Private It Pays to Know

[Biala Prahl]

​

Location - Adessh Estate, Western Velmor. Neo-Crusade Space.
Tertius C. Nargath

​

The estate of the Adessh family was a spacious and remote place near the Tol Velmoc mountains. Green fields surrounded it for miles and the home was made of several connecting white spires. It all was reminiscent of Alderaan as she had been constantly reminded, the planet’s history slowly ingraining itself in her mind like a splinter. The estate was far removed from the hub of the capital Den Velmor and it was not the exact place the young warrior expected clandestine meetings to take place either. Biala Prahl followed in the footsteps of the master of the house, Jostheri. Entertaining Velmor’s nobility had been a choice, one she would not have made if not for maintaining the wealth the planet produced for the benefit of the Crusade as a whole.

The rotunda’s open arches welcomed fresh air into the halls of the home as the lanky man led her to one of the many gardens to meet their honored guest. Unlike many of his compatriots, he understood the way of things now. Useful was the best thing any of the former echelon could be to their Clan, to the Neo-Crusade itself. As she descended the stairs that wrapped into a serene place of flora and fountains, each step sounded by black cast armor clinking. Jostheri Adessh had maintained his family’s wealth via..interesting contacts and she had indulged the offer. Aside from the single warning, no Sith.

Laandur, if she could just reach out and strangle the fool. She wondered if he knew yet, he’d get burned for this in the end. It wasn’t personal but how long they could tolerate this…but when and where, she was too inexperienced to decide and would require council. Yet he had been eager enough to approach her, gullible she might be considered still.. Her helmet swiveled, the small hum of insects in the air as they traversed the stone path. It did not matter, they were posture until the war was won across the galaxy itself or one day be free of them.

Biala exhaled, the vent kicking in on her helm as she stared down the marble cut table that would host this little exchange. Taking a seat at the end, Jostheri prattled on as exotic fruit was laid out and refreshment. Biala simply lounged back, kicking her feet up to wait. She couldn’t kriff this up, as she tossed her data pad on the edge of the surface. Numbers, or so the responsible party would need to keep track of on her behalf and her visor tilted toward it; wordlessly. Jostheri quieted, taking the slab in hand as all attention turned toward the end of the table. The Neo-Crusade needed things, weapons, supplies, ships-it didn’t matter but not everyone was eager to take their hard earned and debatably stolen credits…

 

[Tertius C. Nargath]

Location - Adessh Estate, Western Velmor. Neo-Crusade Space.
Transportation: [X]
Biala Prahl

Tapping his fingers on the control panel in front of him, the Marquis showed his discontent with having to deal with little to knowledge at all. While he truly did not mind to meet with Mandalorians, it did surprise him how...un-mandalorian the contact had been. Snivelling like a rat, weaseling around his entourage and weaving his way through all official channels until he got hold of the so-called big man himself. Whomever this contact was... if it had been him, he'd have him shot just for the lowly behavior he had displayed. However, when it came to the mandalorians...most likely they kept someone of this nature around because he still had some uses.

Still, having required HIS presence rather than that of any of his sales team or any of the respresentatives, not even someone of the board, but he, the Chairman of the N&Z Umbrella Corporation, had been requested...if not practically forced to show up at a meeting with someone he did not know and as such he had little to no idea what he was getting himself into. Still, Tertius did not shy away from any possibility of expanding his company's reach, he didn't mind trading with Sith, with Hutts and neither did he have any issues with the notoriously foolhardy mandalorians. Each of them had their pride, their code, their desires and all that he was, was a tool for them to see those desires come true...to him though, they were clients, nothing more, nothing less.

"We've entered into the planet's orbit, Milord," A member of the N&Z security division motioned the Chairman to see out of the viewports on the deck, which revealed the outline of the planet below, the thick atmosphere slowly heating up the heat shields of the ship as it lowered itself into the atmosphere. "You might want to brace yourself, we'll be engaging the thrusters any moment now."

Gripping his hands tightly on the console in front of him, Tertius could feel how the entire ship shuddered as the thrusters started to initiate and slowed the ship's descent until it would be floating within the atmosphere. While he had expected the mandalorians to quickly swarm his ship, it didn't seem to be the case, somewhat strange, but on the other hand understandable given the fact they had had some...issues as of late and they seemed to have still been unable to properly reinvigorate themselves. "I'll be taking a unit along with me, prepare one of the MBT's for descent."

With the smaller shuttle departing, Tertius could finally see the place he was going to, some sort of large estate, most likely belonging to an upper class Velmorian or perhaps a part of the spoils in hands of a mandalorian, the Marquis of Valkan didn't really care about it, simply wondering how long it would take for him to touch down...a question he shouldn't have asked, since the landing was somewhat bumpy.

Upon arrival, there seemed to be some servants ready to escort him, though he could've taken the unit of security personel with him, Tertius decided against it, ordering them to keep the vicinity secured and to avoid any confrontation. For now, He'd have to show some good faith and strength of character to those who had practically demanded his presence.

Arriving in the large room after being escorted, the Marquis' eyes drifted over the long table, until his eyes fell upon the one who he was supposed to meet. This was clearly and without question a mandalorian, so rather than showing this one the fancy, elegance of a courteous bow, the Marquis instead opted for a more formal, military greeting as he slammed his boots together and chose to nod deftly and firmly towards the woman before sitting down as well. "May I assume that you are the one... Adessh wanted me to indulge with a meeting?"

Taking a seat himself, the Marquis tilted his head a bit and suddenly chuckled. "I gather from your posture and your... pleasant demeanor that you have been hooked into this meeting just as much as myself..."

