|
Post by Morgan on Jun 27, 2020 15:37:36 GMT -6
The first two projects had gone off without a hitch. Starting WELP had been touch and go at first, but soon enough they'd had a small group of scientists that wanted out of the Labs but didn't want to be out of a paycheck necessarily. The land had already been bought years before when Morgan was a teen- and though there was development done there (that would become incredibly useful to Morgan's needs), it was more than perfect for the project. The state of the art facility was ready to go within a couple of months.
All ran according to plan.
Practice runs were made in which they successfully grew a few different Labs species from gene samples. At the same time, Morgan sent parties out for gene sample procurement from the lands beyond Pethia. The first that returned was three of the four samples needed of the Wapitiramus genus.
It was once again touch and go there, one of the three samples was degraded beyond use. The other two, Wapitiramus F. Domesticus and Wapitiramus Gigas were carefully metered out. Two strains of Repointe builds were developed, one from Team A with a lean more towards F. Domesticus, and one from Team B with a lean more towards Gigas. Morgan could not have been more pleased at the prototypes- watching the babies walk around on stilt-like legs and hide in their tail floof brought a sort of satisfaction into Morgan's life that they had never felt before.
This was what Morgan was supposed to do with their life, they were sure of it.
[1]
|
|
|
Post by Morgan on Jun 27, 2020 15:47:46 GMT -6
It wasn't long before the long-awaited gene strains from another creature, a marsupial, were procured, and the teams were hungry for more work. Morgan once again took a step back after the first few tissue samples were grown in their Lab. The tissue samples were handed out to Teams A and B, with another held back for newly-forming Team C. The human had other, more interesting personal projects to work on. The funding was pouring in, and Dis was buzzing excitedly about starting up social media accounts for WELP. Morgan was thankful that she was much more interested in being the social face of the Labs. They'd found quite quickly that it was more difficult to keep people from recognizing them in public.
It was... An uncomfortable feeling.
With Dis at the forefront, Morgan stayed in the background. They didn't work so much with the teams so much as had briefings with the team speakers. They worked on the more difficult aspects of running the company, leaving the less-liked 'public relations' to Dis, and after a few months, formed a department entirely for Worker Resources. With this, the human turned to their passion projects.
[2]
|
|
|
Post by Morgan on Jun 27, 2020 16:01:28 GMT -6
Morgan knew that they weren't exactly the most ideal boss. They hadn't done anything like this before. Always, they'd worked by theirself. It was a natural inclination for them since they had been alone after their father disappeared. It wasn't an ideal situation for a twelve year old, after all. They noticed that whenever they walked the hallways, individuals would avert their gaze and tighten their shoulders and jaws. It didn't necessarily aggravate Morgan, but it didn't fly under their radar either. Dis sat down next to Morgan at lunch most days. The human was getting a little more comfortable with the older Kapper. 'It bothers you, doesn't it?' She said, after Team A filed out of the lunchroom a little more quickly once Morgan sat down. The human was still fiddling with a prototype WATT. "Hnn..." The human mumbled, disinterested. Dis settled back in her seat, her short legs dangling. Dis was comfortable as well. 'They just don't know what to make of you. They know you're paying their salaries, but they don't know anything about you.' She said, opening up a packet of chocolate donuts. "Mmmhmm." The human hummed. Dis stared at Morgan, all three eyes wide. Morgan puts down the prototype and turns to huff at her, but Dis is holding out a donut. 'You need to eat more. You look like the dead!' She chuckled. Morgan sighed, and took one, turning it over in their palm thoughtfully. "It doesn't."
'What?'
"Bother me. I-I-I don't have time for it anyway." The human pops the mini donut in their mouth.
