"They killed it Cathy, they killed it!"
Cathy looked up from her desk where she was working on a number of administrative issues of Jenga as Jerry stormed into her room. She sighed and deactivated her display.
"Okay Jerry, calm down and take a seat, I think I know what you are talking about."
Jerry blinked in surprise.
"You already know? We got the formal 'not interested, maybe another time' email just 10 minutes ago!"
"Yes, I know... as you know I have to handle a lot of administrative parts of our community, which means I am on the 'need to know' list of every major project that we negotiate with an external party. Of course I know. But now SIT DOWN and don't get yourself in a tizzy."
"Easier said than done, this is really a punch in the gut" Jerry complained but sat down. "You have read their email, but do you want to know what I heard from a friend closer to the decision committee? They say our proposal was unrealistic anyways, not enough proven hardware."
Cathy looked first surprised, then a bit unhappy.
"Yes, I can see where this attitude is coming from" she finally said. "How reliable is your source and how strong do you think is this oppinion within GJ?"
"I have no clue Cathy, I have no clue... but it fits the feeling I got with this. We lost to a stupid Cessna, not even a real spacefighter. Do you think we ever had a chance to get this contract?"
"So its a rumor... don't get too excited about it, most likely it is just that, a rumor. I think we had a real good chance, but we were not good enough to overcome the fact that BA already delivered a lot of reliable military hardware. Maybe next time."
"I am not convinced that it is worth the effort to try. The variety of military hardware GJ needs is really low, if they look that much for 'known reliable stuff'. Its a self-fulfilling prophecy."
Cathy rolled her eyes... 'Herding cats again, as always' she thought.
"I just hope Jenny does not overreact too much, she has put a lot of heart and effort into her baby, I don't think she will let it just drop" Jerry said quietly. "I have already sent a warning to the Labs that they help Jenny to get over it. Luckily the Labs are far enough away that she cannot just post her plans on somewhere on the interwave in a flash of anger."
Cathy tail was twitching as she thought about the effect if the complete plans for the GJ fighter proposal would end on the interwave. There were quite a few parties who would take them, many of them not friendly with the Fen.
"You still trade unfiltered skillsoft with her from time to time, that is why you are so angry about this, right?" Cathy asked carefully. "I remember you know very well that this is not a safe thing."
"Spare me your comments, I wrote down most of the safety rules for Mindtech myself. But Jenny and me are different and it works very well for us. We are coming from the same base template and we have keeping each other roughly in sync over the years" Jerry hissed. "Think about it as a backup solution. I would guess I could take over most of her research project with just a year of working on her notes to learn the details... not that anyone else would understand our notes that well."
Cathy shrugged, no use to beat this bush any longer.
"Just inform me if something happens and you need some advice, help or damage control."
"I will Cathy, I promise."
###############
Yes, some cats are not happy with this GJ decision, so I plan to post a bit more what is happening at CI afterwards.
Cathy looked up from her desk where she was working on a number of administrative issues of Jenga as Jerry stormed into her room. She sighed and deactivated her display.
"Okay Jerry, calm down and take a seat, I think I know what you are talking about."
Jerry blinked in surprise.
"You already know? We got the formal 'not interested, maybe another time' email just 10 minutes ago!"
"Yes, I know... as you know I have to handle a lot of administrative parts of our community, which means I am on the 'need to know' list of every major project that we negotiate with an external party. Of course I know. But now SIT DOWN and don't get yourself in a tizzy."
"Easier said than done, this is really a punch in the gut" Jerry complained but sat down. "You have read their email, but do you want to know what I heard from a friend closer to the decision committee? They say our proposal was unrealistic anyways, not enough proven hardware."
Cathy looked first surprised, then a bit unhappy.
"Yes, I can see where this attitude is coming from" she finally said. "How reliable is your source and how strong do you think is this oppinion within GJ?"
"I have no clue Cathy, I have no clue... but it fits the feeling I got with this. We lost to a stupid Cessna, not even a real spacefighter. Do you think we ever had a chance to get this contract?"
"So its a rumor... don't get too excited about it, most likely it is just that, a rumor. I think we had a real good chance, but we were not good enough to overcome the fact that BA already delivered a lot of reliable military hardware. Maybe next time."
"I am not convinced that it is worth the effort to try. The variety of military hardware GJ needs is really low, if they look that much for 'known reliable stuff'. Its a self-fulfilling prophecy."
Cathy rolled her eyes... 'Herding cats again, as always' she thought.
"I just hope Jenny does not overreact too much, she has put a lot of heart and effort into her baby, I don't think she will let it just drop" Jerry said quietly. "I have already sent a warning to the Labs that they help Jenny to get over it. Luckily the Labs are far enough away that she cannot just post her plans on somewhere on the interwave in a flash of anger."
Cathy tail was twitching as she thought about the effect if the complete plans for the GJ fighter proposal would end on the interwave. There were quite a few parties who would take them, many of them not friendly with the Fen.
"You still trade unfiltered skillsoft with her from time to time, that is why you are so angry about this, right?" Cathy asked carefully. "I remember you know very well that this is not a safe thing."
"Spare me your comments, I wrote down most of the safety rules for Mindtech myself. But Jenny and me are different and it works very well for us. We are coming from the same base template and we have keeping each other roughly in sync over the years" Jerry hissed. "Think about it as a backup solution. I would guess I could take over most of her research project with just a year of working on her notes to learn the details... not that anyone else would understand our notes that well."
Cathy shrugged, no use to beat this bush any longer.
"Just inform me if something happens and you need some advice, help or damage control."
"I will Cathy, I promise."
###############
Yes, some cats are not happy with this GJ decision, so I plan to post a bit more what is happening at CI afterwards.