The More Things Change (Seraphina)

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

Master Shel'tah,

As per our earlier note, Clan Rekali would like to negotiate an ongoing bulk supply contract with GEAR. Our Clan Father, Ember Rekali, would like to meet with you or your representative at a location of your choice. Our home territory is centered around Yavin, Dathomir, and Vjun, convenient to the Tion Trade Nexus or various locations in Republic space. We would like to engage in a discussion to purchase, in quantity, your RTJ, AVM, and BSI models.

Regards,

O. Beorn
Clan Rekali Procurement

Seraphina, as a former member of the Jedi, might recognize the Clan Father's name. In a real sense, his career paralleled hers. He had served on the Jedi Council a couple of decades back, and done their dirty work for a good while. After some of his children, Jedi Knights, died in the service of the Republic, he'd retired from the Jedi Order to lead his clan. He'd made a name for himself afterward in risky, lucrative raids against various Sith organizations, and captured Sith Masters for bounty purposes. Should Seraphina look into him farther, she would find that he'd lost virtually his entire immediate family to the Sith, except for his estranged daughter Aaralyn Gyndar. His clan was a melange of Mandalorian, light-side Dathomiri, and Vahla heritages, held together in large part by Ember, who ranked as a Mandalorian Field Marshal.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The pink Twi'lek sat up from the rather plush lounge chair that was positioned along the outer edge of the balcony overlooking the monstrous Phindar lake that surrounded her overly extravagant home. A glance down to the flashing orange indicator on her datapad that rested atop the table beside her meant that she had an awaiting message. The former Jedi lifted the device and tapped a number of times before reading through the message that had been forwarded. A slight smile graced her face as she read through the request. The company hadn't been around long yet, and had already received a request for a long-term arrangement by a rather prominent figure. Given that she was no longer under the constraints and watchful eyes of the Republic, she was much more free in her ventures and contract deals. It seemed that having the burden of a galactic oversight committee lifted gave way to much more room for a broadened horizon.

The woman took a few moments, standing while looking out to the crystalline water that stretched far past her own eyes limitations, before responding.

Thank you very much for reaching out!

I would be happy to host a meeting to discuss your request if you wish to venture towards one of our locations at either Phindar or Umbara. Alternatively, I am free to make arrangements to visit any of your clan's locations, if that would be more to your preference.

-Seraphina Shel'tah
CEO; G.E.A.R.

[member="Ember Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

Master Shel'tah,

Phindar is close to our operations. I'll drop by shortly, once our people can sort out our schedules.

Ember Rekali

***​

​

Phindar -- a gorgeous rainforest world, home primarily to the Trandoshan-like Phindians -- was in the heart of Mando territory, a hop-skip-and-a-jump from Yavin. Getting there actually look less time than visiting the clan facility on Dathomir. The vessel Ember chose was a standard Tegaanalir patrol craft: small, fast, outfitted with powerful sensors. His crew, as ever, comprised clan members from Mando, Dathomiri, and Vahla backgrounds, mainly but not exclusively Light-side in orientation. The vessel descended toward Phindar, folding its assault fins away as it lined up a landing vector. The Mando pilot called ahead, letting the ground operator know that Ember's transport was en route.

For comfort -- hers, not his -- Ember had left his trademark assault armor in the arms locker. He wore business clothing, plain and unremarkable, a far cry from a Field Marshal's uniform or Jedi Council robes. He'd opted to go unarmed as well, his lightsabre having been lost on a mission not long ago, and nothing else was suitable for polite company. Urbane he might not be, but at the very least he could avoid walking into G.E.A.R. with heavy firepower in tow.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The relay towers that guided Ember's transport to the surface radioed to the operators of G.E.A.R. that Sera's guests had arrived for their scheduled meeting. The docks that housed the various hangars for incoming and outgoing shuttles were only a short distance away from the primary complex itself, and Ember and any crew he wished to join him could take a short taxi ride to the facility's main gates if they wished to avoid the walk. Once inside he would be greeted by Seraphina as she stood nearest the center of the lobby awaiting his arrival.

