A Cerulean Proposition

[AMCO]

​

Hands clasped behind his back, Adrian looked out the wide transparisteel window at the skyline of Carannia, Serenno's Capital. The sight of it always pleased him. The sleek skyscrapers with their traditionally Serennian smooth curves, surrounded by wide open spaces. It was all quite unlike the crowded and disorganised cities that riddled the galaxy.

His office's sleek design was minimalistic to the extreme. The smooth white walls were unadorned, the room dominated by a sleek white desk with a comfortable black chair behind it, the only other noteworthy objects being two pedestals in the corners flanking it, one holding an antique Serennian vase behind a pane of transparisteel, the other holding a basalt statuette of a robed Sith. In truth he spent very little time in his office, spending most of his time on his duties as a Acolyte and in the Sith Academy on Bastion. He would be returning to Bastion soon enough, but first, he had some business to attend to.

As if on cue, a slight beep sounded from his desk. Turning slowly and then sitting down in the Corellian leather chair, he made a slight gesture above the hidden sensors, activating the holoprojector integrated into the desk. "Sir, the representative from APEX Technologies has arrived." Nodding to the image of his assistant, her purple-trimmed white uniform immaculate, as always, he spoke. "Excellent. Have her sent to my office promptly." Shutting off the holocall, he leaned back in the chair, thinking over his strategy for the encounter ahead.

In truth, he admired the Chiss. Their ingenuity. Their innovativeness. Their orderly society. It would be a tough negotiation, most likely, but it always was when dealing with a worthy individual. The deal they reached today would preferably be mutually beneficial, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be kinks to deal with. Disagreements to resolve. It would be interesting to see who got their will, it always was.

In front of him, the door opened smoothly as a sharply dressed attendant entered, flanked on both sides by the pair of black-clad security officers that always guarded his door, bowing respectfully before leaving a bottle of fine Serennian wine and two crystal glasses on the desk. Another chair, similar to his own, had already been placed on the other side of his desk. He had chosen to wear a fine Serannian garb for his dealings today, as opposed to his usual Sith robes, though he had gone for a colour palette of black with red trimming.

Soon the representative would join him and pleasantries would be exchanged. He would be as cheerful as he always was, as polite as his partly Serennian upbringing dictated, and as purpose-oriented as any Sith. He would rise and offer her a seat, dismiss her grey-clad security escort, and then the negotiations would begin.


[member="Brae"]

 

[Myra]

Brae, as all Chiss, had very little respect for Force users and she certainly did not fear them like so many of the people cowering in their homes from the powerful in the galaxy. So she did not plan to treat this Sith any different than she would one of her own people, and so when she entered his office, she waited for the guards to leave simply looking him over, appraising him as she would appraise one of her own officers or a foreign diplomat. Her bright almost luminescent eyes watch him for any sign of weakness as she takes several steps forwards and gives a stiff half-bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Adrian Vandiir."

She straightens up before taking a few more steps before sliding into the chair across from him, her legs crossing and her hands in her lap, professional. She shows little emotion, straight-faced and ready for business "I'm pleased that you made time, I am sure you're very busy?" she's heard that small talk is apparently needed yet it's clear she isn't enjoying it.

[member="Adrian Vandiir"]

 

[AMCO]

As the Chiss entered his office, he nodded slightly to the two security officers escorting her, causing them to spin on their heels and leave promptly. Returning her penetrating gaze with a cheerful smile, he responded to her slight bow with a friendly nod, hands pushing outward, palm up, in a friendly gesture. "Likewise, Brae. I assume it's all right if I call you by your core name?" That ought to surprise, he thought. Not many were aware of Chiss naming customs. In truth, he had fostered an interest in her people and their exotic technology for quite a while.

As she slid into the chair across from him, he maintained his cheerful attitude in the face of her all but emotionless one. She was not one for small talk, that was for sure, even if she did a good enough job of at it. He had enough social acumen to sense when another party was uninterested. No matter. He had always found such talk dull himself, preferring to focus on the important subjects. The interesting subjects. "I am indeed quite busy. Then again, aren't we all?" Smiling wryly, he continued. "But something tells me we would both rather get down to business. I'm sure we both have proposals to present and interests to maintain, so let us get started. Since you were the one who requested this meeting, it is only fair that I let you begin, but first, a glass of wine? It's an opulent Serennian red and an excellent vintage at that, I dare say."

