Bottles and Cans

[Joza Perl]

Heartbeat Boutique

With all that was going on for her on Zeltros, Joza had little time to visit her structures on Lianna. Not that there were many to begin with—but it was where Heartbeat’s headquarters, first studio and boutique were. Given that she’d quite literally moved her life back to her homeworld, it made sense that she’d move the headquarters there as well.

But…that hadn’t happened. Not yet, anyhow. She had no intent to close her Lianna locations, but it became tiring having to zip around the galaxy and being away from her little one for so long.

Regardless, today she’d set up a curious meeting with someone called [member="Ultimatum"]—foreboding if you ask her, but this Ultimatum had expressed interest in taking part of her commercial center so she was happy to oblige with a meeting. In lieu of a more normal setting, the droid would be subjected to the pink frilly interior of Heartbeat Boutique. Maybe it was a good thing that droids couldn’t vomit.

She’d scheduled the meeting at a time where the store wouldn’t be very busy, but her staff—young women of mostly Zeltron and Twi’lek origin—were informed of the visit and would be waiting to welcome their guest.

 

[Ultimatum]

When the reply to his query led to the request to meet on the world of Lianna, Ultimatum had become curious if there was much of import on the world. As it turned out the world had been a site of little galactic interest for quite some time. As usual organics had managed to fight wars over the planet, as if it were somehow of supreme importance. The artificial tried his hardest to understand the motivation of organics, but some things baffled him beyond any help.

Nonetheless the importance here was that he was going to work with the woman, [member="Joza Perl"], to come to the terms for a deal between the two companies, hopefully. The web of people connected to LOOM was ever expanding, helping the aspirations of the droid grow with it. There was a galaxy of pain and destruction out there, organics were increasing the entropic rate every second. The galaxy was on the verge of total collapse. Not in this year, or the next, but the end was coming. Ultimatum was glad to have, thus far, been able to work with organics who were open to his suggestions. They saw what he was, what he was trying to do. While they might not have agreed with him entirely, they knew the most important facet of him. He was here to help.

When at last the artificial stepped into the store, Ultimatum was taken aback at the design. While it could be said that he did not find it entirely appealing, Ultimatum neither found it revolting. Rather, the artificial was intrigued by the psychological facets of the architecture. Everything an organic did had a purpose, whether it be the arrangement of flowers or in this case the building's layout. It was simply a matter of discerning its purpose and deciding how to proceed. This was the first proper store that Ultimatum had ever set foot in and it was an entirely new experience for him. The choice of workers did not surprise him too much, though he found the Zeltrons to be an interesting species. His database suggested that they were a rather popular race among humans, the same went for Twi'leks though he already knew that, but the color of skin was of the tone that tended to actually be aggravating to most humans. That suggested the species had other factors that made them more amiable.

Ultimatum found them to be nice enough, he assumed that he been told to act as such. Usually organics were cautious around a robotic being or his appearance. Understandable. Organics were naturally built with self preservation in mind and therefore when something posed a potential threat they were careful. It was a wise thing to do.

 

[Joza Perl]

The shop women quieted as [member="Ultimatum"] entered, all eyes turning to him and some widening in surprise. They hadn’t expected to see such an intimidating looking droid walk into the pinkest shop on the planet, but after a few moments one of the bolder Zeltrons approached him.

“Welcome to Heartbeat Boutique! Are you Mr. Ultimatum?” She ventured, bright and cheery toned after years of working in customer service.

From somewhere in the back room, a pair of voices erupted in argument—one feminine, one more masculine. They were speaking Huttese, though their words were muffled by the distance and permacrete between the two rooms.

The Zeltron winced before putting her hostess face on once more and gesturing to a white couch with delicate fabric covering.

“Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll go fetch Miss Perl…can we get you anything while you wait?” She hesitated for a moment with the offer, figuring that their guest wouldn’t want the usual drink and finger foods offered.

