Sargasso of Souls – Session 10

Putting together missions to the planet surface was getting to be my full time occupation and each one was more of a headache than the last. This time, in addition to a twenty-man construction team, machinery and the fifty modular base units that would need to be transported down to the surface, there was a two-man advanced team from Certified Bioware, geo-survey and cartography personnel, as well as the resulting increase in security. I calculated that, even loading the Salvation up to double its standard operating capacity, it would take three trips to get it all down to there.

It was also a concern that we would be stretching our security personnel very thinly once again. Even with the addition of an eight-man merc team that Morris had recruited from Rani station while I had been away, we didn’t really have enough to support our current operations. It was lucky that Razor had been able to arrange the deal with Fusion Inc to provide most of our security on Bharat station. Without it we would have already been well beyond our means.

Having brought this to Razor’s attention, he assured me that he would undertake recruitment of additional security personnel as a priority. It was the best he could offer me. I left it in his hands and went back to planning with what I had. It wasn’t easy. I was grateful to have Randall Locke to advise me once again.

In the end, our plan for getting everything down to the planet was to use the Salvation to ferry personnel and equipment to and from the surface and the Redemption, or one of the other shuttles, to get things from Bharat Station into orbit. It was expected to work something like this:

On the 23rd July the Salvation would leave Bharat Station loaded with the construction team, the heavy construction machinery, the first of the modular base units and the necessary security team. After landing on the surface they would complete the emergency shelter that we had started during the previous mission, and then construction of the main base would commence. The latter would involve a fair amount of excavation, as it had been decided to build the base in the opposite wall of the canyon.

On the 26th July a second shuttle would leave Bharat Station with the bulk of the modular base units, technicians, some specialist personnel and a shift change for the security team. It would rendezvous with the Salvation in orbit and transfer cargo and personnel so that the Salvation could take them down to the surface. When it returned to Bharat Station the shuttle would be carrying the majority of the construction team and a number of security personnel from the first flight who were being relieved.

On the 28th July the process would be repeated in order to land the remainder of the specialists on the surface. By that time, given that everything had gone as planned, the base would be nearly complete.

It was the best we could come up with under the circumstances.

Once preparations were underway, I left Locke to handle the details and took the opportunity to visit Maya in hospital. Like many of us she was largely alone on Bharat, having been uprooted from Earth and thrust into new surroundings. I wanted to make sure she was OK before I departed for the surface once again. Despite the trauma she had been through she was disappointed she couldn’t come with us, but there was no way she would recover sufficiently in the next couple of days.

I spent some time with her before heading off to a Nessence Transit board-meeting that Razor had convened.

The meeting was largely uneventful until Razor mentioned that the exploitation rights to Storm were held by Morris Industries, a company that he had set up in his own name. There seemed to be some consternation about this from amongst the others.

Morris raised issues with the way Razor was mixing Nessence Transit and Morris Industries business. He observed that it was unclear which organisation we were representing at any given time and expressed concerns that we were not fully aware of Razor’s schemes.

Personally I was surprised to hear this from him. After all he was Razor’s brother and in my eyes Razor was single-handedly ensuring the future of everyone who worked for him. As far as I was concerned that was good enough for me.

In reply, Razor reminded everyone that they were all shareholders in Morris Industries and that his sole intention in creating the company had been to safeguard our future should Cochrane Industries show up and lay claim to Nessence Transit. In his eyes, since the collapse of civilization on Earth, we had been building something that could easily be taken away by an organisation that had done little to deserve it.

However, Ramsay seemed to feel that Razor’s motives were at least partly driven by personal gain. He expressed his belief that exploitation of the planet should be done under the name of Nessence Transit, so that profits would be divided equally amongst those present. He was reluctant to accept a 12% share from Morris Industries in exchange for his existing 16.5% share in Nessence Transit. Particularly given that Razor’s share was 40%. As for Cochrane Industries, he felt that they would hold everyone equally responsible for any slight that they perceived.

In reply, Razor pointed out that the 16.5% share was a myth and that any profits gained while operating as Nessence Transit were in fact owned 100% by Cochrane Industries, but Ramsay was not convinced.

For my part, I was somewhat taken aback by Ramsay’s viewpoint. It seemed pretty clear from his arguments that, whatever he said about Razor, it was him that was only in it for himself. I was surprised at him, particularly when he justified his position by maintaining that those present had all taken equal risk in exploring the planet, I thought of Maya and Bell and blew a fuse.

“What kind of f**king bullsh*t argument is that?!!!” I blurted. “Aren’t you rather conveniently forgetting the rest of the crew? If you want the percentage to be based on risk then everybody should get a share.”

Ramsay turned towards me and coolly replied, “Look Ramona, piloting the ship down to the planet for the first time might have seemed smooth and easy to the rest of the ‘passengers’ sitting in the back, but no one had ever done that before. There was no one for me to fall back on if anything went wrong, no one else to take the burden or the risk; it’s just as dangerous as doing an EVA. All you had to deal with was a few flying rocks!”

The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees. F**king arrogant bastard, I thought.

“You’re a f**king arsehole Ramsay!” I snarled at him. “In case it has escaped your notice, everyone aboard the shuttle took the same risks as you. If you’d f**ked it up we’d all be plastered across the planet surface, not just you… Though I realise that you’re the only one you give a shit about!”

“Hey! No need to get all bent out of shape about it,” he said, raising his hands to placate me. “Let’s just say we have a different perspective on things”

I was close to launching myself across the table and ripping his head off with my bare hands, but Razor gave me a look and I relented.

“F**k you!” I said to Ramsay.

I spent the rest of the meeting glaring at him in stony silence.

Obviously disappointed by the unexpected turn of events, Razor proposed a number of options. He also offered to step down if there was anyone who wasn’t totally behind him.

Though Sam Wiles and I were vocal in our support, and Veldin said he was in favour of Razor’s staying, the response from Morris and Ramsay was far from resounding. A rift had formed.

In the end Morris suggested that everyone sleep on it and make a decision on the morrow. But things were left irrevocably changed. I could tell Razor felt his position had been undermined by the lack of faith that had been shown in him, and I suspected that he was seriously considering stepping down anyway.

After the meeting I sought him out and told him that whatever the outcome I was with him. As far as I was concerned it wasn’t Nessence Transit or CIC or Morris Industries that was providing us with security, it was him. He took care of his people and we were loyal to him because of it. I wanted him to know he could count on me. I had no doubts. Profits didn’t mean sh*t to me.

He thanked me for my support and told me that he would let me know what he decided. Then we went our separate ways; but in that moment I felt a bond of trust was forged between us. Things between me and Razor were somehow different after that.