Acquaintances

[Eugen Aker]

Continued from Getting What You Need

Arisa had pledged the support of the Silver Order in providing assistance to General Dratos for his refugee resettlement initiative. Now came the tough part of coordinating with different organizations and governments for the massive undertaking. Her main focus was getting the target pilot planet, Yanibar, into a state suitable enough to house the numbers of refugees he had been throwing at her - millions, or perhaps even billions.

While terraforming operations were underway, there was another important matter at hand, actually moving the refugees from their various locations to Yanibar near the edge of the galaxy. She found existing civilian vessels to be unsuitable for the task, passenger liners built more with comfort than carrying capacity in mind. Freighters were more economical but lacked the facilities to service large groups of people as they were meant to transport cargo. A special class of ship needed to be made especially for this task, in the style of the colony ships of old.

She already had some particular specs in mind, so she had reached out to KSA and several other starship manufacturers to go over design details and production numbers. She needed companies that could pump out these ships in short order, within a matter of weeks or months to align with the completion of the terraforming project.

Next on the list was Countess Winsclav of Winsclav Materials, who had answered her inquiry about a week prior. The Galidraani-based company stood out to her as one close by Voss, with additional satellite facilities located across Silver Space. Another point of interest was the Winsclav's themselves, who had a history advocating for veterans and anti-war movements. The Countess was just the kind of person she wanted on board for this project.

Their meeting was scheduled one Wednesday morning within the Silver Campus. The weather had been fair all week, so Arisa had invited the Countess to meet with her over tea in the gardens behind the Silver Temple. Near the appointed time, Arisa would be there, waiting for the Countess to be lead to her in the tea house by one of her fellow Jedi while reviewing notes on her datapad. Atypical of many of her peers, she wore a tasteful grey summer dress paired with a shawl instead of robes. A native of the urban Core, she had never really cared much for robes and ditched them as soon as she had left the original Jedi Temple of Coruscant. On the table within the teahouse house, there was tea and a nice little spread of pastries and hors d'oeuvres. She was ready to begin talks just as soon as the Countess finally arrived.

[member="Leah Winsclav"]

 

[Leah Winsclav]

Leah arrived not long after she received the initial invitation. Despite how Cliche it may sound, time was indeed money. It was even more imperative considering who her customer was. Leah had dealt with a fair few important individuals in her time. She was surrounded by men and women of nobility, pomp and position around her birth. It always did well to be polite, yet not overbearing in their presence.

She only have one avenue of transport that seemed appropriate. She came with her Republic Sienar System Star Courier. Her transport had departed form her office on her home planet, using the Hyperspace method of travel to arrive outside of their airspace posthaste. After receiving the clearing to land, the ship would lower itself gently onto the landing pad and open slowly, a little steam pouring out from the hydraulics system. Leah always thought it kind of awkward.

Because of this, the woman walked out from the ship with a little irritated frown on her face, before schooling it back into her standard business expression. She wanted to keep her normal impression. at least until she learned a little more about the client, maybe then she might relax a little.

The Business woman was currently having her hair kept short, colored a fairly dark brown. She was dressed in her dark coat as per usual. Without further ceremony, she straightened her coat once more and began to walk off the platform towards where there seemed to be activity.

It was time to get down to business.

[member="Arisa Yune"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

Having long expected her arrival, a Jedi Knight would be present to connect with the Countess, then transport her from the private spaceport to the Silver Temple on the opposing side of the vast lakefront. Once on foot, there would be a short trek to the back of the temple grounds, where they would come across several other Jedi of all shapes and sizes, either training or just socializing.

As she felt the pair approaching the teahouse, Arisa would stand from the table to meet them at the open bay doors, hands clasped in front.

She got a good gander of the Countess as she walked up to the teahouse, all poised like nobles usually were. In that moment, she was reminded of certain other prominent Galidraani noble that now spent her days on Dosuun.

"Hello!" Arisa would exclaim, unclasping her hands to offer one for a shake. "It's pleasure to finally meet you in the flesh. Thank you for bringing her to me, Azril."

