Looking to the future

[John Locke]

Months, it had taken him months and months to get to this point, months of meetings with staff, of making his pitch and working his way up the chain of command. It had been slow, it had been painful but, tonight this made it all worthwhile. The elevator made its way up the side of the building, the glass walls allowing the man an unrivalled view of the city unfolding beneath him as he slid his hands into his pockets. Try as my might, he’d never been able to get over the nervous habit of his fingers closing into a fist and pulling out of it. It had been tough enough to hide it when he’d had his hands before, but now these new prosthetics…they just made it so much harder.

The man sucked in a deep breath, holding it for a moment before breathing out, feeling the tension flowing out of his body as he pressed his forehead against the transparisteel side of the elevator as he felt the vibrations of its motor pulling him further and further up towards his destination. “Hey EX, tell me that we’re going to rock this meeting and walk away with the contract.” “We’re going to rock this meeting and walk away with the contact sir.” John’s dark eyes glanced up, glaring at his LK-EX1000 as it stood placidly behind him. If the man didn’t know better he was sure that the droid was actually laughing at him, eyes narrowed as he glared at the calm looking face for a second, for two before he burst out laughing, stepping away from the window and reaching up to straighten his suit. “Damn straight we are,” he allowed as he stepped into the middle of the elevator as it ground to a halt, a comfortable confident smile playing around his lips.

[member="Ala Crescent"]

 

[Ala Crescent]

From the elevator, an attendent led Locke and his droid assistant to a small conference room at the corner of the floor. Like most rooms of the administrative section, it was flashy and ergonomic design meant to make one forget they were even sitting in an office in the first place.

Ala was already present, sitting alone on the far side of the tablt with a tablet in hand. Before her was a small spread of drinks and gourmet pastries.

"Mister Locke," she started, smiling as she rose from her seat and bowed in respect. "Please, take a seat, Feel free to settle in an help yourself to refreshments before we begin."

She returned to her seat and then took a sip of coffee, taupe from obscene helpings of sugar and cream. "It always brings joy to my heart to see new domestic firms on the rise, and then to help them blossom."

As a government owned entity, KSA often went out of its way to see that fellow companies from the Union received all the assistance they needed in order to be successful on the galactic stage. All part of a collective effort to be recognized as a great power.

[member="John Locke"]

 

[John Locke]

“Well, I do enjoy bringing joy and laughter wherever I go,” John allowed with a smile, settling himself in the chair opposite Ala as EX smoothly padded across the carpeted room to take up a place against the wall behind him. “Just remember Master Locke, if you have too much Coffee then you’ll be up all night and I’ll have to listen to you designing some new droid to replace me,” came the snide comment as EX settled into place, inclining its head at Ala over John’s shoulder.

The engineer shook his head, a fond smile tugging his lips up as he gave Ala a long-suffering grin, “Sorry about him, ever since I suggested the possibility of upgrades he’s been insufferable.” The faintest whirring could be heard as the man reached forward, his prosthetic’s grasping the mug as he poured himself a coffee before leaning back in his chair.

"I’ve got to admit, from this side of the table, it’s pretty nice to have some government support in venturing out into the wider galaxy. Not that I’m not going to do my best to compete with you guys if we’re in competition but,” he grinned at her, “I do appreciate the helping hand.”

[member="Ala Crescent"]