We Shadows

Chapter 2: rushing about

Lully arrived at work an hour early, and still felt like he hadn't shown up on time. People were rushing about with their holo-ribs and boxes and bins. Someone had opened the bay door, letting in the warm sunlight. A hover was parked just outside, mounded over with materials.

"Good morning, Vertov!" Lully called with a wave.

Vertov had only been captain for a week but already Lully felt that he was exactly what the based needed right now. He didn't put up with the petty squabbles across departments and always oriented the base's focus back to the problem at hand: they had run out of materials. It was no one's fault, but everyone would have to work to make up for it.

"I got your message," Vertov replied, walking over to Lully. "It's Madison's call, not mine. My only concern is that we don't have as many Canary members going and I don't want that part of our population to feel excluded."

"Understood." Lully bobbed his head. "Anything I can do here?"

Vertov shrugged. "Edison has this well under control. Builds has been here since last night; Joan took the first group out to the site the very second it was daylight. Seems a little manic now, but if this ore vein doesn't pan out, then we're going to need every minute between storms to find a new one."

"I thought we weren't going to use both hovers," Lully inquired.

"We aren't. Joan's returning with the empty hover and leaving out with the packed one. And then Narayan is taking a trip out to the Canary to scrap what we can in the meantime. It's all been scheduled and coordinated. This has been the most organized the base has been in years, I think. And I'm not just saying that because I'm captain." Vertov smiled and shook his head. "I keep saying it aloud, hoping I'll believe it. Dylan is a conniving young woman. "

Lully could agree. He only heard a little bit of what had happened during Dashiell's meeting as captain, but he knew that Dylan had snapped out of her depression and was back to her scheming ways. He wasn't sure what to think.

"Why not the Aeneid?" Lully inquired.

"Because Ibsen begged me not to. He wants to move the Aeneid to create a satellite base, moonshy man. And the Canary is more damaged, in theory we'll be able to pull more materials with less effort. We'll see. As for you," Vertov pulled out his holo-rib and swiped through his messages. "You know you're leaving this afternoon, provided they need the printer by then. The first step is to step up comm; Ford should be messaging me any minute now if all went well. Esperanza or whoever is coming from medical is welcome to join at that point."

"I should pack some clothes," Lully realized. "I didn't think about that."

Vertov chuckled and then moved past Lully to talk to some of the men from builds. Emerson came into the room carrying a half dozen bags and looking harassed. Bell was right behind him, carrying several boxes.

"You look...prepared," Lully commented.

"Only one of these is mine," Emerson complained, hoisting the straps to sit higher on his shoulders. "Bell decided she needed to pack all of the research department."

"You're the one who offered to carry the bags," Bell told him loftily.

"You're going?" Lully inquired, a little surprised.

"Someone has to test the materials on site before we waste time hauling back junk," she pointed out. "And Ibsen thought I could coordinate with exploration to find other material sources. We should be getting new satellite data now that the earthstorm has cleared. We're going to need more water, silicon, clay, proper land for farming, suitable sites for new satellite bases." She grinned. "And Emerson will be able to help me in his downtime."