The woman wore plain business appropriate clothes, held no lightsaber, and moreover looked nothing like a Jedi herself, as she felt it inappropriate to carry a weapon while on the grounds of the facility. It helped in no way for her workers to view her as a Jedi, rather than a CEO. And while she kept a good rapport with the Phindians, and they were likely privy to the fact that she had been a Jedi in the past, it was rarely spoken of, and she had never openly discussed the subject, or boasted of such.

Once Ember reached the lobby of the facility, Sera would extend a hand and greet him with a casual smile. "Welcome to G.E.A.R Mr. Rekali."

[member="Ember Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

"Thank you, Ms. Shel'tah. Call me Ember."

He matched the handshake. You could tell an awful lot with a handshake, and the impression he generally went for was urbane, polite, controlled strength. Not the handshake of a man who'd been known to arm-wrestle rancors for practice, at least in younger days. A professional grip, a match for her preferred mode of dress and address. Here they were, two retired Jedi Masters, businesspeople, unarmed: a far cry from the blood they'd shed.

It might further put her at ease that the normal overtones of a humanoid male meeting a beautiful Twi'lek just plain weren't there. Ember was getting old, slowing down, and still in love with his long-dead, murdered wife. He didn't check out Seraphina, or have to stop himself from doing it for the sake of politesse. The order of the day was business.

His gaze flicked past her. "Nice place you've got here. Thanks for seeing me on short notice. [member="Oren Beorn"], my consigliere, saw your products and dropped them on my desk. I've never seen the man so engaged. 'Nothing else like this on the market' is how he put it. He's the one that cleared my schedule and set this whole thing up. Seems like I've got a lot to thank him for."

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The woman nodded in agreement to his request, and after the shake returned her hands behind her back, clasped together. Her face practically beamed with excitement at his words that followed. She was quite proud of the products her relatively new company had begun developing and manufacturing, and without the strict oversight of the Republic it made for a more relaxed atmosphere all around.

"Thank you, that is very kind of you, and also, fantastic to hear." She gestured towards the elevator that led to her office on the second floor. "It's my pleasure, truly. Please, come with me, we can discuss everything more in my office." Sera tapped the small pad beside the elevator door and waited for the lift to return from the basement where a number of freight workers were preparing outgoing shipments. "We're still a small company, with two processing plants, one here on Phindar, the other, larger facility on Umbara. We're hoping to grow exponentially in the coming years, and already have a fantastic number of products in the testing phase, as well as many more currently in R&D."

As the lift reached the lobby floor and the doors parted ways, the woman ushered Ember inside and tapped the '2' on the pad, waiting for the doors to close before continuing.

"We're hoping to have roughly 30 products available for shipping within the year."

[member="Ember Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

"Ambitious. It's tough to front that many product lines and keep the quality control department happy. Still, your track record so far is pretty decent, and better believe my consigliere's chomping at the bit to see what you've got coming up." The elevator started moving. "You planning on sticking to personal gear, or you looking to scale up? A lot of outfits your size look at personal tech as a springboard for ships. About five years back, everyone and their dog owned a shipyard. Warships and starfighters were thick on the ground, prices dropped, the markets -- personal ships, military ships -- got saturated to the point where you couldn't give ships away let alone sell'em. It's tough out there. Bad time to be looking at that sort of expansion. But if you're one of the few that's intent on sticking to smaller-scale tech, now, there's promise in that and you've got my attention."

He'd rambled a little, he realized. Privilege of age, he supposed, but when had he become one of those graying pontificators that dominated just about every field around? He'd have to work on that before he got downright annoying. The elevator dinged to a halt, and he waited for her to exit first: common courtesy, at least where he came from.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The woman stepped out into the bright room lit by a series of large glass windows that comprised the entire outer wall, giving way to a picturesque view of the horizon beyond the facility. Towards the center sat a relatively plain desk, some paperwork and a datapad, and her portable terminal. A pair of plush chairs were positioned on the opposite side of the desk. A few small framed pieces of art hung decoratively throughout the room to break up the simplistic look.

"Ambition is the driving force of every successful venture. Without it, there could be no progression, no?" She smiled, offering a chair to the older gentleman, before sitting herself.

