Business Calls

[Gabriel Audemars]

Crystalsong,
Coruscanti Colony,
Early Afternoon

Gabriel was seated on a chair inside a rather luxurious craft, not taking his bounty hunting craft for this occasion, as here he was going for a meeting of a very different sort, a business meeting with a Ri'essi countess by the looks of things. The Ri'essi had purchased a lot of weapons from him in the past and Gabriel quite enjoyed their custom. But he had not actually met any of them in person, now would be a good opportunity to boost relations between the Union and ArmTech.

Gabriel dressed formally for the occasion, he didn't really know the Ri'essi customs and manners or whatnot but he figured a very crisp tuxedo was a universal language for formality, topping this look off with a rather expensive-looking gold watch, along with gold-trimmed aviators. Dressed more like an agent than anything else but he felt he was dressed appropriately for the meeting.

As the ship entered Crystalsong's airspace he took a quick look outside, taking a glance at the structures, he hadn't been to this part before so it was a welcome sight to behold. In any case the scenery had to wait, he had a meeting to attend to and he was pretty excited about it.

The ship touched down on the landing pad, the doors opening with a hydraulic hiss and a small cloud of white smoke as the cabin depressurized. Stepping out of the ship and adjusting his sunglasses, Gabriel walked towards the speeder which would ferry him to the meeting point.

It didn't take very long to get there at all, and in about a good 10 minutes he had arrived at the destination that the two had agreed on.

[member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"]

 

[Nyxie]

There Kurah had waited for her guest; a quant villa-like office building set on a crystalline cliff overlooking one of the colonies. Once inside, one couldn't help but to be paused by the breathtaking view of a landscape laden with pearl-iridescent canopies and sapphire-blue flowers over glistening, verdant fields.
Kurah herself was no worshipper of Ri'ess, the goddess to which the union was named, but an equal member of the Ri'essi Union no less. In fact, she wasn't intendedly a member of the Union at all but a Warden of the Crystalsong Commonwealth which had formed largely in part due to the corporate allegiance that was the Union. Before it had entered the larger picture, the colonies were divided and constantly encroaching on aboriginal territory. There was originally to be a cold war, but instead there was unity under a single interstellar collective.
Kurah quickly lofted into her office at the highest floor of the structure, the wall behind her a large, concave window that displayed the breathtaking view of the colony and surrounding steppes. Her body floated along and gently fell into a large, terentatek-leather seat. All that the Diathim had to do now was to wait await the arrival of her guest to her office: Office of the Warden of the Crystalsong System.

[member="Gabriel Audemars"]​

 

[Gabriel Audemars]

The crystal cliffs observable in this environment were truly mesmerizing, he hadn't seen structures like these before, all made of wonderful, shimmering crystals. It seemed so exotic and different from anything else. Perhaps he should buy a property here, a no amount of money seemed to make up for the view he was currently being given.

He walked through the door of the building, the secretary behind the desk telling him to head towards the summit of the structure, where the person he was meeting currently resided. He wasn't that nervous, he was dressed sharply. But he was unsure exactly how polite he should be with these people, or if he was allowed to crack a couple jokes throughout, he'd have to improvise his speech as he discovered more about the person holding this rendezvous.

Upon his arrival at the top floor, he was guided to the quarters where the rendezvous would be held. He knocked the door three times, waiting for permission to enter. Time to see if he could shift some products. He liked the Ri'essi Union, and considering they had once asked him to produce a weapon specifically fitting to their demands, they obviously appeared to like him. He was eager to see how he could boost relations between the two groups, actually outfitting a whole union with weaponry would be a massive step up for his company, and he'd surely see his wallet get fatter if he was successful.

