Greenback Boogie

[Hira Mitsae]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Techno Union Space[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.6667px]Roon[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.6667px][member="Draco Vereen"][/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]How much value could be placed on knowledge? It was the question that had set him on his journey to self-annihilation. It was the agreement he made after his love sacrificed her life for the [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]greater good[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] - even if that Greater Good was a homicidal Dark Lord and his deranged Eye. But a man has to live with his choices, even if they had unforeseen consequences, or perhaps [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]especially[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] when they had unforeseen consequences.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]His blue iridescent eyes studied the bright [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]blue[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] cube on his desk. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]How strange that something so valuable could be condensed into a single fist-sized cube. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Darell pondered on those implications, before taking it and pushing it into the system. A blip confirmed that integration processes were already starting out - a feminine voice called out in the silence of his office.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px][IDENTITY CONFIRMED. WELCOME, MISTER IRANI. WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU TODAY?][/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]A cigar was lit, stuck between his teeth, he leaned against his seat before shrugging.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“Backup Procedure Thesh, if you please.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px][AFFIRMATIVE.][/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]On his screen a progress bar appeared. Darell pulled back his sleeve, took a look at the watch and then nodded to himself. Draco and him had an appointment in a few, just enough time for this to finish up without skimping out on the details.[/SIZE]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Roon.

I hated Roon. That was why I put my headquarters through Bothawui. The bothans weren't as trustworthy, but they had that whole sector locked down tight. Perfect site to host my more secretive projects. But today was a good day as a famous rap artist said once. Today I was going to spend a few billion credits and outfit my company, and possibly the Protectors, with some of the greatest ships ever constructed. The best of it was... They used to be Republic Ships I was buying with well earned Republic Credits.

The Saiba Group tower on Roon was spectactular. Massive and shimmering in the central star's light. It was here that I had joined the Techno Union. It made sense that here I would return. I strolled into the lobby of the building, the doorman recognizing the armor I wore, the helmet cradled in the crook of my arm. There was no waiting this low to the ground. The turbo lift up to the penthouse offices were kept clear, they did not stop for through traffic, only a few people used them as it was and they rarely spent time on the lower floors.

When the chime echoed through the lift and the doors open I strode into the waiting room outside Irani's office. "Good Afternoon ma'am" I said to the secretary, a smile on my face. "Let mister Irani know I have arrived for our meeting."

The view outside the tower was pretty. Too bad it was wasted on this horrid planet. In all my time in the Union, I believe I had been to Roon twice, perhaps three times now. Ever other time I was around for a Council meeting was by Hologram. The only reason I had come personally this time was due to the size of the credit transfer to the Techno Union itself.

[member="Darell Irani"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[SIZE=10.6667px]A few moments after that the secretary would give a polite nod and tell Draco that he could go right in, Darell was apparently already waiting on him in his office. Once Vereen had entered the office he would notice Irani standing in front of the big window overlooking most of Roon from that vantage point. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]One empty glass with a bottle of Corellian Whiskey was already resting on the table waiting on the guest.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“Vereen. Pleasant day, don’t you think?” there was an upbeat rhythm to Darell’s voice. He took a sip from his own glass, still staring out of the window.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Some hated Roon, but it reminded Irani exactly why they had started the Techno Union in the first place. Progress, development and [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]money[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] - those had been the values that had dictated this capitalistic venture in the first place.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Things change across the years, but those three values stood strong to this day.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px][member="Draco Vereen"][/SIZE]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Irani was one my oldest friends in the Union. He had brought me in, he had helped me flourish with the Union, and turned me into a juggernaut that fueled the Union's war machine along with numerous other governments and mercenary companies. To say that I had been but an upstart a short while ago would be correct. To say I was a titan of industry now would be correct.

"Good enough, I suppose." I said with a nod, approaching the desk the man sat behind. Today was a good day. My favorite team won their game, I made money, and life moved on. I had things to do rather than simply sit in an office and think about how horrible my life was. And it was a bad life indeed with very little mystery left in it, and certainly no love or kindness. What few friends I had were more acquaintances than anything else.

"But the reason I am here is because I need some ships from the docks. And well, Executive Council oversights and what not." Always red tape with these folks. I just wanted some of their ships for myself, because well, they were really nice ships. Can't a former Director of Diplomacy just get some war machines for personal reasons and not have to give a explanation.

[member="Darell Irani"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Draco Vereen"]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]Have a drink, Draco. Relax[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px].” the businessman replied with a short nod. It wasn’t surprising Vereen wanted a piece of the metaphorical pie. Cater had always been quite good at designing top-notch ships, military and otherwise. And neither was it a surprise that the Techno Union kept the entire thing locked down from the top to the bottom - a senior member of the Executive Council had no problems with that kind of access, of course, but the entire situation was understandable.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Annoying[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px], for some. But understandable.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]I am assuming we are talking about the new designs we received from the Corellian Engineering Corporation after it joined the Techno Union?[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]A holographic keyboard appeared in front of Darell after a motion of his hand.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]It was relatively easy to bypass all the red tape. You just needed to be intimately aware of all the shenanigans that the bureaucratic apparatus had created over the years - and considering Irani had been here from the start… well, there were few things he wasn’t aware of.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]And for those things he had his aides. [/SIZE]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

[member="Darell Irani"]

"Indeed I am. I've seen them in combat once during my short time with the Republic, and I understand what they are capable of and what they do. That's why when I learned of CEC's involvement with the Union, I decided to purchase some for my own use." Nothing said don't mess with me or mine like pointing one of the most potent vessels to have ever been created at your opposition. Granted it was something that most major governments could over come, but it wasn't something most pirates or thieves wanted to deal with.

