Alex and Lila have sailed off for trip number two to the salt mining station. Their secret relationship isn’t known to anyone but them. However, it may be put to the test when they realize that the water is far worse than it was on their last trip, and the possibility of the entire ocean dying is very real. It doesn’t help that Lila thinks he’s only going back to save his fortune, not humanity.

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1. Chapter 1 – Alex’s Mansion

 

The trip back to the mainland took two and a half days. Lila assumed the captain had put the peddle to the metal so they’d get back before they ran out of safe potable water.

They docked just after noon.

Lila stepped off the scientific ship ahead of Alex. He was busy talking to the crew about their potential next steps and a potential second sailing to the salt mining operation. From what Lila had heard, ‘potential’ was the key word. Alex didn’t sound thrilled to go back, and he wasn’t sure when they’d return to finish the job.

For some reason, Alex thought he had all the information he needed to thwart the lawsuit. While it was true that this wasn’t Alex’s fault. It couldn’t be. There was no possible way he could be blamed for a giant crack in the ocean floor that went down more than 300 feet. Nothing short of a nuclear explosion could cause that, and nukes weren’t given to private citizens.

However, they needed to fix the ocean before whatever was coming out of that crack rendered the entire ocean dead. Lila planned to run some scenarios once she got home. She had software on her computer that could be input with various metrics in order to predict scenarios.

Alex stepped off the ship while the driver and a couple more of his household staff grabbed his and Lila’s bags.

He slid an arm around her waist. “Are you coming home with me, or did you want my driver to drop you off at your house?”

“When do we need to be back here tomorrow to check the salt shipment?” Lila asked.

“I’m not sure. They’ll call when they dock,” Alex said. “And we’ll need to be quick. If the salt is good, they’ll need to call to have it offloaded.”

Lila contemplated. A one-night delay wouldn’t hurt anything, and she did want to make sure that salt was safe for human consumption.

“I guess I’ll go with you. No point in my going home just to sleep there,” Lila said. “Plus, you’re closer to the dock.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Alex said. He let her into the limousine ahead of him. Then, he stepped inside.

The driver shut the door.

Alex called ahead to the house to make sure there was a guest room ready for Lila. He was certain there was, but his staff liked to know ahead of time if they were having overnight guests. Alex couldn’t blame them.

“Lunch should be ready by the time we get home,” Alex said. “Or rather, to my house.”

Lila grinned. “Well, it is your home.”

“It is,” Alex said. The slip was not like him. His house was definitely not Lila’s. He needed to watch himself until he knew exactly what type or relationship they were in.

The limousine drove up to Alex’s front doors a few minutes later.

Lila stepped out as soon as the driver opened the door.

“Your luggage should be in your room momentarily,” the driver said. “But for now, drinks and sandwiches are available in the parlor until lunch is ready.”

“Thank you.” Alex led Lila inside to the parlor. As promised, there were drinks and roast beef sandwiches sitting next to the minibar.

“Food before food?” Lila asked.

“This is their idea of an appetizer,” Alex said as he grabbed a sandwich triangle. “I don’t argue. They feed me well.”

Lila grabbed a sandwich triangle and took a bite. “This is great. What beef is this?”

“Probably grass-fed organic,” Alex said. “And someone probably bought it this morning and made the roast beef all day.”

“It’s excellent.” Lila grabbed another sandwich. She had just finished it when another household employee told them that lunch was ready.

Lila walked into the dining room with Alex to see a similar spread to what they ate when she first talked to him about the job.

“They have good memories,” Alex said as he sat down at the table.

“This is great,” Lila said.

“Help yourself,” Alex said.

Lila loaded her plate with jalapeno, onion and bacon pizza, cheesesticks with more jalapenos, salad and ranch dressing.

Alex loaded a few pieces of pizza and salad onto his plate.

They ate lunch and drank a bottle of wine.

“Do you have copies of that data?” Alex asked.

“I do,” Lila said. “It’s in my bag.”

“Let’s go over it in detail now that we have time,” Alex said.

“I can get the data, but I need to know where my room is,” Lila said.

