First Reply Business as Usual

[Brehg Sha]

Conference Room 1A, Lucrehulk-class Battleship in orbit over Enarc
14:58 Local Time​

Enarc was many things, Trade Federation property, a central point of several hyperlanes, profoundly boring, but it was one thing above all others, profitable. Sha could watch from the windows of the orbital command station as starships by the thousands swarmed around the world and its floating armada of supply ships like soldier beetles, busying themselves with cargo traveling into and out of Alliance space. Each one represented a percentage of the staggering wealth that passed through the system every day, another decimal point on the rapidly rising profit margin of the Trade Federation. And those were just the shipments she actually reported. It might not have been glamorous, but looking at such wealth, such opportunity, always brought a smile to her face.

"Mistress, your 3:00 appointment has arrived." One of the security B1's entered the room and nasaled at her mechanically, bringing her attention back to the empty conference room.

"Then why haven't you let them in?" She asked sharply, still looking out the viewport into the vastness of space. Sha wasn't actually upset with the droid, she just got a kick out of watching Federation droids trip over themselves to stay in their managers' good graces.

"Y-Yes sir! I-I mean ma'am!" The B1 snapped clumsily on its heels and turned to let her expected guest in.

 

[T'zarna Khab]

T'zarna was frustrated in the clerical duties of the Inquisition. She was built for combat, not for the idle prattle of boardrooms. But, if such was The Emperor's will, she would do it. Her objective was to secure a secret deal with the Trade Federation. One where they could grease the palms of the Nemoidians to assist in some plans the Inquisitorius had.

The tall and slender insectoid was flanked by her personal retinue of Purge Troopers, decked out in black armor and communicating to each other via radio. The garble of static from them almost as ominous as the buzzing that came from their commander's speech.

"At attention! I will speak to the woman alone..." Her guardians wordlessly nodded and stood outside the meeting room. The Federation was easily scared from what she could gather, and surely bringing a squad of purge troopers would look like hostile takeover. It wasn't exactly like she needed the troopers anyway, if anything they were here to keep her in check. A constant reminder of the Empire's watchful eyes.

T'zarna was bringing with her a substantial credit account organized by the Imperial Moff Council just for this meeting. There was after all only one color which would spark the interest of a Nemoidian, and that was gold. Credits were worth more than anything to the Trade Federation, the fairly well worshipped it, something T'zarna couldn't understand. Credits should be a means to an end, not an all consuming force in one's life.

"Greetings Honored one... I come baring gifts from The Empire..."

 

[Brehg Sha]

Sha had to admit, even by her standards this was an odd meeting, The Empire wasn't exactly on the Trade Federation's most favored nations list, not that Sha cared, but it was strange to think one of their representatives was here. She watched intently through the reflection in the viewport as the woman waved off her escort of dark-armored soldiers and approached.

"Greetings Inquisitor Khab," Sha replied, turning to face the woman without a trace of visible fear or hesitation. "Your presence is appreciated, as are the gits of your Empire. But I must ask, what gifts of the Trade Federation do you seek in return?"

The Vizier figured that a more direct approach might appeal to the military nature of the Imperial representative, and perhaps throw off any expectations of Neimoidian cowering and groveling.

T'zarna Khab

 

[T'zarna Khab]

Sha's play of using her confidence had the intended result, a small smirk formed on T'zarna's lips. There would be no flexing of metaphorical muscles in this meeting. All the better, as the inquisitor would only find a mewling corporate type an annoyance. Better that her figurative opposition have a spine. Perhaps this meeting would be more stimulating after all.

"I understand that neither of our factions hold great respect for the other, but perhaps I can change that?" T'zarna then sat in a seat opposite the lady Neimoidian. Her lidless compound eyes constantly making small scans of the area, a bit of a habit gained from her training. Even the slightest twitch could be a tip of the opponent's hand. Whether that be in a lightsaber duel, or a meeting such as this one.

"My request is a simple one, a boon for a boon. I wish to set up an Imperial presence in your sector. Starting with some small outposts, and eventually moving into full scale clandestine operations. We have been monitoring Enarc for some time, and believe it a potent asset. As it is a neutral planet seated near Alliance space."

