Chapter 21: Koron

It had taken far too long in his opinion.

All along his island base, small discs positioned themselves in a pattern lighting up with a blue aura. Cerion could make out grains of sand floating up as the energy output began to pick up.

A flash of blue light passed through the island kicking up dust. Trees were uprooted as a shockwave passed through the air.

Cerion remained rooted to the spot waiting patiently for the dust to clear. When it finally did, he set his eyes upon the towering Kree city with seawater spilling into the ground.

A drone floated down to his side from the city.

"Space bridge is successfully executed." said Optima

"Good. What about the support structure for Puerto Rico?" he asked as he floated into the air and began looking into the city's structure with his enhanced vision for any defects or structural failures.

"All support structures have been successfully installed. The human settlements will remain safe." said Optima

"Good. That's one less thing to worry about." he muttered while marking down the areas where he saw some weakness in the city's superstructure.

Cerion began to pick out designated areas where some patchwork has to be done and passed along the details into the drone so that Optima can take a look.

"Sir, now that the city is safe from human or Kree incursions what shall you name it?" asked Optima

"A name huh?" Cerion frowned as he thought of a name.

He thought of naming the city Atlantis. He had looked for that mythical city but so far nothing has turned up on that front. Either Atlantis didn't exist or they are very good at hiding even from his eyes. Then again, it'd be cheesy to name the city after Atlantis.

"How about Kandor?" he proposed

"The capital City of Krypton sir?" asked Optima

"Maybe a bit too much, huh? Not to mention, it will be like an anchor around my neck tethering me to a past long gone." Cerion mused before a name came to his mind. "Perhaps Koron. Though a moon of Krypton it was where my plan to escape unravelled. A new beginning and at the same time something to remember the past."

"It's a good name, sir." Optima approved

"Koron it is then!" he decided before taking a look at his previous base where drones were beginning to shift much of the equipment inside the city.

Much of the island remains untouched by the arrival of the city. The alien city was far too large to be easily accommodated into the island so he decided to let a better part of the city remain submerged in the ocean. By doing so, he saved the natural habitat of the island. It wouldn't do to disturb the flora and fauna of the island simply because he placed an alien city over the landmass.

A lot of planning and work has been put into safely transporting the city to the island. Now that he succeeded in doing so without any disturbance, he could focus on other issues.

"I'd appreciate it if I can have more access to you." said Deborah

"Didn't know I was becoming popular around here." Cerion joked as he walked beside his YouStream Project Manager.

"Your popularity comes from the fact that you are the owner of this firm and it has been growing at a terrifying pace. When such growth happens there are concerns and you have to be physically present to address them." said Deborah

Cerion opened the door to his office and held out the door for his colleague who entered inside with a frown. He shut the glass door and ensured no sound would escape the office.

He went behind the desk taking a seat and began to arrange all the paperwork to a corner to get a clear view of his colleague.

"Take a seat and present your concerns." Cerion said, leaning back into his chair.

"I don't know where to begin…" Deborah muttered as she rummaged through a file in her hand.

"Take your time."

"Ah…finally! Got it!" Deborah exclaimed as she pulled out a set of paper bound together with a paperclip. She held out the bunch of papers which he took. "Explain this?"

Cerion flicked through the papers without much surprise as these papers were quite familiar to his eyes.

"These are papers regarding a contract with Telefonica." said Cerion

"It's more than that Cerion. Telefonica just handed over their whole market in the US to Vex Corp. How did this happen?"

"Because of the contract. They hand over their US market for a price we empower them with a revolutionary technology in boosting their networks all around the world. A win-win as we also signed a non compete in Europe with Telefonica." He explained.

"But, that's not how… Just how did you do that?" Deborah asked flummoxed.

"I just showed them my plans and there have been several backroom meetings involved." said Cerion

"But, I thought I was your go-to contact when it comes to Telefonica and IT in general."

"You are one of the contacts. I have other assets in the field." Cerion corrected

Deborah shook her head in disbelief.

"What?" he asked her curiously. "It's a golden rule in the business world to never put all your eggs in one basket."

"No, I just assumed…" Deborah trailed off

"Assuming is fine so long as you don't operate under the belief that your assumptions are the truth." he advised before handing over the papers back to Deborah. "Anything else?"

"Yes. You discussed a plan back in June to have a sort of public relations program in the universities."

"Yes. I remember. What about it?" he asked

"I noticed you have allocated some two million dollars which is way more than the initial estimates. Can we afford something like that?" asked Deborah

"I'll be raising the extra funds personally instead of a fixed profit margin from Vex Corp."

"Are you sure you want to do this? There is the new HQ we are commissioning in Mountain View. Won't we be tight in funds especially when we are supposed to put out tenders for automation and other expenses for the HQ?" asked Deborah

"Everything is taken care of. In fact, I was about to hand over these files to you." said Cerion before opening a drawer pulling out two files before handing them over to Deborah.

"What are these?"

