The Dekmár Roads: The Factions of Natorna

Chapter 4: Non Service

Natena was getting colder when Cearfer arrived. On the surface. He was not certain if it was truly the temperature or rather everyone's temperament. 'At least it is true, it is physically cold.' He thought to himself. '10 degrees higher then freezing. It was not this cold when I left here a day ago. It must be just a random cold front but a cold like this surely would signify winter is approaching. Sometimes I wish I did not have to deal with the temperature fluctuations and the cold here. When it gets cold, it really gets cold. The cold vents on this planet are a main reason why it gets to be winter here. I don't know how or why they work but they expel bitter cold air. Other planets blast out molten rock which I believe is normal. Conhasra was a bit more temperate as it was closer to sun Natorna.'

Cearfer looked away from the temperature gages on the shuttle towards his militarized faction members who were escorting him. Two of them began to shake slightly from a cold draft as the door opened, and the planet's atmosphere came rushing in. "Come on fellas. It isn't even that bad out there. We have a job to do after all, do we not?" Cearfer said to them as he exited the ship. The leader of them shook his head and went on after him. The other three were not nearly as eager. The guard Laoenfer was the last one to leave He thought, 'I 'ave been following this transporting person all over the system. Different times, temperatures, and scenery are starting to hurt my head. I hope I can trade for a coat out there. I'll need it for doesn't look like I 'ave many choices' He went out grumbling and shivering.

The Natent and the militarized faction members, stopped by one of the clothing stores in town to get some warmer clothes on the way to the workshops. They could not thank him enough for his generosity. Cearfer had a brief moment where a thought entered his mind about not letting them go to the store. He could have gone directly to the shops and there was not much they could do to stop him since he was following his orders as directed. Cearfer thought that if they did not get coats then they would abandon him one way or another. That thought was only fleeting. It would give some freedom back to him, but he could not do that to them. He may not care of their position or what they are doing, yet they are still people like him. Cearfer could not find it in himself to cause them to needlessly suffer. "We are not far to go from here. Were there any specific instructions any of you heard that I was to fulfill?"

Laoenfer spoke up to answer the Natent's question, "You know as much as we do. There was no specific task or location we were told 'bout. All we were told was to follow you. I wish we were told more. Now I think 'bout it, looks like you are in a better position than us. At least you know where we are going."

Cearfer nodded but did not receive any relief with what he said. Cearfer knew of the service places, sure, yet he did not entirely know what he was supposed to do, for how long or what to expect. He was oddly in the dark. 'One would think that when they are summoned before the council themselves that they would depart with a full set of instructions. Not something so ambiguous. I guess my first step is to tell the service personnel manager and the higher ups the situation and go from there.'

"Hello Cearfer. We don't have anything scheduled to go out. Why the surprise visit?" The floor lead said to Cearfer as he entered the tall building. This specific building was not the tallest, though it was a good eight floors. Each floor focused on different aspects of service, and they had a rotating group of floor leads to ensure optimization. The first floor, people worked on the large pieces such us carts and different types of transports. There then was a manager for all floors to maintain compliance and proper workflow for all of the categories of work. The manager's position was similar to Cearfer's in a way with overseeing the work, however, it differed with Cearfer because he partook in the work as well. He always wondered why these managers did not help out much. They did not have that large of a management scope that consumed their time to such an extent which would make that impossible. Cearfer was proof of that it was the opposite. His scope was much larger, being a regional manager, and yet he still found time to help out.