((Okay, everybody, I may not be able to post anything through Wednesday, and if I do it will be very erratic. Must give some attention to my friend visiting from California. . . If the thread must go on, Essex can control Percy, as she knows who he is and hopefully may know what he would do. I may post occasionally, but don't count on it. 
))
"Hello, Dr. McCourd," Khell said as he nodded at the man. "And yes, the higher-ups are doing their thinking again. They have to have some excuse for the kind of pay they get."
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
"Good work." Tharomar smiled coldly, not a hint of his thoughts coming across to his face. It was how he liked to appear - cool, distanced...ruthless. It got the job done.
"The launch pad should also bring in quite a bit of tourism." he continued, closing a file on the laptop in front of him, "Really a novel idea, Mr. Thomas. I wouldn't be surprised if Sacred Pass got the nickname Rocket Town upon completion. Very well, then, next item..."
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
Dr. McCourd grinned, though it wasn't a pleasant one, "Guess I'll let them have their fun."
He turned towards the elevator, raising a hand in departure, then he paused turning back to the guards, "If Mr. Thomas needs me. I'm off to lunch."
When he reached the elevator, it was surprisingly still on the same floor, so it opened immedietely. He rode it down to the lobby and left the office, figuring a small walk was in order to the Deli that seemed to be the favorite among those that worked at Tharomar.
Moss could tell by the tire tracks and foot prints that there was something important going on today. Good, he thought, more time for me to get my real work done.
At 65 and 245 lbs the NFL was going to love him
but in his Junior year of college he had quit football to concentrate on his studies. Well that was the excuse anyway. His true passion was an underground radical environmental group and he was going to expose Tharomar for the polluting, corrupt, cruel corporation that it really was. Yeah, that was it.
Hed gotten his degree and managed to get hired. Heck, he even got in a later shift so he had time in the building when there were fewer people there.
Though he hadnt found any concrete evidence yet, he knew he was on the trail of something hot. Sure it might take a while years even but he would get the evidence he needed.
After the very long walk from the normal employee lot he finally got to the entrance. He chuckled at the row of obnoxiously expensive vehicles soon they would all pay for their crimes against nature.
Damn, stone-face was at the security desk. At least some of the other guys had a personality, but this guy was the literal stick in the mud. Still Moss gave him a wave and a friendly hello before heading up the elevators.
As he made his way to his small cubicle he noticed the copier was unplugged and seemed to have papers stuck in various stages of the rollers. He set down the tattered backpack he always carried and kicked off his berkies as he bent down to open the machine. Of course his long hair fell forward and he had to take a moment to pull it back and tie it in a pony tail the orange band matching the orange tie-dyed Grateful Dead T-shirt. Sure Tharomar liked to promote a dress code, but down this low no one ever enforced it. And his supervisor loved his work and so didnt give him much gruff. So the T-shirt and faded jeans were everyday work clothes for him.
In a matter of a couple of minutes he had the thing cleared and humming like a well tuned engine. There we go. He said smiling. I wonder who fouled the thing this time? He asked to no one in particular as he carefully made sure every scrap of waste paper made it into the recycle bin.
He pulled out his mineral water and organic muffins and headed toward his cubicle.
"Shut up Mr. Burton, you are not brought upon this world to get it!" - Lo Pan
@MadGremlin
Anyone who observed Penny would likely see the hint of a wry smirk on her face. Every word she had transcribed thus far was pregnant with political struggle, and it was clear that Tharomar had the upper hand.
This amused her to no end. She didn't have a thought one way or another for Tharomar, but to see Thomas under the gun like this - well, it was the stuff of her dreams.
Quietly, she listened to the upcoming projects. She'd known about the delays in the Z-chip, having friends in the programming department. Percy wasn't one of them, as he never got out - one of those 'devoted' types who ate at his desk, she thought with an internal roll of her eyes - but she was good friends with the I.T. guy. For how often he's in the office because of Stan's ineptitude with that outdated printer, I'm surprised he doesn't work on my floor. she thought, continuing her transcription.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
((All other corporate heads, begin your brief for Tharomar. Basic updates, any chages, and new employees, plus whatever else you want to add))
Having recovered from her near terminal blush, Milly dragged her mail cart to the second to last stop before she would head back to the mailroom and start sorting outgoing mail. She grimiced, that was the part of her job she hated the most. It was so boring just shuffling letters and packages. Milly prefered delivering the mail, interacting with the people in the building, then just sitting in a nearly empty room.
