She talks. And all of it only serves to cause Andrea's right eyebrow to raise higher and higher on her forehead. Scipio's proposals are bogus in her mind. The first two are, anyway. She only really wanted to talk about the third option. And the fact that she elaborates on it so much more than her first two ideas, even shooting down the first idea so completely, only solidifies the thought in Andrea's mind; Scipio is trying to get her measure. Perhaps she's even being honest about the third proposal, but it's so wildly outclassed in Andrea's mind by the thought of spending so much on a proposal that, if it works, means that effectively nothing happens as a result. It's a grand deterrence. A proxy war, for the sake of developing their own counter-measures with plenty of time to spare.

"Admiral." She begins, after Scipio has finished her layout of the options. "You must realise that fifty Macro Credits is... well, it's a ridiculous amount to ask for." She lets the words sit for a moment in the air. "One could topple the government and infrastructure of a small to medium sized country for that much. And despite your assurances of the need for these funds, I am struggling to see the sense in devoting so much money into this project. What exactly will it be used for, precisely? Bribes to Yu King, I assume. And payment for the Floridians. And of course the hardware and software of the 'internal combat assets' you claim we'll be making. But fifty?"

She fights the urge to bring a hand up to her face to squeeze the bridge of her nose.

"I'll grant you the funds, Scipio." She said, her tone firm and low. She wanted to establish with the Admiral immediately that she was not a woman to be fucked with. "However. If I find out that even [i]one[/i] credit has been skimmed off the top or wasted in [i]any[/i] way..." She suppressed the urge to glare, but she couldn't do anything about the dangerous tone of her voice. She hoped the threat came across effectively enough. She took a moment to breathe, and then took out her personal comm and approved the proposal via a data-link, authorising the Admiral the license to spend fifty of Lhotse's company Macro Credits as she saw fit. She just hoped there'd be a few left over, and that she wouldn't need to use the whole allowance. Her finger hovered over the 'disconnect' button on her armrest, but she paused.

"I've read your file, Admiral. You're a competent woman. Please do not give me any reason to doubt that impression." She said, before pressing the button and severing the connection.

Andrea exhaled as she looked out the window at the passing neon skyscrapers of the city. Her first day on the job, and already she was making financial decisions that would have gone a long fucking way to ending world hunger if she saw sense in spending to that end. But no, the company came first. Always. She hoped they'd reach Paradisia's place soon. She could do with seeing a friendly face, and a stiff drink.