The [i]La Défense[/i] of Paris used to be the largest business district not just in France, but in the entirety of Europe. Most of the buildings survived the Great Collapse, but its denizens were not so lucky—the place turned into a ghost town as companies fell into ruin one after the other and the district's bright lights faded into darkness. With an important financial factor gone from the equation, the rest of the sectors crashed right on cue as well. The people took whatever road they first could, be it begging, rioting...or taking the easy way out. In these bleak times, people believed nothing short of a miracle would be enough to restore the [i]La Défense[/i]—and the entirety of Paris—to its former glory.

All eyes turned towards the only potential candidate. The EDA's whole story was one seemingly orchestrated to become a legend: a mysterious but benevolent organisation, rising from below the ground as if from a prophecy and bringing with them the future and humanity's chance for ascension. Some went as far as to believe they were sent into this world by some divine entity to help the world through the impending catastrophe that was the Collapse. The company itself had always been strangely vague about this question, in fact they too seemed to herald their leader, the enigmatic Visionary as some kind of prophet.
However, no modern legend lasted for long without actions to back up the glorifying hearsay—and Ryan Valois was ready to solidify his place in the people's pantheon. When the economy was at its absolute lowest, the EDA moved its headquarters to Paris, buying up a whole swath of property in the city's famous business district. With that, they became the pacemaker, ready to resuscitate the failing heart of France.

They started working at breakneck speed, amassing all funds and manpower they could acquire and using it to first stabilise the situation temporarily, then pumping almost everything into the fields of industry that were relevant for the company. While experts warned that the burning tempo and the overspecialisation would end disastrously, the majority of the people were blinded by the light of hope brought by the positive changes after the destruction of their whole life. The public support translated into political power which in turn gave the EDA even more power and even more resources, which were also used to fuel the objective, gaining further support... Once the cycle started, there was no stopping it.

A few years later, the government capitulated and so began a new age in France: the age of the EDA, and the age of its vision.

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[h3][b]EDA Headquarters, Paris - June 11, 2049[/b][/h3]

Today the [i]La Défense[/i] was once again in possession, or at least contention, of its original title. The smorgasbord of skyscrapers and other offices of various shapes and sizes recalled the old world, but a deeper glance assured everyone that nothing quite was like it had been. The EDA's main facility, like an imposing fortress, stood out in the middle. The central tower with its distinct A-shape like a modern Eiffel Tower broke boldly for the sky, while the numerous connecting buildings reached far and wide in all directions, each giving home to different divisions of the megacorp. The centralisation was a conscious decision made early on by Ryan, who believed that the capacity to personally oversee all projects was imperative to preserve the original direction and the purity of the vision. Only when the technology was advanced enough to make long-reaching and instantaneous monitoring possible did he loosen on this policy, which was also the point where the EDA began its expansion into other countries.

But all those events were in the past now. Ryan Valois, the Visionary himself, was in the past now, though there were still plenty who did not want to hear that. For a company built upon the promise of the future, they could not linger in the past for too long, for the world threatened to rush past them if they did. The ability to answer the emerging threats and adapt to the ever-changing conditions while preserving what made them unique—that was what made the EDA the EDA.

On one of the highest floors of the tower, locked away from the hustle and bustle of the work below, was a conference room. One of many in the building, and not particularly special either. Its white walls were illuminated by faint blue lighting and a large circular table with a large holo-projector embedded inside and chairs all around was its main attraction. Yet, today, this room was the single important place in all EDA territory.

Today, it gave place to the meeting of the Adepts.

Five stern-faced people sat at the table next to one another, forming a half-circle. They were the EDA's highest leadership, the company's best and brightest. Back in the day they were elevated by Ryan himself to their position and only answered to him. While originally little more than a honorary designation and a sign of great respect from the Visionary, thanks to their combined skills and talent the Adepts rose in importance and became the direct advisors to the leader and more recently, a great swaying power to their decisions. Their unity was strained at best, but it was no question that they played a large part in shaping the EDA into its current form.

While they exchanged fleeting glances with each other at the table, their attention was mainly focused on something else. Someone else, to be precise. Standing before them was the one person they could not defy. The one who was not the Visionary, but carried his legacy and thus, his authority: Roxana Neacsa, leader of the EDA.

“I'm sure everyone understands the severity of our current situation and how important it is that we make the correct decisions. For now, we have many options open, but once we decide to commit one way, we have to delay the others. Let me hear your suggestions,” she spoke, a once soft voice somewhat hardened through harsh times.

“[i]We[/i] understand. The question is whether you truly do as well, madam. Indecision and sloppiness of the kind you have expressed in the last incident is not the behaviour expected from someone who represents our entire organisation.”
The sharp words came from a man in a fine business suit. He was in his late 40s, and the developing wrinkles on his forehead revealed a small and subtle implant.

“It's easy to speak from hindsight, Mr. Calison. I believe you had known no better either at that time, not even with your famous ‘augmented intelligence’. Our time is short, I only want to hear constructive insight,” Roxana answered with similar vice, something she promised herself not to do in important situations. There was no one who irritated her more than Jonathan Calison, head of the EDA's PR department, known in company circles as the ‘silver-tongued snake’. He has never given the woman any quarter, and she was certain he would be the first to pounce for her position in the worst case scenario. With the influence he held over the various media outlets in EDA territory, he was also a very dangerous man to make enemies with and even Roxana could not afford to ignore his words.

