Great Minds Equals Great Profits

[Via Dolorosa]

Tion Dr'iol sat comfortably in the back of the aircab, fingers steepled together, and his eye watching the passing building with some slight enthusiasm. Since the moment of landing on the surface of Onderon, he had been looking forward to this meeting. Most of his meetings consisted of meeting new clients, signing new contracts with governments, or firing incompetent workers. However, by the good graces of capitalism the meeting he was heading toward now was a mixture of business and pleasure.

"Five minutes, sir."

The droid's automated voice broke him out of the spell of passing scenery. Tion glanced at the aircab's driver and gave him a sharp but reasonable nod. Next to him, was his little cache of notes and mix-matched holodisks of varying designs and schematics from the minds and hearts of the engineers at TDI. Tion, by nature of his species, was a penny-pincher, always finding new excuses not to spend TDI's credits needlessly. When it came to the engineer's payroll, he spared no credit; great minds where hard to come by.

"Your destination, sir. Please enjoy your stay."

Tion exited the aircab and handed the droid his datacard. The droid, after scanning it and the funds transfer was complete, handed the little piece of technology back to the Muun. With the handle of his cache firmly in his hands, he headed into the Flying Drexel restaurant; and was immediately taken to his reserved seat. He ordered a small Corellian ale and leaned back in his seat to wait for the arrival of a potential future partner.

[member="Mr. J.P. Huntington"]

 

[Mr. J.P. Huntington]

J.P. concluded adding the finishing touches to his tailored ensemble of clothing. One final glance into the mirror that rested on the refresher's wall in his hotel added a smile to his face. He was perfect. He was handsome. He was nervous. This meeting with a Mr. Tion Dr'iol had caused flutters in his stomach. J.P.'s company was an up and coming star where Mr. Tion Dr'iol's holdings of TDI was already recognized in certain galactic circles. J.P. had his company put out feelers to other companies with a message of working together. TDI was the first to respond.

J.P. left the hotel and took an airlimo that was provided for him through one of his Father's contacts here on Onderon. J.P. was a stylish man who believed that style was everything. It has been directed at him that he was conceited and he never made an argument to deny it. When he was under the thumb of his Father's rule - he wore the most expensive clothes and ate at the most expensive restaurants and slept in the most expensive hotels and attended the most expensive theaters and art collections. Currently he was slightly humbled while his company fought to find air in the drowning waters of capitalism. He still had his style though.

J.P. stood looking at the building known as the Flying Drexel confused why this Mr. Dr'iol had chosen this place. It wasn't ritzy but it wasn't a slum either. With a minor shrug of his shoulders he entered the eating establishment and was taken to his seat - where the Muun was already indulging himself with a drink. "Mr. Dr'iol, I presume," J.P. said extending his hand out. Once the friendly gesture was concluded he took a seat opposite the Munn and ordered himself a drink and a small bite to eat.

"I appreciate you taking the time to meet me," he said with a smile that showed his perfect white teeth. "I've heard nothing but excellent comments about Taobh Dorcha Industries. Hopefully once this meeting is over we can have come to some kind of arrangement between our two capital monsters."


[member="Tion Dr'iol"]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

Tion shook the hand of the human, then under the table wiped off the human's touch on his pant leg. Tion was under the impression the Muun species was a superior race compared to any other, and just the simple gesture of a hand shake made him feel icky. Tion had to suppress a chuckle at the words from this J.P. Huntington, whom Tion had researched before this meeting and discovered that the man was a smooth talker; a rich brat really.

"I'm usually a busy man, but I understand the struggles a new company goes through," he said before taking another sip from his drink.

"My reasons for agreeing to meet you is two-fold."

From his small cache, he retrieved two datapads; each one filled with juicy context. Tion knew that both companies could work together, only if this man could ensure that his company pulled their own weight. Tion had no love for weakness, which included people that profited off the backs of hard workers. If this man, with fancy clothes and a silver tongue, thought he could pull a fast one over him; the human would be more than surprised to learn who he worked for, and you truly owned TDI.

"On that datapad is the schematics for a new Destroyer-class warship TDI is working on currently. Ah, you have arrived," he said standing up and shaking the hand of a female Muun.

"Mr. Huntington, I like to introduce you to TDI's head engineer. Mizz Si'ro."

[member="Mr. J.P. Huntington"]

 

[Mr. J.P. Huntington]

J.P. scrolled through the text reading the context between bites. He was impressed by what he was reading. His own company would one day branch out into the shipbuilding industry but for now they only built vehicles and droids. J.P. understood why Mr. Dr'iol was showing him the datapad. The Muun was looking for business partners and what better partner to have than another owner of a company. The appeal was astounding.

"So let me take a stab here," he said before chasing the last bite with a pull from his drink. "You want my engineers and my company assist your engineers and company in building this?" The expression on the face of the Muun said it all. "Forgive me, Mr. Dr'iol. But you will need to explain exactly what these special features are?"

J.P. flashed a smile at the female Munn. "A pleasure to meet you Miss Si'ro," he said before taking one of her hands and genty kissing it. "Your boss was just showing me the plans for a new warship. Perhaps you could shed some light on this as well."


[member="Tion Dr'iol"]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

Tion's eyes narrowed at the appalling sight before him, a human desecrating the hand of a Munn female; with a kiss no less. Tion forced back a curt remark, gathered his senses, and took the datapad from off the table. Tion caught a small smile on the lips of Mizz Si'ro, causing him to clear his throat. Mizz Si'ro looked over at her boss, nodded her apology, and took the open chair next to him. Tion tapped the datapad with a long, slender finger.

