January 2071. Apex Industries HQ. Los Angeles, California. United Nations of America.

When Liam returned to California, he held off holding another executive meeting until after the holidays. He and his family reunited to celebrate Christmas in his luxurious condo.

His mom had insisted they go all out since the family hadn’t spent a holiday together in at least a decade. It was a throwback to another time since Christmas had long been discouraged by the Nationalist Party, citing its consumerist nature and lack of religious origins.

They had bought a giant Christmas tree, elegantly decorated with ornaments and shimmering garlands, but the crowning adornments were the small family keepsakes his mother had brought from their family home in Virginia. With money of no concern, the family exchanged small, thoughtful gifts, cherishing the spirit of giving and family.

Despite the political climate, they embraced the traditions that had brought them joy for generations. Liam’s mom prepared a sumptuous holiday feast and invited Oskar, the mountainous bodyguard, since most of his family lived in Mexico. Laughter and camaraderie filled the air, creating a beacon of light in otherwise stressful circumstances.

As New Year’s Eve approached, the siblings threw a glamorous party in Apex HQ for all the staff. Liam was asked to give a speech, and he did so, touching vaguely on the plans the company had for the next year and how their production greenhouses would be deploying shortly. The night had been alive with music, dancing, and laughter, and the Ward family entered the new year with renewed optimism.

Finally, on the fifth of January, Apex Industries kicked into high gear, and Liam scheduled an executive meeting. This time, three more people joined, for the Apex executive suite had grown to seven. Another figure entered their private sanctum outside of the newly elevated executive team.

Oskar Grega had taken his protection duties seriously. He stood guard at the door, concealed pistol nestled underneath the matching armored black and white suit his boss wore. Unlike his boss, Grega also wore a pair of dark sunglasses that replicated the HUD Liam possessed by way of his implant. He had chosen to wear a tie–which the CEO thought was a useless cosmetic accessory more liable to be used as a weapon against the man–but Oskar persisted, and his boss had to admit it did make him look more professional.

According to Apex, the young man had spent all of the downtime sharpening his skills at the shooting range and even picking up a range of martial arts instructors in the city. Oskar had been paying it from his salary, so Liam quietly asked Kolanda to compensate him for the expenses.

Liam wanted to encourage Grega’s initiative and even contacted some of his old Delta Force contacts to join their training department. They were experienced with developing military forces in third-world countries, and their talents could be used in the company. He only feared that his confrontation with Amal would get around, and they wouldn’t be interested in the position.

The rest of his team had been similarly busy over the holidays. They represented various faces and backgrounds but united in a single underlying principle–absolute loyalty to their assigned mission. Liam couldn’t help but feel pride for the people surrounding him in the boardroom.

In order around the table was Kalonda Allen, a gentle and compassionate woman bolstered by a spine of steel who held the position of Chief Personnel Officer. Hassan Tara, the man with a dry wit and a sharp mind, ascended to the newly dubbed Chief Commerce Officer position. Jada Page, a college friend of Kayla’s, whom Liam didn’t know very well, became their Chief Policy Officer—a role they imagined would be a corporate version of a judicial and legislative body. Jun Mitsuharu, a subtle and wise hand, took the reins as the Chief Intelligence Officer. And, of course, the elder Michael Ward, Liam and Kayla’s father, became the Chief Logistics Officer for the company.

There was still one empty position. The Chief Security Officer had meant to be Amal, but Liam’s meeting with his old mentor had gone exceptionally poorly. A subject he was sure would be a topic of discussion today.

Everyone took their seats, and Liam called the meeting to attention. Apex manifested his form in a chair at the opposite end of the table. Of the people assembled, only the Ward family knew of his extraterrestrial origins.

“Alright, Happy New Year everyone,” Liam cheerfully greeted. “Now that the holidays are over, it’s time for everyone to get back to work and earn those generous compensation packages Kalonda has been giving out.”

The assembled executives chuckled politely, and Liam moved on. “Let’s start from the top. Kalonda, what do you have for us?”

The woman pulled up a holographic window and briefly checked her note. “Our initiative to fill out our executive team was largely successful.”

“A funny way of not saying our CEO got shot,” Hassan commented dryly.

Kalonda glared at the man before glancing over at Liam. “About that, do you have another recommendation for someone to take over our security department?”

