Investing in the Future

[Laira Darkhold]

Laira straightened her dress, not exactly her favorite attire but she was meeting with one of the older Clan Rekali men about working out a deal between Alderaan Engineering and Clan Rekali Incorporated as Princess Laira Vereen and her mother had been adamant there needed to be a distinction between her as a princess and her as a spacer. No doubt Laira was taking the approach very literally and wearing the crown and green dress where a spacer's outfit would have done just as well on purpose. Despite all her grumblings about not wanting to be a princess, what she really didn't want was the responsibility that came with it. Laira liked the money, the dresses, the attention for the most part; she just didn't want to be famous and have to do meetings like this but it was her one and only concession to her parents when she headed out that she would at least be semi-available for Alderaan Engineerings public relations wing.

Today she was meeting with @Samuel Rekali , an old friend of her Grandmother's and the brother of one of her Father's mentors. The redhead made herself comfortable in the foyer of the Mountain Palace, the sparse amount of guards and servants were mostly absent beyond just two knights just inside the door. Outside there were some more on duty, but certainly not an army's worth, just whatever was appropriate to have when the queen was not present and the majority of the Royal Family was elsewhere.

Her aide Sera had made all the documents and reports on the catalog and systems available, so now it was just waiting to meet with the older gentleman and reach an agreement between the Clan and the Corporation that could benefit them both.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Laira Vereen"]

Contrary to Laira Sam did not have anyone telling him what to do.

There was always Fennec's annoyed glance, but with Alec pursuing some kind of new project in the Roil, it was Sam who kept the clan together. Especially with the whole crap with Vilaz and the gorram Clans. He heard what Alec had done, counter-act the Mand'alore directly and risk open warfare between them and the Clans.

Would have done the same damn thing if he was in her shoes.

How a man can turn away aid, when their people were hurting? Was beyond Sam, even if he disliked the Silvers as much as the other guy.

So Rekali was wearing some dusty overalls, but at least there weren't stained to hell and back with motor oil and crap.

"Princess Organa." Sam greeted dryly after being admitted. "Remember you when you were just in your little crib."

"Grown-up in the flash of time it seems."

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Laira had heard about the situation with the Mand'alor and the aid ships, but heard and been there were different things. She knew that her father's strong distrust of the new Mand'alore and his erattic tendencies had been one of the reasons Draco had retired, not willing to go to war over something petty or a cause he didn't believe in. Draco had taught her there were always times when the older men got tired of killing the younger men and hung up their swords. His time with the Sith had accelerated his unwillingness to commit to full scale war, and after the defeat of the One Sith and the Republic, Draco had been a stay at home father for all but a handful of days of her childhood.

"Yes, I'm always meeting people that say that, or people that tell me about how my father and them used to be the best of friends." She smiled and stood to greet the older gentleman with a hug rather than a formal handshake or letting him kiss the ring she wore on her right hand. The more formal greeting wasn't uncommon among the Knights or citizenry of Alderaan that met her, sometime they were confused and waited for her to allow such, other times a handshake and warm smile was all they wanted. In her younger years Laira often took her nobility for granted and ignored those customs completely, but as she grew older she realized that to some people those customs were what made them feel connected even if the Princess thought it was too degrading.

"It's good to see you mister Rekali. So rarely do we get visits from our favorite cousins." Not by blood of course, but by customs. Rekali and Vereen were often of one mind on matters, and though Laira was not a Mandalorian and did not take up the culture, she was raised around it and largely by it. Other than the wear armor and answer to the Mand'alor she followed the tenants when it suited her. "You know this palace was built a stone's throw from a phrik mine your brother and my father pushed the Death Watch from." The princess took the older man's arm to lead him through the palace and towards the speeder bay.

[member="Samael Rekali"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Laira Vereen"]

Sam snorted.

"Yeah, your daddy got whole lot of friends around." Neutral statement and the face did not show any disapproval, but Rekali came from a generation where words were just words and actions were what mattered. Claiming people as best friends seemed a silly affair to him, unless there was real strength behind those words.

A bond that was unbreakable.

Friendship that moved through generation, echoed by blood and battles shared.

As far as Sam knew few people could count on that kind of tale with the Alor of Clan Vereen. Then he blinked as she led him out of the room and towards the hangar.

