The House of Roon

[John Ash]

Going through the oysters and glass of brandy faster than he realized, John listened to what Emilia's answers were. Seems she was interested in the idea of a company, but had no idea of what exactly. That was an issue if she planned to move on eventually, as was the issue of credits. There was a good chance she didn't have and wouldn't have the means to get her own company off the ground. John had that massive influx of credits thanks to the bounty and experience in the industry due to his teen years in Nar Shaddaa. What exactly did Emilia have to work with outside of her current job and her time serving the Galactic Alliance?

An idea came to John. He had been toying with the idea of a subsidiary for some time and this might be a perfect chance to progress it. He refilled his glass and then [member="Emilia Delane"] glass of brandy. As he did, he asked, " What would you think of running a new subsidiary for Ashhearth Industries? We could use a branch specializing in other fields to keep from overbloating. Seeing issues with it already due to the Pii System business. I know I can trust you. It's been a few years now and if you wanted to tank my company then you would have already."

The waiter arrived at the worst time with their food. John didn't pay any attention to the man and just looked straight at Emilia with his usual business expression. Once their steaks were laid out in front of them, the waiter just waited a bit for any further orders or needs then took the oyster tray and left. Once the waiter was gone, John continued. " You don't need to answer right now. Think it over. If you want to do it then we can start up whatever kind of business you are interested in. Plenty of room for growth in our territories for every industry." With that he went to work on eating his meal. The meat was marinated, seasoned well, and tender as freshly baked bread. Which there was freshly baked rolls with the meal. Needless to say, it would satisfy Emilia's craving for steak.

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Emilia had actually sipped more brandy than she did her own wine! It was a bit silly, at least so she thought. The brandy tasted much better, though than her plain old red wine. The drinks and so far the food was excellent. A part of her wondered if maybe Fennick knew they had come here and was trying to get the restaurant to work extremely well for their food. Probably not, but it still ran across her mind.

Although [member="John Ash"]'s comments did get her mind running - what kind of things would she want to do in the future? If she opened a business, organization, or really anything, what would she want to do? She wanted to continue to help John and Ashhearth industries. That was her life now and so far, she quite enjoyed it. She enjoyed the friendships she made, her boss, and the home she had now. There was no real alternative for her, at least at the moment. Her life was pretty darn good - much better than her Alliance days, at least. Although, she did still feel bad that the Alliance was nearly fully collapsed. How mighty giants fall.

He asked what she might be interested in, then refilled her glass of brandy. She immediately took a sip as she thought over the answer. Although, the waiter came by right in time to interrupt any response she had. She could only give John and the waiter a smile as he placed their food on the table before them. It smelled absolutely lovely. She couldn't wait to dig into the juicy, yummy nerf steak. She gave John a slight look out of the side of her eye, nibbling her lip softly before she picked up a knife and fork to begin sawing some pieces of meat off and plopping them into her mouth.

"You would really be okay with that? I mean, I would love that so much, if you give me the opportunity." She grinned at his comment about tanking the company. He had a good point, there. She really could have - plenty of opportunities. "Yeah, I'll think about it. I mean I am definitely interested. I'd love to brainstorm some with you some ideas." She said as she continued eating away at her steak. It didn't take long before they would finish not only the brandy, wine, and steak, though. And once that meal was done, it was off to either get some new items or to the hotel.

 

[John Ash]

The only response Emilia got after she finished answering was a nod. John was busy eating his food. He didn't realize how long it had been since his last meal, so he was more starved than he thought. The rest of the evening past by in silence, although hopefully not the awkward kind. The two did work together in silence a lot, but they had work to focus on then when it really wasn't an option now. Either way, they ate, they drank, and then soon enough the brandy and food was gone.

After the waiter cleared the table and John paid out, John stood up. He went over and pulled Emilia's chair out for her so she could get up as well. His mother had made sure he knew his manners, and it helped out more often then you might think when dealing with higher profile clients during his merc days. He held his arm out for her and then the two left their private room. The host that John had hurt was nowhere to be seen at the front. Instead the replacement was still working. The staff eyed the pair nervously, but didn't break their friendly, polite act. Good staff to have at a place like this. The manager was nowhere to be seen the entire time either, which made John wonder if they avoided him because Kaerve said to or out of fear of what John might do. Either way, they had a pleasant meal if John's opinion mattered any.

