Expanding Markets, Episode I: Diesel Powered Boogaloo

[Ugoto Chivaro]

GAROS IV

Lucius, the head of Garos IV's conglomerate of farming companies, waltzed over to the other side of the office, hitting a switch embedded into the wall. On cue, the blinds opened, revealing a dazzling view of the landscape of Garos IV and the city of Northlan. Without a doubt, Garos IV was a picturesque planet. Green, rolling fields and lush forest. The view from Lucius' office was the best you could get of Northlan. Northlan itself was a small city. Borderline nonexistent in comparison to other cities throughout the galaxy. Which brought Lucius to the point of this meeting.

"Seventeen million people." Lucius said, turning back to take a seat at his desk. "Not in Northlan, no. The entire planet. Seventeen million people. Can you believe that?"

"<< I have read similar figures. >>" Zothustro, the X'Ting entrepreneur seated on the other side of Lucius' desk said.

"We've got all this land, perfect for large scale industrial farming, and next to no one to work the fields."

"<< I believe I now understand why you have called me here. >>"

"Well, I'm certainly not trying to hide it." Lucius scoffed, opening a drawer and retrieving a cigar. "Want one?"

Zothustro did not bother pointing out that his facial anatomy would make utilizing such a thing difficult, if not outright impossible. Further, Zothustro deplored the activity of smoking. It left a disgusting scent in the air around the smoker which clung to everyone and everything around them. It was also incredibly hazardous to the health of virtually everyone in a ten foot radius of the smoker. Zothustro, quite simply, did not understand why people did it. It made no sense.

Must be a human thing.

Still, Zothustro wasn't about to judge Lucius or run around preaching his position and forcing legislation to ban it. It was his business what he inhaled, and so long as he wasn't blowing it right into another person's face on purpose, the X'Ting could look past it.

"<< No, thank you. >>"

"Suit yourself."

Lucius dropped the cigar back into the drawer and shut it. He didn't smoke, but a lot of the people he met with did. With that little formality out of the way, he could get down to the main monkey business. Cestus Cybernetics was only a stone's throw away from Garos IV. He'd heard they had started shipping a lot of labor droids to other planets within the Mandalorian sphere of influence. Mygeeto, Yaga Minor, and Garqi to name a few. He had also heard that Cestus' primary labor droid, the Z3, was a very versatile machine. Basically a programmable human made out of metal that didn't need to be paid.

"Your Z3. Can it work a farm?"

"<< Naturally. It could build it as well, if you truly wished. >>"

Well, that was a good start.

"And their battery life? I bought a bunch of droids from Automata, but they kept running out of juice on me."

"<< Yes, I am told their products have been enduring such problems recently. >>" Zothustro explained. "<< The Z3 can run for a week without needing recharge. >>"

Lucius did not like how this X'Ting talked. Or maybe that was the translator he was using. Either way, it sounded weird. His words didn't seem like they fit right. He couldn't imagine how Cestus had managed to get this far with such a totally uncharasmatic CEO. At the very least he ought to invest in a better translation device, or maybe a protocol droid to do it for him. That aside, he did like what Zothustro was actually saying.

"Hot damn. I want bigger business on Garos. Really, I do. But I can't get anything done with such a small labor pool. I need your droids, my man."

Naturally. Zothustro thought to himself. Otherwise you would not have called me here. Is that really all it's going to take to sell you on this? Who put you in charge of anything?

"So, you ship us your labor models. Z3s, Z4s, Z5s. The works. Maybe a few Z1s in case we can't find enough managers. We'll need them in droves, first to replace the workers we have now and next to expand on the level I want."

There was a twinkle in Lucius' eye. He wanted more exports out of Garos IV and more money in his pocket. This deal was going to get him exactly that. He wanted it very, very badly.

"<< This can be arranged, easily. >>" An excited twitch of his antenna. Lucius wasn't the only thing getting a lot of money out of this. "<< But, we'll need hard numbers and a designated place to- >>"

"Yeah, yeah, I've got that all worked out." Lucius interrupted, much to the chagrin of Zothustro. "Our guys can talk to your guys, you know the drill."

