A Dominion...of Knowledge! [GUIDE Investors]

[Magdalena Lethe]

[member="Ali Hadrix"] [member="Enigma"] [member="Arumi Zy"] [member="Preliat Mantis"] [member="Taeli Raaf"]

Other interested investing parties please first inquire in the OOC thread.


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It had been a leap of blind faith, sending out that missive seeking investors, and though Magda had been raised to be confident in oneself and one's abilities there still remained the tiniest hint of doubt.

That was until the responses started coming in. Two, three, four interested investors? This was far more than she could have hoped for and certainly more than she'd expected. So what did it mean? It meant the sky was no longer the limit - space, the final frontier, would soon be at her fingertips.

Firstly, she'd have to make this legit. So, you know, she set up a bank account, dotted her I's and crossed her T's. Secondly she'd scheduled a conference holocall for all interested parties - and now as she made herself comfortable before her own transceiver did she really start to feel a bit of stage freight. As the calls began to connect and the blue images of the potential investors flickered into existence before her Magda had to take a slow, deep breath.

"Ahem, good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you very much for your time and interest in The GUIDE. I am Magdalena Lethe, the entrepreneur behind this harrowing business proposition."

It perhaps might dawn on them now, having finally seen just who it was they were dealing with, that this was a child. A mature child with a firm grasp of advanced vocabulary, but a child nevertheless.

I'm 16, thank you very much.

"All of you have expressed a desire to invest and I've invited you into this conference holocall today to give you a few options as to how you'd like to fullfill this accord. By all means, monetary investment is more than welcome and I have sent to each of you my account numbers to make this so. For those of you who have the means, there are a few other direct ways for investment. For starters, it is my wish to maintain a mobile Headquarters and Command Center for The GUIDE - a ship. A rather large ship for what I hope to be a rather large employ of expeditioners and their personal crafts. Is there one of you that could provide such a thing?"

 

[Preliat Mantis]

"I could provide many things, but the one known as [member="Enigma"] will be barred from any future conversations involving this, or I am out."

Preliat said bluntly, the T-shape visor of the Wolf staring back at [member="Magdalena Lethe"] through the screen.

 

[Onrai]

Vanessa Kuhn gave [member="Preliat Mantis"] a strange glance - did they know each other? "My apologies, Mister Mantis, but I don't recall us having met before. Nonetheless, I am willing to put forth a significant fragment of however many credits you require, Miss Lethe. Assuming relatively equal portions doled in per investor, how much would you request from each of us?" Finding out the requirements were the key to determining the usefulness of the investment in question - her explanation as to what this ship would be was still somewhat vague.

"If you could elaborate a bit more as to what exactly this ship is to be used for, perhaps my decision could be made more clearly."

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

 

[Ellie Mors]

Sitting further away from the majority of the potential investors was one such individual whom had three motives to be a part of this little briefing. She had the riches, her father had left more than enough of it behind and she had built upon her inheritance and intended to move only up from here. While she was most certainly rich, perhaps unfairly so being as young as she was, she was also an educated woman of both shipbuilding and of ancient texts. She owned the profitable business that operated out of Empress Teta, Koros Spaceworks, and had been in the process of hashing major deals out with emerging mercenary fleets and major, pivotal, factions such as the Primeval. She might be a teenager at seventeen, but she was already far in the game of risk. She was more than a millionaire, and certainly more than a designer and engineer of starships, she was an avid seeker of knowledge. She read, collected, and bought rare books and scrolls, datacrons and holocrons, and the fact that her collection contained the majority of a very large collection on the finer points of illusions in the force, as well as various other texts of ancient civilizations that predated the Galactic Republic's most well-known era so long ago, simply went to show that though her passions lie in the building of a corporate empire she was not without a thirst, a hunger really, for knowledge. And this prospective group was a potential repository of just that.

