Where Paths Cross

[Jaster Awaud]

​

Location: Brentaal IV, Trade Hall

The CEO of the United Trade Conglomerate was actually surprised that the Baronesses of the Free Worlds Coalition had agreed to meet with him. He had made a previous agreement with Faith, the Queen of Alderaan, but the new administration seemed more willing to openly trading with other companies as well as nations. He had never meet @Ra'a'mah and only heard some things about her. As such he did his best to get this contact as it would allow his two trade lanes that were now being created to join together and allow him to finally have refueling stations as well as trade ports. This contract, if signed was of the utmost important for him and his company.

As such he decided to have the meeting on Brentaal IV, the center of nearly all trading within the Galaxy. He figured the women would have the greater appreciation in meeting in the trade hall then some stuffy government office. The Room was of elegant taste and though he did not choose the room, he felt it was a little pricey for his taste, but of course it was better safe then sorry. He only stood by the window that was facing a near by space port and watched as the large trade ships made their way toward the skies. It was a beautiful sight to see a ship break out its wings and not just jet to break the heavens, but sore. He wiggled his fingers behind he back and only imagined what the wind would feel like between his hands. For the man was clad in thick armor that showed no gap between the plates. His glowing red eyes bounced off the glass before him and showed him his reflection as a machine, not the man he had once been. It was in that reflection that he saw one of the Trade Hall Attendants enter the room. He turned to face her and she nodded and bowed. He knew it was more out of a service to the company and the Customer Services this place laid out, and less out of respect. He questioned her, "Has she arrived?"

The women recovered from her service bow and spoke with a voice of confidence and courteous, "Yes sir, may I show her in."

Now was the time he would have to get to know what he was facing, "Yes, thank you ma'am."

 

[Riamah]

As head of the merchant fleet, Ra was always on the look out for new contacts and avenues of transportation. One such opportunity came up when Jaster had contacted her to potentially sign an agreement between his company and her fleet. It would open routes for both of them and allow the goods to flow between many more people that much easier.

He invited her to join him on Brentaal IV which was dominantly an industrial world with some mountains and polar icecaps. Even if the planet was prepared to support ships the size she could being Ra decided to come down in her own small freighter. Clearance was granted and she landed at the spaceport there.

Directions were given to where to meet Jaster and she hired one of the taxis waiting to take the people around the town. Giving the droid the address, she sat back to look at the planet around her. Typical of such locations there were many different people, races and interests. Not being familiar with the planet, Ra did not know what to look for, but right now that wasn't why she was here. That purpose was to meet Jaster and open up new trade agreements.

Arriving at the destination, she paid the taxi fair and walked in. Upon her arrival a woman greeted her, requested her to wait and returned a few minutes later. Another request to follow her this time, she would lead Ra to one of the rooms set aside for this type of thing. It was a nice looking room, elegant, but not over done in decoration.

She walked through the door as it was held open for her and looked at the man that requested her to meet him. Giving him a polite and professional nod, Ra held a hand out to shake.

"Thank you for inviting me here. I'm Ra'a'mah Numare, but please just call me Ra. Much easier to remember and say."

[member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"]

 

[Jaster Awaud]

Jaster stood there as @Ra'a'mah entered the room and in his military posture he did his best to relax. However, this deal meant a lot to not just him. He had set a plan in motion that was to connect the Core Worlds to the Outer Rim to the resource rich areas of the Hutt Territories and the Unknown Region. He was ready to share this plan with one of the more capable nations to do so. The Coalition unlike the Alliance or Commenor, had a thriving merchant fleet and capability to turn these raw goods into produced good. Something he could sell and transport to farther corners of the galaxy. So even though he attempted to relax, his armor and helmet allowed him to hide his worries of this meeting.

As the women reached out to him, and he extended his armored hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you Ra," Retracting his hand from the handshake. He gestured to offer the women a place to seat in the office room that overlooked the near by Trade Port that was loading a large transport. "I was actually very please to receive communications from you after I had reached out."

The women at the door looked at them, "Will that be all sir?"

Jaster offered a friendly wave and nodded, "Yes, you have been much help." She proceeded to leave the room, backing up and closing the door. He looked back to the women and offered some small talk, "I hope your trip here was a pleasant journey?"

 

[Riamah]

Not being a natural empath, Ra had a small pin on her cloak that helped with that. Picking up on some of his worry, it made her curious as to why that might be. They were here to simply talk and maybe make a deal for a new trade route. Unless it lead to her making deals with the sith openly, there shouldn't be anything to be concerned about.

Taking the seat offered to her, she waited until the retainer had been released before giving Jaster her full attention. Once the door was closed, she listened to his simple question of her journey here.

She gave him a polite nod and smile before answering, "yes, I brought my main ship. One of the larger ones of my fleet and it has everything needed to make things comfortable. No pirates tried to assault me, so that is a good thing."

It would show a little humor, but still keeping things professional.

[member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"]

 

[Jaster Awaud]

He himself only traveled by Transport, the UTC Escort Fleet was small compared to some, could only protect a small percentage of Jaster 1,000 ship transport company. Instead of hiring outside forces who were just as correctable as the politicians he worked with. The shift of the company was towards a more safe and secrete means of travel in the dark void that they chose to set sail though. As was the reason he was here, "Well I am very please you had a safe journey Ra, transporting through Hutt Territory has shown its difficulties as well as my holdings in the Unknown Region, but we make do and somehow survive."