"We are here to discuss business Mr. Huntington. Not to woo the opposite sex," he politely said.

"Now to answer your question, yes. Your company deals in both vehicles and droids. We seek to purchase a couple of your droid classes to be outfitted on our ship. A medical and repair class droid. I believe you're assistant mentioned to me that you have a couple in the early stages, meaning they're still on paper. TDI is not only offering to buy the droids when they complete production, but we are offering to invest in their production."

Tion gulped down the last of his drink, then ordered a round for the table. Even went as far as ordering food for Mizz Si'ro. If Mr. Huntington wanted to play the suave game; then Tion would upped the ante by purchasing her favourite meal. Tion cracked his knuckles and leaned back in his chair.

"Before I have Mizz Si'ro go into great details about the warship's special features, I need for you to decide whether or not you are interested in TDI's credits?"

[member="Mr. J.P. Huntington"]

 

[Mr. J.P. Huntington]

J.P. leaned back in his chair arching up an eyebrow and letting out a small whistle. "I'm impressed Mr. Dr'iol. You make a strong case and yes, we can use the credits." The CEO of TDI not only wanted to buy droids from his company - but wanted to invest in their production,too. His Father told him that if a deal is to good to be true - then it's probably a bad deal. In this case the deal wasn't bad but it allowed him to dictate the terms of purchases and the amount of credits needed to invest in the droids.

J.P. pushed his empty plate and drink to the aside - resting his elbows on the table. J.P. looked at Miss Si'ro then back to Mr. Dr'iol. J.P. mentally smiled when he finally noticed the resemblance between the two Muuns. Brother and sister. The simple gesture of ordering her favourite food was intended to show that Mr. Dr'iol was in control of the situation. Clearly his ruse was brought into the light - but J.P. would play along for now.

"You never stated how many droids you require of each design. I'm going to assume it's for that vessel." J.P. moved a hand to rubbing his chin. "You invest - let's say - five-hundred thousand credits toward their mass production and we will sell them to you for - let's say - one thousand each. Since we wish to continue business with you - we will give you twenty-five percent of everything we make on the sells of those two particular droids with a promise that when we seek out the same from TDI - you oblige us."

[member="Tion Dr'iol"]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

Tion could smell false sincerity from across the otherside of the galaxy. However, what Mr. Huntington was asking for in terms of the investment amount was far cheaper than he had envisioned. Give an owner of a competitive company a blank check, you embraced for the worst. Even the price for the droids were cheaper than he expected, but with the droid's individual pricing and 25% coming in from the sells of the droid, how could he not refuse to make the deal.

"Deal," he said.

"Mizz Si'ro, if you'll please?"

The female Munn grabbed the datapad and extended the picture to show all the different special features of the ship. There was quite a bit to cover and Tion knew that Mizz Si'ro, thorough as ever, would proceed to break down the features. Tion suspected that Mr. Huntington was ignorant in the ways of ship building. Today he would get just enough to sate his whistle.

"First, I'll start with basic deflector shield. The shield is pretty much par for the course. Almost every capital ship down to the startfighter possess this. The shield basically repels projectiles and laser fire. Like I said, standard. The next on the list is the shield generator, more importantly the GA21 shield generator. It is a powerful generator that will increase the destroyer's defense capabilities."

[member="Mr. J.P. Huntington"]

 

[Mr. J.P. Huntington]

J.P. held the shock on his face in check. He was suspecting some kind of back and forth after he tossed out the first proposal. He was in fact ready to accept half of what he first mentioned but the Muun - clearly knowing what he is doing - accepted it straightaway. "Very well, Mr. Dr'iol. When I return to my HQ I'll have production starting at once."

J.P. listened as Miss Sh'iro explained the concepts of the two shields. The deflector shield he was familiar with since his own company was using them on some of their minor droids. The second shield was not known to him. He pulled out a small datapad from one of his suit pockets and began taking notes on the GA21 shield generator. His company wasn't at the stage to build ships but it was better to be prepared now than scrambling later to do research.

"Another round of drinks," he asked when the female Muun stopped the description of the shields. If memory served - there was a lot of information Miss Sh'iro had to cover. J.P. had cleared his schedule for the day.

[member="Tion Dr'iol"]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

Before Mizz Shi'ro could continue the pitch, Tion raised his hand to halt her. He planned to reveal the second plan of the agenda until later, but so far everything was going smoothly. A deal for the droids were struck. An agreement was on the verge of being sealed with Mr. Huntington's support on the production of the destroyer. Tion felt it was time to bring up the topic of the Black Rose.

"When we first spoke, Mr. Huntington, I mentioned an Order that could benefit from your company's products. The Covenant of the Black Rose," he said smoothly.

"Make no assumptions, Mr. Huntington, that I speak for them or represent them in any capacity. But let's just say that my company has an investment in their success. Now, their Black Rose Council is seeking a company that manufactures droids and vehicles. Currently I do not know what they require except for this."

Tion slid across the table another datapad, smaller than the traditional ones used by ninety-nine percent of the galaxy's citizens. Tion kept his hand on the device blocking Mr. Huntington from snatching it up.

"The contents in that device has a plan on how to contact one of the Council members. Darth Venefica. It also contains the schematics for a battle tank that they and myself have agreed on. However, my company isn't in a position to produce it. Yours, on the other hand, is."

"Upon accepting to do business with them, I am authorized by the Black Rose Council to give you anything my company can create, free of charge. Weapons or a ship, perhaps? The choice is yours to make," he finished removing his hand from the datapad.

[member="Mr. J.P. Huntington"]