Livadia, The bar
The recent passage of a Nephilim had torn a faint seam in the nebula, allowing the pale light of the yellow dwarf to bathe the station. Donagan let his thoughts drift with the twirling clouds and quiet lightshow until Flintlocke’s reflection resolved in the reinforced glass. He drew one last puff on his pipe and turned to greet his visitor.
“Greetin’s, Mr. Flintlocke. I didnae expect ye this soon. Checkin’ on the progress, are ye?”
He snuffed the pipe and tucked it into one of his many pockets.
“Sae far, all’s goin’ accordin’ tae plan. We’re nailin’ down the last wee details, then we’ll run a few points past Bristol—just tae be sure—since we’ll be commissionin’ more Bulwarks from them.”
Dante eyed the Darkhorse sitting in the nearby drydock undergoing the work.
"Quite. The crew was thankful for the downtime, but now they're starting to get 'ants-in-their-pants'. Seems they want to get back out there. Not intending to rush or anything."
Dante grew quiet, admiring the work of the Phoenix crews.
"Not sure if you heard but, apparently our wayward Director returned from the aether. Seems he's on a warpath to getting things back in motion for our various research projects, grants, etc. Your people might here from him in time for assistance on other interesting research projects--figured I should let you know ahead of time so you wouldn't be blindsided by Dr. Montgomery's...interesting demeanor of late."
The two stood in silence for a few seconds before Dante turned to the engineer again.
"I've requested the use of one of your guest conference rooms as well. I'd like to brief my command staff on our upcoming mission into the Deep Omegas. Thank you for all you're doing for our teams and please advise on the invoice so I can forward it onto our bean counters at Ikarus in Tau-23."
He smiled a weak smile at the mention of the bean counters. Dante knew that this particular venture for the Darkhorse wouldn't be cheap, but the addition of a drop bay for the ship would go a long way into making the modified Cruiser into a ship of science rather than war.
Livadia, The bar
Donagan flinched at the mention of the deep Omegas.
“So ye’ve felt the pull o’ the unknown as well, have ye?” He smirked. “We’ve already established a base near one o’ the entrances.”
His expression sobered as he exhaled.
“Those systems are rich, aye. But they’re viciously dangerous. We’ve committed a few capital ships and squadrons out there, and we’ve barely mapped the place. Lost a few good men already, too.”
He rummaged through his many pockets for a moment before producing a small rock sample.
“But we’ve found riches. See this? That’s osmium. We’ve already got a few uses for it—engines, armour, an’ even the weapons side o’ things. It’ll take years tae uncover all its applications, but it’s worth the effort.”
He slipped the rock away again and pulled out a datapad. After a quick glance, he continued:
“As for the invoice, we’ll settle it once the job’s complete. Ye never ken what surprises might crop up. With what’s left and a few tests, I’d say we’ve maybe a month’s work at most.”
He waved a hand dismissively.
“I won’t drown ye in the technicals, sounds like ye’ve meetings tae attend. I’ll also look into that Dr. Montgomery ye mentioned. Till then—take care.”
