Ask Best Quality Mechanicals

[Newton]

Christophsis​

The Independent Systems Consortium has grown in power over the last couple years. A lot of power. ISC influence has spread and they did the unthinkable, they now have even some of the most prestigious planets in the Core Worlds flying the ISC's banner. Still, like every other growing government, the ISC has needs, and Blackwell is always willing to fill those needs for the right price. Blackwell sells to all, but of the three Galactic Senate bodies (excluding citizens), the ISC is without a doubt the best client. The ISC wasn't the only one that's been growing, as the megacorp has been as well with Blackwell Tech's capture of the M4-78 system. All those resources, all those production facilities, all the technology...

On Christophsis, Newton would be dressed nicely with a suit, looking professional as usual. The CEO came prepared, datapads check. Holo-screens with relevant information? Check

As he would be waiting, Newton would look outside with his droid buddy M7 while his beleaguered assistant droid L3 would be finishing the very last bit of preparations. The crystal world is easy on the eyes Newton thought. The Blackwell Executive would be set to meet with the ISC Secretary of Defense Carrick and ISC President Emryc Thorne if he's available. Checking his chrono, it's time, and his good assistant droid would informed Newton everything is ready. Newton feels at ease here, he's sure that the meeting will end on a very good note with both parties ending with a mutually beneficial exchange

@Sreeya @Nefieslab

 

[Carrick]

Carrick often did not enjoy being pitched to when it came time to review the military spending and catalogue for the ISC military but he would admit that Blackwell were some of the best. With lines in robotics, weaponry and ships they catered to all areas of the ISC military and, because of bulk purchase orders, had often worked out cheaper than some of their competitors. But with the added income from their expanded areas of influence and their requirement for greater security across the wider area, Carrick knew that the ISC needed more.

With the megacorporation recently having taken over a planet uniquely suited to their production model, Blackwell was one of the few companies that could claim to be rising in tandem with the ISC. Newton Arden was something of a known commodity in the business of selling arms, munitions and utility devices because of his long-time association with Blackwell.

It spoke well of their intentions to pitch good products if they were sending their CEO into the discussion.

Striding through the halls on Christophsis, Carrick nodded to the guards and waved away his personal assistant as he approached the meeting room. Checking his watch, he found he was on time and a note that the President may be caught up in work so not to delay the meeting should he not be able to attend.

Emryc could show up whenever he wanted to as far as Carrick was concerned but if he didn't have the time then Carrick would sort it out regardless. Stepping into the meeting room, Carrick spotted Newton and made his way toward the man to offer his hand for a handshake.

"Mr Arden - welcome to Christophsis. I hear congratulations are in order for the acquisition of M4-78!"

@The Good Doctor @Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Since the Core Worlds joined the ISC, Emryc’s time was more preoccupied than ever. He sent delegates on his behalf everywhere, but he always made a point to make a personal appearance for Newton Arden. The two men had known each other for a long time now and both had seen the other start as fledglings in their fields. Arden was one of the few people in the galaxy that had the President’s true respect. Emryc’s early endorsements into Blackwell had paid off tremendously and contributed to his vast personal wealth.

The tall half Sephi was adorned in a gray suit with a blue tie, a chrono glinting on his left wrist. As usual, his hair was perfectly styled and an expensive, earthy cologne trailed the air wherever he walked. Emryc gave a nod to both men as he arrived, his silver gaze piercing as he studied them, “Good day gentlemen,” He greeted them, “And I echo the Secretary’s congratulations, Newton,” He said. Newton was one of the few that could address Emryc by his first name, “What do you have for us today?”

@The Good Doctor @Nefieslab

 

[Newton]

Feels good to be congratulation on his achievement, it took him years and years to accomplish, and Newton, Blackwell, and hopefully the ISC will be able to reap the rewards of it. After seeing Carrick again, Newton would then take him up on his handshake. "Thank you for the welcome. And thank you again." Newton would smile "Thank you too Emryc" Newton turned around to the ISC President and nodded back.

Emryc always seemed to be a straight to the point person and Newton likes that, he ins one of those types too. "I have some stuff in store you might find intriguing." Newton would then push some buttons, the holoscreen would then display a really big droid. "First up, inspired from my experiences on M4-78, this is the D3X-0S Super Combat Droid. Codename: Deltros." the video would then zoom out, showing some humanoids juxtaposed close it, illustrating how big this droid is. "At 3.5 meters tall, it towers over everyone else" It's twice than Newton's size, and even larger than Emryc, which should say something. On the datapads, provided for both Emryc and Carrick, they could look at the droids detailed technical specs.

