A String for Every Puppet

[Lister]

From:Head of Research and Design Kayleigh Wallace
To:CEO Felix Sherman, Board of Directors
RE:Project Themis and Project Hephaestus
Greetings Directors.
Both development projects proceed as planned. H-1 is nearing completion, with H-2 and H-3 not far behind. Estimated 1 month SUT to design completion and beginning of initial construction and prototyping.
T-1 design is unfortunately not as far. Several redesigns have taken place and a key piece of structural research was lost in a Hacker attack on a convoy from Furyoku. However, the project is still on track for completion within the set deadline. Attached to this transmission is a base sketch for your viewing pleasure.
At this time, no additional funds or resources are requested.
~Dr. Wallace
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Felix Sherman put the message down. It was the end of the day aboard Furyoku Station, the newly minted Headquarters of Interspace Commerce. For tax reasons, of course.
Nothing like evading taxes by moving to a tax-less sovereign corporate state. One that soon would be his by law, although he hardly had the ships to enforce any laws.
Hmmph. I'll have to ask the KNF for help with that.
The chair crinkled as he stood, the leather taking on it's original shape. He strode over to a pile of as-yet unpacked boxes, the remains of his office on Newark. One of them held liquor, and he was determined to find it.
An hour and a dozen phone calls later, the time finally came to call it quits. He uncorked the bottle he hadn't had time to enjoy until then, poured a shot, and inserted the holodisk from Wallace's message into his terminal.
The screen in front of him blazed to life, flickering stock and accounting figures for a second before loading the image.
Beautiful. Now to figure out who I have to bribe or blackmail to get it built.
He left by the door, palming a switch that plunged the office into darkness, the afterimage holding on the screen for a second as it slowly faded away.