Let Them Have Puppies

[Cassandra Paige]

Ettiv IV​

Primeday​

10am​

The light on her desk blinked, indicating her next appointment was here. Cass looked up from the holographic order forms hovering in the air over her desk. With a swipe of her hand, she dismissed them, drawing the security feed up from above the flashing light, and with a tap in the air next to it retrieving the meeting details. Custom order, yes, they usually were. She blinked when she saw the name. Looked at the security feed, then blinked again.

Leaning over, she pushed a different button, speaking into the embedded comm.

"Lily, have a beverage cart in here before showing my ten o'clock in."

Somewhere outside, she was sure Lila sighed. But she kept it to herself and that was all Cass cared about.

She glanced around the office, but it was as always impeccable. Brushing an imaginary fluff of lint off of her suit, she stood up. As soon as the cart arrived (juice, tea, caf, it was too early to offer wine), she checked the angles of the overstuffed chairs before her desk. Cass clasped her hands in front of her, settling a friendly smile on her face before he was shown in.

"Welcome to GenPals," she said warmly as he entered, inclining her head. "My name is Cassandra Paige and I am so happy to have you here with us today, M'Lord. Please, make yourself comfortable."

[member="Mythos"]

 

[Mythos]

It was not everyday the Magnus of the Eye walked outside for anything other than war, killing or building power but then again this was the latter. He always thought outside the box and always came prepared. His ship was nothing less than a statement but today instead of royal gowns or sith robes he wore his favorite suit. He even had a haircut for the meeting but as much as he could try his eyes were something he could not hide, yellow and bloodshot red.

The office was impeccable and the company was an upstart, his favorite kind of company, the new and building ones ever craving for a bigger piece of the pie and him always in the position to give a bigger piece... for a price. He had a companion today and he trusted that he would be allowed to come given the nature of his behavior and the nature of the company. Groom was his most trusted companion, a six hundred pound gargantuan Tuk'ata that had not only seen battle but was versed in every terrain, he was also very smart and force sensitive, he was well trained and had his own personality. Of course, he would wait outside the office.

The warm greeting was a welcome change of pace for the monarch and sith lord, so was the lovely face, one grew tired of death and pained faces after a while even as a Sith Lord. "The pleasure is all mine Miss. Paige and please call me Animus." He said as he took a seat and leaned back, grabbing one of the beverages and giving a nod of thanks and a friendly smile to his host. As much as the suit tried to cover his neck it could not hide the various runes carved in his resurrection and as much pain as they caused at every waking moment Mythos had grown to endure it. "I love my personal Smollac, the daughter loves it too and it was this that gave me an idea that i wanted to discuss personally with you and GenPals staff." He said, gesturing behind him. "The big boy you see out there is Groom, my companion in thick and thin and the people I rule over know him and know his tale, he is not just a Tuk'ata he is a warrior and a symbol... but" He paused, giving her a sly smile and stretching for the words he needed to express.

"I don't feel comfortable releasing his breed into the populace, at least not en mass. Adult Tuk'atas can be dangerous and vicious, they are hard to control unless one grows them at birth and is force sensitive and is well trained and dedicated. That is a lot of accidents if you catch my drift but i still want to give them a gift of my own that they can have, something that is safe, child friendly and still carries his look and legend, his feel and loyalty"

His words were articulate and meaningful, although there was a more dark reason why Mythos wished for the love of his people in the end what he wanted was the love of his people.. this was thinking outside the box when it came to that. He also never looked away from her eyes, although they had a yellow and black aura they carried his sincerity and passion. "The Ancient Eye is at your disposal in terms of cost and financing but" he paused, raising a curious eyebrow. "Can it be done?"

[member="Cassandra Paige"]
​

 

[Cassandra Paige]

She appreciated that he left his pet outside. Despite what people might assume as the creator of GenPals, Cass was most decidedly not an animal person. This was a business, not a labor of love, though she was perfectly happy with people thinking whatever they wanted when it came to her own personal affection for the creatures they created her. Most people assumed she loved them.

That was fine with her.

It sold product for them to believe so.

"In that case, Animus, I would be very pleased if you would call me Cassandra," she said with a broad smile.

Instead of sitting behind the desk as she might usually, Cass settled against the front of the desk, not sitting on it but leaning slightly. Her head tilted as she listened, hands folding in front of her and nodding occasionally.

If his eyes gave her any pause, she gave no indication. In truth, she had more than a few Sith customers. As long as they were polite, well groomed, and rich, she had no issue whatsoever. The fact that he was human as far as she could tell was icing on the cake.

The last several had not been, so it put him a few notches above the rest.

Not that she would ever dream of being rude to someone in a position of power such as his. Cass was many things, but stupid was not one of them.

She clapped her hands together, chuckling in delight, "I am so glad to hear you and your daughter enjoy your Smollac! I always enjoy hearing about how our animals are doing."

Of course, she did not, but it cost her nothing and fit the mask she wore as GenPals CEO. She listened carefully, smile turning lower slightly, taking on a more serious expression.

