a Tale Among the Stars

Chapter 14: Site Manager; part 2

William looked down at his pad as he marked off another drill on his list. Each one looked to be just as old as his old BB-22 unit, and just as broken.

"Wow," he said, sighing as he managed to scrape off some rust again off the side of yet another tool. "They really dont care do they? The government is all about space exploration but making it easier to obtain the things that let us do that? Nah."

William shook his head as he ticked off the last drill on his list. He scratched his head with the end of his pencil as he looked at the rest if the tasks that he needed to do. Check the manual tools, look at every employee's progress for the day, fix any broken electrical problems... honestly, he when he thought manager, he didn't think of this. He thought of some guy that also worked with their people down on the ground.

William was more of a hands on guy. He didn't like paperwork, but this was his job now. Perhaps he could sneak into the mines during the night? He did have level 2 access  now, and he could always come up with some excuse. Yeah, he really didn't like messing around with wires-

"Wait," he whispered to himself, pausing as he went to go to his next assignment. "Then why am I building..." he began to think deeply about the last few days.

As he finished up the last if his paperwork, William stretched his hands towards the ceiling if the cave. He had decided to finish it off down in the deepest parts if the mines, in the exact tunnel he had been excavating. It felt more natural to him to work somewhere he had been for several years. It just felt right.

"How long have I been down here?" He asked himself, looking down at the corner if his Holopad. It was currently 1:42 am Earth time. To William, extremely late.

"Fuck!" He shouted, and quickly gathered up his Holopad. He needed to sleep, or he wouldn't be able to wake up the next day. He turned to go back the way he had come hours before when he heard the resounding echo of a small rock hitting the side of the cave.

William stopped, hand slowly reaching for his beam knife. Did someone follow him down here? Was somebody really after his life? He didn't think that it was the case. He was just some ordinary Joe, not worth the effort to kill. Hell, if they went after him, he'd probably not be worth the trouble. Another rock hit the side of the cave, smaller and quieter this time. Did they know that he had noticed them? He didn't want to find out. Clutching his beam knife, he sprinted back up the tunnel.

He could hear whoever's was with him following him close behind. It seemed like they had given up all semblance of.stralth and were flat out just trying to catch him.

"Fuck off!" William shouted over his shoulder, scooping up a slab of granite with the hand that was unoccupied.

The mysterious person didn't say a word, but he could hear them speed up.

"Dammit I warned you!" William yelled, and threw the slab of granite over his shoulder. There was a resounding thud as he heard it hit them, then the sound of a plasma rifle powering up. He quickly leapt to the side and hid behind a rock as he felt the heat if the plasma whizz past his face. Thankfully it passed by the side of his face that was covered by the medical foam. There was some slight burning and there was a new black spot near where his cheek would be but other than that he was fine.

"God dammit you trying to kill me?"

William peeked out from behind his rock and tentatively put a foot forward. The mysterious figure looked like it was cursing and attempting to reload his rifle. The are that the first shot had hit was scorched and had carved a deep hole into the tunnel. Thinking quickly, William dashed for the entrance. No matter how good he was with his knife, he was facing a plasma rifle. It had far more range than he did.

"Wait!" The figure shouted, but William kept running. He knew that the moment he stopped he was a dead man.

Running up the path, he quickly scanned his face at the door, glancing around for any signs that the mysterious figure was nearby. However, as he walked inside he still could see nothing. Nothing seemed amiss. The figure didn't even look as if they had left the tunnel yet.

"Is something wrong Sir Hawtalon?" Eve asked suddenly, making William jump.

"Jesus Eve! I told you to warn me!" William had very nearly swung at her. Of course that wouldn't have really mattered. She WAS a hologram.

"I apologize." She answered, clearly amused at his fright.

"This isn't funny! Someone just tried to kill me Eve!"

Eve became serious immediately as she "sat" on the sofa. She seemed to be thinking as she sat there, her concentration slipping on he hologram and glitching occasionally. Odd, thought William, A.I. usually couldnt lose concentration. It was a part of their code to keep their holograms up and running, so it was virtually impossible for them to lose concentration.

"This is serious." Eve said after a long time, looking up at William.

William nodded as he sat down in the sofa as well. He had known that they were going  to come after him, but he didn't expect them so soon. How did they know where he was? Were they watching him?

"Dont worry sir," Eve said, placing her 'hand' on his shoulder, clipping though slightly. "I am here to support you. I am your personal A.I. Unit. Please, if you need any help, use my resources."

William nodded and looked out the very small window by the sofa. Why was he protecting Luna when his own life was put in danger?