Wake stared out across the jagged, snow-covered peaks of Traynos-6, his gray eyes taking in the panoramic vista far below. He found the barren landscape comforting. The bleakness helped him forget.
He felt responsible and knew the deaths were his fault. When he inadvertently looked in the direction of the accident site, his mind tried not to recognize the familiar landmarks.
“Wake!” a friendly voice said, breaking him from his reverie. He turned to face the hatch accessing this small perch on the side of the great mountain. Raimos, his superior officer, stood in the entryway.
“Oh—hey,” Wake replied, distracted and lacking enthusiasm.
“It's almost time for third meal,” Raimos said. “Just wanted to make sure you didn't forget to eat, like earlier today.”
“I'm not hungry. Maybe I'll get something later.” Wake turned back to the desolate vista. He knew Raimos wanted to help, but he needed to be left alone, needed time to think.
“Well... OK,” Raimos responded after a brief pause. “Look, I know you're torn up about the miners, but they were just
miners. They signed up for duty here and were compensated well for taking that risk. They knew the dangers, and they still came to Traynos-6.”
“You don't think I know that?” Wake shot back. After a brief pause he continued, but this time his voice was softer, more conversational. “I understand they knew what it was like here. What they didn't realize was there would be danger in using an Ashamine built structure.”
Raimos didn't say anything for a while, his gaze fixed on the mountains. “There is something I need to tell you,” he said finally, tone becoming official. “I was going to wait until you recovered from the shock a bit more, but the Elder Council moved quicker than I anticipated. I've done all I can to block it, but it didn’t help. They are going to put you on trial for the accident. So, you need to pull yourself out of this slump and start figuring out how to defend yourself at the hearing.”
Wake felt like he’d been punched in the gut. A flood of new emotions merged with what he’d been dealing with earlier. His stomach became a rancid cocktail of grief, remorse, and helplessness. A fleeting sense of suspicion played across his mind, but Raimos resumed speaking before he could explore further.
“Anyway, I'll keep doing all I can to terminate the trial. It may or may not help, but I'll do my best.” Wake smiled weakly at his friend, feeling gratitude. “Oh, one more thing: Orders came through not to reopen the incident area. I don't know why, but Command says we aren’t to reestablish it.” He gave Wake a moment or two to respond. When he didn't reply, Raimos continued, leaving the deck as he spoke, “Wake, pull yourself out of this blightheart. Grief is one thing, but beating yourself up is another. It was an accident. Come down and get something to eat. You’ll think and feel better with a full stomach.”
Wake sighed heavily, his breath misting even though the observation perch was climate controlled. The exterior air was so frigid it was hard to keep the windowed room above freezing. He tried once again to lose himself in the barren
landscape, but after a few minutes, he realized it wasn't going to happen. Raimos' revelation had pushed him over an unknown edge. Now it was impossible to not
think. Wake decided he had to reason it out, had to find a better way to deal with his grief and guilt. Maybe it was time to quit mourning and start processing. He felt his attitude shift.
The twelve miners had died on a structure Wake was charged with maintaining. That would mean the Ashamine would hold him liable. He hadn't anticipated the trial though. These types of accidents aren't that
rare.
With an empire as big as the Ashamine, things went wrong regularly. But I’ve never heard of a trial, not without extreme negligence, which I obviously didn’t do.
Also out of character for the Ashamine was the decision not to reopen the affected mining area. Wake didn't know much about mining operations here on Traynos-6, but he had heard the now-closed area contained some of the richest frozen gas deposits on the planet. Why would they abandon it?
His mind drifted back to the events leading up to the accident. He recalled typing a report that used the words “unsuitable for use” and “obvious manufacturing defects” in reference to the materials he’d ordered for bridge repairs. The reply had been: “Requested material was inspected before and after shipment. No flaws found. New materials will not be sent. Use previously shipped materials.” He had up-channeled more reports and requests, but each time he did so, increasingly strong orders came down to use the parts. In the end, he had been forced to do so.
Am I sure it was the bad parts that caused the failure?
Wake thought about the plans, maintenance schedule, and memories of time spent on site. His workmanship had been good, he was certain of that. It had to be the materials!
Then a new thought, something buried deep in his mind, rose to the surface. Why did they force me to use faulty parts? Why didn't they just send new ones like procedure dictates?
His sense of unease
rose as he thought about the implications.
Wake had been raised to be devoted to the Ashamine. All the meetings, rallies, and his time in Youth Core had showed him just how great the human interplanetary government was. His parents were diplomats and had wanted Wake to follow their path. They’d sent him to several elite schools in preparation for his “great service”, as they had put it. But Wake didn't want to be a government functionary, going to formal events and maneuvering for political power. He wanted to make a real difference by helping people and making their lives better. So Wake rebelled against his parents and enlisted with the Engineering and Building Division.
“We are extremely disappointed in you,” his mother had seethed the day she found out. “You were meant for bigger things. Building colonies? You're wasting your potential and everything we invested in you. You could do so much more for the Ashamine!”
He had been with the Engineering and Building Division for six years now, and his parents hadn't contacted him since he’d left home. He knew initially they had been shunning him with the hope he would change career paths. As time passed however, they’d forgotten him in their fervor for the Founder and the Entho-la-ah-mine war.
When Wake had first left home, his devotion to the Ashamine had equaled that of his parents. Once out in the real world however, he had seen many things that had caused him to rethink his absolute faith in the government of humankind. Not that he was ready to forsake the Ashamine—or even wanted to—but he felt he had a more balanced view now. He was still impressed by the Founder, holding a deep conviction that he was a great man and faithfully did what he could to help humankind advance in the Akked Galaxy.
Slowly, thoughts about the building materials returned. Am I being set up?
The prospect of a trial was adding a new crack in
his weakening faith in the Ashamine. He was truly sad the miners had died and wouldn't duck responsibility for his workmanship. I won’t take the blame for careless manufacturing, inspection, or shipping, though,
he thought. I won’t go down for a crooked bureaucrat's gain.
Raimos would do his best to stop it, but Wake knew the trial was inevitable. If they tried him justly, based on his maintenance of the structure, he would keep his faith in the colossal government. Otherwise...
Well, if it was handled unfairly, he would fight against the injustice as hard as he could.