FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Fathom's Phantoms At an End

Theo had never much enjoyed travel but as Jennifer's highest ranking managerial assistant it was his duty. The trip had been three weeks long in total. The first several days were via a private chartered shuttle and that had been pleasant enough. From there Jen and her entourage were loaded onto a DRC Corp shuttle-- still corporate, though not as nice as her father's. Approximately two weeks into their trip they were then loaded onto a public transport in first class. By the time the team sat waiting for the commercial flight memories began returning to some of them.

Jen made a huge fuss about the majority of her Geneticons before being forced to fly coach and after some name dropping she managed to get every last one of them upgraded. While the majority of the team found it to be a little out-of-character for her Theo, Carol, and Henry took it in stride with little more than a knowing-glance toward one another. Everyone else was in for a bigger surprise when they found out that Jen had ordered their HID rations eliminated... apparently her father had approved an alternate chemical cocktail designed by some super-genius Cat... slightly modified, of course.

They had a short stopover at Farlight Station (the last real sign of civilization in the far reaches of deep space). When they walked through the spaceport to meet their private DRC spacecraft they ran into numerous men and women who were looking to cancel their Sigma-Echo contracts; their excuses were everything from having 'a bad feeling' to 'everyone there is gonna die'. Most people considered it space lunacy but then again most people hadn't experienced it themselves. Theo and the others simply exchanged glances and continued on.

The Gens had been off of HID for almost two days by the time the final leg of their journey got underway. Unlike the first time they'd gone through the trip their shuttle was surprisingly empty which provided Jen and her employees almost full run of the ship. It turned out to be a good thing since it took time for everyone to get used to their bodies without the HID. Theo took it upon himself to keep the peace and he felt he did a fine job of it. When Jen remarked the same it only reaffirmed the thought.

Although Jen technically should have checked in at the security station first thing when she arrived at the station she chose instead to bring her team to the closest comm device. Theo provided some credits for the rest of the team to purchase some basic supplies from the station's Central Hub while he, Jen, Henry, and Carol gathered around the communication device. They were not disappointed when ALVIN spoke up without them making a connection. "I am glad to see you received my message in good order."

Jen was very to-the-point. "What you said-- that we are repeating everything again."

"Yes?"

Jennifer sighed at the friendly question. "Not everything is the same as last time."

ALVIN's initial response was not very helpful. "Correct, Overseer. Several changes have been purposefully put into place while others are simply side effects of the previous experiences we have all had."

Jen frowned slightly. "There are some very big changes, Alvin... like the Station Captain, for example?"

The program didn't need any more of a 'hint'. "You are referring to the fact that the Station Captain is not Nida Jorn?"

Henry spoke up at that. "Yea. Did she turn it down or something?"

ALVIN's laugh seemed genuine despite it being from an artificial intelligence, "No, Henry. Nida Jorn did not have any reason to be on Sigma-Echo and so she never pulled the necessary strings to be posted here. The Nida Jorn of this world is stationed on a cruiser named the Destino, and has memories completely different than the Voljoi who had previously been the captain of this station."

The Hyena wasn't pleased with the answer. "But she should have been... right? Everyone else who died last time around is doing the same things this time as they did last time."

The program's response was just as direct while still being just as cryptic. "Aside from Chaos Theory, Henry, there is a much more direct reason as to why Nida Jorn is not acting the same as last time, and that is because she does not have the knowledge she was given in the previous run through of these events. In fact, one may argue that she is more herself than she was in our last set of experiences. She does not know about the Transitive Wave or the Phantoms or the Yggdrasil Project which, incidentally, has not been instituted by DRC."

Carol's ears went up. "Transitive Wave?"

"Nothing you will need to be concerned with if all goes well."

Jennifer cleared her throat. "You said in your first message that you found a way to help save LHI from the merger."

ALVIN's voice was all smiles. "Correct... among other things. I will, however, require your assistance on a number of matters."

Henry frowned. "So... blackmail, huh?"

The Program's voice still sounded pleasant but Theo could hear a hint of displeasure in it. "Mutual benefit, Henry. I do not believe in blackmail."

The Hyena opened his muzzle to speak again but Jen held up a finger and he went silent. She spoke up instead. "What do you need, Alvin? How can we help?"

"I have plans in motion to resolve many problems, and DRC's ownership of LHI is one of those. With your assistance I have established a series of actions that will ultimately lead to protection against the Phantoms. My hope is that the steps I have taken thus far to show you my sincerity have convinced you that these plans will be beneficial to all."

Theo was the next to ask a question. "So you brought us here to Sigma-Echo to do what?"

There was little more to discuss other than a very complex yet surprisingly simple request that the AI had for them. "Fail."

As it turned out, one of ALVIN's primary steps to security the safety of reality was to make it so that DRC lost interest in the Sigma system altogether and the surest way to do that was to make certain the station failed as a business venture. Theo knew it went against every fiber of Jen's being especially since her father always told her to try her best. When she said she'd do it however, Theo realized that in this case her best would be ensuring the survival of her team and everyone aboard the station. It was a strange way to start a contract but Theo pushed past it; as long as Jen was with him then nothing else really mattered.

