Born of Sand (Tales of a Dying Star Book 5) by David Kristoph Page B
Authors: David Kristoph
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famished she'd felt until the smell of soup hit her nose. Binny was right: it was mostly water, with a bit of soft vegetable every third spoonful. Mira didn't care. She moved her spoon like a weapon, eating the broth as quickly as she could, and sopping up the remains with her bread.
Only after turning her attention away from the soup did she notice Spider. He sat across the room on the floor in a corner, his bowl in one hand and spoon in the other, eyes searching while he ate. They lingered a long time on Mira, so she looked away.
"He always does that," Binny said with soup in her mouth. "Doesn't trust anyone. No one really trusts him, either, on account that he's a Melisao."
"I can see why."
She tore off tiny chunks of her bread and examined the rest of the group. Individuals slowly finished their meals and left. They all wore faded clothes in muted shades of brown and orange. The one splash of vibrancy came from the long cape each person wore. It ran down to the ankles in rippling shades of gold, flickering in the overhead light of the kitchen. It seemed so out of place compared with the rest of the filth--both within the base and on the people themselves--that Mira was at a loss for words.
She was about to ask Binny about it when Maggy appeared over her shoulder. She leaned over and took their empty bowls from the table... and smoothly replaced them with two new ones, filled with another serving of soup. She patted Binny on the shoulder and disappeared. Binny gave Mira a look that said I told you so.
Mira was tempted to ask for another piece of bread as well, but decided not to try her luck.
The only ones remaining were them, Spider, and Maggy when the two engineers suddenly strode back into the kitchen. "Which one of you did this?" one asked, holding out an electroid arm like a club.
Binny stiffened, and across the room Spider rose to his feet, braids swaying.
The engineers approached their table. "You two were in there," one accused. "Did you see who fouled up our electroid parts? Or did you do it, newcomer?" He jabbed the part in Mira's direction.
She'd been brave before, but now fear crept up her spine. "You were using parts from different models. It was all wrong. It wouldn't have functioned properly. I fixed it, and assembled three different models of arms so you can see the difference between each one."
She felt proud and confident, but it only lasted a moment.
"We didn't want it to function properly," one of the engineers spat, waving the arm in her face. "We wanted it to function well-enough to hold a weapon. The O-18 model's elbow joints can't support the weight, so we have to swap it with the O-20 model. We don't care about range of motion, so long as it can aim straight and steady."
Oh , thought Mira.
The two engineers boxed her in, and she was vaguely aware of Spider approaching from across the room. I was supposed to prove my worth , she thought frantically. All she'd proven was that she could be a nuisance.
Binny got to her feet and cried, "She was only trying to help!" Her hands balled into fists as she moved between them, standing protectively over Mira.
The second engineer slammed his electroid arm down on the table with a clang and pushed Binny out of the way. "You connected the clamp wiring all wrong, too. It's supposed to route along the grooves in the outer casing, but instead you wrapped it around the pneumatic pump."
Spider had reached the table, and stood with his legs spread, holding his empty bowl like a weapon. Soup ran out the side and dribbled onto the floor.
Any courage Mira had mustered earlier disappeared. "They trained us to do it that way," she said, hunching down into her shoulders. "The grooves along the forearm plate get too hot and damage the wires. They said it would be fixed in a later model, but until then we were instructed..."
"That doesn't make any sense..." said the second engineer.
"Who the fuck is 'they' ?" the first engineer asked.
Mira said, "The
Only after turning her attention away from the soup did she notice Spider. He sat across the room on the floor in a corner, his bowl in one hand and spoon in the other, eyes searching while he ate. They lingered a long time on Mira, so she looked away.
"He always does that," Binny said with soup in her mouth. "Doesn't trust anyone. No one really trusts him, either, on account that he's a Melisao."
"I can see why."
She tore off tiny chunks of her bread and examined the rest of the group. Individuals slowly finished their meals and left. They all wore faded clothes in muted shades of brown and orange. The one splash of vibrancy came from the long cape each person wore. It ran down to the ankles in rippling shades of gold, flickering in the overhead light of the kitchen. It seemed so out of place compared with the rest of the filth--both within the base and on the people themselves--that Mira was at a loss for words.
She was about to ask Binny about it when Maggy appeared over her shoulder. She leaned over and took their empty bowls from the table... and smoothly replaced them with two new ones, filled with another serving of soup. She patted Binny on the shoulder and disappeared. Binny gave Mira a look that said I told you so.
Mira was tempted to ask for another piece of bread as well, but decided not to try her luck.
The only ones remaining were them, Spider, and Maggy when the two engineers suddenly strode back into the kitchen. "Which one of you did this?" one asked, holding out an electroid arm like a club.
Binny stiffened, and across the room Spider rose to his feet, braids swaying.
The engineers approached their table. "You two were in there," one accused. "Did you see who fouled up our electroid parts? Or did you do it, newcomer?" He jabbed the part in Mira's direction.
She'd been brave before, but now fear crept up her spine. "You were using parts from different models. It was all wrong. It wouldn't have functioned properly. I fixed it, and assembled three different models of arms so you can see the difference between each one."
She felt proud and confident, but it only lasted a moment.
"We didn't want it to function properly," one of the engineers spat, waving the arm in her face. "We wanted it to function well-enough to hold a weapon. The O-18 model's elbow joints can't support the weight, so we have to swap it with the O-20 model. We don't care about range of motion, so long as it can aim straight and steady."
Oh , thought Mira.
The two engineers boxed her in, and she was vaguely aware of Spider approaching from across the room. I was supposed to prove my worth , she thought frantically. All she'd proven was that she could be a nuisance.
Binny got to her feet and cried, "She was only trying to help!" Her hands balled into fists as she moved between them, standing protectively over Mira.
The second engineer slammed his electroid arm down on the table with a clang and pushed Binny out of the way. "You connected the clamp wiring all wrong, too. It's supposed to route along the grooves in the outer casing, but instead you wrapped it around the pneumatic pump."
Spider had reached the table, and stood with his legs spread, holding his empty bowl like a weapon. Soup ran out the side and dribbled onto the floor.
Any courage Mira had mustered earlier disappeared. "They trained us to do it that way," she said, hunching down into her shoulders. "The grooves along the forearm plate get too hot and damage the wires. They said it would be fixed in a later model, but until then we were instructed..."
"That doesn't make any sense..." said the second engineer.
"Who the fuck is 'they' ?" the first engineer asked.
Mira said, "The
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