State Of Affairs Again

POV Rio

It was time for another meeting between all the members of the Crystal Imperium. It was being held on the Aura's Revenge. As I sat down I saw that almost everyone had arrived already.

Tex: "Let us begin the meeting. The first order of business is the civilian advances."

Lex: "I have created the alternative fueled cars but as was predicted it is being prevented from becoming legal in the US. The EU just approved the use of the vehicles on the road and I have already sold 100k units. Our projections calculate we will sell 10 Million units by the end of the year. Thanks to social media and traditional media they are being given fantastic reviews from our customers."

Seto: "Minecraft has been released and has sold 2 Million copies already. The Yu-Gi-Oh TV Show has been released and has been performing well. From what I can tell we will see a massive profit from the series. We have successfully launched Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitch, and Discord. We have acquired YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Yahoo. We are set to control most facets of social media. I also have prepared to release the cartoon you gave the show bible of."

Tempest: "After I claimed responsibility for the creation of Lemabs Bread and released the recipe I have seen a marginal increase in my company's profits. I am in talks with the EU to become one of the major organic food producers. Due to the products I sell being healthier and cheaper than my competition I have had several attempted sabotages. None have succeeded but I would like to request additional robot workers and security droids."

Rio: "It should be easy enough. I have recently released Robot Farmers. They should work for what you need. I will also send you more Sentinels. Protectrons will be released soon. They might be more efficient than Sentinels. After them will be the Assaultrons for the US Military. Then I will attempt to make Mr. Gutsy's. Since the Mr. Handy and Miss Nanny have already been released it shouldn't be too hard."

Lex: "My Smartphone project is running on schedule a vastly superior product to everything on the market should be released soon. The issue I am having is using the less-than-ideal cellular network. Making a new cell network is being worked on but I do not want to create a ground-based cell network. Especially if it will be destroyed in the coming conflicts."

Rio: "Hmm, we are already planning on making a satellite launch in mid-2008. Can you wait till then?"

Lex: "Hmm, yes I think I can make due for now. The next piece of news I have is the completion of the Regeneration Serum. The data we took from AIM and Shield has allowed us to complete the Serum. Dr. Connors has regained his arm and we are starting the trials to get it released to the market. Of course, we have no intention of letting others reproduce it and Dr. Connors has agreed to add nearly 3 dozen safe guards in place to prevent tampering or theft and recreation. As per his request, the Serum will be sold at a small profit."

Rio: "Good to hear. Now how goes your attempts to make a better internet service?"

Lex: "Excellent so far. It was easy to forcibly seize some cables and just lay others. Since it is underwater I have deemed it a worthwhile expense. Moreover, our good relations with Atlantis have made the process even easier. I estimate I will have the LexCorp Internet service up and running by September. My estimates put us being 128% faster than our competitors."

Lex has an extremely smug look on his face and I can't help but want to laugh. I hold it in and just give an amused smile.

Logica: "I believe it is my turn now. I am happy to report that I have completed the construction of Vaults 1-7. I have already recieved the payments for Vaults 8-41. The US Government has seen fit to fund me greatly due to the Godzilla incident. Europe has also purchased several Vaults. Mostly in capital cities. I expect to have finished construction of 60 or more Vaults by the end of 2007. I must thank you for the help with your droids and clones. They have cut my costs greatly. I wish to note I have been approached by both Hydra and Shield to construct a Vault. Nick Fury has requested one separate and secret from Shield itself."

Rio: "As long as they pay give it to them. It will make it easier to find them if the time comes."

She nods and the next person to speak is Weiss.

Weiss: "I have seen a massive increase in profits. Moreover, my influence in Austria's government has increased greatly. If it continues as it is I should be able to convince the Austrian people to follow me. I find it highly likely they will join the Imperium."

Rio: "Good to hear. Keep up the good work."

Jinn: "I have seen a substantial increase in profits as well. Every country is desperate to get my company's assistance. The US is a major customer of mine. Atlantis has also requested to give me citizenship due to my outstanding efforts in cleaning up the oceans."

Rio: "Ah yes I recall that. Rumor has it Queen Mera has been asking about your marital status. I think they are giving you citizenship to make it so she can pursue you."

Qui-Gon keeps a straight face but I can sense his embarrassment and he looks at me. He knows I felt that.

Jinn: "Cough. Yes well perhaps. Regardless I have also been selected to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. It seems many nations have voted for me and I have won. I am expected to show up at Olso, Norway on December 10th."

Rio: "Congratulations Qui-Gon Jinn."

Jinn: "Please it was thanks to the technology of the Imperium I was able to do so much."

Rio: "While that may be true it was still you who oversaw the cleaning of so many places. It was you who made sure all those places were cleaned."

Qui-Gon smiles and gives a small bow. The next to speak is Agent 47.

47: "The ICA has expanded greatly. Profits are up and almost every country is lined up to purchase our services. The Red Room has attempted to cause us issues but after I killed a dozen Widows they have backed off. Hydra has purchased a few of our services but they don't seem to trust us and prefer to use their own resources. I expect the ICA will expand all over the world by the middle of 2008."

