Anthology of Speculative Scribblings

Last Resort (Part 5 of 5)

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Miklin sighed and scrubbed at his face. "I know, it was stupid, but I felt I couldn't do nothing. Every night I returned home to see my crippled sister and it drove me crazy. So, I gathered information on the accident and the account discrepancies and I realized I had enough to seriously hurt the business if I played my cards right. This time I didn't bother with the station police. I sent it directly to the police planetside and to the tax department in the government. They cracked down on E&S and the owner so fast that the station master couldn't do more than save him from going to prison. The eatery was shut down and seized by the authorities. I lost my job, but the owner was forced to pay compensation to everyone who had been injured in the accident. However, the station manager rigged it so his son only had to pay a tiny amount to each person.

And it was when I tried to find a new job that I found out the worst news. Someone leaked my involvement to the station manager or his son and they retaliated by blacklisting me and threatened to do the same for anyone who hired me. I haven't had a steady job since and my sister and I are barely surviving on what I can find for work now and then."

"I see. And going planetside?"

"Never an option. What money we had went to keeping my sister alive and we could never afford the tickets to leave. Also, I never knew how much power and connections the station manager would have planetside to make our lives hell."

"So, you are saying that you need to take care of your sister somehow and you aren't free and clear to leave this station?"

Miklin hung his head. "That's right. I would want both of us to leave and to set her up in a different location. I wouldn't betray her by leaving her behind in this cesspool."

"That could possibly be arranged, provided you actually pass bootcamp. I will need to contact those you previously worked for to find references on your work." He held up a hand. "Don't worry. Blacklists mean nothing to us. We hire misfits from all sorts of backgrounds, both innocent and even some criminal. Your situation isn't new to us. Do you think you can survive bootcamp?"

Miklin straightened at the officer's doubtful look. "Yes, I can do it. If I can have some square meals before then."

"You're that far gone?"

Miklin flushed. "There's no money so we make food last as long as possible."

"Meaning you skip meals so your sister is fed. Well, you definitely have willpower in abundance. I'll contact my superiors back at our home base to arrange for your sister. I think we can arrange for passage if you give up free passage home. We provide a ticket home for those that quit or flunk out normally."

"I can accept that. Anywhere should be better than here. Even if I do flunk out, I can find a normal job. It's just being blacklisted here that's been my downfall. People here try to help us on the side, but they can't do it openly without being hammered."

Lieutenant Franks tapped on his tablet and brought up an electronic form. "Read this and sign it. Once you do, you'll officially be recruited."

The form contained quite a bit of text and Miklin felt dizzy just looking through it, so he skipped most of it and signed. A job was a job, regardless of the fine print. This would be their ticket off station.

"I'll send you a copy of the form for reading later. I hope, in the future, you'll be more careful about reading before signing."

Miklin flushed at his tone. "Yes, sir."