Taking Stock (Dust meets Lady Kay)

[Aster Jen'allé]

Rodia​

Keldon Industrial Settlement​

Mid day​

Principal Characters:​

@Jareth Johnathon Holst​

[member="Lady Kay"]​

It's a blazing hot day on Rodia as the streets of the new Industrial settlement are bustling with species of many different origins scurrying to make the universal motivator: Credits. No matter where you look credits are fueling some kind of conflict, business, peace movement, or social advance. Few are safe from its influence and as Dust awakes to the landing of his transport ship on the planets new space port he too feels the influence. A meeting announced, between his spokesman and the COO of ArmaTech was to happen today, and as always he would shadow the meeting to ensure his interests were served by its result. Soon enough he would find himself a part of the hustle and bustle of a businessman, if only to honor Jado's dedication to the company Jareth now owned.

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"]

Lady Kay had never been to Rodia before, so she had spent some of the day taking it all in. There was plenty to see and do, lots of comings and goings. And there was wealth here too. Which was great when it came to financing some projects. Already she had a meeting set up and who knows how long that would be? Some meetings take minutes while others can take days. It all depended on the other party.

The COO was flanked with two bodyguards this time. It was the minimum that she could get away with at the moment, for her boss wanted her protected at all times. But she didn't want to seem intimidating unless she had to be. And right now there was no need.

Kay was running a bit behind though. She quickened her pace through the hallway towards the meeting room, already seeing others ahead of her that seemed to be going to the same place. One in particular made her pause a bit. Could it be? She hurried up behind Dust and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Brad??" But it wasn't him. It wasn't her long lost adopted son. "I'm sorry. I thought that you were someone else..." How cruel it was to go from hope to disappointment in a matter of seconds.

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*Dust had been moving toward the meeting room, dodging in and out of different paths of foot traffic, when he felt an overwhelming sensation of hopeful joy and a touch on his shoulder.*

"Brad??"

*Heights of hope were only a higher rooftop to jump into the depths of disappointment it seemed. The woman, whose face Dust only saw for a moment, didn't find in him what she was looking for.*

"I'm sorry. I thought that you were someone else..."

*Mistaken Identity, and the pain in her discovery was so clear in both voice and emotion. Dust felt a pang of emotion himself from the cruelty of her disappointment.*

Dust: *To [member="Lady Kay"]* "I'm sorry."

*So many complex feelings, sorrow, the need to help, guilt in creating false hope, all compounded into the meaningless verbiage. Only the next moments would tell if the Lady understood the meaning behind the words, and where that might lead.*

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"]

Kay removed her hand, having left it there just a little too long. "It's okay. You have nothing to be sorry about." She gave him a little smile and then politely excused herself as her two bodyguards were urging her to get to the meeting that she was almost late for.

Once at the meeting room, one of her guards stepped inside first to check for any danger before allowing Kay to go inside. One can never be too careful and she's had enough run ins with pirates and the OCA to know better than to travel alone.

Kay was dressed elegantly to represent her station, but as always she'd rather dress comfortably. Her well worn satchel containing many items was forever present over her shoulder. Although it might look a bit mismatched, it was one thing that she never went anywhere without.

With the smile on her face of a polite and well liked saleswoman, she surveyed the room and who was in attendance.

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*Dust as always would enter the meeting late, slipping into the room unnoticed, while his spokesman would speak about business.*

Larun Kell (Spokesman): "Limited Armaments is unlike other weapon and armor manufacturers in the quality of our models and the design is always fit to the needs of armed professionals who consult with our designers regularly. Our production models even feature above standard features, such as the LAR-34R's Dallorian alloy construction which allows it to undergo far more battlefield stress and sustained fire than an average blaster. Our designs are of such quality that we can attribute 86% of our business to repeat buyers..."

*The meeting would drone on as always, but Dust noticed the woman from earlier in the crowd was among the members of this meeting. Interesting how the force often seemed to push people and events together.*

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"]

Lady Kay nodded as she listened to Larun speak. There were more in attendance than she realized there would be, but that was just fine by her.

When it was her turn to speak, she got to her feet and smiled. "My name is Lady Kay and I'm the COO of ArmaTech. We excel in mining and manufacturing for all your defence and offensive needs. Our engineers are always searching for new ideas and new ways to improve our products. On every planet that we have a mine or manufacturing plant, we stand above other companies in that we take care of our workers. We provide schools, hospitals, homes and secure jobs with great pay and benefits. Their hours are fair and we believe that a happy employee is a productive employee. And it's that policy as well as our products that have helped us to become one of the fastest growing manufacturing companies in the Galaxy. Thank you."

She sat back down, bowing her head to those that looked her way, including the young man from earlier.

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*Dust listened politely as the woman spoke. She seemed to care about people, and that was something Dust respected greatly. It may also help that ArmaTech was very much a growing industrial power, but Dust felt that doing business with her and the company she represented was beneficial on all fronts.*

Dust: *Standing up and speaking to Larun* "You've done very well to ensure this has run smoothly and as always you have done your job flawlessly." *Switching to Lady Kay* "I see a rising need for people like yourself in the world and the company you represent seems a good match for business. If you will follow me, we can discuss specifics of business in my personal office."

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"]

She raised a brow as it seemed that the young man was in charge of the meeting. How unexpected but not unheard of, as often when the heads of certain families pass away, their companies, royal and political lines tend to fall to their children, some as young as infants.

Kay bowed her head and smiled to Dust and his compliments on ArmaTech. She got to her feet and made her way to him, waiting for him to lead the way. "Thank you, sir. I wouldn't work for this company otherwise."