"The Noble-class is the one I am looking at. Its a beast made in response to the Dark Blade and the Watts." I am sure he was well aware of which CEC ships were the most prolific and the most cost effective. I'm also sure if he had eyes for any CEC ships, this was one of them. Even though the Noble was much more expensive than any other ship its size, it was well worth the cost expenditure. And the smaller size also lessened the upkeep costs of the ship.

And having a few floating around would help better protect my interests on Hypori, Concord Dawn, and Iego. It never hurt to have your cities guarded by a big destroyer. Irani could no doubt relate to such a desire.

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“Yes, the Noble-class is known to me.” it had been Baktoid who started the production of the Watts back in the day. But Baktoid had been integrated into Saiba after a long line of strange maneuvers and business dealings, this meant that the Watts itself was also now being created by Saiba itself, so yes, Irani knew exactly what the Noble-class was about. Seeing as it was created directly by reverse-engineering the Watts in the first place.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]No matter though. The Watts had been produced for the Republic, until they were gone it would be difficult to detach them from that affiliation. And with that in place there was little way of profit, for now.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“You will need to fill in forms Aurek-Cresh-24 to Forn-Grek-32.03, before I can sign off this purchase.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]The businessman smiled.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“Or I can push this button and make all of that go away.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]There would be a catch.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px][member="Draco Vereen"][/SIZE]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

I looked at paperwork and frowned. It was miserable and I hated it. I hired people, and paid them exuberant amounts of money, solely so that I didn't have to look at paperwork if I didn't want to. Millions went into those people just to fill out paperwork, stamp their names on it, let me initial where ever and let me move on with my life. While to most it could be disastrous business ethics, it allowed me certain fallbacks. I had patsies to pin stuff on, I had money to pay people off, and I had infinite nightmares to torment the people who tried to wrong me in this way. The only example was still trapped in a coma with his most horrific dreams to keep him company. Every now and then he kicked and screamed, but he couldn't wake up.

"Ugh, what's option two?" I asked, not really wanting to do paperwork, but also wary.

If he could make it all go away, why not just do it and tell me what he wanted out of it. Its not like I hadn't delivered, and its not like I wasn't stupid rich to boot. If he wanted favors, he knew I was good for them, he had gotten them and would get them again. If he wanted things, I had a big storage closet of random things and items he could pick from. But there were limits. Convenience was only worth so much.

"Well, what is it you want to make all of that go away?" I said more jovial, more like an old friend speaking to another.

[member="Darell Irani"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Draco Vereen"]

Irani was a showman in a lot of ways. An actor - though the brilliance of his acting would never be known to the greater public. A Sith Lord, a succesful businessman, an Agent and an Infochant, a soldier and so much more. There weren't any suitable roles that Irani hadn't played in his lifetime, and as a powerful Force Masters he had all the time in the world to figure out what else to do. Life was a game for him, at this point, there were no stakes, no risks or obstructions to high - whilst Draco was rich and succesful... he was only budding into the role of a real 'Mover & Shaker'. Once Vereen was able to dismantle his own galaxy-spanning creation and start over, just because he felt a little bit bored?

Then he would be one of them. Few they were.

A smile graced his expression. It turned apologetics fast though after witnessing the confusion of Draco.

"A joke, my friend." he shrugged. A gesture that signified that it was simply within his nature, something that the Mandalorian should know after all this time of working together. You can't change the color of a fox's s- he wasn't really sure how that idiom went, but it was a good one nonetheless.

"I am aware that you and my contact within the Sith have built up a workable rapport." Darell was, of course, referencing the Voice of the Dark Lord, Lord Carach. "He has asked my assistance in a large matter, but I find myself occupied with other pressing matters."

"Aid him in whatever he needs, and I will aid you in what you need."

A simple transaction. Business as usual.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Yeah, I've been known to play around with the One Sith on occasion. They pay my mercenaries really well and they like to offer me ancient knowledge that I could use. Been doing a lot with some of the older Holocrons as of late." I said, thinking about the number of Holocrons currently in my possession or that I had access to. Yeah, I liked messing around with those things.

"And I can help. If he has a research project he is doing, ArmaTech has a lot of Research and Development assets at its disposal to assist him." In fact we had a lot of things going into research projects right now that were interesting.

"Alright, lets get this out of the way. My boys will take possession of the ships shortly then. ArmaTech and Clan Vereen forces need a nice center piece on occasion you know, and with the way the galaxy has been lately, it doesn't hurt to have some good technology at your back." Strife, struggle, me becoming a veritable Emperor and sovereign of a planet. That and everything else happening in the galaxy with the Democratic People's Republic. Things weren't what they used to be anymore.