Common Interests & Uncommon Costs

The old leather creaked audibly as the Gentleman lent back, one leg crossed over the other as he swilled a glass of whiskey brewed locally in commercial in his spare hand, the other resting on the worn yet fine material of the chair. Around him sat 3 others, each resting in a chair of non-dissimilar age, the old worn weather creaking as their occupants relaxed into the fine material. He studied them each in turn for a moment before taking a small sip from the glass, to his left a Brute of a man; all muscle and bad attitude mixed together in the refinery that befitted a member of the so called ‘suits’ caste of employee amongst the company. Laid to rest against the side of the Brute a axe cane forged from the remains of a piece of vehicular armour plating if he was of any judge. The metal work itself inlaid with shifting patterns of ancient plants and shuriken shapes. “Our every present member of Security” He thought silently to himself, he placed his glass down and rest the tips of his fingers together as if meditating as his eyes rolled to the right, pausing on the middle of the 3; a women of such a slight build you would think a light breeze would snap her in two, but whose mind could bring even the most experienced political tactician to their knees in but a few words. “Public Relations” he blinked slowly, inclining his head in a formal greeting to the dagger like wisp of a women across from his, her curt eyes barely registered the movement before returning the tiniest gestures. He turned his gaze to the final member of this trio as he let his hands rest together, swaddled in their lab-coat; head rested back as such that their chin almost pointed at who they were surveying whilst their glasses glinted against the fluorescent lighting from the ceiling. “Research and Development, our erstwhile reclaimists” His eyes rested but for a moment on the Neural Cable just visible behind the lab-coats collar, snaking away under the surface out of site. He closed his eyes for a moment before letting his hands fall besides him on to the chairs arm wrests, stretching his neck and proceeding to get up, he paused as he clasped his hands behind him and looked up at the mural painted into the ceiling of the Board room, a central holographic display unit built into the room structure in order to allow for displays to be projected directly down onto the board room table itself before all the ranking members present. His thoughts lay on the two empty chairs in between the other three occupied seats, before he shook the thought off like one would a heavy coat. “My esteemed Board members” His voice whispered from his mouth like a serpent tasting the air for a heart beat to lock onto, “Once more we gather to set forth the policies for the new physical year that our lowers may attain themselves too, whilst our own present holdings” His words set the stage before him as he turned his head to view each board member in turn, “Bring our departments much grander opportunities from which our efforts as a whole shall soon see fruit”. The Brute scowled, a barely visible twitch belaying the prototype of a grin, The Wisp of a women barely moved beyond he eyes narrowing like a vipers, whilst the lab-coat seemed impassive from behind their tinted glasses. “As you are well aware by now Ceta Dome of the Agri-cultural complexes in once more accessible” He took a step into the middle of the trio, like a singer taking their place upon the stage. “Our own innovative forces have made confirmation of our intent to resettle and reclaim our former property” He stressed the word innovative in place of the real word he wished to use, that being numerically Pathetic. “In such from the owning departmental leaders we have discerned that a position of business has been established and a patent of intent has been drawn” He flexed his fingers behind his back slightly, “though currently the disposition of the trespassing civilian groups, rogue CDF troops and mining barge collectives have us at a simple disadvantage of numbers”. He looked at the 3 board members who were either nodding ever so slightly or listening to what he had to say, “As such the failure at a reclamation draft of a node was unavoidable, however I believe for the time being that our efforts may lye elsewhere, until the time is right for an active and hostile take over can be initiated by departmental employees in the area”. He Looked at the central table and depressed lightly a control panel, revealing a panel of buttons beneath, he flicked a couple and let the holographic display kick into life before turning around to encompass with his arms the projection shown. “Reclamation efforts have laxed in the last several rotational cycles” He looked to the board members, the very edges of a vicious grin creeping onto the edges of his lips. “As such I request to the board that a new directive be undertaken to push the limits of our previous policies” He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them once more, the projection glowing before him. “A directive previously viewed as unnecessary but now with a change in direction all the more viable” His lips curled into a dark smile as the 3 board members nodded ever so slightly to one another. “You have your access permissions Chair man” The Lab-coat sneered, “Do not let us see it as a waste of our time and investment Experimental” The women hissed as she stood in front of the other two board members. “We will not be there to save you or nor will care too” The Brute of a security chair man growled, “Understood” The experimental Chair man bowed, his eyes glinting as he walked away

