Dealing with Paper and Steel

[Laira Darkhold]

I walked calmly from the shuttle that had returned me to Mandalore. Not too long ago I had been here working for MandalHypernautics, and this time [member="Captain Larraq"] had contacted me about some of the new technology ArmaTech had been producing. As it stood, our facilities were lacking and we hadn't expanded far enough to sustain production of the products we had created. We would reach that goal soon, but not soon enough. I am sure that is the reason MandalHypernautics requested this meeting. Rumor was they were looking to expand their inventory of Vehicle based products, and they certainly had the facilities required to manufacture the ACS-400 series while we expanded. I approached the massive headquarters building and was politely greeted my staff members. The ushered me forward into a dedicated turbolift to take me to the floor [member="Captain Larraq"] used for his personal office. The turbolift dinged and a security officer approached me as the doors opened. "I will need you to check your weapons sir," He said. That was going to be difficult.

"Yeah, unfortunately I wear quite a bit of weapons, and I ain't stripping for you. Just let your boss know that I am here and if you feel the need warn him I am in full gear." I told the security officer. He didn't like the answer, and I knew I was no where near as trusted as the many Mandalorians that probably passed through here, but worst case we would negotiate through a ray shield.

 

[Captain Larraq]

On Mandalore, the wearing of weapons and armor was so common as to be expected. One would be more wary of an apparently unarmed pedestrian than one walking down city streets in full tactical gear, pushing a baby carriage. But there were some places, notably establishments of wealthy businesses, some government buildings, and schools where guests were required to disarm themselves. After all, only teachers were allowed to be armed in Mandalorian schools. The safety of the students was as much their concern as was the education the young mando'ade received.

Mandal Hypernautics Headquarters was one such location. True, the lower levels and common areas were free of such restrictions, but the higher floors, the high profile employees, labs, and databanks were all deemed of high enough importance to request that all but the designated security personnel be disarmed before entry. All the same, the security guard would stand silently for a moment as the slight whisper of a comm bead could be heard outside the man's helmet. "You've been cleared for entry." The security guard said at last, standing aside to let the man pass. Directly in front of [member="Draco Vereen"], a beautiful young secretary smiled at the Republic Citizen and gestured towards the large, double wooden doors to her right. "He's expecting you." She said as she pressed a button and the double-doors opened automatically.

 

[Captain Larraq]

Within the confines of the office, Rygel Larraq sat behind a large, ornately carved wooden desk. Expensive furniture was scattered about the office and the odd piece of art lined various areas of wall. The wall opposite Rygel Larraq's desk was a bay window that extended from floor to ceiling and from one wall to the other. The window showed the harsh desert landscape that surrounded Sundari and showed that, apparently, the Mandal Hypernautics Headquarters Building extended above the shield-dome of the city itself. A large holo-projector sat centrally on the far side of the room and currently displayed what one could only assume was the status of various hyperspace travels through Mandalorian space. Laying on a mat, opposite the windowed wall and not terribly far from Larraq's own desk, was the man's pet Vornksr, Talyn. Where once the creature had been resting its jowls lazily upon its crossed forelimbs, the creature's head and ears now perked upright and alert as the creature stared down the Republic Citizen. A moment passed before the creature emitted a low snorting-gruff and returned to lazily resting its head on its paws.

"Welcome." Rygel Larraq said as he stood from his desk.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Thank you for seeing me. I understand you are interested in some of ArmaTech's new vehicle systems. I was hoping we could come to some sort of arrangement." I said, straight to the point. There was no need to barter or beat around the bush. Both of us certainly had other things to work on and no doubt [member="Captain Larraq"] was looking to get back to his work just as I was. Personally, I didn't like would. Polished plastoid or Stone was much more towards my tastes, but I assume to each their own. The beast that stared me down was something I didn't mind. I had stared down worse. I barely recognized the creature, and its name and characteristics escaped me as I entered the room. I made my way to stand in front of one of the chairs. It was rude to sit without being invited to do so, so I remained standing in front of the desk.