A small, rather petite really, left hand lifted up into the air. Politeness was a must, especially when stepping into the business world by storm. It was no doubt in her mind that few, if anyone here, really knew much about her - unless they recognized the small name plate that identified herself as a member of the small, but incredibly wealthy, Kuhn family. In reality it was only the youngest twins that had really inherited much, if anything, from the late Silara and Alric Kuhn, but being that Lily was indeed one of the two twins that little tidbit of information hardly did anything but bolster her reputation once someone learned of her history. "The use of the ship does not bother me, I simply ask how large of a vessel you require. Once we have come to an understanding of that we may discuss the purpose of the ship to ensure that you may have the proper tools for potential defense, or other means that you may require. I, personally, am willing to invest a lump sum once we have a general outline of your goals for this group, GUIDE as you call it." Lily spoke up, her voice a little more soft, satiny, that her mother's. "We can consider a ship, or multiple vessels if you so require, a portion of our - Koros Spacework's - investment. Of course a direct sum to meet your.. needs.. will be negotiated once you have your figures ready for us to see." She added, smiling. "Perhaps we might find ourselves a deal to supply vessels to these explorers, and Koros will make its investment back through sponsorship." She might not be a seasoned expert in the realm of business, and she was certainly no [member="Danger Arceneau"], but she had the capacity to someday get there.

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali waited for the conference call to connect, sitting alone in her office in Onderon's capital city. The "investment" opportunity had peaked her interest when agents within the Galactic Republic Intelligence Ministry, also known as GRIM, had passed it across her desk. She remembered the conversation she'd had several days before regarding it...

Two Days Earlier...

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"Sounds boring, and pointless." Marcus Solstice was leaning against her desk, a cup of coffee in his grip. "What caught your eye?" Ali shrugged, maybe the fact that the girl is sixteen. Marcus furrowed his brow and set down his coffee, turning quickly to grab the flimsi-print file out of her hands. "What the..." he muttered as he looked over the information held within. After a moment he handed it over to Ali once more.
"Magdalena Lethe, sixteen, Human, pale-skinned," Ali recited for rote. Marcus looked up at her with an arched eyebrow. "Pale-skinned? Does that matter?" He asked rhetorically. Marcus himself, was of course dark-skinned. Ali continued, unhindered. "Nothing else, however. No homeworld listed, no family, nothing. No one's ever heard of her, and I dug into contacts I have back on Coruscant. Just a note that she dresses well and appears regal in bearing." Ali snapped the file shut and dropped it on her desk.
"And she's asking for money." Ali smirked.
Marcus frowned, "I'm guessing she comes from rich stock, and somehow ended up on her own. Stranded maybe?"
Ali shrugged, "I have no idea, but would you like to find out?"
Marcus was silent for a moment. "We don't need authorization?"
Ali shook her head, "Not for something like this. She hasn't listed a monetary requirement. No buy in."
It was Ali's partner's turn to shrug. "Feck it, why not?"
Ali grinned, "That's the spirit!"

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Marcus stepped into the office and made sure to stay out of the view of the holocam set up atop Ali's terminal. "Coffee?" He asked, setting a mug down on the edge of her desk. Ali nodded her thanks and took it, sipping at it gently. By the time the call began and Ali had been connected, three other individuals had already been added. Ali looked around briefly until she caught sight of their host, Magdalena. Ali smiled, ignoring the squabble that seemed to have begun the conversation and focused on the individual inquiring about the vessel Lethe wanted funding for. For the moment, Ali remained silent, leaving the young girl room to respond. Her initial inquiry would have been the same as the other's anyhow.
In the meantime, Ali focused on how to introduce herself. She'd spoken with Marcus about it already; he'd crafted her cover and made up her connection to the government. She was to be Lucille Bluth, Small-Business Outreach Coordinator for the Capitol sector of the Government, which consisted of a great many worlds.
Ali's attention was gripped, however, by Lily Khun, who's initial statement drew a short laugh from herself. Ali looked over at the young woman, "You don't care what she's going to do with the ship? What if she's going to use it to bomb one of your facilities at Empress Teta?"
Ali glanced back at the girl seeking their money, and leaned forward on her desk. "I'd like to know more of what you're going to do with the ship. I'd also like to know more about you, Miss Lethe."