“I’ll show you,” Alex said as he stood from the table. He waited for Lila then took her upstairs to the room next to his. He hadn’t specifically requested this one for her, but he assumed this was where the staff put her. When he opened the door, he was not disappointed, her things were in the room. “If you have dirty clothes, just set them outside your door tonight.”

“Okay. Great,” Lila said as she walked into the room and grabbed her briefcase. “Everything is in here. I made digital and hardcopies of everything on our way back, just in case someone else thought it might be a great idea to tamper with it.”

“Good idea. We can review it in my office,” Alex said. “Bring your wine.”

Lila grabbed her wine glass and walked with Alex to his office. She looked around. She thought his office might be as big as half her house. “Where’d you get these floors?”

“They were custom,” Alex said.

“I’ve never seen wood like it,” Lila said.

“It’s extremely rare and hard to find. I spent months looking for it,” Alex said. “In fact, they don’t even keep wood like this in stock. You have to find the trees first.”

“Incredible,” Lila said as she looked around. “Where do you want to do this?”

“The conference table,” Alex said.

Lila set her briefcase on the conference table and pulled out her laptop and the thumb drives and disks where she’d put all the information they discovered while the sub was underwater. She booted her laptop.

“You can connect it to that large screen with this cable.” Alex handed her the end.

Lila plugged it in and watched as her laptop screen also appeared on the 85-inch monitor attached to the wall.

“This is the video of the camera going down the hole. This is what will probably win you your case.” Lila set the video to play at 25 percent of the original speed.

They watched as the camera swirled in the current, hit the edge of the crack and was sucked down into it.

“We got lucky in that that camera had its own light, but we really need a bigger one. Here, you can see just how big that cavern might be.”

“Looks like you could fit an ocean liner in that thing,” Alex said.

“Right. And then the camera either breaks or loses its connection to the sub,” Lila said.

“We need to get a bigger, more robust camera,” Alex said.

“That might help us see what’s down there,” Lila said.

“What caused that?” Alex asked.

“It’s probably natural,” Lila said. “Like an underground cave. The only thing I think they could say is that maybe your construction cracked the ceiling, and the ocean’s water pressure did the rest, but that’s at the bottom of the trench. So there’s no way you could have known it was there. Did you explore the trench at all?”

“We did,” Alex said. “We took water samples and tested it enough to determine that my mining station wouldn’t affect it.”

“Wouldn’t or was unlikely to,” Lila asked.

“I believe the exact wording was that it was highly unlikely to affect the trench,” Alex said.

“Were you required to do any testing?” Lila asked.

“Water testing once a month. Salt testing once a month,” Alex said.

“And are those tests being conducted?” Lila asked.

“I leave the details to my managers,” Alex said.

“You should ask for all those tests from the moment the station was put into operation,” Lila said. “The court will ask for them, and it’s better if we know what they say.”

“That’s nine years of tests,” Alex said.

“You should request them now,” Lila said.

“All right.” Alex pulled out his phone and called his mining station. He ordered all the tests from the construction of the mining station through last month to be sent to him. “Done.”

“How long did they say it was going to take?” Lila asked.

“A few days. He said he would get someone on it, but digging up all those tests, especially the early ones could take some time. Some of them would be on backups from before we upgraded the system three years ago.”

Lila stuck another drive into her laptop and started the data processing software. “That’ll take about an hour.” She picked up her wine glass and took a drink.

“Where was that software on the ship?” Alex asked.

“I was thinking we’d get more data,” Lila said. “I wanted to run it all at once. I’m not a big fan of doing the same thing over and over again. I’m more of a one and done kinda girl”

“I can get on board with that.” Alex took a drink from his glass. “But I would hope that doesn’t pertain to your private life.”

“If it’s fun, I might do it twice,” Lila said. “Or three or four times if it’s really enjoyable.”

 

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In this sizzling tale, billionaire Alex must confront a catastrophic leak in the ocean that threatens his salt mining operation, his livelihood and the delicate ecosystem of the ocean. Desperate for a solution, he turns to Lila, a brilliant and nerdy scientist who might just hold the key to saving his business and the ocean. But as they work together, they discover a chemistry that that the ocean can't cool. They must navigate the dangerous waters of love, lust and betrayal while still trying to save the ocean and Alex's business.

