A Shady Offer

[Sebastian Thel]

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The search for work had brought Sebastian to the heart of the galaxy. Beneath the grind of machinery and the soar of craft taking off, he could hear the sound of his heart beat. Every dull thud echoed between his footsteps as he jumped off the shuttle bus and walked towards the facility. He only hoped he would not shut down and not be able to speak, possibly ruining his first day of work in the progress.

Sebastian held his breath for as long as he could and exhaled. He pressed onward and passed security guards, to whom he displayed a profile on his communicator. They allowed him through the holding gates and onto the grounds of the vast expansion. He wore a beige coat which fell to his ankles over puffy trousers which tucked into socks and lace-up shoes. Sweat gathered between his palm and the briefcase in his hand.

Miraxus Inc.

The sign glowed blue beyond the structure. They had provided little information to Sebastian when they offered him the position, which made him question the morality of their practices. Having not asked, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind. He stopped to glance at the glow of the sign and swallowed a gulp, before walking through the massive doors of the facility.

Receptionists sat at a wide desk and received him, who drummed his finger on the counter and waited with his mouth clamped firmly shut. High heels clicked past every so often, followed by men in dark suits and beings of cybernetic enhancement and skin tones of bright colours.

"Hello, do you have an appointment?" One of the women asked, her skin a vibrant blue. She typed away at a screen and glanced at Sebastian every so often, who struggled to look her directly in the eye. When she asked the question, he froze like an animal caught in the wild.

"I'm Sebastian." The words were forced out of his mouth. "Thel!" He shook his head fiercely upon remembering to add his surname. The woman nodded and typed away, then gestured to a white, circular lounge.

"We have you booked in, Mister Thel, please take a seat." As she waved her hand, Sebastian turned away. He sat on the lounge, his back perfectly straight and retrieved his notebook from inside of his coat. Throughout the wait, he scribbled equations to ease his nerves, hoping that his application had impressed the manager. He wondered idly what kind of work he would be expected to complete.

[member="Cecile Miraxus"]

 

[Talon Vosra]

She stood calmly in front of a small bank of security terminals in her office. Her light blue eyes were cold and unblinking as she watched the young man enter and check in with the receptionist. A slender hand flowed forward and pressed a few keys and his information came up in an overlay on the screen. His work was impressive for one so young but then if it hadn't been he wouldn't be here.

She carefully folded her arms over her chest, the pristine white suit a stark contrast to the darkness of the room. An aide walked in and paused with a swallow that was audible in the silent room.

"Ma'am, your appointment has arrived." The young woman said, and waited patiently without another peep.

"I can see that, thank you." She replied stoically.

She turned to look at the woman and walked close. Her glacial blue eyes gazed at the woman and noted the nervousness that multiplied with each silent moment.

"Escort him in to my office please and make sure he signs the non-disclosure agreement, please." She said as she looked at the taller woman, "And have our prototype brought to my office as well."

"Right away, Ma'am." The taller dark haired woman replied before she hurried out to carry out her instructions.

Cecile waited a moment and walked out of the security room and into her large well furnished office. She ran a finger along the chest of the first of a row of various statues of species they currently were prepared to work on. The bodies were easy to create, their nude forms were the perfect examples of each kind and she paused to appreciate the complexity of their designs.

She walked slowly to her large dark wood desk and took a seat in her highbacked chair. The prototype crystal data matrix was brought in covered with a sanitary white cloth. She nodded to the masked scientist aide and he retreated back out quickly. With luck this young man would be the perfect person to help make her vision a reality.


[member="Sebastian Thel"]

 

[Sebastian Thel]

As Sebastian wrote down equations, only to scribble them out and begin anew, his gaze was distracted by the approaching figure of a young woman. She stood meekly above him with a clipboard in her arm and gestured with a hand for him to follow. This must have been Ms. Miraxus' secretary, or one of her staff members, Sebastian thought. He slid his notebook and pen into his coat and stood, following her to an elevator.

