Negotiation? If you’re the stronger party, you demand. If you’re the weaker, you beg. Negotiation is something that only ever happens between equals and let’s be honest here - you’re nowhere near our equal. Sign here. And here. Initial here. Here. And here too. There now...that wasn’t so hard, was it? Now let’s get these shackles off you…
-Chairwoman Nina Ellory, Ad Astra Space Shipping, Passenger, Mining, Acquisitions, Exploration and Exploitation Corporation.
They took several moments to catch their collective breath once they reached the top. Alex glanced out and down from his vantage point and saw the ramshackle sprawl below looking much like an upended ant hill - frenzied activity and chaos. From up here he could see buildings that looked to be recently demolished, and one large crack ran from the heights of the ceiling down one wall that looked like it would be impossible to fix without a month’s worth of hard work with a full team of ironworkers.
“We do seem to have suffered some recent damage, haven’t we?” a calm, urbane voice spoke from the doorway. Alex and Patina turned to see a large monster - no, not a monster, a person even if they look terrifying, Alex corrected himself - leaning against the doorframe with a small glass of liquid in a big gray-skinned fist. “One of many things we need to discuss, Grade Four Junior Technician Alex Orz.”
>Evaluation of Fabian Vod: Broken.
I wonder what I would see if I used [Evaluate] on myself?
Alex schooled his face into a polite smile. It wasn’t difficult, he’d had a lot of practice at it over the years. In his head he calmly told himself that this was nothing more than he’d dealt with in the past. He’d talked to everything from tentacle-beasts to grumpy wendigo.
Compared to some of that, this tusk-mouthed looming menace is practically normal. He almost believed it until the orc smiled in return. Alex had seen a lot of smiles, but this one was entirely empty of any sort of emotion. Not even the cold promise of violence was present. Fabian Vod’s smile was like the void.
“Overseer Fabian Vod, at your service.” the orc introduced himself unnecessarily. Between the Interface message and Sparkles’ narrow-eyed hostility Vod’s identity wasn’t a surprise. “Technician Orz, sanitation worker Bloodfiend, please enter.” The polite tone of voice and the graceful sweeping gesture that invited the pair inside felt impossible to resist.
With a calm graced upon him by years of weirdness and, more likely, his soul upgrade Alex sauntered into the room beyond the door. For some reason Alex had been expecting a large and lavishly decorated space filled with comfortable pillows and rich décor. Instead he found himself in a plain metal oblong room that had several chairs pulled around a small coffee table. On one wall was a blank computer screen that looked as if it had been torn apart and then reassembled by a child, with tangled wires hanging from it like the worst IT network closet in the universe.
>Evaluation of computer screen: Working at 100% efficiency.
Well, that was a thing. Despite how it looked the screen worked, even if right now it displayed nothing at all. At the large orc’s next gesture Alex and Patina found themselves sitting in the chairs. There was a battered metal jug on the table along with two empty glasses. Vod sat imposingly opposite the pair, the chair groaning slightly under his bulk.
“So, “ the orc began conversationally, “You’ve been told by the adjunct to kill me.”
“Yes.” Alex replied without hesitation. He wasn’t sure who looked more surprised by his admission; Patina’s jaw dropped and her eyes grew wide. Vod raised a thick dark eyebrow and sat back a little.
He was expecting me to lie, Alex saw. Then he’s used to being around liars. I can use that.
“You are so very weak.” Vod stated tonelessly. “A level one, on a non-combat path. Unless you have some hidden skill, you have no offensive or defensive capabilities learned. You bear no weapons but for some simple tools. The least of my people out there could butcher you in less than a minute. And yet here you sit, unconcerned, blatantly admitting that you’ve come to kill me.”
“Ah, “ Alex smiled, holding up a finger, “You see, I have no plan to kill you.”
“I see.” Vod frowned, as if he didn’t quite understand.
“Also, her plans were awful, “ Alex pointed to Patina, “And Harmony’s plans were disturbing as hell.”
“My plans were-” Patina started, but was quickly cut off.
