"Good afternoon." Sofia stood so she'd be better able to bring up charts and graphs on the floating holo pad. "You all know me as the woman who survived the pod crash, but I do have an actual life." A few uneasy chuckles followed her comment and she found a smile despite her anxiety. "Normally, I work in logistics, and having observed your transport operation from the inside, I can say with confidence that your emphasis on keeping the work crews isolated from each other has created some glaring inefficiencies."
A lot of bristling and muttering greeted this, but she'd expected it and forged on.
"Let's start with the configuration of your shuttle bases. Six of them, separated by several miles—"
One of the corporate managers, a woman who wore a seemingly perpetual lemon-sucking expression, began, "Our environmental impact studies—"
"Oh, yes. Read them." Sofia brought up the grid showing the stations. "Vital to take into consideration. But they didn't specify a single shuttle at each site. Shuttle landing temps and energy footprint of the base allow two shuttles per site as well within safe parameters. With only three bases requiring an operational budget— Well, you see the cost savings on the next chart."
Everyone at the table leaned forward, expressions ranging from shrewd to shocked. Sofia could've sworn she heard someone mutter I told them this years ago, but she couldn't tell who.
"You're cutting the routes in half." Max squinted at the charts. "Doesn't that mean only half the work crews? The rest of us get sent back to the colonies?"
"No. Not at first, at least. Same number of shuttles landing. Same number of deliveries. It might be possible to combine work crews over time with natural attrition as sentences are served and shuttle drops maximized, but it doesn't have to be that way." Sofia gazed around the table. This was the tricky part. "The plan on your readers details a list of ways the supply chain could be more efficient and cost-effective. But the big one is this—to run most efficiently, the entire supply chain should run under a single operational budget with its own management. Work-release crew pay and maintenance would fall under this same budget as well, to correct the irregular deductions from several departments from crew pay that fell outside of IC regulations."
There were disapproving faces among the corporate folks and a good deal of suspicion from the crew leads, but internally, Sofia grinned. They were listening and absorbing. Let her talk long enough, show them enough numbers, and she'd have them.
Richard gave her a tiny nod as she went on to expansion of living quarters at the bases, hydroponics, better power grids for the camps along the supply routes, and so on. The crew leads shot objections and suggestions at her at each stage in the process, which Sofia recorded in her notes for later consideration. The ICO agent took diligent notes throughout, nodding, only stopping her for a question here and there.
Actual negotiations would take days, but the people she needed on her side were coming along for the ride and the ones who had started out as antagonists were making tentative inroads toward cooperation.
Marta pulled up a crate to sit beside her, a silent pillar of support. For her, for the bubbies, for all the crews, Sofia would turn everything upside down, shake it vigorously, and set it back in a way that actually worked.
Epilogue
Sofia sat curled in the chair at Shuttle Pad 483E's control room, processing the most recent orders from various departments at the resort. The chair was a new one that wasn't threatening to fall apart or pitch her to the floor with any wrong move. The requisitions program was new as well, designed by Sofia and built by their own Sergeant Fiero, whose first name she'd learned was Rosemary. No wonder everyone called her Fiero.
"Who's piloting?" Hecky stuck her head around the doorframe, pointing to the shuttle tracking that showed one craft incoming.
Pretending disinterest, Sofia made a show of checking the numbers. "It's Dieter."
"Yaaaay!"
Sofia sputtered on a laugh as Hecky bounced away.
"What has our Heck on springs?" Marta asked as she wandered in and wrapped her arms around Sofia's neck from behind.
"Dieter's coming in. And Heck's always on springs." Sofia turned her head for a soft kiss.
"Are you finishing up?"
"Almost there." Sofia nuzzled at Marta's cheek. "You don't have to wait for me, though."
Marta straightened, but only to comb her fingers through Sofia's hair. "I know. The bubbies are settled, though. And it's quiet here."
"Peopled out?"
"Mmm."
A sharp chin rested on top of Sofia's head as she started to enter the final order. She could finish in the morning or even the next day after they hit the first trail shelter, all now equipped with communications arrays. But she was almost done. Just a few more…
"I love how dedicated you are." Marta's clever fingers had started on a complicated braid.
