Sand in the Gears

[Bastille Rommer]

G E O N O S I S​

CAPITAL OF THE CONFEDERACY OF INDEPENDENT SYSTEMS​

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​Up-and-coming entrepreneur, capitalist, company owner - whatever you call him, it was undeniable that Bastille Rommer, head of Te'mansoa Industrial Works had struck a vein of luck when he had started the small mining and ore refining company on the remote desert world of Ra'Katha. The outback planet was loaded with valuable minerals, untouched by galactic civilization, and with contracts flowing in from neighboring systems Bastille found himself at the head of a rapidly-expanding corporation. It was only so long, he reasoned, until he started playing with the big kids. And now, as he stood on the desert capital of the Confederacy of Independent Systems -- a world not like his own -- he breathed a sigh of content. Everything had fallen into place, and the contract that he was about to land would be his biggest yet, enough to completely expand off of Ra'Katha and into the wider galaxy.

He had to admit, he was incredibly lucky to land a face-to-face meeting with the Minister of War himself, something that he figured was rarely granted to small companies like him that were inside of the Confederacy's borders, let alone corporations hailing from a planet that was absent from most standard star charts. As isolated as she was, Ra'Katha was beautiful in her own special way, and Bastille inwardly hoped that an economic boost (largely provided by Te'mansoa) would be able to unify the independent city-states of the planet and turn it into the gem of Wild Space, the king of industry and the capital of all systems around it. One step at a time, he had to remind himself as he walked into the significantly cooler office building of the Confederacy Government.

He was impressed by the marvel handiwork and the sheer enormity of the design, not to mention the grandeur associated with it. Years spent residing on the primitive desert planet had made Bastille forget how beautiful the architecture of civilized worlds could be. But again, he had to remind himself to stay focus. He could save the celebrating for later, but now he had a contract to land. And he was determined to see that he did land it.

[member="Caesar Kenway"]​

 

[Caesar Kenway]

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Theme: King of the World​

Wearing: Suit​

Wielding: Cane​

Location: Minister's Office, Ministry of War, Geonosis, 0800 hours.​

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Tags: [member=Bastille Rommer]​

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The Receptionist stood, and waved [member-Bastille Rommer] over. Then, in a calm voice, asked;

"Excuse me sir, what is your name, and who are you here to see?"

He waited for the response, and then typed it into the computer, and looked back up.

"Ah yes, just a few minutes, and Minister Kenway will see you, please, have a seat."

He gestured to a few lounge chairs in the waiting room for the up and coming entrepreneur to rest in.

The Minister reclined in his office chair, growing immensely bored of the constant babble and rabble of those who came marching into his office, demanding one thing or another. They all thought they were the light and life of the world, the star of the galaxy, the one to rule them all. It was just so... dull. He was used to office work, and he was happy to be able to take part in the changes taking place recently, taking part in more battles. He pushed the chair back, and pulled himself up with his cane, out of the comfortable chair, and walked around behind it to the transparisteel window giving him a view of the weapons testing fields. There were currently a few vehicles fitted with one of his turbolaser designs firing at some empty tanks. They were powerful, but still prototypes. When he looked to another part of the fields, he saw squads of prototype battle droids, armed, once again, with his own weaponry advancing on practice droids.

He then looked up to the skies, and saw his fleet, The Hand of Kenway. Yes, he knew it was cheesy, but he didn't care. He took a bottle of pills out from his desk, unscrewed the lid, took one out, and popped it in his mouth, swallowing it. He then screwed the lid back on, and put the bottle back, closing the drawer. He then went back to the window, and straightened himself, clasping his hands behind his back. He looked out, as he heard the receptionist say that Bastille Rommer was here for his meeting. He simply pressed a button, which sent a message to the receptionist giving permission for Bastille to proceed to his office.

He looked out, and waited patiently, for the hiss of his office door opening.

 

[Bastille Rommer]

Bastille gave his thanks towards the Secretary, a short phrase in Wan'anteen that he had grown accustomed to. Life on the desert planet had changed him, indeed, there was no doubt about it and its euphemisms and phrases were beginning to grow on him. He estimated that it wouldn't be long before he could master the basics of the primitive language, but thankfully most of his executives knew enough Galactic Basic that it wasn't much of a problem. He'd have to invest in a Wan'anteen dictionary someday, though, and he made another mental note to talk to his developer's board about seeing whether or not they start working on a manuscript. If Bastille wanted to elevate Ra'Katha's status in the galaxy, it would help if more of its citizens could converse with outsiders. As he took the long walk down the corridor, he shook a few flakes of dust from the Ra'Kathan spaceport off of his umber-hued suit jacket. The one thing that continued to irritate him about Ra'Katha was the sand; its texture was coarse, it's grains rough and unpleasant, and it got on every piece of clothing, equipment and other fun imaginable items that set foot on the planet. One of these days he would build a massive, sand-free planetarium that would be free of the wretched sand, but that would be in time.