It didn't help that her supervisor Allen Johnson wasn't able to keep his thought about her off his face when ever she was in the room. The nine-teen year old shuddered at what she could only imagine was going through the fourty-eight year old man's mind.
Dropping off the two letters for someone named Preston on his empty desk, she picked up the last pile to see who it was going to.
"Oh dear...." Milly bite her lip, in her hand was a letter addressed to Mr. Tharomar. Her anxiety shot through the roof at the thought of meting the man whole owned the building and could have her fired if the thought passed his mind and would be forgoten just as quickly.
Steeling her nerves, Milly made her way to the executive elevators with the letter carefully in hand. Absently, she wondered who worte a return address of 'X'.
Pinnacle
Heroes
When in danger, or in doubt; Run in circles, scream and shout.
It had been nearly 4 days since Doctor Aimee LeBlanc had arrived from Montreal and already, her new position as the head of the ward that she was assigned to was giving her fits. She was mostly a very organized person but patient records and files were very cluttered and almost disorganized.
She had spent most of that day trying to sort things out and get them into the right place for easier access. If she had a secretary, that secretary would be doing most of that paperwork while Aimee would be doing what she loved doing the most... taking care of patients and spending more time with her own daughter, Kimmie and her two cats Sky and April.
It had taken her a while to sort most of the records out... but still, the job was not done. She had sent in a request to the Hospital Administrators to hire a temporary secretary so this filing could get done but at the moment, she decided that a break was in order.
Aimee decided to walk around the ward, trying to check up on the various patients that were there... and hopefully to talk to a few doctors along the way. Adjusting to a new hospital was bad enough... but it seemed worse when there was no one to talk to at the moment.
(And there you go... another person at the hospital for those of you in there to be with.)
((Got time to throw this in. ))
"Mr. Tharomar," said Percy, inclining his head as though bowing. "I am pleased to report that programming for Project Forecast is going according to plan. We expect. . ." he glanced at Clarence, smiling slightly, and light flashed off his glasses for a split second, ". . . no delays."
"However, some of the people in my department are unable to work as fast as is desirable, due to their outdated computer systems." For a moment he looked somewhat disgusted, as though there was nothing in the world worse than an outdated computer. "I humbly request that certain of the systems in our department be updated or replaced, as necessary."
He inclined his head again. "That is all."
[ QUOTE ]
There we go. He said smiling. I wonder who fouled the thing this time? He asked to no one in particular as he carefully made sure every scrap of waste paper made it into the recycle bin.
[/ QUOTE ]
Walter stood to the side, innocently sipping his coffee until the young man had left. Then he quickly snatched his document out from under the copier's lid and hurried back to his desk. Setting back down, Walter sighed heavily, trying to settle his seemingly constant frayed nerves. Reaching over he wound up the music box once again, going back to work once he felt a little calmer.
"Excuse me Dr. LeBlanc?" came a female voice behind her as she wandered the halls.
It was Kara. The young nurse was relatively average height with long dark hair tied in a low ponytail that came down to her waist. She looked like a bit of a ditz, and unfortunately many of her actions while not at work reflected that assumption. At work she was serious most of the time, and always respectful.
As Aimee was walking down the halls, she had heard a voice coming from behind her. Aimee was dressed in a doctor's smock with black pants and hospital shoes. Her light brown curly hair was cut somewhat short, only reaching down to her shoulders.
The voice startled her just a bit but she then looked behind her and seen Kara, though she didn't recognize Kara just yet. "Yes, Nurse? What can I do for you?" Aimee asked in her slight French Canadian accent after catching her breath.
Khell sighed and unzipped his security jacket. He found sentry duty the most annoying of all his jobs and generally started to get very hot when forced to stand around without interaction for long periods of time. Hopefully the bigwigs would hurry up about this Project Forecastle or Forcast or whatever business so Khell could get back to some real work.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
((So... I said no more than 3 characters for now... bu after a little sory developing, I found that I need control of a few more than that... so dont know about you but I need more than 3. Therefore, I open that to all of you. Bring in as many as you feel you can control and keep up with. Have a great holiday weekend... even if you have to work, make the best of it somehow 
))
Jen was returning to her office to get started on the paperwork that was still needed to be filled out when she saw another doctor and nurse conversing in the hall. She walked up anxious to introduce herself. "Its not nice to bust into others conversations." her concience told her. "Well if I never introduce myself to the staff they'll never know I'm here." She muttered and walked up. "Um excuse me, I just wanted to introduce myself. Dr Jen Morse. I'm the new Diagnostician here."