[3]
|
|
|
Post by Morgan on Jun 27, 2020 16:45:57 GMT -6
The WATT system was starting to prove promising. The overheating issue was being worked out, and the issue with the circuits not staying adhered during hot weather was being remedied via porcelain replacements. The marsupial species was becoming quite promising- a living prototype had not been produced yet, but the eggs were fairing quite well to that point in stress tests in the fake pouches. Repointe weren't quite out of the testing stage, a few of the team members had been selected to bring home baby Repointe to their families. Word was getting out that there were some rather interesting creatures out, but thankfully the secret for the most part was still in the bag. It was six in the evening, most of the staff went home at four. Dis walks right out of her office and into Morgan's with a mug of coffee shaped like a cat in her hands. The human glances up for long enough to see who walks in, and then continues working on the engine of the coolant machine that had caused the loss of the third Wapitiramus gene sample. Dis is babbling about some sort of issue she had the other day with a date that went sour. 'And then she said-' Dis continued, and then she finally got a good look at the machine Morgan was working on. 'Oh come on, you need to put that down for the day.' She scolded, grinning. 'Let the teams get a-hold of it tomorrow. Team C currently doesn't have an assignment at the moment.'
[4]
|
|
|
Post by Morgan on Jun 27, 2020 16:53:34 GMT -6
Morgan sat the machine down on the desk reverently. "N-nuh uh. Team C is still in training. They 'ent got anyone that could find it a-as fast as me." Morgan said, reaching for the bottle in their desk. They poured it into a nearby mug and Dis eyed them warily. 'If you don't trust them, why do we pay them for, anyway?' She said, smartly. Morgan glared into the gaze of the cat mug in her hands from across the desk. A moment passed, and finally Morgan gruffly nodded. "It's n-not that. It's just..." The human looked over the machine with a bit of an odd expression behind their glasses. Morgan took their glasses off and laid them on the desk, pinching between their eyes. "I built it. A-and it was faulty, and because of it we missed s-some vital information we needed to g-get the Repointe out the door quicker." Understanding passed across Dis' face, and she sat her mug down on Morgan's desk, causing it's googly eyes to wiggle around in a comical fashion. "I Need to finish this. Plus, I heard back from t-the expedition team's Alurook. Th-the new gene samples are on their way." The 'in the faulty old equipment I designed too fast and didn't test hard enough' went unsaid, but Dis gave Morgan a disapproving look anyway, as if Morgan had said it instead.[5]
|
|
|
Post by Morgan on Jun 27, 2020 17:03:11 GMT -6
The conversation steered to more amicable waters after that. Dis was incredibly excited about the new project. Morgan knew that it was only because they were going to be cats. Dis loved cats. It was part of the reason why Morgan agreed to send out more resources to trade for the genes that they needed to work on them. Dis gushed about how her projects were coming along, and Morgan admitted that they were almost done with getting the WATTs up and running. 'Are you going to let one of the teams take over the coding?' She asked, curiously. Morgan shook their head. "These are my project." They said, then they glanced away. "A-and it's best that as f-few people know about t-the project as possible." Their voice was soft. Dis nodded. 'Honestly I was about to accuse you of being arrogant. Not everyone can code as easily as breathe- but you need not take all the projects onto yourself.' Silence past, Morgan finished their drink and then got up from their desk. "It's time for m-me to get home- I promised Millicent I'd read her a b-book before bed." They said. 'Fine, fine. Say, the real reason why I wanted to talk to you today-' She started as they left the room. 'After the Worginu are completed, we need to have a work function.' The human blanched. "What? Why?[6]
|
|
|
Post by Morgan on Jun 27, 2020 17:15:40 GMT -6
Morgan crossed their arms over their chest. A week had passed, and the results were in. Repointe were ready. Morgan was not, however, impressed with the domestic breed. "So t-that happens every time they are scared?" Morgan asked, watching as the Domestic Repointe prototype fell on the floor and stiffened up. Finally, the creature got up, looking unconcerned, and walked away. 'Uh- yes, it does.' The nervous team leader replies. Just behind them, one of the team members from A pipes up, her voice cheery- 'Aren't they the cutest!?' Morgan's face went from a passive annoyance to a more neutral expression before they turned around, nodding. "T-that could work. Is it a side-effect of the gene that r-removes the typical species aggression?" They asked, a thoughtful expression on their face. 'Yes, we haven't been able to remove the 'fainting' from them without reintroducing the aggression.' Domestication-related genes were tough, Morgan knew this. "W-we'll call it a feature then." Morgan decides. A Team's leader looks half relieved and half like they had been holding their breath. "People w-will... Think it is cute." They turn to Dis. "Whenever you describe them in the pamphlets, Dis, p-please be sure to write this in as a feature of the Domestic breed." Dis was taking notes in one of the earliest WATTs. Morgan's personal WATT from before they founded WELP Corp. was now passing it's basic coding onto the next generation.