He entered the office, the hissing of the sliding doors giving way to a spartan and impressively-clean room. He appreciated the ornamentation and gave a slight glance through the transparisteel window that made up the rear wall, getting a glimpse of what looked like Confederacy artillery. Perhaps they were prototypes, meant for the lab rather than the battlefield, but then again Bastille was a miner, not a warrior and the weapons of the Confederacy were foreign to him. As he took in the fullness of the room, he couldn't help but notice the shorter and older man that stood behind the desk, cane in hand; one who could be no one else then Caeser Kenway, Confederacy Minister of War. Bastille didn't know the inner workings of the Confederacy political system, but he did know that the man stood before him held the key to potential success, for Bastille, Te'mansoa Industrial Works and even Ra'Katha as a whole. It all depended on whether or not Bastille played his cards right, and anyone who knew him knew that he was an exceptional Sabaac player.

He gave a courteous bow towards Kenway, another Ra'Kathan custom, before straightening up and extending his and along with a brilliant smile. "Minister Kenway. It is an honor to finally meet you."

[member="Caesar Kenway"]​

 

[Caesar Kenway]

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Theme: King of the World​

Wearing: Suit​

Wielding: Cane​

Location: Minister's Office, Ministry of War, Geonosis, 0800 hours.​

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Tags: [member=Bastille Rommer]​

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The Minister turned around, and walked over, his hand met the hand of the man before him. shaking it firmly, before releasing his grip. His right hand then landed on the left armrest of his chair, as he moved around it, and sat down, resting his arms on the metal of his chair. He gestured to the two chairs adjacent from his, on the other side of his desk. He turned on the computer to his left, and typed a few things, then clicked, opening a file. He then reached under his desk, opening a draw, and delicately pulled out a bottle of vintage wine, and a bottle of whiskey. He then pulled out two shot glasses, placing them by the whiskey. He opened the cap from the whiskey bottle, and poured two shots, sliding one to the man before him, and pulled one closer, sipping at it.

"So, you are the Bastille Rommer I have heard so little about? I'm Caesar Kenway, Minister of War. As I assume you already know. So, enlighten me as to why you are here, if you would be so kind. And please, have a drink. I promise you, it's not spiked."

He took another sip of his drink, and pushed over a plate of freshly baked scones and other pastries, for his guest to help himself too.

 

[Bastille Rommer]

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Bastille took a polite sip of the whiskey, but for the most part he merely fingered the glass, holding it at waste level and ignoring the scones. Somehow he had developed a tolerance for the hull-stripper that they called alcohol on Ra'Katha, but the return to a more civilized concoction was mysteriously upsetting. No matter how the drink tasted, the fact was that Bastille wanted to ensure that his proposal wasn't hindered by the stuttering or mumbling that often came with drunkenness. He cleared his throat as he sat down in one of the chairs opposite of Kenway, crossing his legs and leaning back slightly. "I'm not that surprised that you are rather unaware of me or my company. Ra'Katha is a little-known planet, and otherwise your Ministry would not regularly be concerned with matters of trade or commerce."

"I am aware, however, of the Confederacy's recent conquests, of which I congratulate you, of course," he said as he set the wine glass down on the armrest besides him. He clasped his hands as he drew up his back slightly, staring intently at Minister Kenway. "You and I are similar, Minister. We both want the best for our people. That is why you constantly expand your borders, no? And more to the point, we both have something that we want, daresay need, from each other. Ra'Katha has immense deposits of Doonium and Quadrillium that would provide a great boost to your shipbuilding efforts. On the other hand, the Confederacy has the funds to purchase our ores, funds that would be diverted to our own industrialization and modernation."

[member="Caesar Kenway"]​

 

[Caesar Kenway]

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Theme: King of the World​

Wearing: Suit​

Wielding: Cane​

Location: Minister's Office, Ministry of War, Geonosis, 0800 hours.​

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Tags: Bastille Rommerhttp://starwarsrp.net/user/20658-bastille-rommer/http://starwarsrp.net/user/20658-bastille-rommer/​

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Reaching out, and politely taking a scone, he bit into it, while listening to Bastille. He noticed that he had not drunk much of his whiskey, but that was to be expected. Not everybody had the taste for it, and fewer wished to drink while in meetings such as this.

"No, Mr Rommer, my Ministry really does not deal in matters of commerce. However, as this concerns ores which would, mainly, be used for construction of ships, droids, and other such items, and due to the Minister of Commerce being unable to attend this meeting, I can speak on behalf, with her approval, however."

He finished his scone, and poured himself another shot of whiskey. Downing it, while listening to the man's continued conversation. He took a bite of another scone.