"The Deltros is as powerful as it looks, as it has two dual repeater laser cannons, which can demolish waves of infantry foolish enough to stand against it." In the screen, the Deltros would be mowing down waves of organic soldiers with impunity, taking almost no effort but just raising of the arms. In the next slide on the holoscreen, it would be demonstrating use of it's next weapons, destroying three speeder vechicles with little effort. "It also has two heavy blaser cannons, which allow it to take on inflict serious damage on structures, vehicles, and smaller space craft. These are vehicle-grade weapons on a powerful platform."

Next "It can dish out the hurt, but it can more than take it as well. Not only does it have durasteel armor plating, it also has a built in deflector shield generator. This shield generator can absorb lots of damage from energy and physical attacks." The next video would just have the shield being projected from the D3X, with it taking blaster fire as the shield renders them harmless. "It can even withstand lightsaber blows. " Next the screen would show a humanoid batting it's lightsaber against the shield a few times, but the shield stays strong.

Newton touched on the physicals aspects, but there was more to the droid than just that. "This machine is more than just a brute, it's also a battlefield commander, as it is intelligent, capable of strategy, and can work closely with friendly droid units. It's combat programming is quite complex and is ready to take initiative in most situations." Those features should work pretty well with in the ISC's armies

"In all, it's a powerful unit to have in your armies, although expensive." Such a powerful machine can't be so cheap, alas "But I assure you, will be well worth the cost." he grinned as he said. The D3X

The holoscreen would go blank, that's the end of the demonstration for the D3X "What do you both think? Any questions?" he asked if there were any.

@Nefieslab @Sreeya

 

[Carrick]

Carrick nodded to Emryc as the President strolled through the doors dressed in a rather nice suit. He didn't much care for chrono fashion but he rather liked the blue of the tie now that he thought about it - he might have to ask after Emryc's tailor again. Smiling ever so slightly at the greeting, Carrick could tell that today was going to be a great day not just a good day.

"Mr President." he greeted Emryc before raising an eyebrow slightly before amending it, "Emryc."

Moving swiftly onto the point, however, Newton wasted little time in beginning his presentation and Carrick moved to lean against the display to get a closer look. The D3X-0S was... a big one. Deltros they called it? He could see it catching on better than the serial number-sounding name for sure.

The comment about it being able to withstand lightsaber blows caused Carrick to raise both eyebrows in surprise. As the only one in the room who could claim to actually own a lightsaber, he was interested in the resistance that the droid could put up - not that he foresaw himself needing to fight one. He'd leave that pleasure for the Force Users dumb enough to try and get in the way of the ISC.

"An impressive beast." he congratulated Newton without a hint of false praise, "Terrifying even in hologram and I can well imagine the damage it could do. Very similar to a light tank I would say but that does bring me to a point."

He tapped the display.

"Its got to be heavy. How fast can it move? And, better question, can it rotate at the hips?"

To be honest... he was buying the droid. It was just a matter of finding out the limitations so he could work around them.

@Sreeya @The Good Doctor

 

[Newton]

Carrick looked impress, did he manage to score though? Newton would nod and smile at the compliments in appreciation. Perhaps.. As for Carrick's question, Newton would answer as a matter of factly. "It's heavy alright. It can move just a little below normal human walking speed." It's not the slowest thing ever though, but it's bulk doesn't let it be practically agile or anything "And it does not have hip rotation. There is armor in place of a joint for that" He answered. Such is the price of having armor plating there. Newton wanted that droid to be super tough and didn't want obvious vulnerabilities if he could help it, even if they somehow got through the shield.

@Sreeya @Nefieslab

 

[Carrick]

The speed wasn't too much of a limiting factor when paired for a good power supply - few people thought that human walking speed was impressive but if it could be maintained for an extended period of time? Well, humans were endurance hunters by nature and a droid built on a similar principle could, in theory, mean it would work well with humans. Other sentients didn't have the same biological connection but he doubted they would have issues keeping up with it.

"Something to be said about the intimidation that comes from something this heavy, this powerful, lumbering toward you." he acknowledged with a small smile, "Fear the slow but inevitable death and all that."

