Her ship landed without an issue, she stepped outside and found herself in a handsomly equipped hangar.
Valerie pulled a cigarette from her arm pocket and lit it. As she took a deep inhale she noticed 3 well dressed gentleman on approach. They wore standard Deep Space Engineering suites. She walked towards them slowly, puffing blue smoke along the way.
They came in enough vicinity for proper greetings but hesitated for a short time because they were looking at her battle armor.
One of them finally spoke:
" Greetings Mrs.Gunsmith, Mr.Ballard announced your arrival. I trust your trip was without incidents, yes?
"yes", she replied without hesitation.
" Good", the tall man answered,"we would like to accompany you to the meeting room Mrs.Gunsmith, unless you wanted to unwind a little bit."
"Thank you, but that will not be necessary, im here on business strictly and i would appreciate it if we could do this as soon as possible, i have more pressing matters to attend to", she took a deep inhale and the cigarette was out. Then she turned to the left and slowly waked to the electronic cigarette extinguisher where the cigarette died.
" Shall we, gentleman??", she asked politely.....
They walked in a large conference room filled with blue neon lights, a massive company table surrounded with comfortable armchairs and holografic screens in front of each one. Three people were already seated just across of the entery door, which slid open reacting to the overhang sensor when someone with appropriate clearance passed by. Facial reckognition sensor, she thought to herself.
As she walked in the room and chose one of the chairs to sit in, the door slid shut leaving the three gentlemen outside. She turned her face to the sitting party.
" Those are the welcoming officials Mrs.Gunsmith, we wont be needing them during this meeting", the middle man spoke first, which she reckognized to be Mr.Ballard," I trust your trip here was without incidents?"
She shifted her legs, pulled a cigarette from her arm pocket and replied:"Yes it was Mr.Ballard. Your welcoming comittiee is wel mannared. I can see the company training in its fullest."
" Yes, we keep the level of profesionalism when such esteemed guests arrive. Would you like a cup of coffee Mrs.Gunsmith, or perhaps something to eat?", asked Mr.Ballard.
She took another long drag from her half dead cigarette," You are very kind Mr.Ballard, but the journey wasnt that demanding and i am on a tight schedule. My husband left thing unsorted to say the least, so regretefully i must decline. Rest and relaxation will come later for me, much much later im afraid. I would like to get to the point of my arrival."
She shifted in her chair once more.
" Very well Mrs.Gunsmith, please tell us the reason why you decided to take Deep Space Solutions in a freelancing direction.", now Mr.Ballard shifted in his chair.
There was a brief pause. Finally she finished her cigarette and spoke.....
As Trevor waited, his eyes started stinging from the cigarette smoke starting to linger in the processed air. He knew that the air cleaners will remove the toxins emitted. He waited a moment to hear the retort from his question.
" Mr.Ballard i am the wife of late Dan Gunsmith who was the president of Deep Space Solution, the company i am sure you are familiar with. His tragic death has led me to the decision of managing his company for him. He put considerable time in it and he believed in his own ways, and i am not to let all his efforts go to waste. Be as it may, i do have a different plan for the future of the company."
She lit another cigarette:"You see, the remnants i have managed to get a hold of, have no interest in continuing with Deep Space Engineering work, and to be frank, neither do I. Therefor I am here to tell you we shall remove all the Deep Space Engineering equipment from the station. Deep Space Solutions will be on the path of freelancing from now on, with respect of cloak disruptors and perhaps cloaks production."
She was smoking comfortably for a brief moment...., " I also understand that if we wish to continue on this path, there is no reason nor power for you to stop us, so why did i decide to call up this meeting? Because i am an honorable woman and therefore an explanation to the Deep Space Engineering official body, was necessary.
She continued smoking, waiting for his answer, or a reaction, perhaps both...
Trevor took a moment to take this in, an air of disdain befalls his face. "That's no good at all, to hear about Mr Gunsmith. I do over you my sincerest empathy and I do hope all matters around his death are being investigated" Trevor took another moment and moved on "I'm not going to say I am happy with your decision, although I do understand you have a business to run. Is there any particular reason you're not interested in retaining the DSE franchise?"
" The thing is Mr.Ballard, i never had much interest for company work, " she looked at Trevors eyes and decided not to smoke anymore," and to be honest, Dan was the only one capable and knowing enough to lead his own company. I dont know his men but after the meeting we had, they expressed similar ideas to my own."
She smiled softly," i believe space exploration and wealth accquisition is the future for Deep Space Solutions. Production and manufacture of ship equipment, trading as we desire and where we desire. No one knows what the future brings Mr.Ballard," Valerie took a deep breath," It might be shiny and glorious, or it might be rotten and cadaverous."
Valerie took a brief moment to check her holo wrist watch:" That being said, i must also deeply regret my lack of time, but matters i must attend to are very time consuming and i am sure you also have things to do Mr.Ballard. So if there is nothing else we can do for eachother today, i will have to excuse myself."
Trevor leaned back in his chair, bringing his hands to steeple. He allowed what Ms Gunsmith said sink in a moment and took a deep breathe. "Well, while I can appreciate the efforts of Deep Space Solutions I can also see where you're coming from. I would like to thank you for your time and wish you well in your future endeavours." Trevor stood up and extended his hand over the table, giving Ms Gunsmith a warm smile.
Valerie stood up and looked at Mr.Ballard with couriosity," Where we come from is of little importance Mr.Ballard, it is our actions that define us, not our heritage," she accepted his hand gently.
" Gentleman," she addressed all of them," i bid you farewell."
She turned around and walked to the door,they were slid shut. Mr.Ballard waved his hand and the door slid open. She vanished through the corridors........
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