Lions, Tigers and ...Rancors?

[Corey's OOC]

Business was exciting, wasn't it? Yes it was. Marek was starting to like the new gig he found himself in. Especially that he hired an excellent Chief of Operations. Ryan Farnes knew what he was doing for the day-to-day running of Bright Star Entertainment. This left the floor open for Marek to do the bigger decisions and to tramp around. He liked that, both his companies were secure, one in the hands of Santhe Corp and the watchful eye of Alana Flag, and the other with him in charge, and the right people running the casinos. Dealers and bartenders knew what they were doing, and promoting them to management just felt smart.

Then there was the times when Marek wasn't just being Tony Stark Bruce Wayne Oliver Queen rich and doing other things, when he actually worked. And that was today. The other day he'd seen something in the HoloNews, a company of Beast Hunters, well, a Guild really. Something along the lines of capture and contain, and that gave him an idea. Why replicate the same ships over-and-over, well the Bright Star herself was the largest of the company's fleet, and unique in that way, but the other half dozen liners? They all had the same basic set up.

Ritzy shopping, nice casinos, adult entertainment, and listening devices in most places that weren't the VIP locations. Or reserved for the rest of the business Marek was working on. Today though, he figured that the next two, currently in construction on Hypori shipyards, and the resort he was looking into breaking ground for on Makeb were going to need something new. Something that just grabbed the attention.

A zoo?

A zoo.

Not the boring ones, at least not the full zoo. Still, he needed animals, and the right people to supply them. While most of the deals the Corellian were making were for shopping, AEL, Cestus, and some for where entertainment came from, Orian, this was going to be different. A partnership, in a way, for property.

Waiting in the executive hangar, where only his Santhe Challenger and two other fancy star yachts were sitting, the owner of the casino stood, in an all black suit with a gray jacket. He was waiting for [member="Mrrew"] to arrive, so they could discuss a venture.

Kids loved animals.

And people kept having kids.

Was he going to need to install family casinos?

Probably.

 

[Mrrew]

Mrrew had recieved a message that a major company was interested in enlisting the help of the Beast Hunter's Guild to do something that he had already put thought into; a Zoo. He wasn't the only one who had an interest in exotic animals; if he was, his company would have no clients. And while most people would love to have a pet Rancor or Krayt dragon, most people can't afford it... But they could afford tickets to go see them. Hence why a zoo would make amazing profits. He was just suprised that someone other then himself thought of it... However, this was not an offer to turn down; Mrrew came to the coordinates he was given, almost as soon as his ship could get there.

Before long, a small freighter landed in the hangar were [member="Marek Starchaser"] stood, expertly landing in one of the small marked areas. Of course, Mrrew wasn't flying the ship, if he was the hangar would probably explode, but Starchaser didn't need to know that....

A moment later, Mrrew stepped down the lowering ramp, his eyes scanning the hangar quickly, taking note of bodyguards, cameras, and of course Marek Starchaser. You can never be to careful. The Togorian had abondoned his old attempt at looking like the average buisnessman; he didn't don his ill-fitting suit, which he'd ripped a few hundred times just breathing. Rather, he wore his normal attire; a leather vest, his Lotek'k jacket, and his gunbelt and bandoleir laoded with his usual weapons.

Mrrew stepped over to Marek with a wide smile, raising a hand about the size of Marek's entire head to shake.

"Marek starchaser?"

 

[Corey's OOC]

It was the thing about business. While one person had skills in one area, others had skills and interests in just about as many pots. Marek started out with just contracts for a large droid company. Expanded that to include mining, which he needed to solidify, even if it was less than 15% of Haor Challs profit, and joined the company with Santhe Corporation and the Techno Union. Now? Casinos and entertainment. Allowing artists an outlet, hosting gaming tournaments, providing cruises to exotic destinations and worlds, as well as a few other operations that were just nice to have.

Now he was hoping to make a few family friendly liners and one resort of the same volition. That meant no escorts and a zoo! Probably amusement rides.

But did Marek know how to get the animals? Nope. A survivalist by nurture, he still wasn't in the capture business and thsy was why he was having this meeting. Seeing [member="Mrrew"] step down from the newly landed freighter Marek thought two things. One, he looked the part.

Two; that's a big damn cat.

Hopefully the Togorian wasn't Force Sensitive. Marek could mask his surprise externally because he could internalized it.

"That's right, welcome to the Bright Star, Mrrew. " did he say it right? "Let's get out of the hangar and some place we can talk?" He motioned for the larger hallway, one that was to show how grand this ship and casino was.

Refurbished from the military variant, obviously. There would be a large conference room already with hors d'oeuvres and drink.