“Awful. Besides which, “ Alex looked at Vod with a shrug, “I have no desire, inclination, or compulsion to kill you.”
“Not even for nine hundred glim? A veritable fortune among the rank and file of Ad Astra employees.” Vod asked shrewdly. “I’m sure that was tempting to at least one of you.” His eyes fell on Patina, who swallowed hard and looked more green than usual. She’d seen some sort of threat in Vod’s eyes that Alex didn’t catch.
“Whether it’s nine hundred or nine thousand - it doesn’t matter. I’m not going to kill you.” Alex said firmly.
“Are you a pacifist, Technician Orz? Such people are a rarity and generally have tragic endings.”
“No, I just don’t think it’s necessary in this case.” Alex picked up the water jug and a glass, and poured himself a drink. He took a sip and pulled a face; The water was room temperature and had a flat, metallic taste to it. “People shouldn’t be condemned to die for not doing a job to the satisfaction of their employer.”
“They told you many things about my behavior and actions, did they not?” Vod asked, pressing the issue. The ‘they’ were obviously Patina and Harmony. Alex nodded.
“They did. Harmony was all about you failing in your duties, smashing her property up, that sort of thing.” Alex replied. “Patina was less generous about your character. The word ‘slaves’ came up. As did mention of you taking other people’s food allocations and generally being a despot of some kind.”
“Alex, what the hells?” Patina hissed, looking extremely uncomfortable. “Why are you telling him that?”
Because he already knows. The thought came to Alex at that moment and he struggled not to show it on his face. It felt accurate enough though. Vod leaned in, somewhat menacingly.
“And with all of that information you’re still not wanting to kill me?”
“I figured we could talk it out.” Alex smiled.
“You want to…“ Vod chewed at the idea as if it were something entirely foreign to him, “Listen to my side of things?”
“If there are sides, sure.” Alex took another sip of water and grimaced. “Honestly, no job performance review should include death on failure, you know? From what I understand things are in dire straits around here, with overpopulation, hunger, an artificial intelligence in denial, a general increasing disrepair, and no real guidance from a missing upper management.”
“Whether you failed in your duties or not isn’t my business; It sounds like almost anyone would, dealing with all that.” Alex concluded.
Vod considered Alex’s words, and then let out a long breath. The air in the room became lighter, as if a subtle menace had been lifted slightly. Still Alex felt as if the orc could be dangerous if pushed the wrong way, just not immediately so.
“They are correct, of course, in some of their assessments.” Vod allowed, his deep voice a quiet rumble. “I’ve done things that aren’t considered good or nice in order to keep my people alive. Not happy, not always completely safe, but alive.”
“Why don’t you tell me about that?” Alex urged gently. Surprisingly, the orc did.
“Where should I begin? Ah…you’ve probably heard we have a lot of people on the [Cleaner] path, yes?” When Alex nodded, the orc continued “This is true, but it’s not everyone. We also have a number of general laborer paths, along with some minor aberrancies that have to do with the corporate world in some way. We even have a person with the [Administrator] path, which is all about paperwork and organization…none of which we actually have.”
“We also have a number of people with more combative paths - you’ve met two of them. These people keep us safe from incursions, which I’ll touch upon shortly. But yes, the bulk of our people are [Cleaners].” Vod shook his head, “The problem is, we can’t stop it from happening.”
Vod went on to explain that though Syntropy should offer people paths based on their inner desires and preferences, on board the Relentless Exploitation around ninety percent of all newly integrated people were for the [Cleaner] path.
“We don’t need more cleaners. We need more support - people who can use skills, spells, and abilities to keep this place running.” Vod took a drink from his own glass.
“Like people who can repair things.” Alex said. Vod shrugged expansively, his muscles rippling noticeably under his clothing.
“We’d take almost anything new, Technician Orz. [Technician] and [Engineer], sure. [Mechanic], [Tinker], [Builder], [Crafter], [Artisan], [Blacksmith], [Alchemist], [Healer] - void, we need [Healers]!” Vod grumbled. “Spellcasters of any path, researchers, even farmers - if we could ever get into one of the carriages that might contain seeds and grains that are shipped by the company.”
