THE PLANET THAT LOVED PEOPLE (standard:science fiction, 1364 words) [7/18] show all parts
Author: Danny Raven	Added: Mar 04 2016	Views/Reads: 1551/1183	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
PART 1 - CH 6

SIX 

They were a long time out there on the moor. Tyler seemed to be doing
most of the talking with Kane listening and nodding now and then. 

At first the other prisoners watched patiently from the prescribed
distance but as time dragged on and there was no sign of them coming 
back they grew restless and started shouting and jeering at them over 
the moor. This was ignored so they gave up and argued amongst 
themselves for a while. They soon tired of this as well and bored, 
drifted off in small groups back to the Ship. 

Gathering round it they started throwing rocks at its force-field, just
for the hell of it. Someone came up with the idea of throwing the Worm 
against it, just to see him bounce off so they grabbed him and were 
about to throw him when Tyler and Kane were spotted heading back. They 
quickly lost interest in the Worm and he was tossed to the ground. He 
landed hard on the coarse grass and he lay there rubbing his bruised 
side, cursing them under his breath. 

As they were returning, Tyler and Kane could hear some cheering going on
around the Ship. They stopped and tried to see what was happening but 
the semi-circle of prisoners blocked their view. They continued, 
re-joining them a minute later. 

“Hey Kane, what the fuck's going on!?” yelled Sinto Ad. 

“Yeah, we're tired waiting!” yelled Miller. “What the hell does the
Fleet want here?” 

“Volunteers,” Kane replied calmly. 

“Volunteers for what?” Miller asked, suspicious. 

“To go and collect silicon,” Kane answered when he had their attention.
“Maybe you don't know but it seems silicon is pretty scarce these days. 
Everybody needs it, mainly for computers and it seems they're running 
real short of it on Earth. Real short. Seems there's only enough to 
last another few years so they're getting desperate and--” 

“Aw, you're breakin my fucking heart, Kane!” Sinto yelled. 

The prisoners laughed and Kane had to wait till they quietened down
again. 

“They've been sending out Probe Ships to look for it,” he went on. “One
of them has turned up almost a whole planet of the stuff. It's lying 
around just below the surface waiting to be dug up. So here's your big 
chance to get off Sirene. Tyler's here looking for volunteers to go and 
collect it for them. Any takers?” 

“Why don't the Fleet go and collect it?” Miller asked. 

Kane hesitated and looked round them slowly, knowing what their reaction
was going to be. They became restless waiting for his answer as if they 
sensed there had to be a catch. There was. 

“It's on Chameleon,” he said eventually. 

There was dead silence. For a while nobody moved. Then they glanced at
one another and shuffled about uneasily. Chameleon. They all knew or 
had heard about the planet, knew what could happen there. Nobody in 
their right mind would go, not even to get off Sirene, not if they 
wanted to stay sane. 

“Christ that place is worse than this,” Sinto said. “You know that.” 

There was murmured agreement from the other prisoners. 

“A month long trip to Chameleon gets you your freedom plus one million
UniCredits,” Kane told them. 

There were still no takers. 

“I'd rather rot here than risk that place,” said Miller. 


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