Mandalore Marketing

[Laira Darkhold]

My shuttle touched down on the planet of Mandalore, home world of the Mandalorians, and the place I called home now. Former home of the Skirata Clan, Kyrimorut, a stronghold and a bastion located in a more remote place on Mandalore than the other cities was where we had arrived. Having been given permission to transplant our Headquarters to this portion of space, construction had already begun on an administrative tower in the town. The building would feature Executive offices and an administration complex, but overall, would be relatively small, without any manufacturing capabilities. Kyrimorut was a small, easily defendable place. It was perfect for me to have the company operated from here, and it was far enough away from Keldabe and Sundari that it was still remote, which was normally how I liked things. Kept random people from just showing up on my doorstep.

[member="Lady Kay"] , [member="Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha"] , and myself had arrived to discuss our contract with the Mandalorians, and potentially having our company sponsored by the warrior race.

A small cantina had been cleared out, in typical Mandalorian fashion, this negotiation would be fairly informal. Basically, we just needed an agreement so I could build on their world of Concord Dawn and start selling them my manifest. All we were waiting for now was [member="Anija Ordo"] to arrive and begin discussing terms.

 

[Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha]

Zreame had taken a seat at a nearby table and had her feet up on the table as she leaned back into her seat, her hood obscuring most of her face from sight. Safe for her mouth which had a lit Cigarillo in it, a trail of silvery smoke lazily moving up into the air and disappearing as it reached the ceiling. The trip had been long and she hadn't gotten any sleep over the last few days as she had been working on the holo projector now hanging off her hip next to Ithrac, her bloodsword, within the projector were the designs of her first real projects as head of engineering for Armatech as well as her personal project regarding her own personal armor.

Most or rather all of the four projects were still in their infancy so she hadn't made any real process on them just yet since most of her time was spent overseeing some of the other projects going on in her department. She wasn't asleep but she was definetly resting her eyes, Her tail moving slowly from side to side below her as she had her hands make a makeshift pillow for the back of her head.

During the trip to mandalore she had been the same, though she had just taken a nap, silently traveling with [member="Draco Vereen"] and [member="Lady Kay"] to their destination. Breaking the silence she uttered a question to her boss. "So what is [member="Anija Ordo"] like?" She asked as she moved one hand and raised her hood with her thumb, her eyes beginning to form bags under them.

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha"] [member="Lady Kay"]
((For the sake of story, i'm assuming you've joined the Mandos/Protectors already, but we can change that if you like, Draco.))

It wasn't often that Anija made trips to Kyrimorut. She tended to spend most of her time in Keldabe or on Cnncordia these days if she was home. And well, the last time she'd been in a cantina for a meeting like this, it really hadn't gone anywhere. And that had been for alliance talks with the Republic. Which, hadn't gone all that well. So, to say she was wary about this was a bit of an understatement. Ok, maybe a lot of an understatement.

Sighing softly at that train of thought, she stepped inside, letting her helmet's light filtering mechanism adjust to the dimness inside. Once she could see clearly, she scanned the room out of habit. She had no concerns of being attacked here, but she was still wary. After a few moments, she spotted him. Or at least someone who matched his description well enough. She stepped further into the cantina and let t he old-fashioned door swing closed behind her, shutting out the damp spring air. Inside, it was mercifully cool and not humid.

When she'd moved away from the door, she turned and moved towards the table at which he sat. It was then that she noticed he wasn't alone. There were two others with him. Turning, she made a discreet gesture to the bartender, signalling they would at least want water. And then, she moved towards the table. Gripping an empty chair, she turned it around and straddled it easily, giving the table's occupants a nod. Her gaze went to the armored man, and she nodded. "Draco Vereen. good to see you." it wasn't a question. She didn't know him personally, but she'd done some checking. A habit Larraq had taught her years ago. Feth, he'd done the same to her before he even hired her. Pulling her thoughts back to the situation at hand, she continued. "You wished to see me..." She turned then and nodded to the two women with him. "Olarom, ladies. Welcome to Mandalore."

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Zreame came in and sat down, and asked about [member="Anija Ordo"]. Personally I had never been formally introduced to the woman, so I was unaware about her personality beyond what few others had told me. That description had been that she was kind, but not what one would consider gentle. “From what I know about her, she is nice, easy on the eyes, and fair. But I haven’t spent time with her enough to have my own opinion.” I told the cernun who had her feet up on the table. Good, I liked informal, kept things from being to business-like.

