VIII-The Regulator [Press Conference - open]

[Fallon Daugherty]

Fallon Daugherty, Gabriel Constant, and Christian Moynahan
On the steps of Ark's headquarters, Los Angeles

How long did it normally take for a corporation to adjust to culture and management changes? Fallon tried to recall her old marketing courses. Three to five, she thought it was. As if she didn't have enough on her plate, with her parents' impending divorce, her boyfriend's absence, and her occasionally-annoying housemate, now she had to maneuver the massive corporation she worked for through the biggest regime it had since known. There had been the one time when the board had chosen a new CEO from among town ranks, but this was a different matter entry. This had been a hostile takeover; their new overseers were still strangers to there, even though she had been working with them for a while now. Kilvayne and Constant had done their best to manage the bigger concerns from New York or wherever they were at whatever time, but since day one they had been looking for a new CEO to be more available and, you know, actually present.

Having looked at his credentials, Fallon had no idea why Ark's new overlords had picked Christian Moynahan to be their CEO. Sure, he had been to some awesome schools and worked in the same industries Ark had expanded into, but he had very little managerial experience; he had never actually been more than a middle manager, and even that only a few times. But then, having looked at him, Fallon had to wonder whether Gabriel and Lucius were a little less heterosexual than they presented themselves to be. The new CEO was certainly something to look like; he gave the phrase "new face of Ark" a very, very tangible meaning.

Christian had not skated by on looks, though. Over a very short time, it became evident to Fallon that the man had a very acute sense of all things related to business. And he was especially observant when it came to internal attitudes toward the Kilvayne takeover. For example, she and her coworkers had been mostly getting away with doing certain things "the old way" or otherwise mocking their parent company behind their leaders' backs. Kilvayne and Constant were certainly aware of it, but apparently let it slip because Ark was fully under their control and they didn't care about petty annoyances. Christian was not so lenient. He worked under the belief that any little thing an Ark employee did in public, whether on the clock or not, was a reflection of the corporation itself.

And so when Fallon had arrived to work ahead of the press conference in all black - a very purposeful representation of her perception of Ark's direction, that is to say, a funeral - he had told her to go home and change into something more colorful. At first, Fallon had refused, citing how close they were to the time of the conference, upon which Christian had remarked that the press conference would start on time, and that she had two choices: to remain indoors and leave him to handle it, or to go home and change her clothes. Fallon had opted for the latter, and returned in an ensemble that she had mostly thrown together using old, cheap clothes, specifically to spite him, but Christian had only nodded and directed her toward the building's front steps.

At least he followed his own policy. Christian had worn a purple dress shirt under a grey jacket, with khaki pants and black shoes. Gabriel was also in attendance, dressed in a dark blue shirt and black everything else. That was normal for him, though, and not a political statement, as far as Fallon was aware. Both he and Lucius had a tendency to wear that shade of blue. It looked good on them. Fallon wondered whether half their closets were Prussian blue.

As with most press conferences, Fallon would lead with an introduction, there would be much talk about the direction of the company, and then the journalists in attendance would get to ask questions. Fallon was fairly sure Constant and Kilvayne had short statements they wanted to give, and then Christian would have a quick word before the questions began.

A fair crowd had gathered at the steps that led into the Ark Industries highrise, where, behind a podium and a set of microphones, the representatives of Ark would give their talk. A few other upper-level employees were in attendance as well, with all other upper-echelon staff having already been briefed, and everyone else invited to the town hall meeting, which would be held the next night. Fallon gave the crowd a bright smile. Public relations was all about image, and, with two of the most powerful men on the continent and her own boss - soon to be a third, she was sure - standing behind her, she knew better than to pull anything they wouldn't like.

She thought of the board of directors, who were not present but certainly watching, nearly powerless in these matters. Sometimes it was difficult to tell who was answering to whom.

"Good morning," she said brightly to the throng of journalists and cameramen, some of whom were filming the event on their smartphones. "Thank you for joining us today. I'm Fallon Daugherty, Chief of Public Affairs at Ark Industries. I'm joined by Lucius Kilvayne and Gabriel Constant, who will briefly discuss the recent changes to Ark's structure, as well as its future. A more thorough discussion will be held at a town hall meeting on UCLA's campus tomorrow night."