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Chapter 1: Oceanastrophe

 

Alex sat in his office, staring out the window at the ocean that comprised his backyard and his office view. His office was a large, open space with floor-to-ceiling windows that gave him a panoramic view of the water. The walls were painted a light blue, and the Darkwood floor was covered with a thick, white carpet. Alex was expressly impressed with his Darkwood floor. The tree was incredibly hard to find. It only grew in one Federally protected forest that was ominously named The Darklands National Nature Preserve.

While the entire name sounded like it might be a place of natural beauty and peaceful ambiance, it was anything but. In fact, the natives in the area only referred to it as The Darklands, and entering it usually meant an extremely painful death. Almost everything in it that could be classified as alive was lethal. The grass could cause painful skin welts. The dragonflies were as big as two-human hands and had the bite of a cougar. The houseflies were as big as peaches, and they liked to lay their eggs in the back of human necks. Even the butterflies had a bite that could bring the world’s heavyweight champion to tears. To say it was dangerous to step more than 12 inches inside that place was an understatement.

Still, Alex wanted his wood, and he’d paid for it. Almost half a million dollars to get a team of ten to go in through the back of the property and harvest enough trees to make the floors in his house, and that cost didn’t include processing the trees and creating and installing the flooring. The end result, however, was marvelous. His floors were the envy of all who saw them. Of course, due to the dubious way he’d acquired the wood, Alex never told anyone where he’d gotten them, and every crew that had worked on them signed contracts that explicitly stated that if they wanted to keep the money that Alex had paid them, they’d keep their mouths shut.

He stood and stretched. His office was also the envy of all who saw it. It was a masterpiece of style and productivity. There were several large desks in the office, as well as a conference table and a few chairs. In the center of the office was a large, black leather chair that Alex liked to sit in on occasion. That spot had the best view of the ocean.

The ocean was his favorite place in the world. He loved the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, and he loved the smell of the salt air. He loved to swim in the ocean, and he loved to surf. However, he was less than pleased today. Today, he had gotten a letter from the Oceanic Guardians, a new organization created by the Federal Government to oversee the ocean and look for pollutants, and they, so far, could not be bribed. It dismayed Alex. He offered the world the best salt in the universe. It was mined from a very specific spot in the ocean over the Great Trench.

Twenty years ago, they started selling parcels of ocean like they do land, and Alex had snatched up two miles of that precious water for a premium price. In fact, it’d been so expensive, he’d been forced to take out loans to finance part of the water and underwater land purchase and the machinery, fences and security he needed to build to keep people out of it. Luckily, his ocean salt mining operation had proven to be an excellent investment, and his loans were now paid off.

Of course, he’d had to take shortcuts. Been a little lax on his oceanic preservation and anti-pollution measures. If the news were to be believed, his oceanic salt mining operation was the single worst polluter of the ocean. Worse than plastic bags, fishing nets and water bottles. Alex had a hard time believing that. The plastic bag, fishing net and water bottle island was so large now that they were thinking of turning it into its own floating country. Alex supposed they would have done it by now if they could find a buyer for that pile of crap.

Thankfully, the pile of plastic shit was not Alex’s concern. The potential Federal lawsuit was, and so was the last set of scientific data he’d received from his own team of research and data nerds. Not only was the water around his salt mining platform toxic to every type of living thing on the planet, the water itself was wrong.

Alex had to ask how they’d found that out, and the scientists had simply said that they removed all the pollutants then tested what would normally be a raw sample, and it was wrong. He’d asked for clarification or a theory. They didn’t have any clarification beyond the fact that it was wrong, but they theorized that there was a leak in the Great Trench somewhere near the mining platform.

Alex told them that was impossible. The ocean could not develop a leak. Where the hell was the water going to go? Leaking into what, exactly? It made no sense to him, but his scientists were resolute in their theory. The ocean had a leak.