“Time is short, indeed. The power vacuum to the east is being filled in as we speak. If we want to have any chance at establishing a real foothold over there, we need to ramp up our expansion efforts [i]now.[/i] Unless we want to have Jötunn or Carolus as our direct neighbours...”
Next to speak up was Alexander Rocheford, the German chief of the EDA's foreign affairs. The youngest Adept with unparalleled ambition was known for advocating the spread of the EDA's vision to as many places as possible. He orchestrated the systematic takeover of Italy which involved everything from armed forces to behind-the-scenes subterfuge. The attack on the Vatican infuriated him the most, considering it a personal failure. It was not surprising he wished to compensate immediately by taking on another expansion project.

“By the way, Jötunn sent us a ‘notice’ that they're going to go and round up some ‘terrorists’ in South Germany... I guess that is their declaration that they have eyes on the prize already,” added the director of the EDA assembly and manufacturing teams, who was not as concerned with the current events as the rest of the board members.

“Or they just genuinely want us to cheer them on. Mr. Krongold is a real mystery sometimes...” Jonathan interjected.

“That is actually not the worst of ideas...” Roxana raised a hand to her chin, considering the matter. “If Roland is as impulsive as the reports say, he could really appreciate the support, even if it's only in formality. They had helped us before keeping the economy up, I don't think an alliance is that out of the question.”

“Alliance? With those passionate Prussians? Well I'll be damned...”

“Mr. Calison, I expect you to relay our best wishes to Jötunn as well as a token security force to help them in their...valiant efforts. Make sure the soldiers are not from the newest experimental branch, though.”

“Okay, now that we've handled the smaller business, can we actually get to the main point? The EEC is dead and Vatican City is in ruins. The gross income has already stagnated for three quarters now, this could actually put us in the negative. Especially with all that we've already spent trying to keep that damned Euro from crashing again...” As usual, the one with her mind on the money was Ardelle Ducote, the EDA's financial director. The nature of her work made her an especially important and influential member within the company, but she had never openly taken a threatening position to Roxana's rule. All in all, she was a pleasant woman...as long as the stocks were up.

“What are the reactions from the other corporations?” inquired Roxana.

“Gaoyu sent the European corps a good amount. I'm pretty sure they wanted us to bicker over it, but the other directors were surprisingly competent! We have agreed to split it up with the EDA taking the largest cut—after all, the Vatican is in our territory.”

“That is good. We can't save the EEC, but we can rebuild the rest. This time some of the money should actually go into the reconstruction. We don't actually need to finish on time, just start it. Make sure everybody knows how swiftly we are taking action to help the people. The rest should be funnelled into Project Sovereign.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“All right. Mr. Seishiro, I've heard you bring good news.”
Roxana turned to the overseer of the company's R&D departments, the ones driving the innovation and enabling the EDA to come up with breakthrough inventions on an almost regular basis.

“Yes. Our new partners have honoured our deal. We are currently examining the materials. If their claims are true, we might be able to solve a long-standing problem that led to the suboptimal performance of specific implants in people aged—ah, my apologies. It will help greatly.”
Nagato Seishiro was a brilliant scientist and a pioneer of his own. He came over to Europe from Japan in the turbulent years, before the corporations over there had completely solidified their control and prohibited most local talent from working for the competitors. In the EDA, he mainly dealt with the biological side of mechanical augmentations and was responsible for almost single-handedly defeating the Limb Rejection Syndrome which plagued thousands of augmented people. His extraordinary achievements earned him the promotion to the Adepts, which he still viewed as a honorary title and was often reluctant to get involved in this inner politicking.

“Another piece of good news. Our situation is not so critical it seems.”

“Except for the absolute security disaster...” Alexander shook his head in repressed anger.

“I have already recalled the commander. You will have your chance to talk soon enough.” She took a brief pause before continuing. “Anyway, as I wanted to say. By the time of the next meeting, the effects of both the Jötunn diplomacy and the overseas deal will be apparent. We will discuss those topics accordingly. I also want another set of reports on Project Sovereign. Remember, this is our top priority at the moment. Any questions?”
She threw that last bit in there as a simple formality as there were almost never questions. She did not expect to regret it in the next moment.

“Actually...yes. Not a question, per se, but an idea.”
And who else could it come from, but Jonathan Calison?

“What would it be?”

“The EEC situation. We may be fine financially, but that doesn't mean we can't exploit the situation even further. A personal appearance from a company higher-up at the site of the bombing, in front of hundreds of people, with millions watching...that would really give a push to the EDA's desired image, wouldn't you think?”

“Where do you want to get with this, Mr. Calison?” Roxana glared at the man, but was only met with an uncharacteristic pacifying smile.

“I think that you going to Italy and giving a heartfelt speech to the distressed people would not only be extremely beneficial to the company, but would also cement you as a capable leader to all the sceptics,” he let out a brief chuckle right there, “like myself.”

One could hear the pin drop in the blue-lit conference room in the next moment. The rest of the Adepts all turned to Jonathan, expressing a whole range of reactions from surprise to approval. Roxana froze in place.
“Would that...really be necessary?” she uttered.

“Oh, nothing is necessary. But it would help out the EDA and also help furthering the vision. And isn't that what we all want, Ms. Neosca?”