When You wish Upon A Cloud.....

[James Justice]

Location: Angels' Den Dal'Bor, Soceras
Time: 12:30 hours

James Justice was a simple man. A business man. All he wanted to do was make shipments and make money. He liked things cut and dry like that. But unfortunately, he had been stretched too far too fast. Amid having a growing fleet, there was a need for data--data to be shared and computed quickly and effectively. The results of this not happening had been hours of difficulty, hours of pain and hours of headache. He was ready to move forward and iron things out. He loved chaos--but not this kind.

To fix it, he called in a company to make a deal with--one of the best, he heard, in cloud computing. He needed all the help he could get right now, and it would be by far easier and wiser to hire someone and out-source to a professional then try and make it himself. That was why he called them here, to his own nightclub before opening hours. It was a safe rendezvous point that wasn't his secret headquarters at LC-2, but still one he was familiar with.

[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Did Jawa's wear green?

That was doubtless the question inspired by the small presence moving through the streets of the urban sprawl that was Dal'Bor.

It reminded him of some parts of Coruscant. Or Nar Shadda. A metropolis of interlacing skyscrapers dominating the landscape and blocking the horizon from view, and through which a small form moved like a shadow. The cowled robe formed a hood, obscuring the head and face of the diminutive figure from view. Appearing from out of the fog and haze of the garish neon lights, the green figure appeared at the entry to a public house of dubious repute.

As the bouncer on the door seemed to protest the presence of the small creature, a hand emerged from out of the cloak. It was human. Or humanoid. After waving through the air, the small person was admitted inside of the establishment.

Arriving inside, the stranger raised up both hands to the hem of his hood. Pushing the cowl down, the face of a youngling was made evident. Predatory eyes, the color of the sky, prowled the interior of the cantina. If the city reminded him of Nar Shadda, the nightclub was more reminiscent of Mos Eisley.

A small blaster on his thigh and the ever present lightsaber at his hip, the small Jedi proceeded toward the bar.

This wasn't a milk bar. And he knew better than to trust the water. No, a place like this would have the flavored soda water known as Fizzyglug on tap, because young deathstick addicts mixed it with their drug of choice. Motioning to the bar keep, the boy straddled up to the bar in a corner that gave him a view to the exit -- in case trouble came either rolling in or rolling out.

As the bartender returned a moment later with the frosty mug of soda, the boy flipped a coin down onto the bar top in payment. Glancing around the room for a moment, the boy motioned for the bar keep to lean closer. "I'm looking for someone," the child stated, as a series of coins joined the first on the bar. "A man named Justice."

[member="James Justice"]​

 

[James Justice]

The bartender gave the youngling a confused look. They didn't allow minors in the club. Never, as a rule. He shook his head and shrugged. The place was massive, with three different public entrances and four different bars alone, plus the dance floors, hotel rooms, and everythig else that comprised this Mecca of Vice. And, well, Dal'Bor wasn't exactly known for discriminating against children who wanted to immerse themselves in the nightlife too soon. He nodded and scooped the credits into his pocket before starting a call from his wrist comm, "Boss, you got a visitor. Small fella."

A moment later James sauntered to the bar and stopped a moment before continuing. He had been warned the CEO of this business was different but he wasn't expecting a youngling. He had expected a mutant or a rare alien, but not a minor. He felt a hot flush of regret at bringing this small fellow here. He should have chosen a playground or--something. He wasn't too sure where kids spent there free time, honestly. He had been raised on a tramp freighter, not a planet. He shrugged, he had been in places like this as a youngling. What if it was the rage now for the little ones to bar hop? Oh well.

Instead, James pushed that thought from his mind an sat at the bar beside him, "Good to see ye mate, thanks for meeting me here," the spacer slapped the counter and ordered his favorite, the Reactor Core, "And whatever Sor-Jan needs as well--virgin of course."

The employee nodded mutely and served him as well. Then James turned his mind back to work, "I be sure ye have heard of Justice Shipping, mate. I will be brief, we have grown quickly--faster than I expected. Now I be needing you to help me. We need some of that cloud computing ye have to manage our shipping and supplies--data management and all. How much is this gonna run me and what do ye have that we can work with?"

[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Being mindful of one's thoughts was paramount when dealing with a telepath.

For the moment, the young Anzat was unaware of any presence or pretense which might present a clear and present danger, so he kept his abilities confined to securing a necessary buffer around his own mind -- so to filter out the stray thoughts of those filling out the bar.

Even without the telepathic mind hunting his race was known for, introductions had been unnecessary. Sizing the man up as he sauntered up to the bar and spoke, the small Jedi found little reason to doubt that his contact and this man were not one in the same. How to describe James Justice? Shrewd? Calculating? Scoundrel?

His type of people.

"Twelve thousand, all in advance," the boy answered in a neutral tone. It was a ridiculous offer, but that was the point. Sor-Jan had just illustrated where the ceiling was. They'd no doubt settle for something in the middle. "Plus a regular maintenance fee if you want our people to provide technical support," the boy added, almost as an afterthought.

