Cheerful-Shrimp

Dress:

@fred-erick-frankenstein I have to tag this because Tumblr still hasn't shown it to you 😡

The plot revolves around the "modern East India Company"—the East India Group (or EIG). It's a London-registered holding company with offices in Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Nassau. The company strives to combine the traditions of British commercial spirit with 21st-century innovation, hence the name, a nod to the largest trading company of the past.

Its main areas of activity are:

• Maritime logistics and port operators (EIG Ports & Terminals).

• Private maritime security (EIG Maritime Security)

An accredited private military company that provides "security consultations" on trade routes. In reality, they are modern-day privateers. Hundreds of armed "specialists" aboard vessels in high-risk zones. The official purpose of this division is to combat piracy.

• Deep-sea resources (EIG Subsea Resources)

Offshore oil, gas, and rare earth metal production. Licenses obtained in jurisdictions with relatively flexible environmental and labor regulations. The company actively operates in waters where government oversight is relaxed.

There's also a "Special Projects Department" (a non-public division). It handles matters not publicly reported: "sensitive" pressure on officials, acquiring compromising information, and "negotiations" with inconvenient competitors. It works through contractors and never reveals its direct connection to EIG.

The company's official goals are to ensure free trade, bring stability to regions where the state is failing, and create new jobs and infrastructure. But the reality is far from rosy. Many top managers sincerely believe they are the only ones capable of managing the complexity of the modern world. Governments are ineffective, democracy is slow, pirates and terrorists are a threat to civilization. EIG is "order."

Publicly, EIG is owned by investors. Real control rests with a small circle of people. Enter Cutler Beckett, one of the main characters in this AU.

In this AU, Beckett is the same ruthless businessman as in canon. An aristocratic upbringing, peculiar habits, and a desire to control everything and everyone—all of this characterizes him.

Beckett is about 42, but he looks a little younger. He took over as CEO of EIG about seven years ago. He's a natural leader and has certainly had a positive impact on the company's affairs.

The second main character is a modern-day version of Ian Mercer. He's the director of EIG's "Special Projects Division" (that same non-public division). Officially, he's in charge of corporate security and risk management. In reality, things are quite different: he's Beckett's primary enforcer where the law becomes inconvenient. He used to be a secretary. I think he's about 51 now.

Mercer met Beckett about 13 years ago. He first worked for him as an outside contractor, then was hired by EIG and hasn't changed employers since. Mercer serves neither out of fear nor for money (he has plenty of it). He serves because Beckett is the only person whose worldview Mercer accepts. For Mercer, the world is chaos that needs to be tamed and controlled. Beckett offers order. Beckett doesn't vocally approve of Mercer's methods, but he doesn't forbid them either, as long as the results are achieved. They have a kind of perfect symbiosis. Mercer is the only person at EIG who can speak to Beckett without regard for subordination. Not because he's rude or overly familiar—he simply doesn't need to demonstrate his status. They both understand that Beckett needs Mercer, and Mercer needs Beckett.

I know, it's very short, but that's the whole point. I really needed this alternate universe to draw Beckett in a beautiful classic suit. So what? 🙄