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*Dust chuckled at the fact he was being called sir and motioned toward Jado's old office. He still had difficulty calling it his own because this was Jado's company and Jado built it from the ground-up. In spirit, Dust felt Jado was still the one who was running it somehow, but that was probably wishful thinking.*

Dust: "You don't need to call me sir, I assure you. I prefer Dust, or Jareth if you prefer first names over nicknames."

*Dust let her walk ahead as a sign of respect and in a moment they would be in the office.*

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"]

Lady Kay smiled and nodded, choosing to go with his nickname as that is what he had mentioned first. "As you wish, Dust." She walked to the door, but was stopped by one of her bodyguards who then proceeded inside of the room to be sure that the coast was clear. Satisfied, he allowed them to enter and then both guards stayed behind, flanking the door.

Kay helped herself to a seat, placing her satchel on her lap. "Sorry if my guards bother you. It's just that my boss worries for my safety."

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*Dust gave a bit of an awkward smile as he sat in the sturdy wooden chair of Jado's old office. Everything in the room seemed representative of Jado's personality, rough, strong and warm. Prizes from various mercenary jobs where he had traveled across the galaxy to a vast number of planets. This was a place that Dust felt like things were OK again.*

Dust: "I promise you the guards don't bother me. Though I guarantee you I am more than capable of defending you if an attack were to happen. Limited Armaments, as you may know, is primarily composed of business-smart mercenaries and ex-military and I promise you I am no exception to that rule. Anyways, down to business. Limited Armaments wants to expand its supply of materials to allow for higher quality of arms and better choices for custom orders. Currently we have a fantastic contract for Dallorian alloy; however, besides that we are very limited in higher quality materials and also in supply of most of the common materials found. This fact severely limits our production of top-tier weapons and armor. Perhaps your company could help with that through a priority contract to supply us? If this allows us to grow the contract will only become more valuable to your company as our demand for materials increases."

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"]

She nodded as she listened, keeping her eyes solely on him as opposed to taking a look at everything in the office. That'd be rude. When he was finished, she brought out her datapad and started tapping onto it. "We have various mines that are stationed in many worlds and these days it seems that Phrik is very popular. I'll have to speak with my boss, but I'm sure that there'd be some way that you can get a percentage of our materials that you need. It's a bit of a conflict of interest mind you, but if my boss says no, then perhaps I can help you establish a mining operation of your own to get some of the material that you need for your production line. But that's only if my boss says no. Yet I'm sure he wouldn't mind helping you out as others have helped me. At least that's what I would do if I was him."

Kay would help almost everyone if she could. Her good friend Hawk warned her that it could be her downfall or what gets her killed in the end, but she wasn't worried about it right this second. "So how did you get to run a company at such a young age?"

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*Dust listened politely at her response, nodding where appropriate and trying to remain professional. Then the question came up,*

"So how did you get to run a company at such a young age?"

*Dust frowned slightly, trying to hide it behind his generally pleasant demeanor, but failing as the frown would show through.*

Dust: "That's... An unfortunate story... The previous owner was a childhood friend of mine, about 9 years older than me actually, who recently... Um... Passed away."

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"]

She saw the change in his emotions and bowed her head a little. "Forgive me. I should've known. But I know how it feels to lose someone close." Kay paused for a moment. "I lost my husband not too long ago to a Sith Lord. I think that a part of me died with him that day, as I was forced to watch the final blow." She swallowed a lump in her throat and took another moment to keep herself from going back into that memory. "But I've gotten my life back on track and I'm sure that my husband would be proud of me and what I've accomplished in the past few months."

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*Dust clenched his teeth at the similarity in their stories.*

Dust: "A Sith killed Jado as well. I couldn't save him and now here I sit trying to honor his memory with this company. It gets difficult sometimes though."

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"]

"My trick is just to take it one day at a time. I went into hiding for five years before I felt it was safe to come out again. Or rather, things just started happening and I was drawn back into public life. It's rather strange how it happened."

She gave him a small smile. "So how are you enjoying it? I'm sure that you feel overwhelmed at times. I know that I do." Lots of small talk, but all part of how these things go.

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*It was comforting meeting someone in a similar situation and somehow it was like her emotions were stronger to him than others. It was weird...*

Dust: " It has its perks. A good source of income. Some of the best custom weapons and armor in the galaxy. Besides that though it is extremely stressful. I want to run this company like Jado would, and that's hard sometimes."

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"]

She nodded. "I understand. But try to run it in your own style too. You are not Jado, you are Dust. It's okay to be yourself once in a while."

Kay smiled. "So what did you do before all of this? Spend your time hanging out with friends?"

 

[Aster Jen'allé]

*The conversation was almost starting to get uncomfortable. He wanted to talk to her, he wanted to tell her what he had been through and she seemed to be asking all of the right questions to poke into his past, but he also needed to walk on the side of caution.*

Dust: "I had some family issues, but those were... Resolved. Eventually I was found to be force sensitive and trained in the force on Iridonia for several months before I gained control of the company."

*He left out specifics like how the issue was resolved, and who trained him in the force, but he was honest if only through incomplete truths.*

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Jareth Johnathon Holst"]

Lady Kay looked down to her datapad and then typed a bit more before looking up at him again. "Iridonia is a very harsh place..." She softened her gaze as she didn't want to come across as uncaring or close minded. "I just heard back from my boss and he thinks that there could be a large conflict of interest here. Please tell me, who are your largest customers? I don't mean specific people, mind you. Just organizations and/or governments." As ArmaTech deals a lot with Mandalore and the Silver Jedi, there were some groups that she was cautioned against making deals with.