Moments later the young Mandalorian woman entered the cantina, and I nodded to Zreame and Lady Kay. “There she is now.” I said to them as I stood in greeting, nodding respectfully. “Anija, its good to see you as well. This is my Chief Operating Officer [member="Lady Kay"], and my Chief Engineering Officer [member="Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha"] . They will be assisting in negotiating this meeting, though I doubt we should have any trouble.” I said, gesturing to the two other women at the table. I kind of wanted to see how Kay would handle the negotiations myself, but I was here in case she needed help.

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha"] [member="Anija Ordo"]

Lady Kay, having heard that the meeting was to be informal chose to dress that way as well. Might as well not stick out like a sore thumb too much. So she just wore her simple merchant attire. This was her first trip to Mandalore, and in the past she was hunted by a few of them. But those matters were long taken care of. Even now her best bodyguard was a Mando that just happened to feel compelled to watch over her after a recent visit to Bakura.

As the woman approached Kay bowed her head and gave her a small smile, "Thank you. It is lovely to meet you Anija Ordo." Sponsorship of a company by a nation was unfamiliar territory for her, but she was willing to learn and very good at handling compromises. Either that or she was really good at arguing in a polite way. Or perhaps both?

 

[Olivia Dem'adas]

[member="Anija Ordo"], [member="Draco Vereen"], [member="Lady Kay"], [member="Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha"],

Olivia followed Anija Ordo into the bar and took a seat next to Anija, sitting in it the normal way. "My brother speaks fairly highly of you, Mr. Vereen." Olivia said to the former Republic citizen, her helmet's external speakers relaying her voice at a normal, conversational level. Her light Beskar'gam mostly hidden beneath her officer's uniform. The thin helmet betrayed the existence of the armor beneath her clothes where the two connected with one another. "You and the weapons you create." She added as she glanced at the Phrik armor the man wore.

Her eyes, hidden by the true face of her T-shaped visor, glided over the two women flanking the former Republic citizen. Small, meek, untested. Republic civilians. A Mando'ade child could take them in a fight. Zero threat to either Anija or herself. Draco... was another matter. He wore his armor well, her brother spoke highly of him, which had to count for something, and his armor appeared to be of a high quality. His ability to use it and familiarity with combat were unknown quantities... But Olivia doubted that herself and Anija would be unable to best the man if they had to.

"So why don't you tell us what you and yours can do for the Protectors, for Clan Dem'adas, and for the Mando'ade." She said as she pulled the bar's menu up on her helmet's heads-up display.

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha"] [member="Lady Kay"] [member="Olivia Dem'adas"]

A faint smirk touched Anija's lips under her visor as she watched Olivia enter and seat herself at the table. Anija was trying to do her best to relax, and show it outwardly. Sure, they were negotiating a contract, but there was something to be said for a measure of physical comfort. Mentally, she shrugged and settled on giving Olivia a nod and greeting her quietly.

She had to admit, this was probably the first time she'd seen Olivia in such a setting, and the next few hours could prove...interesting. It was then that one of the serving girls came over with a couple water pitchers and some glasses. Setting them down, she gave the group a smile before vanishing again.

An eyebrow rose slightly as she listened to Olivia. When she finished, Anija cleared her throat. "Mr. Vereen. Ladies. I'm glad you have sought us out. Mr. Vereen has been part of the Protectors for several weeks now. We all know of at least some of your more prominent projects. My question is the same. How can you and your company help us?"

 

[Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha]

Zreame leaned up to adjust herself to sit properly in her seat, moving her hood off her head as she tried to adjust to the low light but in reality she was only fooling herself since she was a cernun and cernun had no night-vision. With a soft puff of silvery smoke from her Cigarillo, she reached back into the pouch on her hip and pulled out night-vision goggles and placed them on her head. 'Ah that's better.' she thought as she could now see [member="Anija Ordo"], [member="Olivia Dem'adas"], [member="Lady Kay"] and [member="Draco Vereen"] more clearly and she flicked her cigarillo into an ashtray to put the growing ash on the cigarillo into it.

