Fortuna Verto

55-Familiar Connections

With their performance concluded, the two girls turned off their equipment. Everything was done, they had actually pulled everything off.

"Halt, you two are under arrest." "Oh, hi Velvet. Glad to see aerospace here causing us more trouble. Right, maybe we should have made a much quicker exit." "Neither of you are going anywhere. Now come peacefully." Velvet advanced towards Kori, cautiously checking to see if there might be any other trap in place for all of her actions. She knew that, after all their work, the two girls wouldn't be open to doing anything to alienate themselves away with scary abilities. Without resorting to such though, the two were little more than harmless civilians. However, in desperation, they might resort to such dramatics anyway, especially if her mother panicked again. Supposedly, her mother was supposed to panic here, and things were supposed to go really bad. Kori might be capable of a very quick escape, but Rosa was far more limited. In that consideration, maybe she should go for the guarantee over the opportunity. She glanced between both, considering her next move carefully.

"Aerospace? Weren't those the morons who let Hypertech go?" "Wow, they really don't know a good thing when they see it. Idiots." "Trying to arrest people for being too good, huh? Wow, who would have thought Aerospace had sunk that low." "If you're arresting her because she's an airhead, you really shouldn't bother. Talent like that is what airheads should aspire towards, would make our community better if they became that talented." "You make it sound like aerospace recognizes what talent looks like." "Oh, right, my bad." "Don't you dare touch them." The crowd had already turned their viper looks upon Velvet, ready to riot. As Velvet took account of her surroundings, she realized that she may have found herself suddenly drastically outnumbered and completely out-maneuvered. She wondered if this whole situation could even possibly get any more dramatically wrong. To answer her concerns, a sudden holo call came in for her.

"Velvet, this is an urgent message from Aerospace High Command. You are to stand down immediately." "Hey, I'm an executive of Aerospace Command, you can't..." "This comes from above Aerospace Command, you will comply." "Higher? What's possibly higher than..." "The main branch of the government. I don't know if you're aware, but you're on live news right now, and getting aerospace a lot of bad press. If you don't clean up this problem, the government will begin a review of aerospace's executive body and determine if any of such staff remain fit for work. Do I make myself clear?" "Absolutely crystal. I'll get right on it." The agent from aerospace high command disconnected while Velvet looked absolutely defeated. From all sides.. this had suddenly turned into the worst trap imaginable. She looked around at all of the recording cameras turned towards her, still hearing the growing hatred of the crowds. Yup, unquestionably, she had failed, there was nothing more to do but to try and salvage the situation and to admit defeat.

"I'm sorry for overstepping myself there, it appears Aerospace Command has had a change of heart. We would like to extend our thanks for your great contribution to our society." "Thanks huh? But aren't aerospace the ones making sure that Hypertech is getting blacklisted from any transit requests?" "That's only because your headquarters is in a hostile location beyond the barrier." "Oh, so like.. much the same as the main transit center, just outside beyond the barrier." "That's not... Alright, we'll revoke those restrictions, as long as you're willing to cooperate with transit requirements." "Same as any other company assuredly. Though, it might be difficult if you're going to ban us from..." "The blockade prohibiting your access to the colony has also been lifted, you are even welcome to use aerospace services for your own needs going forward, much as any other person." "Perfect, cause we might need to get a lift to bring all of our stuff back home. I had just realized that we might have forgotten how to take care of that part." Velvet outright facepalmed as she could tell Kori had even outplayed her in that. There really wasn't any point in trying right now, so instead she just requested such a lift personally. It appeared that Nick's shuttle had even been cleared for use recently as well, all so coincidentally. The equipment due for transit was bulky and heavy, but since the stage was mostly a projection it could actually be substantially compressed. The shuttle would still be plenty enough for this request. By the time the shuttle even arrived, everything was packed up and ready to go. However, a large number of the crowd remained, mostly to keep watch. The news crews had yet to disperse, waiting to see if there was more to this story. A bunch of bigger companies had opened up requests to open business to Hypertech, inquiries Rosa had passed to Kori and her much more expansive social skills. Kori was taking the situation by storm, all over diplomatic relations and skillful negotiations. It didn't even phase anyone that she was a conduit, because she was more than just a conduit.