Sofia let out a tragic sigh. "It that all you love about me?"
"Shameless fishing. You know I love you and how much you care under that prickly outer coating." Marta gave the braid a little tug.
Heavy boots clumping down the corridor delayed Sofia's response. Dieter strode in and flung himself into the room's second chair. Dark shadows ringed his eyes and he let his head fall back with a groan.
"You look terrible." Sofia clamped her lips together before something else stupid leaped out.
"Thank you." He waved a hand at the ceiling. "Rough trip down. We've reached the heart of winter, and the winds are extra fierce today." He flung the waving arm over his eyes in dramatic fashion. "I'm going to need some serious comforting. Possibly cosseting."
"I'm not even sure I know what that word means." Sofia smacked his knee. "They're in the galley by now. I'm sure there's plenty of willing comfort waiting."
"Excellent." Dieter levered himself out of the chair, and the wince as he straightened was genuine. "Thanks, Sof." He started to hobble out, picking up speed as he de-pretzeled. Then he stopped, all teasing gone from his tone. "Seriously. Thank you. For all the things."
"All the things are because your brain devours numbers. If I hadn't gotten data from you, I wouldn't have had anywhere to start."
The pilots had come out of negotiations with better compensation as well. Better working conditions due to more efficient ordering, and fewer rush trips didn't hurt their quality of life one bit. Three months after the formation of YPC Transport, attrition and accidents were down. Sofia had refused the management position they'd offered her. It would have meant leaving the crew. Leaving Marta. She couldn't do it. As long as Marta was working off her sentence, Sofia would stay.
Even after. Some of the personnel on the other crews were opting to stay on once their sentences had run out. Maybe they would, too. Better wages, with more going to the individuals, safer travel, with delivery routes simplified, better living conditions, with the shuttle bases serving as chionisaur crew bases as well, and the trail shelters better supplied? Transport work no longer felt as desperate.
The crew leads had even come up with a plan to allow resort guests to see and photograph the chionisaurs at certain times. From a safe distance, of course, and for a nominal fee to the company, which had paid for the shuttle base and trail-shelter renovations.
"All you." Dieter shook his head. "You're a force of nature."
Sofia snorted. "I'll be a force of nature if you don't let me finish. Go on, get to the galley and look pitiful so people can fuss over you."
"Well, thank you for giving me permission to make it all about me." Dieter exited with an exaggerated swagger, whistling as he strode down the hall.
"That man is certifiable. I see why he fits in so well with the rest of you." Sofia ducked the halfhearted swat Marta aimed at her and caught the swatting hand. "I love you, too, Mart. I hope you know that."
"I do." Marta leaned in to kiss the top of Sofia's ear. "Aren't you done yet? I'm starving."
"This and this…" Sofia routed the last of the requisitions to the proper vendor bidding
funnels. "And done."
They walked the corridors at a more leisurely pace, arms around each other's waists, heads close, just…being content together. It was a feeling Sofia couldn't recall ever having before, but one that started as a ball of golden light at her center and spread out to every nerve ending. The thought that even her toes were lit made her snicker.
"What?" Marta nudged her.
"I'll tell you later."
Later, since they'd reached the galley where a full-scale riot, otherwise known as Crew Six making dinner, was in progress. Petey served as the calm center, moving with unhurried grace from one pot to another on the stove, while Lanel tossed rolls into a basket Tre held several feet away. Hecky dodged and ducked between to set the table, Shara had Dieter in a headlock, and Fiero was digging something out of the pantry.
"Perfect timing," Petey called over the ruckus. "Dinner's just about to go on the table."
Fiero had turned with a wine container in her hands. She'd snapped open the top and was giving it a dubious sniff. "Hey, this one's gone bad on us."
"What? No. We just got those in." Sofia hurried over and retrieved the bell-shaped container. Her own sniff confirmed it. "Damn it. That's terrible."
Irritation rising, she stomped over to the comm station at the back of the kitchen.
"What are you doing, Cancino?" Fiero asked. Was there a hint of dread in there?
