Chapter 2

The seven o’clock whistle blew through the station as Levi Wyman and Hank Matthews flew through the front door of the Meadowshire Gate Terminal. Levi’s tie fluttered about his ruddy face as he jogged forward, one hand on his hat, shooting a venomous glare at Hank. The trainee didn’t miss the expression.

“I told you, Boss, there was an accident on the road,” Hank said between puffing breaths. “There was nothing I could do.”

“A fruit wagon.”

“Yes, a fruit wagon. Why is that so hard to understand?”

“I don’t know,” Levi said, glaring at Hank again. “Am I to understand that a pile of bananas made you a half-hour late?”

Hank and Levi slowed to a brisk walk as they made their way further into the Terminal. The sun had only been up for a short time and yet the building complex was already humming with activity. Hundreds of people moved about in a generally hurried manner, intent on doing their tasks as quickly as possible. Some queued up in front of the main desk, asking for tickets or checking a gate schedule, while others watched for friends or relatives recently arrived. A number of individuals made their way to the roof and the waiting airship shuttles to take them to their respective destinations and some checked their cargo and proceeded to move their loads to the larger bay doors in the back.

Levi hated admitting it, but he liked the hustle and bustle of a Gate Terminal, which was like no other. At the moment, however, Levi wasn’t paying too much attention to the crowd. He tried his best to weave through it while both attempting to straighten his hat, coat, and tie and give Hank as many meaningful looks as possible. The looks didn’t seem to have the desired effect.

“Yes, actually. Like I said, a motor-wagon dragging a load of fresh vegetables got its side smashed in by the trolley I was on. Now I’m not sure who started the little tussle, but all I know is that the trolley popped off its track and I was stuck hoofing it to the office. You saw on the way over, the East Seven line wasn’t running. It shares some track with the North Two. It wasn’t my fault.”

“Matthews, you’re going to have to realize that an employer doesn’t really want to hear ‘It wasn’t my fault’. I really don’t care if you have problems on your own time. I don’t care if you hired the wagon to pull out in front of the trolley. But when you’re not doing what you were hired to be doing, I start to care. You were supposed to be at the office at six-thirty so we could be down here in time. You’re lucky you caught up with me outside or I would’ve left you here. Well, fired you and left you here.”

Levi’s voice had been getting progressively louder as he spoke and the sudden decrease in sound around him drew his attention. Looking about, he realized that everyone in the general area was looking his way, some more discreetly than others. Settling himself, he took a deep breath and straightened his coat for the hundredth time.

“Alright, you’re here now and that’s what matters. Let’s go. You have the sign?”

“Sure thing, Boss. I hope they like it, I put a lot of work into this thing,” Hank said, pulling a piece of paper from an inside coat pocket. Unfolding it, he held it out before him and proceeded forward, randomly pointing it at people as he went. The names “Abigail Graner” and “Quincy Boone” were scratched upon the paper in a barely legible handwriting. Levi simply rolled his eyes; it was too late to do anything about it.

They soon found themselves standing in front of Gate 22, its roped-off and guarded access prohibiting them from moving forward. The massive World Engine loomed up out of the floor fifty feet to the arched ceiling and then kept going. With a million moving parts, from whirling gears and belts to hissing pressure valves, pumping pistons, and the two enormous, spoked flywheels that flanked the entire engine and swung down through the floor, the machines were truly sights to behold. They were, quite literally, the engines that drove the modern world. Ever since their serendipitous invention a few generations ago, they had revolutionized science, technology, and travel in ways that were completely unforeseen.

Levi liked to imagine the feelings of the first people who walked into the narrow metal box that comprised the prototype transference chamber. They had no way of knowing what would happen to them when their compatriots outside threw the switch. They knew, of course, of the previous test successes of Dr. Marquering and his ugly dog Gertrude and understood the science as well as anyone living. And yet Levi still wondered if they were afraid. He listened to the clanging, banging, and whistling generated by today’s state-of-the-art, high-efficiency, low-noise engines and could only imagine how terribly loud it must have been. Not to mention the fact that the chamber supposedly shook so much it almost came apart. And yet they went in anyway. Levi admired their courage.