Liam shrugged, “I have quite a few friends from my time in the Army, but after the betrayal from Valorus, I’m concerned that Amal will have poisoned the well where I’m concerned.”

“How about that guy Flint from your last contract?” Kayla suggested. “Redwater has already announced their acquisition. I can’t imagine he’s very popular among his peers and might be open to a change of pace.”

Liam considered the choice. “That’s a good idea,” he agreed before looking at Jun. “Can you vet him for me and then forward your recommendation to Kolandra?”

Jun nodded and pulled up his own holographic window to make a notation. “I’ll ask my connections and take care of it, Liam. However, I’ll need Apex’s help to access more information. My department doesn’t have many assets to field just yet.”

“Happy to help,” Apex nodded his assent.

“Good, anything else, Kalonda?” Liam returned his attention to the Chief Personnel Officer.

“A few things,” she informed him. “Apex told me that we’ve purchased several biomedical research firms, so I’ve started shuffling around their personnel. I’ll pull the medical doctors into my department and launch a medical corps under my Health & Safety Division. The rest are being reorganized into Kayla’s department.”

“I’m keeping their teams separate for now,” Kayla commented. “I’ll get them to focus on their particular areas of expertise until we trust them enough to work together.”

“I’m a little surprised the purchases went through so quickly,” Liam admitted. “Are they already working?”

“We’ve leased space at research labs in Puerto Rico,” Liam’s father answered. “From what I’ve seen from pictures, they’re practically dilapidated and haven’t seen much use in the last couple of decades–I think the owners are just happy to see some credits coming their way. The staff won’t be able to work on anything sensitive for now, but I figured idle hands are the devil’s workshop. The teams are lodged in separate hotels for now–I doubt they even know the others exist.”

Liam nodded and gestured for Kolanda to continue.

“Speaking of Puerto Rico, I’ve contracted almost every construction firm on the island, and I’ve asked Michael to head down there to oversee the building of our highest priority facilities.”

The CEO winced, not expecting his parents to leave so soon. “How long do you think it’ll take to build basic infrastructure, Dad?”

His father frowned in concentration as he pored over notes on his holographic interface. “Not as long as you’re expecting,” he commented. “I’m manufacturing some of those magnificent 3D printers Apex has developed and adapting them to build the basic foundations of our new headquarters. They should be shipped down to the island by the end of the week.”

Michael closed the interface and stared at his son. “I expect to have something barebones to move into by June. It won’t be comfortable, but I’m prioritizing the data center and the research labs. We can find lodging on the island until we build residential quarters for our staff.”

Liam accepted the timeline. In truth, it was faster than he expected. His father was already turning his experience into time savings for the company.

“I want us to begin shipping nonessential personnel to the island,” he told his father and Kolanda. “It’ll be fewer people we have to worry about when we officially move over. If we can, I’d like to lease out that entire research building so they can continue working in a limited capacity.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” his father assured him. “They’d likely sell us the whole building if we asked. It really looks like shit,” he finished with a chuckle.

“There’s a large chance of them coming under the government's surveillance,” Jun warned him. “The US and then the UNA have had assets on the island I can’t ensure the space is secure.”

“Can you?” Liam asked Apex.

“I can prevent electronic surveillance, assuming I can get access to the network, but I won’t be able to prevent physical assets,” the AI answered.

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“Another reason we need a Chief Security Officer,” Jun added.

“Understood,” Liam said. “Kayla, can we ensure they’re not working on anything sensitive? Maybe pieces of a more significant technology.

“I’ll work with Apex to make it happen,” His sister agreed. “The new data center will require novel data storage and transmission methods. I can get them to work on that in pieces. The technology isn’t immediately recognizable as something practical. If it gets scooped up by the UNA, they won’t know what to do with it.”

Liam nodded and made a note on his terminal. He looked at Kolanda. “Anything else?”

“Nothing that needs to be addressed.”

Liam switched to Jun. “Your turn”

“I’m still getting a handle on everything,” the knife blade of a man looked apologetic before listing off his pet projects. “I’ve contacted some former colleagues to see if they’d be interested in joining Apex. I’ve also drafted a budget for influence operations and HUMINT source development–especially in countries outside the UNA. Finally, I’ve established a diplomatic division with a public affairs corps and a foreign relations corps.”

