Locking in a Deal

[Yijun Tung]

Galactic City – Level 237, Coruscant​

Tsukasa Auto Corporation Production Facility​

3:24p
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Tsukasa Auto had seen a successful launch after the acquisition of the property with the manufacturing of the Auto-class Airspeeder; a luxury, sports class speeder. Despite the company having some new designs on the table for production, the facility’s full potential were being under-utilized and Tung saw an opportunity to capitalize on this. Having recently made some personal deals with Locke & Key Mechanics, the young banker saw a chance to sell off unused production lines in the factory to the larger corporation to aid them in their debut in the speeder market. A simple handshake of an investment for the time being, but one that could open the door to bigger things as time went on. Of course, Mr. Yijun was pleased when CEO [member="John Locke"] agreed to a meeting to further discuss the matter.

Tung fittingly arrives in his own black Auto-class Airspeeder, touching down just out side of the staff entrance to the facility. Two larger, black transport speeders with tinted windows immediately take positions in front and behind Tung's vehicle as it settles and repulsor-locks. From the outside it didn't appear to be much; just another industrial complex among the many that existed in this sub-sector of Level 237. It was the inside that had the the magic, having been completely remodeled and upgraded shortly after TAC purchased the property.

“We are a few minutes early, Mr. Yijun” a voice speaks over the comms. Tung scans the surrounding building through the windshield then reaches for the dashboard communicator “This is okay, secure the area for the arrival of Mr. Locke.” At these instructions the doors of the transport speeders open and two POM-Strike droids step out of both, each pair accompanied by an Atrisian man dressed in black suits. They spread out, ensuring the area is safe for their own CEO and their expected guest. “No signs of activity, sir,” the same voice advises after a few minutes.

The door to the Auto-class speeder swings open for the Atrisian businessman to pull himself out of the low resting sports speeder. He straightens his red suit with a tug and moves his eyes between the POM-Strike droids forming a loose perimeter around the vehicles. After a subtle nod of satisfaction at the current ease of the situation he reaches into his jacket’s inner pocket and pulls out a cigarette. “Mr. Locke should be here soon,” Tung says aloud before placing the cig between his lips and flicking out a P-SERIES lighter to ignite the end. He pulls a drag and lowers his hands to his side, letting it continue to burn between his fingers as he savors the taste. Exhaling, he continues “do not let yourselves get too comfortable.”

 

[John Locke]

Location: Galactic City, Coruscant: Tsukasa Auto Corporation Production Facility on level 237

With: [member="Yijun Tung"]

It had been a long long time since John had visited Coruscant, his business interests mostly kept him far away from the one-time galactic capital, focused on building up his facilities on the Mid Rim. It was a failure he couldn't bring himself to be too worried by, the simple fact of the matter was the city, the planet was too congested, too built up for the cyborg to truly feel comfortable here. Even towards to top of the city, in rooms which had the benefit of natural light, and the view of the stars you couldn't help but be aware of the warren of the city extending down beneath your feet. The heyday of the planet had long passed, no longer was Coruscant the business and administrative centre of the galaxy, yet it remained a profoundly important planet. If you wanted to trade in the core, you had to have some kind of presence on the planet that so many consumers lived on. And, regardless of anything else, Locke and Key Mechanics wasn't going to be a flash in the pan company that only established itself in the rim. John wanted more, wanted to see his company ascend to the heights of the corporate megaliths that dominated the galaxy. That was the goal, one day.

For today though, that was still a dream for the future. The man settled back in his seat, letting his eyes flick over to the window as the speeder floated through the traffic, caught up in a river of people streaming in and out to their destinations. "You know sir, there are better places to site a factory than the middle of Coruscant." "Yeah, you're right EX," John turned to give his constant companion a smile, "But we're getting our hands on a prebuilt factory with significant capacity right in the heart of a consumer market. Even if we just use it as a testing ground for new idea we come out ahead. I am a little concerned with it being so far from the rest of our facilities, but," a smile touched his face as the speeder came to a gentle stop and he pushed the door open. "If you're not safe on Coruscant, where are you safe?"

 

[Yijun Tung]

With a gentle wave of Tung's hand the POM-Strike droids turn their cautious attention away from [member="John Locke"]'s speeder. The middle-aged Atrisian man flicks his barely touched cigarette to the ground and smiles as he takes a few steps to approach the cyborg. "Mr. Locke," he says with an enthusiastic tone, following his words with a bow of respect "I am honoured that you've traveled all this way for our meeting. I hope Coruscant has been kind to you so far."

His gaze moves from the businessman to his executive droid, looking the unit up and down. "It's great to see one of these in person," he gestures with a nod of his head "when I originally browsed your catalog I had considered purchasing one of your EX-1000 models to aid with administrative tasks for Yijun Capital." He gives a few satisfied nods at his visual assessment of EX. "Whether or not we find ourselves as business partners to some capacity after this meeting, I am fully content being a satisfied customer" with that statement he taps next to his left eye, drawing attention to the slight digital glow coming from his irises; LK Cyber-Eye lenses.

