The Value of Trade

[Coratanni Cartel]

Tatooine - ATC Building
Felix Thawne | [member="Saffron"]

This world was absolutely and entirely disgusting. Felix had absolutely no understanding how anyone could ever actually live in a place like this. The heat was unbearable, the sand was everywhere, and the people were about as filthy as one could get. Everything about this world was uncivilized, broken, and entirely uncouth.

The very sight made him want to vomit.

It was like walking around inside of the shoe of a beach worker.

His head shook slightly. Felix had absolutely no understanding as to why a company like Arceneau Trade would ever make it's home here. Sure they had to start somewhere, but once they made it moving would have been easy enough. Particularly with the kind of money they had. A scowl pulled at his feature for a moment, though he quickly forced it away and replaced it with a smile.

He was here to charm.

SIN and the Cartel were rapidly expanding, so fast that the few transportation methods they had were failing them. With the opening of The Walk on Coruscant even their legal goods were having trouble being properly resupplied. It was troubling, and more importantly effecting the bottom line.

Felix had come to this...cat litter box of a planet in order to hopefully rectify the situation. A contract with ATC would ensure that their deliveries would be as scheduled and on point, not to mention it would make SIN appear even more legitimate to the galaxy. If he pulled this off Mother and Father would be pleased.

He was sure of that.

So he would smile, he would charm, and he would stand in front of the window in the conference room as look as though he was actually curious about this dirtball world.

 

[Saffron]

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]
Tatooine - ATC Building
Felix Thawne

“Miz Saffron,” Mari Vu’s voice came floating from the small communicator speakers at Saffron’s desk. Hazel eyes went trailing towards the screen, a fingerpad selecting the activation button.

“Yes, Mari?” while Saffron could be said to have a quiet, melodic voice, it came through clearly, with an underlying strength. The young woman sat at her desk, dressed in an orange and gold threaded sari that went draping from her right shoulder over to her left. Her hair was held aloft on her head in soft curls and in intricate braids that would loop from her temple to the back of her head.

“The representative from S.I.N incorporated is here. Mistah Thawne.”

Ah, yes, recognition would flare in those hazel eyes. “Of course, please let him into my office.”

Her ‘office’ was putting it rather mildly. It was a lavish and open area, full of native bleached Tatooine wood and paraphilia of the local desert culture. There were bleached bones of creatures, to include a Krayt Dragon’s nest complete with three polished Krayt pearls. There was also a small, but intriguing collection of antique blaster and slug rifles to the right, with large arched windows that led outside to the second story balcony.

Rising from her desk, Saffron made her way towards the entrance of her office where Mari would direct Felix Thawne into. They were in the process of establishing the Southern Systems Business Bazaar as its own separate entity for the upcoming annual Expo. It wouldn't be a difficult transition, but it required exploring new venues for the Expo trade stations.

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Saffron"]

When the doors opened Felix was wearing his most pleasant smile.

It was a practiced expression, one that even the most well versed negotiator would take for genuine. There was an advantage if being part of a species that practiced and read body expressions, it was one of the reasons that his parents had assigned him to be the 'face' of their company. He could act just how he needed to act, he could speak just how he needed to speak. It was enough to charm most everyone he had ever met. Just as long as he could stand to keep it up.

"Ah!" He spoke up almost instantly, his eye falling to the inside of the office. "Beautiful."

Gross.

He had absolutely no idea why anyone would worship desert barbarians. The inside of the office was decked out head to toe in what he could only assume was collected out of the nearby garbage dump. It was truly awful, and Felix couldn't help but wonder if the woman was brain damaged for keeping it around. "Apologies."

Felix said as he turned his attention to Saffron, his warm smile directed at her.

"I find native cultures fascinating." He really didn't. "We don't see much of it on Coruscant."

 

[Saffron]

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]

The cordial smile seemed to match that of the charismatic young businessman. However, as an empath and a Companion, Saffron had been trained to read the subtle tells that could aide in distinguishing facade from truth. Even then, however, it still took time. Yet from what she could gather, there was just a tiny, subtle nuance in the corner of Felix's mouth that stated his cheer wasn't quite honest.

Not that its validity mattered.

Her hand would extend towards the young man to shake his own. "Welcome to Arceneau Trade, Mistah Thawne." a polite introduction and a shining smile. "I hope your travel went well."

Now as to his small talk...

"Is that so? Which native culture would you say is your favorite?" a query to determine and glean more information.

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Saffron"]

What a question. They were all so horrid. "There's a species in the outer rim."

He mused for a second.

"Chiss." Felix was sure that Saffron had heard of them, most everyone knew of the Chiss. "They are a cold and logical people, but it's not that I admire."

Surprisingly, he didn't actually have to make most of this up. He did admire aspects of the Chiss culture. Unlike most other species in the galaxy they were a logical and intelligent kind, easy to deal with and far more straightforward than others of the like. "It's their art."