[member="Brae"]
(OOC: I know absolutely nothing about wine. It seemed suitable for a meeting on Serenno though.)

 

[Myra]

Brae finds herself internally relieved that she doesn't have to participate in such trivialities as small talk, simply relaxing in her chair and looking around his office curiously. After she's made her usual expectation she gently takes the wine between her fingers, brings it to her lips, and tastes the red liquid, putting it down a second later seeming satisfied. "I will not stop you from calling me such a name." She had long grown used to being called Brae since her life had not been spent in the Ascendancy for long, in fact, she had to grow used to her full name upon finally immigrating to Csilla again. However, she was not here to reminisce on long-forgotten matters.

"To be frank, APEX is looking for investors. Those willing to put some money forwards in return for the promise of a future reward.. that reward possibly coming within a week or two time depending on what they'll take as payment." Her tone certainly didn't give it away but she despised those words as they left her mouth, they felt like begging, and for her to be taking matters into her own hands like this for APEX and ultimately for the Ascendancy was slowly eating away at her nerves.

[member="Adrian Vandiir"]

 

[AMCO]

Opening the bottle with a lazy exertion of the force, he poured a glass for each of them, sipping the fine wine slightly. Adrian took a moment to enjoy the rich taste, before putting the glass down in front of him, granting the conversation his undivided attention.

Investment, huh? Interesting. His own company had been founded fairly recently but had already amassed considerable assets, though investing in larger companies was unusual for them. He normally preferred to invest in exchange for an ownership stock in a company, but something told him the pride of the Chiss would never allow for that, especially since her company was already properly established. No matter. There were other ways in which he could profit. He had his own ideas, of course, but he had learned to always see what the other party had in mind first. "Funding? That could certainly be arranged, depending on how much you need and what you are willing to give in return. We normally get a share of the company in question, but something tells me that isn't going to be an option in this case." Leaning forward and steepling his fingers he continued, the tone of his voice as chipper as always. "I have some ideas of my own, of course, but you sound like you have something very particular in mind. Do tell."

[member="Brae"]

 

[Myra]

"You'd be right. I and I alone am the sole owner of APEX." She's obviously going to stand her ground on that point as she transitions to the next "APEX is an armor and weapon manufacturing company, however, we are looking to branch out. With your company focusing primarily on space-craft.. from my understanding, we could develop a new armor piece for your craft, should be simple enough." She offers, knowing that it's a pathetic offer. Armor is pretty easy to develop, to her understanding, yet she gives him ample room for a counter offer.

[member="Adrian Vandiir"]

 

[AMCO]

"An excellent proposition, I'm sure, but development is already well underway for a new alloy for our Starships' hull." In truth, they both knew that offer was weak, but that was to be expected. That's one of the more common ways to start a negotiation, after all. Smiling slightly, he continued. "There is, however, other things that might interest me. I'm aware of your naval connections. Chiss naval connections. Those special hyperdrives your people use would certainly prove most useful to my company." As she had started low, he would start high. There was no way she would actually give him the hyperdrives, but it would make her negotiate down from there. Down towards his real objective. The hyperdrives... were unique. The masers? Others already possessed them, even if they were quite rare. It was no longer unique only to the Chiss. With some goading and some clever negotiations, he was sure he could get his hands on the up-to-date ones. The good stuff. Yes, that would do nicely.

[member="Brae"]

 

[Myra]

"I'm afraid I cannot trade away state technology, only that developed and manufactured by APEX." She was frustrated that APEX hadn't been accepted into part of 'the state', but the new Ascendancy's leader was different than the last one and was throwing her plans into a frenzy. Eitherway she didn't budge, sitting in the chair watching Adrian's every move "However, there must be something that your people are currently not working on that APEX could both research and develop for you, would probably cost much less than what you're paying your own scientists."

[member="Adrian Vandiir"]

 

[AMCO]

Nodding in acknowledgement of her statement, he leaned back in the chair, smiling slightly. "Oh well, I'm sure we can come up with something else." Stroking his chin, as if mulling over the question, he soon spoke once more. "There is something else that would certainly interest me. You see, Vandiir Consolidated Holdings is venturing into the field of manufacturing military vessels, so something to distinguish us from our competitors would prove beneficial... aside from our dedication to quality, of course." Letting the statement hang in the air for a moment, he continued. "A Chiss armaments manufacturer might be just what we need for this endeavour; your masers are intriguing weapons and unlike your hyperdrives, they have already made their way outside your borders. Perhaps you might be willing to develop such weapons for VCH's product line?"

