THE MOMENT
Rita stopped pouring and the coffee shop went quiet. It was a sudden hush as if everyone simultaneously realized the significance of the moment. An unfamiliar, nearly un-human face appeared on every screen with a stern scowl. The figure was still humanoid and not entirely alien; sickly green skin with pointed ears and glowing blue eyes. He spoke with a deep, masculine voice that continued to echo after his words.
"People of Earth, Rejoice!" he said with absolutely no emotion. "You are being integrated into the Galactic Empire. Very shortly, our delegation will arrive to speak to your leaders...," The figure continued to explain their plan; but, life resumed in the coffee shop. Light chuckles filled the air as everyone across the world shook their head in collective amusement. Rita continued refilling the togo cup, and shared a knowing laugh with her customer.
"Does any of this have to do with you?" she asked. She'd never met the woman she was serving coffee to. They'd already had a small chat in the time the woman had been there and she learned the stranger was named Victoria and worked for Sharp Development.
"Not strictly," Victoria shook her head. "And, I don't feel like dealing with it; but, I did notify someone already," she said.
"I almost feel bad for them," Rita giggled. "An announcement like that doesn't just get made off the cuff. I'm sure a lot of preparation and planning went into the speech and everything they expected to happen after."
"Don't feel too bad," Victoria reminded her with her own laugh. "They were trying to subjugate this Earth, probably."
"Do you think they succeeded anywhere else?" Rita asked. It was a relatively slow afternoon in the cafe, and there wasn't much else to do. There wasn't anything exciting happening, and she enjoyed chatting. It often resulted in a good tip; Sharp Development employees were known to be generous.
"Maybe?" Victoria shrugged. "We'll definitely check on it," she said. They hadn't noticed when the green-skinned representative disappeared from all the screens; they'd stopped paying attention early on. But, he quickly appeared again, this time with more emotion; he looked notably worried and apologetic.
"People of Earth, I'm sorry. I don't represent a Galactic Empire, and there is no such thing. I was unaware that this Earth is owned by Sharp Development, and I am completely withdrawing everything I said, and I will never bother this Earth again. Thank you for understanding, and I'm sorry again," he gave an awkward, half-hearted wave, and then all the screens returned to normal.
"Looks like this was going to be his first conquest," Victoria read some messages on her node and relayed it to Rita.
"Of all the luck," Rita laughed some more. "The first stop is an Earth owned by the largest multiversal corporation in existence." It was partially how she truly felt, and partially playing to her audience.
"It's not that unlikely," Victoria replied as she gave Rita a small golden cube; it was a large tip. "We do own hundreds of billions of Earths."