The next day, Hanna was surprised to see Steve stop by her desk. The middle-aged middle manager usual only came by their office to talk to Rachel. Hanna's eyes were drawn to the hefty folder carried by the sales manager.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpH67Z9jPm
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"Good morning Hanna," Steve greeted her.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXaC0NAtgZF
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"Um, good morning," Hanna said uncertainly. "Can I help you with something?"98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJibmqwo3x
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"This account is yours now," Steve replied bluntly, passing her the folder.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgAyc8u0mm
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Hanna flipped through the paper inside, quickly skimming everything. As she read, her fingers picked up speed. This was good, it was much more interesting than anything she usually got.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYdqmvIETt
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She slowed down as doubt crept into her head. This certainly wasn't something she'd ever expect to be handed to her, let alone handed to her by Steve. He technically wasn't her boss and she wasn't about to argue about this assignment. She didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth but...98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLokUvTXGO
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Hanna glanced up at him in disbelief. "You're giving me this account?" She looked at the paper again, as if to confirm what she was seeing.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4dmLqYaW4
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"Yes. Sarah's instructions," Steve explained.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxt3SrxqhfD
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Hanna blinked at him, not believing what she was hearing. "What? Really?"98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwIFxeUwAeh
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"Yes. Really," Steve answered, mildly amused. "Whatever you did to get on Sarah's good side, keep it up." He went to walk away then doubled back. "Don't mess this up."98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJM8am00lI3
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Hanna nodded enthusiastically in response, watching him walk away before digging back into the papers. She could tell right away that there was going to be a ton of illegal things happening here. She saw something that looked like an illegal tax haven deposit. Page flip. Another probable money laundering operation. Page flip. This company was definitely a front for something, she'd have to dig further into that later.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb7cpzgT3tt
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She lost track of time as she mapped out the complex flows of money in her mind. Finding tiny significant details in the complicated arrangement of bank accounts, assets, companies, transactions and more. The realization that she hadn't had any coffee today finally pulled her out of her daze.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSNMp7ii6r3
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Hanna walked into the break room, eager for that caffeine hit she'd forgotten to get this morning. She noticed Rachel was in there again. It seemed like she was always in here instead of at her desk.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIqiabJUvtP
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"Morning Rachel," Hanna greeted her older coworker as she made a beeline for the coffee pot.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmRlQbWXc1
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"Good morning," Rachel replied in almost a grumble, she wasn't in a good mood.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDlSNETOhSv
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"How's everything?" Hanna asked tentatively, keeping in mind how Rachel had a tendency to talk anyone's ear off.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnLYHK3jj25
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"It's fine." Rachel jumped at the opportunity to gossip, perking up right away. "Did you hear that the merger got fixed? Rumour's going around that somebody in legal had screwed something up with the paperwork."98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe19vrWWWh1
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"I knew it'd all get sorted out in the end," Hanna said, in the process of fixing herself a cup of coffee.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ysVEEvwZw
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"So what are you doing tomorrow?" Rachel asked, eager to keep up the conversation.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYT6SZWvs34
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"Um, work?" Hanna stated in confusion.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQrTNg7Y8Z3
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Rachel laughed. "It's a holiday. Remember? It's the anniversary of the Charax arrival tomorrow."98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZiot1PSdM
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"Right, I'd totally forgotten. I'll do whatever my family is planning." Hanna lied again. Her family would still have their own work to do, she'd probably just lie in bed watching old movies. "It's the fiftieth, isn't it?"98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgJiZZZtNb
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"Yeah, I hear the fireworks are going to be amazing." Rachel took a tiny sip of her coffee.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cJ6Rg9o6v
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"So you're going to watch them?" Hanna enquired politely.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEoKn2JbQIt
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"Yeah, me and... someone else," Rachel answered vaguely.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7RPD11Ljm
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"Anyone special?" Hanna asked curiously.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJ7CqdUbBy
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"Oh, maybe," Rachel mumbled. "Enjoy the holiday," she said quickly as she exited the break room, suddenly in a hurry.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOg0JY1Uwpp
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"You too," Hanna called out to her with a smirk, already guessing who this mystery person was. She turned her attention back to her goal here, coffee.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxnddgKXECX
