Repairs under Lock and Key

[Cathul Thuku]

The damage dealt to several Alliance worlds, mostly on Thyferra and Dagobah to a lesser extent, was forcing Therapy Command to scramble its procurement schedule to accommodate reconstruction efforts on those worlds, even though the reconstruction of Skor was well underway, only with a detour through Dagobah for the convoy once the smoke cleared in the Metharian Nebula. She'd probably want to go back to Skor, now with the convoy, arriving a little late. In fact, Skor was a place that held special significance to her: she was part of the fleet that secured the Squibs' survival, or at least liberty, but also the only place where she actually did win against the dreaded First Order. So, once more, she had to get working towards the procurement deals that needed to be done, so that she could actually come to the aid of all three worlds as fast as was possible. Now, she knew that the Triumvirate trusted her for the more important procurement deals, probably more so than the other generals or admirals. So when she heard about Locke and Key's LK-Archimedes...

---------------------------------------------

ATTN: [member="John Locke"]

Subject: LK-Archimedes

After the battles that took place on Dagobah, Thyferra and even the unfinished reconstruction business on Skor, we have come to the conclusion that our ability to carry out repairs to war-torn planets has lagged behind the rest of the war effort. So we would like to negotiate the deal for the LK-Archimedes, with the prospect of signing a major contract for the provision of the LK-Archimedes repair droids. Come to Skor if that works to you, and don't forget to eat some Skor cake or Squib chocolate if you did come, courtesy of the Squibs.

Adm, Cathul Thuku
CO, Therapy Command

---------------------------------------------

 

[John Locke]

To say that John had moved fast when he'd received the Holonet message from Admiral [member="Cathul Thuku"] would be an understatement, as EX had put it, he moved so fast that it had almost been like he'd left an after image behind, the droid had noted, if they could copy that then their fighters would be unstoppable. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible, but catching the first flight to Skor, now that was something that was doable. Besides, even on Kiribi he'd heard about the famous Skor cake before, and this was a chance to try it out in its native habitat.

A lot of his competitor's focused on purely militaristic creations, but there was more to life than just that and hopefully, this would be an opportunity for him to prove that. And to be able to help out with the Galactic Alliance, with their efforts to repair in the wake of a devastating series of attacks? That was just the icing on the Skor cake, and an opportunity he couldn't turn down.

 

[Cathul Thuku]

With the main three thrusts of the First Order blockades being the Hydian Way, the Corellian Trade Spine and the Sanctuary Pipeline, getting to Skor demanded of [member="John Locke"] that he would come through the Rimma Trade Route. But she would have no idea exactly how the Skor cake actually gained any kind of fame outside of the southwest. She might have eaten a slice of Skor cake once or twice, with one Asaraa Vaashe, prior to the events of the Metharian Nebula, but otherwise, she would probably offer another one to John when he arrived at the designated location, the meeting room in one of the orphanages on Skor. She knew she needed a supply of droids to do more than just war, to rebuild the wounds sustained at home. Especially for those systems that suffered due to catastrophes of various natures. She then placed a plate with a slice of the Skor cake, alongside a bar of Squib chocolate, because she knew it would do her no good to break dietary promises - in fact, she knew she had to deliver on those dietary promises on top of any contractual obligation that might result of the contract she is about to negotiate.

"Greetings, Mr. Locke. I trust you would like some Skor cake before the actual negotiations begin?"

 

[John Locke]

It wasn't how he started off most of his negotiations, in fact John had never seen any meeting started with the offering of a slice of cake. Although that said, he had to admit that as a tactic, you couldn't deny how effective it was at setting people at their ease. That was something that he would have to remember for later, after all it never hurt to learn new techniques, especially those that meant he got a slice of cake.

Purposefully ignoring EX as the droid settled into position behind him John reached forward, his fingers closing around the offered plate as he inclined his head at the Twilek, "Well, I'm never going to say no to a treat, especially one that looks so good." "Oh please," the dry almost sarcastic tone from the droid, "please try to at least resist a second slice master...I'm the one who'll need to hear you complain about having to go to the gym on the flight home." John twisted his head around to glare at EX, "Tell me again why I don't just give you a memory wipe?" "You'd miss my sparkling wit and humour."

The executive sighed, turning back to Cathul with an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, he tends to get out of hand but apparently I just couldn't live without him. Will you be joining me for some cake?"

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"Ah yes"

It would do me no favors whatsoever to not eat my slice of the Skor cake; hypocrisy would just not help out there, she thought, while [member="John Locke"] asked about her joining him for a slice of Skor cake, with the banter from the protocol droid interrupting them. Luckily for him, there was only one slice for each of them. Yes, she kept her dietary promise, but in most other instances where she had to do procurement negotiations, she was much more direct. If I served the First Order, if what intelligence tells me about this is correct, I may as well be either commanding medvac or procurement; it would just not be a given that I would still be in command of a battlefleet, she thought again, because the First Order forced her procurement hand. The more troubled she was about the various enemies she fought, in that she could do medvac just fine, or even fight the Sith Empire's scarce admirals that they could even use in actual battle away from the borders, the First Order was having her number despite her best efforts. Troubled perhaps, hopefully this slice of Skor cake would help her here.

