Gone But Not Forgotten

Before there was Lone Wolf, Shakazhan or The Maker, there was Gone But Not Forgotten. Below is an excerpt from this short story in the Lone Wolf Universe. For the entire story, for FREE check out the link.

Tortured winds ripped through the mining camp clinging to the inhospitable cliffs and crags of Saltulle. The hurricane force winds drove the blinding rain in horizontal sheets, stinging exposed skin. At times, the rain turned to sleet capable of sheering flesh from bone. When it wasn't raining, the wicked dessert heat baked a man dry in hours. Scorching sun, torrential rain and gales were everyday fare on Saltulle.

Synonymous with Purgatory in miners' vocabulary, Saltulle excelled in two things: providing the Mining Guild with ores and gems unavailable almost anywhere else and turning out the most experienced miners in the galaxy.

Edmund DuLac and his wife, Mary, had lived for nearly eighteen years. All three of their daughters were born on Saltulle. Matilda was fifteen, Brigette twelve and Amie eight.

Ed went through his morning routine automatically, fixing coffee and waking the girls. Mary hated rising early, but Ed's day began at 0500 each day. He usually had to drag Matilda up too, but the other girls were early risers like their father. Ed made breakfast while Brigette made lunches for three girls and one miner, who could eat as much as all of them combined.

Today was special though. The atmosphere of the small, sturdy house was charged with anticipation. Even Mary and Matilda were up for it was Matilda's first day of work. Ed had pulled a few strings and gotten her hired as a log runner. Her training was over, now she was a full fledged Miner One, lowest rank in the Galactic Mining Guild.

Log running was a relatively safe job for a teenager, for it merely involved going from one base camp to the next and logging their hourly dig rate. This job was done by comunit most places, but Saltulle's environment made communication virtually impossible. Special underground lines were in place for extreme emergencies such as a collapsed face or beast attack, but nothing short of life threatening condoned their use.

Matilda felt awkward in her stiff, new uniform. The khaki colored, ill fitting jump suit; heavy, steel tipped boots, safety goggles, hard hat and gloves were common to all miners.

Ed gazed at his tall, athletic daughter and grinned approvingly. Her sisters giggled at her and her mother smiled her support. Matilda tried to smile, but her nervousness prevented it.

"My baby girl, a miner like her old man. I can't tell you how proud I am, Tilda." Her father clapped her on the shoulder as he would have a son. "Following in her daddy's footsteps."

Breakfast was cleared away and the two younger girls left for school, still giggling. Matilda took her lunch in its insulated thermal box and followed her father to work. She had to check in with the supervisor before starting her day.

The mining supervisor was a man who had known Matilda her entire life. His name was Ivan MacHale, but the girls always called him Uncle Mac. Her father warned her repeatedly to call him Supervisor MacHale and not to slip if she knew what was good for her.

Knees shaking, hat and goggles in her hand, she was given her first assignment. Her lunch and portable computer logs packed securely in a heavy floater cycle, she followed a flashing yellow arrow on her console to Mine Base One, about twenty clix away.

The floater cycle handled like a lumbering elephant. However, it remained stable in all but the most severe weather. Each cycle was equipped with state of the art weather gear so she should have plenty of advance warning before a storm hit.

She was about two clix from Mine Base One when her spine tingled unpleasantly. The hair on her neck rose and her nerves jangled, making her very alert. Curious, she checked her weather report, but saw nothing unusual. It was a calm, clear day on Saltulle. Absently, she noted her relative position on her map and continued to Mine Base One.

It took about thirty minutes to complete her survey and log the numbers. The base was below quota by about twenty percent. Part of her duty was to interview the superintendent and mine leader to determine cause.

"To be honest, Log Runner DuLac, the site is damn near played out." The superintendent, a man named Murdock Pickford, handed her a hand held scanner, showing the most recent scans of the mining site.

Part of Matilda's training over the last six weeks had been familiarizing her with site scans. Even to her meagerly trained eye, something was out of place.

