Fiolette lit the cigarra took a drag and let her gaze cut through the smoke. A pair of brothers sat opposite of her, across a dilapidated desk propped up by a chunk of durasteel that cut into the floor beneath them. Silence choked the atmosphere the two, older, grease slicked haired brothers looked at one another. “What do we get from investing in your company?”
She took another drag, and slowly as her eyes shut she felt the implants turn and when she opened her eyes they seemed to illuminate. Fiolette could see the electrical lines, and focused her attention on the Rhein brothers, owners of Rheinstar Repairworks. “A healthy return,” her voice was coarse, smoke rasped at every word. “You see gentlemen by investing now, you'll see those investments return twice fold maybe more.” Fiolette was calm, collected and relaxed in her chair and it squeaked when she leaned, and the broken leather creaked as she shifted her weight. “Of course you're wondering, why, why would two distinguished gentlemen such as yourselves invest in little ol' me?”
One folded his arms, the other sat up a little straighter.
“Boys, have you heard of the First Order?”
Their expressions went unchanged.
“Well, I designed the bulk of their Navy.”
It didn't take too much longer for the two to make a decision and Fiolette found herself back in the grungy dim lighting of the station, Klocksenburgh was becoming more and more familiar at this rate she thought to herself. She pushed her lips to the side, cigarra dangled between her fingers and with one hand she swept back her blazer and the other brought the cigarra up.
She took a drag, “not the best way to lead off.” The blonde said aloud and shrugged, couldn't win them all she supposed and walked back toward the centre. One of the great and terrible things of the Outer Rim, no one cared who you were – with a few exceptions of course. She knew she needed more investors and help setting up out here. Funding from Jorus Merrill and the Coalition certainly would see to most of that but she needed just a little more.
On her way to the center her eyes caught sight of Mahlowe Freight, or rather a tram with their logo on it. The cigarra burned red along the edges as she let the sin rush through her body, her nostrils exhumed smoke as her eyes traced the electrical lines back to the main office. “I could always stand for a little more rejection.” She put out the cigarra along the wall and headed to the nearest lift.
Fiolette checked her hair and coat, trousers and shoes everything seemed to be on point. On her holowatch she pulled up the information on Mahlowe Freight. Josefina Mahlowe, founded the freight company around the same time as Rheinstar Repairworks. Adding a freight line to Port Tiberius, well, there's a lot that the other woman stood to gain. The doors to the lift hissed open, and the Galidraani native stepped out. The industrial sector was busier, of course, than the leisure area below. Workers in Mahlowe Freight coveralls crossed to and from along busy predesignated lanes.
She looked down to see yellow, green and blue strips of paint rushing off into different directions. Lights here were brighter, disturbingly so for Fiolette her implants adjusted their filters to make it easier to see but it didn't stop her instinctive motion to shield her eyes with her hands. Now her next task was to find where these busy little workers were from, as she noted that water and air haulers in different coveralls also walked around up here. Dryad Pur Air, H'lovastock Water, QuKleen Ice Services and GoClo Filters just to name a few.
She watched for a moment, sidestepped to the left to let others pass and watched where the Mahlowe Freight workers were going. Once she had a good idea of the general direction that they headed in, she followed after. Most didn't pay her any mind, some noticed as she strode across the industrial floor in her suit with a focused look. Fiolette was determined to find Josefina Mahlowe and secure a deal before she left the station. Another lift and this one seemed more worn than the last it groaned up the shaft where lights looked to have been shoved into place.
When the lift came to a halt Fiolette found herself looking at a secure door and a small hall. Workers of course were able to get through the secure door. They badged themselves in and she took her chances to walk down the small hall. Which led her to another door this one was tucked into a corner and was marked simply; Mahlowe Freight Main Office, along with a holo contact and a small plate sign read open. She put her hand along the door handle, pushed down and the door opened.
The office was about as small as she thought, a few chairs, a waste receptacle, an end table or two with literature in some form or another. A small window was at the other end, and Fiolette made her way there. A nautolan woman opened it, “do you have an appointment?”
“Ah, no, no I don't but I-”
“Okay please have a seat and fill this out.”
A thin terminal was placed in her hand and the window was closed. Fiolette pushed her lips out for a moment and looked at the terminal. She reached into the liner pocket and grabbed her stylus as she took a seat. The form was simple enough, check the boxes that best fit the reason for the visit and who she was and what her contact was. When it was filled out she knocked on the window, and the nautolan opened it once more. “Thank you, we'll call you in a few.”