She listened as she thought this might actually be a very good learning experience for her, though mostly just to see what this side of the business would be like. However her mind was only half in the moment, the other half was back in her division, on her project, the silent atmosphere engines for insertion craft. Her distraction could be seen as her fingers moved a little as if she was writing or drawing something half way. Her tail moving slowly from side to side, not unlike a snake moving through the underbrush of a jungle.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

I nodded to the new comer, Olivia Dem’adas, whose brother I knew well. He had basically sponsored my joining the Mandalorians and had helped my Company during its infancy immensely. In fact he was one of the reasons we had grown so much, so fast. I had seen the armor Larraq had been making for her, but she didn’t appear to be wearing it as of yet, so I must assume her birthday had not yet occurred. Next to me Zreame straightened up and put on her goggles so she could actually see in here. I could see her mind was busy with other things, but for now, I was ready for this.

Lady Kay was here, and mainly it was just discussing how this was supposed to work out. “Well, Miss Anija, ArmaTech is on the verge of another expansion once again. We’ve recently produced several sets of armor and weaponry, as well as two very advanced vehicles. One the Mythosaur Mobile Fortress was created with the Mandalorians in mind. Basically we want ArmaTech to get a cut of the Defense Budget so that we can continue paying for these projects.” I told the young woman. I didn’t know If Lady Kay or Zreame had been aware of the Mythosaur project, but it was on the table now.

[member="Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha"] [member="Anija Ordo"] [member="Olivia Dem'adas"] [member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha"] [member="Anija Ordo"] [member="Olivia Dem'adas"]

Lady Kay wasn't a member of the Republic or any government for the time being. She left all of that behind after her husband died and had just kept to herself. She didn't even make an attempt to return to the Jedi Order as her pride and stubborness haven't allowed her to.

She bowed her head to Olivia as she joined them. It was supposed to be an informal meeting yet she could tell that trust was still very much an issue as neither if the women had removed their buckets. As the water was brought, Kay reached inside of her satchel and took out a couple of dried Sapir leaves from a pouch, placing them in the water to make a cold tea with. Kay was never without her tea.

As her boss spoke of this mobile fortress project, Kay did her best to hide her surprise as it was the first that she had heard about it. "With hostilities on the rise, we could all benefit from helping eachother and add to our strengths."

 

[Olivia Dem'adas]

[member="Draco Vereen"], [member="Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha"], [member="Lady Kay"], [member="Anija Ordo"],


Olivia couldn't help but to laugh. "Boy, you forget where you are." She said between the chuckling that still escaped her lips. "This is not the republic." She said as she got control of herself once more, a small smile still playing at her lips beneath the protection and anonymity her helmet afforded her. "We have no defense budget. We have no taxes. We have no overinflated bureaucrats." Olivia said as she leaned forward, her elbows on the table and her left hand wrapping around her right fist. "We are the Mandalorians. We have clans. We have families. We have husbands and wives and children." She said as her smirk turned into a scowl behind the cold and emotionless visor that represented her people. "What we want and what we need, we earn with our own two hands. Our guns, our ammo, our tanks, our ships... Each and every one of them is owned by a family, not some overpaid army made up of pathetic whelps with nothing better to do with their lives. Not a one of my people has ever come to me asking for a handout, and I'll not tolerate it from some new convert."

"You want to make your fortune from Mandalore?" She asked, rhetorically, her hand tightening its grip on its clenching sibling. "You do it on your own dime. If you can make something I think's worth buying for my people, you'll earn my coin. But you can fund your own damned projects 'till that day comes." She said with an icy distaste in her mouth.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

I raised an eyebrow at the Mandalorian woman. She was feisty which I could admire, even if she was wrong. "You misunderstand. If you want my things, they cost money to make. In order to use them you have to pay for them. Otherwise I would go broke giving you them. And yes, in order for a business to exist it has to make a profit. I want a cut of the your money for the products you use, much like the Olympian Battle Armor specifically made for the Mandalorian Protectors Military assets. I will then convert the profits into Research and Development projects. Are you following me?" I said pausing for a moment to let her process. "Then I will sell those, as they will be equally worthy of your money. And from those I will make profit. If one did not make profit, that business would not exist for long. The purpose of any business venture is to make money. Your brother understands that very well. Ask him about it one day." I said to the new arrival. I was sure I had just insulted and upset her, but it mattered little.

"Miss Anija, What i am asking for is simple. I want you to buy my things, because they are more than worthy of the credits I ask. I want to build mining stations on Gromas, Concordia, and Aeten. I want to build a factory on one of your planets the size of a continent, and I want to keep selling you my things. I want to keep making new products specifically for the Mandalorian Military, much like the Mythosaur Mobile Fortress." I said, much nicer to Anija that I had to Olivia.