/[member=Magdalena Lethe]\​

 

[Ellie Mors]

While the woman, likely a politician or naval supplier for someone like the Republic or Techno Union - Lily had no qualms with supplying ships, it was the people who solely supplied to navies that truly ground her gears - likely found the lax approach that Lily had towards the ambitions of this knowledge-base network to be rather presumptuous, it was not simply audacity and arrogance that gave her that calm. She, and her company, resided well within the protected and supremely guarded realm of the One Sith. While she certainly did not associate with them, nor had she stroke up any deals with either the government that watched her every move or individual Sith Lords, she knew very well that anyone who got within ten clicks of the planet that carried any form of offensive force would be completely obliterated not by her own defenses, not even by the planet of which she was the heir apparent, but by the Sith armada themselves. "Empress Teta is one of the more.. secure planets in the galaxy, Miss. Seeing as how shipwrights across the galaxy, from Kuat Drives to Rendili and Corellia, all cater to whomever fits their fancy without regards to the purpose behind the ships, I believe that the emerging Koros Spaceworks is hardly in a position to be afraid of such unsubstantial worries." She replied coolly, not bothering to give [member="Ali Hadrix"] direct eye contact. Beyond the One Sith, if any such model of ship of her own making were to somehow may it by the navy there was still the issue of planetary defense and satellites that were positioned with various defensive weapons specifically to prevent assault - and considering no ship of Koros make flew in One Sith space, for now, there was little to worry about.

Looking up towards the girl that brought this investment meeting together to make this all happen, she tilted her head. "My concerns are as follows, Miss Lethe; what is it your GUIDE intends to do, how does it intend to operate? Is it a profitable enterprise or is it non-for-profit? And as far as expeditionary tasks go, what sort of savory - or unsavory - characters might be employed or permitted to work under your banner? I understand your openness to the galaxy as a whole, but in the hands of an extremist you might quickly discover that information gained and planets discovered might only be done for the purpose of building a group that might come to see the freedoms you wish to provide restricted to suit their own needs." Lily explained, lightly outlining what was essentially her only points of contention with this proposed group.

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

 

[Jaster Awaud]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

Jaster was walking down the hallways when he was given word of the meeting already starting, he would inevitably be late to the conversation. This however was inevitable as his alliance of companies were still getting of their feet and he had to sign off on everything. He continued to walk down the halls and read data pads as two assistance continued to talk about the new projects that required his attention. Only able to read one at a time he just listened to their explanation as he signed.

He made it to his office tired from his recent travels, but this meeting was made in advance and so he was obligated to attended. His board members would also request info about this meeting so there was another reason.

Of all the questions Jaster had, he knew very little about this program and what it would require to complete them. The amount of money that this women requested was nearly intolerable by any buisness standards. Though he through money at even worse investments, this would become a great asset to Jaster and his upcoming exploration of the Unknown Region. How would people buy his product of they didn't know about it? He would question these, but from his small understanding he believed that this was like a more detailed HoloNet of sorts. If this was true then he would input all his Space Stations and Ports with such terminals and even construct Relay Stations.

He entered his office and stood in front of the holo-camera, then proceeded to view the other blue burry projections. He proceeded to nod his head in forgiveness and then said, "Please forgive my tardiness, buisness and politics never truely stop, it is a pleasure to meet you, I'm Viceroy Jaster Awuad."

Jaster then noticed the request came from a child, was this some kind of joke? He quickly did his best to read the comments he had missed and waited to speak again.

