The Handshake

[Hadleigh Purkis]

Location - Purkis Estate, Kuat City, Kuat

Hadleigh had been reviewing the various projects pushed to her office.

A rather massive room with tall glass walls overlooking the entertainment district beyond the estate grounds.

Despite having handed operations over to an executive officer, she often still had to give her greenlight to any project which proved unusual or expensive; usually both. The woman sighs after the last meeting for the day was over... Or so she thought.

"My lady, your last appointment has arrived."

Kark!

"Send them in..."

[member="Vitor Avendahl"]

 

[Zef Halo]

PURKIS ESTATE
KUAT

Vitor was almost late. Almost. Usually for his meetings he arrived at least ten minutes earlier. This was Kuat. Heavy traffic was to be expected. Strong border control, strict regulations and in-depth inspections of almost every ship arriving was the norm. Nonetheless, he recklessly drove the rent-a-speeder to get to Purkis Estate on time and he did.

Within the luxurious estate, he was curtly welcomed and offered hospitality that the wealthy Kuati were famous for. Avendahl swallowed the last of the appetizers he had been offered and confidentially entered the office of Ms. Purkis.

Today Vitor was raising the bar once again in terms of his achievements.

Today he would be discussing business with a Kuati noblewoman.

"Ms. Purkis." The acolyte nodded as he slowly approached her to offer a gentle handshake. He was certainly not the best in terms of social skills but lately he had been picking up a lot of indirect lessons from being around in First Order space for business. "Vitor Avendahl of Corondex Arms."

[member="Hadleigh Purkis"]​

 

[Hadleigh Purkis]

Hadleigh walked across the somewhat stark room to meet him, her footsteps echoing along the way. She grabbed his hand for the brief shake but it seemed she was well was not an absolute fan of such greetings, keeping it all too the point.

Mister... Mister.. Mis---Ah!

Thankfully he had spoken his name, or else she would have never known. "Mister Avendahl," she smiles as if it rolled off the tongue naturally. "I trust you didn't have to wait long?" The question proved rhetorical, however, as she quickly moved along. "I am glad you have arrived, this is actually the meeting I was most looking forward too. Please, come have a seat."

She walked back across the room to a flat, shapely desk and sat on one side gesturing to one of the two seats across from her. The desk itself proved spotless, not even a datapad or computer station of any kind.

"So, how can Corondex and K-D-Y help each other... Hmm?"

[member="Vitor Avendahl"]

 

[Zef Halo]

She either possessed a sub-par set of social skills, just like him, or she just wanted to get this meeting over with as soon as possible. He could not put his mind to which one of the two it was. Hell, women were so confusing that even the Force shrugged at his inquiry.

"So- ahhh." The comfort of the chair satisfied him before he regained his composure with a short excuse. "Excuse me, long flight."

He did not lie.

"So how can KDY and Corondex help each other. Pretty simple." Vitor crossed his legs and fixed his look upon the noblewoman. "I need ships."

That was vague.

"Ships for feet on the ground rather than feet in space, if you get what I mean." He gestured with his hands as if to clarify. "Quality first."

​

[member="Hadleigh Purkis"]​

 

[Hadleigh Purkis]

"Droships--got it. Heavy?" She didn't wait for him to answer. "K-D-Y can provide crew as well; unless you have your own."

Well, she was certainly to the point, having set aside pleasantries as if they were long ago. "And what do you intend to offer in return? Is this a simple purchase order, an exchange, a bit of both? We here at K-D-Y are flexible in our transactions. You may be surprised at how many backwater worlds refuse to accept currency and barter instead." Hadleigh still could talk, when she wanted to talk, but of course as the saying went: Time is money.

"What I need to know from you are specifics. What kind of production line are you expecting? We can arrange for a handful of such vessels, or a larger line if necessary with a steady stream of output to support your growth. As my father used to say--plan for today, expect for tomorrow." She folds both her hands across the artificial wood of the table. "And of course... What kind of feet am I putting on the ground?"

A pair of green eyes narrowed ever so slightly with the question.

[member="Vitor Avendahl"]

 

[Zef Halo]

Vitor's eyes widened for a moment at the tsunami of information that engulfed him. The woman spared no second to breath and cast out sentences like an automatic rifle. It threw him back for a moment before he was able to respond.

