Second Chances (82 page)

“Any problems with predators there?” Maggie asked, putting her hands in her back pockets as she lounged back.

“Not that bad. We've got some bears and wolves. A few odd aliens, but not that bad,” he said smiling slightly. “I do know it's cooler up there than down here.”

“True,” Maggie said. “Still working on the spa idea?”

“Spa?” the colonel asked, sounding disgusted.

The chief shook his head. “The ladies want to turn the hot springs into a day spa retreat. Someplace where they can go to soak their cares away. I know Tina loves it,” he said, smiling mischievously to the vet.

“Rub it in,” Maggie mock growled, eyes flashing in jealously.

“I will,” the chief said. “Do you think I can get a couple braces of chickens, Mags? For the return? Or at least a dozen fertilized eggs?”

“I'll see what I can do,” Maggie said, nodding.

“Thanks, Mags,” he said, waving to her as the tour moved on.

------*------

“To see all this...it is such...” Trinika shook her head.

“I know. It makes you wonder. I don't buy that crap about raw ore,” the colonel said. “There is more to it than that. He's getting fat while we're out risking our necks and busting our asses,” he said.

“True,” the Haiti woman said. They heard a noise in a panel nearby and turned.

“Sorry, didn't mean to overhear,” a voice said with an echo. After a moment Bob climbed out of the access panel carrying a sprayer and wearing a respirator and goggles.

“We were um, just...”

“Save it,” Bob said, pulling heavy gloves off then the respirator. “I get it. And yeah, it feels that way for some of us too,” Bob said.

Trinika flashed a quick glance to the colonel, gauging his reaction to the bitter tone in the heavy set man's voice. Bob pulled his glasses off and then tossed his stuff on a bag nearby. “You don't want to live here?”

“Oh, it's not that. Trust me. Compared to the other places this is a five-star hotel. If you don't get stung by a scorpion. Or get your hand chopped off by a centipede. Which is where I come in,” Bob said as he coiled the hose of his sprayer. “You're friendly neighborhood pest control guy. Also chemist, and all around gopher if they can't think of some other shit job to dump on me,” he grumbled.

The colonel picked up on Bob's bitterness over being second rate; it practically screamed. “You think you should be doing something else? Leading this place?” the colonel asked.

“Oh hell no,” Bob said, looking up to Miles and then back to what he was doing. “But something. You know, I deserve better than being treated like a slave. That's how you feel here. He's the boss; He dishes out the orders. Him or his buddies,” Bob said. “The elite. The department heads.”

“I thought you were one?” the colonel asked, trying to remember the manning chart he'd seen.

Bob shook his head. “So did I. I'm not. Brian, a freakin’ kid is. I'm the chemical works guy when I'm not doing this. He oversees all the manufacturing plus stuff in the base.”

“I see,” Trinika said nodding in sympathy.

“It'd be nice if we got something, I don't know, a bonus. Something to make it worth working our tails off every day,” Bob snarled.

Trinika heard the self-serving whine in the man's voice. She frowned, ready to tell the man it was like that everywhere. Here was a palace and yet the man hated it! She knew everyone in her community would gladly trade anything they had of value, even sell their souls to be here. And yet...Trinika looked to object but the colonel shushed her with a look.

“I think we should talk. We've been discussing trade agreements between communities, but I think Mitch is deliberately ignoring the individual,” the colonel said. He glanced at Trinika. “Perhaps you have a private place to discuss this further?” he asked.

Bob looked at him and then shrugged. “Yeah, sure. Let me put this stuff away, and I'll show you a place I know of. We don't have as many people here,” he said gathering his stuff up, “with all the people who left for Iron Village and Mountain Village gone. We picked up a few students, but they are a joke. And it's wrong you know? They get free room and board and sit on their ass half the day studying while the rest of us feed them!”

“Yes that is wrong,” Trinika murmured as they moved off down the corridor.