His musings, however, were short lived as Hank poked him in the shoulder. “You know, I don’t think we’re really all that late. The seven o’clock hasn’t come in yet.”

“What do you mean; it’s already seven-fifteen. Surely its come by now. We must have missed –”

His words were suddenly cut off by the loud, piercing screech of a whistle over the Gate 22 door. Lights lit up all throughout the engine and the door started to quiver slightly as the flywheels started spinning. A number of sparks fell from the higher parts of the machine while electricity arched between electrodes and even small gouts of flame issued from an exhaust port. To the unknowledgeable, it would appear as though the machine was about to rip itself right out of reality. Smiling slightly, Levi then realized that, in a sense, that’s what the engine was actually doing.

The commotion died down in a moment and everything started shutting off as the flywheels came to a stop. A green light blinked to life as the door creaked and started to slowly open. A light, blue dust wafted from the hinges and slowly settled upon the ground as the door locked into its fully open position and Levi got his first look into the transference chamber.

It was like most other passenger chambers he had seen, it both aesthetics and functionality. Rows of chairs filled three quarters of the chamber, providing the passengers with somewhere to sit during the five to ten-minute trip. Against one wall was a rack on which the individuals were permitted to place their suitcases, bags, and the like. The room was lit well enough by a small generator in the back of the chamber and the floor, walls and ceiling were artfully carpeted to both deaden noise and provide additional comfort. All in all, it wasn’t a terrible way to move from one world to the next.

Levi’s eyes scanned the crowd as they slowly made their way out of the chamber and over through the security checkpoint. To him, they all seemed a little bored with the whole process, which still amazed him after all these years. Sure, his generation had been born well after the invention and implementation of the world engines but he didn’t see how people could take it for granted. The contraption ripped through the very fabric of reality and allowed people, who had been so long trapped on Key, or Earth as is was still occasionally called, to spill out onto numerous other worlds and they had become all the better for it. But then, perhaps he was a little biased.

Shaking his head, he looked over at Hank. “Hold the sign up. We don’t want to miss them.” Hank mumbled something under his breath and complied.

A few moments later, just as Levi was starting to get worried, a short, attractive woman waved at them and made her way over. She had shoulder-length, curly brown hair, large eyes and a build that said dainty yet capable.

“Excuse me, gentlemen, but I’m Abigail Graner,” she said with a slight German accent, an apprehensive smile upon her face.

“Hello, ma’am, I’m Levi Wyman and this is Hank Matthews. We are from Hannan security and we will be escorting you to North Mine.”

“Pleasure, miss,” Hank said, nodding his head. “Can I take your bag?”

“Yes, thank you. So you’ll be traveling with us, then. Very well, just a moment,” she said, her smile warming a degree. She turned and seemed to scan the crowd for a moment before perking up and waving her hand about her head. “Mr. Boone? Mr. Boone?” she loudly called across the busy concourse.

A tall, lanky man with a neatly trimmed grey beard, a wide-brimmed hat and a well-worn olive greatcoat distinguished himself from the crowd by waving back, and then quickly hauled himself and his considerable luggage, cart and all, over to the rest of the party.

“Now Ms. Graner, I told you not to go wanderin’ off like that. How’s a man like me supposed to make it in such a big world without a fine young woman at my side? Gentlemen,” the man said, tipping his hat to Levi and Hank in turn. “I thank you for finding Ms. Graner for me.”

“Mr. Boone, these –“

“I told you to call me Quincy, dear. Callin’ me ‘mister’ makes me sound old.”

“Very well. Quincy, these are the men that Hannan sent to see us to North Mine.”

“Ah, well that changes things. Gentlemen, my name is Quincy Boone and you won’t hurt my feelings if you say you’ve never heard of me. I’ll understand.”

Levi smiled. “I’m Levi Wyman and this is Hank Matthews.”

“Hello,” Hank said, nodding his head respectfully once more.

“If you don’t mind,” Levi continued, “Hank will take your things out and we can sit down and go over the scheduled trip.”

“Sounds good to me,” Quincy said in response. “Lead the way; I’ve never been to the Reach before. Here you are, boy. Careful, though, some of this stuff is fragile.”

