It was late morning on Beshun, and inside the headquarters of Threlgan Shipping Enterprises, Kate Michaelson stepped through an automatic set of double doors. Standing aside and smiling, she watched as a flood of business-Nalyr, both male and female, followed in her wake. Their formal shoes clicked on the hard floor, the sound echoing through the hallway as they left the meeting room.

As they left, Katie noticed they were smiling and talking; a sign that what she had just done had taken root. And that sign was confirmed when a male Nalyr approached her with a big smile on his face.

"That was a wonderful presentation, Miss Michaelson!" he said cheerfully.

"Always a pleasure, Mr Morin!" she replied, returning a smile of her own as she addressed one of the senior advertising executives she had just delivered a presentation to – a presentation she had been preparing for weeks.

"So, you really think that showing how our workers help other planets will help increase our recruitment rates?" he asked.

Kate shook her head, but kept her smile. "I don't just think so, sir... I know so!" she said confidently. "My team's research has shown that over 50% of our current recruits and interns join the company because they feel they can make a difference throughout the galaxy. If you can get your marketing and design teams to cook up some new adverts that appeal to this, I'm all but certain we'll see an influx of new applicants on all of our branches!"

Morin clapped and nodded to her. "Outstanding! Our branches on the border worlds have been starved of staff recently, as I'm sure you know! If the chance to help others is the greatest pull factor we have, then we should capitalise on that as much as possible!" After a pause, the Nalyr chuckled and added. "Let's hope it doesn't work too well, eh?"

Kate snickered at little, playing to his humour. "Hopefully it won't!" she said.

Mr Morin continued to laugh lightly. "Nonetheless, that was a great presentation!" he continued "You're a true visionary, Miss Michaelson!"

He lifted the back of his hand to Kate, curled his two thumbs inwards, then gently swung his hand outwards and forwards until it reached his waist – a gesture of respect in polite Nalyr culture. Kate did the same back to him, curling in her thumb and little finger, returning the gesture as etiquette demanded before the advertising executive turned on his heels and walked away.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Kate breathed a sigh of relief. Having to bend the truth about what would get employees to work for the company so many times a day really took it out of her, even after so many years of working in the Sentient Resources Department.

Kate wasn't delusional; she knew that most of the people who applied to work here just did it because they needed the money. Every now and then, they got someone who was truly passionate about shipping various good across the galaxy, but for the most part, the people they got just wanted to pay the bills.

She could see that in the people she worked with, and especially in those she had interviewed over the years. They had to lie about why they wanted to work for the company, desperation burning in their eyes. And, as much as Kate hated doing it, she had to turn some of them away.

Finding skilled and capable workers was always a bonus. But a real treasure was to find those people who gave it their absolute all, even when their assigned job was something they didn't like, or potentially even hated, doing. As a shipping company, most of their workers were clerks and dockworkers– tasks that didn't exactly stimulate the mind in many ways and, in case of the latter, could sometimes be dangerous. And as for the sailors, that job's risk assessment spoke for itself especially with all the pirates running rampant since the war's end.

All jobs that very few wanted to do... and so finding those people who could work hard at what they hated was all the more integral.

Rubbing her brow as she thought about this, Kate made her way down the hall and arrived at the hover-vator bay that lay nearby. She got there at just the perfect time, as one had come to a stop and was opening its doors. Humans, Nalyr and Sirthon in smart attire trailed out and went their separate ways, like rivulets of water trickling down a cliffside, leaving the elevator empty behind them.

Hurrying forwards, Kate made it into the hover-vator a half-second before the door slid shut. As she did, she pre-emptively reached out without looking and pressed the floor 32 button, acting on second-nature instincts after having done this so many times before.

After a brief delay, the door in front of her opened, and a crowd immediately spilled out before scattering in all directions as they made their way to their workplaces. Soon enough, the 'vator was empty, and Kate stepped inside and waited for the doors to close.

Looking to her left, she saw herself reflected in the mirror that lay inside the elevator. She was wearing a pair of black wide-legged trousers, the ankles of which covered her feet almost completely. Over her torso was a loose and long-sleeved grey top with a hood hanging from its back that could be flipped up at any time to protect her from the sun, her black-rimmed glasses still covering her eyes.

On her feet were a pair of high-heeled ankle boots that clicked with each step as she walked down the hallway. Kate couldn't speak for other women, human or otherwise, but when she wore high heels, she felt like nothing could stop her.

She didn't wear them all the time. That would be murder on her ankles. But when she did, it gave her a major confidence boost - exactly what she needed when making a presentation to the entire advertising department.

After a brief, uninterrupted wait, the words 'Doors opening. Have a nice day' echoed through the 'vator. The door slid open to a reveal an open doorway in front of her. Through the door was a vast and open office floor, with multiple tables and desks scattered throughout the room in an informal, but still practical manner. On these tables were lamps and pots of bright wild plants, some even imported from other worlds to brighten up the place. All around Kate, some of the walls were made of glass, while the others were formed of solid-cast imacrete painted deep purple, sea green and sky blue.

On Beshun, it was all the rage amongst companies to make your workplaces look as open as possible. Before he went to hospital, Mr Threlgan had gone out of his way to try and follow this trend – both for PR reasons and to make sure his employees were as happy as he could make them.

Now that he had returned, just yesterday, this reform was continuing in almost every part of the company's HQ.

Looking around as she walked to her desk, Kate smiled a little as she saw her fellow SR workers chatting and co-operating as they went about their day, a glow of happiness about them that had long been absent.

Three days ago, this whole room was silent save for the clicking of computers and the light humming of holophones. Now, life had been returned – most likely due to the return of their CEO.

Arriving at her desk, Kate set her briefcase down beside her before quickly removing her tablet and laying it on her desk. Switching on both it and the holographic computer screen on her desk, she swiped at the screen of her handheld device and transferred some files back to her computer. Then, sitting back for just a moment, she glanced at the 18-hour clock.

It was 8:30 am - almost midday on Beshun. She didn't have any more meetings until this afternoon. A survey on employee needs had been carried out a few weeks ago, and at 3:00 pm, the Sentient Resources department was meeting up to view the results and debate over the best course of action. She'd have to be there, but until then, she had some reports and other things to finish.

However, just as she reached out across her desk to begin working, she heard something.

"Miss Michaelson?"

A familiar voice asked her name, and Kate spun around in her chair to see a pretty-looking Nalyr standing behind her. Clutching her own tablet close to her flat chest, the alien had rose-red eyes, smooth skin, and dappled ears that tapered to fine points on either side of her face.

It was Ifira – her secretary.

"Oh, hey Ifira." Kate addressed her secretary with a measure of surprise. It was the first time they'd seen each other today. "How are you doing?" she asked.

Ifira smiled. "I'm fine, ma'am." The alien then gazed down for a moment before lifting her holotablet and tapping at the cybernetic keypad. "Sorry to bother you ma'am, but I just got a message from Mr Threlgan. He wants to see you as soon as possible."

Kate's heart leapt when she heard that. "Really?" she asked eagerly, standing up. "Where is he?"

"In his office, ma'am," Ifira replied.

Kate needed no more telling. Immediately getting up, she strode right for the nearest elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. Standing alone in the empty, silent tank of thandrodermite and glass, she trembled in both excitement and nervousness.

Mr Threlgan had only just returned, and she was more keen than anyone to see how he was doing.