“No, of course not. Why do you want a trade chief?”
“I need one because I have too much to do. I’m better off concentrating on getting the leka and building barriers for the second levels. I need to check and find out which levels are worth the effort. I’m still crew chief until Sato comes back. I lack skill in trading and it takes too much time.”
Des nodded. “You would definitely do better harvesting the leka in the warm than trading. Jatlo is a wise choice.”
Anna ushered Jatlo over to the information board when he arrived. “Please sit. I want to offer you a job.”
Jatlo sat. “What job?”
“I’m offering you the position as Trade chief for Wolfe clan.”
“Why?”
“I can accomplish more harvesting leka than trading. Plus, I’m not good at trading like you seem to be. Wolfe clan will benefit more, if I concentrate on what I’m best suited for.”
Jatlo nodded. “What do you offer?”
Anna took a deep breath. “I offer you first buyer’s rights on anything that’s going to commodities and a quarter percent of Wolfe’s portion after verification. You would hold full authority over witness fees and verification times. If needed an assistant chief could be hired at an eighth percent payment rate. We could set up a site on the trade page for instructions and information to be passed between us.”
Jatlo‘s brow furrowed. All Golsidan possessed the right to get a private job, work for other clans, or start a business. But they needed to do it in their free hours. If they failed to fit both their new enterprise and their required work hours in, they could decide to stop working their assigned hours for their clan. But if they did that, they became totally responsible for their own welfare. They would be expected to pay for their room, food, and healthcare. If they wanted to immigrate to another clan they needed to get permission from their original clan and the clan accepting them, such immigration usually only occurred when a new clan started up or an old one disbanded.
“This offer stands for as long as Wolfe clan exists?”
Anna nodded.
“If I agree, when would this job begin?”
“If you agree today, it begins tomorrow with the takosund and leka verification. Plus, there are still the greal dyes that you and Cima worked on to be verified.”
“You want me to do the takosund and leka!” Jatlo exclaimed.
“Yes. Eight leka hives remain for me to harvest, run in, and strain. I want to start on them tomorrow.”
Jatlo smiled. “All right, let’s fill out the contract and set up a page site.”
They accomplished both easily and then Jatlo started the questioning. How much for commodities? How much put aside for witness and trade fees? How much to keep for herself and Des?
Anna held up her hands. “First, I want to keep ninety percent of the second boil glue and our share of the tough denua fiber. I plan to build more barriers with it. Second, I want ten percent of the soft denua fiber saved. Third, keep what Des and I can reasonably use up, before it goes bad. Stay on the sparse side we can always eat processed food if we need to. Fourth, I only plan to trade for an electrician’s work. When I know what he wants for his work, I will post it on the site. The witness fees all fall under your discretion. Lastly, I want to put the perishable items, everything that Des and I don’t eat or you use up for fees on to commodities.”
“For the non-perishables after you set aside what you want for fees and what Des and I need, I want it split evenly three ways; one share to commodities, one share to this supply depot for an emergency backup, and one share to Heroes’ Hall. I never want to have to prepare everything for a feast again. I want to stock a supply in Heroes’ Hall for honor gifts, the feast, and all the needed items to prepare for the feast. Use the figures from yesterday’s feast. When a stockpile built up enough to do three feasts exists, then split two ways, fifty-fifty between commodities and the emergency backup. We restock after every feast.”
“You plan on more feasts, more hunts?”
“Yes, we will have more hunts and more feasts. We need to plan for both and only enter into the hunt after the planning gets totally finished.”
Jatlo nodded. “It is best to refrain from facing takosund unprepared.”
“I plan on avoiding it. When we stand ready to hunt, I plan to lure the takosund in with blood and hunt from barricaded trees. Also, we need a safe way to get takosund over the rail and out to be processed. Until all that is ready, I intend not to hunt unless it’s needed to defend others from imminent attack.” Anna said emphatically.
Jatlo smiled and stood up. “I will contact the Phsatorae and set up a verification time.”