Hank grabbed the handle of the luggage cart and gave a pull. The cart barely moved. “Good grief, what do you have in these bags, bricks?”

Quincy simply chuckled. “Fragile and heavy. Have fun.”

The remainder of the party made their way over to a small seating area off to the side of the concourse while Hank attempted to wrestle the luggage out the front doors. Pulling out Abigail’s seat for her garnered Levi a curious glance, but she accepted the gesture and quietly sat. The two men sat down a moment later.

“Okay, let’s get down to business.”

Levi reached into a coat pocket and produced a large, precisely folded piece of paper. As he carefully opened it across the table, it divulged its contents: a map of Franklin Reach. It was one of the most accurate and complete maps of the world in existence, spanning the entirety of Man’s exploration of the area. Every possible feature of the landscape had been noted, from small tree copses to the mighty Abascal bushes. Meadowshire stood out prominently at the map’s center, displaying the general layout of the city as well as its proximity to all the other cities, including Cairn City to the southwest and, far to the north, just barely making it on the paper, North Mine. Levi’s finger tracked a line from Meadowshire up to North Mine.

“We’re currently in Meadowshire, in case you weren’t aware. And way up here is where you’re going.”

“There doesn’t seem to be much between here and there,” Abigail said, eyes soaking in the map.

“No, there isn’t much. The railroad doesn’t even run that far north yet. That’s why we’ll be moving up to Walton Harbor – which is here – and boarding an airship for the remainder of the trip. There just happens to be a ship, The Tipper, taking some workers up to the end of the railroad track and continuing on up to North Mine. We’ll be riding along with them.”

“So how are we gettin’ up to this Walton Harbor, then? Looks to be out of the range of the smaller bags,” Quincy said, nodding his head toward the small blimps on the roof.

“The only reliable way to get to up to Walton is by train and that’s how we’re going. There’s a wagon waiting outside to take us to the station.”

Hank appeared from the bustling crowd and made his way over to the table. He seemed a little out of breath but otherwise undamaged.

“Okay, we got all of your stuff loaded up. It took some doing and the poor wagon’s probably going to drag by the time we get up in it, but it’s done.” He glanced at Levi and then at the others. “Umm…so what does everyone say to a little breakfast? That bakery over there just opened shop and it smells delicious.”

Levi frowned, more at himself than Hank. He wasn’t much of a breakfast eater and, as such, hadn’t thought to offer it to the others. As if to make amends, he stood and looked questioningly at the others. “That sounds like a good idea. What does everyone want? Go ahead, sit down, I’ll take care of it.”

He logged their orders away in memory, paused for just a moment to make sure he remembered perfectly, than casually made his way over to the bakery. Just as Hank had said, the bakery smelled wonderful. The baker, obviously knowing the power smell had over his customers, had a small fan blowing directly past the ovens and into the concourse. It was somewhat conniving, but Levi had to give the man credit, he knew how to work with what he was given.

He placed his order and in virtually no time at all, Levi found himself juggling a box full of bread, pastries, some biscuits, three cups of coffee and one tea, for Quincy. He quickly and efficiently distributed the food to their respective owners, smiling as he did. Sure, it wasn’t quite as glamorous as O’Doyle’s harrowing pirate battle, but it was still field work. It felt nice to be out of the office doing something other than listening to people complain and crunching numbers all day. He was really looking forward to starting this trip.

“So, Mr. Wyman,” Quincy started, while munching on a Danish, “how did you and your friend Mr. Matthews get wrangled into tagging along with us?”

“Yes, I was also a little curious about that. Why did Hannan think we needed a security team?” Abigail took another sip of her coffee and looked at Levi, patiently waiting an answer.

“Well,” he said, “a man from North Mine stopped by the office and asked if we’d provide an escort. I’m Chief of the Distributions Department and –”

“You’re the Chief? Well good gracious, boy, why didn’t you send some of your lackeys? No offense, Hank.”

Levi shrugged and took a drink. “I wanted to come along. You know, get out of the office for a little while. And to ease your concern, Ms. Graner, we’re more guides than security forces. The Hannan Corporation simply wants to make sure that your transition to North Mine goes smoothly.”

