Lighting the Beacon at the Empress [Lily]

[Magdalena Lethe]

Magda grew quiet as her brother took the reins for a bit, a warm smile slowly expanding on her face. It had been no secret between them that Gabriel wasn't nearly as gung-ho about the GUIDE project as Magda. Why would he be? It had been her idea, her brainchild, her baby. She'd wanted to incorporate him from the start as much as possible, but there were only so many ways one could wedge a stick in the mud.

Seemed he'd pulled himself free, for the moment.

She nodded finally, "So a exploration team ship then. That would make sense. We have the Starnauts, the Pathfinders, the Scholars, and even our Scouts. So at least four people to a full team, maybe five to round it off, just in case. I'm not really familiar with the higher ship technologies, but I'm open to suggestions on what you think will work best. If your sister has anything useful to add I'd be happy to hear from her, too."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Lily nodded slowly.

She wasn't exactly sure what Rose was doing right now, she knew that her sister had taken up working for their fathers company, doing scouting of some sort. Yet she didn't know if Rose would be busy right now or not. Her lips pursed for half a moment while she thought, though eventually she shook her head.

"Perhaps we can set up another meeting with her once we have a prototype." The frame would need to be built first anyway. "I think the most important thing will be the comfort of the expedition team and their safety."

This was getting easier, she was getting more confident.

It seemed right, the things she was saying. Now she only hoped that Gabe and Magda agreed with that sentiment.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Smiling, Magda glanced to her brother with a nod, "This seems like a good plan. I don't think it will need to be anything of luxury, but at least with all perfunctory living amenities. Once we have the basic transport out of production from Emeritus I'm expecting things to pick up pace with GUIDE. For now there's no rush. I am excited to see the Beacon, though! Will we be able to take a tour?"

[member="Alric Kuhn"]
[member="Gabriel Lethe"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

She blinked for a moment.

"Now?" Her voice was even, as it had been all the while, but she couldn't help but keep a tiny squeak out of it.

The thought of giving a tour wasn't actually a big deal, it was just...well she was still very tired. Sitting up in this chair the entire time had actually been rather exhausting, and truth be told she had been enjoying the thought of sleep for the better half of this entire conversation. Somehow, she had stayed awake all of this time and had even thought constructively of what they would need in the future. The idea of a tour was harrowing, though she was sure that she could make it.

With a cup of caf or two.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"Well," Magda made a great effort to contain her internal excitement at seeing the completed Headquarters. This was a big deal for her, a monumental day for GUIDE, a landmark achievement for all the things she'd done to get there, "yes!" Smile bright, she gripped the armrests of her chair to keep herself from floating away with elation.

"But I'm sure you've got lots of other things to do. People to see, right? CEO of a big company like this, probably have a few dozen assistants to handle these menial tasks." That was how KDY did it. That was how CEC did it. Was that how Koros did it? She looked around, noting the lack of assistant-types in the office. Maybe not?

Oh, droids maybe. Was there a 3PO unit around? Magda loved those things.

[member="Alric Kuhn"] [member="Gabriel Lethe"]

 

[Thaddeus Wyse]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"] | [member="Alric Kuhn"]

A big hand settled on Mags' shoulder.

Two years were a lifetime for a boy growing. From a gangly, thin awkward youth into something that more closely resembled the man he would turn into in a few more years.

"We can always make a seperate appointment for the tour, sister." Gabriel calmly interjected with a brief nod to Lily. "I am starting to feel a little bit tired anyway."

Not exactly true. Gabe was feeling fine, but he had noticed that Lily was less well-off. A younger lad would have put attention to that. He was wiser than that though, instead there was just an understanding smile.

No point in embarrassing anyone.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

"Oh!" She hadn't thought of that. "Yes!"

Koros had assistance, or rather, Lily had assistance. She had connections within parts of Empress Teta and of course she had those that her father had...well assigned was the wrong word, given? It was hard to really put into words but she had people that could show Magda around. "No, it's fine, really. I can have Orena show you around."

The woman had been with Lily for over a year now, a token of her fathers rather brash need for her to have more security. She worked for Saeva Incorporated, a company that was a listed subsidiary of her fathers corporation. She was a rather stern woman, but she knew the Koros Facilities better than any employee due to security layouts, and oddly enough she was the best person to give the tour anyway. Lily smiled and pressed a button, asking Orena to come in.

"I'm sure she won't mind." The android didn't mind much of anything really. "It's no big deal."

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Momentary deflation and concession quickly averted by the words of the young Kuhn, Magda's facial expression map pulled a full 180 in less than three seconds.

"Really? Oh you're divine! So was Orena on the Beacon project as well? Oh I can't wait to see the ship. I've never been so excited for anything in my life!"

Truly she hadn't. Not even her sweet 16 birthday party had garnered nearly this many butterflies in her stomach. She'd spent months since the initial meeting dreaming up what the GUIDE's HQ would look like and she was about to burst at the suspense. The girl clutched at her brother's nearest arm, smiling ear to ear.

[member="Alric Kuhn"] [member="Gabriel Lethe"]

 

[Thaddeus Wyse]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"] | [member="Alric Kuhn"]

Her enthusiasm was infectious. Gabes couldn't help but chuckle himself, a broad smile replacing the more serious expression that was more prevalent with him these days. It was all about responsibility: he was the older brother, that meant it was his responsibility to keep her safe and sound. There was little time to jack around like he used to.

"Easy there, Mags. Not everyone can handle your enthusiasm." he patted her arm, before standing up from the chair and pulling her up too. One heave and she was up on her feet too.

A nod to Lily followed.

"It was a fun meeting, miss Kuhn."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Gabriel Lethe"] | [member="Magdalena Lethe"]

"Orena is my...chief of security." That was better than saying 'bodyguard that my father had given me because he was paranoid about someone slitting my throat'. "She knows the building in and out and knows about pretty much every aspect of Koros."

That was mostly because Orena was an android. She had been formerly a human, of course, until she had been injured in combat. Once she returned from the hospital she had made the decision to undergo experiments within Titan Industries. Eventually these experiments ended in what Orena was now, a cyborg that was closer to robot than it was human. Still, the woman was nice enough, knowledgeable, and Lily fel that she still had some humanity in her.

"Please, go, enjoy yourselves. We'll talk more at the next meeting." Lily smiled at them both, giving them pleasant nods as she struggled to keep herself sitting upright.

She needed a nap, maybe some soup.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

There was no reining in this enthusiasm - it was far too late for that. Magie was shivering with excitement, unable to contain the surge of energy that commanded her to go, run to this ship. See all the things. Go in all the rooms. Press every button.

She attempted to supress a delighted whine, smile blooming from ear to ear, "Oh thank you so much! I'm sure Orena will be delightful! I'll be in touch, Miss Kuhn..." Gabriel was ushering her out to save the poor Kuhn from this veritable live bomb, "we'll be in touch about those stations!"

And out the door they went, likely much to Lily's great relief. The GUIDE HQ was but the beginning, that much was greatly assured. There would be more if Magdalena Lethe had anything to say about it. So much more.

[member="Alric Kuhn"] [member="Gabriel Lethe"]