Getting their Wings

[Gilamar Skirata]

The sound of a hammer rang throughout the armory of the Skirata homestead on Mandalore as Gilimar hammered out dents in Mordecai's armor. The man was too rough on his gear, probably due to his own lack of self preservation in combat. As the durasteel sat and warmed up again for another round of beating JC-19 waddled up to him.

"Good morning sir!" the DUM droid said in its unusually chipper voice. "Those guys from AAAAARRRRRRGH, are calling now!"

"Kark..." Gil had forgotten about them. Thinking quickly he turned off the heat treater and wiped his hands on the white apron and with the back of his hand wiped the sweat off his face, leaving a black smudge in both places. With his hands still black as night he walked to the center of the room, a rag in hand, and switched on the holoprojector.

It was conference time.

He had a very simple offer, a large and continuous supply of ARGH's personal jet systems for future armor projects, and one for the up and coming Galactic Alliance that he was more recently a benefactor of.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

It was business thread time again! Presumably this would mean getting fake money.


Anyhow, the call was received and a holographic projection of Siobhan, elegantly dressed in a business suit, would manifest in the office room. Her wife, Tegaea was with her. "Greetings, Mr Skirata. I'm Countess Siobhan Kerrigan. This is my wife, Countess Alcori, CEO of Firemane and Guild of Hammers. Nice meeting you. I've been told you're interested in one of our subsidiary's products. The jet wing system, if I understand correctly," she said smoothly, taking a sip from her glass of wine. Presumably she had been informed of this beforehand by a secretary or something like that. Some time before the event ARGH had become a Firemane subsidiary, and so she they pretty much ran the company since HK had vanished.


[member="Gilamar Skirata"], [member="Tegaea Alcori"], [member="Valiens Nantaris"]

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

Wow did he feel seriously under dressed. Clad in a cotton button up, dirty wrinkled and misbuttoned, with a heavy burlap apron over that with pair of dirty trousers and a cloth in his hand Gilimar did not look regal nor did he look like a CEO, both of which Siobhan pulled off entirely too well. But if he had anything, it was composure. Living through fifty some odd years of combat did have some transferable skills in the business world.

"Aye," he answered, "There's a project MandalMotors is working on for some rather," he paused, thinking of a word to describe the small faction growing to the West, "scrappy young people and I would love to get my hands on that propulsion system of yours. I'm talkin' spare parts, full units, the works and MandalMotors don't skimp with their contracts either."

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Gilamar Skirata"], [member="Tegaea Alcori"]


Siobhan dressed to impress and liked it when people considered her regal. No, she was not tremendously vain at all. Regardless, she did not seem to mind Gilamar's more scruffy look, and took another sip from her red wine because it was good stuff.


"I understand. The jet propulsion system is a nice piece of hardware and we can produce them in large amounts in full units to integrate into personal armour suits. Along with providing spare parts and so on. What exactly is this group you're contracting for? And how large a delivery of the jets are we talking - a longer-term contract?" she asked curiously. MandalMotors had a good credit rating and the Mandalorians were big on honour, so she was not doubting the former Mandalore's words, but such details were obviously important.

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

Askin' all them questions. Askin' all them questions why you askin' all them questions. Did Gil really have the authority to put this new group out in the open? Could he answer cryptically and still get what he wanted? Possibly. Could he lie and say they were for the Shriek-Hawks? Did it matter? She seemed the sort to not want a red glowstick to her throat.

"Young upstarts who want to put an end to the Sith menace," he answered. "My own mercenaries are working in tandem with this group's small force. But I'm sure military jargon and politics are a bore to you miss Kerrigan."

Did it work? Maybe?

Askin' all them questions. Askin' all them questions why you askin' all them questions makin' statements. Assumin'?

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Gilamar Skirata"], [member="Valiens Nantaris"]


Fun fact, Siobhan was very good at killing red glowstick wielders. It was quite clear to her that Gilamar had no clue about her. His answer made Siobhan want to facepalm. As a matter of fact she felt rather insulted. Did the man think she was some dainty, weak aristo? Those scars etched into her feature, which even her expensive makeup could not hide, were not for show. "Couple months ago I fought Darth Vornskr, also known as former Sith Emperor Kaine Zambrano. I collapsed his lung with my mind, tossed him like a ragdoll and set him on fire while Mandalorians and Primeval were battling over Wayland," the Butcher of Roche said very flatly.


"So, yes, politics and military jargon interest me a lot. I do lead Firemane's troops after all and I've fought Sith most of my life." Oh, and she helped kill Lotek'k, who was sort of Cthulhu, twice. Before that she ran Omega Pyre, back when OP was a great power. "So who do you represent? If they're gonna use the toys to help them kill Sith, all the better. Provided it's reliable people." After some bad experiences with the Rebel Alliance, she was a bit hesitant about contracting with young upstarts without more elaboration. The irony was that Firemane already was a business partner of the Galactic Alliance, so if Gil were to mention that things would be concluded swiftly.

