soldiers from employing any means necessary to coerce the workers into producing higher and higher results, however. And the result was abuse.
“Some of the quota increases I’ve seen seem unrealistic to me. A man can only do so much labor,” Davi said. “Especially when he’s ill.”
They moved past the fence toward a large barn. As they entered, a worker approached with a datapad, handing it to Farien. He read it over, then used the laser stylus to approve it and handed it back as it beeped to acknowledge his signature.
“Have you been out here to see the operation before?” Farien asked as the worker scurried away.
Davi shook his head and watched workers loading grain and cut stalks into various machines which processed them and sealed them into shipping containers on the other end. He stood there a moment admiring the compactness of the machines.
“The machines do a lot of the work. They’re all run by computers. All the workers have to do is supply the raw materials. The machines always seem to spend more time than they should every day waiting on the workers,” Farien continued.
“Is it because they can’t get the raw materials here fast enough from the field?” Davi asked.
“Not from what I’ve seen. Some of the workers just aren’t hustling,” Farien said.
“Switch their assignments then and get workers who are,” Davi said. It seemed an obvious solution.
Farien lifted his hand in a lazy attempt at a salute. “Yes, Mr. Supervisor.”
“Oh, come on. You know I didn’t mean it like that!”
“Look, if you’re asking me if I’ve seen soldiers get a little aggressive from time to time, yeah, I have. I’ve even been tempted to myself,” Farien said. “But nothing out of hand.”
“You’d tell me if it was, right?”
“Come on, you know me better than that!” Farien’s voice rose in pitch as he tensed, sounding a little hurt.
“Sorry. You don’t seem to think much of the workers,” Davi said gently while inwardly hoping he’d read his friend all wrong.
“That doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s right,” Farien answered.
Davi put a hand on his shoulder. “Sorry, I should have remembered who I was talking to.” He trusted Farien, but Farien saw the world through a different lens, tending to be less focused on issues of right and wrong, or justice than Davi. The average soldier didn’t have to think about such things. He simply had to follow orders. But Davi wasn’t the average soldier. Royals had much different expectations upon them.
“Yeah, don’t let your higher position go to your head, Captain,” Farien snapped.
Stung by the remark, Davi removed his hand from Farien’s shoulder.
Then Farien laughed and broke into a wide grin. He’d been teasing. “Wanna see more?”
“Aren’t I supposed to be the one giving instructions here?” Davi asked, struggling to recover from the weight of the thoughts filling his head. They both chuckled Farien offered a silly salute and led him back out toward the landing pad.
O O O
Farien took Davi on a tour of the facilities in a floater, which hovered above the ground by using the planet’s gravity to manipulate the air. It was a pleasant sensation both from the vehicle’s gentle vibrations and the breeze caressing passengers’ skin as it moved. The farm setup impressed Davi a lot, and they witnessed no incidents of abuse. In fact, everything seemed to be running quite smoothly.
Afterwards, they ate in the soldier’s mess at the back of the barn they’d visited earlier. They took seats across from each other at the end of a long table as workers served them plates of hot gungor meat and Vertullian white bean salad. The presentation was professional, and the service as well-handled as any restaurant. One worker delivered their plates as another provided cutlery and poured them drinks; each moving off in turn to wait on other soldiers.
“Well?” Farien stared across the table at him, anxious for his
“Some of the quota increases I’ve seen seem unrealistic to me. A man can only do so much labor,” Davi said. “Especially when he’s ill.”
They moved past the fence toward a large barn. As they entered, a worker approached with a datapad, handing it to Farien. He read it over, then used the laser stylus to approve it and handed it back as it beeped to acknowledge his signature.
“Have you been out here to see the operation before?” Farien asked as the worker scurried away.
Davi shook his head and watched workers loading grain and cut stalks into various machines which processed them and sealed them into shipping containers on the other end. He stood there a moment admiring the compactness of the machines.
“The machines do a lot of the work. They’re all run by computers. All the workers have to do is supply the raw materials. The machines always seem to spend more time than they should every day waiting on the workers,” Farien continued.
“Is it because they can’t get the raw materials here fast enough from the field?” Davi asked.
“Not from what I’ve seen. Some of the workers just aren’t hustling,” Farien said.
“Switch their assignments then and get workers who are,” Davi said. It seemed an obvious solution.
Farien lifted his hand in a lazy attempt at a salute. “Yes, Mr. Supervisor.”
“Oh, come on. You know I didn’t mean it like that!”
“Look, if you’re asking me if I’ve seen soldiers get a little aggressive from time to time, yeah, I have. I’ve even been tempted to myself,” Farien said. “But nothing out of hand.”
“You’d tell me if it was, right?”
“Come on, you know me better than that!” Farien’s voice rose in pitch as he tensed, sounding a little hurt.
“Sorry. You don’t seem to think much of the workers,” Davi said gently while inwardly hoping he’d read his friend all wrong.
“That doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s right,” Farien answered.
Davi put a hand on his shoulder. “Sorry, I should have remembered who I was talking to.” He trusted Farien, but Farien saw the world through a different lens, tending to be less focused on issues of right and wrong, or justice than Davi. The average soldier didn’t have to think about such things. He simply had to follow orders. But Davi wasn’t the average soldier. Royals had much different expectations upon them.
“Yeah, don’t let your higher position go to your head, Captain,” Farien snapped.
Stung by the remark, Davi removed his hand from Farien’s shoulder.
Then Farien laughed and broke into a wide grin. He’d been teasing. “Wanna see more?”
“Aren’t I supposed to be the one giving instructions here?” Davi asked, struggling to recover from the weight of the thoughts filling his head. They both chuckled Farien offered a silly salute and led him back out toward the landing pad.
O O O
Farien took Davi on a tour of the facilities in a floater, which hovered above the ground by using the planet’s gravity to manipulate the air. It was a pleasant sensation both from the vehicle’s gentle vibrations and the breeze caressing passengers’ skin as it moved. The farm setup impressed Davi a lot, and they witnessed no incidents of abuse. In fact, everything seemed to be running quite smoothly.
Afterwards, they ate in the soldier’s mess at the back of the barn they’d visited earlier. They took seats across from each other at the end of a long table as workers served them plates of hot gungor meat and Vertullian white bean salad. The presentation was professional, and the service as well-handled as any restaurant. One worker delivered their plates as another provided cutlery and poured them drinks; each moving off in turn to wait on other soldiers.
“Well?” Farien stared across the table at him, anxious for his
Similar Books
