Kossak the Pizza Hutt

[Jessica Med-Beq]

Now that Charzon replaced her old Pullman for a Neimoidian Yacht, she could go on business trips much faster than she used to. Unfortunately for her, the Pullmans were short-lived on the market. She didn't speak Huttese but, for some reason, the next bulk-order client that was not a "NPC", a code used internally by Ringovinda StarYards to designate the common client and stood for Non-Phasing Client, For all of Bluth Company and Maersk Star Freight's might and means, they were still considered NPCs by the corporation and, while they are crucial to the maintenance of the business, they were not capable of fulfilling the requirements of growth for some regulatory reason. Charzon had to pray that either a protocol droid was there for her, or that the Hutt can speak Basic or Gunganese because she somehow forgot to bring one along (on Ringo Vinda, Marcia handled the whole deal and all the phasing clients that came to Ringo Vinda thus far for business spoke Basic or Gunganese on some level; by now Gunganese became fashionable on Ringo Vinda to the point even Jawas tried to learn it)

"Your Excellency, I am Charzon Loulan, from Ringovinda StarYards. I believe that you would be very interested in some ships that can be used for smuggling, namely Neimoidian Yachts, with smuggling panels as an option. I accept truguts: the bank I'm dealing with can readily exchange Huttese currency for currency that can be used outside of Hutt space"

Pizza Hutt was a well-known restaurant chain on Nal Hutta and on Nar Shaddaa, with its only known locations outside the Hutts' home system being on Tatooine and Lipsec. By now Charzon landed her ship in a landing pad near a Pizza Hutt location, from which she ordered some take-out pizza before meeting with Kossak the Hutt, from the Hestilic clan. To this day, Pizza Hutt remains one of the few symbols of what Jabba the Hutt once held for business, and is still controlled by the Desilijic clan after so many centuries. She took a picture of the Pizza Hutt sign before picking up her order, which includes a bottle of tihaar:

[member="Kossak the Hutt"]

 

[Kossak the Hutt]

Kossak the Hutt was on his way to another personal business meeting. Once more he had agreed to meet at a neutral location. There were those who found themselves reluctant to seek him out at his palace on Nal Hutta. Was it the slaves, he wondered? Perhaps they were worried they might end up in chains if they somehow displeased him. Well. They weren’t wrong.

This time acquiring ships was on the agenda. Thanks to a few helpful contacts, he had already managed to assemble a small fleet suitable to serve as a well-armed escort. Of course, it was only escort in name, its true purpose was piracy; the aggressive acquisition of wealth. Yet he could not have his entire business revolve around what he took. He needed transport ships for both his slave and spice industry. That’s where a few of Ringovinda StarYard’s ships came in handy.

Kossak understood Basic well enough, but he was reluctant to speak it. And so far the, already at the start of the meeting he was leaning towards a foul mood. Not only was the meeting location a facility that used the image of Hutt presented in a fashion that rendered it open to ridicule, but it was owned by the detestable Desilijic clan. Kossak felt an urge to have his thugs burn it to the ground, yet he refrained from such open acts of war and let his distaste for his rivals manifest in more subtle ways.

“Da doth wonkee dobra wata” (That is why I am here) the massive hunk of slime and fat spoke, in a deep voice that almost sounded slightly dismissive. Kossak did not come in the company of a protocol droid, but fortunately his Quarren Majordomo, Deel Maru, was present and able to translate.

“His Excellency Kossak the Hutt offers his greetings, and informs you that he is entertaining the prospect of purchasing ships from Ringovinda StarYards” If not Ringovinda, then someone else. The galaxy was not short on people willing to sell their ships. At least Squid-Face was far more polite and eloquent than Kossak at the moment. “The Neimoidian Yacht you mentioned is of interest. So is another one of your models, I believe the Tofolk-class corvette?”

[member="Charzon Loulan"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"With Neimoidian Yachts, you can smuggle as much as 500 tons of spice or other illegal merchandise in one flight, thanks to the use of soundproofed smuggling panels, which render them usable for the ferrying of slaves as well. They can carry about 4 times as much as other common ships in that size class used by other kajidics, but also do so at much less than 4 times the cost of ownership"

"Madam, your order is ready" the Ewok take-out cashier told Charzon.