"That sounds like the responsible course of action, of course," she agreed. "That sounds very much like something GenPals could help you with, and such a lovely and magnanimous gift you are offering to your people."

It was a ploy. She knew it. She assumed he knew it. But it was a good one. And Cass could appreciate that.

"Perhaps we can work out some of the details? Just how much smaller will you need them to be? Approximately how many, to start? Any other special features- increase in their natural affection, for instance? Or increased ease of training?"

[member="Mythos"]

 

[Mythos]

She was sweet, her body language showed something off that he could not put his finger on but she was sweet none the less. "Cass" He replied, laying on the charm like his last name was Acrenau. If it was up to him he would give the populace actual Tuk'atas to have as pets, he was going to, to certain individuals and those who could afford it, but he knew for a fact that if he opened those flood gates and released the seed of Groom into the worlds he ruled there were going to be children mauled. He could care less if an adult got mauled, stupidity was abound everywhere, He even heard of grown adults that began to eat cleaning products as some sort of media hysteria, so adult in his opinion were expected to be stupid... mauled children is a PR nightmare he would never get over...

Still she was nice and sweet, real home like and that made the credits loosen from his wallet just a little bit more, that and the fact she was quite lovely. He looked her in the eyes not for intimidation but because that is how he was raised, strange that a Sith Lord would keep his manners into adulthood.

As she kept speaking again her body language shifted, his eyes narrowed and his eyebrow raised. Mythos sat the throne of a world for almost a decade, he was not only ruler but judge and sometimes executioner, he was trained to spot a lie and although he had not caught on to it yet the shift of her muscles, the angle of her shoulders, the movement of her neck were all indications of someone who was either very nervous or not entirely honest. Mainly it was none of his business but Mythos was a curious man and he liked to see what lied beyond the veil.

That's when he caught it, very good. "Why thank you, I try to be the best ruler I can possibly be. soldiers can be bought but love can never be. I am most certain GenPals can but you might need to have a" He paused, mulling over the word, he truly did not know how to say this other than in a military term. "Base of operations? Somewhere in A.E. space where you can work with us to distribute it? Perhaps you do not but i think it would be good if you did, expand your horizons and i can give a special tax break if it would make it more appealing"

If might a bit costly but if he weighed the design of them correctly and was right that they were not just a fad, the economy would prosper.

Then came the specifications. He took a pensive stance and for the first time took his eyes off her and placed them squarely on the floor, which ironically was where her feet were. "Well, I want to give them to as many children as possible so a mass production as best as possible. As for special features." He said, looking back to his friend outside, remembering that never, not once in his entire life had Groom ever failed him or abandoned him. "Loyalty, that is Groom right there, through thick and thin and through any situation. He will never fail you." He smiled, bringing his eyes back to meet hers and then outside the window as was the universal symbol of thinking. He said once last thing as a smile crept over his lips.

"You Do know they don't die and keep growing forever right? I don't mind if you take their growth trait away but i don't want the kids to ever loose their best friend, I never lost mine"


[member="Cassandra Paige"]
​

 

[Cassandra Paige]

Cass's smile remained warm and pleasant. In all honesty, she was good at what she did- wearing the face necessary in the moment to achieve the desired results. She settled against the desk, relaxed and head tilting slightly as he explained.

Yes, the Ancient Eye. [member="Itash Mecetti"] had mentioned them, and it was impossible to miss in the business world- when they imported corpses, someone noticed. It was all rumor. Hearsay. But it seemed like a place where having official GenPals headquarters located would be ultimately very bad for business. Their public face was much like the one Cass wore now. Warm, friendly. Pick friends. Pick family. Pick GenPals. And with the launch of the new cartoons across the holonet, featuring cheerful, talking versions of their animals, aimed at children, well.

"I will certainly take that under consideration," she inclined her head slightly. It wasn't a lie. She would consider it. She would also likely decline unless she found an angle that protected her company's reputation. It was already a challenge with the Sith Empire breathing down the neck of the Corporate Sector- as it was the PR department was working furiously to figure out the appropriate angle for when the inevitable came. Cass had no personal issue with the Sith- many of her private clients called that religion their own. But that was irrelevant to the impression necessary to maintain GenPals in the niche it currently occupied.

"Either way, distribution will not be an issue- GenPals already delivers across the galaxy, so there will be no problem getting your perfect p-puppies where they need to go." Cass almost said 'Puppers' and realized she'd been spending far too much time on developing the advertising shorts for the new holo-series. Maybe it was time to take that trip she and Tash had been talking about.

"I imagine that, as companions specifically for children, they might be better if they were kept on the smaller side yes," she agreed. "It would be unfortunate if someone's beloved pet eventually outgrew the front door, yes? Part of the process of creating our special companion animals frequently does, unfortunately, lower the natural lifespan of the base creatures. However, I believe we could make certain these had a significantly expanded lifespan. Two or three human generations, perhaps?"

In truth, the lifespans were in part, deliberate. GenPals, despite the public face, was still a business out to make money. But in this case, with a private order this large, Cass had no issue with offering something with this sort of longevity.

[member="Mythos"]