The cab driver was ready and waiting when they were back outside. The twi'lek was clearly still nervous but also looked a bit giddy. Again John opened the door for [member="Emilia Delane"] and shut it for her as well. Once he was inside the cab, he told the driver to head for a good clothing store. No argument was made or question asked. As they went along, John looked at Emilia and said, " What did you think of the meal?" He would let her answer then after slide her in right next to him. His arm was around her waist. Leaning in right next to her ear, he whispered, " Forgot to ask. What was your impression of Kaerve's office? Him? His receptionist?" He held himself by her close enough he could be kissing her neck. The driver glanced back every so often with one of those "she gun git sum" looks on his face. The shop was close by it seemed or so the man up front announced. A good driver. John was going to be sure to tip him well.

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

It honestly didn't take them very long to finish up their meals. They were both hungry, and it looked like [member="John Ash"] was even more hungry than she was! This didn't even take into consideration how darn good the food was. It was definitely the finer things in life. It was a wonderful gift from John, too. She may do good work, but he treated her excellently. Truthfully, she knew how lucky she was to have this job, this boss, and her life. Ever so often, she'd give John a small smile as they ate silently. There was nothing wrong with the silence, anyway.

As he pulled the chair out so she could get up, she gave him a smile, "Thank you for this. It's absolutely lovely that you'd do this for me." She did notice that the initial host was gone and the manager never showed his face. Probably terrified. She was almost near certain that the Devoran knew where they were at - and in truth, probably were their hotel was. Upon fully standing, she put her arm on his as they walked out towards the cab. Luckily for them (and for the cab driver), he was still there. He was waiting for them as loyal as ever. She hoped John would give him a good tip for this - most cabbies would have run off by now.

Once inside the cab, Emilia settled in as she looked out the window for a moment until she heard John ask her what she thought of the meal. Emilia nearly immediately responded, "It was delicious! I have a mind to believe that your friend had a role in how well it was, to be frank." She gave John a smile before she perked a brow as he scooted right next to her.

He put his arm around her waist and then leaned in, right against her ear. Her body shivered at his touch and she looked slightly towards him, her eyes hovering over his body. Her cheeks naturally flushed a deep purple. She let one of her hands drop onto his knee. She let her hand slowly move up his thigh, "It was lovely. He seems like a good guy, at least for our interests. The Twi'lek... Heh. Probably has some diseases without cures," she muttered the last little bit about the Twi'lek. Why'd he have to bring that up as he was whispering in her ear? Gosh...

 

[John Ash]

A hand on his knee then slide up his thigh as John stayed close to his secretary. She whispered her answers back to him and seemed to pick up that he was trying to mask the business talk by making it seem romantic. This was why he hired her on as his assistant. He whispered back to her, " Good. Don't forget your new assignment." He leaned away from her after that and moved back to his earlier place in the cab.

The driver announced that they had arrived at the shop and stopped. John got out and as before helped Emilia out of the cab. The driver knew to wait without a word being said. John went in with Emilia on his arm. The place was upper scale. That got a bit of a raised brow from John. He expected a nice place but not one as expensive as this. Well seemed he was only paying for one set of clothing here for the both of them. If Emilia wanted more pretty dresses she would have to spend her own credits.

John looked over at [member="Emilia Delane"] and said, " One dress and one suit then to the hotel. We both should rest and familiarize ourselves with Roon more. Understood?" He waited for her to respond. His eyes were locked onto her own. This was too important of a trip to waste on too much luxury. When she did, he went with her to whichever store she picked to get her dress from. Tomorrow was going to be key to expanding Ashhearth Industries' operations and furthering the reach of the Ashhearth Association.

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

She let her fingers massage his thigh gently as he whispered into her ear. It truly gave her goosebumps all over her. In either case, it turned out to be, well, not what she was expecting. He was just telling her new assignment. The ole' trick the driver in the cab playbook. She sighed, nodding. "You know I won't."

In either case, it didn't take long for them to reach the clothing retailer. Her and [member="John Ash"] entered with their arms on each other. It was... A lot more expensive than she was imaging. He informed her that they would familiarize themselves with Roon once they were back at the hotel. "Understood."

