Yule Planet

by Angel Martinez

  There was even, as it turned out, short-term housing for several chionisaur packs and their humans. When they reached the door at the end of the tunnel, Shara checked in with the man directing traffic, who pointed them off to the left. The cavernous room wasn't at all welcoming, but it was good to be out of the wind, happy voices echoing as everyone shucked snow gear.

  They were allowed just enough time to free the bubbies from cargo and harnesses and had almost finished loading the delivery onto pallets when an officious herd of officials descended. Half of them peeled off to corner Shara, while the other half headed straight for Sofia.

  "Ms. Cancino!"

  "We're so glad to see you! Are you all right?"

  "Do you need medical assistance?"

  "We have a suite ready for you."

  "Everything you need. Anything you need. A private concierge has been assigned."

  "Please come this way. Let's get you out of this less-than-wholesome environment."

  Sofia raised her hands and her voice, knowing perfectly well that hers could slice through lead when she wanted it to. "Hold up! First, who the hell are you people?"

  The shocked expressions lasted long enough for Sofia to take a step back toward Moon so she couldn't be surrounded.

  "We're from Central Management," one of the suits said, her voice so obviously pitched to soothe it was condescending. "I'm Tray Howard, Manager of Guest Relations."

  "Dr. Litha, head of Medical." The smaller woman behind her piped up. "We need you to come in for a full exam."

  "Ms. Cancino, we have documents you need to sign!" someone called from the back.

  "Everything's ready for you," a more obsequious voice added. "Your luggage is waiting for you. Dinner will be delivered whenever you're ready."

  Dinner. Bath. Bed. Regular clothes. All very tempting. "No."

  Tray-Howard-Manager-of-Guest-Relations frowned and dared to step into her personal space. "You can't stay here, Ms. Cancino. Guests are not permitted. Not to mention, I can't imagine why you would want to."

  Moon placed her huge head on Sofia's shoulder and growled at the knot of suits. They scrambled back several collective steps.

  "I haven't signed the NDA yet." Not going to either, without some serious renegotiations. Sofia petted Moon's nose, pleased at the gasps of dismay she drew from her audience. "And I'm still considering my options. Here's what I want. I want a room with satellite connectivity and a line out to contact my lawyer. This line will be private to ensure client-attorney confidentiality." Yeah, I don't believe it, either. "Next—"

  From across the room, Shara was snarling, "We were attacked by glacier crabs! People nearly died!"

  "Nevertheless…" The man in coveralls who was speaking to her shook his head. "Damaged container, quarter pay."

  Sofia smiled at her audience. "Next, you will make certain that this work crew receives full pay for their cargo run. Their actions were nothing short of heroic, and if it weren't for them, your PR department would have a dead guest to deal with."

  Heads bobbed. Several voices murmured, "Of course, of course."

  "Room. On this level. Access. Line out. Now, please."

  Ms. Howard waved a hand at the lesser minions, who scurried away to make things happen. "We will try to accommodate any request within reason, Ms. Cancino, of course. Though if you're involving your attorney, I am obligated to inform our legal staff as well, you understand."

  "Naturally." Sofia leaned against Moon, nuzzling her cheek. "We would've had to involve them sooner or later, anyway."

  The herd of suits left in a clump, the higher-ranking ones obviously disconcerted, the remaining lower-ranking ones anxious and confused. The crew had gone back to work but without their normal chatter. Food and water for the chionisaur troughs were the priority, then there were harnesses to hang, saddlebags to sort. Sofia respected their quiet, but it was getting to her. She was about to ask what was wrong with everyone when a minion tapped her on the shoulder.

  "Ms. Cancino? If you'd like to follow me, please? We have your uplink sorted."

  "Oh, good. Thanks." Sofia left her coat on a wall peg and stopped by Marta to kiss her cheek and whisper, "I'll be back soon."

  Marta nodded, tight-lipped, and Sofia wanted to smack herself in the forehead. Right. Marta didn't like to speak around strangers. They'd spoken so much over the last few days, Sofia had forgotten.

