Shoshone Station: The Galactic Consortium season 2

Episode Two: To Be or Not To Be #14

The next morning Dhanvin discovered he'd been given the unlucky egg. He'd been selected to sit on some meeting with the captain and diplomacy. He had no idea why they wanted economics involved, but it would take most of the morning.

He turned right around, left the office and headed back up towards the captain's quarters. Not that it mattered much, they rest of the crew would probably not field more than a half dozen work requests all day. The Shoshone collective added a few new people every day and they helped them get jobs and settled. Otherwise the station remained mostly empty.

He ran into one of the senior healers, a hanuman woman he knew vaguely, on the way and as they approached the captain's quarters he said, "you in on this meeting, too?"

"Yeah," she said. "I'm pretty excited about the idea, actually."

Zeta and Jack, the diplomats arrived before Dhanvin could ask what the idea was and the four of them entered the captain's quarters together. They were on the lower level, the formal meeting area. Dhanvin knew the basic lay out of a solar station, but he'd never actually been in a captain's conference room before. It wasn't much special.

There were a handful of people, including some maintenance chiefs, security and others. Lannister was there and gestured them to sit.

"Well, I know most of you have stuff to do, so let's get right down to it," Lannister said.

Dhanvin smiled. That was his kind of captain, don't waste people's time.

"So the core group of us have discussed this idea, but we've a bunch of new people today."

"And what does that portend?" the senior healer asked.

"That we have our approval," Jack said. "It's a go. Time to start planning for real."

"So the plan," Lannister interrupted, "is this. We've had a steady trickle of new people up to the station, despite the fact that we don't have any diplomatic arrangement to let them come or go."

Dhanvin blushed, wondering if he was about to be scolded for his part. But really, what harm were Sophia and her friends doing? They just wanted a better life.

"Some have major medical problems. That's why they are here. They can't get treatment on the surface. It would be unconscionable to send them back," Lannister continued.

Dhanvin sighed, relieved.

"In fact, I would love to have more come up. Informally at first, more formally later on. It would mean a lot to relations, and to people on the surface, if we could put some of our advanced medical technology at their disposal," he continued. He looked to the senior healer.

"The problem is that the conditions are so different than we are used to. Chronic health problems that take time to correct. Meanwhile these people aren't Consortium citizens."

"Is that a problem?" Dhanvin asked.

"We don't object to treating them. It's the practical issues. They don't have money, not in our system anyway. We'd direct them to the economics office, and do, when they are able to work. But many aren't. They don't have apartments or housing up here, money, family, anything."

"What she's saying," Lannister said. "Is that we want to help these people. But they need a place to stay, someone to feed them, someone to help see to their more basic needs while they recover, enough to either work or return to the surface. And I am proposing to give them that."

"How?" the maintenance chief asked. "And what does it have to do with us?" he gestured around the room to include everyone.

"I'd be happy to help," Dhanvin said. "If you tell me how."

"We'd like to take a small section of the station and turn it into a medical wing. Maintenance, you will work with healing to see tanks installed and whatever other equipment they need. We will also need rooms to house the newcomers and family, if they have them, while they stay." Lannister turned to Dhanvin. "From economics we will need liaisons, the healers will provide medical services, but these people will need to be fed, shown around the station, helped to settle, temporarily or permanently. Some one who can help them with the cultural and practical hurdles of living on a station."

Dhanvin gave a rueful laugh, "we are short on workers as it is, and this will require a special sort..." he froze. "I think I can find some one, actually. Just one?"

"We'll need several, eventually," Lannister replied. "But at least one who can start immediately. We are actually behind the curve already, and more people are arriving daily."

Lannister pulled up a holo projection of one of the lower sections and they started talking about which area they would use, how it would be equipped.

Not the unlucky egg after all, Dhanvin thought. He'd talk to his boss as soon as the meeting was over, make sure she knew he was willing to volunteer to help coordinate this project. It would be a great diversion and something that would really do good for those on the surface below. 

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