"What's this?" She pointed to an erratic peak in the scan. It was dark purple, jagged and taller than all the rest. Murdock leaned over her shoulder, looking at the scan.

"I don't know, never saw anything like it before."

"Mind if I have a copy of this? Might help out at main base so you don't get hammered on the low productivity."

Superintendent Pickford smiled and copied the files to her log. It wasn't her job to condemn or judge his people. All she did was record the information and take it back for some bureaucrat to peruse, categorize and file. The twenty percent drop could hurt. Miners had lost their ranks for less. Since he didn't particularly want to be busted down to Miner One, he was grateful to Matilda for taking the initiative to add his file to her log, as he was not in a position to ask her.

She left soon after and headed for the next mine base. Her path took her past the same spot where she had her odd feeling, but it didn't return.

For Your FREE copy of Gone But Not Forgotten and other Free Treats look for Dellani on Smashwords!

© Dellani Oakes 

Gone But Not Forgotten - Part 17

Screaming, weeping, Matilda followed the other three to the ladder, falling over obstacles in the dark, tripping on her own feet, hysterical with grief. She knew she had to get the rest of the team out, but she could hardly breathe. Panic took hold of her as another tremor, longer, deeper and more urgent shook the ground under their feet.

The other members stood by the ladder, uncertain what to do. "Up the ladder, reverse numbers!"

She had enough where-with-all to know she had to be last. Jane went first and the rest followed, hesitating over the gaps in their ranks, noticing and mourning those missing.

There was one person left, the largest man in the group. Mike delayed before going up. "You first, Matilda."

She shook her head. "By the numbers, Mike."

He forced a grin. "Yes, ma'am."

He put one foot on the ladder and the shaft began to crumble. He leapt back, knocking her aside as the soft, black dust fell over them. She had a moment of panic and she knew no more.
* * *

Matilda woke with a start, gasping for breath, the darkness thick around her. She couldn't move, her arms and legs pinned down. The weight was excruciating and she wished she had stayed unconscious. A minute or two later, she realized what had woken her.

"4-6-2, this is Base. 4-6-2, this is Base. Can you hear me?"

She moaned, her entire body felt broken.

"4-6-2, Matilda, this is Jane. Can you hear me? Mike? Answer me!" Her voice held an edge of desperation.

"It's me," Mike croaked. "Matilda is here, I can feel her next to me." He tapped her left arm.

"Can't see..." Matilda groaned.

"The tunnel fell in on you. A team is on the way. Can you move?"

"No," Matilda said after a few moments of trying.

"Negative, Base," Mike sounded less wounded than she.

After a few more minutes, she realized part of the weight on her was Mike's body. She moaned again.

The pain was incredible and she slipped once more into unconsciousness. When she woke again, she was in the Guild infirmary. Sterile white walls met a black and white tile checkerboard floor. Muted voices and the sounds of food carts greeted her ringing ears.

She could not turn her head as she was in a neck brace, but her peripheral vision showed her the bed next to her was empty. The sheets looked rumpled, so someone had been using it.

The toilet flushed and Mike hobbled out on crutches. His smile was warm and friendly, tinged with sadness. Reality struck home as she remembered Bobby's last words as he fell. Tears ran down her cheeks and she sobbed, mourning his loss and that of their friends.

"They are still looking, Matilda."

"He fell too far, Mike. I know it. Their bodies will never be found. What happened?"

She rubbed her eyes with the back of her right hand. The left was in traction.

"They hit a pocket of Essine gas when they were digging. That entire side of the mine went down. They've had to close the whole site."

"Tests and scans are supposed to be done for Essine...."

He nodded sadly. "Someone screwed up."

"I'll have their job for this!" The pain increased with her anger.

"They're dead, Tilda. Just like Bobby."

"Not just like! At least their death was quick! He fell and there was nothing I could do! Just stand there and watch!" It was then she noticed her ring finger was bare. "My ring!" Before she could get more worked up, he handed her a small plastic bag with her engagement ring. The band had been sliced and it was covered with muck and crusted blood.