Alex had ordered more testing and hired a boat and a submarine so that his nerds could take a closer look at this ocean leak theory. Their departure, and Alex would be on that boat, was tomorrow morning. He only had one problem. He needed a lead nerd. Alex had his best people on the task of finding a lead nerd before tomorrow at five in the morning, but he still had his doubts that they could do it. If they couldn’t do it, it would be crotchety old Harold Scallop. The man had two clumps of crazy gray hair, glasses thick enough to make a bullt proof shield and a perpetual frown. When Alex had hired him, his birth date made him 85 years old. He was now 106 and even more onry and disagreeable. Alex didn’t want him anywhere near his boat, much less on it because he was certain to make it an absolutely miserable experience.

Alex turned his head when there was a knock on his office door. “Come in.”

“We found her,” a man in a black suit said.

“Found who?” Alex asked.

“Your lead scientist,” he said.

“Who is she?” Alex asked.

“Lila Buttercup.”

Alex laughed. “What?”

“Her name is Lila Buttercup.”

“Good god. All right. Where is she?” Alex asked, even though he was pretty certain he wasn’t going to be able to take that name seriously. He’d have to find another one for her. Maybe, Lady B. Otherwise, he’d spend too much time laughing and making stupid puns.

“Working on a manure farm just outside the city. Here’s her contact information.” He handed Alex a stack of paperwork in a pale yellow file folder.

Alex glanced through it. “Thank you. I’ll call her myself.”

He sat down and picked up his landline cell phone. While almost no one had an actual hardwired phone these days, Alex’s was secure and encrypted. He dialed Lila’s work phone number. He felt she might be more willing to answer an unknown call on that one rather than her personal digital number.

 

 

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Populate the Moon II (Naughty Reads)

John and Misty made it to the mining station on the dark side of the moon just in time. During their transport from Dark Side 1, an entire mining level in Light Side 1 collapsed. While John and Misty are grateful, they wonder if this station will be any better, and if they'll be able to fulfill their duties and return to Earth at the end of their contracts.

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1. Chapter 1 - Exploring the Dark Side Mining Station

 

Misty Arva drank two glasses of wine before deciding to take a walk through her and John’s new living habitat.

She stood from the couch and looked around. It was spacious, and she thought there were a lot more features in this living space versus the one she had on the other station. Of course, this station was built after the one on the light side of the moon, so she expected some things to be better, and one of them better be the safety. She was pretty sure she’d lose her shit if this one also fell into a crater in the moon.

As she walked through the space, the first thing she noticed was the large, panoramic window. Jack wasn’t lying. It overlooked the vast lunar landscape. The glass was thick and tinted. She wasn’t sure why it was tinted though. There was no sun on this side, but there had to be a reason. Still, the stars were not obscured by the glass. If anything, they looked enhanced, shining bright in the pitch-black sky.

The rest of the room was just as impressive, with sleek, modern furnishings and high-tech gadgets. The walls were covered in a smooth, metallic material that seemed to glow under the ceiling lights. This room was definitely meant to be an observatory.

Next, Misty decided to check out the bedroom. It was large, and the bed, which was situated along the far wall was twice the size of the one in her other room. She was unsurprised that the bedding was silver. The company that designed these spaces did well, but it appeared that they took some of their cues from the science fiction movies of over two-hundred years ago.

On the opposite side of the bedroom, Misty spotted a sleek, black desk with a built-in computer. She stepped closer. The screen was large and curved, and the screensaver was that of a high-resolution image of the lunar surface. A holographic keyboard hovered in front of the screen as if it were waiting for her to type something.

Misty took a step back. The keyboard disappeared. When she stepped closer, it reappeared. She laughed. There had to be a motion detector built into the screen.

Next, Misty decided to take a look at the bathroom. It was just as impressive as the observatory and bedroom. There was an all-glass shower with a large nozzle near the ceiling. It looked like the moon’s version of a waterfall or rainfall showerhead.

Next to the shower was a bar that held the towels. Surprisingly, those were fluffy and white and not at all like the thermal-blanket-like towels at the other mining station.