With nothing else to do the Galidraani walked to one of the chairs and plopped down. Time seemed to tick by slowly, and Fiolette switched between her watch and the literature provided. All she could hear aside from the silence was the humming of the fluorescent lights above her. Stocks hadn't changed much and the war was still ongoing, the former grand admiral let out a breath of boredom as she adjusted herself in the not-so-comfortable chair.
“Mizz Yvarrah,” a young woman called, “Mizz Mahlowee will see ya now.”
Fiolette unfolded from the chair and headed to the back, and was guided to an office. A small gesture told her to take a seat, the office itself was smaller than the waiting room. Filing cabinets made up one side and a wall lined with calendars, notes and diagrams made up another. Behind her walked Josefina herself, an older woman probably about the age that Fiolette should look had she not conducted her own fountain of youth exploration. Graying hair coursed through near-black hair, dark skin and an even darker complexion made Josefina. Who stood just a little bit taller than the Galidraani. “Miss Yvarro, I'm told you're looking for investors.”
“I am.”
“Designed First Order ships, and rumors have it that you've managed to grab an investment from the Coalition.”
“Rumors.”
“Rumors,” Josefina echoed as her coal black eyes looked into the azure sea that belonged to Fiolette, “so tell me, what it is -”
“You deal in freight, distribution and I need that, you in return get the profit from those deals. I'm in the business of building and I need someone to haul that for me. Furthermore by investing in Primo Victorian Shipwright you get a cut of the profits.”
Josefina arched a brow, “well.” She paused, arms on the desk, lips pursed, “I can appreciate your forward approach, certainly.” The woman sat back in her chair and looked at Fiolette, expansion hadn't been in her mind – not before today. “How many stations are we talking about?”
“I'll be making stations for Arceneau Trade Company.”
“Oh.”
“And, who knows what else I may get into but my point is, you stand to gain quite a bit.”
Josefina nodded and decided that sitting down in her office wasn't going to do it, “let's… let's take a walk, c'mon I'll show you around.”
Fiolette rose from the chair and gestured for the other woman to lead the way. They were quick to leave the small offices of Mahlowe Freight, in the lift the proprietor looked an investment over. When she looked her over it was more of a way to size her up. The blonde didn't mind at all she felt that perhaps whatever it was that Josefina was going to show her that it would lead to what she needed. The doors to the lift opened and they were back on the industrial floor.
She took another drag, and slowly as her eyes shut she felt the implants turn and when she opened her eyes they seemed to illuminate. Fiolette could see the electrical lines, and focused her attention on the Rhein brothers, owners of Rheinstar Repairworks. “A healthy return,” her voice was coarse, smoke rasped at every word. “You see gentlemen by investing now, you'll see those investments return twice fold maybe more.” Fiolette was calm, collected and relaxed in her chair and it squeaked when she leaned, and the broken leather creaked as she shifted her weight. “Of course you're wondering, why, why would two distinguished gentlemen such as yourselves invest in little ol' me?”
One folded his arms, the other sat up a little straighter.
“Boys, have you heard of the First Order?”
Their expressions went unchanged.
“Well, I designed the bulk of their Navy.”
It didn't take too much longer for the two to make a decision and Fiolette found herself back in the grungy dim lighting of the station, Klocksenburgh was becoming more and more familiar at this rate she thought to herself. She pushed her lips to the side, cigarra dangled between her fingers and with one hand she swept back her blazer and the other brought the cigarra up.
She took a drag, “not the best way to lead off.” The blonde said aloud and shrugged, couldn't win them all she supposed and walked back toward the centre. One of the great and terrible things of the Outer Rim, no one cared who you were – with a few exceptions of course. She knew she needed more investors and help setting up out here. Funding from Jorus Merrill and the Coalition certainly would see to most of that but she needed just a little more.
On her way to the center her eyes caught sight of Mahlowe Freight, or rather a tram with their logo on it. The cigarra burned red along the edges as she let the sin rush through her body, her nostrils exhumed smoke as her eyes traced the electrical lines back to the main office. “I could always stand for a little more rejection.” She put out the cigarra along the wall and headed to the nearest lift.
Fiolette checked her hair and coat, trousers and shoes everything seemed to be on point. On her holowatch she pulled up the information on Mahlowe Freight. Josefina Mahlowe, founded the freight company around the same time as Rheinstar Repairworks. Adding a freight line to Port Tiberius, well, there's a lot that the other woman stood to gain. The doors to the lift hissed open, and the Galidraani native stepped out. The industrial sector was busier, of course, than the leisure area below. Workers in Mahlowe Freight coveralls crossed to and from along busy predesignated lanes.
