First Meeting on Second Try

First Meeting on Second Try
Product information
Type Short story
Author Christopher Hussey
Pages 26
Publication information
Publisher BattleCorps
First published 16 January 2010
Content
Era Succession Wars era
Timeline 4 March—19 November 3030
Series Operation Rat
Preceded by Salvage
Followed by A Storm of Rain and Steel

Published online on BattleCorps on 16 January 2010 as the fourth installment of the "Operation Rat" series, First Meeting on Second Try is a story by Chris Hussey set in the Fourth Succession War.

Teaser text[edit]

In our fourth Operation Rat story, Chris Hussey shows us that the battlefield of 'Mechs and tanks is not the only province of warfare--and is no less deadly for being more mundane.

Plot summary[edit]

Two Lyran businessmen, Kevin Sedrenny and his aide Thomas Wakowski, arrive on the icy world of Second Try just after the world's capture by the Federated Suns. In the city of Messhorn, they meet with representatives from the three largest Capellan mining concerns on the planet on 4 March 3030: Jing Kao, president of Callahan Copper Industries; Xiaoping Lung, president of Lung Mining Ltd.; and Cassie Pai, CEO of Aggravated Industries. Sedrenny and Wakowski hope to take control of these firms for their own enterprise, Trilogy Holdings, before the inbound officials from the Federated Commonwealth Integration Ministry can take them over. They achieve their goal with a combination of coercion, implied threats and shrewd bargaining. Guaranteeing safe passage to their business partners and their entire families convinces Pai to accept the buyout, then Lung. Only Kao remains defiant, as his business has nothing to hide. While Wakowski takes Pai and Lung to the ComStar station to finalize the deal, Sedrenny blackmails Kao into submission with his last trump card—a datachip with proof that Kao has an affair with his assistant, Tara. Tara and her own family cannot be evacuated as she is not officially a member of Kao's family, but she will be given continued employment with Callahan Copper under the new management.

Four days later, FedCom official Harris Kandress is rudely dismissed by Sedrenny when he objects to the deals; Sedrenny and Trilogy Holdings have made the deal on time to secure all benefits for themselves. Kandress announces a very thorough investigation, but Sedrenny is convinced that he has nothing to fear.

With the lawsuit still ongoing, Sedrenny and Wakowski have a meeting on 11 September 3030. It becomes apparent that Wakowski, eager to advance through Trilogy Holdings' management ranks, thinks Sedrenny is holding him back on Second Try. Having begun an affair with Tara who served as a contact between them, Wakowski conspired with Jing Kao to poison Sedrenny. The plot is up, but Tara has her very own motives for revenge, and shoots both men.

Featured characters[edit]

  • Kevin Sedrenny
  • Thomas Wakowski
  • Harris Kandress
  • Cassie Pai
  • Xiaoping Lung
  • Jing Kao
  • Tara

Featured places[edit]

References[edit]