[member="Brae"]

 

[Myra]

She mulls this over, crossing her legs as she sits in thought before giving a slow nod "We most certainly can start working on it.." she hums, mulling it over a bit more. "It may take us a little longer as we haven't worked on weapons of that scale, But I'm sure it can be done." She leans forward in her chair slightly "How much are you willing to donate exactly?" She needed to keep her finances in order, and she had to make sure she wasn't getting scammed into a few credits or something. She brings the wine up to her lips again, not drinking too much as she's not really sure how strong the wine is, or if it is dosed with anything that could possibly make her susceptible to foul play.

 

[AMCO]

Smiling softly, he nodded amiably as she agreed to his proposition. Spending some time considering the price, he realized that Star Wars economics doesn't make any sense whatsoever made an offer. "Excellent, I'm glad to hear it. How does five million credits sound?" It was certainly expensive, but in his eyes, it was more than worth it. There were disadvantages to the Chiss tech, of course, but he had come to appreciate their elegant solutions, so different from what the rest of the galaxy used. A series of well-designed masers would fit in quite well with the reputation he wanted to build for his company. Quite well indeed.

Taking another sip of wine, closing his eyes and allowing the taste to wash over his taste buds, he awaited her response to his offer.

[member="Brae"]

 

[Myra]

Brae seems impressed by this figure and gives him a nod "That is.. certainly a reasonable sum." Reasonable, more than reasonable would have been a better term. Yet she would not bow down in thanks, she was far too proud for that. She knew that her engineers and scientists could work on this project and finish the designs in a few weeks, the actual construction and then testing could take who knows how long.. "APEX can certainly use that fund to develop the project you have in mind."

[member="Adrian Vandiir"]

 

[AMCO]

Ahh, a little hesitation. Then she had not expected an offer of such a magnitude. Excellent. He always preferred to be generous to those he might do business with again in the future. That was not, however, the only reason: To him, Chiss space held intriguing possibilities. They were not particularly friendly towards outsiders though, which is why it was so important for him to leave a good impression. "Excellent." Raising his glass, he continued. "To our agreement and to mutual profit." Bringing the glass to his lips and finishing the relatively small glass.

Putting the glass gently down on the stark white surface of his desk, he leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers in front of him. "I'm sure we can have our respective legal teams hammer out the exact details of our agreement easily enough, now that we have reached an accord on all the major points. I have high hopes that this might be the start of a relationship that will prove to be highly beneficial for both our companies, Brae."

[member="Brae"]

 

[Myra]

She raises her glass in silent solute to his statement before taking a sip and resting it back down on the table. She eyed the man like she had a dozen times already, although with no less skepticism than before. "Our two companies I'm sure will help each other very much, as for the legal requirements and contracts I have a team of lawyers who can iron it out for your team to look over by the time I return to Csilla."

She would rise from her seat, dusting off her pants as if covered in dust. "Speaking of which, I see no reason to stay for any longer as an agreement has been made." She leans forward slightly as she offers him her hand for a shake "I suspect I'll be seeing you again?"

[member="Adrian Vandiir"]

 

[AMCO]

Nodding slightly, he expressed his agreement. "My legal department is already standing by. I'm sure we'll have the agreement finalised in no time." In truth, his massive legal department was always standing by. The company engaged in its fair share of shady and immoral activities and it was up to its crack team of lawyers, legal scholars, and cunning negotiators to resolve such issues when they showed up. A mutually beneficial agreement would be child's play in comparison.

Rising smoothly from his seat, he clasped her hand and shook it firmly. "I'm sure you will. It had been a pleasure doing business with you." As she left, the door would slide open smoothly, the pair of black-dressed elite guards always guarding the door snapping to attention, faces expressionless. Before she even left the exclusive office building near Carannia's city centre, aerospace engineering, legal, and finance would all be alerted to the new agreement and would modify their activities as needed. Sitting back down, Adrian poured himself another glass of wine then summoned his assistant. He had work to do and a personal visit to make before it was time to leave Serenno once more. After all, time wasted is time lost forever.

[member="Brae"]