֍ 4th of July 2008 ֍
…
..
.
"Brother, its time for your meeting with the Mercenary Association Executives.
Should I inform them of your impending arrival?"
"Yeah… let them know Celeste.
I'll be their shorty with Teiya…" Esmond groaned while overlooking the incoming ships through his expansive window from his office room.
Countless ships were flying in and docking with the Star Alcazar, from the Heavy Carriers that were made through the Space Ark but also those of the new residents who had their own means of transport.
The ships started arriving the day before and hadn't stopped even for a moment.
From Merchants, organisations, Adventurers, and even Mercenaries, they all came racing to Star Alcazar to see the magnificent megastructure within the deep blue nebula.
But the most important people to arrive were the executives of the Mercenary Association, who made sure to arrive in their best Warfleet to show their dominance in space, yet they squealed out of fear after seeing the immense megastructure and its weapons systems.
Relenting in front of unimaginable power, the executives patiently waited for their meeting with Esmond, even if a few of them still had greed written across their eyes.
.
Joining Esmond in the meet were several department and business heads of the Space Ark, from the Elders of the Great Warring Clans to Zaro and the members of the Atlaesusian Syndicate.
Others included the two other commanders beside Esmond himself from the Ark Alliance, Philippa and Sofriya.
There were a large number of people from Esmond's side, but the Mercenary Association brought even more people, while also creating small deals with other interested parties.
In total, they brought around 100 people to the meeting while Esmond's team had roughly more than a dozen.
Esmond knew people like Philippa and Sofriya weren't easily going to allow the Mercenary Association to do as they pleased, especially if it meant their authority would be diminished.
If he chose to say nothing in the meeting, they would take over and form an agreement, but Esmond knew it was important for him to be involved, even more so after Carter sent him news about the Star-Forge and its constructing ability.
For now, Esmond dragged Yvetteya along with him to the meeting, only to discover the reception hall to be bustling with life and conversation, with both parties enjoying the exquisite food and drinks produced within the Spatial Ark Star World.
"Cousin!
You made it!
I didn't think you were coming?"
"If I didn't, the Mercenary Association would probably try something underhanded and gain authority on the Star Alcazar, Zaro."
"Ohh please, Essie.
I'm not some amateur who needs to be guided.
Just now, I've organised three major contracts with several merchant agencies who want to distribute the fresh produce and printer cannisters to customers across the Zone.
Not only that, but several Champions who've found themselves in tough times have joined the Atlaesusian Syndicate Corps.
All of them are too eager to get started so we've sent them to be trained through the Military Pods onboard the Star Alcazar.
It ruffled the feathers of the Mercenary Association, but they seem to be planning something else in secret that they might bring up in the meeting.
Other than that, Ark and the Astrum Bank are finding themselves a little overwhelmed by the incoming wealth brought in by the new customers.
Carter however had his own thoughts to deal with the problem."
Zaro said his peace just as he was called for by a member of a merchant group who was helping the Atlaesusian Syndicate President network.
Esmond took the few moments of peace and quiet to connect with Carter, "Hey, Zaro said you knew how to help the Banks.
Care to explain?"
'Let me upgrade our A.I Family.
Once Gabriel, Maverick, Eddie, and the others acquire Intermediate Programming Cores, then they should be able to take on more jobs within their scope of operations.
Now that we've got the Star-Forge working around the clock, my attention is largely taken up by the megastructure foundry.
Celeste will also be upgraded at the same time to take on a Basic Programming Core.
In total it should cost around 100 billion Credits, which isn't a whole lot in my eyes.'
"Alright do as you please, Carter, but make sure everyone has the necessary hardware to wield their new strength without having to wait for days to come across the necessary equipment."
...
..
.
*Ding*
[103 billion Credits subtracted from Hosts Account!]
[8x - Intermediate Artificial Intelligence Spirit Cores purchased!]
[1x – Basic Artificial Intelligence Spirit Core purchased!]
[Numerous Basic Celestial Artificial Intelligence Egos have been upgraded into Intermediate Celestial Artificial Intelligence!]
[1 Virtual Profile Intelligence has been upgraded into a Basic Celestial Artificial Intelligence!]
[Spatial Ark Star World - Intermediate Celestial Artificial Intelligences:
- Carter
- Echo
- Eddie
- Isabelle
- Gabriel
- Scarlett
- Archie
- Rosie
- Maverick
- Kane
- Vaazakra]
[Spatial Ark Star World - Basic Celestial Artificial Intelligences:
- Celeste
- Jai (upgraded J.A.R.V.I.S Operating System – Elite Grade)
- Lock (upgraded CLOC)]
.