There were, according to Sparkles’ words earlier, tens of thousands of paths. Alex didn’t know how Syntropy worked very well, but it didn’t seem right even to him that almost everyone was being pushed into the [Cleaner] path.
“The universe is vast and the potential to be anything is out there, thanks to Syntropy and the interface. But we get people to scrub the floors nine times out of ten.”
“Not that it helps. Things keep getting dirty again very quickly.” Patina added, more for something to say than to willingly converse with Vod.
“She’s correct, “ Vod nodded. “Things get dirty for no good reason at all. It’s like the grime just coalesces out of nowhere which is, obviously, not true.”
"And so you have a couple of thousand people toiling away being paid below the cost of living and getting nowhere, while at the same time having no access to anything that will improve things.” Alex summarized. “I don’t get that, though. Before today, the whole interface and Syntropy thing wasn’t even on my radar, but I’m pretty sure I could learn to do stuff regardless. Your people should be able to do something, right?”
“How would we?” Vod gestured in what felt like a practiced gesture. “Let’s use [Builder] as an example. With substandard materials and limited knowledge, certainly we can put together a house of sorts, but what we don’t have is the skills that the path would bring to make it sturdy. I know you’re going to say that people on your planet learned to do these things without paths, but they did study. They learned. There was a knowledge base, likely built over centuries of trial and error, to bring people to that point. Yes?”
“Right, but still-”
“Most of us spend almost all of our time surviving, and dancing to the whims of the adjunct. With limited time, and very limited resources of a quality good enough to use, we simply can’t make a lasting change to things.”
This just sounds so…wrong. They can’t be that inept. This is a futuristic space train. They must have some sort of library or data storage that can teach them, right? Or are they so immersed in this interface-driven way of life that they can’t even comprehend learning any other way?
Trial and error was a valid way of slowly learning - even if it was how not to do something. Alex felt like pushing against this strange rejection of just doing stuff, but something told him that it would be a Sisyphean effort. Instead he circled back to the main part of the conversation.
“Okay, fine, you have an overabundance of janitorial staff. That’s not ideal but it’s also not really a reason to go all evil overlord or whatever.”
“Of course not, “ Vod snorted. “We’re also stuck down here. As more and more of the carriage decays and becomes unusable, we are packed in even tighter. You’ve been told that we’re crowded in down here - jammed in the lower decks, forbidden from taking up residence in the former offices and rooms up above.”
“I have heard that, yeah.”
“We tried it once, “ Vod pointed upward, “Going above decks to expand things. The adjunct got upset and temporarily halted all food generation until we returned down here. There were some hardliners who thought that the damned AI would capitulate when it saw people start to die.”
“She didn’t?”
“It didn’t.” Vod said flatly. “But food is the next topic. All of it is controlled by the adjunct, doled out as one meal per day per person. We have food dispensers - nutrimats, they’re called - for the process. At one time I was told this carriage had twenty working nutrimats spread out between two break rooms in the carriage, along with six others dotted about above decks.”
The nutrimats, Vod went on, had at the start of the journey of the Relentless Exploitation, dispensed a wonderful array of different food and drinks sourced from recipes across many parts of space. This was long before Vod’s time, and definitely before Patina was born.
“Right now we have two working nutrimats, Technician Orz. And by ‘working’, I mean this.” Vod held up his glass of water and fished a small disc-shaped wafer from his breast pocket. It was an unpleasant pale yellow in color, and as thin as a sheet of paper.
“A meal fit for nobody, but given to everyone.” Patina muttered. Alex remembered that Patina had been nibbling at one earlier. “They contain all the vitamins, minerals, proteins and other nutrients we need to survive, along with absolutely no taste whatsoever.”
“So, unappealing yet flavorless food, and yet the water…” Alex took another sip, just to verify that it was indeed quite sharply metallic, “Tastes awful. I say that with absolutely no offense meant.”
