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we
strip the deposit clean. I’m saying that we blast into the center of it, where
the cleanest cake is, and refine that for our grant sample. Just slice off a
little. Then, we play it fair and square. If we don’t win the grant, we destroy
the tunnel and tip our hats to the winner. If we do win the grant, we’re ready
to start production and get the Yynium heading to Earth twice as fast as we
could otherwise.”
    Marcos saw Theo’s discomfort, though he wasn’t
sure if he was squirming because the plan went against his ethics or because he
was jealous that his upstart boss had come up with it.
    Veronika came out from behind the desk, too. She
always seemed to sense the exact moment that Theo was at a tipping point. “This
way, we’re sure to win. And you, of all people, ought to want to fight for this
city. You built it.”
    Marcos felt the jab of that. If it had been any
other moment, he would have called her on it. His father had built this city,
and Theo had only tended it those years when Marcos was growing up and
traveling in the P5 from Earth with Veronika. But he saw Theo caving and knew
that this was not the time.
    Theo agreed, in the end, and Marcos began the
process of finding a blasting crew that could keep their mouths shut. He had at
least one person in mind, someone who had done covert jobs for him before.
    ***
    Daniel Rigo held his breath as he walked from the
bright Minean morning outside into the dim interior of the mine. He lined up,
waiting for the next tram. He glanced at his mother, Marise. Her eyes were
weary as she peered at the dark ahead of them. Daniel put a reassuring arm
around her shoulders.
    “I miss your father,” Marise said, so quiet that
only he could hear. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and Daniel was
glad he’d grown taller than her since they’d come to Minea five years ago. It
made him feel better able to protect her and his little sisters, Merelda and
Nallie, who were born here on Minea and still small. He was nearly nineteen
now, and there was a lot of protecting in his future.
    “I miss him too,” Daniel said. “He loved the tram
ride in and out.”
    Marise chuckled. “Only time he got to sit down. I’m
starting to look forward to it myself.”
    The Yynium dust wasn’t as thick up here near the
mine entrance, but Daniel could already taste its lemony tang in the air. He
took a quick drink from the water bottle he carried with him—not much, because
he’d need it for later. The first tram left and he and Marise stepped a bit
closer to the front of the line.
    Zella Panderlin, a neighbor of theirs, was
standing in line in front of them. Her pale curls, tied up in a bright cloth,
stood out in the dark of the mine. She turned and caught his eye, flashing him
a smile.
    Daniel felt himself look down, embarrassed. He
had known Zella since before they’d left Earth. Their fathers had both operated
precision scoring machines in the Yynium mines back there. Thorian Rigo had
been one of the best scorers in the industry. He’d signed up thinking that
working in the mines on Minea would be similar to working in the mines on
Earth, but that wasn’t the case. The scoring machines, designed back on Earth,
couldn’t handle the volume of Yynium they were dealing with on Minea. They had
burned out quickly, and parts were half a century away.
    That left the workers mining Yynium with archaic
techniques, using picks and shovels and hammers and chisels. That kind of
mining had wasted Thorian’s skills. And the wages were much smaller than they
were in the mines of Earth, too. It wasn’t the Minea that his father was
promised.
    Still, his parents had been optimistic that if
they worked hard they’d catch up soon. But Thorian’s death seemed to squash the
optimism from Marise. Now, Daniel felt her weary head drooping on his shoulder
and glanced down. She was dozing before the long, laborious day ahead.
    Daniel had heard that the scoring machines were
being redesigned at