0705

It was dark out, Hermas wasn't sure what day it was any more, he had kept track when he had first arrived on this moon at the arse end of nowhere, but after a few weeks of monotony, he had lost count. He thought it was a wednesday, it felt like a wednesday. The drone of the laina flies was starting to work his nerves, the bloodsucking little fuckers didn't seem to sleep, and every time he tried to they descended like a hoard upon whatever limb flailed out from under the blanket as he failed to slip into the welcoming world of dreams.

0707

He rolled out of bed, punching the alarm into silence and pulling on his overalls, not bothering to wash his sweat slicked body, another thing he had stopped doing after a week here, the heat was oppressive, and the constant drizzle of foul smelling liquid that coated everything would only leave him just as dirty again in less than an hour.

0710

Stepping out the door, Hermas felt the splatter of rain upon his face and hair, slicking it back against his head. The sounds of the mining community was loud outside his home, and many of them nodded in greeting as they passed by him on their way to wherever. He dug into his pocket, pulling out a smike, the clear plastic tube filled with a mild narcotic that soothed his nerves. Hermas ignored the few scandalised looks that were thrown his way, and put it between his lips, taking a long, calming breath, feeling it work into his lungs and raise his spirits.

0717

Putting the remnants of his smike into his pocket, Hermas stepped into the bar. It was mostly empty at this time of the morning, only a few from the night shift getting a drink before they went to their cots to battle the laina for a good cycles sleep. He punched his code into the server, and his order. He watched as the digits flickered, docking his account and dispensing a plastic cup filled with a clear blue liquid which was downed in one gulp.
Hermas headed back to the door and into the heat.

0720

Hermas entered the cool building, the only one made from stone upon the whole moon. Long pews ran the length of the structure. A sense of silence lingered, even the ever present laina flies seemed to hum at a lessened pitch. At the far end was a simple alter, those who tended it had already covered it in a white cloth and set out the golden hammer of the Architect. The bright shades of a thousand threads seemed to gleam from the tapestry that hung behind it, depicting the scene from the scriptures of the Architect creating the world from raw materials that He formed from nothingness.
Hermas walked towards the door at the back, stepping into the confessional. His mind pondering what sort of a God would create the moon he currently lived on, where everything was so detrimental to human existence.

0730

A devout young woman stepped into the confessional beside the altar, her nose twitching slightly at the scent of smike, sweat and alcohol that filled the small wooden box. She took a seat, closing the curtain that provided an illusion of privacy from those outside waiting to confess their sins of the day.
Making the sign of the hammer, she began to speak.
'Father Hermas, I ask you to send my prayers to the Architect...'