He showed a picture taken at street level from a moving vehicle. It then became a video, the view swinging slowly from left to right, the camera mounted on a moving vehicle. The hiss of a gas-turbine engine was barely audible in the background. The median strip of the wide street was covered with refuse, litter, and the occasional trunk of a battered, dead tree poked out of the mess. Along the sides, vacant lots full of junk and trash were nestled in between neglected buildings, many boarded up, graffiti, a store with an armored front with a tiny customer service window seemed to be selling snacks and there was a line of nervous customers lined up.
The vehicle had to slow down often and stopped occasionally to avoid hitting pedestrians who made a great show of their right to cross the street anywhere they wanted, moving slower to taunt the vehicle. A disturbingly high percentage of them actually slapped the hood of the vehicle, and others actually asked for handouts. Farther on, a gunshot was audible, and then a group of half a dozen young men ran right in front of the vehicle carrying a bleeding man by his wrists and ankles.
Then the sidewalk on the right side of a street corner was packed shoulder to shoulder with women ranging in age from twelve to fifty, in various states of provocative dress, not fit for public view. Some pulled up their tops to display their breasts, others cooed and cawed to entice the occupants of the moving vehicle to join them for a sexual encounter, which they described in great detail, shamelessly yelling. The crowd of women started to move to surround the vehicle. The vehicle ignored an obvious traffic signal to cross the intersection before the signal had changed.
Koa stopped the video and displayed a blank blue screen. “That was from about eight years ago, but I doubt things have changed since then. The community around Factory Sevin is a matriarchal bisexual enclave, dominated by family groups numbering about two to six hundred people in each, led by a Grandma figure. The Grandmas are loosely confederated into a poorly functioning feudal system. Gangs, really. The problem they present to us, their primary source of income is prostitution. Very young women, pre-pubescent girls as well, are first gang-raped, then abused by a crude training program and then are put on the streets as prostitutes. Many are trafficked around to the other cities, sold into brothels, that sort of thing. Slavery at its worst.”
Galen said, “If we let our troops get involved with that, the Brigade could lose its charter. The regulations of the Bonding Commission are quite clear. We will not support, knowingly or not, directly or indirectly, any sort of slavery, child prostitution, human trafficking… well, you all know the deal. Drinky Girls must be at least twenty one years of age, paid a fair salary, and free and unfettered of any obligation pertaining to sex. So we’ll avoid Factory Sevin and all it’s nonsense.”
Koa displayed a map on the flat screen. “The problem is, Sky Factory Sevin is the closest city to us, by a wide margin. It’s only twenty five clicks away from our proposed tunnel entrance. It’s also supposed to be our primary source for organic fuels and natural foods. The next nearest city is over four hundred clicks away.”
Galen thought for a moment and then said, “Where did you get all this info about the city around Sky Factory Seven?”
“Local news archives and court records.”
Galen slumped forward in his chair, elbows on his knees, and pressed his palms against either side of his head. “Crap.”
Galen and Karen exited the TOC together and walked toward where the commander’s hut was being built, located twenty meters directly behind the command tank. The hut’s concrete slab was already dry and the bottom rails of the hut’s angle iron were bolted to it. Trooper Parks and Corporal Slaughter were there along with the driver and gunner of Spike’s tank, working under the supervision of a Troop from the engineer platoon, using a guide on an electronic clipboard to direct the metal building’s assembly.
“What have we got here?” asked Galen.
The engineer said, “Super hooch, Sergeant Major. Living quarters for you, Sergeant Major Spike, and your tank crews on the second floor, reception area, conference room, office space, kitchen and bathrooms on the first floor.”
“Anything I can do to help?” Galen took off his helmet and combat vest and set them to the side.
“Sure, but you have to understand, while you’re working on this building, you’re working for me.”
“Roger. Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Galen rubbed his hands together.
Karen said, “I’m going to check on my hooch.”
“I’ll miss you.” Galen winked.
She winked back then walked off.
“Okay, time for upright beams.” The engineer pointed at a stack of angle iron. “Two man lift. Sergeant Major, grab that bag of bolts and the power drill.”
Chapter Six
“So week one is complete. The construction contractors from Mandarin will start arriving tomorrow.” Galen sat at the table in the conference room of the Commander’s Hut. It was a sturdy steel table, round, just like the ones in the dining facility. Tad and Spike sat to the left, Karen and Chief Koa to the right. Master Sergeant Sevin sat at the far end.
“Everything’s just peachy outside the crater,” said Sevin.
Karen said, “We’re ready to start on the tunnel. Projected completion time is nineteen days. Then we can lay the pipeline for delivery of organic fuel. The road made by the pipeline construction crew will serve as the transportation corridor for food delivery.”
Koa raised his hand.
“Speak,” said Galen.
“That city. We need to check it out.”
“How’s today sound?”
Koa said, “The sooner the better.”
Galen looked around the table. “Anyone here too busy to go?”
Spike said, “I have to stay here and do your job until you get back.”
“Oaky XO, you stay. Ops, you in or out?”
Tad said, “I can go. My section can do without me for a while.”
Karen said, “I’ll go. Chief Polar has things under control.”
Sevin smiled. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
Galen stared into his eyes for a moment and nodded slowly. “All right. Just one more thing, since you mentioned worlds. EugeneX owns this entire planet. And I humbly announce that I am the highest representative of EugeneX on this planet until their people get here. The military governor, I suppose. Let’s go check out Factory Seven. Sevin, you have a ride for us?”
“A skimmer. It’s parked right out front. I’ll drive if you don’t mind standing behind the gun.”
“Mount up in twenty minutes, full gear.” Galen stood, the others stood and left the room.
The skimmer, a lightly armored, open-topped hovercraft, approached the wall of the crater. Sevin drove, Tad sat next to him, Karen and Koa sat in the seats behind them and Galen stood up behind the rapid-fire lightweight laser mounted on a swivel above the heads of the other passengers. He looked through the sights at maximum zoom and could make out the lift mechanism that had been used to get the vehicles of the mechanized battalion and reconnaissance company out of the crater. A thick cable hung from a crane, a steel cage suspended from it. As they approached, the cage lowered to the ground. Sevin drove the skimmer right into the open end of the cage and shut off the blowers. The vehicle settled on the solid steel plate of the cage’s bottom. After a moment, the cage started hauling them up.
Galen sat down and said, “Hey Sevin, how’d you get that crane up there?”