“Welcome to Donovan,” Kalico told her. She pointed at the UUV, where it rested on a cradle next to the cafeteria wall. After they made it back to the Pod without further incident, it had been Yoshimura who stepped down and noticed the UUV in its grapples. He’d walked over, stared at the plastic casing in disbelief.

So they’d wheeled it up here where everyone could examine it, see the etchings in the plastic where the “jellyfish” had chewed away at it.

“Didn’t expect that, either, did you?” Kalico asked gently. “Or to have the first UUV sheered into pieces. Granted, the exterior casing is plain old plastic, not sialon or steel, but it’s still pretty tough stuff. If Shinwua hadn’t been able to electrify the hull, we wouldn’t have brought that second UUV back either. And the jellyfish were closing for another attack even as we evacuated the drone.”

Michaela rubbed her hands together nervously. “Shin was such a part of us. I just feel stunned. Like this is all suddenly going sideways.”

“It’s Donovan, Director. You step back, you think, and adapt to the new reality. While stupidity is an immediate death sentence, losing hope or surrendering to despair pushes the inevitable back a couple of days. You end up just as dead. So, you with me when it comes to harsher measures? Or do we close this place down and evacuate everyone to Corporate Mine?”

“Corporate Mine? To do what?”

“I’ve got an unstable drift that’s way behind schedule. I can put your people on third shift. They’re smart enough to run mucking machines. Drills, packing shot holes, and shooting magtex will take a bit longer to learn. And there’s always ore sorting or logging details. Reactor maintenance. Cleaning the barracks. Upkeep on the haulers and equipment. No shortage of work, even in the garden. Some of your people could farm.”

Michaela took a deep breath. “With respect, Board Supervisor, we’ll consider that a last resort. So, what’s next in your book?”

“Dealing with reality.” Kalico stood from her chair, braced her arms on the table, and stared out at the room. It went immediately quiet. Not that there had been a lot of chatter to start with, just whispered conversation, mostly about Shinwua, and things they remembered or had shared with him. Mixed in among the looks of disbelief and loss were the periodic tears.

“All right, people,” she called. “We had a tough day. You’ve got more of them coming. So let’s take a look at what we’ve got.” She triggered her old Corporate implant, thankful it interfaced with the Pod’s system.

On the wall, the camera footage taken from the seatruck displayed as the lights dimmed. A couple of the infants cried out, only to be hushed by their parents.