“Henry, when do you have to go on your mission?”
“Soon.”
“I’m disturbed by that.”
“I will not fail. Trust in that.”
“The one thing I need to hear is the one thing you cannot say.”
“What? What do you need to hear?”
“That I come first.”
Gallant remained silent.
“Henry,” she said. “Look at me.”
He did.
She stepped up to him and held him close. When she had finally garnered her strength and chased away her fears, she put her hands on his chest and pushed him away.
“Can I walk you back to your home?” he asked.
“No. I need some time to clear my head.”
“All right. If that’s what you need.”
He thought it would be wrong of him to pressure her. She would choose her own time and place to make her needs known to him. As she walked away, he saw Liam emerge from the ballroom and approach her.
He watched them leave together.
CHAPTER 13
Unrest
“Welcome aboard Commander,” said Gallant.
Neumann stepped through the hatch, nodded, and he proceeded straight to the Warrior’s bridge. He walked stiff and proper, giving the impression that his judgement was going to be just as rigid and correct. He was careful to avoid any dirty surfaces that were under repair, in order to keep his shiny shoes and pressed uniform the cleanest possible.
His entourage of engineers and technicians remained behind. His personal escort of two marines also remained at the hatch.
Gallant turned to Roberts and said, “XO have our people escort the inspection team to their designated areas to conduct their inspections and test procedures. I will join Commander Neumann on the bridge and monitor progress from there.”
“Aye aye, Skipper.”
With his usual efficiency Roberts assigned personnel to the appropriate engineering and weapon compartments. He passed out summary reports on the ship’s repair status and lists of equipment outages. He also provided a schedule for shakedown tests on that gear that had completed repairs and was ready for full operational testing.
Chief Howard said, “Welcome to the Warrior. We’re glad to have your help and expertise. We can always use extra helping hands and experienced eyes we can get.” He smiled and pumped the hands of a senior chief who had once been a shipmate.
For their part, the Achilles personnel were courteous and appeared eager to begin.
On the bridge, Gallant found Neumann sitting in the command chair, flipping through virtual screens full of status reports.
The bridge chatter was loud as reports and orders were being dispensed to every corner of the ship the OOD looked like he would explode if one more demand were added to his load.
In CIC Midshipman Stedman was prioritizing operational tests to avoid accidental overloads.
Neumann said, “You’re behind schedule.”
Gallant said, “We’re a few days behind, but I’m hopeful we can make that up, as soon as Elysium’s facilities manufacture the necessary replacement parts. I still expect to deploy to Gliese in three weeks.”
Neumann looked doubtful. He said, “Elysium’s mining and manufacturing efforts are proving troublesome. The Native population is unruly and less productive than the new settlers. Their engineering supervisor, Treadwell, is a thorn in my side. He’s constantly demanding better working conditions, safety improvements, and more job training.”
Neumann’s jaw tightened. He added, “There’s a war on. He needs to do his part and obey orders like everyone else. Wolfe has informed me of how he is agitating the workers. I’ve asked him to keep Treadwell under surveillance.”
Gallant said, “Part of the difference in productivity is due to the division of labor and equipment. The NNR personnel have kept all the new robotic equipment for their own use and haven’t trained the Natives on it.”
“Are you blaming their performance on their tools?”
“Not just that. The NNR personnel are working the most lucrative mines and using the material to build new plants and factories instead of upgrading the existing ones. This diverts resources away from our immediate needs.”
“Are you saying that investing in plant and equipment for massively better industrial production is a mistake?”
“Of course not. That’s a necessary long term goal.”
“Or that manufacturing missiles and satellites for the defense of Elysium are low priority?”
“Again, no. But the result is a divided workforce that skews the delivery schedule for the Warrior’s needs.”
“Personally, I’m very pleased with the progress of the new colonists to build their homes and establish their own industrial base. It raises the standard for Elysium. I hope to see this planet thriving and more successful in a few years that is far beyond the modest gains the original population produced in two decades.”
Gallant looked askance at Neumann. He said, “The people of Elysium started out as prisoners of the Titans. They fought their way free and built this tiny community from practically nothing without hardly any equipment or resources beyond what they could make for themselves. They are a hardy and innovative people. I believe they’ve accomplished a great deal.”
Neumann looked at Gallant as if taking his measure. He said, “Your sympathy for the locals is affecting your judgement. You’re using them as an excuse for your lax performance of your duties. Your involvement with that Hepburn woman is clouding your judgment. I expect you to meet your deployment commitment on schedule or I will be forced to take action.”
“With your permission, sir, I’ll go to engineering to observe the testing?” asked Gallant.
“Granted.”
They didn’t speak to each other for the rest of the day. After an exhausting day the inspection and testing was completed and a thorough report was issued.
The Warrior received a deficiency grade for poor performance in repairing the ship to date. Gallant received a personal reprimand for lax performance in his personnel jacket.
