Wheelin' 'n dealin'

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

@[member="Cade Lee"]

Nar Shaddaa

14:00PM

The protectorate was still overlooking Kiffex and Kiffar as a whole, but they were but a savage blip on their radar.

For a while, Kiskla had been working closely with ex Jedi Grandmaster, and formidable warrior @[member="Darron Wraith"]. For the most part, things had seemed tickity boo – with the slight, impending tension of attraction; but in hindsight, attraction was inevitable when two qualified individuals, both relatively emotionally compromised forced themselves into close quarters to fight evil. Or, when anybody worked alongside the blonde bombshell.
If she had a perfume line, it would be coined Irresistible.
But, duty had called on either end. And despite OP’s involvement with her planet, there was a Sheyf installment for a reason, not just tradition.

For some reason, her mind drifted back to the months that had passed, and Kiskla found her lips twisted as she mused over her appreciation of the efforts of the former Jedi Grandmaster. Master Wraith had charismatically involved her with the on goings of The Order, and overlooked her dark taint. But Force demons were something that simply couldn’t be eternally disregarded. That dark side of her had murdered her prior master, without her consent of course, and every so often it reared it’s hideous head.

And the truly sick part?

She didn’t want to conquer it.

Kiskla was inherently good. That was undeniable. She had the power to protect, and she used it – but to completely dissolve her connection with the dark entity that coursed through her veins? She had a feeling that would take a turn for a worse, rather than the perceived benefit. And the taste of the power he had whet her appetite every time, despite her being an impressive Master of the Force on her own accord.

Either way, by both nature and demand Kiskla had strayed from the Republic’s influence and was astutely representing The Guardians once again, looking for ways to expand and innovate the traditionally ‘savage’ warriors. For the most part, they were inactive in the galaxy’s battles and she was growing weary of the idleness that her father was influencing. For so long, he had been biting every bullet that came at him, and made his living off bounty; danger had been his middle name. Once responsibility that he couldn’t run from was piled into his lap, he buckled in and maintained a stationary role. And, by extension, cemented his forces as well.

Maybe that was the reason she had delved into the opportunities of under the counter. Because here she was; the armpit of the galaxy. A cesspit. Hell hole. God(s) forsaken. All very appropriate labels for one of the head offices of BlasTech industries. The Smugglers Moon, Vertical City, and Little Coruscant were some of the many pleasant titles this place had earned. Whatever one wanted to call it, anyone, from refugee to wayward traveler, agreed that no one really wanted to live here. However, it certainly had it’s….perks. Those perks, she surmised, were the sole reason for a company to have erected a pinnacle of business on planet. Usually, she wouldn’t have delved so deep into a curious affiliate, but she had perused through S’het Freya’s confidential records of his bounty hunting days, and found a strong connection of his that linked back to BlasTech. Through her expertise and skilled tongue, she had managed to leverage this link to her advantage, and was on the premise under nearly false pretenses. Her affiliation with the royal blood was under wraps; consider it a tour of the factory to see if the production line was up to par, and was able to produce both the quantity and quality of personal weapons she was interested in.

Besides, even if her heritage were known, she doubted that’d peak any exceptional interest. Being a publicly held company, with stocks trading on the market hourly, investors were a dime a dozen; which had also sparked her curiosity to the production again. And there’s no way to know unless you check it yourself. Or maybe that’s doing a job right… either way, Kiskla was a go-getter and didn’t agree with delegating tasks that she could easily accomplish. And this was easy enough. In fact, pulling up to the establishment and following the orders to park was a bit of a throwback Thursday considering it’s size in relation to Omega Pyre’s and her exceptionally brief visit to their headquarters with Darron. It's spires rivalled the rest of the city's pinnacles with great success, and the highest of the building's peaks pierced the overcast of the city's smog. The grounds were peppered with activity, the type that hardly mirrored the activities in the dingy streets. The young princess smirked to herself with a brief shake at her head at the typicality of the situation. Of course the single connection she’d been able to dig out was from the stingiest part of the galaxy—her father had done nothing but black market and underground deals for far too long. Perhaps that’s why he was so strict with his warriors these days – he, unlike his daughter, was unable to find his grey area. Balance.