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With all the excitement of Kayla's return, she'd completely forgotten about the holiday tomorrow. Hanna started stirring copious amounts of sugar into her coffee absentmindedly. She'd always liked Arrival Day, the holiday to celebrate when aliens first arrived on Earth, that's what people said anyways. She always found that amusing because, in reality, Terrans discovered on that day that were the aliens. Earth may have been their home for tens of thousands of years, but it wasn't their original home.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDv3Gf7FyJ
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Hanna hadn't been around for any of that, but like every Terran child, she had heard the story over and over again. When the first Charax stepped off the ship, appearing to be an ordinary human, it caused confusion across the world. People called it a hoax immediately but Terran scientists eventually confirmed their story by verifying their shared genetic history.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrdBDjTYZJS
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The leading theory was that one of their early lost colony ships had happened to end up here and the Terran people were the descendants of the original survivors. While the Terrans were working out how to build roads and temples, the Charax were out colonizing the galaxy. The first ship had come from their closest colony planet, Manina, one of many inhabited worlds in the Charax Empire.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCLbggxipn
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Humanity had already conquered the stars, just not in the way Earth had planned. The revelation rocked the planet. Despite the Terrans' fear and apprehension, they were anxious to learn everything about their new visitors.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXIjooX6kjZ
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The Charax considered the Terrans like long lost cousins and established communication and travel between Earth and Manina. They shared their culture and history but not weapons or technology. It was clear the Charax regarded Terrans as young, immature cousins that should not be trusted with anything they considered remotely dangerous. Hanna agreed it was probably a wise decision at the time, considering what happened afterwards.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXI17ZLREg
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The Charax changed their stance on sharing technology when they learned about Earth's climate change crisis. They claimed it was irreversible with Terran technology and offered to step in, to build the necessary facilities with Charax technology to restore the planet's ecosystem.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8qo0Dk2zyV
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For years, people debated if the planet should accept. Governments couldn't come to any agreement on the subject. Many people believed the Charax might be interested in terraforming the planet only to invade it later. This was the push the Earth's governments finally needed to create a single unified organization to represent the entire planet. Which continued to debate and argue as the situation deteriorated. Water levels rose, hurricanes killed as the debate raged on. Earth eventually had no choice but to accept Manina's help.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccojU9r1r1
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Manina sent a ship of supplies and a team with the necessary skills to Earth. Although the majority of Terrans were grateful to Manina, there were still many human factions that opposed Earth's new allies. Construction sites were bombed, transports were attacked and Charax citizens were assassinated in attempts to stop the implementation of the climate control systems. At the same time, other people were greedy. Other groups kidnapped people on the team, trying to extract information from them, or stole key pieces of technology needed to complete the project.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVXWspMc00o
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After these events, Terrans were angry and Manina was outraged. They threatened to cut off their aid entirely. In response, Earth promised the safety of their citizens and took increased security measures, including protecting their identities. Earth's government helped the Charax blend in with the general population.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbIT5rGw4G
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Eventually, the facilities were built and once people started to see the results, opposition vanished. The official story was that all Charax who had come to Earth for the project left afterwards. There were still some official representatives from Manina on Earth, with their own protection details. Earth has been in engaged diplomatic talks with Manina ever since but their progress has been nonexistent. Manina has stood firm on their position not to share any additional Charax technology.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZSVf1Ee3j
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The technology... Hanna had only heard stories but it all sounded amazing. Forget the space ships, the Charax could blow up planets, cure cancer, extend the human lifespan and more. She understood why people were so eager to get their hands on anything Charax. Although, it was probably best that the Terrans couldn't blow up any planets. They'd probably start with their own.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTYMCFw6TRb
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Hanna realized the sugar in her coffee had dissolved a long time ago and she was simply stirring the mug aimlessly out of procrastination. She dropped the spoon in the sink with a clang before heading back to her desk, thinking about what movie she wanted to start with tomorrow. Maybe 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' or 'Men In Black'? She frowned inwardly, she clearly had aliens on the brain if those were the first two things that came to mind.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2VkQqljVw
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I wonder what Ethan's doing, she thought, I could find out. It wouldn't be too difficult... She shook her head. No, that's too far. Following him outside of work would be too creepy. She sighed and sat down at her desk, getting back to her work.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUIwQ0u7HPo
Penana
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