Private We Both Have Money | Judah Dashiell

[Monaray Dod]

Judah Dashiell

Senator Dod had returned to the Palace on Toshara after the Recent Senate Session regarding Senate Bill 5227, the Investment in Recovering Systems Act. The act itself reminded him of Chancellor Organa's administration within the confines of Second Galactic Alliance, always wanting to focus on humanitarian activities instead of industrial expansion.

A lack of focus on the corporate side of things became all to apparent when the destruction of the Super Star Destroyer Mon Mothma took place over Atrisia, caused the entire government to collapse in an instant. It was a rather sad sort of affairs, for the shipyards could have easily built another given the proper funding.

Alas enough thinking about that failed state and onto another in the form of the High Republic, a shining beacon in a galaxy of darkness with rumors of the Sith Covenant coming to power near the Galactic Empire. Perhaps in time the Empire would fall and free his people and the wider Trade Federation from its regulations, but the Sith Covenant would likely end up ransacking the place.

Two sides of the same credit chip in his opinion, as his eyes wandered down to the end of the long obsidian-glass table, as another course was served by the attendant droids.

He had received an unexpected message from one Judah Dashiell , a prime contributor to his campaign for Chancellor and rumored to dislike the new chancellor entirely. There was no reason not to hear him out for there was always an opportunity to make credits in an ever-changing landscape.

"We are glad that you could join us here on Toshara. Hopefully the Criminal Cartels haven't harassed you to much on this moon." Dod uttered a soft laugh, taking a small bite out of the muja fruit compote and lightly seared gula fish imported from Mon Cala within the confines of the Imperial Confederation.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Hand tightened a little on his fork as the droid attendant brought another dish to him. Judah still completely hated droids with a burning passion. Yet as of last year he was quietly taking an anxiety stim to combat the crushing weight of anxiety around them. Before he would be sweating and hyperventilating. Now he was extremely uncomfortable but not to the point of being incapacitated. Enough to be wary but also carry on business and not look like an idiot.

Oceanic eyes watched as the droid set down an item and started walking away. Grip loosened on the fork ever so slightly as he regarded Senator Monaray Dod .Judah had thrown support behind him in an effort to advance corporate interests within the High Republic. The goal had fallen short but from all accounts it was a close second. Not bad given the Senator's platform. High nobility was often involved in business so it wasn't a total surprise - interests had to be protected after all.

Not saying Judah fully trusted the Senator. No politician was to be trusted. It was more of a way to ensure trade and corporate powers remained, for the most part, ignored by the government. Allowed for more freedom.

"I have bodyguards Senator. I wasn't overly concerned by the criminal enterprises of the planet." He rarely was. Most had no clue who he was to begin with. "I trust, despite your loss, your platform for corporate interest will not be changing?"

 

[Monaray Dod]

Judah Dashiell

"See that they remain close by your side, for the moment you leave the grounds of this palace. There is no reliable way to guarantee your safety." Some might be surprised by Dod's honesty but the Moon of Toshara was a lawless place outside of his or the Trade Federation's control, part of the reason why he had selected the world to launch his new political career within the High Republic.

The Palace was all that was standing between total anarchy and the rule of the Crime-Lords, and Dashiell would have to be careful when leaving even with armed bodyguards. His fork sliced through the outer skin of the lightly seared gula fish with much more noticeable tension than before, subtle but enough to know that the Neimoidian's mind was occupied with forming a response to Judah Dashiell 's question regarding his platform.

It might have worked when Chancellor Aerarii Tithe was in office, but the galaxy had changed and there were simply no votes in pursuing a corporate agenda. Something he found out with his own failed bid for the Chancellorship, even by adopting a more flexible posture and wanting to find the former Chancellor who allowed herself to be captured by the Black Sun in the Senate's own building.

"The platform will not change, merely have to be readjusted to account for the fact that Dominique Vexx is in charge. You certainly have to admire her smoke and mirror approach when it comes to Denon, after all before the Planeshift Event. It was well documented that it was the most oppressed planet in the galaxy and now they are saying it is the Coruscant of the High Republic...." Dod said with a hint of admiration, if only the Trade Federation's reputation could be given a clean bill of health rather than being seen as the next coming of the Sith Empire. His hand curled around a glass of spice wine, enjoying the bitterness of the taste.