“So there is little to worry about, then,” she asked, almost challengingly. “I hear that your Franklin Reach is quickly becoming a haven for thieves, pirates, and other ne’er-do-wells.”

“The crime rate in the Reach is on par with what’s been experienced on most other worlds when they’re first colonized. You have to remember, this place was only officially settled fourteen years ago. It’s still going through its growing pains.”

“But I heard of a major battle just recently with pirates in the south. Surely full aerial engagements are not the norm for newer worlds.”

“Oh, Abigail, leave the man alone,” Quincy said as he dug through the box for another pastry. “The man’s near the top of the food chain as far as security goes. He probably knows more ‘bout it than you, yes?”

Abigail simply shrugged in way of surrender and looked back to her coffee. Silently, Levi thanked Quincy for his intercession. Though it was true that the media often exaggerated the crimes in the Reach, the world was far from completely harmonious. He had noticed a mild yet steady rise in criminal activity since the end of the war and, though piracy wasn’t currently much of a problem despite a few exceptions, walking on the streets wasn’t as safe as it should be. It bothered him, but he didn’t exactly want to discuss it with a new member of the Reach community.

Instead, he proceeded to pack up his map and gather up the trash from the impromptu breakfast. The not-so-subtle hint was taken and the others started to gather their things as well. In short order, the small group was ready to set off.

“Shall we? Hank, lead the way, please.”

“Right, Boss. Everyone follow me.”

A few moments later they exited the Meadowshire Gate Terminal and stepped out onto the sidewalk of Washington Street, the largest, busiest road in Meadowshire. All manner of vehicles moved up and down the road, from horse-drawn carriages to motor-wagons and electric trolleys, while more people still plied to and fro down the wide sidewalks. The noise was the most striking feature. While the Terminal was filled with mechanical noises, the streets were full of something decidedly more human in nature, with only the occasional trolley whistle or steam engine. It wasn’t as impressive as any of the cities of Key or some of the larger worlds, but for Meadowshire at eight o’clock on a Tuesday, it was fairly remarkable.

Levi turned to the rest of the group as they neared the waiting motor-wagon, which the driver cranked up at their approach. “Ms. Graner, Mr. Boone, after you.” He opened the door, lowered the little step, and helped his two wards into the wagon. In after them went Hank. Giving a nod to the driver, Levi jumped in and took the last seat for himself. “Our next stop: the train station.”

Chapter 1

“Ma’am, could you please repeat that? I can’t write that fast.”

The woman sighed, straightened her dress and began again. “I was sitting under the gazebo in the garden practicing my knitting when suddenly there it was! It was over six feet high and with long, floppy ears and sharp, pointy teeth!” The woman’s eyes widened as her speech became more excited, seemingly attempting to convey the true danger of the situation to the man behind the desk.

“Did it walk on two legs?”

“I would say it bounded on two legs, but yes.”

The man finished filling out the report claim, sat his pencil down and looked up at the woman. “Ma’am, what you’ve seen is what’s known as a tolag rabbit, though some of your description is a bit off. They rarely reach over four feet in height when standing upright and they don’t have any sharp teeth to speak of.”

“Are you calling me a liar, sir? How dare you! I wish to speak to your supervision immediately! Goodness me, of all the nerve to sit there and tell me what I did and didn’t see is absolutely -”

“Ma’am, please calm down. Are you new to the Franklin Reach area?”

The woman paused in her ranting and looked cautiously at the man as though she was wary of a trap of some kind. “My husband and I recently moved her from Key. He works with the railroad division and he’s to oversee the installation of some new track,” she said in a rather overly proud tone.

“Then your surprise is understandable, but I would like to assure you that the tolag are nothing to fear. They’re little more than oversized rabbits that like to walk on two legs from time to time, especially if they’re in a new environment. It gives them a better view of the area. I assume your house was built recently?” The woman nodded. “It was likely just coming by to see what was going on. It’s very unlikely that it would return. However, I will send this report along to the city’s Animal Control office so they’re aware. Meadowshire’s city officials will take care of it.”

