Subnautica: Echoes

Chapter 15: Thin Ice

Ryley massaged the bridge of his nose, his nostrils flaring with each tense exhale. Wailing static teemed between his ears and as it trickled away, irritated voices took its place. Barbed words shot across the room. A hand slammed down on the conference table.

"I will not allow this to carry on further," Councillor Dalton boomed, rising to his imposing height over the other representatives. His seat squeaked backwards and the artificial gravity seized it before it could tumble. "Owing to the actions of Miss Robinson and her colleagues, other members of this facility have taken inspiration and are putting the entire government in jeopardy. Our partners are questioning our authority, and our shareholders are getting restless. We must act now."

The bulky man seated at the head of the gathering grumbled, his stubby thumbs dancing around each other. He mopped at the gleam of sweat growing across his forehead. A few thinning strands went with it, smeared to the opposite side of his comb over. "What do you propose, councillor?"

"Sir, I recommend we abandon our projects here and move our base of operations to one of the new planets our explorers found," Dalton said. "We declare 4546B a lost cause and reassure our investors by telling them we didn't want to waste more valuable assets on a planet that no longer holds any gain. The catalogues for our other endeavours are almost near completion. Once we have them, we'll present them to our partners, dazzle them with all this fresh prosperity, and use them to leave this godforsaken world. Away from here, I'm certain we will quickly regain control of the workforce."

"Do you take the people onboard this station for fools?" Ryley challenged. "You believe taking them away from 4546B will miraculously make them forget about this? About the hurt you've caused?"

"And what do you suggest?" Dalton pressed his fists onto the table, his drab grey eyes piercing into his opposition.

Ryley shifted in his seat, surveying his peers and biting his tongue. He'd spoken up before only for them to shoot him down and insult him. Now would be no different.

"Speak freely, Robinson," the director told him, gesturing for him to proceed if he wished.

"It wasn't Lyra who did this," Ryley spoke measuredly. "It was you. You couldn't continue to treat the workforce in the way you do without them fighting back. You brought this on yourself with the cuts and the enforced overtime you voted on. If you want to stop the rebellion on your doorstep, try listening to your workforce and using the power you have to help them. What they are asking for isn't unreasonable."

Dalton narrowed his eyes, and an amused smirk teased at his slim lips. "Ever a man of the people, and still a janitor at heart," he sneered. "Now, if you're quite finished, the adults have important matters to discuss. Unless you would like to keep drivelling on with your childish dreams?"

Ryley tensed his jaw. Beside him, George, his only ally in this mess of arrogance and arse-kissing, threw him a brief glimpse, silently begging him to remain quiet. All this arguing would get them nowhere, and it only led to inaction. The council had spent days in the past quarrelling and leaving vital situations to go unresolved. They couldn't afford that now, and he knew it. Lyra's safety was at stake, and he wasn't willing to risk her or her friends for the sake of scoring points.

"Take your seat, Dalton," the head of the Juno Station demanded, scrutinising the lithe, young man as he did as he was told. "Would anybody else like to make a suggestion?"

"Perhaps we could issue arrest warrants for Miss Robinson and her fellow conspirators," Councillor Anderson said from her place beside their superior. "The moment that shield goes down, we'll be able to travel to the planet to catch them."

"If the workers here see we are taking drastic action, then they might think twice before continuing with their uprising," another added.

Hums of agreement circulated the oval table, and many began scrawling notes onto their tablets.