Opportunity of a Lifetime (Major Corporations)

[Ayden Cater]

[member="Rosa Gunn"]

Ayden offered the master a respectful bow. "Thank you, Master Gunn. I strive to deliver only the best. To do any less is an insult to myself, as well as others." He turned and observed the tugs working to disassemble as much of the ruined Invictus-E as they could. Even if he had obliterated the ship for the demonstration, Ayden had made sure to relay orders to the demonstration team to clean up after themselves. They'd salvage what they could and hurl what they couldn't into a star in an uninhabited system. "I admit to being curious myself as to what the other companies are going to show. Naturally, I have to have confidence in my own corporation's work, and I do have every confidence in it. Among the othercorporations, only Kuat Drive Yards and Sienar Fleet Systems could compare with CEC on the scale of development and deployment. I believe KDY to be busy with orders from the Republic and last I heard SFS was busy modernizing their products to keep their competitive edge. I don't think they'll be in a position to compete with CEC at this time."

 

[Rosa Gunn]

Rosa nodded slowly. "To my knowledge, a representative from KDY hasn't joined us today, but I am not surprised under the circumstances." Her expression darkened for the breifest of moments before she continuted. "I was also expecting to see something impressive from Mandal Hypernautics and perhaps Silk Holdings, but in all honesty my knowledge of such things is amateur at best. A lot of these companies I know nothing about," she smiled slightly "I suppose that is what this sort of thing is for."

She fell quiet for a moment, lips pursed slightly as she watched the clean up team. "I'd be interested to know what ideas CEC has for future developments. I imagine, if your assessment of your competition is correct, they may be pitching future developments as well as there current capabilities."

[member="Ayden Cater"]

 

[Anija Betna]

[[Sorry for late reply... been distracted by other threads. Text from Mandalorian submissions used by permission of [member="Captain Larraq"]]]

[member="Rosa Gunn"] | [member="Boolon Murr"] | [member="Ayden Cater"]

Frowning slightly, Anija began to realize that she'd probably been gone from the summit too long. With a sigh and a muttered curse, Anija saved her work, and closed down her holoprojector. Rising from the table with a sigh, she pushed out of her seat and made her way to the door and the corridor beyond. It didn't take her long to reach the large area where the demonstrations were in progress.

It appeared she had arrived at the end of a demonstration by CEC... if Ayden Cater's presence near the front of the room was any indication. She waited a few moments until he'd vacated the area at the front of the room before she moved forward. She hoped that her own demonstration would be comparable. A few moments was all it took to get settled. When she was set up, the lights in the room dimmed and she watched as images appeared on the screen.

After a moment, an image of the Goten class dry dock appeared. She waited a moment, manipulating the holoprojector controls as she spoke, highlighting different sections. "The Goten class dry dock is one of the largest commercial and military stations on the market and can support logistical and construction operations on multiple star destroyer sized ships at a time. To further exploit the efficiency of the station, multiple stations can be locked together in stacks of three to five in order to drastically reduce project timeframes and increase total number of simultaneous projects."

She expanded the holo again to show a stack of 5 Goten drydocks, with numerous construction tugs, and other large ships in varying stages of completion. "Goten-class Stations are most often encountered in stacks of three or five at dedicated shipyards, while individual stations are more common orbiting other industrial worlds. Stacking three stations together allows for up to six Kandosii Dreadnoughts or similarly sized warships to dock for repairs or to be constructed at each arm. While three individual stations could handle the same volume of starships without connecting to one another, stacking the stations allows such projects to be completed far quicker than would be possible at a single station, and with superior coverage and protection from overlapping shields."

She chuckled slightly, and nodded towards someone in the back who had raised a hand and asked about larger configurations. "When connected to additional stations, a minimum of five such stations must be connected together to accommodate Command Ships or larger. In such a case, each arm can accommodate 2 to 4 such ships, depending on the width and height of the ships being repaired or constructed. A minimum of eight to ten stations must be connected together to handle the maintenance requirements of the Mythosaur or similarly sized starships, accommodating 2 such ships per arm. However, such station assemblages are uncommon as the Mythosaur is capable of being repaired and maintained at any 'common' assemblage of five stations, though it does take up a quarter of the available births."

With that portion being completed, she selected another hologram from her files. This one was the Krayt class Light cruiser. She highlighted the vessel, and then enlarged the hologram, pointing out things here and there as she spoke. "The Krayt is a valuable light carrier able to keep up with much smaller and faster ships. Which is where it can put its self to best use. The vehicle bristles with point defense weaponry and supports two Gravity Well Projectors, to protect a fleet from precision hyperspace maneuvers and keep pirates and military forces from fleeing an engagement." She hoped that the leaders of the Levantine Sanctum would find such things useful to their military.