In truth he had been expecting a simple sit-in. She'd tell him what Alderaan needed from Rekali and Sam would do his best to see that happen, without it negatively impacting his Clan too much. Their clans went back a long time, so there was some room to play around, but not too much.

"Was busy in the Roil when Ember was handling down business, so can't say that I do. I suppose you are going to show me?"

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Yes, at least lots of people think so." She smiled, her father had a number of allies and actual friends around, though he only claimed a small handful as actual friends. Of them, Ember Rekali had been one before his untimely and regretful death, and so Draco held close admiration for Clan Rekali. Clan Vereen and Clan Rekali had fought together enough times and worked side by side plenty to be friends. But Laira wasn't Clan Vereen, not technically. She never sought her Verd'gotten and had so far refused to be bound to Mandalore or the Mand'alor.

She brought him out to a set of speeders with a pilot waiting. "Yes I was planning on showing you the mine." Laira knew enough about the breaking of Mandalore to know most of the clans were hurting for beskar since the mines were struck worst by the volcanic disruptions, not that Clan Rekali relied heavily on the use of Beskar. "You see, Alderaan Engineering represents the monarchy in the corporate sector and we've begun working on series of products Clan Rekali might be interested in. And that mine produces the phrik for several of our limited edition lines that might interest Clan Rekali."

"Recently the shipyards designed the Champion-class fighter, based somewhat off the XJ3 X-Wing and Mandal Hypernautics Beskad, and from that we also designed the Knight-class, a Phrik armored version like the Beskad." Whether or not the man was aware of of the specifics of the Beskad or XJ3 wasn't important, Laira didn't know the specifics either. Sera had documents of all the data, but that was unimportant.

[member="Samael Rekali"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Laira Vereen"]

Sam was not, in fact, aware of any specifications.

He was here only because the Vereens and Organas were close friends with his family, which meant that he couldn't have just sent some grunt to do the work. This demanded personal attention, but the actual specifics - to figure out if Clan Rekali actually needed the things that Vereen was trying to sell - would be handled by the Rekali engineers.

They knew their stuff and that was enough for Sam.

"Of course, this is your meeting, princess Organa." Sam finally responded. "I will look at whatever you have to show me."

Which didn't mean it would automatically convince him, but that was already understood.

"But no, the engineers will have to look more closely at the specifications, once we are done here. I am just a former smuggler, trying to keep Ember's legacy together."

As best as possible.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Laira grinned at Sam's comment, "Give that line to my grandmother have you?" They had some form of relationship, though Laira wasn't sure on the specifics of that relationship, whether it was romantic or just two people about the same age that enjoyed spending time together. Regardless the thought of her Grandmother running around with a Mandalorian after all the times Laira had heard Draco mention how much she disliked him was a bit hypocritical, and a bit funny.

''Of course. I'm sure your engineers will be more interested in the components we make rather than the ships. I've had the priviledge of flying a few Rekali made vessels, and though I like to brag on Alderaan the Champion is standard issue, not quite the pristine ships I've seen." The Vieldancer came to mind, as did the original run of Theed Hangar vessels when Rekali owned them as well.

"Ember's legacy is a hard one to maintain I'm sure." The old warlock had been influential in many lives and was responsible for saving more people than he was responsible for killing. That could be said to have been a good and honorable legacy by many, especially given how much the old man had sacrificed before his rest.

"What I'm offering to Clan Rekali is simple. We have supplies, munitions, military and civilian hardware for sale, and given the destabilize of the Mandalorian Clans in recent time, it is important Alderaan look after its own stability." Which basically meant they needed to sell things to bring income into the planet so that the Monarchy could support the people and vice versa. "Alderaan is also looking to Clan Rekali to establish an enclave on Alderaan similar to the Clan Vereen Enclave in the Juran Mountains."

[member="Samael Rekali"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Laira Vereen"]

Sam snorted.

"What I tell your grandmother is only for your grandmother's ears."

Probably for the best, because no matter what kind of attitude she was trying to display, Rekali was old enough to recognize posture and bluster where he could see it. The things whispered would probably cause her to blush and feint anyway. So it was best that she didn't know.

"At any rate, I can't promise anything about the enclave- that is Alec's purview solely, but if you convince me it's a good idea, I can put in a good word, maybe."

Clan Rekali was already contemplating leaving Mandalorian Space behind entirely.