One foot after the other, the soles of her boots clicked against the material of the stairs as the entrance swallowed her up into the foyer where a typical-looking secretary was clicking away behind the desk. Well, as typical as alien species were.

“Do you have an appointment?” The woman asked, jarring the silence quickly. Kiskla didn’t mind, she was a rather abrasive conversationalist herself.

“Grayson.” That was the perk of using her name. It was still relatively unknown—and she had never adopted her father’s last name. The whole mysterious, enigmatic persona of his had escaped her and her mother.

The Twi'lek crossed her legs in the opposite direction and nodded curtly, her green lekku moving ever so slightly with the noggin dip. "The production manager will be with you in a few minutes. I'll let him know you're here."

 

[Jacen Cavill]

@[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

Nar Shaddaa
Blas-Tech Offices

Standing in the office, his back to the window, he appeared to be the CEO of the company. Except it wasn't Cade Lee occupying that space, his glasses and ring were sitting on his desk. The small space wasn't anything like his offices on Coruscant, but it suited his needs for the moment. The Sith Master had come to the planet for a few reasons, most of them pertaining to his company. Quotas had been dipping lately, even with the new product line, and it had been due to embezzlement and double dealings from the production manager. The fraud had been easy to discover, Darth Ithari was dealing with the same underworld scum himself. Tracing it back to his own employees had been easy, and hiding behind his armor had allowed him the anonymity to carry out the executions that he had needed to do. His business had been fixed on this world, and the search for his new manager for the world was ongoing. If anything it gave him further chances to sow discord among this hell-hole of a world while secretly profiting from the chaos.

Duplicity was his weapon of choice.

Yellow and red orbs surveyed the world below, his Iron Skin armorweave body suit was barely visible due to his suit not being fully buttoned. The sharp features that showed off his noble lineage were taught with anger, and he was deep in meditation. His domain in the Empire was expanding, and that conquest combined with his schemes were taxing him to his limits. There was only so much one man could do, no matter how powerful he was. Drawing deeply on his reserves was the only way he was able to pull it all off, and he was pushing himself to the limit to make sure everything was done properly. It was why he was scouting for better employees on Nar Shaddaa, he truthfully needed someone to keep their eyes on Blas-Tech while he was doing his darker deeds around the galaxy. Making mountains of credits would have been enough ages ago, but the pursuit of knowledge was what he sought now.

The Empire had been taken before he had his shot, and he wouldn't serve the inept Umbaran for much longer.

That was why he searched for more holocrons privately, why he killed rogue Force-Users for practice when not in battle. It only furthered to make him stronger for when he had to face the other Lords along with the Emperor. Physical combat wasn't what he worried about, it was how the war for the hearts of those who would follow him would go. Darth Ithari hadn't done himself any favors with his brutal ways, but Tyrin's pacifism and treaties were helping undo the damage Jacen had done to his own reputation. When a Sith's peers viewed him as brutal, it meant he needed to reign it in slightly.

So Cavill instead opted to start a war, and arm all sides with his weapons. Blas-Tech's weapons.

So far the results were mixed, but the drumbeat of war was growing louder. Through the Force he could feel the darkness, could feel how he was at the center of it all. He was the axis of all the unrest that was fermenting around the galaxy, and he would continue on his path. His emotions had fueled him to this point, and his endless pursuit for all things powerful was driving him further onward. Even with his gifts, the future was still not known, but the path he was on was firm and fixed. There would be no redemption, nor deviation. The kind man who had wanted to rule Serenno as the lead family of the six ruling houses was denied that, and the darkness was his path. This introspection fueled his power, and it allowed him to continue on even as mortal fatigue threatened to take the massive man.

His thoughts consumed him, then the comm sounded.

