On the Rim, Ch 9: Cole's Busy Day
Story by comidacomida on SoFurry
Welcome to the ninth post of "On the Rim", a short story series based on a game I am playing called "Rim World". Rim World is a really cool indie game that accommodates an amazing array of mods that allow me to create a setting very similar to my story world in which several of my stories take place including "Fathom's Phantoms", "The Farlight Initiative", an "Paid in Kind".
it seems that Cole is rapidly becoming a reader favorite; he was selected to be the focus of this post. Busy as always, Cole fills his day with checking items off of the list the Overseer gave him and, once his day was near and end, found additional ways to stay busy and overhear some discussions at the same time. At this point, we will have to decide who we'll look in on as the next day unfolds. Here are the options:
a) The Overseer handles integrating an unexpected survivor from The Venture into the group when he comes calling and then deals with an incursion into the cave from some burrowing bugs.
b) The Captain sees the visitors off in the morning, deals with a new set of unexpected ones, then rescues Duct-Tape from insects when they burrow into his room.
c) Grizz spends some time getting to know the new additions to the group and, later, joins in on a fight to protect the survivors from an insect attack.
d) Doc looks over a new addition to the team and then oversees the healing of several members of the group after an attack on the cave systems by a huge mass of insects.
e) Missy spends more time out in the wilds but is back in time to help rescue Duct-Tape from a bunch of insects. Although Roscoe helps, there is a great sacrifice made.
Voting won't be available long and no, the decision won't change the events of the story, just how they're presented along with who we get to learn more about via their point of view.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy "On the Rim"!
On the Rim, Ch 9: Cole's Busy Day
2019 copyright comidacomida
The day without the security detail was surprisingly uneventful, which suited Cole just fine. The medical room was, according to Dr. Zimmerman, 'officially' complete, which opened the Stallion to continue down the list of demands that Overseer Simpson had planned. With only three residents in the cave system he didn't see anyone else for most of his day right up until dinner and, shortly thereafter, the others returned, with one new addition to the group.
The Badger, who looked none the worse for wear, had apparently been kept prisoner for the better part of a week. He was introduced as Sean Badger but reaffirmed that he was used to going by "Claw'. By Cole's best guess, the newcomer looked like he was probably about the Captain's age and also his build. The Badger's thick fur was deep brown with white highlights, and, despite having been a prisoner, looked as though it was well kept.
Claw, Cole learned, had been on the same DRC ship as Duct-Tape when it too had been attacked by pirates. Based on the explanation it sounded as though Claw had spent the last twenty-ish years among the same settlement as the folks who had visited the prior night. That brought up what seemed to the Stallion to be an obvious question, which he asked as soon as there was a lull in the conversation "Now that you're free, are you going back?"
The newcomer glanced his way, leaning back in the chair at the communal table they shared and let out a snort. "That eager to be rid a me, huh?"
It was stated in so forward and gruff a manner that Cole couldn't help but worry that perhaps the man was serious but, a moment later he caught sight of Duct-Tape's tail swishing and only then did he realize that the Badger was in possession of a dry humor. Rather than have to figure out a response, Cole was saved by the Overseer, who encouraged everyone to get some sleep; the rescue team had brought back a decent amount of salvage and that meant a day of checking what was usable. Cole went to bed right away to put some distance between himself and the newcomer just so he could take the time to get some perspective.
In the morning the Stallion was indeed put right to work, as expected. One of the items the Overseer had the foresight to have installed was a mechanical bench hooked up to the power grid; it was designed to help disassemble and reassemble clothing for either repairing or repurposing, and that was the Stallion's first task. The stack of what he was to go through was almost as large as the workbench itself; between what the group had taken off of the lizards and the people holding Claw as a prisoner his morning was dedicated to the mending station.
Right around noon the security team responded to a call from Missy, who announced that some strangers had arrived and that they were tribals. Captain Archie seemed concerned and grabbed his gun as he rushed past Cole calling over his shoulder "If you hear shooting get the Overseer and Doctor to safety. Be prepared to get to your spot by the door."
The Stallion was ready in an instant, checking his gun and ready to peek out the door. When he did so, however, he was relieved to see that the group arriving appeared to be peaceful. Duct-Tape and Claw were talking with them and, as they did so, gestured to the security officers. When no fighting broke out, Cole took that as a good sign and returned to work, selecting the smelter as his next choice of task; a large amount of metal had been pooling in a scrap heap he'd started outside the cave and it was time to turn it into something useful.