The UTC was well known for taking the harder of trading routes and explored the deep reaches of Wild Space and the Unknown Region. Their recent projects however, where unknown by many outside the company, and still only select members knew of the projects ongoing progress. "Well I am sure your wish to get to business, and with pleasantries aside, I have an offer to you as well as the Coalition that I and my company have been working on for the last few years."

The man placed a data storage device on the table between them and tapped some holographic buttons that appeared over them. When he finished a picture of the galaxy along with the boarders of the current nations displayed in white lines. "I have nearly completes scouting and mapping of Hyperlanes from Teth to Commenor that are only known by my company." As he said this a line passed through similar paths that most merchants vessels would take to get from Teth to Nal Hutta, but then it jumped to continue through the Nanth'ri Route, where it continued to Gyndine, where it jumped again to Commenor itself. "We uses these lanes to supply Commenor with many good that we get from the Criminal Worlds of the Outer Rim,"

Another line that passed through several worlds in the Unknown Region the dots not having names but the tail of it all was a Core World of Velusia, a world within the GA Borders that shared no Hyperlane with any world but with Coruscant. "The other lane was started by my company some time ago, all navigated by UTC paid Navigators and the soul of our investments." He looked through the hologram and at Ra herself, "We would like to us the Commenor Run Hyperlane to unite these two Hyperways and figure out a way with the mathmatics to properly make a SuperHyperlane with the Coalition as its heart."

 

[Riamah]

"Thank you."

It was what she ​said to both his first comments. About her journey being safe and getting down to the business of the meeting. She could blather on and socialize, but there wasn't a need for it really. As she listened to what Jaster had to say, she nodded with great interest.

"It can be difficult to find, map and use new routes for sure. I don't think it'll be very long before it might become known though and more prone to those attacks by pirates. Especially farther away from main routes."

She followed the routes to, from and where they passed through. From her time in space, attacks most often happened just before entering or after leaving hyperspace. Very rarely did they happen in the lanes themselves.

"What travels through Commenor space would be subject to their taxes and fees, correct?"

An agreement had been made between the Coalition and Commenor on what it would cost for each of them for their respective fees and taxes. She would assume he would have to contact Commenor before the two of them finalized anything.
​
"What you propose is of great interest to me and what we can share with each other is even greater. How can I help?"

[member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"]

 

[Jaster Awaud]

Jaster nodded as @Ra'a'mah continued to speak about the difficulty of planning the Hyperlane in the Galaxy. It was true, all easy Hyperlanes were already charted in the Galaxy. However, this did not stop the UTC from finding some creaks in the Armor of the Nebula and anomalies that lied beyond the val of the Unknown Region. 10 Years ago, when they got their foothold in the far corners of the Unknown Region. They worked their way to the center of the Galaxy and it was a grueling and difficult process, it took countless lives and many years to chart the whole of it all. However, it was nearly complete. "I have trade agreements with both the GA as well as Commenor along with several other Nations that allow me to transport Raw Goods and Fuel, as well as Restricted Manurfactured Goods, I pay me fees and very profitable in my trade,"

He moved onto why he was here, "However, it would seem that with the new contracts I have taken on, and expanding the Trade Lanes that we are now using, I am in need of more escort craft, as such I am looking to sell my Maps in exchange for express use of the Commenor Run to connect my two lanes."

 

[Riamah]

it was good he had already arranged agreements with the other governments.

"This is and can be a very lucrative field for sure. We also have trade agreements with Commenor and a few others I've dealt with in my years."

He said he was looking for more escort craft, but that wasn't something she herself could help with and she shook her head.

"Myself, I only have what my own fleet can offer. A few squadrons of fighters each ship. Enough to keep most pirates off my hide, but that's about it. The Coalition doesn't have a standing military either so there isn't one for me to offer there either."

Still wanting to conduct business with him, Ra hoped he had enough faith in her own abilities to keep the routes clear.

[member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"]

 

[Jaster Awaud]

He looked at the women who had a reputation of her own. She was the head of a large Merchant Fleet and current influential political figure within the FWC.

"I don't request the escort ships from you ma'am, I think I came off incorrectly," He pushed the drive forward to her, "I am trading these trade routes in exchange for access to the Commenor Run."

He took his hand off the data driver and looked at the device that he had sat on for many years, "The Unknown Core Route is very lucrative, however, I am in need of transport Escort Craft so the Funds are ties up elsewhere, Is this a good enough trade?"

He knew that this already existing Trade Route was the missing link to a Hyperlane that would link two very distant sides of his trade empire. With it he could get goods to the core worlds and the GA that was prevented internally by the First Order Blockade. It would increase his financial bottom line and stock prices for his company would increase and he could expand and purchase more companies for his 'Conglomerate'.

 

[Riamah]

"Ah, I understand better now. You need the cargo ships to get your items from location A to B. You get the idea there, I assume."

It kept things simple and easier to understand, at least in her mind. If Ra could read his mind, she would correct one of his thoughts. She was a simple captain of a merchant fleet within the Coalition and not anything of a political nature. It was how she wanted it if she was being honest. At least for now, she was happy as a merchant. To be in power on a planet would be pushing to resolve to not become what her sith master had been when she was growing up.

That was still a secret part of her life from most people. Within the Coalition, only four people knew she could use the Force or what her alignment was. A few more outside of them and that number was kept very low. If more people knew, the more likely word would make its way back to the Coalition just what Ra really was. A sith lord. Their stance of being anti-dark side might be too great to allow her to continue in her position as lead of the merchant fleet.

"I agree knowing the route is worth the risk involved."

[member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"]