A String for Every Puppet

[Lister]

The recruits slowly filed in to the blank room, grabbing the ubiquiteous cup of cheap coffee and a donut or biscuit.
Behind the one way transparent wall the engineer looked over his instruments while Tammo examined the interns minutely.
"This sorry lot the best we get? Wha'er happened to hot-tae-trot businessmen wit big dreams? Wha' 'appened to men loike ye an' me, Mike?"
The engineer waited a second before replying, taking one last look at a dial.
"We all got scooped up Tamm. These bunch are the refuse from last year's colleges. All the good ones get recruited fore they even leave campus, like that Jenkins down in Comms, or Milford in Systems Design. Those guys are the next us. This group of losers won't be anything more than claims adjusters or minor techs, maybe a low-level manager by the time they're fourty. The lucky bastards among them are going into security, and maybe one or two has some skill in a cockpit."
He shrugged.
"That's just how it works."
Tammo clasped a hand on the engineer's shoulder.
"Ah well. An'ways, the new progrem should run in half the toime an' imprint deeper than 'afore. Heh. It still bothers me tha' this was done tae me as well."
With that Tamm left the room and headed back to his office.
Mike the engineer took his customary seat, readying the program and the video that would mask it.
When he was set, he flipped on the intro and rolled the film, sipping his cheap coffee.
A screen built into one of the room's walls flickered to life, the ambient light darkening and the intern's heads all turning as the Core began it's speech.
"Hello, young recruits, and welcome to Interspace Commerce New Employee Orientation! Interspace Commerce is commited to ensuring our new interns have all the neccessary available information, beacuse remember, YOU are the future of Interspace Commerce!
Historically Interspace Commerce has been a financing and insurance corporation. However, over time this giant of industry has branched out into other fields of profit and study, fields like ship design, Lane Gate upgrades, secure transport, escort services, and banking. Let's begin with a guided tour of Interspace Commerce's internal structure.
The entity known to Sirius as Interspace Commerce is actually five seperately incorperated subsididaries all wholly owned and operated by Interspace Commerce Transnational Holdings, the parent corporation. These five subsididaries are Interspace Commerce Liberty LLC, Interspace Commerce Bretonia Ltd., Interspace Commerce Rheinland GmbH, Interspace Commerce Kusari 株式会社, and Interspace Commerce Fundings.
Both Interspace Commerce Transnational Holdings and Interspace Commerce Funding are unique in that, rather than having been incorporated within the four Houses, chose instead to take advantage of the Okinawa system and incorperated within the GMG's space, effectively putting their profits outside of the tax system.
The four subsididaries are liscensed as usurers, and maintain the standard business practices of Interspace by insuring companies and shipping based out of their respective space, while all non-insurance activities have been reassigned to Interspace Commerce Transnational Holdings, herafter Interspace Holdings. As a new employee of Interspace Holdings, you will be assigned or have chosen one of the following divisions: Secure Transport, Security and Escort, Financing, Merchant Banking, Corporate Accounting, Sales, Financial Services, Investment Services, Marketing Services, Research and Development, Resource Aquisitions, Janitorial Services, Station Docking Services, or our sector-reknowned Legal Department.
The beep and flashing on the console startled Mike.
Damn, done already? He wasn't kidding when he said it was faster. Might as well cut it short.
He palmed the red stop button, disengaging the program and winding down the film as the Core sounded the intermission.
"Thank you for watching this engaging look at Interspace Holdings' structure. Please take a short break before returning to be introduced to a brief overview of our Corporate Standards and Practices! Food can be acquired from the mess next door."
Mike smirked as the interns filed out to get lunch from the cafeteria. The brief overview was almost five hours long.