She frowned as she saw some of the prices just from a glance. "Place is a little more than we expected, eh," she giggled quietly as she let go of him to examine one of the dresses. She found one she particularly liked despite how expensive it was. In either case, she chose it due to its elegance. It was a beautiful black, with little pieces attached that gave it a sparkle.

After he grabbed his suit and they both paid. "Thank you for this, it's so beautiful." They would head back to the cab so they could head to the hotel. They had a busy night ahead of them, after all.

 

[John Ash]

The shops had less clothing for men than they did for women. Typical really. As John walked through the store though looking for his suit, he found a section labeled as "Naboo Fashion." He sneered at that and past it by without a second glance. It didn't exist to him. The same thing happened when he found one that was about the latest Coruscant fashion. Why were people so obsessed with those flaming poodoo piles of planets? Better to focus on other places more with far better style and citizens.

John ended up finding a business suit that you could honestly find on most corporate types. The man was not the most complicated when it came to business clothes. During that time it seemed that he was not seeing the two largest sections of suits, [member="Emilia Delane"] had found herself a nice, new dress. They left in the cab towards the hotel that their rooms were booked at. John kept quiet along the way and just watched the city go by. The Empire's presence was not nearly as strong as he thought it should be. There was no signs or ads to promote their power and no patrols to be seen. At best there was a skeletal force in a single cruiser up in space. Were things worse off for them than he thought?

At the hotel, John helped Emilia out then paid the cabby what was owed. He also made sure the twi'lek man got a big tip. It was more that he could have hoped to make in the busiest night from all his tips combined. Heading inside, John walked up to the desk worker. When John asked about their room, it seemed there was a problem. He and the person spoke for a bit. There was a fist slammed on the desk by John and what seemed to be a threat. After a bit though, he returned to Emilia.

" They only have one room. The other room was double booked. Nothing we can do about it. Let's go." John said to Emilia. After he began to head to their room. Once he got there, he opened up the door. A nice hotel room with a desk, holoprojector, and little kitchenette was in front of them. The most noticeable detail though was that there was only a single king sized bed. They were going to have to share. John held the door so Emilia could enter first. " After you."

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Emilia was very excited to be able to wear the dress tomorrow. It wasn't often that she was able to wear such beautiful gowns. Well, she could, she simply just didn't own that many. She had many outfits to wear but only a few were centered around a beautiful gown. She saw many beautiful choices she could have gone for throughout the store, but she continued to gravitate towards the dress she eventually chose. She couldn't help but wonder what [member="John Ash"] would pick out - whatever it was, she was sure it would look good on the man.

It wasn't long before they were back in the cab and heading towards the hotel. She watched John as he seemed lost in his thoughts during the ride - probably some type of planning, preparing, or other such thoughts for their next adventure in Midway. Emilia should have started her search on her datapad. The time spent in the cab would make for valuable research time, even if she spent the night scouring the HoloNet and Shadownet for various information on the condition of the planet, city, and mines they would be going too. She did, however, make a mental note to get a bigger purse that would fit one of her specialized datapads in it - one that she could connect to computers and attempt slicing. The one she had was great for information but not great for slicing.

Once they were at the hotel, Emilia followed John in. It seemed that there was a problem, and while he fought it, it turned out it was unsolvable. A brow perked as he walked over and explained the situation. She nodded, "Ooh." Her mind drifted to all sorts of fantasies for a moment before she shook them off and followed him to the room.

She took a quick view of the hotel room - king size bed, desk, holoprojector, and a little kitchenette. Emilia went into the room first and took it in. "It's a nice room, at least," she would say quietly before settling herself in on the far side of the king size bed. "I'm going to take a quick shower, then I'll start doing some research." She didn't want to hop into the bed without being as clean as a whistle! Especially since she and John would be sleeping in the same bed...

 

[John Ash]

" I will use the shower second then." John said to [member="Emilia Delane"] in response. " Don't stay up researching too late though. Need you refreshed for tomorrow's meeting."

