FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Fathom's Phantoms It's Only the Beginning

Mike Rycraft tapped his finger on his desk rhythmically, waiting patiently for the newest file to show up on his tablet. While most other executives in his position would have just as easily downloaded the information onto their PCD, Mike was too far knowledgeable in the ways of information brokering to think that such transmissions were safe; when it came to PCDs there were plenty of people out there that knew what do to do get what they wanted... and he wasn't about to let those kinds of people get at his.

As DRC Corp's Chief Investor Relations Officer, it was Mike's job to make certain that all of the in-the-know investors remained in-the-know, all of the high level investors were kept content and suitably rewarded for their contributions, and that all of the group plan negotiators kept considering DRC Corp as one of their primary investment buys. As for the little mom-and-pop shareholders, the day-traders, and the multitudes of under-100,000 share nobodies... well... he had to make sure they didn't get in the way of business.

The file finally loaded and report began with a very prominent "DRC Corp, Investor Relations - Company Confidential" title page. He quickly flipped past that to the meat and drink of the file: information on one of the newest corporate ventures, Sigma-Echo station. It had been a long time coming but, as the day drew nearer, Mike knew that it would soon be the day when DRC Corp would announce that Sigma-Echo was open for business... even if it was just a month long trial run to work out the kinks. And that would look good for the media... or, at least, Mike assumed it would.

Although the man was DRC Corp's primary CIRO, his was not precisely concerned with media relations... after all, the corporation had an entirely separate division for that. Instead, he spent his time focusing on choosing the right way to present information to the shareholders... or, more specifically, the shareholders that had the greatest sway within the company. Good news had to be elevated and celebrated while bad news had to be underplayed and, in some cases, swept under the rug.

It was a tightrope walk of sorts; he had to balance the favors of the board of directors with those of the most powerful shareholders. His job was imperative as he was the translator between the people who supplied the money and the people who spent it. It just turned out that he was so good at it that he had on more than one occasion been referred to as "CIRO the Hero." More than one of his team credited it to his mixed heritage, and he wasn't inclined to disagree.

Mike Ryecraft was something of an anomaly among the Humoi, the slang term used to describe the offspring of a union between a Voljoi and a Human. Most of the mixed species resembled their mother with a hint of their father's lineage but, in his case, his mother's side was not quite as prominent as his Human father's. In most ways, Mike looked perfectly Human, though he was bald and his skin was abnormally pale. He also had trouble developing any great amount of muscle mass and his eyes, like those of his mother, were pure black.

He had been something of a pariah as a child-- outcast from all of the activities other children enjoyed. Instead, Mike spent his days paying attention to his studies; his father, a well-to-do business man who dealt with inter-species trade paid for the young boy to attend the finest schools and, on occasion, was even 'thoughtful' enough to bribe the local children to include him in some of their outings. Mike, of course, hated it.

The one thing those fake friends had taught him, however, was just how far some people would go for money. That... and how bad actors made poor disingenuous comrades. In fact, that major lesson helped him through much of his adult life. Although Mike didn't consider his job to be particularly shady, he did have to admit that he had a knack for presenting himself in whatever manner a shareholder needed to see. No... he didn't 'lie'-- he just presented the truth in a unique light.

Flipping through the dossier on Sigma-Echo's read outs, reports, and updates, the CIRO was dismayed to see that construction and staffing wasn't as far along as he would have liked to have seen. The investors had been waiting a long time for a return on their money and DRC Corp was wanting to show them progress in exchange for their faith. The shareholders were getting impatient, and everyone was aware of it.

If Mike knew the board of directors (and he did), they would have plans in the works to tap the station as a resource whether it was ready or not. The progress wasn't exactly far behind schedule, but the assigned officers aboard Sigma-Echo were still a far cry from the corporate elite and that told him that waste and lack of efficiency were to be expected. This meant, of course, that it would be his job to try and tap the shareholders' pockets one more time before the company pressed the 'go' button.

