Lieutenant Danyel King was blind.

He hoped it was just because he was lying in total darkness. Dust from the explosion billowed around him as he coughed painfully and dragged himself to his feet. He stretched his hands out in front of him but could see nothing—feel nothing. He took a couple of hesitant steps forward and tripped over the body of another man. He knelt down and ran his hands over him. Was the man dead or alive? He could feel the slight rise and fall of his chest, a faint breath of air against his hand. Alive, then. He felt carefully for any injury but could find nothing obvious.

The man stirred under his hands. "What happened?" he croaked.

"I don't know. Alpha team was checking out the cave and there was an explosion, but I don't know what caused it. Methane gas, maybe. There were twelve of us and you're the only one I've found so far—we need to check the rest of the area. Are you injured? Can you get up?"

"Give me a minute. I'm okay, I think. Just a bit dazed."

King held out a hand to help the other man to his feet. They both explored the space with their arms outstretched and discovered they were alone inside a small cavity about three metres square, with smooth rock on two sides and rubble on the others.

"It looks like we're trapped here. Hopefully everyone else is safe on the other side of the rock fall, working at getting us out."

Neither of them mentioned the possibility that the other men were underneath the rubble. What a disastrous end to what was supposed to have been a routine training exercise—locating and retrieving a package hidden somewhere in the cave system.

King spoke again. "I don't even have my utility belt with me. I think I remember taking it off so I could squeeze in here. Can we contact anyone outside? Have you got a wristcom, or any sort of light that's working?"

The other man ran through his gear. Checking to see if anything was operational.

"My wristcom seems to be damaged and no, nothing with a light. Except maybe my stunner, but I'm reluctant to fire that in here. At least I've got some water we can share." He took out his water bag and handed it to King.

"Thank you, I'll just take a sip." King took a mouthful and returned the bag.

"I know my wristcom isn't working properly but let's see if I can get the time."

A moment later, a slightly mechanical voice advised, "The time is thirteen hundred hours, ten minutes and twenty-one seconds ship-time."

"That can't be right can it? We couldn't have been here for two hours?"

"It doesn't seem likely. The dust is still in the air and I'm sure I heard the noise from the actual explosion."

There was a small pause. "Unless that wasn't the only one."

Neither of them liked the images that conjured up.

"I'm going to see if I can climb up to the top of that rock fall, see if there's a gap or any indication of how wide this fall is." King moved slowly forward as he spoke, arms outstretched. There was a scrabbling sound as he tried to find a foothold and a few rocks rolled back into their cave.

"I've reached the roof. The rocks seem to continue all the way up. Watch out." He moved a few rocks and let them roll backwards to the cavern floor. "I think we might be able to make a bit of a tunnel here, they seem to be packed fairly loosely. Oh-oh, I spoke too soon, there's a huge piece of rock here blocking the way. Let me see if I can get around it." There were more scrabbling sounds and some swearing. Then a crash as King slipped backwards to fall at the other man's feet, accompanied by a small landslide. He coughed and stood up.

"I'm not sure that's going to work after all. Do you want to check it out for yourself?"

"No, I'll take your word for it. It's probably best to leave those rocks alone. The Revel should be looking for us by now, surely? Once communications were cut off, they would have sent someone down to investigate. Even if my wristcom isn't fully functional, it will still show our location. It should just be a matter of sitting tight until they find us." The other man sounded a little as if he was trying to convince himself.

"I'm sure the Captain will be right on it. What's he like, Captain Hayes? I haven't been on the Revel long enough to know yet," asked King. He had been promoted to First Lieutenant a month ago and had transferred to the Revel as part of his promotion the week before.

There was a pause. "He's all right I guess, but he was with Beta team so he must be down here with us somewhere. It'll be Second Lieutenant Bailey in charge until the Captain's located."

King whistled. That wasn't good. He hoped the Captain was safe. He replied, "Bailey seems sound from what I've seen so far. I'm sure he'll be on top of things." There was a short silence. "I suppose we might as well sit down and get comfortable, there doesn't seem to be much else we can do for the moment."