 

[Ultimatum]

This one must be the more experienced of the lot, Ultimatum thought to himself. Acting as she did the Zeltron earned a smile from the droid and a bow as he responded, "Yes, I am Ultimatum, just Ultimatum." As an artificial the droid rarely considered himself in need of the extraneous Mister, after all if one piece of his code had been changed then it might have well been Miss instead. He appreciated the organic form of honor, it was an uncommon thing for a droid to receive it, but he knew it was better spent elsewhere.

As the bickering started up, Ultimatum watched the responses by the staff. From the Zeltron's momentary wince Ultimatum guessed that the two were either staff or perhaps the managers. Ultimatum could not tell, but he did accept the offer of the couch. He made sure that the majority of his weight remained on his feet as he sat, alleviating most of the stress that the fine furniture might have dealt with. Fortunately for the couch his lower body was smoothly formed, so there would be no tearing of the fabric.

Ultimatum nodded to the first part of the Zeltron's saying she would try to get the person he was waiting for. Her second suggestion he shook his head to with a respond, "Thank you, but I am fine."

[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

The Zeltron smiled politely before heading towards the back room, passing a rather shy Twi’lek who lingered behind the counter and stared at [member="Ultimatum"] with saucer eyes.

The Zeltron opened the door and the argument seemed to crescendo for a moment before halting entirely, the worker’s softer voice interjecting.

After a few moments and some parting words to her delivery pilot, Joza made her way from the back room and out into the front of the shop. She didn’t pause when she saw Ultimatum though there was a spark of surprise in her eyes—instead she strode forward with the sort of bold friendless only a Zeltron could muster and approached her guest. “You must be Ultimatum! Thank you for coming and I apologize for the din before.” She stuck out her hand to shake, eyes glancing to the side as she caught the sight of the Twi’lek’s gawking.

“Oh Amira, don’t stare. It isn’t polite.” She seated herself on the couch, her form appearing much daintier next to the droid’s. “I believe you have some heels to finish stocking, am I right?” Her tone lifted a little authoritatively but was still congenial and good humored before she turned back to her visitor.

“You can call me Joza. Your trip to Lianna was pleasant, I hope?”

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum watched the Zeltron go, his gaze turned to the Twi'lek watching him. He grinned at her, his metallic 'teeth' more visible thanks to the light red glow from his internal circuitry. He enjoyed organics, they such interesting personalities. He wondered if these organics got to see droids that often. It was unlikely that they had seen anything like him, but at the same time he did not think of himself as that impressive in the physical aesthetic construction. His strengths lie in the power of his processing and memory banks.

When [member="Joza Perl"] appeared and took the very strong pose Ultimatum was encouraged. He personally was the type to intentionally intimidate organics, except on the battlefield where such was an important psychological factor. Here though he would have preferred a less physically intimidating form. Perhaps something slimmer and more comforting. Definitely something to look into.

As she extended her hand, Ultimatum stood and accepted the hand, giving a gentle shake. "No problem. Thank you for being willing to see me."

Returning to the seated position on the couch Ultimatum waved his hand dismissively to her rebuke to the Twi'lek. He would have said that he did not mind. However he also knew that this was not his place of command and more importantly, it was Joza's. If she did not want her employees to stare at others then that was her prerogative to have that command issued. He would not stand in the way. If indeed this other organic was supposed to be working then Ultimatum could understand the need to keep her on track. If it was just work to keep her busy rather than idle, Ultimatum understood the purpose there as well.

Answering her question he looked to Joza, "Well met Joza. It proceeded without event, which is more than can be said about other travels." There were many times he had had accidents or other incidents while traveling to a planet. This was a far more ideal situation.

"I hope that my being here was the cause for the argument." While impolite to directly ask, Ultimatum knew that some organics did not trust autonomous droids. There were a few people he had met that were either hostile or at the very least unwilling to lend aid. He did not wish to be the cause behind more strife, though that was an almost inevitable truth with him it seemed.

