Corpo Age

Chapter 221: Dockworkers

Zackery - Astro Forge

An alarm rang out at exactly four in the morning, rousing Zackery awake. He was a man in his late thirties who had a full beard. As he struggled to freshen up, he mechanically went through his morning routine in a rush.

Time was a luxury that most dockworkers like him didn’t have. Once he had cleaned up, he rushed out of his little one-room apartment toward the bus stop. While his employer offered shuttle bus services to their employees for free, it wouldn’t wait for even an extra second if he was late.

Before he made it too far from his home, he could hear his wife shouting after him.

“Have a good day!”

Turning back with a grin, Zackery waved and continued running in the other direction at the same time.

He soon made it out of the sidestreets where his place was and arrived at his company’s bus stop. Once out onto the main road, he noticed an altercation taking place further down the street. Some man with a dark green cyberarm was dragging a poor woman away. The woman tried her best to struggle, holding on to dear life on anything her hands could reach, but the man proved too strong.

Numerous onlookers were present, but none of them cared. Zachery recognized a few familiar faces who simply walked around the incident, minding their own business. He didn’t blame them, as he would do the same thing. Getting involved in other people’s business was the shortcut to trouble.

Many experienced dockworkers like him knew to turn a blind eye to everything that didn’t involve them. It was their open secret to living a peaceful life. After all, people like him had a family waiting for them back home. They were expected to bring back the bread, not problems.

Dozens of workers soon boarded their transport, and just blinked blankly as they watched the woman being dragged away into some alley.

It wasn’t that uncommon, but it was enough to make good gossip during lunch. Very soon, their bus sped far away from the city as the workers prepared to face the new day.

No one spoke to each other, as everyone had their own routine. Some listened to music, some browsed the news, and some played mobile games. The silence lasted all the way until they arrived at their workplace, Port GX, where stacks of shipping containers covered as far as the eyes could see.

They quickly passed through security, heading into the building, where they dispersed into their own departments. For Zackery, he was part of a team that controlled one of the many exterior cranes that helped load things to and from the many spaceships.

He entered his usual dressing room and quickly got into his spacesuit. Just as he was zipping up, his teammates arrived. Many of them nodded at him before they went on to get dressed themselves. One of the men walked right up to the locker next to Zackery’s and began chatting him up as he got changed.

“Morning, Zack. You’re the first one to arrive yet again!”

“It’s just how the buses are scheduled. Either I arrive a little early or very late. Not exactly a choice.”

“Haha, well, I’m looking forward to working with you again. Or should I say, looking out for me again?”

“Everyone’s been new at one point. Just pass the torch along when the time comes.”

The two men chatted merrily for a few more minutes before they walked out to the airlocks. Their cheerful expressions instantly turned stoic as they marched to their stations. It was a huge contrast to all the chatter in the changing room earlier, and if one didn’t know the reason, one would assume the employees were just that serious about their work.

The real reason, however, was that their company forbade them from chatting while on the clock. There were exceptions, such as when the role required communicating, but most of the time, they weren’t allowed to open any communication channels.

Instead, Zackery had his SAID play one of his saved podcasts. He didn’t listen to it for long as everyone in his team assembled. Though called a team, he was only really working with one partner while another managed a dozen cranes on his side of the berth. As luck would have it, his partner for the day was the same man who he had conversed with in the changing room.

Zackery got inside a room that was more like a cockpit, while the figure of his partner floated out into space. A call was soon automatically established between them.

“And we’re back! So how is your kid doing? Going to school, yet?”

“He’s still too young. Our company’s boarding schools don’t start until they’re six.”

“Oh, I thought they started much earlier than that.”

“That’s for children of executives. Different curriculum. Anyway, you’re heading the wrong way. The hatch on that ship is directly below you, toward your feet, not above. Pitch down ninety degrees to align with it.”

“Oh, haha. First time seeing this model of cargo ship. I got it!”

Zackery could only shake his head at the rookie fumbling about. At the same time, he was glad he was in a position to be able to guide him. He couldn’t count the number of times rookies were assigned to solo roles, and he would spot them making the dumbest mistakes from afar. Some of these mistakes had even cost their lives, but he had no way of communicating with them.

Seeing it wasn’t the case today, Zackery gave plenty of commands to his coworkers, guiding him on how to unlock the mechanism locking the shipping containers in place. Then, his work began, as he manipulated the crane to bring them where the controller directed.

It was a job he could easily do with his eyes closed, but he would never do something as foolish as actually closing his eyes. His partner outside depended on them. If any loose debris came flying over from some other station, the people working outside could easily get killed. The company didn’t care about such accidents, so he was going to have to be the one to protect his partner.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

With his experience, they finished just before lunch, so they earned the ability to get first dibs at the cafeteria.

The two returned to the main building at the docks and rushed over as soon as they got changed. With virtually no one else in the dining hall, they quickly went over to the dozens of vending machines to have their pick of lunch. Inside were dozens and dozens of flavors of nutrient packs to choose from.

“It’s the best working the same shift with you, Zack! I get to have my pick before the crowd gets here.”

“This is nothing compared to what you get if you surpass the performance targets. That’s when you get invited to a literal buffet that the middle management usually keeps to themselves.

As if having heard the two talk about them, a member of management entered the dining hall at this exact time. She made her way straight toward the only two men in the hall with a stern gaze.

