Private The Future is Now

[Katia Alkas]

FOREMANRY, ATIRAK CITY | HAMRA
MIDDAY
TAG: Hester Shedo

CLOCKS​

The frontier.

Kat was no stranger to it. Her work often took her to the backwaters to set up business. It's those backwaters most in need of some kind of infrastructure or sustainability.

Hamra was no different.

Well, except for the person governing it. This Hester Shedo had made relative waves while she had been Viceroy of Scarif, not all of them good. Like Hex, she had been subject of some scrutiny which could not be proven. What a woman of that calibre was doing on a backwater desert world like Hamra was anyone's guess.

"We'll be landing in the next 10 minues, ma'am." Kylie Sousa, Kat's aide said as she stood in the door to the lounge of the yacht.
"Thanks, Kylie. Ready everything for the meeting, please." the AgriCorp executive said as her dark head turned toward the young woman.
"Yes, ma'am." Kylie said before ducking out of the lounge again.

The desolate landscape came ever closer as the yacht descended toward the spaceport, the city coming into view as it went. The infrastructure itself didn't look too bad, albeit a bit bare, but there was other work that needed to be done on the sandpit.

Upon touchdown, Kat and her entourage exited the yacht and were approached by some administrative-looking people.
"Hamra welcomes you, Miss Alkas. I am Midas Farraz, Coordinator of the Foremanry. Please, this way. The Chief is looking forward to meeting you." a man who looked quite authorative, said with a smile
"I'm sure she does." Kat mumbled under her breath before flashing a smile. "Grand. Let's get on with it." she then told Midas

The drive to the government building outside the city was desolate and uneventful until the Foremanry came into view. It was in stark architectural contrast to the rest of the structures on the planet - much more refined.
"Spectacular, isn't it?" Midas asked, his voice filled with pride and wonder.
"Indeed." Kat said. The governmental building on Christophsis was a far greater wonder being carved mostly from an immense chunk of Kyber crystal.

It didn't take long for Kat to be herded toward an office and to be heralded inside. Flicking her dark hair back, Kat regarded the woman behind the desk.
"Miss Shedo, a pleasure. Mister Holst sends his regards and apologies for not being here on behalf of Hex Incorporated but hopes to meet you soon." Kat said, getting the formality and posturing out of the way.

Time to see what kind of person she would be working with.

 

[Hester Shedo]

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TAG: Katia Alkas ​

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|THE FOREMANRY|​

/ATIRAK CITY\​

-HAMRA-​

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It was cold in the room. Just how she liked it.

Years spent on the tropical world of Scarif had allowed Hester to acclimate to the heat and humidity. Hamra was something else entirely. It lacked the clawing, claustrophobic wetness that made the Scarifan environment so difficult and had swapped it for a dry, scolding heat that could burn the fine hairs inside the nose at the sun's zenith.

She liked her office and living spaces to be cool. Space travel she hated but it lacked a freshness of quality to the air, missing that crisp freshness that perhaps only natural air that had been treated could provide. It was unlikely but she was a creature of habit.

Midas entered. Hester allowed a few moments to pass before looking up from her datasheet.

Ah.

The formidable beauty that stood in front of her was not what she was expecting. Hester seemed to know most things nowadays, her network of contacts and spies keeping tabs in most circles of the galactic playground. But every so often, she liked to surprise herself and not apprise herself of all the salient facts, including the appearance of somebody.

This one was worth the wait.

"Please send Mister Holst my sincerest regards and that I'm sorry to have missed him." she spoke at Kat.

She gestured for the interloper to sit in front of the desk.

"Please sit. I've had some refreshments brought up for you if you'd like a libation or two?

She leaned a little over the desk with mischief in her eyes.

'The little tartlets are quite good!' a wicked grin smeared over her face.

"Now. Hex, Hex, Hex."

Hester sat and tapped on her desk.

"What do they want and how do I give it to them?"

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[Katia Alkas]

FOREMANRY, ATIRAK CITY | HAMRA
MIDDAY
TAG: Hester Shedo

CLOCKS​

The atmosphere was as fake as the cold air in the room.

