Profit Off The Situation

Hank sipped a strange looking liquid from a cup, "Was this necessary?"

Terwin placed his hands behind his back, "You've seen it. Somehow that guy managed to fight with a high tech suit on equal grounds. We did a scan of his body, and there wasn't any signs of bionic parts or artificial enhancement."

"An unknown variable."

Nodding solemnly Terwin spoke, "He's almost alien. Like a whole different person when he picks up a sword. Considering he solely handled a force we couldn't take on. . . I don't think we'll be able to stop him."

"Forced to pick a side. You chose his?"

"Perhaps I'm also upset at my inability. A childish method to take revenge.", Terwin smiled.

"We'll need information. How's the reverse engineering proceeding?"

"It's technology that shouldn't have appeared for another decade."

"You could say that for a lot of technology."

"No, this suit would revolutionize wars and political conflicts to a new level. Wars were already an economical battle, but when one suit is equal to a hundred men. . . whoever monopolizes their production will rule the world. It'll tip the favor further towards those with wealth. No matter how tenacious a fighter is, they stand no chance against these suits."

"Except for him."

"Except for him.", Terwin agreed.

"So we become the heroes in this situation? Save the world from being suppressed by the powerful?"

"Heroes? Let's not make such jokes Hank.", Terwin walked towards the door. Opening it he paused, "We're a company. This is clearly to protect our bottom line."

"Of course."

Terwin paced across the underground area of his Manor. Opening a set of vault doors he walked through, "Report."

Someone dressed in a casual outfit, but also a professional one, spoke immediately, "We can't replicate the suit. Our best bet is to repair the one we have currently."

"What do we lack?"

"The suit operates on what we assume to be an artificial body. An unknown alloy acts very similarly to the human muscle to enhance the strength of the one inside. What we can't figure out is how they managed to control it. We suspect enhanced AI, but that would mean they've created an AI that operates on a similar level to a human brain."

"So this is their insurance to maintain monopoly. Interesting. Pause research on the suit, instead accelerate the projects I proposed."

"Sir?"

"We won't be standing about idly. If we maintain this progress we'll forever remain a step behind. Besides they came to my front door and made a mess of my home. It's only fair that we bring the fight to them."

"Right away then. Your presence is needed in the R&D department, the changes you requested need some input over there."

"I'll head over. For now organize all the information we have of their locations. Send it to my terminal when you're done."

"Of course."

Terwin moved to another room and entered with ease, "What's the issue here?"

"The changes you wanted to the cutting tools. You're trying to make it into a sword? We're already having trouble maintaining the same frequency of vibrations with larger surface. The guard will only affect it more."

"I don't want this to be for future products. Just one."

"Just one?", someone in a lab coat perked up at the topic, "In that case it doesn't need to be efficient for mass production right?"

"You have an idea?"

"If we're just making a single product we could get it done easier if we don't have to worry about production costs. We can skip a lot of the slimming down and have a functional prototype within a few days."

Another added, "Additionally with a guard we could potentially use it to enhance the vibrations, temporarily solving the issue we have with surface area. Although the alloy needed to maintain that while being sturdy won't come cheap."

"I just need a single functional weapon. That is all."

"No matter the cost?"

"Don't go overboard.", Terwin replied simply.

"Then we can make it."

"Good, for specifics you can ask our guest. I have a feeling he might know more about swords than some of our experts."

The various researchers glanced at each other. Terwin did not wait for anyone to speak and instead left the room. Today was a busy one, but it was nearing its end. Now he had one more thing to do.

A ring entered his ear and he narrowed his eyes, "Just on time."

Tapping an ear piece he answered, "Terwin speaking."

"Are you certain of this plan? You know very well the others won't like this. A private war? Are you serious?"

"A war? You seem to misunderstand something. This won't be a war."

"Word is already spreading about their new product. It's reached the ears of our competitors, we're doing our best to make sure it doesn't spread further. Yet if you go and proceed with this war no amount of coverup is going to stop rumors. This is just a huge campaign for their new product and it's going to put the rest of us out of the market."

"Which is why you're not willing to let it reach the market."

"None of us are. Yet we're aware of just how powerful those suits are. You'll need numbers and an expensive amount of gear to fight against them. That's just a war!"

"Again, we're not planning a war."

"You think you can do this without a significant force?"

"Let's just say they've offended someone they shouldn't have. This won't be as grand as a war. Rather it's going to be an operation from just a few people."

"Infiltration? With their technology?"

"Keep yourself informed, I can't risk anything leaking. You'll be getting a call from me again here soon. Tabs open old friend."

A sigh could be heard from the earpiece, "Fine. If this gets out of control I can't cover your ass again. Tabs open."

A beep sounded and the call ended. Terwin continued walking with purpose. Often times he considered himself a part scenes behind the world. Someone with significant information, someone of importance. Yet upon seeing Akiol's strength sourced from something he couldn't find out. . . it seems there was still so much more he lacked knowledge in.

It's fine. He's okay with not knowing the secrets. Prying into the unknown was risky. It would be infinitely more beneficial to maintain their current relationship. Akiol became a larger unknown variable, and carried a significant risk.

"Compared to that suit however. . .", Terwin was well aware which side was less risky.