First Day on the Job

[Finor Amnen]

Planet: Eriadu
Location: Eriadu Mining and Shipping Headquarters


Finor Amren disembarked the taxi speeder and felt his boots hit the pavement below him. His head immediately swiveled, absorbing the surroundings. The sprawling Eriadu Mining and Shipping Headquarters spread out before him; towering offices, hangars choked with cargo vessels arriving and leaving, transparisteel windows reflecting the harsh sunlight. This was to be his new home. Place of employment, he thought to himself. Home is rather sentimental.

The taxi quickly darted away and left Finor alone on the landing pad. Adjusting his suit and running a hand through his tousled brown hair, he strode forward. The doors to the massive building opened before him with a soft whoosh, revealing the white walls and ornately carpeted lobby in which an attendant droid quickly rolled forth to address the newcomer. The droid had a rectangular head and thin arms. Instead of legs, a large sphere was fixed to the body below the torso.

"Greetings, sir. I am CF-2b. How may I be of assistance to you today?" The droid's voice emanated from it's head with a voice eerily similar to a real human's. It fixed its vacant optical receptors on the twenty-two year old human and awaited an answer.

"I'm Finor Amnen, the new regional manager. I imagine you can lead me to my office?" There was no way Finor would wander around looking for the office in this massive building. And he certainly wouldn't ask another employee for help; he needed a good first impression. He knew it would be a challenge earning respect from his coworkers. Walking into a position this prestigious so young was dangerous. He couldn't show weakness and dependence.

"Absolutely, sir. If you'll follow me, we will arrive at our destination in 3.4 minutes," it spoke with a cheerfulness that no sentient being would have at this early hour.

 

[Finor Amnen]

Finor was led by CF-2b past the arching doors at the back of the lobby into a glaringly white corridor, almost devoid of decoration entirely. A few employees were walking along the hallway as well, usually with their gaze fixed on datapads firmly grasped in their hands.

"Eriadu Mining and Shipping has shown remarkable growth this year," the droid spoke, programmed to initiate polite conversation during its travels. It's voice retained its enthusaism. "Profits have increased by 1.02% in the last accounting period. Shareholders have been quite pleased."

Glad I'm not running a sinking ship, Finor thought to himself as he continued down the hallway and into an elevator. Soft music hummed in the background. A thin Duros in a light blue uniform as well as a short human male in a suit similar to Finor's. The man raised an eye and glared at him for a moment before muttering and turning away.

"I'm sorry, is something the problem?" Finor asked sharply.

The man paused for a moment, unsure of whether to withdraw and keep his feelings to himself. He made up his mind and turned back to face Finor. A grimace was fixed on his freshly shaven face. "The only problem I have is that they decided to let a kid like you play with a leadership position. I can think of a dozen others who deserve the job far more than you." The man looked to be about fifty or so years old, with his blonde hair just beginning to gray.

And so came a critical moment. Finor could think of a thousand retorts and blistering comebacks in a moment, but it appeared advantageous to keep calm and deal with the aggressor coolly and calmly. He didn't like it one bit, but he could retaliate later on. And he certainly would.

"It is most unfortunate you feel that way. I can assure you that I will do the best I can for the company. If you have any workplace problems, feel free to utilize the Employee Resources Department." That ought to do the trick. Finor had his best sympathetic smile pasted on his lips, though on the inside he was seething.

The automatic doors opened and the Duros was quick to leave the tense elevator. CF-2b, oblivious, rolled out onto the tenth floor and turned, ensuring Finor was still following. The man remained in the elevator as Finor quickly stepped off."You can bet I will. Tread carefully; there are many who are anxious to see you fail." The glare never left his face as the doors closed.

 

[Finor Amnen]

Well. What an introduction.

If this was any indication of how the next year would be, then Finor's hopes weren't high.

Still following the droid down a maze of corridors in the mammoth headquarters building, Finor silently cursed. He should have at least tried to get the man's name or department. That would make his eventual revenge quite a bit easier. Still, the man had made his impression. Finor found himself scanning every employee he could see, searching their faces for hidden signs of disgust or contempt. Occasionally, he did indeed find some signs of preemptive hate.

"Here you are, sir! I do hope you enjoy your workday." CF-2b wheeled to a stop in front of an office door at the end of the hallway. Room 1038. Finor kept the route to his office engraved in his mind. Requiring an assistant droid to find his office more than once would just be embarrassing.

"Thank you, droid." Conversing with droids was a fascinating affair, though Finor wouldn't admit it to others. The line between fabrication and organics, programmed speech patterns and sentient spontaneity.

Making a stiff bow, CF-2b promptly turned and rolled back down the hallway the way they came. Finor sighed and entered his employee code into the keybad. A quick beep and a green flash opened the door, and he took the first steps into his office.

 

[Finor Amnen]

Finor entered the office and took in his new workspace. An ornate carpet, displaying a woven pattern depicting the jagged mountains and lush jungles native to Eriadu, lay perfectly arranged on an otherwise smooth and metallic floor. The walls were mostly barren but occasionally yielded ground to abstract artwork. In the center of the room as a grand table made from Eriadu's toughest species of tree, a sight which delighted Finor to no end. Now this is classy, he smiled, shaking his head.

