Micca's New Job
Micca's group was eventually brought into a room. On the far wall was a large machine with a cavity big enough to fit 3 people. That wall was very thin with only enough space for the machine and about 5 feet extra on each side.
On the opposite side, right by where we walked in was a small semi-circle hole and a door. Through the hole I could see what looked like large bullets, about as big as 3 people.
Suddenly, I felt dumb for not realizing before. Those are shells for the machine on the other wall, which is the backside of a cannon. So, this group are the gunners, or maybe just ammo loaders.
The only thing else in the room is a strange track in the floor, a door on each side, and some cabinets on the walls. Oh, and a man in a similar uniform to the crew in the hall waiting for us in the middle of the room.
"Welcome to Cannon 13, I am Petty Officer Liam and this is your new home. Sleeping mats are in that cabinet." The scruffy officer points to a certain cabinet on a side wall. "Rest up tonight. Tomorrow is a full day of training. A note, there will be two Security Officers here at all times, listen to them or I might have to manage without you. If I have to manage without someone then life here is going to be harder for the rest of you as well. I would keep a watch over each other.
"Goodnight."
He left through the door with a sigh and then pressed a button on the outside which locked it with a loud clank.
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After an hour everyone of the twenty who were assigned to this cannon had sleeping mats and blankets laid on the floor.
Micca stuck to himself for the most part, while others enjoyed socializing in order to have some semblance of normalcy. Trauma bonding.
As Micca was settling into his mat, watching those in the room, a man made his way over to Micca. He looked familiar.
"I know who you are, and now you don't have the protection of your minions."
/Oh yeah, that is Vog./ Micca thought to himself. He was the leader of a small gang that operated in Micca's territory. Micca kept track of them, but there was never an issue of conflict so they were left alone. It seems like it might have been better to get rid of him before.
"Can I help you?" Micca decided to be neutral in his response rather than saying anything that could escalate this situation.
"I think it is time to get payback for everything your gang put us through."
"If I remember right, my gang was pretty lenient towards you and let you keep up your operations without much hassle."
"That may be, but the poverty of the area was because of your gang hoarding the wealth. We wouldn't have needed our 'operations' if your gang didn't take everything in the first place."
"Okay, Vog, let's get something straight. That area was poor before my gang existed and will likely be poor forever. None of the wealthy wanted anything to do with that area, which is probably why we got pressganged from there."
His face is then enraged and he walks up and grabs Micca by the collar.
"YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND!" He pulls back his arm, ready to throw a punch.
Before Vog could realize he is hit with a baton by one of the security officers and starts convulsing on the floor. The NSF officer looks down at Vog and speaks through their helmet.
"No fighting with other crew. You aren't on your meaningless planet anymore."
With that Vog crawls over to his sleeping mat and lets himself drift off to a slumber. Micca sits back on his mat and keeps note of the other ratings and their reactions. In looking around, he notices a woman that looks much more familiar than Vog. She seems to be crying to herself, unconcerned about everyone else in the group.
Micca brings his mat near her and greets her.
"Hi Verona. It's been a while."
She looks up at him, slightly taken aback, then greets him similarly.
"Hi Micca. I haven't seen you in a long time for sure."
Micca remembers that she joined his gang about a year ago, but he barely saw her. She had great skills at recordkeeping and organization. She helped to restructure the documentation of the gang in order to assist the main recordkeeper in ensuring everything was accounted for. He was actually considering promoting her a few months ago, before other matters took his attention.
How she addressed him was pretty casual, but that is to be expected both due to the circumstance and that Micca rarely, if ever, handled any disciplinary actions within the gang. He had someone who was much better at that. More than a leader, he was a confidant to much of the gang as he approached them with a cool and understanding attitude.
He decided to try and embody this aspect of himself as much as possible at the moment. Right now every friend is a necessity.
"How are you holding up with this change?" He brings his hand to her back as he speaks.
She confesses her feelings to him readily and he does his best to console her into the night before they both lay down and go to sleep.