 

[Mrrew]

Mrrew glanced around the hangar once more, and back to his freighter, before nodding to [member="Marek Starchaser"]. This ship was huge.... Which meant Marek was rich. Which meant one of two things; He's good at his job, or he's good at scamming people. He was hoping for the former. The Togorian followed after Starchaser slowly, taking note of every turn they made, and any landmarks in the corridors. Just in case.

It would mean a lot of profit, and some bragging rights, if the Guild could participate in the creation of an idea like this. He had plans to make something of an exotic zoo in the future, but alone it could take years... WIth Bright Star Entertainment's recourses, it could happen now. And he was willing to collaborate if it meant plans taking effect sooner then later. As long as he ruled out that Starchaser wasn't a con man. Pending that, a lot of profit could be made for both companies.

 

[Corey's OOC]

Scamming? Not any more. Sure. It was how he got around the galaxy to begin, but he was turning into a legitimate business man. Knowing the right people. Along with making the right calls. Deal, sell, contract, buy. And make sure you find your niche.

Leading [member="Mrrew"], Starchaser was watching the hunter. He could probably find his way back, but give people a few drinks and just so many wins and they will stay for a while in the casinos. Entering the conference room, Marek had soft and hard drinks out. He himself went for whiskey.

"I'll be honest. I know nothing about zoos. Just how to bring a crowd." And the casino was full. Accepting public transit shuttles and private craft alike. The casino floor, one of four on this vessel was packed. Lights and people and the sounds of slot machines.

 

[Mrrew]

Mrrew didn't touch the drinks, rather he stood on the other side of the desk. Last time he tried to sit in a chair made for humans, it did not end well for the chair. He knew nothing about Zoos? Fair enough, Mrrew didn't either. But he knew about the creatures in the zoos. And if [member="Marek Starchaser"] could take care of getting people to the zoo, Mrrew could make sure that the main attraction was there. And preferabbly not eating the guests.

"If you want large animals, Greater Krayts, Gorogs, you'll need large exhibits, preferabbly close enough to their natural habitats to keep them happy. I'll assume people don't want to see sick or dying animals... Plus, when certain creatures get unhappy, they have the tendacy to eat people."

Said by most people, that would sound like a joke. Might even get a laugh out of them. But Mrrew spoke completely seriously, as if explaining how to handle dangerous substances. Which, he sort of was.

 

[Corey's OOC]

Sensing the Togorian's discomfort with the the chair, Marek typed a quick note off to his secretary. What did they have in that size? And to invest in more. Sending it off he nodded and stood up. Who said all Sith were crazy? Not that he ever divulged that knowledge, save for the Inner Circle. This was a risky investment, but one of those build it and they will come type deals.

Marek nodded to [member="Mrrew"]. Seemed to be the latter knew his trade. "I'm thinking of creating a planetside location for larger beasts. Something we can climate control. A Krayt on a starship seems... difficult."

Taking a sip of hos drink and looking at the other. "My plan is two starship based zoos. As a teaser for a flagship location on Makeb. Of course it would be a casino as well, but a fun family destination. If that sort of venture interests you? With room for growth of locations, obviously."

And an adults only part of the resorts. And closed circuit holocams. Like the one here. Hard to tamper with and running through several recording locations. For posterity. Not for blackmail. Marek wasn't in that business, but if someone needed to find someone he wasn't in business with?

[member="Mrrew"]

 

[Mrrew]

Mrrew raised the ridges of whiskers that served as his eyebrows. Zoos on starships? He was right when he said a Greater Krayt on a ship would be difficult.... but even something as small as a Opee could be dangerous on a ship. Then again, for all he knew he had cess to ships the size of small moons... He was, after all, talking about massive starliners that have full zoos as well as casinos.... How rich was this guy?

After a moment, the Togorian spoke up. "What kind of animals could you keep on a ship? Animals need large areas in order to stay healthy. Unless the ship's zoos only contained small animals, such as Ropos and Tachs. A climate controlled zoo for the larger animals, however, would work perfectly fine..." Mrrew paused for a moment. "And, come to think of it... You could even possibly hold aquatic animals. A Laa and Tee aquarium? A trained Sando Aqua Monster?" That last bit was a sort of shameless advertisement, as the Guild had just expanded into trained animals... but it dosen't hurt. If this guy was as rich as he appeared, all of these things could be possible. And, with no one else doing anything remotely simler, there was a huge area for profit.

[member="Marek Starchaser"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

Nodding to [member="Mrrew"], Marek was starting the wheels turning. He did have access to a few different size of ships. And the Queen star liner class could lose a floor for this venture. That would give the floor space of one of the main decks and open up to what could account for four terrestrial stories. That left two other decks of equal size for casinos, shows, shopping and restaurants. That might work.