 

[Arumi Zy]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]


" the larger the ship, the far more likely it will raise the awareness of who's territory your in. A unknown Star Destroyer in someones space is never over looked" The Dark siders image flickered on the conferance call. His breather apperatus was stationed neatly on his desk and the skeletal grin that has face always had now shown through the holoconferance. Why he might not be the riches person in the meeting, he was certainly wealthy enough. OF course being a thousand year old sith lord who had lurked in the shadows unknown for that long lent itself to collecting a vast array of treasures and artifacts, then there was his company and no one provided star fighters with better armor then ZyTech.

He patted down his vest and produced a pack of smokes and gengerly lit one up, holding it in his fleshless teeth. " I do not deal in large scale ships, never found them appealing. I can supply personnel to man a ship, i can supply money and i can supply rations for it very easily. I would suggest though contracting freelancers, there are countless scaliwags and "Adventurers" who you could easily interview for data and input without costing much more then a small consulting Fee." smoke rolled from between his teeth and through his nostril holes.


" The Galaxy is a dangerous place Mrs Lathe" he said mispronouncing her name " Especially for someone young and inexperience, the factions are entangled in years long conflicts, people are dying and planets are starving. Are you truly prepared to face the horrors of genocide, plague and famine for this venture?"

 

[Danger Arceneau]

One holo image would remain silent, the wisps of blue white smoke rising within that cerulean image. Her expression was cordial, but there was a subtle narrowing of her eyes, an amused perk of an ebon brow. It would seem as if the Queen of Trade was not particularly seeking to be active in the discussion. However, there was always more than met the eye.

Her probing gaze would assess the young woman who had requested investors. She took in her youth, the determination in her jaw, the ambition it required to even stand there to answer probing questions. Questions she was curious how she would answer. Danger took a slow deep drag of her vice, letting the narcotic fill her lungs with its rush.

Turning to Aeri, she gave a small nod. At the onset of this investing request she had her assistant conduct a thorough background check on the young woman, her family, and close acquaintances. This allowed her to delve more into who [member="Magdalena Lethe"] was. As well as the blanket discussion give Danger the time to subtlety study the other young woman she had a keen interest in.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Magda was a little taken aback by how quickly the interested parties began to parle. She supposed she should have expected this, but this was her first business venture. Now she would begin to put her mother's teachings to good use. Maintain poise, look attentive - as though you are more than capable of paying attention to everything at once. Easier said than done.

She decided to address them one by one as the initial chatter broke into a quiet lull.

"Thank you, everyone. Mr. Mantis, I'm afraid there is no one on this call by that name but I did not invite you into this conversation today to administrate to your own personal quibbles with others. If, by chance, there are others here you do not wish to be in connection with through my business venture then perhaps this is not the business venture for you."

Another man arrived within the call to whom she nodded, "Thank you for joining us Viceroy. I've just made my first request to the interested parties in the form of a ship. Allow me to address the group as a whole, as it seems there are many of you able to supply this. I am not looking for a war ship or a Star Destroyer, Mr. Zy," Magda gave his holographic image a wane smile, "and I have absolutely no intentions of inciting a war or any form of destruction upon anyone. That would be greatly besides the point of what I aim to accomplish here, so you may put your concerns to rest Ms. Hadrix."

"The requirements of the ship are simple. It must be capable of housing the first batch of GUIDE employees - so a passenger capacity of anywhere between 100 to 200. It must also have a hangar bay capable of storing their personal transports - something that I will also be looking to have supplied, we'll get to them next. The most essential piece of the ship must be a deck devoted to the headquarters of the GUIDE. It is my belief that until such a time that I have this business fully functional, a mobile command center and HQ will be far more convenient."

"Weapons are not my main concern - though I do agree that a few for self protection would be prudent. I would like to put more emphasis on shielding and on hyperdrive capacity. It is my intention to keep this ship within neutral territories where it will be of no bother or burden to anyone."