Next, Misty decided to explore the galley. When she stepped into the room, she realized it was more like a kitchen she’d find on Earth. A drawer contained a ton of hard-to-find teas and coffees. The refrigerator was full of snacks, meats and vegetables. There was also an oven and a pantry filled with spices and baking needs.

“Just a touch of home,” Misty said to herself.

Of course, the kitchen also contained an automatic food maker, an automatic drink machine and a fridge full of alcoholic beverages.

Lastly, Misty decided to step into the medical room. This one was just as brightly lit as the rest of the apartment, and it resembled the medical suite on Light Side One. She could see white walls and a glossy, metallic floor. A large medical bed dominated the center of the room, complete with all manner of high-tech monitoring equipment and life support systems.

There was also the medical robot, which was now walking toward her. Except, this didn’t look like the robot at the other station. It was very human in its appearance. It had arms, legs, a torso and a head. The only thing that clued her into its robotic nature were its eyes. They were much larger than a human’s and were obviously made of glass.

“Good evening,” the doctor bot said.

“Good evening,” Misty said. “Do you have a name?”

“Doctor B, or just doctor,” he said.

Misty grinned. “No bonus points for creativity.”

“No, ma’am,” he said. “You can rename me if you wish.”

“Maybe later,” Misty said. “I was just taking a look around.”

“Oh, so you don’t want your entrance physical?”

“Not right this second,” Misty said.

“No problem, but you will need it before you leave this apartment,” Doc B said.

“All right. In a few minutes then,” Misty said.

“Please, take a look around. I think you’ll find this medical facility much better than the one on the light side of the moon.”

Misty nodded and turned her attention to a large cabinet. It was filled with an array of medical supplies and equipment, including everything from manual surgical tools to high-tech diagnostic scanners. A small desk with a computer and holographic interface was located nearby, allowing for easy access to patient records and medical data.

On the other side of the room, Misty saw a state-of-the-art medical imaging machine.

“What’s that for?” she asked.

“That is a diagnostic tool. If you break a bone or have a deep injury, I can look at it first there before rendering treatment.”

“They didn’t have that on the other side,” Misty said.

“It’s a new piece of technology,” Doctor B said. “The medical bed in the center is where I would do any procedures. Major procedures.”

“Would I also perform my duties there?” Misty asked.

“Duties.” He paused while he cross-referenced Misty’s job. “Oh, no. This way.”

The docbot led her over to a padded chair. “This is where the births take place.”

“Okay. I’m familiar with that. There’s a drop-through in the floor?”

“A tube. It will raise and take it automatically,” Doctor B said.

Misty nodded. “In that case, I’m ready for my physical.”

The docbot led her over to a chair that was neither the birthing chair nor the medical bed. “This is the physical chair.”

Misty sat down in the chair.

“The first part is completed with sensors. Just sit still,” he said.

Misty waited, sitting as still as possible while the docbot's sensors measured her heart rate, blood pressure, and who knew how many other health indicators. Medical technology had really gotten advanced over the last couple generations.

Next, Doctor B directed Misty to stand on a set of scales built into the floor. As she stood on the platform, the bot measured her weight and body mass index, providing a detailed analysis of her body composition and overall health.

“You’re height and weight are perfect, but do not lose any more weight,” Doc B said.

“Is that it?” Misty asked.

“It is. You’re as healthy as a horse, as they say,” docbot said.

“Do I need my injections?” Misty asked.

Docbot paused while he referenced her medical files. “No. They have actually given you too much. Tomorrow will be your first injection here.”

“New dosing?” she asked.

“Yes. I am updated with the latest medical knowledge. Not that the other docbot was wrong, but we’ve since realized that you do not need as much.”

“Then, I’m going to go explore the station,” Misty said. “Do I need a key to get back inside?”

“No, the door will automatically open for you. You were scanned when you entered,” docbot said.

“Thank you.” Misty walked out of the clinic room through the habitat and out the front door into the hall.

She hadn’t paid much attention when they walked through the first time, but the hall looked very similar to the apartments. It appeared to be made with the same type of metal. Though, it didn’t appear to be painted or glossed.

