Strip 973 -- First Seen: 2012-06-08
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The Transcript For This Page

Panel 1
Marsha's office, at the Vesta Council's suite in the Pumpkin Center offices. Marsha is at her desk, reading something on her desktop holoscreen, when her adjutant (a female Mascon) enters, looking a bit frantic.
Mascon 6: Marsha! It's the protesters! They --
Marsha: {Sigh} Yeah, yeah, that handful of malcontents complaining because the power companies raised their rates. Our security team can handle them.
Panel 2
Two-shot of Marsha and her adjutant.
Adjutant: It's not about the power companies, it's about us!
Adjutant: Remember last evening's meeting, when we discovered there are hundreds of unregulated mini-nukes on Vesta?

Panel 3
Medium shot of the adjutant, relating the story.
Marsha: Yeah, can you imagine? We found out just in time to avert disaster.
Adjutant: So, we ordered them all to undergo inspection and testing, at a cost of 20 gold-grams each ...
Marsha (OP): I was there, Evelyn. What's your point?

Panel 4
Two-shot of Marsha and the adjutant which includes a view of Marsha's desktop. She is touching a key on ther keyboard.
Adjutant: Uh, take a look at the front-door security-cam.

Panel 5
Looking over Marsha's shoulder at her holoscreen, which shows HUNDREDS of angry, chanting locals. We can also just barely see the adjutant in the frame.
Marsha: JEZUS CHRIST!
Adjutant: Shall I call for backup?
Panel 6
Marsha resting her head on her fingertips, elbows on desk, looking tired but not defeated. The adjutant looks on.
Marsha: Yeah-yeah, call Wang Security, get 'em over here.
Marsha: This business has really gone off the rails. We need a strategy.
Panel 7
Wide panel, showing the crowd of enraged protesters pressing against a phalanx of uniformed security men (most of them Chinese) who have positioned themselves in front of the Council suite doors. In the far right of the panel, we get a medium close-up of Sanderige Kasteel, wearing a headset, doing a live broadcast (we don't see a cameraman, Kasteel is facing the reader, with a sardonic expression.
Kasteel: I guess this is Pumpkin Center's first authentic Chinese fire drill.