Next, she triggered her last hologram. This one of the Ulur'uur frigate. "The Ulur'uur is the pinnacle of sensor technology. It hosts numerous sensor systems and little else, devoting the overwhelming majority of its power to sensors. The ship is capable of detecting nearly every known stealth craft and offers its commanders an unparalleled insight into enemy fleet maneuvers and ship internal layout." As she spoke, she highlighted different areas again. Though, once she was done, she merely closed down the holoprojector and nodded politely. "Thank you for your time, ladies and gentlemen. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.I shall remain in the room so as to be available."

 

[Jericho]

[member="Boolon Murr"] [member="Rosa Gunn"] [member="Ayden Cater"] [member="Anija Ordo"]

It has only been a short time since he has returned, but already he could feel a difference in the atmosphere around them they were growing and expanding. Making trades, advancements and alliances that he knew little about. He was always training, always fighting, always studying, always improving himself to be of use to the Sanctum but that meant leaving them for long periods of time. So when he was called to put in a mention on what they should do, he felt honored that they still treated him as family or rather as one of their own even though he didn't so it. When he was summoned he entered the room as quietly as he always did and bowed to each of the master that had reached his immediate sight.

"Master Rosa, good to see you." He said to the first master, she was one of the first of the Levantine Sanctum and though he rarely spoke to her, she did deserve her promotion to master. "Master Cater." He knew nothing about this man aside from his name and the rumors that had followed it, but still Jericho showed respect all the same. Then lastly master Murr, the one who had summoned him here. "Master Murr, is there a reason you have summoned me here today?"

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Rosa Gunn"] | [member="Boolon Murr"] | [member="Anija Ordo"] | [member="Jericho"]



Judah was next. Adjusting his tie one last time the man tried to shake off any nerves. Presentations always made him nervous whether they were large or small. From what he had heard the other corporations were going all out. Now wasn't the time to worry about his own presentation or short comings though. Get in, speak the representatives, law down the facts and try to be charming.


"Thank you for joining me esteemed Levantine Sanctum representatives. My name is Judah Dashiell and I am the owner and CEO of Salacia Consolidated. We are a blue-collar company based in the Southern end of the Galaxy but have been looking to venture out along the Tingel Arm." There was a slight pause in his presentation. "Today I am here to represent Salacia Consolidated for the Fleet Maintenance contract and explain to you how Salacia would handle all your interstellar repair needs."


Judah held a small remote in one hand, starting his presentation slideshow. Numbers were brought forth in a large manner, projecting in the middle of the table. The figures were a graph of numbers running financials against sentient beings versus droid labor.


"Much of the current model is to hire sentient labor to oversee the maintenance of fleets. Tune ups, fueling, assembly changes and the like. Some companies even use sentient labor to wax and polish their vessels. Granted, sentient labor gets the job done. Yet it is costly. This is why I am proposing for my contract the use of droid labor for up to seventy percent of your maintenance needs. Droid labor is inexpensive, reliable and the quality is the same or better as sentient labor."


"Much of the question surrounding droid labor has been reliability. Programming glitches or poor maintenance can cause the most loyal of droids to wander at times. Salacia Consolidated in currently pioneering a new innovation in restraining bolts. These new and advanced restraining bolts will allow sentient workers send directions
and small pieces of programming remotely to the droid. This would allow for a new work order to come through in minutes. As priorities on the maintenance docks change so does the droid. This allows for total and complete control for the end user."


Judah typed a few keystrokes into the datapad, activating the small droids he had borrowed from the vessel earlier. The command was simple enough, follow one another in a straight line. Access the door control panel in the conference room and begin work on creating a looping circuit for the door- having it open every ten seconds.


"As you can see, with a few simple keystrokes the droids have begun their task with zero input from a physical source. Now, let us change the directives for one of the droids and send the other back to maintenance. The other two will fix the door and then proceed back to the original position."


Several more keystrokes and the droids were off. One left the room completely. The other with the changed directive immediately began work on a spare datapad Judah had brought with him. Nothing spectacular. After all, this was a demonstration of the capabilities of droid labor in terms of fleet maintenance. With the door back at its original settings, the two droids came back and lined up side by side, waiting.


"With this system labor costs will be cut. With a seventy percent droid labor force there are no breaks, no lost productivity, no sick leave. The system can be retrofitted like you see here, allowing for a reduced number of droids needed. When not in use or required, the restraining bolt merely pops off and gets put aside for use for the next droid in line. The system is plug and play."


