She Bleeds for Us: The Galactic Consortium 3

Chapter 26

Devaki crossed the Bamako base, heading towards hir bunk after what had to be the longest six-hour shift ever on record. How did Hanoy and the others do it?

Hanoy had only snorted when Devaki voiced that. "Adrenaline junky. This is as important as crashing the front lines of some humanitarian crisis."

"More so," hir co-worker, Dhanusha put in. "Successful campaigns are built on proper supply lines."

"I know, I know," Devaki had protested. "It's just..."

"You'd rather be out there using the supplies than back here counting them," Hanoy said. "We get that. But you defied direct orders."

Devaki detected something else in Hanoy's tone and bit hir tongue, voicing no further complaints. Hanoy had the right of it, supply was important. And while every Kurgara knew that, the fact was that most snubbed their own supply personnel and a job in supply was as often a punishment as a choice. And how must that feel to those who made it there everyday job?

"Did you hear?" Kandra, another kurgara, asked as zie fell into step beside Devaki.

"Hear what?"

"We've been kicked out of South Sudan now."

"We?"

"The entire consortium."

"What now?" Devaki groused.

"They fear a political revolution, several opposition groups are pledging a pro consortium government alliance, if they win the next election."

"And with that promise, they are almost guaranteed to win," Devaki said.

"But that's not half of it, North Sudan is claiming rebel insurgents on the border. They are threatening to move across the border."

"The Consortium will never allow military action on such a flimsy pretext."

"But if we are kicked out of the region..."

Devaki snorted. "Right, like the military is just going to turn a blind eye."

"Of course not," Kandra said. Zie gave Devaki a sidelong look. "Might be stopping by for a deep mission pack." Zie winked and turned down another side street.

Devaki paused and watched hir go. Intelligence, a deep range scouting mission. It should be Devaki's mission. It was exactly the thing zie trained for, not packing bags. Hanoy had been right, Devaki had defied direct orders and now zie had a new assignment.

Zie sighed and changed direction, heading for the main mess hall. Zie went straight to the drink bar.

"Tea?" a young woman asked, smiling coyly at Devaki.

But Devaki was in no mood to flirt. "Coffee."

The woman turned towards the right side of the bar, but Devaki stopped her. "Their coffee," zie corrected, pointing at a pot in one corner.

The woman raised an eyebrow and then shrugged. "Okay."

The locals brewed their coffee dark and strong, and they drank it hot. Most of the Consortium workers didn't like it, it was too bitter. But it was much stronger and Devaki needed to stay awake.

Zie found a seat at one end of the lounge. Zie activated hir communication device and began to browse the digital kurgara library. Internal affairs memos, not the easiest and possibly the dullest reading. If there was a job worse than inventorying supplies, it would have to be monitoring the people who inventoried supplies.

"Enjoying your first day back on base, I see," a voice said.

Devaki looked up and found Lieutenant Jardin standing over hir, a fake smile plastered on his face.

"Come to rub it in?" Zie replied.

Jardin found a seat. "Rub it in? I'm not the one who defied a direct order. You are lucky to even be allowed back on base. I wouldn't have."

"You are not my commanding officer."

"True. But I do answer to commander Larkin and I do oversee internal discipline on this base. Why did Lakora go so easy on you?"

The counter woman came over with his drink.

"I wasn't aware zie had gone easy on me," Devaki answered. "As far as internal affairs on this base, I intend to do my best to be the model supply sergeant."

"See that you are, Devaki, see that you are." He took his drink and walked away.

Devaki watched him go. Zie was not planning on being a model supply sergeant. Zie was, rather, researching just how bad zie could possibly be and not get caught. Zie was currently trying to sort out just how far off the inventory could be before it would trigger an audit.

Best watch him close, he'll be trouble.

With that thought in mind, zie took a drink of hir coffee and went back to reading.