Chapter 42: Chapter 41: Sheer Insanity

“Are you sure this is the best idea, Alex? I don’t want you to get any more hurt than you already are.”

Alex shook his head and smiled. He was looking at a hologram of Jenna through his newly-activated P-com. It had only been five minutes since Commander Rooney of the VDF had asked him about whether he’d like to see the mines, and Alex had readily agreed. Before they left though, Rooney was going to grab two pulse rifles out of the arsenal, and Alex figured he’d test out his P-com by calling Jenna.

“It’s completely fine,” he assured her. “If I’m going to be in the VDF, I’m going to have to get used to going to the mining biosphere anyway. From the sounds of it, that’s where all the action is.”

Jenna bit her lip. “I still don’t like it that much, Alex. There are still bears out there, and even if you’ve managed to kill two of them, they’re still incredibly dangerous.”

Alex grinned. “So am I. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”

“Please do. Come home soon.”

The transmission ended right as Rooney walked into the room carrying two pulse rifles, one strapped to each shoulder as well as a helmet and some armor.

“That your wife?” asked Rooney, gesturing to his P-com.

“My companion,” replied Alex.

“Oh, I see,” said Rooney, shaking his head and chuckling. “All of you newbies have ‘companions’ instead of wives. Personally, I’m not sure what the difference is. Aren’t they the same thing?”

“It feels that way,” answered Alex. “But I think the companions are eventually supposed to become our wives, at least in Vestan custom.”

Rooney grunted and handed over the helmet and the armor. It took Alex a few moments to get situated, finding that this armor wasn’t too different from what he used back on the orbital ring. The pulse rifle was definitely familiar though.

“You know how to shoot a Tigwalt4 Rifle, right?”

Alex smiled while taking the rifle and slinging it over his shoulder. “I’m pretty familiar with it. It was our primary weapon during the Orbital Wars. I had to put one too many punks down with it.”

“Except in Vesta, you’ll be putting down bears, although you might find a reason to put down a punk or two here,” added Rooney. “Anyway, follow me this way.”

Rooney led Alex through the rest of Biosphere Five until they came to a covered walkway that led away from the city instead of going to another biosphere. This walkway didn’t look as sleek or as modern as the others. In fact, it looked like it was thrown up quite hastily.

Alex could see that if they kept following the path of this walkway, it would lead them straight to the foothills, which were across a broad plain just outside the city. However, it became quickly apparent that the walkway only went so far. They reached the end of it a short distance outside the city, where a makeshift garage had been erected, guarded by reinforced blast doors.

“We don’t have the luxury of a covered walkway all the way to the mining biosphere,” explained Rooney. “Although we are building one, it’s taking a considerable amount of time. Speaking frankly, the bears keep snatching the workers. For now though, we use rovers to take us between the city and the mining biosphere. It’s a hell of a lot quicker than walking.”

Rooney opened up the garage door, showing off smaller four-wheeled vehicles that looked like something that would be called a jeep centuries ago. There was enough room for four passengers and there was a mounted pulse rifle in the back that could be used defensively. While quite handy in most situations, Alex saw that there wasn’t much in the way of protection for the riders.

“Do bears still attack these rovers?” asked Alex.

“They do, when they are feeling particularly vicious,” answered Rooney. “Just last month, we lost one completely, as well as the four men who’d been inside it.”

“If that’s the case, why don’t we use crawlers to go back and forth?” asked Alex. “Seems like they have much more protection and I think the bears wouldn’t be so inclined to mess with them.”

“We have a limited number of crawlers and by the order of the Vestan Council, we aren’t permitted to use them for shuttle service,” said Rooney, making a face that told Alex he heartily disagreed with that particular order.

“That’s incredibly stupid for a colony that’s bleeding population like Vesta,” replied Alex.

Rooney sighed. “There’s a lot of stupid things going on here, Alex. Believe me, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. For now, let’s hop in and get moving. I’ll grab someone to man the pulse rifle while we ride.”

It only took less than three minutes to find another VDF member to man the gun while Rooney opened the blast doors. Alex had to put his breather on at that point while they were confronted with the Vestan atmosphere. Despite the threat outside, it looked oddly peaceful once they were out in the wild.

Finally, Rooney turned to face Alex. He had a smirk on his lips.

“You’re not going to cry on me, are you? The last two men that I introduced to the mines started crying before we even got there.”

Alex started to laugh. “Of all the shit I’ve seen in my life, this ranks up there with some of the mild stuff. Hit the gas and let’s move.”

“I like you already, Hawthorne. I think you’re going to fit in well here.”

With that statement, Rooney wasted no time in putting the pedal down. The rover shot out of the garage like a rocket out of a launcher. Alex was pushed back in his seat as they started to cruise toward the foothills.

You are reading story Starfinder: Guardian of Vesta at novel35.com

“One day, we’ll have this damn walkway covered entirely,” said Rooney as he drove. “And then this whole detail can be put toward something more useful. It’s the biggest crime that they started work on it too late, after the bears took away a good portion of our manpower. But then again, things don’t exactly move quickly here in Vesta.”

