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[b]Over Rome - June 11, 2049[/b]
[i]with [@Legion02][/i]

“Alexander Christopherson. Einherjar Security Solutions.” The man on the other side introduced himself. She probably never heard of him and Alexander could hardly blame her for that. He wasn’t particulary a grunt. For a matter of fact he did know Mr. Olavson a bit. The man offered his phone number, saying Alexander could always call him if he needed something fixed. Still, he was nothing more than a Special Agent right now.

“I’m calling at the behest of Mr. Olavson.” Charles never gave the order to call Miss Neosca. At least not directly. If the man had followed the digital trail he’d see it passed through 5 different levels. But it came all the way from the top. However, doing that was way above his paygrade. “He wants to offer his condolences. Assuming that you’ve lost colleagues in the bombing. He also wants to extend his support.”

“Thank you. But I am certain this is not the only reason for your call, Mr. Christopherson.”

“You're right, it's not. As you may know, Einherjar stands undefeated in urban policing, crowd control and anti-terrorism. Einherjar would like offer these services. Free of charge.” It felt like sales pitch. The fact that one of their sales managers was sitting next to him, listening in on the phone did not help.

“Yes, I am aware of your company's achievements. Everyone is. Which is why I can tell you that if we were in urgent need of your services, it would have been us taking the initiative.” She wanted to establish the fact that the EDA's security situation was not as dire as some companies, particularly the perfectionist and often patronising Carolus Holdings, believed. “We would have also cut the middle-man and made a deal straight with the people in charge of said operations. Why is that that Mr. Olavson resorted to such...unnecessary hoops?”

One of the many reasons why Alexander was picked (unbeknown to himself) was because he didn’t dance around the stuff. Especially when he got an all clear. For a moment he looked at his superior with a doubtful gaze. The lady in charge knew immediately what it meant and gave him a yes. “I’m afraid that Mr. Olavson is currently unable to call you himself. As he is on an important business meeting.” He said in a very casual tone. But the call started to gather an audience around him as word travelled around. “I understand that you may not have had the time to contact us.” He thought he’d get a deadly gaze from his superior when he said that one as she now too was listening in on the conversation. But instead she gave him a thumbs up. “But we both know that you require certain solutions for a problem.” He needed something. Something to convince the lady that she needed them.

Right then the TV switched to the recent arrest footages of Einherjar. It were neat, tight and very clear images. Some showed the neat rows of prisoners put on the street ready for transport. Their hands and feet tied and with their faces down. While the anti-terrorist forces patrolled in between. Other images contained casings on the ground and bullet holes in the walls. As a cherry on top they showed 2 severally injured terrorists being transported to a nearby hospital under armed escorts. One was clearly beating and bruised. The result of a direct confrontation with a exo-skeleton powered fist. The other one had 2 deep bullet wounds in his stomach. Everyone but the terrorists were calm and controlled. But like whipped cream right on top of everything the last image closed off with a Berserker. The elite among the anti-terrorist forced. Those covered in armor plates from top to bottom. The plates however, were clearly scratched with bullets. But the man inside the armored seemed to care little. “That solution is currently being shown on Northern Lights News. I suggest you give it a quick view.”

“Let me see,” she replied in the affirmative to the operative's request and put the call to the side to bring up the mentioned TV feed.
She saw exactly what she expected to see from a Carolus-controlled channel: stills and moving shots edited together neatly as a showcase of the professionalism Einherjar, the company's famous security detail, prided itself on. They indeed seemed more organised and effective than most other law enforcement forces, while keeping their matters surprisingly clean and humane.
“Yes, that is indeed impressive.” She pulled the line back on once the ‘news report’ was over. “I also understand that Mr. Olavson no doubt has a hectic schedule ahead of him. So do I—which is why I wish to propose further discussion on the matter once I have myself some free time. Tomorrow should suffice.”

The sales manager quickly tapped a few keys while several aids started typing on their computers. A moment of silence dominated the phone call. Until the manager pushed a pad with certain information before the nose of Miss Neosca. “I agree. How about dinner? I will assume you are familiar with Palazzo Manfredi’s Aroma restaurant in Rome? We have a table booked for two at 7 o’clock.”

“I may consider it.” She did not want to get to anything concrete now, especially with minutes being away from her flight.

“Thank you. Have a happy flight.” In a final showcase of Carolus superiority he ended the call himself. After which a loud cheer erupted within the office.

Still it seemed to be enough for the operative, who ended the call as sudden as he started it. Roxana let out a stifled sigh as she put the display back on idle. The fact that both Jötunn and now Carolus seemed to be willing to negotiate an alliance for whatever gains was as intriguing as it was dangerous. Playing both sides was a manoeuvre the EDA had successfully pulled off in the past, but with the power balance in Europe shakier than ever, she feared that it might not have been an option anymore. Eventually, she—and with her, the company and all its territory—would be forced to reveal their true allegiance.

“Approaching landing zone.” The pilot broke the silence that sat in, announcing the jet's arrival in Rome.

That day was still far. For now, she had one thing to focus on.

[hr]
[b]Vatican City - June 11, 2049[/b]

“Status report.”

“Units in position.”
“Perimeter secured.”
“All movement in area is monitored.”
“Suspicious individuals in area marked and are being watched.”
“Stage set.”

