It wasn't what Doc wanted but his diplomatic skills were again re-surfacing albeit for a different reason. Life and business were doing well aboard Med Force One and while he never charged for his services, donations were coming in. One problem area remained on his ship and that was some fluctuating power problems in his secure research areas and med labs. His engineers had worked on the problem since the installation of "The Rejuventor," a gift from a lone Lane Hacker a few years before. It was a medical miracle, yes, but it was also an energy hog which often interfered with power in the research labs. It was when a lone Freelancer gave Doc a gift as payment, a strange, alien power cell.
For all that he was good at, Doc was severely lacking in technological know how. His skills were very basic at best. His engineering team was pretty good at their jobs. The did, after all, design his flag ship that he spent much of his life on. But as good as they were, they too were stumped. It was different. It was complex. It was confusing. Try as they might, they couldn't get it to work. They just knew one thing, to get it working would solve the power issues on ship.
A meeting with Admiral Golanski on it proved largely fruitless as well. It was his recommendation that he contact the Ingenuus Research Group. Doc knew of them but knew little of what exactly they did. He even knew of a couple of the members and had worked with one of them before so when it was suggested he contact them, he figured it was a good call.
So there Doc sat, at his favorite table in the luxurious restaurant and cafe aboard his flag ship. He was dressed in his robes and left instructions for the hostess to escort his guest to the table. He also had to shrug off requests to play the piano, something that had become a favorite of the locals as they knew Doc was good at it and loved playing. Finally, he caved to his fans and played. After all, his guest hadn't arrived yet, so why not?
Honky Cat
Brad entered the room, towards the end of the song. Walking up to the Hostess Brad was pleasantly surprised to find himself immediately directed to a table close to the Piano. He ordered a Liberty Ale and glanced around, he appeared to have just come from a laboratory as he was wearing a pristine white jump suit with a very clear
patch on the shoulder.
When Doc finished playing, he found the man in the white jump suit at his table. He shook the man's hand and gave a quick apology before he sat down.
"My apologies, Sir, for the piano number," he explained, "but I can't come up here without someone coaxing me into playing."
He then sat down and told the hostess, "My usual, Please." She smiled before turning away, "Be right back, Mr. Holliday."
He watched her walk away with a light smirk.
"Such a fine specimen of a woman," he commented before getting more formal.
"I am Dr. John Holliday. You may call me Doc if you would like. I thank you for taking the time to come here," he explained. "I'm hoping that you can help me with some power issues I've been having. I'd show you some files but I'd rather not here. I hope your trip here was uneventful."
As his drink arrived Brad took a quick sip before speaking. "Thanks, and the trip was quite uneventful. And yes I would be interested in looking at those files. But we need to hammer out an agreement first, mainly regarding the ownership of the reactor design and of course our fee." He paused for a moment to take a rather large gulp from his glass. "Ordinarily we would charge 75 million credits for a power cell and integration. However I've been authorized to charge a a minor fee of only 5 million credits, provided that Ingenuus is granted full rights to the reactor design."
His Scotch arrived. He thanked the hostess with a smile, looked into the glass while he swirled it before taking a sip.
"Bretonia is good for something," he quipped.
"Anyway, compensation won't be an issue," he replied with a grin, "this is worth the price. To provide better services to my patients and be able to better supply my labs with steady power is worth it to me. I will give you the 75 million in part as a show of good faith."
He then sighed, "The design itself. It's something that was given to us so is there another? I don't know. I'm confused though, you speak of full rights to the reactor design. Is that for development of more of them or access rights to the one on this ship because the latter would be a problem as I keep a lot of classified material and records here."
He sipped his Scotch again before making a request, "But, more than those things, there is something I want which should be fairly simple. I want to be able to work with your organization in some way. As I understand it, it is quite diverse in it's work."
He sat back, allowing what he had just said to absorb a bit.
"We would not be interested your reactor once it is activated and in use, but rather the technical specifications which would enable us to have the rights over the development and production of other similar reactors." Brad paused and drank from his glass before continuing. "If you are willing to allow us to have the technical specifications produced for your reactor; in addition to your payment, I believe Ingenuus would be happy to assist Med-Force Enterprises in their endeavor."
Brad smiled, indicated for another round of drinks from a passing waiter, before going on, "And yes, Ingenuus has a wide variety of scientific skills, ranging from Hyperspace Cartography, Biological and Cybernetic Enchantments to even xeno-biology and xeno-archaeology. Its quite the range."
Doc was enjoying his company as well as his Scotch.
"I think we have ourselves an arrangement then," he stated. "I think it might be beneficial to many to have those specs." He sipped his Scotch, "And to be able to work with a fine group such as the IRG, we all have much to gain."
For the moment, they took in the environment. "When I had this cafe built, I wanted it made at one of the highest points on the ship. I wanted it made so that after a long day, people could come here and relax...forget about hard work. I think I achieved that so enjoy yourself awhile. If you desire quarters for your time here, I can arrange it. No need to rush to the device if you have time."
Brad smiled at the offer, "Ordinarily I would bite at the chain at the chance to have a real bed. But your project has some items that require attention on my end before we can begin. Namely informing the Director, having personnel assigned, labs, and so on." Brad again drank from his glass. "That being said I will enjoy your hospitality a bit more before I get started."
"Very well," Doc answered smiling. "I will set up quarter for your people. All I ask is that all check their side arms. This is, after all, a place of peace and medicine."
"Oh, and I will provide you with an executive office for you all to set up shop." He then motioned around his cafe, "For now, relax and enjoy. We have quite the menu here, cuisine from all houses and everything in between."