They seated themselves, propping their backs against the wall.

"Do you mind if we keep talking?" asked the other man, his voice sounding hesitant. "To be honest, I'm struggling a bit with this darkness. I never thought I was claustrophobic, but a space ship always has at least some light and there's the view outside if you need it."

"Sure, you can tell me some stories about the ship and the crew." King paused. "I'm not making a pass at you or anything, but would you like me to sit a bit closer?"

"I'm fine," the answer came back too quickly but King did not take offence. His companion was striving for control, trying to keep his fear in check; he didn't need to add to the pressure. "Sorry," the other man apologised. "You're King, is that right?"

"Yeah, that's me. And you are...?"

"Simon."

King couldn't recall anyone of that name but he hadn't met everyone properly yet.

"You're homosexual, an om, aren't you?" continued Simon. "You don't mind people knowing?"

"Yes, I am, and no, it doesn't bother me. The way I figure it, if people get upset, it's their problem, not mine."

Simon kept talking. "Tell me to mind my own business if you like, but have you always been an om?" Then he apologised again. "Sorry if I'm being too personal."

"It's no problem. Ever since I can remember. Have you always been straight?" King asked in return, hoping to raise a smile. He wasn't quite expecting the answer he got.

"Yeah, mostly. There was a period in my teens that I wasn't sure, but it didn't last long. I grew out of it, I guess."

King was silent. He didn't think sexuality was something you "grew out of," but on the other hand, a lot of people experimented in their teens. He changed the subject. "So, what was the last mission you were on before this?"

He listened to Simon telling him about the recent rescue mission on Scotia, to help some explorers who had been stranded on the ice after their equipment malfunctioned. He appeared to have a good grasp of logistics; King supposed he must be one of the more mature crew, possibly even a corporal or sergeant. He didn't like to ask, the darkness had created an illusion of equality which he didn't want to disturb. They were just two men trapped inside a mountain, waiting to be rescued.

Talking of which, he was sure another hour had passed since he came round. He was feeling hungry. He hunted around in his pockets and located a field ration bar which he broke in half and shared with Simon.

"Thanks, have some more water." They both sipped cautiously from the water bag.

A rumble broke the short silence, followed by a deafening crash some distance off, and in seconds they were surrounded by another cloud of dust and loose debris falling from the ceiling.

"Oh my god, do you think we're going to be buried alive in here?" Simon asked in sudden panic, reaching out to grab King by the arm. Then he was apologising again. "Sorry, sorry. Don't worry, I'm okay. The last thing you need is some idiot who's scared of the dark. I can do this."

"Of course you can," King reassured, moving closer so that their bodies were just touching. "Everyone's got something that worries them. If there were reptiles here, I'd be sitting on your lap!" This brought a strained laugh as he had hoped.

"You said you haven't been on the Revel long. What was your last ship like?" asked Simon, obviously seeking distraction.

"I was on the Jerez. It was a great ship when I was on it but they'd been through some bad times before. You probably heard about it?"

"Yes, I heard. Some sort of warped initiation where men were raped. The whole affair was a disgrace—that such a thing could happen on one of our ships in this day and age! One of the ship's Lieutenants and an undercover patrol agent stopped it, didn't they?"

"That's right, Ferris and Peters." King didn't realise how his voice softened when he spoke of Ferris.

"A friend of yours?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I wanted more, but he didn't."

"I'm sorry."

"Well, it was probably for the best. It can really complicate things if you're on the same ship."

There was a short silence.

"I've never actually kissed another man, even when I thought I might be an om," Simon said conversationally, after a long silence.

"No?" replied King, unsure where he was going with this.

"Maybe it's the darkness or maybe I'm still half afraid we're not going to make it out of here, so I'm just going to come right out and ask you. Would you kiss me? This could be my only chance to find out what it's like."