It was something he could get behind.

Already the ISC military had a reputation for using more firepower than was strictly necessary to defeat their opposition. It was a partially warranted criticism of their style since they had often thrown a lot of firepower at small Syndicate piracy parties during the extended hostilities between the two factions.

"Hmm."

Not being able to turn at the waist didn't sound like a big issue but it was something that would need to be trained around. It meant that the droid would seldom ever be deployed alone as any sufficiently mobile combatant would be able to flank the tank and attack while it lumbered into a new position. Certainly it was hard to damage in the first place but give an enemy enough free hits and something would bend and break.

"I could see something like this being very useful in certain combat situations." he agreed with a nod, "Mr Arden I'd like to see able arranging a small test exercise with some ISC forces. Dependant on their success with the model, we would be looking to make a sizeable purchase; have to start filling out the new fleets after all."

The ISC was growing and the Navy needed to grow to protect it, which meant so did the marines and so did the Army. His budget had never looked quite so healthy.

"Do you have anything else available or coming up in the near future?"

@The Good Doctor @Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc watched the display in silence, his face never betraying whether he was impressed or disappointed. Newton and Carrick had both known him for years, and they knew in person Emryc wasn’t entirely expressive as he sometimes presented on Holonet. The half Sephi listened to the back and forth dialogue, silently agreeing with Carrick’s concerns and idea of putting the droid to the test.

“How quickly can these be manufactured?” The half Sephi asked, “Should we choose to purchase, you understand it will be in bulk. I would also expected a promising deal as part of our blanket purchase agreement,” The BPA had been established years prior, and it offered a discount to ISC that was exclusively between ISC and Blackwell, “Even with new tech, I do not plan on paying commercial price.”

The half Sephi had nothing more to add, waiting instead to see what Newton had to say as a follow up to Carrick’s question.

@Nefieslab @The Good Doctor

 

[Newton]

Newton stood professionally as he heard out the Secretary of Defense and the President. Friends as he might be, he knew that Carrick and Thorne were professionals and do their due diligence. Newton would look at Carrick and then respond. "Of course, we can most definitely do a test demonstration." Newton would smile, standing with by his product and his droid.

Newton would turn to Throne and he would respond to his inquires. Throne was always a bit hard to read so it's not apparent if he was impressed by the display or finds it lacking, but all Newton needs to do is answer his questions calmly, to the point, and correctly. "They can be manufactured at a decent rate. The D3X is more complex and not as quick to produce as our main-line droids. However with Blackwell's innate production capabilities and the acquisition of M4-78, the D3X can be produced in batches of many. Suffice it to say though, if you choose to purchase we can meet any demand." and as for the discount "And of course, as per our agreement, the great discount will apply for these and any Blackwell products today."

---

If there are no more concerns at this point, Newton would move on to the the other products, Carrick did ask if there was anything else available, and he did. "If you don't mind, I would like to present a trio of products, made from M4-78". Newton would then push some buttons on his datapad, and then the displays on the datapads on the table would change. There would be three products listed on a datapad, each on a different page, but they can move between pages and back easily. Newton would start off with. "First, I present the UXC-5412 Pattern Cruiser." The display would be visible on the main projector, and it's schematics and technical details on the datapads. "A medium general-purpose cruiser, has a good array of weapons, can carry 20 starfighters. Robust and efficient. The UXC is purely operated by droids, running off of relatively small droid crews and has three droid databrians integrated into it. " That means no organics will be needed to run the ship. "It can also transport 15,000 battle droids, and get them into a ground battle quickly via drop pods." That will be handy no doubt for engagements on the ground, fielding droids quickly.

---

The next item "And speaking of starfighters, the UXS-211 Pattern Droid Starfighter was main starfighter for M4-78. It is just as much a droid as it is a starfighter. They can be produced quickly and cheaply. They also also fast and very maneuverable, and pack a punch with two twin-laser cannons and four warhead-hardpoints" So they can mount either torpedoes or missiles. The ISC does use a lot of the Auto-pursuit starfighters. There were clear drawbacks and advantages to both if they are compared, but it will be fine if the UXS-211 is passed on.