The Torgruta would nod and smile, then step away to leave the two women alone for the meeting. Arisa would then motion for the countess to follow her inside and join her at the large table at the center of the sparsely decorated room, purposely styled with minimalism in mind.

"Please help yourself to refreshments," she said as she returned to her seat. "I trust your trip to Voss went well?"

[member="Leah Winsclav"]

 

[Leah Winsclav]

"Nice to meet you too. I trust I find you in good health and heart?" She spoke. Her hand coming up to wave at the woman. She could have shook her hand, but she was no way near close enough to do so. So she settled for that gesture. Upon arriving at the table where she was offered refreshments, she scanned her eyes across the page and looked for the tea. Finding it promptly, she reached out and grasped the drink and poured herself a cup.

Refreshments in hand, she turned and finally beheld the Jedi. She was most certainly dressed for the occasion, she must be able to pull of quite the variety of clothing. Satisfied, she rakes her eyes away from Arisa and then began to speak with her.

"Yes, it was quite a nice and easy flight. No issues."

She then poured herself a second cup of tea, made her expert hands and then offered it to a Arisa?

"Please, try some. What did you wish to speak about?"

 

[Eugen Aker]

"Thank you," she said as she accepted the cup of milky black tea.

She then stirred in a liberal helping of honey and took a sip. White tea was usually her thing, but she didn't mind the rich variant favored by Galdraani like Leah. She could get used to this.

There wouldn't be much of any small talk to start things off, just right down to business, which she didn't mind at all. Both women were busy, and there was much to cover in the discussion. She let the teacup rest back on the table before answering the Countess' question.

"As outlined in the original brief shared with your company, I'm looking for manufacturers that can pump out large fleets of transport vessels within the next 6 months. From you companies specifically, 300 vessels measuring approximately 500 meters apiece, with enough volume to house at leave 50,000 passengers. I'd like to pack these ships tight, so some kind of stasis scheme is preferred of standard living quarters to reduce the cost of supplying each passenger during flight."

On the table, a small black disc would activate upon a mental command from the cyborg - a pocket holo display. The projector would generate a large 3D hologram of the transport concept Arsia had in mind, complete with cross sections that revealed each section of the vessel.

"Before we get into the details, do you think your company would be able to produce those numbers of ships within the given time frame?"

[member="Leah Winsclav"]

 

[Leah Winsclav]

Leah allowed her legs to cross as she stared down the woman as they spoke. She knew this was about to be a rather important deal in her corporate career and was very apprehensions as if she might be able to satisfy the requirements of her clients. It was a small relief when she mentioned the size and time requirements for which she would need her vehicles.

"Yes. Winsclav Materials can procure the materials for a develop 300 ships of that size. We'd have to halt other projects and focus all 3 of our factories, but that would allow us to manage that goal effectively." she poke, raising the cup of Tea to her lips and taking a small sip.

"As for the need to transport people with them, that is also more than perfect. Winsclav have spent years transporting materials and avoiding weapons development. We will be able to meet those requirements too. However, as you might have just gathered, we do not make instruments of death. We do not develop any weapons, yet they would need them, correct?"

She gave the Hologram on the table a once-over, before allowing herself to drift slightly into thought.

How would she go about this one?

[member="Arisa Yune"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

It looked like Countess Winsclav would be able to fulfill her needs for the project, though she encountered a snag on the matter of adding weaponry to the vessels.

"You'll be well compensated for your efforts, believe me," she replied, then joining Winsclav in tea drinking. "As for point defenses and countermeasures, those will be a necessary component. These are meant to be civilian transport vessels, but they still require a means to defend themselves. The final destination for many of these vessels will be a location in Wild Space, where piracy and raiding are commonplace. Believe me, the last things these ships will be used for is combat."

"So we have a couple options here. I can contract another vendor to provide the weapon systems - all defensive in nature - for your company to install during production, or and I can have it done after the fact. It would be easier for me if we could work on installation during production, but I am flexible on this point. If it will help, then I can provide an overview of the systems I would like installed."