“I didn’t come here so that you knew these…these…giant rabbits were walking through my garden,” she exclaimed, her volume rising once more. “I came here to get some protection to keep the things away!”

“I’m sorry, but the Hannan Resources Corporation is not responsible for wildlife wandering through your lawn.” The man stood and slowly made his way to the door. “If we dispatched a security officer every time an animal walked through our property, we’d never get anything done.”

“Then you’re not doing your jobs properly, I think! My husband is a Hannan employee and it’s your job to keep us safe. I think I may just have to take this up with the central office. I’m a good friend of the president’s wife and when he hears about this I assure you that there will be changes!”

“That sounds like your next move, then, ma’am,” he said, gently moving her through the door and out of his office. “In fact, the secretary at the front desk will be more than happy to help you in your correspondence. Before you go, however, I’d like to give you some advice that may be easier than all of this paperwork: build a bloody fence.” The man then promptly shut the door to the bewilderment of the woman.

Levi Wyman slowly returned to his desk, an exhausted look upon his face. It was almost a daily event now, these foolish reports and claims. He had signed up to manage the Personnel Distributions Department of Meadowshire’s Hannan Security division shortly after the War. At the time, he had been under the impression that an office job would be a little more peaceful than working in the Naval Air Service, which he had done previously and, after all of the fighting, he had thought that peaceful was exactly what he needed. Now he wasn’t so sure.

Every day began with at least two dozen reports sitting on his desk. These, in themselves, he didn’t mind. After all, they represented the workings of the division and it was his responsibility to see that everyone knew what was going on throughout the Reach. However, these were often coupled with the various appeals, claims, and requests that made the job almost unbearable. Why was it, for instance, that people thought that sky pirates stole their newspaper and that the responsibility lay with the Security division? They were to guard newspapers now? It was absurd to even consider. And yet it was something he had to do every day.

He had decided early on in the position that the inhabitants of Franklin Reach were either completely helpless or completely intimidated by the land’s massive size. Though the first was a sad prospect, the second was somewhat understandable. The Reach was one of the largest, emptiest worlds that Levi had ever seen, with fields of grass reaching off indefinitely into the horizon. No one had yet managed to circumnavigate it, having instead turned around for lack of supplies. Unlike the more heavily populated worlds such as Key, the Reach was a wide-open expanse that was a true frontier in all senses of the word.

Franklin Reach was unique in another way that often rubbed against people: its scale. Everything was larger, including the animal and plant life. Though “normal” rabbits existed, there were also the tolag rabbits. Though bison could sometimes be found wandering the plains, so could the Olympus Buffalo; animals that could sometimes dwarf entire buildings. Endless plains of grass standing fifty feet high were present out in the unexplored regions. The most striking objects on the plains, however, were the Abascal bushes, massive plants that could easily grow as tall as mountains.

It was the Abascal bushes that provided the lifeblood for the towns of Franklin Reach and, generally speaking, the reason they existed in the first place. Following the initial study of the massive plants by Father Esteban Abascal and his team, it was discovered that the sap that flowed through a certain portion of the branches was an extremely efficient fuel source. A gallon of Abascal sap was equivalent to over a hundred gallons of petrol and the demand quickly grew for the powerful fuel. Though a number of companies had tried to quickly move in to capitalize on the boom, the Hannan Resources Corporation had won out and was the dominant company in the area.

As such, the Hannan Corporation very quickly grew in size and influence to encompass most aspects of life in Franklin Reach, including prospecting, sap requisition and processing, rail and airship operations, security and even banking and food production. Over fifty percent of the population of the Reach worked for Hannan and the other fifty worked to directly support the others. Levi simply wished that everyone would just leave him alone.

A hard knock came at his door. “Come in,” he said.

“What did you think you were doing, sending that woman down to me?” asked Ms. Alice Leclair, Head Secretary of the Hannan Security Division office. “She wouldn’t stop yapping about her ‘distaste’ for her treatment here and the lack of professionalism. What did you do to her?”

“A tolag walked through her garden and she thought I should send an entire company of men down to protect her should it return. I informed the lady that this would be quite impossible.”

