Restructuring (Self dev thread)

[Natalie LaForte]

​

​

"I'll keep this one short. I'm assuming we don't want to waste our lunch breaks, which will be happening later than usual."

The room darkened as the shutters to a temporarily rented meeting, Natalie staring down to 50 or so investors now staring blankly at a screen which was filled with nothing but the logo above. Natalie's hands glided and danced, providing some sort of communication with her audience while she spoke, though more of them seemed to be interested in her hands that what she was actually going to be speaking about.

"While I'm sure you've all been told about the recent corporate management changes, I'll just be explaining them in-depth in this meeting. For one, I would like to thank my associate [member="Lunara Ochenta"] for her continued work despite a rocky relationship over the 8 or so years that the company has been open for."

With grace her arms outstretched to the position of the woman who would make her way onto the stage, followed by a round of appraisal from the audience.

"Secondly, and probably my most important point, upper management has decided to change the company's name to better suit our current endeavors into the marketplace. While we thank our current technical and engineering staff, who have been a credit to our work in producing the latest in starships, droids and other weapons systems, we believe that as of now we are edging towards providing far too much of a generalized product within a single company."

Some heads turned to eachother curious as to what she was about to announce.

"And as such, the company will be shifting our current mining assets to a new subsidiary that we have quite literally just created. 'INN', or the Intergalactic News Network for short, which will be headed up by Lunara, our new department. Along with this, I'm also proud to announce the opening of yet another subsidary 'Promenade travel' and soon to be opened "Promenade designs", which will be taking up our limited clothing line that we currently produce."

Another round of applause came from the audience.

"And with that I have one last congratulations to make! In exchange for the remainder of Lunara's stock values, she will be heading the INN Project while I will be putting my fashion charm into Promenade designs. To clarify, IMF will be retaining permanent ownership of already produced products along with some minor production capacity though any and all new designs will be produced on Intergalactica and Promenade designs property."

Natalie looked up, thanking her brain for yet another stroke of genius in the corporate industry.

"As always, refreshments will be availible in the front! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask."

The shutters reopened once again, a bright light shimmering onto the newly placed drinks and snacks trolley that was present at the front of the room.

 

[Priscilla Utorna]

Lunara strode to Natalie's side after the speech had concluded, not looking too impressed with how the debacle had turned out.

"I know what you're doing LaForte. Don't think I won't get you back for this." Taking a sip of wine she had left to sit at the side prior to bowing. "You think this little joke company of your's isn't going to amount to anything, that I'll be worthless and lose my reputation that I had prior to this."

The Vorzydiak laughed and looked at her straight in the eyes, Natalie continuing to smile dead ahead and watch the wandering crowd of 50 or so people eagerly consume the finger food that was on display. "I did it for a reason, little girl. Perhaps you're too blinded by your recent success that you can't see what's going to happen should you double cross me again, perhaps you're unaware exactly of what power I wield in this galaxy or perhaps you're still too young and naive for a cynical old lady such as myself."

The woman's hands retracted from Natalie's ear and then turned her body to the left.

 

[Natalie LaForte]

"You seriously think you're getting anywhere with Intergalactica? Laughable. Nobody wants to travel here, there's no industry for it. I've even went and done the nice thing of allowing you to choose the headquarters and yet you still think I'm trying to torment you? I may be young, but I'm not naive."

The woman's eyes gazed upon the woman.

"Oh Lunara just one more thing."

The vampire's face didn't change one bit while Lunara was giving her defeat speech.

"Have a wonderful day!"

Then proceeding down to the finger buffet for an assortment of poorly made snacks.

-Elsewhere in the city...-

Natalie's patience was wearing thin.

Following a rather lackluster hostile takeover attempt on an otherwise failing company, she had decided that enough was enough. For too long had she been attempting failed dealings resulting in the Trade Federation to, for the most part, become a failed operation. No, for too long had she been willing to accept the spineless Neimoidians who were now threatening to remove Natalie's majority stakehold in the business. One push is all it took, and with the inheritance of a rather wealthy king going through to his son, now putting her dangerously close to that threshold she had dispatched a large number of droids to remove the incompetents.

Similarly to the IMF meeting hall, a group of around 50 or so people were now awaiting patiently, most of them Neimoidian nobles who assumed this was the announcement of yet more cutbacks. One of them, the only Natalie could stand to be near, had took his position at the front and was attempting to calm down the uproarous crowd who were about to leave.

"Miss LaForte should be with us any second now! If I could have your attention the finger buffet will be refilled shortly! Just-.."

His speech was cut short by the sound of heavy metal thumping the ground before the first exit doors burst open displaying a group of 20 or so IMF security droids. The crowd's silence was replaced by a myriad of confusion before the shots started flying. While the cannons were weak, they easily pierced the noble gowns and various suits they had foolishly chosen to wear, some requiring the heavier use of the anti-personnel laser cannons to be mowed down.

In 10 seconds or so the 50 shareholders had been vanquished, the speaker who was standing at the front now alone saw a singular droid approach him, the rest retreating back to the various entrances they had came from.

This is the end. Huh.

Rather than resist his fate, he kneeled down, expecting to be destroyed just like those he was trying to inspire moments before. A blink, at which he could only assume was a laser being fired followed by darkness. His face remained emotionless, not sure exactly why, how or who did this.

And then a flash of light. A hologram of Natalie flashed before his eyes, obviously a pre-recorded message of some kind.

"Congratulations on your promotion. I do hope we don't need to part ways. I suggest you leave, the police will be investigating a bomb threat and the hall will be destroyed in 5 minutes to cover up what happened here. Utter a word of this to anyone and I will see you meet the same feet as your former fellow shareholders. Toodaloo!"

The droid retracted itself and then moved to the centre of the hall, as if it had become as motionless as the corpses below it. The Neimoidian tried to reconcile his emotions, his feet dragging along the cold, hard floor and out of a fire exit where police sirens were blaring. He looked behind him one last time with trauma in his eyes and then heard a tiny voice utter words in a child like tone.

"BYE-BYE!" Followed by some sort of nuclear detonation, sending the meeting hall up in flames.

-Days later-

Reports would slowly come in regarding the Trade Federation's stockholders dying, all of which would be immediately purchased by sources hired by Natalie to remove any suspicion, then sold to her at a later date. While most figures pointed to corporate sabotage, Natalie claimed in an online report that she had been 'scarred by the event' and 'would have arrived if only she hadn't have slept in'.

The corporation, after several days of lull, would return to business as usual as an official dependency of the Intergalactic Monetary Fund.

Natalie's real plan was to simply shift the order of operations, with the IMF becoming an Intergalactic Banking clan, the Trade Federation taking up production of most goods, Promenade designs being her pet project and last but not least amusing herself watching Lunara struggle to manage the down failings of another one of her projects from long ago. Of course, she couldn't simply leave her contractees out to dry, and would contact them in the upcoming days. For now, everything would appear smoothly on the outside, but in due time these changes would take place.