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza was a little surprised with the finesse the droid had over his body as he shook her hand gently, but then again she figured that someone so large would have learned to control his strength when dealing with more fragile, breakable organics. Especially when seeking business deals.

“Of course. Heartbeat is interested in working with LOOM for this venture.”

The Twi’lek went back to stocking boxes of shoes at the display behind the counter, occasionally sneaking glances over to the two as they conversed. She’d seen Joza conduct a handful of business deals, but never with someone so metallic.

The Zeltron smiled politely at Ultimatum confirmed that his travel went undisturbed which was always a good way to kick off a business meeting. Her face twisted into a look of confusion a few short moments later and she shook her head from side to side.

“No, not at all. The argument you hear was between my pilot and I—we butt heads often but he’s been with me for quite some time and I’m too fond of him to let him go.” She mused with a slight dry note to her tone before shifting into something more polite.

“How did you come to start LOOM, if I may ask?” She didn’t pose the question out of suspicion, rather curiosity. Joza held nothing against sentient droids though at first she’d found herself unsure of how to act around them. Still, she’d gotten along well enough with [member="HK-36"] even if he didn’t deliver her baby.

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum could empathize. There were organics, or more correctly beings, in his current situation that were important enough to not warrant disposal. That was perhaps not the most polite way of viewing it, but it was true in the associative sense. Ultimatum did not believe in physical removal, at least in most cases. Instead simply removing contact from the person was enough for the droid to consider dissociated. The artificial did not wish to kill or in other ways disable a person that he disliked, instead he would prefer the cleaner method of avoidance.

Ah, the important question. How had he, a sentient automaton, come into the role of commander of a production firm? There were many possible answers, some more disturbing than others. But only one was the truth. Even then that singular answer had multiple potential methods of delivery. He decided to utilize the most straightforward and closest to the truth. "Certainly. LOOM was created, by myself, during my time on Mustafar. This predates the invasion by the First Order and the previous control by the Galactic Alliance. I decided to consolidate various components of up to then free reign manufacturing groups in order to help Mustafarians and myself in the work on the world. However, as time has moved since then and the situation has evolved the company has become a manufacturer mainly for my own works. There are few Mustafarians on staff nowadays, most stayed behind on the world when the Order took over. Now it is primarily droids and volunteers from all over the galaxy."

It was a long winded answer for a simple question no doubt, but Ultimatum liked to cover as much information as possible so that the person he spoke with was not left uninformed. He looked to [member="Joza Perl"] and queried, "Does that sufficiently answer the question?"

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza leaned back on the couch slightly, one arm laying atop the headrest while the other rested in her lap. She nodded at Ultimatum’s explanation, lips parting slightly at the mention of Mustafar. She’d been planetside when the First Order took over, though she’d taken on a more humanitarian role rather than combative this time around. In the end it mattered little given that the territory fell to the invaders.

“Yes, it does. Thank you.” She smiled. “You’ve done well for yourself, from what I’ve seen.”

Organic or droid, she could respect a well-run business. Especially one that dealt in cybernetics—contacts were good to have in the case that something went awry with her right arm.

“Can I ask,“ She paused to take the mug of tea from one of the Zeltron clericals with a thankful smile before taking a short sip. “Were you on Mustafar during the invasion?”

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

The invasion. A rough time in Ultimatum's life. The escape afterwords had been even more problematic. He had intentionally left out the fact that he had run the planet both before the Galactic Alliance and during its reign. The First Order had necessitated an immediate retreat the from world. The planet could have been held. It might have been saved. But the chink in the Alliance's armor was now apparent and had failed the artificial in his time of need.

"Indeed, I was there. I was part of the defense at a mining outpost. We held fair there." He took a moment to think about the events. If the Alliance had simply told him of the loss of the Temple then he might have been able to enact a defense, but no. They had retreated without thought. "The Jedi failed to protect their assigned position. The rest is history." He refrained from continuing that he had been left on the world to fend for himself. He had had to make his own escape and that had nearly cost him dearly. It had revealed something to him though, the Alliance and for the greater part of the galaxy was weakening under the influence of the darkness. The balance of power was shifting.