Considering the incomplete nature of the station he was well aware that DRC Corp wasn't about to turn it on and expect 100% efficiency and best-of-times output. It meant that the station would be running on less than 100%... and, truth be told, probably well beneath 50%. When he looked at the numbers he realized that he'd found the perfect way to approach the topic with the shareholders.

Personnel provided a numerical listing of crew accompaniment, laborers, technicians, scientists, and maintenance crew. There were certain expectations of how many full time staff members would be in residence upon the completed station but, Mike reminded himself, the station wasn't yet at full capacity.

In the scope of things, running at quarter output off of a staff at 28% positions filled was, when put in perspective, quite reasonable. A report filed by the station's Captain seemed to agree with his assessment that the status of personnel was sufficient. The CIRO assumed that the board and the shareholders would take that into consideration.

There were, of course, disagreements to his point of view in the reports filed by other members of the station's management team. The Corporate Overseer had yet to arrive on the station, but he was confident she would get things in order... but, until then, DRC had to contend with the endless wants of the station's commanding crew. The Operations Officer had a broad request for the increase of crew and maintenance technicians; the Faculty Director was submitting suggestions on ways to increase the labor pool through the introduction of work study programs; even the Lead Technician had a series of supply requests. As usual, they didn't appreciate the bigger picture: shareholder confidence.

Security was always another large point of focus for any deep space project. While a measly 18% efficiency for the security team might have seemed low for an average assessment, Mike resolved to remind the shareholders that there were very few real concerns for a still incomplete space station, even if did initiate part time operations. Plus, any real security concerns would think that a such a skeleton crew for security indicated that it wasn't a worthwhile target.

Despite the Station Captain's request for added security and the Operations Officer's report on the lack of security procedures and personnel, Mike wasn't sure that added security would really be a good use of funds. Even the Director had a few things to say about security, citing concerns over violence and crime among the workers, but that wasn't really a corporate problem from his point of view-- DRC Corp had to worry about REAL issues.

Pirates and anomalies were always of concern, but the risk either posed was minimal. The largest worry for most members of DRC Corp was the corporation's closest competitor, VAC; that far out in space meant that some less-than-civil dealings could take place but, then again, the Vamos La Corporation had their own projects going and there wouldn't be much call for any sabotage. In fact, the station's Lead Technician did note on his report that any further introduction of security had the possibility of impeding production... and nobody wanted that.

Transportation and logistics were generally a big issue for any production site, and Sigma-Echo was no exception. Although the reports came in listing the Transit system aboard the station at 53%, Mike was sure that it would be capable of more. According to the Station Captain, Sigma-Echo's transportation system for both personnel and equipment was more than sufficient to function for their first reduced capacity tests. Mike was willing to take her word for it, except for several other conflicting assessments.

The Operations Officer suggested increased transit options; the Security Commander submitted a request for fast response shuttles; the Director wanted easier ways for the crew to mingle; even the Lead Technician referenced more transportation would lead to an increase in productivity. What it came down to was the fact that most of the station management seemed to think that 50% wasn't good enough... but Mike wasn't sure that it was worth investing in more heavily when there were so many other areas that were lacking... such as the station's operational system stability.

Although Mike would never reveal it to the investors and shareholders, the CIRO was a little concerned about the 31% stability rating. The station's stability was an indication of how well the project would fare during an emergency or abnormal operating conditions. It measured the combined benefits of having administration staff, system redundancy, and back up project components. Although there were several reports indicating a surplus of administration staff it did little to override his concerns when other, more reasonable management crew had indicated an issue.

While other potions of the station could be forgiven a lower percentage due to construction still being underway, Mike's concern over the stability of the station was several-fold. First, any hiccups during the trial run would shatter investor confidence and set the project back significantly. Secondly was the fact that the stability was in relation to ANY level of station operation, not just maximum productivity. Finally, were the first-hand accounts from the bridge crew... and that was not comforting.

From top to bottom, at least one member of the command team each had a problem with some aspect of the stability status of Sigma Echo. The Captain wanted an increase in administration levels; the Operations Officer was concerned with the status of the backup systems for the station while the Lead Technician didn't feel that the safeguards on the project equipment was sufficient. The one saving grace in Mike's mind was that reserve levels were thankfully reasonable according to the DRC standardized project protocol.