  As Sofia followed the minion out, Hecky whisper-squeaked, "She's leaving?"

  Someone shushed her. Impossible to know who, or what that was all about. Sofia would ask when she got back. Right now, she had some numbers to crunch and a lawyer to call. The office provided for her was Spartan, utilitarian, and probably belonged to a low-level administrator of some sort who was currently disgruntled for being displaced. Not important. She needed access and simple programming.

  The call to the legal expert at her company went to messaging. He was in a meeting, as usual. But that was all right, too. Sofia had work to do. All the information from Dieter, everything Sofia knew about actual day-to-day chionisaur team operations, public information about Y-Corp, commensurate salary charts both in-system and across the populated worlds—all of this went into feverishly built spreadsheets and comparison charts. By the time her call came through, she had a decent proposal together.

  "Sofia? I thought you were on leave." The image hovering over the holo plate was a comfortable, settled middle-age, one of the most solid, dependable people on the legal team.

  "Hello, Richard. I was until the resort tried to kill me."

  "Either you're exaggerating or there's a story here." Richard leaned back with his hands folded over his stomach, obviously settling in for a tale.

  "Okay, a little of both. I don't think the resort set out to kill me, though they might want to before I'm done." She told Richard about the failed navigation system, the rescue, how the resort used the work-release crews, and an abbreviated account of the perils of the job.

  "Sofia Cancino, you sound like a workers' rights advocate. Are you sure you're the same Sofia?"

  "Yes, ha-ha. Hilarious. Here's why I called you, though. They want me to sign an NDA so I don't blab to the press and the galaxy about the landing pod failure. Their safety record is supposed to be spotless and something like this would be a huge black mark. I'm willing to sign…"—Sofia suspected her grin wasn't a nice one—"with conditions."

  "Do tell." Richard leaned forward, his eyes bright with interest.

  "They're exploiting the work-release crews. I know, I know. People would say it's all part of having the sentences reduced. But it's work anyone else would be pulling down hazard pay for. And the company deducts for all sorts of bullshit things that they should provide. A new pair of boots—deducted from pay. Cargo damaged in transit—deducted. Trip to the infirmary— deducted. It's all pretty evil, really."

  Richard made a come-on gesture with his hands. "Hit me with it. I know you have numbers to show me. And do you have their NDA handy?"

  "You have to ask?" Sofia shot the pertinent documents to him and sat back while he perused, salt-and-pepper brows drawn together.

  When Richard finally glanced up again, his expression had slid from intrigued to some species of unholy glee. "These are quite the demands. You know they won't be resolved in a single session."

  "I know. Do you think it's feasible, though? Reasonable? I'm not asking for anything near what these folks are actually worth."

  "It's more than reasonable, and I'm shocked that no one's tried to litigate before. Or maybe they have, and there are judicial settlements and NDAs out there not on public record. It is a rather robust NDA, so I suspect this isn't their first time."

  "Could you take this on? Would you?"

  Richard quirked an eyebrow at her, his voice dry as dust. "I don't work for free, Sofia."

  "I know that." Sofia swallowed hard. Her next sentence would make it all too real. "I'll have my severance."

  "Well, well. Full of surprises today." Both e
yebrows were trying to escape into the wild curls of Richard's hairline. "I'll take this on. For now, don't sign anything. Don't agree to meetings. I'll set things up."

  "Thank you." Sofia allowed herself a real smile, something comfortable and warm settling inside her.

  There would be battles, but these she understood, as opposed to glacier crab brawls. Was this plan crazy? A little. Would her family understand? Probably not. But for the first time in Sofia's life, she felt good about something. Right. Driven.

  She wandered back through the corridors unimpeded, though she was certain she was watched every step of the way. Only when she reached the chionisaur bay did anyone try to stop her.

  “You can't go in there, Miss!” A Very Earnest Young Person tried to step in front of her. “Those monsters will eat you!”

  “Oh, no! Will they?” Sofia echoed the overwrought speech before patting Young Person on the shoulder. “One of the monsters is mine. I think she's over the eating part by now.”