“After I talk to electrician Gresa, I’ll post his trade fee on the site. Thank you trade chief, may your blood stay strong.” Anna bowed.
Jatlo returned the bow and walked out with a smile on his face.
Anna called Gresa. “Gresa, this is Phwolfe. I wanted to offer a trade for your labor.”
“What do you need done, Phwolfe?”
“I want to set up Northwest 3 electrical field with on/off switches, one on the garden room wall, and one at the top of the ramp.”
“Do you have the necessary supplies?” Gresa asked.
“Gresa, I can’t even comprehend the needed supplies. But if you know what is required, I am in the supply depot right now and can check.” Gresa directed Anna to the proper row in the supply depot, then the proper shelf to find the necessary wire. The switches lay one shelf over from the wire. Anna pulled the huge roll of wire down onto the floor and pushed it to the front of the supply depot.
“Do you have plastic to make the electrical boxes?”
“Yes, at East 1 I can order it on the supply processor there.”
“Good. I accept the job. But the electrical field needs to be down while I work on it.” Gresa sounded nervous.
“Northwest 3’s first level is barricaded. The second level is safe with no limbs for takosund to cross on. Plus, I plan to watch and stand guard for you.”
“Okay, I will meet you at East 1 in an hour to order the boxes. As for my fee, I request ten portions of broiled takosund. Is that acceptable?”
“If it can be paid tomorrow morning after the verification, it‘s very acceptable.”
“We have a deal then. I will meet you in an hour.” Gresa rang off.
“Des sweetheart, do you mind if I go over to Northwest 3 in an hour? Gresa’s going to wire switches into the electrical field.”
“Nope, I don’t mind as long as you don’t cross the rail by yourself. I am going to go visit some of the invalids.”
“How are they doing?”
“They improve slowly. But finding stuff for them to do without overtaxing them causes a problem. They want to work, but need to take it easy for a while still.”
“Des, how about you ask and see if four or five of them want to be watchers for cool shift? We could also use a couple of them to peel denua and feed it into the supply processor tomorrow at Northwest 3. We need to clear paths on second level. Those both count as easy jobs, right?”
“I will ask Elder Healer Creana for approval.” Des walked up behind Anna. “What are you working on now?” He whispered with a devilish grin.
“Nothing, that can’t be done later.” Anna said as Des kissed her neck.
Anna had to run pushing the cart in front of her, to make it to the meeting with Gresa. She didn’t mind one bit.
Gresa stood waiting for her at East 1. He smiled, when Anna came to a screeching halt with the wire roll bouncing on the cart.
“I heard you used the carts for everything. I failed to realize that you used them at a run!” Gresa chuckled.
It only took a moment for Gresa to order the electrical boxes. They dropped into the tray with a clink a mere two minutes later and they headed out towards Northwest 3.
At Gresa’s orders, Anna turned off the electrical field and pushed the cart up the ramp. She stood guard over a very ner
vous electrician in a perfectly safe garden. He finished in under half an hour. In the garden room, he seemed more at ease.
“Gresa, how many fields could you rewire with this roll?”
“Probably thirteen or fourteen, you want to do that many?”
“Yes, as many as possible that possess safe second levels. That’s what I want to do. I plan to start checking the rest of the levels tomorrow.”
“What else have you got planned?”
“Chief Sato and I decided on barriers for the tree trunks to stop takosund from being able to climb them. Once those are in place and we cut off all the intersecting limbs. We intend to harvest over the rail safely.”
“Really, you plan on providing a steady supply of greal.”
“That’s what we hope to do next. Eventually, we want to get your winch system installed.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear that! What about your crossbow?”
“I’m going to need that. How much will it cost for you to make it?”
“I’ll have to use your supply processor for the plastic mixed with denua fiber. It provides the strongest material available to us for that use. I could have it done in three days for a fee of six ounces of mewu eggs, six ounces of leka, four bottles of gesar syrup, and one bottle of catronu oil.”
