Old Blood & New Ties

[Boethiah]

The last time Anja had met with a Kuhn it had built the second largest industrial contract in the galaxy. Titan Industries also had the pleasure of holding the first largest as well, but after Alric's disappearance those ties have long since faded and once again The Primeval has been far from doing business with anyone outside of their own space.

Fate seems to have a funny way of doing things; for the old blood that sealed a deal long ago that comes to Bastion in an effort to secure a similarly lucrative contract. The Host Lord did not concern herself with politics, if someone could offer her anything she'd take it if it meant a mutual agreement. So long as The Primeval benefited, the details mattered little. Inside the Imperial Palace on Bastion where Emperors once ruled, Anja sat in a chair along a table in a room where diplomats and ambassadors met to cut deals with whomever ruled the world of Bastion.

The new arrival would be guided without fanfare into the heart of the palace, and from there lead to the meeting chamber that still remained in decor of Imperialism, the seal of the Empire hung from every wall.

Any deal struck may very well merit a similar future as the day Titan shook hands with The Primeval. Whether or not she had any idea who the woman was.

[member="Lily Kirsche Kuhn"]

 

[Ellie Mors]

Years of trying to walk in her father's shadow, trying to be successful and shrewd has he had been, years of stumbling with her dreams just barely out of reach, trying to play catch-up to impress the man that cared for her as a child.

"If only you could see me now, father."

Her heartbeat raced as she walked down the hallway that would lead her to the biggest contract her tiny little business would probably ever see in its brief history under her leadership. At long last she was finally so close to success that she could taste it in the air, and it was soured only by the realization that her reason for trying to do all of this had been to make her father proud, and though she happily, sadly, knew that it would have - if he had still lived - it still seemed so bittersweet. Alric Kuhn had given her everything she could have ever wanted, all the way up until just a few months before her upcoming eighteenth birthday. Lily knew it was far too soon to be celebrating, she'd need to keep her composure before this massively well-known leader of a super-large group of people that called themselves the Primeval.

Lily had no reason to like or dislike them, they seemed to keep to themselves in concerns to her own family, unlike the Sith that seemed to tear her family apart at every whim, and frankly business was business. The clicking of her black leather heels tapping against the smooth ground echoed in her ears as she tried to envision what her customer would look and act like. She had never met this woman, only knowing through connections that her father at one time had done some business in the Primeval; but when your father was Alric Kuhn, the Titan of Titan Industries, it seemed like he had done business with everyone imaginable. But unlike her famous parent, Lily led a modest shipwright business based on Empress Teta, Koros Spaceworks, and used her knowledge retained from the college of Naval Warfare on Anaxes to great effect - often times wondering if she had succeeded her parents in terms of ship designs, though she'd never seen the best of her father's work and withheld judgement both out of respect and self-doubt. Hardly a minute later and she was being ushered into a meeting chamber that was oddly apocryphal in her eyes, beautiful but scarred.

"Hello, it is a pleasure to meet you, I am Lily Kuhn." She said, putting on her best smile - which was humorously just as awkward as it had always been, even as a small child. It was funny how some things never changed.

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Boethiah]

Anja's hand gestured outward, "Please, take a seat." Her pale eyes examined the young woman standing in front of her. There were features about her that were found familiar, nothing to alert now distant memories but the name Kuhn did stand out. She knew very well who Alric Kuhn was but when the two met, Alric had always went under a moniker to hide his true identity when doing business. Perhaps only those close to him knew the real face of Titan.

"Is there anything you'd like?" It was a fact few knew, that The Primeval tended to treat their guests with generosity and comfort; quite opposed to their rather cold and aloof reputation. The Primeval had a tendency to remain to themselves and although their warfare with the Mandalorians was not unknown, it was still significantly far away from the state of affairs that existed in the war torn core.

This was a galaxy of chaos, where wars raged in every corner and only in a matter of years did empires rise and fall; many going on to be forgotten footnotes in history. The Primeval themselves were seen as invaders, arriving almost out of nowhere to take shape in the unknown regions before setting their eyes on wild space. Bastion was perfect name for this world, it was a Bastion of civilization in space where none existed and although culturally different, The Primeval knew well enough to maintain the world as it was.

[member="Lily Kirsche Kuhn"]

 

[Ellie Mors]

Following the pleasant welcome and request by the Host Lord, Lily found a seat at a comfortable closeness to the woman. She remained quiet, reserved - she wasn't certain how either of her parents would have acted in her shoes, but she was a teenager and, well, that's what teenage girls do. At least the kind that found themselves waking up to inheriting practically everything over-night, practically becoming billionaires simply by manner of the sheer funds flooded in from insurance claims and trust funds. Business was a whole other ballpark, and doing business with a war-harboring nation such as the Primeval meant that being courteous to one's host would both mean a lengthier life and an easier contract - if one was to be made, at any rate. "A glass of water would be all, thank you." Lily replied, smiling as gently as she could. Every little detail in this meeting would be something to judge her on, something to critique the teenager. While it probably wouldn't return as feedback on a personal basis, it could make or break Koros Spaceworks' expansion into the realm of bigger business.