“Media isn’t typically the purview of an intelligence service,” Liam noted.

“Sure it is,” Jun disagreed. “Just because it isn’t advertised as such, doesn’t mean it isn’t the truth. Narrative and counternarrative are just one aspect of intelligence operations. Apex will just be a little more honest about it.”

“Does that mean I won’t have to do media interviews anymore?” Liam asked with a quick grin.

“Not as many,” Jun nodded. “You’ll still have some, but both the interviewer and you will be well-prepared before the company takes any public position.”

Jun shot his eyes at Jada, the new Chief Policy Officer. “I’m sure we will have plenty to talk about,” he said with a smile.

“Alright, Dad?” Liam moved on to the next person.

“I’ve already talked about my most pressing priorities, but I’ve also asked Kayla to start looking into developing our own means of transportation, including air and sea assets. Once this move to Puerto Rico is complete, developing an independent supply and logistics chain is a top priority. Additionally, I’ve coordinated with Apex to purchase and stock supply caches near every major airport around strategic locations in the UNA. We shouldn’t be renting vehicles and hotels anymore. We need secure locations for our staff and VIPs to operate from.”

“I’m also using them as recruitment centers,” Kolanda added.

“We’re risking spreading ourselves too thin,” Liam noted and noticed Jun nodding in agreement.

“I know,” Michael assured his son. “This is the kind of thing I administered while in the CIA. We’ve got ninety-five locations–one in each state or province across the contiguous UNA. If we lose one, the staff can exfiltrate from the nearest airport and get reassigned back at HQ or the next closest outpost.”

“What are we doing to ensure their safety?” Liam asked, concerned that he was leaving his people to fend for themselves.

“I suggest donations to the local official’s campaigns,” Jun suggested. “If we butter up the Party, it might delay any hammer falling on us.”

“The problem is the funds,” Hassan countered. “We don’t have the excess cash to purchase these buildings using traceable credits, much less bribe the political class.”

“Let’s purchase them through cutaways,” Liam thought out loud. “Once revenue catches up in about six months, we can purchase them from ourselves publicly at a bargain and wash the money that way.”

“It’ll still look suspicious to anyone with eyeballs,” Jun said.

“Yeah, but at that point, we’ll be greasing palms to make those eyeballs look the other way,” Liam countered. “The Party is fond of corruption investigations. None of the local members will be willing to bring it up and air their complicity for the rest of the Party to see.”

Jun nodded, satisfied for now. They could add more security and counterintelligence measures at a later date. Nothing sensitive was being funneled through the caches anyway.

“Kayla?” Liam continued.

“Nothing of note on my end. We’re rapidly developing new technologies in areas where we have a measure of competency. However, I’m woefully understaffed for all the requests each department sends me.”

Liam sighed, knowing his sister's words to be the truth. “Hopefully, that eases once we move to Puerto Rico and have a firm base to grow from. Until then, how are our greenhouses doing?”

“We’re manufacturing two-point-five land-based greenhouses per day. I’ve set them up in locations with the most food risk, like the northeast and southwest US, Canada, and Mexico.”

“Why don’t we sell our products to our new cutaways and start distributing the agricultural goods through those centers,” Hassan offered.

“That’s a good idea,” Jun agreed. “Then when we buy them up later, it’ll look like vertical integration rather than money laundering.”

“Plus, it’ll give us a quicker influx of cash on Apex’s balance sheets,” Hassan added, warming up to his idea. “We can funnel all our dark money into the company through our cutaways.”

“I like it,” Liam nodded. “Okay, Jada, you’re up.”

“I’m in the same boat as Jun,” the blonde-haired woman admitted. “I’m standing up the department, and there isn’t much to work with. I don’t think the company even has a code of conduct,” the woman shot an accusatory look at Kayla.

“What?” Kayla protested.”We were moving fast and breaking things. We didn’t have time to worry about policy.”

“Sure, sure, Kayla.” Jada teased. “Don’t worry, I’ll come behind and pick up the pieces like I did in college.”

