Born of Sand (Tales of a Dying Star Book 5) by David Kristoph Read Free Book Online

small ships we salvaged from the desert," Farrow said. "They're mostly two-person fighter craft, made for short distance travel and quick battles. And truth be told, they're not very good at that. We need a better engineer."
    "There has to be..." Mira said.
    Farrow stopped and gripped her by the shoulders. "Shit, Mira. I'm not lying to you. There's no way. At least, not yet. There might be in a few weeks, when we've finished what we're planning. But not before, no matter how much you plead and beg. So stop trying." He gestured to the door they'd stopped at. "Here's your room. No lock on the door this time, I swear it."
    Mira looked through the doorway. Although in a different part of the base, the room was nearly identical to her other cell: rusted metal walls, a small cot in the corner with faded blankets, barely wide enough to extend both arms out. "You should have just kept me in the other cell," she muttered.
    "Oh, you'll be much happier here. Those other rooms are adjacent to the power plant, and made to house small animals attached to computers." He took on a grim look. "If there's ever a toxic coolant leak the animals provide a cheap early warning system."
    "Oh." Suddenly her new room seemed like the Governor's crystal palace.
    "No bucket, either. The cleanliness room is down there. The kitchen is the other way. Two meals a day, nothing fancy, but it'll fill your belly. Anyways, recruiting is difficult out here because we don't know who we can trust. So we'll make the best of your accidental discovery of the base. There's always work around here that needs doing. If you want to earn your keep, you can start by helping Binny clean. I'll have her show you where the buckets and rags are."
    Cleaning? Remembering what she'd overheard between Akonai and Farrow, she said, "I can do more than that. I worked in a factory, assembling electroids piece by piece. I can help in the engineering bay."
    Farrow's face grew dark. "You ought to be careful what you overhear, and keep it to yourself. If you said something like that around Spider it'd convince him you're a spy after all."
    "We're not around Spider," she pointed out, "and you're wasting my skill. I'm not a maid. Let me help."
    "Putting pristine parts together on a conveyor belt," he said, "isn't the same as building them from spare junk. You need knowledge, not repetition."
    Mira began to protest, to say she'd worked at every station on the factory floor and knew the build order by heart, but Farrow added, "Shit, besides, if Spider saw you working on the electroids he'd probably kill you where you stood."
    Binny appeared from the adjacent room carrying two buckets sloshing with liquid. They were nearly as large as she was. "Ready to get started? It'll go easier with two!"
    Farrow must have seen the despair on Mira's face. "We can talk about leaving Praetar at a later time. But for now, if you want to help, you need to start here. You need to prove that we truly can trust you. Binny will show you the ropes."
    Mira bit her lip. She hadn't wandered into the desert to become a servant for some rebel group. She'd fled there to be free , to control her destiny, even if only in death. And her daughters were out there somewhere, waiting. Why couldn't they understand that? She crossed her arms and said, "I want to speak with Akonai, or whoever is in charge here."
    "Technically that's supposed to be me." He turned and walked away, saying, "Keep her in line, Binny," over his shoulder before disappearing around a corner.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 5
     

     
    Mira watched Farrow go with a mixture of annoyance and despair. She was back where she started, toiling for some masters who cared little for what she wanted. Except this time she was in an underground compound, in the middle of nowhere, with almost no hope of escape.
    Binny smiled up at her. "You can use this bucket. It's the good one. The other's bent, and sometimes spills. It'll be easier for you while you learn."
    The girl