[member="Preliat Mantis"] [member="Enigma"] [member="Danger Arceneau"] [member="Ali Hadrix"] [member="Arumi Zy"] [member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"] [member="Lily Kirsche Kuhn"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Preliat Mantis"] [member="Enigma"] [member="Danger Arceneau"] [member="Ali Hadrix"] [member="Arumi Zy"] [member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"] [member="Lily Kirsche Kuhn"] [member="Magdalena Lethe"]

Taeli remained quiet for now, her holodisplay just showing her with her glasses on and looking over a datapad. The young girl's proposal was interesting to her to say the least. Knowledge was power after all, and a way to have more knowledge available for people to have was always something she would be interested in. The others were haggling over who would build the ship, but Taeli had another thing on her mind.

The information was more important in her opinion.

 

[Onrai]

"Ordinarily, I would never consider such a piecemeal solution... but Emeritus Industries does utilize several ship types that could easily be modified or otherwise altered for use in such a manner, though we of course could assist in manufacturing you a vessel of your own type. You require something defensive, from what I understand... what scale of vessel are you looking to utilize? Frigate? Cruiser? Star Destroyer?"

Such was certainly important in order to determine the difficulty in developing a vessel to the exacting specifications of the woman before her.

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

 

[Jaster Awaud]

[member="Taeli Raaf"] [member="Preliat Mantis"] [member="Enigma"] [member="Danger Arceneau"] [member="Ali Hadrix"] [member="Arumi Zy"] [member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"] [member="Lily Kirsche Kuhn"] [member="Magdalena Lethe"]

Jaster did his best to stay quite within the room full of some of the most elite in their industry, even one of his largest competitors in trade was in this room. He didn't wish to stur up trouble or even make his presence known more then it had already been. There was however a question about this project that Jaster had to request. What was this project he was funding?

They all had received smaller informational data about the project and its intent, but it was not very informative and asked for a lot of money. As such Jaster was not yet ready to through Conglomerate support let alone his support at something he wasn't informed on. There were too many gaps in this little conference and yet there were ships and large sums of money thrown at this person, this child. She, as she stated, was the inventor is something revolutionary, but how do. To Jaster and his members, it seemed like an updated HoloNet that carried new updated information. If this was so, then why did it cost so much and require so many companies to assist in?

He decided to voice his concern, "Ms. Lethe, we here at the UTC are willing to assist in construction in Hyperspace Relay Stations and even incorporate your GUIDE Terminals in all of our space stations and ports, but I must ask, what is it what we are putting out time and effort into?" Jaster looked at his Datapad the carried the small information he was given and read from it, "From this informational, well I'm gana assume, pamphlet, you state that this is a type of updated Travelers Guide, am I correct? I am to assume there is something more then ships and money you will require from us."

 

[Ellie Mors]

Although she had been quite vocal to the retort of her rather generous statement earlier on, Lily remained a bit quiet as she listened to Magdalena speak her piece. The teenager essentially confirmed her own beliefs of what was being asked for, and although she had every opportunity to put her name on something by offering something already in production, by being cheap, it was clear that this girl was looking for formal support, for a genuine reaching out by people who shared the same interests, or at least wished to be philanthropists with their time and money. Charity, or boasting about donations in general, was not Lily's thing, she actually held a prejudice for the poor and unemployed, but when something benefited both her and her fields of interests it suddenly became much more likely that the teenager would spend any amount of time and money with the subject at hand. Perhaps she should have been more like an adult and reached out with profit in mind - as a responsible business owner should - and consider the short-term first and foremost to make a return quickly, but for some indiscernible reason she had a gut feeling that she should put a small fortune on the line for this idea as well as offer her services to not only supply a modified ship - which she most certainly would not do, as it seemed classless and beneath her - but offer a fully custom, unique, vessel to suit Miss Lethe's dream. "If I may, Miss Lethe." Lily began, speaking up as the Viceroy had finished his inquiry.