Things were working out.
[7]
|
|
|
Post by Morgan on Jun 27, 2020 17:31:51 GMT -6
Team B was working on the marsupials still. Now that Team A was completed with their last Repointe breed, they were going to start working on their Worginu samples soon. The eggs were ready, and now it was mostly figuring out what directions to take the species. A few ideas had been tossed around. Morgan stared thoughtfully at the last tissue sample, and then decided to grow another. Team C would be ready for their's soon, and they were being tasked with the most common breed's creation. That had been Dis' idea, since Team C was her baby, to a degree. Speaking of that, Morgan was supposed to get together with the Employee Resource office to figure up Dis' idea for a 'work function'. Morgan remembered those. They'd taken it for granted that their father brought them along to the little parties. He had impressed early upon Morgan how important it was to fraternize with individuals that were useful for business. Morgan wasn't really old enough to take that to heart, and now, they wished that they'd learned more about this sort of thing. They weren't really expecting it to be so easy to delegate most of it to individuals that enjoyed networking. They were especially not expecting to be advised by the department that perhaps having a personal team of scientists would be helpful for fraternization. "B-but, ALL of the teams are my personal teams." Morgan said, incredulously. 'Technically.' Dis said to them, later on that day. 'They may be, but it would be good for you to have a smaller team, maybe of three? To help with customs when the time comes.' Morgan went to open their mouth, and Dis rolled their eyes. 'No buts- And I don't count! I'll have my hands full with the social networking, and of course both of us will be busy enough working on genomes in the primary stage.'[8]
|
|
|
Post by Morgan on Jun 27, 2020 17:49:53 GMT -6
'What are you working on?' Dis asks, standing behind Morgan in one of the Labs that had been unused up to now. 'I looked in your office and you weren't there.' She said. Morgan didn't turn back around. They selected a line, deleted it, and then typed another in. Their glasses reflected the screen off of them as they worked. Dis could feel the magic buzzing in the air, and it was surprising to her how quickly Dexter's young whelp had taken to their magic. Finally, Morgan takes a step away from the work. They look equal parts tired and pleased. "Oh, Dis. Didn't hear you come in." They turned towards her, and saw that she was holding a little package of cakeballs. Dis tossed them into Morgan's hands, and the human suddenly realized exactly how hungry they were before tearing into the package. "W-what time is it anyway?" Morgan asked, before putting the first one into their mouth. 'You blew lunch out by two hours.' Dis said, a motherly gaze morphing into a bit of frustration, and then curiosity as she looked at the screen. Her expression changed a few times, and landed on awe. 'I recognize some of these- this is the Worginu, isn't it? But not quite... This adult wouldn't have- oh, of course!' Dis finally realized. Morgan looked down, a bit bashful at first, and then back up proudly. "I know we only p-planned on three breeds, but I decided a fourth avenue w-would be worth looking into." The human said. "And if it doesn't work out- t-th-there ain't no skin off of our noses." Dis nodded. 'If this works out, this will be very interesting for future development.' She finally got out, but she sounded a bit out of breath. Like she hadn't expected this turn of events at all. [9]
|
|
|
Post by Morgan on Jun 27, 2020 17:58:52 GMT -6
Weeks went by. Repointe were approved. Worginu were in the final stages of development. Morgan was exhausted. They'd finally gotten the cooling engine working for the canisters for the collection of specimens, and the stress tests were still ongoing. Each staff members was given a WATT prototype now for testing, and they were proving incredibly useful. Morgan spent a few hours every couple of days checking over the feedback using their personal encrypted computer, and then finally realized the repercussions of this project. They left their office, locking it, and stepped into Dis' office. Dis looks up from where she was designing a webpage and then saw the serious look on Morgan's face. 'Door, lock.' The voice-automated system responded, and the doors locked. No one would be able to hear through the soundproofing. "Dis, I am going to need a new office." She screwed up her face. Each of the three eyes blinked separately. 'What for? It's in a handy spot, right next to mine-' "That's not it. It's the wuh-WATT project. It would be prudent if the uh, backend of t-that project was... In a more hidden area. For safety concerns." Morgan said, looking a small touch anxious. It was obvious they hadn't slept well the past few days. Dis understood. 'I see... I think it is time you got some use out of the project you'd been developing the land before for, you know?' It was like a lightbulb went off over Morgan's head. "A-and I'll need your expertise to set it up."[10]
|
|
|
Post by Morgan on Jun 27, 2020 18:09:30 GMT -6
A few weeks later, Morgan stepped out of their office. Or rather, their primary office. There was now a small elevator in the back of the room that was used to get to their real office, where most of their equipment for surveillance now was. The elevator stayed locked all the time, and Morgan had the only method of opening it in such a way that the chances of anyone getting in were very slim. Things were safer now.
