Private Technological Tensions

[Wendell Mortimer Glolmark]

Location: Therasan Technology Expo, Cloud City, Bespin

Objective: Show off new Glolmark Corporation technology.

Tag: Rara Gowisi

The Therasan Technology Expo was officially branded as an opportunity for the general public to see and interact with the latest technological advancements, which would build the future of The Galaxy, all thanks to the generous hosting of the magnanimous Therasan Family. In reality though, it was really more of an opportunity for various technology tycoons to go and gawk at each other’s work (possibly accompanied by a few other high-society types) while paying for overpriced drinks provided by the Therasans. The “General Public” mentioned in the official descriptions never seemed to show up for some reason or another.

In the Glolmark Corporation’s designated area of the Gallery, Wendell Mortimer Glolmark was hard at work, presenting his wares on a raised stage. He was wearing a sharp, spruce-green blazer, and a pair of black pants which were tailor-made to hide the fact that most of his legs were cybernetic. His trademark battle helmet was missing from his attire, for obvious reasons. There was no need to cause undue panic in his audience.

“As you can plainly see, the G-2 Premium Security Droid is an improvement over both its predecessors and its competitors.” Wendell explained, gesturing towards an imposing, silver droid on the stage with him. “It is equipped with not only an arm-mounted disruptor, it is also equipped with a retractable blade for more up-close-and-personal tussles.” As he said this, the droid dramatically extended and brandished its arm blade with an audible gleam sound effect. “And not only does this droid have a blade, it knows full well how to make good use of it!“ Wendell continued. “Now, I’m sure you would all like to see this for yourselves. So, I’ve taken the liberty of arranging a special demonstration for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy the show.” he finished in a tone that clearly communicated that this wasn’t exactly intended to be a 1-1 match with reality.

At this point, Wendell stepped off of the stage area, just as an actor dressed as a rather unflattering imitation of a Galactic Alliance Soldier rushed on, as several members of the crowd chuckled heartily. The actor let out a very undignified yell that could very charitably be called a battle cry, as he fired a few rather poorly aimed stun rounds from his blaster at the G-2. The droid easily and elegantly dodged the shots, or blocked them with its blade. At this point, the actor let out an even more embarrassing scream (which caused the audience to roar with laughter), and charged towards the G-2 with his own blade. After a short duel, the actor was lying “dead” on the stage floor under a triumphant G-2, as the audience cheered and clapped.

Once the audience had calmed down a bit, Wendell stepped back onto the stage. “Now, obviously you might be putting these G-2s up to more difficult tasks if you acquire one, but that should give you a basic idea of how they work. Now, any questions?”

 

[Rara Gowisi]

In the back of the crowd, a small hand raised. Upon finally being called upon, the teenage girl asked pretty bluntly.

"Are you always using incredibly outdated tech in your company, or are you intentionally sandbagging your own presentation?"

A couple heads turned incredulously at the teenager. Whispers rang through the conference hall, as the girl stood, only in her traditional labcoat, and looking no taller than a few inches over five feet.

Tag: Wendell Mortimer Glolmark

 

[Wendell Mortimer Glolmark]

Tag: Rara Gowisi

Sand-bagging? That was not a familiar phrase to Wendell. But judging by her tone, he could easily tell that it wasn’t a good thing. From his admittedly rather limited knowledge of Holonet culture, he had a vague idea that it somehow associated sand with being whiny and complaining. Beyond that though, he was lost. Maybe it was referring to his not-very-subtle satire of the Galactic Alliance? Yeah, that was probably it.

Sand-bagging sounded like a phrase people much younger than him would use. That lined up pretty well with the individual he had called on. In fact, he was a little surprised that the technology expo invited someone this young. But if they invited her, then it was clear that she was smart enough to warrant the invitation. He would have to be careful in how he responded.

All of these thoughts went by in less than a second in Wendell’s brain, and he did not miss a beat with his response. After making an exaggerated gasp, Wendell continued to orate for his audience, “Well ladies and gentlemen, I guess this proves not everyone can be pleased with theatrical flair and topicality alone. But I can assure all of you, when you buy a G-2, the only thing you will be Sand-bagging about is that you didn’t get one earlier!”

He expected to hear some signs of approval from the his. Perhaps a few chuckles, or a stray cheer. Instead, he just got confused stares, and silence. Perhaps he had jumped to conclusions on what exactly Sand-bagging was.

 

[Rara Gowisi]

"Not if you're using that armor as what you're testing it on. That's like....4 years out of date." The teen added again. "I made a new set last week that would laugh at that arm cannon. The disruptor is kinda neat though, if you could get a shot off before we hit with our high end ion blaster cannons. Might hit one or two troopers if you're lucky."

Tag: Wendell Mortimer Glolmark

 

[Rara Gowisi]

Wendell Mortimer Glolmark (whoops)

 

[Wendell Mortimer Glolmark]

Tag: Rara Gowisi

Clearly, this presentation was going downhill, fast. The best thing Wendell could do at this point was to just move on. Ignoring the more heckling from the Cathar, Wendell asked the crowd “Anyways, does anyone else have any more questions?” as he walked to the other side of the stage area. It might not have been immediately obvious, but his voice had taken on a slight undertone of annoyance.

After a few more hands had raised, Wendell decided to call on a Muun sitting in the third row. When called on, the Muun cleared his throat and asked “Forgive me for being rather blunt about this, Mr. Glolmark, but is it true though that these droids of yours was tested against outdated armor?”

Well, so much for dodging the question. “No, of course not. The armor I tested these droids is amour as fresh as you can get without outright stealing a prototype.” Wendell stated flatly. The truth was, most of the Galactic Alliance armor he had tested his weapons had indeed been purchased straight from the Mandalorian Enclave’s supply of captured materials. Of course, there was always the possibility that they were saving the really good stuff they had taken for them selves. But knowing the Mandalorians, he doubted they would be interested in anything less than Beskar.

 

[Rara Gowisi]

"Well that can't be true." Rara piped up once more. "The Nemean Armor hasn't even gotten it's field debut yet. And that's not even counting the new Manticore and Starwolf armor sets Si Tech finished developing last month that hadn't even hit full production yet. You'd probably using the old Marauder Armor, or at worst the older sets that were from the Great Hyperspace War. We just replaced those, so....yeah. All your testing material is gonna be outdated. Are you sure these droids are up to snuff? I could do some live tests if you want."

Tag: Wendell Mortimer Glolmark