'Explain/1 said. Kaleil shot me a glance.
'This rock's been worked pretty consistently for the last nine centuries. It's hazardous work, but the rewards are great. As you said, Cinchare's a rich source of many metals that are very hard to come by/
He took another swig.
'These last twenty years, the authorities here have been getting worried about the conditions. The gravity distortions. Cinchare moving ever closer into the grav fields of Pymbyle. Reckoning was that the place would be unviable in another eighty, ninety years. Imperial Allied and Ortog stepped up their work, trying to strip out as much as they could before Cinchare passed into a gravity envelope that would make it untouchable for the next few thousand years. The indie prospectors too… they came flocking. Regular old fashioned ore-rush, the past few years/
'So what happened?' asked Medea.
The Gravs/ said Bandelbi. He was clearing a seat for himself on one of the paper-stacked couches. He looked up and saw Medea's quizzically raised eyebrow.
'Gravity sickness/ he said at once in response to her unasked question. He scratched the birthmark on his neck nervously. He'd been keeping a keen eye on her. She was probably the first woman he'd seen in a while. Kaleil was more composed.
'Gravity sickness/ Bandelbi continued, 'weight distemper, lead-head, the Gravs… you know/
'Chronic Gravitisthesia, also known as Mazbur's Syndrome. A progressive disorder caused by exotic gravitational flux. Symptoms include paranoia, loss of co-ordination, bursts of anxiety or rapture, memory loss, hallucination and sometimes, in extremis, homicidal urges. The condition is usually accompanied by myasthenia gravis, osteochondritis, osteoporosis, scoliosis and leukaemia/ Aemos finished.
Kaleil widened his eyes. 'I thought you were a doctor of metals, doctor, not a medicae/
'I am. But gravity, that invisible power, is a fundamental part of the life of all elements. So I take an interest in it/
'Yeah, well… the predictions said Cinchare might become unviable due to gravity in ninety years. But the human body is softer than a hunk of mineral ore. The Gravs first showed up about two years back. Workers getting sick. A few cases of violence and insanity. Then we realised what was going on. Imperial Allied pulled out nine months ago. Ortog seven/
'It's ironic/ Aemos said. 'Cinchare is mineral rich precisely because of the exotic gravities it has been subjected to in its billion year life. Elements have been transmuted and rearranged here in ways that may be unique. Cinchare is a precious philosopher's stone, my friends, an alchemist's dream! And now mankind cannot benefit from its gifts for precisely the same reason they exist in the first place!'
'Yeah, doc, ironic is what it is/ said Bandelbi, knocking back his ale.
That doesn't explain why you're still here/ I said.
'Skeleton crew/ said Kaleil in a tone that said it was none of my business. The Adeptus Mechanicus pulled out too, about three months ago. But one of theirs stayed behind. Some sort of vital research that had to be finished. And we were ordered to stay behind and keep Cinchare Minehead open until he finished/
I moved round and looked out of the station windows. The plaza was empty of everything except trash. 'And how many is 'we', Enforcer?'
'Service crew of twenty. I'm in charge. All volunteers/
The techlords promised us triple pay!' Bandelbi told Medea, clearly trying to impress her.
'Gee whiz/ she smiled.
'Where are the others? The other eighteen?' I pressed.
Kaleil got up off his chair and tossed his empty bottle at an overflowing litter basket in the corner. It bounced off and broke on the floor. 'Around about. This is a big place. What you see is just the tip. Like a… what's it called, those frozen lumps of water they have in the sea on some planets?'
'Iceberg?' Medea suggested.
'Yeah, like one of those. Ninety per cent of Cinchare Minehead is subsoil. That's a crap of a lot of space to patrol, maintain and keep ticking over.'
'You're in vox contact with the rest of the skeleton crew?'
This tech-priest, the one who remained?' Aemos said. 'Where is he?'
Kaleil shrugged. 'Gone rockside. Into the karsts and the mines. I've not seen him for two months.'
'When do you expect him back?' Aemos said, as if it didn't matter.
Kaleil shrugged again. 'Never/
'What was his name?' I asked, turning to look directly into the enforcer's dark eyes.
'Bure/ he said. 'Why?'
'Well, this is all most perturbatory!' Aemos blurted, rising from his seat. The archduke will be very put out. It has cost a deal of time and money to venture this mission. Mr Kaleil… since we've come this far, I'd like to do what little I can/
'Like what, doctor?'
'Obtain some samples, inspect the phorydnum workings, study the mineralogy ledgers?'
'I don't know… Cinchare Minehead's meant to be closed up now. Officially/
Would it really be too much to ask? I'm sure the Lord Director of Imperial Allied would be pleased if you co-operated with me. Pleased enough to proffer a bonus if I made a report to him/
Kaleil frowned. 'Uh huh. What are we talking about?'
'A day to overview the ledgers and the mineralogy database, perhaps another day to examine the sample archives from the quarries. And… well, how long would it take to arrange a visit to the phorydnum face? The latest one?'
'I call my staff in, maybe two days round trip/
'So… excellent! Four days total and we'll be gone/
'I dunno…'said Bandelbi.
'Don't you want me hanging around for a few days?' asked Medea, reading Bandelbi's body language as acutely as any trained inquisitor, and revealing as much latent acting ability as Aemos.
'I shouldn't allow it/ said Kaleil. This place is off limits now. Company orders. You didn't ought to stay here/
'You stay here/ I pointed out.
'I get danger money/ he said.
And you could get more/ said Aemos. 'I promise you, I'll speak highly of your co-operation to the Lord Director of Imperial Allied… and my old
friends at the Adeptus. They would reward well anyone assisting a servant of the archduke/
'Get me an ale/ Kaleil told Bandelbi. He looked at us, rolling his chin. Til talk to my staff, see what they think/
'Good, good/ said Aemos. 'I do hope we can reach an arrangement. In the meantime, we'll need quarters. Are there spare beds here?'
'Cinchare's been fulla empty beds since the workforce moved out/ Bandelbi told Medea through a nasty smile.
'Find them a hab/ Kaleil told the miner. Til get on to the crew/
'Something's not right,' I said, pulling off my mask and tossing it onto the
