Still shaking his head, he left for his cabin.
CHAPTER TWO
Journal File #013
I was not personally present at the assembly where my employer first addressed his new command. Though I had complete knowledge of the Legionnaires’ personnel files, and was later to get to know many of them intimately, not being officially in the Legion would have made it inappropriate for me to attend the meeting.
I therefore took it upon my self to eavesdrop on the proceedings by tapping into the compound’s two-way paging system. This is merely a high-tech improvement of the time-honored tradition of listening at key-holes. While one’s employer is entitled to his privacy, it is next to impossible to meet, much less anticipate, his requirements without proper knowledge of his activities and the pressures at work in his life.
(Admittedly I have never discussed this openly with my employer, but while I have often acted on information I was not given directly, he has never commented on or chastised me for my having that knowledge.)
The company recreation hall, though the largest room in the compound, was usually virtually deserted evenings. At one time it had merely been depressing in its lifelessness, but over the last several months the Legionnaires had stopped picking up after themselves, and a litter of moldy, half-eaten food added a new air to the environs. More simply put, it stank.
Tonight, however, it was full to capacity. Word had been passed that the new company commander wanted to address the troops, and the possibility that a roll call might be taken was sufficient threat to guarantee everyone’s attendance.