Private A Soaring Investment

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Burtch and Dobson looked at eachother questioningly and Dobson made a sheepish “go ahead” gesture. So Burtch spoke first, “I think this product would be highly beneficial to the Elysium Empire. When I return to the fleet, I will speak to my brother and convince him to purchase an entire product run of these jetpacks for our fledgling Marine Corps. Vacuum sealed armor will also be purchased too, I think. Also, if you are willing, I would like to invest a large sum of my own money into the production stages of both projects as a silent partner of those divisions. Since I am an ex-First Order officer, I have a lot to prove when it comes to my loyalty. Showing both you and my king that I am heavily invested in our success will go a long way towards that. All of my money will be going into this project.” He looked at Commander Treyfa, who was fidgeting with her straps, “And maybe you can throw in a pre-production prototype for my… advisor over there? Her methods are unorthodox, but she has shown me exactly which product was worth my investment today. I suppose that is worth rewarding.” She looked up at him, beaming. It took incredible discipline for him to not roll his eyes at her.

He turned to his Quartermaster, “did you have anything to add, Lieutenant Commander Dobson?”

She stared at him, blinking hard and sighed heavily, working up the nerve to speak. She then turned to Loreena Arenais-Valhoun and asked, “Can I speak to you privately? I have a… personal request, if you are still willing?”

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori listened to Grand Shepherd Burtch , clasping her hands behind her back as he spoke of investing in both jetbacks and armour specifically suited for spacre. She didn't need to worry about what it was for. She knew exactly what that would be. Yet as far as she knew, the Elysium Empire was a good one, so she needn't have to be concerned about atrocities being made with the products that MandalArms produced.

"You want to invest all of your money? Are you sure? We're not strapped for financing, you know." Yet if he still insisted, then Lori figured that she could give more credits to Mandalore to help in it's businesses and the welfare of the people.

To Trefya however, Lori gave her a big grin accompanied by a wink. "You can bring home the one that you flew with today if you'd like. Free of charge."

To Dobson now, she was a little surprised that the woman seemed to have trouble getting out her words, when not so long ago, she was giving out speeches. So there most certainly was something up. Ever the curious one, Lori wasn't about to turn down finding out just what was on the woman's mind this time.

"Sure...right this way." She unclasped her hands and directed Dobson to follow her with a commonly used gesture of her hand, taking her down the hallway and out of earshot. "Shall we go to my office or would out here suffice?" Her office. It was so weird for Lori to say that. Her home and work had mostly always been on her ships. And never had she had an office before. But this year was full of big changes for her.

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

“I am sure” Burtch replied firmly to @Loreena Arenais-Valhoun’s question, “while my brother vouches for my loyalty to the Elysium Empire, I must reinforce his statements with my own actions and my intentions. This investment gives me the evidence I need to prove that I am fully invested in the success of my king, and a partial investment simply isn’t enough. I still have my military wage within the fleet to sustain me, but I am putting the entirety of my savings into a project which benefits us all. I sense that you will bring a good return for my money, but even if you didn’t, then in a way, that would be better for me since I would have further proof of the fact that I take big risks for my empire.”

Then, Loreena Arenais-Valhoun gave Treyfa a generous gift and left the small blue-skinned woman in a gitty-dumbfounded state. Treyfa then turned to Burtch, her face beaming with pure joy, and a little bit of mockery in her eyes. Burtch stared back at her, deadpan. They both held their stares for a few seconds before Burtch slumped ever so slightly and began to stride for the exit of the facility. He hated her so much…

He’d better start summoning a taxi anyways. It might take a while…

******

Dobson stopped in the hallway and strained herself to make eye contact with Lori. Her embarrassment from earlier made it difficult. She knew that her earlier attempts to negotiate her fathers terms had nearly insulted the young CEO, but she was desperate for her help now.