"They had to cut it off, but the nurse made sure to save it. You can get it cleaned and repaired, it will be good as new." Her lip was trembling and hot tears spattered the bag, puddling in the folds and creases.

"It doesn't matter. Put it away."

He did as she asked and waited for the food cart to stop by. There was nothing left to say. No words could make her feel any better.

Gone But Not Forgotten - Part 14

Room assignments came next. Couples were housed on the first three floors, singles paired up and were on floors four through eight.

"Take a key and move on," the attendant here said. "One key per person."

Before leaving the building, they received directions to their building and then put their stasuits. These were checked and rechecked at the door. Corrections were made as needed, none too politely.

"We start Monday, Tilda," Bobby sounded apprehensive.

"Bobby, I hate this place," Matilda shuddered, clinging to his arm.

"So do I, honey. It will be all right, we won't be here all that long."

They found their room without any difficulty. James and his girlfriend, Stella, were next door. After unpacking their scant belongings in the cheerless, tile and metal room, they went to the cafeteria in the basement. Each dorm had its own to minimize exposure to the outdoors. The food wasn't too bad, at least it wasn't gray.
* * *
Monday dawned and the only difference was that the sky was a lighter shade of gray than it was at night. Darkness took on a lurid cast in the light of the orange gas lights scattered about.

Decked out in their gear, the four of them approached the mine with trepidation. They had been assigned to a team with six other people. After three weeks of training, Matilda would be taking over. She was terrified.

"I don't really see why you get to be in charge," Jane complained for the hundredth time. "I scored higher than you on the aptitude test."

"Only two points," Stella quipped, liking Jane's discomfort.

"Because," James was only too happy to be the one explaining this time, "she out ranked you on Saltulle. Foreman DuLac, remember?"

Jane stalked away in a huff. James and Stella laughed after her.
"She can have the job as far as I'm concerned," Matilda commented. "Do you know how many rules and safety regulations I have to memorize in the next three weeks?"

"You can do it, Tilda. I'll help you," Bobby told her, squeezing her fingers.

"Thanks! I can use all the help I can get!"

Their shift went quietly and they learned more about Chaxite than they ever hoped to. Getting home that evening, after dinner and a hot shower, Matilda sat down with her regulations. Bobby came in and sat across from her, gazing at her intently.

"What?" She felt flustered and confused by his look.

"We need to decide something, Tilda. When do we want to get married? There is an actual minister here, we could have a church wedding."

"I really can't think about it until training is over."

"What will be the next excuse, Matilda? We could have married on the ship, but you didn't want to. Do you even want to marry me?" His eyes filled with angry tears which he blinked away.

She took his hand in hers. "Yes, Bobby, I do want to marry you. I love you. But I want to be able to enjoy our wedding and our time together afterwards and until I get through this training, I just can't. We can get married right after as a celebration, okay?"

He smiled weakly. "Alright, I guess I can wait. I'm holding you to this, Matilda DuLac." He reached for her rule book. "Here, let me have that, I'll quiz you."

"I do love you, Bobby." They spent the next three hours studying the rules until both of them knew them by heart.

Gone But Not Forgotten - Part 11

Matilda woke on a morning six weeks later and realized not only was it her seventeenth birthday, but it was her last day on Saltulle. Her family was headed for a mining colony on Solaris in the Zapata system. She was being sent to a mining colony on Parisium and Bobby was going with her.

After three years, if she worked hard enough, she would be eligible for transfer to officer's training. That program alone took an additional three years and the most she could hope for was Commander on a mining vessel. If she were extremely lucky, eventually she would be given a Captaincy, but she doubted it. In the entire three centuries of its existence, there had been three female captains in the Mining Guild.

She dressed quickly, anxious to spend time with her family. Solaris was a long way from Parisium and she did not foresee any chance for visits. She had Bobby, that would have to suffice.

