Upon entering DaraLit HQ, it was clear that the group of pilots weren’t just expected by Olivia Quindell, but nearly all employees of the company as well. Cameron and the rest of his entourage had just barely stepped through the door, before they were whisked away to by a series of interns and assistants, escorted into a room strewn with plush couches and recliners, and pampered with an assortment of snacks and beverages. One after another, they came forward, bombarding Cameron, Logan, Cayde, and Royce with bright smiles and brighter dispositions, expounding how they were here to assist the group with whatever they could need while waiting for the owner of their company.

  “Alright, that’s it,” Cameron said, jumping to his feet after an intern had asked him for the third time in five minutes if needed anything. He walked over to the door and flung it open, motioning with his hand to the people around them, “While we appreciate the hospitality, I need a minute to confer with my team so if you would be so kind… get the hell out.”

  A hush fell over the room as the interns and assistants looked toward each other, nodding slightly, and ushering out the door, closing it with a soft click of the latch as Cameron turned to face the other pilots.

  “What the fuck was that all about?” he asked in a hushed whisper.

  “Oh that wasn’t routine for y’all?” Royce asked, hitching a thumb towards the door, “I figured all GACs got the red carpet treatment for things like this.”

  Logan raised an eyebrow at the earthling, replying with a scoff, “I appreciate the sentiment Royce, but you severely overestimate our prestige right now.”

  Cameron shrugged, “Maybe Priya made a better impression on the boss than we thought.”

  “Who’s Priya?” Cayde asked, looking up from a half drunk bloody mary, compliments of DaraLit.

  “Cam’s girlfriend,” Logan said.

  “She’s not my girlfriend.” Cameron groaned, rolling his eyes as Logan continued.

  “She’s a hooker.”

  “She’s not a hooker!”

  “And our new Contract Liaison.”

  “She’s not… okay she is that.”

  Cayde and Royce blinked slowly, then turned to look at each other, seeming to communicate something between themselves better left unspoken, before turning back to face the two GAC owners.

  “Erm… okay,” Cayde said, choosing his words carefully, “Is she…qualified at least?”

  Logan shrugged again, “That depends on your outlook I suppose. She seems to have a lot of connections in Free Space high society. Whether that be simple schmoozing or more…intimate.”

  Royce cleared his throat, looking a bit pensive as he spoke, “Would… Would it be bad if I said I hope she’s good at her former job if it helps with her current- OW!” he yelped as Cayde’s open palm found the backside of his head.

  “What was that for?!” he cried.

  “For talking about our Boss’s girlfriend,” Cayde said.

  “She’s not my girlfriend!” Cameron shot back.

  “Yeah!” Royce said, “You heard em!”

  “Then how about just being an idiot in general?” Cayde asked.

  “Why do you hate me-”

  “ANYWAYS…” Logan shouted, waiting for three pairs of eyes to settle on him before he continued at a more restrained volume.

  “In my opinion,” he began, sighing as he did so, “I could give a shit less about her past. If she can use her connections to get us more contracts like this, then that’s all that matters.”

  “I agree…” An older feminine voice from behind him caused Logan to jump and whirl around, coming face to face with a smirk Olivia Quindell. He chuckled and offered a sheepish grin, holding his hand out for her to take.

  “Ma’am,” he said.

  “M-Mrs. Quindell,” Cameron stuttered, coming up to Logan’s side. He held his hand out towards her, offering a smile, "Cam Ket, at your service. Thank you for meeting with us today."

  Olivia gave a clipped, corporate smile, more out of a professional courtesy than any sort of friendliness. She looked down at his hand, then back into his eyes, giving a curt nod as she spoke in a soft yet authoritative voice, "I should hope so Mr. Ket."

  Cameron raised an eyebrow as she shuffled past him and Logan, "Ma'am?"

  "Be at my service," She called back from over her shoulder, "That is what you are attempting to do here correct? Priya didn't set this all up in order for me to stare at four slack-jawed mercs all day did she?"

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  Cameron watched her approach a seemingly innocuous corner of the room and place her hand on a wall. After a moment, a chime similar to an elevator sounded, as the floorboards bisected open and an ornate wooden desk appeared, accompanied by a chair of similar craftsmanship. An engine somewhere beneath the floor whine as it propelled the furniture up through the ground by a series of quiet pistons. The whole process took only a handful of seconds, from the moment she laid her hand on the wall before Oliva had taken her seat behind the desk, looking at him expectantly.

  "Well?" She asked.

  Cameron sputtered a moment, trying to find his words, "I... W-Well no I suppose not."

  "Good," She said, "Because I am doing this as a favor to her. As such, I will not tolerate any slander or disrespect to Ms. Patel in my presence or on the grounds of my company while you contract for my company. Understood?"

  "Yes ma'am," The four of them said in unison.

  "Terrific," She said, clapping her hands together as if they were a judges gavel, "Now, on to business, yes?" She motioned for them to take a seat amongst the chair and couches, waiting patiently to do so, before continuing her briefing.

  "Before getting the issue at hand," she said, "I need to ask, how familiar are you all with DaraLit, or rather, how much do you know about the importance of lithium mining in general?"

  "Uh..." Cameron started to say, embarrassed to admit to a potential client his ignorance about their livelihood, but thankfully, Logan beat him to the punch, speaking up loud enough to draw her gaze towards him.

  "Lithium is the lifeblood of the A.R.M.S. industry. It's in the batteries used to keep our rail engines running, it's in the lubricant for our joints. Hell, I'm fairly certain some parts of the chassis are made from lithium alloy metal. Without lithium, a lot of us wouldn't be able to pilot the machines that have become our second home. So, in short, and forgive my language ma'am, but Lithium is really fucking important."