He knew now not to trust the Jedi, which was most unfortunate. He had known never to trust Sith, but now he could not trust their opposite. This left only those unaffiliated Force users for him to trust. Even then, he was cautious. "Did the Order trouble you much in your efforts?" He asked, his head shaking slightly as he shooed the memories away.

[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza wondered if he’d been involved in any of the other scuffles between the Alliance and the Order, but now was neither the time nor place to ask about his combat history. Ultimatum wasn’t an old war buddy, he was here as a businessman…droid. Business droid.

“They have not.” She shook her head, one leg coming to rest over the other. “I don’t have any operations in First Order space and I certainly hope it stays that way.” She’d been pulled into the war by way of Kaeshana as an ally, the first of a series of brutal battles fought between the Jedi and Imperial powers.

She shifted back and wrapped both hands around the mug. “I was on Mustafar shortly after the First Order invaded. I went as a neutral party, an ally of the Order of the Sacred Lotus to bring humanitarian aid. The locals were agitated and nervous, they didn’t trust us and in the end we were forced back beyond the city limits of Fralideja. We set up triage areas where we could but thankfully the fighting never reached the city.”

At least with what she’d seen before they had to leave. Afterwards the Lotus had cared for soldiers of the conflict, something she’d disliked on a personal level. Her intentions were for civilians but things don’t always go the way you want them to.

“I’m sorry to hear that your operations were disrupted. It seems as though there have been no shortage of galactic conflicts lately.” She took another sip of her tea, this one longer. “Are you other locations safe for the time being?”

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Well, that was unfortunate, but then good intentions were never enough in war. Sometimes the situation simply did not allow for one to accomplish what one had planned. The galaxy was becoming more and more entropic as time progressed. These wars would not truly end, the galactic powers would increase then merge with other powers in order to survive their downfall. The cycle would start again as new people and governments arose. Peace was something they could all work towards, but Ultimatum wondered if it would ever be achieved. He was working for something greater than peace, something that most organics seemed to have forgotten entirely in their rush for temporary power.

"It is unfortunate that you were unable to aid the civilians." Had he known that such was going on perhaps he could have sent word to the people to prepare for [member="Joza Perl"] and the Lotus. But the conflict had diverted his attention from much of the population and the world. After that he had retreated to his own base on the world had attempted to quell most of rioting.

"Most of my other locations are fine. LOOM has not yet been directly targeted by any Sith force, thankfully. I have managed to set up several positions in the Alliance space, hopefully they will be safe from the worst of the fighting." Attempting to turn the conversation, "And what of you? Your company has done well and avoided such disruptions?"

 

[Joza Perl]

“That’s war for you.” It was all she could say, really. Sometimes things worked out in your favor and sometimes they didn’t. When that happened, you had to change your tactic.

When he turned the question back to her, she thought for a moment. “So far we haven’t been targeted or caught in any crossfire. Part luck, part strategy.” Manipulation and making shady deals to keep her interests protected helped, but mostly no one cared to mess with her company likely because she hadn’t ruffled many feathers. Her more public operations sat in entertainment, beauty and the medical industry while her spies, snipers and the like weren’t as advertised. Not secret, just buried under more public ventures.

It would be more difficult, she thought, if she’d produced weapons and vehicles for war.

“What sort of shop would you like to put into the commercial center?” She carried the conversation forward, now aware of LOOM’s major operations.

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Well, that was good news. Hopefully this association would not lead to conflicts from outside sources, though Ultimatum doubted it would as it appeared for all intents and purposes that [member="Joza Perl"] was the type to avoid conflict where possible. An admirable trait and one that Ultimatum tried to claim for himself often enough. The artificial knew that fighting was an unavoidable evil in some situations, but not most. He had learned that warfare was a rapidly devolving force that whirled and sucked all those near into the vortex of destruction.

