many more awkwardly stuffing themselves into their overalls. Every single person, however, wore the same hardened expression.

Ahead of the humans were the synthetic reinforcements. Several Davids, still sporting their aprons from the cafeteria, joined a stream of Working Joes who’d been shifting supplies at the rear of the depot.

By the time Toru and her family reached the huge dome covering the shaft head, a small crowd of miners already gathered at the entrance. They helped other workers stagger out of the cage and onto the deck.

Dropping off the back of the MUV, Toru pushed through the as-yet thin crowd.

Petro Kozak, the mine manager, was absent. That didn’t surprise her. The minute she’d met him, she identified what kind of creature he was. Company all the way, with an eye on the bottom line, and never on safety.

The Jùtóu Combine managed an entire line of these tenuous facilities, with little to no oversight. Mine managers, far from central headquarters, liked to strip everything to bare bones, doing a little creative bookkeeping and pocketing the difference. Her first look at the Svarog mine had told her that Kozak took full advantage of the distance.

“Make a hole,” Toru shouted, her voice pitched to cut through the indistinct murmur.

“Clear the way!” Lena joined in, forcing her way through the press of concerned workers. “Where’s the safety manager, for fuck’s sake?”

Toru’s eyes raked through the dirty, upset, and growing crowd. She spotted the narrow form of Lester Whittaker with his back up against the rusted metal of the hoist. When Lena’s words reached him, he became a cornered animal desperate for an escape, but it was too late. She strode over to talk to him, as Toru shouldered her way toward the cage.

Slumped-over miners littered the entrance like an oil painting of hell, while Working Joe units moved in unison to reach them. They brought stretchers, and Toru joined the effort to muscle the injured and suffering onto them. The synthetics’ efficiency was a comfort in moments like these.

Arriving miners wanting to help their comrades dawdled at the mine head, accomplishing nothing but impeding aid. Since Whittaker seemed of negative use, Toru stepped into the gap. She’d worked many mines as safety manager in her younger days. This wasn’t her first explosion, and she knew the drill.

“Bianca, Nathan, help those Davids, get people back!” The last thing the situation needed was well-meaning miners crowding onto the deck—or worse, into the cage. Getting down on one knee, she grabbed the hand of the nearest fallen miner.

The Knot hadn’t been around long enough to form many bonds with the miners who were already working Svarog’s two deep shafts, but she’d met Mateo Moore on their first day. He’d introduced himself—which was unusual from the stoic types who chose mining as a profession—and made an impression on her with his youth and beaming smile.

“Mateo,” she said, “what happened? What did you see?”

His head of curling dark hair flicked her way, but his lips wore no smile. Instead, they stretched tight around his teeth, like a dog baring them in fear.

“Monsters, mi doe, monsters everywhere...” He let out a scream that bounced around the deck area, eliciting concerned shouts from the miners trying to see what happened. Those of his comrades who were still conscious howled, too.

“The teeth... the shadows with teeth...” the one next to him burbled.

No smell came up the shaft, but these reactions confirmed the situation. It had to be whitedamp. A thin line of smoke oozed like some charmed snake from below ground. Toru patted Matteo’s hand and thanked the Earth Mother that none of her family were in Shaft Two.

“Move these men off the deck,” she said, grabbing the front of Mateo’s stretcher and leading the way.

Back in the coal mines of Earth, whitedamp was a deadly problem, and Eitr ran in seams that yielded that same risk. Still, this needn’t have happened.

As the Joes and the miners pulled the injured back off the deck and laid them on the bare soil, Toru patted the young man down. He’d lost not only his hard hat but also the carbon monoxide sensor, which should be attached to the shoulder of his overalls.

“Carter,” Toru yelled over her shoulder.

The synthetic, taller than either the Davids or Joes, strode across to her.

“Yes, Toru?”

“Bring me Whittaker, now!”

Carter turned and left, then returned a moment later, his hand locked on the arm of the safety manager. A red-faced Lena followed.

Whittaker’s eyes were wide. Kozak had picked someone inexperienced—that much was obvious. Both managers must have hoped the dice would roll their way, and no one would have to deal with an accident of this scope. In Toru’s experience, though, mismanagement and skimping on safety always led to disaster.