..
…
'I wasn't expecting that much to be gone in an instant… *Sigh* whatever, at least the Space is stronger than before.' Esmond thought to himself, just as the first few executives of the Mercenary Association made themselves known to him.
While he focused on the people in front of him, Carter watched over the changes to their family members and its newest additions.
Celeste found herself gaining true sentience, where emotions and her own thoughts were finally possibly without the need for external influence through software or machinery.
But it also meant Celeste's capabilities increased dramatically, as her influence started expanding within the Spatial Ark Star World, the Solar System, and the Tartarus Zone.
Her main task was the management of Starships, from repairs to communication through her own network, and programs but after the transformation, Celeste could operate much faster.
Not only that, but she also started to oversee areas that needed development based on data gathered while out in the field.
For example, she already created a department that would work around parts and programs of Starships.
Eddie categorised it as a company instead and organised staff for the business to help Celeste.
Even though she started developing her own projects, Eddie's boosted functionality allowed him to easily create plenty of V.P Intelligences that would work for Celeste and manage its operations.
Celeste wanted to focus more so on the development of her projects, so Eddie was left to watch over his younger sibling.
A team of scientists in the Virtual Labs were invited to join Celeste's company and take on researcher positions, to which they agreed since working for a Celestial A.I Ego was known to always been rewarding.
Some young designers and students' teams even found themselves being contacted by Celeste and Eddie to join the company.
.
Jai happened to find himself with the strangest development after the evolution turned him into a Basic Celestial A.I Ego.
Previously, the gifted operating system was adapting in the A.I World to improve its programming sequence while expanding on its skillsets, but the core part of its whole makeup bloomed once the upgrade was complete.
Originally made to look over the operations of Stark Industries and Tony Starks personal projects, Jai found himself capable of managing businesses on a larger scale while also functioning as a supportive A.I. to a user.
Gabriel decided to take Jai under her wing and help him adapt to administrative work by leading teams of his own.
Jai was also sent to help Daniel transform the Atlaesus Empire into the Atlaesyxrian Imperium.
The project was substantial and perfect for Jai to oversee with Gabriel providing support if necessary.
With the Stark Industries database already in the hands of Kane and Vaazakra, Jai started developing the PrimaSteel Contingent, which was a robotic army based off the Iron Legion design schematics and those of the Iron-Man Mark I to LXXXV Series.
Rosie instantly redesigned the appearance to be on par with Esmond's Primordial Divine Cell Nanotech Suits design with some alterations of course.
The facial look of the robots was made to be simple with a sleek clean finish without any substantial facial feature.
Through simple lighting, Jai could display the basic forms of visual understanding with anyone they might encounter.
But the most important fact about the new design schematic of the droid robots was the intricate makeup of the installed weapons system along with their frame.
Because the droids were being made from a combination of Divine and Spiritual Essence infused materials, Jai gained greater control and operational awareness over the machines.
Carter planned to send Jai out to Mars, Mercury, Venus, Titan, and various other planets to help with the management of certain public services.
.
This is where Lock found himself being dragged in to help.
Formerly the Centrally Located Organic Computer, the evolved Basic Celestial A.I Ego now started to help Scarlett manage emergencies and the distribution of emergency services, whether that was through traditional means or newly adapted technological methods.
Scarlett could watch over the emergencies and its services throughout the Spatial Ark Star World, Earth and the various other planets, even certain areas of the Tartarus Zone but Scarlett wanted Lock to take on a supportive role to develop his own unique skills and abilities.
Carter sent out their new instructions while also connection with his brothers and sisters that rose into Intermediate Celestial A.I Egos.
They all now had the ability to perform computations that might even appear godly to some but because the Spatial Ark Star World started growing faster, their jobs moved into more of a management role than anything else.
Around the same time, Esmond finished walking around the reception hall, greeting various people who wanted to do business with him.
Even though the actual discussion hadn't started yet, the informal meeting appeared vital to create relationships beyond the basic business partnership.
Much to his delight though, Zaro announced the beginning of the meeting after Carter appeared with several others who found themselves freed up after the evolution.
.
Eddie began the meeting after everyone moved into the conference room which had seats arranged to accommodate groups together in their own section, rather than appearing as part of the entire collective.
