[Sector 8 - The Forge (Executive Suite)]
The massive holographic screens in Alex's office were bleeding red. It wasn't a battle map. It was the Galactic Core Stock Exchange.
"Market Update," Dawn's voice was calm amidst the digital chaos. "The 'Syndicate Index' has plummeted by 98.4% in the last six hours. Following the broadcast of Lord Orion's death, mass panic has set in. Three Heirs have already been assassinated by their own security teams. The remaining four have gone into hiding, abandoning their corporate headquarters."
Alex took a sip of his Earth-grown coffee, watching the ticker tape flash. "When the CEO goes missing, the shareholders sell," Alex smiled. "Dawn. What is my liquid cash balance?"
"6,000,000 Galactic Credits, Sir."
"A few days ago, six million couldn't buy a single Syndicate factory," Alex leaned forward, his eyes reflecting the red glow of the crashing market. "What can it buy today?"
[Buying the Dip]
Dawn's avatar flickered as she processed billions of micro-transactions per second. "At the current crashed valuations, 6 Million GC is sufficient to acquire controlling stakes in the following abandoned assets: The Sector 4 Spice Mines, The Core Communications Network, and the entire Intergalactic Shipping Guild."
Luna, standing guard by the door, frowned. "Master. Why buy broken companies? They have no leaders and their employees are fleeing."
"Because blood is in the streets, Luna," Alex stood up and straightened his suit. "And that is the absolute best time to buy. I don't need their leaders. I have Dawn. Execute the trades. All of them. Wipe out my cash."
[Transaction Authorized.] [Expenditure: 6,000,000 GC.] [Assets Acquired: 4,102 Planetary Corporations.] [Current Balance: 0 GC.]
Alex was broke again. But he now owned the infrastructure of half the galaxy.
[The Survivor]
Suddenly, the red financial screens wiped to black. A single, highly encrypted communication channel forced its way onto the main monitor.
The screen showed a dark, cramped bunker. Sitting in the center was an alien woman with pale violet skin and cybernetic implants running down her neck. She looked exhausted, clutching a heavy plasma pistol.
[Designation: Lady Vex'ahlia (Vesper).] [Affiliation: Heir to User 005 - The Information Broker.]
"User 009," Vesper rasped, her voice dry. "Call off the bounty. Please."
Alex checked his watch. "Lady Vesper. I'm surprised you are still alive. Didn't your guards want a Precursor Warship?"
"I poisoned them before they could draw their weapons," Vesper sneered, though her hands were shaking. "But I am trapped in a Level-9 panic room on a dead asteroid. My oxygen scrubbers will fail in twelve hours. The Mercenary Guild has the asteroid surrounded. If I open the door, they take my head."
"Sounds like a personal problem," Alex said coldly. "You sat at the High Table. You approved the 50 Million GC hit on me."
"I was outvoted!" Vesper yelled, desperation breaking her composure. "Orion was a fool! Listen to me, human. You just bought our broken companies, but you don't have the decryption keys to run them. I do. I am the Information Broker. I have the passwords, the blackmail files, and the hidden ledgers of the entire Syndicate."
[The Buyout]
Alex paused. He had Dawn, but an AI couldn't decrypt a physically air-gapped hard drive without the keys.
"What are you offering, Vesper?"
"A trade," she swallowed hard. "I transfer all my data to you. I give you the keys to the kingdom. In exchange, you rescind my bounty, and you send your Dreadnought to extract me."
"You have nothing I can't eventually buy," Alex said dismissively.
"I have the map to User 001," Vesper played her trump card.
Alex's eyes narrowed. User 001. The First Tycoon. The one whose empire was supposedly hidden inside a supermassive black hole.
"The Star-Chart you got from the Moon is incomplete," Vesper explained rapidly. "It only shows the coordinates. It doesn't show how to survive the event horizon. My ancestor, User 005, spent his entire life cracking the Black Hole's encryption. I have the flight path."
Alex looked at Luna. Luna nodded slightly. The information was priceless.
"Dawn," Alex ordered. "Cancel the Galactic Bounty on Lady Vesper. Update her status to: Property of the Pantheon Group."
"Property?!" Vesper choked. "I am an Heir!"
"You are an employee now," Alex corrected her. "You will work in my intelligence division until you pay off the cost of your rescue. Admiral Valerius! Take the Revenant and go pick up our newest intern."