ALJ Chpt 84

frameless|right|300px|link=A Long Journey
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==Chapter 84 - A Long Journey==
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6 August 2787
Mackolla (Federated Suns)
Amanda Collinsworth had been with Mackolla Enterprises since the very beginning, one of the first researchers hired by Gerald Mitchell. She was technically in charge of the entire twelve-person research team but also did her own research. She also had purchasing powers, though she had yet to actually use that power. She had tracked most companies inside the Terran Hegemony, but currently that was assigned to another researcher so that she could focus on a broader front. Today she was just double checking the work of the other researchers when something caught her eye, TechniCorp had basically imploded when the company headquarters was destroyed on Terra during the Amaris War, most of its factories across the Inner Sphere had been gobbled up by other concerns except for two, one was on Panpour and trying to resist being bought out by Jalastar Aerospace and just barely hanging on financially and the other was too far away to worry about, it was the Panpour location that had her attention. 
She examined all the public records and saw that Jalastar Aerospace was lowballing its bids, it was nowhere near enough for what the factory was actually worth. She cracked her fingers and entered in a bid for the TechniCorp factory that was triple Jalastar Aerospace's latest bid for the factory. It was her first time actually using her purchasing power given to her by Gerald Mitchell. The message would go out via HPG priority, and she hoped for a quick response. With the war on, via public records, it was only a matter of time before the AFFS made a massive order which would cause the price to skyrocket. But its last financial disclosure showed that it was a poor candidate for any bank loans and to take on a large contract like she thought would soon arrive at their doorstep they would need capital to work with. Capital that she was sure Gerald Mitchell would provide. It was a massive complex and a primary AFFS contractor.
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14 August 2787
A courier hand delivered the message to Amanda Collinsworth, and she opened it up and read the message. Her heart jumped into her throat. She stood up and walked over to Gerald Mitchell's office knocking lightly on the closed door. A faint "come in" followed. She opened the door and slipped inside.
"Amanda, what good news do you have for me today?" Gerald Mitchell asked
"Sir, I need one point two billion dollars." Amanda Collinsworth said
The pencil that Gerald Mitchell had been twirling in his fingers shot across the room. "Say that again, I think I might have heard wrong."
"One point two billion dollars. I put a big in on TechniCorp's factory on Panpour. It is worth every penny and then some. I would not have made the bid if it wasn't." Amanda replied softly
"Amanda, we have been together since the beginning, and you look like your about to faint. Sit down please and tell me what is going on. I have never heard of TechniCorp." Gerald Mitchell said
"They designed the Manticore and most of their factories got gobbled up after the Amaris War. Jalastar Aerospace has been breathing down their necks and low balling the bids. I outbid them." Amanda replied softly
"Are you sure it is worth that amount?" Gerald Mitchell asked
"Possibly much more. Sir I do my homework, always have, you know this. I had to move fast before they caved to Jalastar. The last AFFS contract they got was worth nineteen billion. There is now a real shooting war, and I expect the next contract to probably arrive at any time and be much larger. I had to move fast. Did I screw up?" Amanda replied almost in tears
"No, my dear, you made a smart move. I am curious though, what was their profit margin under TechniCorp while it was whole?" Gerald Mitchell asked
"Thirteen percent was the average from the last twenty years. It is a profitable entity." Amanda replied
"So, that last contract profited them roughly two point five billion. I will get the money transferred to them immediately. Any idea how long it took them to fulfill that last contract?" Gerald Mitchell asked
"It was a five-year contract which they completed on time while also fulfilling an order from the Outworlds Alliance and quite a few Planetary Guard orders. It is a large complex, massive really." Amanda replied her spark returning
"It must be. I might have to send Colin out to take a look at it. Unless you want to take a trip, it was your first purchase. Vice President Amanda Collinsworth." Gerald Mitchell said with a smile
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