Eleven Pipers Part 2: Working for the Company

With heavy cardiac-structure, Yarith made his way to the office the following morning. He laboured over the production reports, the factory was performing well, as usual, a task which should have been quick and easy but which took much longer than usual due to his distracted mind-state, and submitted them to his line manager.

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"I hear the recruitment agents are visiting the factories at Nalendransulsay and Perb today," the manager said. "They are likely to be here tomorrow." The manager, an impressively bulky Nisalan male with a greenish tinge to his upper tentacles, had seen service in the ground forces several years ago. He still bore the scars and service medals with some pride. "It'll be your chance soon, lad."

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Yarith felt his digestive tract constrict but managed a vague smile in reply. "Oh, I'm sure they could find many people better suited to the glories of combat than me, sir." He waved his shrivelled lower-left tentacle feebly.

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"Nonsense, boy. Fighting ability's not the only thing the agents are looking for. Your organisational skills alone would make you a fine recruit. No-one better than a gifted organiser to make sure all the troops go over the top in good order." The manager paused for a moment, savouring the memories of his first taste of combat against the Third Worlder barbarians. "Of course, being able to break those hard bony things of a Third Worlder is useful too. I mean, what sort of species has ossified tissue clogging up their internals? Strange. Weird. Downright alien, if you ask me."

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What? thought Yarith, as the manager's anti-Third Worlder rant continued for several more minutes. Condemn 250000 Nisalans to destruction just because I can push bits of paper around? This whole planet's gone mad!

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Yarith made his excuses and left the manager's office. Something nagged at the back of his sentience organ. There had to be another way! he stormed inwardly. But how? Where? Then it hit him. The Repository.

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The large building was only a short stroll from the munitions factory. Yarith packed a briefcase of obscure paperwork, old reports and calculation tables to make it look like he was off to research a productivity upgrade, and hastened from the office to the Repository.