Operation Pacifica: Workus Interruptus
by Trooper Palaemon, Doberman Empire




 It was a nice weekend to be in California. The weather was pleasant
  in San Jose, and there really wasn't all that much going on. National Sales
  Organization Kickoff Meeting, indeed. More like a 4-day party where everyone
  gets to meet each other and see who's willing to cheat on their spouses.
  Plenty of alcohol was being consumed, and a general feeling of cameraderie
  was being enjoyed by the assembled salepeople and field geeks of a certain
  large network equipment vendor.


 Palaemon was crashed out in his hotel room. He had been up late,
  bonding with his fellow employees til the wee hours of the morning. He was
  supposed to be in a "training" session in about an hour, but there just
  wasn't any great sense of urgency about it. He had been working like a slave
  for the last few weeks, and felt that this was his well-deserved R&R for a
  job well-done. A few days in the California sun, just resting from the
  pressures and urgencies of New York City.  Yeah, that was just what the
  doctor ordered.


 The shrill scream of a pager interrupted the peace of the somnolent
  hotel room. Palaemon rolled over and tried to ignore it, but it kept on
  beeping. He finally gave up on the idea of sleeping in. "Who the hell is
  paging me on a Saturday morning?" he sluggishly wondered.  "Besides, all my
  clients know I'm out of town. What the hell good do they think I'm going to
  be able to do for them from here? How come they can't call Tech Support like
  everyone else?"


 Eventually, he was able to struggle into a sitting position. He
  reached over to his nighttable to have a look at his merrily chirping pager.
  "Hmm. I don't recognize this number. Damn new area code system.  I don't
  even know where this is from." he mumbled through his still-gravelly throat.
  Had he really been singing last night, or was that just his imagination?
  "Well," he mused,"I guess I'm not going to get any more sleep until I figure
  out who's beeping me."


 Palaemon dialed the number. "Doberman Empire - Central
  Communications," answered a crisply efficient voice on the other end.
  "State your business, please." "Uh, I'm returning a page from this number. I
  guess I'm supposed to report in or something," Palaemon replied. "Who is
  this?" the voice queried. "Trooper Palaemon, reporting for duty, I guess.
  Status: On business trip, hung over," was the distinctly non military reply.
  "Please hold, Trooper Palaemon," the voice said, reverting to crisp military
  fashion.


 The Empire had not loomed large in Palaemon's life, up to this
  point.  He had joined, been welcomed, and largely left to his own devices.
  In fact, he had not yet even received an email from them. "I guess they knew
  what they were getting when they signed me up," he thought. "I'm a total
  non-combatant. The Commander just thought I was a bright guy.  Maybe he
  thought they could find some use for me." Van Halen music came from the
  telephone receiver. "Damn good hold music. I wish we could get that for
  *our* office. It's a hell of a lot better than that muzak they have in our
  answering system," he thought.


 A new voice cut into his muzak-appreciation class. "Trooper, we
  have a situation here in Northern California. Records indicate you're here.
  How fast can you get to San Francisco?" "Lessee. It's about an hour by
  CalTran from San Jose, including the cab ride to the train station,"
  Palaemon calucated. "What's going on?" "Just get your ass up here, Trooper.
  All will be made clear in time," the voice snapped.  "Ghirardelli Square.
  1100. Move!" "But I'm on a business trip," Palaemon protested, but only a
  dial tone was on the other end to hear, and it didn't sound particularly
  interested in listening to any excuses.


 "What the hell. I was looking for an excuse to get up to San
  Francisco," he thought, "Susan's getting into town today, anyway.  Whatever
  this situation is, maybe I can get it cleared up in time to have dinner with
  her. I guess I'm not going to be able to meet her at the airport, though..."




Antares the Grey
Trooper Palaemon of the Doberman Empire