Page 41 of Pets in Space 10

Tikka rose again. “President Dequer, Vice President Sainik,” Her tone was direct, a change from the polite deference she’d used earlier. “I definitely have concerns. Too many, in fact, to waste everyone’s time going through them now.”

She had the riveted attention of everyone in the room.

“I am proud of the twenty-one years I have dedicated to RyoGenomica.” She turned slightly to sweep her gaze briefly across the audience before settling back on Sainik.

“Proud of the work my team has accomplished in Human Medicine Support. However, I have absolute zero confidence in Vice President Sainik’s leadership or this ‘Customer Innovations’ department.

” Notes of disdain sounded in her delivery.

“Therefore, as this meeting is being recorded as an official company record, I hereby announce my resignation from RyoGenomica.” She paused, letting the words hang in the stunned silence.

“As per the terms of my employment contract, I will submit my formal termination notice by the end of the business day. I will, of course, fulfill my contractual obligations to transition my responsibilities during the ten-day transition period.”

Sainik had barely blinked in surprise before an employee behind her in the second row, one of Tikka’s senior researchers, stood up. “In that case, I resign as well.”

A second researcher rose to resign, then a third stood. “Me, too. I’m out.”

It was like a smoke bomb going off in the confined space. Shocked murmurs swelled into a cacophony of vocal exclamations.

Sainik’s face went slack, his confident mask shattering for a split second before morphing into consternation.

Dequer looked mad enough to kick something.

Only Bikendi, the Chief Staffing Officer, maintained a neutral expression, though Gaerynx thought he saw a flicker of calculation as his eyes swept over the audience.

Breath caught in Gaerynx’s lungs before he forced it out.

Before the chaos could fully engulf the room, Bikendi stood quickly.

“This concludes the official recording,” he announced, his amplified voice cutting through the noise with firm authority.

He waved to encompass the audience. “The meeting is over. Please go back to work. Check your messages by the end of the day for the reorganization details, including titles, compensation, and contract specifics.” His gaze landed on Tikka and the other three employees who were still standing.

“You four, please come with me to my office.” He stepped to the podium long enough to stop the presentation and open all the room’s exit doors.

Gaerynx stood, as did Amalena. Their team members seemed to take that as their cue to stand and start filing out via the larger doors. The HuMed staffers looked uncertainly toward their boss, then followed the other employees.

While waiting for others to leave first, Gaerynx saw Sainik and Dequer in a whispered argument. Sainik looked apoplectic, his face flushed, gesturing sharply. Dequer was more controlled but no less furious.

In the wide hall outside the conference room, the cooler air felt easier to breathe. He spotted Amalena just ahead and heard her invite her Agronomy Support team to meet in the landscaped picnic area outside the main entrance. They looked grateful for the direction.

It was too late to do the same with his own team. They’d already scattered, but they were probably feeling as shellshocked as the others. Desriyan was lingering down the hall, looking uncertainly back at Gaerynx.

Right. He was their manager. He needed to pull himself together. He wasn’t the best people-person, not like Amalena seemed to be, but his team deserved his support. He couldn’t just disappear to process his own shock. His own fears, if he was honest.

He started walking towards Desriyan, formulating a plan.

Maybe ordering in some decent food from that place down in Wandesi Hill would help.

A small gesture, but something concrete to show he was still there, still in their corner, even if the stable ground beneath RyoGenomica had unexpectedly shifted. He was all they had right now.

***

That evening, the pleasant scent of leftover garlicky noodles and savory stir-fried vegetables from the Wandesi Hill takeout place still lingered in Gaerynx’s apartment.

He nudged a stray food fragment across the low table with his finger.

“Well, Pavrel? Was the seared poultry to your satisfaction? Not too greasy?”

The genetically-engineered kulak looked up from licking the short fur of his outstretched sand-colored hind leg and flicked one lavishly tufted ear forward toward Gaerynx, then went back to his task.