[member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"]

 

[Nyxie]

At the wave of Kurah's hand, an ambassador droid opened the crystalwood door to her office. Several bronzium or cryastium statues lined either side of the room as well as a large holoprojector and an equally large marble desk. A sword rack full of ancient crystalline swords and various aboriginal weapons ornamented the view behind her desk, where the landscape window lie. None of it was important; only the woman representing the interests and investments of the Ri'essi Union and the man before her mattered, and were the only reasons she attended.
"Greetings, [member="Gabriel Audemars"]. I trust your journey here went well? Please, have a seat."
The ambassador droid approached Audemars and bowed.
"Good day, sir. Can I offer you any refreshments?" it asked.

 

[Gabriel Audemars]

And finally, the door to the office opened. A very well decorated office at that, loads of what seemed to be native art. Whether it be sculptures or blades there was a lot to know about this planet's culture just by looking at them. Very nice office. "Kurah, I assume? It's a pleasure to meet you." He smiled to her, removing his sunglasses in one swift move, giving a brief showing of his pearly white teeth with his smile along with his almost cyan eyes "The journey wasn't that long. I enjoyed watching the scenery though, this planet's pretty beautiful huh?" He spoke after having sat down and placed a briefcase on the table in front of him.

Also, there was an ambassador droid, as expected for someone who claimed to be the Warden of a whole planetary system. And here it was offering refreshments which sounded awfully tempting even at the start of this meeting. "Uh, yeah sure. I'd like a whiskey, on rocks please." He requested to the droid, before turning his attention back to Kurah. "I brought along one of each weapon you ordered in case you want to look at them in more detail." He noted, unclipping his briefcase open.

[member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"]

 

[Nyxie]

"Right away, sir," the droid replied before trailing off to Kurah's minibar, which hadn't actually seen use from Kurah herself since being appointed the office.
Kurah rose to show respect to her guest. She drew closer to the case as Audemars opened it, carefully lifting out the rifle from within. Kurah was never one to understand synthetic technology much, being a shaper elite herself who hailed from the Horde, but she quickly took to the qualities of the MN-23 well. She didn't require much experience or tech-savvy to know that it was light, compact and ergonomical. Altgether it had the makings of a very reliable firearm. Now she just needed to know if it could shoot straight worth a damn.
"So, Mr. Audemars, I must say I am very pleased with the initial presentation of this firearm. However, I would require to know how well it fires and endures battlefield conditions before I can finalize and sign the Supply and Maintenance contract to requisition them in the long term for our forces."
Kurah placed the rifle back down upon her desk, turned and made her way to the window outlook while the ambassador droid came back with [member="Gabriel Audemars"]' Corellian whiskey and ice.
"Originally, Crystalsong was alone, undivided. It was, as you see, a world of endless beauty and providence. This, however, attracted the attention of galactic colonists, and before long colony after colony was established on what were once natural or aboriginal lands. Now there is a colonial micro-city for the Corustanti, Tatooinians, Corellians and even Mnencheiasurians. It wasn't until the decisive formation of the Crystalsong Commonwealth with the help of various diplomats from each peoples and the Ri'essi Union that all were united and the expansion of foreign territories became regulated. Peace comes at a price, Audemars. For us, that price is the responsibility to protect and watch over these people and the beautiful world you see before you today.
Kurah calmly turned back around to face Gabriel, arms still crossed behind her back.
"That is what this is about; that is why I've been sent to requisition these rifles from you. It is only a matter of time before the greed, zealotry or patriotism of the greater galaxy comes to Crystalsong, and we must show as a force to be recognized lest that prosperity and freedom be taken away once more."

 

[Gabriel Audemars]

He smirked as he finally got his whiskey, picking up the glass almost immediately and taking a sip, the ice clonking around inside the glass audibly as he did so. He raised an eyebrow a bit when she turned around, examining [member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"] a bit, not ogling her however, but what he could tell was that she was incredibly tall, taller than him by quite a few inches in fact, and Gabriel wasn't short. Plus her horns gave her a lot of extra height. Funny that, but she did look very imposing, definitely not someone he'd want to anger.

