Food on the Table

Gareth quickly nodded. He had that 'I need to not fuck this up' face on as he did whatever he was doing. "It says here that you have never been issued a badge. I'll get one printed for you. If you don't mind me asking, what do you need it for?"

I shrugged. "I'm bored. I wanted to go on a hunting quest since nothing is going wrong."

Gareth paused and looked at me sideways. "How are you bored? Aren't you like in charge of this whole thing?"

I shook my head. "Nope. This one's on Violet. I'm only hear to sign things. Whether that be with my pen or with my lightsaber, that is yet to be determined."

Gareth stared at me for a moment. "Wow, that was kind of bad-ass." He then sighed. "But damn, that's like my boss's boss's boss. It must be nice at the top. Oh, would you like me to get you a badge that won't give away your identity? I only say because…"

He reached back towards the printer and grabbed my badge. He then showed it to me. It was gold and said 'OWNER' in big letters. Even the ID number was a bunch of zeros.

I nodded and chuckled. "Yes, a fake would be great. I didn't even think of that. You're pretty good at this, aren't you? And for the other thing, nope. It sucks."

Gareth shook his head as he handed me the badge. "Oh, come on, I'm just a base level employee that can barely do his job. You flatter me. And how is it bad at the top?"

I shrugged. "There's a lot of expectations and I'm just a 22-year-old kid. There's not much more than that. Plus, I don't really get paid. I live, eat, sleep, and breath for this guild. Sadly, I'd do it all again if I had the choice."

He had already started typing again on his keyboard. He must have been doing some against the rules stuff to get me a fake ID. My curiosity got the best of me, so I asked more questions. "So, what do you do anyways?"

Gareth looked up at me before looking back at the screen. He must have thought I was being sarcastic. "I'm a member administrator. There are a few types of administrators in this room alone. Our manager places at least one of each type of administrator in every major guild facility. For my position, I take care of record keeping for our guild's members."

He pointed to a square on the table with a cable plugged into it. "Please tap your badge here and then scan your fingerprint. I don't have the clearance the forge an ID."

I nodded, tapping my new badge on the 'square'. "You said that Violet is three levels above you?"

Gareth nodded as he continued typing. "Yep. Above me is the member administration manager, then there's the general administration manager, and then finally there's the operations director."

I nodded. "I'm assuming you get paid for this?"

He nodded, wearing a wide smile. "Yes. Surprisingly well actually. If I can get promoted and become a manager, my wife will be able to quit her job and take care of our kids full time."

I tilted my head, a bit surprised. "Did you work before this?"

He nodded, continuing with whatever magic he was working. "Yes. I was a HR manager for a mid-sized aerospace company. I make just as much working for ANV, and I get to experience traveling to different worlds. How could I say no?"

I furrowed my brow, deep in thought. "You said HR?"

Gareth reached back towards the printer and grabbed my fake ID. "Yep. I worked in HR for 14 years. It was a fantastic experience except for when it wasn't so fantastic."

I smirked, my idea gaining momentum. "Would you take another HR job if you ever had the opportunity?"

Gareth reached out the hand me the badge and remained deep in thought for several seconds. "Honestly, I couldn't say for sure. However, I doubt I could ever work back home after this experience. As I said thought, it was a wonderful experience."

I nodded, taking that as enough and taking the badge as well. "Very well. I'll toss your name in the hat for the HR department we are putting together. With your experience, I have no doubt that you are qualified to be an upper manager at the least."

He looked at me in clear disbelief. "Wait, are you serious?"

I nodded as I examined the two badges. The second one had some randomly large ID number and said that I was a standard guild member. It worked well for my purposes. "Yeah, sure. It's the least I can do for the help. You seem overqualified for this grunt position."

Gareth remained in shock for a few seconds, looking back and forth between who knows what. "I-I don't know what to say."

I smiled as I turned around. "You don't have to say anything. Work hard and do your job well. That is thanks enough for me. See you around, Gareth."

I could feel the relief and happiness radiating off him through the force. This must have lifted a huge weight off his shoulders. "Thank you, Soryn."

I waved without turning around and exited the tent. Not only with power, but with great fortune comes great responsibility. My parents always taught me that, when I have the means, my fortune should always be given as 'tzedakah'. In other words, pay forward your luck and good fortune to someone less fortunate than yourself. It felt good to be in a position to be able to do that.