Welcome To Paradiso

Minerva has always hated space but this trip in particular had proven… irksome, to say the least.

Minerva had been transferred to a colony just as Mendez had promised, becoming the soon to be new Administrator of the Paradiso colony on the planet of LV-960 a planet in the midst of some nothing system on the ass end of nowhere. The system doesn’t even have a USCM garrison.

In order to even get there Minerva had to dig into her own pockets to pay for safe passage to the planet; some long haulers that work for the company, ferrying volunteer colonists to the planet.

Though it seems that volunteers are in short supply as Minerva is the only one aboard the shuttle down to the colony.

In Minerva’s hands she holds a data-pad, scrolling through it she can see the details of the colony, it’s recorded history, its statistics and its purposes.

Supposedly it’s a relatively fresh colony, meant to overseer a nearby Atmospheric Processing Plant, terraforming the planet and seeding it for future colonies to be built decades from now, 30 residents in total; all of them having been volunteers that signed on for a new life out on the frontier.

The planet itself is far from pleasant, just barely close enough to the systems sun to get light and with an abnormally large water table, the planet is essentially on big ice cube, an ice cube that’s now Minerva’s responsibility.

Other then that, the information is spotty to say the least, no listed ore veins, no listed gas pockets, no listed flora or fauna for that matter.

This is incredibly strange for the company to have such little information on a planet they’ve colonized, typically surveyors compile a robust report weeks in advance of even the first colonists touching down planet side.

The colony itself is host to a small hydroponics farm, a clinic, a place for the colonists to sleep and a garage for the maintenance and storage of the colonies singular vehicle, a Daihotai Tractor.

A voice shakes Minerva from her musings the gruff tone of the pilot filtering through the crackling intercom. “We’ve arrived, remember to put on your suit.” He says.

With a sigh, Minerva rises to her feet as the shuttle touches down, sending a small quake through the cabin.

In the corner near the exit ramp rests a space suit hung up on a hook, the helmet sitting not far away. With the colony so fresh, the planet doesn’t have a habitable biosphere yet meaning no trees, no wildlife.

With great effort, Minerva slips into the suit, just as the instructional sticker in the little suit cubby dictates, the helmet snapping into place, creating an air tight seal before she punches the ramp release, ramp lowering, revealing the colony little by little, the oxygen being sucked from the cabin in moments.

Stepping out of the shuttle, Minerva finds herself on a crudely constructed launch pad, composed of a square of ground that’s been cleared of snow, exposing the barren rock beneath with landing beacons placed in the corners of the square for visibility.

Straight ahead is a path leading into the colony proper, buildings constructed of the typical style, each building looking like a metal bunker with the occasional window or piece of ornamentation to allow the occupants to differentiate themself from their neighbors.

Standing at the edge of the landing pad, stands a woman in a similarly bulky and uncomfortable looking suit, though little can be said of the woman’s appearance with the suits concealing nature, through the curing port of her helmet she can make out small details, toffee colored skin, warm brown eyes and hair pulled back in a tight, almost military bun.

“Administrator Chambers..? I’m Sheriff Monique Salazar…” she says, her patching through on the open frequency that Minerva’s suit must have been apart of.

“I am, yes, can you show me to my office please..? I need to familiarize myself with the posting and I’m expecting a call from Director Morrison…” states Minerva as she approaches the sheriff.

“It’s on the other side of town, I’ll give you a tour on the, follow me…” And with that the pair set off, making their way down the singular road that connects each building of the colony, the first building they come upon is a warehouse, the larges building on the colony, icicles hand long from the lip of the flat roof, the windows fit with metal bars and the glass frosted over with rime.

“This is the warehouse, not much to be found in there right now, some extra blankets, freeze dried food… extra parts for the tractor, that’s about it, it’s also attached to the garage where we keep the Daihotai in between scouting.” States Salazar, her voice crackling through the suits comms.

“Scouting?”

“Yeah, we’re the first colony on this rock, and the surveyors disappeared before they could deliver the full report back to the company, so we gotta survey the planet ourselves from time to time…”

The large loading bay doors at one end of the structure are sealed shut, ice coating the door further still, forbidding it from opening.