Anna nodded. “Deal! I’ll ask trade chief Jatlo to put that, along with your ten portions of broiled takosund together, tomorrow warm in the takosund processing room.”
“Jatlo is a trade chief!”
“I hired him today. Wolfe needed one.”
“Hmmm... well, I am done. Go turn on the field and I will test it.”
It worked perfectly. But, Anna suddenly had a scary thought. “Gresa, how do we tell when it is off? With everyone coming and going, it could be difficult to keep track.”
Gresa nodded. “You are right. Go turn it off again.”
Anna ran and did what he said. When she got back, he had taken a red light bulb, a receptacle and a clear cover out of his toolbox. “You will let me replace this from your supply processor, right.” She nodded.
“Good. Run-up to the top switch, holler when you see this clearly with no obstructions.”
Anna ran up the ramp and hollered when Gresa held the light bulb in the right spot. “Come back down here and hold this.” Geez! Gresa was kind of bossy.
It took ten more minutes to finish the wiring. Finally, they had a light that clearly showed when the field was on. Gresa nodded and smiled. “That works well, Phwolfe. Let’s go back to East 1 and replace my supplies. We will know next time to make one of those up, ahead of time.”
Anna nodded. They went by East 1. Gresa ordered up his supplies. She stored the wire in the supply closet. After Gresa said goodbye and left, she trotted home.
Des still hadn’t returned. Anna logged onto information design. She worked out an internal support system for the tree barrier with no external posts or beams for a takosund to rip apart. Then, she designed a way to assemble it without overlapping edges for the takosund to grip. Finally, she worked out how to mount it on the tree with second boil glue, and how to hold it there while the glue hardened, which only took five minutes.
When everything got figured out, Anna made up a list of what she needed for an average size tree. Once she requested it, the computer designed a spreadsheet program that once the average numbers got put in allowed you to enter the tree size and get a list of the needed materials and board sizes.
The average tree took four bottles of second boil glue. Next, Anna started thinking about a rope slide. She decided that using one post on the second level side to mount all the ropes to would be best, saving the un-snapper from needing to run back and forth.
Anna opened another file on the design page. She ended up with four notched denua boards, glued together, and then onto the post. It needed a cross member board to run up and down the post to provide a sufficient gluing surface. Tying the ropes around the notches and knotting them about half a meter out would prevent the nets from hitting the post. She figured out the size that the cushioning bag needed to be.
Anna went onto the trade site. She left a list for Jatlo of what she owed Gresa for the electrical work and crossbow. She also left a note, asking him to find a way to honor the witness fee she previously set up with him and Cima about the dyes. Finally, she shut off the design page, crawled into bed, and fell asleep.
Anna woke up with Des nuzzling her neck. Ummm... she glanced at the digital. Ahh… another Golsidan night. Des was taking their honeymoon very seriously. Well, only two more nights remained and then thirty-three Golsidan days and nights without sex loomed in front of her. Oh yeah, honeymooning was definitely the way to go.
Going back to work after only one day off, shouldn’t have been hard to do. But it was. Anna moaned and groaned to herself. She packed what she needed and ran off to make a leka harvest.
Knowing where to go, what to do, and not having to check the mechanical parts made a huge difference. She managed to harvest a hive, haul down six loads of leka, and set them straining, before the warm shift got done.
The Phsatorae and the Elders showed up right after she arrived home. They announced their decision to allow her to modify Northwest 3, to see if her suggestions would help increase the harvest.
When Anna finally stopped laughing, she explained. “I’ve already started the alterations. Gresa wired the electrical field with on/off switches yesterday.”
“We approved no supply use, how did this get done?” Kantuia asked.
“I traded for electrician Gresa’s labor. I also used supplies from this depot, which the Phsatorae endorsed for Wolfe use. We finalized the design for the tree barriers. I plan to start their installation this cool, if enough watchers ...” Des walked in smiling. “Hey! Did any of the invalids volunteer to watch for cool shift?”