“It is, of course, recycled.” Vod explained. The word hung heavily in Alex’s ears as he started to recall some science fiction stories he’d read in the past and what water was generally recycled from. He put his glass down with a fixed smile.
“Now, the two nutrimats we have left are also allocating less than they used to. These wafers used to be the size of my hand.” The orc splayed out his large hand, his thick fingers held wide open. The wafer fit into the palm of his hand easily.
“So, “ Alex nodded slowly, “You have an increasing population and a dwindling food supply? What does Harmony say about this?”
“The adjunct, when pressed, has responded with: ‘Ad Astra is allocating resources according to policy.’”
“What policy is that exactly?”
Vod smiled grimly. There was a flicker of emotion in the expression this time. “We asked. The response was ‘Ad Astra policy’. It then refused to talk to us for a week. Not that it talks to me anymore regardless. Oh, we don’t have an increasing population by the way.”
“You don’t?” Alex looked from Vod to Patina. “I thought I was told…”
“Our workforce is not growing. In fact, we’re shrinking. Bloodfiend, how many children have been born in our community this year?”
“How should I know? Babies are annoying and I don’t bother paying attention to them.”
“I have to. Because the answer is none.” Vod turned back to Alex. “For the past three years we’ve had not one single birth. No - let me correct that; Not one single conception.”
“I’m going to assume that’s abnormal. I don’t really know monster birth rates. Oh! Damn. Sorry, “ Alex apologized quickly, “Different species is what I mean. On my world there are no other sapient species, and our stories have goblins and orcs and such labeled as monsters.”
“No offense taken, “ Vod said easily, though there was a tightening of his shoulders.
“Yeah, I’m sorta offended boss.” Patina offered. “But I’m pretending you’re just a kid who doesn’t know any better so I don’t have to slap you.”
“Fair.” Alex said after a moment. “Ahem. Back to your good reasons for being not so good?”
“Over time as things break down and with no true way to repair them with our limited paths and abilities, parts of the carriage have become unusable - sorry, I know I’ve already mentioned this, but it’s important too.” Vod continued his speech, “We then crowd into smaller and smaller areas. At this point, the general estimate is that perhaps forty percent of the carriage is unfit for living in, and that doesn’t include above decks where we’ll only end up being starved to death by that heartless machine.”
“Forty?” Patina looked surprised. “That’s more than I thought.”
“The strange attack suffered by the train today caused a great deal of internal damage.” Vod replied flatly. The look he gave Alex was one that spoke volumes.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
He knows that the destructive shockwave happened when I arrived.
“Okay, “ Alex said quickly, “So space is at a premium, food supplies are running low, birth rates have plummeted, things are falling apart, the artificial intelligence refuses to compromise, and nobody’s getting paths that can help. This…still doesn’t make being a despot necessary.”
“Without the adamantine hand of ruthlessness, without firmly imposed order, panic will set in. I have over five thousand people that I am responsible for here; If a significant portion are given the time and energy to think about their situation they will start to realize how poorly off we all are.” Vod explained, “As food supplies dwindle, hoarding will exacerbate the issue. Selfishness and self preservation kick into overdrive. This community will fall apart, with each person out for themselves. People would abandon their Ad Astra jobs, causing the damnable AI to take more drastic steps than it has so far.”
Vod stood suddenly, his face shifting into a stern scowl. “So I play my part. I keep them on task. I cause fear, and dislike, and a target to focus on. I exhaust them even as I take tithes from their food allotment. I make it so everyone is just unhappy enough to keep going, but not quite unhappy enough or strong enough to revolt. Between the two main living spaces, I stand alone in being responsible for the lives of almost six thousand people.”
“You walk a fine balancing act, “ Alex observed calmly.
“Indeed. I can see in your eyes that you understand now. Do you accept my reasoning then?”
“Eh, “ Alex shrugged, “I can see what you’re trying to do, but at the same time it’s not ideal in any respect.”
“Could you do better?” Vod challenged. Alex chuckled and shook his head.
“I don’t think I could, no. I’ve got no background in managing what essentially amounts to a colony, especially one with all the problems you’ve listed.”