“An office won’t be necessary. I won’t take up too much of your time, but I first want to say that I was threatened into making my father’s case to you. It may not make sense to you how he chose to send me, but it’s a family politics problem. I won’t get into details, but watching you and Commander Treyfa today reminded me why I left him in the first place and what I truly want from my life. I won’t be letting him push me around anymore, and I would like to give my little brother a chance to get away from my father too.

“My brother, Viken Dobson, is very different from the rest of my family. He’s more tech-minded and lacks people skills. He has a degree in commerce, but he mastered in both mechanical and production engineering. He has experience in multiple trades and skills based occupations and in short, can ‘wear many hats’” she emphasized her quote of Lori’s earlier comment regarding her own staff, “If I talk to him, I can convince him to apply here and get him away from my father. His skills will go to waste if he stays with the Elysium Fleet, and he would be happiest under your protection. Would you be willing to hire him?”

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Loyalty. Such a thing was precious in this Galaxy and Grand Shepherd Burtch seemed to have it in spades. That was both a good thing and a bad thing if that loyalty was blind. Lori didn't want there to be a time in which she might be pitted against him. It happens sometimes, when Empires become corrupt with their own ideals.

Now her attention was focused on Dobson as the woman spoke. Lori furrowed her brows in concern at the thought of a father threatening their child. Her own Dad WolfMortum had never done that. Even when he had gone Dark, he had never once threatened his children. He still cared for them deeply, just as he did for their mom.

And then came the other offer. Dobson had a little brother that needed to escape his father's clutches and she had chosen MandalArms as the safe haven. That in itself had pros and cons. The first being that if her little brother was as good as she says, then MandalArms would retain a valuable employee. But the second was that her father could focus his attention on MandalArms even more. A simple refusal of his offer to plant offices in her facilities for 'quality control' wasn't going to be so easily overlooked. It was inevitable that one of these days she was going to meet the man and perhaps gain some insight as to what his motives were.

After some thought, Lori nodded. "Alright. Have him apply and I'll do what I can for him. But tell me, should I be worried about your father? What's his reasoning for trying to get a stake in my company? Getting a hold of the competition?"

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Dobson nodded her understanding and gratitude, “Thank you. He will be so happy here, I assure you.” She looked at the floor between them and scratched the nape of her neck in thought, “as for my father… when I was a little girl, he taught me a board game called chess. It’s a strategy game and many cultures across the galaxy have multiple variations. I think the mandalorians have their own version that goes by a different name. It’s pretty popular. Anyways, after he beat me multiple times for years, he told me that the best way to win the game was to control the four centermost squares with your own pieces. If you do this, you control your opponent’s actions.

“I also know that his game isn’t to control MandalArms. It’s the Elysium Empire that he truly wants, and he wants to make the Elysium Empire powerful. So MandalArms isn’t “the centre of the chessboard” so to speak. It’s a way for him to get control of the center. If I had to guess, he wants to become the regulatory agency for the entire Elysium Empire economy, and by having an office in your factory, he could make a case that he’s the obvious choice to regulate everything. He can control which companies meet requirements and which ones don’t, and he can build support for himself and weed out dissent with ease this way. But that’s only a guess on my part.

“As for your own quality control certification, if I were you, I’d talk to the king yourself and get your own QC people to carry the king’s blessings. It bypasses all of the regulatory agencies and the Dobson Brokerage department and you can get your certifications straight from the source. I suspect MandalArms has higher quality control than the Elysium Empire anyways, so you shouldn’t have any problems andyou might even teach them a thing or two. But don’t let the king convince you to take an agent from the Elysium empire into your facility. He might sneak a Dobson Logistical Consulting Firm agent in at my father’s request. Not that the agent would do anything to your company, but having an agent in your company gives weight to my father’s proposal to make the Dobson Logistical Consulting Firm the primary regulatory agency for the Elysium Empire. If he succeeds at this, he will move to control the King’s council next.”

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori furrowed her brows as she listened to Dobson try to explain what she suspected her father's motives to be. These kinds of political games were new to her. She was much better on the battlefield or working behind enemy lines. But now she was in an entirely new form of battle and the last thing that she needed was to be devoured.