Katia sat down with grace without taking her dark eyes from the woman in front of her. The wicked grin on Hester's face reminded the Christophsian of the picture of a Grumph that the handsome new xeno-zoologist had trotted over her desk not long ago.
"I'm not overly fond of pastries, but thank you." she smiled, crossing one leg over the over.

Resting her hands on the arms of the chair, she unflinchingly got down to business.
"As for Hex and its subsidiaries - we have an offer. It has come to our attention that Hamra is quite rich in very important resources. UniMine, our one subsidiary, is quite geared to properly mine these resources with efficiency. We would like to offer our services to set up proper mining and accompanying corporate operations here. In return, Hex would provide some bolstered security for the planet in the form of the Hellion Military Group as well as my own AgriCorp's services in rehabilitating any ecological damage caused by the mining as well as maintaining and improving infrastructure on Hamra. To top it off, we offer free medical services to all Hamra employees courtesy of GalacMed as well as a luxurious and powerful new speeder courtesy of Hex Incorporated for your personal use. We only ask 70% of resources mined on Hamra for Hex's own operations and free access to and from the system." Kat said as Milly, her droid, transferred the informative document to Hester's datapad.

It was indeed a very generous offer that few to none would refuse, but the AgriCorp executive knew she was not talking to a dumb Twi'lek from Ryloth. The lizard in front of her was shrewder than that. There was a reason this woman had risen to the heights of the Confederacy before its fall.

It may take some convincing.

 

[Hester Shedo]

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TAG: Katia Alkas ​

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The word calculating didn't seem to convey the overwhelming flavour of the guest's nature. Her demeanour was carried with a certain arrogance that Hester deplored and admired. The rejection of the refreshments didn't feel so much a rejection of the actual food, but rather a reminder that Katia would not be beholden to her host. It was precisely what she would have done in that instance, had she been the guest that was to supplicate herself at the mercy of a business mogul such as Ms Shedo.​

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Hester listened to the proposal intently, careful to take in the inflections, pauses and inferences that would no doubt litter the presentation. This one was shrewd and smart, it seemed. No easy prey.​

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Hester spoke.​

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"I am so grateful to hear this proposal today. Your partners are a formidable cabal, the elite of the 'who's who' in the region's industry powerbase. I would be intrigued to have them utilise Hamra. The people here are hardworking and anything that would be seen to improve their living standards would be a welcome boon."​

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Hester paused a moment.​

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"You must, however, make a reasonable proposal. 70% is almost a ludicrous proportion. With taxes being levied to the Mandalorian protectorate, as well as the running costs of the administrative infrastructure, such a yield would undo the very fabric of the society here. I'm sure I could persuade the workers to part with, say...a solid 50%?"​

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She smiled gently.​

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[Katia Alkas]

FOREMANRY, ATIRAK CITY | HAMRA
MIDDAY
TAG: Hester Shedo

CLOCKS​

Ah, the negotiating.

So many people attempt it. So many people end up falling victim to Hex Inc and its endeavours - whether of their own accord or not. Braxton and company usually just extended offers as a courtesy.

A soulless smile appeared on her face once more.
"The benefits would indeed be worthwhile. This planet's strides to relevancy would be great. As for the resource percentage, however, we can come down to 60% but no less and only for a small duration until our deal with the Mandalorians pulls through. After then, your tax troubles would be something of the past and we can revise the percentage." she said. Acquiesce or we do it for you.

Shrewd or not - when Hex wanted something, they usually got it. More renowned people than the woman in front of her had made the wiser decision to make a deal instead of strongarming. Even the newly minted Empire, who could by all intents and purposes strongarm someone, decided to make profit out of the offer instead. The war with a briefcase was so much more brutal than one with blasters and lightsabers, after all.

And AgriCorp was always there to pick up the pieces.

 

[Hester Shedo]

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Hester smiled. She viewed the figure ahead of her. So many possibilities. So much to gain. So much to lose. She knew how the game would end, that was what these corporate types banked. These types of operations involved some sort of shakedown, grossly disproportionate against the partner operator and for what? Access? Security? Credit?​

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She thought on the Mandalorians, her need for security within this brave new venture.​

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Hester stood, a hand gestured to the door.​

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"That will be unacceptable. But I thank you for your kind offer."​

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She sat, head down and began to read the various reports that come in whilst she spoke to the guest. ​

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Katia Alkas​

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