With that said, John went over into the room. He turned on the holoprojector as he walked by it. What came up was an advertisement for some pro-Imperial official on their next election. From the way the man was moving, it seemed he didn't expect there to be a next election. He was going through the motions and hoping not to burn too many bridges. Was the state that bad for the Imperials even this close to Kamino? It was making him think he should take a trip there soon to see what was going on. It was as if the Imperials had shipped out as fast as a smuggler after his favorite dancer told him she was knocked up.

Sitting at the desk, John didn't pay much attention to the holoprojector. Instead he focused on the meeting tomorrow and then the Midway trip after that. Knowing Kaerve was alive and who he was dealing with changed his plans. Originally he knew he could force his way through the situation if need be but there was no forcing with Kaerve. The man had too much info on his clients to use as blackmail. There wasn't really anything that could be used on John, but his issue was he liked the man too much to put a slug in his head. Kaerve knew this too. Emilia's past was a different story though. He didn't know how much his friend knew of his secretary's past. It could be a lot or nothing. He didn't feel like finding out though which it was. No matter what, it seemed like John just needed to be see what happened and go from there.

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Emilia nodded as she headed into the shower. She hadn't exactly planned on anything but during her shower, her mind drifted to [member="John Ash"]. She remembered the feel of his whisper against her ear. It was strange, and maybe she just needed a... Craving, to be satisfied that hadn't been in years. In either case, she bit her lip as she finished her shower.

She wrapped a towel around her purple skin, only barely covering her body. She pulled her hair up into a messy, wet bun as she exited the steamy shower. The sudden cold made her skin prickle as she closed the door to the bathroom and entered the regular room again. She took a moment to analyze the hotel room once more. Her datapad lay on the edge of the bed, she looked at it then to John before making her decision.

Emilia smiled as she walked over beside John, who was now sitting at the desk. She slid herself onto the seat, letting one purple leg carefully caress against John's thigh. Maybe it was a bold, rash move, but Emilia looked down at the man with a certain hunger that needed satisfying. Sure, he was her boss, but that didn't mean neither of them could enjoy themselves, right? Plus, there were no emotional ties between the two. They could enjoy one night together, anyway.

 

[John Ash]

The data on Roon wasn't very extensive. Outside of some spice trade and roonstones, the system wasn't really known for much. It was protected and fairly hidden due to the cosmic clouds which made it good for smuggling and criminal activity though. What this meant to John was it had untapped potential just like the Pii System. The combination of greel wood and roonstones would be a major boon. He also could see its use in laundering credits from less legal activities. Who would question large sums of credits coming from expensive, luxurious materials?

It was during his reviews of the current state of things on Roon when John heard the bathroom door open followed by footsteps. Seemed that [member="Emilia Delane"] was done and it was his turn. But before he could get up or do anything, she sat down on the desk and began to rub her leg against his own. He looked at her to see what her intent was and caught the look in her eyes. His mind had been on business before but that look got it wheeling in an entirely different direction. She seemed to want it and he had no reason to say no. So he stood up from his seat and picked her up off the desk. If she wanted it then she was going to get it.

Fade to black....

John sat in the back of the cab dressed in his new suit with Emilia next to him. The cabby from yesterday had gladly agreed to show up when he messaged him. Good. Seemed the tip had an effect. He looked out the window at the city. The Imperials had virtually left and it seemed there was a power vacuum growing. His digging had revealed as much to him. Looked like a change in plans was in order. He didn't just want to just have some factories here. He wanted the whole planet. Turning to Emilia, he said, " Ready for the meeting and the business after?"

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Emilia sat next to [member="John Ash"], her legs crossed and a datapad in her hand. She was doing a final rundown of information on the sector. Her mind was still partially on the night before - flashbacks to their relatively sweaty, risky escapades... In either case, she glanced towards John out of the corner of her eye.

She had found as much as John had on the planet, though. The Imperials had essentially left the planet and there was a power vacuum. She knew exactly what this meant in John's mind - and she couldn't blame him. If it was pulled off right, Roon could be Ashhearths. A planet like this under John's rule would prove invaluable to the association in so many different ways. And it'd help replace the power vacuum.

She perked a brow and nodded, "Yeah, I am. This dress is great, thank you again for getting it for me." She winked as she looked back down to her pad.

A power vacuum meant there'd be rivalries, potential civil wars if there was still any major governments, etc. It'd be interesting to see.