Alice simply stared at him for a moment. “You’re not kidding? So she really…a tolag? They’ll just let anyone through the Gates nowadays, huh, Mr. Wyman?”

“I guess there are no immigration laws set up yet,” Levi said with a smile.

“Well, when they get the laws rolling I hope one of the screening parameters is intelligence. I don’t know how you do it, sir. Oh, there’s a man here to see you. Looks like a prospector.”

“Send him in, then,” Levi said as he started to straighten his tie and coat.

Alice nodded and headed back down the hall. A moment later a rather short, stocky man stood in the doorway. He was dressed head to foot in various animal hides and furs and was considerably dirtier than the average citizen of Meadowshire. All in all, he fit the stereotypical look of a prospector, which amused Levi to no end.

“You Mister…Levi Wyman?” he asked in a gruff voice. “Name’s Barnabas Hennessey, pleased to meet ya.”

“Mr. Hennessey, welcome. Please, have a seat,” Levi said, standing.

“Aw, no thanks, I can’t be stayin’ long and sit you down. Don’t need to be standin’ on my count. I’m headed down to Cairn City for a little rest ‘n’ relaxation. I’ve been prospecting up at North Mine and it’s been too long since I’ve had myself a proper bath.”

“North Mine,” Levi asked, deciding to pass on the obvious hygiene joke. “How’s the development going up there? I haven’t heard anything from that direction in ages.”

“Oh, it’s not too bad. Refinement plant’s finally getting close to running at a hundred, but the rail line is still a few months away. So for now we’re running everything out on airship which the pirates are just loving, let me tell you. Though we haven’t lost more than one or two ships the entire time, they’re still a nuisance that everyone would rather just be done with. The rail will make things harder on ‘em, though,” Barnabas said with a chuckle.

“I wasn’t aware of any pirate problems.”

“Well like I said, we ain’t lost but two ships and we’ve been running for almost a year now. And let me tell you that they got more than they gave, that’s for sure. Your gunships can sure dampen the day of a pirate.”

“We do our best,” Levi said.

“Actually, that’s why I’m here. North Mine has a request and, seeing as how I was passing through anyway, I thought I’d bring it along.” Levi’s hopes dampened as Barnabas quickly ruffled through his shoulder bag. “Ah, here it is. Seems there’s some folk coming through a Gate early tomorrow and they’re headed to North. A mechanic of some kind and one of those doctor types. The Office was hoping that you guys could give ‘em a little protection during the trip.”

“It’s possible. Please, give it here.”

Levi took the paper and quickly looked over it. It was an official company request, which were generally harder to turn down. It seemed that the “mechanic of some kind” was a little more than that; he was a world-class machinist and an expert on Abascal-sap engines. The other was apparently an up-and-coming physician, recently out of school and looking to gain some experience in the mines. Though a lot of specialists came through the Reach, none were as valuable as machinists and the physician would definitely been beneficial in such a potentially hazardous environment. More importantly, however, this was a request signed by the Board Manager of North Mine, meaning that it came from one of the highest levels of Hannan. Levi sighed.

“Alright, thank you Mr. Hennessey,” Levi said, standing up. “We’ll wire to North Mine informing them that their specialists will be well-provided for.”

“Actually, them wires don’t extend all the way to the mine. They only go as far as the rail’s been laid. And the mine’s placement sort of puts the breaks on radios, too.”

“You mean they still don’t have the transfer towers up yet?”

“Nope, pain as it is. Messages usually go by air.”

“Good to know. Thank you very much and I hope you enjoy your vacation.”

“It was my pleasure, Mr. Wyman. Take ‘er easy.”

As Barnabas Hennessey made his way out of the office building, Levi moved to the office door and looked down the hall. “Hey Fred? Could you come in here for a minute?”

An answer came from the office next door. “Yeah, be right there, just a second.”

A moment later, Fred Rutten came through the door.

“Fred, how many men do we have on wait for assignment?” Levi asked.

“Depends on what you need them for,” Fred responded.

“Well, we have some VIPs coming through the Gate tomorrow morning and they need an escort up to North Mine. I think two or three men would be enough. Looking at the logs, they could head up to Walton Harbor and catch a ship the rest of the way. Probably a three day trip up at most, all told, depending on the weather.”