  Olivia's eyes widened, looking Logan up and down as a knowing smirk began to form on her lips.

  "Very good, Mr. Rake. Color me impressed."

  Logan shrugged, smiling back, "I like to be kept informed when it comes to my career."

  "Indeed," she said, giving him another nod before turning back to the rest of them, "As Mr. Rake has so graciously pointed out, yes, lithium is an important resource within the A.R.M.S. community, as well as all heavy industry throughout the galaxy. Likewise, the mining of said resource is a rather lucrative enterprise. I'm talking about companies whose net worth rivals that of whole sectors of Free-Space. So one could imagine the..." she pursed her lips, looking away for a moment, deep in thought, "-Competition can arise between rival mining consortiums."

  "Well... that depends," Cameron said, his mind drifting back to the politics of Ketris, "Are we talking about things like assassinations and kidnappings? Or..."

  "Oh goodness no!" Olivia scoffed, shaking her head, chuckling as if Cameron had said something amusing, "Nothing quite so heavy handed, Mr. Ket. Such barbarity wouldn't be tolerated by upper spire society. This would be things like corporate espionage, or a hostile takeover, the latter of which is what is affecting DaraLit currently. Don't get me wrong, violence is involved... just not to us off-worlders."

  "Please speak plainly, Mrs. Quindell," Logan said, resting his chin on his palm as he stared at her, "What is going on, and how can we help?"

  Olivia inhaled deeply through her nostrils, squaring her shoulders as she did so, "There has been a series of... disturbing reports from one of our main locations in the last few weeks. Coming from Sitong in the Bralania sector. Reports of A.R.M.S. units conducting raids on our mines and the various towns surrounding them. The deaths have been kept relatively low, numbering only a few hundred, thank the stars."

  "I'm sorry," Cameron interrupted, "Did you say a few hundred?! And you consider that low?"

  As soon as the words left his mouth, Cameron felt white hot pain explode from his shin-courtesy of Logan's steel toed boot-and had to fight the urge to yelp.

  Olivia, on the other hand, merely raised an eyebrow, confusion plain to see on her face, "Y-Yes I did. Why do you ask?"

  "Just checking..." Cameron said with a deep exhale, cutting a glare at Logan as she continued.

  "Anyway, the loss of life is nothing compared to the destruction of company property. Billions of silver worth of equipment, either gone up in flames or crushed beneath the weight of a mech. That, coupled with the fact that the locals refuse to even leave their houses most days, and we haven't been able to open the mines in nearly a week. Surely you can understand the type of predicament this puts me in."

  "And you think a rival company has something to do with this?" Cameron asked.

  She nodded, "I do. In fact, I'm certain of it. Ten days ago, I received a message from the CEO of Templesmith Limited, offering to buy that particular system specifically. The number they gave was frankly offensive, and I believe the only reason they did that is because they know DaraLit is hemorrhaging money for every day that our mines stay closed."

  "But why that system?" Logan asked, "There's gotta be enough room in the galaxy for the two of you."

  "Indeed there is, Mr. Rake," Olivia said, "But not many systems have a planet with a three million square mile bed of petalite underneath it."

  "Petalite?" Cameron asked.

  "It's the rock they mine Lithium from," Logan answered, not breaking eye contact with Olivia as he did so.

  She smirked again, and flashed Logan a wink, "You are a very astute man, Mr. Rake. I like that."

  "That would certainly explain the attacks," Logan said, ignoring her, "Doesn't make sense it would be the locals, unless there's some abusive conditions connecting the towns to the mine, but I figure we'd have heard about it by now. Do you have any other information about these units? Types? Rankings? Anything at all?"

  Olivia's brows furrowed as she shook her head, frowning, "I'm afraid not, only that the attack happens any time the mines open. Since they've been closed, there's been no attacks, but I don't believe that means they're gone."

  "No," Logan responded, scratching his stubble, "I don't suppose it does."

  He looked to Cameron, who met his gaze. They shrugged after a moment, before turning back to Olivia, where it was Cameron's turn to speak.

  "We have one Gamma-Sirius, one Beta-Sirius, and two Alpha-Sirius pilots available to take your contract. That is, if you'll have us."

  Her eyes widened slightly at his declaration, but other than that, Oliva's expression remained the same. Still, there was a slight surprise in her tone as she spoke.

  "Just like that?"

  Cameron nodded, "Just like that."

  She chewed her lip, not breaking eye contact with Cameron as a silence fell over the room.

  "How do I know you're qualified for the job?" She asked, "Your company is new and untested. Forgive me for offending, but I believe I'm allowed to have reservations."

  Cameron tried and failed to hide the grin that tugged at his upper lip, "Two of us have broken through the Alpha ranks as freelancers. That in and of itself is no small feat. Yes we have two Alpha's on hand, but they are battle tested and approved by us. On top of that, we work cheap. And we're ready to depart now."

  "How cheap?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she leaned forward.

  Cameron shrugged, "Make me an offer. Whatever you think this is worth to you, to see these... disruptions taken care of, then cut it in half."

  Cameron watched as her eyes glazed over for a moment, clearly deep in thought as she did the math.

  "I think two million silver is fair," She said, "Considering the size and experience of your company overall."

  A sharp intake of breath came from Cayde as Royce nearly fell out of his chair. Even Logan, as stoic and professional as he was, gripped the arm of his chair so hard it squeaked. Cameron, thanks to the years he spent in the royal court, didn't even blink.

  "That is... acceptable. Though I'd hope, should we impress in our duties, you won't hesitate to recommend us to any of your business associates facing similar problems in the future."

  "I don't see why not," Olivia said, flashing a smile, "I can have the contract drawn up and sent to you by the end of the day. When do you think you'll be able to depart?"

  Cameron smirked, "About five minutes after that."