Steel Rising

Chapter 25: The trillionaire

"Madam?" Repeated the guard captain, his question to Branch Manager Oldman as Tellius refused to answer the woman yet again.

"Oh, I am..." Debora Oldman hesitated for a moment before she steeled her spine, not really wanting to imagine what could have happened if the notification hadn't arrived in time and she had pushed the cyborg. So, swallowing hard, she ordered the Captain. "... Please stand down. Your services won't be necessary any longer. His identity has been confirmed."

"Whatever you say, boss..." He nodded, and the security guards left just as quickly as they had arrived.

Left alone with Tellius, Manager Oldman looked at him with frightened eyes before her years of bank managing kicked in. "Oh, I am... Yes, your account! Please follow me to my office..."

"Fine..." Tellius agreed while getting ever more annoyed by the second as he followed the woman through a white corridor behind the reception desk. "... But make it quick! I still have things to do before the end of this light cycle."

First the test, then the security guards, and now the branch manager's office, the cyborg was beginning to think that UCSB wasn't happy about his revival.

"Yes, of course!.." Madam Oldman agreed before they stepped into a large, old-school office with wooden paneling and real bookshelves containing printed books. "... It will only take a moment."

That said, the elderly woman walked behind the large wooden desk that dominated the entire office and sat down behind a retro-style console.

Looking up from the monitor, she told him, "Oh, you might want to sit down on the sofa for this. I don't think my chairs can hold people of your weight class, Mr. Warfield."

Wordlessly sitting down in the large, white, two-person sofa, Tellius made it look like an armchair with a small backrest. Silently, he then watched the older woman as she furiously tapped away on her console.

Bored, he began looking around the office, and what caught his eye was a map of the Milky Way Galaxy with all the UCSB branch offices on it, be it planet or space station. Even though only three by three meters in size, the map somehow accurately captured the vastness of space itself.

Yet, like some kind of S-shaped chain, red dots representing the offices cut through the entire galaxy. After all, colonized space could only be found on the two arms known as Scutum-Centaurus and Perseus Arm, respectively, that wrapped the ends of a central bar of stars.

With only the Perseus Arm being the half of the universe that was properly colonized, it had been highly disputed by both the UCG and the Big 5. And so, conquering the Perseus Arm had been humanity's first priority after escaping the confines of the Orion Spur in which Earth was located.

Contrary to the Perseus Arm, the Scutum-Centaurus Arm was left charted and conquered but yet to be properly colonized as entire star systems fell under the direct rule of thieves, rebels, and other forces.

After a few awkward minutes, Debora Oldman eventually made herself noticeable. "It wasn't easy, but I was able to evaluate all your assets and give you an accurate account..."

That said, Tellius was given the option to receive a detailed bank account statement in digital format. Since he wasn't suspecting any viruses from a bank, he immediately accepted it.

[UCSB Statement (Summary)]
[Account Number: 117.4869.777.14]
[Account Holder: Tellius A. Warfield]
[Date Range: 2410 to 2422]

[21.07.2410 | Inheritance | +~34 M. Credits]
[31.12.2413 | Warfield Ind. | +~7 T. Credits]
[01.01.2416 | Shares and Securities Payouts | +~340 M Credits]
[28.04.2422 | Outstanding Fees & Taxes | -38 K. Credits]
[Balance: +7.569.653.999.903,67 Credits]