Office Space

[Damian Starchaser]

Damian stood at a ships boarding ramp with a strange look on his face. It wasn't that he appeared nervous, rather the opposite, his wonderful ability to lie and act coming to the surface and suppressing his jitters. [member="Jorus Merrill"], Jorus Fething Merrill, the man had been a hero to him for some time and now he was preparing to descend a ramp and meet the man himself.

Taking a deep breath he considered for a moment how this came to past. Hylo. That glorious little plant. He was marrying the man's daughter and had contact with him. When Damian expressed an interesting in meeting he replied "I'm sure Dad wouldn't mind." He called Jorus Dad! Taking a deep breath Damian pressed the button on the boarding ramp lowering it before walking onto the freighter. He adjusted his tie and checked his suit before walking down the ramp....

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Damian Starchaser"]

Another ramp descended from another ship, a rusty medium freighter parked twenty yards away. Jorus came down, wiping barbecue sauce and engine grease off his hands. He tucked the rag into his tool belt and stuck out a hand.

'You must be Starchaser. Marek and I go way back, and my future son-in-law says you're good people." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the ship. The sounds of power tools percolated down the ramp. "Welcome to the Wretched Hive, kid. We're always looking for parts suppliers. Hylo says you've got a solid price on covert doodads and bantha leather, and we can sure use.more of both. Why don't you come aboard, see what we do?"

 

[Damian Starchaser]

[member="Jorus Merrill"]

And then Damian saw the man, in all his greasy filthy glory. Truth was Damian was trying to impress and suddenly felt a tad overdressed for the occasion. Worse yet Jorus had mentioned [member="Marek Starchaser"] his clone template and kind of but not father. His eye twitched. "it is a pleasure to meet you," he said extending his arm and took the mans handing giving it a firm shake. The suit was stain resistant, it would survive despite getting dirty. "I feel I was a bit foolish and overdressed," Damian said with a smirk and half laugh.

Taking a deep breath he looked at the man. "Hylo is a good pal. Nice, kind. Nothing but good things to say about you and Mara. I'd like to offer my companies services, suits, dresses, whatever you need for the wedding at cost. I know its traditional for the father to pay. Allow me to do this as a token of my respect to you and my friendship towards your son-in-law and daughter." He hadn't actually met Mara, that meeting being barged into by Hylo who ended up dating the young woman. Still he had heard good things. That's what mattered. "I'd love to take a look around and see how we can help eachother."

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Damian Starchaser"]

"Much obliged." Jorus almost clapped Damian on the shoulder, then thought better of it. That suit looked like it cost more than the ship. "Don't mind telling you it'll set me back some to do it right. As for being overdressed, that's as much on me as anything. Folks hear 'Jorus Merrill is in the ship business again,' they think Silk, and Silk's very clean these days. Folks that don't know me expect me and mine to be a little shinier than we are." He gestured down at his patched coveralls.

"Now, that said, we churn out some very shiny boats." Up the ramp and into the main hold, the noise grew stronger. They found Dingo Darr's work crew polishing some unusual components that protruded from a small yacht. The Krevaaki chief engineer tossed them a wave and kept working.

"Private commission for a nice Hapan lady," Jorus said. "We were gonna do the upholstery in crosh-hide, but the crosh crop isn't doing so hot, galactically speaking."

 

[Damian Starchaser]

"Perfectly alright," Damian said with a nod at the overalls. "I like to work on things to be honest. My grandfather owned a nice little smuggling ship. Picked up a few things." Alright so it wasn't strictly a smuggling ship. It was also used for getaways during heists that he'd take the young clone on. Regardless he had some skills in the subject. Damian waved at the crew who greeted them. friendly bunch. "I find it refreshing to be honest. So many I people I meet in my travels like to put on airs. Myself included if I'm honest."

Taking a breath he looked over at the vessel. It was nice, sleek and smooth with the sort angles you associate with art rather than the standard fare of ship you saw in the galaxy. "Sleek," he replied. "Hapan lady you said? Seems about right. Have you considered replacing the crosh with a simple grox suede? When you get the right finish it's considered luxurious but also a bit more firm and less prone to wear and tear. Adds a bit of weight but unlike a jacket that shouldn't be as big a deal on a spaceship." Looking at the vessel again he considered, "Would also do a simple Bantha, or Nerf suede. If her comfort is an issue you can line it with a soft silk fabric."

God... you meet [member="Jorus Merrill"] and you talk about fabric. Way to make a good impression.

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Damian Starchaser"]

Jorus blinked twice. He'd had a grox suede jacket once upon a time. Dang thing had lasted forever and got a real nice patina by the end. All the other details lined up too. For all his frippery, it seemed like Damian Starchaser had two qualities that Jorus valued above pretty much all else.

He liked solving problems, and he knew what he was talking about.

"I'll talk with Shenna'vala and the crew that normally does upholstery. They might have a couple questions for you. In the meantime...feth, kid, you want a job? Yours is what I'd call a specialized competency, and we don't have anyone at your level, not when it comes to leathers and fabrics and all that."