If only her mother was still alive...

"We have our own staff to oversee that every product is built well and there has never been a complaint or issue regarding the quality. I don't see why the King would even think that there'd need to be. But as you said, your father would give him the idea...." And then try to take over the King's Council? That was his next move? It made her wonder what Rex Valhoun thought about this, or if he was even aware. The two weren't around eachother much.

"What of the Council? What do they think about your father?" Lori already knew that she didn't like the man, and she was going to be very wary if she was to come across him any time soon. He was probably fully aware of how green she was in politics, and that put her in a severe disadvantage.

Grand Shepherd Burtch

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Dobson peered up at @Loreena Arenais-Valhoun’s face in mild incredulity at what she had just said. Dobson was beginning to realize that while this young woman was wise and strong, she was blind to the subtle nuances of political maneuvering. Everything she had just said gave her away as being ignorant of how things work in the political world. If Dobson’s captain hadn’t stepped in while she was making her pitch, she suspected that she might’ve succeeded in making this young woman do mental backflips and bent her to her will around her mandalorian ideals like fulcrums.

Suddenly a lump formed in Dobsons throat. Her heart sank as she came to a realization. Her time serving as a quartermaster was soon over. One way or another…

“My father currently ‘owns’ the members of two seats on the council for large and small businesses, and controls the interests of two, maybe three more council members. He essentially controls 5 votes in any given session and has the influence to sway more votes from time to time. He is also gaining support in the senate. In the political hierarchy, you are formally above him, but as things currently stand, he commands more power than you do as the bride to our heir.

“I…” she struggled to keep her words inside, but they seemed to come out on their own. She wasn’t a big fan of whimsical fate nerf crap, but Silverstrike was always going on about how everyone had a place in the galaxy by will of the Force. If there was a fate for her, she was being thrust into it here and now, “I think my father is going to eat you alive, honestly. You’re a good person. He likes good people, but not in a nice way, if you get my meaning. If you’re going to go after him to keep our Empire free of corruption, you will need a staff of advisors. I don’t want to leave the Shi-Cho, but I know when I’m needed. If you accept me, I know I can help you. I know my father. He groomed me and my siblings himself.” She awkwardly wondered if she should get down on her knees or something.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori clenched her jaw as Dobson went on about her father. He controlled seats, he controlled votes, he had the ear of the King. So he could have polities made that would go in his favour. And even ones that would weaken his opponents.

That included her.

It was only going to be a matter of time before he tried to get her under his thumb as well.

Dobson seemed to know more about her father's intentions, and enough so to even ask to be her advisor. Lori had never had an advisor before or anything close. She's had bodyguards and crew, but never any council. Yet this was what politics was about and with this marriage to Rex Valhoun , she had chosen to take a more hands-on approach to politics and ruling over others.

"I don't want you to leave the Shi-Cho....yet. How quickly would your father see such a thing as a betrayal of him? It might be better for such a change to be more subtle, wouldn't it? At least at the start..." It could have all been a trick, another attempt by his father to intrude on her life and influence her too, as he did for some of others. But she hoped not, and only time would tell. "You should have some time doing what you love before resigning yourself to another fate."

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Dorthea smiled in gratitude as Lori offered to allow her to stay on the Shi-Cho. But her smile was also grim, “Just by staying on the Shi-Cho he will know that I have betrayed him. If I delay a transfer to your council, he will have time to cut me off from you in some way or ruin the opportunity. It’s better to betray him right away and make things clear right off the hop… unless…” she trailed off in thought. It was probably stupid to suggest this, but it was worth a shot, “I already know that you are not likely to agree to this, but hear me out. You could pretend to accept his offer, but under the condition that I am his quality representative. Make it sound like you really liked me or something,” she shrugged and chuckled at herself there, “he might be suspicious of that. Not many people really like me and he knows it! But he’ll think he’s won and he’ll be convinced of my loyalty to him. But for this you’d have to trust me. If you can’t, I’ll understand. The situation calls for caution on your part. But as of now, while you have some advantages over him, he can still easily overpower you. Using me as a spy can give you an edge.

