Posted April 20, 2021, 5:36 p.m. by Civilian Mirembe M'Ahar (Director of Terraforming) (Trin S)
Posted by Civilian Brianna “Bree” O’Harra (Head of Mining Operations) in Great minds… and all that (Mirembe)
Posted by Civilian Brianna “Bree” O’Harra (Head of Mining Operations) in Great minds… and all that (Mirembe)
Posted by Civilian Mirembe M’Ahar (Director of Terraforming) in Great minds… and all that (Mirembe)
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻Brianna stood outside the shuttle that was umbilically connected to the small temporary bio dome that had been set up around the entrance to the mine, Tonile’s Tunnels. A mine rich in iron, it was a relatively small claim. In the surveys of the area, it became apparent this was probably the end of a mine that played out not too far from the current location. Had the original mine continued on the main vein line a few more hundred yards, they would have run into this vein and continued to be profitable.
She was humming absently to herself when the pilot poked his head around the corner. “Ma’am, I mean, Bree…” She had been trying to break him of calling her Ma’am and his red cheeks showed his embaressment of having forgot. “This spot is wanted for another shuttle. Do you want to remain here or come back to the station with me?”
Looking up from her PaDD, Bree shook her head. “I’ll stay. We need to make sure this mine is on line for processing this week. The new Governor wants every mine in action and new mines surveyed and ready to be in play in a truly short timeline. Come back and get me in two hours. I should have the schedules done by then and we should be running.” She reached inside the shuttle and grabbed her pack before backing up. Once the connecting doors were shut, the shuttle lifted off to make room for the incoming flight. Most likely another group of miners. With the current bio dome, the mine would support two full shifts of workers. Once the actual dome was erected, three shifts could eat, sleep, work and live here for the six month rotation they were on.
Moving into the mine, she slung the bag on her back and settled it easily as a backpack before trudging inside the mine to see how far the air fields had been set. She wanted mining, no… needed mining to begin by the end of the week. The first load was scheduled to go up to the refining station in just 8 days. That meant they had to have a filled shuttle by that point. She hummed absently as she moved past a few workers here and there who were making things safe for mining and getting it ready for use.
Brianna O’Harra
Head of Mining
Fire BornMines. They were pockets of profit that captured the planet in their abundance. Deposits, rich in iron and ore, maintained a deceivingly infinite supply that enlivened the city with an echoing promise of wealth. They attracted workers and developers alike, slowly diversifying the population with a mix of talents and aspirations. They were more than a source of revenue – they were the lifeblood of Oed’s prosperity.
Mirembe had never appreciated their allure, but when she found herself sitting across from a hologram littered with unsurveyed deposits, a streak of opportunity infected her. And she couldn’t shake it.
Hyrushi enlisted her expertise, above all, to restore Oed’s diminished atmosphere. That was her overarching goal. But amid a decade-long pursuit, smaller projects engrossed her thoughts. A planetary shield. The Agrisector. Artificial bodies of water. Small, self-sustaining ecosystems. Little things accumulated into the bigger picture – little things she had a feeling the mining corp could help accomplish. But Mirembe didn’t believe in parasitic partnerships. So, she delegated surveys to her assistant director and ventured to Tonile’s Tunnels with two things in mind. A check-up on temporary biodome construction. And a collaborative proposal for Director O’Harra.
Glancing up from the PaDD situated in her lap, Mirembe peered through the shuttle’s port windows. The tug of the craft pulling to the earth warned Mirembe they were close. The familiar glint of temporary biodomes confirmed it. Humming, she lifted a hand and gestured her drone-like companion to her side. IAN hadn’t ventured far, but its curiosity in the group of miners left it leisure to obey. An impatient finger-snap seemed to do the trick.
The heavy thunk of the shuttle latching onto the port resonated deep in her chest, but Mirembe didn’t take much notice. She lingered long enough to watch the group filter through the door before following suit. Adorned in a dark jacket embroidered with ‘Terraforming Department,’ and unaccompanied by travel bags, Mirembe stuck out from her companions. But that didn’t stop her from approaching the closest miner to land a quick tap on their shoulder.