“There’s more.”
“Of course there is.” Alex sat back and gestured for Vod to elaborate.
“I mentioned incursions earlier. We’re also under attack.” The orc said easily. Patina hissed, surprise on her face. Vod shook his head and looked at her. “You would have known, if you hadn’t left us and hidden yourself away in the crawl spaces and access conduits instead of participating in our community. Technician Orz, we’re under periodic assault by corrupted creatures - entropy-tainted entities that shouldn’t be on board the Relentless Exploitation at all.”
“Like the bilge rats?”
“Bilge rats are a problem every spacefaring vessel has. They are normal creatures - animals, at best. You could likely take on a task to clear out a nest of them with no problems, if you were of a mind to commit some casual violence against large rodents. It would be easy, even for you. No, Technician Orz, I’m talking about much worse things. Entropy-tainted creatures are ones that have been corrupted by the very antithesis of life. They exist only to kill and consume.”
Entropic creatures give path points. Regular creatures do not, Alex mused, but Patina said that bilge rats give path points. Peri also said I would have received path points for killing the bilge rat earlier, so they must be affected in some way as well. Another point I could argue - why would Vod be telling me they are normal and that I could take them on easily?
“The reason my guards have become so good at their jobs and progressed along their paths is because of the incursions. Which is why, of course, they are at a much higher level than most of the community.” Vod explained. “They’re actively protecting us all. On that note, Technician Orz, I have a proposal for you.”
Not bad, Alex thought, A nice build-up, laying out all the woes of the world on the table, and now he’ll try to make a deal to distract me from what he does.
“I would like to formally invite you to join our ‘colony’, as you put it.” Vod gave that empty, cold smile to Alex and Patina. He didn’t comment on the little goblin’s hands gripping the arms of the chair so hard that the fabric stretched thin.
“What would that entail, exactly?”
“Nothing too arduous. In exchange for your presence here, and the agreement to work under my supervision, you would be given a place to stay within the protective eye of my community.”
Alex waited. He kept eye contact with Vod, not allowing his smile to shift. Vod’s offer was shit and they both knew it - Alex could barricade himself in the tech closet if he needed to, and having an extra layer of purported management between him and what he needed to do to get back home was more of an inconvenience than anything.
“You’re very new to all of this, I can tell.” Vod’s tone shifted in an attempt to sound sympathetic. He was better at it than Alex expected, but the man could tell how insincere it was. Vod was not a caring person. “I can only imagine how confusing everything is.”
“I certainly have a long list of questions.” Alex allowed.
“I can assist you there, too. Our community here can share the entirety of its pooled knowledge base - you have questions about Syntropy, or the Interface, the train, or the corporation as a whole…we can answer those.”
So can Harmony, Patina, and Peri. Alex waited again. Vod didn’t stop staring into Alex’s eyes, and Alex felt a sort of subtle pressure behind the orc’s expression.
“There is a lot of stress and confusion, I know this.” Vod continued, “Things you shouldn’t have to bear alone. With my guidance and our support, you could do good things for us - and for yourself.”
“Just by living here instead?” Alex murmured the question. That subtle pressure continued, and Alex felt as if it wasn’t a terribly unreasonable offer. He did like people as a whole, and spending most of his time with a broken artificial intelligence and one lone goblin might not be the best for his mental health. In fact, it was a good offer. It wouldn’t hurt at all to-
“You would be safe, and be able to grow here with our guidance. As you would be reporting to me, you would of course have to give up your Authority level.” Vod suggested, “Lest those around you get confused about the leadership hierarchy.”
Give up my…
Just like that, the pressure broke and Alex blinked several times. He shook his head quickly to clear it, and took a deep drink of the unpleasant water despite now knowing its origins. Vod sat back, a slight frown on his face.
No, Alex thought, it’s not a good offer at all. What the hell? I already have everything he’s offering and more.
“Your offer is a kind one, “ Alex said, “But it has some drawbacks.”
“Like giving up your precious authority?”