"Now, if I may begin, there are three planets for which we need the repair droids most. Thyferra, Skor and Dagobah. I may be wondering how many droids you can produce"

 

[John Locke]

John paused, the cake part way to his lips as his eyes observed the Twilek admiral for a long moment before he nodded and took a bite of the cake before placing it back down on his plate. "This is pretty good," he observed as a small smile curled up the corner of his lips. "So straight to business, I can respect that."

The engineer, he refused to think of himself as just another suit...although he wore a suit to work all the time these days, lent back in his chair, steepling his fingers as he let the silence drag out for a moment as he considered the question and his facilities. "Well, the Archimedes is just one of our droids, and I have a few different models running for at the moment but we produce around two thousand droids a month. But...you're looking at an order far in excess of that, to provide enough droids for a planet you're looking at thousands of units per planet."

The man fell silent for a moment, the only sound in the room his fingers rubbing over one another, a metallic grating before he nodded. "I can set up new production lines at my factory unless you would rather I set up a complex in your space to provide better support to the teams on the ground?"

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"I'd rather have you set up a complex in GA space: it will make our lives easier, and probably best to build said complex on one of the affected planets. That being said, I would prefer Skor: many surviving Squibs lost their livelihoods, and it should be easy for you to buy the needed land from the Squibs, especially in what used to be a field of ruins in an industrial zone"

Even though the colonization of Dagobah was, in fact, a pet project for the commandant of its shipyards, Skor should have the complex; there isn't a whole lot to rebuild on Dagobah, she thought, while she knew that Thyferra was still at-risk from that standpoint. [member="John Locke"] would realize that, for each officer with procurement authority like her, there were more people (usually in different cultures from either person) who would rather engage in lengthy protocol-mandated formalities prior to engaging in the main business. True, red tape was the bane of any admiral, no matter how competent, just that she'd rather not spend any more time than necessary in the red tape part of the business. She put down her slice of Skor cake, only about half-eaten, and she goes back to talking about how to actually implement that suggestion, knowing that her main two areas of expertise when it came to the reconstruction of planets were public health and real estate development (more so about social housing). Ordinances were a pretty good starting point:

"Given these considerations, you shall be granted access to the Skor cadastre"

 

[John Locke]

"Not to mention a new factory complex would mean new jobs building and staffing the complex," John pointed out with a good-natured smile. "The kind of investment that could really help people get back on their feet." If you could do a good deed and expand your company, well it seemed like a no-brainer.

"I can get a few surveyor's in to look at the cadastre and start looking for a site to build a factory here," those fingers reached up, stroking his chin for a moment as John wave EX over, liberating his datapad from his assistant's hands. "We had a new military droid scheduled to roll out next week, but I can push that deployment back a few months which should free up that line and let me double production of the Archimedes till then."

He placed the datapad on the table and nodded at [member="Cathul Thuku"] as a smile touched his features, "I assume that I can count on your support in getting all my operations set up and running here?" Having the weight of the GA behind the development of a facility on the planet wouldn't hurt, and could well lead to advantages and new opportunities for him down the line.

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"The one final detail that might matter to the Squibs to allow outsiders to set up shop on Skor: how many Squibs will that factory employ?"

While few Jedi were familiar with the concept of indirect jobs, she knew that direct jobs were not the end of the story in the context of industrial development. Create X jobs by building a droid factory, and the real amount of jobs created is XY, Y assumed to be greater than one. However, Squibs would usually be no more familiar with indirect jobs than Jedi would be. Once the Skor plant opens, perhaps he can devote the Skor factory to the manufacturing of Archimedes droids, while freeing up other production lines for other lines of production, she thought, while realizing that she did a lot for those Squibs, over multiple projects, in fact, the vast majority of the reconstruction efforts since the rest of the Alliance was reluctant at best. But however large the contract she was about to draft with [member="John Locke"], she'd better leave some wiggle room for private production of that particular item. Squibs deserved whatever aid they could get, but not to the point of bleeding the aid providers dry, so she'd rather not bleed Locke and Key's droid production lines dry either. She just needed to make sure John understood what she perceived to be an alternative:

"Or rather, pushing the deployment of the military droid until the completion of the factory on Skor; I'm more than sure those Squibs would want to repay the favor of reconstruction by helping other worlds getting (re-)built"

 

[John Locke]

"Well, everyone has heard of Squib engineers and their...shall we say remarkable skill in putting together junk so that it works well." John's voice fell off as he considered the question. "I'm open to hiring as many as we need to run the factory, but..." John held up a hand, "They either need to be trained to the skill I would expect from any of my employees or be willing to learn. I respect their skill as engineers, and no-one can deny the Squib's abilities with a tractor beam, but I'd rather not turn out droids that all look the same and have the same abilities."