There was more to it than T'zarna was revealing, of course. Making deals with the Empire was always a devil's bargain. They often slowly subjugated whole star systems by force, but even their more subtle actions could have dire affects. Letting these Imperials in could spell danger for business...

 

[Brehg Sha]

Sha could read the twinge of satisfaction in the woman's features, it seemed a little confidence went a long way with the Inquisitorious, and the Neimoidian sat across from her hybrid counterpart at the conference table. She could see her partially compounded eyes scanning the room, likely looking for threats, of which there were none. Well, except for a multi-angle bank of hidden security holo recorders documenting every second and sound made in this room, but that was for standard Federation blackmail purposes.


"I'm always eager to expand respect and cooperation in the galaxy." Sha said with a faux grin, hiding her mild twinge of nervousness at the mention of setting up physical outposts in her sector.

"I'm afraid given the 'No Trade Zone' status of the Empire, such open collaboration is out of the question, we can't have Imperial personnel operating in Trade Federation space on any permanent basis. Allow me to offer an alternative, I can provide safe and anonymous passage through Enarc space and the surrounding hyperlanes for Imperial starships." As the Customs Vizier of the system, Sha had either direct or indirect control over Trade Federation shipping and transportation traveling through the system.

Sha knew better, far better, than to let Imperial personnel build anything in her sector, especially the intelligence services. Even if she trusted them not to launch some kind of anti-Federation coup from under her, she couldn't let anyone from the Federation catch Imperials operating a facility in her sector. If a secret shipment or a black-bag team got caught around Enarc, she could probably play that off, but if they built a full monitoring station under her nose that raised questions. Besides, if they had to go through her to make sure their starships got through, she could keep a close monitor on their activities.

T'zarna Khab

 

[T'zarna Khab]

Even with all the enhanced senses that the force sensitive woman possessed, she had no idea there were dozens of hidden recorders trained on her. Truly she was outmatched when it came to the preparations for this meeting. It would be a difficult task to find a more mismatched pair of women in the galaxy. With Sha being cool, collected, intelligent, and her opponent being so impulsive, arrogant, and impatient. Just being in this meeting was getting under T'zarna's skin (shell?).

There was this tension in the meeting room that never seemed to subside, it was only worsened by the bad news. News that the Imperial outpost would have to be moved to another planet. While most would see such a minor setback as nothing more than a trivial inconvenience, T'zarna took it as a slight against her. What was the reason that the Trade Federation refused service to the Empire? Who were they to defy Velran's will?!

"I was unaware of this designation. I had been told that our relations were neutral with the Trade Federation. I can assure you, there will be punishment for this lack of information..." The statement was meant to be reassuring to the Vizier, but it was probably more unsettling than anything. It wasn't worth thinking about what kind of punishment was being plotted by the sadistic hybrid.

It was not all bad though, the fact T'zarna was still here meant negotiations could still happen. And with the nigh endless stores of credits in the Empire's coffers, that meant good business for the Neimoidian. It was all about keeping control the game from here, and T'zarna had a rather poor hand.

"Your proposition does sound like a good start to our relationship however, this sector is far to precious to just let slip by. Thousands of transports pass through these hyperlanes during each planetary rotation. Most of them either coming from or going to Alliance space. But our agents have seen several Sith vessels passing through the area, meaning we could use this planet to potentially intercept Sith sympathizers in neutral space."

T'zarna paused a moment, before giving a stare to Brehg. "I'm sure you'd agree that for me, having access to both Alliance and Sith space is quite the lucrative offer..."

Brehg Sha

 

[Brehg Sha]

Sha's face was stoic, borderline expressionless as she say through T'zarna's revelation and her proposed counter offer, but inside she was getting more nervous by the second. The embargo had been a matter of public record for some time, and the Inquisitor's pointed reaction raised one of three issues, either Imperial intelligence was completely out of the loop, the Empire as a whole didn't take the notice seriously, or (least likely but most concerning) Sha was out of the loop. None of those boded well for these negotiations, but Sha opted to maintain her composure and press on, even a partial deal could be worth millions in credits.