“Where’s his CO sensor?” She pointed down to Mateo.

The look Toru got in return told her everything, and the pit in her stomach grew hot with kindled anger.

“That’s... that’s not in the budget,” Whittaker stammered. “We have sensors in the tunnels, so we didn’t need...”

Toru locked her fingers around the stretcher, keeping her hands from reaching for his neck. As a cog in the machine, he wasn’t worth wasting Combine points.

“Those fixed sensors fail when there’s this much ground water,” she choked out. “I’ve just been here a few weeks and I damn well know that!”

Whittaker’s face twisted in fear. The miners clustered around them overheard that conversation. The safety manager might be a fool, but he knew the history of people in his position. From the earliest days of mining, workers dealt with shoddy management in their own way.

Fortunately for Whittaker, a security team arrived. Armed with newly issued PPZ-49 submachine guns—lovingly known as ‘strike breakers’—standard issue 3-D printed frontier revolvers, and the brand new EVI-87 Zvezda plasma rifle, they rolled up on the shaft head. Armed like that, they weren’t there to assist in rescue efforts.

The chief of security, a square block of a man named Jerome Galen, scanned the confusion.

“Need some help there, Whittaker?”

Relief washed over the safety manager’s face. He glanced back at Toru, sporting a smirk in response.

“I think we’re good, Galen. Just a health and safety issue.”

The dark expressions on the miners grew more fixed. They might not take their frustrations and anger out on the management right now, but they would not forget. Accidents happened... even to those in high places.

Toru grasped the moment; nothing was to be gained by fighting. Brushing Whittaker aside, she shot Galen a glance.

“We’re handling it. Maybe just give us some room?”

The chief’s jaw clenched for a moment, but he jerked his head to his troops, and they backed off to the edge of the crowd. Toru gestured to the Knot. They closed in around her, forming a barrier to avoid being overheard by the brass.

“Carter,” she said, touching his hand, “see if any of the PDTs have activated.”

His eyes flickered blankly again, signaling another silent communion with the synthetic network.

“I am reading five fatalities ready for body retrieval.”

Toru took a breath. Personal data transmitters switched on when a worker flatlined—another cost-cutting measure. The batteries lasted longer this way. Five deaths were terrible, but less than she’d feared. Still, if they didn’t act fast, there would be more.

“Are you instructing me to arrange a rescue mission?” Carter asked. Sometimes it was easy to forget he wasn’t human, but his calm expression in this moment reminded her. Toru gave him a curt nod.

“Whittaker’s no use, and we can’t have miners racing down there. Who knows how shitty the emergency equipment is?”

Bianca let out a snort. “I wouldn’t bloody trust it.”

“I can go with them, Auntie.” Pinar approached from Shaft One. The sunlight gleamed on her state-of-the-art protective suit. Planetary atmosphere of any kind would bring on a cascade of fatal symptoms in her body, but Pinar fought hard to live a productive life in the Knot. Her knowledge of Eitr surpassed the monetary savings of leaving her behind. Her suit, which she affectionally called her “shell”, had cost a lot for the family to buy. It would be invaluable in this situation. She’d be able to assess the danger from the Eitr, while Carter could report on the mine’s structural damage.

Loathe as Toru was to risk the Knot’s own in an unstable mine, it was the life they’d all chosen. The material of Pinar’s suit was harder and more durable than any safety equipment Kozak had bothered to pay for. So Toru nodded.

“Just stick close to the synthetics... No following any seams this time. Got it?”

“No following anything shiny, I promise.” Behind the sheen of polycarbonate plastic, Pinar grinned a little.

Medical teams finally arrived from the camp. Toru and Carter examined the integrity of the cage. After a scan, the synthetic declared the metal free of defects and in full working order. Much to their relief, whatever the size of the explosion below ground, it hadn’t weakened the hoist or the cage.

“I’ll co-ordinate their search pattern through the synthetic network,” Carter said. With a smile of reassurance, he placed his hand over Toru’s and gave it a squeeze. Toru tried very hard not to glance over her shoulder. She trusted Carter but wouldn’t want anyone to notice. They didn’t need any ‘microwave fucker’ commentary.

