The Acquisition

[Barrier]

George Everett Rolph slowly paced the immaculate display room of the DSE office, Pittsburg. In the back of his mind, he took in the awards, lined up behind seamless armorglass, stretching back over multiple generations of daring spacefarers. His attention was focused on the inside, on the voice inside his head from his neural communicator.

"That is a substantial increase. Do we know yet if it's being subsidized by an outside entity? Kishiro, perhaps?"

The next few paces proceeded in silence, the rest of the team talking in low voices as their eyes followed the boss.

"We have done all we could on the monetary front. The shareholders won't stand for operating at a loss, market rate or no! I'll make the necessary calls." Another short pause. "Good. Ensure that at least one vessel is operating around the clock. Report back in forty-eight hours."

One of the staff huddle, a diminutive man, broke off and strode up to the boss. He flashed a table of numbers on his datapad, and Rolf took them in without breaking stride.

"Node 297, Cole."
"Online, boss."
"Howdy there folks. I just thought I'd remind ya'll about the tentative agreement we got goin' on here. We're still in great need of any of them Propulsion systems, and I know your people stock the best quality. If you're thinkin' of re-negotiatin' the price, I'll have my people look at the numbers again-" a woman from the group shook her head "and get back to you real soon. Meanwhile, why don't you continue them deliveries, and we'll talk reimbursement if we end up re-negotiatin', eh?"

One of the armed men in the room cleared his throat. "VIP is on the way, boss. Two minutes, give or take."

"Larissa, get me the latest on these people again, smart summary. Maybe the mics picked something up in the shuttle."
"Way ahead of you boss. Nothing but polite bullshit."
"Well, no harm in trying. Be ready."

The woman merely nodded.
Rolf positioned himself near the big probe by the entrance, thumbs casually tucked into his belt. He cleared his throat, recalling the recent comm to get back into gear.

Finally, he nodded to the armed man, who activated something on his wrist. The doors slid open.