She gestured toward Gabriel and Lucius. "Please allow me to introduce Lucius Kilvayne and Gabriel Constant, co-chairmen of Ark Industries."

With that, she took a few steps back to allow the two men to step up to the podium together and speak as they had planned, while she waited a yard or two behind with Archie and the others, and Christian, who waited patiently with a faint smile and an attentive but open expression, with his hands clasped in front of him.

A perfect stance to convey pleasantness and openness, Fallon noted.

[Lucius Kilvayne]

He'll build a glass asylum
With just a hint of mayhem
He'll build a better whirlpool
We'll be living from sin,
Then we can really begin.

Lucius was certainly impressed with the man Gabe had found to take the reigns of Ark Industries. Lucius certainly couldn't keep direct involvement with the company on his plate, not with what was to come, and what had already transpired on his mind. He was now responsible for running the entire Kilvayne Corporation. Granted, the board of directors and his partners were there to make his burden lighter, and he was glad for that. Christian Moynahan was a very welcome addition to the Corporation's ranks indeed. The job was certainly one the man would be a fool to turn away from. Wealth, power, prestige, and the opportunity to pursue his every curiosity without the fetters of lesser men weighing him down? That was what Lucius and Gabe had on offer, here. To be the God he was born to be. It was only fitting.So of course, he accepted. It was as Gabe had foreseen, which was a welcome recovery of his accuracy in predicting future events. Thanks to Lucius, the Death Gabe had been seeing in his future for so long had been thwarted. If Lucius had his way, he would conquer Death in a more permanent way. But not today.

Today, Death was not his concern. No, the march of progress was the topic of the day. Moving forward, into the future. The future that was his to shape, to make in his own image. The future where he would be Supreme above all. A future where his loved ones need not fear the ignorance of the ungifted, the hatred and bigotry of those lesser beings who had the audacity to claim primacy, simply for the fact of being more numerous. There were in fact a great multitude of insects on the Earth, but could they claim dominion over Mankind? No, and so the "normal" human could not claim supremacy over living Gods. There was a natural order, and it would be restored. The world needing a guiding light, and he was the bearer of that light. He would be more than that- he would be the source.

He had come dressed to reflect the angelic nature of that notion. He was wearing a white shirt and jacket, and dark blue slacks, with a red and blue striped tie- to play on patriotism, of course. He looked like he was the embodiment of all things good and just in the world. That he was the spirit of this nation, made flesh. All the better for Lucius. It was what he wanted them to believe.

He admired the well dressed nature of his associates at the conference. They were showing a good face for the press, and it was all just perfect. This was quite akin to taking a leisurely stroll through an idyllic urban garden.


"Good morning,"

It was, indeed, a good morning. The sun was shining, and things were going according to plan. Lucius liked that, as a general rule of thumb. What was the point in having a plan if it didn't go accordingly?

"Thank you for joining us today. I'm Fallon Daugherty, Chief of Public Affairs at Ark Industries. I'm joined by Lucius Kilvayne and Gabriel Constant, who will briefly discuss the recent changes to Ark's structure, as well as its future. A more thorough discussion will be held at a town hall meeting on UCLA's campus tomorrow night."

He made a note to self that he would have to be on the lookout for promising students when he was on campus. He could use some fresh minds to fill some positions in his company...or useful DNA to be cataloged into his gene therapy research. Either way, it served his purposes.

"Please allow me to introduce Lucius Kilvayne and Gabriel Constant, co-chairmen of Ark Industries."

Lucius stepped forward, taking the lead. It was after all an opportunity to have the undivided attention of a large mass of people. Something Lucius rather enjoyed, as it just so happens. Funny how that worked out. He didn't think Gabe would mind if he lead the way. It was, after all, something Gabe wanted for Lucius. Gabriel Constant mostly wanted a world where his family would be safe. And so it would be, Lucius had made that vow, and he honored his word. He wasn't a saint, but he did believe in honorable conduct.

It was the Kilvayne way, going back through centuries.