"Though to answer your question simply, yes." She paused for a moment. "We're planning on sticking to what we do best, small tech and personal equipment. I've had my hand in ship building in the past, and while it was certainly a beast of its' own, it isn't something I wish to pursue any further. The reins of that endeavor are being passed to others more equipped to handle that sort of venture. G.E.A.R will always be small tech, it's what we do well."

[member="Ember Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]
Ember settled into the offered chair with an unwitting sigh of comfort. "Thanks," he said. "And that's good to hear. What you do is what's got our attention.

" I'll get straight to it. We like your comm gear and we've got uses for it, but that's not the main event. The clan has a good-sized prospecting, patrol, mining, and... expeditionary fleet. We're interested in adding your bacta injectors and face masks to every first aid and survival kit on those ships. All those ships. My main question is what kind of production capability and previous commitments you have: can you provide that many?" He pulled out an image caster, an old Jedi model. The holodisplay hummed to life, revealing declassified ship numbers and rounded crew stats, along with estimated kit counts.

There were several zeros.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The woman looked at the information that Ember provided and lightly rubbed her chin. That would be quite a tall order to fulfill, but it would be highly beneficial for the company to pull off in the long run. Sera slid over to the terminal on her desk and activated it. She was quiet for a minute or so, tapping away at the keys while she looked into ways to modify production, both labor and materials, to accommodate the request. With a standing contract so large they could stand to hire more workers, and levy a majority of the assembly at their larger plant on Umbara.

"I think we can do it. I would need about a week or two to get some more bodies in place, but between our two locations and resources I am certain it can be done. The injectors themselves take little time to produce, so an increase in labor force would be able to substantially increase output for those, as well as the other gear."

The Twi'lek moved her chair back over and away from the terminal, and lifted up the datapad on the desk. Her hands moved a few times before she turned it around and laid it in front of Ember. "You mentioned you have a prospecting and mining fleet? We've just released our EXO model, which is designed specifically for this type of work, should you have any interest."

[member="Ember Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

The news was welcome, but not unexpected; he'd known what sort of outfit he was bargaining with. GEAR could deliver what he was after. A couple bits of equipment for the survival and first aid kids weren't so much as a dent in the fleets' budgets -- when had the Clan gotten that strong?

"Well let's see what we have here..."

Ember accepted the schematics and scrolled through the marketing information. His eyebrows rose. "You got this much strength augment out of the servos? That's no joke. We're not in the minerals mining business so much -- our mining and prospecting fleets are mainly for gas mining in the Hard Roil -- and gas don't care how hard you shake its hand. But I'm sure we can find a use for something like this, yes indeed. Low armor rating, and that's fine -- this is good specialized gear that's not trying to be everything at once." He leaned back, folding his arms. "Strength augmentation like that, that takes a lotta getting used to. How many dozen or hundred training hours you recommend per operator?"

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Seraphina nodded to the older man. "A lot of detail went into ensuring that the hydraulics and servos were made of the highest quality material, as well as a very precise manufacturing procedure. Tolerances are down to the thousandth. In order to achieve the goals we set for this suit we had to sacrifice most of the armor potential, though in the end we felt it was an appropriate compromise, given that we are not attempting to become, nor are we known for, being an armorer."

To answer his question regarding training time, Sera slid back over to her terminal to pull up records of employee usage. "Well, most of our tests have logged around 120 hours of in-suit training per user, having spent four hours per day in the suit, five days per week. Adjusting to the vast difference takes time, but becomes easier after the first week or so. After that, it is more about maintaining a more precise control over the suit, rather than worrying about accidentally punching through a wall, or crushing someone to death."

[member="Ember Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

"Sounds about right. A hundred twenty hours oughta do it for basic competency." He resisted the temptation to walk down memory lane. He was a fairly specialized Forcer -- he had skill in tracking and stealth, but his main focus lay with strength enhancement. Punching through walls and so forth. Then again, he'd acquired that expertise bit by bit over a very long career. He hadn't had to acclimate to it in the same sense as this, nor at the same rate. Anecdote and memory could be no more than tangentially relevant here. Therefore, it was not story time.