"She will hedge for the time being, presenting herself as a defender of all planets within the Republic. In reality, she will direct her favoritism towards Denon and Denon alone. After all there is no need to respect others when one has a personal army behind their back and call, one not entirely loyal to the cause that the charter champions." The Neimoidian explained with a slight gesture, having documented the occasions when Denon's army was mentioned and how they were more than ready to go off and fight the Black Sun Syndicate without understanding the consequences. Hardly a model for the Republic to follow.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Shoulders shrugged slightly.

Vexx's rise to power was interesting to say the least. He could expect a trajectory of such a thing with a noble family or someone with more experienced in wheeling and dealing on a sector wide scale. Vexx had always seemed more than content to push her Denon agenda and make credits. Fine and well, for a planet. Judah couldn't see her approach working for an entire territory.

"Coruscant of the High Republic is very generous. Also, ominous given the history of Coruscant. How many times did the Galactic Alliance have to rebuild the planet? I would not be personally eager to name it as such....each to their own."

Fork tapped lightly against his plate as he set the utensil down, done with this round. He reached for the cognac and took a sip as he thought. The High Republic was not as high on his priority list. One of those territories that were on the back burner but still relatively important. Buying pieces of land or facilities but keeping them shuttered or limited, depending on how the business went.

He had untapped ideas for now.

"Unfortunately I feel if a corporation wants change they will have to invest in Denon. I cannot say this is something I am eager to do. Perhaps working with the noble families individually will be an easier route."

A small pause.

"However...while she is distracted with Denon and gaining power, it may be a good time to work behind their backs."

Senator Monaray Dod ​

 

[Monaray Dod]

Judah Dashiell

Dod swirled the remaining spice wine in his glass, the dark liquid catching the dim opulent light of the dining hall. He would never confess this to Dashiell, but it was pleasant to have someone around who grasped the dynamics of politics and its impact on corporate matters, especially now that Vexx was at the helm of the chaotic Republic Senate.

The remark regarding the Alliance's need to repeatedly rebuild Coruscant after each invasion brought a gentle smile to his lips, "You are quite right. Though unlike Coruscant, Denon is particularly worthless to the galactic governments given its similarity to a dozen other Ecumenopolis spread across the galaxy. One's with a less hostile local government." Though now that the Galactic Alliance was gone, the Empire would be the one's responsible for cleaning up the mess from now on and the Trade Federation would support them, perhaps even renaming the planet to Federationscant.

His fork tapped the plate for seconds, as the attendant droid came over with a freshly grilled dewback meat steak. Working behind the back of someone has clever as Dominique Vexx was a gamble, certainly but it was the kind of maneuver the Trade Federation had perfected over centuries of bureaucratic warfare.

"A tempting proposition," Dod remarked, shifting to a friendlier tone than earlier to express his approval of completely circumventing the Chancellor and engaging with the Naboo Noble Houses, all of which possess ample resources and influence to enhance the Republic's appeal as a new business hub.

"The Noble Houses are not as united as one might think," He continued, his fingers tapping against the stem of his glass. "They crave the influence they once had back in the early days of the Royal Naboo Republic. And if we were to facilitate certain private arrangements between them and us, to solve that problem an entire economic network could be built to bypass Senate oversight entirely. Profits for the both of us."

 

[Judah Dashiell]

"I don't think we need a united front across the noble houses to make the type of in roads a corporation needs."

Judah viewed each house as a separate entity. A separate corporation, if you will. Most corporations did not work together unless under the guise of some Guild, with dues paid and rules followed. Some of the nobles did have alliances with one another and perhaps could come at a package deal. Others would need a individual approach and some coddling to make them feel special. Having attended countless balls and galas, he had rubbed enough elbows to know each one of them thought their birth right to entitle them to so much.

Having finished his course and now enjoying his liquor, finger gently tapped on the glass, thinking.

"We get corporate powers to deal with the nobles. A contract for flower seeds here. Merchants to carry products there. Small things. Little things. The type of relationship that slowly engrains us into their fabric. Once that is complete then we will have built in lobbyists for us. Nobles who see us integral to their way of life. Ones who could assist us in shaping corporate policy without even knowing it."

While Senator Monaray Dod might be a little more...shady...in his dealings, Judah could complete this task all above board. It was merely placing themselves into the right places in order to get people to go toe to toe for you. A longer path but one that offered little risk. He would still be making profits.