He took off his cerulean tinted sunglasses, and smiled at the crowd. He looked at Christian, Gabe, and Fallon, and Archie, and back to the crowd.

"Thank you all for coming out today," He began, " The time has been long coming that we explain ourselves to the public. In troubling times, our nation has endured hardship after hardship, and countless times we moved forward in spite of the obstacles in our way. Ark Industries has been a part of this tradition, as has been the Kilvayne Corporation. In the interest of progress, it was decided by people in both organizations that a merging of our resources was necessary to achieve greater things together. So, talks went on behind closed doors, and a merger happened without even the slightest alert given to the general public. For that, I deeply apologize. It was advised that we not let the information out, so as to prevent chaos in the stock market. The economy has been suffering enough as it is, so we thought discretion to be the best policy."

And with that, he fabricated a false history of the acquisition of Ark Industries. And now, to address the present, after which awaited the future of Ark Industries...


"So after making the deal, we had to work out some of the problems in structure that ensued. For a time, Ark had not been fully integrated into the Kilvayne Corporation and vice versa .There was some debate over which was the appropriate road to take. In the end, it was agreed by all parties that Ark Industries should be a true subsidiary of the Kilvayne Corporation. With that, we moved onto selecting the director of the company. No easy task, you can all imagine, I am sure. But we found our man. Christian Moynahan. He has the potential to do great things for Ark, the Kilvayne Corporation, and for the Unites States of America, and the American people. We make a promise to you- we will uphold the principles of the nation, and so doing, earn back your trust. And we will bring you all a better future. Progress may seem like a hopeless endeavor at times, but we must not despair. The future is ours."

Some doublespeak, but why not? It wasn't like the populace was going to catch on. They had been conditioned not to, long before Lucius was born. He was here now, however, and their lack of interest in critical thinking was going to be exploited at every opportunity. Besides, he really believed his ideas would make their lives better. They just might have a rough adjustment period at first.

He looked to Gabe, and smiled, "I think you might be more qualified to talk about the future, my friend."

[Hatire Carrington]

If Hatire was truthful, this was the last place he wanted to be on this beautiful day. It was such a lovely day, sunshine and a light breeze, perfect for a good walk about or having a day out. Indeed, many other days like this Hatire might have gone to a park for a bit of recreation, so long as he had had a bit of something to eat on him. Although hardly athletic in his youth, he was becoming decent at a few of these modern games. Times had definitely changed when it came to competition between when he was a youth and this time he had come to.

Instead, unknown to Fallon, Hatire had followed her to her work after she had come back home and changed. It did not seem like a typical thing for the woman to do, especially given how moody she had been the last few days. It was not Hatire's place to pry but he could tell that something was bothering the woman. Given that he had nothing better to do, he decided to play a bit of detective and see what was going on. If he got caught he could think up a quick enough excuse he was entirely sure.

Dressed in a comfy casual ensemble, Hatire had given Fallon a few seconds head start before tailing her. It was easy enough to do Hatire thought, not sure it should have been entirely this simple to follow her. It was not long before they arrived at the footsteps of Ark's headquarters and Hatire could see why his roommate had been preoccupied, there seemed to be a gathering of such.

Hatire had learned a great deal about the time he had come to in the year and a half since that fateful day. This was looked to be something of what he thought was called a press conference or media gathering. What the purpose of it though, Hatire could not begin to guess and now he cursed himself for not prying just a little bit. Maybe it would have gotten Fallon to open up a little and maybe even ease some of the built up tension for her, at the very least at least he would have known what was going on.

Luckily Fallon was quick to the podium and set about the introductions. Anyone else might have been able to think that the chipper appearance of the young woman was genuine as she spoke, but Hatire had spent enough time near her to know when she was just putting up a show. The show was short but had him worried enough that he did not concern himself too much with the words of Lucius. It was dull words meant to butter people up Hatire was sure of, what concerned him was friend.

"What's eating at you Fallon?" Hatire whispered to himself as he watched the woman. His ears did perk up to the name of Constant though and Lucius inviting his friend to the podium. Fallon had taken Hatire to a party last year where the Constants had attended. It was not an experience that he liked but the Constants were at least on their best behavior during the course of those events. Hatire wondered what that man had to say and if it would be any different from the bullshit that the man before him had sputtered forth.

