Watching the feed in the surveillance room, the personnel stared at the severed connection. "Did... did The Panacea just refuse?"
Director Kaelen rubbed his temples, letting out a heavy sigh. "Her horrific temper is legendary. She's completely unmanageable."
She might have refused, but they couldn't afford to let the issue slide.
The legacy bio-chamber stored the most comprehensive baseline data for Specimen Seven's initial cryo-suppression.
And right now, that data was spiking erratically.
There was no way to know if those spikes would re-trigger the conflict within the asset's neural chip.
With the viewing creeping closer by the minute, they didn't dare risk a delay.
The comms terminal in Serena's suite began blaring again.
Buried beneath the covers, she showed absolutely zero intention of answering.
The terminal rang multiple times.
Finally, she ripped the blanket off with a savage scowl. "Are you done yet?!"
Terrified she would hang up again, Director Kaelen didn't waste a single breath on pleasantries. "Your Excellency, the ship is prepared to pay you an extra five million dollars just to inspect Specimen Seven's legacy bio-chamber."
"If the chamber is malfunctioning, we beg that you repair it while you're there."
The figure on the bed finally moved.
The murderous irritation etched across Serena's face softened just a fraction.
But her eyes remained icy. "Five million dollars? You wake me up at the crack of dawn, and you think that's only worth five million?"
Director Kaelen was stunned into silence. He knew it. As long as the conversation revolved around money, she was always open to negotiations.
"Then what figure did Your Excellency have in mind..."
Serena sat up, sluggishly massaging her temples as she spat with blatant annoyance, "Throw in another million to compensate me for the headache of being woken up."
Director Kaelen's eye violently twitched.
One million dollars, just for waking her up.
She truly lived up to her moniker.
But right now, they had no one else to turn to.
Gritting his teeth, he caved. "Done. The $6 million disruption surcharge is yours."
Only then did a satisfied smile bloom across Serena's face. "Wire the money. I'll head over."
"Understood. The transfer will be initiated immediately," he rushed to assure her.
The call ended.
Sitting cross-legged on the mattress, Serena stretched lazily.
It seemed the ship was truly panicking.
Make sense. Besides her, they literally had no other viable options left.
Specimen Seven's current stability was entirely her doing.
With the viewing imminent, the administration wouldn't dare gamble with its condition.
Even the chaotic cocktail of
stabilizers currently pumping had been
through its vein
completely recalibrated by her.
Should the asset show even the slightest anomaly before the showcase, they wouldn't dare let
their half-baked underground
surgeons touch it.
After all, Dr. Arthur York's spectacular downfall was still fresh in everyone's minds.
The ship couldn't afford to bet on anyone else.
This was her golden ticket into the vault.
But the persona she projected had to send one very specific message.
The ship pays, she works.
As for the vault, or the sentient cargo? She couldn't care less.
Her only loyalty was to cash.
That was the only way the administration would ever lower their guard around her.
After all, a person driven by pure greed was infinitely easier to control than one without desires.
Moments later.
A new deposit notification pinged on her terminal.
The $6 million disruption surcharge.
Staring at her heavily padded balance, a genuine smile of satisfaction finally graced her features.
She grabbed her medical case, rose to her feet with agonizing slowness, and slunk out the door.
By the
herself to the entrance of the
Some she finally dragged
Sanctum Vault's Outer Peril net
dawn had barely broken, content
The fluorescent lighting in the lower decks was far colder than the ambient light outside.
A blinding, clinical white that stung the eyes.
From a distance, she spotted Director Kaelen pacing anxiously outside the vault doors.
Flanking him was Fenris, backed by four heavily armed mercenaries from his squad.