"Do you plan on delivering slaves in bulk? What is bulk delivery of slaves to you, in terms of how many slaves you need in a flight? Are you also wondering how can Star Tours mystify the Factory Judges in passenger operation? Perhaps you would be interested in how Star Tours manages to mystify the Factory Judges especially as it pertains to passenger transportation"

Tihaar was readily available on Ringo Vinda, but in Hutt space tihaar was considered to be a specialty drink. Unfortunately, the Desilijic clan seems to serve low-quality tihaar at least to Charzon's taste. That particular Pizza Hutt location was a location where the only tihaar is made from grapes. Rumors are there that the Desilijic clan somehow got the First Order to let them open a Pizza Hutt location on Lipsec. Charzon took advantage of the pizza special where she would get 2 toppings for the cost of one so she chose nerf pepperoni and chili peppers, as well as stuffed crust. Small size because she wouldn't want to have leftovers for them to use at a later date. To her, pizza was best eaten in one go, especially from such two-cred joints such as Pizza Hutt.

"Perhaps you or your majordomo would like either some pizza or some tihaar. As for Pizza Hutt, I also plan to buy it away from the Desilijic clan shortly: that's one less thorn on your side"

[member="Kossak the Hutt"]

 

[Kossak the Hutt]

The Quarren and the Hutt exchanged a brief look, after which Squid-Face nodded to Kossak. The soundproofed smuggling panels were convenient, and would surely come in handy. How she knew what ships other kajidics used, or the math behind her numbers, he would not ask about. They were probably decorated a little to sound better, but it didn't matter much. As long they did their jobs.

"Perhaps." the Quarren replied sceptically, not quite willing to give up the details of their slave trade. "How many slaves could be transported in bulk?" That to him seemed a more interesting question, less revealing too.

Kossak gave a dismissive chuckle when she mentioned she was looking to buy Pizza Hutt. He wasn't so sure it would be one less thorn in his side. Its mere existence was an offensive. But he would tolerate it for a fee. Much like she had ignored his question about the Tofolk corvette, he seemed to have ignored her question about whether the Majordomo wanted something to eat.

[member="Charzon Loulan"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"Let's see: Neimoidian Yachts can carry up to 166 slaves and still be able to carry some spice on the side, as well as any equipment needed to restrain them"

Other kajidics were known to operate ships like the YT-1300, YT-2400 from CEC, or Gthroc 8675, as well as the 13-Z or the TLX-3000, for fast courier services, running spice, slaves and whatnot. They were commonly used as tramp freighters by independent smugglers, too. But Charzon realized how mistaken she was if she thought that taking a business out of the kajidics' circuit would make her in the good graces of that particular kajidic, even though its current owner is a rival kajidic from the Hestilics' standpoint. Nevertheless, the SSC and Republican governments both wanted a slice of the Hutts' business pie, and they hoped Pizza Hutt was one of many Hutt-owned businesses to be taken away from the Hutts. But Kossak definitely didn't like the current logo. Would he pose different terms to allow Pizza Hutt to operate if it was owned by a Hutt vs. a non-Hutt?

"Before I forget: Tofolks can carry up to 4,000 slaves if you only keep the tractor beam: naturally, if you outfit turbolasers, you will actually be able to defend yourself but it is an option on these ships, and even with two twin turbolaser turrets, you'd still be able to mount 3,970: you only sacrifice 30 slaves on the bow since the stern turret goes in an area where there would otherwise be no passengers. Other models are available for even larger slaver operations; other classes of ships can be ordered to this end"

Even though few slaver operations she knew about needed to ferry more than 10,000 slaves at a time, the main question was whether *that* kajidic could afford to own a Maersk, which was capable of ferrying 30,000 slaves, or a Rasta Sub, which was capable of 10 times as many. It would be unthinkable, to her at least, that the upstart Hestilics would be led to near-bankruptcy by attempting to buy a Maximum Battleship, which was capable of ferrying a million slaves in one go, and also act as a mobile slave market, much like virtually all slaver ships with a capacity greater than 10,000. But without question a slaver operation needed to be able to land on planets: it is a lot harder to take slaves from a space station without piracy assistance.

"Cruiser-sized slave ships would also act as a mobile slave market. Maersk-class ships would be able to carry 30,000 slaves, Rasta Subs, 300,000 slaves, and the ship still under design phase, the Exodus-class, a million slaves. Just information for future slaver operations"

[member="Kossak the Hutt"]