The weapon's research has been on schedule for two weeks now without any foreseeable progress.
Dr. Ulrich said if he gave the team time, it could work...
The weapon may be a pea shooter for all they know
Marvin thought, conflicted.
Time, unfortunately, wasn't the only thing he requested. He also needed nearly $200,000,000.
Dr. Ulrich assured him all of it would go to Project Diamond Dusk but Marvin's been betrayed before, such as the case of Drill Seargent Jeffery Peters...
Marvin paced around his office on Freeport 11. Thinking. It would be quite an achievement... to finally have something to show for the countless millions invested in the Scientific division. Nothing ever panned out. Failure after failure without progress... in any field. Marvin was actually thinking of firing the active research staff and only keeping the very neccesary Nomad specialists who help pull apart the goo that comes out of their ships when they burst into flames.
He decided it would have to happen to continue the project.
Marvin James Orphelia
Freeport 11, Omicron Delta, Eastern Omicrons
Pay to the Order of Doctor Dorian Ulrich
Two Hundred Million Credits and 00/100
Omicron Central Bank and Trust,
Freeport XV, Omicron 74
Signed, Marvin James Orphelia
He handed the check to Dr. Ulrich.
Dr. Ulrich pushed a button on the side of the very thin metal projector that created the hologram, and the money was deposited directly to his nuero-net account. Dr. Dorian explained that if they wanted to keep their project secret, a direct nuero-net to nuero-net transfer was not secure and a check would be much more safe. God forbid the Order find out while they can still stop the development in its infancy.
Marvin passed off using the old format as a indicator of Dr. Ulrich's age.
Dr. Ulrich closed the door to Marvin's office, quietly. He headed back to Sub-Division 3. It was much less hectic than normal as the sleep cycle neared. With the extra money secured from Marvin, he could hire multiple shifts working around the clock to get this weapon working. He could hire graduate students... and drop many of the ignorant so called 'professionals' with a hard head and only 4 years of study in their brains.
It was his baby. Dr. Ulrich was content. He hadn't headed a well-funded research team of any kind since...
Ever.
The weapon's tip glowed like a spectre in the night, as the rows of lights in the test tube shut off one by one with a slight delay in between, it left the erie blue-green glow of the unseen energy of the weapon alit.
Dr. Ulrich suddenly set down his coffee.
He had formulated a hypothesis...
The weapon... draws energy directly from the ship's systems.
With no conventional connections.
It would have to be tested of course, but knowing something about the foreign toy you're playing with is better than knowing nothing...