Did Zothustro know the drill? He had not dealt with this company before. He had no idea what this man was about. He was frustrating to say the least. At this rate, Zothustro just wanted to take his money and leave. "<< Then send us the details, and we will work out any discrepancies and vague language ourselves. >>"

With Cestian droids about to be imported en masse to Garos, Zothustro was poised to be a happy X'Ting for the foreseeable future. He would not, however, be a content X'Ting until luxury droids had been marketed to the rest of the planets on his list. Soon enough, they would be importing droids as well, But first he had to get out of this guy's office.

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

OBROA-SKAI

Obroa-Skai was a chilly planet. This alarmed Zothustro, as cold temperature of any kind tended to kill bugs. X’Ting were large bugs, though, and so the fear was probably misplaced. It would take much more than a nip in the air to kill him, he hoped. This did not stop Zothustro from dressing warmly.

Another reason Zothustro insisted on coming here despite a climate that was rather hostile to his species was that he had been called here for a business meeting. Zebulon Merchandisers were a conglomerate of vendors and retailers who marketed a variety of products through a variety of stores. Their main areas of operations included Muunilinst, Toprawa, and Taris.

Zothustro could already hazard a guess and say they wanted to start selling Cestian droids, particularly the servant and assistant models. Frankly, the X’Ting could not imagine a better way to deliver Cestian droids to the populace and build up his reputation than striking a deal like this. It was comparatively hands off as well. No need to handle sales any more. The retailers of those respective planets would handle all the heavy work, and Cestus Cybernetics would still get its money.

Walking alongside Zothustro was Lom Jodon, an Aqualish representative for the conglomerate. A pleasant humanoid, for the most part. Aqualish were not notorious for being easy to look at, but this one at least managed to maintain a friendly demeanor. This made him considerably more easy to deal with, and Zothustro didn’t have nearly as hard a time listening to the Aqualish as he had that insufferable Lucius.

“Essentially, Mr. Quill,” Lom warbled.“We have received word that the manufacturer of our current civilian grade droids is under investigation for particularly sordid acts of terrorism. Their products are now being boycotted with varying intensity as the larger watchdog groups catch wise.”

Zothustro was dimly aware of some ridiculous atrocity committed on the other side of the galaxy by individuals associated with the Confederacy. Official information had not yet flowed into the Mandalorian territories, and so many only had rumors to go on. However, rumors could still sway business, regardless of their legitimacy. It was lucky that Cestus had opted to scrap their initial plans to set up in Confederate space. That much had only happened because of Czerka.

Czerka’s introduction of a droid brain into the market had soured Hannibal’s taste for the Confederate market. Cestus would have to wait until it got out an even more advanced droid brain onto the market before going into business on Hypori. That was why it had been skipped over in favor of the Protectorate. Initially there had been desire to make forays into the Republic, but those were soured by the Mandalorian-Republic war.

Hannibal had assured Zothustro Czerka would be dealt with at some point and they could resume setting up in Confederate space. Zothustro had no idea what he meant by that, but he couldn’t care less. He had real business to conduct, primarily by listening to this Aqualish.

“Of course, even if this weren’t an issue of public opinion, we would still be hard pressed to continue our relationship with this company.” Lom clarified, not wanting the morality of his own company to be called into question. “Considering their Chief Executive Officer was just arrested by the Protectorate government. This company’s public image is going to hell in a handbasket, to be frank. The board of directors are unanimous for once. It’s time to look elsewhere.”

A CEO arrested? This man wasn’t kidding. Whoever his previous partner was, they were in rather dire circumstances. Zothustro almost felt bad for them, but if they were truly implicated in atrocities, they had it coming. Besides, their loss was his gain. Zothustro listened more intently now to the Aqualish, who was just about ready to cut to the chase.

“We would like to enter into a relationship with Cestus, and perhaps market your products instead of our former partner’s. Your products will find their way to some of the more prominent population centers of the Mandalorian Territories. Muunilinst, Toprawa, Taris, and even here on Obroa-Skai. We will, of course, charge our usual fees, but nothing a company of your status could handle.”

Music to Zothustro’s auditory system, truly.

“<< Where do I sign? >>”