From the desk of Sam Moreno
Manager, Reclamation, INC.

I always thought that working with a bunch of people mired in debt would be one of those jobs where I ended up hating everyone and just went home to the bottle every night. These people were supposed to be degenerates who had to pay back society so that they could have their lives again. I was supposed to look down on them.

Thing is, I didn’t. Frank was the first one to enlighten me. These men and women had been wronged by the system, tempted by a world of business that used them as a stepping stone and left them to struggle. But now they had the chance to pay it all off and make their own way again - who the hell would I be to try and stop them? I found that working in the factories beside all of them was far more satisfying than overseeing affairs from afar like my employers had requested. 

We had a few other locations on Mars’ surface and our most recent development was in the Dawes Crater. The elevation differences didn’t bother the team at all, so they made quick work of setting up our new base of operations. The new colony was pretty industrial and had a good handle of chemicals and electronics, so we decided to try focusing on other stuff we knew they’d need like glass and steel.

Those stuffy scientists over at New Meridian aren’t my kind of people, but I have to admit that the M.U.L.E. technology they developed for burrowing in the ground and digging up resources quickly is extremely efficient. We managed to accumulate a large amount of carbon and silicon to fund our factories. A few days into our tenure there, the authorities decided they would grant us - and our competitors - an additional claim so that we could expand and better service the colony. We used it to erect another pleasure dome; they’re quick for us to build and they bring in the cash faster than most of our other operations.

Things were going pretty smoothly for all of us, which should have been my first clue that it wouldn’t be long before stuff started going wrong. I shouldn’t have been surprised to wake up one morning to the sound of an explosion and the base rocking on its foundation. Immediate inspection found that foul play had destroyed the nearby aluminum mine and left us scrambling to repair it. 

Well, if there’s one thing I believe it, it’s this: turnabout is fair play. And I’m pretty sure I’ve got some dynamite laying around from one of our recent jobs, so…

Yes, things are going to get interesting.