Sure, she made quality ships, and sure, some of them were actually quite impressive; but she was not, and the company wasn't either, any Kuat Drive Yards or Rendili Drives - both of which had largely become successful because of the importance of shipbuilding to their worlds. Sure, Empress Teta had certainly remained a bigger super-power in culture and finance than the other two, at least outside of corporate spheres of influence, but they never relied on their shipbuilding after they settled into being more of a 'setting' than a background, so to speak. Her home was a planet for making business happen, and living, not so much working or building - not anymore. But Lily wanted to change that, and perhaps it was that nobility that had subtly altered her path in life from her sister and mother. Finding the silence to be slightly unnerving, if only because she was still very much a nervous wreck at the prospect of being in such an important meeting, she decided to speak up. "On the subject of business, we at Koros Spaceworks wish to thank you for finding the time in your busy schedule to accommodate us with a meeting of this nature. Representing the company as a majority shareholder, and Corporate Executive Officer, I would like to ask what it is that you find the Primeval is looking for in shipbuilding. We offer a wide variety of ships, of nearly every classification, and are always looking to build greater and more quality products - even at special order, both in mass production down to unique, personal, ships." She began, explaining a bit about the company in a very formal blurb. Not that she thought the Host Lord wasn't aware of her gratitude or about the company itself, it was simply her being polite.

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Boethiah]

When the young woman requested a glass of water, one of servants standing in the shadows approached a small tray containing a pitcher and a few glasses. Failing to be a notice to most people, the aged man slowly poured the liquid into the new, handheld container and brought the glass of cool water to Lily, placing it down on the table just in front of her before bowing and finding himself stepping back into the shadows. Anja listened intently to all she had to say; conversations such as this had a tendency to rouse the Host Lord's curiosity.

As the girl finished speaking, "we don't make deals with many outsiders," she began. "That we're having this discussion at all is because of your growing reputation." Anja examined the young woman who stood before her, staring into the familiar eyes of determination.

"My people always need ships, our old designs are outdated and we've many enemies. What I'm interested in is a new carrier and starfighter designs, the old designs were made to fight enemies that are no longer around. I am certain you can achieve this, yes?" She explained her intentions, interests, and made her less than formal request for new starships.

The old designs she spoke of were ones provided to her by Titan Industries, ones that have served her well in several battles and skirmishes. Now that Titan Industries has more-or-less secluded itself after a brief upheaval it made things too unpredictable, doing business with a company that seemed to have a waning and violently changing presence across the stars. Someone new would have to fulfill that role, and if this young woman sitting in front of her could be that person? Then Anja was all ears.

[member="Lily Kirsche Kuhn"]

 

[Ellie Mors]

It wasn't all that hard for Lily to be surprised - especially at the sudden sight of someone reaching out in front of her - and being that she'd lived a rich, but not butler-like, life, the expression on her adolescent face was priceless. Quickly recovering from a slight embarrassment, Lily's cheeks flushed red and she nodded and mouthed her thank-you to the man as he stepped away and she returned her attention to the Host-Lord soon afterwards. With another nod of understanding at the woman's appraisal - which she took as a compliment, as she'd not been given many on business ventures until now - she took a sip from the glass and swirled it around with her hand, like she would have done wine if she had been a bit older. While Miss Aj'Rou spoke her piece about the Primeval's need for spacecraft, which she was keenly interested in providing, she couldn't help but wonder if the reference of older ships were to those of her father's.

She'd seen them before, huge and chalk-full of guns and other trinkets that drove up their value, but she'd hardly had considered them obsolete by today's standards - though it wasn't her place to speak out of turn while a potential customer explained her needs. "Starfighters and Cruisers, mhm. Yes, Koros Spaceworks - and myself - are fully prepared and capable of supplying you with such. Those two classifications seem to be the most popular seller for us right now, so the company itself is actually geared towards that sort of production." Lily confirmed, rather cheerful to have been asked for something she was more than capable of having produced - especially as ships in those two categories seemed to be where her own specialties lay, although she considered frigates a very close third. "Is there anything your fleet is currently lacking, like assault starfighters, bombers? We're willing to produce anything and everything you ask for, I would just like a little clarification on the direction you're looking at moving in." She continued, a bit curious as to just how specific the woman, and the Primeval, was with what she wanted. Wouldn't want to produce an assault craft and not a bomber or stealth ship!

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]