Rio: "Excellent. How goes recruitment?"

47: "Good so far. The ICA has 5 Mercenary Companies under it. We have trained 23 Assassins. Amélie has become our second-best assassin."

Amélie: "Scoff. Second best! I am better than you and you know it."

47: "Second best assassin. As per her request. I have made certain to only give her missions to kill criminals. The Ten Rings are becoming more of a problem as time goes on."

Rio: "Yes, I understand. I will send 'Giovanni' to negotiate with the new Mandarin. They should be able to make a suitable deal."

47 nods and I see Amélie scowling at 47.

Tex: "Next will be our military advancements."

Faraday: "We have started the process of constructing the Terraformer. With the massive amount of materials on hand we expect the construction will be done by the end of 2009."

I was beyond surprised by the estimated time.

Rio: "Are you certain? Terraformers are complex machines and usually take much longer."

Faraday: "Absolutely. With the help of the Mind Plate and the process already being clearly shown it will take much less time to build than normal. We have calculated the materials we have and found we have 580% of the needed materials. While that is being constructed we intend on diving into the research PG has. Our current research is on Synthetic Dragon Scales. We believe it is better than any current armor we have seen. If we can successfully replicate it it would make our ships vastly superior and durable."

Dr. Krab: "We have also recreated the Nutrient Replication technology and can be used immediately. Our tests of the flavor have suggested it tastes the same as other food. It has also been shown to increase the nutritional value compared to the original. We have also recreated the Mineral Isolation technology. It should increase the efficiency of our mining stations."

Tails: "Our project after the Synthetic Dragon Scales will be the Dark Matter Cloaking Fields and the Psi-Phase Field Generator. We expect we can improve on it to make a perfect stealth device."

Rio: "Good to hear. What about constructing more ships?"

Faraday: "We have decided to slow down the production of ships for now. At least until the research on the new hull material is done. We also would like to recreate the Psionic Barriers and Shields. Much research needs to be done into Psionics. But we would like to request that we wait to produce many ships until we complete the outlined research."

I look over the file he handed to me and I consider the pros and cons.

Rio: "I think it will be fine to slow down the shipyards for now. I think we can send the workers and machines to assist in the construction of the Terraformer. Now who is next?"

Orochimaru: "Thanks to Tsunade I have made massive improvements to the Spartan Program. We have managed to integrate the Super Soldier Serum and we are now working on adding the Trial Of The Grasses. It will take some time to integrate it ethically. As the pain and mortality rates are just appalling."

Rio: "Good, I want you to be very careful with that knowledge as I don't want to traumatize every future Spartan. Experiments are only to be done on -200 or worse criminals."

Orochimaru: "Of course, I will make sure not to fail."

I nod and look around for the next speaker.

Mr. Freeze: "I have successfully integrated my technology into the fleets. All future ships will be able to fire with almost no stopping without overheating."

Rio: "That's great to hear. Thank you for your hard work."

Anastasia: "Our forces have taken 78% of the country and we are slowly gaining more territory. But we are running into trouble dealing with the many Chinese volunteer forces. We have confirmed the presence of at least 4 Divisions in Russia. They are officially not under the command of China but everyone can see that it is a lie. The other issue is that 90% of the Russian Navy has joined the Federations side. Many are hiding in Chinese ports."

Rio: "Has Reznov set up the Kosatka? That should be able to bypass all enemy defenses and strike the ships."

Anastasia: "Yes he has but he thinks that destroying the ships is unnecessary as the Federation has few targets they can strike. Since we still have 10% of the Navy St. Petersburg is safe from attack. What I asking for is if you can send some assistance."

Rio: "Hmm, I can send you the Hornets, Warthogs, and the Spartans. Some 501st members will also likely want to assist. I will also send Sahelanthropus under the guise of it being a secret project developed by Team Plasma. You will have no control over Sahelanthropus but instead, it will be Team Plasma causing chaos and testing their weapon. I will also see if I can send you some robots. Lastly, I will have everyone here assist you in whatever way they can."

47: "The ICA is more than willing to take out Federation leaders. As the Red Room is heavily supported by them."

Lex: "LexCorp can lose a few shipments of weapons. Also, I will be continuing to send aid."

Logica: "I can build a Vault for you."

Neji: "I am willing to assist directly. I can use Medical Ninjutsu and I can be an excellent scout."

Yularen: "I will provide all the intelligence support I can. I will also assist you in an advisory role. I have experience defeating insurgents and more direct enemies."

Tempest: "I can also assist as an advisor. I will send food aid when I can."

Anastasia: "Thank you for your support. I just want as few people to suffer as possible."

After discussing the logistics for a while we end the meeting and head back to our respective areas.

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Authors Note:

If you are wondering why the Russian Civil War is lasting so long it is because the Crystal Imperium can't get too involved and several countries are assisting the Russian Federation. Also, the reason the water-powered car is not legal is because Lobbyists have done something similar in the past. The reason water-powered cars are selling so well in Europe is because they are dirt cheap to fuel, and Europe is more invested in clean energy and sustainability.