Hailwood studied her people for a moment, making eye contact one by one. “Like the Supervisor said, on Donovan you have to face reality. Some of us are going to die. Doesn’t matter if it’s here at the Pod, or on the mainland at Corporate Mine. And if you are thinking of Port Authority, I would remind you that the day after we shipped out to the Pod, they had a quetzal raid where some of the beasts got inside the wire. Killed a couple of people.”

Casey Stoner called out, “This is not making us feel better, Michaela. I’ve got two kids here.” To emphasize her point, she lifted the blanket with two-month-old Saleen. “One way, I don’t want my kids growing up without a mom. Another, I don’t want to end up crying over their dead bodies or knowing that some thing killed and ate them. I thought we were past that when we got away from the Unreconciled.”

“Here, here,” Jaim Elvridge muttered.

Hailwood gave the woman a sagacious nod. “Fair enough. If you don’t want to do the work that you signed up for, that’s a contractual matter.” She turned. “Supervisor, are you willing to entertain any of my people who want to renegotiate their contracts?”

“According to Corporate contract law, they have that right,” Kalico agreed. “As the appointed Board Supervisor, I am vested with authority to reassign anyone under contract to a different occupation on an as-needed basis. Should any of your people wish to pursue that option, it will come as welcome news to a lot of my crew at Corporate Mine. I have people looking to advance from their current positions as kitchen help, sweeping floors, cleaning the bathrooms, working the fields, and some of the other chores. By stepping into those positions, your people will free mine for promotion.”

Tobi Ruto asked, “What about if we want to break contract? I heard about people at Port Authority who’d done that.”

“You remember the penalty clause?” Kalico asked. “You will be required to repay the entire cost of your transportation to Donovan as well as reimburse The Corporation for any training that you might have received at Corporate expense. The upside is that there’s wealth aplenty out in the bush. The downside is that soft meat rarely makes it more than a couple of hours before a quetzal, bem, slug, or thorncactus gets them. And remember, assuming you know how to survive alone out in the bush, Port Authority is a market economy. Your food, lodging, clothing, weapons, and drink have to be paid for in Port Authority SDRs. The last time you were there, Corporate Mine covered your costs. This time, you’ll be on your own.”