“Not even. I don’t really know what the authority does for me except allow me to go places that need fixing that those without it can’t. At least, so much as I understand it.” Alex shrugged, “No, what I’d be most concerned about is how Harmony would react. She was very adamant that she wanted you off the active employee list, and if I were to start working for you…well, you’ve already told me about the types of things she’s able to control.”
“I will deal with the adjunct.” Vod scowled. “I have several plans in the works to do so.”
“I’m sorry, Mister Vod, but I can’t accept the offer as-is.” Alex held up a calming hand as Vod started to puff up in annoyance. “The thing is, almost everything you’ve offered is something I already have in one way or another. I’m already going to be doing my job of fixing things as best I can - omnitool or not - and all you’re really suggesting is that I switch management teams from being told what to do by Ad Astra’s artificial intelligence to being told what to do by you.”
Vod was silent for a long moment. His scowl spoke volumes that promised difficulty. Patina tensed beside Alex.
“Interesting.” muttered Vod. Louder, he added “Of course, as I have the only working omnitool in the carriage, it would be part of the offer - I would give it to you freely. The strange and incomplete device you used to secure your employment with the adjunct is useless.”
He’s very much wanting me to work for him, but the omnitool is the only true thing he has to offer other than the suggestion that things would be worse for me if I didn’t. I think he knows that I know that, too.
Also, Alex added, he knows about the experimental omnitool. You didn’t mean to say that, Mister Vod, but you haven’t realized it yet, Alex felt, his intuition suggesting that his refusal to go along with the orc’s offer was a more frustrating pain-point than his attitude would suggest.
“I have an alternative, if you’re willing to listen.” he said. The orc raised an eyebrow. Alex smiled wider. “You’re right in that things need to be fixed. You’re also right that at some point I need that omnitool. Neither of these things will make any difference if Harmony decides to starve everyone out for not getting her own way.”
“She seems content enough letting me choose to not kill you, probably because her programming can’t force the issue due to Ad Astra’s weird ‘stay in your lane’ policy, but as for actively working beneath you? Your offer of safety and guidance can’t compare to having an entity on my side that basically controls the place we live.”
“I’m not hearing an alternative in your words.” Vod stated flatly. Alex could see the frustration in the orc growing. He didn’t know how far he could push Vod, but he didn’t have to push far - just offer something for the overseer to chew on.
“I’m just setting the scene, “ Alex smiled again and took another sip of water. “Ugh, this is really awful. Sorry. Anyway, the thing is that Harmony wants you dead - or so she says. I suspect what she really wants is you no longer in your current position. She can’t fire you for whatever convoluted reason, so she’s simply going for the most expedient solution to her - your death. But I have another solution.”
“Do tell, in less words.” Vod grumbled.
“Step down.”
“Excuse me?” the orc blinked. Alex grinned.
“Step down. Relinquish your role. Stop being the ‘overseer’ or whatever designation you’ve come up with. Remove yourself from Harmony’s list of problems.”
“That’s…an interesting suggestion, certainly. Not one I can take, of course, but interesting.” Vod shook his head, “Things would fall apart without my leadership.”
“Perhaps, but I’m not asking you to give up your leadership, just your position. You would lose, as you put it to me, your ‘precious authority’ but that’s just an Ad Astra thing. You can still be present for your people - guide them, advise them, lead them in any way you like. Just…not on the company books.”
“Alex, “ Patina cut in, “That’s not what the adjunct-”
“Patina, I’m negotiating.” Alex gently admonished the goblin. “Harmony can see reason, I’m sure. So can Mister Vod here. It literally solves the issue.”
“You’re suggesting that I still perform my current role, just not as an employee of Ad Astra?” Vod sounded incredulous, “I would lose my pay and benefits, and still do the work?”
“From what I understand, you’re not getting paid anyway as Harmony is garnishing your pay due to poor work performance.” Alex said gently, “So that’s a non-issue.”
“You’re forgetting that you can’t stay on the Relentless Exploitation without being an employee, Technician Orz.” Vod countered. Alex shook his head.