“Excuse me,” the synthetic voice infected with a mild Somerset accent hardly matched the sinewy woman it’d reflected. But if they turned soon enough, they might catch the tail end of her signs. “Where can I find Director O’Harra?”
– Mirembe M’Ahar, Director of Terraforming
The miner absently waved her deeper into the mines, with a bothersome grunt, and disappeared in another direction. Further down the indicated tunnel, Mirembe would come across two miners standing over a third who was crouched down. The lower person looked like they had their head nearly shoved into the wall before them. “This is where the vein heads deeper into the wall. I think they thought it was ending, but it just veers in.... see?” A small hammering can be heard, then scraping.
Mirembe wandered deeper into the mines, deftly keeping pace with the ebb and flow of its tunnels. Rearing the bend, she slowed to a halt several metres from the trio and craned her neck to get a better look.
Coming closer, one would see the Head of Mining, on her knees with her arms half buried, elbow deep, into a fresh dug hole in the wall near the floor line. She was pulling out chunks of stone with obvious veining in it to accentuate her point. The two miners beside her were taking the sample chunks she was offering up and looking more deeply at them. Both men were middle aged with dark hair sticking in strands out from under their helmets. Yet the woman, now bent further into the hole, her backside sticking up as she reached in trying to grasp something that was beyond her reach, was flame haired with no helmet on. The safety device sat upside down, forgotten on the dirt,by her right ankle. “Now if I can just… feel… which way…” She was stretching herself to the limits, her eyes closed as her cheek pressed to the cold stone as she did… whatever it was she was doing.
The Terraformer stepped back, choosing to observe from afar. She snaked her arms across her chest and watched as O’Harra reached deeper into the cavern. Curiosity piqued by the veinous rocks she unearthed, Mirembe threw a knowing glance at her companion and smirked. Earning a wiggle that steered her attention back, Mirembe swung her head and took note of the abandoned helmet. She tightened her grip about her biceps but made no effort to apprise O’Harra of the inane danger. Instead, she held her tongue and trusted the miner had done this before.
Brianna came up a moment later with a smile of triumph on her face. There was an imprint of the rock she had been pressed against, on her cheek. The pressure she had placed on her face in stretching so deep into the crevice left a small press mark close enough to her eye that it would bruise up to a nice shiner later that night. Without giving it another thought, she looked up at the two men over her. “The vein runs deep. I think we may want to consider moving in a more downward direction rather than merely outward.” She moved to stand and caught herself as the sudden shift in her legs left here light headed a moment. She laughed softly as her vision swam then settled once more. Leaning backwards on the wall to let her body settle, she shook her head. “I’m thinking this may have to be an open pit excavation project. I want to open all this up,” she motioned down either side towards the tunnels running away from their location. We can dig towards the back line tunnel and make a huge open cavern. And once we play out the veins on this level, we can start in the middle and work out way out as we go down.”
Mirembe’s gaze narrowed to narrow slits, depths swarming with fleeting concern consumed by Brianna’s laughter. Pushing away from the flicker of anxiety, Mirembe looked to IAN and digested its transcription of the miner’s words.
While it wouldn’t be a true open quarry, she had a vision of something along those lines but on a smaller, covered, scale. She would have to reach out to her hiring department and get more hands in here. With open mining, instead of tunnel mining, she could fit more folks in here than usual. The idea appealed to her a lot. Tomorrow she would check out Nineva Mine and see if there was potential there for the same thing. If this planet was riddled with veins like this, open air quarries might be a better option for some of the locations. And saving the tunnel mining to the usual other ores that only moved in lines instead of on grand scale like this one.
Brianna
HoM
Fire Born
Stepping from the shadows, Mirembe gestured her companion forward and followed suit. “It sounds like quite the plan,” a synthetic voice infected the air. If Brianna turned, she would find a sinewy, grey-eyed woman who vaguely resembled someone of Greek descent. That was.. if she could ignore the tell-tale bulge and crevice extending from the bridge of her nose to her eyebrows. With a broad grin, Mirembe meandered forward and signed, “Mirembe M’Ahar, Director of Terraforming. Am I correct to believe you’re Brianna O’Harra?” She lingered for a second before extending a hand in greeting.
— Mirembe M’Ahar, Director of Terraforming
— IAN, translator and companion
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