Talks and Trade

[Dredge]

Lujo, a pretty blue planet with beautiful oceans and vast green fields. It was the perfect place to have an arms deal or negotiation of possible alliances or treaties. Really it was quite the gem of a planet located just off republic space in a neutral zone between the protectorate and and the republic. But either way it was a nice world that had a lot of potential for a lot of things. Sadly the horde couldn't afford to cross republic space to get to the hutts, so this place would suffice for now. At an old abandoned warehouse a good amount of Yuuzhan Vong warriors stood around guarding it, all dressed in their black crab armor ready to die at a moments notice.

Inside the warehouse in the center sat the high prophet and supreme overlord of the Vong and horde, Dredge. A rather long title for a man with such a short name, but the man with the long title was here to do business with the new Hutt leader. He needed ships and weapons for his upcoming war against the galaxy. But alas this was going to be interesting, two new leaders doing business and talking to try and work something out for their people. All that was left now was to have the Hutt show up so they could begin the buy and potential trade and treaty agreements. @[member="Popo"]

 

[Popo]

A small convoy approached the warehouse. The convoy was only made up of four vehicles, but their combined firepower more than made up for their numbers. The lead speeder pulled up and parked and the others followed suit. Two enclosed speeders, one larger enclosed speeder, and one hover truck lined up out front. As if given an unspoken order, Tenloss Security piled out of the vehicles, each armed with blasters and sidearms though some held Tenloss disintegrators instead. The larger enclosed speeder touched down on the ground and the big door on the side opened up to allow the occupant to emerge.

Popo slithered out and took in the warehouse and the Vong guards in one glance. Not many liked the Vong, especially after they tried wiping out the galaxy during their wars, which made the armored Hutt wonder why the hell were they so visible to anyone watching. It practically screamed 'here I am! Attack this!" to anyone interested.

As the Security personnel moved around the convoy to keep it secure, a quartet of men peeled off to form up around the Hutt as bodyguards. A few men popped out of the truck and began unloading a few crates of supplies. Within each crate was samples of Tenloss products that the Vong might be interested in that Popo planned to exhibit to the Vong leader, a Vong called Dredge.

Entering the compound, Popo made his way past the Vong guards. They didn't stop him. The Hutt was expected. The huge Shell Hutt spotted the Vong leader seated in the middle of the warehouse. Luckily there was a series of tables nearby to set the crates on and the first of the crates was brought in by a few Security personnel before they left for more.

Slithering up to the opposite side of the table from Dredge, Popo nodded politely in greeting.

"Good afternoon, High Prophet Dredge," the Hutt said. "I am Popo."

@[member="High Prophet Dredge"]

 

[Dredge]

Dredge waved to his men and they brought a few glasses of water to the table. Waving again he dismissed them to go back to their duties guarding the area. Hutts weren't really the greatest species on the face of this galaxy when it came to military operations, but they had their uses. Such as weapons and ships and the steady flow of trade and money that came out of their more criminal enterprises. So dredge would barter and talk about how they could both benefit from from working together in the sales of slaves, weapons, armor, and ships. "I believe we know each others names. Now that greetings are out of the way lets get down to business." he said to the Hutt wanting to begin their trades and talks.

Taking one of the glasses Dredge took a drink and set it down afterwards, "Let's just cut to the point. I need men, ships, weapons and armor. You have all of the above. I have a ruined planet with thousands of untouched bank vaults filled with credits. Now all I need to know is your prices." Dredge was a straight forward kind of Vong, he didn't like using technology just as much as the next Vong but he did what he had to for his people to survive. "Now I hope we can work something out, the sith are about to fall and I need to make sure my people are as protected as possible."

Dredge snapped his fingers and a few Vong from inside the warehouse came up to the table holding three large silver crates. "Open" he simply said to them, in truth he didn't have to give more than a commanding nod to get his point across to his men but for now this worked. The Vong opened the crates and they were filled to the brim with credit sticks. This was only a drop in the bucket compared to what they had here at the warehouse. "Do I have your attention?" he said in a respectful polite tone to the Hutt @[member="Popo"]

 

[Popo]

"You had my attention when you required supplies," Popo's face was impassive as he spoke, a trademark of his business experience. The crates of credits pleased him, but only because it showed that these buyers had the funds to buy from him, not out of greed. Those who talked a big game but didn't have the money to back it up annoyed Popo. It wasted his time which was better spent on other things... like this here.