"Now I've mentioned a seventy percent labor force. What of the other thirty? The thirty percent will be sentient labor, hand picked workers from independent planets in the Levantine Sanctum. Most will be responsible for droid oversight, droid maintenance, upkeep of the restraining bolt system, and various fleet maintenance tasks that cannot be performed by the droid workers."


"Between the reduced costs, precision work, and cutting edge technology there is nothing not to love about this system. With that being said, are there any questions?"

 

[Danger Arceneau]

Things were going along nicely, Danger would muse to herself as she carefully observed and took notes on the presentations. All the companies certainly showed quite a bit of promise and ingenuity. It was also nice to see Salacia consolidated move up into shipyard maintenance. Mistah Dashiell certainly has come a long way from the small salvaging operation he had a while back.

Progress.

Her attention would draw towards the various panel of Etti IV leadership and that of the Sanctum. Well they certainly had quite the pick of the kathhound litter.

So far, there was Corellian Engineering, Mandal Hypernautics, and Salacia Consolidated. Who else would attempt to toss in a bid for one of those shipyard permits? Very interesting. She still had to see what Santhe had to offer as well.

A finger would gently tap against the fullness of her lower lip. Oh there was much more at stake that just shipyard permits. In here there was also the supplying, transport, fueling, and the likes of something this large, and that is what Arceneau Trade was aiming for.

A large contract just to fuel and supply a shipyard of this size would be more than enough. More so if she could continue to bridge her connections with Sanctum in order to open more trade stations scattered across their space.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]


"What of someone stealing a restraining bolt and our droids?" A representative finally spoke up, cutting the silence that had just come to hang across the room. Judah had been sweating the presentation and it was nice to see someone had a thoughtful question for him.


"The new-style of restraining bolt I'm developing could be placed inside the control panel housing of most droids, then merely secure the panel with the various locking systems available. It would keep things secure. Most systems practically require a thief to wield the housing open if they want the droid that badly. I can safely say it would keep most of your issues at bay."


Murmuring went through the crowd and Judah stood near the door, shaking hands and thanking the representatives for their time and attendance. Even if he wasn't picked today hopefully he would impress a few to let him do other projects for their worlds. Never hurt to put one's self out there. The last representative exited the conference room and Judah immediately started to clean up his presentation in addition to releasing the droids back to their maintenance closet.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

Another voice came piping in from the back " What of security? What if someone decides to hack into the system? What measures do you have in place to protect the shipyards from intrusion?"

A very good question, mulled Danger, tapping the fullness of her lower lip with her finger. Beside her, Alisha'ven set a datapad down in front of her. It was the final proposal that Arceneau Trade was to use to show a potential new trade route across the entirety of Levantine Sanctum space. It would feature a proposal of Arceneau Trade purchasing land to build new space ports, warehouses, and supply depots. It also featured the transport of various space stations in designated safe locations for the convenience of Levantine Space, utilizing Etti IV as their home base of trade operations.

The business plan would showcase the ability for the planets within the Tingal Arm to be once again connected to the greater galaxy, allowing for an influx of goods as well as a stirring of the economy by allowing Arceneau Trade to be that bridge.

She would start skimming it, all the while keeping her ear perked to see what Mr. Dashiell would answer in the terms of security.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]


"As a mentioned previously, the restraining bolt could be affixed inside the droid's interior panel. Then the panel could be locked down." Judah paused slightly and chuckled. "Now I wasn't aware a maintenance contract also involved security. Droids and maintenance workers would be fully screened though. Droids would have the aforementioned security measures in place, along with firewall and digital security at the central control site. Physical security measures would also be put into place, such as a off-site backups and sentient guards. Sentient workers would be screened on the highest level and given various levels of security clearance."


"Salacia Consolidated has an agreement with Firemane Industries. I am sure [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] and her team of security specialist could easily be sub-contracted out by myself to provide the security your planets desire for the shipyards."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

Danger gave a grin. Well done, she mused, more amused by the rather finicky attention to detail the Corporate bigwigs to ensure their property was secure.

Her eyes then brightened at the mention of Firemane. A company that was quickly rising the ranks in hired security. Well played. That is how things went around here, the promotion of other businesses saw the growth not only in profit but in networking and expansion.

A nod was given to Alisha'ven. She was well satisfied with this trade route.

"Send it in for their viewing pleasure." she told her, knowing that the proposal would go through to the respective parties soon enough.

Another question came for [member="Judah Dashiell"].

"What are the maintenance cycles for your droids? Do they require to be brought back to the company or can these checks be done in the shipyards themselves?"

