Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

H olding onto the back of the fast-moving mining wagon as it neared the science outpost, Tiara yelled, “Get ready!” A few girls stood, placing their legs over the edge of the railing to make the jump. “Maya, get the others!”

Glaring her way, Maya finally shook a few of the younger girls, waking them. Maya hated being bossed around and was ornery after a long day working in the mines.

“Ugh! You’re not the only one who’s tired!” Tiara huffed, rolling her eyes. She leaned forward, watching the road riddled with potholes. “Jump!”

They were lucky to get a ride home, though the wagon barely slowed down as they jumped. Asshole! Dusting the knees of the two girls who’d fallen, Tiara pulled them up quickly by their arms, nearly dragging their exhausted bodies. But they had to walk. It was the only way to build the stamina to survive.

Despite working an intense day underground in the mine, Maya’s warm ivory skin looked like she had a fresh tan. She’d spent the entire ride dusting off her clothes and her golden hair, currently streaked with blue dye to match her deep blue eyes .

“Remember, you owe me,” yelled the guy driving the wagon, picking up speed. Maya gave him a charming smile and her runway model’s wave as if he were part of her fan club.

Tiara thought the guy would crash the wagon looking back at Maya’s ass. She laughed, shaking her head as Maya burst into laughter. Maya was beautiful with a body sculpted for a bikini. Thankfully, her charm had gotten them the ride home.

Passing through the fenced area onto the base, they greeted the guards. They hugged the girls fiercely. They were like uncles to them, having watched over them for as long as Tiara could remember. Two tall towers stood in the far corner of the base that once housed a space shuttle. She smiled at it, even though it was now worn and weathered with time. She was in the only safe place she’d ever known as home. Despite the lack of wealth, the science outpost was clean and had modest buildings and furnishings in decent condition. And it was colorful.

Tiara still remembered helping her mother paint murals on the walls outside the barracks and some buildings. She smiled at the memories as she walked. She was a terrible painter, but her mother let her slap the paint on anyway. Her penmanship was just as bad, no matter how hard she practiced. But if she had a computer, she could write a masterful code that rivaled a complex drawing. And with the right tools, she could create innovative technology.

She led the group into a small building with a dome in the middle and windows overlooking a small patio. They went directly to the canteen for dinner.

“Ah, that smells sooo good!” Tiara was eager to get a slice or two of the poschi cobbler. She’d gotten up extra early to run to the market to pick the freshest poschi available. The peach fruit had a thick rind that was tart. But when it was opened, it was soft and sweet.

“Wash your hands, eat, and then get to the classroom,” Tiara yelled as the girls made a face. Their routine was brutal. Forced into the mines at only five years old, years later, they were still working inside them. Working during the day in the mines meant getting an education in the evening.

She filled her plate, and sat at the table between Maya and Lori. Everyone else sat around them and began eating. Tiara ate quickly to get to class. Today, she was teaching physics and math. While she loved teaching science and technology, she couldn’t wait for the three hours to pass, so the rest of the night could be hers.

Sometimes, she worked a night shift at the mine if they needed extra money. Then, her routine would repeat each day, with only Sundays off.

“Those fucking bastards in the mine have repaired nothing since the explosion!” Tiara moved her food around her plate, too pissed to eat. “The structure is becoming more unstable as we mine further into the core. But they demand we keep drilling.”

“They know we’ll develop the technology to make the mines safer. That’s why they never fix shit! They know we’ll be forced to use our ingenuity to do it for them. With no payment! ” Lori’s big, expressive eyes filled with anger as she swept her ash-brown hair out of her face.

Most people thought Lori was timid, which was true until you pissed her off. But tonight, she was worked up. She hated to see people get hurt in the mines. Her healer’s nature shone through as she shook her head about the mining conditions. Soon, her waist-length hair was back in her face.

“I’m just glad you saved us, Tiara. I don’t know what we would have done if you weren’t there,” said Lori. The younger girls rose around the table, hugging Tiara fiercely before they ran off to get ready for their evening lessons.

“ Hello? Do I get a hug? I helped drag your scrawny, screaming butts out of the mines too!” Maya rolled her eyes as the girls ran back and hugged her. She laughed, hugging them fiercely.

Touching her mother’s amulet around her neck, Tiara was grateful for the few powers she had learned to use. Her elemental magic felt like a well of power in her blood that she couldn’t reach. Neither could her friends .

Over the years, they tried to figure out how to use their magic. But other than small sparks of light, they couldn’t use it. Their ability to harness their power was nothing like their mothers could do. She sighed. If only we knew how to use our magic fully! She was determined to master her magic and teach the others.

Their mothers perished when Tiara and her friends were young and before the girls had come into their powers. There was no one to teach them how to use their magic. Ms. Hazel, who ran the outpost, had taken them as her wards. But she didn’t have magic, and though there were many magic wielders on Mineva, none had elemental magic.

Ms. Hazel told them it was best not to tell anyone of their elemental powers. It would have been one more thing the mining operators would have forced them to use to their benefit without payment.

“Tiara got into another argument with a guard at the mine today,” a young girl told Ms. Hazel before running off to join the others. Ms. Hazel gave Tiara a pointed look.

