[sachmo]

Invexus Corporation

James Hartnell ran his finger around the mouth of his glass of wine, and allowed himself a wry smile. He knew it was petty to take pleasure in making his appointment wait, but he didn’t care. The fool of a President deserved it. He could wait until he died of old age.
He picked up his wine and took a deep pull, trying to fight back his anger with the cool liquid. It didn’t help much.
I might as well get this over with, James thought. He signaled his assistant to round up the President and show him into his office.
James stood up and moved to the side of his desk, stopping to allow himself a quick look in the mirror. He winced a bit at his reflection. Gone were any remains of his boyish good looks. He was graying at the temples, and he could see a few rogue gray patches appearing in his beard. Worry lines, which he had not had three years ago, now creased his face. He looked like he was pushing one hundred and twenty, but in reality he was only seventy, barely past middle age. Still, he could see the wisdom in those creases and that gray, and he knew he had the job to thank for that. After all, being Board Chairman of the Invexus Corporation was a very stressful job.
His assistant announced the President, and ushered the man into the Board Chairman’s office. James quickly put on his best smile, hoping that it would help the President relax. That would make the kill so much sweeter.

James extended his hand, and the President took it.
“James, how are you?” He looked very relaxed, indeed.
James pumped the President’s hand in return.
“Just fine, mister President. Things couldn’t be better. Please, have a seat.” James gestured to a large chair facing his desk.
James walked around his desk and sat down in his chair.
He stared at the President a moment, and then spoke.
“Mister President, that was quite a speech you gave the other day in Arendia.”
The President laughed, and put his hand up.
“There’s nothing to worry about, James. I know I jumped the gun by a few months, but my staff felt that it was time to let the public know about the program, and I agreed. The people needed a morale boost, and that’s what they got.”
James listened, his arms folded across his chest. He could feel the anger welling up inside of him, and this time he wouldn’t try to stop it.
The President continued.
“My staff and I felt that the time was right. The ship will be ready in two months, right? We felt that by having something to look forward to, they might work a little harder. Maximum productivity and all that, don’t you know?”
James took a deep breath. The anger continued to build.
“Oh, so you did it to boost moral and productivity? Well, mister President, let’s get one thing straight. Invexus decides when the public will know about the project. If we wanted them to know about it now, we would have told you to tell them.”
Concern spread across the President’s face. He opened and closed his mouth a few times. James almost burst out laughing watching him struggle to regain his composure. He looked a lot like a margofish gasping for air. The President tried to speak, but James shot him a warning glance.
“I’m not finished, mister President. What you did was put my corporation, and myself, in a very tight spot. Just as you and your administration are a façade, so to is the public’s trust in you. Everyone on this planet knows that Invexus is the real power behind the throne. It’s been that way since the end of the Corporate Wars. Now you and your staff have cast suspicion and doubt on our good name. You have stepped across a line that should never be crossed. Did you once stop and think what sort of questions the people would ask regarding your revelation? Such as why Invexus is devoting so many resources to a project on warp travel? Were you not concerned that this might frighten some?”
The President looked absolutely panicked now. He tried to stammer out an excuse, “No, wait, Board Chairman. I only thought…”
James shot up out of his chair, overcome by his rage. He let it wash over him, red hot and prickly. He absolutely loved it.
“THINK? I don’t want you to think, you fool! I want you to smile and wave to the people of Cherek, and tell them exactly what I want you to tell them. While they may know that Invexus rules this planet, they need a government to blame for all of their problems, no matter how incompetent that government is. When you start thinking for yourself, you are no longer useful to me! All you had to do was keep your damn mouth shut, but that proved to be far to difficult of a task for you!”
James tried to reign himself in a bit. He could feel himself going past the point of losing control. That, he did not like. James never liked being out of control. Watching the President begin to cry was exactly what he needed to beat back some of the anger. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that two of his security force had come in to investigate. I must have been shouting very loudly, James thought.
Tears rolling down his face, the President began to plead.
“Board Chairman, please! I didn’t mean to cause trouble for Invexus, nor for you. I only thoug…meant to give the people something to cheer them up. Times have been so hard for so many of late.”
James sat back down in his chair, and ran his hands thru his hair as he fought to keep control. He straightened his shirt collar and took a few very deep breaths.
“Mister President, I apologize for screaming at you that way. However, the damage has been done. I will disclose as many of the details of the project as possible to the public. In two weeks time, I will also let them know about the message. You will appear with me at a press conference and together we will deliver the most important news in the history of Cherek to the people.”
The President looked as if he had been given a stay of execution.
“Yes! Yes, mister Chairman! Whatever you wish! Anything you need, I am there for you!”
James waved him down. “One other thing, mister President.”
“Yes?”
“You’re sick.”
“Pardon me?”
James flashed him a predator’s smile. Just when you thought it was going to be ok, I will twist the knife, James mused.
“You’re sick. That’s what we are going to tell everyone. After the press conference, you are going to get sick. So sick that you will be forced to vacate the presidency and retire to your home in Cassidy. The vice president will assume the presidency the next day. Is that understood?”
The President looked shocked, then angry, and finally he just looked tired, all in the span of a few seconds.
“As you wish, Board Chairman.” He hung his head in defeat.
All of the anger was gone. James was filled only with triumph, and possibly a bit of pity.
“Good. Now get out of my office.”

In low orbit above Cherek, in a secure bay sealed off to all but the most vital personnel, work continued on the Invexus Explorer. She was to be the first ship capable of surviving warp travel thru a wormhole. Only smaller remote drones had been sent thru the wormholes so far, and after months and months of failure, they had had one survive the trip. At least they thought that it had survived the trip. The scientists had lost contact with it almost as quickly as it entered the wormhole, but the Last signal had come from a different solar system, and that solar system was where they theorized the exit from the wormhole was. Based on that success, they began work on a full sized ship.
Captain David Bromley was the man picked for the job of taking Invexus Explorer into the wormhole . To David, there was no way he could have possibly said no. The company was offering him an obscene amount of money to do this, and they were going to give it to him up front. When they told him what his chances of survival were, he knew that he had to try and spend all of that pay before the trip, because there was a very good chance that he would not be coming back to spend the rest once they left the space yard.