Let's Make It Official

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Sylvanan needed a contract. A proof of word and Sith funding to provide [member="Tmoxin Temi"] with the clones that were needed. A legion six thousand strong of the best soldiers the galaxy had ever seen. These men were to be their strong arm, and the Sith would pay for every single one. It would be to the Dark Sider's advantage anyway - the men would serve them by extension. When it came down to it though, they were Tmoxin's men - and his.

He arrived at Morpho around noon. He was permitted easy access - the men knew him well. He had helped build the place after all.

Two clone soldiers marched at his flanks, bodyguards of the best kind. They served their purpose, and the Arkanian always made sure to pay them for it. Good men, the both of them.

He gave Tmoxin's office door a quick knock before letting himself in. The clones posted themselves on either side of the door.

"Tmoxin? I need to discuss something with you."

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Tmoxin was in her Morpho office just by coincidence reviewing her own budget for this quarter. As a Legion Commander, Tmoxin had access to funding that the Imperial Inquisition provided, but like all government budgets, it wasn't a limitless pile of creds and whatever she wanted to use it for normally required the Imperial Headquarters stamp of approval. Therefore, she had been supplementing some of her projects, the ones she didn't want to call attention to, with her own funding at times. And this is where the larceny she had carried out against the Red Ravens and Gaillard Corporation was starting to pay out in dividends since she had re-invested those credits fairly wisely. Most of these credits were spread around the Bank of the Core in various holding accounts. The Commander may not have been doing everything perfectly in recent days, but she knew how to hide her creds.

She was distracted and didn't hear Sylvanan knock but did finally look up from her various financial projections when he came sauntering into her office.

"Oh Syvlanan, I wasn't expecting you today. What do you need to discuss?" Tmoxin asked.

She was genuinely curious as she was privy to most of the Arkanian's activities as of late.

[member="Sylvanan Tal'verda"]

 

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Sylvanan did what he wished, more or less. It came with the territory both he and [member="Tmoxin Temi"] shared. He needed full access to be effective, and those he worked with trusted him enough to allow it. That was trust well place, as it often paid off well for the others.

This would be one of those cases.

He pulled up a chair, and adjusted the tint on his helmet. His smiling face practically glowed through the transparent glass. "I came to talk about the clones. For the plan I mean. You need some, I would say about...six thousand."

He shrugged.

"I can flash clone them in two months. Another two to train them sufficiently. Then they're yours. We can find them with the Inquisition credits - put it down as a military expense."

The smile widened.

"That's what it is anyway. A contract with Crynic and the One Sith military to produce a military unit in four months."

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Tmoxin smirked at Sylvanan and clasped her hands on her desk. Of course she wanted access to clones. They made sense from a military and financial perspective. But it wasn’t that easy to just sign over the credits for a big contract like that without attracting attention from Imperial Headquarters. The Commander spoke in a firm, clear voice:

“Mr. Tal’verda, that’s hardly a realistic prospect. Do you know how tight the Imperial belt has been pulled in on financial matters? Why it’s been a nothing but a famine lately and I don’t think I can go to Headquarters with that type of expense and have them not question it. Even if you invoiced me over a period of a few years. I will tell you now, it will not go unnoticed."

She opened her mouth, ready to say a few more snide words and demand that he either bring her a more viable option or else leave her office. But she looked down at her financial reports again. Her green eyes flashed with interest at the Arkanian. So hard to read his reaction with that helmet on but she knew he couldn't take it off for long.

“Unless… Sylvanan, are you open to having a private donor pay for this operation?”

[member="Sylvanan Tal'verda"]

 

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Ah, but that was the point wasn't it? To draw the eye? The Arkanian snickered to himself at her reply. Tmoxin was rightfully worried, what he asked of her was monumental, but things were under control.

They were always under control. He steeped his fingers into a pyramind of obsidian, and flicked off the obsidian matte of his visor. Beneath, he was smiling, the warm kind of smile that said don't worry. I will protect you. Everything I ask is only to keep you safe.

It was the truth, to a point. Sylvanan liked the woman. She was intelligent, and could crack a joke now and then. Hell, if he wouldn't die from skin contact, Hans wasn't taking he to bed, and he gave a damn about romance, he might have taken her out.

That, of course, would never happen, nor would he fantasize about such. There were far bigger issues to discuss.

"Tmoxin, my dear, that is entirely the point. We draw a quarter of our funding from the ISB. You look like a good little soldier reinforcing the borders, for the Inquisition you might say. The rest..privately funded, yes. Consider it a token of friendship."

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

When he adjusted the visor on his helmet, she could finally see Sylvanan face and on it, a wide grin. Without breaking eye contact she listened to his proposition. His idea was exactly what she had in mind, even down to how the funding should be positioned, but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of thinking he had won her over so easily.

“What am I to say we are using these clones for? If I am questioned? This is my career on the line so while this all sounds well and good coming out of your mouth, I’m the one that has to ultimately answer for it.” She paused and then added, "I'm merely looking for a plausible lie."

As she spoke, he could see her toying with her datapad. Tmoxin, still listening for his response, began to pull up her Bank of the Core account information for Sylvanan. If he hadn’t already figured it out, Tmoxin herself was going to be the private donor for three-fourths of the contract. But she had a stipulation as her credits were not going to be lent so easily.

[member="Sylvanan Tal'verda"]

 

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Tmoxin was a smart woman. Obscurity was a necessity in this sort of situation after all, and a plausible lie would be needed to get this order through. So be it. Deceit was part of the game Sylvanan played on a daily basis - game he'd been participating in for the past eight years. It wasn't his first rodeo.