The road let them on a straight shot directly to the foothills but Alex couldn’t help but notice the nearby surroundings of the road. No matter where he looked, he saw the openness of the plain, without a single man-made watchtower or fortress.

“I can’t help but notice this road is completely exposed and open,” said Alex. “You said bear attacks happen on this road all the time?”

“All the goddamn time,” confirmed Rooney with a grunt. “Those bears are too fast. We almost never see them coming even when they do attack.”

“So why not make this whole area more secure?” asked Alex. “Why don’t I see watchtowers or pillboxes on either side of the road, a good several hundred meters out? They could give advanced warning to any threats and possibly neutralize it long before it hit the road. If you give them enough men on watch, they could make this area a whole lot safer.”

Rooney swore under his breath. “Already asked for that. They already turned me down.”

“Who? The Council?”

Rooney gave him a pointed look. “You should learn that when you’re talking about the Council, I’m talking about Belladonna and Cassara. Those two are the real power in this city. And yes, that’s exactly what I meant. I proposed the same thing to them and they turned it down. According to them, it takes money that we don’t have.” Rooney shook his head. “We’d have the money if Belladonna wasn’t so freehanded with it.”

“It wouldn’t take that much money to create the watchtowers,” argued Alex. “Once they were in place, they wouldn’t need much except for basic upkeep.”

“No, but they would need regular manpower and Belladonna argued that with our manpower levels in the VDF being so drained, it’s not a good use of the men we have. At least she’s partially right about that but with all you newbies here, we should be able to fill out the ranks of the VDF once more.”

The rover started to close the distance and the front soon angled upward as they entered the hilly terrain of the foothills. Soon the plain melted away only to be filled with rocky and rolling land as far as Alex could see. Coming from the direction of the mining biosphere, they passed another rover going back to the city, this one occupied by two VDF members—the driver and the rifleman—as well as three miners who looked entirely exhausted.

“First shift must be over now,” said Rooney, nodding toward the passing rover. “We might see another rover or two before we get there. This shuttle service is a drain on manpower that I could better use elsewhere.”

That brought another question to Alex’s mind.

“So why not use women?”

Rooney grunted again. “Tried that too. They turned it down too.”

“For what reason?”

“Belladonna and Cassara might be open-minded enough to accept the polygamy that we have in Vesta but that doesn’t extend toward what they consider as traditional roles for women. In short, they believe women have no place in the army, and it’s our primary duty as men to protect them. As long as there was one man in Vesta capable of bearing arms, he would be the only member of the VDF and they still wouldn’t consider opening it up to women.”

“Sheer insanity,” said Alex, shaking his head. “A woman can fire a rifle just as accurately as a man can. With Vesta’s population problem, I would think that’s the easiest way to get more people into the ranks.”

“You would think so but she doesn’t,” said Rooney. “And what Belladonna thinks, goes. Are you noticing a trend yet?”

“Yeah, a disturbing one,” grumbled Alex. He started to think of all the ways they would be hampered by a male-only VDF, especially if the bear attacks continued in their intensity. And even then, the new colonists would only be able to help so much before they too were brought down in number.

“Wait a minute, how does that explain Carla?” asked Alex. “She was part of the VDF patrol that brought me into Vesta. How is she still on the force?”

“Special exception,” replied Rooney. “Carla is one of only two women left in the VDF. All the others have been forcibly retired. You’ve probably noticed that Carla isn’t the most . . . feminine of women.”

Alex winced. Though Carla had a pleasant face, she was a little on the butch side, which was probably why she was still allowed.

“So was that on purpose or just a happy coincidence?” asked Alex.

“Purpose more than anything. Belladonna doesn’t give a rat’s ass if Carla fights because in her mind at least, Carla is closer to a man than she is a woman. It’s a distinction that’s on very shaky ground but such is the nature of what you get with Belladonna.”

“I’m beginning to wonder if coming here was the right thing,” muttered Alex. “This place sounds every bit as fucked up as Earth.”

Rooney snorted. “Never been to Earth so I couldn’t say but this is far from the harmonious and prosperous colony that it used to be billed as. Vesta has a mountain of troubles but the worst thing about it all? We have the intelligence to fix most of our problems. The issue is that no one wants to use that intelligence, especially when it comes to the VDF. Even in the best of times, the VDF is the red-headed stepchild. And now? We’re practically ostracized when we speak up. It doesn’t make for a pleasant working environment, especially for those that just signed up to defend all those people back in the city.”

“The VDF should be the first priority until we neutralize the bear threat,” said Alex. “Anything less than that is madness.”

“Well, welcome to Vesta,” said Rooney, smirking at him. “You’re just going to have to get used to it.”

“We’ll see about that,” muttered Alex, already thinking of a game plan.

You can find story with these keywords: Starfinder: Guardian of Vesta, Read Starfinder: Guardian of Vesta, Starfinder: Guardian of Vesta novel, Starfinder: Guardian of Vesta book, Starfinder: Guardian of Vesta story, Starfinder: Guardian of Vesta full, Starfinder: Guardian of Vesta Latest Chapter