Cutting Ties

[Ayden Cater]

"Effective immediately, Corellian Engineering is severing all contracts and ties with the Galactic Republic. All production of ships, vehicles, and weapons for the Galactic Republic are hereby terminated and rights to them are reclaimed and retained by Corellian Engineering." The Holonet was abuzz now with this latest turn of events in the Republic. A coup, clone troopers threatening senators, shadowy rumors of reconditioning and profiteering off of genocide were all the rage and things had finally come to a head.

The CEO of Corellian Engineering stood on a podium with the rest of the board of directors, including one Ayden Cater. There had been a great many things that had strained the company's view of the Republic, but this had been the final straw. At this point they were becoming a force little better for people than the One Sith were. They hardly seemed to care for the troubles of their own populace as long as they could clap themselves on the shoulders. There was no doubt at this point that the Republic was a corrupted mass of excess and ill-conceived ideas.

"Until such a time as Prime Minister Lasedri and her ilk are removed from power, Corellian Engineering will not conduct any business with the Republic. Furthermore, all sales of Corellian Engineering products within the Republic shall be terminated. Only transactions made directly to CEC from individual buyers and non-affiliated groups will be fulfilled. Corellian Engineering is committed to leaving the galaxy a better place. Until the Republic can remember its roots and true purpose, these sanctions shall remain in effect."

In truth, many of Corellian Engineering's products that were in use by the Republic were all tied in with Tenloss. Ayden was fairly confident that Tenloss would have no qualms with such a move as they had already taken steps to distance themselves from the Republic. Of course there was one contract that CEC held with the Republic that stood out in Ayden's mind. After Alli Wren was arrested and Baktoid's assets seized by the Protectorate, the decommissioned Watts class were scrapped and used in the new design, the Noble-class Star Defender.

However, apparently there was some error in their bookkeeping or there was a lull in the pick-ups. Whatever the case, the Republic had never pushed their share of the Noble-class into service. Perhaps it was because of the constant regime changes that plagued the Republic, or perhaps it was some intentional oversight by someone with a very long gaze. And so the Noble-classes for the Republic had sat, unmoved and unutilized, in orbit over Druckenwell for a long time. And now, with this contract severed, the Republic would not get access to them. Unfortunate... perhaps they could have helped turn the tide.

On the stage, Ayden simply stared ahead with a blank expression. But inwardly he smiled.

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

Lasedri doubted the Republic would miss CEC. No one could remember the last time they used their products.

This report was tossed into the incinerator because it was not even worth saving as kindling.

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

Somewhere on Mandalore, Gil was notified that there was a flux in the galactic stock exchange. Something to do with CEC ditching the Republic. He wondered what that was about and was genuinely curious but couldn't be bothered to look into it.

 

[Ilias Nytrau]

Incom Corporation Headquarters
City of Phelar, Eriadu

He too had been watching Republic C-Span, when the feed cut. He'd had no idea that things had devolved as far as they had - what was being done by the very government he used to defend as a young pilot made him feel a little ill. Now that he controlled a corporation that had traditionally supported the likes of the Republic, there were other considerations. Oh, Incom had no standing contract with the entity and hadn't for some time - Lessa had taken care of that, though at the time he didn't agree with how it had been handled. It had been rash in his eyes, and he had made certain she knew it, but it didn't make him miss the girl any less, in a fatherly way.

Today, the realization dawned on him that she had been ahead of the game, as the news of CEC's withdrawal of support came along through the Holonet feeds in the wake of the fresh debacle from the Republic Senate . The wheels turned, always thinking was he, and he wondered CEC's move might be but the first domino. He looked past the threshold of the open door to his office at Incom HQ on Eriadu, considering his personal assistant. He rose, rounded the desk, and went out into the foyer of his personal domain, here.

"Anma?" he said when he got an eye on her, the response from the thirty-year-old coming a beat later, to which he gave his request, "Have special attention paid to the business feeds, but keep a hook on that C-Span feed, Friij, or anyone else that was broadcasting that mess. I want to know what else, if anything, comes out of it."

He pursed his lips.

"Especially if anyone else makes any moves off of this."

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Of course the little man behind the curtain was watching the holonews. Akure Executive had been slumbering, letting the market dry up and focusing inward on rebuilding their staff from mind-wiped idiots back into competent alchemists. Ostanes also had a vague idea of trying to seek out some of those who knew Rave. He had been studying things that, perhaps, he should not have been. Never the less, as he sat in his office, Codex translation to hand. The HoloNet was on running tickers of stocks and various business feeds... For someone with his memory and intellect, it was childs play to monitor multiple things at once, or so the Sith had told himself. But with CEC made it's announcement, he turned from the reading he was doing, pulling up various news reports.