An aquarium would be wonderful. Aboard a starship it should be easy. "I was thinking more along the lines of an exotic petting zoo. Of course, not all animals would be being pet. If we made modifications to one of our ships a d removed a few decks to give head space. On decks that run approximately 100 meters, give us. .. four stories head space with climate control enclosures. I figure nothing too big. I want this to be a safe environment. For guests and animals alike. The location on Makeb would be bigger, the more... adult animals? Hell, I'd even put a rehabilitation and training center there." Now he was thinking aloud.

 

[Mrrew]

An aquirium would be easy ona starship, and Mrrew was sure that people would come to see it... A petting zoo? That could be possible as well. Ropos, Tachs, things like that... He could see why [member="Marek Starchaser"] had so much money to spare.

"The 'petting zoos'... The Guild could offer trained animals, so children woudln't get eaten... Could even get them to do some tricks... I wonder if anyone's ever had a dancing Wampa before?"

The Togorian murmured to himself, thinking about all the possibilities. Going into this meeting, he expected a few exotic monsters in enclosures, with popcorn-eating people observing them... this was a whole new thing. And, best of all, there was no competition in this area. Both Starchaser and the Guild could make a fortune...

Mrrew responded as Starchaser started talking again.

"The terrestial zoo can have the largest predators of the galaxy. Bull rancors, a Gorog, a greater Krayt, some boar wolves... And the Guild could train animals for shows... People are bound to buy tickets to a Opee Sea Killer doing flips..."

Mrrew wasn't sure which was more amazing about this idea; the thought of rounding up all the monsters people fear and putting them on display, or the thought of the millions of credits tis could make.

 

[Corey's OOC]

Again with the eating. Marek didn't want any guests ingested by creatures. So going the safe route until they could get a land based zoo with exotic animals and electric fences created. Bright Star and the Beast Hunter Guild welcome you to Jurassic Park . Aboard thr ships a few smaller exotics, well trained of course, would do wonders.

He kept nodding. "You know your trade, sir. Could we do some exotics, to give that flare, shipside? Strong enclosures. Well trained?" Tackle the ship based zoo first. That only needed animals and enclosures. The door opened at that and in walked two of Cestus maintenance droids, with a chair fit for a really big cat Togorian. "Seat?"

He knew he was doing business. This was just hammering out what they could do "I want to start with a petting, docile zoo, two. Both different. Aboard ships. A few exotics... to test the market. Then we worry about thr land based facility." If they made money. But he knew that some people he worked with, Danger, AEL, PharmaTech trusted [member="Mrrew"].

Enough for him.

[member="Mrrew"]

 

[Mrrew]

(Lol, I was planning on using a picture of Jurassic park if I ever did this myself. That's what I always envisioned it as. xD)

Mrrew nodded. "What kind of small animals do you have in min for the petting zoo? It would be easier to use herbivorious or omnivorious creatures as supposed to predators... I'm sure you could guess why. Ropos should certainly be featured, for some reason people seem to love them. Maybe even train a Dwarf Bantha to give the children rides..."

Mrrew glanced back at the two Cestus droids, his eyebrows raising at the giant chair. That was quick. Last time he was at one of these meetings it took them an hour to get one... and it was just a Hutt pillow. Mrrew nodded at the droids and slowly took a seat in the large chair.

[member="Marek Starchaser"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

The trick was to be ready for anything. That was the survivalist in Marek. He still wasn’t a biologist. The science he knew was physical planetary sciences and meteorology. Stuff that would be useful for survival. And that moved into business, apparently. “I’d prefer to leave that up to you, Mister @Mrrew. This seems to be your territory. What would bring kids to laugh and play? And yet still some animals that are a bit… more exciting? For the older generations?” Parents would pay for all this.

Of course they would.

Smirking, he nodded. Preparation, it meant having chairs for monstercats. “Are you sure you’re not interested in a drink?” Just being polite, but finding out what Mrrew thought for animals was important to this whole operation.

 

[Mrrew]

Mrrew paused for a moment. They'd established what they could do for children; Petting zoos, animal rides, trained beasts preforming shows... And what for the older adults? Just seeing the dangerous predators in the zoos may not be enough. Something else... What about his Reek races? They could do something similer to that... Wouldn't be fitting for a zoo setting, though. A safari? That could be interesting... It woudln't nessisarily be on the ships, but...

"What of Safari tours? Planets such as Kashyyyk, Dxun, Tatooine... Where dangerous creatures are around every corner. A group of adults go in an armored vehicle, through an area that's already been scouted to contain large amounts of dangerous animals, but out of normal hunting grounds... So the truck dosen't get attacked."

Honestly, Mrrew had no idea what to do for entertainment. The Togorian shook his head at the drink, before speaking again.

"Have you heard about the Reek Races, on Tatooine?" Minds as well give it a shot.