"Men I have, but not in the sense you think. My security is second to none, but they are a small fighting force. I can place you in contact with bounty hunters, mercenaries, and other such groups should you need them, but I would rather keep my own men out of the fighting so as not to get too tangled up in the galaxy's violence," the Shell Hutt shrugged at his statement. It was pretty simple, really. He would gladly sell to anyone and everyone, but so long as he kept his own people and himself out of the fighting, there was little to no reason to go after him, Tenloss, or the Cartel. "However, ships, weapons, and armor I do have in large supplies. Starting off with weapons, what is it you need? Specifically."

@[member="High Prophet Dredge"]

 

[Dredge]

"I don't need soldier I need slaves, my Rakghouls need replenishing." He said to Popo, he had no intention of keeping the slaves sold to him their normal selves, well at least the humans. The aliens would be converted into soldiers and the humans turned into Rakghouls. He intended on spreading plague and death through the galaxy, and with that dropping a few thousand ghouls on a planet was a good way to do that. He would bf honest with Popo and let him know any slaves he sold them were going to their dooms on the battlefield or losing what made them human as a member of the infected, dredge was an honest Vong and he would make sure he got what he needed. "I know your kind deal in slave trade, so please don't give me the holy than thou bit. We both know our ledgers and past are stained with red." he said to Popo as he grabbed his glass and drank from it again.

"As for weapons I need just about anything you have to offer, I have a military of slaves I need to outfit and control. Whatever ships you have for sale I shall purchase." he was simply here to buy what the Hutt was selling. It was needed to sacrifice all these credits for the sake of building a better military for the horde, even if it had to be done on the wretched back of technology. He would use it all to kill and burn this galaxy to the ground. Vengeance called his name, and with the fall of the sith the idiot republic would go looking for its next witch to burn. "So tell me what you have to offer." @[member="Popo"]

 

[Popo]

"Believe it or not, while I do have holdings with the slave trade, I have little ability to provide them for you," Popo stated. The Vong was being honest which meant the Hutt had no reason to be dishonest in the deal. "Most Hutts use slaves as a work force or as a commodity. I don't. It lessens the potential for a revolt which endangers myself and my assets. The few slaves I have are purely for decoration, so to speak. I operate with Indentured Servants. Legalized slavery, so to speak. That said, I can put a word here and there to certain... associates of mine that would be interested. You wouldn't be dealing directly with me on the slaves, but you would get what you desire."

With this, Popo beckoned at a nearby guard. The man opened one of the cases and pulled a tube-like weapon from the box. The guard picked up a magazine as well and brought them to the table. The weapon was a slug thrower of simplistic use and made of stamped steel. It resembled a thick pipe with a stock and a basic stick magazine that loaded underneath the weapon.

"This is the PTS-N submachine gun. Most of our buyers call it the Partisan gun. I have very, very large amounts of these laying around that I can sell to you in vast bulk. It uses a chemically propelled bullet as the projectile at a high rate of fire. It's cheap, plentiful, and effective as a close quarters weapon and should suit your needs for the short term to outfit your military. The submachine gun uses 9mm ammunition which is easy to find in the galaxy, so you won't hurt for ammunition either. It's easy to maintain and easy to repair and if you break it beyond salvaging, there's at least two more ready for use."

The Shell Hutt gestured for the Vong to handle the rifle and determine if the weapon suited his needs.

"Please, inspect it if you will. I encourage all potential buyers to handle the wares that interests them. If you'd like, we have brought ammunition so that you might test fire them, should you wish."

@[member="High Prophet Dredge"]

 

[Dredge]

((I'm sorry for the crappy post, I'm getting sick and I feel like ass))

Dredge pushed the machine away, although the Yuuzhan Vong were becoming more adapted to accepting technology some old habits did die hard for Dredge. "I will take your word for it Hutt, now let's do business. I'd very much like to get in touch with your slaver friends." looking to Popo he gave a slight smile and clapped his hands once. Walking forward were a few Vong wheeling a large glass tank filled with the creature that bonded to form the infamous Yuuzhan Vong crab armor. "Now I'm not looking to blow half my planets credits here so I ask for a trade along with the credits that you ask." the tank was filled with about thirty of the crabs and there were more here in the warehouse. "Do these look good to you?" he asked the Hutt before moving on to further thee conversation

"Also I'd like to see your ships, these are the main reason why I am here" His ships were some of the best designed according to rumor in the galaxy and dredge wanted them. They would serve well in helping him on his plans until the the ship wombs would pop out a few new cruisers. "Let's talk prices, how much for a package deal on the ships." @[member="Popo"]

 

[Popo]

(OOC: No worries man. It happens lol!)

"For the Cruisers, I can do a fair number of things," Popo stated. He didn't take the refusal to handle the weapon in a negative light. He knew that the Vong hated technology and such was to be expected. That said, the Hutt did take some pride in the seemingly random ability to sell technology to the technophobic race. Such irony did not escape him.

The Hutt set a small holoprojector on the table and activated it. A hologram of the Wanga-class cruiser floated above the table while various statistics and data listed off on the side of the image.

"The Wanga is a six hundred fifty meter long warship of the cruiser class," Popo began, his tone both neutral and informative. "The ship is both heavily armed and armored, maximizing both resilience and firepower in close quarters engagements. The cruiser features ray shielding to defend against energy attacks while the heavy armor plating protects against kinetic weapons and missiles. The ship can operate on a minimum crew of a little over nine hundred, though the optimal crew is around four thousand, primarily because of the lack of automation in most of the ship. I would suggest using slaves for such work to cut back on crew costs."

The hologram began zooming in on various aspects of the ship, cascading data and information each time it did so.

"The Wanga carries more guns than most cruisers of its class to deliver a devastating punch to enemy vessels and features tractor beams to pull in your opponent for a slugfest you'll surely win at close range. The ship is a bit slow for a cruiser, but the ability to take sever punishment and deliver heavy blows outweighs that little issue."

@[member="High Prophet Dredge"]

 

[Dredge]

"Well it certainly looks to be a decent ship, but I need to talk price. Now I may be a bit lacking when it comes to tech but I'm not an idiot. I know Wanga's are not the greatest classes of ships and I will accept a fair offer for it. I know you need to make money as a business man and I respect that. But before you name my price do not take my distain of technology as a weakness." Dredge was quite serious when it came to these things, if the Hutt wanted to sell him a toyota corolla as a Ferrari dredge would not have it. That being said he honestly wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two. But his personal presence here was needed over some slack jawed lackey. It was a sign of respect to the Hutt that he would show up in person and be would hope the Hutt would return that in full to him with the pricing of his goods @[member="Popo"]

 

[Popo]

"I understand that you feel that way, but I believe you may be selling the Wanga a bit short," Popo stated simply. "It can be outmaneuvered and outrun. It lacks the speed necessary to disengage or run down enemies, but I don't think you'll be doing much of that."

Popo shrugged, another human gesture he'd picked up over the past few centuries.

"You are Vong. You do the assaulting. You don't do defensive operations," Popo stated simply, his eyelids blinking slowly, though his expression remained unchanging. "You don't like technology because of your 'religious' outlook on it, but you... You are different. You understand that sometimes you must use what is available, not what you want to use instead. You are also smart enough to spot the flaws in a design and you know enough of economics to know a rip off price when you see one. So I'm going to do this..."

Popo hit a button on the projector and a new ship appeared. Statistics and data scrolled on the smaller ship as it rotated in the air. Even from a small holo projection, anyone could see the thing bristled with weapons.

"This is the Azalus-class Flak Frigate," the Hutt stated. "One of the major weaknesses of the Wanga is the lower number of flak and point defense weapons. This frigate that you see here, gives up the ability to engage capital and escort ships for anti fighter weapons. Anything the size of a gunship or smaller will die if it comes within range. The design features one hundred and twenty guns on a three hundred meter ship. Flak, point defense, and quad laser turrets are mounted in an equal mix around the entire hull. It's also easily repairable and very easily crewed. It is a bit fragile, though, so they'll have to escort something that can protect it sufficiently. Like the Wanga."

Popo gestured to the holo as the projector displayed the two ships side by side for comparison.

"I'm willing to cut a deal. Production has been good and the ships are far cheaper to produce efficiently than originally estimated. I can give you a deal on the frigate. Buy three Wanga Cruisers, and I'll give you one Azalus for free."

@[member="High Prophet Dredge"]

 

[Dredge]

The Hutt was truly generous, he was all but giving dredge these things and he had to capitalize on the deal. So without further bargaining or offering it was time to strike on the deal. "Deal Hutt, the horde humbly accepts your proposal and in return for your kindness I would like to offer you a few of my creatures for you to clone or use as you see fit." Dredge looked over to his men who began stacking crates of credits so they could finalize this deal and the two could move about their merry way. This was taking a while and the man had to get going to their new home world. @[member="Popo"] ((Mu god I am sorry I am so swamped with things right now I'd just love to wrap this up. Thank you for everything and in the near future we will get things going))

 

[Popo]

Popo nodded and made a gesture to the men near him. They began retrieving the crates and transferring everything to the convoy.

"I'm glad we could do business. Your ships will be ready in seven standard business days," he stated politely. "You may pick them up over Nar Shaddaa at your leisure."

@High Prophet Dredge
(OOC: You're fine, man.)