(Arc 1) Discontent and Discovery (changed)

Kade staggered backward, the hiss of escaping gas roaring in his ears. The pressure sent waves of heat rippling through the cavern, forcing him to shield his face. He glanced around, his heart pounding as the miners scrambled to avoid the geyser of vapour surging from the broken rock.

“Shut it down! Get the rigs out of there!” an overseer’s voice barked through the comms, but the order came too late. One of the mining rigs jerked violently as its operator tried to retreat, the vibrations from the gas pocket making the machine stutter like a wounded animal.

Kade’s own rig wobbled as the ground beneath him shuddered. “Renn, move! Now!”

Renn’s voice crackled through the link, full of panic. “I’m trying! It’s stuck!”

Kade looked over, spotting Renn’s rig caught in a jagged section of rock, its left arm jammed at an awkward angle. The pressure in the cavern climbed higher, the air growing hotter as warning lights flashed across Kade’s visor. He didn’t think. He just moved, swinging his rig’s drill arm toward Renn’s, breaking the jammed rock free with a satisfying crunch.

“Go!” Kade shouted.

Renn’s rig pulled back just as the geyser burst higher, shooting flames of bright blue gas into the cavern’s roof. The heat rippled through Kade’s suit, making his visor fog. His heart thudded as he followed Renn toward the nearest ledge, keeping as low as the bulky machine allowed.

By the time they reached the edge of the platform, the overseers had formed a line, their visored helmets gleaming in the dim light. One of them stepped forward, raising a hand to halt the miners.

“Abandon the rigs and return to the quarters immediately,” the overseer ordered, their voice as cold as steel.

Kade felt his fists clench inside the rig’s controls. They’d just risked their lives, barely made it out, and now the overseers wanted them to leave everything behind without a word of explanation.

An older miner, grimy and hunched with years of labour, spat at the overseer’s boots. “We lost good men down there! You think we’ll just—”

The overseer raised their rifle, cutting the man’s words short. “Return. To. Quarters,” the voice repeated, cold and detached.

Kade’s stomach churned as the miners reluctantly backed away, muttering curses under their breath. He glanced at Renn, who gave him a shaky thumbs-up, but his usual smile was missing.

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The walk back to the quarters was silent. No one had the energy to speak after the near-disaster in the mines. When they finally reached the upper levels, Kade removed his helmet, sucking in the stale, dusty air of the quarters. The metallic tang of sweat and dirt clung to him, as familiar as the grey sludge that passed for dinner.

Inside their shared living space, his mother was already seated at the small metal table, her thin frame hunched over a steaming packet of food. His father leaned against the wall, wiping soot from his face with a frayed cloth.

“Rough shift?” his father asked, his tone clipped.

Kade dropped into his chair, too exhausted to answer. His father didn’t press him. Instead, he slid a ration packet across the table, its contents oozing out like thick mud.

The meal was tasteless, a dense, nutrient-packed paste designed to keep them alive and strong enough to work, but nothing more. Kade forced it down, his stomach tightening as he thought of the overseers, their pristine suits and mirrored helmets. He doubted they had to choke down this sludge after their shifts.

“It’s getting worse,” Renn said suddenly, breaking the silence as he slumped into the chair beside Kade. He ran a hand through his dusty blond hair, leaving streaks of dirt across his forehead. “That gas pocket? It could’ve killed all of us.”

“They don’t care,” Kade muttered, his voice low.

Renn nodded, his expression unusually serious. “And you know why, don’t you?”

Kade frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Renn glanced around the room, as if checking for eavesdroppers, then leaned closer. “I found something. After the shift. Look.” He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, its edges torn and smeared with grease.

Kade unfolded it, squinting at the faded lines and symbols scrawled across the page. It was a diagram of some kind, showing storage tanks labelled Core Gas alongside rows of sleek, glowing tubes. At the bottom, a caption read: Lumos Project – Core Lighting for Luxury Living.

“It’s for lights,” Renn said bitterly, his voice shaking. “All that gas we’ve been breaking our backs for? It’s just for fancy lights in the core worlds.”

Kade stared at the page, his chest tightening. He’d always assumed the gas was for something important—power plants, starship engines, something critical to humanity’s survival. But lights? Luxury lights?

“That can’t be right,” Kade said, his voice barely audible.

“It is,” Renn said, his tone sharp. “And they’re killing us for it.”

Kade clenched the paper in his hands, his anger bubbling to the surface. His mother’s voice broke through his thoughts, soft and tired.

“Don’t dwell on it, Kade,” she said, her gaze fixed on the table. “This is the way things are. It’s better not to question it.”

Kade slammed the paper down on the table, his voice rising. “How can you say that? They’re lying to us! They’re treating us like—”

“Enough!” his father barked, cutting him off. His weathered face was hard, his tone final. “Eat your dinner and go to bed. We’ve got another shift tomorrow.”

Kade bit back his words, his fists clenching at his sides. He glanced at Renn, whose jaw was tight with frustration, then back at the crumpled diagram on the table.

As the room fell into silence, one thought echoed in Kade’s mind: Something had to change.