We come in peace - Folician Chronicles 8

Chapter 11 - Ray and the FBI

Nation Visit question

Kevin had the AI do the research for him on the various potential locations for the Folician's to visit. It didn't take very long even though it ran through some very significant calculations. It wasn't just to ensure the safety of the crew but the potential results of visiting the countries. For example, if they visited one country another might feel they were being ignored. If that happened it could impact on trade and getting treaties created sooner than later. It could also impact on the relationships between the various governments on Earth.

If the Folician's seemed to spend more time with England than China or Russia it could be considered favoritism. It could be seen as them wanting to give England more tech and less liked countries older tech. Or they preferred England over the other countries. Sometimes a visit was just that, a visit. Go, say hello, see some sites, and get some good food to eat. For all that he was going to let Ray and Fury decide what countries they wished to visit. They were the ones who had to deal with what was going on. He was going to keep his head down and do his best to keep the Enclave from being identified.

Once he sent the listing to the ship he turned back to deal with a contract issue. The shipping company had managed to destroy part of a load of fine glassware when the operator hadn't loaded the filled pallets the right way. They were trying to say it had been his companies fault and not theirs. He would think by now most companies would know better. Over the years there had been several similar issues. With the Folician tech you could put a camera damn near anywhere you wanted. It was even possible to use it to track and monitor special shipments. In this case, they had suspicions the trucking company wasn't taking proper care of shipments.

There had been a number of complaints by customers on the other end, which indicated some of the shipments were more damaged than would be expected. Due to this they were being extra careful. Everything about the shipments the company was taking care of was documented until it reached their trucks. With the loss of the crystal he had been able to get footage showing the trucking company used the wrong type of forklift. The receiving end had cameras on their loading dock. The forklift wasn't large enough or powerful enough to handle the shipment.

If they had positioned the forklift correctly it might have been able to handle it – barely. When they had placed it on the forklift, it wasn't set for the centerline of the pallet. When they lifted it was obviously off-balance. That hadn't caused it to fall, what did was when they had turned to fast and overbalanced. The forklift itself had gone over as well. The trucking company was trying to say their equipment had been damaged due to a badly loaded and balanced pallet.

Kevin knew better since all of his staff were exceedingly well trained. To ensure he kept the turnover as low as possible he took very good care of everyone. They were paid better, better benefits, and company functions designed for both adults and families. For the families, it was usually a picnic in the warm months and indoor things like a kids Christmas party, a safe Halloween party, and more.

For the adults, it was a social mixer for both singles and couples with daycare provided. Everyone knew about the daycare the company provided and it was some of the best. They were certified to the federal level and it showed. The cost of the daycare came out of their checks but was cheaper than anywhere else and many of the parents took advantage of it. What also helped was a number of the men, and some women, knew about the Folician's and enjoyed visiting. Those had access to the Folician side since it gave them a place to come and talk about their adventures. By now they had thirteen men who rotate through the ships on a fairly routine basis. Not all worked for the company but many did. For the females they didn't go on the trips for the most part. One or two had since it had been decided they needed male Folician and human female children as well.