The Worginu were now in testing stage, and it had been decided that they were to be released with the Repointe. Repointe had been a thesis project of sorts, so they had taken longer. Now that the kinks were worked out of the system, the Worginu were developing much more quickly. That included Morgan's personal project, which was a little ahead of the others. It would be presented to the WELP Corp. Teams this evening, to show off how well the species was coming together.
Tonight. At the first ever WELP function. It was being held in the brand-new Foyer, specifically for parties. Morgan hadn't really thought that they needed one, but now that this one was all tricked out, they felt like perhaps it would raise morale. Everyone was buzzing with excitement enough not to give Morgan fearful looks whenever they passed in the hall. Dis extended her arm out to pat the prototype creature. 'I bet it is nice to be out of the cage, huh little fellow?' She asked it, scratching behind it's ear.
Morgan would have scoffed, but honestly they wanted to get all of this over with anyway. "T-tonight keep your eye out for possible Team members, okay?" Morgan said.
'You really should pick them yourself. You've got a good eye for it.' She said.
Morgan just frowned, but patted the prototype's head anyway. They wished Nico was here. "I gotta go pick up Millicent." They had promised she could come.
[11]
|
|
|
Post by Morgan on Jun 27, 2020 18:30:59 GMT -6
Millicent rode on top of Morgan's shoulder excitedly. 'Wouldn't it be SOO COOL if I had my own mount? Say- when are you going to teach me, anyway?' She asked. It was the latest of a billion and one statements that had turned into questions on the way to the work function. Morgan was wearing a simple black fitted shirt and black slacks, with their father's white labcoat on over that. Millicent, however, had asked for a tux, and what kind of a parent would Morgan be to say no? It was kind of cute anyway. Morgan smiled. "You're nearly ready t-to get a mount Millicent, d-don't worry. Tonight though, I need y-you to remember not to drink random drinks you see laying around." Morgan had been interspersing her questions and answers with lectures the whole way there, and Millicent rolled her eyes. 'I know, I know! I'm really small, and you know I think that stuff is nasty anyway. Besides, everyone knows I'm your kid so they'll respect me, I'm sure of it!' Millicent was as brash as always. Morgan was surprised she wasn't threatening to beat anyone up yet. "Just remember if you can't find me to find D-" 'Find Miss Dis, I know, I know!' She replied, huffily. Morgan chuckled. Dang, was she getting to be a bit of a butt. She was starting to do all of that teenager angst stuff. It was an odd reminder that Morgan wasn't a kid anymore. Wow. I'm the Grownup Now, they thought. That was a sobering thought.
[12]
|
|
|
Post by Morgan on Jun 27, 2020 18:52:39 GMT -6
The music could be heard down the block. Morgan pinched their nose before coming any closer. 'What is it?' Millicent asked. 'Sounds like the party is thumpin'!' She said. Morgan tried not to laugh. "Nothing Millicent, I just r-r-reckon that the Guard is gonna be called tonight with all this noise. I-I told Dis not to let them get too wild while I w-was gone-" Millicent pulled on Morgan's ear at that. 'Hey. Be nice! They just want to have fun. Me too, let's go!' Morgan couldn't help but give her a chuckle, and then keep walking. They didn't like this kind of thing, but Millicent needed to know how to network, so this was that day. "Remember what I've b-been telling you." Morgan reminded her. Before she could complain, Morgan reached out and opened one of the front doors, and then stepped out into the blasting sound. It was honestly stressful, but thankfully most people were too busy doing other stuff to bother them. The human looked around for Dis, and when they didn't immediately find her, stepped out to the bar instead. Millicent was given the go-ahead to go speak to some of the other children, but Morgan kept an eye out for her anyway. She was just so small compared to the human, mammalian, and panite children that made up the most of the group- and she was even smaller than the fae and kapper siblings! Just terrifying.
