Dividing the spoils of the reception plan, a soft exile through off-site work
The door to Zero Conference Room closed behind Lynn, temporarily sealing a storm that was about to erupt in the frozen air.
He didn't turn around.
Back in the Director's Office in the White Bone Hall, Lynn unbuttoned the top button of his collar. He hadn't felt any warmth on the conference table, but now a fine layer of sweat clung to his back, making it feel slightly cold.
He walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window and looked at the constant gray Sky Dome in the Negative Zone, composed of countless Data Stream.
Forcibly binding three already hostile departments together with a new business opportunity is only the first step. Without physical separation, this so-called "Special Task Force" will only become a new and even more brutal platform for struggle.
Lynn returned to the table and pressed the Internal Communicator.
"Director Gwen Stacy, please come to my office."
Less than a minute later, there was a gentle knock on the office door. Gwen Stacy walked in, holding a meeting minutes notebook, her expression still professional and serious, but a trace of worry lingered between her brows.
"Director."
"Sit down." Lynn gestured to the chair opposite her.
He didn't waste any time with pleasantries and went straight to the point.
"Regarding the newly established 'Cross-departmental Special Task Force for Receiving Abandoned Timeline,' a detailed implementation plan needs to be drafted immediately. It needs to be quick and thorough."
Gwen Stacy nodded, opened the Data Pad, and prepared to record.
"The core of the plan is the division of responsibilities and the assignment of duties to specific individuals." Lynn's fingertips tapped lightly on the table, as if deciding the placement of each crucial piece in a game of chess. "We must ensure that each department has a clear function, does not interfere with each other, but also cooperates with each other."
"First, the Technology Integration Department."
"My primary responsibility is to break the Dimension barrier of 'XN-734,' the first Abandoned Timeline handed over by TVA, and to conduct preliminary exploration, modeling, and assessment of the energy environment within the barrier."
"To ensure the absolute safety and confidentiality of the technical research, I approve the establishment of a special technical research team at the Delta-1 Forward Observation Station, the closest to XN-734. Minister Wanda will personally lead the team, which will immediately be stationed there and fully responsible for the formulation and implementation of the technical solutions."
Gwen Stacy's fingers paused slightly as she wrote.
Delta-1 Observatory is one of the most remote and isolated technical nodes of the Management Committee, specifically designed for handling high-energy experiments. It is a considerable jump distance from the Negative Zone Headquarters. Sending Wanda there is tantamount to sending her to a technologically isolated island.
"Second, the Stability Maintenance Office." Lynn's voice didn't pause.
"The primary responsibility is to conduct the first phase of Armed Clearance of the 'XN-734' Timeline after the Department of Technology completes the breach of the barrier, eliminating all potential hostile targets and establishing a bridgehead and basic security zone."
"The Fleet the Stability Maintenance Office will immediately move strategically forward to the ' Erebus-2 ' forward assembly point. Director Hela will personally command the operation and formulate a detailed armed takeover Contingency Plan."
Erebus-2 is the largest military base of the Stability Maintenance Office in the outer star system. It is located in two completely different coordinate quadrants from the Delta-1 Observatory, separated by several unstable energy turbulence zones.
Gwen Stacy's eyes flickered; she had completely understood Lynn's intentions.
One was responsible for technical unlocking, the other for military deployment. The two tasks were sequential in time, but completely isolated in space. Before the barrier was broken, Wanda and Hela couldn't even find any reason to meet.
"Third, the Internal Affairs Inspection Office."
"The primary responsibility is to conduct a comprehensive and thorough audit of all relevant departmental budgets, resource allocation, energy consumption, and project expenditures after the establishment of the Special Task Force."
"Acting Director Natasha, you will personally draft the most stringent audit guidelines. The audit work must go deep into the front lines. Your office location will not be fixed." Lynn's lips curled into an almost imperceptible smile. "Depending on the actual needs of the audit work, you will personally travel between the Delta-1 Observatory and the Erebus-2 assembly point."
Gwen Stacy's pen tip made a soft sound as it traced lines on the Data Pad.
This move was a decisive blow. Natasha wanted to check the accounts and establish her authority, fine. But she had to personally go to two distant frontline locations to verify the mountains of technical consumables lists and military logistics reports. This arduous, almost endless paperwork was enough to exhaust all her energy.