“Take care of Pinar.”

“The Knot comes first,” he said. “I understand your directives.” His eyes drifted off to the right for a split second. “The miner count stands at thirty, minus the twelve on the surface.”

It was the one thing that miners were always sure to do. They might forget their lunch, but they’d never forget to record their shifts. Every miner punched in or they didn’t get paid for their work. It made for a precise roster of who was below.

Outside, the remaining miners reached the entrance. They’d moved most of the injured, but the new arrivals still risked clogging the way. Galen’s security forces stood around doing nothing—as long as no one threatened violence. They could have helped.

They didn’t.

Lena let out a high-pitched whistle. “Let the Davids and the Joes through, you fucking morons,” she bellowed. “They’ve got rescuing to do.”

Toru wondered if they’d ever done any kind of emergency drill. Local mudlickers died a lot cheaper than even indentured workers. At least her family were skilled employees: the Combine cared more about whether they lived or died. Valuable investments were not to be squandered.

In her time, Toru had dealt with plenty of Working Joes on mines spread throughout the Weyland Isles. The Davids, with their human-presenting faces, were a new wrinkle.

Toru was fine with synthetics—her daughters might have said toofine—but these Davids weren’t standard issue for anything. Their makers, Weyland-Yutani, had recalled all seven models many years ago. These six units, turning up for rescue duty, should have been composted with the rest.

The recall wasn’t compulsory, and the official memo had said they were “fixed” and “fully compliant.” Just a way for the company to deny responsibility if they went rogue and murdered a bunch of folks.

The company line. That made it bullshit.

Kozak must have picked these up on the black market. It wasn’t illegal, but it skirted close to the edge of unacceptable. Toru would have much rather seen the blank stock standard, statue-like faces of the Working Joes, rather than the human—yet somehow more eerie—Davids. Still, they were in working order, and the toxic gases below would mean nothing to them.

Carter, skilled in reading the subtle flickers of her face, shot the Davids an appraising glance.

“I will be in full control. Have no fear.”

The corner of her mouth quirked for a second. “Don’t be afraid to bash in their heads if you need to. The Combine can bill me.”

He nodded.

“Go.” The miners trapped below didn’t have time for her reservations. “First find the folks that Medical can save. Get the other synthetics to locate and remove them.” She paused, then added, “The emergency scrubbers are on the schematics, I hope?”

“Indeed, but I cannot speak to their condition.”

She chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment. “Knowing the state of the rest of the mine, I’ll be grateful if they’re there at all.”

She motioned at Nathan and Bianca, who helped make a path for the synthetics. Though the resident workers grumbled and swore, they also recognized the experience of the Knot. Contractors sent by the Combine, they held more sway than Kozak did, even with the short time they’d been in residence. Reflected on the faces was concern for their comrades. Every one of them knew it was simple luck that they hadn’t been on that shift.

She addressed the synthetics. “Follow my unit, Carter, below. Listen to his instructions as you would mine.” Synthetic networks could become twitchy unless there was some kind of human direction. She didn’t want them fritzing out.

Carter’s eyes blinked for a moment as he hooked into the network to take the lead. Toru liked to keep him separate from Combine bullshit, but this was an emergency so she made an exception. She hoped he wouldn’t pick up any viruses.

“Where the fuck is the mine manager?” The androids and Pinar loaded into the cage to begin their descent. Toru shielded her eyes from the spotlights, looking through the crowd for any sign of Kozak. “He should be here by now...”

Huddled at the deck entrance, the miners grumbled louder.

“New Luhansk,” Nathan informed her with a jerk of his head. Her nephew showed an enviable ability to slot into any new situation. He’d gathered gossip while the Knot was still in orbit. “He’s set up his family in a pretty little house down there.”

The crowd shifted, and Toru sensed a tipping point. Tragedy often set off resentment: sometimes more. Gooseneck George, the oldest miner on site, shared a knowing look with her as he wiped sweat from his eyes. Like Toru, he knew the dangers. She’d lived through five mine riots, and as much as she understood the anger, she didn’t want to deal with another such uprising.