"I'll start with ten of'em for the ground crews on Yavin Four. The Order of the Grey stripped the temples down to the studs when my folks decided they were being bad tenants and evicted'em. There's still a bit of renovation that needs doing, and when it comes to renovating Massassi temples, strength's the thing." That, and not having to ask the local Jedi for help lifting awkward stone blocks. That, too, was a bonus. Ember couldn't be everywhere. "We'll see how the pilot project goes, may order more. You got a standard long-term sales contract I can look over?"

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

[member="Ember Rekali"]

Sera nodded to Ember, jotting down the numbers to include for the EXO as well as the other products mentioned earlier in the discussion. "Excellent." She said with a polite smile. "We have a relatively simple contract for product purchases." She lifted the datapad once more and navigated through some information before providing the general outline to Ember and returning to him the datapad with the information to review. "All of our products come with a standard 1 year manufacturing warranty, free of charge, to ensure they are free of any manufacturing defects. There is also a 15% corporate discount for long-term sales agreements."

The woman wrinkled her nose a bit, hearing about the damage done to the temples on Yavin IV. Even if she'd never ventured to the planet or temple, or had any affiliation with either group, it was still disheartening to hear.

"I'm quite sorry to hear about the temple vandalization. Though that does seem to be the trend more often than not lately. Though I'd rather not sully the mood with tales of temple destruction. I suspect it won't take long to get things back in proper order. Perhaps when time permits I could take a tour. I don't believe I've ever actually ventured to Yavin Four."

CONTRACT FOR THE SALE OF GOODS​

​

This contract for the sale of goods is between [_____], and [_____] organized under the laws of the planets Phindar and Umbara, (the “Seller”), and [_____], organized under the laws of the planet(s) [_____] (the “Buyer”).

The parties agree as follows:

1. Sale of Goods. The Seller shall sell to the Buyer and the Buyer shall purchase from the Seller the goods set forth on Exhibit A (the “Goods”) in the quantities and at the prices stated in Exhibit A. Unless otherwise stated in Exhibit A, the Buyer shall pay all taxes and third-party expenses imposed on, in connection with, or measured by the transaction contemplated by this agreement in addition to the prices set forth on Exhibit A.

2. Invoices; Payment. Unless otherwise stated in Exhibit A, payment for the Goods is due within 30 days of the date of the Seller’s invoice, which date will not be before the date of the Seller’s delivery of the Goods. The Buyer shall pay a delinquency charge of the lesser of (1) 1% per month and (2) the highest rate allowed under applicable law on all overdue amounts until the amounts are paid.

3. Delivery; Title; and Risk of Loss. Unless otherwise stated in Exhibit A, the Seller shall deliver the Goods FOB the Seller’s facility in Umbara and Phindar, and title to and risk of loss of the Goods will pass to the Buyer upon such delivery by the Seller. Any stated delivery dates are approximate. The Seller will not be liable for any losses, damages, penalties, or expenses for failure to meet any delivery date.

4. Warranty; Due Diligence. The Goods are being sold under manufacturer warranty and the Seller claims from date of delivery one galactic year that products included in Exhibit A will be free of manufacturing defects. Manufacturer agrees to repair or replace any falty part arising from defect of construction or design within a reasonable amount of time. Any damage or failure to operate sustained from improper use will void this warranty.

5. Limitation of Liability. The Seller will not be liable for any indirect, special, consequential, or punitive damages (including lost profits) arising out of or relating to this agreement or the transactions it contemplates (whether for breach of contract, tort, negligence, or other form of action) and irrespective of whether the Seller has been advised of the possibility of any such damage. In no event will the Seller’s liability exceed the price the Buyer paid to the Seller for the specific Goods provided by the Seller giving rise to the claim or cause of action.

6. Limitation of Actions. No action arising out of or relating to this agreement or the transactions it contemplates may be commenced against the Seller more than 12 months after the basis for such claim could reasonably have been discovered.

7. Security Interest. The Buyer hereby grants to the Seller a security interest in the Goods sold to the Buyer under this agreement and any proceeds therefrom (including accounts receivable), until payment in full for the Goods has been received by the Seller. The Buyer shall sign and deliver to the Seller any document to perfect this security interest that the Seller reasonably requests.