“What? I couldn’t just stand there and let the guard take food from one of the elderly workers! He said the woman didn’t work hard enough to deserve a lunch break! If I don’t stand up for the underdog, who will?”

“You sound just like your mother. But she’s not here to stop them from dragging your ass off for another beating in the depths of the mines where no one will hear your screams for help. You must stay off the guards’ radar, Tiara!”

“I know how to defend myself! The next time they try, I’ll be ready.” Tiara bristled, refusing to let her mind replay things they’d done in the past.

“She’s not listening to you, Ms. Hazel! Ms. Know-it-all is going to get herself in over her head, and then you’ll have to bail her out again.” Maya shrugged as she looked over at Tiara, making it clear she didn’t believe the other miners were worth the trouble. And she was quick to point out that no one ever helped them .

“Whatever!” Tiara sighed, ignoring the conversation happening around her. She was good at tuning people out when they said things she didn’t care to hear. She was a grown woman, and no one would tell her how to live. Tiara would always look out for those who couldn’t look out for themselves, even if they weren’t part of her group. She hated seeing people suffering day in and day out.

Tiara sighed, hunching her shoulders. My intervention at the mine didn’t help a goddamn thing today. The guards threw the elderly woman’s food in the trash. I shared my meager sandwich with her, and it barely was enough. We never have enough!

She hurried through dinner, finally grabbing two slices of pie. It melted in her mouth, soothing her mood right along with it. She began thinking about her lesson plan for tonight’s class.

“Argh!” Tiara pulled back her sleeves, scratching her arms. “The allergens are really doing a number on me today.” The raised, dry patches of skin itched furiously.

“Me too,” all her friends echoed.

“Let me take a look at that,” said Ms. Hazel, crossing the room. She inspected each of their arms and then lifted their shirts. The dry patches extended onto their stomachs and their backs. “Hmm, it looks like you all have one heck of an allergic reaction. Did you touch something today?”

“No. It was bad yesterday and then got worse this morning at the market.” Tiara rubbed the scaly patches of dry skin that had bothered her and the girls since puberty. She was sure that growing up in the mining colony was the reason for the dry skin, though Ms. Hazel and many others at the outpost didn’t have it. Only Tiara and her friends. Thankfully, other than looking like dry skin, the patches were barely noticeable to others. Ms. Hazel sent a girl to get them medicated ointment to ease the itch while the others continued eating.

“How were sales today? Did we make enough to get new computer chips and wiring?” Tiara asked between mouthfuls of cobbler.

“Sales were good, but the taxes are killing us slowly.” Ms. Hazel read aloud the sales. Tiara was thankful they were good at building and repairing tech. Gifted in math and science, she and a few of her friends could replicate anything they saw. However, they needed money to buy more parts to create the technology they sold.

Ms. Hazel oversaw the outpost. Her business acumen kept the mine owners from running them away from their only shelter. She also kept them out of trouble with the enforcers, who looked for any reason to enslave workers in the mines without payment.

The outpost had once been a thriving science and technology center with space shuttles and sophisticated laboratories. Now, the rundown outpost sheltered them from the evil surrounding them. Thankfully, the scientific knowledge had been perfectly preserved, and Tiara and her friends were mastering it. Humans were treated poorly in the mining colony since they lacked magic and power. And without money, they had no way of changing things. But Tiara knew knowledge was power.

“I can’t wait to get off this goddamn mining colony one day and travel the stars like my mom!” Tiara stood, twirling around the room while pulling her friends along. “And live someplace where we can explore advanced science and technology.”

“Girl, the stars are not ready for your space sorority!” Ms. Hazel laughed as the girls giggled. “You’ll blow the galaxy apart!”

They were still laughing about their space sorority goals as they walked to the classroom. Their moms had been in a space sorority on Earth, rising to become top astronauts. They continued the sorority after arriving on Mineva. But their moms couldn’t return home once Earth’s atmosphere became acidic. Some were pregnant, like Tiara’s mom, and others came with tiny toddlers. Their moms became trapped on the mining planet. That was over twenty years ago. Tiara was proud to be the President of the Space Divas Sorority, the position her mother held until her untimely death.

In their own way, the girls used the sorority to raise awareness for equality in science and technology for those with magic and those without magic. Often, those with magic discounted the wonders of knowing how to use technology, believing it inferior. And those without magic sought to level up, destroying people with magic by building sophisticated weapons.

And somewhere within all that chaos, women and young girls were left out of the discussion—without knowing how to use either magic or technology to defend themselves. Tiara intended to set things straight. I want the best of both worlds. I want equality! And so did her friends. They enjoyed talking about their elaborate dreams of a life outside the mining colony.

“Well, the only way we’ll get off this mining colony is to make some money. And we all know how to do that!” She bumped hips with Maya and Lori as they laughed about dancing at the club after class.

“Be careful at the nightclub, girls! And don’t bring home any strangers!”

“Maya, did you hear Ms. Hazel?” Tiara burst into rueful laughter.

Maya glared. “Fuck you, Tiara!”