"Go ahead." Jessie replied.
"First if Stacey is coming she needs to stay by my side the entire time, I'm still contracted to protect her and she is my number priority." Adam said, making Stacey blush slightly which caused Susan to giggle at her friend.
"Second my fee is two k if nothing happens and five if it kicks off."
"Both are agreeable." Jessie replied.
"Finally if I'm putting mine and Stacey's lives on the line I want to know what that cargo is."
At this Jessie and Joe frowned before Jessie went into deep thought for a few minutes before finally saying, "Fine."
After speaking Jessie approached her desk and bent down behind it as if she was fiddling with something.
After a few moments she straightened up with the case Stacey had been transporting previously before she placed it on the desk and opened it.
"Here." She said after opening and took a step back.
Adam, Stacey and Susan who had stood up from the couch all approached the desk and looked inside the case to find what appeared to Adam to be like a singular vial like test tube from back when he had science class in school, however this test tube was rounded at both ends and perfectly sealed.
The test tube was the only thing in the case except for some soft material that it lay on to keep it safe.
Within the tube was what appeared to be a gas of some kind that looked like those nebulas Adam had seen in pictures as the different colours swirled around each other and every now and then you could make out strange black spots that appeared before they vanished.
"Is that what I think it is?" Susan asked in shock as Stacey stared wide eyed at the vial in the case. Adam however was distracted by something else as Spector had just sent a notification to his HUD.
[[*NOTICE*]]
[[Dark Matter Detected.]]
[[This is one of the necessary components needed for the prototype experimental drive system to function.]]
"Is this Dark Matter?" Stacey asked after getting over her surprise.
"It is." Jessie confirmed in a serious tone.
"No wonder you want to sell it off so badly, this really is a hot potato the size of a planet." Susan commented.
"Would someone please explain what this dark matter is?" Adam asked.
"I guess your people have not encountered it before." Stacey said.
"The people of my world have theorised about its existence, however it has yet to be proven." Adam responded.
"Well I don't know what they theorised but dark matter definitely exists and it is one of the most valuable substances in existence, not because everyone wants it but because of the difficulty of obtaining it which is funny because it exists everywhere." Susan began to explain.
"Dark matter itself is really only sought after by those connected to scientific research and development as it is believed the substance itself has massive potential."
"Dark matter is the lifeblood of the universe after all. It essentially serves as gravitational scaffolding for cosmic structures. Or to put it another way it is what everything in the universe from us in this room to that desk to this solar system's sun are made up off at the very base level."
"It is one of the first things to ever exist after the universe came into existence."
"The issue as I said however is the difficulty to acquire any of it. Even though everything in existence is made up of it, it is almost impossible to harvest any of it because to do so would mean breaking down whatever you're extracting the dark matter from and as of yet no one has found a way to succeed in doing so."
"Then how is it gathered?" Adam asked curiously as he looked at the vial of swirling gas.
"By using a white hole." Susan replied.
"What!" Adam asked in surprise as he looked up at her.
"The only known way to harvest dark matter is to gather it the moment a white hole comes into existence and emits it. Any later and the dark matter will vanish into the universe at speeds far greater than what we are capable of traveling before it starts forming into something.
"White holes are the polar opposite of black holes. While black holes suck everything into them including light, white holes eject out of them energy, matter and light. They are impossible to enter from what we can tell as nothing is able to cross the event horizon, however it is possible to gather miniscule amounts of dark matter the moment a white hole forms and they are released from it."
"The first issue however lies in finding a white hole that has yet to come into existence, also unlike their polar opposite the black hole, they are not common. One of the few ways is to discover a region of space that has the signs of an emerging white hole, you would then set up hundreds of thousands or even millions of probes to gather the dark matter as soon as the white hole forms."
"Another issue is that after the white hole forms it's gravitational forces are as strong as a black hole but in reverse, anything existing in that region of space after it forms is flung away at speeds far greater than the speed of light including the deployed probes.
Over ninety-nine percent of the probes deployed to gather the dark matter are destroyed which is another reason why it is so rare."
"Damn I see what you mean." Adam replied in wonder.
"You know you can't keep this if the deal goes tits up Jessie, you know that right?" Stacey asked with concern.
"Why not? I know you said it's valuable, but only to those connected to scientific research and development." Adam asked.
"Because of who backs and funds those conducting the scientific research and development." Stacey replied before continuing. "Governments, planetary leaders, mega corps, hell even galactic senates. They all see and understand the potential dark matter could bring in the advancement of technology and with it the potential to make credits. Races and planets have been known to go to war over a vial of dark matter like this."
Adam let out a low whistle before turning to Jessie and asking, "So what do you plan to do with it if the deal goes south?"
"No idea." Jessie said with a sigh before adding, "I guess I will have to make a loss and give it away or something, it's too hot to keep hold off after all."
"How about I buy it off you if the deal goes south? obviously I won't be paying the same price however." Adam asked as everyone looked at him in surprise.
"What could you possibly do with it?" Jessie asked before continuing. "While they see great potential in dark matter no one has actually found a way to harness or use it yet…. At least not that I know off."
"She's right and you will just be painting a target on your back." Susan added.
"Only if they know I have it and the only ones who know would be the people in this room, as for my use don't worry about it, just know I have my reasons for wanting it."
"Ok, how much are you offering to buy it for?" Jessie asked curiously.
"Jessie." Stacey said.
"What? I'm not gonna pass up an opportunity to get credits for it if he's offering, business is business Stacie even if he is your friend." Jessie replied.
"I'm assuming you purchased it off someone, so I will give you five percent above what you paid for the dark matter and Stacey to transport it." Adam offered.
"That's a lot less than what I pitched to the mega corp but I can't look a gift horse in the mouth, do you have the credits? It's not a small amount." Jessie replied.
"How about I don't charge you for being your backup and then we forget about the five percent I get from our new business venture until my debt is paid." Adam suggested.
Jessie tapped her chin for a while thinking it over before nodding and saying, "Deal. If the meet with the mega corp goes south it's yours. But don't try to fuck things up got it?"
"Understood." Adam agreed before they shook hands.
"Good, if it goes south we will work out a proper contract after the meet."
"Fine by me, but why did you charge them so much in the first place if you're that desperate to get rid of it?"
"Because I made them believe I have other interested parties and that if they choose not to buy it one of their competitors would. The last thing these corpos want is their competitors gaining an advantage over them."
"Well with that settled how about we plan our strategy for the meet." Adam suggested.