### Military & Territorial Situation

As with most things within the company, any deployment of a sizeable force with accompanying supplies and potential political clout is usually met with a frenzied hustle of activity as the various departments involved attempt to land claim to one of the officer positions up for auction, alongside larger scale deals for the sharing and dividing of spoils brought back by the reclamation effort amongst those who have either directly, or in some cases indirectly been in control of effort. In the case of an actual army deployment from amongst the various combat personnel spread out across the various departments and the numerous security department troops themselves, it becomes a boiling point of back room deals and share price auctions as the departments clash over who may lay claim to what part of the reclamations made in the form of invested supplies and recouped acquisitions. In this case the overall director for the force had already been decided up and negotiated by the rights drawn up by the Ceta-Dome Reclamation bureau, those independent departmental’s who had launched their own venture into the agri-dome and been rewarded as such. Within a couple of weeks though the permission drafts had been published, department positions taken stock off and reclamation places allocated from amongst the force, before the army itself marched out from commercia heading out into the ruins at the head of a new wave of policies and directives from the board. The army itself marches west over the course of the next few weeks, advance teams of suit surveyors marking the way for the following groups of security teams as they push further and further out from commercia and start to make a dent in terms of logging to territory the director has pointed them too. Warbands filled with reserve reclamation personnel follow in their wake in great huddles of armed suits and Lab-coats cataloguing everything they can before sending back anything of interest before being pushed on by a stern temper or short bark from one of the security department members as the force advances at a steady pace.

Over the course of the next month the force steadily pushes its way through block after block of burnt out ruins, half collapsed habitation towers and debris strewn former parks, each set is logged, cleared and then left behind for salvage and low end recovery teams from the refuse departments. The surveyor teams push out ahead constantly as they make way for those that follow behind them down the main avenues and firmer road ways, clearing them of immediate obstacles before leaving markers pointing to the next in a constant series of leap frog with the forces coming behind. The main army itself sticks close together in a constant set of overlapping patrols and shifting perimeters as they march ever onward into the ruins, murmurs amongst the men and women in the reclamation army flit back and forth as to the exact nature of the territory before the fall. Some claim it to be the lost original housing towers from the original populace, whilst some say it’s a housing district for what used to be manufacturing areas on this side of the ruins in the local sector. What ever the case the senior chairman and the director himself simply push the force onwards to keep pace with the surveyor teams in order to keep to the boards demanding policies. Some amongst the force suggest that splitting their numbers up to cover more ground may be advisable, whilst others suggest maintaining the defensive posture the force is currently observing, especially with the home of the war like descended convict population of the CellBorn potentially anywhere nearby. The army eventually settles into a defensive posture centred within the territory by months end at a former civic administration hub, teams of security personnel setting up temporary barricades whilst surveyor teams set about mapping every potential entrance of an size useful to a force posed to match the company’s in the territory. The Board is messaged to confirm a successful acquisition of an operating position within the territory, which within the week is upgraded to a full occupation of the territory by company assets. The army itself settles into the closet one would recognise for a celebration amongst the lower employees as simple yet comfortable bars spring up, with swing music playing from salvaged record players echoing out from the various small encampments. Thoughts roam back to previous discussions of the origins of the territory, some bicker and joyfully argue over it until a full report is handed to the director of the army. It would seem that the territory is a former habitation zone, secondus classification for a sizeable populace who would have likely either worked in the company spire or in the administration zones attached to surrounding industry. The reclamation army chairman congratulate one another in the usual round of two-faced politeness that passes for pleasantry amongst the upper end of the company hierarchy, however in the back ground of all this a number of small things puts a subtle edge of the company’s efforts, sightings by surveyor teams to the south report their movements being watched, other teams from commercia also send reports of their movements being watched. Alongside this a small number of departments within the reclamation force have to be reign in as they lay claim to salvage not yet assigned, a series of politic duels erupting that lead to one death and 3 severe injuries amongst the department personnel. These are quickly stamped out however the political tension seems to be bubbling away under the surface for the company forces.

Summary:

So the Company army has successfully occupied and ‘reclaimed’ a secondus class Habiation territory to the west of their home lands. The army has suffered no real casualities however they seem to have a number of the minor departments squabbling amongst themselves as per normal...

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