It was early afternoon when the tribals left, but not before exchanging some trade items with the group. Based on some deals managed by the Overseer, they gave up some of the spare cloth and furs Cole had salvaged from the unused tribal garb and, in exchange, their supplies of usable metals grew, along with a collection of dried meats and what looked like trail mix. All in all, Cole couldn't argue with the successful business.
As it turned out, the tribe that the security team had attacked the prior day was actually an opposing village from the ones who had visited. The outpost the group raided had been created with the purpose of attacking the surrounding area, and that included the group that had come peacefully to speak with the survivors. What unsettled Cole, however, was that the visitors somehow knew that the group was involved with that-- were that the case, how likely was it that the people that the security team attacked knew it too? Shaking his head, the Horse pushed the thought out of his mind; such concerns were above his pay grade.
The Stallion kept his nose to the grind stone, spending the rest of the afternoon smelting metals and processing some of the ores he'd helped mine the prior day; Cole had taken some basic training in repurposing scrap but he never realized it'd come in so useful. Grizz and Missy brought additional ore to him as he was finishing up for the evening but he resolved to save that for the following day especially since, for the second time that day, additional visitors arrived and, again, the security team went through their standard precautions. Fortunately, once again, the concern was unneeded.
Since Cole's work was essentially done for the day and, once it was determined that the visitors meant no trouble he spent his time cleaning up some of the slag and rubble around the front of the cave as the two visitors chatted with the Overseer and the two security officers. It allowed him to listen in, and he was thankful for the opportunity.
The newcomers were only two in number: an older Donkey Gen and a middle-aged Fox Gen. There was some confusion at first as to why they had come, especially since they seemed to know exactly where the Relegra Corp survivors were. After an initial exchange of information, Cole overheard that the two were from a peaceful outer rim settlement of unaffilated zeroed colonists the two ladies referred to as 'The Refuge'.
The Donkey, introduced as Rebecca, spent her time providing some basic information about the surrounding area; apparently the group's escape shuttle landed in a relatively unsettled area of the planet but it was also almost equidistant between six different groups; three of them were friendly while a pirate outpost and two tribal villages were not. The prospect didn't appeal much to Cole but he kept his distance and settled for overhearing what he could. As the afternoon turned toward evening he was called into the cave to help Missy and Doc with getting food from the ice cold storage room.
By the time the Stallion's part in the food prep was done it had already started getting dark outside and the two visitors had been brought into the cave, where they sat with the Overseer and the Captain at the table; the conversation continued. The Fox, a no-nonsense woman named Wila served as Rebecca's caretaker. Apparently Rebecca was one of the first zeroed colonists to arrive on the planet and she was something of a minor celebrity among the settlements; all of them accepted her as a guest and, according to the Donkey noted that by doing so as well the group was well on their way to positive relations with the other groups on the continent. The conversation slowed as the meals arrived.
Surprisingly, nobody said a negative word when the visitors were fed as if they were members of the group; Cole assumed it was a diplomatic move by Ms. Simpson to further welcome positive relations. The Stallion was not very familiar with the chess game that was business but he'd heard about similar moves before during corporate meetings. In the end, however, the meal was eaten in relative peace and plentiful casual conversation. Every member of the group was introduced to Rebecca and Wila; they recognized Claw, which was reaffirming.
As it got darker outside the discussion changed to plans the travelers had for the night; the Overseer casually mentioned that there was extra space in the cave complex and that it would be far safer than camping out in the wilderness. It took little more to convince them to stay and Rebecca graciously accepted. The Captain and Corporal shot a glance to one another; in Cole's mind he imagined they were probably planning out guard detail just in case the two women turned out to be something other than peaceful.
With those thoughts (and more) on his mind, Cole returned to his room. While still very unadorned, the young Horse had gone to the extra effort to spend some time smoothing out the walls of all bed chambers, at least giving them the illusion of appearing to be professionally crafted. If he hadn't dug them out himself, Cole might have even been convinced that the rooms
could have been some kind of imitation of a rustic getaway hotel out back in the core systems built to fleece the rich for a chance to be exposed to some nature. He managed to see the levity in the situation; the tank-bred Gen had never had a chance at anything upper class and, for about a week, he was surrounded by a millionaire's dream getaway package. Irony, he reasoned.