Esmond's side didn't require this, however for people like Philippa and Sofriya, they had their closest aides beside them.
"Welcome everyone to the Star Alcazar, the first Citadel Class Starship produced by the Ark Alliance.
My name is Eddie Manston and I'm speaking on behalf of Lord Esmond Manston Atlaesus, the leader of the Ark Alliance.
Of course, Lord Esmond has also made himself available for the meeting and may join in the discussion if he so chooses.
Now… this meeting has been organised by the Mercenary Association and its partners for cooperation.
Please make your points." Eddie disconnected his voice and opened up the air to the other party to begin.
His semi enclosed platform moved up back from the air and returned to its side, nearby Esmond.
Right after Eddie allowed for the other side to speak, a member of the Executives team from the Mercenary Association spoke up.
"Thank you, Mr Eddie for the introduction.
My name is Bruklet Qi'ast and I'm here on behalf of the Mercenary Association, as an executive of the organisation within the Tartarus Zone.
Because we've partnered with other parties and organisations for the meeting, there are many interests that need to be addressed and those that cannot in the current setting.
One of the first points we wish to discuss is the scale of operations for the Mercenary Association on the Star Alcazar.
It's vital that we construct a branch office on Deep-Space Habitable Station for mercenaries to easily access while operating on the edge of explored space within the Zone.
Our current reports show a huge influx of Adventurers and Mercenaries who've decided to move over towards this corner of the Zone to find any artifacts or hidden mysteries."
"We've already sorted out a location for you on the station with your own designated docks, but those are reserved for the association itself and not the members, who can dock in selected sections of the Star Alcazar that'll be reserved for your members.
We will deduct a small fee for docking, fuelling and basic maintenance for certain time periods.
If certain work needs to be done or upgrades installed, our docks can perform the necessary construction without completely shutting the ships down for several weeks or longer.
Besides that, security will be managed by the Citadel Military Service and Ark Alliance with the eventual deployment of the PrimaSteel Contingent Defence Force." Scarlett took on Kane's role within the meeting because he still found himself busy with the wars on Earth.
Besides the movement of certain resources around Greenland and Iceland, Kane needed to deploy a great number of military forces to take over Iraq without America finding their involvement an issue.
Afghanistan was also another area that required Kane's attention to removed forces who might oppose Esmond's rule and influence.
But due to the United States military having a great hold within certain cities and regions of the nation, Kane needed help from Igdra to settle on the land while leaving behind a mark to make the people aware of their efforts.
Vaazakra on the other hand was working hard to infiltrate Iran without uprooting social order into disarray.
The biggest problem of Iran was its leadership that viewed religion as its guide to government the people but there was enough corruption and ill dealings in between that the powerfully easily went against the code of their deeply revered religion.
Esmond understood Iran would be a difficult country to takeover because of its religious leadership and their hold over the nation and its resources.
Rashid was working with Vaazakra to infiltrate the nation without anyone becoming aware of their actions, but the process was time consuming and dangerous.
.
"If that's the case, then most of our conditions are fulfilled but we wee hoping to manage our own section of the docking ports." Bruklet Qi'ast said without any change in expression or emotion.
"Unfortunately, that isn't possible.
The operational system overseeing the Star Alcazar is connected to each docking port which than falls under the jurisdiction of the Ark Alliance.
Therefore, we won't be negotiating control over the docking ports to anyone outside of the Ark Alliance.
We've also set up a collection and delivery service through the ports to help crews acquire their purchased goods they've ordered through the Star Alcazar Network or while travelling around the Deep-Space Habitable Station."
Gabriel wasn't about to let anyone take control over any part of the Star Alcazar without her say.
The executive of the Mercenary Association and their partners felt a little annoyed, but they knew it wouldn't be possible to win so they moved onto the next point.
"That's fine.
But in that case, we would like priority service to transport materials and resources to and from the docking ports."
"We can accept that." Gabriel made the necessary adjustments to the contract instantly, while waiting for Bruklet Qi'ast to start talking about the next topic.
"Thank you.
Now, with that out of the way, we wanted to discuss the Ark and Astrum Banks.
So far, the two financial institutes have reached out across various parts of the Zone, leading it to become fairly powerful in a short few months.
Our association and its partners want to receive catered offers and deals if there was ever the need to take a loan out.
In return, we're willing to advance the establishment of the banks across the zone while promoting your currency alongside the Tartarus Credit.
