Private Should I Stay or Should I Go?

[Holly Starstorm]

Nelson Prototyping - Reception Desk

Holly could tell the receptionist wasn’t buying her lie about having an appointment. Nobody had appointments with Mr. Nelson these days, and that was exactly why the reporter was here. Her boss thought there might be a story here. Personally Holly wasn’t really in the mood to hunt down some rich CEO and ask why they were running their business this way. She really didn’t care but it was odd that the company had suddenly stopped dealing with the public all together. Holly thought what really might be her bosses motivation was that this was a huge potential donor for the station and if something was fishy then the station wouldn’t want to ask for the sponsorship. She supposed everybody had to pay the bills.

“It must have gotten misplaced in the system. I know I made the appointment. Could you check? I

“I’m sorry I really don’t see anything listed for Mr. Nelson today.”

“I’m sure if you just tell him I’m here he will want to see me.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Well.. okay. If you are sure. But could you at least tell him I got the results from the clinic? They think it’s contagious so he really needs to get tested.”

The receptionists face fell open in a comical “o” and Holly had to suppress a laugh.

“You know actually maybe you better tell him.”

“Yes I think that will be best.”

“Just take a seat and I’ll buzz him for you.”

Holly walked a few steps away and pretended to be looking at one of the art pieces on the wall. In reality she was glancing at the mirror that showed around the corner and down the hallway. There was only one guard so maybe she could sneak past if this didn’t work. Man the things she did for a paycheck!

Taji Nelson

 

[Taji Nelson]

Taji himself came down from his office. He was wearing a tanktop, hoodie, jeans, and boots. All of them were caked with stains, possibly from dirt but most likely from sweat. It was clear he had been working on something. He took one look at the Receptionist, and said. "I thought I said - no visitors. I was busy working on a project. It's nowhere near done, and thanks to the interruption....." He looked at Holly. "Oh hey, Holly. It's been a while." Taji looked like he was sleep deprived, which he was. Of course, working nonstop on a pet project could do that to a person. Just what had he been working on? "Why did you come by? I thought I closed the public doors of the company." Taji had in fact, closed all public access to the company, using drones and couriers to deliver any and all purchases instead.

 

[Holly Starstorm]

Holly smiled sheepishly at him when he came down. He knew she was a reporter. HNN had done a story on his company before and Holly had conducted the interview.

“You did.. but people want to know why? HNN is getting ready to ask sponsors for donations and Nelson Prototyping is on the list to ask. But all this secrecy and closed doors makes people a little nervous.”

She stopped there and waited. Either he would throw her out or he’d agree to talk to her. Most companies wanted to sponsor news organizations because it ended up being a great source of publicity, but his company didn’t really seem to want publicity these days. He might just tell her HNN wasn’t getting his sponsorship so hit the bricks!

The receptionist looked outraged. Holly felt a twinge of guilt. She had lied to the woman after all.

Taji Nelson

 

[Taji Nelson]

"I have been working on a project to drastically change the galaxy. I didn't want to put anyone at risk during the attempts to make said project. " Taji cared a lot about the safety of his employees. It was why his company had redundant disease and bacteria protection. It had quintuple the number of fire suppression systems. It had all sorts of security systems.

"We can talk but I will have to work wjile we talk. Is that okay?"

 

[Holly Starstorm]

Holly had reached into her bag and pulled out her holo recorder, but did not turn it on yet.

“Sure. Lead the way. Taji you know I need something on the record right? We can talk about what you want releases but if I don’t come back with something my boss will flip.”

Despite him being a CEO she actually thought of him as a friend and didn’t want to ruin whatever he was working on.

Taji Nelson

 

[Taji Nelson]

When they arrived in the lab, she could see a lot of materials that had once been used but the galaxy had discontinued use of. Namely, Kevlar and Nomex laying in piles throughout the room. Using the force, Taji pulled one of them into the air. He then shot the piece of material with both a slug thrower and a blaster pistol simultaneously. ".... Not durable enough." He said, as he looked at the damage the chunk of material had sustained. "How am I supposed to make a lightweight armor that can withstand a lot of damage, if the materials I chose to use are substandard?" He growled, as he tossed those pieces in a nearby garbage receptacle because he didn't want to deal with them anymore. He needed to find a material, a fabric that would serve his purposes. Perhaps he should employ the use of Alkahest or Alchemy from people who trusted his company enough to share some of their inventions... no. The one guy he knew was allergic to metal, so he wouldn't want to run the risk of exposing him to that.

"Need a Fabric that is lightweight, fire retardant, ice resistant, kinetic resistant, and blaster resistant, as well as adaptable to environments. So far, no material I have come across fits all the bills for what I am working on." Taji sighed. "Do you have any suggestions, Holly?"

Taji had no ideas on how he would complete the project.

 

[Holly Starstorm]

She followed him into the lab and found a seat on a chair that looked as if it belonged to a work bench

Holly shook her head at his question.

“I really don’t know much about that stuff. Should I write that you are searching for a new kind of material and that is why you have closed off the company?”

Taji Nelson

 

[Taji Nelson]

"Before I can even work on the project, I need to find the material. Once the material is found, a bit of application of the Force and one of the most problematic elements of the galaxy will be a thing of the past, for the most part. Disease, Germs, Bad Bacteria, Viruses. How often have you had to take a sick day because someone got you sick, Holly?" asked Taji, as he looked at her. "What you'll write is that the company is experimenting with sensitive R and D matters, and as such is not allowing anyone in the building for their own safety." It was true, as Taji was soon going to begin experimenting to find a way to make a fabric that was completely resistant to all manner of disease, and bacteria. Perhaps even impervious to bio weapons, of all and any sorts. Yeah, he had ambitious plans.

 

[Holly Starstorm]

Holly pulled out her datapad and jotted a few notes down. That would be enough to placate her boss and run a small article in tomorrow’s edition.

“That’s good enough for me. Thanks for seeing me. I hope you are able to find the right material.”

She got up from her seat and headed towards the door.

“Oh don’t be mad at your receptionist for calling you down. I didn’t really give her a choice.”

Taji Nelson