Across the street is a smaller building, the sign out in front iced over obscuring the words, glancing in through the windows, Minerva spots a small office in one of the rooms.

“That’s the marshals station, right now there’s just me and my deputy with barely enough firepower to stop a mugging… I’m hopeful that you can remedy that Administrator…” she says, tossing a sideways glance towards Minerva.

“Would funding not be the responsibility of the CMB..?” It was Minerva’s understanding that the only obligation the company has to the colonial marshals is the construction of the requisite stations within Weyland-Yutani colonies.

“This far from the core systems and with such low population, we’re kinda at the bottom of the list when it comes to funding… I wouldn’t expect much to come out the Bureau…” she says, her voice tinged with frustration.

“I’ll keep that in mind Sheriff…” further down the street they come upon another pair of buildings, beside the marshals office rests a clinic, that even Minerva can identify from outside.

A large sight rests out front, the letters jutting out from the signs allowing it to be legible even through the snowdrift, clearly denoting the small, boxy building as the ‘Paradiso Clinic’.

“Here we’ve got a clinic, if doc Coolidge is around, he can patch you up fine…” says Monique, gesturing to the pressurized doors to the clinic.

“If..? Does he keep irregular hours…?” Inquires Minerva as she turns to the sheriff.

“He’s the only doctor we got, he can’t work 24/7… everybody’s gotta sleep eventually…” that’s strange, typically clinics have 1 or 2 synthetics on standby for when the proper physicians are unavailable.

Across the street is a large building, not tall but sprawling, no windows visible anywhere on the structure, no ornamentation to denote it as anything other than miscellaneous building.

“Thats the dormitory… they’re not nice but they got everything you need to get a nights sleep after work… I believe you’re stationed at room 28…” she says, her tone indicating that she memorized it ahead of time.

Finally the two reach the end of the road, finding the largest building in the colony, outpacing the warehouse in total height and the dormitory in ground coverage.

“This is the command center, in there you’ll find your office, monitoring room, comm room, more or less everything you’ll need… I’ll show you to your office.” She says as she approaches the front door, using a panel by the door, causing it to slide open with a pneumatic hiss.

The pair step inside, closing the air lock before they strip off their suits, Minerva finally begging able to stretch her limbs without the restrictive suit. And allowing her to see her tour guide with clearer detail.

Sheriff Salazar is built like a marine, it wouldn’t surprise Minerva to hear that she’s a veteran, her body muscled and toned, beneath her suit she wears a baggy pants and a tank top, further displaying her sculpted physique.

The airlock opens as oxygen is pumped into the room, granting the sheriff and administrator access to the proper complex. It isn’t long before they find another face occupying the halls.

He’s a young man, younger than Minerva even, boyish features, not a hint of facial hair in sight, he wears a windbreaker with the colonial marshals logo on the breast.

“Hey chief, who’s this..? New comms tech?” He asks, an easy smile on his face as he gives Minerva a once over.

Sheriff Salazar is about to answer when Minerva beats her to it. “Minerva Chambers… Administrator.” For a split second a look of horror crosses the young man’s face, like he might be shot at any moment.

He jumps to attention, saluting as though he were in the corps addressing a superior officer. “Deputy Randy Ellison, ma’m..!”

“Randy you don’t have to salute the administrator..” says Salazar with a sigh causing the boy to relax a bit though clearly still on edge.

“Oh.. um.. right… sorry… I uh… I helped Ms Halsin settle her things, just like you said…” he watches Minerva out of the corner of his eye as he speaks to Salazar like he’s staring at a wild animal that will pounce him the moment he takes his eyes away.

“Good, you’re dismissed Deputy, I’ll meet you back at the station in a few.” Says Salazar, bidding the deputy depart leaving the two alone in the cold corridor.

The two continue down the hall until its end, a lift, large enough for a few dozen people to pile in. Monique approaches the control panel and of the three floors she picks the top, prompting the lift to groan and creak as the two are raised up, passing over the second floor and coming to a stop at the highest floor.

There doesn’t appear to be much on this floor other than the Administrator’s office making the 3rd floor more of a spire that grants unobscured view over the entire colony.