 

[Monaray Dod]

Judah Dashiell

The Neimoidians' eyes momentarily diverted from Judah Dashiell to concentrate on slicing through the somewhat tougher dewback meat steak on his plate. Although not as costly to import as the gula fish from Mon Cala, the dewback was still regarded as a valuable pack animal on Tatooine, and importing them posed significant challenges due to the presence of hostile sandpeople around their nesting areas.

The flavor was somewhat coarse, yet it was satisfactory for Dod's palate as he contemplated whether the Noble Houses truly needed to be united. Dashiell appeared to disagree. However, the Trade Federation found it considerably more manageable to engage with a single organization rather than targeting various companies or in this case Noble Families with conflicting demands and interests individually.

"A commendable strategy; however, what stops a noble house from merely trading away our resources to another noble house, and so forth? Our aligned merchants would provide products, only to be underpaid when those products are resold internally by the noble's own trading enterprises."

Dod was not inclined to supply the noble houses with products solely for them to sell to other noble families at a significantly reduced price. This would merely result in financing a new competitor in the High Republic without genuinely accomplishing their goal of a pushing through corporate policy.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Brows furrowed at the Senator's concern. Judah was no following the line of thought. For two reasons primarily ; one, not everything was about profit. He had found in his years of doing this sometimes connections were more valuable. One of the reasons he was meeting this this Senator, for example. Two ; it would be hard to undercut his pricing on the market level. Anyone with half a brain could look up the raw and refined pricing for metals, salvage, and minerals. Even the baseline for agricultural goods was available, that came down to quality.

He did not expect the Senator to understand.

"I work with no aligned merchants, I do not believe in wasting time in a middle-man strategy." Shoulders shrugged. "If nobles want to pay me market price then resell at a loss, this is their problem, not mine."

Monaray Dod ​

 

[Monaray Dod]

Judah Dashiell

Dod's gaze shifted back to Judah Dashiell , who made it very clear that he did not work with middle men. This was strange, given his previous remarks regarding potential minor contracts involving merchants and the Noble Households of the Republic. It raises the question of whether he truly meant what he stated earlier; if not, why not simply provide a minor clarification instead of adopting a more dismissive demeanor.

Furthermore, his concern regarding the nobles possibly undermining their contracts was afforded less credibility than the Neimoidian had anticipated. Dashiell presumed that the nobles would resort to selling at a loss once the shipment arrived, yet marketing possesses significant influence.

For an average citizen of the Republic, purchasing flowers or equipment from a distinguished nobleman would compel them to spend nearly any amount to impress their neighbors even with access to the public market data.

"Perhaps we both see it a different way, suppose for example. I purchase some equipment from your salvage yard for my establishment. A potential customer sees that equipment and wants to purchase it from me, it has your name and company logo on it. They know its quality, but they do not pay you for that salvage but me since I am the owner. I can haggle the price up due to said golden standard, making up for my initial loss of credits to you." The Neimoidian took another sip of the spice wine between words, trying to get the man to understand his line of thinking on the matter of the Noble Houses. It was incredibly easy for anyone to undercut legitimate businesses even one as mundane as a salvage empire.

"So in that scenario. Each time you give me equipment, you are helping me expand my establishment and draw customers away from you." The Nobles could do the same thing, that is all the Neimoidian was trying to say. He did not expect a human to understand the business-driven decision making of his own species.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Monaray Dod​

Judah blinked a few times. Most of his business was direct - his company found the salvage, hauled it in, refined it then sold the end product. There was little in the way of equipment. Now, the end product could be bought for one price and then sold for another, but then it begged the question why the end consumer couldn't just do a HoloNet search and buy it from him directly. Again, if someone was that stupid, then perhaps they deserved to pay a higher price.

Wasn't as if he was hard to find. Or hard to look up the going rate of refined metals. Rare items were another story but he was thinking broader.

Beyond that, he didn't need the Noble houses. This was more of getting his name entrenched with them. Building relationships. The Senator was not quite on the same page. Another reason why Judah kept him at arms length - useful for pushing through corporate concerns but not much else.

Instead Judah just gave a forced smile.

"Something to think about." His meal finished, the salvager pushed back from his position slightly. "This has been lovely but probably time for me to head on out. We will speak again soon."