When she got to the kitchen, there was a flurry of activity. A banner across the doorway said, "Happy Birthday, Tilda!" This time her sisters had enough time to finish it and had liberally decorated it with oblique balloons and slightly psychotic clowns.

Her mother had fixed a special breakfast to which Bobby had been invited. He was sitting, tipped back in his chair, talking to her father. He stood when she walked in. His kiss was carefully platonic, although their relationship had progressed to the next level. Matilda suspected her father knew she and Bobby were lovers, but he said nothing. He liked Bobby, who was steady and reliable. They had talked about marriage, but never formalized it, leaving it nebulous. For some reason, she never felt quite as strongly about their relationship as he did.

"Happy Birthday, Tilda," he said softly, kissing her again.

"Look what we got you!" Her sisters chorused, grabbing her by the hand and dragging her to the table. A small stack of presents were by her plate. The largest was from her parents. It was about 11" x 10" and flat. It contained a holographic photo frame loaded with pictures of her family from her parents' wedding to their last big event, Amie's seventh birthday.

All of them were clustered around Amie at the end of the table as she blew out candles. Behind and to the left was Wil, seen in profile, a sad smile on his full lips. Matilda paused, gazing at the photo, for he had not been looking at Amie, but at her. She lingered over the photo for a moment, then set the frame aside to look at her other presents.

The girls had made her cards and gifts. From Amie, she had a bracelet made of stones and chunks of metal she had found lying around. Amie had no way of knowing that those scraps were worth a small fortune anywhere but Saltulle. Brigette's gift was two fold. First an autograph book all of them had signed. It also contained messages from everyone she had been able to charm in to sighing it, which was virtually everyone in the town. The other half of her gift was a diary.

"That's so you can write down all the exciting things that happen to you," Brigette said proudly.

"Thanks, girls," she hugged each of them. "This is the best birthday ever."

Bobby smiled secretively. "I'll give you mine later after we get on board the ship."

Surprised and curious, she gave him a long, appraising look.

Gone But Not Forgotten - part 7

Matilda has discovered that there might be Trimagnite on Saltulle. She is sensitive to the elusive, toxic, liquid ore. Wil & her father have asked her to show Wil where she was when she had her encounter. Matilda has made another discovery too, she realizes that she's falling in love with "Uncle Wil".

Matilda dressed carefully but with an eye to practicality. First, comfortable jeans which fit her very well, emphasizing her slender hips and firm thighs. Her shirt was a long sleeved, plaid cotton worn over a white tank top. Gloves and helmet were standard issue. No one left them or their goggles and filter masks behind. Thick soled boots completed her outfit. It wasn’t fancy, but it was the best she could do.

Brigette tapped on her door and poked her head in. “Uncle Wil says, are you ready?”

“Be right there.” A dab of her favorite perfume behind each ear and she was ready.

Wil was waiting outside on a bright red floater cycle. He grinned widely, as if he hadn’t a care in the world.

“Hey, baby girl,” he borrowed her father’s nickname. “Ready?”

In reply, she hopped on the back seat of the cycle, strapped in and gave Wil the coordinates of the spot she had felt the Trimagnite’s pull the day before.

“If you feel anything at all, say so. I don’t care how dumb or trivial it seems. If your nose itches, tell me.”

“Okay, Uncle Wil.”

They took off smoothly. Wil’s cycle was heavier than the Guild’s but more powerful and maneuverable. It was also completely silent. All they heard were the stones, kicked up by as it glided by, hitting the bottom of the cycle.

“I think you’re old enough to call me just plain Wil, don’t you?”

He glanced over his shoulder at her when she did not reply right away. She nodded and was opening her mouth to reply, when they hit a patch of turbulence, a small dust devil which was easier to go through than around. Conversation was impossible and she had to throw her arms around Wil and hang on, afraid she’d fall off.

A year ago this small gesture would not have affected her, but as her body changed and blossomed, she was very conscious of her growing breasts pressed against his muscular back. It felt strange. She was aware, too, of how comforting his body was near hers. Not in the way of a child with her favorite uncle, but as a woman with a man.