“What’s the name of this company?” he asked. Vod frowned.
“Ad Astra. You know this. What’s your point?”
“Yes, I know that. But what’s the full name of the company? I’ve heard it said a few times now. That promotional video was quite descriptive.”
“Ad Astra Space Shipping, Passenger, Mining, Acq-”
“Passenger, Mister Vod.” Alex interrupted. “I propose that you become a passenger. Passengers would have no official duties. They don’t have to work. But what they can do is chat with the staff, if they were to encounter them, right? Perhaps make little suggestions to them? Unofficially, of course.”
“Unofficially, but with the respect and power I’ve already garnered among them…” Vod muttered. “Hmm. I need to think about this.”
“Alex, the adjunct won’t go for this.” Patina shook her head. “She wants Vod out of the picture entirely.”
“What she wants and what she gets are just going to have to be two separate things. This idea works. As much as I dislike it, I don’t have any idea how to manage things here better than Mister Vod can.”
Yet, he added silently. A blossom of surprise rose within Alex, as he realized he was willing to at some point try. If it got him home alive, of course.
Patina scowled but added nothing else. Vod raised a finger, tapping the clawed fingernail against his chin.
“You would also need to clear it with the adjunct. I don’t know the current passenger rates per day, but I will not be able to pay them regardless so I expect you will have to plan for that as well.”
“I can get that sorted out, “ Alex replied with confidence. He smiled again, happy that being reasonable and talking things through was getting somewhere.
“Give me a month.”
“How long is a month in your calendars?” Alex asked his companion.
“Forty days.” Patina replied.
“That’s a long time.” Alex stated, looking at Vod.
“A month is needed, Technician Orz. I would need to suitably prepare to relinquish my role, but keep my…perceived authority.” Vod explained, “The idea being to make it look like it was my choice to do this in the eyes of the people so that I don’t lose any standing. But in return for agreeing to this, until I step down officially I would ask that you use your skills and abilities to repair at least five things each day of my selection - something which I would loan you the omnitool for.”
“The omnitool you can’t use yourself so it’s sitting around uselessly.”
“Precisely so.”
“So if Harmony agrees to let it happen, in forty days you’ll become a passenger and during the time between now and then you’d ask me to repair some stuff around here with temporary use of the omnitool.”
“Correct.”
“One repair. I still need to do my normal duties after all.”
“Three. You can classify them as part of your Daily Duties to Ad Astra, I know.”
“At the end of the month, I keep the omnitool.” Alex said. “In good working order.”
“Agreed.” Vod nodded and extended a hand. He smiled one of those emotionless smiles, and Alex returned it with a more genuine one as he shook the orc’s hand. The handshake was firm, but the orc didn’t play any sort of petty power game by attempting to crush Alex’s hand.
“Then I think we have a tentative deal, Mister Vod.”
“I believe we do, Mister Orz.”
*
Alex and Patina were escorted from the area by Jaek and Helwud Bruise. Alex wore a smile as he walked in their dubious company, but Patina most definitely didn’t.
“You know he’s lying, right?” she demanded, not caring that the Bruise brothers were listening.
“Sometimes you just have to trust people, Patina. Reason can solve many problems.”
“He’s a manipulator. A liar. A killer. That orc-”
“That orc made a deal.” Alex interrupted, speaking clearly and at a slightly raised volume. “If we can square it away with Harmony, the problem is solved.”
“It’s going to cause more problems. He’s not going to give up his power, Alex.”
“Is what he said true about the problems here?”
Patina struggled to contain her anger and nodded shortly. “Probably. I know some of it because, well, how could I not? But things attacking us? I thought it was just the bilge rats. If there’s other things as well…I can see why Vod would want you repairing things. He’ll probably ask that you fix some of the doors and access conduit hatches to where they live before anything else.”
“And the food situation?”
“Yeah, that’s true enough. But bilge, Alex, Vod is evil!”
“Evil is a strong word. I’m not going to argue against it because I don’t know everything to do with all of this. What I can do is believe that Vod is bargaining in good faith.”