Spotting Jīn Huā’s dark head of hair among the helmets of the miners, Toru gestured her over. Jīn Huā’s Chinese father grew up with one of Toru’s nieces in Melbourne. Toru might not have birthed her, but in the way of her family, that meant nothing. The Knot adopted her before the attack on Canberra, when things became a nightmare in Australia. Jīn Huā took that kindness and passed it on to the two children she had adopted.

Also, she was a hell of a comms cipher.

Toru wiggled her way through the burly miners to reach the older woman.

“Get back to the office and locate Kozak... fast as you can.”

“Yes, Ma.” Then she was away, melting into the crowd. She’d been some kind of high-powered executive in Australia before the Great Rebellion against the Three World Empire, yet she never challenged the older woman’s leadership. Another reason Toru was glad she’d picked her for this mission.

“Bianca, take a few Joes, and maybe a David, over to the vehicle pool. Send a couple of trucks down the decline tunnel. If the cave-in hasn’t taken it out, it’ll be a good way to get the dead and injured to the surface.” Toru stepped out from the deck and took some long, deep breaths.

The rest of the miners lingered, coagulating in small groups, trying to decipher what had happened. Toru didn’t need to listen to their conversations. Only the presence of the armed security guards contained that simmering resentment.

Medics and Joes had already taken six workers to the medical dome, but another three were still waiting to be transported. Friends crouched next to them, trying to offer them some comfort. All three screamed, or sobbed, or moaned.

“Teeth... fuckme... the teeth.”

“They’re in the walls!”

Toru pulled her grey braids from the sweat gathered at her neck. Carbon monoxide poisoning was a beast, and the effects were terrifying. Time would help them escape its clutches—she hoped.

The personal device crackled on her wrist, and Jīn Huā’s voice echoed up from it, brittle and angry.

“He’s here, Ma. And he’s pissed.”

Toru knew who Kozak’s target would be. She squeezed her hands into fists, trying to do that box technique breathing Lena had attempted to teach her. At least it brought oxygen to her brain, even if it didn’t calm her all the way down.

She flicked the channel open. “I’m on my way. Tell him it’s best not to step outside that dome right now. Miners are roaming around looking for some kind of payback.”

As Toru set off, she tried to tell herself she wasn’t one of them.

2

R U M B L E S   A B O V E

Kozak kept her waiting for an hour outside his office. Toru waited patiently until her wrist-pd beeped, then got to her feet and opened the manager’s door. If she’d been younger, she would have kicked it, so it was a kind of restraint on her part.

Luckily for Kozak, sitting on the other side of his spotlessly clean desk, she was mother and grandmother. Time and responsibility had made her wiser—or at least a little more considered in her anger.

Petro Kozak glanced up, and then out the plastic window into Operations, where Security Chief Jerome Galen sat talking to Jīn Huā—or more probably flirting.

Security had their own geodome nearby, filled with the latest weaponry from Hyperdyne. The company’s zero-G weapons factory, Seneca, orbited the northern hemisphere, which meant Jerome got all the goodies he wanted. He looked like the type who would be itching for an excuse to use them. Probably hoped today was the day.

Toru was determined she wouldn’t give him what he wanted.

Chief Galen’s closeness made Kozak confident. He dropped his gaze back to the computer screen and tapped away. It was almost as if the Shaft Two accident hadn’t just happened. The disrespect didn’t bother her—she’d experienced plenty of that—but callous disregard wound her up.

“Already covering your ass?”

She stood in front of his desk, placing her clenched fists on it, leaning down. He wouldn’t ignore that signal.

Sure enough, Kozak’s gaze flickered to her hands, then back up to her eyes. His pale features squeezed into something sour.

“Riley, I don’t know what you want me to say. Mining Eitr is a dangerous business. I feel for those guys, but they get paid just like the rest of us.”

Toru smiled, instead of reaching across the desk and smashing his face into it.

“The synthetics are still down there pulling miners out,” she said, “and you’re up here, what? Writing a report? I guess you already know the results, huh?”

The small, pale man with the company haircut, Kozak had to be spending his days watching the clock until he gathered enough seniority to get away from mining. Middle managers always had a healthy sense of place, clawing their way to the top while fighting off those beneath them. It made them hell to deal with. He probably had a connection somewhere in the Jùtóu Combine’s corporate structure, which he’d thought would secure him a better position.