"Yes, well, back to the matter at hand," She said, trying to sooth ruffled...chitin(?) and keep the negotiations moving. "A base here would present you with extensive opportunities for intelligence work, but it would also expose me to extensive risk. I cannot, as a matter of policy, allow you to maintain personnel or infrastructure in Enarc space, but I do have an alternative."

Sha activated the central hologram projector in the conference table and pulled up a map of local space before highlighting Enarc, and the nearby system of Naboo.

"Naboo is close enough to Enarc that you could maintain an outpost there and still sustain operations in this sector without direct interference. Naboo is neutral space, and historically has not been...amicable towards the Trade Federation." Naboo was an excellent compromise base, as far as Sha was concerned. It was close enough to maintain operations, politically neurtal, and any actions taken to undermine their government would benefit the Federation.

T'zarna Khab

 

[T'zarna Khab]

The true reason for the communications S.N.A.F.U? It happened before T'zarna was even truly alive. A little known fact about the insectoid hybrid was that prior to a short time ago, she was stuck in a growth vat still forming into something vaguely resembling a human. The ink on the embargo papers was probably still wet as she completed her training. Despite appearing to be an adult, the bug woman was actually a matter of months old. Not to mention few imperial hirelings wanted to test their luck on being her messenger, not after the mess she made of that one ensign...

T'zarna would listen attentively to the Vizier's explanation of why exactly the original plan would need to be scrubbed. Frustrating, but understandable. The Trade Federation was known for being risk averse, so this was nothing shocking, but it did get a click of the tongue from the inquisitor. So, the negotiations were still open, she thought. That was good, and surely Brehg was willing to skirt some rules for a sufficient amount of credits. The only question that remained was the pricing.

"Naboo you say..." T'zarna reclined in her seat, pensively tapping her hard fingertips against the metallic desk in front of her. The clicking and clacking adding a bit of suspenseful noise to the conversation.

Naboo was considered a potential enemy state to many in the Empire. They had historically been part of many important galactic entities, and their current royal class was most likely against being taken over by force. To attack them directly would only serve to bring them closer to the Alliance. It would be far better to pick away at the royals from below, start a pro-imperial coup perhaps. These ideas were all potential ways to gain a foothold in the desired space.

"Yes, I think Naboo could do nicely. There is the problem of some of their planetary governance being fiercely independent... But inferior states such as theirs can be toppled with the proper implementation of force. I will not burden you with that, though. You have proven to be quite valuable to my Emperor's plans, Lady Sha."

T'zarna paused for a moment to bring her wrist communicator up to her lips. "Bring it in, quickly!" She buzzed into her commlink, causing her cadre of troopers to enter the room. One brought a black attache up to the negotiating table. Inside was a gleaming stack of credits bearing the alliance insignia.

"These credits have been thoroughly cleaned of any trace of Imperial banking. They will appear as a donation to the federation from one of our many shell companies. They are yours, it should total to around 50,000 credits. Another 500,000 will be funneled to the Trade Federation over the course of the next two months. This will be enough to start our relationship, I would hope."

Brehg Sha

 

[Brehg Sha]

Sha could see the gears turning in the Inquisitor's head as she mulled over the concept of taking operations to Naboo. It had been an excellent play in Sha's humble opinion, it undermined a nearby power with a hostile history yet still gave the Imperial something agreeable to take back to her superiors.

"I strive to be valuable." Sha replied smoothly, grinning over steepled fingers as her credits were brought into the room. 50,000 was nothing to sneeze at, and neither was the additional stipend she would be siphoning off, but she had other interests in Imperial space besides credits.

"A generous donation to the Federation to be sure, but the Empire has something else that could prove even more valuable to me: subversives. These criminal elements could provide many lucrative opportunities for someone in my position, and I would be happy to provide any actionable intelligence I collect to the proper authorities." This was going to be the real hard sell of the meeting, Sha could accept the money but she was also aware of a burgeoning underground in the Empire through her own network of illegal contacts. But an Inquisitor might be hesitant to share information about such criminal elements, especially when they were not aligned with her own government.

T'zarna Khab