[member="Leah Winsclav"]

 

[Leah Winsclav]

"That will not suffice. Even weapons and armaments that are manufactured and developed to protect something or someone can still cause astronomical amounts of trauma one way or another. I would need to see a complete technical overview of what will be fitted to the ships and review each armament personally. I will approve them on a case by case basis. I am afraid this point is none negotiable for personal reasons. Is there any immediate issues on your end with this?"

This was where the deal was made or broken. Arisa would have to adhere to these terms or there would be no ships, yet she more than likely could afford to lose out on one Vendor, after all the Galaxy was vast and filled with such business.

Point made, Leah allowed herself to lean back into her chair with a soft sigh and take another sip from her tea. She had put across what she needed to for now, the matter of payment could wait until Arisa had either agreed or disagreed to her demand.

[member="Arisa Yune"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

[SIZE=10.5pt]The[/SIZE] addition of the point defenses wouldn't make these craft warfighting capable, the veteran General knew, but she was still getting flak from Winsclav despite assurances made. Pacifists were frustrating in that way. Then it came down to folks like her to save their bacon when things went south.

[SIZE=10.5pt]"Countess Winsclav, as I said, I will provide an overview of the weapon systems I intend to use with this craft. That's a non-issue."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Manipulating the holo-projector with her neural link, the ship renderings would be replaced by new ones of various weapons platforms, the very ones she wanted to be installed on the vessels. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]"[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Ion cannons[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt], laser cannons, [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Vespa Autorippers[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt], The [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Casper Active Protection System[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]. Either these systems are non-lethal, or incapable of being used for mass destruction. These aren't turbolasers that we're talking about. I can respect your position on the topic of armaments, but you have to be reasonable here. Piracy and slave raiding is a serious issue that affects the entire galaxy and I refuse to allow any of these vessels to travel in harm's way without adequate protection. So right now, you need to decide whether or not you will allow these systems to be installed. If not, then I can go with another vendor with more flexibility."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Arisa had matched Winsclav's ultimatum with one of her own. There was no shortage of shipwrights out there who would fulfill her requirements without complaint. [/SIZE]

[member="Leah Winsclav"]

 

[Leah Winsclav]

Leah didn't react immediately, her eyes were cold and determined as they stared into Arisa's. The woman was a Jedi, a champion of good values, but it was still the first time she had met her. Leah knew that a business needed to take risks to achieve, to grow. If she couldn't put her trust in a Jedi Master, there was no one in the Galaxy she could ever put faith in. She made up her mind.

"You may install the armaments you specified. I'm pleased, you weren't even slightly intimidated by this. Ever thought about a career in trading and shipbuilding. You'd make an excellent Director."

It was almost like a Switch flipped in her mind, the hardest part was over and down with, she allowed herself to relax, sitting forwards a little to refill her tea.

"I'm almost ready to shake on this, but we need to discuss your commission fee. I imagine you already have a figure for me. However, I do not want to accept your money. I have it plenty and yours could be used to help and support more victims of the terror known as war. I would ask for 3 Favours, favours that absolutely do not go against your morals and you have the right to debate and refuse any of them at any time. That would be my price."

 

[Eugen Aker]

Arisa's expression turned solemn as she returned the cold stare of the Countess, totally unphased. As someone who made it her business to stare down death on a nearly daily basis, a fussy aristocrat didn't bother her in the slightest.

[SIZE=10.5pt]Finally, the stare down would come to an end as the Countess finally submitted to her conditions. Arisa had little doubt that Winsclav would see the light. Business people were even easier to deal with than politicians. No matter their moral stances, at the end of the day they were still motivated by their bottom line. She had done her homework and knew exactly how far to push with this one to get what she wanted. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]"Actually, before my current gig , I used to run my own non-profit full time, and work as a consultant. The schematic I just shared with you is one of my own designs, in fact. It just requires some tweaking for mass production."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]As an engineer who had received a top flight education from the Jedi - one of the most learned individuals of the galaxy - she had her hands in also sorts of important technological developments over the years, even having some patents to her name. She felt confident negotiating with Winsclav because she had the experience to know what to realistically expect. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]However, what came next was something she hadn't expected at all. Instead of an estimate, Winsclav would request a series of three favors which she claimed wouldn't cause Arisa any issues in fulfillment. Admittedly, she was skeptical about that, it sounded all too good to be true. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]"I'm going to have to decline on that offer and just compensate you as I had planned. However, if you ever do find yourself in need of the kind of assistance only I can provide, then don't hesitate to contact me to see if I can be of any help to you. How does that sound?"[/SIZE]