"Right this way, please." She said as she entered the elevator. Sebastian walked behind her and waited as she keyed in the floor number. The doors closed as the compartment lifted them into the heights of the facility.

The elevator passed scores of levels. Glancing around the room, Sebastian caught the secretary fidgeting with her nails. She must have been nervous like him. He took another breath and calmed himself, tapping his foot until the elevator reached the floor which housed the office of the manager. With a ping, the doors opened and the secretary lead Sebastian into the corridor.

"There is a non-disclosure agreement you need to sign before you are fully accepted into our establishment." The woman turned to Sebastian and held the clipboard before him.

Shifting his eyes, the thought surrounding the practices of the company returned. He swallowed, pushing any suspicions to the back of his mind. He reached for his pen and signed his name in the required spaces. With a gulp, he nodded in acknowledgement to the secretary, who returned the expression and lead him inside of the office.

The doors opened and revealed the features of Cecile Miraxus, standing sleek and regal in a pristine white suit. Sebastian froze like a startled animal, struggling to look at her directly in the eye. On a table in the center of the office lay several prototypes, the sculptured forms of bodies ready to implant with programming. Sebastian felt his heart skip a beat. This was a company based in the mechanics of the human essence. Whatever their depraved rationale, he was too far deep within their midst to run away.

"Hello." Sebastian managed to say following a pause. "Thank you for your offer." His tone was low and mellow, quiet and struggling beneath his breath. On Cecile's desk sat a device covered in a white cloth, which immediately attracted his gaze. He blinked rapidly in curiosity, wondering to see what mechanical wonder lay beneath.

"I look forward to completing any work you have in store for me." Clutching the briefcase above his thighs, he had to stop and think about his sentence before speaking. "What is that?" He pointed to the box covered in cloth on Cecile's desk, all the while struggling to look away from the nude prototypes.

[member="Cecile Miraxus"]

 

[Talon Vosra]

She lifted a slender hand and circled it around her head to gather her long hair to drape it over one shoulder and looked to her aide. The other woman gave a nod and Cecile smiled at them both. An almost imperceptible sigh of relief escaped the dark haired woman before she exited the office to leave them alone.

Cecile stood.

She was a small woman, slender and lithe even in the pristine business suit. Her glacial blue eyes showed genuine pleasure in his meek nervous manner. She rested a hand delicately on the cloth covered device.

"This," she began and patted the cloth for emphasis, "Is our entire existance as a company."

She removed the cloth to reveal a small circular device with a crystalline core.

"We call it a crystal data matrix, CDM for short and it's purpose is to hold the memories, intelligence, and essence of a being for the purpose of transplanting consciousness from one body to another."

She paused to let the concept sink in to the young man. It was cutting edge and the uses were nearly limitless. She knew that and she knew also that some people would appreciate it more than others. Her intentions for the device were not as immoral as some may assume but she had plans that would meet resistance by other companies.

"What we do here is new and bold, Mr. Thel." She continued, "And we've invited you here to help perfect the science of the process. So far, our product is not ready for sentient trials. We...I am hoping you can help us clear that hurdle and help us build something truly incredible. We are prepared to offer you a generous salary of ten thousand credits per month with bonuses for meeting deadlines and an extra bonus for finished product. Anything you need will be made available to you as long as you request it through the proper channels and keep me personally updated on progress or lack thereof. I personally wrote the prototype algorithms, so I look forward to seeing your work first hand. Does that sound acceptable to you?"


[member="Sebastian Thel"]

 

[Sebastian Thel]

The secretary left Sebastian alone with Cecile, drawing the gaze of the mathematician to her figure disappearing behind the door. He turned his head, looking to Cecile and swallowing a gulp. While most would find her beautiful, her delicate features and alluring manner were lost on Sebastian, who was not swayed by her devilish smile. He was more interested in the device beneath her hand.