The news was troubling. The One Sith themselves were ideologically similar to him in many ways. But their actions of late were terrible for business really. They were loosing their effectiveness, the precise scalpel dulling to a club almost in how they controlled and ran things. And so he had hesitated to support them. The Republic was fast sliding into the same insanity, it would seem, with these clones and coupes and more. Realistically if these governments were allowed to persist, they would throw the Galaxy into uncontrolled chaos....

Whilst whole-sale peace and order were not the best of things for his company (and despite outward appearances, it was his in fact if not in name)... The chaos left in place by two tyrannical regimes collapsing at the same time..That spoke of potential.... A lot of it, in fact... It would leave a power vacuum the Galaxy hadn't seen in ages. And into that vacuum? Why anyone could step into place... With the knowledge he had been gaining, with the trinkets he had acquired from recent auction, he could dupe all but the best of the best into believing he was whoever he would like. Lending support through vast resources, Akure Executive could appear to be the beneficent angel almost, or at the least a sympathetic ear. Giving the resources to the right people, at the right time, he could quite easily put into that Galactic power shuffle someone that owed him a lot of favors. And favors led to contracts, to alliances, to mutually beneficial alliances, which could lead to an eventual rebirth of the Company to such a power house it entirely eclipsed the old shadow it currently stood in, and make the name of [member="Rave Merrill"] a foot note to Ostanes'.

So he shifted his face, quickly assuming the identity of the false puppet he had put in place as the Chief Operating Officer of the company, his pale skin flowing to dark and smooth chocolate color, a neatly groomed beard sprouting. With a shuffle, he walked behind a changing screen to the side, quickly fixing a few aspects of his dress. The form was similar in build to the Sith identity known as Ostanes, but it was changed enough that the finely tailored suit made of tikluni and glistaweb didn't quite fit right. A black ivory comb was pulled from a pocket at he slicked his hair back, examining himself in a mirror and nodding in satisfaction as he checked his appearance in the mirror.

Perfect he thought... A classic man indeed....

Assuming a relaxed posture in a finely crafted armchair, he nodded to a pair of qo'saarai tuk'ata guards he had taken to keeping around him, and one of them nodded in return, indicating the feed was live. There was no cleared thought, no blinking of rapid eye movement. None of the normal gestures that indicated nervousness, none of the movements of body language that spoke of indecisiveness. As a Shi'ido, he was a consumate studying of such language, as it was the only weakness of his kind in disguise, and so he had taken to mastering it as a matter of course. His stance spoke of utter calm and focus, and resignation mixed with determination.

"Good evening to those of the Galaxy watching this... I am Uriel Escria, Chief Executive Operating Officer of Akure Executive Interstellar. I have called a brief conference to inform publicly the multitude of our investors that we will be following the example of Corellian Engineering to cut ties with the bloated and inept governing body that masquerades under the Galactic Republic name. At current, Akure and it's child companies provide primarily foodstuff to the Grand Army of the Republic in form of the LeviaCan product.

Effective immediately, supply is to cease forthwith of the LeviaCan product and any other products or services supplied by our Corporation, until competent leadership is installed and the Republic has proven itself at least as competent as the One Sith in ability to stabilize and control a region of space. Ineptitude in governance to such an extent is as cruel to the people as active torture and indentured servitude, it just wears a certain fairer mask and perfume.

We regret any harm that this may cause to soldiers of the GAR due to withdrawl form cessation of supply, and extend our heartfelt apologies. Any of those in the GAR who wish to sever ties with their commanders and sign contract with Akure Executive to undergo treatment will be checked into a private facility and treatment program for substance withdrawl, and aided in their transition. If they wish to continue life as a soldier, all efforts will be made to place them with competent employ in more benevolent and capable governments Akure has or will be forming contracts with.

However, if they wish to transition entirely away from a life of War, the corporation is rapidly expanding, and will sponsor their re-education at any number of fine universities to leave them capable of fulfilling any number of roles they might be suitable for, with guaranteed employment at the end of their education. Relocation expenses will be paid, and though we can not afford to grant every family member a full education, all effort will be made to grant spouses and dependent children placement in appropriate schools or positions within the company.

I leave you tonight with a final urging to the Citizens of the Republic... Rise up... Reach out.. Fight those that would shackle you to tired old party lines and dusty myths and loyalties, and forge your own destiny anew. There is a bright chance in these dark times, if you will only see it."

