Chapter 152

"There are many things we simply won't understand without the passage of time. For now, we shall continue your examinations. The brain is a fickle thing—the exterior is one matter, but the interior is quite another."

The doctor’s diagnosis of Teiro’s current state was, essentially: "He’s fine for now." Since there was no visible physical damage and his mental state appeared normal—at least on the surface—the doctor’s vague non-answer was the final word on the matter. In other words, they have no idea what’s going on, Teiro thought.

"Well then! Time to make up for three months of slack," Teiro said, forcing a cheerful tone.

Immediately following his discharge, he threw himself into the frantic task of grasping everything that had happened while he’d been playing Sleeping Beauty. Even back on 21st-century Earth, people used to complain that the world moved faster than it used to. In the context of the Galactic Empire, trying to keep up was a fool’s errand.

"To put it simply, we’ve had about seventeen inter-corporate wars within our territory. We intervened in four of them. We actually had to deploy the fleet twice," Bella reported.

They were currently in a station a short jump away from the Alpha Star System. It was one of several facilities built to house the refugees who had escaped Wyoming, and compared to their previous accommodations, everything here was shiny and new.

"Got it. And the interventions were... let’s see. Ah, because they didn't follow the Engagement Regulations we set up, right?" Teiro replied.

The main members of the crew—minus Phantom—were gathered in a conference room at the newly established RS Frontier Development Branch. Everyone seemed relaxed, casually tapping away at their personal terminals. Seeing them so at ease, Teiro felt a wave of relief. At least nothing catastrophic happened while I was out.

"I don't give a damn if they shoot each other up in someone else’s backyard," Alan grunted, sounding like a disgruntled landlord. "But as long as they’re here, they play by RS Law. Bella and I were the ones who pulled the trigger on the interventions. You okay with that?"

Teiro gave him a thumbs-up. "Of course. It’s a last resort, but if they won't listen to reason, you gotta hit 'em." He leaned forward. "So, how’s the economy looking?"

Koume raised her hand. "It is extremely favorable, Mr. Teiro. Now that the literal weight of a war has been lifted, reconstruction demand is through the roof. Furthermore, Frontier Development is providing massive momentum. The corporate world is practically foaming at the mouth to form new markets."

"Whoa, seriously? I can’t wait to see this term’s tax revenue... But wait, do the Frontier residents actually have any money? Is it even an attractive market if everyone’s broke?" Teiro asked, crossing his arms as he recalled the rugged life back on Wyoming.

"It’s a gold mine," Marl chimed in. "The absolute numbers are staggering. We’ve discovered there are several times more residents than the old statistics suggested. Just bringing their standard of living up to a ‘bare minimum’ creates a mountain of demand. As for the poor, we’re prioritizing them for jobs on the front lines of Frontier Development. Their wages are creating purchasing power where there was none before."

"I see. Is that why you published these partial statistical surveys? To show off the population counts and basic data?"

"Hardly. We didn't ‘publish’ them, Teiro. We sold them," Marl said with a predatory grin. "The effect is the same whether we give it away for free or charge for it, so we figured we might as well make a killing. We’ve earned quite a bit of pocket change already."

"Your commercial spirit is as terrifying as ever. But what do you mean the ‘effect is the same’?"

"Think about it. Any company that buys the data gets an edge, right? In the race for development, time is money. Everyone is desperate to get their hands on this info. If they tried to do the market research themselves, it would take forever, and they’d lose ground to their rivals."

"Hmm, but if you charge for it, doesn't that lock out the smaller companies?"

"Exactly," Marl said, her smile widening. "But look at it from the other side. A company that can't afford a small entry fee isn't big enough to actually utilize the data anyway. Most of the ones left out are tiny businesses that just follow the lead of the giants who did buy the info. That’s exactly how it’s playing out."

"There’s a counter-intelligence perk too," Alan added. "Since they paid good money for that info, every company keeps it under lock and key. It’ll leak eventually, sure, but it forces corporate spies to waste time and effort. Statistical data is strategic data. Charging for it makes a huge difference."

"Wow, okay. That actually makes sense... I guess if you only have data from one source, it’s suspicious, so they probably feel they have to buy from at least two sources to verify it. Smart. By the way, how’s the employment of the impoverished going? Everything smooth?"

Marl nodded. "Better than smooth. At first, the corporate bigwigs whined about the new minimum wage, but the moment they realized these workers were also potential customers, they flipped faster than a pancake. Now there’s a bidding war for laborers. It’s doing wonders for poverty relief. The Salvaging Market is also growing nicely, and we’ve already snagged all the notable Antique items. You can check the list later."

"Rich people really don't hold back once they smell a profit," Teiro mused. "But we’ve got to make sure the competition for labor doesn't overheat. To be honest, the only thing this place has going for it is cheap labor. If that disappears too fast, the whole house of cards falls down."

"Fair point. I’ll look into some countermeasures," Marl promised.

"Thanks. I’m looking forward to seeing those Antiques. I really hope there’s something in there that links back to Earth..."