The cushioned platform high on the complex structure that dominated the dining alcove gave the feline a good view of most of the apartment.

Gaerynx chuckled. Pavrel rarely vocalized, but his mobile and expressive ears — similar to a caracal in the wild — spoke volumes. “High praise indeed.”

Pavrel ignored him, apparently done with the conversation. The knee-high feline was usually a sociable, playful goof, but took his grooming very seriously.

Gaerynx turned back to his current project, adding a new section to the sculpture he’d been crafting for a couple of years.

The laser-welder wand was a slower method for joining the polished, curved applewood support to the hex-mesh bottom of the bowl shape above it, but better tools were bulky and expensive.

The sprawling, fanciful, multi-level sculpture had already lined the apartment’s designated eating area wall and was now creeping into the main living area.

That it also happened to provide excellent climbing, leaping, and napping opportunities for an adventurous, genetically-engineered feline predator who needed exercise was, naturally, a pure coincidence.

The apartment’s quirky floorplan and the landlord’s indifference to his vibrant wall colors were small compensations for the slightly rundown neighborhood, but having his own space, free from former roommates like his brother Lofren and his heedless colleagues, was worth it.

The question was, how long could he afford it if RyoGenomica went sideways?

He held the new section in place and applied the welder. A tiny, rising tendril of smoke smelled like burned sugar. Sainik’s words echoed in his mind. Synergy. Velocity. Innovation.

Sainik undoubtedly had a hidden agenda. All executives had secrets, and corporate espionage was always a risk, even on the relatively quiet planet of Ivyar.

During the impromptu lunch with his Animal Support staff in their cramped meeting room, the team consensus was that money was behind it all. It felt depressingly plausible.

Big changes required big funding, which implied big expected profits.

But from where? RyoGenomica’s strength lay in its methodical, ethical approach across agricultural, animal, and human pharma support.

They filled a vital niche in the sprawling, deliberately disaggregated galactic pharmaceutical industry landscape.

Sainik’s plan felt like a reckless gamble with the company’s solid foundation.

The chances were almost zero that money wasn’t behind it.

He sighed, setting aside the laser welder on the portable worktable, then sat on the nearby couch, stretching the tension out of his back.

Tikka hadn’t liked the odds. She’d withdrawn from the playing field with her integrity intact.

Could he do that? The thought soured in his stomach.

Leaving felt like failing, again. RyoGenomica was the first place he’d felt stable, the first job that hadn’t disintegrated after a year or two.

Would Amalena leave? She had connections and had built a solid reputation. She could probably land a similar or even better job before the ten-day transition period was even up. Would she still keep in touch if he stayed with RyoGenomica?

He wished he could ask her what she thought of the Customer Innovation reorganization plan they’d all been sent right as the day ended. She had a way of cutting the core without being distracted by the sparkly shit.

A furry head bumped insistently against his arm.

Pavrel had silently descended from his perch and now stood with his front paws on Gaerynx’s thigh, head cocked, black-lined eyes focused on Gaerynx, and one ear turning as if by coincidence toward the welder.

The kulak nudged Gaerynx’s hand again, then reached out a slow-motion paw towards the table.

“No, you don’t,” Gaerynx scooped the kulak onto his lap.

Pavrel instantly relaxed, purring like an unmuffled airsled engine, the familiar, warm scent of his fur a welcome anchor.

Gaerynx spread his legs so Pavrel, now sprawling and seemingly boneless, wouldn’t roll off, and gently stroked the soft fur behind his companion’s ears.

Okay, meandering speculation about things he couldn’t control and emotions he couldn’t name wasn’t helping. Tomorrow, he’d go in, do his job, and keep his team focused.

He wanted to read the reorg plan again and check the policies it referenced, and look up recent corporate decision records, which were always available to company employees.

But he’d also keep his eyes open and his ears tuned.

He’d make a point of talking to Amalena’s people, maybe even Tikka’s remaining staff.

Secrets and synergies weren’t going to help anyone. He just hoped Amalena felt the same way.