Retreat into the Kathol Sector and leave the rest behind, but an enclave here or there had never been an issue for them.

"We are concerned about the state of Mandalore, so you may find us willing to listen."

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"I'm sure." She remarked about her grandmother, though part of her expected they were just friends. Faith had told Laira enough about her father to recognize Samael was different. Sam was more like Draco in culture and composure though, and her mother and father enjoyed each other's company very much, probably one of the reasons she was told to meet with Sam instead of one of them.

"The Clan Vereen Enclave enjoys its independence and access to local phrik sources. They farm, hunt, and live off on their own by their own choice. It might be beneficial to have a waypoint in the core for you cousins that range this way. An asylum if you will. Plus there is the access to phrik, larger mines are controlled and regulated, but some of the old or small mines are unused, possibly available for Clan Rekali's enclave. The only thing about that is we ask that it not be sold off-world by the enclaves." No reason to create competition where there was none by allowing major corporations to come in and mine and sell one of Alderaan's primary exports and cut out Alderaan from the benefits. "Clan Vereen uses it to supplement Beskar since the Clan doesn't have holdings on Mandalore anymore."

"Our manifest, with the specifications." She waved a hand at the woman seated behind them, who produced a datapad with the list and the specifics associated with them. "Key breaks we've made are rotational engine mounts, which allow a starfighter to accelerate in any direction, as well as make quick stops; and advanced chaff launchers that release a charge of dampener aerosol in addition to anti-missile chaff. Besides that, there is a freighter similar to the CEC models of old, and a yacht. Military models are in production, such as the Knight-class I spoke of a moment ago." The redhead pointed a hand at a small docking area filled with crates and the soft sound of distant mining operations could be heard by keen ears.

[member="Samael Rekali"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Laira Vereen"]

Sam nodded.

Both at the explanation of the enclave and the datadpad offered, which was shoved in a pocket to examine later.

Again, not by him, but that was to be expected. After leaving the Mandalorian territories decades ago, he had spend the majority of his time simply wandering around, smuggling and hauling ice from one asteroid to the other. There hadn't been much time to become an expert of engineering or anything of the sort- at least not in the sense of knowing what Clan Rekali would need.

All he could do was give a recommendation, one which was focused on gauging the goals and mood of the other side. See, if they were trying to pull a fast one on his family or if they were legit.

Not that Sam was worried too much about that with Vereen and Organa.

Pretty sure Ari would wreck Draco, if he tried to take advantage of Clan Rekali and by extension him.

"I will take it to my boys, they will figure out what we exactly need, then we will can talk reasonable prices." Rekali responded after a moment of thought. "I will also let Alec know about the enclave, I think it won't be a big problem, but no promises."

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Well, I know we'd love to have some representation of Clan Rekali, even if it wasn't on Alderaan but in space or nearby." The Rekali's would probably prefer a nearby shadowport compared to a populated and monitored system like Alderaan for a waypoint, but that was up to Alec Rekali according to Sam.

"I believe that just about concludes our business until you can discuss prices. Alderaan Engineering isn't as big as Rekalic Inc., and we may never get as large and expansive as it, but our goals are similar. Clan Rekali Inc seeks to tend to the well being of the clan, AE seeks to tend the welfare of Alderaan and her people. That common ground should help us negotiate out something. I'm sure all the cost risk analysis on our end is already done." She looked back to the mine to see the men and women working on pulling ore from the earth slowly but surely.

"There are also things AE would like to purchase. Like the Meshurkaan and Ori'beskaryc pods for the most part. Those could be usefull to us. You can think it over while you go run everything past Alec and get some numbers ran." Laira grinned again as she looked at the old man beside her, "Do try to remember, business before pleasure."

[member="Samael Rekali"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Laira Vereen"]

Again Sam snorted.

This young lady was trying far too hard, but by and all she was almost his cousin, if not by blood than by clan. That would have to be enough for him to accept her as she was. Once again his eyes read over the contract on the datapad, the various moving pieces and things that would earn them both money.

"Well, I can immediately approve the sale of the products you need." The Alor'ad mentioned. "Clan Vereen and Alderaan are friends and these items aren't restricted by and large."

"We will also take any tech you got in medical terms, supplies, housing, good prefab is a pre. But yeah, I will take the rest back to Alec and the Clan, we will get back to you on it."