"Mr. Lee, we have someone here to see Mr. Bosk. I was just informed you fired him, is there anyway you could come see a Ms. Grayson? Or shall I send someone else to come entertain her?" His reverie broken, Jacen pondered for a moment before answering. "I'll be there in a few," came a voice that didn't fit the dark warrior standing there in business clothes. It was meek and timid, a farce for the ruthless killer standing there. "Yes sir, we await you." The transmission cut out, and Jacen quickly buttoned his shirt and adjusted his tie to hide the skin-tight body suit he wore under his armor. Then he slouched his shoulders to look less intimidating, and made sure to tug on his blazer to make it appear looser. His hands quickly pushed his hair back some more, and the unruly black locks minded his instruction and stuck close to his head. Making his way to his desk he grabbed the ring that he had been given on Exocron and slid it over his ring finger on his right hand. It was just plain, and silver save for the incantations on the inside. It was his camouflage from Force-Users, and the titan in the Force dissapeared from the senses and the Force in general.

On the flip-side, he went blind. His senses were limited to what only a mortal could sense and feel, and he was truly blind. It helped him and his disguise, but he hated it in truth. With a gesture, his body-guard droid, Mar, followed him dutifully out of the halls and into the turbo lift. He shoved the glasses onto his face, and let the act come over him as the doors opened on the ground floor. Gone was the Sith Lord, Master of the darkside, brutal warrior, Count of Serenno, ruler of a sector of Sith space.....

 

[Lex-El]

...in his place was Cade Lee, CEO of Blas-Tech Industries.

Making his way, he walked in a hurried pace that indicated his discomfort with crowds. The waiting area was packed with vendors and those seeking employement, and Mar stayed close to protect the man who could buy half the galaxy. They didn't know the truth about the man in the glasses, other than he was brilliant with weapons technology and had a shy air about him. If he hadn't been so intelligent, he would have been lost to the game of politics that most businesses of this size fell to. The fact that a man only twenty seven years old had managed to seize a thousand year old company from a stagnant board spoke to the fact that there was more to him.

No, one would know just how much more though.

Quickly walking to the desk, he nodded to the Twi'lek receptionist while smiling at the beautiful woman standing nearby. "I'm here to see a Ms. Grayson? I heard you were looking for my production manager. Hopefully I'll do okay en-enough in his stead to answer all your questions and help you with anything you n-need?"

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

While the silence hung between herself and the receptionist, Kiskla remained occupied by familiarizing herself with the foyer layout. Odd intricate doo-dads decorated the walls in a minimalist fashion, and reflected the severity of the rest of the office. It was fairly bare, which was well suited to the industry that Blas-Tech was a part of.

She didn't sit, much to the receptionist's chagrin. She could tell not only from the faint feelings of irritation that clouded the room, but the green woman continuously glanced over her screen and in the blonde's direction.

There had been a few conversations that came and went in the introductory part of the architecture, so much so that when the new voice began she hardly flinched. Until she heard her name, to which she responded appropriately and turned her attention from one of the awards to the new speaker. After all, as much as she was an investor, she was also a guest.

Briefly her light eyes summed up the frame that had introduced itself. The stature was far from weasly, as most business people were, but he was also quite drawn into himself. She also couldn't help but notice his metallic companion, which made her own muscles tense in apprehension. A distant phobia that had stemmed from her childhood -- a Mr. Fixit father who never completed any of his projects and left many with a bitter taste toward organics. She didn't like how potentially uncontrollable they could be, and when one was as big as the one in the room, she couldn't help but get a little uncomfortable.

But probably not as uncomfortable as the stuttering stallion. Poise was kind of her thing.

That stuttering stallion, she recalled briefly from her examination of the company as a whole, was the Chief Executive Officer for Blas-Tech. Curious he would be so involved as to greet her, rather than send another insignificant employee. Not that she could complain, the amount of service would reflect directly on the company when delivered from the CEO. That spoke volumes in itself.

"I should hope so, Mr. Lee." Kiskla nodded, approaching him with an extended hand for a shake. It didn't matter the amount of Force Prowess she had, in the business realm it was still majorly controlled by men and it was important to constantly put her best strut forward right off the bat. "But considering your position, I'm open to suggestions. I'm interested in what you've got for hand-held."

@Lord Ithari