“You two, work must be too easy if you’re relaxing here already. Or perhaps you’re slacking?”

The two dockworkers immediately stood up straight as a rod and saluted as if they were in the military.

“No, ma’am,” they responded in unison.

“The company spends so much to house and feed you guys. You should learn to be a little more grateful.”

Being one-sidedly berated, the rookie attempted to reason with his superior. As soon as he spoke, Zackery tried his best to signal for him to stop, but he unfortunately couldn’t see it. Zachery could only let the man make a fool of himself.

“Ma’am, with all due respect, we’ve completed our assigned work for the morning. We’re serious about our work!”

“Ha, if you were serious then you would’ve continued working until your teammates were done. Our company just suffered some major interruptions from that security incident just the other day. There’s more than enough work waiting for you to do. Seeing how you aren’t willing to use your body to help the company recover from the disruption, I’ll see to it that you donate a part of your pay to the cause.”

“Ma’am, that—”

“Thank you for your hard work, recruit. That is all.”

Not giving the man a chance to plead his case, the officer strode out of the room. As he left, the other dockworkers started to show up.

“Zack, can she just do that?!”

“I tried to warn you,” Zackery nodded. “Keep your head down if you want a peaceful life.”

“That’s outrageous! I should…”

“Should what? There isn’t anyone you can do, Cody. Don’t flatter yourself.”

“...I’ll find a job elsewhere then. I heard a few other companies even offer better pay.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Ha! Don’t say I didn’t warn you. In this business, the pay shouldn’t be the only thing you look at.”

“Then what?”

“Stability. Make sure you work for an established company that won’t easily go over, because when one does, the job market will be flooded. Trust me, it’s not something you want to experience.”

While Zackery was sharing his words of wisdom, numerous people began flooding the place as lunch was in full force. Huge lines formed before the vending machines, long enough that there were people standing next to Zackery and Cody at their table. One of these people at the back of the line had listened in to their conversation and suddenly sat down beside them.

“Excuse me boys, I happened to overhear your conversation and can’t help but join in. While what this old-timer says is mostly correct, there have been rumors going on lately about an up-and-coming corporation that everyone is dying to work for.”

“What?” Cody’s curiosity was instantly piqued while Zackery listened on skeptically.

“It’s not anything fishy. Many people saw it during the riot the other day. Some new corp in town helped resolve that situation before it got out of hand. People are saying they’re a company for the people!”

“Ha,” Zackery snickered. “For the people? Even if that were true, the other corporations would soon dismantle them. These ideal types show up every blue moon. The results are always the same.”

“Don’t draw conclusion so fast here, buddy. I know what you’re thinking. In fact, I used to think the same as you. However, this time, it’s different.

“Oh, different, how?”

“Credible news has been making their rounds. This new company is powerful enough to bear its fangs at our company and successfully too! They beat our security team up and then forced our bosses to sign some deal with them. They’re the real deal! I mean, our company is an old C-Class corporation, for goodness’ sake. They beat them down and reconciled within days. Our executives must be afraid of them for that to happen!”

“That may or may not be true, but that has nothing to do with us. It’s not enough to make me risk my stable life here,” Zackery answered with a shrug.

“That may be so if that was all there was to it, but I did a little research after hearing the rumors. I searched around and sure enough, this new company, the Halls Corporation, was hiring. Their listed pay and benefits are out of this world! It’s even stated employees only need to work six days a week!”

“What, really?!” Cody instantly drew closer to the man. “Do they have a lot of strict requirements or something? Or can someone like me get the job?”

“Cody, don’t jump the gun,” Zackery warned. “It could be fake promises for all we know. Things that are too good to be true are often scams. If it was such a good deal, this gentleman wouldn’t even be here anymore, and would’ve jumped ship already.”

Seeing how stubborn Zackery was, the stranger at the table shook his head.

“I’ve seen just as much as you have. I’m not dumb enough to believe in empty promises, but when those promises are verified by dozens of workers who already work for them, it’s hard for me not to get tempted. I even received many reports on how well the executives of this new company treat their employees.”

As much as Zackery was trying to deny the man’s claim, it couldn’t be helped that he was faltering.

“How reliable are your sources? Do you have any proof of these claims?”

“Ha, how do I even get something like that? Just know that they’re offering signing bonuses if large groups apply together, so that’s why I’m even sharing the results of all my research. If you’re still not convinced, then there isn’t much I can do. If you change your mind, go to Checky’s Club. The Halls Corporation sends recruiters around town every night, so you can try talking to them yourself. Just mention my name if you do go through with it. Oh, my name is Barry, by the way.”

“Zack, let’s go tonight!” Cody called out. “Doesn’t hurt to check it out, right?”

“Hmm, fine.”

After work, the two headed straight for the club due to Cody’s excitement. The establishment in question was already filled with guests when they arrived for some reason. It was a struggle for them to even order a drink with how overcrowded it was.

Just as they tried to get the bartender’s attention to inquire about the Halls Corporation recruiters, the lights in the place suddenly dimmed. A spotlight quickly turned on, drawing all of their attention to one man in the corner. Everyone’s eyes brightened upon seeing the man dressed in a typical corporate suit. They knew he was just who they were looking for.

The man didn’t waste his time while the attention was on him and quickly projected his voice across the club.

“Good evening everyone! My name is Rollo Halls.”