Liam sensed an exciting story, but it would have to wait for later. “Let me know what you come up with,” he told her. “We’re still informally hiring and compensating them with more than we think they’re worth on the open market. However, we won’t be able to maintain this lack of structure for long. I’d like you to work with Kolanda and tie our compensation and promotion practices with our policies.”

Jada paused, seeming to think through the potential of such a system. “Something meritocratic where benefits are assigned based upon your compliance with policies?”

“Exactly,” Liam agreed. “The newest, lowest-tiered employee should still have all their needs met, but benefits must come alongside responsibilities and good conduct.”

“How do you see this expanding in the future?” Jada asked, trying to make sure she understood the proposal's intent.

“Like tiers of citizenship,” Apex answered her, already seeing where Liam’s mind was heading. “Our future technology will provide as close to a post-scarcity society as possible, and we want anyone related to us to maintain their edge.”

“Maybe,” Liam said noncommittally. “I don’t know where we’re headed, but I want to ensure our policies, and how we think about them, are flexible enough to change for any eventuality.”

I understand the intent,” Jada nodded and quickly added notes to her holographic interface.

Hassan, any news?” Liam addressed the last member of the team.

“Nothing I haven’t sent over in my financial reports and projections,” Hassan replied. “We won’t be getting to the interesting stuff for some time. Until then, thank you, everyone, for your departmental budgets.”

The rest of the executives nodded, and Liam closed the meeting. As they filtered out of the boardroom, Liam made his way to his office, shadowed by his silent bodyguard.

He reached his desk and sat down in front of his computer.

Apex, can you find me the contact information for Marcus Flint?”

Done, Commander. It’s been sent to your phone. I can dial it from your implant?

No, that’s okay. I haven’t told Oskar about the implants yet. I’ll just use my regular phone.

Liam slipped his phone out of his jacket phone and dialed the number Apex provided. It was picked up after a couple of rings.

“Flint speaking,” a gruff voice answered.

“Hey Marcus, it’s Liam Ward.”

“Ward?” The other man chuckled. “You’ve got a pair on you for calling me—I’ll give you that. How’d you get my personal number?”

“A friend of a friend,” Liam lied.

“You don’t have any friends anymore,” Flint countered. “Word on the street is that you got into a little dustup with Valorus and left a trail of bodies. Jahar is still in the hospital, wishing he’d never met you.”

Is this line being monitored? He quickly asked the AI.

Yes, Commander. Give me one moment, and I’ll spoof the network and make them hear something else.

A strange static came through the line for a second and then disappeared. Assuming the call was now secure, Liam answered the accusation. “Amal and I got into a disagreement.”

“Well, I hope you and I never get into a disagreement,” Flint mocked in the friendly way that only two Vets understood.

“Yeah, me too, brother. I can tell you more about it in person, but I’d rather not over the phone.”

“Understood,” Flint’s tone was guarded, but Liam continued.

“Listen, I’d like to hire you with Apex. I heard about Redwater’s acquisition, and I figured you might be in a tough spot right now.”

“No more than you are,” Flint noted. “But you’re right; things are getting a little tight. A few of my friends from Redwater have disappeared, while others have taken extended vacations and retired with bags of cash.”

“That’s true, but I’ve got a few more advantages, and I need a Chief Security Officer for Apex.”

“Corporate security isn’t my style,” the other man rejected. “After all the shit I’ve been through, it would feel like a safe little desk job, and that’s not how I want to go out.”

“I promise you that it’s anything but,” Liam disagreed. “Join up with Apex, and you’ll be responsible for things even more important than what was in our last contract.”

The line went silent for so long that the CEO of Apex had to check to see if the call was still connected.

When Flint spoke again, his voice was tentative. “Ward, is there something to the rumors?”

Liam knew he was referring to Amal’s accusation but didn’t want to be on the record for saying it.

“You know how things are,” Liam tried to answer honestly. “Things are always more complicated than they appear. I went from being a glorified security guard to being a ghost catcher.”

“International ghosts, huh?”

“Interstellar,” Liam quietly corrected.

“Fuck,” Flint swore. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“I’ll have someone pick you up,” Liam promised. “If you don’t have any family, you can be here tonight. We’ll take care of everything else on the backend.”

“I’ll see you tonight then,” Marcus said before ending the call.

Liam leaned back with a smile on his face. One problem was down. Only another thousand or so to go.