More than just Gungans

[Ugohr Poof]

Now that a new window of opportunity was opening, with the Refugee Relief Movement, the Gungan Jedi knew that unrest among those refugees, which, oftentimes, still have some skills they would be able to bring on the table, given the proper opportunity, the Gungan would be willing to do his part to assist. Especially with these factions falling apart all over the place, Free World Coalition, Ancient Eye, Sovereignty, to name the main ones, he had to do something. He was involved on Alderaan, but he knew Alderaan was not the end of the story as far as the FWC is concerned. So he sent a holomail to one of those companies he knew were involved in earlier reconstruction efforts, on Vero, on Skor and on Thyferra, and also for consolidating his business in Silver space. And also open an extra multifunctional branch as an annex to whatever factory would be built, housing all three of the company's major financial services: realty, insurance and banking, provided the ordinances will allow commercial and industrial use of land on the same lot (sometimes they did not):

---------------------------------

ATTN: [member="John Locke"]

Wesa interested in yoursa construction droids, so dat wesa can handle maxibig construction projects, and also provide jobs to disen refugees, both for usen in da financial sector and yousa on da droid manufacturing side since wesa offer to build yoursa facility, at yoursa choice between Bimmisaari or Charros. Please let mesa know of what worken for yousa.

Ugohr Poof
COO, IGR Brokerage

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[John Locke]

When he'd designed the Archimedes John had thought that it would be a popular repair tool, but he'd never seen how capable it would be as a general purpose builder too, but the hover capability was just what was needed when it came to handling themselves manoeuvring around obstacles and uneven ground. First the Skors and now this message from a Gungan, it was just the name was familiar, Ugohr Poof... ah well, he'd be able to see when he got there. If there was one weakness he had, John was never going to say no to a chance to help refugees. Especially when he could hope to use the data on it to improve the future products, maybe a specialist construction system. The droids themselves, well maybe he could do something to help.

"Sir, wakey wakey, we're here." John blinked, shaking his head to clear away the cobwebs, "EX...you took the shortcut didn't you? When I told you to take the long way around" "And loose the chance to catch you daydreaming?, I'd never give that up." John swore that the droid was being smug with him as he shook his head. "You're just..." A wry smile pulled at the man's lips, "let's go and meet this Gungan, and EX...no embarrassing me this time." "Oh sir, you never need my help to do that."

[member="Ugohr Poof"]

 

[Ugohr Poof]

And, after checking against the manifest, he chose to meet with [member="John Locke"] on Charros IV. It's not simply a matter of Xi Charrians here: it was about matching the jobs to where the workforce was. Bimmisaari lived off forestry and agriculture, with raw, powdered duracrete being a secondary industry of the planet. But perhaps rebuilding a church factory, or maybe if it was large enough to qualify for it, cathedral status, would help the Xi Charrians remain loyal to the light, especially since the GE that once bombarded the planet was somehow still alive but barely surviving an internal civil war. And the damage was extensive, so perhaps meeting with John near the premises of Workshop Xcan, which was de facto the capital of the planet, would be for the better, with the time for the actual reconstruction far from being over even years after the fact. Especially since the Silvers' efforts were more focused on the long term, realizing the sheer scale of the project. They had to tread lightly to avoid angry Xi Charrians at their gates even with the New Sith Order being driven back to their base of Odacer-Faustin.

"Mesa Ugohr Poof and wesa want to purchase a quantity of Archimedes droids large enough to perhaps consider builden an extra factory on Charros to help yousa get started, in fact, several thousands to help usen contribute to oursa reconstruction projects on Corellia and Alderaan, as well as Togoria closer to yousa"

 

[John Locke]

All of a sudden John was glad that he had a lines or manufacturing equipment solely dedicated to the production of the Archimedes droids. Even so several thousand? The a moment he wavered in shock, EX stepping closer to his master hands help out just incase he collapsed.

"We...I think we can manage that," John finally allowed, shaking his head to clear away the shock that had swept over him. "But with that many droids...you must be thinking of some major reconstruction projects on the planets." He had heard that in the wake of recent aggression some of the planets had been damaged but he had no idea the scale of destruction had been quite that bad. That said this wasn't just an opportunity for a sale, it was an opportunity to establish himself in a new market and to set up a new factory. "How soon are you hoping to recieve your first shipment of the droids? I'm not sure we have enough stock to provide all the droids you need on hand, at least not until the factory on Charros you mentioned is up and running."

[member="Ugohr Poof"]

 

[Ugohr Poof]

"There-sa duey possibilities for staffing da factory: either yousa hire from refugee pools or yousa hire local, unemployed Xi Charrians"

With the extra capacity [member="John Locke"] would be getting on Charros IV, it would be possible for IGR to purchase droids for projects on Balmorra and Kuat, too. The devastation was all too real, and for Ugohr, it fell on him to rebuild wherever Sith and their allies caused devastation. Whereas other Jedi were unwilling or unable to repair the broken pots, he would all too readily do so. And said reconstruction would, in Ugohr's mind, require the involvement of those who needed the resulting labor most. And he had to realize that the Skor facilities were more about reconstruction projects to the Alliance's south, while Charros was more about the north, and Silver space. With that said he had to be made aware of the lead time for training the staff and also for building the factory in question. For the time being he could lease what equipment he can from the Squibs on Skor, although there were no guarantees whatsoever as to how much he can get done with that rental equipment. He was nervously awaiting the response of the Locke and Key Mechanics representative prior to proceeding with the transaction.