Toru read bitterness in every line of his body.

His attitude turned from vague discomfort to instant outrage. Toru had his attention. His eyes darted over her dirty overalls, her grey braided hair, the multitudinous wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. A miner who’d survived to her age and didn’t back down probably confused him, and she took great pleasure in it.

“You people”—he chewed over those words—“signed on as indentured workers for the Combine—whileI’m the boss here. Let me tell you something, Riley: Svarog runs on a razor-thin margin, and production will be cut in half until we can get Two operational again. I need to get in front of this... you should know that.”

“What I know,” Toru said through her teeth, “is that the Combine lets you keep the difference between what they supply for running this place and what you actually pay. I know that any expenses you can cut go straight into your pocket. And I know that it cost people their lives today.”

They glared at each other, but he didn’t voice the uncomfortable truth. Human lives meant less than nothing to the Combine. Hell, synthetics were more expensive.

“Accidents happen,” he said, then took a breath. “Mining isn’t the safest occupation.” He drawled out the words, like giving them proper air was a bother.

“It’s McClintock-Riley,” she said. “And I am fully aware of that. I’ve been in mines since I grew tits. Been indentured to the Combine since then, too.”

His eyes flickered down to her chest, and then back up—apparently didn’t like what he saw. They’d been pretty fine, once, Toru reminded herself.

“What I’m saying is,” she continued, “you should belly up and take better care of One, or the Combine will shut Svarog down real quick.” Toru leaned a fraction closer to him, though it brought a twinge to her back. “You might think ’cos we’re indentured, the Combine doesn’t care about me and mine—but you’d be wrong. We’re their experts in deep shafts and high value minerals. After what happened today, one word from me, and you’re out on your ear.” Her gaze flickered to the right-hand wall, and the map of Shaft One pinned there. “You know, if we don’t sink that shaft deeper, strike Eitr, it might happen anyway.”

His jaw clenched at that inescapable truth. They’d tapped what had been the easiest to mine, which forced them to go deeper into more dangerous territory. The mineral might be toxic and hard to find, but it also guaranteed a future for Toru’s loved ones.

Seven sisters and one brother had set out into space, and they’d made themselves and their family invaluable—even if the Jùtóu Combine might not quite grasp what they considered family. It was why they’d formed the company and called it the Knot. Corporations were understood. Family was more nebulous. That inability to understand the tightness formed by connections of blood and caring made people like Kozak angry.

Ignorance often did.

“Very sure of yourself there, old woman, but what even are you?” As if he was seeing her for the very first time, he linked his hands together and took up her challenge, leaned toward her. “Refugees from a world too rich for your blood? Something... mongrel.”

Toru sucked on the inside of her cheek and took a breath. Now he was getting personal, but she’d never backed down from applying a little education when someone needed it.

“You see what you want to, but I’m a mother, a grandmother, a refugee, and a miner.”

His eyes narrowed tighter, flickering once more over the details of her face. Remained fixed there.

“No, what are you?”

He wanted a label. Had from the beginning. They always did. After decades of fighting these types of demands, Toru honed her answer to a succulent refrain.

“You want me to recite my genealogy, Kozak? My whakapapa? I could tell you about the Irish, Māori, Samoan, German, Scots, and Australians in my blood, but that would take more time than I have to give you—especiallynow. So the short answer is, what I am is the one who will find the Eitr, and save your job.”

That snapped him out of his obsession with her face. The hard truth of it was, the Combine owned the Knot and Toru, but right now her family owned the mine. If they didn’t come through in the next few weeks, the Combine would close down the whole facility.

Jùtóu Combine owned more mines on Shānmén, but Kozak was Svarog’s boss. He’d be unlikely to find another job like it, especially on this planet. It would look bad if he failed.

“Then you better get back to it, Riley.” The smile the spread on his face was poisonous. “Leave the rescue effort to me. Stick to Shaft One, why don’t you.”

She’d sized him up just right from the beginning. A little man, trying to hold on to power. He’d grip it tight, even into death.