 

[Captain Larraq]

"Please, have a seat." Larraq said as he returned to his own. A half finished glass of scotch rested on the table next to an ashtray with only a single cigarette butt resting within its confines. Here and there, the odd stack of papers cluttered one corner of his desk and a computer screen rested atop the opposing corner. "I've been keeping tabs on some of your projects since last we met." Larraq said with a nod towards the stacks of papers and no mention as to his continued curiosity as to the eventual fate of the technology he had gifted the man with upon his last visit to Mandalore. "And I must say that I'm fairly impressed with some of them. I brought you here today to talk about what Mandal Hypernautics can do to help you get these inventions of yours onto the market." He said as he tapped at a keyboard. Towards the wall to [member="Draco Vereen"]'s left, the holoprojector shifted to display several of the advanced vehicle components, upgrades, and technologies that he had recently developed. "I'm also fairly sure that we can find a few uses for some of these on the products that Mandal Hypernautics has in development." He said as he finished off the amber contents of his glass and gestured towards Draco with the empty glass, silently asking if he'd like one as well.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

I took the offered seat, dropping into the cushioned chair while continuing to keep my attention towards the CEO of MandalHypernautices. "I'm fine, thank you." I said when offered a drink. I had just taken a shot of whiskey before arriving and didn't want to risk getting too buzzed during the meeting, that might make my untrained, inexperienced sense of the business world too murky to understand what I was doing in the first place. "What did you have in mind for our Tech?" I asked the man sitting across the table from me, "And just to be clear, I doubt we have the facilities to produce the amount of units you probably have in mind. At least not quickly." In truth I could probably meet an order but it would require stopping production in every other field in order to match [member="Captain Larraq"] 's style of massive scale of production. It would take time, but the building on Iego would ease the tension of trying to fill orders from multiple factions.

 

[Captain Larraq]

Opening a small door under his desk and retrieving one of the many bottles which resided there, Larraq listened to Draco. Larraq's had vices that would make Peter Dinklage proud, and all the funds to support them. The 'fridge' in his desk was actually only a small part of an entire 'wine cellar' built directly under his office. The 'fridge' part of it was simply a few racks connected to a lift that could be lowered into the cellar for refilling at any time. Somewhere in the room below Larraq and Draco was a droid who's only job or purpose was to keep Rygel Larraq drunk. "Actually," Larraq said as he poured himself another drink. "That's exactly what I had in mind for your technology. At least, in regard to helping you get your products on the market." He continued as he returned the bottle to its previous location and closed the door. The man paused to take a sip, savoring the flavor and strength of the beverage for a moment before swallowing, then continued. "ArmaTech currently does not have the manufacturing facilities to produce your products in a large enough quantity to fill any reasonable buy order. Mandal Hypernautics, on the other hand, has factories and shipyards on over a half-dozen worlds." He said as he leaned back in his chair and nodded towards the holodisplay. "I'd like to build those for you." He said to [member="Draco Vereen"] as he continued to stare at them. "On lease, of course. It should only take you... maybe three years of sales before you have manufacturing capabilities to the point that you'd no longer need the leg-up."

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Not a bad deal, depending on what he wanted in return for the assistance. I had a feeling he wasn't all that interested in selling the packages as they weren't really his forte, and they often added more work than it was worth to package and sell someone else's products for them. That was why licensing companies made I killing I suspected. "And what would you want in return. Just the ability to produce the tech for yourself, or do you want to license and sell the products yourself?" I asked. I was uncomfortable dealing away the new product line so hastily, but he was absolutely right about not being able to mass produce the products with out current facilities. Our factory on Iego and Taanab were struggling to keep up the other orders we had, much less the new ones that would no doubt be coming in soon. The Republic vehicles, desperately needed an upgrade and soon before the Sith began their inexorable advance again.

[member="Captain Larraq"]

 

[Captain Larraq]

Larraq arched an eyebrow at the comment. "No, nothing so bold." He said as he sat his glass upon his desk. "Your product to sell and do with what you wish. We'll just make them and ship them back to you. You'll be charged for the manufacturing and shipping costs of course, but the gesture is one of good will... not an angle." He said as he looked [member="Draco Vereen"] in the eyes. "We'll even look into buying a few from you as well. As I said, Mandal Hypernautics has a few projects in development that may or may not be able to make use of your technology." He continued as he turned his attention to the computer screen on his desk. "Send a few prototypes our way so my engineers can have a look at them, see how they compare to what we're currently working with, and we'll see what sort of contract we can come up with." Larraq said as he clicked out of whatever he was looking at on the computer and returning his attention to Draco. "After signing the usual non-disclosure and non-compete clause of course. I'm not out to try and trick you out of your products Mr. Vereen. I'm here to help you kickstart your company." He said as he gestured reassuringly with his hands, before one of which found its way back towards the drink he has placed upon the table.