The man extended one mechanical finger to poke at his datapad in thought, "How about if you can find me 100 Squibs who meet my hiring levels I'll fly them back to Kiribi and put them up there while they train up in my facility there. In the meantime, we can start building a facility here using local firms. The Squibs who go to Kiribi can for a cadre for new hires here, overseen by managers that I bring in from off-world now. THat way I get to ensure my product and we can help out some people who really need it, besides, that gives the rest of the population intheh area time to build the secondary services a factory of this size is going to need."

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"100 Squibs? That might require us to sub-contract with a staffing company; I hope you're amenable to that, so long as the hiring standards are made clear to the chosen subcontractor"

If there was one thing in this dossier that Therapy Command knew, it's that it did not have the expertise to be making hiring decisions in a droid production capacity. Maintenance of hardware was related, although different enough to consider sub-contracting. Although Cathul was not the most familiar with industrial project management, she knew that, between all the steps required to build a factory that size, hiring the staff to man the factory definitely wasn't on the critical path: hiring the factory's staffers only need to be made by the time the equipment is being tested. Plus, she suspected the secondary services a factory that size would be using, to which [member="John Locke"] alluded, were going to be used by several more industries, such as a cake factory being built nearby to take care of the rising demand in Skor cakes and Squib chocolate. Such as utilities, roads, to name a few. What sort of Jedi would actually know what goes into caring for the well-being of a planet so that evil would not occur again? she thought, while being reminded of the reason why she had to take those details into account before signing the big deal.

"Beyond that I do not wish to interfere into what those Squibs will actually do once under your payroll: work standards are usually under the purview of the individual planets"

 

[John Locke]

John took a moment to consider the offer before nodding, "I can live with that, as long as a hiring company is aware of the criteria I'm seeking they should be more than capable of finding the Squibs I need to take back with me, and I know your staff is more than busy enough without my adding more work in on top of that." A small smile touched the man's lips as he glanced at [member="Cathul Thuku"], inclining his head to the side in respect. "I can assure you I don't mean to use and abuse them, and I'm perfectly happy to meet any planetary workplace standards or better them. A happy worker is a productive worker after all."

"In that case sir, might I suggest that I..." "No EX, I am not installing a super laser in your chest, or giving you a jetpack." "So much for a happy worker, I'll have to join a union, to strike." The aside was carried out by both parties in a relaxed, almost humorous tone. A comfortable exchange between two friends who had had this conversation again and again. "How long do you think it will take the planetary government to prepare for the construction of a factory? I can have the first shipment of droids headed here within two weeks, but that's the easy part. Performing the surveys and planning, that might take them a little bit longer."

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"Maybe 3-4 standard months total, perhaps five or six. Wiggle room is necessary to allow for different factors, but the Squibs have prioritized certain areas for industrial development. Also, standard procedure, when using staffing agencies, requires one to clearly spell out the requirements of the positions these agencies are used to fill"

3-4 months was rather fast by the standards of industrial projects of that size, and that's assuming there are no real delays other than those induced by the weather; the same went with the Skor cake plant being built near the likely locations of that factory [member="John Locke"] wanted to get built. Getting the details of the early production schedule was one thing, just that taking the long view was essential for the whole deal to work. Not even having the right moral purity would be enough: although getting the locals to buy in was part of the game in such deals, successfully doing so required a realistic plan: not knowing the local market conditions was a recipe for disaster. Plus it was another reason why some Jedi, the majority perhaps, seemed to eschew the more economic areas of Jedi work: so many of them were rather short-sighted. Just that the JAG officer, who normally is responsible for military justice, was on standby to make sure the terms of the procurement contract were clear and legally enforceable. Yes, she knew that civilian staffing agencies were often used to get temporary labor for businesses, but the main difference between a staffing agency and a temp agency is the ability to hire personnel for longer-term work.

"Any other details that might be important before the final terms are printed out?"

 

[John Locke]

“It will take me at least that long to move things at my end, but I wouldn’t want to push things too fast and rush into something no-one is ready for. If we say 7 months then that gives the government here a chance to get caught up before we move in. Besides, it’ll take that long for the Squibs I’m taking home with me to get trained up to the point where they can train others.” John leant back in his chair, letting the data pad in his fingers fall to the desktop. “I don’t want to put them in a situation where they feel like we’re rushing things with them, forcing them out of their comfort zone.”