"I have no desire to exploit this opportunity to supply you with a lazy, selfish, and half-arsed modified vessel that came at little to no cost to me." She continued with the fold of her hands over her lap, giving a brief pause for effect. "I see someone with a passion and a desire to fulfill it, and I find myself wanting to help you get there." The red-head explained, her smile becoming a little wider. "You are looking for a somewhat large vessel to facilitate your organization and its employees or volunteers - whomever they may be - and I have the means of producing such a ship from scratch. You will have your ship, a mobile headquarters, and it will be designed to fit your group's intentions with quality at the forefront of its production requirements. You will also receive a large lump sum of money once this ship has been provided to fund your endeavors, with the expectation that Koros Spaceworks - and indeed myself - might be looked upon in the future as a sponsor and supporter of your activities. Consider it a contractual offer if you wish, but I will not hold you to a payment plan or even the expectation that I will make a return on this investment. Simply make use of Koros products and we will continue to support you, as we see an opportunity to put our name out there by helping you with this." Lily went on to explain, knowing full well that short-term this was not a wise decision without the promise of significant returns in her investment offer, but she was also distinctly aware that this could be used as a form of advertisement-through-sponsorship to supply full lines of exploratory ships and equipment to people who may take part in the GUIDE endeavor. An entire market could open up to her, and even discounting products to those involved in this could mean a profit and growth in the company's sphere of influence - and in this galaxy, even the credit bowed to that.

[member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"] [member="Enigma"] [member="Taeli Raaf"] [member="Magdalena Lethe"] [member="Danger Arceneau"] [member="Arumi Zy"] [member="Ali Hadrix"] [member="Preliat Mantis"]

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Magda turned to Vanessa Kuhn, the first to speak up, and blinked.

"Well Ms. ..." two Kuhns. This might get confusing. Kuhn 1 and Kuhn 2? They probably wouldn't like that.

"Ms. Vanessa," that sounded polite and respectable enough, "I'm not the ship expert here, am I?" A droll smile pulled at her lips, "That's your expertise. Despite calling you here today for investor prospecting, I'd like to think of this as a pseudo council session of sorts. It is the makers that know their product best, as my father once told me, what sort of ship would you recommend that would meet those requirements?"

The Viceroy spoke up next, catching Magda's full attention with mention of hyperspace relays. Now there's a thinking man. Before she could reply the younger of the Kuhn's placed an offer on the table. Direct, forthcoming. This was the sort of business Magda was looking to do but she wasn't looking to offend the others. Either way a decision would have to be made and it would have to be made today. The HQ was quintessential to launching The GUIDE. Literally.

She nodded and took a breath, wishing that [member="Gabriel Lethe"] was here to help. You know, standing off in a corner, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, pointing to the younger Kuhn (you just think she's pretty Gabe, get out!). Oh, right.

"Allow me to address the Viceroy's question first. Note the people on this conference all. You are the makers. You are all the exception to the norm. No doubt each and every one of you has traveled and conducted business all over this galaxy. Perhaps you travel with a company or retinue of guards and handlers, assistants that set everything up for you. Where you go the way is often open. Maybe not always easy, but you at least know what to expect."

"This all holds untrue for the majority of people. I, myself, became stranded in unfamiliar space over a month ago. I was fortunate enough to be rescued by passerby who kindly towed my ship to the nearest port - but the people of that port were of little help. I didn't speak their language, I had no idea where to go or what to do, and somehow I managed to find someone who spoke basic and helped set me straight ... begrudgingly. I'm not telling you this for pity or concern. I'm telling you this because these are the common circumstances for the common people and I wish to do something about it."