The station's reserve report came in at 52%, which was incredibly high compared to initial estimates. While not directly affecting Sigma-Echo's productivity or operations, the reserves meant that there was recourse if there was a breakdown in stability. Apparently there had been either an oversight in shipping or foresight on behalf of the station command, but Sigma-Echo was much further along in its reserves than Mike would have expected so early on. As anticipated, it was something the station's Director picked up on very quickly.

As part of her progress report, the Director had sent a comment to the home office regarding "wasteful and unnecessary spending" in that she felt a greater attention to detail would decrease the need for so much back up. As expected, her observation of the situation was overruled by both the Station Captain and the Lead Technician; the two of them were the driving forces behind the increase in reserve and both still felt more was necessary-- it was enough to drive Mike mad, and he wasn't even part of the logistics team!

While Mike wasn't completely sold on the idea, he was inclined to agree based on the reports about the stability rating of Sigma-Echo. That, and his own thoughts were practically voiced by the Security Commander on her report: "shortage of emergency back-ups suggest an increase in reserves may be necessary". That and, of course, the Operations Officer also supported the idea of increased reserves... then again, there were few situations in which he didn't suggest additional funding. Interesting enough, however, the final portion of the station's report was one of them.

According to corporate expectations, any construction project runs on the most basic of supplies. Being so far out in deep space, Sigma-Echo had traditionally been better supplied than most projects. Of course, with DRC's interest in starting production meant that it would normally be allotted a greater operating budget with a higher flow of receivables. At 54% of full operational capacity, Mike was willing to say that supplies were sufficient for the station, especially since it was only expected to output a quarter of its full functionality. Thankfully the Operations Officer was, for once, was in agreement... though he was about the only one of the bridge crew who saw it that way.

The first communication from Sigma-Echo after the pre-announcement of a test run was from the captain; she requested some very specific, and very odd supplies, including two tons of sodium hydroxide, a matching Chinese tea set for six (baby blue preference), and a set of red undergarments for every member of the crew. The Captain's idiosyncrasies aside, the Station Commander's request for an increased flow of disposable and perishable goods seemed rather reasonable. The Lead Technician placed a requisition order for more powered tools, mining equipment, and surveying gear.

Most of the requests seemed reasonable considering the upcoming push DRC Corp would have for the outpost but, at the same time Mike had to remind himself that they were only looking for a trial run; the crew wasn't going to be expected to upkeep the output for more than a month, and, even then, they were working at 25% of capacity... unless the shareholders and investors were feeling particularly generous a lot of what the command crew was seeking seemed to be overkill... and providing the entire crew an extra pair of (specifically red) undergarments was a particularly odd request-- like something he'd expect to hear from an insane, Victorian-era king and not the captain of a space station.

Flipping to the end of the reports, Mike glanced over the expected attendees to the conference and was exceedingly surprised to find that he was going to be leading a joint call of the board and the investors; it was an abnormal situation the say the least. Even more difficult, he realized, was that DRC Corp had opened the call to PROSPECTIVE investors, and not just the established shareholders. Upper management obviously had high expectations for their CIRO, and he was not about to let them down.

Five of the board would be present for his presentation and, Mike was surprised; most of them were from the United North American Alliance branch offices. He had expected at least half of the board from the home office in South Africa, but apparently the UNAA division took a greater interest in Sigma-Echo... which, if he thought about it made sense because they had supplied the vast majority of the funding. Interestingly enough, only one of the board was from the home office.

Sifting through the dossiers on the board members listening to his presentation, Mike took a few minutes to familiarize himself with them. During any investor call that involved board members the board never used their real name and their video feed was always limited to specific icons with particular themes: each board member would be indicated by an animal of a specific color. It seemed almost whimsical the way the management worked at times, but it wasn't Mike's place to question their methods. He quickly queued up a picture for himself-- though technically not a member of the board he thought best to present a show of solidarity and selected a red lion.

