Sargasso of Souls – Session 6

News travels quickly and it was not long before rumours of our triumphant return had spread. The following day Razor hurriedly called an emergency board meeting and informed us that additional security precautions would need to be put in place. On top of the increased risk of corporate espionage he had received a warning from Robert Randal of Fusion Inc that all members of the Nessence Transit board were now considered category ‘A’ targets for kidnapping. Consequently Razor wanted to ensure that we were adequately protected. However, with the limited number of security personnel currently at our disposal it would be next to impossible to maintain coverage if everybody went their different ways. Cooperation was essential. Keeping as many of those at risk as possible together in one location was preferable.

To assist with this situation it was decided that, for the time being, Ramsay, Morris and I would reside upon the Salvation. Getting aboard the shuttle undetected was in itself a difficult proposition and hence would be an effective deterrent.

Meanwhile Razor would endeavour to reach an agreement with Fusion Inc for provision of additional security support and our efforts to recruit personnel with military or security backgrounds would continue.

While everyone was assembled we took the opportunity to review the outcome of the mission to Storm and discussed what our next move should be.

It was agreed that as soon as was realistically possible another mission should be launched. Two to three days seemed practical. This time the focus would be on establishing a permanent base on the planet surface. Razor observed that before doing anything else it was necessary to address the issue of leadership, which had been evidently lacking on the first mission. He looked around the table and, to my complete surprise, proposed that I both organise and command the operation. He seemed confident in my capabilities, which was more than I could say for myself. However nobody offered up any objections, so that was it. I was in.

I sat in stunned silence for the next few minutes, wondering what I had gotten myself into. Out of the blue I had gone from grunt to mission commander! Nonetheless I wanted to prove the confidence Razor had shown in me was not misplaced.

If we were going to launch in two or three days I had a lot of work to do.

While I would be leading the mission, Sam Wiles, Morris and Phipps would be visiting Rani Medical station, where Sam would endeavour to negotiate a favourable agreement with Certified Bioware, a sister subsidiary of Cochrane Industries. Being a biological research company specialising in exploiting biospheres, their expertise could well prove invaluable in and it was Razor’s assertion that we should seek to form a partnership with them. Certainly our lack of knowledge in this arena was a major weakness in our aspirations to exploit the planet. Certified Bioware on the other hand was amply qualified. Consequently the motion to contact them was carried.

It was hoped that given time and access to the surface they might even have the resources to develop a vaccine for the harmful biological contaminants that resided in Storm’s atmosphere.

After the meeting was over, Razor took me to see Bill Stanford and introduced me to him as the commander of the next mission. Bill smiled and warmly shook my hand. It was the first time I had actually met him but he was most affable and seemed excited at the prospect of working together. He wished me luck. Somehow I had expected him to be more imposing but he was more like an uncle. I can see immediately why Razor trusts him; he treated us as nothing less than equals.

Bill and Razor soon settled down to business. Talking openly and frankly about their plans with one another. They agreed to a more formal partnership between our two companies and discussed provision of a Stanford Enterprises engineering team to participate in the upcoming mission. Despite the short notice, Bill indicated he would be able to provide a small group of construction engineers with hostile environment experience who could undertake the initial stages of base development.

The conversation resulted in a good faith agreement that Stanford Enterprises would supply the gear and personnel necessary to establish a small base on the planet surface in order to evaluate the potential for exploitation of mineral deposits. In return for this prospective outlay Bill would have first crack at any subsequent mineral rights, the details of which would be negotiated later when more was known about the planet’s geology.

Both parties seemed more than satisfied with this arrangement. They shook hands and we departed.

After that I began making plans for the mission. The crew roster was foremost on my mind. I wanted to ensure that I had good people with me, people that I could depend on and there had been little time for me to get to know the personnel I had to choose from. Certain individuals stood out however. Randall Locke was top of that list. He was getting on a bit but I needed a strong second in command and he was easily the most experienced of our recent recruits. In addition, he had an easy-going wisdom about him that I found reassuring. When you spoke with him it was difficult to tell if he was actually amused but there was always a twinkle in his eye that gave you the impression he had the upper hand. In training he had regularly proved that was the case. Physical prowess was a poor match for savvy and experience it seemed.

I sought him out and laid it out before him. I needed a good man, someone to watch my back, someone I could rely on. He scrutinised me for a moment and then nodded his consent. I was relieved to have the benefit of his unique perspective on the team.

Later that same day, Razor eased the burden upon our security personnel by successfully negotiating with Fusion Inc for the provision, on credit, of an additional complement of men. In exchange he had agreed that Nessence Transit would pay the fee and owe Andre, the full-blooded Maori who is Fusion Inc’s spokesman, a favour.

At the same time Razor had acquired some names of potential ex-military recruits from Robert Randal. All were on the waiting list to join Fusion Inc, but weren’t liable to get an offer any time soon because the mercenaries weren’t recruiting. Randal and Andre were happy enough for Nessence Transit to make them an offer instead.

That evening we were thankful for Razor’s efforts to improve security when four attackers disguised as maintenance men tried to ambush us. I spotted one of them reaching for a weapon and instinctively put him down before their trap could be sprung. However, before I could take out his colleague I was hit with a stun stick and collapsed with an immediate loss of motor-control throughout my body.

I watched helplessly as the remaining ambushers joined the fray but luckily Razor and our Fusion Inc escort were too good for them. By the time Veldin had brought me back to my senses it was over. The one I hit was still unconscious, another lay bleeding on the deck and two more had fled. It seemed that they had been overwhelmed by our unexpected firepower.