A tall woman with black hair and a brown complexion gave her a professional smile.
“Betta Jane Reganta. It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I am Teena Maverick, your personal assistant and executive manager here on Betta’s Station. I’ve spent the last few months updating the station to your specifications.”
Betta raised a trembling hand and Teena took it without hesitation. She felt every nerve on her body was partially asleep, the tingling sensation shooting through her limps, though her brain was starting to catch up with Teena’s speech.
“I never asked,” Betta began hoarsely.
“Oh.” Teena reached for something outside her field of vision and handed her a cup of clear fluid. “The effects of such a long stasis will require a day or two before you start feeling… I guess the word is ‘normal.’ I’ve been up for three months now and I still don’t know ‘normal.’”
“What—?” Betta waved a hand at the cup.
“It’s a mix of amino acids, honey, fiber, electrolytes, an anti-nausea agent, and some thickening powder to help keep it all down.” Teena smiled wryly. “I assure you, it’s made to approved federal standards.”
Betta took the cup, nodding with what she could muster of gratitude. Even though her body felt light in the slight gravity, her muscles were weak as she lifted the cup to her face and took two quick gulps. It was sweet, and she was grateful for the thick consistency. It lingered over the dry interior that threatened to rub itself raw.
She nearly choked on a third swallow. Betta realized she was almost nude, only wearing a thin bra and a very thin set of briefs.
Teena leapt to action. “I could find a different mixture.”
“No… no,” Betta choked. “Clothes. I just…” Betta coughed again.
Teena was now clearly amused as she walked across the well-lit chamber that lay at the side of an expansive cargo hold. She pointed out a purple and grey one-piece complete with a belt and the insignia of a rotating planet. The outfit lay on a bench near the row of stasis pods. The insignia design was Betta’s own, and she’d applied it to all the employee uniforms before she stepped into stasis. Next to the one-piece were a set of light grey undergarments, though they bore no insignia or label to mark their brand.
Teena said, “You’ll be wanting a shower and some time in your compartment after we get the initial formalities out of the way. Unfortunately, they don’t drop stasis pods off where privacy can be maintained. I’ll give you a moment, Miss Reganta.”
“Thank you,” Betta said, less hoarsely. “I know you could have done this in front of all the executive staff. I didn’t think about how out-of-it I’d be when I first got here. I’ll get dressed and we can go through their little rituals before we really get to work.”
Teena’s smile lessened. She nodded her acknowledgement and walked through the sliding doors to wait in the corridor beyond.
Betta removed the light bra that seemed glued to her flesh. It made sense that they didn’t give you a lot of clothing to wear in the pods. The briefs she also removed and traded for the grey undergarments. She then eased on the flight suit and took a few more sips.
The thin material was a nano-mesh that also tracked her body’s temperature and any signs of physical distress. It also worked as a communication node that every employee would be equipped with as per her design. The belt came with a multitude of tools for interacting with select parts of the station. She could have used bio-readers or scanners, but they were far too expensive, and the marks left after her father’s investment into the station were not enough to do a complete overhaul.
After a few deep breaths and another sip of the liquid, Betta walked the length of the cargo hold to the sliding doors where Teena waited. The corridor was wider than she expected and seemed to go on for a full kilometer. Various doors and intersections led to other parts of the station. Every block that met an intersection had a panel on the wall so that visitors could interact with the computer presence provided by Pilo.
Teena said softly, “Are you feeling better? We can go by the infirmary if you feel you need a thorough checkout.”
“I’m sure Pilo would consider that a cost outside the initial onboarding?”
“You made it clear in all of your communications that cost was important, but the quality and the health of your employees was priority.”
Betta could tell that Teena was feeling her out. Sadly, Pilo preferred when companies that started from the roots failed as quickly as possible. Betta knew that people like Teena were there to help bring the journey to a swift conclusion no matter the direction. If profit from the new CEO was the only way, Teena would take her that route.
“You’ll have to bring me up to date. My mind feels a little not-quite-all-there. I know that I put you in charge of getting our systems up to date. Have you gotten any of the other employees out of stasis?” Betta asked.
“If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to your living quarters. We are on deck 6, corridor B currently. You will be on deck 7, corridor L, compartment number 716. I am 715 in case you have any issues. We won’t do a full tour until you’ve had time to rest, but there are authorizations that I will need from you to continue bringing the station online,” Teena said.
Teena walked with a steady pace down the corridor and Betta followed, attempting to match the confident strides of the older woman.
“In answer to your question, I have only brought employees online whose expertise was needed to setup or repair certain parts of the station. Everyone arrived in stasis. Gathering the necessary staff meant reaching out to many different sectors. It also required that we all operate on the same timeline.” Teena turned at one of the intersections as the lighting flared to life in darkened parts of the unused station. “That meant that some of us were up for a year or two, then back into stasis to await your arrival. We followed your orders to bring the station up to code.
“This station was abandoned shortly after it was built nearly a century ago. Though the certifications were up to date from regular maintenance, there were still some parts that were not on the usual inspector’s list. We’ve used what federal funds were available for maintenance or repair issues. However, there were a few improvements that were not covered. As such, you’ll notice there has been a slight decrease in your overall financial—”
“Slight decrease? Are you sugar-coating this? Am I in trouble?” Betta asked.
“No.” Teena paused. “I assure you, I do not… ‘sugar-coat.’ I have only spent around thirty-thousand marks.”
Betta waved for Teena to continue walking. She knew her overall marks sat at nearly 3 million with the funds remaining from her father’s life insurance and the hush-marks Pilo deposited into her account. She’d spent the last few hours on Arys-27 setting up investments from shop-keeps and dealers to take residence on the station and provide her with a cut of their profits. Owning a station was a lot like owning a mall and hotel in one. As long as she could get the right traffic, there was plenty of profit that would increase her holdings. Thirty-thousand marks at the start wasn’t much. But with none of the businesses in operation and no idea how quickly profit would start to come in after the overhead, it did make her stomach burn. Or perhaps she was hungry? It was hard to tell. Either way, she didn’t like it.
“You will be happy to know,” continued Teena, “we have had more than a few inquiries from interested parties. I am sure you will spend your first few hours combing through your mail. You did not give me the authority to confirm or deny any interested party. As such, I referred them to you directly until we work out an agreement as to the type of deal that meets your standards.”