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Gilamar Skirata"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

It was at this stage, when things were starting to go off track and crash off the side of the mountain that Tegaea stepped in.

“I can assure you that our determination to destroy the Sith is as great as anyone’s, so we will provide the tools for that…at the right price. Who do you represent, how many of this item are you looking for, and is this a one off or account purchase?” Tegaea asked.

It was good to get all this out of the way now before their client asked any more silly questions. She could tell that Siobhan was getting more and more irritated. She'd rather head matters off before she got angry. Like the Hulk one did not want to be around when Siobhan got angry.

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

Woops.

He had just pissed off a potential seller. He cursed internally at his blunder, not a good way to start and someone that could crush that Sith Lord's lungs with their mind was not to be trifled with. He would like to keep his lungs and other organs in place.

"Much respect and my apologies. That there is a high profile kill." Shaking his head and wiping his hands on the cloth his spirits rose when the woman introduced as Tegaea spoke up. The old man cleared his throat and began to answer the redhead's question.

"I'm putting this armor together for the Galactic Alliance. I'm looking for an initial purchase of 3500 units with a recurring purchase of replacement parts as well as full units."

[member="Tegaea Alcori"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"], [member="Gilamar Skirata"], [member="Valiens Nantaris"]


Siobhan had become a lot better at controlling her temper over the years, but she could still be rather irritable and vain. Not to mention not very pleasant when she got angry. Anyhow, her wife and Gil's words seemed to placate her sufficiently and so she continued with business.


"I see. That's very agreeable to us. We're already business partners with the Galactic Alliance, so we're glad to assist. Cost will be significant, several tens of millions of credits, plus a recurring upkeep cost, but we'll deliver promptly and efficiently. The jets are well-tested and have been used by our own forces in live combat, so you won't have any sudden technical difficulties." This writer is fine with handwaving the exact sum of credits, in the light of the large numbers involved.

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Gilamar Skirata"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Now that their customer had actually displayed his hand, Tegaea stepped back at let Siobhan finish the negotiations.
It was a tidy sum of credits, and since the Galactic Alliance seemed to be the new bee’s knees in the galaxy, getting in with them seemed a wise business move!

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

That was indeed a heft sum of credits. The old man pinched the bridge of his nose, no doubt leaving whatever soot was on his hands behind. In his old age Gilimar was becoming more frugal, especially being retired from the field, but the Sith needed to be put down like a feral To Vhin and wiped from the face of the Galaxy. He put his hands on his hips in thought attempting to think of some way to put less strain on the budget of his company and by extension, his wallet.

"How about we lower the price on the units in exchange for partial use of our drydocks and shipyards on Yaga Minor?" A small counter offer.

[member="Tegaea Alcori"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Gilamar Skirata"], [member="Tegaea Alcori"]


Siobhan furrowed her brow, then shook her head slightly. "We're not opposed to granting you a discount for the jets in return for services or goods, but I'll have to decline that offer. While I know your shipyards on Yaga Minor are substantial, the planet is too far off from our operations and uncomfortably close to enemy territory."


Namely Primeval and One Sith. Siobhan did not know whether the Mandalorians intended to reclaim the planet any time soon, but then again it seemed their Mandalore had vanished. Moreover, Firemane maintained its shipyard at Mon Cal. "But if you have another offer I'm all ears." Taking another sip from her glass, she glanced over to Tegaea because she felt like including her a bit.

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Gilamar Skirata"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Tegaea nodded in agreement. Yaga Minor was in neutral territory now, between competing enemies of Firemane.

“I agree. However, there are some other items you may be able to make for us as a counter offer. I understand that the Clans have begun acquisition of a Phrik mining world, and of course your people are the only ones able to use Beskar. We would be willing to offer a substantial discount in exchange for some items of those rare materials. Is that something you are able to do?”

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

The old Mando brought his hand to his chin in thought.

"Unfortunately MandalMotors itself does not participate in the mining of materials and instead purchases raw materials from other companies so it's not within my power to promise you those goods." Gil cleared his throat quickly and sighed. "You've got me between a rock and a hard place on this deal. I'll have my people write up an official proposal and send it down to your offices accepting your terms."

[member="Tegaea Alcori"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"], [member="Gilamar Skirata"]


No beskar was a bit of a shame, but fake money was very nice as well! After all, Siobhan had an expensive life style. Unless she was mistaken, he'd agreed to their original terms. "Ok, then we have a deal. My people will be in contact with yours so that we can arrange for speedy delivery of the jets and payment. Delivery should be very swift. It's been a pleasure doing business with you."

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Gilamar Skirata"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Tegaea nodded. Not being able to get the illusive Beskar was a shame, but money was good too!
“We have a deal,” she echoed her wife. “Thank you again, Mr Skirata.”

And with that the call ended and this writer can add another contract to the tier advancement list!