by Scott Moon
The junior foreman ran toward Dickles, holding his hat on his head with one hand. “Yes, Mister Dickles.”
“Having fun?” Dickles asked when he arrived winded and red-faced.
“Just trying not to be rude. I mean, they seemed to really want me to participate.”
Mast saw Ungloks of both genders and all ages lining the cliffs above the water. Drums beat to a dramatic crescendo as the divers flung themselves into the water.
“That’s…amazing. But I don’t see how that will help us build better submarines,” Dickles said.
“I am not seeing an obvious connection. Perhaps they will tell us, is what I am thinking.” Mast couldn’t share the human’s frustration. He decided he could watch the divers for hours and days if they allowed him to stay.
Before long, the non-diving villagers were placing food on long tables and preparing fire pits for evening festivities.
“I am very muchly inspired by this,” Mast said.
“It’s great,” Dickles said. “But the clock is ticking for Darklanding and SagCon.”
CHAPTER THREE: Pull Together
Penelope Fry-Grigman looked at the wall as she talked. “It’s over, Adam. I am not a fan of long-distance relationships. If I wanted that garbage, I’d still be with Thaddeus. Okay, maybe I wouldn’t. You’re fun and when we’re together, I think we’re great, but we’re not together very much.”
The voice on the other end of the line didn’t sound as strained as she expected. “I understand, but I have to go. One never knows where the next crisis will take me. We lost some good men, and I need to replace them. The only one I can trust to do it has left both you and me.”
“Thanks for the good times, Adam.” Penelope didn’t know what else to say. She wasn’t distraught about it. Tiberius Plastes had been making eyes at her. Nothing like hanging out with the chairman of SagCon. She could get a decent gig in the inner system, but more importantly, he was an intelligent man which made for better conversations.
“I’ll see you when I see you, Pen.” The general clicked off without waiting for Penelope’s response. She looked at her phone as if there would be something else.
***
Thaddeus rolled Shaunte’s earring between his fingers as the elevator descended into the mines. The maître d' of the Red Door had called him after their last visit to the place. The man said he wasn’t sure the Company Man would want him to waste her time with such a trinket. The sheriff’s time, however, seemed to be significantly less valuable.
Thad and Shaunte had spent several evenings at the Red Door, one of the few restaurants in Darklanding other than the Mother Lode and some pre-fab food carts near the spaceport. Romantic settings weren’t plentiful on Ungwilook.
He’d been carrying the earring for several weeks, never quite finding the right time to give it back to her. Of course, he could just set it on her desk while she slaved over reports and half-ignored his presence or hand it to her when they were actually having a conversation.
He kept it in his shirt pocket and took it out from time to time.
Maximus huffed as the lift bumped to a stop. The metallic humidity of an underground lake greeted them when the doors opened.
“Looks like we’ve arrived. Let’s see what all the fuss is about,” Thad said, stepping into the tunnel.
A hundred meters later, he was admitted by a sour face comptroller to the lake cavern. Dozens of human and Unglok miners waded on a beach of black and gold sand. The scene was night and day different from his previous visit—busier, full of energy and hope.
“I’m not seeing a problem,” Thad said as he found an out of the way place to watch the miners pan for exotics.
“Snort,” Maximus snorted.
“What do you mean, snort?”
“Snort, snort.”
“Ah. That clears it up.”
Maximus rolled his eyes.
“Sheriff Fry!” A small, wiry man just past middle age hurried from where he’d been adjusting powerful flood lights. “I’m Norm. I’ll show you around since Mister Dickles and Mister Quark are gone.”
“Where’d they go? Is there another underground lake?” Thad asked.
“All of the mine shafts below this place were flooded after the…incident. This is the only one we’re working because it has sand beaches,” Norm said. “Mister Dickles and his assistant went to some Unglok village for help.”
“They’re still gone? When will they be back?”
Norm shrugged. “No idea. Maybe they’ll be gone for days.”
Thad made a mental note. “The Company Man sent me. She said there were too many fights breaking out and an unacceptable level of vandalism to SagCon property,” he said. “Especially the injured worker variety of vandalism.”
Norm didn’t respond to the last statement. No one liked to be considered property, but that was what these men and women were so long as they couldn’t pay off their debt to the company.
“Well, I can always use help settling down the rowdier gentlemen we’ve employed,” Norm said. “Thing is, there hasn’t been much fighting since Mister Dickles put us to work on the drag-bots. Let me show you.”
He led Thad and Maximus to a roped-off section of the black and gold beach. On another planet, the sand would be worth a small fortune. Here it was just in the way.
The workers inside the roped area were assembled in small groups. Thad watched as one team hauled a heavy rope from the water. At the end was a sled covered in metal wheels, tool attachments, and a storage compartment.
“How much does that thing weigh?” Thad asked.
“A lot. Mister Dickles put gears in the wheels that help. Chanie there is in charge of picking the right gear for the load. We’ve got the ropes attached to those cranks. Each week, we figure out a way to make this process more productive. Still not enough to impress the Company Man.” Norm’s eyes went wide. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to imply anything bad about Miss Shaunte.”
