Crisis at Garmil's Gate - 05

Sir Ramsey and Sibley entered the office of the Mining Guild's master at Garmil's Gate, Master Miner Reed Iser. Aside from the crest of the guild, it was a plain--almost austere--room not unlike that of the monks of the many monastic military orders of the Church. The man sat behind a thick desk made from the native woods here. He stood up as the men entered.

"Welcome to Garmil's Gate, Sir Ramsey."

"Thank you, Master Iser." Sir Ramsy said, "This is my Sergeant-at-Arms, Sibley. He'll be accompanying me."

Iser eyed Sibley with a contemptuous look. "As you wish, Sir Ramsey." he said, and Iser walked out of the room. "Follow me. We shall begin the tour immediately."

Sibley leaned in to whisper as they turned to follow. "This will not end well."

"Have Creton at the controls and tell him to stand by." Sir Ramsey whispered, "Our presence will spark an explosion, forcing the schemes to come out against us."

* * * * *

The three of them walked down the hall and towards the storehouse. "My mandate is to keep production going. This sector of the galaxy relies heavily on the raw ore mined here, as the concentration of rare elements required in vital technologies is greater than in many other worlds held by House Far and its vassals."

Outside, worker mecha move massive containers of ore from the vast open pit into bulk freight modules for lifting into orbit via the beanstalk elevator several miles away.

"The reports also mention the working conditions here." Sir Ramsay said, "To the point where they are listed as 'consumables'."

"The Guild struck contracts generations ago to take condemned men and employ them as laborers for the duration of their sentence. It is not surprising to find criminals chafing at their shackles."

"Yet a criminal is intended to complete his sentence. That is why wardens punish prisoners who do violence to others, and by such agreements the Guild becomes the warden for these prisoners."

Sibley kept his eyes looking about them as they followed Master Iser. The security presence thinned as they left the Administration area and into the working spaces outside. He leaned in. "We are surely being lead into a trap."

"Agreed." Sir Ramsay said, whispering, "Let's reverse this game."

"Let's leave the details of this situation for after we escape." Sibley said as he continued to look about them, "I think that our enemies will make their intentions and objectives clear once they come for our lives."

* * * * *

Creton sat ready at the controls of the Baden-Powell when he saw an alert come up on the viewscreen. he punched it up, and the screen showed a massive convoy of worker mecha with men riding atop coming out from the mine pit and advancing on the Guild's complex. Soon some of them split off to the elevator.

"Father said I should watch for a surprise attack." Creton said, talking to himself and he zoomed in on the convoy. The men, attired as workers, had weapons--rifles--in hand and the mecha had cannons and rockets bolted on to their frames. "I think that's an attack coming."

Creaton pushed the alert to his father and Sir Ramsey, and began takeoff procedures. "Father was right, again."