  Young Person gaped, unresisting when Sofia gently pushed them aside. The doors whooshed open to admit her into a sudden silence, the kind where she was sure people had been talking about her, not at all ameliorated by all eyes turning toward her in evident surprise.

  "What?"

  Peter cleared his throat. "We thought you'd left us. Or had been spirited away, at least."

  "Are you...?" Marta, peeking out from behind Snowglider, let the question hang between them like a fraying rescue cable.

  "Hey. Not going anywhere."

  "They'll find a way to separate you from us." Marta still hadn't approached, wringing Snowglider's harness between her hands. "It's their planet you're standing on."

  "Mart's not wrong, you know," Lanel's tone was firm but ringed with sorrow. "They'll say, Come get your luggage, or Here, come to this meeting. And they won't let you come back down."

  Sofia opened her mouth to contradict him and shut it again. Lanel was right. If she allowed herself to be lured up out of the tunnels, she'd never see them again. Never see Marta again.

  "Right." Maybe her smile wasn't at all friendly, but warmth spread inside her to see the crew echo it as conclusions settled in with solid thunks. “How about we don't give them the opportunity?”

  The first volley came that afternoon with the return of Manager-of-Guest-Relations Tray Howard and a small army of minions.

  "We have a luncheon meeting set up for you in the Blue Room of Castle Evergreen." Manager Howard's smile bristled with sharp edges. "We thought you might be interested in a presentation on the history of the resort."

  "That sounds fascinating." Sofia tried to mimic the broken-glass smile as she leaned against Moon's shoulder. "Why don't we have it down here? Make a picnic of it?"

  Manager Howard most definitely did not sputter. Department heads at her level had those impulses microsurgically removed. Close thing, though. "Surely you'd be more comfortable—"

  "Completely comfortable here." Sofia slid down to sit on Moon's enormous clawed foot, her face aching from holding back a grin. The suits shuffled here and there, but none had the courage to cross the line into chionisaur jaw-and-claw range. "Oh, I know. Why don't you have one of the mini-managers bring my comm set down here, since none of you seem happy about sitting down with the bubbies. Send me the presentation and I promise I'll be riveted."

  The dangerous smile had turned sour. "Of course. Whatever arrangement suits you best."

  The crew gathered around when the YPC executives had retreated. Petey patted Sofia's shoulder. "Well done. But you know they're not finished."

  "Right. That's why I need my comm."

  Within the hour, a young minion darted in, deposited Sofia's comm bag just inside the door with shaking hands, and fled with a little whimper. Interesting. While the executives were understandably cautious of the chionisaurs, the general workforce seemed terrified. Sofia had to wonder what stories they had been told to cause such fear.

  Sofia gathered everyone close when she had set up her comm and put a call through to Richard's office. She twined her fingers with Marta's while they waited.

  "Sofia." Richard flickered into view, chuckling at the gathering around and behind her. "So these are your adopted miscreants?"

  "These are." Sofia pointed around in a flurry of introductions without letting go of Marta. "Shara, Fiero, Petey, Tre, Lanel, Hecky, and Marta."

  Something in Richard's legal-hawk expression softened. "I see. Now I understand fully. Everything all right there?"

  "So far, Mr. Khoury," Shara answered for them. "But this is a dangerous game Sofia's playing."

  Fiero's growl might have been agreement or aggravation. "They're going to escalate, sir. This could get bad."

  Richard drummed restless fingers on his desk. "Keep in mind that public image is directly tied to profits for them. They're not selling a commodity everyone needs. They rely on the good opinion of the public to remain solvent. Sofia, can you set up a live feed?"

  "Of here?"

  "Yes, in the chionisaur bay. I'll give you a direct link to the office here and have the law clerks monitoring."

  Sofia wrinkled her forehead. "Do I tell them about it?"

  "Not yet. I'm going to have one of my cleverest interns sheath the signal, so they'll have to work hard to cut the feed if they become aware of it. If they manage to, I'll take that as a sign that you're under duress. In addition, if you do feel physically threatened at any point, make them aware. Tell them you're recording and your attorney's receiving."