 

[Damian Starchaser]

[member="Jorus Merrill"]

Damian smiled at the offer. Truth was it was tempting, to work with his hands and in an operation like this. "Well I'm flattered," he finally replied. His hand practically reaching out and touching the craft. Apparently all Starchasers had an affinity for starships and the like. "While my company can, and often does, run without me I'm not sure it would be entirely appropriate for me to be an employee." Damian chuckled. Jorus had been joking right? "Which isn't to say we can't work together. I mean maybe not on this project but we make fabrics and for more uses than clothing. Deflex, have you heard of it? Reduces kinetic impact and is rated for small arms slugthrowers. Imagine a cargo bay lined with it and crash webbing. Or for customers looking for a little extra protection in a smaller vessel the curtain separating a cabin or a bed lined with the stuff to better protect a sleeping crewman."

Turning Damian looked the man in the eye. "There is practical matters whose answers could be the right fabric. Do you want luxury? Versatility? Protection? Well not to sound like I'm giving you the sales pitch but at Chase we strive to do it all in our fabric selection. Not to mention we have practical and stylish gadgets." Damian showed Jorus his watch and began to demonstrate a few of these features. "Lifeform scanner, navigational array, and a few other gadgets." With a smirk he said, "I should make a survival version. Rugged and tough, perfect for the Rim."

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Damian Starchaser"]

"Yeah, I know what Deflex is. Lovely stuff. Never really considered the shipboard uses, but you've got a point. It'd be great for anti-spalling. Nothing worse than shrapnel or bullets bouncing around inside your ship. We'd be happy to find some uses for Deflex in bulk."

The watch demonstration made Jorus raise his eyebrows. "Yeah, you get a tougher version made, I'll take it off your hands for sure. In the meantime, these mini lifeform scanners are the next best thing to perfect for monitoring the inside of a ship. Stick a couple in every room and corridor, you've got instant location on boarders, saboteurs, and stowaways. Not that I mind stowaways, but it's good to know when they're aboard."

 

[Damian Starchaser]

[member="Jorus Merrill"]

Damian nodded at the man approving of the idea. "I myself hitch hiked on starships for awhile." When he was running away from home, but no need to sound like a petulant youth. "Something like this could have caused a fair amount of problems for me. Have to admit I never thought about taking the lifeform scanner out and networking a few together around a room. It isn't accurate enough to tell you who, or what, the intruder is but just knowing one exists is better than not knowing at all."

Looking at the mechanics going about their work a thought occurred to Damian. "Do you have fabrication facilities onboard? Whats the maximum size you can accommodate? And do you work on more than just Starships? An air or ground speeder for instance."

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Damian Starchaser"]

"That level of detail is fine. Most of the ships we remodel have a single- or double-digit crew count. An extra lifeform running around is all the captain needs to know.

"And yeah, we've got some manufacturing stuff aboard. Reconfigurable stuff, the kind Clan Rekali uses to make raw materials into components on their waystations. We can't churn out much in the way of volume, but we can get pretty high quality for one-off runs or small batches. We've also got rigger tables, for turning salvaged parts into usable components. I'd say we probably build forty percent of the mods we install in ships, speeders, anything vehicular. The rest comes from random suppliers near our usual ports of call. Why you ask? Not sure what you're getting at."

 

[Damian Starchaser]

[member="Jorus Merrill"]

How many people knew what Damian really did? He could count on one hand. And while he trusted Jorus, as much as he trusted anyone, and was sure at some point the man would find out through his connection to his associate Hylo, he wasn't ready to spill yet. "I have to admit seeing this ship made me think of my extracurricular activities." His mind wondered a bit. "A lot of people care about defense. I was just thinking of the possibilities for a common speeder and the like." Then again he'd know soon after creating a modified spycar.

Shaking his head Damian looked around and then said, "Well commissions may come later, but for now, we were discussing fabric and gadgets. Our selection is limited on the later front currently, however we're always innovating. I'm sure we could open up a trade account with you, so you could buy direct at discounted price instead of through third parties or our retail market."

 

[Jorus Merrill]

[member="Damian Starchaser"]

"We're always down to tinker, and we'd be glad to fit.you in, but it might take a while. We've got a big order coming up - ever hear of a blue blood named [member="Eddak Manod"]? He sold me a heck of a pirate ship secondhand in return for a full customization job at the light capital scale. Got a lot of work ahead of us, even with trade accounts and good deals easing things along."

Jorus glanced at his chrono. "Feel free to chat with the techs that aren't working, look around, grab some ribenes in the mess. I've got a thing I've gotta attend to. Wife-related. Great to meet ya, Damian."

 

[Damian Starchaser]

"It was a pleasure meeting you as well." They shook hands and Damian moved about the ship taking in the sights and chatting up the mechanics. It was all very routine after that. So that was Jorus Merrill. People rarely lived up to hype and expectations. But this was totally worth it! He was just a chill guy. Damian nodded a bit before departing on his vessel. Paperwork was another department, Damian was just a pretty face afterall.