[Christian Moynahan]

It was a good thing Fallon was well trained in facial expressions, because at Lucius' explanation of how the takeover had happened, she wanted to chuckle. She didn't though. Far be it from her to decide what lies he wanted to tell. The funny thing about lies was that they grew and grew until you forgot who you'd lied to about what when and soon you tripped over all those lies. She would be lying if she said she wouldn't take some pleasure from watching such a thing happen to her new overlords.

That being said, she did have to admit to having developed a bit of attachment to Lucius and Gabriel. There was something warm about them, although both of them, especially Gabriel, were quite aloof. So she kept silent and put on her best face as Lucius spoke, then stepped back to let his friend Gabriel speak.

"Thank you, Lucius." Gabriel nodded toward Lucius with a smile. It helped Ark immensely that they were run by two individuals who happened to be best friends, who had a bond that was itself very rare in the world. They could be seen as something to aspire to. Fallon was just thinking that she could work that angle too when she spotted none other than Hatire in the crowd of reporters. She saw his lips move, and though she wasn't much good at lip-reading, she saw her name in there toward the end, and shot him a very brief smile. It looked like support. That support was appreciated and much needed.

Of course, they'd have to talk about how he had found her here later.

"As anyone present can guess, we're not looking to rehash our past here," Gabriel began in a genial tone. "We are, as Lucius stated, moving toward the future. The changes in upper management will certainly help in that regard, since those ill-advised decisions were orders that came from the very top of the chain of command. But I'm not telling you anything new in saying that; surely you all remember the Senate hearing in August of that year." He was being very intentional by dredging up the memory of the hearing; he was comparing the current leadership to Reeves and his clowns and the antics they had thrown, so overconfident and unapologetic. The media would certainly make that connection and regard the Kilvayne-Constant-Moynahan trio as being far more level-headed and concerned for the public good than their predecessors had been.

"So then, where do we begin? We start with tearing down the monuments of the past, and building new ones of our own, ones our public can respect. Which monuments, though?" He gave the photographers a teasing, coy smile. "I'll leave that to Christian to explain at the town hall meeting tomorrow night." The crowd began to hem and haw, and Gabriel raised a hand, smiling. "I trust you'll all be present to hear what he'll have to say."

There was something else intentional happening here: the use of first names. That practice varied throughout the business world, but here Gabriel placed the names in to help seed a more personal connection with Ark and its keepers. "The future has a number of projects ahead, some of which we are already working on, and some of which remain in the planning stages. We plan to keep the public abreast of these projects and their progress." Did they? Well, that depended on the nature of and success of those projects. They certainly would not make any catastrophic mistakes this time around.

Christian had been watching Fallon, Lucius, and then Gabriel speak. There were three different approaches, as he had expected. But there was an element to Gabriel's speech that, while the press would not pick up on it, Christian did. There was very much something missing. It was in his tone, and when he turned around to hand the podium over to Christian, in his eyes. Faint, but present: an almost haunted air about him. He wasn't as lively as Christian had sometimes seen him. It was his wife, Christian decided, correctly. She was not in attendance, and by her own full purpose.

There was a difference. Lucius' significant other was also not present, but she and Lucius were not quite as attached as the Constants were. Perhaps they would be, in time. But while Dakari fully supported Lucius' choices with regard to Ark, Alexandria did not. Gabriel spoke of it very little around Christian, but he and Lucius would not have chosen Christian if he had not been uncannily perceiving and understanding regarding people.

He was missing her as if she were an extra limb that he had grown used to, Christian thought, and now had no clue what to do without it. As temporary as his stay in Los Angeles would be, the feeling was at its worst here, when he was discussing Ark, the very thing that continued to come between them. Christian found that behavior very interesting. Perhaps he could question Gabriel about it, gently and indirectly, during the dinner they and Lucius would share that night. Another opportunity for media exposure, yes, but moreso meant as a private event.

"Part of that future includes challenging our leaders to step up to any and all challenges we present to them, or that the public good may require of them," Gabriel said. He was still speaking honestly; where Lucius had given a bit of doublespeak, Gabriel's sin was that of omission. "That includes not only Lucius and myself, or the chiefs of Ark's separate departments, but also - and perhaps most of all - to out chief operating officer. Ark Industries is proud to welcome aboard our new CEO, Christian Moynahan."

There was scattered applause and more murmuring as Gabriel turned - and it was here that Christian saw his eyes - and offered Christian his hand, which Christian shook, and then Lucius' as well. Then he stepped up to the podium. There was much flashing of cameras and adjusting of microphones and tablets.

"Pleased to meet you," Christian said with a smile and slight chuckle, and the crowd went into frenzy again. Once they calmed down, Christian began again. "I take it you're all familiar with my background, so I won't bore you with too much of that. In short, I've worked in pharmaceuticals and aerospace engineering, and among other disciplines I studied engineering, marketing, business, and basket weaving." There were a few chuckles. Christian smiled again. There was a fine line to walk between humor and earnestness, and he knew where that line was. He would have to tone down the charisma a bit now.

"Ark has suffered a number of misfortunes, some of which included the public directly, decimating the very same body of people it was supposed to be serving. Yet it's also been plagued by mismanagement within itself, and mismanagement of its projects. Now we are fortunate to have been pulled under the umbrella of the Kilvayne Corporation, and placed under new management that is much more able to make use of the talent within our organization. We've got some new initiatives that I'm looking forward to discussing at the town hall meeting."

He dropped his head a bit and his eyes fluttered closed for a moment; the entire gesture lasted about a second, but it was enough to impress upon the crowd a sense of humility and cognizance of his position and the tasks that lay before him. "As proud as Ark may be to have me, I am even more honored to have been selected and welcomed into such distinguished company. Thank you all." His gaze briefly swept the group behind him, then returned to the group gathered in front of and below him.

"Again, I hope we'll see you all tomorrow night. We have only a brief time here this morning, but we have much more to discuss, which we'll be able to fit into tomorrow's time frame, I hope." He smiled again and then made a gesture with his hands, extended low at his sides with palms open, indicating to Lucius and Gabriel that they should step forward again, as it was time for the brief period of answering questions. "Are there any questions? We'll accept as many as we can."

[Hatire Carrington]

Hatire managed to catch a quick smile from Fallon moments after he had caught her eyes staring at him. It seemed that his presence in the crowd had not gone unnoticed, though he was not intentionally trying to hide in it. The fact of the matter was that he was concerned about his friend. This also apparently was a media conference and despite not having credentials, he had managed to stumble into. So while he was not trying to hide, he was not trying to draw attention to himself either.

Before she could take her eyes away though, he decided to send her another quick message, hoping she could read lips. "We'll talk later, good luck! It was all he knew what to say at the moment and to keep it short. Hatire imagined that Fallon would want to know how he had managed to get into the meeting but there were his own concerns as well. Hatire was not sure what their actual relationship was, but he did know that he cared for Fallon and if she was distressed, he wanted to be there for her.

Then Gabriel spoke up and was fairly straight with his words. Hatire decided to listen to the conference since he was there. There was obviously things that were being left unsaid, anyone with half a brain could figure that out. Ark had had its share of mistakes, Fallon had told him that, since it was usually her job to try and fix the image in PR. It seemed like Gabriel and his partners might have honest intentions of trying to turn the company around though. What that meant for Fallon, Hatire did have a wonder though. Would they deem her work unsatisfactory and send her on her way since there was still quite a significant public dislike of the company?

Those thoughts were derailed by the taking of the stage of the new CEO, who was a bit on the attractive side Hatire had to admit. A pretty face for a makeover of a company, it was a neat trick, and Hatire began to be suspicious of the actual motives. Certainly being attractive was no crime but you did not need you CEO to be attractive, you needed them to be experienced and looking out for the best interests of the company. And by his own resume, it seemed this Christian was perhaps not the best pick that could have been made. Perhaps it was nothing but it did seem... odd to Hatire.

He asked for questions but maintained that time was short and the deeper stuff was meant for tomorrow's event. With Hatire having no interest in being in whatever they were up to the following day and his own curiosity a bit involved, he decided to ask his question. With any luck, no one would notice that he was not even supposed to be here. With his arm raised, he waited for the press officer to indicate to him before Hatire spoke.

"You say your turning over a new leaf, which is all well and good, but by your own admission your being vague for this event. What I want to know, and I am sure others do as well, is what sort of stance do you have with Specials? You've had a checkered past and if this is a new Ark, will there be attempts made to mend those bridges with the Special community? And if so, how do you plan to do so?"

[Christian Moynahan]

Off in the distance, there is resistance
Bubbling up and festering
Hey Mr. Motion, make me a potion
Shake it all up with your mystery
-Imagine Dragons, "Ready Aim Fire"

The journalists started their questions by screaming them at him. That was odd behavior for a press conference, but each wanted to be heard first, and so had to yell over the others, and so it became a shouting match. One person in the crowd raised his hand, so of course he was the one who got to ask the first question. The young man - who, to Christian, did not look very much like a member of the press, but he did not make a fuss over it - questioned first Ark's motives, then their relationship and intentions toward Specials. The first he had expected, but the second was an interesting question. It would have come up sooner or later, of course.

Christian did not particularly feel like outing himself as a Special. Having not been a part of Ark at the time, he had not been made to register as a Special when that particular initiative was in effect. In fact, he had never registered. And he had never stated that he had any sort of abilities, but he had also never claimed to be a civilian. He preferred to let people assume and decide for themselves.

So he answered the question as a corporation, not as a person. Although there were those who would argue there was no difference between the two.

"I am being vague because it's good marketing for the town hall meeting. If I just repeat myself, no one will show much interest, will they?" He smiled; he had laid a few cards on the table with one. Most still remained hidden. Honesty in one sentence, and the next would seem the same.

"Our stance as a whole is that Specials are citizens just as everyone else and should be treated as such. The original administrations cooperated with the government with regard to their registration policies. I don't plan to make myself an antagonist to the political world, but I will only cooperate insofar as there is equality for both sides." I am a law only for my kind; I am no law for all. "For our part, our own projects have shifted focus toward studying and developing technologies that will benefit everyone. I will, as you might guess, address that at length tomorrow night." He smiled again. "Are there any other questions?"

[Lucius Kilvayne]

Someone to claim us, someone to follow
Someone to shame us, some brave Apollo
Someone to fool us, someone like you
We want you Big Brother, Big Brother

"As anyone present can guess, we're not looking to rehash our past here,"

The past was over, and that was that. Lucius couldn't press that point too much himself, and he was glad that Gabriel had reiterated it. The death and suffering of millions, or even billions, was nothing to what was at stake here. Extinction- that was what these pathetic people were running headlong into. It was a sad tragic thing, no doubt. But he was determined to make sure they didn't drag him down into the Abyss of eternal death with them. No, he would even pull them out of the mire. They would eventually realize that, and love him for it. Now, they knew not who he was, and had perhaps a vague mistrust of his agenda. Many possibly admired him already, for a number of reasons. But did they love him? No, not in the present time. It would take on mistake now, and they would hate him. That was the lesson Ark had learned the hard way. But he was determined to even make Ark something to love. Miracle that may be, but he buttered his bread with the working of miracles. And he buttered his bread copiously.


"We are, as Lucius stated, moving toward the future. The changes in upper management will certainly help in that regard, since those ill-advised decisions were orders that came from the very top of the chain of command. But I'm not telling you anything new in saying that; surely you all remember the Senate hearing in August of that year."

Lucius had to wonder at the brass balls of those people. They had a perfectly good thing going, that could have been brilliantly executed, had they the patience for carefully and slowly releasing it into the populace. But they had to do it all at once, damn the consequences. And the consequences had damned them. Lucius would not abandon the idea of granting abilities, though Ark and the RSF had. Well, the RSF had abandoned the idea of existing, but that was a separate issue. Lucius was a discriminating sort, however, and he would never want to make everyone Special. But, if he could manipulate genes in such a way to transcend even what a Special was at the present time...that would be something to try.

"The future has a number of projects ahead, some of which we are already working on, and some of which remain in the planning stages. We plan to keep the public abreast of these projects and their progress.'

For the most part, this was true. But the Kilvayne Corporation had been undergoing several secret projects, without so much as an ounce of bad press for it. They also kept things under control, so that nothing untoward happened. They had been playing it low-key. A lot of their work was done overseas, as well. Many things were technically illegal in the States, or that they were requiring resources more readibly attainable in the region itself, rather than something that was import-export friendly. But these projects had aided humanity, and at negligible cost. Negligible to the general public, that is.

What they didn't know hadn't hurt them yet, so they had no complaints. Lucius would keep that trend going. For the time being. They would know sometime, and when they did- his world would have already been made. So it wouldn't matter how they reacted. But he knew they would accept it. Having a precog for a best friend was a real stroke of good fortune, Lucius mused.

"Part of that future includes challenging our leaders to step up to any and all challenges we present to them, or that the public good may require of them,"

And to step down when it was shown how woefully inadequate for that task they would be.

When Christian opened up the floor for questions, Lucius smiled. Here he would see Christian's talents shine, and it would be a confirmation that Lucius and Gabe had made the right choice. The question was posed by someone who looked strangely familiar to Lucius...someone he had observed Archie and Fallon talking with at Ark before, and elsewhere ...

Archie knew the man well, it was none other than Hatire, Fallon's room-mate from the past. He smiled, glad that the strange man had seen fit to make an appearance. He knew Fallon would be irritated, and that was most amusing. Archie gave a knowing look to Fallon, as the man made his inquiry.

"You say your turning over a new leaf, which is all well and good, but by your own admission your being vague for this event. What I want to know, and I am sure others do as well, is what sort of stance do you have with Specials? You've had a checkered past and if this is a new Ark, will there be attempts made to mend those bridges with the Special community? And if so, how do you plan to do so?"

Archie and Lucius both looked at Christian carefully, wondering what might happen next.

"I am being vague because it's good marketing for the town hall meeting. If I just repeat myself, no one will show much interest, will they?"

Lucius nodded. No sense in redundancy, after all.

"Our stance as a whole is that Specials are citizens just as everyone else and should be treated as such. The original administrations cooperated with the government with regard to their registration policies. I don't plan to make myself an antagonist to the political world, but I will only cooperate insofar as there is equality for both sides."

Lucius smiled, his knowledge of the changing political landscape assuring him that nothing this government did from here on out would even be relevant. They were his puppets, and Gabriel's puppets. They didn't know it yet, but they really had lost in DC. Adrian, the ROgues and the Resistance may have been defeated, but the extant government had certainly lost. Especially the RSF. In that battle, the tide of war had turned. In Lucius' favor, naturally. Adrian had served the cause well.

"Are there any other questions?"

Lucius added a condition to Christian's invitation.

"And as we don't want to repeat ourselves at the next event...be sure that you inquire about something in the purview of this particular conference. I,for one, would be happy to elaborate on any of the finer points of my earlier speech, for example."

[Hatire Carrington]

The answers were given where not exactly what Hatire was seeking for but life hardly ever gave you everything you wanted. That Christian seemed at least on the surface intent on not actively working against Specials as his predecessors had done with their work with the RSF was enough. Whether that truly held to form through the passage of time and if any other disasters like Phoenix or Atalanta happened would be something only time would tell. While Hatire had never registered, mainly for the fact of the matter that he simply did not exist, he knew Fallon had and had faced some backlash over it. Tension was still palpable between the civilian and Special communities and Hatire knew that a fuse only needed to be lit to set off another conflict.

That fuse however would not apparently be sparked by Ark, even if Hatire did not entirely believe everything Christian had to say. Something about his appointment made Hatire suspicious where he would have not been had Christian not been forthcoming about his own resume. Maybe that should have been a point in Christian and Ark's favor, being upfront about the fact that Christian was not on sight the most appropriate appointment. Perhaps Christian would even turn out to be the best appointment for the company but the motives behind it all would be enough for anyone with a brain to at least be skeptical of it and Ark still, or so Hatire believed.

With Lucius speaking again and it obvious that the hard questions not going to be asked of Christian or any of the gathered Ark brain trust, Hatire decided it was time to make himself scarce. Asking that question had brought enough attention his way that it would be better for him to not be in the immediate area when the conference wrapped up. Hatire knew however that something was definitely up with Fallon and decided that heading back to their place was not the best course of action.

Instead. Hatire slowly made his way out of the conference vicinities and into the park in the surrounding area. It was not too far of a walk from the Ark headquarters and it would be easy for Hatire to intercept Fallon if she decided to walk home. In fact, he quickly pulled out his cell phone and gave her a text encouraging her to do so. They would have their talk and he would hopefully find out what was eating at his roommate. In the meantime, he decided to sit on a swing and enjoy a good day, pondering over the events of the day and past few weeks. It was going to have an effect on Fallon and by extension his life, but what great effect would it see?

[Christian Moynahan]

After the first question, the reporters took up their former practice of speaking their questions first, but, having seen that the Ark men preferred to answer those using the proper manners first, many of them raised their hands this time. The questions, especially after such a strong start, felt fairly blasé to Christian, to the point of boredom. He was glad to have Lucius and Gabriel with him. This was something like learning to ride a bike; he was on training wheels at the moment, with his friends' support, but once he got the hang of being a CEO and all the duties that came with it, he would be largely on his own, as both men had their own businesses to attend to. That was the reason they had hired him, after all - to manage Ark directly, so that they could focus on their own projects.

Yet Christian was not sure what kind of CEO he would be. Would he be the aloof sort, prone to eccentricities and careless of public opinion? Would he seek out every opportunity of attention, and attempt to take up the spotlight at every chance he got? He hoped he would be wise and observant, and able to build rapport easily, for that was the sort of leader Ark needed now. But he was also quite eccentric on his own. And he had his own standards, very high standards, that he expected others - especially those under his command - to consistently reach.

As it was, the press conference had grown boring to him. Christian found himself fielding questions such as "What are your plans for Ark?" or "What projects does Ark have lined up?" or "How does it feel to be the CEO of Ark?," all of which were either questions he had already answered, questions he would answer the next day, or questions that were just stupid. He kept up a shade of interest, though, lest he be maligned as rude or condescending.

Behind him, without turning around, he knew that Gabriel had moved farther back, as though ready to slip away. Christian knew Gabriel had even less patience for redundancy and inanity than Christian himself did. He also knew that Gabriel would not leave him or Lucius to the media sharks, which explained Gabriel's current position; far enough away to avoid being asked the same dumb questions, but close enough to support Lucius and Christian and keep a show of solidarity.

Fallon was also ready to get out of there, before Christian said something stupid. She was still not confident that he wouldn't. The man had been groomed to be a middle manager, not a CEO. He had the face and personality to lead a company, but he lacked the marketing sense. Maybe, in time, he would start to get it. Until then, Fallon kept herself in a constant state of damage control readiness.

She would walk home once the press was good and gone, just to make sure no one would follow her and pester her with questions. Lucius and Gabriel, she figured, would go for lunch together, and would probably bring Christian along, depending on whether the man already had plans to be cooped up in his office. Fallon, however, was calling it an early day. No one seemed to care what hours she kept as long as she continually produced results, which she did. That was a good thing, she supposed.

She caught Christian's eye; he had turned his head ever so slightly to glance at her for a moment. She read the question in his eyes and gave a small nod. This occurred in the span of a second. Then Christian turned back to the crowd. Many of them still had their hands raised or were asking questions anyway. "Thank you for attending, and for your questions," Christian said nonetheless. "Again, I hope you'll join us tomorrow night. Until then, best wishes, and good evening."

A few last photos were snapped as Christian turned away from the podium, joining Gabriel in slinking away from the scene. Fallon did the same as well, making a turn into Ark's lobby to pick up her purse, which she had left there just in case she decided to make a quick exit. With her purse over her shoulder, she left through a side door, and made her way home, joining Hatire along the way.

[Fin for Christian, Gabriel, and Fallon.]