She turned toward her and John’s door. They weren’t quite at the end of the hall. That explained the layout of their living quarters. It seemed to go forward for quite a distance, and she could now see that there was a window at the very end of the hall.

Misty walked over toward it and looked out across the lunar landscape. It was stark and rocky but surprisingly well-lit. There appeared to be exterior lights on the building. However, there was no attempt to make the exterior ground look like Earth. There was no grass or trees or whatever fake material they would have used to create those.

Misty walked down to the other end of the hall with the elevator. She looked at the placard on the wall. It listed the floors and what was on them.

The higher levels were all living areas. Misty didn’t see the market or entertainment areas until she realized they’d put them on level 1. The docking level was above level 1, and it was simply labeled DOCKING.

“Oh, how interesting,” she said to herself. She bet all the restaurants and recreation rooms had great views of any leaving or coming shuttles, and being so high up, they also probably had a great view of the surface of the moon.

Misty pressed the UP button and waited for the elevator. When it opened, she started to step inside.

“You ventured out,” John said as he grabbed her and hugged her.

“I got bored in the apartment,” Misty said. “Aren’t you supposed to be mining?”

“I’m on lunch. It’s an hour over here, so I have time to come up and eat,” John said. “Have you eaten?”

“Not yet. I had some wine, I was about to go up to the recreation level,” Misty said.

“Well, hell. Let’s get some dinner,” John said.

Misty kissed him as he pressed the button for the dining and recreation floor.

“I could get used to this,” John said just as they were interrupted by the door opening.

Misty stepped away from him. “Fast elevator.”

“I’m sure that’s by design.” John stepped off and walked down the corridor with Misty.

“Not enough time to do anything,” Misty said.

John chuckled. “Well, if we eat quick…”

Misty laughed. “Wouldn’t you need a shower first?”

“And after, so it may not be a good idea,” John said. “At least, not right now.”

“When does your shift end?” Misty asked as they walked up to a restaurant?”

“In about five hours,” John said. “These aren’t the marathon shifts like they were at the other station, but that reminds me, I need to get you a copy of my schedule.”

“I need that. I don’t think you’d appreciate coming home to my working,” Misty said.

“I don’t think I would, but I understand that you have to work,” John said.

“Should we talk about that now?” Misty asked.

John contemplated. “I guess we should, but I didn’t mean for this to be a serious dinner.”

“Let’s discuss it now. That way we can relax when you get back after your shift,” Misty said.

“I like your thinking,” John said just as a man approached them.

“Two to be seated?” he asked.

“Yes, we’d like a table out of the way, if that’s possible,” John said.

“Of course. This way,” the waiter said.

Misty followed the waiter with John.

“Are you guys new?” the waiter asked as he showed them to a table at the back of the restaurant. “This has the best view.”

“We just got here earlier today,” John said as he sat down. “I’m already on my first shift, but they give some generous meal breaks.”

“They do. Every miner gets an hour,” the waiter said. “I’ll let the kitchen know you’re on lunch so they’ll rush your order.”

“Appreciate it,” John said.

“What can I get you to drink?” he asked.

“What’s available?” John asked.

“Just about anything you want,” the waiter said. “We’re well stocked.”

“Then, I’ll have a cherry soda,” John said.

“And for you, ma’am?”

“Same,” Misty said. “Oh, but with a splash of vanilla.”

“We can do that. I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

“So, you’re going to give me your schedule,” Misty said.

“Yes,” John said. “I think that would be good so that your clients and I don’t accidentally cross paths.”

“Of course. I completely agree,” Misty said. “And all the rooms are there. Mostly. I saw three bedrooms, the flexroom, office and two bathrooms.”

“We might be missing a few rooms,” John said. “Was there a view?”

“Oh, it has an observation room. It’s amazing,” Misty said.

“That’s probably where the other rooms went. Not every habitat has windows,” John said. “But here’s a question for you…”

“What?” Misty asked.

“They pay you on… uh… output, right?”

“Right,” Misty said.

“Were there any rules about DNA diversity?” John asked.

Misty laughed. “That’s one way to put it. No. They’re just concerned about output.”