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]


"No, all maintenance for droids and our various pieces of equipment would be done entirely on site. If we needed to do something more intensive there are vessels we could easily bring into port and do our business from there. In addition there would be a handful of extra droids available in rotation. No one project would be unfinished simply because one or two droids broke down."


"I can assure you the shipyards would be under the best of care. Salacia has a number of excellent project managers. I would personally hand-pick one to specifically oversee your shipyards from day one. Some would consider it overkill for a maintenance contract but as you know this is a large-scale project, especially in such space as the Sanctum."

 

[Alisha'ven]

Meanwhile, Alisha'ven did exactly what she'd been told.

The following proposal was sent through to establish a new trade route as well as to supply the fuel throughout Levantine Sanctum space with Mara TibX and Fuels. It would use the current Arceneau and SSB Headquarters and trade station on Etti IV as the port of call, with Arceneau fully willing to purchase land to build warehouses and space ports in the listed planets.

Arceneau would also respect the desire for low traffic by proposing that the only other major trade stations be settled on Lorrd, Iferetes, and the capital planet of Laekia. The bulk merchant convoys would move between those trade stations, while smaller more personalized merchant convoys would be sent to the other planets within their sphere of influence to ensure a low level of disturbance.

Major Trade Routes to start from Etti IV after supplying the newly created shipyards and trade station their goods, then travel there to Lorrd, Iferetes, and finally Laekia only to then return to Etti IV. From those respective trade stations, smaller convoys would travel to the rest of the planets based on supplies pre-ordered.

Trade Route Proposal

Headquarters: Etti IV
Warehouses and Space ports: Etti IV, Lorrd, Iferetes, Bonadan, Amuud, Arda, Laekia, Raevena, Kelsier, Kyrikal, Midvinter, Bayan
Trade Stations: Etti IV, Lorrd, Laekia, Iferetes.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

Danger would smile, turning to nod towards the rest of the Corporate Sector Authority representatives as well as that of the Sanctum.

"Such a well though out proposal, no? Certainly one cannot do wrong with Salacia," she would coo, feeding into the ears of those around her.

"Mistah Dashiell has done wonders already in terms of shipyards.... I hear that the success of the Ceto Shipyards are due in large part due to his contribution... certainly a man that any keen businessman would delight in having on their team." enter that winning smile.

Low murmurs of agreement would come. It was too soon to believe he locked it on, but the seeds had been sown.

Danger would take a sip of her drink, and then flash a wink over to Judah himself.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Danger Arceneau"] | [member="Alisha'ven"]


Judah could only shake his head at Danger. The representatives were stated for now. Small groups had formed of planetary figures comparing notes over his designed proposal. Now, Miss Danger was clearly lying about the Ceto Shipyards but there was no reason for him to correct her. After all, he was an influential person on the planet....of sorts.


Carefully he picked his way over to the redheaded businesswoman. She looked cool and calm, pretty much her demeanor when it came to all business transactions it seemed.

"Miss Arceaneau, didn't your Ma tell you not to lie growin' up?"


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

Representatives looked over the Arceaneau trade proposal carefully. Many were impressed with her position to buy the lands herself. Perhaps she was looking for a tax break in return? Questions still remained, details to be hammered out.


"How do you expect our region to handle this traffic? This part of the Tingel Arm has been quiet for centuries. Traffic on this scale could be a nightmare for some of our planets, ones will less resources."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

A winning smile went shining over at [member="Judah Dashiell"] 's direction. Her voice came low for him to only hear, silky and throaty like the sweetest honey.

"Mistah Dashiell... my momma, bless her soul, done told me 'fore she passed that 'If I tell you a Womprat can pull a Sandcrawler, then shut up and hook the sucker up.'" Oh were her eyes ever so twinkling in mirth at the saying used when you're sure you know what you're talking about, even if someone else believes to the contrary.

While the executives would mingle, Danger made it her point to pour Judah a glass of Whyren's finest, the Blake's top credit reserve. " Folk know 'round these parts Salacia is worth the salt in your bread. Done right so far and expanded some. What's a bit of color to that tale now?" Add in another wink as she slid the glass to him.

 

[Alisha'ven]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

Alisha'ven gave a comforting smile.

"We are happy to say that we are working with notable navigationists to plot the proper hyperspace routes down the Tingel Arm to ensure that traffic isn't an issue. Some which were charted by known Sanctum associates like Miz Chloe Blake, and can be vertifed by founder of Silk Holdings [member="Jorus Merrill"] if an extra layer of security and confirmation is required.