Atop the table lay a veermok skull attached to the front center and a datapad that was currently blinking. He looked up and noticed that the entire wall behind the desk was a transparisteel screen displaying a staggering amount of infographics, charts, graphs, tables, and lists. He could easily imagine himself spending hours upon hours analyzing the data. Wasting no further time, he hastily reached for the device and checked the notifications. An executive meeting was only a few minutes away.

Luckily, the datapad had a map of the headquarters installed as well as directional assistance. Finor found the meeting room easily. He walked in and took his seat at the head of a oval-shaped metallic table. All eyes were on him for at least a brief moment; some curious, some relieved, some irritated. It was interesting how much a single look could tell you about a person's feelings.

It appeared that all were in attendance. The staff was mainly comprised of humans, though there was the occasional Sullustan or Twi'lek. A brief moment of silence passed before Finor realized it was his responsibility to begin the meeting. The datapad contained the meeting outline.

Time to meet his coworkers.

 

[Finor Amnen]

Finor stood and fixed a short smile on his lips, eyes sweeping the members before addressing them. Calm, cool, and collected. Here we go.

"Hello everyone, my name is Finor Amnen. As you all know, I am the new regional manager. I understand there may not be full support of this," he began, earnestly searching the eyes of the board members to memorize those who despised them. There; Finor quickly glanced at the name and face. Gurn Vilren. Director of Sales. "However, I believe it is in the company's best interest to bridge any gap that might divide us. Efficiency and profits are what we are all after here, and internal dissension will only hurt us in the end."

Finor paused his speech for a moment. Some head nods of agreement, some looks of indifference or boredom, a couple looks of irritation. Dyran Vass. Associate Regional Manager. The yellow-skinned Twi'lek who glowered at him was nothing other than his assistant manager. They'd be working closely together. Lovely.

"Now, to more pressing matters," he began, as he turned to the display screen on the wall behind him. Touching a few icons with a finger, he pulled up a hologram image of Eriadu. The image slowly zoomed in to a region in the Southern Hemisphere, then further to what looked to be a small mining facility. Sure enough, the Eriadu Mining and Shipping logo could be clearly seen on the landing pads as the hologram transitioned into a top-down view. Finor noticed several employees leaning forward, interested to see what this was all about.

"Delays in an industry this size are expected. Temporary damages to facilities are insignificant. But as of last night, this station, Qishi Station in the Mallioris region has become completely unresponsive. Typical report transmissions have stopped, communication attempts have failed, and deliveries have not been made." A brief pause for effect. "We can assume it may be a power outage, but the problem is that the Qishi Station has acted similarly before. Slow transportation and reaction speed, a tendency for sloppy reporting and the like. However, I have already authorized a checkup team to visit Qishi, and they should arrive later in the day."

"And what happened to board approval? Your first day here and you've already drunk on power," came a sudden raspy voice. Gurn Vilren, whom Finor had identified as a troublemaker earlier. Holding his tongue from an immediate response, Finor first took a moment to gauge the board's reactions. Most seemed either appalled at Vilren's defiance or interested in the response. It would have to be good.

 

[Finor Amnen]

"Excellent question, Mr. Vilren. In a company as large and bulky as this, speed is an invaluable and nearly unattainable asset. Knowing I would be hired for some time now, I've taken the liberty to learn as much as possible about Eriadu Mining and Shipping. If you doubt my qualifications, please read my dissertation On Mobility in Large Corporations, which I have just now sent to your private datapad for post-meeting review." Finor held as stern of a gaze he could on Vilhern, never wavering once. He had started his rebuke well, but now was the time to finish the disrespect once and for all.

"I will not allow Eriadu Mining and Shipping to slowly stagnate and backslide into a pile of garbage. If I have to make decisions quickly, I will. Qishi Station being offline for a day is not acceptable. If it does not get back into efficient condition, I will visit there myself." Finor rested his hands on the table and leaned forward, capturing full attention.

"Finally, Mr. Vilhern, your insubordination has been noted," Finor's voice dropped, and he delivered his final line barely above whisper level. "You may expect severe repercussions if you continue on this path."

Standing back up straight, Finor snapped his voice louder and in command. "I'd say our introductory meeting is dismissed. I will see you all here next week, no exceptions."

With that, Finor turned, picked up his datapad, and walked out of the conference room. Though on the outside he appeared as calm and stoic as ever, his insides roiled within. His knees desperately wanted to give out as he near-jogged to his office room, collapsing in his great chair and sighing. Day one isn't even half over.

Finor Amnen was not one to give up or yield an inch of ground to anyone else unless it was advantageous for himself. But this would prove to be quite a challenge. He glanced at the datapad again, which one new notification from the verification team he had sent to the unresponsive mining facility. [Qishi Station still offline. Team ETA: 14 hours.]

14 more hours until the first main obstacle would likely be resolved. One problem at a time, Finor assured himself.