AdVenture Capitalists

[Jorus Merrill]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"]
@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]


Kaeshana meant little to him. He'd spilt enough blood in this territory that maybe he could dig back far enough to think of an engagement or even a stopoff, but as far as he could remember, he'd never been to this particular world. Still, if Alcori and Kerrigan cared enough to call it home, uberfeminst elves or no uberfeminist elves, he could make the effort.

Especially with so very much at stake.

The Gypsymoth touched down, and he headed into Firemane headquarters with a light step and a certain directness in his eyes.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Jorus Merrill"], @[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

For her part Siobhan liked Kaeshana a great deal. Santaissa was a beautiful city, she liked the ocean and she liked the ultrafeminist space elves. After all, her teacher, Adril Tythorin, had been one of them! For a change Kaeshana was not being graced by storms and heavy rainfalls when Jorus landed and so it was a bright day, perhaps an auspicious one.

As Jorus headed to the Firemane Headquarters, less grand than the Omega Pyre Tower or the Headquarters of StarCorp, though still a site, he would be greeted by Siobhan, who had been alerted by the Eldorai secretary at the reception. She considered him an old friend after all from their mutual days at the Pyre, what with having once wrecked one of Circe's Star Destroyers and all. Moreover, most recently she had been part of the Rebel team with him that had raided the Sith research facility on Styx, the cloaked Gyspsymoth being their entry card and getaway.

Styx had made her sort of nostalgic. It had felt like a reunion. Even though that annoying killer bot had not been turned to scrap!

Of course, officially she had not been there. Officially all those shiny, death dealing toys she brought home had been found in an abandoned wreck. Given that the Sith Empire was dissolving like a sand castle before a tidal wave, no one would ask too many questions about recently acquired loot.

She was dressed in a sleek black women's business suit, dark brown hair done up, giving her an official look. Of course, her lightsabre still dangled at her side. Not because she was expecting trouble...well, actually she was the sort who always expected trouble. "Jorus, welcome to Kaeshana. I trust your journey was pleasant? It's good to see you again," she said warmly and unlike with many people she actually meant it, extending her hand to their guest. Her words as well as her smile were warm, but there was a clear purpose and directness in her eyes, both artificial and organic. The wind of change was sweeping through the Galaxy, enormous upheavals. Not all of them could be considered pleasant. "Tegaea is in the meeting room, I'll take you there. Galaxy has...changed a great deal."

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

@[member="Jorus Merrill"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Tegaea was waiting inside the room, which had a splendid view of a forested valley below. She rose and shook Jorus’ hand. She had rather less to do with Jorus, but he came highly recommended by her wife, and also had done great things when she had been in power with the Protectorate.
“It’s nice to see you again, Jorus. It’s been a few years. Please, sit. What did you wish to discuss with us?”

As for the ultrafeminist Eldorai, Tegaea had little opinion one way or the other. Neither as militant as her wife in the gender wars, nor as culturally indoctrinated as Anya, she was indifferent to it. While she of course preferred women on the whole, she had no problem with males or thought they should all be castrated or such. Once she had thought as much, but ten years was a long time and a long way away from those early days.

 

[Jorus Merrill]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]@[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

He got to see Sio every now and again; Tegs, though, it had been ages. He shook all relevant hands and very pointedly ogled nothing. After all, Alna might be retired on Q-27, but one of the perks of being Jorus was access to very, very fast transit.

"Well!" he said, taking the proffered seat. "The Republic owns about half my Corridor. That brings me some problems, but security ain't one of'em anymore. The other half, though, is a long slice of no-man's-land between Suns territory and the Feds -- and you know how the Feds love me so much. I used to hire sheriffs to keep the peace on my lane, but they're not quite enough by themselves anymore.

"I'd like to hire ya, hire Firemane. Security teams on my stations, a few rapid-response ships, nothin' big. If a fleet comes knockin', let it knock, y'know?"

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Jorus Merrill"], @[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

Siobhan took a seat next to Tegaea at the conference table. Moments later an Eldorai secretary entered the meeting room, bearing an assortment of refreshments should anyone want them. "Yes, I remember. Experienced plenty of Fed love myself on Atrisia recently," Siobhan said very dryly. Throwing Lucrehulks on a planet out of sheer pettiness was serious business after all.