“Don’t worry about it. Say what you need to say. She won’t mind,” Thad said. He winked. “She is hard to impress.”
Norm laughed nervously. “We better stay out of the way of the drag-bot crews. They get terribly competitive. Might run us over.”
Thad backed away and watched crews of humans and Ungloks compete with the drag-bots. He tensed for a fight, or harsh words at the very least. Harsh human words met by embarrassingly passive apologies from the Ungloks was too common, in his opinion.
Nothing happened.
The crews jeered each other, but it seemed to be in the spirit of friendly competition.
Maximus barked and wagged his tail.
“Stay out of their way,” Thad said.
Maximus rolled his eyes, then went splashing through the water between the drag-bot crews and those panning for flakes of exotic ore in the black and gold sand.
***
An Unglok chant caught Thad’s attention. Moments later, a human crew started up with its own work song and a new competition began. The beach around them became crowded as their comrades joined in. The sound of raucous laughter and singing echoed through the large cavern. The water churned with their efforts. A man fell and was helped up amidst a lot of splashing and friendly jeering.
Maximus trotted over and sat beside Thaddeus, tongue lolling in canine appreciation of the fun.
"Sheriff Fry, come help us pull this rope!" a man yelled.
“Why the hell not?" Thaddeus muttered as he hung his coat and blaster on a workstation at the edge of the beach
Maximus barked.
"Watch my stuff, pig-dog,” Thad said. He found a place on the twenty-meter rope and heaved with all his might.
“Ready, pull! Ready, pull!”
The Ungloks had their own chant. Thad was thoroughly enjoying himself by the time they pulled the metal boxes onto the shore and harvested what they had scraped from walls far below.
I really should make my rounds and head back to Darklanding. Shaunte’s waiting and I have
reports to complete. Thad relaxed as sustained exertion cleared his mind.
Maximus rolled onto his back and went to sleep. One drag-bot competition ended and another began.
“I thought my buddy Joe was full of nonsense when he told me you were stronger than you looked,” a man said. “Way to pull, Sheriff Fry.”
Thad hid his annoyance. What was the man trying to say? Thad looked strong, he knew he did. He wasn’t a fancy manager who never got dirty, no matter what his rank-equivalent in SagCon was. He pulled harder on the second race and hardest yet on the third.
No fights started.
A small amount of ore was harvested.
Thad and Maximus were tired when they made the journey back to Darklanding.
CHAPTER FOUR: A Date with Destiny
The Red Door wasn't busy, it never was. The proprietor only opened the place for visitors from off-world or when Shaunte called ahead. Or in this case, both. The chairman of the Sagittarian Conglomerate had made a personal visit to the frontier planet.
The restaurant had been designed and built for formal dining. A select group of people wanted to maintain the illusion that Darklanding wasn't a back-world dive. The food was good, the Unglok staff polite and professional. Benjamin Kent, the owner, manager, and probably the head chef, treated Shaunte, her father, and Penelope Fry-Grigman like royalty.
Shaunte noticed the woman left “Fry” out of her name when she introduced herself.
"What's the occasion, Father?"
Tiberius Plastes chuckled, his voice low and pleasing. The man was in a good mood. Shaunte knew he was getting ready to turn on the charm. And lately, it seemed like he had it cranked all the way up to ten whenever Penelope was around.
They were an interesting couple. In a way, they were very alike. Her father wasn't in his physical prime at this stage in his life, but he was fit, well groomed, and aggressive. Penelope Fry-Grigman, the former SagCon SI, appeared ready to compete in a triathlon or do battle with anyone stupid enough to offer offense. She'd done her hair and wore slightly more feminine clothing for this dinner than was her usual style.
Which made everything even more awkward.
"A man can't visit his favorite daughter?"
Shaunte gave him a tired 'don't bullshit me' look. "I'm your only daughter, and that joke was lame the first time you used it. I've already met Penelope, so that’s no reason to spend the price of a small corporation on dinner.”
Penelope summoned the waiter and spoke to him in passable Unglok. "Can we see a wine list, sir?"
"Absolutely, madam." The Unglok bowed and backed away to fulfill her request.
Penelope put her elbows on the table and interlaced her fingers as she stared at Shaunte. "Your father says you've done great things with Darklanding." She gave Shaunte's father a warning look. "Don't give me that look, Tiberius. I'm a grown-ass woman and I'll say what I want to. It wouldn’t hurt to offer her praise once in a while.”
Tiberius examined the wine list when it arrived and shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "That is what I like about you most. Direct and to the point, but are we really going to talk business here at dinner?"
Penelope responded with a too sweet smile that made Tiberius scowl.
"As it happens, Father, I do have a business proposal. We should go over it later...in my office where I have all my supporting documentation and analytics."
“And privacy,” Penelope said resentfully.
Shaunte took the wine list from her father but leveled her gaze on Penelope. “Yes, that too.”
“Perhaps music is in order, is what I am thinking,” the Unglok waiter said.
“Yes, thank you.” Tiberius ordered for the three of them. Appetizers and drinks arrived every ten to fifteen minutes. Local music filled the room, but never too loudly. The people of Ungwilook were known for politeness and restraint.