The next day, Gallant worked with Chief Howard to organize and redouble their efforts to complete repairs. Over the next few days, the crew worked even harder to get back on scheduled. Once they had made up some time, Gallant granted extra liberty as a reward so they could visit Halo and enjoy the local food and entertainment.
***
Gallant made a trip to Elysium to help expedite the Elysium manufacturing process. While he was at the mine, he narrowly avoided begin crushed to death when an overhead beam in the shaft, caved-in. While he had a miraculous escape, two lives were lost, and twenty more were injured.
Cave-ins were always a constant danger and especially hurtful for the Natives, but Treadwell and Gallant wanted to change that. They inspected the aftermath of the cave-in. The flooded shaft meant days of pumping to suck out the water. When the level receded, Gallant wade knee deep in mud and concluded that they needed more support beams to keep the roof secure, but it was a question of money and resources and NNR held the purse strings.
Overall the mines were sending record amounts of ore to the smelting plants. The samples of ore were of the highest purity. The manufacturing plant was producing at the most optimist pace, yet all was not right with the workers and shareholders. The Native workers at the mines and facilities were being short changed while the new arrivals were earning high salaries and high profits.
Gallant joined Treadwell and several of his foremen at the local tavern drinking ale.
Treadwell spoke to his men, “I’ll do the talking.”
They nodded, knowing they might get lost on some hyperbolic tangent otherwise.
“You do all the talking. We’d rather just listen.”
They all turned and faced Gallant.
Gallant asked, “I trust you’re making progress upgrading the robotic equipment to boost output?”
“You must be jokin’,” said Treadwell
“Is there a problem I can assist you with?”
“Naught to do.”
“I’m very disappointed to hear that.”
Treadwell downed his ale. He said, “I’m glad you’ve come. We’ve had time to talk privately and now we want to be heard. First, we ask that all that is said here today remain in confidence.”
“Of course, I will respect you confidence.”
“Very well then.”
Gallant said, “While the Warrior has received our most essential materials and I can’t complain about any particular items, I must say that I’ve been concerned about the fabrication of the remaining critical parts.”
Treadwell said, “That’s your concern and it’s as should be. But we’ve concerns, as well.”
The older man rubbed his chin and furrowed his brows. He said, “On behalf of NNR, Rothschild has succeeded in gaining the majority of shares in Elysium’s mining and manufacturing complex.”
Gallant raised his brows in surprise.
“That’s right, Commander. Instead of improving our existing industry, NNR is building new plants and factories utilizing high tech robotics, far more efficient than the original plant we had built. Our wages have been drastically cut and will be again when it’s all completed.”
“I see,” said Gallant.
One of the foreman said, “This arrangement is a cancer. We need to remove it.”
Another said, “Remove it? We should shoot it.”
A third contributed, “But what will happen to our workers?”
The first one said, “Don’t concern yourself with them. Their grownups they’ll find other employment.”
The second said, ““These grownups have been here for a generation making their living from this planet and they’re going to go on surviving.”
The third said, “This is becoming unpleasant.”
Treadwell said, “Now didn’t we agree to let me do the talkin’?”
The foremen looked contrite.
Treadwell said, “We’ve had a very unsatisfactory working arrangement with the NNR people and if you haven’t already guessed, we need to restructure our business arrangements.”
Gallant asked, “Restructure? In what way?”
“We want to split the entire mining and manufacturing works in two. One to be run and profited by the Natives and the other can be wholly owned by NNR. That way we can be our own masters, as it was before NNR arrived. We can prioritize the work and equipment to suit ourselves, and pay ourselves a living wage”
“You wish to compete separately against the NNR? Is that wise?” asked Gallant.
“May not be wise, but it’s necessary. NNR has gained the control and they are driving us out altogether. We get less pay, poor job assignments, and working hours and conditions. We have no say and none of the training on the hi-tech robotic equipment.”
“That is troubling.”
“We want to band together and set our own work and pay. We have gathered some money and most workers are ready to walk away from NNR. Actually, I don’t think they’d even care if we did.”
“What about the mining leases from Halo?”
“Yes that’s the other shoe that has dropped. Wolfe is stalling us and showing eager support for NNR. We need to start something in motion, or we will have no rights at all.”
“That is agreeable to me. What can I do to help?”
“Can you speak to Commander Neumann about NNR and the new settles?”
“I will, but what working realities materialize is unknown.”
“Let us undertake this together?”
“Yes. I wish you well.”
A week later, men were seated around the tavern grouped together at tables in front of a podium. Some of them represented the mining interests of NNR and others were Natives. An NNR manage rose and spoke, “There is an auction of equipment and leases to rights for mining on the unexplored slopes behind Brobdingnag Volcano. The auction is open gentlemen. Are there any more offerings?”
Then he announced the winners of the equipment and leases.
Several men looked at Gallant.
There was some talk at the tables before the final statements were made.