------*------

During a working dinner that evening, Trinika brought up the lack of pay and feelings of a master slave role in the base. “It seems not everyone is happy with the situation here. There is a great deal of concern for your lording it over people. Treating them like dirt,” she said. She didn't mention Bob by name.

Mitch blinked in surprise, caught off guard by the attack. He frowned thoughtfully. “I don't know who you've been talking to, ma'am, but I treat everyone with respect. Everyone has to pull their weight here, just like in your home.”

“But you are setting yourself up as king. Hoarding all this,” Kirafiki rumbled, waving a hand. “Wealth. Keeping it to yourself. Controlling the machinery that all need to better their communities,” he said.

“Now hold on,” Mitch said, starting to get annoyed.

“Who said you should set the agenda?” Tsakhia said, piling in.

Mitch glanced at the Mongol with a scowl. “Everyone agreed to the agenda in advance.”

“I didn't. I wasn't a part of that discussion,” the Mongol said with dignity.

“Okay, let me amend that, everyone with a radio who wished to bring up a topic did,” Mitch said through gritted teeth, trying to hold onto the shreds of his temper.

“You have to admit; this is a bit staged. You have the home field advantage; you are the chairman,” the colonel said, waving a hand. “We are all transported here by your people. We can't leave until we give you what you want,” he said.

Jack scowled. “Hang on a minute,” he said, starting to rise. Mitch waved him back down.

“This is a new world. A free world,” the Haitian woman said, jutting her chin out with authority. “Some things need to be redressed. America shouldn't be in control here. We all have a right to what is here, equally,” she said, nodding to the others around the table.

“Hang on,” Adam said, now insulted as well.

“She is correct. You are exploiting us. Using us to better yourself,” the African accused, eyes flashing. “Just as on Earth.”

The colonel rose to his feet. “Why should you choose who gets what?” the colonel said, stepping on Adam's protest by raising his voice. The others looked to him and then to Mitch. “Well?”

“He's right, Mitch. You do set what you will and won't make,” Evan said quietly to Mitch. Chief Roberts sat back in disgust with a sigh. Gunny Usher shook his head.

Mitch frowned, on his feet as well. “No, you don't get it. I paid for this; it's my stuff.”

“Okay...” Evan nodded. “No one is saying it's not...”

“You did. They just did. Mine. My home. I wouldn't do that to you, come into your home, and take over. You're trying to do that here.” He stabbed a finger into the table top. “My. Home.”

“I'm...okay, look, I know it sounds like that's what I'm doing but...” Evan frowned, now on the defensive.

Mitch's nostrils flared, his eyes grew hard. “I've helped! I've helped people. I am helping people. But I'm not a god damn doormat! You want to do your own thing, fine, there is the door. You live here, you live under my roof, my rules.”

“Just like my dad,” Gunny Usher murmured.

“Sorry, but damn it, I put a lot of time and effort into this. Would
you
like someone coming in and saying you're doing it all wrong? Or, oh, that's nice, but I'm taking over? This is
my
home!” he snarled, stabbing his finger down. “No one,
NO
one is taking it away from me. Me
or
my family,” he said, cutting his eyes to Sandra, Cassie, Tucker, Anne, Janet, and Cleo. “Period,” he said, eyes going cold as he stared into the other people.

“Okay, dialing down the atmosphere a bit...”

“I suggest we separate the bulls for a bit. Give them a breather and a chance to calm down,” Sandra said, eying her husband. He shot a glare at her but then looked away. He let her murmur and guide him off. He did remember to buss his own plate.

------*------

“Well, that went better than expected,” Trinika murmured, smiling ever so slightly as she leaned over to the colonel. “You wished for his position to be undermined, to sow the seeds of distrust correct?”

“Yes,” the colonel murmured watching Mitch and his family leave the room. It had gone better than he'd expected in some ways, undermining Chamber's authority while playing to the others and building alliances. It was amusing to think of the niggers as allies, but they were in this instance. Now he had to figure out how to build off what they had begun.