The effect on Wil when she clung to him, was electric! An insignificant thing set his heart pounding and his adrenaline rushing.

“She's a child,” he reminded himself. “My friend’s child, what’s more.”

He fought for self control and concentrated on maneuvering the cycle through the dust devil. He successfully got himself under control until the wind shifted, bringing with it the scent of her perfume.

It was expensive, something he had bought for her mother, but in her peculiar way, Mary had said it wasn’t her style. She gave it to Matilda, not because Mary didn’t like the scent, but because she saw the expression of longing in her daughter’s eyes when she looked at the tiny, blue crystal bottle and experienced the fragrance.

It mixed with a woman’s chemistry and was guaranteed to smell different on everyone. Wil’s sensitive nose loved the exotic aroma and he enjoyed picking out the subtle differences between them. He suppressed a sigh of contentment as her scent wafted toward him.

“A child...” echoed in his mind.

She stiffened suddenly, as they approached the site. Still several clix away, she was experiencing something. Taking careful note of the coordinates, he stopped the cycle and turned to her.

Her face was pale and drawn, dark eyes wide with confused terror. She clung to him as if she were drowning and only he could save her. He had seen the look before on the face of sensitives. The pocket must be very close. He sniffed, lifting his head, filtering out her scent. Standing with difficulty, as she refused to release her hold, he slid away from her gently. Her hand shot out, grabbing his shirt in a vice grip, pulling the hairs on his chest. Tortured eyes sought his.

“Don’t leave me,” she gasped. “What is it? Why do I feel...?” She could not put the feeling in words.

Holding her hand, he walked a few feet from the cycle and sniffed again. There it was! The tang was unmistakable; like lemon oil, cloves and sweat with an overlay of metal. He drew a breath through his mouth, tasting the air as it traveled across his tongue.

“It’s a big one.” He went back to the cycle and she trailed him silently, wide eyed like a frightened puppy.

Wil took a sophisticated scanning device and made detailed readings of the area. Matilda sat on the sled, shivering, although it was a hot day. Absorbed in his work, Wil didn’t notice right away. He spoke to her, but she didn’t respond, and he grew concerned.

“Matilda?”

He glanced at her, immediately worried. She was going into shock. He marked the post with a guild beeper and gathered his equipment. Then he picked her up, plopped her on the seat in front of him and turned the cycle toward Mine Base One. He radioed ahead and Murdock met them personally. Wil had been friends with Murdock for years.

“What’s wrong?” Murdock's eyes held deep concern for Matilda.

Wil looked around, his penetrating gaze deterring interference from others. He leaned over to Murdock and whispered, “Trim shock.”

“Trim shock?” The other man was appalled.

Trimagnite sensitives would sometimes react badly to a pocket, particularly a large one which was near the surface.

“First time out, it’s my fault. The pocket is huge! Where’s the doctor?”

“Watson’s in his office, sober for once.”

“Let’s get her there immediately, show me.” He lifted Matilda up as if she weighed nothing and followed Murdock to the doctor’s house which doubled as an office.

The old man clicked into high gear when he heard what the problem was. “Get me a double shot of joe,” he told Murdock.

Look for Part 8 at my Word Press site: http://dellanioakes.wordpress.com

Gone But Not Forgotten

This is a spin-off of my sci-fi series, "The Lone Wolf" coming soon from Second Wind Publishing. I took two of the main characters and expanded upon their backgrounds and how they were interconnected.

Wil VanLipsig, the Lone Wolf, is a mercenary, assassin, ex-Marine who was genetically enhanced at the age of 26. Since then, he hasn't aged a day. Matilda DuLac is the eldest daughter of Wil's closest friend. Though he's much older, Wil finds himself falling in love with the beautiful, self-confident teenager. For part 2: http://dellanioakes.wordpress.com/

Tortured winds ripped through the mining camp which clung to the inhospitable cliffs and crags of Saltulle. Synonymous with Purgatory in miner’s vocabulary, Saltulle excelled in two things: providing the Mining Guild with ores and gems unavailable almost anywhere else and turning out the most experienced miners in the galaxy.