"Good to hear. And that's not a problem with me, I'm pretty confident you and your soldiers will like what I produce." He smirked, taking another sip of his Corellian, letting the hard liquor burn down his throat refreshingly. He listened attentively to the woman speaking to him, she appeared to be talking about the creation of the new Ri'essi Union, and what all of the groups had to endure before this Union was formed, and that made Gabriel reflect on his past a lot, a dark, dark past of mercenary activities. He had been there, to beautiful worlds from exotic jungles to polar aurora painted tundra. He had also killed numerous native populations while rolling with a gang. He had been there commiting these atrocities, stealing, pillaging and murdering. He did all that for a paycheck only 2 years ago.

He took a much larger sip of his whiskey, he could see that what was going on in this crystaline paradise, they had seen what beautiful planets go through, destruction, occupation and quite often, the eradication of their native population. He could practically see the flashbacks of him abusing native prisoners on other worlds, ruthlessly killing and burning down villages, collecting the corpses of exotic animals for pelts and leather, he had been in that sort of grimy environment and while bounty hunting was considered incredibly inhumane, being a Mercenary of Gabriel's caliber was truly disgusting, and this story merely made him want to forget it.

He recalled blowing up huts with hand grenades, ruining scenery to excavate for precious materials. And those were the fires from which Gabriel became a man, and he had learned several very important moral lessons on the way.

He let out a long sigh and took a larger swig of his whiskey, almost finishing the glass. Waiting for her to finish, staying silent for a couple of seconds before speaking "Y'know, Ms. Rrusho, I've been to many, many planets. I've done some pretty messed up stuff, I've partaken in total annhilation of several worlds and their natives because a bunch of filthy rich people asked me to." He spoke, looking a bit pensive. "But I can say for sure I ain't seen any planet as beautiful as this one. I vow with all of my power that I will help you to protect the people of this stunning place."

 

[Nyxie]

Warmly smiling - a thing the woman didn't do very often - Kurah offered [member="Gabriel Audemars"] her hand to seal the agreement.
"That is very noble of you. I pray they need never to see use."
Her eyes rolled over to the ambassador droid, who caught her glance and came over with the necessary legal documentation to form the contract between the Commonwealth and ArmTech. It was presented before Audemars on her desk along with an electrum astronautical pen. Her signature came first, then his could follow.

 

[Gabriel Audemars]

[member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"]

Happy he could bring not only a smile, but reassurance to the woman he was negotiating a contract with. He shook her hand in a gesture that finally gave a concrete end to these negotiations, and they would end with both parties satisfied. "The galaxy is a very unforgiving place. I know that much." He spoke. At least those weapons would be there when the people of the Union were in distress. In a way he felt rather good, ensuring the safety of the population with new, high-quality means to protect them.

He took the pen, signing where his name should be and with that, the negotiations were done. He would be supplying the union with weapons he made. The business grew quickly for him to be doing all this stuff already.

And with that, there wasn't really much else to talk about. She was in her office so he imagined that she probably had some important work to do, otherwise the Warden he negotiated with seemed like quite an interesting person. And this was an interesting planet, he figured he should probably take a better look around once he left.

"Thank you. And it was lovely to make your acquaintance Ms.Rrusho." The well-dressed man feeling pleased with the business they had just concluded.

[member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"]

 

[Nyxie]

"Wait, there is one more thing," Mistress Kurah quickly added.
She grabbed the rifle back out of the case before her as well as the adjacent magazine. Her hand waved for the ambassador droid to follow as she began walking towards the door and past Audemars.
"Do you have time to test this firearm with me?" asked Kurah.

[member="Gabriel Audemars"]​

 

[Gabriel Audemars]

She actually had to test the firearm. He had completely forgotten, it wasn't really an issue but he still felt rather absent-minded. He was however very confident that the weapon of his design would perform up to her standards.
"Oh yeah, of course." He responded with a smirk. Following her past the door, taking a little look at what was around him in the hallway with curiosity. He'd be partaking in more testing, he'd tested these weapons himself before but she actually needed to take a look at them in action and he was completely fine with that. The confidence of a man who believed in his products.



