Entering the conference room to a warm greeting, Bucksworth immediately grabbed Holliday's extended palm with both of his hands and shook it with excitement.
"Nice to finally meet you in-person, Dr. Holliday! And you as well, Dr. Xi! I hope your flight here was a pleasant one. I've also brought a partner along with me. Meet Dr. Persimony Felcher, our head of R&D."
Felcher proceeded to shake Holliday's hand as well, while Bucksworth took a seat. His handshake was rather more cold and professional, although his face expressed a visible hint of a smile. It may have been for the realization that he finally gets to meet scientists of his own caliber, or perhaps it was due to Holliday's wide hat which he found amusing.
"Pleasure to meet you, Doc."
He sat down at the meeting table, facing Dr. Xi and giving her a gentle nod for a greet.
Once everyone settled down, the station employee who escorted Cryer walked into the room gracefully.
"I hope you find your seats comfortable and the table roomy enough. It's not everyday we host a meeting for executives of a major corporation aboard. May I offer you some drinks? Coffee perhaps?"
"That'd be wonderful, thank you! I'll have an extra creamy Cappuccino, please."
"A Doppio Espresso for me. Thanks."
Pleasantly surprised and rather flattered by the excellent service given aboard the station, Bucksworth sighed in relief of any worries he previously had about this meeting. He waited patiently for the pair from MFE to make their orders, then the meeting could finally begin.
"Alright lady and gentlemen, you probably all know why we're meeting here, but I'd like to make sure we're all on the same page. Prior to this meeting, Dr. Holliday and I have discussed possible ways for our organizations to collaborate on research. The benefits for each side are quite obvious, so we're here to openly discuss which aspects of collaboration we can offer each other and to which extent. One such idea for a collaboration we've entertained so far is opening a communication channel through which MFE would report cases from the field and Cryer would perform analysis and offer a suitable treatment. This is, of course, only the initial thought. I'd very much like to hear your opinions and extensions of the idea."