As Cecile explained the properties of the crystal data matrix, Sebastian's eyes widened in awe. The lines of his mouth turned upwards in a smile of delight as he surveyed the mechanical wonder which Cecile unveiled beneath the cloth. Although the device skimmed the surface of morality, Sebastian could not resist contemplating the mathematical complexity which made up the device and he was entirely lured into the hold of the company.

"That is very interesting!" He piped up, his voice more animated than usual. Equations r0lled through Sebastian's mind as he already began to conjure up ideas revolving around the company's work on the matrix shard.

When Cecile mentioned his salary of ten thousand credits per month, his lips parted in shock. His eyes widened in their sockets and scanned across Cecile's own. He had never even imagined being in possession of that kind of money and ran a hand through his pin-straight hair in shock, making it appear more disheveled in the process.

"I gladly accept your offer, Miss Miraxus." He spoke in a voice low and mellow, lowering his hand from his hair and wrapping his fingers around his briefcase. Sebastian strode forward, his eyes gleaming towards the matrix shard as he extended a hand. His palm hovered above the surface as he did not dare to touch the shape.

"With access to the prototype algorithms, I will do my best to assist you in completing this project." Retracting his hand, he took a step backwards from Cecile's desk as her icy gaze locked with his own soft, brown eyes.

Sebastian analysed the geometry of the matrix and considered the fractals, taking a rough measure of the properties and the quantity needed to complete the design. He set his briefcase down and procured his notebook from his coat. He cocked his head to one side, eyeing the matrix from every angle as began to note estimations.

[member="Cecile Miraxus"]

 

[Talon Vosra]

"Excellent, Sebastian." She said as she stood and held out a hand to the young man. "I'm looking forward to seeing your work. The proper forms will be sent to your datapad for you to confirm your contract."

She picked up the prototype and held it out to him with her other hand.

"Formalities of business I'm afraid." She continued her line of thought as her long pale hair spilled across her back, "In the mean time make yourself at home here. Adjust your work station however you please. And of course if you have any questions please ask."

She pressed a button on her desk but was received only a buzz then silence in response. She made a look for the briefest of nanoseconds that said she wasn't pleased.

"Well, security must be handling something." She said as she stepped around her desk, "I'll show you to your station, I was going to head that direction anyway."

It was a lie. She wasn't planning to check that wing for several hours but it didn't matter. They were closer to completion now than anyone and she would accept some inconvenient occurrences.

[member="Sebastian Thel"]

 

[Sebastian Thel]

Sebastian gripped Cecile's hand in a light shake as she accepted him into the company. His soft, brown eyes widened in joy when she held out the prototype. Tilting his head in curiosity, he surveyed every mechanical detail and dissembled the device in his mind, trying to piece together the design and figure out on the spot how everything worked.

When Cecile pressed the button on her desk and received only a buzz, the look on her face caused Sebastian to recoil and take a step backwards. He knew immediately that this was not a woman he wanted to displease. As she lead him out of the office, he grabbed his briefcase and followed her through the corridor outside.

They stood side by side in the elevator, with Sebastian repeating the process of holding his breath for as long as he could before releasing. He tried to think of something, anything to say which might break the awkward silence. He could think of nothing, only balls of indiscernible equations. When the elevator pinged, Cecile and Sebastian strode out of the doors and entered another high floor of the facility.

Sebastian's polished, lace-up shoes clicked across the floor alongside Cecile's heels. He followed her into an office by a window overlooking the skyscrapers and soaring speeder cars of Coruscant, a sight which he eyes beheld and aroused within him a rising sense of confidence and pride.

"This is just perfect, Ms. Miraxus." Entering, Sebastian paced around and absorbed the view before thanking Cecile in an appreciative tone.

Setting his briefcase on his desk, he opened the latches and found his notes along with his datapad. He placed everything on the desk, before sorting sheets and graph paper into cabinets. Two computer screens were set up on one side of the wide desk, which he turned on and plugged the datapad into the terminal. He flicked through windows on the datapad and found the folders containing the prototype algorithms for the data matrix, which he sent to the computer.

[member="Cecile Miraxus"]