"I think you'll find, Mr Rommer, that it is not just that we wish the best for our people, it's that we wish the best for the galaxy. And we do so by peaceful means, if possible. In my time of office, I have, not once, even heard rumours of taking a system by force, save for when we were liberating it from the uncaring, or oppressive hands of other nations. I will not deny that a need for doonium and quadrillium will rise at some point. But for now, name your price."

He took the bottle of vintage wine, and poured out two wine glasses, keeping them by the bottle. He then swallowed the rest of his scone.

 

[Bastille Rommer]

"Around one-and-a-half credits per kilogram of refined Quadrillium, and two credits per kilogram of refined Doonium. Durasteel Alloy can be purchased for four credits per kilo, and of course all transportation to the Confederacy is complementary." Bastille smiled. He knew that his prices were competitive, the only way that was made possible was thanks to the overabundance of the resource. Estimates guessed that Ra'Katha could mine on for centuries and never scrape the bottom of their ore reserves, but Bastille didn't want to necessarily give his metal away for free. There was the domestic market, too, and once military production began ramping up in the RKAF, they would probably be being Te'mansoa durasteel as well. He took another sip of the whiskey before settting it back down, tilting his head as he waited for the Minister of War to mull over his prices.

 

[Caesar Kenway]

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Theme: King of the World​

Wearing: Suit​

Wielding: Cane​

Location: Minister's Office, Ministry of War, Geonosis, 0800 hours.​

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Tags: [Member=Bastille Rommer]​

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"Well, Mr Rommer."

The Minister took the wine glasses, and opened the bottle of vintage wine, pouring out two glasses, and sliding one over to the up and coming CEO infront of him, and set the wine bottle down, sliding his glass back over to him, and sipping it.

"You have yourself a deal. I would like to purchase 1,000,000 kilograms of Refined Quadrillium, 1,500,000 kilograms of Refined Doomium, and 200,000 kilograms of Durasteel Alloy. So, if my mathematical working is correct, you will be 3,300,000 credits richer. I would like this purchase to occur over several weeks, with each second week seeing a third of the sum being paid to your company, Te'mansoa, with the Confederacy of Independent Systems receiving a third of the Quadrillium, Doomium, and Durasteel Alloy until all of the order has arrived. And by my estimate that would result in... roughly 1,200,000 kilograms of your product each second week, with 1,100,000 credits being directly transferred to the account of Te'mansoa Industrial Works every second week. So in a span of one and a half standard months, everything should be payed off or close enough. Once this order has been completed, and the last gram of product transferred, you may talk to the Ministry of Commerce about another order. From there it is entirely up to them. A member from said Ministry will also get in contact with you this week to finalise this order, and transfer the first sum."

The Minister then produced a datapad from his desk, and wrote up a cheque for 100,000 credits, which he then printed out, and logged. Handing the physical copy to the CEO, with another physical document which was essentially just a slip that allowed one Bastille Rommer, CEO of Te'mansoa Industrial Works, to file an order with the permission of Minister Caesar A. Kenway, of the Ministry of War, acting with the authority of Minister Alessandra Creed, of the Ministry of Commerce. The Minister then sipped his wine again.

"Just sign those to say you have received them, I'll sign them, then you can store them however you like. Should you require further contact with me you will also find that information on the documentation giving you permission to place an order with the Ministry of Commerce. The address is listed as being on Zaadja because of the new Ministry of War HQ in it's final stages of construction there, which I will be moving my office to as soon as construction has been completed. Anything I need to clarify, go back over, any questions? Comments? I shall also contact you at a later date regarding a purchase for my own company, which is unrelated to this discussion."

The Minister leaned back in his chair, his imposing, business-like form relaxing, sipping on the wine.

 

[Bastille Rommer]

"No questions, Minister Kenway. You have a knack for explaining things with a crystal-clear clarity." Bastille gave the man a genuine smile. This was the first big contract for Ra'Katha, and as news of a small world with abundant ore reserves grew, so would business and the coffers of the RKK. Ultimately, today was a good day he thought as he graciously received the check from Kenway before standing up, giving a bow before extending his hand to shake the Confederacy Minister. "I look forward to doing further business between our two nations, Minister."

 

[Caesar Kenway]

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"Good. Good. And thank you, for the compliment. I might say I'd be good as the Minister of Commerce, but that position is taken, and my speciality is matters of war, and tactics, with a bit of politics mixed in, not trade deals."

The Minister stood aswell, and pressed a button on his desk, summoning a BX-Commando droid to wait outside his office to escort the promising young CEO back down to the receptionist, where he would sign off on a register, saying when the meeting concluded. His hand then glided forward, firmly gripping [member=Bastille Rommer], and shaking the young man's hand.

"As do I, as do I, my good fellow. Now, stay safe in the galaxy, and I wish you the best in you and your nation's future endeavours. It was a pleasure. Now, if you need anything further, just book a meeting. And should you need the time, it is 8:49 AM."