“You’ve got a deal.” She pushed away from his desk. “But you better check out the air scrubbers in One. They don’t smell right, and I’d hate for you to have another disaster on your hands.”

Toru’s nose was better tuned than his bottom line, and the moment they’d visited that shaft, she’d clocked that the scrubbers weren’t working. She’d been patient, hoping he’d take care of it. Yet, given what had happened in Shaft Two, waiting wasn’t an option.

Kozak was full of shit.

“Those scrubbers aren’t due for replacement for another month.” His gaze had already drifted back to the computer screen, and he waved one hand. “But I’ll see what I can do.”

Suppressing her rage, Toru walked out of his office. Operations personnel were busy dealing with various tasks, but a few curious faces flicked her way. Antonijevic—the lead Combine archaeologist, so always at a loose end—gave her a shrug. The stupid grin on his square face, and his “what are you going to do” attitude kicked Toru’s annoyance even higher.

Ignoring the rest of the workers, she shoved open the outside door and stormed through, knowing the pointlessness of her rage. The operation dome gleamed bright silver under the blinding sun, and instantly sweat broke out on Toru’s face. It was like passing from one world to another—neither of them pleasant.

Standing still for a moment, she took a few deep breaths, centering herself. The warm air filled her lungs and pressed against her skin. The Svarog mine sat almost directly on this planet’s equator. As Toru walked down the steps to the stripped and barren earth, her eyes lingered on the green foliage just beyond the mine’s perimeter fence. A twinge of homesickness swelled, as it often did when she was in a vulnerable state.

Unlike most of the Knot, she’d been born on Earth, and New Zealand’s green forests and lakes still haunted her dreams.

“Mum...” The familiar voice jolted her from melancholy recollections. Her youngest daughter waited behind the curve of the dome. Everyone expected Lena would take Toru’s place of leadership in the Knot, and she looked the part. Tall, where her mother was short. Darker skinned, her glossy black hair tied in a low ponytail. She attracted attention wherever she was. Yet, the girl knew how to handle herself.

As she approached, Toru shook her head and raised her hands.

“Don’t even ask how it went.”

Lena pushed strands of hair back off her face. “If we die out here, then it won’t matter how many Combine points we earn for this fucking job.” She stared down at her boots for a moment. “Sophie warned us not to take this one.”

Toru loved her daughter’s wife, but Sophie held a high opinion of what the Knot could get away with when it came to the Combine.

“It wasn’t like there was a lot of choice,” Toru replied, putting her hand on Lena’s shoulder. “We couldn’t afford to have so many cycled back to Pylos—all those transfers add up. Have to pay for those baby credits after all.”

“I thought that wasn’t a possibility.” Her daughter shot her a sly look. “Averie got the pregnancy share last year, so Sophie and I didn’t expect to have our own any time soon. I know finances are tight...”

Toru looked toward Shaft Two and the still-rising smoke. Talking about children seemed strange, but if age had taught her anything, it was to not put anything off. She wanted Lena to have what she craved. After all, she’d been born indentured, and she deserved a child. With luck, the baby would be free of the Combine shackles before she was five.

She sighed as they walked together from the large operations dome to the smaller one that housed the cafeteria. After the accident in Two, she knew the Knot would need some good news.

“Well, I talked with my sisters, and we all agreed we’re getting old,” she said. “With Rua’s death last year, we have the room.” She tried to keep her tone light, even when mentioning her sister’s demise, though that wound was still fresh enough to sting.

Lena sighed. She hadn’t known her aunt well. If they’d been able to remain in New Zealand, it would have been different. Yet that country only belonged to the rich now.

“You’re not that old, Mum, you can still pull a twelve-hour down the shaft.” Neither of them mentioned the job on Hestia V, six years earlier. That had resulted in Rua’s hastily repaired hip and knee. The events of the day just reminded them that, in this business, disaster was only a roll of the dice away.

It was Toru’s duty to prepare her children. She glanced sideways at her daughter. The wind caught her dark hair again, whipping at her braids. Gently, Toru reset one behind Lena’s ear.

“Not like I used to, girl. Everything hurts when I try. No, the future is for you and Sophie, Jīn Huā, and her kids. Nathan too, if he ever gets his shit together.” They both laughed at that.