Learning a new topic, any new skill, was hard at the best of times, and this wasn’t that. The pressure on the Squibs he brought with him would be immense, They wouldn’t only be cast into a new world, a new culture but they’d be acting as representatives of their people with all the requirements that put on them. John had experienced some of that himself when setting up factories on other planets. “I can’t think of anything else just…the Squibs. Is there anything that I can do to help them settle in and be more comfortable?”

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"I'm not the most familiar with the Squibs' culture, but once they start working, they will be likely to start unionizing and using the union to haggle for better work conditions"

After Thyferra's loss, Skor and Dagobah were prioritized until recapturing Thyferra was even possible. Speaking of Thyferra, the Sith could only win in orbit when they have a large advantage in both meterage and squadrons. And whoever she could manage to save was of limited comfort in the face of that admittedly Pyrrhic defeat. Seven months? Is that how long it took to train the Squibs? In seven months there may not even be a Skor II for them to return to. Or at least not under Alliance rule. Now hiring the Squibs would become a critical activity, or so Cathul would think, while leaning on her very limited knowledge of project management, with the final stages of those seven months focused on getting the equipment tuned to the requisite levels. Which also meant that she had to select a staffing agency right away. Probably one specialized in industrial labor. So the JAG officer on standby just began shopping all those... staffing agencies and comparing which ones offer the services best suited for hiring that many Squib engineers for [member="John Locke"]'s company, in accordance to his professional standards. She also drafted a contract:

"Now that we had all our bases covered, please go over the terms of the tentative contract"

 

[John Locke]

John couldn't help but laugh at that, shaking his head as amusement danced in his dark eyes, "Well if they're like any of my other unions then they're gonna eat me out of house and home, but as long as they're happy and comfortable, then that's all that's important."

The man gestured behind him, waving EX forward, "You may want to get this down for legal." "Yes sir, recording now, with your permission Admiral?" The droid smoothly turned its gaze on Cathul for a moment before nodding, "We're live now."

"The terms we've agreed today are, Locke and Key Mechanics will provide the Galactic Alliance Archimedes Droids for their rebuilding efforts on the worlds which were devastated during the recent attacks. We also undertake to build a new factory here on Skor II. We will also be taking 100 Squibs with us back to Kiribi to train in our procedures, with the intent of allowing them to return to the factory here to act as a Cadre to assist in the training of new hires from the planet. The Galactic Alliance will be buying our droids, and providing us with assistance in setting up the factory here. Am I missing anything?"

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"No"

So [member="John Locke"] was using EX to record the verbal MOU before the real document would be his to sign. Not that she minded anyhow, just that precautions of that nature would be best to be carried out. Yes, Cathul used a rather archaic method, just that such methods should not be dismissed out of hand. But to think that unions have caused costly overhead while simultaneously making the lives of the workers, well, livable, she wondered to what extent it was actually a good thing for the Squibs to unionize in an industrial context, even though it was generally perceived, among the Squibs, to be a good thing. Cathul thus handed him the actual contract, in two copies: one for him to bring back to Kiribi and another one for the JAG office, procurement section. Already that having hard copies was an useful precaution to take, so that it wouldn't get lost in an ion storm, but losing such a contract among the procurement bureaucracy was another concern of hers. She knew there were limitations placed by the bureaucracy, she sighed when the JAG officer left the scene before signing the actual contract.

 

[John Locke]

“Excellent,” A genuine smile touched the executive’s face as he glanced down at the contract in his hands. The man’s dark eyes flicked across the screen, running through the lines of text before him for a long moment as he lapsed into silence. “This all looks good, I’ve got nothing to add, no complaints.” A grin pulled the corners of his lips up as he reached out, signing his copy of the contract and passing it across to Cathul for her own signature.

“It just so happens that I happen to have a freighter with some 4000 droids on its way here right now,” John allowed sitting forward with a smile. “Always hope for the best right…and if we hadn’t come to a deal, I figured they’d be a nice gesture for the population here anyway."

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

Now that [member="John Locke"] signed the two copies, it was time for Cathul to sign those copies and enter a legally binding agreement. Finally, we can actually get things done, even though Vero would soon soak up droids as well. However, that's the unpleasant part of implementing solutions to problems like the bacta problem and to not treat issues of that nature as fluff, she thought, while realizing that on Vero lied the solution to the Alliance's bacta problems she worked so hard on getting started when Thyferra came under attack. Yet Vero is in a state of disrepair as well. In her heart of hearts, she knew that anything to cover the droid shortfall in the short run, the 4,000 droids delivered to Skor, would be used on Skor, but given the outcome of Vero she would feel that diverting part of the shipment to Vero once Vero is secured will likely prove necessary. And yet, she knew it was not going to be easy at all. Plus since the main item of business was over, unlike Lokthra, she had no other topics to bring to the table, so she prepared to shake hands with John.

"Thank you for doing business with the Alliance today"