Shortly after Salaris' message ...
Locaton: Executive Meeting Room on the Tess Doerner
McNeil looked at his board of directors. After the message played out, he was eyeing each of his directors to see their reactions. If there's a silver lining of the Kestrel War, then you could say it created a new group of competent executives who weren't pompous or slothful. Indeed, each of The Kestrel Company's executives deserved their position for their skill, not for their friends or their past.
The first person he noted was Stewart Burton. As soon as there was the threat of the ship being hammered into a million pieces, Burton immediately showed signs of panic and hid under the table. This wasn't very surprising; Burton is known to be a coward. In fact, McNeil was surprised that Burton didn't bolt out the door and make a run for an escape pod. Burton didn't like direct confrontations; instead, he preferred to indirectly harm with subterfuge. He is the Director of Management and loves every minute of being in his office. In fact, some people say Burton loves his job so much that its scary. His loyalties change on a dime; McNeil knows this because he easily convinced Burton to defect from the the anti-McNeil faction to the pro-McNeil faction.
Chase Patterson, the Director of Finances, was the next person to observe. Unlike Burton, he stayed calm throughout the entire ordeal, although he did show some fear at certain moments. McNeil expected that of his chief rival during the Kestrel War; the faction that was against him wasn't run by Burton but by Patterson.
Although it might seem like an idiotic move to put his enemies as executives, the old saying "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." sums up what McNeil is doing. By giving his former enemies positions as executives, he can keep an eye on their movements and see if they're up to any funny business. Both Patterson and Burton excel at their jobs and, by keeping his former enemies at a high position, McNeil will make himself appear as a businessman, not a ruthless conqueror who stomps on anyone in his way.
Wetzel von Kramer was scared by the Athenium threat, although he didn't cower under the table. von Kramer, an aging, skinny man, isn't an intimidating figure. Unlike Patterson and Burton, McNeil had no problems with giving von Kramer his position back as Director of Research and Development. McNeil knew that von Kramer was bullied into the anti-McNeil faction during the Kestrel War. von Kramer didn't join because he was friends with Patterson or wanted to destroy McNeil; he wanted to save his own hide. McNeil couldn't blame von Kramer for taking that decision and has no hard feelings against him.
Fen Ling Song didn't react at all to Athenium threat; she looked at them as if they were kidding while sipping her drink. McNeil expected that reaction. Ten years earlier, Fen came out of nowhere and joined the company. She came in and started working, quickly climbing the ranks. Eventually, Fen caught McNeil's attention for her progress, and recruited her into his cause during the war. With her skills, she created supply lines that always ran the enemy blockades successfully and eluded the attacks of the enemy. Now, she's the Director of Logistics and would be working in the future to create efficient shipping lanes.
Next is Cedric Thomas, the Director of Engineering. Even though his eyes were filled with fear, McNeil knew Thomas to be a fearless, laid back guy. As a kid, he was always getting into trouble building stuff that either exploded, made loud noises, or both. His tinkering lead him to designing spaceships for the Kestrel Company. Now, he's taking care of the ships he helped design and possibly design new structures or ships.
Gordon Elwin, the Director of Information Technology, was baffled by the fact that they had no Extranet access. Now he knew what was problem was; the Extranet access was being blocked by Athenium. After the Athenium government cleared the ship, he immediately started to look at the map. He's probably going to pass that to Fen, as she will analyze the map and figure out the best location for a base.
Raymond Grant, the Director of Security, was surprised by the Athenium threat. Instead of reacting in fear, he looked like he was amused by them. With experience as a soldier for the Colonial Repulbic, years of martial arts, and 10 years of working with some of the best security companies, Grant knew what the "Greeks" were doing. "They were acting tough," he said. "With all of these ships, we probably would've overpowered them."
"Sure, we might be able to overpower them. The other ships, however, are complete strangers, plus the battle would probably result in a lot of people dead. Including us. I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to be dead right now," Tommy "Dusty" Ramsay remarked
As a former spin writer for a prominent politician and a witty talk show host, Dusty always had a snide or clever remark to respond with in any situation. He also knows how to deflect attention and focus on the good side of things. That's how he became the Director of Public Relations.
McNeil now turns his attention to Fen. She is already marking a tablet with the map. Apparently, the other ships have been claiming their own spots. McNeil preferred to wait to claim something rather than rush into it. He had to make some good trades, after all.
"Fen, have you figured out a good location for a base?"
"Well, Diomedes Beta looks like a good location as any around here."
"That is a nice location. Tell the captain to move into the Diomedes sector. We're going to establish a base on Diomedes Beta."
Before the
Tess Doerner leaves, a distress signal came in. Before anyone could respond, one of the ships started moving torwards the
NFS Magneta, the ship that the signal came out of. The ship opened fire on the
Magenta and the
Magenta became another wreckage in the Fringe.
"Well, the Athenium Directorate will always remember this moment. I highly doubt I could do anything to help them stave off the attention now," Ramsay remarked.
"I was right. They're just all bark with no bite," said Grant.
"You're right," said McNeil. "Now let's get out of here before the Athenium Directorate decides to blow someone else up in order to save face."
Extranet:
The Kestrel Company will move its fleet to the Diomedes System and establish a base on Diomedes Beta.
The Kestrel Company also observed the Insectoid breakout and thinks the Athenium government is mostly bark with a little bite.
Board of Directors/Executives for The Kestrel Company
Fen Ling Song, Director of Logistics
Stewart Burton, Director of Management
Wetzel von Kramer, Head of Research and Development (R&D)
Cedric Thomas, Head of Engineering
Tommy "Dusty" Ramsay, Director of Public Relations (PR)
Raymond Grant, Director of Defense
Chase Patterson, Director of Finances
Gordon Elwin, Director of Information Technology (IT)
Notes: The terms
director,
head, and
executive, will be used interchangeably.
Yes, Wetzel von Kramer was one of McNeil's enemies. McNeil has nothing against him, though, because Wetzel was bullied into joining the anti-McNeil faction. Could you blame him if you had a gun to your head, being threatened to join a faction or else die?
Chase Patterson is the Patterson that was against McNeil during the Kestrel War. As you might expect, he had the capital, the resources, and the connections that make him a true powerhouse. People used to always try and stay on his good side until the Kestrel War. At that point, he lost everything and now lives everyday in shame.
Stewart Burton was also one of his enemies during the Kestrel War. Burton is a schemer, but his plans fall apart if you directly confront him about it. His loyalties generally change on a dime; one moment, he's your friend, the next, he's your enemy.
The other executives aren't enemies of McNeil.
Fen Ling Song is the cool head under pressure; she typically doesn't show panic or fear while focusing on the task at hand.
Raymond Grant is the big, burly guy you don't want to mess with. As a former soldier of the Colonial Republic, he knows the ins and outs of his job and even gets into patrols.
Cedric Thomas is basically your go to guy if you want to get stuff built or repaired. As he can make machines from a pile of parts you give, he's clearly the most qualified person for the job.
Tommy "Dusty" Ramsay was a former spin writer for a prominent politician and a witty talk show host. With his skills, he knows how to make the company look good while deflecting the negative press that the company will receive.
Gordon Elwin manages the company's extranet system and is in charge of maintaining it.