"I'm an arms dealer, Ms. Purkis. I can offer you either credits or arms. I have heard that Kuati Nobles' strive for power was constant." He spared no remorse in that sentence. Avendahl was going to match the lady's directness. "Production line, we're talking about having the capability to support at least eight to ten thousand men at any given time at this moment. This is subject to change in the future, meaning you won't be dealing with a meager company that can't leave the mud, I assure you that."

The noblewoman raised a good question and one he had been trying to find the solution of for a good few months now. Crews. Someone had to fly and in the bigger picture that he had in his mind - they had to start somewhere.

"The client has no crews of his own but is willing to set up an affiliation program. Simply said, either have his men receive substantial training if you offer one, or have your men commit to a long term contract to train the client's men on his own turf." Vitor explained and found no need to give out more details about these feet on the ground. Thus, why he had used third person.

​

[member="Hadleigh Purkis"]​

 

[Hadleigh Purkis]

She smiled, "we have a naval academy here on Kuat. I am certain we can slip plenty of your own into the program should you wish to homebrew pilots and officers."

She wasn't lying when she said K-D-Y is flexible. Their entire new way of business is built of establishing a line of necessity, not simply selling 'good' ships. "If that is what you desire, of course. Otherwise we can work something out given the information... Everything you say so far is acceptable. Doable."

Hadleigh still wanted to keep the topic moving along. "What we tend to do is develop a prototype first, and show you the product before we launch a production line. That way you know exactly what you are getting and how to best deploy it before ever your men set foot into its hull."

"I believe there's still the matter of payment," she smiles wider.

[member="Vitor Avendahl"]

 

[Zef Halo]

He nodded with a smile on his face. "Perfect."

It intrigued him how Kuat Drive Yards were able to be as flexible as they were. Someday, he would hire someone to infiltrate their ranks and learn from their business model. Or ask, just ask. Maybe another time.

"Payment, yes." Vitor took out his datapad and handed it to the woman impatiently awaited to hear his numerical answer. She would receive something else, though. Avendahl was a product of a university in the heart of capitalism and corporations - Etti IV. "Write the equivalent of the word 'quality' in numbers."

Ms. Purkis would certainly understand what he meant.

And no, he wasn't asking for her number.

[member="Hadleigh Purkis"]​

 

[Hadleigh Purkis]

She wouldn't give it.

Hadleigh dialed in the price tag of of what -her- definition of quality meant. "Here you go," she quickly handed him the datapad back without a second's hesitation.

To say the least it wasn't a small number. Lots of zeros. "If you find it acceptable we can move forward, yes?" If he hadn't guessed by now, she really did like to keep things moving along. At the very least she remained glad knowing this truly was her last meeting of the day, she could finally take the rest off until inevitably an emergency stole her mood.

"Oh," she quickly remembers. "The training is a flat rate and we can work that out some other time--when we know exactly what kind of operations your dropship requires."

[member="Vitor Avendahl"]

 

[Zef Halo]

The acolyte took back the datapad and looked at the number. It was close to the estimate he expected after researching the market. A bit above the number he expected but nothing too drastic requiring re-negotiations. He didn't bother another handshake. Both she and him did not look like the people that were stars in socializing.

"Done." The Sith stated as he stood from the comfort of his chair. " 't was a good day for business, Ms. Purkis. I will stay in touch for future discussions."

Vitor took his leave with a parting nod.

[member="Hadleigh Purkis"]​

 

[Hadleigh Purkis]

Hadleigh watched him depart, still retaining the comfort of her own chair.

"Pleasure doing business, we'll stay in touch."

After he left the room, Hadleigh finally got up and walked over to what appeared to be a bare wall. Only upon closer inspection one might notice tiny creases and with the right amount of pressure applied by her open palm... Voila. With a slight hiss the doors pushed inwards and slid behind more wall, and inside was a well-hidden compartment of perfectly cooled liquor.

Of course one would expect a 'classy woman' such as herself to drink from fine glasses, but no she took it from the bottle. Several generous sips of kaut's strongest finest.

"Now that is good business..." She exhales.