“NNR wins the rights to parcel 299.”
“Treadwell wins a lease.”
An NNR agent challenges his ability to meet payment.
“Gentlemen, this is no way to behave.”
The broker spoke to defend the auction.
“The essential thing is to keep NNR off balance.”
***
The original colonists of Elysium gathered peacefully in Freedom Park to express their anger and frustration when they found themselves becoming more and more disenfranchised through a combination of Wolfe’s policies and NNR Corporation’s restrictions. Inequality of work and pay between the Natives and the new arrivals stirred general unrest. But the cultural differences and the burgeoning distrust over genetic engineering threatened to ignite the dangerous fuse. While genetic engineering of an embryo was not mandatory, those who sought to avoid it were subjected to onerous burdens and restrictions.
Just a few weeks earlier this had been a thriving happy community. Now as the crowds grew, from a few dozen to several thousand in a mere matter of hours, the noise level rose proportionally.
Children were running and playing in the park while several shadowy figures were gathering in a corner under a stand of trees at the far end. The squealing sounds of the young ones resounded in the distance as the figures quietly exchanged looks and information.
The protestors began marching in an organized fashion along a narrow side street toward the outskirts of town. Each step they took was marked by furtive glances over their shoulders. Soon the playful squeals diminished in the distance.
CHAPTER 14
Ocean Cliffs
It was one of those days when it seemed summer would never end. Gallant and Alaina enjoyed the warmth of the sun and a gentle sea breeze as they walked along the southeastern road from Halo toward the ocean. When they reached the summit of the cliffs, they could make out most of the seaside panorama of the island’s eastern coast. The vertical cliffs were not scalable, but below them the ocean stretched to the far horizon. They made their way toward the lighthouse on a high cliff overlooking the bay.
The picturesque white tower lighthouse sat high above the coastline’s hazardous shoals and reefs just off of Halo’s harbor. At night its lamps and lenses emitted light that served as a navigational beacon for maritime pilots at sea. Near the lighthouse they met the young couple who tended it. The young woman carried a small bag and wore a white cotton shirt and dark skirt. She was mildly sunburned and a loose strand of hair lay across her forehead. The young man was powerfully built and was perspiring as if he had been hard at work before they arrived.
The couple told them the story of how they had met and married and had come to live at the nearby villa. The villa was a squat elongated building with a modern facade. It had four windows on the front and large oak door. There was a small garden along the side that the young woman boasted produced the most delicious tomatoes.
“Originally the lighthouse had a fish oil flame for illumination when it was first constructed,” said the young woman.
“It transitioned to electric arc lighting just a half dozen years ago,” added the young man.
The couple beamed as they told their story, but then they became sad when they related, “We were unhappy to hear that the council intends to build a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system. It’ll mean that they wouldn’t need the lighthouse anymore. We will have to give up our villa and move.”
There was something poignant and ephemeral about the lighthouse. When Gallant and Alaina left the couple behind, they followed a path that slipped down the side of the cliff and came to rest at a cove with a cave and a fine stretch of beach. The ocean rolled up onto the beach and smashed its white waves against the black sand. They sat on a massive bolder rising from the surf
at the mouth of the cave. It offered some shelter from the spray of waves whipped up by the wind. A small wave creamed at their bare feet dangling in the watery sand.
A puff of breeze came off the ocean brushing a tangled lock of hair across Gallant’s forehead.
“Most remarkable these cliffs.”
“Quite awe-inspiring,” she said.
Gallant asked, “Are you keeping busy?”
“Not exactly. I have my artistic efforts which you know. You’ve seen my paintings.”
He asked, “But you’re unhappy?”
Her face remained somber.
She touched his arm. “I’d like to get away from it all—the politics, the people, the problems.”
“I know.”
“You do?”
“Tell me about it.”
She remained silent resting her head against his shoulder. The sunlight struck her face, making it look golden against the light yellow blouse she wore. She struck Gallant as a sorrowful figure. He had little practice dealing with an unhappy woman.
She said, “I would like to wipe out the past and be free to move forward.”
“I see.”
“Will you help me?”
“If I can.”
When she asked about his upcoming deployment, he made dismissive sounds that only added to her sadness.
They became silent and after a while the sun was lower in the sky. They could smell the change in the direction of the wind, now a westerly offshore breeze, dragging the warmer land-air out to sea.
He wondered.
What is she running away from?
Was it the politics, or something more personal?
She put her hand over her eyes, as if screening her emotions from him.
Guessing at her distress, it flashed across his mind that Wolfe had admonished her for her performance in office. No matter how much he shrank away to avoid talking about the worst outcome, he was drawn to it. She was young. She was desperate. She was also obdurate and unwilling to acknowledge it. What then was her crime? She was exactly the kind of individual to fall into despair over the harsh unfair criticism of a scoundrel like Wolfe.
Commander Henry Gallant (The Henry Gallant Saga Book 4) Page 9