From there, Jen, Theo, Carol, and Henry met up with the rest of the team. Theo led the group back to the by-now-familiar four apartments. The other Gens were surprised he knew the way so well but Jen passed it off as his excellent directional sense. While Theo had to act surprised at the fine accommodations it truly did excite most of the rest of the team. As with before the group separated into four sets of roommates.

Jen's apartment included, just like last time, Marco and Robert in one room and Carol in a second. The third room was, of course Theo's but as expected Jen had him move the bed from it into hers; they had been together since they were kids and that hadn't changed a bit. What had changed however was what came next.

They had the rest of the day off and he was looking forward to an evening of downtime before they began their Jen-approved sabotage of the station's operating potential. Theo had just finished getting help from Nate moving the second bed into Jen's room and was loosening the tie from around his neck. She stepped up to him and gently pulled the tie free, standing up to her tip toes so she could give him a kiss on the cheek.

He felt his ears flush immediately as the blood flowed into them... along with, much to his shock and horror, other parts as well. He thought back to that moment in the elevator right before everything ended last time but his mind was pulled right back to the present when Jen slid her arms around his midsection and hugged him close. "Theo?"

He didn't trust himself to speak any real words without letting out a puppy whine along with them, so he settled on a very strained. "Hmm?"

She withdrew just a little so she could look up into his face. "The HID..."

Theo nodded vigorously. "Um... yea. ALVIN really came through with the modified version of Dr. Cortez's serum, didn't he?"

Jen smiled, covering her lips with her fingers as she tried to subdue a surprisingly girlish giggle. "Not that... I mean... not having it."

The Wolf unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, suddenly feeling very warm-- not as warm as Jennifer's hand on the side of his cheek but-- He quickly reset his thoughts. "...kay."

She drew closer, pressing up against him. "And... I was thinking about the elevator... back... you know... before."

Theo simply nodded. "I... uh... think about that too...and... I mean... if you--"

She silenced him with a kiss and only pulled back after his tail had untucked and started wagging. She smiled as his paw slid up to caress her cheek and only then did she speak. "I... don't want separate beds tonight."

He swallowed, wracked with a moment of doubt before he leaned forward and renewed the kiss. The Wolf wasn't sure whether she was going to slap him or just pull away but in the end it was neither. He growled softly as she began to unbutton his shirt and she gasped when he nibbled down the side of her neck. He felt her heart beating through her chest as it pressed against his, and then even moreso as he cupped her bare breast in a paw. By that time they were both falling back toward their beds... which did not remain separated.

* * * * * *

Mike Rycraft tapped his finger on his desk rhythmically; his impatience was nearly driving him to distraction as he waited for the newest file to show up on his tablet. While most other executives in his position would have just as easily have 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-- frankly, he had to make sure they didn't get in the way of business.

The file finally loaded and it had taken long enough that he didn't have as much time as he would have liked to review everything. Any day when he had to carefully spin a status report fo the benefit of investor relations was a day everyone else wasn't doing their job and that meant he had to work twice as hard. As he looked through the numbers from the latest Sigma-Echo data he knew that he was facing one such day. Letting out a sigh, he flipped through past all of the filler info to the meat-and-drink: was Sigma-Echo turning out to be a good investment? He didn't like the answer.

There had been a confidence free fall around DRC's recent 'bust' when it came to the Sigma system and the media division had a hard time of fighting back the frenzy of news reports and speculative news coverage and 'expert testimonials'; his job would be nowhere near as easy. Unlike media relations Mike 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. Reviewing the horrible numbers AGAIN Mike realized he had a LOT of cleaning to do.

Flipping through the dossier on Sigma-Echo's read outs, reports, and updates, the CIRO was dismayed to see that the first month's numbers were not even half of what was expected. He also saw that out of five objectives only one had been met. The report didn't bother stating most of the objectives but that was just useless information as far as he was concerned; investors wanted results and not meeting goals was the exact opposite. They had been waiting a long time for a return on their money and DRC Corp was NOT delivering. The shareholders were getting impatient and everyone was aware of it.

If Mike knew the board of directors (and he did), they would have an exit strategy and it would probably involve throwing him under the bus. 'Shoot the messenger', it was called and despite the old adage suggesting against it, in the corporate world it was the law of the land. Unfortunately for them however, Mike wasn't interested in being a sacrificial lamb. No... he'd worked far too long at getting somewhere to be stuck out in nowhere. He set the report down and looked at another stack of papers he'd been gathering for over a week.

Ah yes... papers-- something nobody could hack or download; they were the perfect medium for his presentation material. He used that thought to bring himself the kind of confidence the failure of Sigma-Echo would normally have undermined. Mike put on his best smile because, after all, it was always easiest to smile when you had a plan and he had QUITE a plan. Normally at this point in time during the shareholder meeting it would be his job to try and tap the shareholders' pockets but this time he had a different goal.