[member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"]

 

[Nyxie]

"Very good."
Kurah, rifle still in hand with empty magazine clipped in, made her way to a large glass elevator at the end of the hall. It took the three back to the main lobby floor, but instead of leaving the way they came in towards the landing pads and main road, she guided [member="Gabriel Audemars"] out of the back of the building which lead towards the greater woods separating the colony and cliff-side from the deeper parts of continental Crystalsong.
There was a large, ancient tree near the edge of the woods, hardly the only of its kind present but an easy target nonetheless. Not long after Kurah floated aloft her preferred firing location, a small shuttle flew by, unloading a crate of various kinds of ammunition and some target dolls. She waited patiently as the workers of the Ri'essi Union established a makeshift shooting range in the free open, prompting Audemars before she'd decide to load the weapon with basic full metal jacket rounds.
"That tree is over a thousand years old in galactic standard. It's bark is made up of a high-carbon crystalline lattice."
Kurah clicked the selector into the burst fire mode with her thumb and quickly gripped the rifle into firing position. With a pull of the trigger, three golden rounds hurdled down the range and into the side of the tree, making sharp pinging sounds as they struck the living crystal shell. A brief pause ensued, only to be followed by three more bursts of gunfire in succession, striking the same general area of the large tree. A final hail of bullet spray left the rifle on the automatic selection, still leaving overall accuracy fairly consistent.
"Recoil is negligible. Fire rate is superior for its class as service rifle. Overall shape is ergonomic and easy to maintain target with prior to reloading."
Then, the Warden of Arcrystal ejected the clip and emptied the magazine to be filled with rounds of a different kind.
"We shall see how well it performs using unconventional munition types. The first nine are incendiary, the tenth through fifteenth are hollow jacketed acid, the sixteenth through twenty first are electrical shock and the rest are steel-core. Care to try?"
Kurah locked the safety and offered up both rifle and mixed magazine.

 

[Gabriel Audemars]

He followed the tall Warden of this mysterious planet through the hallway and into the elevator, wondering where they were headed to, most likely some sort of firing range. But he could see they were going to head out of the building and once again into the scenic expanse that was Crystalsong. This posed no issue to Gabriel at all, the more scenery he could see the better.

As the man exited the structure he pulled his aviators out of a small pocket on the blazer of his black suit. Placing them over his eyes, and considering he was finally outside, he could indulge in one of the simplest pleasures of life. A smoke. He removed a cigarette from a gold case stowed in the jacket pocket, lighting it with a lighter which was again golden, only much more faded and slightly dented. As if it were something which had seen a lot of use.

His impossibly cyan eyes watched the soldiers of the Ri'essi Union set up a firing range from something dropped down from a shuttle, makeshift. But it was more than satisfactory for what they'd be testing. And their target for today seemed to be some kind of crystalline tree, he couldn't say he'd seen any sort of plantation which resembled this, but by the looks of it it was definitely a solid target to shoot. "Almost a shame to shoot that thing."
He spoke before taking a puff of his cigarette.

But it seemed the tree held up quite well after having watched her unload a whole clip into it, and ended up being delighted with her review on it. "It performs pretty much the same out to 400 meters as well." He noted factually, with confidence.

And now was something a bit more fun, with unconventional bullets. The weapon handled these quite well in initial testing, but it was always fun shooting bullets which differed from the norm. "Sounds fun, sure." He accepted. "Thanks miss." He smirked as he placed the weapon in the correct firing position, his UV-shielded eye peering through the sight as he set the first 3 rounds in a 3 round burst to get a better view of the incendiary rounds setting off large, white-hot sparks as they clattered into the crystal tree. Following these shots up with a long trigger pull, the acid rounds sending corrosive substances into the bark itself, he wasn't sure how the acid would react and he wasn't sure if it'd be immediate. But the massive sparks produced from the electric shock rounds were definitely pretty awesome.

He lowered the weapon, barrel now smoking from having emptied the whole magazine. "Yep. I definitely would not want to be shot with one of these." He chuckled, these rounds could definitely do some serious damage.

[member="Mistress Kurah Rrusho"]​