Mines of the Lost, Part 3

Posted on 22 Aug 2026 @ 2:35pm by Lieutenant Ryan Collingway
Edited on on 22 Aug 2026 @ 7:21pm

1,054 words; about a 5 minute read

///Unknown Planet///
///Level Eight///

"I take it kidnapping and slavery weren't meant to be on the tour," Ryan said, glaring at him.

"All part of the business," Hallsworth said. Behind him was a bond Seth, and the Orion armed with a weapon. "You're deluding yourself if you think you're not part of this. Your father has his hands dipped in everything. Including helping us procure some of our workers."

Ryan ignored him. "I'm sorry, Seth."

"Not your fault, kid. Should have known this place wasn't right." He focused on Hallsworth. "Let him go. There'll be hell to pay from his father if you hurt him."

Hallsworth shrugged. "As far as he is concerned, neither of you arrived. Tragic accident. Nothing personal. But the delivery of Kemocite is too important to the Orions to be compromised."

Seth suddenly ran forwards, about to charge the Orion. "Run, kid!"

He had no chance. The Orion pointed the weapon at him and fired. Seth disintegrated.

"Seth!" Ryan screamed.

The Orion moved the weapon towards him, and Ryan knew without a double that he was next. He felt in the pocket for the gift that Seth had given him. More than anything he wished that he had opened it.

"Goodbye, Mister Collingway. I would say it was a pleasure, but it really wasn't," Hallsworth said.

Suddenly, another Orion ran up to them. He whispered in Hallsworth's ear and shoved a data padd in his hand.

"Hmm?" Hallsworth said, looking at his padd. "Well, it seems that your father is aware of your...situation, to an extent. Your bodyguard must have called him before we caught up to him. But maybe we can change this problem into an opportunity." He gestured.

The next thing Ryan felt was his chest burn from a stun blast.

Then nothing.

////Xin////
///Sometime later///

Ryan didn't know how much time had passed. Only that the next thing he felt was a hand touching his shoulder. He stirred to consciousness. "Hm? Dad?" His father was looking down at him.

"How are you feeling?" Stephen asked.

Ryan sat up in his bed. His head hurt. He tried to remember what happened, but came up with nothing. The last thing he remembered was leaving Xin. "What happened?"

"Shuttle accident. You banged your head pretty good," Stephen said. "Been out for a good week. Fortunately, I made sure you received the best care here and you came out of the coma pretty fast."

That explained the head pain. "Was anyone else hurt?"

"No," Stephen said. "I'm just glad you're okay." The smile didn't quite match his eyes. It never did. "I realize you had a crappy birthday. I'll make sure that when you're feeling up to it, we'll do something fun."

"Do you think...um, I could talk to mom?" Ryan asked.

Stephen shook his head. "Sorry, son. She's still very sick. But I told her that you're doing okay. She sends her love." He stood up from the bed. "By the way, um, Seth left."

Ryan frowned. Seth had always been kind to him. "What? Why?"

"Better opportunities."

"Did he leave anything? A note?"

Stephen shrugged. "Nope. Sorry." He lightly touched Ryan's shoulder. "Get some rest, Ryan. You've had a hell of a week."

///Three days later///

The days passed by peacefully. And as usual, Ryan spent it cooped up in the mansion. School was done, so he couldn't focus on that. There was his father's business stuff, but he had little interest. He glanced at it yesterday, and saw that his father was sending a massive amount of credits and equipment to some planet in the middle of nowhere. Ryan lost interest almost immediately.

With a sigh he sat on the couch and picked up his handheld game. He started to play on it as a security guard delivered the mail on the coffee table. Ryan only briefly glanced at it. Most of the time it was either bills or stuff for his dad. This time, however, he saw a poke of color behind one of the envelopes. He studied it.

A flyer for joining Starfleet Academy. His hands trembled slightly as he held it.

He had a brief feeling of needing to contact them...for some reason. Just as quickly it was gone. But something else stirred in him, as though he was slowly waking up from a dream.

He glanced at his mom's bedroom upstairs. It had a heavy duty lock on it. One that he couldn't open easily. By the time he did, one of the guards would notice.

This was his life too. Guarded. Isolated. Kept away.

He needed to break free from this.

And for the first time, he knew where he needed to run to.

///Later that night////

After disabling the cameras, Ryan climbed down the window, using bedsheets. Sometimes low-tech solutions still worked. There were guards outside, but he had spent plenty of time learning their patrols. As soon as two went for a smoke break, there was an opening. He escaped from the grounds.

It was starting to rain. A rare thing for Xin. He hadn't prepared for it. He continued to run, and didn't stop until he reached the Starfleet Recruitment Center. Walkins opened the door, and the two of them talked.

What field?" Walkins had asked him at the time.

"Sorry?"

"For the Academy. Is there any field you are looking into? Or do you plan to figure it out when you get there, assuming the Academy takes you? That is an option as well," Walkins said, sipping her tea.

Ryan hesitated, then looked down, as though he was confessing something he shouldn't. "Engineering," he finally said

///USS Arawyn///
///Holodeck Three///

Ryan sat against the rocky wall, watching the frozen Orion.

He always wondered why that answer disgusted him at first. Now he knew. It was because his father's version of 'engineering' was tied to the slavery trade. That was supposed to be his legacy.

Instead he had broken free, to use his skills as an engineer for something better.

But it still didn't change what his father had done. What he was likely still doing. He knew his father had dabbled in illegal stuff, but nothing like this.

Ryan stared at the Orion for a long, long time.

Lieutenant Ryan Collingway
Acting Chief Engineer
USS Arawyn

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