Unfortunately, base had a stranglehold on manufacturing. That had to be addressed. He made a note to bring it up later. If there was a later.

He frowned thoughtfully. Chambers could give it up. Just get so riled that he threw in the towel and told them to go home. Hell, he suddenly winced. He could tell them to
walk
. He didn't have to offer them a flight back. Or ride with that Fen guy. That wouldn't be as bad, but...he rubbed his earlobe. He had to play this carefully, a lot more was riding on things. Not just the long view, but the short as well.

------*------

“Of all the unremitting hypocritical bullshit!” Mitch snarled, throwing his hands about as he paced his office. Mitch pointed out Dunn using it as a wedge. “Everyone is like that; none of the communities are using money for payment of goods or services! It's...hell, okay, it is Marxist; I can't help that. If people have a problem with it, why don't they come to me?”

“Embarrassed?” Sandra asked, crossing her arms. “You lost your temper. You
let
him goad you.”

Anne nodded. “We all knew something like this was coming. Everyone here. And yeah, I've heard a few grumbles,” she put up a hand as Mitch opened his mouth, “And no,” she shook her head firmly. “I'm not going to say who. But we do need to get a handle on it after this conference is over,” she said.

“We were working for credit. For those who wanted to leave and set up their own village. Maybe we should work for that?” Janet asked.

“Or work for food chits or something,” Sandra said. She looked at Mitch. “Feeling better?” She asked, raising an eyebrow his way.

“Maybe. I still think it's bullshit,” he grumbled.

“That may be true, but we now need to figure out what to do about it. Facing it head-on it’s...”

“Is what I'm going to do. I'm not going to run from the problem. No. But I'm not sure what else to do. I may have run a multibillion dollar business but I'm a techie at heart. I had people to handle the money.”

“Well, we could see if someone else would step up. Sort of lead the discussion. That will let everyone cool off including you. If you are willing to listen.”

“I...” Mitch paused as he started to protest. Sandra just stared at him. “All right, what?”

“You have been trying to dictate the agenda. You want a constitution. You want. You. Leave it. Stop. Listen. Let them talk for once.”

“I...okay,” he said, swallowing his pride.

“I'll put a word in with Evan. I know you aren't happy with him, I saw the et tu look you shot him. He meant well though. He's a professor, give him a chance. Draw people out and listen,” Anne said.

Mitch nodded, fighting the urge to feel defensive. He leaned against his desk and tried to keep an open mind as they talked.

------*------

“I'm...going to meet the elephant everyone's tiptoeing around and bring him out into the open. I'm not going to apologize for what I said earlier,” Mitch said, looking around the table the next morning. “I doubt any of you will do so either. That's fine. What I will say is, the rancor obviously is an issue,” he said. “But we need to take the emotional issues out of it, defang it,” he nodded to Evan who nodded back. “And try to keep things from getting too personal. I don't want that. I don't know if any of you do either,” he said.

“We need to move on. We're wasting daylight,” Gunny Usher said.

“No, he's got a point. We do need to have some sort of adult discussion on this as well as individual pay,” Chief Roberts said. John blinked in surprise, turning to stare at the SEAL. “Tell me, John, what do you pay your people?”

“Pay? Are you kidding me? We're lucky to have three square meals! We all pull together. Sure we trade for some stuff among ourselves, but we don't pay each other. What would be the point? It'd just go around in a circle.”

“And some people have more skills than others. So there would be resentment there,” Evan said. “What about you? You speak of equality, is everyone equal? Do you have equal pay for your people?” Evan asked, looking at Trinika.

She blinked and then mumbled a no. Evan nodded. “That's right. I think it is true of all of us; we don't have a capitalist society. We all work together. There are no real answers right now. Each community will have to work out some equitable solution in time. We'll have to come together to find some way of...distributing capital later,” he said. That much they did agree on. “So, we need to work out the basics in the macro and then see how to apply it to the micro. I realize we're going to need to keep this rough...”