I do not own Chaotic nor anything related to it. It belongs to TCDigital.

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The Trials of Leadership

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Time 14:

I need to note down where each water vessel went to be filled, who ran it, who filled it, who ran it back. The whip is used both to grab attention and as a punishment device, but only at times where its use has been authorized. I need to divide the fillers and runners so that there isn't any stop to the work flow. Each shift is four hours, measured by a sand timer on the foreman's desk. Pay is distributed according to how much work each person actually did. I'm to resolves all conflicts in the southeastern section of the dew farm.

I think I've got this. I hope I've got this.

"You have a new foreman today," Sett explains to the confused crowd of workers. "Michael of the Human tribe."

I nod my head as Sett points to me. I see some Mipedians scowl and some humans grin.

Sett turns to me. "I turn it over to you," he says before heading to the north.

I fold my arms over my chest. "In this time we have before we can get started, I will clarify a few things." Careful, Michael, don't start stuttering. "I noticed some very pleased faces and some scowls earlier. If you're thinking that I'm going to give special treatment to certain people, you need to stop thinking that right now."

Well, those pleased faces disappeared very quickly. The scowls are still there, though.

I take a breath and continue. "As has always been before, if you work well, then you're going to get paid well for your work. If your work is poor, then you'll be paid poorly. And if you cause problems..." I pause and glare at the crowd, "then I have to cause problems."

Well, it wasn't the best speech of all time, but it got their attention.

I walk to the shack where the record-keeping tools are. "The wells will be filling any moment. Get to it."

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One hour into the first shift.

I used to wonder how Sett managed to keep track of everything. Now I see it's not actually that hard. I can see my entire section from here, and as long as I don't relax too much and stop focusing I'll do fine. I'm not even having my usual problems with focusing. I guess the importance of all this helps.

I pause in my writing and scratch my shoulder. Gah, I do have to get used to this leather uniform, though. The edges of these chest straps are frayed and dig into my skin sometimes when I move. The leather gladiator skirt sticks to my skin if I don't move my legs once in a while.

Ah! I'm losing focus! Pay attention, Michael!

And not long after I snap myself to attention do I see two people struggling on the ground. I stand up and rush over.

A Mipedian has pinned a human to the ground and is trying to beat the snot out of him. The human's arms are free, though, and he's protecting his face. They've drawn a crowd.

Well, it would have been stupid to think that nothing would go wrong on my first day. I untie my whip from my waist, grab the end, and give it a flick.

The way a whip works is that a motion at the handle causes a wave to travel down the whip's body. As the wave goes down the whip, the energy of the wave has less material to act on, and so travels faster. When this energy reaches the end, the tip of the whip flies through the air at speeds exceeding the speed of sound, creating a sonic boom.

A good swing can make the crack of a whip sound like a gunshot.

Everyone is now looking at me.

I slide the whip through my hands and say as calmly as I can, "Whoever didn't participate in this, return to your work immediately."

People scatter, and now there's only the three of us. The human pinned by the Mipedian shouts, "Get this crazy lizard off me!"

I look at the Mipedian. "You should let him go."

The Mipedian growls, "He-"

"Let. Him. Go." I glare at the Mipedian. "Otherwise I'll have to assume you attacked him unprovoked."

The Mipedian stands and back away. He's glaring at the human he'd been pinning down.

I fold my arms again. "All right then. What happened?"

The human points at the Mipedian accusingly. "He just tried to rip my face off!"

The Mipedian snarls, "He threatened my sister."

The human scoffs, "I didn't threaten her! I said she had nice boobs for a lizard!"

The Mipedian bares his teeth at the human, "Then you drawled on about how you wanted to take her to your place and 'f*** her brains out'! And I know what f*** means, you-"

"I was joking," the human spits. "As if I'd ever touch one of you filthy-"

I really like how easy it is to make that gunshot sound with a whip. Both people jolt in surprise and look at me.

I look at the human. "Do you have a sister?"

"...Yes," was his reply.

I point at the Mipedian. "If he'd said the exact same thing about your sister, what would you have done?"

The human doesn't have anything to say to that. The Mipedian glares at the human.

"And you," I say, turning my attention to the other person. "What did attacking him accomplish?"

"I was protecting my sister," the Mipedian says simply.

I tilt my head. "So, there isn't a person you could have voiced your concerns to so that they could handle it while you continued working?"

The Mipedian opens his mouth, but no sounds come out. He blinks a couple times.

I coil my whip up and tie it to my waist again. "I want you two to get back to work. There will be no fighting while you're working, no taunting, no rude gestures, no insults, nothing that interferes with water collection." I point at the pair of them. "If either of you still have a problem when the shift is up, bring it to the people who can do something about it."

The two workers glare at each other for a moment, then head in opposite directions.

I don't know if I handled that the best possible way, but at least everyone's working again. I head back to the foreman's shack. Only three more hours of this...

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Up next: The Eighth Time

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Like I said before, Chaotic belongs to TCDigital.

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