“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.”
“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.
“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
“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
“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
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
“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
“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?”
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