[member="Leah Winsclav"]

 

[Leah Winsclav]

Leah allowed herself to settle down a little, she had got a little excited at the prospect and collecting favors from someone as important and well respected as Arisa. Perhaps she had come as too forward? Pushing a little too hard to get what she wanted the most. She let out a small and nervous laugh as she sat back once more. allowing her breath to leave her in a short sigh. "I suppose I will be able to make good use of the credits you provide me regardless. However, since time is of the essence for my first request, I would like to ask it now, to get the concern voiced."

She somehow felt that she could open to the woman, if she didn't, perhaps she would refuse her favors by suspecting withheld details, so it was always best to be completely honest. Bracing herself mentally, she began to speak, her voice having a small throaty undertone, like one might if they were holding back emotion.

"Truth be told, the force scares me. I have heard a significant amount from my Father and others about the damage the wielders can potentially inflict. I am concerned that I am at risk, to both Jedi and Sith alike. They may not have malicious intentions against me, but their combat is vicious, unseen forces that can snap necks, boil your blood with electricity, slice through you like butter, Even being caught nearby to one is a danger. A strong force of good always has an enemy in a strong force of evil. I want to be able to resist, escape or perhaps even overpower these types of situations when the need arises. Hell, a bullet from any distance will be enough to bring me to an end. I would like protection, safety. I would like to be able to walk the streets, shake hands and converse with people without the fear of my mind being invaded. That is my greatest fear, to lose myself, my morals and everything I stand for. The mere idea that I could be forced to kill-"

Leah tapered off at this point and closed her eyes, breathing heavily. She was going to begin hyperventilating if she continued. She had gone off on enough of a tangent. She kept her eyes closed and raised a trembling cup to her lips, burning her hands a little as some boiling tea rolled over her delicate digits. The sip she took provided minor relief, but yet she did not open her eyes. She needed to gather herself a little more, she was still not quite ready to speak once more, or she may just lose herself.

[member="Arisa Yune"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Arisa [/SIZE]nodded along as Leah revealed her fears about being manipulated by Force Users, all too familiar with the fear shared by many if not most Non-Force Sensitives. Jedi like Arisa trained themselves not to coerce anyone with the Force, not without good reason. Leah was quite safe with Arisa, though she could understand why the Countess wouldn't believe that.

[SIZE=10.5pt]"You recall I said that I ran a non-profit? That company is Masamune, one that develops countermeasures to Force Users for people just like you. If that's something you would like to discuss, then we can get into that topic following this meeting." [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]"Now back to the ships, any other questions and concerns? Are we now on the same page about everything?"[/SIZE]

[member="Leah Winsclav"]

 

[Leah Winsclav]

Leah nodded her head softly and composed herself once more, before then addressing the matter at hand. "Yeah. I am definitely interested in what Masamune has to offer, as for the ships, I am indeed capable of offering and creating the ships to the specs that you have given me."

She then began to fill her cup of tea again and raised her eyebrow at the Jedi. "Is there anything else you want to ask?"

[member="Arisa Yune"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

[SIZE=10.5pt]"Then[/SIZE] it's settled," she said with a nod. "I'll transmit the details to your office, then from there, we can go back and forth about making changes for fabrication as needed."

