A Gentleman's Agreement

[Arage Bao]

Omega Protectorate, Fondor

The relationships between the OP and the Fringe had always been a bit tense, probably comes with sharing a border in the Wild Space. But Jared Ovmar was not here for that, more personal interests were guiding him this day. Santhe Corporation was on the verge of creating something... interesting, but something was still missing. Something necessary to continue the development. Stygium crystals. Only two known planets in the galaxy had deposits of them, one was currently controlled by the Mandalorians and the other one was located in Protectorate Space.

This immediately explained his appointment with the Lord Protector, hopefully the man would not throw him out through the window. Those towers seemed awfully long and he was not a She-Hulk. Definitely not.

So there he was, sitting in the atrium and waiting patiently until he would be called up for the meeting. With him was his long-standing companion @[member="Hannibal Oryen"] and a bodyguard droid, he cheerfully called xXShadowSpawn1337FazeXx or 'Spawn' for short.

@[member="Ayden Cater"]

 

[Ayden Cater]

Ayden sat in his office and stared at the door, cigar at one corner of his mouth, glass of whiskey in one hand, and a datapad in the other. On it was the meeting request he had been sent; a trade request. But not just for anything. It was for stygium. It seemed that demand of the rare mineral had intensified. He was already aware of one raid that had been carried out on Maramere for stygium. The same culprits made another raid on Bespin, though that was likely its own incident and not related to this trade deal.

Even so, Ayden's eyes remained narrowed as he read over it. It looked like a strictly corporate request from Santhe. However, the man in the lobby waiting to see him was none other than @[member="Jared Ovmar"]. It didn't take much digging at all to find his connections to the Fringe Confederacy. That made it very difficult for him as tensions between the Fringe and the Protectorate were at an all-time high. If this was part of a project for them, this trade could inadvertently lead to the deaths of Protectorate citizens.

Still, there was an opprotunity here that could not be ignored. If Ovmar's offer was sincere, then the Protectorate stood to make a good deal of credits. If nothing else, Ayden decided that if the offer was too sketchy or not to his liking, he could always deny the trade request. Setting the pad and glass down, Ayden pressed a button on his console and sent a quick message to have Ovmar sent up, alone.

 

[Arage Bao]

Of course Jared insisted on having his companions wait for him in the top-floor lobby. It was one thing to come to a meeting in person, there were certain etiquettes a man has to honor, but it was a whole other thing to come unprotected. Not that he had any fantasies about being able to put on a fight, if they would want to capture him.

The Lord Protector had probably already figured out who he was, his identity was too tied up with the Confederation to hide the affiliation. But Jared counted on Cater's business-sense, if he was able to give him a good offer.. well maybe he would be able to leave this meeting alive. Instead of a box.

After spending a couple of minutes in the elevator, exchanging wise-cracks and the such, he finally arrived at the top-floor. With a gesture he made it clear to his companions that they would have to wait in the lobby.

Then he took himself into the office for the meeting.

As Jared stepped inside, he studied his opponent for a short second. This may not be a physical fight.. yet, but any negotiation was a duel. Then he bowed lightly, showing respect was never a bad way to start.

“Lord Protector Cater, I presume. Thank you for agreeing to this meeting.”​

​

What could go wrong?​

​

@[member="Ayden Cater"]​

 

[Ayden Cater]

@[member="Jared Ovmar"]

Smiling politely, Ayden extended his hand in a handshake and sat down. As was custom for him whenever he met with a foreign dignitary or other person he found to be of import, Ayden pulled a bottle of whiskey from his desk and set it on the table, along with two shot glasses. "You presume correctly. Come, have a seat Lord Ovmar." Ayden gave the first indication that he knew full-well who Jared was, his connections, and had still agreed to the meeting. Pouring himself a shot, Ayden leaned back in his seat and looked at the man across from him. "So tell me. What brings you to my office this fine day?" Curiosity was reigning as his eyes bored into the other man, leading to the second indication. This was not going to be an easy meeting.