"Hey that's great! Maybe one of you can help me..." Kara began nervously, "The girl in room 2-14, do either of you know anything about her? Or have her file or something?"
Dr. McCourd didn't stay at the deli long. He just took his food to go and made his way back to the office. He went straight to the elevator, not even nodding to security. Swiping his card in the elevator, it took him down to R&D.
He went straight to his office. Derek had already left for lunch. Probably to meet up with his girlfriend for lunch. Dr. McCourd unwrapped his sandwich and took a bite. Laying the sandwich down, he leaned down to his mini fridge. He pulled out some Orange juice and drank from the carton.
Only a little while longer.
He looked at the machine that was manufacturing the Z-Chip. It was rather quiet. Dr. McCourd walked over to the bookcase, moving a panel aside to reveal a digital safe. Punching in his code, he opened it pulling out a small control device. Wires stuck out from it, as if they were supposed to connect to something.
Dr. McCourd glanced again at the machine.
I will be hailed as a genius for this. Maybe the old man will finally realize what I'm capable of and put me in charge of all the projects.
((Oh my god, the thread exploded before I even found it. Thank god I have my character ready at least. I read most of it, but skimmed a little. I am assuming the hospital is really the testing facility of Tharomar Enterprise. If not then now then at least some of it can be for future characters. Characters of mine. He he.))
At a glance, Dr. Thomas Collins (Who hated his name because everybody joked about him drinking) seemed like an absent minded man who never saw anything but some germs through a microscope. He did see alot of that but was not the stereotypical scientist. Not many scientists put as much effort as he did into physical fitness. He wasnt a weight lifting freak, but he was health conscious. He also had two Phd's at the age of 22, one in Biomechanical engineering, and one in computer science. He nodded to the building security as he entered.
He nodded to Milly, the mail room girl, "Hello Milly, are you alright?" He said with a smile and not really stopping to make sure she was.
He wasnt being rude, he just didnt know much about manners or being polite.
He always seemed to be in his own world which lent a mysterious air to him. He was also quite good looking which attracted women. Unfortunately with all his knowledge he was not wise. Especially about women.
He quickly headed into the high clearance section, waving his badge over to allow him access. He noticed Dr. McCourd. He seemed preoccupied with something so he just gave him a quick "Hello". He didnt really want to be noticed anyways. He was a loner even amongst his fellow scientists. He headed to his section of expertise, the biological section.
He walked through a series of rooms to remove all dust and germs from him as he put on the kind of suit one would wear while handling the ebola virus. He was in his own environment, supplied with sterile oxygen. Its name was long but they called it a "Tyvek" suit for short in the lab. He walked through the UV lights, designed to smash viruses' DNA into harmless debris.
He walked into the pristine lab. It had a very synthetic feel with its bright white lights and unnatural, quiet hum of the surrounding machines. No windows added to the manufactured feel. He looked over the various equipment, always ensuring everything was working before examining petri dishes, animals in cages, and various microscopes. Always writing down his findings, interesting or not on an electronic tablet that immediately updated people higher up in the company.
The higher ups were pushing progress on several projects, the main one being Project Forecast. Even though Rikti technology had made the dream feasible he still thought it was a laughable, almost Dr. Evil-esk plan.
He looked over some of the animals being tested. He had made friends with them. Animals were always easy to talk to for him.
"Hello Charlie." He said with a smile to a golden retriever.
He named them even though he knew he shouldnt. It made him feel like he would try harder to make sure they were healthy and happy. That was better than people just injecting them and making them feel alone.
"No soul should go through that." He thought.
Not all of the scientists that worked with him shared the same feeling. He was fine with that. Scientists were usually too high and mighty for him. He preferred "normal" people.
He was working on an exciting new retro virus. It had the potential to do many things. Everything from curing diseases, to military purposes, even to industrial uses. He had lost track of time when he looked at his tablet pc. There was a reminder waiting for him. He was supposed to give the nurses of the hospital a series of retro viruses, nanobots, and various other things to be injected in some of the unknowing patients. He had strict instructions not to tell the nurses what they were for or what he did. This is how it had always been. He didnt know if they really knew or not, he knew better than to ask. He just told them he was delivering their medicine and that was that. He packed up the needles, each one labeled for each patient very carefully into a heavily armored box.
He said in a loud modulated voice, "Dr. McCourd, I am going to make a delivery to the hospital. I will be back right after."