His smile was oddly more genuine this time.

"When you take the cold, logical, precision of the Chiss people and then add the outlier of creativity..." He trailed off. "It can create true beauty."

There weren't many Chiss artists, but over the centuries the few that had existed created truly beautiful pieces. Some of those were in his condo back on Coruscant.

 

[Saffron]

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]

"Is that so?" now he had piqued her interest. " Do you have a particular favorite Chiss artist perhaps?" the Chiss were rather xenophobic, to begin with. While Arceneau Trade and PharmaTech had business interests, trade stations, and contracts with them, the Chiss were always so elusive.

A small gesture would draw Felix's attention to a comfortable chair on the opposite end of her desk. Quietly ambling, Saffron swivled her head over her shoulder towards the young man.

"Would you care for a drink?" they had choice beverage to include alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Even water that wasn't from the water moisture collectors but from melted ice from one of the ice moons within the system.

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Saffron"]

For once Felix was glad that he hadn't lied. If he had picked out some random species in the corner of the galaxy he would have fallen flat on his face at Saffron's newest question. Now that he had chosen the truth, he could easily tell her the name.

"Mav'al'Sabosen." He practically choked out the words. "You'll have to excuse my pronunciation. I believe she goes by the name Valsa for most of the galaxy, though I understand it's frowned upon in her own culture."

Something about a core name, whatever that was. "I have one of her pieces, a sculpture, in my apartment back on Coruscant."

It was a thing of true beauty, a standing piece that reached up from the floor to the ceiling. It was a representation of cosmic waves, dozens upon dozens of slates of metals overlapping one another, almost as if they were crawling into the sky. He'd paid an extraordinary amount of money for it, something that Verin had been rather displeased about. His excuse had been he'd needed to play the part mother and father had given him.

"You're welcome to come see it." He told Saffron with that same warm smile. "I have several other pieces."

"Water will be fine." Felix said with a small smile.

 

[Saffron]

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]
Tatooine - ATC Building
Felix Thawne

“That is a generous invitation, Mistah Thawne.” Saffron replied, granting him that same soft smile. Ambling towards the bar area, the Companion brought out a small covered flask. It held chilled water there. Taking an empty glass, she set a small ice ball in the middle of it.

“I might take you up on that offer.” the sound of water pouring into a glass followed. At least he was honest about the artist and painting. That much Saffron could tell.

“So how is SIN incorporated doing these days?” more small talk, but edging towards business. With a graceful motion, Saffron extended her hand to give Felix his glass of water. He should be well pleased that it wasn’t from a moisture farm at least.

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Saffron"]

"Well." Felix transitioned into the conversation almost as smoothly as Saffron had.

"Too well in fact." It was an unfortunate fact, but they truly were a victim of their own success. There was irony in that, though his father had failed to see the humor in the situation. He smiled as he grabbed the glass of water, his touch oddly delicate. "As you may or may not be aware we recently opened an Entertainment District on Coruscant."

It was a humblebrag of sort, but he kept the smile off his face. "Unfortunately, our supply lines aren't great enough to meet current demands."

Admitting that was clearly rough for him.

"It seems the people of my world are..." He let out a slight chuckle. "Insatiable."

 

[Saffron]

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]

So you say, Saffron would muse to herself, internally amused at the fact that the teenager was rather much of a braggart. He certainly thought highly of himself. The Companion found herself wondering about his origins. About his family. There were socialites and wealthy families that spread across the galaxy, but they each had their own story to tell.

How they were raised to present themselves to the rest of the ‘verse was curious indeed.

Saffron sank into her seat, turning her torso to face Felix. “Intriguing.” A hand went skimming across the top of her desk, an embedded dataconsole display that would bring up the information on SIN Incorporated.

“In couteure?” Referencing the fashion side of the business. On the top right of her screen, on going notices on creating the Southern Systems Bazaar as its own entity were sent to her. An account at Aurum Saacs was already set up and Saffron was listed as one of the signers.

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Saffron"]

"No no." Felix said calmly.

The truth of it was that the multitude of business that SIN had opened up on Coruscant had simply become too much for them to sustain. Theirs was a business that relied on several supply lines. Alcohol, women, whatever else went into entertainment. It hadn't been a real problem until recently. They had been capable of keeping up the supply, were still capable of keeping it up in fact, but actually getting it to the jewel of the galaxy was an entirely different problem of course.

"It's our nightclubs." The young man explained further. "Alcohol, things of that nature."

He let out a sigh. "Imagine even a small percentage of a trillion people attending your businesses."

Felix sounded truly exasperated, as if this was a problem that had been weighing heavily on him. His parents had directed him to attend the legal side of the business, but unfortunately that was actually far more difficult than he had ever expected. He couldn't just have someone killed to solve his problems, he couldn't take over a random corporation. He needed supply lines, he needed people.

