Page 39 of Pets in Space 10

The thinly upholstered conference chair creaked faintly under Gaerynx Triplo’s weight as he glanced casually around RyoGenomica Research’s largest conference room, which was awash with the low murmur of quiet conversations. Everyone’s mood seemed subdued and wary. Or maybe that was just him.

The clock display on the high-tech media wall counted down the last minutes and seconds until showtime.

The cavernous room, currently configured in presentation mode, seemed like overkill for the twenty-five or so employees of the three teams invited to attend.

Around the perimeter in the reserved area, several holopresence images showed the employees who couldn’t get to the company campus in time for the mandatory meeting.

The high-end projectors made the remote attendees seem solid, but the lighting variations and slightly shimmering outlines gave them away.

On the sides of the main stage, curved projection screens currently displayed the company logo in crisp detail.

Like the main building that housed it, the room tried hard to blend its slightly dated, textured-paneled gravitas with cutting-edge tech.

Gaerynx privately thought the overall aesthetic was charitably described as design-by-committee.

On the brightly lit stage, Cambrio Sainik stood poised behind the sleek, minimalist podium, center stage as always.

RyoGenomica’s Chief Innovation Officer radiated restless energy, a man perpetually leaning forward like an interstellar racing yacht waiting for the locking clamps to release.

Flanking him, seated in plush, adaptable chairs that looked far more comfortable than Gaerynx’s, were President Madeline Dequer, projecting her usual smooth polish, and Bikendi, the Chief Staffing Officer, whose presence always made Gaerynx tense.

Whatever the subject of this presentation, it was important enough to warrant the attention of the top-level execs.

Gaerynx glanced at the clock display. One minute left.

He suppressed a sigh. His Animal Management Support team didn’t have time for this.

He doubted Agronomy Support or Human Medicine Support had the time, either.

The all-hands meeting notification had dropped into their work queues barely three hours prior, forcing them to revise a tight slate of customer consultations, lab analyses, and field visits.

His own afternoon, meant for finishing a report on novel nutrient supplement data from a highly successful caprine producer on the southern continent, would now be spent re-rigging the team schedule.

Anxiety simmered beneath his outward composure.

In his checkered career experience, a last-minute, high-level summons usually meant nothing good was coming.

With only nineteen seconds to go, and Sainik staring at the clock like he could will it to change faster, the room’s side door nearest Gaerynx irised open to reveal Amalena Kirilov.

Her gaze darted around the room, then landed on the empty seat next to him.

She hesitated, then headed toward him, seemingly unfazed when most of the room’s occupants glanced at her, then at the clock display.

She slipped into the seat with graceful economy of motion, nodding once at him as she did so.

He caught a brief, pleasant scent, something citrusy, before it vanished into the recycled air.

“I told my team to stick together. Is Tikka here, too?” Her voice was pitched low.

He nodded slightly and matched her discretion.

“First row, third from the right.” The Human Medicine Support manager and her larger team had already claimed seats by the time he and his team of seven had entered by themselves and sat scattered across the room.

Maybe he should have organized them better.

Amalena looked like she was going to say more, but Sainik’s voice interrupted all the conversations.

“Let’s get this party started,” Sainik said with a wide smile. The high-end acoustic and visual panels made him easily seen and heard by everyone. Dequer and Bikendi matched his enthusiasm with practiced enthusiastic smiles of their own.

Sainik strode out from behind the podium, owning the stage.

“Folks, I know you’re all busy. We pulled you in here on short notice because we have some exciting news.

World-changing news.” The projections behind him shifted from the static RyoGenomica logo to a dynamic swirl of abstract blue and green shapes coalescing into the words: Synergy. Velocity. Innovation.

Gaerynx felt a tightening in his gut. He’d seen presentations like this before, usually right before the expansion capital dried up or the business owners decided to cut their losses.

“For too long,” Sainik continued, pacing deliberately across the stage, his voice resonating with conviction, “You’ve operated in separate starlanes.

Good work, yes. Dedicated teams, absolutely.

” His sweeping gesture encompassed everyone in the room.

“But are we optimizing? Are we maximizing our potential? Are we truly leveraging the deep and incredible talent in this room?”

He stopped center stage, his expression earnest. “I’ve spent the last year analyzing our workflows.

Our customer interactions. Our impact. And I see opportunities.

Huge opportunities.” The projections dissolved the words and reformed into a complex, animated flowchart filled with interconnected boxes and arrows flowing in optimistic upward curves.

It looked impressive, Gaerynx had to admit, but instead of clear lines, the boxes were connected with labels such as Cross-Functional Ideation Hub and Client Outcome Optimization Synergies.

“Therefore,” Sainik announced, his voice rising with excitement, “effective in one ten-day from now, we are consolidating the Agronomy Support, Animal Management Support, and Human Medicine Support departments into a single, dynamic entity: Customer Innovations.” The new department name flashed onto the screens in three-dimensional glory, accompanied by a triumphant musical flourish that made Gaerynx wince internally at the tacky trick that belonged in a used-flitter sales lot.

A low murmur went through the room. Gaerynx glanced at Amalena beside him; her expression was carefully neutral, but her fingers tightened on the tablet resting in her lap. He looked toward the front row where Tikka Parnumaya sat. He couldn’t see her face, but her posture was ramrod straight.

Sainik beamed, apparently interpreting the murmur as engagement. “This strategic realignment will merge and expand our starlanes. It will foster unprecedented collaboration, enhance our responsiveness, and streamline our processes to deliver unparalleled value to our clients.”

He went on, his speech a masterclass in energetic corporate jargon.

Gaerynx struggled to keep his skepticism off his face.

It was all flash and no boom – a maneuver he’d seen at two previous companies right before they imploded, leaving him scrambling yet again for a new job.

Admittedly, with seventy-plus years in business, RyoGenomica was not a flameout candidate.

However, this sudden reorganization hinted at hidden problems. Companies didn’t need to reorganize when things were going well.

He’d been lucky to be hired six years ago.

RyoGenomica had a reputation for stability, deliberate growth, and valuing its employees.

And for transparency and a quality-first approach to research.

It was everything his multiple previous employers hadn’t been.

But Sainik’s presentation felt like a gathering storm bearing down on the seawalls that had made RyoGenomica a safe harbor.

Sainik’s voice arms and voice rose with a dramatic flair. “And this is just the beginning!”

Gaerynx swallowed his doubts and made himself pay attention to what Sainik was saying.

Sainik made fleeting eye contact with several people in the audience.

Then he lowered his voice to a confidential tone, as if sharing a nova-hot investment tip.

“We have plans on the horizon, big plans, that will position RyoGenomica not just as the industry leader on Ivyar, but as a major player across the Concordance. Get ready, people. We’re about to make waves. ”

The presentation ended with a visual of an ocean wave crashing on the shore and an over-the-top triumphant musical flourish. Gaerynx would have been embarrassed to include that cliché in anything he showed to customers.

He stole another glance at Amalena next to him. Her expression seemed neutral, except for a subtle tension around her mouth.

Sainik retreated to a small table to grab a glass of water as Dequer stood and crossed to the center to address the employees. “The executive team and I are very excited about our new direction. We know you have questions. Give us a minute to get set up to record them, and we’ll begin.”

Gaerynx wished he’d brought a tablet like Amalena had. His wristcomp could easily compile notes, but he hadn’t brought an earwire that would let him subvocalize his thoughts. With a tablet, at least he could draw to keep himself from fidgeting.

Amalena met his gaze with a glance of her own, then looked back down at her tablet as she pushed a shiny blue lock of her curly hair behind her ear. “Does Vice President Sainik’s plan seem, er, hand-wavy on details to you?” She spoke so softly he barely heard it.

“Yes.” He glanced at the clock display to see that only eleven minutes had elapsed. “Rushed, too.”

“But very sparkly.” Her fingers splayed like fireworks. “Oh, so sparkly.”

He suppressed a snort of laughter.