 

[John Locke]

John reached up to rub the back of his head warily, falling silent while he considered the options put forward by [member="Ugohr Poof"]. It was an interesting idea, and the whole point of the factory was to help people wasn't it? They did say charity starts at home. "Well, how about this, we can recruit staff from both the displaced refugee population and the X- Charrians. I already have a Cadre of trainers set up on Skor an I can have some of them brought over to help train up people over here." The executive leant back with a smile as he nodded at the Gungan. "They'd have to pass minimum criteria of course, but I think we can find enough people for that, and we do have the advantage that wherever you want to deploy the droids, you'll need engineers capable of servicing them. I can train the refugees to handle that maintenance, give them a chance to help rebuild the damage they were fleeing from and let them feel like their regaining some control over the situation." A win-win situation for everyone.

 

[Ugohr Poof]

"Yousa spake of Skor: are disen Squibs satisfied with assemblin disen droids?"

Skor? Hesa involved with disen Squibs? Probably una other person within da Alliance issa responsible for allowen him-sa to use Squib labor for disen purpose, he thought, while perking up at the mention of the trainer cadre on Skor. Now, [member="John Locke"] had good reason to use a combination of the staffing options, with the understanding that refugees would be part of the reconstruction procss and probably resettling as well. He had one question left to resolve in his mind: the ability to manage a wide variety of races among the workforce. Of course he was aware that many different races among the workforce was going to cause problems. Poor Gungan: he knew that what worked with Squibs may be at odds with other species' working methods, but he didn't know in more detail why, with whom and how. Yet he had good reason to ask for that. But other than that, given the plot of land he bought for that purpose, the Gungan had to let them know that the plot in question is already theirs and shall be sold to them as a down payment for the contract in question, after which point IGR assumes no operational control over the construction.

"Even though wesa buyen a plot of industrial-zoned land before mesa comen hair, earmarked specifically for disen project, mesa hopen dat yousa know dat what work with Squibs may not work with other species"

 

[John Locke]

"You're pretty well prepared aren't you." John smiled at [member="Ugohr Poof"] as he nodded at the Gungan, fingers tapping the table thoughtfully. "As it stands you're right, what works for one planet won't work for another and I certainly wouldn't bring any Squib's over here in a leadership roll." John's fingers came up to stroke his beard thoughtfully as his gaze ran over the scene in front of him. "It might take a few months to build the factory...I can take some people from here with me to give them hands-on experience but I'd aim to replace any training Cadre I bring with locals as soon as possible." That worked best to make people happy, happy workers made more productivity. A win-win situation for everyone involved, although....wait. "You just said you had already brought the parcel of land to build the factory?" That was unusual...in a good way, John had never found someone who had taken that kind of initiative before, but he kinda liked it. "So if you own the land, do you envisage a partnership here?"

 

[Ugohr Poof]

"Duey possibilities: first, disen land will remain oursa property until da factory issa finished: at dat stage will da property over dat land be handed over to yousa"

He had to be in good faith as to how this place will operate. Using refugees and/or locals for staffing the project being negotiated is a step in the right direction, and at least [member="John Locke"] understood that what worked with Squibs may not work with refugees, unlike other potential partners. They both knew that Squib workers wanted unionization and Ugohr realized Squibs' approach to unionization as such that they'd rather have trade-specific unions, realizing that work conditions varied a lot from a trade to another, while having a comprehensive coverage across the workforce. Meanwhile, refugees may possibly want more blanket unions, or even only allow some segments to be unionized, if any. Then again, it would be awkward for IGR to hold on to the land when the stuff built on it would be used ... unless he collected the rent on the land in droids, with a right for Locke and Key Mechanics to buy out the land at any stage after the factory's completion. And yet, it just wasn't the same as an emphyteutic lease, which was usually associated with government property.

"Or yousa rent da land in a rent paid in Archimedes droids, with rent startin to come due after da factory issa finishen and yousa havin da right to purchase issa at any time"

 

[John Locke]

John's first reaction, the same as any business executive's reaction, was to snap up the land right away. Real estate was always a safe and secure bet, but the alternative offered by [member="Ugohr Poof"] bore thinking about. The fact of the matter was that even for a galactic corporation, buying this much land wasn't going to be cheap, but the returns for a new factory wouldn't begin right away. Aside from the time spent setting up the factory and training the staff production always took a while to ramp up. Most new factories failed to make money immediately so...

"How about we go with the second option. I'll rent the factory from you to start, and once all the lines are up and running I'll buy out the land leaving you only as a customer for me and not a landlord." Besides, that would give him a little more leeway in getting the workers trained, if he didn't need to pay off the purchase immediately that would be less pressure all around.

 

[Ugohr Poof]

And that was something he could agree to. Neither party wanted to enter an emphyteutic lease, which is usually understood as a long-term land lease in which the tenant is obligated to build upon. Then again, having a leasehold on the land with Locke and Key Mechanics having the right to purchase the land when the factory was mature meant that it would take about a year to get the entire project done or so. Plus it gave [member="John Locke"] some room to bring the facility to maturity, while Ugohr was, in fact printing two copies of the contract, one for IGR and one for John. He estimated that a year's worth of rent on the land was worth 1200 Archimedes droids, or 100 for each standard month. The Gungan was happy to sign the contract now that he finally accepted the terms to get the droid production lines up and running, especially with the supply he was getting from Skor. He knew that transparency was key and both parties had a contract in writing for transactions of that size. Plus he knew clients would rather have the service delivered without any surprises whatsoever.

"Behold: a copy of da contract for yoursa legal department and another copy for oursa"