Wilson Port, Tewanta - 3306-09-25 07:56 GST
Francis Bonetti, manager of the Wilson Port Outfitting and Repair deck, stepped out of the transport pod and into the Station Administration offices. This section of the system was at the outer edge of the coriolis station and had a noticeably stronger artificial gravity from the station spin than the outfitting deck. He was here for an urgent in-person meeting with Progenitor Woodward and he was nervous. He had no idea what it was going to be about: he was told that the topic for discussion was best dealt with face to face. He hoped that he wasn't in trouble. He knew that, in principle, The Protectorate was in favour of staff modifying the procedures and making their ways of work more efficient, but worried that his team may have taken things too far. There wasn't a day where part of the manual wasn't updated, or even rewritten. The outer office was pretty large about ten meters long and eight wide. There were two doors each on the walls to his left and right, with large comfortable sofas between them. The walls were a tasteful off white colour, with a hint of purple. The floor was covered in a blue carpet, an unusual thing on a space station where magboots were often needed, as carpet changed the engage/disengage profile of the boots slightly. Some people found that disconcerting. Dotted about the walls were about ten screens showing either planetary landscapes or slowly scrolling info feeds. At the end of the room was a reception desk and the receptionist had already stood up and walked around the desk towards him.
"Mr. Bonetti! Welcome. I am Jana, Progenitor Woodward's assistant. Thanks for coming at such short notice. Progenitor Woodward is waiting for you in her office.", said the receptionist, gesturing towards the far door on the wall to his left. "Can I get you a tea, coffee, bulb of water, or fruit juice?"
"Nothing, thanks.", mumbled Frank, confused, as he walked towards the door. The progenitor was waiting for him? A woman on a council that oversaw operations for a faction with a presence in over thirty systems, and the controlling faction in systems that contained over a hundred million people in total. His stomach knotted with nerves.
The progenitor was sitting on a sofa reading a data tablet as Frank entered. She put the tablet down on the coffee table in front of her and gestured to a seat on the sofa.
"Good morning Mr. Bonetti. Thank you for join us at short notice. Please have a seat."
"Thank you.", Frank said as he sat down. "Can I ask what this is about?"
"Certainly. Are you aware the recent attacks on space stations in the Empire?"
Frank nodded, confused.
"Are you aware that the terrorists used explosives that contained stolen enzyme missile warheads?"
"I wasn't!", responded Frank. Then his stomach flipped. "Surely you don't suspect someone from the outfitting deck of supplying the terrorists?", he continued, shock in his voice.
"Absolutely not! Quite the opposite, in fact. We have the highest confidence in the staff and procedures in Wilson Port."
Frank breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
"However, we are less confident in some of our newer acquisitions. While we don't believe any of them were involved, we still would like to increase our confidence that we have control over all our stocks of these dangerous weapons. This is where you can help.", explained Progenitor Woodward.
"Really? How?", replied Frank.
"Your team have shown exemplary initiative in developing procedures for handling such warheads and have, by far, the most training in dealing with them. We'd like to include members of your team in two units that will carry out audits of our stocks of these weapons, ensuring all warheads are accounted for, are securely and safely stored, and that safety procedures are adequate. We'll need six people in total, with two of them team leaders. Do you think you can spare them?"
"It'll leave us very short handed and will upset everyone's routines. It'll be a lot of strain on people and they'll be unhappy."
"I totally understand, but it is a little bit of an emergency situation. I am sure they will agree that it is vital that terrorists not get their hands on this type of weapon. They, probably more than most, understand how bad the use of one of those weapons on a station could be. There will be generous bonus payments and overtime for the entire team, of course."
"What happens if we find a installation where warheads are missing? What if the people there become hostile?"
"Your people will be accompanied by experienced BPIA field agents and will be well protected. They will be as safe as we possibly can arrange, given the weapons they will be working with."
Frank considered things for a few seconds. His mind filled with images from the enzyme missile handling course Maxine and Kayleigh had developed. The thought of those being used by terrorists on a station made him shudder. It would be stress and a hell of a lot of work, but he didn't have much choice. If terrorists detonated one of those on a Protectorate station, and he hadn't done anything to prevent it, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. Besides, Marianne's restaurant would be a prime target. The thought made his skin crawl. "Okay. I'll consult the team. I'm sure they'll understand."
"Thank you. I knew I could count on you. You and your team are doing The Protectorate a great service. We'll send you on the details of the length of the operation and the structure of the bonus payments, the operation's goals and targets, and exactly what we are looking for in the audits. Time is of the essence, so if your team could be ready by the end of the day, that would be greatly appreciated."
They stood and shook hands and Frank left the administration offices with much on his mind. In the transport pod he thought to himself how he was going to reschedule the work shifts and who to assign to the audit teams. The Buur Pit commanders we away on expeditions or shipping cargo down in the Empire, so there wasn't a lot really complicated work likely to come up. He could probably spare some experienced people. Maxine would definitely jump at the chance to be on one of the audit teams and she'd definitely be a good team leader. Kayleigh would probably like to go poke around other outfitting decks in Protectorate space, too. With those two missing he could take the opportunity to grant some responsibility to Piotr and Arild. By the time he made it back to the outfitting deck, he had a plan. He didn't think there'd be much convincing of people to be done, to be honest. Bonuses, overtime pay, and new responsibilities were strong motivators for his people.
"GATHER ROUND EVERYONE!", he bellowed, as he walked into the workshop. "I HAVE JUST HAD A MEETING WITH MANAGEMENT..."