“If you can’t do this I understand. Maybe I can advise you from the Shi-cho through correspondence? There are obvious risks there. Huge ones. It’s up to you, but I honestly think you’re better off to take me as your ally right here and now one way or the other. Either as your spy or your direct advisor. The choice is yours, and I’ll gladly accept whatever you choose.”

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Was this how politics always was? Once given power, people did whatever they could to strip it all away? If so, she didn't really like it, and she had gained a new respect for her late mom. Even her dad hated politics and she could see why.

Give and take. That's what it was. It truly was a chess game, and it made her wonder just how she'd act when she'd come across Dorthea's father. It was a kind of meeting that she was truly ill prepared for.

And one that she knew that she'd come to dread.

"I wish that I'd have more time to think about this..." Battle scenarios were much easier than this was. Lori didn't want to end up cutting herself off from everything. And Dorthea's father was clearly capable of doing just that. Already she felt as though she was being put under a microscope. "...but given that I don't, I'll just have to forgive myself if it all backfires. Just...tell your father that you're being hired as my assistant. Then I can put you wherever at any given moment, including on the Shi-Cho. So it'll give you the excuse to be in a variety of places, especially given that I can't be in multiple places at once. And you and I can have private meetings whenever. That should throw off his suspicions, shouldn't it?"

Grand Shepherd Burtch

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Dorthea grimaced, “He’s a Dobson. We are never anything but suspicious of everyone. But it’ll show him that you’re more dangerous to him than he probably think you already are. That should at least force him to approach you more carefully. For now, I’ll head back to the Shi-Cho with my captain and his gunnery officer and get my affairs sorted out so you can call on me at a moment’s notice. You can contact me at any time. If you need me to leave my ship, I will do so, no questions asked. Just be wary of the fact that my father has access to Elysium decryption codes. Don’t implicate yourself.”

She wanted to leave, but a thought occurred to her, “Um… before I go, can I ask you to get us a ride to the spaceport where our transport is docked? I may have… angered the taxi company here” she grimaced apologetically, “My poor captain is probably trying to summon a taxi speeder as we speak, but they probably remember us from this morning…” her face turned dark red in embarrassment.

Loreena Arenais-Valhoun

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori nodded as she understood the warning that Dorthea was giving her. The woman's father had access to all Elysium communications. So even things that were meant to be private probably weren't at all. "Any discussions concerning your father and what he's up to, we'll do so in person until another method is sorted. I'll get someone on that." Arla would be great for that. And unless Dobson started bugging any of the rooms or halls that they were in, all in person communications should be safe.

Her eyebrows rose in amusement as Dorthea asked for a ride to the spaceport. It made her wonder just what was said on their journey over. Grand Shepherd Burtch had yet to return to signal that their taxi had arrived. "Sure, I'll get right on that. An airspeeder will be there shortly." Lori brought out her commlink and arranged one of their airspeeders and drivers to meet up with them up front. "Good journey. Let me know when your brother is to arrive and I'll be here to greet him."

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Dorthea smiled a very rare smile. She was good at political maneuvering and resource management, but she wasn’t very good at making friends. She was aware that Loreena probably didn’t see her as a friend, but Dorthea couldn’t help but decide that she liked the young woman before her. She bowed at the waist, “thank you for everything. You have been a most gracious host, and I most certainly look forward to working with you. And I’m not just saying that. You got something in you and I know that the Elysium Empire needs you. I want in on that. Not like my father does, but I just want to be part of it. I think you’re worth betting on.”

She began to turn and walk away but stopped and chuckled, “oh, and make sure you stay in contact with our esteemed chief gunnery officer. I should have warned you, but I think you made a real friend there. She’d be sad if she thought you forgot about her.”

After that, she left to meet up with her companions.

Loreena Arenais-Valhoun