Des nodded still smiling. “Yes, I bring you a list of volunteers at Phwolfe’s disposal.”
“Phwolfe’s disposal?” The Phsatorae asked.
Des nodded again. “Elder Healer Creana approved thirty-four invalids for half hour, easy work shifts. No easy jobs remain available on Satorae work lists. Upon hearing this, the invalids volunteered to be at Phwolfe disposal. If Phwolfe figures out a way to rotate them so none works over their allotted time, she can use them as watchers, denua peelers, or supply feeders because the healers endorsed those jobs as easy enough. Having grown bored from their long illness, the invalids have become extremely restless as their strength returns. The Elder Healer said “If Phwolfe wants them; she is most welcome to them. May her blood stay strong, because they will certainly try her nerves.” Will you help the healers keep these people busy so they don’t overstress themselves with anxiety and delay their recovery?” Des asked Anna with a big smirk on his face.
“Let’s see, thirty-four at half hour shifts.” Anna read the list over checking names and trades. She put abbreviations beside the names. “Okay, Wolfe clan can use these people.” She wrote down numbers beside the names. “I put numbers beside the names one, two, three, or four which represent the time their half hour shift starts. Number one starts at nine, two starts at nine sixty, three starts at ten, and four starts at ten sixty.” She scribbled on the sheet. “The other abbreviations beside the names are; W which stands for the watchers who need to report to the second level rail to watch, DP stands for denua peeler, and SP stands for the supply processor. If they want to trade the jobs and times amongst themselves, I don’t mind. But I need the jobs filled to the stated ratio. Four watchers for shift 1 and 2, five watchers for shift 3 and 4. Three peelers for each shift, and one supply processor for each shift, they need to report to Northwest 3 at the beginning of their shift. Should I type this list up and send it back to medical?” She asked Des.
“I will run it back for you, love.” Des gave her a quick kiss and left with the list.
“I think the medics really want to get rid of those invalids. They sound like difficult patients. I hope watching won’t ma
ke them worse, it is a nerve racking job.” Anna worried.
“The medics wouldn’t have approved anything harmful to them. You realize having the volunteers work at Northwest 3 benefits Satorae clan not Wolfe clan.” The Phsatorae said.
Anna shrugged. “Northwest 3 possesses a safe second level. Building the tree barriers will make it safe to cross the rail there. I haven’t had the time to check any of Wolfe’s second levels yet. I harvested another maleka hive today. Possibly tomorrow, once I finish running and straining the leka, I can check some of Wolfe’s second levels. Seven more hives still need to be harvested. Hopefully, I can finish them up in another fifteen or sixteen warm shifts.” She shrugged. “I’m doing my best. It doesn’t matter if the volunteers help Satorae or Wolfe. By helping to secure a way to safely harvest over the rail, they help everybody on this ship.” She yawned hugely. “Sorry!”
“Quite understandable Phwolfe, you worked hard and need rest. I thank you on your wise use of the volunteers. We will stand behind the promise of ten percent of the gain going to Wolfe clan. Of course increasing the amounts of harvest, you sent over the rail will be very difficult to do.” The Phsatorae said with a chuckle.
Anna shrugged again. “I’m happy with just setting up a safe way to do a steady harvest over the rail. As long as we harvest enough to keep the people healthy and some to put aside in case of possible bad times, I’ll continue to be pleased.” She yawned again. “My apologies Elders, Phsatorae, I need to get some sleep. Harvesting the maleka hives is very tiring.”
Kantuia stood forward. “We thank you and leave. May your blood stay strong.” They filed out. Anna walked over and crawled into bed. She set the alarm and then…
She woke up snuggled against Des. He made such a comfortable pillow. He never minded her half sprawling over him. Anna’s head lay on his shoulder, her arm slung across his chest, and her leg pinned his. He loved to cuddle too. His arms held her tight against him and his chin rested on the top of her head. Why, oh why, do I need to go to work?
Phwolfe Song (Golsidan Revival Series Book 1) Page 22