Glancing at his PCD the CIRO realized he had another five minutes until the conference began. Looking over the expected attendees to the conference he 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 to 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-- more proof that the corporation was hurting.

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. Normally he wouldn't think to question their methods but, this time, he had a different tactic. Rather than choose an animal and color for himself Mike chose instead to present a video feed and he adjusted his tie accordingly. He also made certain that the board members' lines were muted.

Rather than start off with the usual company profile Mike prepared his start-up sound file for specific information he wanted to present. He had only a minute or two left for the prerecording and he decided to make it good. "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, DRC 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. "Although it has been heralded in the past as a cutting-edge company run by men with foresight and driven to success, much has changed in recent years. As the Chief Investment Relations Officer, it is my responsibility and, in fact, my duty to report the method in which the corporation makes use of investor funds. This money which has, in the past, been carefully managed and used to greatest effect, has not been utilized to its fullest. You will see in the attachment that DRC has recently made three corporate acquisitions that have not been approved by shareholder majority and nearly thirty five percent of these funds were obtained from investors such as yourselves under false pretenses."

By now, the meeting had started and he was in a taped delay, providing him the opportunity to think of his next words carefully and lay out the information as he wanted to represent it. He uploaded a file for the presentation to reference. "As you can see here, DRC Corp's recent purchase of LHI was financed with millions of credits that had been earmarked for the Sigma-Echo project. For your review I am also attaching the current quarter-end report for the station which will clearly show the effect the funds siphoning has had on the project. Production numbers are down and the benchmark progress has been met on only one goal. This is not what investors should expect from their investment."

The CIRO paused the recording as he considered how to proceed; he knew his buffer was lessening so he had to think quickly. Chewing his lip he contemplated the presentation; DRC Corp's recent CEO had been tried and convicted on numerous less-than-stellar charges and so he quickly uploaded that file. "This is not the first time DRC has misappropriated funding and the Sigma-Echo project has the fingerprints of ulterior motive smudged clearly on all the financial reports."

The recording had already started by that point and he saw numerous lights pop up indicating that attendees were signaling that they wanted an opportunity to speak. They would have it of course, but not before he made his point. Clearing his throat, Mike pulled out several index cards outlining a plan submitted to him in secret by an 'interested party' onboard the station. He didn't know the individual feeding him the information but it was too perfect to bypass-- especially since he could present the ideas as his own. "Considering the lack of transparency in these transactions I would encourage any non-guilty member of the board to support an inquiry into these matters and consider the following opportunities to repair investor relations."

He readied the cards. "To begin, I have established a three step program to reimburse investors for the misuse of their funds. Dismantling Sigma-Echo and breaking down the pre-established Central Column will limit the net loss of this project to 19.6 billion. The board is within the window to cancel the purchase of Life Happens Incorporated, sell off station patents, and auction the Sigma System. Taking these steps will allow DRC to replenish its liquid funds to make up the majority of the difference. I estimate the remaining funds outstanding to be just over 900 million."

Smiling, he flipped the card to the coup de grace. "I will now open the line to any questions, which I am sure the board members will be happy to address."

Mike's smile grew wider when he saw that every last board member was off of the conference line. "I am sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but it appears we no longer have board members present."

The call broke down into total chaos but Mike was completely ready for that. He disconnected after attempting to make a show of answering questions and supporting shareholders then sat back down at his desk and kicked his feet up. A moment later his PCD alerted him to the fact that he had a private call incoming. He pressed the receive button. "This is Mike."

The smooth, pleasant voice at the other end had a few second delay which was amazing since the distance to Sigma-Echo should have made real-time conversation impossible with a twelve minute lag. "I hope the meeting went well."

Smiling, the CIRO glanced around for a cigar. "It's going to be a massacre, and I'm probably the only one getting out alive."

"That is very good to hear. And you presented the internal report I supplied?"

Mike let out a sigh of pure bliss. "Like I said... a massacre."

The speaker on the other end chuckled in a good-natured way; all of the pleasant ambivalence had a way of worrying Mike but he pushed past it. His contact continued. "Did you give the investor audit to the proper authorities?"

The CIRO grinned despite not having visual mode on. "I'm going to be a god damn hero."

"I am just glad that everything turned out for the best."

Mike nodded. "Me too, Mr. X. Thanks again."

The man disconnected and set his PCD down on his desk. He felt as though his lips were going to hurt from all of the smiling. He wasn't sure just how much trouble the DRC executives would be able to escape but he had a feeling some people were going to fall hard and he knew HE wasn't one of them. His little escapade might mean that he'd never work for a major corporation again but he didn't mind; his whistle blowing reward would net him a percentage of the total crim, and a few million sounded like more than enough on which to retire. Yes, he thought to himself, it was going to be a good day.