As they circled on Tukker started explaining the view outside, this time without any charts or pictures. And his eyes never left the landscape outside, as if he was searching for something in the mostely barren, only scarsely vegetated country baking under the hot Sun of Texas.
This is a prime spot for us to be. Geologically stable but still having a deep geothermic energy source bringing some hot and saline springs to life, even a little well hole you can not really call a geisir has been found. The Geologist I sent to examine it tells me that the salt water is beneficial and will make a good wellness bath after we have cleared it from some smelly elements in the water.
Far enough from all work camps and the currently used flight routes that we can have peace and close enough to Jacinto City that we can buikd and run a magnetic train line that will make the space port and the cuty reachable in about half an hour.
We have space to build a city here, and even if this will take much time it is actually exactly what we plan to do. This will be a rehabilitation and schooling facility and the core city will remain so, but around it we will bring into life a whole corona of housing, training, support and supply buildings. Including the housing sites for our own employees and their fammilies and a larger area that we plan to develop and ecxpand gradually.
Turning he looked at Doreen and smiled.
You see, Houston is a barren and harsh planet, but there are a lot of people living here that are free to travel on the planet itself and have achieved some degree wealth, but are far from able to afford the costly Spa and Cruise travels to the pleasure planets most Libertonian and Sirian Tourists dream about. If they ever manage to afford such a trip it is the event of a lifetime, or a honeymoon spa. But we will offer vacational and wellness services, together with rehab and medical facilities. And even a small country bungalo with a park and a sports or recreational park will be near. Reachable not for only a few, but for all the thousands of Inhabitants on Houston.
Facing the Bretonians again he gestured outwards to the barren landscape.
And all this growth, this building and the care we put into it are the best rehabilitation for the refugees on Leeds , or so the psychologists I asked about it tell me.
We will not abuse or mislead your people. But we will train and guid them, and in doing so we will give them stability , means to earn their livelyhood whil they are here, and knowledges they will need when they choose to leave us and rebuild their home Planet.
I want this to be a win - win situation. Not only for our Trust or your Government, but for the people who do the work. Because that is exactly what this project is essentially about : Showing that a humanitarian way of doing buisness can motivate and inspire our employees better that the forced work of the camps on this planet. And if we will not earn quite as much money as the corporative associations currently running most buisness around us that is a price we are willing to pay.
Get me right : we do not need funding from you, and we could probably manage to achieve our goals even without the influx of refugees from Bretonia. But with the synergic effort and the positive public relations you offer us we will manage it much faster and much easier. And so we are willing to go a far way to meet your approval.
Suddenly Tukker looked sad for a moment, sitting back with a tired and drawn expression.
We have lost so much time just to convince Liberty that we are no smugglers or drug dealers. So much hate, so much aversity. And we have lost many friends along the way, due to terror or piracy.
Soon afterwards the armoured transport landed at a small building, nothing much more that a semi- mobile shed built to store the equipment needed by the surveyors. A couple of civilian atmospheric vessles and a battered old CSF where parked near, and three men where waiting outside.
Tukker gestured towards the Pelicans door, explaining :
I have called the surveyors to report directly to you. Also the site we did our test drilling for the spings at is close, if you want to see it. You will have the opportunity to look around and question the sorveyors yourself if you like. By the way : I might point out that these people are no Tinkers members, but civilian employees we hired for the job here at Houston.
// closing thread and continuing project in other threads
After being shown the ground site the merchant navy officers where shuttled to the Haven next.
The Junker Foreman met them there and they visited the stations living space.
Cramped and overfilled, with little room to spare. But with enough food, clothing and support, and with expert medical care.
Doctor Doreen Nagger showed them the Clinic area, lectured them about how much care and support many of the refugees needed and let them meet some of the highly trained staff occupied with medium and long time therapeutic survey.
Malnutruition and physical exposure had taken its toll on many of the refugees, but here they where also treated to cope with the psycholocical traumata of seeing their homes, their life and their whole planet dissapear behing blood red stains.
Loss adjustion, retrieval syndromes, stress and shock therapy.
And here Mr. Tukker also started envisioning a better future again.
He showed them the series of small rooms currently used for relocation aid and coordination. Detailed wich training programs and wich asessment centres could currently be used and would later on be available .
Detailed programs that treated these homeless people as a valuable resource, to be trained, outfitted and then relocated to a new home. So that they could build up their loss, and again find a place to call home without needing endless charity.
"As you see, we are planning big.
We need all that space down there at Houston to be able to keep on working within our calculated cost margin, and we are letting these people decide where they will go to from here. There are recrutation offers from both Rheinland companies and GMG , and we try to warn these people about the GMG offers. Most decide to go back to Bretonnia, and we help them on their way. But if you would set up a home office for the merchant Navy, or a refugee relocation office for bretonnian civilians at the Haven or at Houston we would gladly cooperate."
The small gathering was looking at some figures at Foreman Fynns office at the time, and the officers where shown the personal codex , a slim but not easily breakable bracelet every refugee recieved while still on Leeds and getting ready to evacuate.
"This bracelet contains an electronic tracker, allowing us to pinpoint the passenger in space for up to 4 klick in case of an accident during evacuation. It also contains all medical information, supportive care and a detailed log of his history from the time we evacuate him to the time he chooses to leave us. All this information is recorded here, and will be stored for up to 7 jears to enable you to check the information, or to aid in family research if seperated. Also this info is available to BIS or LSF in case there is any need to doublecheck a patients background against espionage by gallic infiltrators."
Tukker had a big set of files and documents ready for the officers to take back to Bretonnia:
Gentlemen, Ladies . We fully recognize the necessity to seek economic solutions, and we have the unique chance to combine this with our own investements to offer your civilian brothers and sisters a fair chance to stfart a new life. If this life is to be in Bretonnia or not is something that we leave to you , and to our patienty. But we would greet any cooperation with Her Majesties Government and the War Cabinet to ensure that as many Bretonnian refugees as possible will return to the realm to continue the fight against the Invasion, or to rebuild what has been destroyed.
To this aim, Tinker and Transport will remain at your service.
After the lectures and presentations, Doreen reviewed the updated plans for the medical facility. She smiled as she sipped some bubbling water as they included all of her requested changes. "This is going to be spectacular," she softly said to herself. Taking a breath and looking out the window, she daydreamed a bit. The thought of a clinic of her own and a nice home for her and Bennie.
She had many people to thankful for but was withholding the thanks until her dream was complete. For now, she just wanted to do her part to make things work.