Shaunte desperately wanted to tell her father every detail, impress him with her imagination, strategic thinking, planning, and research. For the first time in her life, she had a vision for something greater than herself, greater than SagCon. What she saw was a new Ungwilook—a place where the native population was cherished and respected while the full wealth of the system could be realized. All she needed was the right people and some deep pockets that weren’t her father’s.
She didn’t resent the presence of Penelope. In a way, it let Shaunte off the hook. The dinner was now a social event when she had intended it to be the biggest business meeting of her life.
***
Tiberius didn't value emotion. He aimed for control, strategic thinking, and ruthless adherence to his agenda. This didn't mean he never felt anything, and it didn't mean he couldn't enjoy certain aspects of being a man.
Shaunte filled with him pride. He worried about her and spent too much time scheming different ways to keep her safe while pushing her to be her own person. Facts were facts, he wasn't going to be here forever.
Penelope was something different altogether. He’d been married several times and had countless mistresses. Every instinct he possessed warned him that hooking up with a former soldier and recently retired special investigator was a bad idea. She saw through his separate subterfuge with ease and wasn't afraid to confront him.
What bothered him most was that he needed the red-haired banshee. That fact was entirely new to Tiberius Plastes. He’d never needed anyone but himself.
These thoughts filtered through his analytical mind as he realized what he had to do next. His daughter wanted to tell him something but was holding back, using Penelope's presence as an excuse.
He needed to make his potential girlfriend leave, and to do that, he needed to really piss her off.
His options were limited. Criticizing her weight or her looks would have no effect. She was easily the most athletic woman he'd ever known and quite possibly in better physical condition than anyone on the planet. The only thing she lacked was raw strength and size.
By Melborn standards, she was a bit plain, with no surgical enhancements, implants, or fillers. She didn't even dye her hair or polish her nails. All evidence indicated she was comfortable with her appearance.
An epiphany flashed into his mind and thrilled him. What he was going to try next was both dangerous and exciting. He could lose her if this went wrong. Realizing this was almost not worth the risk made him pause. He'd have to spend some time analyzing this revelation.
"We don't have to talk business at the dinner table, Penelope. But I have something I've been meaning to tell you. I need you to partner up with your ex-husband for a while. Darklanding is getting out of control, and the stockholders are furious. With low yields from the mines and increased theft, this operation is in real trouble."
Tiberius realized his speech had angered both women. Penelope looked like she might kill him, her hand was actually creeping toward her sidearm below the table. Shaunte crossed her arms and did that thing where she ran her tongue over her teeth without parting her lips as she scowled at him.
He held up both hands defensively. "Now hold on, this is only temporary."
"I'll show you temporary!" Penelope stood, knocking her chair back loudly, and stormed out of the room.
Tiberius spoke quickly, just loud enough for his daughter to hear. "I think you're doing a great job. I just needed her to leave so we can talk about what you're obviously needing to tell me."
His words invoked new and baffling emotions from his daughter, but he had her attention.
"You and I both know Darklanding is in trouble. By the look in your eyes, I think you might have a solution."
Shaunte leaned forward, interlocking her fingers and staring across the table like a seasoned negotiator. “Maybe I do, but can I trust you?”
***
Shaunte leaned back and appraised her father before beginning.
“Judy Ortega of Interstellar Enterprises approached me last month and pitched me plans to exploit more of Ungwilook,” Shaunte said.
“Judy Orteg
a? And you’re just now telling me?” her father asked, clearly angry.
“I needed time to do my due diligence, check some things out, send survey crews to places all across the planet we’ve never looked at. Once the exotics were discovered, everything else was pushed to the back burner.”
She wanted her father to sit back in amazement at what she’d done so far. Instead, he questioned her every finding and Ortega’s every possible motivation. The dinner became an exhausting test of her knowledge, patience, and mental endurance. It was a lot like her childhood.
“Well done,” he finally said. “Except for the unacceptable delay in bringing me into the picture.”
“Come now, Father, what did you teach me about plausible deniability? What if this was doomed to be a flop? Would you still want your name all over it?”
“Neither of our names need to be on this plan, especially not during the first phase. That’s where most plans fail. What seemed like a great idea in a board meeting becomes less sexy and fun when the hard work starts.”
“I’ve had nothing but hard work since I arrived in Darklanding,” Shaunte said.
“Maybe that’s why I sent you here…build your character,” he said.
“You suspected there was more to Darklanding than exotic minerals and gas mines, didn’t you, Father?”
He pretended ignorance but relented enough to satisfy her probing curiosity. “My due diligence is pretty deep. Let’s try this again in your office where you have your supporting documentation. Right now, I need to find Penelope and see if she still wants to be my girlfriend.”
CHAPTER FIVE: The Swimming Unglok
Mast sighed at the beauty and wonder of this place, grudgingly admitting that P. C. Dickles was correct. None of the Egoak people were going to explain their secrets. They were showing off, and it was wonderful to see, but none of their diving and swimming made much sense to a pair of humans set on using submersible ships to explore the flooded caverns.