Morgan is slid a mason jar full of something that glowed suspiciously blue. They downed it and then saw someone sit down in the bar stool next to them.
'She's doing well, huh?' Dis asked, glancing across the room at Millicent.
"I sure hope so."
[13]
|
|
|
Post by Morgan on Jun 27, 2020 19:10:53 GMT -6
Another identical drink was slid down, and Morgan eyed the individual they'd hired to run the bar warily. He gave Morgan a salute and Morgan downed this drink too. Dis looked a little concerned, but didn't ask about it. 'I know she's small, but don't worry about it too much. I'm small too, and I get along just fine.' Morgan shook their head. "Dis, you're a lot taller than she is even. A-a-and you know how people normally treat Harachiu." Dis nodded at that. She asks for a soda. Morgan is more than a little surprised she doesn't drink. 'I'm too old for that mess, you know. Hey, you should get out and talk to some folks.' She reasoned. Morgan sighs, and takes another mason jar with them. This one was different, almost like a galaxy in a bottle with how it shimmered. Dis slides off of the barstool and walks another direction. 'I'm going to check on the prototype. Everyone loves him so far.' Morgan gives a nod, and then finds a good spot to keep an eye on Millicent in, away from the crush of the dance floor. Millicent was sitting on the table where a bunch of the kids were gathered, eating pizza and drinking soda. She was fine. Doing just fine. Morgan was fine too, they decided. After this drink, they'd cut theirself off. Someone walks in from one of the back doors, and walks around the crush of people carefully past the bar, grabbing a drink as they made their way towards Morgan. Oh, okay, one of their scientists was getting a little more confident, huh?
The human recognized them, suddenly. They crossed their arms, still holding their drink in one hand as they leaned up against the wall watching. "W-well, you gonna crash a WELP Corp party now?" The drinks had loosened up their stutter, it would seem.
[14]
|
|
|
Post by Morgan on Jun 27, 2020 19:21:13 GMT -6
Morgan couldn't help but give a wink and a grin. Flirt Autopilot. It was almost unnatural seeming to the few scientists from their teams that had been watching to hopefully get an understanding of what they were like outside of work this evening. 'I wouldn't have to if it weren't the only way to get around you now.' The guy smarted off. Tall, too-tall, lanky. Same body type as Morgan, but at least ten years older. Morgan knew this person, the elder brother of the rabbit mammalian, right? But he wasn't a mammalian of course. No, he and Morgan were quite a bit alike. "What do you want?" Morgan asked, cutting right to the chase. This individual and they had never really made social calls, it was always business. Usually Labs-business. Finding out what happened to my dad business. Morgan thought hazily. 'I want a job.' He said, leaning up against the wall about a foot away from Morgan's shoulder. Too close. Morgan shifted over to make the gap more like two feet. "Go through t-the resource department like everyone else." Morgan snarked back. "No special favors." A beat passes. Some kind of low song starts thumping in the background with a deep thrum. It hurts Morgan's ears but it's obvious that Millicent loves it. 'I need to get out of the Labs, and I think you owe me a bit. Surely you have some kind of a position open?' He says, leaning a bit closer. His soul patch is dangerously close to the top of Morgan's head. His eyes glow that dangerous pink-white that Dis' do when she's angry. Morgan scans the room for Dis, and not seeing her, ignores the slight threat and carefully doesn't answer in kind, keeping their own magic secret. "Janitor suit you?" Morgan quipped. 'Not funny.' He says. 'I think you could afford one more programmer- one with my expertise could be especially useful, after all.'[15]
|
|