Spoiler

OOC: May want to lengthen your posts a bit. Accepted minimum length per post in a dev thread is 5 lines. Your last two are only 3 lines long.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

I listened intently to the other man, hearing out his proposition. It sounded good, even with the cost of manufacturing and shipping having to be paid out, it was still better than having to refuse orders because I couldn't meet them. That would drive me into the ground and ruin everything ArmaTech had become in the short time it had been off the ground. "I didn't mean to imply that's what you were going for. I was only wondering if that's what you wanted [member="Captain Larraq"] . But the deal you have proposed sounds good enough to me." I told the rich man. "I don't have any wish to compete with someone much more rooted down and much larger than me, and I would much prefer to continue working on projects together. It makes more sense that way." No compete clauses and agreements were normally simple and well grounded in reality and wouldn't seriously injure my future product line. MandalHypernautics and ArmaTech specialized in different fields for the most part, and I hoped we would continue a good working relationship. "I have one last question sir. I was hoping to mine just a little Mandalorian Iron, excuse me, Beskar, for myself? Nothing audacious, just enough for a pair of gauntlets." I asked, hopefully.

 

[Captain Larraq]

"No offense taken." Larraq said as he sipped at the glass that had found its way into his right hand. "And I'm glad the deal is to your liking. I see a great deal of potential in you and your company, Mr. Vereen. I look forward to seeing what you're capable of achieving and don't mind making that road a little easier on you." He said as he continued to hold the glass long after he had taken his sip. "And it does manage to help Mandal Hypernautics in the meantime." He said as he finally returned the glass of scotch to its place near the edge of his desk. The final question of [member="Draco Vereen"] caught him a little off-guard though. "Beskar is not an easy metal to work with." He said as he arched an eye at the proposal. "The manner in which you work the metal is as important as the metal itself. Even the smallest mistake can ruin the ore and deprive the final product of the properties Beskar is so famed for. It takes years of training before even our most experienced smiths are allowed to touch the ore by their masters." Larraq said, unconsciously comparing the relationship of a master and apprentice Beskar Smith to that of a Sith or Jedi Padawan and their master.

"I've given you a suit." Larraq said as he pulled a small pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his breast pocket and began the ritual of smoking as he continued to talk. "I won't begrudge you a set of gauntlets to go with it." He said before pausing to light the cigarette now between his lips and inhale sharply. "If you really think you're up to the task, I'll give you some of the ore from Mandal Hypernautics' stockpile... But you'd be better served just giving one of my smiths an order for each specific cut of metal, and having us ship it to you when ready." He said as he enjoyed his cigarette, not minding the smell of it or thinking about the burnt-ash smell that would come after.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Actually that would be better. Phrik was one thing, and it was very difficult to work with. Rumor had had it that Beskar was even worse if you didn't know what you were dealing with. "Absolutely that would be even better. As good as we are at ArmaTech we have never had the opportunity to work with the stuff. Obviously I will pay for the expenses and the ore, but I would prefer to assist your smith if at all possible. I like to work on things I intend to wear myself, I feel it allows me to trust the equipment better than just putting on stock equipment, if you know what I mean." I looked around for a second, taking in the view from the window. Mandalore was a beautiful world, despite its massive desert. "Thank you for helping us out with this, we really needed it if we want to keep growing without taking a few steps backwards. If you need help or have any work you need done, don't hesitate to ask." ArmaTech really did need the help, and in three years we hoped to be much, much larger, and much better entrenched as a brand to the people. "Now where do we sign to make this thing official?" I asked standing up.

[member="Captain Larraq"]

 

[Captain Larraq]

Larraq too glanced out the window and into the brilliant sun of the Sundari Desert. From his current seat, he could still see clearly the Harvester Prototype that sat upon a still active Beskar Mine. [member="Draco Vereen"] had done his part to help establish the mine that his employees and droids still worked feverishly to pull ore from. "Don't worry about the Beskar." Larraq said as he stared at the massive mining factory in the distance. "You can consider it a gift. And whatever you wish to assist with, you're more than welcome to work out with the smith. Just stop by room 734 on your way out of the building to set things up." He said as he returned his gaze from the window and looked again at the man opposite him. "But I cannot have you assist him or be present in the room during the forging process. It is one thing to give you Beskar, it is another entirely to have you observe the forging process." Larraq said with a regretful but serious look on his face. "And as for the paperwork... I'll have it ready and transmitted to your legal team by the time you return to Jabiim."