The fee was marginal. A regular income, if Justice Shipping was interested, but the money was in the up-front costs. That could really help him launch the R&D he needed for the work commissioned by the Silver Sanctum.

Not to mention save his arse from some debts he'd taken out from the Hutts to help pay for Corellia Digital.

Youngling or not, Sor-Jan was still a Corellian. He wouldn't be doing his job if he wasn't playing fast and loose with somebody else's money.

While the man chewed on the boy's offered price, the youth continued with the answer to his other question. "Cloud computing is fairly simple. A datacard and holonet receiver are all you need, with a dedicated, secure resource in the cloud. But this far out from the Core Worlds that's the real trick, isn't it? The regular, uninterrupted HoloNet access."

The real trick indeed. Sor-Jan would normally settle this for half of his original offer, but he imagined he was going to need a little something extra with which to bribe a chairman on the HoloNet Communications Council to have an additional signal satellite placed somewhere between here and Ryloth. And hope the dense debris disk around Lamaredd didn't create too much interference.

"We've got the fastest datacards on the market and the best holonet receivers in the galaxy," the boy remarked, without need of boasting because it was true. At least until the Tech Union rolled out its latest and greatest gadget for the new years. Then it was back to competitive design to stay on top of the market. "My engineers can supply ample storage and encryption to keep your data secure," the boy assured the man, concluding by echoing his earlier statement.

"Can you work with that?"

[member="James Justice"]​

 

[James Justice]

James didn't know much about computers but he was no fool. That was a bit too much for him, instead he laughed and took a few swallows of his drink.

"I am glad ye have a viable tech support and encryption," James said at first, "that clearly makes all the difference to me. We will have sensitive intel flowing through, such as shipment dates, locations, cargo, numbers, and so on. With pirates these days, ye can never been too careful after all," he said shaking his head. Why some people would insist on being so evil was beyond him. There was always more money and job security on the better side of things. Those who fought for the people won their hearts. Winning their hearts meant you would always be their champion. James shook his head. He had to let that stay out of the subject for now. He had to focus, could computing. Work. That stuff.

"I be thinking eight sounds fair to me," he said letting out a wreath of smoke, "Add to it a discount for all shipping and security needs when ye come to old James-y here, just because I like to do favors for those who do me favors." James pursed his lips, "Can ye do that?"

[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

James Justice was a reasonable man.

Eight was a fair bargain. Sor-Jan could do the job for eight, but he had Winter Fete bonuses for his employees to bear in mind. "I could do that," the boy began, swirling his effervescent soda pop around in the glass for a moment as though it were a fine brandy. "...for nine thousand," the youth countered, looking back up at the man across from him.

Not to conflate the issues being discussed, but the 'favors' were tempting. Sor-Jan was running a company in the Mid-Rim, with customers in the Outer Rim. Or even Wild Space in the case of the Silver Sanctum. "Though as long we're discussing it, exactly how far does Justice Shipping extend?" the boy inquired, trying his best to seem apathetically uninterested even as the curiosity was as evident as the nose on his face.

"Say I wanted to move merchandise from Drall or Selonia to Voss... is that something you could handle?"

[member="James Justice"]​

 

[James Justice]

James pursed his lips. He could handle nine, he was sure. He did a quick thought through the numbers, though numbers were not his forte. It would work. He could spare an extra thousand to gain a better standing with an ally, it was worth it.

James shifted his weight and let out a brief wreath of smoke from his lips. He could tell his mention of the shipping discounts had piqued an interest, and that was fine with him. He had no problems scratching backs that scratched his, after all.

"Justice Shipping reaches across all spans of the galaxy--with no problems what so ever. We never be late, and I personally have a few secret route I keep under the hat to make sure we can undercut most of our competitors by up to 30% in on speed--at same price, or cheaper. We also cover security as well, so if ye need security, we can train them for ye as well," he paused to let all this sink in, "I can offer ye a 15% discount on all our merchandise and services."

[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

If he was going for the nine thousand, then the boy didn't feel inclined to argue for a higher percentage.

Of course, if Mister Justice was anything like a Corellian, the man would just add 15% on top of whatever price he asked in order to create the illusion of a discount. There were a lot of parallels between business and gambling. Bluffing. Calling. And never letting the other guy know about the cheater up your sleeve.

Still, nine thousand and fifteen percent. This was almost too fair. Didn't anybody try to swindle anymore?

"Fifteen percent?" the boy echoed, looking up at the man for a moment before he finally nodded his head in agreement. "I believe we can do business, Mister Justice."

[member="James Justice"]​

 

[James Justice]

James grinned and raised his glass in agreement. He could work with that. He was nothing if not honestly dishonest--he would stand by his word to the people he worked with as he broke every law in the galaxy to do it. Or sometimes just to prove they were flimsi then laws.

He stood to his feet and let out a wreath of smoke. It was just about time for business to start and that would of course, mean plenty of credits for this old scoundrel. He shook hands with the youngling; it would never do for a youngling to be seen in a night club--even in Dal'Bor.

"It be a pleasure doing business with you," he said with a cordial smile.

The spacer waved one of his security personnel over, "Truman here will see ye to the door. I am sure we will be speaking again, very soon, mate."

[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]