[member="Olivia Dem'adas"] [member="Lady Kay"] [member="Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha"] [member="Anija Ordo"]

 

[Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha]

Zreame stared at [member="Olivia Dem'adas"] through an expressionless facial expression, her eyes seemed like they barely registered her. 'Ok so she's the more proud and arrogant of the two then?' she thought to herself as she watched the woman put on her display. She had seen the designs to the Mythosaur Mobile Fortress and to say she was impressed was an understatement. The thing was a stroke of genius to be sure, at least what she thought war was like she was sure one or two of those could come in handy. However what [member="Lady Kay"] did have some merit if one would think logically, factions were stronger when working together with a common goal instead of against each other.

A slight smirk cracked over her lips however when [member="Draco Vereen"] spoke back. 'Go go buffalo~' she thought as she as she couldn't help but admire how easily Draco danced around dangers such as Olivia. From what she had heard of Mandalorians, insulting them, let alone those that were as proud as Olivia seemed, was tantamount to suicide or a few broken bones at best. When the conversation was turned towards [member="Anija Ordo"], Zreame listened intently, her mind no longer in two places but right now this meeting was much more interesting than the projects floating around in her mind. "I wouldn't mind getting to know your culture as well, since that might give me ideas on projects specifically with mandalorians in mind." She then spoke after staying silent for so long, moving the cigarillo in her mouth from one corner to the other as she blew the silvery smoke out the side of her mouth, away from the table and it's occupants.

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha"] [member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Olivia Dem'adas"] [member="Lady Kay"]

Anija's eyes narrowed as she listened to the exchange between Draco and Olivia. And, to be honest, she wasn't all that thrilled. Sure, Olivia had a reputation for being... abrupt... and sometimes downright rude. While in some cases, that might have worked. But this was not one of them. Briefly, Anija lifted a couple fingers to rub at her visor for a moment. This was getting... tense.

And yet, Anija found herself intrigued at what Draco and his compatriots had to offer. Specifically, the Olympian Battle armor and the Mobile Fortress. She was quiet for several seconds as she studied the holograms that he'd set on the table between them. Both intrigued her immensely, and she found herself staring at them as she tried to gather her thoughts.

Finally, she looked up and met Draco's gaze - eyes to visor. "You have my attention. And, while I can't really speak for the entirety of the Mandalorians, I can say that what you offer could be of excellent use to the Protectors." She paused. "That being said, I wouldn't be here if others weren't also interested." What he said next caused her to look more sharply at him. "Gromas, Aeten, and Concordia?" she echoed, her tone slightly incredulous. "That's a tall order, and it will be a lot of work for both sides. But, it can certainly be done..." she said, thinking on it. Zreame's comment caused Anija to smile again. "I could certainly help with that, if you wish, or find someone that can if I am unavailable."

 

[Laira Darkhold]

I let Anija speak without being disruptive or interjecting anything as she did so. The Protectors intrigued me, one of the reasons I had joined their group. I felt more like a member of them then I did elsewhere, and the Mandalorians were warriors, much like myself. “ArmaTech is prepared to place mining facilities on all three of those planets with your approval. Of course selling of the materials will be limited and require approval of the leadership before I start handing out Beskar, in fact I don’t intend to sell most of the products derived from those planets outside your borders.” I said reassuringly.

I adjusted myself in my seat. “I am prepared to sign a deal here. What I want really is a long term contract. Not you want X units of blasters. I want a contract that says you want as many as I can give you for as long as they are worth your credits. That is what I consider government sponsorship.” I said calmly, explaining why I was here and why I had requested this meeting.

[member="Anija Ordo"] [member="Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha"] [member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha"] [member="Anija Ordo"] [member="Olivia Dem'adas"]

It was amazing how an informal meeting became a little bit hostile, at least with the spoken word. Neither Kay's boss or her co-worker had meant any offence to anyone, but it seemed Olivia had a bone to pick with people that she assumed were from the Republic.

Just as she was about to speak up, Anija had spoken first, hopefully diffusing the temper of her companion. But then she found an opening. "It is a lot of work, which is why he took us under his wing to help share the workload."

Her cold tea was ready, so she took a sip. One great thing about Sapir leaves was that they never took too long to steep so that they were just the right flavour.