"Calling customer service at the winery. This is not acceptable."
Dead silence greeted Sofia's announcement. She continued routing the connection until she heard a small stampede behind her. She turned and her eyes went wide when she found everyone in the room rushing at her, yelling, "Sofia, noooo!"
An instant later, she yelped as she went down under a group tackle and dog-pile hug.
"Keep her down until I can disconnect comm!"
"We don't want to end up running a cooperative winery, too!"
"Gods almighty, that was close!"
Somewhere in the middle of the pile, Sofia laughed and laughed. She'd come to Yule Planet to become better connected to humanity, and here she was. No one could've been more connected at that moment. Still laughing, she hugged them back. This was more than a superficial, historically questionable connection. This was chosen family. She was home.
* * *
The End
Dear Reader
Thank you for purchasing Angel Martinez's Yule Planet. We hope you enjoyed it. Please consider leaving a review where you purchased this ebook and/or on Goodreads. Reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations are vital to independent publishers.
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If you enjoyed this story by Angel, then you may also enjoy her story, Safety Protocols for Human Holidays, or you may want to laugh along with Lou Sylvre's, The Holiday Home Hotel.
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We love hearing from our readers. You can email us at [email protected]. To read excerpts from all our titles, visit our website: http://www.mischiefcornerbooks.com.
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Sincerely,
Mischief Corner Books
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About Angel Martinez
While Angel Martinez is the erotic fiction pen name of a writer of several genres, she writes both kinds of gay romance – Science Fiction and Fantasy. Currently living part time in the hectic sprawl of northern Delaware, (and full time inside the author's head) Angel has one husband, one son, two cats, a changing variety of other furred and scaled companions, a love of all things beautiful and a terrible addiction to the consumption of both knowledge and chocolate.
For more information on Angel's work, please visit:
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Official Website:
http://angelmartinezauthor.weebly.com/
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Email:
[email protected]
Also by Angel Martinez
BRANDYWINE INVESTIGATIONS
Brandywine Investigations: Open for Business (Omnibus)
Brandywine Investigations: Family Matters (Omnibus)
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BRIMSTONE
Potato Surprise: A Brimstone Prequel
Hell for the Company #1
Fear of Frogs #2
Shax's War #3
Beside a Black Tarn #4
Brimstone: Demon Owned & Operated (Omnibus #1 - 3)
The Brimstone Journals: Collection One
The Brimstone Journals: Collection Two
* * *
THE ENDANGERED FAE SERIES
Finn
Diego
Semper Fae
No Fae is an Island
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ESTO UNIVERSE
Vassily the Beautiful
Prisoner 374215
A Matter of Faces
Gravitational Attraction
* * *
LIJUN Trilogy (with Freddy Mackay)
Fireworks & Stolen Kisses
Trysts & Burning Embers
Detonations & Devotion (2019)
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INTERPLANETARY MULTISPECIES PACT (IMP)
A Christmas Cactus for the General
A Message from the Home Office*
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*Currently awaiting republication
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OFFBEAT CRIMES
Lime Gelatin and Other Monsters
Pill Bugs of Time
Skim Blood & Savage Verse
Feral Dust Bunnies
Jackalopes & Woofen-Poofs
All the World's an Undead Stage
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SINGLE TITLES
The Color of His Crest
Hearts & Flowers: A Tale of Hay Fever and Bad Decor
Restoration
The Line
Meteor Strike: Serge and Een
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AURA UNIVERSE (with Bellora Quinn)
Quinn's Gambit
Flax's Pursuit
Kellen's Awakening
About Mischief Corner Books
Mischief Corner Books is an organization of superheroes… no, it's a platinum-album techno-fusion group… no, hold on a sec here…
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Ah yes. Mischief Corner is a small press publisher offering queer romance and fiction for readers, intent on making some mayhem with our books. Diversity and positive representation for all members of the queer community is important to us, and MCB works to make those voices heard because those who travel the off the beaten path are a gift and their stories make the world a more interesting place.
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In addition to making mayhem, we live to break molds. MCB. Giving voice to LGBTQ fiction.
Website:
http://www.mischiefcornerbooks.com
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