However to reach the Administrator’s office, one must bypass reception, outside the door to her new office sits a young woman, black hair and blue eyes typing away at a terminal, upon the lift making a telltale ding, the young woman’s eyes flick upwards, rising from her seat.

“Oh Administrator Chambers! I’m Colette Halsin, your new assistant… may I say I’m honored to be working with you!” Her attempts at brown nosing are obvious, and judging by the way she’s batting her eyelashes at Minerva, compliments are far from the full extent of her manipulations.

“Yes well… I’m quite eager to sit down and get to work… if you’ll excuse me..?” Says Minerva with a polite smile as she makes a break towards her office.

The doors open with a hiss, giving way to her office, she finally has an office! With a receptionist! It’s not glamorous, the only decoration in the room is a small, sad looking sun flower, likely pulled from the hydroponics farm wherever the hell that is.

But now as she sinks into her chair, she takes a moment, leaning back and simply soaking it in, this is it, she’s got her own little domain like the queens of old, all she needs to do is keep the lights on and food on the table, if she can do that then she could carve out one hell of a career out here.

The phone ringing is what breaks her from her thoughts, with a sigh she focuses her mind to her present task.

Grabbing the receiver she holds it to her ear, filtering through is the voice of Colette, Minerva’s new assistant.

“Administrator’s Chambers..? I have Director Morrison on the line, can I patch you through..?” It’s phrased as a question though Minerva knows good and well that this is no mere request.

“Go ahead, Colette.” She says, eyes closed, summoning up all her courage as a small click sounds through the phones, moments later she hears the voice of her supervisor.

“Chambers? This is Morrison, you work for me now, that means you don’t get to fuck up anymore, you’re a long way from the core systems, if you fuck up out here, you don’t get transferred, you don’t get fired, you’re done, you understand me?” This is shocking to hear, not because her life is on the line but the fact the director is so brazen about it.

In Minerva’s previous experience in the corporate world, threats are ornamental, hidden behind several layers of plausible deniability and open to interpretation, this? This is a direct, clear threat upon her life.

“O.. of course ma’m, I won’t let you down…” she says, Minerva feeling smaller then she had when she had been chewed out by Mendez’s superiors.

“Good… now, I’ve been granted a small fund by corporate, enough to get your colony off the ground but this is all you get for free, anything more then that, you gotta work for it, yeah..?” The director states, her tone imperious as it had been when she delivered threats.

“O.. of course ma’m, I understand… what exactly can I do to earn more funding…?” Minerva had been told very little about her new posting, she knew she’d manage a shake and bake colony, she knew she’d be answering to Director Morrison who’s stationed aboard a space station somewhere in the station, but beyond that, she knew very little.

“Fucks sake, they told you nothing did they…?” Irritation is clear in her voice, Minerva can hear the woman rubbing her temples, fighting an encroaching migraine.

“Listen, your job is simple, you got yourself an atmospheric processor in that colony of yours, you also have people who know how to use it, you’ll get funding when you make progress in terraforming the planet, I’ll ALSO pay you for any valuable resources you find, minerals, natural gasses, valuable creatures, whatever, if it’s worth some money I’ll pay you for the find.”

Her words border on monotone as though she’s given this same orientation a dozen times before now and will have to do it many more times in the future.

“I see… and how much funding can I expect..?” Inquires Minerva, curious how much wiggle-room she has to work with.

“Right now I’ve been approved to grant you 10,000 credits for the purposes of development, maintenance and construction of the colony, trust me, it won’t last long in this business.” It’s fortunate Minerva wasn't eating at the time otherwise she may have choked.

10,000 credits, more then Minerva had ever seen before and now it’s hers to spend on anything from furniture to infrastructure, better food or androids.

“I… I.. I see… and how much do I stand to gain from biosphere progress and discoveries..?” It’s difficult to stop herself from stumbling over her words.

“Right now the planets habitability is at 0% it’s categorically a **** sentence to walk across the surface without a suit, however I can pay 1,000 credits for every 5% of habitability you achieve, as for your finds, that depends on how valuable they are to the company.

“Now, of you have no further questions I have other colonies to manage, good day Administrator.” And with that there’s a long click, the Director has hung up the phone, leaving Minerva to cope with her new responsibilities and privileges.