Corpo Age Chapter 111: The Marquis

“I simply want to be there along with my n when you et my contact from Ferrumus Corp.” The old QG dryly laid out his condition.

“...You’re scared we’d hurt your contact?”

He nodded. “Life up here isn’t that easy for common folks like us. I need assurance that no accidents happen. Otherwise, a lot of people, including , will have to pay for it if anything goes wrong.”

“Whatever your reason is, you can’t just pull out a new condition all of a sudden!” Thorne yelled.

“I understand this is sudden. I’m willing to compensate you. Let’s see, how about the schematics of Sanso Corp’s 3D printers that they use internally? It isn’t their latest model, but it is still better than most of what is available comrcially.” He sent a file with the basic specifications of the printer in question.

“As soone who is known not to deal with corporations, you sure like to keep dangerous information on hand.”

“Only those who know how to save for a rainy day get to grow old. Though I only acquired this recently.” He chuckled to himself. “Do we have a deal?”

“...Fine. When can we et with your contact? We’re in a hurry here.”

“No need to be impatient. I have already secured a reservation for you and your companions to the restaurant that a certain executive of the Ferrumus Corporation, Aegis branch, likes to frequent. et later tonight at this space dock.” I quickly received another ping with an address on it.

The old QG seed to have finished his business with us as he turned the volu to his TV back up and began ignoring us.

Exchanging glances with my n, we quickly departed back to our vehicle.

“Andrew, have two of your guys scout out the venue that old geezer sent us,” Thorne ordered as soon as we closed the door. “Are you really okay with that QG coming with us, Rollo?”

“He didn’t seem like he would budge on it and we don’t exactly have the ti to prolong this. We need to speak with soone important from Ferrumus quickly.” I said as I went over the information on the restaurant we would be attending tonight. “Let’s go back and get dressed. The restaurant we’re going to has a dress code.”

We swiftly returned to our lodging and two of Andrew’s team mbers imdiately left ahead of ti. The rest of us had plenty of ti until ti for our reservation at The Marquis, a sister restaurant of The Earl that we had once visited, located at the base of the space elevator.

We killed the ti by training Brian how to use the power armor, as we couldn’t show up with it in a fine-dining setting. The security there should be fine, as the place catered to the upper class. Besides, the restaurant was isolated from the rest of Aegis in a special compartnt that orbited around it.

Several minutes before we were heading out, I received a video call from my ally, Joey.

“Rollo, sorry to interrupt, but I’ll make this quick. How is your progress up there?”

“Ferrumus Corp hadn’t taken us seriously and only sent to so sales agent, but I should have a line that’ll connect to an executive soon.”

The bald man narrowed his eyes and slowly nodded.

“Try to be as quick as you can.”

“Is it getting that bad down there?”

“No…but that doesn’t an the status quo will stay. In fact, I’m calling to warn you because the High Gate people seem to have relented on their assault. They’re satisfied with a slow and steady battle of attrition right now, which leads to believe they are waiting for sothing. Be careful, they are either making new breakthroughs in their talk with Virtue Corp, confident that your negotiations with spacer corps will fail, or both.”

“Got it. I have to go now. Let know if you find any new developnts.”

He nodded and ended the call.

As we made our way toward the spaceport, I couldn’t help but carefully survey our surroundings for any potential ambushes. There was no way the High Gate Group hadn’t figured out I was up here by now, and with Joey’s updates, an attack was surely imminent.

The question was just when and where. The laws against property damage in Aegis were only really strict near the life support systems and the outer walls of the space station. Still, there were a lot of big corporations in the city, and earning the ire of any one of them could easily spell the doom for the party responsible.

Where would I attack if I were them?

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

As I mulled over the issue, we soon arrived at one end of Aegis, where the VIP ports were. This was where all the private spaceships were docked, segregated from the comrcial ports that were responsible for the logistics, and the industrial one for miners.

We drove into the airport-like structure and made our way toward a lounge where we found Amos already there, along with half a dozen guards. They didn’t have any matching uniform and gear or anything, but one look at them and we could tell they were experienced fighters.

“You are here. Let us be off, then.” The old man imdiately said as soon as we approached.

We followed him through the security gates, where a majority of our guards parted with us. Only Thorne accompanied on my end, while Amos brought along three of his n. We boarded a small shuttlecraft that was shaped like a pyramid, tilted over to one side, with more rounded edges. It only took several minutes for us to arrive at The Marquis.