Their amusement caught the attention of a nearby security guard, leaning up against the perimeter fence. With the off-shift miners back in their dorms, and the injured from Two in the medical bay, the guards could return to their favorite pastime—harassing the indentured. This one’s helmet covered his face, not that they would have recognized him.

Most of the Combine’s security personnel were former UPP—Union of Progressive Peoples—soldiers. They kept to themselves, eating in their own mess hall and staring down their noses at the miners, whether waged or indentured.

Though they couldn’t see his eyes, Toru knew what his expression would be under there. Disrespect to her, and sizing up Lena for a fuck. When the older woman stopped and stared back at him, his stance tightened.

“Better learn to laugh quieter,” he grumbled, “draws the local wildlife. Don’t want to be a chicken snack.”

Shānmén’s native species must have been a bother for the first colonists and miners. Now, though, acoustic deterrents and an electric fence kept the largest at bay. In addition, security ventured out once a month on the so-called “chicken hunt.” It lowered the nearby population of anything with a heartbeat. It also gave them something to shoot at that wasn’t human.

Not that they would hesitate at that. The unspoken other reason they were at the mine was to keep indentured workers in. Visiting the nearby town of New Luhansk required permission that Kozak never gave. Couldn’t risk having their valuable workers skipping off-planet without paying their Combine debt.

Before Toru said anything, Lena pulled her on. “You don’t know how many stims and powders guys like that are on,” she said in a low voice. “They didn’t get to spill blood on Two’s deck, so let’s just leave them, OK?”

It was nice to know that her daughter worried about her. Lena hadn’t known her mother when she was young. Back then, Toru would have split the face of anyone who messed with her family. Her lips twisted, but they unfurled into a smile when she spotted Jīn Huā hurrying after them. She must have wriggled free of Galen’s attentions. Catching up, she put her hand in the crook of Toru’s arm.

“Things seem to have calmed down in there, but the Combine isn’t happy about Shaft Two going down.”

Toru waved her hand. “As long as they aren’t adding it to the Knot debt, I don’t care. Besides, Pinar will get her chance to shine if she can locate a good vein for another shaft.”

“She’ll make it happen,” Jīn Huā said as she leaned in against Toru. She was far more tactile than Lena, and that was no bad thing. Toru kissed her on the head.

“My ray of sunshine.”

“I’ve got good news, too,” Lena broke in, “something to improve today.” It was a pretty low bar to clear, but Toru was ready for anything.

“What would that be?”

“I think the cafeteria is serving prívarok for dinner.”

“They always do better when they are not trying to serve American food,” Jīn Huā pointed out. “When they do meatloaf, it’s deadly.”

Even though Kozak’s budget-cutting had cost lives today, he would keep making sure that decent Slovak food stayed on the menu. Toru patted her hand. “Well, when you have some, do what I did for my little ones—pretend it’s delicious.”

“My Baba did that,” Jīn Huā replied in a monotone. “I never fell for it, so I don’t think Bái Yún Lee or Dà Shī Voo will either. They’re smart kids.”

The death of her family during the Food Wars never got less painful, but Toru wished she’d talk about them more. Leaning in, she told Jīn Huā what she always did.

“He’d be proud of you, and what you’ve done for those little ones.”

Jīn Huā squeezed Toru’s arm a little tighter. Though she’d suffered and lost everything, the experience hadn’t hardened her heart one bit. After the Canberra blast, she’d reached out to refugee services and adopted two little orphaned children. Then she’d taken them to the stars.

However young they were, though, they bore deep scars—mental and physical. That was why Jīn Huā didn’t leave them on Pylos station, where the rest of the Knot remained. A small dome housed a school within the mine, so Toru had signed off on them coming.

“They’re doing great, dear.” She gave the younger woman a squeeze back. “You’re keeping them safe and being a beautiful mum to them.”

Jīn Huā smiled hesitantly. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m doing the right thing.”

Toru nodded. “You always will, but remember—it’s the bad parents who don’t worry.”