Our goal with Arceneau is not to disturb the daily life of these isolated planets, but to build a bridge to the rest of the galaxy that has neigh been denied due to the four-hundred year darkness. We are wiling and ready to bring news, goods, and items that had been unavailable to the Tingel Arm due to the outbreak of the Gulag Virus.

In this we seek to not only develop the economy of local resources, but to build networks and infrastructure while respecting the privacy of the Tingel Arm.

With the SSB holonetwork, orders can be sent in via electronic means, allowing ATC to get a set manifest of what each planet so desires us to bring, allowing for the need of constant trade traffic to be done via a set schedule of delivery and export if so desired.

With Mara Tibx, we will also be able to provide quality fuels and service to the Etti IV shipyards as a one stop shop."

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Danger Arceneau"] | [member="Alisha'ven"]


Judah didn't drink. Nothing personal, it just wasn't his vice. Yet Miss Arceneau had placed a glass in front of him. What else was there to do? Sitting down next to the woman, he picked up the glass carefully and took a sip. It was smooth yet firey....considerably better than average cantina fare he had drunk in his early youth. At least he wasn't coughing like a fool.


"Your Ma was a wise woman then. I appreciate the kind words."


============


"All well and good Miss. However, I am going to assume your buying of space ports will include training of employees? Some of these parts got little to none in the way of traffic control. We don't need accidents in our airways."

The representative from Laekia adjusted his glasses, looking over the datapad on display. Bringing the unknown to this part of the Galaxy was always an issue. Would always be.

"Laekia stands to become a warehouse location, trade station and space station. That is quite a bit for our planet. We have many natural resources Miss. What are your plans for planets who require a more delicate touch? Are you willing to create orbital space stations to serve as warehouses? Floating mercantiles?"

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

Her emerald eyes would practically beam with devilry. She poured herself a drink, and in no time one vice was accompanied by another in the form of an unlit cigarra that went perching between her full crimson lips.

"That she was." There was much to say about Colette Arceaneau, wise certainly was at the top of the list. Small talk was the name of the game while the rest of the executives would discuss among themselves who they would allocate those permits to.

"She had several other pearls of wisdom." she'd say to pass the time, setting her drink down upon the table.

" For example... that the Gods giveth and most women piss it away," enter the arch of a brow, " She reckoned that perhaps that is why they lack the equipment to aim." Her hand would flick a lighter to the tip of her cigarra.

" That some women piddle their life away in a slow incontinent dribble while squattin' in the shadow of a man." her cheeks drew a deep breath, sinking in as she took a drag."While others are so busy trying to overshadow men they miss the mark." The tip would glow a bright cherry red as it ignited.

"Most would manage to cover up their little messes like a Nexu scratching in a litter box," she shut off the lighter and put it away, two fingers plucking the vice from her mouth,"...but a few always get caught with their pants down. " smoke would billow from her lips as the right corner of her mouth would slowly start to curve up.

"For this reason, Colette Arceneau bestowed upon me the wisdom her mother bestowed upon her," enter a dramatic pause and the slight emphasis of her hand that held the cigarra. "'Never wear holey underwear.'"

"Being the enterprising young woman that I am, I took her wisdom to heart -- I never wear underwear t'all."

Oh yeah, she went there.

With a devilish wink.

 

[Alisha'ven]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

"We more than willing to create orbital space stations to serve as warehouses for those locations that require a light carbon print. Arcneau has contracts with Salacia, MandalTech, Mandal Hypernautics, Koensayr, CEC and Silk Holdings to provide the best of the best in terms of orbital space station options -- much of the same technology that some of them have shown you presently in this conference.

And yes, this will also include the training of employees -- and job opportunities for the local population to serve not only in the merchant areas of the warehouses and space stations, but in the various cantinas, casinos, banking, and in the logistical support that is required to maintain and upkeep these properties. "

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]


Judah stopped smoking when [member="Thessa Kai"] had became pregnant with their son. Was he exactly perfect in following such a rule? No. Already engaging in drinking, Judah wasn't about to tempt the fates and light up again. Besides, there was nothing to light up with and he wasn't about to snag a smoke off Miss Arceneau. Judah wasn't sure of the woman found him friendly or she had too much to drink. Either way, she started to rattle off some sayings from her family. His eyes went a little wide at her last admission and he shook his head, running a hand through his curls.


"Miss Arceneau, I appreciate the honesty but I'm a married man with a wife who could kill me with her pinky. Best keep your news about your ladies underthings to yourself."


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


"Then we have much to discuss Miss [member="Alisha'ven"] . I do believe you have answered all of our questions effectively. There is no reason for us to keep you in the spotlight. We have your presentation and our notes, best we sit down and look at your proposals."