The restaurant had an arm attached to the rest of the space stations that allowed it to safely orbit around Aegis. As we got off, I imdiately felt a sense of vertigo, as the corridor from the shuttle to the restaurant was made of transparent glass, even the floors.

At least the inside of the restaurant itself was slightly better, with partitions all around the place to allow the guests so privacy. While we were led to our seats, I noticed many other patrons enjoying their food while gazing down at Mother Earth.

I carefully examined the faces of all the guests, matching them with the images we had of the executives from Ferrumus, but to no avail.

“So, where is our contact?” I asked as soon as we sat down.

“Patience. The restaurant will have a live performance later, and you will be able to approach Bi Sun to discuss what you need. For now, we eat and wait.” The old man said and gestured for us to take a look at the nu.

“Wait, does he even know we’re coming?”

“I’m sure his security details always know, but the person himself shouldn’t be aware.”

“What? I thought he was your contact?”

“While I do have a connection with him, it doesn’t an I have his ears anyti I want. Fret not, he is usually willing to hear other the other guests while he is here.”

Well, not having an introduction hurts, but it is good enough if we can have him hear us out.

More guests filed in as we talked and before long, we spotted a skinny middle-aged man wearing a very strange and distinctive hairstyle. He was almost bald and only had a few hairs left, but they were each very long, reaching all the way down to his waist.

He strode in with his wife, daughter, and two guards who were just as skinny as him, but I could tell they were heavily enhanced. I almost wanted to say there were cyborgs, but their thin builds made hesitant to declare them as such.

I listened to old man Amos and reined in my urge to imdiately approach the man. The last thing I wanted was to make a bad impression by interrupting his family ti, so I patiently waited.

A lot was going on in my head the entire ti we ate, trying to figure out the best way to approach him, and I barely registered what the food tasted like. I only broke out of my trance after dessert, when the lights to the place suddenly dimd.

The place quieted down as everyone waited.

Then, lights began to bloom out, drawing all our attention below us, where outer space was. The lights were ford in various shapes, as if we were watching a fireworks show. Upon closer inspection, I realized the lights were various drones flying outside, working the spectacle.

“Ladies and gentlen, thank you for joining us at The Marquis tonight! Tonight’s scheduled event will be taking place as planned. We will be bringing you footage of various spectacles taking place on our ho planet right away. Please feel free to step forth in one of our neural cabins if you would like a more realistic way to view what our drones see.”

Right after the announcent, several large projections materialized in the center of the room, with various screens coming from about a dozen drones. They monitored a wide range of things, from an ongoing firefight to the vortex of a storm, and even a gigantic mutant whale.

The various guests stood up and surrounded the screens, so I quickly moved to join them, keeping an eye on where my target was the entire ti. A server quickly ca up to with a tray full of drinks and I casually took one before moving toward the Ferrumus Corp executive.

The room beca louder as the surrounding guests rrily chatted away about their preferred topics.

I quickly read over the bio I had of Bi Sun again as I waited for my chance to speak with him alone. He was the vice president of the Aegis branch of Ferrumus Corporation, which was born and raised at their company headquarters located on Mars.

Their Aegis branch wasn’t particularly large and was mainly a transport hub and distribution center for their products, such as vibro blades.

I noticed he wore a fancy sword on his hip, which made search for my vibro dagger. On second thought, it would be embarrassing to compare my cheap junk when his sword had such an ornantal scabbard.

I glanced back at Thorne, who was a few steps behind , and he cruelly gestured for to get on with it.

When I looked back at Bi Sun, I saw his daughter and wife heading off toward the neural pods that were similar to the VR pods I had, leaving him alone with one of his guards.

I didn’t squander the opportunity and instantly approached.

“Hi there, are you Mr. Sun, by any chance?”

He turned back to face , giving a good look at the man with a goatee. He seed like an entirely organic human to , which only made more cautious.

“Yes, and I believe you are Mr. Halls. Was there sothing you’re looking for from ?” He said as he gestured for to stand beside , looking over the main screen.

“I wanted to talk about a cooperative opportunity that may allow your company to undermine Virtue Corp’s business.”

He gave a quick look before turning back to stare at the screen, but he remained silent. He was probably contacting soone to dig more information into what I was talking about, and that was exactly what I wanted.

He adjusted his standing posture as he took a sip from his glass. Several minutes passed, and he breathed in deeply as he watched the giant mutant whale surface, exposing much of its body.

I kept stealing glances at him, but he seed unmoved. I started to have my doubts as I revisited what I had said to him in search of any mistakes.

Did I say sothing wrong?