8. Governing Law and Designation of Forum. (i) The laws of the planets of Phindar and Umbara (without giving effect to its conflicts of law principles) govern all matters arising out of or relating to this agreement and the transactions it contemplates, including, without limitation, its interpretation, construction, validity, performance (including the details of performance), and enforcement. (ii) A party bringing a legal action or proceeding against the other party arising out of or relating to this agreement or the transactions it contemplates must bring the legal action or proceeding in any court of the planet of Phindar or Umbara. Each party to this agreement consents to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Phindar and Umbara, and its appellate courts, for the purpose of all legal actions and proceedings arising out of or relating to this agreement or the transactions it contemplates.

9. Force Majeure. The Seller will not be liable for delays in performance or for non-performance due to unforeseen circumstances or causes beyond the Seller’s reasonable control.

10. Assignment; Delegation. The Buyer may not assign any of its rights under this agreement or delegate any performance under this agreement, except with the prior written consent of the Seller. Any purported assignment of rights or delegation of performance in violation of this section is void.

11. Recovery of Expenses. In any adversarial proceedings between the parties arising out of this agreement or the transactions it contemplates, the prevailing party will be entitled to recover from the other party, in addition to any other relief awarded, all expenses that the prevailing party incurs, including legal fees and expenses.

12. Entire Agreement. This agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter of this agreement and supersedes all other agreements, whether written or oral, between the parties.

13. Amendments. No amendment to this agreement will be effective unless it is in writing and signed by both parties.

14. Effectiveness; Date. This agreement will become effective when both parties have signed it. The date this agreement is signed by the last party to sign it (as indicated by the date associated with that party’s signature) will be deemed the date of this agreement.

15. Counterparts; Electronic Signatures. This agreement may be signed in one or more counterparts, which together will form a single agreement. This agreement may be signed electronically.
Each party is signing this agreement on the date stated opposite that party’s signature.

Date:
Name:
Title:

Date:
Name:
Title:

EXHIBIT A​

Product | Price (Reflects 15% Corporate Discount) | Quantity​

________________________________________________​

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

The contract, to Ember's experienced but inexpert eye, seemed straightforward enough. "Looks good," he said. "I'll have my consigliere bring on some contract lawyers who know Phindari and Umbaran law, we'll get this squared away at our end, and we should be good to sign inside the week." Not that he doubted it would check out, but better to be professional about these things. "And yeah, Yavin Four's a fascinating place. We've got a good-sized starport, Port Shardrock, right beside the temples that we rent to the Jedi. I don't know how much you know about my clan, but we're sort of three-way mutts between Mandos, Dathomiri witches, and Vahla. Better believe Port Shardrock's a place where you can find just about anything in the bazaar. Worth a visit, if the Force is your thing. I'm always running into something new and weird out that way. Then we've got the Corusca divers in the gas giant, and that's an experience you don't want to miss. Yavin's something special, all right. Feel free to come out that way anytime."

He stood with a grunt; sore knees. "I'll get this contract to my people that handle this kind of thing, they'll get in touch with your people, and I think we're in business. For now..." He extended a hand to shake.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera stood and took his hand. "Excellent! If there is anything that needs to be clarified or edited I'm certain the two teams can adjust where appropriate." She smiled, releasing his hand after the deal was made. "If I can ever find the time, I would love to visit. Exploring the galaxy is something I used to enjoy quite a bit. But there is just so much to see and never enough time. It does sound pretty wonderful though." She would escort Ember back to the lift and down again to the lobby where it seemed to be much busier than earlier. As she passed by reception she handed her datapad to the woman. They would need to start the hiring process almost immediately to get started on the work. "Please pass this over to our labor department right away." The other woman nodded and went to it while Sera turned back to Ember.

As they reached the large archway overlooking the doors the Twi'lek stopped and politely opened the door.

"Thank you so much for coming today. If there is anything else you need, whether now or in the future, please don't hesitate!"

[member="Ember Rekali"]