NEOTINTWURP

The room was rather small; it had one desk, a plasma lamp[1], and a Galactinet Reality Couch (GRC)[2] that doubled as a bed. Basically, it was like any other of the Volis bedrooms to be found in the Pazerion, with one small difference, this room had a letter of Recommendation signed and sealed by First Volus Ortrius himself, framed on the back wall.

Deet grimaced at the horrible Mauve carpet and then spoke, "What's with all the Blue?"

Jasis shrugged, "Uh... I think it has to do with the... er... Actually I have no idea."

Deet sat down on the desk chair and Jasis sat on the GRC, careful not to accidentally activate it.

"Here's the deal, we have a corporate battle that is threatening to undermine the Economic structure of the entire Tri-Galactic Area," Deet stated.

Jasis shrugged, "Oh, the NEOTINTWURP thing... The BDT in the lounge was showcasing 'Interview with a Ampire', the PENGUIN exclusive..."

Deet sighed, "Is there anything you can't find out? This thing just started yesterday."

Jasis smiled, "Well, I don't know 'How many fish could a fish fish if a fish could ship fish by the barrel?'"

Deet stared at Jasis, "What?"

Jasis shrugged, "It's just an old Fish Day Tongue Rhyme I've always wondered about."

Deet relaxed, "Oh, like 'How many monk fish does it take to make a carp of red salmon on a cold winter day if monkeys were easy to find?'"

"None. The monkey would slap the monk fish," Jasis answered, "Anyway, what does Azeroth want us to do?"

Deet shrugged, "We need to find out what Yamma-Hamma-Mamma is planning... Something looks like one of those two may break a corporate law, and Azeroth doesn't want it on its watch."

"Then why don't you just contact the GSO?"

Deet sighed, pounding her hand the desk; "Don't you think we've tried? GSO is not responding... some think that YHM or NEOTINTWURP may have broken into GSO..."

"What does NEOTINTWURP stand for?"

Deet shrugged, "The Neotintwurpish something or other... I don't think anyone knows other than the guys at NEOTINTWURP. Why?"

"Oh, sorry, just curious... Anyway, shouldn't we be getting on our way?"

Deet furrowed her brow, "Where?"

"NEOTINTWURP of course," and then he added to himself, "I have to figure out what it stands for."

The Reflader Manager smiled a toothy grin at his staff, showing his reptilian forked tongue. The one human flinched, unconsciously, perhaps from ingrained instincts. The other Refladers laughed and smirked.

The Manager spoke, his reptilian accent trained away, "We shall do what our ancestors tried long ago, and this time," his air sacs swelled with pride, "WE SHALL NOT FAIL!"

The Manager walked to the back of the room where the lone human sat. "Thanks to this pitiful," the word came out sounding like the most vile word to ever have to touched the ears of any living creature, "excuse for a human has thankfully provided us with the key to destroying humans once and for all time. We shall destroy them from the inside out by following their own laughable rules."

The Manager paced back to the front of the table. He motioned to his enforcers; "You may kill him now."

"We had a deal you stupid... you stupid lizard."

"Yes, and now you have learned an important life... er... death lesson that you shall not forget: Never trust a Reflader. Good day. Oh, and guards, take him outside, we just polished the wood paneling."

In the light of the twilight of the lone sun, the HQ of NEOTINTWURP was fairly plain. A simple building design that was almost ostentatious at its universal plainness. The door, a simple, plain door, was the only disturbance in a flat wall. Jasis opened it and he and Deet entered. A lone secretary sat inside the entrance. There were no doors to be seen, and the room was a plain all-powerful egg white.

"Ugh. I don't like this room, Jasis."

Jasis said nothing and approached the secretary who was just as plain as the building she worked in.

"Excuse me, is there anyone I can talk to about NEOTINTWURP's business practices?"

The secretary flitted her eyes, "You can talk to me, shugah. There ain't anyone else in the building at this late hour."

Deet brought herself forward, "Listen you 'TWURP! We need to talk to your boss or manager or something, now! I've got full weight of the Azerothian Corporation, and he--my partner is a member of the Volis."

The secretary slumped back into her chair, "Okay, fine..." she spoke into an intercom device, "Sir, I've got two... business people here... they need to talk with you."

A piece of the wall began moving until it revealed an Entranceway that was highly decorated and a huge contrast to the plain wall around it. As Jasis and Deet entered the secretary called out behind them, "He's really nice when you get to know him!"

The office was sparsely furnished, yet highly decorated. The desk was covered in papers and a swivel chair was facing to the wall, away from Jasis and Deet.

"Yes, what do you want, I am very busy!"

Jasis smiled and approached the desk; "Sir, Deet Halden and I represent Galacticred Finance and Returns, a small one-planet business, and we would like some insight into your business."

The businessman did not turn around, "Under what authority?"

Jasis smiled, "Under Galactic Standards Organization Law, Section 15, Paragraph 5, Right to Accounting/Moral Background in Business-to-Business dealing."

A distinct click emerged as the wall behind Jasis and Deet closed. The chair swiveled revealing a Reflader. Deet gasped, Jasis smiled.

The Reflader spoke, accent free, "So, you want business info... I'll give it. NEOTINWURP is an agency for which we shall take over your computer systems with our Operating System... thus taking over your entire society!"

Jasis just shrugged, "So? It'll never work."

The Reflader spoke gently, "It already has... Every system has switched to NEOTINTWURP after being... annoyed by the paranoid Yamma-Hamma-Mamma server company."

Jasis reached inside his jacket and pulled out a small, handheld hyperbeacon. He flipped one switch. Nothing seemed to happen and the Reflader laughed. Then an Intercom blared, "Security Breach! All systems have shutdown NEOTINTWURP using hidden backdoor."

The Reflader stuck his tongue out. "Ha. You may have deactivated our system, but you shall not escape."

The Reflader pressed a button on his desk an instant after Jasis pressed the second switch on the hyperbeacon, "That is all I needed to know, Thanks!" he yelled as he and Deet were pulled into hyperspace.

Major Time Nexus 2

GSO Headquarters, Azeroth Star System, Marcrium Orbit

"Announcement to all Members of the GSO board. Matters Reflader related have made necessary a rescheduling of our annual review. In the light of recent matters, we must rewrite our codes and laws that have lasted these few centuries to be sure and keep humans dominant in the Tri-Galactic Area."

The Director of GSO Services, Frank Benjamin, sighed. He signaled the broadcast engineer and the hyperwave signal was cut. "Well, let's get ready for a long year."

"Galacticred Finance and Returns?"

Jasis shrugged, "My father runs Galacticred Finance and Returns."

Deet always felt exasperated around Jasis, "So, you didn't want to be an accountant?"

Jasis smiled, "I felt that the corporate bindings were a good system, I just felt that my life would be better spent doing something... useful."

Deet stood up, "One last thing, is it really one-planet? I think I may have heard of it..."

"No, actually, its about thirty or forty, maybe... but you better have heard of it, it was the company that... er... coined the Galacticred, excuse the pun, and does accounting for even Azeroth... your paycheck should have the Galacticred F and R logo on the back."

Deet pulled out her last paycheck from her jacket pocket and stared at the back, sighed, and then left.