“I’m taking notes,” Lena said, swinging around and grabbing hold of Jīn Huā. “Mum just said the sisters approved a baby share for Sophie and me.” She threw her arms around the other woman. “Another Knot baby on the way.”

Toru watched the two of them laugh and jump around, and allowed herself a weary smile. Her sisters hadn’t wanted to share the news with everyone, but to hell with that. Let the young enjoy these moments to hold against a world of regret and loss.

By the time they entered the cafeteria, the two young women were already discussing names. Toru hung back while they walked to the coffee station.

“Prívarok, Ms. McClintock-Riley?” The David standing behind the counter held a pair of tongs up high and wore a compliant smile on his face. They might have followed Carter, and saved lives down below, but she’d never trust them. Stories about their failures—the lives lost under their unflinching gaze—gave her nightmares. She didn’t even like taking food from them.

Her gaze flicked to the tongs, already imagining scenarios in which they could be used as a deadly weapon. She swallowed down her dislike.

“Is it good?” she asked. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized how ridiculous they were. Being around Carter made her forget the true nature of synthetics. The David tilted his head a fraction.

“It is compliant to all current Combine food standards.”

“That’s the best a girl can hope for,” she muttered under her breath. “That’ll be great,” she said louder, even though he would have heard both. Still, the synthetic made no comment as he doled out a cupful, put it on a tray, and passed it over.

“Bon appétit,” he said, clapping the tongs together.

Sometimes it felt as if the Davids took pleasure in being ominous. Their programming shouldn’t include fucking with people, Toru told herself.

Over by the dome’s window, several members of the Knot had gathered. Lena and Jīn Huā took positions at the end of the plastic table, choosing coffee over food. Bianca and Nathan slurped back prívarok with no apparent concerns. The thick stew contained many legumes and potatoes that the colonists grew locally, so it wasn’t as if Kovak shelled out for off-world supplies. A plate of dumplings took pride of place in the middle of the table.

Nathan slid them toward Toru as she sat down.

“Tuck in, Auntie—the cook was having a good day,” he said through a full mouth. Somehow he remained cheerful even after the shit show of a day it had been. In her sleep-deprived state, it only made her mood worse.

The son of her younger sister, Ono, Nathan was only twenty years old, so he didn’t have many of life’s dents on him yet. He also wasn’t wearing regulation overalls. All the Knot wore yellow overalls, with their twisted rope symbol on the left breast and their name underneath. His said “Bennetts-Riley,” which would have been visible if he didn’t have the top half hanging around his waist, with the sleeves tied loosely. Instead, he wore a Jùtóu Combine regulation shirt, and did so with pride—like a waged miner.

“Who did you steal the shirt off, Nathan?” she said, putting two dumplings by the side of her plate. “Not one of the miners we pulled out of the shaft today, I hope...”

“Auntie... you hurt my feelings. I’d never!” His teeth flashed in a white, cheeky smile. “Besides, no miner gets their hands on these shirts. I got given it.”

Bianca shot Toru a look from under a crooked eyebrow as she shoveled food into her mouth. Military service had prepared her well for life in the mines. Toru’s daughter-in-law might be quiet, but she picked up on things quickly enough.

Lena didn’t have nearly that amount of restraint. Choking back her coffee, she dared the question they were all thinking.

“What did you have to do for it?”

The young man flushed red. “Nothing... shit, girl, is that what you think of me?”

He’d been giving it to the cute security guard since day three of the Knot’s planetfall. Toru wanted to give him advice on sleeping with military types, but she’d done it herself once too often. Unfortunately, the times she’d opened up to him and offered suggestions, he hadn’t taken it well. After the day they’d all had, Toru didn’t want to go down that road. So she flapped her hand at him.

“What you do on your off hours is no business of ours,” she said. “Just don’t flash that shirt around—won’t make you any friends with the miners, especially right now.”

Nathan glanced around. Even he couldn’t ignore the looks of their fellow mudlickers. Her nephew might be brash, but he wasn’t stupid. These were people the Knot might have to rely on underground. Another collapse, and maybe no one would come to haul their asses out of the deep dark. Antagonizing them might help you end up dead. Muttering a little, he shucked on the top part of his overalls and zipped them up.

Lena smirked at her cousin, but said nothing.