Paradise Blight

Chapter 4

The signal beamed strong and sure, but only touched a small area. Enough Legion woke in this region that they could link. The Architect was the signal, and with the signal, they must act.

Per their programming, the Legion constructed the first generation of Swarm, with release coordinated for maximum effectiveness. Most of the Swarm perished before finding a target to consume, but with numbers so many that in the end, it would not matter.

[Mora]

"Damn right, girl. He would have had it coming."

I knew I could depend on Kate to support me when I told her about the threatening to knee the Director in the balls incident. Kate and I had very different vocations, me a scientist and she a heavy equipment operator, and she was about ten years older than me. Nonetheless, we quickly became best friends after I arrived. She looked her combat-tested Marine infantry past — short red hair, numerous tattoos, and a tall, fit frame, but I have not yet asked why they used to call her 'Bender'. She was as tough as they come, but also with a fun side, and helped pull me out of my shell.

Kate asked, "So, are we going to get some help with the irrigation systems?"

"Not until the ark ship gets here. They are going to bring down an engineer from the ship first and assign him to our team. We'll have to make do until then."

With a huff, Kate kicked the ground with a boot, sending a few pebbles skittering. "An engineer, huh? That's all we need. They come all book smart and field dumb, thinking they can tell us what to do. And no use arguing with them. Like wrestling a pig in the mud — eventually you find out they like it."

The analogy brought out a laugh — in my experience, sometimes true.

I pulled my beeping com-viewer out of a front pocket, and my gut twisted at the message. "Uh oh, our esteemed team leader requests my presence."

Kate put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "Well, don't let him get you down, girl. You were in the right."

I smiled and performed a mock salute as we parted. The project office sat about a kilometer away and it was another nice day, so I walked through the ag test plots rather than taking a quad wheeler. He could wait a bit.

Vic, a short middle-aged man with dark hair, sat facing away behind a messy desk as I knocked on the office door. He turned around, motioning me in, then plopped his braced leg up on a makeshift padded stool. It was because of this injury that he sent me to the project update meeting. I rode with him when he rolled the quad and got a few bruises myself. Sitting down in the worn chair before his desk, I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I knew what this was about.

"You wanted to see me, Vic?"

"Had a strange call from our director," he said, drawing down eyebrows.

"Oh?"

"Seems he has concerns about how well you play with others, about not being part of the team. What the hell happened?"

I sighed. "During the reception, he pinned me up against the window and made a proposal I did not like. I threatened to knee his balls if he did not leave me alone. That's all."

"Damn Mora," Vic grumbled. "Couldn't you think of a more graceful exit? We don't need to piss off Director Sander."

My fingers dug into the padded chair arms as I struggled to keep my composure. Vic was a fairly good team leader and treated me with respect, but he also tended to suck-up to those above him on the org chart.

Vic shook his head and waved a finger. "And another thing. Did you have to bring up the terraform initial conditions tripe? We need to keep things positive."