A New Hope for O-Theta

[Catto]

Weiss Executive Officer Klaus Lieber

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Lieber furrowed his brows, tapping the side of the thin pad containing the data. He always enjoyed reviewing the stream of numbers. It allowed him to detach from everybody else present, a veritable priest of logistics, divining the will of markets in communion with the invisible hand of the market itself, its will raised above that synodal symbol stretching his belt. His ministrations finished, he looked down in the spirit of patience and temperance, and seemed to lament the visions the Economy had given him.

His face was sincere, like a doctor confessing a terminal diagnosis to a family on the edge of hope:

"I'm afraid we'll need to adjust some details, if this deal is to proceed."

He turned to his fellow Rheinlander, Amelia, with half a smirk under a kaiser moustache.

His eyes became earnest, facing the Phoenix VIP next, the exact words hanging at his lips, before he was sure they would be heard:

"Herr Johnatan, I can see you have the confidence, the history, and the means at your disposal to build this 'Freeporteress' project, with our specialized help of course, but you will not be able to sustain it as is. I, personally, would loathe to screw you over a deal of this significance, one with an ally as the Phoenix Zoners. Should my Daumann counterpart agree, I would like to propose more than a few amendments that would ensure both the future of your essential holdings, and our joint interest as people, if allowed."

He set aside a tab on the pad, in anticipation of a favorable answer. It contained a map of Sirius, streams of normally classified information casually scrolling besides points of interest, inside small boxes poping in and out of existence on the screen. He teased with the face of the device, not really showing the contents to present company in a bid to reel them in.

He was, after all, about to offer both much more than they bargained for, for better or worse.