“Why? How can you possibly believe his words?”
Alex shook his head. “Because the math is wrong.”
“The what?”
“The math.” Alex shrugged. “I’m still thinking about it, trying to get it right in my head. Between what you’ve told me, what Harmony’s said, and now Vod, something’s not matching up in the math. Vod is desperate, Patina. That makes it easier to trust that he’d hold up his end of the bargain.”
“Things don’t add up because Vod’s a liar.” Patina growled, and then huffed. “Whatever. Just know I’m absolutely gonna say I told you so when it bites us in the ass.”
The Bruise brothers were relatively quiet as they escorted the pair. Alex noted that more of his interface map was filling out, which meant they were going yet another way than they’d come from. He wondered if the elves were trying to make things inconvenient or confuse him. Either way he didn’t object, as more cartography was a good thing, and he also was able to add a lot more broken sensors and cameras to the map as well.
That job is going to give a nice payout, he thought. If Harmony doesn’t throw a shit-fit about Vod.
At the bottom of a ladder leading to a hatch above, Jaek halted and prodded Alex not-so-gently with his finger.
“We’re leaving you here, Mister Fix-It.” he said.
“If you can fix it, anyway.” added his brother. The elves looked at each other.
“What?” Jaek asked. Helwud actually blushed.
“Sorry, that one was a stretch. Let me try again. Uh…” he looked at Alex and grinned nastily. “Be careful, or we’ll give you something to fix.”
“Sure, sure.” Alex nodded. “Thanks for the escort, fellas.”
“Be seeing you.” hissed Jaek.
“Watching from the shadows.” added Helwud. The two elves stepped back from Alex and Patina, turned around, and walked away. Alex shook his head.
“Those are two very strange individuals.”
“Strong though.” Patina muttered. “Not that I care. They’re still assholes. So, look, Alex, about Vod’s agreement-”
Alex shook his head sharply, and mouthed the word ‘wait’. Aloud he said “I’m going to trust Vod at his word until he shows I can’t. That’s my final decision on the matter, Patina. Now, shall we?” he gestured to the hatch above.
Patina looked at Alex, scowling, but ascended the ladder first.
Above decks once more, Patina started to guide Alex back toward the tech closet. It didn’t take them very long to arrive at the door, and Patina tried to open it. The door didn’t budge.
“Only you can get in, “ she said.
“Is there a way to fix that?”
“Ask the adjunct to give me access as your helper.” she suggested. Alex nodded.
“Good plan. Next question: when you clean things, where does the dust and dirt go?”
“What? You’re asking that now?” Patina frowned, “Whatever, sure. It goes into my storage pouch, and eventually I empty it into one of the working waste disposal chutes.”
“Can I have some?”
“You want some dirt?”
“Dirt, dust, anything like that.”
“Uh…sure.” Patina’s look suggested that she thought Alex was stupid, insane, or more likely both. Still, she reached into the pouch and drew out a large handful of slightly greasy dust. Alex took it from her and with great sweeps of his arm scattered the mess over the floor in both directions.
“I’m going to have to clean that up.” Patina said flatly, her eye twitching a little.
“Not today. Let’s go inside.” Alex suggested, slapping his gloves together to clean them a little before activating the door sensor. They entered the room and let the door close behind them.
“Harmony, I know I’ve asked this before but it’s urgent. Can you hear me?” Alex asked loudly to the room at large. There was no reply.
“She can’t, Alex. We established that already.”
“Harmony? It’s a matter of life and death. Please.” Alex declared. More silence followed his words. After a while he turned to Patina and nodded. “Just checking.”
“Why?”
Alex felt tired. Whatever energy had kept him going so far was starting to leave, and it had been a very long day with a lot of things in it. Alex sighed, and took up a sitting position on the clean part of the floor.
“Because, Patina, “ he said quietly, letting himself lean against the wall, “I believe that forty days from now Fabian Vod is going to kill me.”
>Event 1284 - Completed. Reward pending review during Syntropy synchronization. Active Events: 1.