More importantly, she will be forced to shuttle between Wanda's and Hela's territories. Neither side will treat her well. It's easy to imagine how difficult it will be to find problems in the accounts right under their noses.
"Finally, the Liaison Office," Lynn said, looking at Gwen Stacy, "You'll be in charge of overall coordination. All departmental progress reports and resource requests will be compiled and submitted to you. After you've organized them, you'll report back to me. Without my authorization, no department may conduct direct cross-departmental communication."
This is equivalent to adding another firewall, personally controlled by Gwen Stacy, between the three departments.
"Director..." Gwen Stacy put down her pen, looked at Lynn, and said with a complex expression in her eyes, "This plan is very comprehensive."
She only said "thorough," not "brilliant," nor "ruthless." But those two words contained all the subtext.
Using the most legitimate work-related reasons and the most demanding KPI targets, three potential powder kegs that could ignite headquarters at any moment were "softly exiled" to three different remote front lines without bloodshed.
There was no blame, no punishment, and they were even given unprecedented autonomy and massive resources.
But the result was a radical physical isolation.
"The plan will be developed into a formal official Red-Headed Document immediately, based on this framework, and distributed to all departments. The requirement is that all relevant personnel, Fleet, and equipment must depart port within one hour to begin execution." Lynn's tone left no room for argument.
"Yes." Gwen Stacy stood up, nodded solemnly, and turned to leave quickly.
Lynn was the only one left in the office.
He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and let out a long breath.
Suppressing internal conflicts with heavy workloads is merely a temporary measure. He knows very well that none of these three women are easy to deal with. Once they complete their respective tasks and return to headquarters, the next outburst will only be more intense.
He needs time.
He must find a way to completely solve the problem before they return, or possess the power to overcome all problems.
The screen on the table flickered, displaying an emergency notice that Gwen Stacy issued regarding the establishment of a "Cross-departmental Special Task Force for Receiving Abandoned Timeline" and the commencement of the first phase of work.
The document was distributed in less than ten minutes.
The flagship "Nibelung" of the Stability Maintenance Office was the first to leave its home port. Its massive hull silently glided into deep space, its engines spewing out eerie blue flames as it made a space jump toward the Erebus-2 assembly point.
Following that, several research vessels from the Department of Technology, carrying Wanda and her core technical team, sailed toward the Delta-1 Observatory.
Natasha acted the fastest, taking only a small audit team and departing on a high-speed assault ship five minutes after the documents were issued. Her first destination was the logistics supply center of the Stability Maintenance Office.
As the three dots representing the highest threat levels on the screen gradually moved away in different directions, the stagnant atmosphere in Lynn's office, which seemed ready to explode at any moment, finally dissipated.
He could finally catch his breath a little.
However, this calm did not last long.
About two hours later, just as Lynn was reviewing the preliminary mobilization reports submitted by various departments, an encrypted emergency communication request bypassed the Liaison Office and went directly to his Personal Terminal.
The communication source is from the Delta-1 Observatory.
Lynn frowned slightly and answered the call.
The person appearing on the screen was not Wanda, but a technical supervisor who looked nervous and was wearing the uniform of a senior researcher from the Department of Technology.
"Director!" The other person's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement and confusion, "We... we've made a major discovery!"
Lynn sat up straight, gesturing for him to continue.
"As per your instructions, we conducted the first round of high-frequency energy penetration scanning of the Dimension barrier of the 'XN-734' Timeline..." The technical director swallowed hard, seemingly organizing his thoughts.
"During the infiltration, we unexpectedly intercepted a... signal."
"It's not any communication protocol we know of; it has no carrier wave, no encryption format. It's more like... a kind of Psychic Fluctuation that acts directly on the conceptual level."
The technical lead projected a visualized data model onto Lynn's screen. It was a constantly changing, exceptionally complex Chaos light and shadow, with a faint but extremely stable source of fluctuation at its core.
"We attempted to decipher it, but failed. However, based on the inverse emotional spectrum analysis of energy fluctuations..."
The technical lead took a deep breath and spoke in an almost dreamlike tone.
"Director, this sounds like an ancient distress signal that has been trapped for countless years."