Backwater deals

[Barkt Melan]

Nam Chorios was a desolate planet. The overcast skies had made landing difficult. A young bothan, stepping down the ramp, thought for a moment. Sure, business was business, but we're these rebels really worth supplying? Sure, they seemed to harbor animosity to the Protectorate, which was good, but they weren't exactly the kind of friends Heofon wanted. Still, a sale was a sale, no matter who to. And they weren't enemies of the ACA as far as he knew.

Yet.

Quietly, he waited for [member="Geneviève Lasedri"] or whoever she sent to show up. He would be patient.

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

Recently, the Rebellion had lost its standing with Firemane Industries, and therefore were cut off from supplies of their primary fighter craft, the Adril. While the Starfighter Corps were fine for now, if the situation was left unacknowledged for too long in the future, they might not be able to keep up the fight. A new fighter was needed from a new supplier, and this potential supplier had been accommodating--so far.

Geneviève's blockade runner, Intangible, settled down on a dusty plain after a cautious, fifteen-minute descent. She had purposely tested many people's patience before in such affairs, but truly, this delay was completely due to the unstable atmospheric conditions. But they had landed, and now was the time to get down to business.

Striding down the boarding ramp, the woman in black approached the bothan with a pair of armed escorts who halted about twenty meters away from the contact while Lasedri continued towards him. It would be a more personal conversation, but she still preferred to have some security. Her brown eyes--one only brown by colored contact lens--scanned Heofon's representative briefly before she extended her hand. "I'm Viola," she greeted, "From the Rebel Alliance."

[member="Barkt Melan"]

 

[Barkt Melan]

The Bothan gave a glance to the guards as [member="Geneviève Lasedri"] approached. "Cautious much?" Still, when you did the work she did, it wasn't much of a surprise. He wasn't sure if he should be guarded or if this was protection from him. Either way, he couldn't blame her. He wouldn't do the same, but still. Pressing a button on a small remote, the doors on the back of the Holepunch opened, revealing the starfighter inside. "Long-range, maneuverable, and easily modifiable. It may not be the most powerful starfighter on the market, but it's cheaper and has a wide array of uses depending on the loadout.:

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

"I've been burned before," Gen responded, slightly aggravated with the bothan's commentary on her security measures. And she did run a rebellion, after all.

Lasedri eyed the bothan's hands as the bay opened, revealing the starfighter she had come to appraise. 'Cheap' was not always the best word to use, but he made some other claims that might offset the initial hesitancy. "When you say, 'easily modifiable,' how do you mean?" she inquired, stepping forwards to take a glance under the ship. She was no mechanic by any means, but if someone was trying to pawn some rejected model off on her, she was hoping there would be something obvious. It looked fine to her, but what did she know?

[member="Barkt Melan"]

 

[Barkt Melan]

He smiled as she studied it. Even if she knew what to look for on a ship, this one was fresh off the line. Not the normal one he kept back there, but that one was still in for repairs. "The guns are designed to be removable. Even though the basic model comes with a pair of repeating laser cannons, but with the removal of the side panel," he ran his finger around the edge and continued, "It can be replaced with any number of laser or ion weapons, assuming the new loadout doesn't overdraw the power core." He looked over the ship again, his eyes lingering behind the cockpit for a moment. "That would be bad."
[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

Interchangeable weaponry was a big plus for this fighter. The Rebellion was small and incapable of launching massive forces that simply overwhelmed their enemies, but versatility could help them fight their fight without needing to drive in a heavy-handed manner. "I'm not going to insult this ship. That sort of feature is superb.

"What is maintenance of this ship going to be like, however?" It was a deep concern with the Alliance. Some ships were just too expensive in the long run to keep around, rarely seeing enough action for the cost of mechanical issues. "I don't want to have my ships perpetually grounded because of some bug."

[member="Barkt Melan"]

 

[Barkt Melan]

"Nothing out of the ordinary. I'd guess a routine maintenance check every six months to a year would be plenty to keep it in fighting shape." The bothan said, resting his arm on the ship. "It's no hands-free rugged piece of metal, but it's not horrible. Definitely not the kind of ship you need to replace a part after every mission, though." He liked these ships, sure, but they could be better. Granted, any ship could, but this was... Different. It always felt weak compared to some of his others, and didn't have the insane shielding of other models. Still, it worked well as a fighter.

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

"Reliability is definitely key..." Gen mused, still taking a good scan of the underside of the ship. She assumed all the standard safety features would be in place for the pilot. One does not usually stay in business long if they have no grasp on the user's needs.

"What's the fighter's suggested role? We have many ships for different purposes, but there's no use in replacing a puzzle piece for one that is exactly the same." Would this all be a waste of time?

[member="Barkt Melan"]

 

[Barkt Melan]

"Hmm..." The Bothan mulled over it for a while before responding. "It's well suited for long operations, able to travel for weeks without needing to resupply if you play your cards right. It's meant to be a long range strike fighter. Hit anyone from anywhere. You could use it as a line fighter if you wanted, but there are better options for that." That we don't make yet he added silently. He'd need to work on that. Line Fighter, high firepower, good shielding, the like... He'd need to route some power around, get it to new places, but he could do it. Later. He had a sale. [member="Geneviève Lasedri"] may not be the most patient, after all. No need to get her waiting on his train of thought to finish.

That could wait for the ride home.

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

She nodded, listening carefully to the Bothan's words and analyzing for alternate meanings. But, to be frank, there was not much to analyze. It seemed like this businessman was rather straightforward, and that was something the Benefactor appreciated. A long-range fighter could always find its place in the Rebellion, but purchasing them was a different story. Only so much could be devoted to contracting fighter manufacturers, and ties had to be kept minimal until the Alliance could protect itself much easier.

"As I've said--I'm not one to spring for 'cheap' tools much." She crossed her arms and altered her gaze between the salesman and his product. "But I do not disapprove of this ship, by any means. It seems sound, as far as I'm aware.

"I'll have a more dedicated team to fighter craft development see you soon, if that's good? I'll let them inspect it and give me the go-ahead should it pan out with them. You have my interest as long as it works as it should." She reached out her hand as if to offer a deal-sealing handshake, then shook it off a moment later. If he backpedaled because of that action, she would know not to trust him. Otherwise, the fighter would hopefully become a Rebel Alliance asset in a short amount of time.

[member="Barkt Melan"]

 

[Barkt Melan]

The Bothan nodded, a smile crossing his face. "Alright. Seems good to me." He began to move to shake her hand, offering a small eyebrow raise when she pulled back. Always cautious, this one. A fair thing, all in all. But some days the world needed more trust. Ah, well. Problems above his head. Maybe unsolvable. Especially if these wars continued as they did. But enough of that. He had other things to do. He saw no problem in letting others go over it. there wasn't much he knew wrong with it. but there was always new things to learn.

[member="Geneviève Lasedri"]