"I thought to myself: wouldn't this be safer, simpler, if there existed a better means of understanding unfamiliar places? Sure the holonet provided me information on the planet and locals, but it wasn't helpful information, nor do I believe was it current information. Local businesses were missing from the database and I'm quite certain the last listed leader had been dead for several centuries. This is the gap I am seeking to fill with the GUIDE. It will be the repository for the knowledge and information my people gain in their travels that will be codified and transcribed into all languages for all manner of people to understand. A subscriber to The Guide can access the most up-to-date information any time. Imagine entering planetary space - The Guide informs you of noteworthy places to go, sites to see, useful traits, customs and languages of the locals. It can also warn you of places and people to avoid. Actions that could be misconstrued for offense. It will help you know if you're going to be welcome or not and how to get help should it be the latter. I hope to also incorporate a translator into The Guide with as many languages as possible. When my Trekkers visit a new planet they may approach heads of businesses for the opportunity to support us in exchange for advert placement. Years from now I hope to incorporate a vacation and travel agency into the Guide that subscribers can turn to for honest assessment of the best places to go for their desired adventure. Once we've established a broader outreach I'd also like to offer space-aid for those who find misfortune on their travels. Towing services to local ports and repair hubs. Delivery and transport services. The best and fastest Hyperlanes and Trade Routes to use to reach your destination as well as less-known jump points not currently listed on the galactic map. The possibilities are endless. It will become the must-have product of every galactic being who seeks to go anywhere."

Magda took a breath and gently cleared her throat.

"Also, Ms. Lily, that offer sounds right up my alley and I graciously accept. Perhaps Ms. Vanessa could instead provide the exploratory transports for my employ?"

[member="Enigma"] [member="Lily Kirsche Kuhn"] [member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"] [member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Thaddeus Wyse]

Gabriel leaned against the wall in the corner of their private offices, rubbing his chin thoughtfully and then whispered.

"psssst, Meggy."

She seemed pretty busy.

"Hey, Meggy!" he almost hissed, to get her attention.

She still didn't seem interested in paying him heed.

"Look, Kuhn Two is obviously the party to go here." Gabe would say, until his eyes settled on the buxom redhead. He almost crumbled there and then, because... hoooo boy. It took him a while to gulp, wipe away the drool and dep his nose for any blood before finally adding to his own suggestion.

"Eh... the nice ehm." he coughed. "Miss. Arceneau seems to know what she is... eh... doing?"

Gabe brushed away some imaginary dust off his shoulder, before coughing again.

[member="Magdalena Lethe"] [member="Danger Arceneau"] [member="Lily Kirsche Kuhn"]

 

[Danger Arceneau]

Danger would let the conversation flow around her, her attention drawing upon the small datapad Aeri Vyn had given her. At [member="Magdalena Lethe"] 's firm but informative answers, Danger gave a slight arch of her brow. She would mull over what the breadth of this GUIDE would partake in, some of which Arceneau Trade was already doing. With trade and fuel stations from one end of the galaxy to another, trade routes and common travel points of interest with Bright Star Entertainment as well as several other of her partners, and with the wealth of resources she already had... what was to say that the young woman would be successful?

The Queen of Trade would give a slow blink, letting her attention settle upon the young brunette.

"How many employees do you have right now for this venture, Miz. Lethe?" came the throaty husky query, her drawl pouring through the holographic array speakers with that tell tale twang.

"What experience do you have in navigating the lanes? " Came her other question. "In traveling the Outer Rim, the Wilds and unknown regions? In charting and documenting what manner of points of interests there are?" So many were quick to give over their resources, but what did they know of the woman and her competence.

"What can you show us that you have been successful on a smaller scale with this business plan? " another deep drag was taken from her cigarrillo, her voice cordial, but probing. "Can you show us a viable GUIDE right now for a smaller sector? How will this look like? Who will be writing the GUIDE? Are you personally reviewing all the information and data?

"Arceneau Trade Company has done the same thing by supplying those who are involved with the Southern Systems Business Bazaar with an easy to use holographic shopping network and through NekChek cloud systems... allowing point in fact information on systems where Arceneau and its partners invest in. We touch base already with several governments and neutral entities..."

Her statements were matter of fact, and held no threat. It was just detailing what it was. To some it may seem as if she was being rather blunt and direct, but it was a test of Miz Lethe's gumption and ambition. Danger Arceneau was raised to work hard under her own merit, having had her daddy make her work from the ground up in Arceneau Trade. This is why she wanted to know directly from the young woman, what has she done so far to produce this GUIDE under her own merit without any financial backing to begin with.