Giving a grin, Tung step to the side and motions passed the two of them to the employee entrance of the large facility "I welcome you to Tsukasa Auto Corporation's manufacturing facility, Mr. Locke. It may not look like much from here, but I assure you considerable funds and effort have been funneled into it's internal operation."

 

[John Locke]

"Well it's always nice to meet a satisfied customer," Yijun's smile was met with one of John's own as one hand came up to tap lightly against EX's chassis, "EX here is the prototype of the line, I have to be honest, I tend to keep the prototypes of our products for myself. There's just something about the product that so many people have poured their blood, sweat and tears into that makes it that much more valuable to me than the final product." "So valuable that you decided to go dinging my chassis, if I ever thought you'd sell me, that's got to take a few thousand credits of the asking price right there." "It's a good thing I can always melt you down for parts then." "You wouldn't, you monster."

John offered the Atrisian an apologetic shrug, "The prototype but the personality chip might have been a little strong, you get used to it after a while, and honestly, I'm not entirely sure what I'd do without him now. It's nice to have someone to talk to when you're bouncing between facilities a lot. Speaking off..." The man let his voice trail off as he took a step back, dark eyes carrying on up the building, taking in the sight of the factory. "Well, I've always thought that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. Besides, out here, better not to announce too loudly what you are," a mischevious twinkle sparkled in the back of his eyes, "I assume you've got a capable security team protecting the place from any gangs that might be operating nearby?"

[member="Yijun Tung"]

 

[Yijun Tung]

A grin paints an amused expression on Tung's face at the droid's unexpected tone with it's master. He nods at [member="John Locke"]'s sentimental views of his original designs. It was an admirable way of thinking and evidence of the man's true passion for his work. "I won't pretend to understand myself, having never been an inventor," the Atrisian begins "but I would imagine the bond between creator and creation being special, no matter the product." At that, he gives EX a slight dip of his head as an acknowledgement -- certainly not as formal as he would to another person, but more than many organics would care to for a synthetic being.

"Of course, Mr. Locke," he answers enthusiastically at the question of security "aside from industry standard integrated measures; tiered biometric access restrictions, internal and external sensory surveillance, etcetera; we also have organic security personnel and a detachment of Aurora Industries' Watchmen Security Droids on site 24/7." His own eyes scale the building with a confident gaze as he speaks. He was well aware that these were not the only things keeping the factory safe from the local thugs. The underground reputation of the company's ties to the Tsukasa Gokudō kept things running smooth, but this was a point he'd keep to himself.

Rather suddenly he begins to walk towards the entrance, placing his hand against a control panel and looking up into a security camera position above the door. "I think you'll be pleased with the internal operations," he speaks back over his shoulder as the door splits and slides to both sides "please follow me, I will show you around and we can discuss things in more detail."

 

[John Locke]

It was always pleasant to find a business man who was proud of his facilities, and quite justifiable in this case. Most of John’s own facilities tended to be more isolated, a shipyard above a planet, the research facility on Kashyyyk, even the campus on Kiribi, all of the had only limited options for access making his own security requirements much less strenuous. His relationship with various PMCs and governments provided the security he needed, although you could never be too careful Maybe an expansion of his security department was something he should look into in the future. If nothing else they could provide a good test of new technologies, and a showcase for any prospective buyers.

That was an issue for the future though, hardly something he could let himself be distracted by right now, the pointed look from EX a reminder of the fact. John couldn’t help the light of amusement that danced in the backs of his eyes. It looked like the droid had taken a liking to the other businessman, but finding someone willing to treat a droid with even a modicum of respect these days was a rare rare find. “Sounds like getting into the factory might be a bit of a challenge,” John allowed with a smile as he stepped forward to join [member="Yijun Tung"] by the doorway, “I have to admit I’m quite looking forward to seeing what your factory facilities look like inside.”

 

[Yijun Tung]

"As you should be!" he responds with enthusiasm, stepping through the door into a secondary screening anti-chamber where security cameras further confirm his identity.

"We've put considerable effort into automating much of the production to save long-term costs," the seal to the second door cracks and it slides open to allow entry into a simple employee lounge. Inside there are three tattooed Atrisian men sitting at the central table, eating and having what appears to have been a humorous conversation in the Kansai language. One glances over as the door opens and quickly notices their CEO, prompting each of them to turn their full attention to him and give a respectable bow of their heads. Tung flashes them a smile and a subtle dip of head, but ensures his attention is not taken away from [member="John Locke"]. The three men return to their conversation, but become more conscious of their volume and manners.

"But we do maintain organic staff for some positions," he continues seamlessly as he, John and EX step into the room. "I don't expect you to be familiar with Xiaolangzhèn, but I apologize for the assumption if I'm incorrect. It is my hometown here on Coruscant. It's filled with Atrisian refugees; plagued by poverty and crime." He frowns, but his sight lingers on the three employees with pride in his eyes. Their presence in the room was clearly the prompt for the subject "I have been very fortunate. Because of this, it's important that I do what I can to offer my people a chance at a better life."