Author: Jennifer Peaslee

The stale air of the Interplanetary Dynamics office reflected the collective mood of its desk jockeys. Ash Zendar, stewing in a stiff-collared uniform, barely glanced at the form in front of them before stamping approval for a three-cycle visit from the dangerous K’noth planet. Number nine hundred and ninety-eight.

Today, Ash’s five years on the job were going to pay off. Today, they would stamp their 1,000th consecutive approval and earn a bonus of ten thousand credits. Ash stamped a form allowing the transport of bog-standard goods between planets Daruta and Zyke. Nine hundred and ninety-nine.

The hairs on the back of their neck raised in anticipation. They glanced at the top of the next form, their hand positioned to stamp APPROVED before the ink on the last form had dried. With this, they would finally have enough for Gil’s treatment.

Then their stomachs dropped. They read the top of the form again. A request for sentient cargo transfer from Arth to Helian.

“Could be nothing,” they muttered. Request for sentient cargo transfer covered all sorts of applications, from prisoner relocation to discount travel arrangements. It also happened to be notorious for allowing the continuation of the sentient slave trade. And Helian was not a planet known for its liberal attitude.

Their hand wavered. They scanned the form in its entirety and bit their lip. Under “reason for transport,” whoever completed the form wrote “indentured servitude enforcement.” Technically legal. Indentured servitude, while distasteful to many, opened the possibility of interplanetary immigration for those who otherwise could not afford it. But again, it was easy to hide unscrupulous acts behind the generic “indentured servitude” label. And “enforcement” had nasty implications.

But it wasn’t Ash’s job to administer the law. Their job was to approve as many forms as possible so that the company could make an obscene profit.

Ash began to lower the stamp. Gil’s face appeared in their mind. What would she say to this?

Ash grabbed the DENIAL stamp and pressed it to the form, sighing a little. They took the next form and read it carefully before stamping their approval. Number one.