"The red file contains the offers I received from contractors through backroom channels. I want you to study them and weed them out. The green file contains information about several small manufacturing firms that we can possibly buy out. I want you to look them over and build a report based on onsite inspection." he explained, looking intently at Deborah. "Can you oversee these two jobs?"

"Cerion, I think we are moving too fast."

"On the contrary, not fast enough." he muttered

Deborah now looked at him as if he'd grown another head.

"You are not appreciating the speed by which the company is moving Cerion. A few months back we were in the software market and we had phenomenal success. As of last month, we broke into manufacturing with the V-pods which is once again proving to be a success. You also intend to expand into manufacturing much more aggressively by this time next year."

"I know all of that. Your point being?" Cerion raised an eyebrow.

"People are noticing. The sheer amount of investment flowing into the company is remarkable. While I'm no expert in the stock market I know enough to know the investments we are receiving far exceeds the stock value we are projecting."

"Is there a question?" he asked looking at Deborah sharply.

"I…" Deborah hesitated but he encouraged her with a nod. "I want to know whether these investors are legitimate. There's nothing going on that I have to be concerned about, right?"

"Well, a better part of the company is propped up by my initial investments. Since my initial investment influx, I've increased my capital spending periodically not to mention the loans I attracted. You already know I laid off some shares to raise more capital three months back. Outside of all of these, I do have some investors and trust me they are legitimate. They are acquaintances from my old job."

"An old job you can't talk about." Deborah needles him.

"I was working with NASA. Anything more, I can't say." Cerion said noncommittally.

"I won't pry too much as I get the feeling the gov is involved. But, people are taking notice of you and the company. You are an enigma and people love the mysterious types. This is CA and nothing stays buried in CA." said Deborah

"Hmm… we certainly don't need any bad press and with the Prometheus program to be launched soon…" he trailed off in thought.

"I suggest you play your cards soon."

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

"You need public exposure. Your story has to be out in the public before others make stories for you." Deborah suggested.

Cerion let out a sigh as he leaned back in his seat.

"I'll think about it."

**********

His recent talk with Deborah led him to realise the need for more voluntary exposure to the public. It was not a good idea to remain detached from public scrutiny when he was leading a company. With the plans he has in motion it remained a priority for him to cultivate public goodwill.

The Prometheus program was the first step in social outreach programs he had planned. Under the program, he aimed to provide financial support for students with exemplary academic performance. The program aimed to recognize young talent from high school and support them financially to give them easy access to higher education.

He planned to expand the scope of the Prometheus program. But those plans were in the future.

With Vex Corp stepping into manufacturing it was now only a matter of time before he'd flood the market with advanced technology.

As Cerion planned he managed to buy into the communications sector. If the digital and virtual revolution has to follow telecommunication has to be strengthened. Unfortunately, the present communication networks were heavily constrained. With access to Telefonica and his influence with SHIELD, he'd be able to strengthen network signals and coverage.

While this was going on he'd bombard the market with new gadgets enhancing human connectivity.

To achieve this two-pronged plan, Cerion needed two things. One was capital while the other was infrastructure. Capital was easily available while infrastructure remained an issue. He needs a lot of infrastructure like sophisticated automation, advanced tools, machinery, skilled labour, a gigantic building to house all of this and sufficient land to hold all of the above.

The red tape involved in buying a plot of land in Mountain View was enormous even with his connections in SHIELD. The next challenge was constructing the building which turned out to be far more complex than he thought. It would also be a time-consuming project and a delicate matter as there were endless regulations and building codes that have to be followed.

The only silver lining is that the delivery of automation will take time. So, having a fully furnished building was not going to make much of a difference.

On the other hand, Cerion had the presence of mind to not depend on the US contractors to fulfil all his projects. Taiwan, it turned out, is far too friendly for foreign investments. Even the corporate tax is far low in the island state compared to the US. The federal corporate tax in the US amounted to 40% while even Europe lagged behind 5-10% difference from the US at this fiscal year. It's not exactly a good environment for growing businesses in the US at the moment.

Taiwan offered far more lucrative opportunities compared to the US. If everything went according to plan, Vex Corp would start production before May 2002 from Taipei City.

"Commander!"

"Yes." he stared questioningly at the drone Optima was using to project a map.

"Dr Banner has been spotted." said Optima, projecting a video feed that showed Bruce Banner aka the Hulk.

Ever since the incident in the deserts of New Mexico, Bruce Banner has been on the run. Cerion has been keeping an eye on the man but it was difficult to track the guy. He had to give it to Dr Banner. The man knew how to hide if it wasn't for how predictable the man was going to be.

Dr Banner wanted to see his girlfriend who was now cooped up in West Virginia. It was only natural the Dr seek out his girlfriend or even one of his old colleagues. So far, it'd seem Dr Banner have not decided to escape the US.

Not so smart, in Cerion's opinion. General Ross has been scouring the countryside for his big green weapon with a vengeance.

"So, he is in Louisiana huh? It'd seem Dr Banner might require some help."