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha"] [member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Olivia Dem'adas"] [member="Lady Kay"]

A slight smile pulled at Anija's lips for a moment as she watched Kay with the tea. it made her long for a nice hot cup of behot. Which she knew she could easily get here. After a moment's thought, she signalled one of the serving girls, who came over quickly. A few murmured words in her ear, and the girl turned away with a knowing smile to fetch a small pot of hot water, the loose herbs for the behot, and a mug. A couple minutes later, she returned with several items on a tray, which she then placed them in front of Anija.

When she'd gone, Anija carefully poured hot water into the mug and stirred the powdered herbs into the water. Quickly, a pleasantly strong and herbal, earthy scent wafted up from the steaming water. Stirring it gently, Anija used the time to compose her thoughts. She studied Olivia for a moment. She could well understand the woman's reluctance. However, there wasn't going to be anything gained by either party from sitting on their hands. Setting down the spoon with which she had been stirring the behot, Anija slowly reached up to undo the seal on her helmet, lifting it up off her head before lowering it to the side of the table.

"Mr. Vereen. Draco. Ladies..." She looked around the table at all of those present. Your offer... intrigues me, and it certainly has merit. We do certainly need more makers of weapons and armor. And I would be lying if I said that a set of armor designed for the Protectors didn't pique my interest." She paused, and looked around at each of them again as she sipped at her behot. "I also like the way you think." She steepled her fingers for a moment in thought. "I can assist in securing land on those planets where you wish to build facilities. As for the weapons themselves, what's your asking prices for each...?"

 

[Laira Darkhold]

[member="Anija Ordo"] [member="Lady Kay"] [member="Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha"]

"Well, normally they are as listed here," I said holding out a datapad linked to my store, "But I often make exceptions for my allies. I can afford twenty percent off the market value and still keep the lights on all my factories running, and have enough for reasonable expansion." I let her look through the entries on the datapad before speaking again. "I will have my crews begin heading to those locations as soon as we leave today, but I have one last request." I paused letting her think for a moment, "I would like for my ascoiates here," motioning to the girls, "To be allowed on all Mandalorian worlds provided they are not attempting to mine without permission. I want them to have free reign within our laws, besides that one caveat." I kept looking at the armored woman. It wasn't a ridiculous request and it wasn't out of line. Simply asking that they be allowed on Mandalorian worlds and be given the same rights and protections as a mandalorian. Actually less since they wouldn't be allowed to mine Beskar without asking, and most Mandalorians were able to mine it openly and without asking in small amounts.

 

[Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha]

Zreame thought for a moment and realized she'd like to see the famous forging of beskar even if she hadn't mined it and wouldn't be working with it. Mandalorian smiths were famous even on Cernunnos and their iron was sometimes used in the bloodswords of royalty. [member="Anija Ordo"] was probably the first, and most well liked by her, Mandalorian that Zreame had meet and she took a drag of her cigarillo and let the smoke fade away to the side of the meeting as to not let the smoke disturb any of the others. "I just realized some thing. since this is a meeting won't we have to sign something or other?" She then said with a questioning look since it was pretty much the second meeting she had been a part of and at the first she signed the document to become the chief engineer of Armatech.

[member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Lady Kay"] [member="Olivia Dem'adas"]

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Draco Vereen"] [member="Zreame Ithrac Zeibitha"] [member="Lady Kay"]


She frowned slightly as she looked over Armatech's manifest. they did have some rather impressive equipment. And while she was more familiar with Mandal Hypernautics tech, this was a little off the beaten path, so to speak. Her eyebrows rose slightly at the mention of the discount, but it made sense. Nodding slightly, she tapped at her chin for a moment in thought. She'd not known Draco long, and yet, he was extending a lot of trust in such a move.

And, she was more than willing to reward the trust he'd put forward. With that in mind, she thought a bit more. it was not one he made lightly. That much she could see. And she thought on it accordingly. it wasn't uncommon for people to come to the Mando'ade , but this situation was a bit unusual. "I... see no problem with them being allowed on Mandalorian worlds.." she said after a few more moments to think on it. "Provided they abide by that one stipulation..." Zreame's question made her pause for a moment. She'd sensed the general direction of the woman's thought, and smiled. "Of course...." She rummaged around in a pouch on her belt, producing a datapad after a moment. A touch of the controls lit the screen. On it was displayed a copy of the agreement in bulleted form. Anija never really was one for long-winded writing. "Just read and sigh here..." She said, lightly pushing the datapad towards the others. Perhaps in time the two women would join the ranks of Mandalorians.