As Jorus outlined his offer she pressed a button on a computer interface, bringing up a holographic projection of the Galaxy where the Mara Corridor was highlighted. Running through what pretty much amounted to one third of the Galaxy, from the edge of Fed to Mandalorian space, connected by countless waystations, the site of one of which had once been graced by the Hutt Cartel and then a Star Destroyer she and Jorus had wrecked, it had been his and Alna's crowning achievement. Set up back in the 'good old days'.

Silk Holdings was one of the corporate giants these days. She glanced over towards Tegaea. "Could be...rather lucrative, don't you think?." Seemed bigger to her than the deal they had made with the Hutt. The hyperlane was and needed patrolling badly, surely the profits would be significant. The mention of rapid-response ships caught her attention. Does that mean I'll my Valoral-class now? she wondered to herself as OOC blended into IC. However, a good portion of the Mara was set in Confed space and Firemane flotilla was limited.

"How extensive a security contingent are we talking? Firemane has elite ground teams that can keep order, but our space forces are rather...limited, can only patrol a limited amount of space. And not meant for hostilities with the Confeds if they break out. We're not their favourites either," she said, after giving Tegaea a look, appearing uncertain, but then fortunately it was her wife who called the shots. Due to her complete lack of business savvy Siobhan's position was mainly window-dressing, since presumably she would sulk if she was not given a fancy title that sounded important! She could not properly assess just how profitable the venture would be. It did sound profitable to her, but she was unsure.

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] @[member="Jorus Merrill"]

Tegaea looked at the map, then at Jorus, then to her wife. It was clear she wasn’t seeing something they were.
“The Mara Corridor is owned at least three quarters by the CIS and Republic. If you are unpopular with the Confederacy, we are hardly less so. I never approved or got on well with their leaders, especially Rostu and the others. So I can hardly see how we can patrol it at all without running into Republic or Confederate hostility. The area of space where these two powers hold no sway is isolated and relatively unimportant.”
She looked between them again. “Am I missing something? Even were it available we do not have any ships capable of performing such a role? I have only a couple of corvettes and the Eldorai beginnings of a space fleet…both of which are insufficient. We would need to have ships constructed and a profitable route to justify this.”

She felt a bit like she’d come into a conversation halfway, and that the other two knew something fundamental she didn’t.

 

[Jorus Merrill]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] @[member="Tegaea Alcori"]
"Dressel's got a decent chunk of my repair and refit business, same with Nar Kreeta and Toydaria. For the moment, nobody's got dibs on'em, but the Black Suns fracturing, that's making for some issues. The most critical part of runnin' a trade route is takin' care of the middle, an' that's all right in the middle. That, an' Void Station. I own it, Feds don't touch it 'cause they know I'd burn'em, but their Templars cause some grief every now and again. That's four places that could use a little security beef.

"There's a fifth one, rimward of the Tion Hegemony, that nobody knows about. I found some worlds, isolated by the Dark Ages, this little cluster of free planets with some good resources an' good progress. I'm gonna be runnin' a spur of the Mara straight out to that territory, and between old Sith Empire assets an' more old Sith Empire assets, that transit line is space that could use a rapid reaction force or two."

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

@[member="Jorus Merrill"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

“We could provide security and patrols for each of those planets. That would not be difficult. However we still have little in the way of good ships. We would need to buy or construct new vessels for the purpose of this work. Do you know how we might do this? And what would your terms be for this job?”
Tegaea was still cautious. It was a large investment for a very distant theatre of operation requiring a lot of tricky negotiation.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"], @[member="Jorus Merrill"]

Siobhan listened as the two spoke. She was the exact opposite of the savvy businesswoman, though to her credit she was at least conscious of this fact and able to admit it, hence why she would defer to Tegaea's judgement and follow whatever she decided. "Silk Holdings does have major shipbuilding capabilities. You recently bought up the Eshan Driveyards from the Echani and got a Republic contract for military grade vessels, right?" she spoke up, breaking her silence.

Among other things they had built - or were building - a shiny Mon Cal battle cruiser named after a certain Rebel admiral famous for declaring 'it's a trap'. This writer is not certain whether Siobhan would know that, but their experience certainly was known. "So Silk Holdings could provide aid in the construction of the vessels needed for the task. As for the Eldorai, I know aristos in the Royal Court want to expand their ship-building capabilities. 'Self-strengthening movement' and all that, not wanting to be dependent on 'human monkeighs'. They'd appreciate the know-how."

 

[Jorus Merrill]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"Well, you've got a good few options here, like Sio says. I've got ships you can use -- I make fighters, interceptors, assault shuttles, heavy personal transports, corvettes, even some big heavy cruisers. Plus I can build whatever you need at close to cost. If you want to buy'em outright, use'em elsewhere whenever you like, obviously your pay rate goes way up after you've purchased'em. Whatever arrangement suits your needs."