Nodding again, the man showed a gentle smile towards Biala Prahl , intending to break the ice a bit. "Allow me to introduce myself, I AM Tertius Nargath, Chairman of the N&Z Umbrella Corporation and the Marquis of Valkan, Eriadu. Who do I have the pleasure adressing in what I assume to become an interesting conversation?"​

 

[Biala Prahl]

Location - Adessh Estate, Western Velmor. Neo-Crusade Space.
Tertius C. Nargath

​

The shifting expressions and nervous tick was easily concealed behind her visor, Biala the growing restless as her eyes flickered from one corner of the towering garden to the other. Here she had been under the impression she had kept the other party waiting. Black visor reflecting the grandeur of their..guest. Biala chewed on her cheek, slow to move as the man nodded and she leaned forward and her feet rose off the table and she sat herself back with a bit more decorum. Her helm title then to greet their newest addition to the little tea party, taking stock of him…A noble if she had to guess, the vent exhaust sounded as Biala’s helm turned to the Lord Adessh and back to the guest.

Frankly she didn’t know what to make of him.

“Indulge?” Biala’s voice fluctuated through the helm, a curious tone but borderline accusatory as their middle man shifted uneasily at her side. The woman’s fingers thrummed on the rough cut stone of the seat. Pleasant..he had to be facetious. Her hands abruptly came to rest in her lap there after, worn leather gloves snug as she laced her fingers together.

He was being facetious, Biala reasoned. The small throb at her temple inching her waning patience closer to the edge. The Adessh staff moved around them deftly, offering libations and glazed cakes as this little clandestine meeting began. The woman had to swallow her own guffaw at the thought. Her dark helm dipped once again, nodding as the man introduced himself, there was something almost to prim about him in appearance.

“It is nice to meet the face behind one of the very catalog’s most free space had access to, such a treat,” her tone dripped with false excitement, once again looking back to Lord Addesh. How, and why filtered through her mind but a beat of tense silence followed before she relented. “I am Biala of Clan Prahl, representing the new governorship of Velmor under the Neo Crusade movement…I believe you have got the right idea of the situation..Lord

It was a venture if the title was correct or not, but what was there to really lose.

“N&Z Umbrella has caught my eye don’t get me wrong, but I thought you’d be more creative Adessh ..you could have brought me a Huttese arms dealer, a black market ship dealer of stolen Imperial goods, could of even spiced it up and brought an actual Sith to the table but..just a stand up gentleman. Respectfully, take an extended trip to Alderaan.”

Kriffing Alderaan, that was still a mess locally. Biala weighed her options, she could have sent a requisition in and she wanted to scream. Now she weighed wasting someone's time, and perhaps someone she didn’t want to..upset? She shoo’d aside any fleeting insults in her mind related to the situation, what did they even begin to discuss-agitation chasing her tail.

Biala decided then wasn’t going to shoot the Lordling here, her visor turning to bore at him. One hand reached across to retrieve her data pad back from his grasp with a hard yank, leaning in on her elbow as she faintly pointed toward the garden’s exit. When he didn’t move, her blaster clattered on to the marble table-drawn in a quick flourish only to be dropped in front of Adessh and it flushed him from his seat like a gamebird.

"So as you see there was a lesson learned here today," Biala wagged her finger in the air, the sound of the other’s retreating footsteps echoing. She sounded like she was scolding herself if anything. "I won't really waste your time with questions about product aside from one. Realistically how fast could you supply a heavy cruiser with a stocked hangar to this sector?”

 

[Tertius C. Nargath]

Location - Adessh Estate, Western Velmor. Neo-Crusade Space.
Transportation: [X]
Biala Prahl

"The face of the catalogue, that is a new one," A dry chuckle left the Marquis' lips as his hand reached for a dessert fork which he used to slice a small piece from one of the sweetrolls which had been placed in front of him, wincing as he chewed onto the piece of sweetroll in his mouth. Swallowing it with a clear expression of disappointment and perhaps even disgust, the man put the fork back unto the table as he clasped his hands together. "I do like Mandalorians and their... ironically unironic manners. Well met, Biala of Clan Prahl."

Listening to her words against the Velmorian noble, the left corner of the Marquis' lips slowly started to lift a bit, revealing a somewhat devious grin, a faint and sly smile which betrayed the amusement the Eriaduan noble felt when being entertained with the short exchanges of words between the Mando and the unfortunate noble that had been weaseling his way around.

"Seems like I am a disappointment to you, Warrior of Clan Prahl... a regular old noble lord, heheh..." Tertius chuckled, leaning a bit backwards in his chair as he looked towards Adessh, lowering his hands and slowly starting to tap unto the table's countertop with the fingers on his left hand in a rythmic manner. "Adessh, you should probably take up that offer, because I would have you shot the next time I see your sorry excuse for nobility."

Turning his attention back towards the Mandalorian, the Marquis waved with his right hand in the air, as if to remove any and all of the possible misgivings there might have been between them, a somewhat aloof, yet poignant show of having little care for the whole preceding situation. However, when the Mandalorian suddenly came up with a question, the Marquis let out a laugh, pointing upwards with his right index finger. "I have one with me right now...a Cruiser, that is."

The man continued to chuckle at the fact that in this case coincidence was favoring him rather than being a downright pain in the arse. Stopping his fingers from tapping onto the table, Tertius tilted his head a bit. "Here's my question to you though, I know mandalorians tend to keep their 'hard-earned credits and valuables' close to themselves, but it is also known that you...pardon me for being so upfront, due to your nature as warriors aren't always favored with the business acumen nor the interest to run a business properly. As such I wonder...what if in stead of credits, you pay me in something that makes ME credits and pays for whatever order you want to place with us. Ofcourse, equal value trade still applies."

Biala Prahl