[SIZE=10.5pt]With their primary business complete, she flipped off the holoprojector, then relaxed back into her chair to enjoy a drink. One reason she had cut Leah off was that she could feel her rising distress as the woman had confided in her fears to Arisa. This was something she could definitely help her with, but she hadn't wanted to go off into a tangent before she had obtained a confirmation on those spec requests. Though first, she felt like getting into a bit of a discussion. She couldn't think of the last time she had spoken with an NFU about this particular subject. It was always nice to gain some additional insight from their perspective.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]"I have a question. With all your fears about Force Users, why did you agree to see me today? Why would you trust me enough not to meddle with your mind or manipulate you in any way I see fit?"[/SIZE]

[member="Leah Winsclav"]

 

[Leah Winsclav]

"I have to start somewhere, there is no possible way to avoid users of the force all my life. You have a good reputation and I consider you good as any. The others are more grey."

She then sipped once more, her body relaxing even further as she found herself comfortable being able to disclose this type of information to Arisa. Her hands no longer having a small shake as she then began to pick up some of the food offered and began to nibble on the snacks. She was ready and willing to talk about these issues.

[member="Arisa Yune"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

[SIZE=10.5pt]"You [/SIZE]flatter me, but I think you may be surprised how many times you've bumped into a Force Sensitive without knowing. The business world is full of them, many exceptional individuals who got to where they were in part because of their latent abilities. For all we could know, you could be latent Force Sensitive yourself."

[SIZE=10.5pt]The Countess seemed to have relaxed as the conversation went on. That cold professional demeanor had been totally replaced by something much warmer. Arisa had the feeling that Leah was now sharing a very vulnerable side of herself. There was something comforting about having someone trust her enough to do so.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]"There are some items that I could offer you today for peace of mind if you want to leave now, but if you have the time, I could show you a few things. [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Teräs Käsi[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt], have you heard of it?"[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Teräs Käsi ("steel hands") was a popular martial art among both NFU and FU alike, not least because it taught one to effectively resist mental influence. Arisa herself was a practitioner and taught classes out of the Silver Temple here and there when she had free time. In a short time, she couldn't make Winsclav any kind of fighting pro, but could at least teach the noble how to steel her mind against mental attacks. [/SIZE]

[member="Leah Winsclav"]

 

[Leah Winsclav]

Leah would nod her head softly in response to the statement. It was more than likely true that she had met and dealt with people who were attuned to the force, maybe even used it in ways she would disapprove of. As she had thought and stated previously, this was not something that could be avoided easily.

"You are more than likely correct on that account, thought I am a firm believer that I have no sensitivity to this force that empowers the Jedi. I do not know what I am supposed to be able to feel and accomplish, if anything. However I could consider this both a blessing and a curse. Political position makes enemies as is, I couldn't deal with the stern ideological opposers to the Jedi way."

"As for your proposal, I am eager to accept, however I could not remain on this planet for much longer than two days. I need to supervise the order you have made and ensure maximum amounts of work is being completed. Furthermore, I would also like to discuss methods of personal protection against firearms atnd the like. I'm more likely to be the target of an assassination by weapon that Lightsaber."

Satisfied with her reply, she allowed herself to relax back into her chair and sent a grateful smile towards Arisa.

"Thank you, truly."

[member="Arisa Yune"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

Leah claimed not to be Force Sensitive, but one never really knew until they were tested. There was also the possibility that she could be one of those sorts that was Force attuned; an individual sitting between Non-Force Sensitives and Force Sensitives, strongly in tune with the Force, but unable to actively wield it in any meaningful way.

"Two days," Arisa repeated, tapping her index finger to her chin. "In a couple days, I won't make you a martial arts master, but I can show you some techniques to recognize and resist mental influence. Even that small amount of information would be more than enough. In fact, I could show you something now, just come closer."

She set her cup down, then motioned for Leah to move with her seat to Arisa's side of the table. What she had to show her didn't require any props or any serious physical exertion of any kind, just an open mind.

[member="Leah Winsclav"]

 

[Leah Winsclav]

Two days? Leah turned over the information within her mind, she would be able to spare two days, it would most likely take more than that to acquire all the materials needed to complete her order. With this this in mind she nodded her head in an affirmative gesture and stood up.

"Please go ahead."

She moved, softly lifting and placing her chair fairly close to Arisa's, she had no idea how close they needed to be for this, but it was easier this way. Now in position, she looked to Arisa expectantly.

[member="Arisa Yune"]