Wanderer.
I always thought that if a planet were given a name, it would be something that fit its nature. In this case- dirtball, rock, or dustbin came to mind but Wanderer? It made no sense at all, at least not as much then as it does when I look back at the things that were happening then.
While the rest of the room laughed and carried on, Roman pulled himself together and stepped closer to K'rth and myself to speak over the din. Nix and Obie leaned in to hear, putting me in the awkward center of a huddle at the corner of the desk.
"The name 'Wanderer' dates from the Conflict Era and refers to the nature of its orbital path. It's wide enough that it takes around three standard SLA years to complete one pass around the sun. It also used to pass relatively close to a number of occupied worlds and one of those species gave it the name."
"This place was inhabited before SLA?" Nix asked and Roman nodded in response.
"Yes, but not for any extended period, he answered. "There were a number of species interested in colonization, but they only had rudimentary space travel capabilities and thus very small windows of opportunity to establish a foothold."
"That's the disadvantage of not having foldships," he added with a smirk. Roman was speaking to all of us now and alternated whose eyes he met. That was a shift from our earlier treatment and I'm sure there was a reason for it.
"Each species took its turn eradicating the previous colony and attempted to build a presence strong enough to survive until the planet came around again but none of them really survived long enough to make much of a dent. I expect that Wanderer would have been classified as a War World if it weren't for company semantics."
Obie looked at him quizzically and K'rth explained. The big guy can't always keep up with the big words, but his heart is in the right place. Meanwhile, my temples were threatening to start pounding again.
"There has to be conflict between SLA armed forces and a suppressor power for a world to be classified as a 'War World'," he rasped, turning back to Roman. "So SLA took possession of this place after the other species purged themselves?"
Roman thought before answering, which probably wasn't a good sign and I found myself tightening my jaw in frustration. I still couldn't read anything from him and that made me uncomfortable. The one thing for sure was that he knew a lot about the history of this little dust ball in a time when most people I've met don't even know that much about SLA. I'd expect that very few people would even care about the history of something as obscure as a resource world called Wanderer, so who in the hell was he?
"Yes. SLA wiped out the traitor species easily enough and opened the world for exploitation once its potential as a resource world was realized. The name came back into vogue when the long-term mining teams moved in.
The term "long-term mining teams" brought unpleasant images to mind of the sorts of people that SLA ships off to other worlds and conveniently forgets about. Roman let it sink in for few moments before continuing, but the reality of the situation was pretty clear. We were marooned exactly in the middle of nowhere.
"Like them, we've had to become both self-sufficient and self-managing to survive. It's best that you accept that things are run a little differently than on the comfort of Mort."
Each of us looked at each other and back at him, but the consensus was the same. We weren't playing from a position of power by any means. One of the guards to Richardson's side grinned at me, showing that teeth were apparently in as short of supply as water out here.
"Our production levels remain high enough for SLA to keep the operations funded, but the transport freighters are coming much less frequently. They used to be every three months, but now it's about every three years."
"Production of what?" Nix asked. My hope was draining out of me along with my energy and I closed my eyes. More than anything, I just wanted to be home and wake up in my own bed again. "W-what do you mine?"
"We mine and refine alota things," Richardson said. At the sound of his voice, the other people in the room stopped laughing and our huddle broke up. "Petroleum, coal, other stuff. Enough to make it worth movin' out here."
"It ain't that bad, boy," he added. "B'sides, a little sunshine never hurt no one and you look a little peaked."
So that was it -there wasn't any actual SLA presence so subsidiaries like "Hard Rocks" were probably operating like become sanctioned soft companies. That meant our security clearance levels were worth exactly crap, but at least they considered us valuable enough to save.
"So what is it that you want from us?" I asked. Roman glanced at his employer and then continued speaking.
"We want to put your training to use for this organization. In return you'll earn wages and be able to balance your account," he answered. "By the time that the next contact with SLA arrives, you'll be able to hitch transport back to Mort."
Obie narrowed his eyes, getting gradually more irritable. He nudged me to get me to speak up for him and I nodded.
"We won't do anything illegal by SLA's standards," I said. We weren't in a position of power, but I could still try to put down some basic guidelines. "That includes dealing with Dark Night or any other soft company."
"I wouldn't ask you to do anything dis-honorable," Richardson answered, still breaking his words into syllables. I could really dislike him if given a half a chance.
"I'd like to reassure you that this will be entirely official," Roman said, raising his hands. He seemed mildly agitated by the expression that the Chagrin was giving him and kept his eyes on K'rth and myself. "You'll be contracted to this SLA subsidiary for duties as per a new BPN. The main difference is that the length of employment is a bit longer."
"What kind of duties?" K'rth asked. He stood a good five inches taller than Roman and straightened up to stand at his full height. His change in posture and attitude triggered a subtle reaction in the others that I don't think anyone really noticed. The humans around us took a half step back and Richardson set back further in his chair. I felt rather than heard a low rumble from Obie that died the moment I reached back to pat his arm and rein him in.
"General security, law enforcement work mostly. There are a number of subversive elements present that occasionally disrupt our production and we want to have them suppressed or neutralized."
"We'll require our equipment and weapons," K'rth added. "Ammunition also."
"So we got a deal then?" Richardson said and I nodded. When he leaned forward to hold out his hand, I shook it reluctantly and he leaned in closer.
"Glad you understand your po-sition," Richardson laughed. He was definitely more an alligator than a pig, despite the chins and beady eyes.
"Yeah, I think we understand."
"Good!" he laughed as he sat back in his chair again. "Miss Goya will escort you back to your quarters and we can talk tomorrow 'bout your new job."
Samantha came forward at the mention of that name and ushered us out of the building and back under the big open sky. I'm wasn't sure about my friends, but I was a little rattled by what had happened and found myself staying close to K'rth and Nix. Being hemmed in by non-humans on all sides might have been intimidating to some people, but it was the norm for me and it had the benefit of forcing Ms. Samantha Goya to walk ahead and far away from me.
"You thinking what I am?" Nix asked.
"That we're screwed?" I answered. "Or that we're about to be?"
"No," Nix chided. "That we're completely on our own."
"I believe it's more of the latter," K'rth said, answering me and ignoring her. "There isn't any SLA control here and they are obviously recruiting soldiers. From the speed with which they responded to our land fall, I'd say they're desperate for skilled soldiers. Also, they didn't flinch when you mentioned Dark Night. They're probably dealing with everyone."
"Do you think they're in this with Bayer?"
"I don't know," he answered and kept walking. "We don't even know if he's still alive."
"I don't frankly give a damn," I mumbled to myself and he patted me on the shoulder as I kept pace.
For once since this began, I couldn't say that what I was feeling was just unfounded paranoia -there seemed to be threats, conspiracies, and people with agendas everywhere who wanted something from us. Before I could think about it too much, I realized that Nix was gloating again.
"What is it?" I asked and she giggled up at me happily.
"Now you're learning what it's like to be me working for SLA!"
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