  "I can do that." Sofia tamped down on a smile when Marta squeezed her fingers. There were skills on this end, too. She didn't have to do this alone.

  "Good. I've sent potential filings to their legal staff at the resort and have opened a case with Inter-system Arbitration in case YPC proves intractable. Not in their best interests, and I think they'll see that, but it's possible. Things should begin to move quickly, everyone. Be prepared."

  "Nice man, your lawyer," Tre said when they'd disconnected.

  Lanel kissed their temple. "Handsome, too. But he's a shark, love, pleased that there's blood in the water."

  "Better the shark we know." Sofia looked up from fiddling with her comm set. "Sergeant Fiero? Could you help me set this up?"

  Fiero cracked her knuckles. "With pleasure. We'll set some protections up on this end, too. Hecky will assist."

  "Me?" Hecky's eyes were wide and far too innocent. "I've never hacked—"

  Shara laughed and gave Hecky a slap on the back that sent her stumbling. "Save it, kiddo. You can't steal shuttles without hacking into launch controls."

  Hecky grumbled about flight controls not being comm tech, but it didn't last. Once Sofia had the link set and Fiero began to build protective walls and data hunter traps on their end, Hecky joined in with predictably joyful, unholy glee. The live feed was up within the hour, pointed toward the bay doors through which any invaders—er, corporate employees—would have to come.

  The next two days slid by with nothing more dangerous than a bit of gentle harassment. Every few hours, someone showed up trying to tempt Sofia out from the safety of the pack. Wouldn't she like to come upstairs for a proper dinner? Could she come to the office and claim her luggage, please? Drinks with management? And so on. She had no trouble resisting their clumsy courting, but it was annoying.

  At least they stopped at night and the crew could retire to their sleeping alcoves along one edge of the bay for some much-needed peace. These were better, though not by much, than the sleeping pods, and each alcove had an accordion door for privacy, its own heating vent, and a tiny, one-person bathroom.

  Practically luxurious. A mini-resort for chionisaur crews. Marta laughed and smacked Sofia when she shared the thought.

  The third morning, the bay doors ground and rattled open to reveal a line of white-uniformed security. Armed security.

  One of the older ones, a hard-eyed man whose stance screamed retired military, spoke. "Ms. Cancino, for your safety and well-being
, you need to come with us."

  Part of her reacted to the uniform, the voice of authority. Her heart raced, and she wiped damp palms on her pants. Old Sofia wouldn't have wanted to make matters worse. She wouldn't have wanted to get into more trouble and would have complied. New Sofia said, "No."

  "Ma'am, you need to step away from those beasts. They're half-feral and unpredictable."

  "Right. So that's why you have the work-release crews live with them. Better the chionisaurs eat some convicts than respectable people?"

  The officer's face reddened, though Sofia was certain it was impatience rather than chagrin over anything she'd said. "Don't have anything to do with the work crews, ma'am. Not my job. It is my job to keep you safe. Step over here, please. Slow and steady."

  Sofia raised her chin and enunciated carefully, remembering the feed was on. "No. I do not consent to going with you."

  She half expected the man to bellow at her, but a huff was all he allowed himself before he gestured to two of the officers. "Harris. Deneuve. Retrieve Ms. Cancino from the unauthorized area."

  With an incoherent cry of rage, Marta flung herself in front of Sofia. Just as Sofia put a hand on her shoulder to gently remind her that she was half the size of the advancing officers, a wall of white feather-fur intervened. Oh no. Sofia hurried to duck under and around the crowding chionisaurs, aware that the rest of the crew were trying to squeeze through as well. She didn't get there before the screaming began.

  Sofia shoved her way through in time to see Moon snatch one of the advancing officers up in her jaws. Hannibal seized the other. Events accelerated to the point where even Sofia's panic couldn't keep up.

  "Moon, no! Put her down!" Sofia yelled as she smacked Moon's shoulder.

  From the doorway, the officer in charge bellowed, "Open fire!"

  Seven voices in various pitches and timbres cried out No! as seven bodies flung themselves in front of the chionisaurs.