“Excellent.”
A satisfied smirk sat out on the face of Cassandra Lockheart before she lowered the visor of her helmet, covering up her entire face. She was just arriving to the Vatican by helicopter. Today was her day to shine and she wanted everything to go as perfectly as possible. As captain of the EDA's elite task force assembled from the best secret service agents of Western Europe, ensuring the company head's absolute safety was her duty.

“The Dreamer has landed,” came the report she has been truly waiting for. ‘Dreamer’ was not the name of the plane, as one might assume, but a codename for Roxana herself. Among all EDA branches, the military was the most fervent user of the ‘Visionary’ moniker of the previous leader and carried the practice along with the unlikely succession.

“Right on time. Alpha, Bravo—you're the escorts. Cover the car tight. People shouldn't even see it. Also, I want snipers on every rooftop along the way. Move it!”
Cassandra took no chances. Not this time.


The extreme precautions paid off and the journey from the closest airport in Rome to the scene of destruction in Vatican City went without a hitch. Roxana stepped out of the car, datapad in hand, to the unified salutations of a long row of EDA soldiers, all of them clad in the same sleek white armour with black linings. These outfits were full-body and left nothing exposed, concealing the extent of augmentations most of the people wearing them were equipped with.

Roxana walked up to the stage with a stern face that hid any signs of anxiousness dwelling within her. Only when she was actually up there could she observe how many people were there in the audience. Despite the little announcement preceding the speech, there were hundreds gathered in front of the podium which itself was set up in front of the destroyed EEC building. More importantly though, there were dozens of cameras, either grounded or drone-mounted and hovering in the air, their lenses primed at the EDA leader. It was an unforgiving judge, the public eye. She knew that any mistake would be ruthlessly spun by the other corporations' PR machines to paint her in the worst light possible.

So, she would make no mistakes.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we stand before a great tragedy. A tragedy that not only manifests in the physical destruction we see here, but goes beyond that: into the hearts and minds of all the people who have lost someone or something of value. I know what it feels like. To...lose a piece of your heart overnight, without any forewarning or chance for closure. There are very few feelings worse than that.” She looked over the crowd. Many's heads were lowered, others looked back at her with sombre expressions. Now it was time to turn the spirits around. “Yet...there is something else such a disaster presents you with: a challenge. A challenge to rise above the obstacle life has thrown ahead of you and come out stronger than before at the top. This is the core philosophy of the EDA, this is what we do: constantly rising to unknown heights, chasing transcendence. I have no doubt people want to follow tomorrow's promises as well, but for that they need to be given a stable ground to stand on, to begin their ascension. We have only humanity's best interests at heart, which is why we will provide just that for everyone who is willing to accept. We will rebuild the destroyed, reforge the broken and right the wrongs of this tragedy. We will bring this world along with us. Into the future!”

She raised a clenched fist and took in the roar of applause with a sigh of relief. Though she read most of it word-for-word off of the script she had written on the plane, she was still satisfied with her delivery and execution. The gathered people seemed to take her words to heart as well—and that was her main goal, giving the impression of a leader who cares about, or at least includes the common folk in their schemes...

————

Cassandra watched the speech from the sidelines, content with the proceedings. Nothing happened so far, no effort to sabotage the gathering or make an attempt on the leader's life. Of course, the Dreamer did not have to know that—she only had to recognise the immaculate work of the secret service keeping her safe. From there, the captain was sure that she would be considered a candidate to replace the failed colonel who was currently on his way to be questioned by the Adepts for allowing the EEC's destruction to happen in the first place. This was the main motivation for her work today and this was also the reason she suddenly grew irrationally irritated when she heard the following report:

“Captain Lockheart, we have spotted a foreign military unit landing some five hundred metres away from the stage. Initial recon suggests they are Einherjar operatives. Small group, but well-equipped. Delta team is moving to intercept.”

“Einherjar? Approaching so openly is not their style... What the hell could they want?” She was already on the move, hurrying in the direction pinpointed to her. “Attention Echo One to Six, your new orders are to coordinate with Delta and surround the foreign soldiers. Only engage if provoked. I'll be there shortly.”

————

Roxana Neosca walked off the stage with a statement to the rest of the world: the EDA had a new leader who had plans of her own that went beyond following what the Visionary laid out for the company. That was what could be deduced from her further statements, at least. Considering how Ryan had not held a public speech for more than five years before his disappearance, the nature of the EDA's plans have always been incredibly secretive. What she revealed now could have been old projects or completely new developments. Still, the promise of a more open and approachable CEO was an interesting one, and this was the desired image...for now.

She headed back into her waiting car through the same row of soldiers, where she was handed another datapad with the press release to be published and aired on every EDA-affiliated network. She approved the draft with glee as it was another, if only moral, victory against Calison who usually handled all the company PR. This time, he would not have a hand in her portrayal. And that was...quite relieving for her. She lay back comfortably on the back seat and the chauffeur was already on the way to the airport.

What she did not know was that someone had another plan for her, which was thwarted by timely intervention of Cassandra and her unit. She approached the leader of the Einherjar operatives who claimed that he only wished to speak with Roxana about a prearranged deal. While protocol was to forward the request to the boss once her speech was over, the captain did not want to...inconvenience her and potentially hurt her chances in the race for the top. She told the soldier that it was not the appropriate time and place and that he would have to seek out company leadership in the traditional way.

With another job well done, she too headed back. She oversaw the crowd until it peacefully dispersed, then took the helicopter once everyone aside from the garrison units have left. On the journey, she began composing her own report to Roxana, which would hopefully be the first step of her ascension...