“Do you have a quota?” John asked.

“Not exactly,” Misty said. “But they expect at least one a month.”

John contemplated. “So, what if they were all mine?”

“I hadn’t considered that,” Misty said. “I guess they could be, but what would I do? I mean… In my spare time.

“Do you have any hobbies?” John asked.

“Not really,” Misty said. “I guess I could look into some. I mean, I’m not opposed to your idea.”

“Well, think about it,” John said. “If there’s no rule against it…”

“I will,” Misty said. “You bring up a good point.”

“Got your drinks,” the waiter said as he walked up to the table and set them in front of John and Misty. “Do you know what you’d like to eat?”

“I’ll take a hamburger and fries,” John said. “Jalapeno burger, cheese, loaded fries.”

The waiter wrote it down. “And for you?”

“Hamburger and fries with cheese. I’ll skip the peppers,” Misty said.

“I’ll get that to the kitchen and right out,” the waiter said.

“Thank you,” John said then turned to Misty. “Do you like jalapenos?”

“I do, but they can do some scary things to my butt,” Misty said.

John laughed. “I’m sure my coworkers will love me for my lunch choice, but it should be done talking by the time I get home.”

“Well, that’s good. It could be a turn-off if it’s still talking when you get home,” Misty said.

“That it could,” John said with a grin. “I wouldn’t want to get started and then blow up the bedroom.”

Misty laughed and shook her head. “Speaking of things blowing up. Have you heard anything about the other station?”

“It’s a mess,” John said. “They were talking about it down on the levels.”

“Are you mining yet?”

“No. We’re still getting the equipment checked and ready. It’ll be a week before they start the actual mining. That much was true about the information I read.”

“Okay. What about the collapse?” Misty asked.

“Well, we missed the big one while we were transporting over,” John said. “I think they said level thirteen pretty much fell in on itself. It’s so bad, they’ve requested extra supplies from Earth, and everyone has been moved to temporary pods.”

“What? What are temporary pods?” Misty asked.

“For each mining station, they have to have enough exterior pods to house fifty-percent of the crew,” John said. “It’s in case of this exact thing.”

“Shouldn’t it be 100 percent?” Misty asked.

“No, they do some funny math for it. They figure 25 percent will transfer to another station. Twenty-five will stay on site to do repairs and half the crew will go back to Earth,” John said. “If that doesn’t happen, people get to double-up, or they have to get creative.”

“Ew,” Misty said.

“Right,” John said. “We got out just in time because as of right now, they are still transferring people to pods, and the first ship to Earth has left.”

“What happened to Zane?” Misty asked.

“They didn’t specifically say. I’m guessing he’s either put in a transfer, or he’s on the cleanup crew,” John said. He stopped talking when the waiter brought their food.

“Talking about the collapse at Light Side?” the waiter asked as he sat their large plates in front of them.

“We are. I guess level 13 gave up,” John said.

“That’s what they’re saying,” the waiter said. “They said three people died.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it was more,” John said. “That place was shaking and rattling like a dump truck.”

“This one is built on thicker soil,” the waiter said.

“With better beams,” John said.

“Anyway, I know you’re on a time crunch. I’ll let you eat,” the waiter said.

Misty and John ate their food.

John asked for the bill once they were finished.

“Do you want me to just put this on your account? It’ll be subtracted out of your next check,” the waiter said.

“That would be fine.” John pulled out his badge so the waiter could scan it.

“Actually, it’s tied to your table. Just pass your badge over this silver coin-looking thing,” the waiter said.

“Oh. Great.” John swiped his badge over the spot.

“All taken care of. Have a nice evening,” the waiter said.

Misty and John walked out of the restaurant. “How much time do you have left?”

John looked at his watch. “Enough time to get back to the level. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Can I see it?” Misty asked.

“I’ll have to ask and get you a pass as a visitor. They’re open to that. They want the family to see and understand what we do. I’ll try and get one for tomorrow. If not, the next day,” John said.

“All right. I’ll see you when you get home,” Misty said.

She stepped out of the elevator when they got to their habitat level while John continued to ride it down to the mining levels.

 

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