A board member from the home office in South Africa, two from the Canadian Divide of the United North American Alliance, two representatives from the Lower 48 District of the UNAA, and one from the Greater Australian Island Council. Mike realized that meant there weren't any board members from Greater Europe, which explained why it was at such a strange hour for him... one of the downsides of working out of Brussels.

With new investors, the CIRO realized he'd have to start off with a company profile. He began sifting through corporate reports for investor information he wanted to present. In the end, he chose a simple and to-the-point company overview that would work well for any investors who were attending one of his calls for the first time, and he queued it up to review before adding the sound file in for the call.

"The Deep Recon Connection Corporation is a private corporation that exists to further extend humanity's reach toward the stars. Having evolved from the early attempts at privatizing space flight, DAC Corp credits the corporate space race of 2044 for planting the seed for what would later grow into the company it is today." Mike nodded to himself, tweaking a few words and revising one of the sentences before uploading it, and he continued the playback.

"Highly sought-after for all expansion and colonization programs, DRC Corp owes its success and stability to its careful management of investor funds. <REDACTED>, the current Chief Operations Officer, has over <REDACTED> years of experience in deep space exploration and colony services. Head management--" The CIRO paused the playback, chewing his lip as he contemplated the presentation; DRC Corp's previous CEO had recently been tried and convicted on numerous less-than-stellar charges. He quickly deleted the entire CEO entry and continued reviewing the presentation.

"As the premier private company leading the charge in deep space exploration, DRC Corp is present in every major district on Sol-3 including the UNAA, GAIC, and several branch offices in districts of Greater Europe. DRC Corp also has numerous off-planet branch offices in other Human colonies. As a cross-species venture, DRC Corp also has the premier right to have embassies on several Cytkus worlds along with a branch office in Theda Minor, a near-space Voljoi colony." After considering the presentation for a few moments Mike shortened the section on other races, leaving it simply stating that there were embassies on several non-human worlds... no sense in overdoing it.

Considering the corporate overview complete, Mike also considered preparing some answers to questions he expected new investors to have regarding DRC Corp's only real corporate competitor in their business sector: Vamosla Corp, or VAC on the international exchange. Mike knew better than to set up an under-informed presentation about them, even though they were thirty years newer and had less than 30% of the market share; he would have to figure out how to provide the RIGHT kind of information to prospective investors.

He settled on pointing out that VAC was a new company in comparison and that, while many investment advisers referred to them as "up and coming", that usually translated to risky ventures with higher-than-reliable volatility. As the only real competition of DRC Corp, all of the naysayers and contradictory-based investors were the ones that threw money their way. Although they have had many successful projects, VAC has also been cited numerous times for non-traditional methods... and a lot of traditionalists say cutting corners will eventually catch up with them.

Based out of Brazil, VAC had only risen to any degree of prominence in the last twenty years. Owing its success to maintaining a stranglehold on financing from Central and South America, VAC originally established itself by thoroughly pillaging and over-utilizing government grants... and, as any good investor knows, those eventually dry up. Mike paused, and went back to revise the strong verbiage, choosing instead "A large portion of its income leverages government grants, which suggests to mindful investors that stockholders interests may not always be the company's first priority."

Mike contemplated whether he wanted to include the write-up regarding VAC being the preferred corporate partner of Luna Colony since it suggested that their competitor had them beaten on one front but, in the end he figured he would leave it in the presentation; it was factual and pertinent, but, at the simplest level, most investors planet side hated investors on the moon so it would work to DRC's favor. He was also quick to add in that VAC attempted a hostile takeover of DRC Corp's facilities on Mars Colony several years ago, but failed. VAC has since begun boycotting Mars Colony, but it hasn't suffered in the least, proving DRC Corp's stability and its value to colonial expansion.

Reviewing the plans, Mike nodded to himself, turning off his PCD before leaning back in his chair. The meeting would start in an hour, which meant that he'd have enough time to grab some food and set up the meeting room. He wasn't sure how many investors would be present or how deep their pockets were but he did know that he had a chance to increase funding for the Sigma-Echo project. More than that, however, with several prime board members present he'd have a chance to show how valuable he was to the company as he helped them direct the future of expansion in the Sigma system. It was going to be a good day.