 

[Arage Bao]

Jared simply sat down and accepted a glass of whiskey. He preferred an appletini, but sometimes a stronger poison was necessary, like when you are up for a difficult and hefty negotiation process. Not that he was about to drink himself into a mad stupor, that would be next in line, after said negotiations. The last thing he was going to do was lose his edge.

“Lord Protector Cater, we both know that relationships between our two people have been.. strained to say the least. But I am not here in my official capacity as the High Councilor of the Fringe Confederation, I am here as a representative of Santhe Corporation. Santhe Corporation wishes to create a trading relationship between the Omega Protectorate and itself. Starting off with a possible mining operation in your territory for.. stygium.”

He cut straight to the chase and that was a risk. Some people liked being direct... and some did not. He would see how the dice rolled.

@[member="Ayden Cater"]

 

[Ayden Cater]

@[member="Jared Ovmar"]

Ayden nodded noncommittally and set the pad down on his desk, taking up his glass of whiskey in its place. His face was an absolute mask, betraying no thought or emotion as he brought the glass to his lips. Internally, a thousand thoughts raged. If he agreed to the deal, it could be death for Protectorate citizens. Part of him thought about taking the man hostage, or killing him on the spot. Such thoughts frequently came up whenever he met someone of great importance, so the simple existence of those thoughts did not surprise him in the least.

Still, he would only make a bad situation worse if he did anything like that. And the man had done no wrong to the Protectorate itself that he was aware of. He was simply affiliated with a group that they were on shaky grounds with. "Most people who would come in here would at least try to sugar coat the deal, or open up with an easily agreeable deal. You're obviously aware of the history of our two factions. I'd be a pretty poor Protector if I handed over crystals that were used directly against us. What sort of guarantee do I have that that won't be the case?"

 

[Arage Bao]

“I am not most people, reckon there is no use wasting both of our times playing around.”
He brought the drink to his lips and took a sip. Good drink, he usually drank appletinis, but this.. ah how he had missed a good old fashion drink.

It was then that the Protector brought the real issue to the surface, one Jared had been expecting already. But what could he say? Give him some guarantee which in the end would have no meaning at all? They all knew how the arms-trade operated, even if Jared was of mind to deny the sale towards the Fringe. Who knew where his ships would end-up, after the sale? That was no longer Jared's business and enforcing a guarantee like that? Impossible.

They both knew it. Cater was just.. looking for something and really there was only one thing Jared could truly offer.

“No guarantee, not for anyone. If you catch my meaning.”

It was really simple. The project in question would be in limited production, and anyone would be able to buy one as long as they were being produced. Now.. if the Omega Protectorate allowed this, maybe they would get first pickings or discounts. Negotiations.

@[member="Ayden Cater"]

 

[Ayden Cater]

@[member="Jared Ovmar"]

Ayden sat there and said nothing for a long time. He kept his chin resting on his hands, looking down at the desk in thought. He could not consider this as one corporate owner to another; CEC didn't have rights to the stygium on Maramere. So that meant he had to look at this as the Lord Protector. Stygium was a very rare mineral. In fact, there were only two major deposits that he knew of. The Mandalorians had one, and the Protectorate had the other. It was not a resource to be thrown about lightly.

His brow knotted and Ayden frowned as he continued his thoughts. After a moment, he sighed and let his head drop a little. "I'm sorry, Lord Ovmar, but without a guarantee that the products would not be used against the Protectorate in any fashion, I cannot endorse a trade agreement that would give such valuable, and dangerous, minerals into your hands. I do not possess the authority or control to prevent normal, everyday manufactured items from finding their way into hands that would delievery death and destruction to this state, but I do possess the authority and control to prevent the dangerous materials within from causing harm from beyond. I'm sorry, Lord Ovmar, but I cannot sell Santhe any stygium."