She looked down to see yellow, green and blue strips of paint rushing off into different directions. Lights here were brighter, disturbingly so for Fiolette her implants adjusted their filters to make it easier to see but it didn't stop her instinctive motion to shield her eyes with her hands. Now her next task was to find where these busy little workers were from, as she noted that water and air haulers in different coveralls also walked around up here. Dryad Pur Air, H'lovastock Water, QuKleen Ice Services and GoClo Filters just to name a few.
She watched for a moment, sidestepped to the left to let others pass and watched where the Mahlowe Freight workers were going. Once she had a good idea of the general direction that they headed in, she followed after. Most didn't pay her any mind, some noticed as she strode across the industrial floor in her suit with a focused look. Fiolette was determined to find Josefina Mahlowe and secure a deal before she left the station. Another lift and this one seemed more worn than the last it groaned up the shaft where lights looked to have been shoved into place.
When the lift came to a halt Fiolette found herself looking at a secure door and a small hall. Workers of course were able to get through the secure door. They badged themselves in and she took her chances to walk down the small hall. Which led her to another door this one was tucked into a corner and was marked simply; Mahlowe Freight Main Office, along with a holo contact and a small plate sign read open. She put her hand along the door handle, pushed down and the door opened.
The office was about as small as she thought, a few chairs, a waste receptacle, an end table or two with literature in some form or another. A small window was at the other end, and Fiolette made her way there. A nautolan woman opened it, “do you have an appointment?”
“Ah, no, no I don't but I-”
“Okay please have a seat and fill this out.”
A thin terminal was placed in her hand and the window was closed. Fiolette pushed her lips out for a moment and looked at the terminal. She reached into the liner pocket and grabbed her stylus as she took a seat. The form was simple enough, check the boxes that best fit the reason for the visit and who she was and what her contact was. When it was filled out she knocked on the window, and the nautolan opened it once more. “Thank you, we'll call you in a few.”
With nothing else to do the Galidraani walked to one of the chairs and plopped down. Time seemed to tick by slowly, and Fiolette switched between her watch and the literature provided. All she could hear aside from the silence was the humming of the fluorescent lights above her. Stocks hadn't changed much and the war was still ongoing, the former grand admiral let out a breath of boredom as she adjusted herself in the not-so-comfortable chair.
“Mizz Yvarrah,” a young woman called, “Mizz Mahlowee will see ya now.”
Fiolette unfolded from the chair and headed to the back, and was guided to an office. A small gesture told her to take a seat, the office itself was smaller than the waiting room. Filing cabinets made up one side and a wall lined with calendars, notes and diagrams made up another. Behind her walked Josefina herself, an older woman probably about the age that Fiolette should look had she not conducted her own fountain of youth exploration. Graying hair coursed through near-black hair, dark skin and an even darker complexion made Josefina. Who stood just a little bit taller than the Galidraani. “Miss Yvarro, I'm told you're looking for investors.”
“I am.”
“Designed First Order ships, and rumors have it that you've managed to grab an investment from the Coalition.”
“Rumors.”
“Rumors,” Josefina echoed as her coal black eyes looked into the azure sea that belonged to Fiolette, “so tell me, what it is -”
“You deal in freight, distribution and I need that, you in return get the profit from those deals. I'm in the business of building and I need someone to haul that for me. Furthermore by investing in Primo Victorian Shipwright you get a cut of the profits.”
Josefina arched a brow, “well.” She paused, arms on the desk, lips pursed, “I can appreciate your forward approach, certainly.” The woman sat back in her chair and looked at Fiolette, expansion hadn't been in her mind – not before today. “How many stations are we talking about?”
“I'll be making stations for Arceneau Trade Company.”
“Oh.”
“And, who knows what else I may get into but my point is, you stand to gain quite a bit.”
Josefina nodded and decided that sitting down in her office wasn't going to do it, “let's… let's take a walk, c'mon I'll show you around.”
Fiolette rose from the chair and gestured for the other woman to lead the way. They were quick to leave the small offices of Mahlowe Freight, in the lift the proprietor looked an investment over. When she looked her over it was more of a way to size her up. The blonde didn't mind at all she felt that perhaps whatever it was that Josefina was going to show her that it would lead to what she needed. The doors to the lift opened and they were back on the industrial floor.