[member="Marek Starchaser"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

For older entertainment… that was going to be something tricky, it’d be a bit dangerous, right? By nature? The ship based zoo would be a teaser, and leave more to be desired, which would be what the Makeb location would provide. It was all about leaving a little more.

“That would be interesting. I’d like that for the land locations. Do you have contacts on those worlds?” Keep things in their natural environment. He felt like he saw a movie like this before, though, with the animals escaping and one man being eaten. That wouldn’t be happening here. No.

And that would be breaking away from the casino, which would be nice.

“I’ve heard about them. We use them for betting at our Tatooine casino. Could we make that happen?” Ride alongs?

[member="Mrrew"]

 

[Mrrew]

Mrrew frowned slightly. Right, contacts... He'd need contacts. ... He didn't have any contacts. Mrrew wasn't much of a buissnessman; he was more of a hunter trying to be a buisnessman. But it was working out so far... Mrrew shook his head.

Mrrew nodded at the second quesiton, however. "I attempted to organize something like that, recently, there's some droids handling it. ("A day at the races!") I imagine with your resources, and expertise in entertainment, a much more sucessful version could be created, though...."

Let's see, what else would adults enjoy? Children were easy to please. A few dancing wampas, a scary-looking Nexu in an exhibit, and they're happy. Adults, however... Mrrew frowned.

"You're the one who specilizes in entertaining people... What else do you suggest?"

[member="Marek Starchaser"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

Well, he figured a Beast Hunter Guild leader would be able to find the right people and property deeds. If not, Marek could use his network, to try to get the right people to allow for his ships and company to operate in their area. That would be something to work on.

“We need the right people, I know the ones who can bring the people, but I need the animals in the right place. I’d like to maybe use the first land-based location as a test? Each place a stepping stone. Ship-zoos to ground-zoos, to races and rides.” At least that was what he was thinking.

Hell, boxing matches with Wamps.

“I am sure we can use the wild feel and incorporate it into a casino… But…. Really the animals seem to get the kids, and some people are bound to go after the learning experience. Maybe a controlled disaster… Like an amusement park?” He was taking notes on his datapad, what he wanted, what was going to happen, what [member="Mrrew"] wanted, and the other ideas. Just so they could sign paperwork sometime. Though, getting this flattened out was nice.

 

[Mrrew]

Mrrew nodded as [member="Marek Starchaser"] spoke. "If all goes well, this should expand quickly. I'm sure there's thousands- millions- of people fascinated with the creatures in the galaxy that seem more like legends then reality... And no one has ever thought to make seeing the rare creatures of the galaxy accessible to the public. We'll have cornered a market that's sure to grow quickly... As long as nobody gets eaten, and everyone loses interest."

He had to say it.

"If you were to create an amusement park- you could even possibly incorporate rides into the exhibits... A roller coaster zooming (through a chain link tunnel, as not to greatly disturb the animals) through the feeding grounds of a herd of Reeks? A raft ride down a river through the middle of a jungle of Zakkegs? Animals can be incorporated into nearly anything... That's why this idea has such a huge chance of making us billionares. Assuming you aren't, already, that is..."

 

[Corey's OOC]

First order of business, and the top of the list, make [member="Mrrew"] in charge of finding someone to make sure no one gets eaten. Sold. He was sending off the basics to his development team. BHG was handling animals, capture, training and care. Bright Star will handle the entertainment, music, catering, transportation, and land rights. Simple. “That is what I’m counting on. That this hasn’t been done, the learning, the visiting, the touching, that will all be new! I think this might be the best way to start, and grow as our companies grow, and the venture grows?”

A joint subsidiary? Could they do that?

If no one got eaten.

“Not billion, but I’ve got the capital I need to survive.” And survive well. “I really like that idea. I am going to send the concept off to some developers, I’ve got a few people owing me favors. Right now I’ve got staff for developing a few starship zoos, and the land-based ones. The rest… well I’ll need time to assemble staff to develop and design.” Because that was part of it, designing. "I'd be ready to move onto the first phase, as soon as we get a list of friendly and then friendly-but-not-looking-so-friendly animals." The ships were mostly complete.

 

[Mrrew]

Mrrew smiled. He was certainly glad to be working on this with someone who knew what he was doing - the buisness side of things. Mrrew had studied exotic animals ever since he left Kashyyyk, and had been hunting them since before, he knew plenty enough to keep his end of things going. But how to keep a theme park, or casino going? He wouldn't have teh slightest idea. Hence why he's the hunter. And [member="Marek Starchaser"]'s the buisness mogul. Mrrew nodded as Marek spoke of developers, designers, and other things he didn't understand. He decided he didn't have too.

Compiling a list of exotic animals? That's something he could do. Mrrew nodded. "Any specifics on what kind of animals you're looking for? Size? Suitable enviroments?"