We would also collect a portion of the transfer fee, but it depends on the location and the security within the specific regions of the Zone."
Bruklet Qi'ast thought Esmond's team would at most reduce the rate of the transfer fee in their favour, but he didn't expect to hear Esmond's people were a step ahead.
"We won't be accepting those conditions whatsoever.
Neither financial institute uses the communication and financial network of the Mercenary Association because we have developed our own.
We've had zero interruption in our service, which is hard to maintain within the Zone because of the sporadic space storms.
Of course, we deal in Tartarus Credits but our focus on the Ark Credit has helped it become recognised in around a dozen systems throughout the Zone.
If you want to measure up the Ark Credit and its source, the Ark Alliance itself acts as a source of valuation atop of the 10 Star Systems.
Each system has 2 or more planets that can house a population without a large need for gas scrubbers in the atmosphere." Echo displayed the various planets they inhabited within the Zone through Igdra's help to terraform the worlds.
Very quickly they transformed 10 Star Systems with roughly 60 planets into habitable places for people to live on in comfort.
Using the functions of the Spatial Ark Star World, Igdra dragged some of the planetary bodies into the Space Ark before they were melded together and strengthened.
After they were returned back out into their respective Star Systems, with each region of the Zone offered something different.
.
The representatives of various organisations that came along with the Mercenary Association were lost in the data provided by Esmond's team.
Even the Mercenary Association Executives were running their eyes of the reports, with many of them wondering about the riches each planet offered the Ark Alliance.
It was enough to make the Association jealous but not enticed enough to make a move against Esmond to seize the planets for themselves.
One had to know that the Tartarus Zone was enormous for a region of space that was a pocket space that had no known end.
For all anyone knew, it could be the size of the Milky Way Galaxy, or even larger.
Esmond knew at the very least that the Zone was roughly the size of the Milky Way, and it contained all sorts of races, empires, and worlds.
The Mercenary Association had more than enough worlds under their control that already took up most of their time and effort so even though the 10 Star Systems seems appealing, it wasn't enough for them to be interested besides adding branch offices.
But that didn't mean they wouldn't be attracted to the Star Systems in the future if the planets offer something meaningful to the Association.
"If you don't mind Executive Bruklet Qi'ast, may I speak up on behalf of our cooperation?"
"Yes, of course Elder E'Xlquton…" Bruklet's platform moved back as a well-dressed man who'd lived through various sorts of experiences through his whole existence.
When everyone heard the old man speak up, members of the Association cooperation immediately exhaled a heavy breath of air, like their worries were for nought before the legendary financial figure of the Zone.
"Mr Eddie, If I may, the cost to maintain such a network is quite dear for sure, and if you have established a communication network of your own, then why have we not heard anything about it?
Why have you not offered your services to others?"
Right on clue, as if it was fated, Zaro brought up the Atlaesusian Syndicate and their efforts so far in the Zone.
"Elder E'Xlquton, I can say for certain; my organisation has already offered the network to dozens of Interplanetary Organisations that operate out of Vucope.
As the president of the Atlaesusian Syndicate, we've focused our time and effort on the surrounding Star Systems by Vucope, however out network extends out to 53 and counting Star Systems so far.
I'm not sure where you're searching for information, but I can assure you, the source you have is not reliable."
Utter silence filled the cold conference hall as Elder E'Xlquton was beyond stumped with the light leaving his eyes in front of everyone.
Similarly, the Mercenary Association partners all lost their mind, with the political game between the two parties practically dead for their side.
Bruklet tried to intervene, but the other Executives warned him from interfering since the problem now laid in Elder E'Xlquton's lap.
"I-I… *Sigh*… it seems your right young man.
Forgive me.
I should have gone of the report provided to me by my aides.
With that out of the way… if you are allowing others to access your network, how can you assure its secure?
Are all the servers for the network restricted to the Star Alcazar or have you set in place several contingencies?"
"The Ark Alliance provides for the safety and maintenance of the communication network which is backed up across the Zone on various Starships and planetary bodies.
Each server bank is supported by its own defensive network that cannot be infiltrated without authorisation from the Alliance Leader." Carter wasn't going to explain a whole lot to the other party because it wasn't their place to know such things.
He also wasn't a fan of the other party's attitude and made sure to voice his annoyance with the head offices of the various organisations.
Carter expected some sort of aggressive bargaining from the other side, but it appeared that they wanted to bully their way through to make a deal that suited them.