Teiro had skimmed the image files of the salvaged goods, but it was hard to tell if anything was Earth-made. Unlike the high-tech hubs of the Empire, the data here was "images" in the literal, old-fashioned sense. If they were High-definition Holographic Data, it would be as good as looking at the real thing.

"Anyway, how’s the day-to-day business? I imagine you’re the busiest of all," Teiro said, addressing the room at large.

Lyza raised a hand with effortless grace. "The scale of our operations is expanding exponentially. If I didn't have total authority over personnel, I’d have had a nervous breakdown by now."

She flicked a finger, and a line graph appeared on the large screen in the conference room. It tracked the number of employees and total sales over the last few months. The line wasn't just going up; it was practically a vertical wall.

"Wait, isn't that... a bit much? What the hell did you do to cause a spike like that?" Teiro asked, staring at a graph that showed the workforce had more than doubled since the Alliance’s inception.

"It’s all about credit," Lyza explained, switching the screen to show a breakdown of the departments. "The vast majority of the growth is in the Transportation and Trade Department. Specifically, the proportion of precious goods and high-value cargo has skyrocketed. This is a direct result of our new status as the Alliance Leader. People trust us now. Plus, the Frontier Development projects are creating a massive logistical vacuum that we’re filling."

"Credit, huh? I get it. We’re holding people’s valuable crap, so they need to trust us... And I guess the Frontier needs more supplies than ever."

"Precisely. I’ve been buried under a mountain of Business Alliance proposals from transport companies around the Frontier. We could expand even further if we wanted to. On the trade side, things are equally brisk. It’s still mostly ‘questionable’ products, though."

Teiro gave a sleazy little chuckle. "Hey, as long as it’s legal, I don't care. Still selling Kokeshi and porn?"

"The Kokeshi sales are steady. However," Lyza said, her expression turning slightly bewildered, "the demand for Holo-porno is absolutely insane. We can barely keep up with the orders."

"Wait, just how starved for smut are my people?! ...Oh, wait. I get it! It’s the rebound from the Former Enzio Government’s information control!"

"Most likely," Lyza agreed. "Holo-movie data is too large for wireless transmission, so it has to be moved physically via chips. It’s a relatively new technology for this sector. I suppose the novelty hasn't worn off."

"They were completely shut out from Imperial center info for years. To them, it’s like the ban on the forbidden fruit was finally lifted. Of course they’re jumping on it... Man, we really are doing well, aren't we?"

Teiro crossed his arms, satisfied. The company was thriving. But he knew better than to think everything was perfect. He took a breath. "Okay, give me the bad news. I’m assuming the military side is where the headaches are?"

Bella shrugged, arching an eyebrow. "Unlike the other departments, you can't just hire people off the street for this. Three months isn't nearly enough time for the Battle School to churn out fresh recruits. Phantom is doing his best, but we’re spread thin. We were hoping to pick up some veterans from the Former Enzio Alliance Forces, but the public reception to them is... well, toxic. Those guys burned too many bridges during the war."

"Yeah... and we can't exactly go out of our way to help them without looking like we’re cozying up to the old regime. That would just piss off the EAP."

As Bella said, the massive number of veterans left behind by the war were local pariahs. A lucky few found work in Security Companies, but most were struggling to find a job—any job. Some tried to transition into civilian roles, while others were inevitably turning to piracy.

"Our funding is great, so we’re doing okay on equipment upgrades," Bella continued. "But quality can't replace quantity. As you noticed, seventeen corporate wars in our territory is a lot. People are starting to test us. They think we’re soft."

"Figured as much... Compared to the scale of the RS Alliance, the core Rising Sun fleet is tiny. Since we don't have enough ships to be everywhere at once, they probably think they can get away with small-scale brawls that don't trigger a full Alliance mobilization. Are the allied companies staying in line, or are they planning a coup?"

"They’re fine for now. They know that if they start infighting, the EAP will swoop in and eat them alive. The pressure from the EAP is intense. Even with Little Tokyo keeping them in check, they’re still expanding their military."

"Great. Does that mean I have to seriously consider a Military Alliance with the Dingoes?"

"Better safe than sorry," Bella sighed. "In this climate, you never know which way the wind is going to blow."

Teiro looked at her with sympathy. He remembered all too well how the Alpha Star System had been the primary target in the last conflict.

"Politics is a mess," Bella said, waving a hand dismissively. "But putting that aside, isn't Wyoming our biggest immediate headache? Until we clear that up, the old man’s research is dead in the water. I’m worried he’s going to try and charge in there by himself one of these days."

"The Doctor? Reckless? No way," Teiro said sarcastically. "Actually, I’ve got a bit of a plan for that. It’ll take some time, but I think we can pull off something interesting. I’ve already got Koume working on the prep."

The room went silent as all eyes turned to Teiro, a mix of expectation and surprise on their faces. Teiro looked over at Marl and then clenched his slightly trembling hand into a tight fist.

"They messed with us," he said, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous register. "So we’re going to give it back to them—with a mountain of interest attached."