“Hmm. Let me go get the book.” Fred dashed off, only to return a moment later with a rather large binder in his hand. He mumbled names to himself and flipped through the pages until he found something he obviously liked. “Ah, here we are. O’Doyle and his crew recently came back from that run down to Rice Beach. They obviously work well under pressure, too.”

Levi had to nod his head. O’Doyle led his security crew with what could only be compared to a ship captain’s severity. There were five of them, all told, and during down periods he drilled them in various security procedures that he had concocted over the years. All of the training had paid off, however, during the run to the southern Rice Beach. O’Doyle, his crew, and a number of other security forces were escorting the payroll to the Rice Beach Mine, one of the largest in all of Franklin Reach. Members of the Devilfish Brotherhood, a group of pirates gaining prominence in the area, had attacked with an intensity rarely seen in the south and had terrified most of the airship captains and crew. O’Doyle and his men, however, had held the situation under control and managed to fight off a number of boardings before finally coming within range of the Rice Beach long guns, which opened up on the pirates. Levi had no doubt it would go down in Hanna Security legend very quickly.

“O’Doyle is good but he seems a little…stern. This isn’t some sort of major air force battle; it’s just two professionals wanting a little security. Besides, O’Doyle runs five men and I think that’s a little much, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. If you’re looking for a more laid back officer, there’s always Dulce,” Fred offered with a smirk.

“Ha! So she’s on the payroll this week? I thought she’d be off getting herself drunk somewhere. I’m impressed.”

“Alright, alright. How about some trainees? Like you said, it isn’t too important of a mission and it’s a good way for them to get a little time under their belts.”

Levi perked up at the suggestion. “Who do you have?”

“I’d recommend…Hank Matthews and Edmund Tolbert. They’re experienced enough to know which way to point a gun but they’ve mostly been doing simple night watch security at machine warehouses.”

“They sound perfect. Round them up and get them down to Gate 22 by 7:00 am. They’re looking for a Quincy Boone and Abigail Graner. They better not be late.”

“I’ll have them there bright and early chief,” Fred said as he walked out the door.

Levi leaned back in his comfortable leather seat and stared out the small office window. The North Mine had always held a special place in his heart as it was one of the personal highlights of his career. He had, after all, been one of the individuals who had been present during the initial prospecting on the Abascal plant that now housed the North Mine and he had been amazed by the quantity and quality of its sap. It was potentially one of the richest strikes ever made by the Hannan Resources Corporation and he was exceedingly proud to have been a part of it. His only regret was that the War had come and taken him away from it and eventually landed him in an office, allowing men like Barnabas Hennessey to claim it as their own. He wondered how the developments up there were progressing. After all, another division handled the growth stages of new mines. He generally had very little contact which such places and North Mine was no exception.

A thought suddenly struck him and he quickly stood in an attempt to contain it. Glancing about his desk, he realized that there was very little there. No official company correspondence could be seen and only a handful of “real” security requests were present. The pay roll shipments had just passed and another major Gate move was another week or so away. If there was a time to do it, it would be now.

Levi quickly popped his head into Fred’s office. “Mark off one of those trainees. I think I’ll go instead.”

“What?” Frank asked, surprised. “You want to go traipsing off to a disconnected mine in the middle of nowhere with a mechanic, a doctor and a trainee? Is your job really that bad?”

“I’m still technically a licensed officer and I feel like stretching my legs a bit. Besides, the next week’s going to be a slow one and I haven’t had a vacation in ages.”

“But I…alright. Whatever you want, chief. Which trainee do you want to take with you?

“I don’t know. Just give me the first one, what’s-his-name.”

“Hank Matthews?”

“Yeah, that one. Just have him meet up with me here at six-thirty and we can move down to the Gates afterward.”

“Alright,” Fred said, disbelief in his voice. “If you like rain, mud, smoke and pirates, that’s not for me to criticize.”

“Oh, come on, Fred,” Levi smiled. “A leisurely trip north and back on an airship; what could possibly ruin that?”