Shoshone Station: The Galactic Consortium season 2

Episode Fourteen: Meteors #14

Lannister looked in his mirror and tugged down on the end of his tunic. He had mostly gotten used to his new uniform, until a day like today came along. He'd met the president once before, at the christening feast of the station. That had felt different somehow—they had both been coming on board to someone else's station then. Now the president was coming to his station. He turned away from the mirror and went out into his main room.

"Breakfast, sir?" Peeta inquired from the kitchen, where he'd been talking to someone on a viewscreen.

Lannister's stomach squirmed. "Not sure I'm hungry. I think I am going to my office for a while."

Peeta gave him a look and then nodded. Lannister knew the man well enough now to know he'd follow in a few minutes with tea and rolls or some sort of pastry that was easy on the stomach. For the moment Peeta merely said, "I've a few details to see to about the luncheon. Call if you need me." He turned back to his viewscreen.

Lannister went down the lift into his office area. He picked a slate up off the desk and checked through his night report. It was short and to the point. Tech crews had nothing to report. The agricultural report was simply "a couple routine matters for meeting." Economics had a couple paragraphs regarding an update about the idea of selling energy blocks, which was looking good.

The medical wing was going well. They had added another trauma case, a woman who had lost a leg in a car accident on the surface just outside Denver proper and had been airlifted up late that evening. That wing added a half dozen cases a day, and sent almost as many home healed. It was his best success, and he thought about offering the president a quick tour if they had time.

Fox's security team had a couple of cases: one a domestic, and the other a sexual assault case. Like the two men on the Corelean, this man thought if the woman didn't call security in the moment, he couldn't be caught for his crime. Lannister scowled at the thought. The man had been offered a simple deal: accept Consortium jurisdiction and be sent to Africa, or return to the surface to face prosecution there. Either way he'd been banned from the station for the next ten years. Lannister had insisted on that.

That was the extent of his report. He sighed and set the slate aside. Peeta came in with a small tray. It contained a tea pot with some fragrant tea, a cup of broth, and crackers. Lannister smiled and shook his head.

"You shouldn't meet this leader on an empty stomach," Peeta scolded him. "It will only make your nerves worse."

"Of course," Lannister said. "They taught you this in page school, I assume." He sipped at the broth and found it salty but good.

"My mentor helped me with this lesson," Peeta said. "And he told me this: even the greatest woman or man squats on the toilet the same as the lowest."

Lannister snorted. "And imagine if you were meeting Sarasvat," he challenged.

"I've met her in person," Peeta sniffed. "The first time, my palms were sweaty and I thought my heart would burst," he admitted. "But Jovinda, my mentor, had made me eat a light lunch and I survived. You've met this president before, though?"

Lannister chuckled at the thought of Peeta's first meeting with Sarasvat. "Yes, I have. But then, it wasn't my station he was coming on. I don't want anything to go wrong; that's all."

"You've a fine crew. They will see that nothing goes wrong," Peeta said. "As for the luncheon, that is my part, and I will not let you down."

"I've complete faith in your abilities," Lannister said. Peeta glowed. "And in my crew. Still, it doesn't stop my worrying."

"Of course not," Peeta replied.

Fox came down the hall. "What are we worrying about?" he inquired.

"The president's visit," Peeta said.

Fox blanched. "Yeah, that."

"Peeta, I think a second cup of broth is in order," Lannister said, and the two shared a laugh at Fox's expression.

"Right away, sir." With that, Peeta was gone.

Walsh, who arrived before Peeta was back with Fox's broth, seemed calm. But that could have been an act for Lannister's benefit, Lannister decided. As soon as his team was gathered, they heard from Jack, who was on the surface station, that the president had arrived and would be heading up in a few minutes. That gave them the forty-five minute elevator ride to head down to the bottom court and see that all the stations dignitaries were ready.

Most were Consortium. They knew only that a major leader from the surface was visiting, but they didn't have the same connection as Americans did to the notion of meeting the president. They were on their best behavior, but far from overwhelmed.

One young woman from the medical wing looked terrified. "It will be okay," he told her.

"Sophia," she supplied bowing to him. "Sophia Bach. Just can't believe I'm actually going to see the president in person."

"You must be from the surface," he guessed.

"Yes," she replied. "In fact when I came up, I was homeless. I never thought I'd be meeting the president!" The last came out in a squeak.

Dhanvin, at her side, put one hand on her shoulder. "You have done a great job as our liaison. If anyone deserves to meet this man, it's you."

Sophia blushed at the praise. Lannister continued down the line, inspecting others. Jack's voice announced that the lift was moments from arriving, and Lannister found his place.

The president was gracious and surprisingly "down to earth." His last trip to the station for the christening had been rushed, and he'd had nerves of his own, of course. It had been his first time on one of the stations. Now that it was technically their station, he was as excited to see the sights. They walked nearly the radius of the bottom court, looking down on the country they both served.

They went to medical wing, and the president was amazed to see a young woman, who had nearly lost her life the evening before, up and walking on a robotic leg and telling him it barely hurt. They walked a couple of the open courts to give the president a feel for how people lived on a place like this. Then they made their way to a banquet room next to the spaceport for a luncheon feast.

"It seems like an incredible place to live and work," the president told the gathered press as he made ready to leave for Shin. "Maybe when I retire, I will come live here."

"You'd be honored and welcomed," Lannister told him.

"They say he's been talking a lot about retirement," Walsh commented as they returned to their offices.

"After the scandals and issues of the last few months," Jack said, "his chances in another election . . ."

"It's too bad," Lannister said. "He seems like an honorable man and a good leader." A lifelong conservative, Lannister was surprised by his own words, but he believed them.

"That's true," Jack agreed. "Still . . ."

There wasn't much else to say.