The sign off was simple, and indeed calculated. He went from a passive and normal gaze that was slightly off-center of the camera, to a burning stare full of passion direct center to the screen for a split second before the feed cut to a logo of Akure Executive Interstellar and then cut entirely. It was done. The move was made, piggy-backing off of another... Now it was time to wait and see what could be done through less obvious means to make the precarious stack tilt a little more, and a little more, until it toppled.

 

[Alndys]

Silk Holdings wasn't as active in the Galaxy as it'd used to be. Heck, why did they need to be? With the patents, stations and subsidiaries Jorus and Alna had left the company with upon their departure, the former face of spaceship innovation could afford to rest on it's laurels - and interests - and spend some time metaphorically tending their incredible swath of metaphorical garden. As much as any corporation could be, they maintained friendly ties with a few of the other Galactic Super-corps in the Galaxy, and when one of them was being persucuted, the others took notice. When the Galactic Republic got it into their head to outst Arceanau Trade (and a few others) there was a memo on Aldiel's desk within the hour. It only took him a few minutes to decide what to do. Jorus hadn't left the company in Aldiel's hands to protect it's bottom line; quite to the contrary. He'd recognized that the bottom line was merely a consequence of doing what he and his family loved on a public forum, and wished to leave that bottom line in the hands of someone who could be bothered to use that kind of power in a socially responsible manner.

Aldiel was that person, generally. Sure, he had his own interests. Who didn't?

The simple fact was that if the Rebuplic had moved against ATC and it's subsidiaries, and it was allowed to happen, it'd give the rest of the Galaxy the horrible idea that such an action was not only permissible, but do-able. And it wasn't - this had to be stopped here and now, in the interests of a free market. In the interests of preventing a dictatorship, in the interests of not letting bullies get away with masking brute force in patriotism. Besides... he had some personal issues with the Republic, and this was a nice, cathartic way to work some of them out.

It didn't take him long to fire off an intra-company memo - something the head of the company did not usually do.



[SIZE=37.3333px]Memorandum[/SIZE]


[SIZE=17.3333px]To: All DPT. Heads, Subsidiary Outreach DPT [/SIZE]
[SIZE=17.3333px]From: Aldiel D'Lessio, CEO; Board of Directors [/SIZE]
[SIZE=17.3333px]Subject: Galactic Republic Agression RE: ATC[/SIZE]

As some of you might have heard, the Galactic Republic Govt has decided to act against the interest of the private sector by siezing and redistributing the production facilities as an act of spite. White it is normally the policy of Silk Holdings to not take sides in galactic conflict, it is quite apparent that we have several horses in this race. Horses that the Galactic Republic would be happy to turn into glue the moment it becomes convenient for them. Not only does this go against Silk Holding's vision of a better life for everyone, and our founder's well-documented distaste for ham-fisted authority, I have personally always felt that a free market is essential to the health and growth of any coalition or nation.


[SIZE=14.6667px]Effective in one week from the issue of this memorandum, we will be withdrawing all support and technology from our locations in Galactic Republic space. In this time, all Silk Holdings employees who wish to relocate outside of Republic space during this time are welcome to do so, and will be reimbursed as per our corporate insurance policy regarding refugees and other victims of aggression. If you are a Silk Holdings employee who is not willing to relocate outside of Republic space, the termination of your contract will include severance pay and a letter of reference from your immediate supervisor in accordance with corporate policy regarding unwilling/lawful termination. As of the receipt of this memo, all work on Republic contracts and ships are to be considered suspended, as well as any materials/transactions with Republic Govt interests. [/SIZE]

Moving forward, we thank you for working with your department heads and supervisors during this time of transition. It is imperative that we all work to acknowledge, and defeat, tyranny whenever it appears, and let it not be said that Silk Holdings stood idly by as the Republic fired the first shots of war against the private sector. While we will remain true to our core values of innovation and looking towards the future, such vision is only possible while acknowledging the dangers of the present. If you've any questions or concerns, feel free to contact your immediate supervisor or departmental head, or the newly-sanctioned department of Emergency Procedure, Heather Orican.

~Aldiel D'Lessio, CEO

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

Though Mara was normally a silent partner among the Silk shareholders, this time she backed [member="Aldiel D'Lessio"] to the hilt. As the founders' daughter and a major shareholder, that was quite a bit of blade. Together she and Aldiel very nearly held 2/3 of the company.

It helped, of course, that none of Silk's major locations were in or near Republic space. But that was the beauty of building a super-hyperlane that cut the Republic out of the equation in the first place.