He sent an email to the hospital saying they would get a delivery of medicine in 30 minutes and within 45 minutes he was there.
(OOC: Well...dunno about the rest of the hospital but Kara and Mina aren't involved in any current experiments.
I've said too much )
Dr. McCourd blinked, looking at the biologist. Something about messing with viruses and DNA always seemed to creep him out, which is why he wasn't too fond of Dr. Collins. He respected him as a fellow scientists, however.
"That won't be a problem. The Z-chip will be ready by this evening. If we're lucky, that old man may give us tomorrow off," he laughed, knowing that wouldn't happen in this lifetime. Clarence Thomas was a slave-driver when it came to work.
Moss smiled at Walter as he stood, trying to blend into the woodwork as always. As he sat at his desk he heard the faint sound of the older mans music box going again. He shrugged and sighed. That guy needed to get
out more.
Then he started into his secret files files of potential projects and other tidbits hed heard about or seen.
_____________________________________________
Mr. D climbed out of the corporate helicopter on the roof of the building. It was rare for someone besides Mr. Tharomar or one of the VPs to even get close to the fine aircraft but he was special. He had been hand-picked by Mr. Tharomar and, along with a handful of others, took care of special projects corporate espionage.
He wore a black suit, carried a black briefcase, and wore black sunglasses almost a cliché directly from a Matrix movie or something.
With no expression on his face he moved to the executive elevator. He knew there was a meeting going on and he would wait to give his report to Mr. Tharomar. The elevator stopped between floors an extra floor that few even knew existed. He stepped off and moved down a dimly lit hall to a door simply marked with the Greek letter delta. As he walked in and sat down he activated a device on his belt. It would notify Mr. Tharomar that he was ready to give his report.
A slim smiled crossed his lips the first hint of emotion he displayed. Mr. D had mostly good news and though he knew Mr. Tharomar would always want more, he also knew that the report would please him.
"Shut up Mr. Burton, you are not brought upon this world to get it!" - Lo Pan
@MadGremlin
Tharomar nodded once more as the last report concluded. Things were going well indeed. The launch pad would be ready not long after the satellite's completion, and everything seemed to be running smoothly.
There were, however, a few unpredictabilities, such as Clarence, but then again, that was nothing new. The man was good at rolling in the green, and as efficiency expert of the company, he was second to none, even Tharmoar had to recognize this.
Not to mention he wasn't exactly much of a threat when it came right down to it. Tharomar still had him under his thumb - and he knew it. It probably created some resentment, but Tharomar didn't care as long as it didn;t harm productivity. Indeed, it seemed to boost it, and so he had no reason to change the situation.
"Then we are adjourned." he declared, standing up, "As always, follow up with Mr. Thomas about funding requests, and he will decide if such is truly warranted. Other than that, make sure all your departments are secure at all times. We don't need anyone sneaking in and ruining everything this close to the end."
Without so much as a 'goodbye', he turned to leave...
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
Penny sighed as she finished her transcription with a resounding click. Under her watchful eye, the file was backed up, reinforced, and firewalled immediately. A hard copy would be sent to Tharomar and the department heads and then the file would be deleted by her own hand.
Shutting down the laptop, she took off her glasses, taking a corner of her suitjacket and cleaning them absently as she scanned the occupants of the room with her surprisingly sharp brown-green eyes.
Every one of these people could buy or sell me in a matter of weeks. she mentally lamented as she waited for the important people to leave.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
Damn him.
This was Tharomar's way of having his fun. He knew that the chip wasn't ready. And if he didn't, it didn't matter. The fact was, that it wasn't ready and Clarence didn't want that to let on. So he did what any other man could do his position.
He evaded the question.
"Well, I have not spoken with Dr. Ethan McCourd since this morning, but he guaranteed results," or else, "I imagine that there is no issue with the Z-chip's completion. We have brought the best and the brightest here Mr. Tharomar. Failure si not an option."
Clarence threw up in his mouth.
"In other news," he said and faced his laptop screen to open up several files, "Sacred Pass is coming along ahead of schedule... as usual," Thomas' smug look said it all to Howard.
Clarence sent the pictures he had been looking at earlier to the projector screen for all to view. The slide show progressed of various construction paths and sites. Several foundations were already laid in the short amount of time they had had already to begin building.
"As you can see, The Pass promises to hold a bright future for Tharomar Enterprises. I have no doubt, that by the end of this quarter, we'll be looking at a brand new community, ready for big business."