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

@[member="Jorus Merrill"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Tegaea leaned back in her chair. “And what reward would we get for this? You must understand, Mr Merrill that even leasing the ships from you for this patrol would mean that it would be unprofitable unless you pay us so much you could hire everything you needed anyway.”
“The alternative is that you provide us the ships, and we provide the manpower and do the patrols. If you have the ships already this would greatly help both of us.”
“We are interested in creating a frigate sized ship and the Eldorai government is interested in building warships for itself. On that front we can definitely negotiate, and these new ships could in time take over from any ships you provided.”

 

[Jorus Merrill]

Jorus shrugged. "I know the profit margins on my end; I don't on yours. If providing you with ships until I can build you somethin' proprietary is what you need, I can swing it that way easy enough. A frigate's doable in a stupidly short amount of time; I've got plenty in the works. As for the Eldorai, what sort of things they lookin' for?"

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

@[member="Jorus Merrill"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

“The Eldorai military doctrine is,” she shared a look with Siobhan, “small elite groups. The Eldorai want fighters, bombers, frigates. They have their own designs, but they don’t have the ability to build them yet.”
“And yes, we would lease your ships first until we are ready to build our own. What are your terms?”

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"], @[member="Jorus Merrill"]

"Got a meeting scheduled with the Great Seraph of the Angelii and later the Queen. Can bring up the possibility of a venture with Silk Holdings to help them build the war vessels they need there if we reach agreement. The Eldorai trust us, so a recommendation from our side would mean a great deal," Siobhan spoke up after Tegaea had finished. As for small elite groups, for some reason the mention of that term always made Siobhan feel murderous. This was not at all OOC blending into IC.

Best to catch Silaqui when none of the titled ladies from the Cadalthor clan were with her, they detested Firemane since Siobhan had blackmailed them into dropping charges against a certain @[member="Delila Castillon"], who had beaten up their elderly matriarch. Perhaps Siobhan should also wear a very low-cut dress, somehow it made Sila more amenable to her!

 

[Jorus Merrill]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

He caught the allusion to certain patterns within the evolution of the Protectorate's leadership, and repressed a grin. "Well, we've got a nice new set of military shipyards burnin' a hole in our pockets. If the Eldorai have their own designs, yeah, we can take care of that. No guarantees about the quality -- we'll honor the plans we're given.

"As for the leasing..." He laid out some numbers on a small imagecaster, including some numbers from the back end, the Silk side of things. "It'll cut into both our profit margins up front, but not by much compared to this kind of deal when my competitors offer it. Like I said, we've got frigates in the works. First handful should be off the slips inside a month, half of'em on spec, and I'm more than willing to tweak that half to your specifications."

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

@[member="Jorus Merrill"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Tegaea nodded slowly.
“Excellent. Look, I think we can do a trial run here. I’d like to inspect the ships we hire, and then Siobhan and I will do a tour of the location before we agree, but I think this is promising.”
She held out her hand. “If that is acceptable I think we will have a good time doing business with each other!”

 

[Jorus Merrill]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"] got a handshake and another grin. For a moment there, Jorus was the excited young spacer meeting the Exarch, not the cynical trailblazer who could buy Firemane with his pocket change. "All standard, all just fine. Glad to have you aboard, folks."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Jorus Merrill"], @[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

"Sounds great to me. Glad to be working with you again, Jorus," Siobhan said genuinely. She watched the interaction between the two then nodded after Tegaea did. Surreptitiously she passed a note on to Tegaea. Not at all like schoolgirls supposedly did according to certain holovids. For a change, she had not written a request to break up the meeting for alone time! Are we calling it the Valora or the Thuelle class? was written on the short note.

In tribute to how they were known in a certain, ahem, humanitarian organisation called the Order of the Torch, which pursued the noble mission of spreading literacy and learning throughout the Galaxy. Somehow this intersected with, how shall we put it, enforcing discipline. Since her initiation Siobhan had made progress learning the Eldorai language!

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] @[member="Jorus Merrill"]

Tegaea just smiled at the note and nodded slightly. Oh yes, that would be their names. She had a Valriya class planned…it would be an unarmed tugboat if she had her way! There was even a Tempest class in the works in her mind. That’d be interesting.

“A great pleasure to meet you again, Jorus. I am glad you’ve found your true calling in life, and have made this business such a success.”