Most importantly he needed punctuality.

"We simply can't bring everything we need to to Coruscant." Felix rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Hence why I've come to you."

 

[Saffron]

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]
Tatooine - ATC Building
Felix Thawne

“Ah, so you need a reliable supplier for your nightclubs.” Saffron began to annotate things on her holographic pad. Instead of using a keyboard, she used a stylus. There was just something a bit more intimate about using a stylus than an holographic keyboard. It helped that her writing was neat and tidy, with graceful whorls. A program could transcribe her notes into printed aurabesh for ease of convenience as well.

“Alcohol, food… what else?” Saffron would inquire. She could utilize Haven Shipyards as part of the transport, allowing for the ease of delivery.

“How often would you need these shipments?” the schedule was important as well.

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Saffron"]

”We just need the transportation.” He corrected gently, his smile still warm. ”Most of the goods are sourced by us and our partner Heartbeat House.”

Of course the trouble was actually getting it to where it needed to go. Coruscant was quite a ways away from pretty much every other SIN facility. The reason for this was simple, the Cartel had begun it's life on Rishi and then had expanded inward. Coruscant was it's first big prospect in the core, the foothold they would use to grow.

From his coat pocket he pulled a datapad. ”I'm not an expert in the numbers, I must admit, but these are the metrics.”

Felix offered her the datapad with the same trademark smile.

He of course knew exactly what they needed off the top of his head, but it was better to lead things this way. He wanted Saffron to see hard numbers rather than hear platitudes from him.

”The shipments will be needed every week.” He commented. ”Sometimes more in emergency.”

 

[Saffron]

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]

"I see," Saffron replied with a soft hum. "I can provide those shipments along with fast transport via Haven Shipyards and MaraTibx and Fuels. We are working on a new faster cargo transport ship that will be able to run on tibanna gas and a refined Isotope-5 power reactor." It would allow that trade goods be transported from sector to sector with little fuel costs and faster than normal.

Saffron took the offered datapad in her fingers, reviewing the information. This was doable. Taking this information, the young woman drafted a quick quote. It was a resonable amount, as long as there weren't items that he would require from First Order Territory. There were additional tarrifs and checkpoints to go through there, so it would take longer than normal for those.

"How does this sound for a quote?" she linked the quoted amount onto his datapad and returned it to him.

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Saffron"]

He glanced at his datapad for a brief second.

The number wasn't entirely out of the question, though in truth likely more than his mother and father would expect. That didn't land it out of the question, and Felix wasn't exactly in a position to negotiate. He frowned for a brief second, and then nodded. "It will do."

Though the cost was considerable, it would also only be short term. Felix intended for things to go quickly, and he doubted that SIN would utilize ATC for very long. Their shipments were required for now, but eventually the company would be able to produce and transport it's own materials fast enough to not need assistance. At least that was what he hoped.

"How soon can we get the first shipment?" He asked, looking up at Saffron. "I don't mean to press."

The young Thawne smiled. "But the people of Coruscant truly aren't very patient."

Which was the start of the whole problem really, the bastards couldn't even wait a few days to get the exact type of drink that they wanted. Impatient, impertinent, and worst of all stupid. The three best words that described the people of Coruscant.

 

[Saffron]

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]

Saffron replied to the inquiry with a smile," With this list, I can send out the request to fulfill the order for products within the sector in the next 24 hours."

That was a fast turn around, but Arceneau Trade along with Southern Systems Business Bazaar had plenty of warehouses nearby to start reviewing their stock. Then Haven Shipyards ships will be able to refuel at MaraTibx fuel ports and ensure the prompt delivery of the goods.

"Is there anything else that I may be able to assist with?"

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Saffron"]

A day. Quick enough he supposed.

That meant there would be a single night where The Walk would lack a full stock, but such was the fate of their decisions. There would be no shortage of complains due to this, but Felix supposed that was all part of the game. Perhaps a night of denial would not be the worst thing for Coruscant, especially considering everything that was happening with Coruscant First. The party was practically crawling all over the planet, and a night of sobriety might be a good thing.

"No." Felix said with a warm smile. "No, I think you're the first woman whose ever given me everything I wanted."

The joke fell from his tongue with a slight chuckle. "I'll have to head back to Coruscant tonight to make sure everything is prepared."

Such a task would actually fall under the purview of his sister, Mara, but Saffron didn't have to know that. Felix had done his job, and but he was more than eager to get off this ball of dirt.

 

[Saffron]

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]

"Of course," Saffron rose from her seat. Her cordial smile ever shinning at Felix's direction. What a curious young man. She extended her hand in gratitude.

"It was a pleasure to assist you today Mistah Thawne," Saffron began, intending to give him a firm shake. "If there is anything else that MaraTibx, Haven Shipyards, PharmaTech, or Arceneau Trade can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask."