Tertius autem temporum leporem

[Natalie LaForte]

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IMF Headquarters​

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What a busy week.​

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Trying to develop a cure for vampirism, being enlightened to the light side and now meeting with [member="Darth Metus"] to announce her company's official support for the Intergalactic Government, the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Really, it made sense. They were in the market for droids and to be honest, Natalie was in the market for shifting excess stock of droids over to people who were interested in using them for things other than domestic protection.

You know, getting that brand recognition.

She sat in her office, and as soon as her business companion arrived he would be directed to take the company elevator up to the top floor and meet with Miss LaForte (Soon to be Mrs, mind you). While she had a few of the models up their, primarily the ones that would be of any use to the Confederacy, she couldn't possibly showcase all of them, although if he did want to see more she was more than happy to oblige him, with some spare space being cleared in the company's parking lot where droids could be brought out on a whim.

 

[Malok]

Although Darth Metus was physically standing within the lobby of an exquisite corporation, his mind was set on other things. It was...a surprising turn of events on Mandalore. One minute, he had set aside his desire for revenge to see the vision of [member="Mia Monroe"]. But in the next, the last Sole Ruler to get chit done had returned from the dead. And, in true "getting chit done" fashion, [member="Ra Vizsla"] immediately set the Mandalorian world ablaze. Darth Metus wasn't as invested in his culture as he once was - but to learn that the man he surrended the title Sole Ruler to now crusaded against Force Sensitives.

Well. It left a bad taste in his mouth.

But, despite the extra distance he now felt from home, life moved on. Today, he had a responsibility to fulfill: a duty to the people and entities of the Southern Systems. As their guiding hand, he had to see their Confederacy uplifted. And thus did he make the appointment with [member="Natalie LaForte"]. To his knowledge, her corporation dealt in what made the Confederacy iconic: Droids. They had the ability to produce them, effectively, and this was an opportunity that his nation needed. Thus, as he was directed to the company elevator, Darth Metus made a conscious effort to shelve his thoughts of Mandalore.

The time of the Resol'nare was past for him.

The time of being a decent Vicelord was just getting started.

Ding!

The doors slid open, revealing a sharply dressed Metus to the CEO. Gone was his blast vest and poncho, and in their stead a well tailored suit and tie. He offered a warm smile as he entered the office, taking confident strides towards her desk.

"Always a pleasure to see you, Miss LaForte."

 

[Natalie LaForte]

"And a pleasure to see you too, Mr Verd."

Natalie wasn't keeping up with the Mandalorian civil war, and in all honesty, she couldn't care less unless there was an opportunity to sell products to either side, and since one of them; that being Deathwatch, persecuting people like her there was a very slim chance she could even be bothered to make the jump to the planet and risk her life to help the defenders of Mand'lor

Standing in the room would be 2 Z2-MCDs, the company's most prominent droids that they used on a day to day basis.

"Well I don't see any point in delaying any further, let's begin, shall we?" Smiling to [member="Darth Metus"]

"We at IMF pride ourselves in making the finest quality droids there are on the marketplace. We're aware that the Confederacy uses a multi-tude of models, and we would like to bring our own into your millitary ranks. All of our models come combat ready, and as apart of our company guarantee any major conglomerate or organisation that we sign with gets access to all of our products visible on our online marketplace, along with any that we produce in the future. Additionally, we're willing to offer anybody affiliated with the Confederacy of Independent Systems' government up to 20% off on our products, effectively just paying for the manufacturing costs"

"Of course, we would need annual payments to cover the cost to continually supply you with such equipment. Dependent on how many units of stock you order, we charge around 25,000-200,000 credits per month, that is of course including droids, starships (although they have annual interest payments), replacement and repairs along with anything else you could ever need. Does that sound alright so far?"

 

[Malok]

Straight and to the point. Darth Metus appreciated that more than he let on. A simple nod encouraged [member="Natalie LaForte"] to proceed with her presentation; to which the Sith listened intently. When she had finished, he took a moment to mull over the terms before speaking.

"Thus far, those terms are very agreeable." he began. "As a trial, I would like to see how your droids can be integrated into our standing forces. If you'll humor me, I'd like to purchase a battalion's worth of your finest combat models for integration on Shimia. They will be rigorously tested, and following this brief trial we will gladly accept the generous offer you have made for us today."

In truth, the CEO's offer was incredibly fair and the Sith had no problem accepting right on the spot. They would even sign the contract containing the trial period clause before the conclusion of their talks today. However, Darth Metus had to be thorough in every affair.

"If you find that agreeable, I'd like to also make a request of IMF. The Confederacy would like to produce an modern variant of the B1 Battle Droid. We would like these droids to be dropped from orbit via a solid pod - one that would open when entering the atmosphere. Once clear, the droids will then disperse via jetpack and enter combat from the air. In eras past, landing and deploying troops took valuable time; and we would like to expedite the process tremendously. As you are to be a valued partner moving forward, I would like for your company to produce the pods I was referring to. Would you be willing to undertake this task?"

[member="Natalie LaForte"]

 

[Natalie LaForte]

"Certainly, I mean the droid models here are the most commonly available and versatile models we have, although if you want something with a bit stronger of a punch I'd recommend the Z3-MCD, who is essentially the sister model of the Z2-MCD. It basically doesn't everything this droid does but better, although costs a significant amount more and is really used in smaller numbers. In response to your second point, just to clarify you want us to produce the pods only and not the actual droids? If so, do you have the specifications for the droid you want the pod to be designed around?"

Perhaps she misheard him but it was a rather strange offer to ask a company to produce the model for the drop pod rather than the droid itself, since drop pods themselves were glorified starships. Regardless, they were small enough in size that Natalie was comfortable with taking up the offer, even if it meant she couldn't get the sweet sweet branding from the droid itself.

[member="Darth Metus"]

 

[Malok]

"Hmm..." came his response, followed by a brief pause. "Then a Battalion composed of both models would yield the most effective tests. I'd like to purchase both the Z3 and Z2, with the latter making up the majority of the battalion's composition. Now, as for the Pods, we are designing them around the standard, B1 Battle Droid unit. I will forward you schematics of the unit for your team's reference."

Put simply, the Confederacy had foundries full of the archaic battle droid. And, while they were not the most up to date line, they were vastly cheap to produce and could be deployed in overwhelming numbers. "If possible, I'd like each pod to carry at least a full Squad of Droids. This way we can expedite superiority over an engagement zone with ease."

@Nathalie LaPorte

 

[Natalie LaForte]

"Very well, we can discuss the exact cost of the purchases later." Nodding her head and listening to [member="Darth Metus"] describing the pod.

"B1 Battle droids? While basic, this will be a fairly easy task. I'll get a concept for you within a few days before we go into production. Should be easy enough, we've got experience in creating escape pods, so drop pods are really no different, not to mention given the rather basic application you're requesting we can add a few additional features to enable for a easier entry to the atmosphere, increased defenses etcetera . I won't bore you with the technical specifications, as I imagine a busy man such as yourself doesn't have time for the intricacies."

Natalie looked to her computer before turning back. "Will that be all? Do you have anything else you wish to discuss?"

 

[Malok]

"Excellent. Most excellent." he began, clasping his hands together. "Simply forward the invoice for the Battalion to my office and we can arrange transit from there. I truly look forward to the concept as well."

The Sith offered her a smile.

"Nothing further at this time, thank you for meeting with me. I am most pleased at the result. Moving forward, I will certainly think of your company first in these regards."

[member="Natalie LaForte"]