Before credits and ships or anything were offered, what did [member="Magdalena Lethe"] have to show for her work in creating a GUIDE. And how did the final product look like?

Why was she the best person for the job?

Bless your heart, sugar. Time to see if you're worth the salt in your bread.

"Why should we invest in your proposal when I can very well do this and more with the resources already available to me?"

 

[Onrai]

Youth seemed to have won out. Lily had certainly inherited the oratory skills of her mother - hence her gains for Koros producing their own vessel. However, she still intended to acquire a contract as a part of this venture - Miss Lethe did seem to have something most certainly intriguing in mind. "Smaller craft have been Emeritus's forte since the company's inception. I would be more than willing to put our best designers to work skillfully crafting a classification of transport for your group alone, in order to adequately allow for your company to have the highest quality vessels with the latest in cutting edge technology. What specifically are you looking for in such a vessel, Miss Lethe? I'm more than certain we can provide."

Higher-quality technology would certainly be useful when dealing with the transport of sensitive material.

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali kept her ears open and her eyes on the young woman before them, having finally been provided with the purpose behind her request for investment capital. She wanted to form a codex, accessible from almost anywhere in the Galaxy, to help travelers along their way. Ali almost laughed when she realised it. Back in her office, she was scribbling off cam onto a piece of paper and showing it to Marcus. It read: GOOD IDEA. I LIKE. Ali set the paper down and continued listening in, ignoring for the most part the inquiries of the other more finance-savvy persons in the call. Minor details, as far as Ali was concerned, all she needed now was to meet this girl.
However, she did have a couple things in mind she felt she had to share, and hoped she wasn't interrupting the girl's hovertrain of thought, or Mrs. Arceneau's by doing so.

"If you'll excuse me, everyone, but Arceneau's got a point," Ali interjected, resting her hands on her desk and leaning in toward where the young woman sat. "I'm curious why existing Holonet transceivers are not being considered for use. They are more than ready to share the information you're hoping to organize. Actually, they do that every moment of every day. Locations, venues, coordinates, planetary weather data...it's all there already, being shared all the time. Sounds like you just need to develop software that easily organizes it for search from the various databases in which it currently exists." Ali rolled her eyes at her self, "And of course connect star systems that currently do not have Holonet access as well. But what it sounds like you need is a datapad application that can access local planetary Holonet transceivers for information. It's a search engine with a purpose, essentially."
Ali bit at her lip for a moment, "You'll still need a ship, of course." She looked around the table, "The whole Galaxy hasn't been brought online yet. Like Circarporous Four and Mimban, they still lack Holonet access, from what I know. And then there's the settlements along the edges of Wild Space and the Unknown Regions, that still utilize radio communications just to talk to each other from planet-to-planet." Ali shrugged, "But yeah, aside from those locations, what you're talking about is essentially an app."

[member=Magdalena Lethe]

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

[member="Danger Arceneau"] [member="Magdalena Lethe"]

There was a flicker and then another holo joined the others. It had a slighter weaker signal, distorting the image, though vocally it seemed quite fine. Twin blue orbs flickered in what amounted to amusement, a fact only even considered by what the voice said. Said armor had only been used twice before by the man within - once on Coruscant, where he had fought his way clear to the war room of the Imperial Palace; and once at Druckenwell, where he'd hacked the mainframes of the shipyards once they were crashing to the surface - but given the circumstances, another time was in order.

After all, the Lord Protector couldn't be seen at a business meeting where Sith might be involved. Not that he would know either way until he joined the call... but it was a precaution. And, unsurprisingly, Danger was already there. Woman had her hands in every business pie there was. It was almost amusing. Almost.

But not quite.

"But that's the fun part, Red." Came the modulated voice. "You haven't. Let someone else have some fun." She was likely raising some legitimate points - that he'd missed - but that didn't stop him from enjoying messing with her.

That's kind of what he did. It's why they didn't get along, or at least so he thought. That was still a puzzle he was figuring out.