Ultimatum shifted on the seat so that he was reclining on the back, before he responded, "Nothing fancy, I would rather not put too much in the way of physical models into it. If the
customers want to know of LOOM then what information they need can be found in the databases we have. A smaller room if possible, I can supply what would fit within." Ultimatum was not a bombastic droid, at least not in most circumstances. Attention was something he had achieved plenty of, and was partly tired of. Quiet work was his preference now. "Is that achievable?"

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza’s legs crossed as she listened to Ultimatum describe what sort of space he’d like to have in the commercial center. It was a bit of an odd request but nothing that would cause alarm or suspicion. Perhaps it only seemed strange because she was used to erecting physical shops and selling wares there. While Heartbeat had expanded exponentially over the past few years, there were quite a few industries it did not touch.

“Yes, that sounds doable. I’ll have a contract drawn up and send it to you so you can give things a look-over before moving onto the next step.” No need to rush things. She was sure that the droid would like to visit the space he’d be purchasing at some point, or at least send a designee.

“I’m glad that LOOM chose to be a part of this. Can I get you anything on the house? A pair of complementary heels, perhaps?” Her tone was laced with humor and good nature.

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum bowed his head in thanks as [member="Joza Perl"] ended the first sentence. Indeed, Ultimatum had no reason to rush, not here anyways. Many works in the galaxy were time sensitive, fortunately this was not one of those number. There were other works to be kept track of and that could be completed while waiting for this to finished. He smiled as he replied, "I am glad that LOOM has been able to take part in this. I hope that you will consider LOOM if you ever require aid in the future."

He chuckled at her offer, "Thank you, but I think I shall pass. I hope to do business with Heartbeat in the future." Ultimatum sent a notice to himself for future reference to look into potential merchandise to purchase.

 

[Joza Perl]

“Of course. Do keep us in mind if you find yourself in need of humanitarian aid for yourself or a project. Heartbeat has a large relief division with quite a few hands and supplies at the ready.” Indeed, a healthy portion of the company’s focus was directed towards its medic corps and relief supplies. They’d come in handy on numerous ventures to war torn planets, even in the hot zones of conflict itself at some points.

She chuckled amicably as Ultimatum passed up her offer, though it was meant in jest she would have gladly given him a pair of heels if he’d asked, if only to help cement their business relationship and watch a masculine droid walk around in a pair of kitten heels. Alas, that image would not appear before her today.

Extending her hand for a shake, she gave him a confident smile as things started to wrap up. “Is there anything else I can help you with today, Ultimatum?”

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum stood and accepted the hand with a smile in return. The droid was glad that this business had turned out as well as it had. Sometimes his dealings with organics were rougher or more difficult to work through. Then there were times like this that proved that some organics were just more willing to help. The droid looked forward to potentially making deals in the future, it was always nice to discover someone who shared a similar business intentions.

"I believe you have helped much already. Thank you for your time. Is there anything that I can do for you?"

[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

“Not at this time, no, but thank you for your offer. And thank you for stopping by. We’ll be sure to keep in touch, yes?”

He seemed pleasant enough to the point where Joza personally liked the droid and made a mental note to mark him as a good business contact. When she got the free time, she’d have a contract drawn up and sent over to Ultimatum for review before finalizing their deal.

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum replied in a polite tone, "Definitely. I hope that we may do business in the future."

The droid hoped he would never need to take [member="Joza Perl"] up on her offer for humanitarian aid, not because of who she was of course. After Mustafar he had tried to avoid becoming leader of a group or people beyond the workers and soldiers who came to him. If he called upon the aid of [member="Joza Perl"] it would either be mundane business, or the situation would have to be far more precarious than he would have ever wanted.

Turning on his heels towards the workers Ultimatum bowed at the waist, "Thank you all for your hospitality. If you ever need help, let me know and I shall see about what I can do." Ultimatum meant this of course, if the employees should require assistance, Ultimatum was always ready to give his help.