"You've noticed increased rebel activity on Balmorra, yes?" He lofted a brow. "That's my doing. The leader of the cell is a very headstrong Jedi. Powerful, intelligent, but ruled by his passions. He hates the Sith, more than either of us. He is a useful tool."

He slid a datapad over to her. On her was a simple contract for the production of a legion of Stormtroopers. Ten thousand to be exact, an entire legion. The template was taken from one Canal Tal'verda - Fett clones. "He will eventually become your ally, but for now, his activities justify loyal Imperial soldiers. He will incite revolution, these ten thousand men will be the perceived solution for the Sith. In truth, they will be ours to control, inhibitor chips and all."

He smiled.

"Do you agree m'dear?"

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Tmoxin's face was a mask of impassioned calm except for her eyes which searched Sylvanan's the whole time in which he spoke. Her mouth was also in a tense line but smoothed out some when he asked if she agreed.

"Yes, I do agree," she said, pondering all that he just told her. The Arkanian had given her so much to think about she almost forgot the stipulation. She took the datapad and looked over the contract thoroughly. She drummed her fingers on the desk.

"I do have one request in order to move forward with this," she said raising her eyes to his again. "The private donor is myself as you probably have realized being the cunning man you are. However in addition to contracting out the clone production, I also want a stake in Crynic Corporation. What is the best offer you can give me?"

Now it was her turn to smile.

[member="Sylvanan Tal'verda"]

 

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Greed.

It was the underlying factor behind all business deals. Give this for that. Take more than you give, or you've failed to negotiate accordingly. That was how trade worked. Sylvanan rarely played it that way.

"If you're meaning to use Crynic to gain personal credits, I can oblige whenever you feel the need." He informed, tapping his fingers on the table. Crynic was his trump card. It was his livelihood, a neutral organization living off his own wallet. He liked Tmoxin. He trusted her. He could not give her a share of the company - that would sully its purpose.

"My dear, I fully intend to repay you for the lost funds - the Ravens are paying me triple my usual rate to clone beasts. Credits will not be an issue. If I were to give you a legal stake in Crynic, that would tie my organization to the Empire. That would destroy my neutrality. That would hinder our flexibility." He explained.

"How will I approach the Republic as a friend if the Sith own part of my company? The Levantines? The Mandalorians? Were it any other case, I would allow you fifteen percent. The most I can give you now are ten thousand loyal, effective soldiers within the next six months. I cannot give you part of Crynic, because then I would sully our only medium for neutrality. Do you understand?"

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Tmoxin finally rose up from her desk and went over to the Arkanian's side of the desk. She pulled up a chair next to him and sat now in fairly close proximity to the man. Was Sylvanan used to a woman being this close to him, she wondered? Probably not due to his numerous health conditions. She knew his back-story and understood that his racial mix made him very susceptible to diseases. He did not have the charmed life growing up that the Hapan officer had and it was likely he never would to some extent which caused her to feel pity for him.

She leaned in closer but didn't touch him, keeping her slender, manicured hands resting on her knees.

"I understand why this has to come from the Sith's coffers, but my stake in your company can be absolutely private with no trace of it back to me," she said her tone softer, reassuring. "I can ensure it's through a holding company and that my name is not associated with the investment in any shape or form. There will be no visible ties to the Empire, I promise you."

She gave him a sly smile and said, "Fifteen percent is acceptable."

Now that Syvlanan had said "no" to her, her competitive nature kicked in and she wanted a firm stake Crynic mostly for the fact that it had been denied.

[member="Sylvanan Tal'verda"]

 

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If she thought he would fall to her womanly charms, she was mistaken. Sylvanan did not crave the carnal desires that most men chased. They were for lesser creatures, sentients of a tier far beneath the Arkanian. He was pure. If he needed offspring, he would build them himself. He did not need the comfort of a woman in his bed to sleep well at night. Aye, he though Tmoxin to be a beauty, and perhaps if he were healthy, he might have succumbed.

Yet he could not feel the heat of her skin near his. He could not smell the soft scent of her perfume wafting from her hair and neck. He could not feel the electricity of her touch or the softness of her lips. None of it mattered to him.

"No." He stated firmly, the obsidian mask he wore over his visor evaporating. His voice was authoritative, and the seriousness in his gaze was reflected it. ​"Separating Crynic's holdings to different owners is a detrimental move. Not when it's unneeded. You won't sway me with your body, Tmoxin. We have a goal, do not try to sway me from our endgame."

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

The nature of gambling was winning and losing, wasn't it? Tmoxin was a good enough Sabaac player and business negotiator that she knew how difficult it was to win every single time. She would always try to hedge her bets but again, most of the times the odds were against you.

Ultimately she wanted the same thing that Sylvanan wanted, so without pushing the issue, she keyed in the details of her account information - both the Imperial Inquisition one and her personal bank account - and sent those to Sylvanan via her datapad.

"There," she said, not acknowledging that he had rebuffed her. She hadn't planned on seducing him after all, but she had tried to use her beauty as leverage, that she couldn't deny. It wouldn't be the first time and certainly not the last because it was a tactic that yielded results with most men. Normal men. But Syvlanan was far from a normal man.

"It's done," she said. "You have your order."

Tmoxin rose and went over to a cupboard and after opening it, pulled out a bottle of a ruddy colored liquid. "Are you able to have a drink, my friend?" the Commander asked. She selected two glasses just in case. "This is breath of heaven, a very expensive and potent alcohol." She poured both of them a glass.

"If you can, I'd like to propose a toast to our new venture together."

[member="Sylvanan Tal'verda"]