The hurricane force winds drove the blinding rain in horizontal sheets, stinging exposed skin. At times, the rain turned to sleet which could sheer flesh from bone. Scorching sun, torrential rain and gales were on the surface, the real fun started underground. There dwelt the beasts of the dark.

The beasts were subterranean cave dwellers who long ago had been driven to deep cover by Saltulle’s foul weather and solar flares. Their shaggy coats were a mottled calico of burnt orange, dirty brown and rusty red. Their teeth were nearly nine inches long, with claws of equal length and lethality. Their disposition matched their environment.

Those who encountered these formidable creatures rarely lived to tell about it. The beasts could see in the dark, and track miners through solid rock. Lightning swift attacks made them nearly impossible to kill. The miners had set traps for awhile, only to find them decimated when they checked them. Often as not, they were ambushed by the beasts for they were diabolically clever animals.

It was here that Edmund DuLac and his wife, Mary, had lived for nearly eighteen years. All three of their daughters were born on Saltulle. Matilda was fifteen, Brigette twelve and Amie eight.

Ed went through his morning routine automatically, fixing coffee and waking the girls. Mary hated rising early, but Ed’s day began at 0500 each day. He usually had to drag Matilda up too, but the other girls were early risers like their father. Ed made breakfast while Brigette made lunches for three girls and one miner, who could eat as much as all of them combined. Today was special though. The atmosphere of the small, sturdy house was charged with anticipation. Even Mary and Matilda were up for it was Matilda’s first day of work. Ed had pulled a few strings and gotten her hired as a log runner. Her training was over, now she was a full fledged Miner One, lowest rank in the Galactic Mining Guild.

Log running was a relatively safe job for a teenager, for it merely involved going from one base camp to the next and logging their hourly dig rate. This job was done by comunit most places, but Saltulle’s environment made communication virtually impossible. Special underground lines were in place for extreme emergencies such as a collapsed face or beast attack, but nothing short of life threatening condoned their use.

Matilda felt awkward in her uniform, which consisted of a khaki colored, ill fitting jump suit; heavy, steel tipped boots, safety goggles, hard hat and gloves. The gloves were more like chain mail gauntlets, articulated across the knuckles and reinforced with strips of tanned beast hide. Stronger and more durable than faux leather, they protected the miners’ hands better than metal alone.

Ed gazed at his tall, athletic daughter and grinned approvingly. Her sisters giggled at her and her mother smiled supportively. Matilda tried to smile, but her nervousness prevented it.

“My baby girl, a miner like her old man. I can’t tell you how proud I am, Tilda.” Her father clapped her on the shoulder as he would have a son. “Following in her daddy’s footsteps.” He chuckled.

Breakfast was cleared away and the two younger girls left for school, still giggling. Matilda took her lunch in its insulated thermal box and followed her father to work. She had to check in with the supervisor before starting to work.

The mining supervisor was a man who had known her father over twenty years and Matilda her entire life. His name was Ivan MacHale, but the girls always called him Uncle Mac. Today, her father had warned her repeatedly to call him Supervisor MacHale and not to slip if she knew what was good for her.

Knees shaking, hat and goggles in her hand, she was given her first assignment. Her lunch and portable computer logs packed securely in a heavy floater cycle, she followed a flashing yellow arrow on her console to Mine Base One, about twenty clix away.

The floater cycle handled like a lumbering elephant, but remained stable in all but the most severe weather. Each cycle was equipped with state of the art weather gear so she should have plenty of advance warning before a storm hit.

She was about two clix from Mine Base One when her spine tingled unpleasantly. The hair on her neck rose and her nerves jangled, making her very alert. Curious, she checked her weather report, but saw nothing unusual. It was a calm, clear day on Saltulle.

Absently, she noted her relative position on her map and continued to Mine Base One.

Part 2 is at: http://dellanioakes.wordpress.com/