Aboard Hamilton Station, Part 4

"Request denied, Vee."

I had shown Cynthia the projections that Bhatia had drawn up for me, that R&D would either have to cut their power consumption or we would be forced to make concessions in other departments. Sure, some systems could take a hit, but it wouldn't be sustainable for any extended period of time. I was sure that she would compromise with me, yet here I was getting slapped with a rejection.

"No one even informed my staff before doing this. This is completely out of line, we could've-"

"Request. Denied." Cynthia wasn't messing around. She gave me a look that could stop a train. "You don't get to say what's out of line, Vee. I was contacted by bosses that I didn't even know I had. We're under an incredible amount of scrutiny and sitting on top of what could be the biggest xenoscience discovery in the past twenty years. So not only am I ordering you as your superior, I'm also asking you as a colleague: Make it work."

That floored me. She never spoke that candidly before, at least not to me. I couldn't imagine the pressure she must have been under, but I didn't want to have to go back to my staff and tell them that I hadn't managed to solve a single one of their problems. I didn't know what to say, so I just stood there with my mouth open like a dolt, searching for the right combination of words.

"We... can make it work." I felt the knot in my stomach tighten. "For now, Cynthia. But within a week we're going to have people asking why the lights are flickering, or why their showers are cold, or why their water tastes funny."

"I just need you to do your job. If I want any more input from HabEn, I'll ask for it. You're dismissed."

She didn't have to tell me twice, I was already turning towards the lift by the time she finished her sentence. I had my concerns heard, and had already filed an official complaint with the station's Safety Council. It didn't help that Cynthia was the head of that council, but at least this way my ass would be covered if anything catastrophic happened.

                            

"Well why can't they just, I dunno, move it somewhere else?" Gus was always full of insightful ideas when he had a drink in his hand.

I needed a drink after my meeting with Cynthia, and was happy to find Gus already at the cantina throwing back whiskey like he had somewhere to be. I needed to vent, and the HabEn staff had heard enough of it from me.

"Beats me. God knows there are better facilities for studying something like this. But from what she was saying, I think some people way above her pay grade are calling the shots here." I sighed and gave the heaviest shrug of my life.

"Yeah, but you can't trust anyone from Admin to give you, like, a one-hundred-percent straight no-bullshit answer on anything. Talking around the point is part of their job requirement, y'know?"

"Cyn is usually alright. Just, uh, keep an eye out for any power outages on your patrols, will you?"

"Pff, sure." Gus half-chuckled and took a big gulp from his glass. "I'm just glad they pulled me off of guard duty. Some of the other officers stuck watching that rock were getting on my nerves."

"What, is it boring watching a piece of space debris all day?" I asked with my normal charming sarcastic touch.

"Nah, it's not that. They were just..." Gus trailed off, making a little circular motion with his glass. "So this one guy, Larkin, right? I've talked to him plenty of times, he's been with Security for, what, like four years? Career, used to working on a station, really easy to get along with. I go to relieve him at the end of his shift and I swear, I had to practically scream his name to get his attention. He was standin' as far away from me as you are right now. Then after he snaps out of it he gets all pissy, tells me that I shouldn't catch him off guard like that, like suddenly he's real irritable. As if he didn't hear me open the door, walk up to him, and call him name three fuckin' times before he looked at me."

"That's pretty weird." Fatigue? Long stints on a station can lead to a number of psychological side-effects for someone who isn't acclimated to it. But that wouldn't make sense if he was a career officer. "What was he doing when you walked in?"

"I dunno, just staring at that stupid rock." Gus finished his drink and sighed. "Not like the thing is going anywhere, right?"