---

Next "And next, if you are looking to fill out an army fast, I have the U9-XX droid. These droids were native to M4-78. They are tough, strong, and robust. M4-78 produces them at very efficient rates at very low cost. They can be programmed for utility duties or for combat duties. In combat, they are effective with small arms or heavy weapons" They isn't much to say about the U9s to be frank. "There are so many of them and I offer them at a very low-cost for bulk purchases." Newton would snicker. M4-78 couldn't possibility have enough of those droids. There were tons of them already on the planet, even selling them in bulk for cheap would still yield profit. Perhaps if they get the Cruisers, maybe they can fill them with those things and drop them on the enemy fighting on the ground.

After that, Newton would await questions or concerns. There was one more product that Newton wanted to sell, but he was wanting to save it for last.


@Nefieslab @Sreeya

 

[Carrick]

A test demonstration followed by a decent production rate was the best they could really hope for when it came to the larger droid and he was happy enough to accept it. After all, tanks tended to take a long time to actually make but they were force multipliers worth the wait - the droid would be the same he was willing to bet. What's more was he was willing to 'bet' defence department credits on making that decision.

"More discounts you say..."

His lips twitched into a smirk.

"You're speaking my language, Newton."

Then came the series of pitches and Carrick was mostly silent through all of them, though he did take a dataslate and make some notes as he Newton was explaining some parts of the products he was offering. When the CEO brought up the UXC Cruise and UXS Starfighters, he made a comment on his dataslate simple titled "ISCCT?" and showed the screen to Emryc to measure his thoughts on the matter.

They were expanding into the core and inner rim and even with the additional forces provided by those areas, automation was still very much their friend. The ISC was one of the few modern examples of a military composed of both organics and droids working together to achieve greater success and he could see both of the ships being very useful in achieving this.

He voiced the opinion once Newton had finished his pitch, having let the man finish rather than disrupt the flow.

"The ships? I want them both for the Navy." he declared, his tone making it very clear he was investing right here and now, "The Cruisers especially - I want them and I want them quickly. The starfighter we can discuss later on numbers and production runs but the Cruisers I want as quickly as you can make them."

He tapped his dataslate before pointing to the multi-purpose droid, the U9-XX.

"Start a production queue for enough of these droids to fill four of the cruisers but within that outlined price I want to talk about including a BM-548 Blaster Rifle as their main weapon and a BW-713 blaster pistol as their sidearm. Are all are Blackwell products I'm sure we can come to an arrangement."

@Sreeya @The Good Doctor

 

[Newton]

Newton's eyes widened as Carrick seem to have fell in loved with the ships, especially the cruisers. Those cruisers are good indeed. The starfighters caught his interest as well, Newton thought that he would play it safe with the current auto-pursuits. But still, that's good. Newton nodded when Carrick said they can discuss later. That's fine.

As for including those specified blasters, models that Newton is well anquited with "That can be arranged for sure, easy." he affirmed. As of now, are going for the crusiers, maybe the starfighters, maybe the super battle droid. Those at this discounted prices will still bring good profit. What's a few peashooters in comparison to thing such as a whole cruiser? Especially one that has low cost but still stands to yield a good deal of sales.

---

If they were ready to move on, then Newton would have one more to show. "Just have one more item I'd like to present, the biggest of them all, and the most powerful..." Newton would then snap his fingers "The UXD-X231 Pattern Destroyer. Also known as 'the Devestator', and I will show you why" with another snap, the holo display would show a projection of the destroyer. "About equal in size to the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, the UXD has a good array of turbolasers and ion cannons. But it's main feature is it's spinal mounted proton beam cannon." With a snap, it would show the UXD charging up it's weapon. "The proton cannon charges up for several minutes, and once it's ready, it unleashes a powerful beam, it can do massive damage against most capital ships, if they wouldn't be destroyed by it." the projection would show the model destroying another ship the size of a frigate in a single hit. "It's also a carrier of sixty starfighters and twenty four ships the size of a shuttle or gunship. If you need a potent command ship for a fleet, or some heavy artillery in a prolonged battle, I think this is a good ship for that." he said. "This ship supports can organic crew, but you can still use droids to fill out most of the a heavy majority of the crew positions" Of course for the most important posts they will want highly capable organics, especially for a key vessel.

There were drawbacks to the proton cannon, but the ship is of considerable value still if one works around it's cannon's charge time. Perhaps pre-charging it? It can still cripple or outright destroy most nuisances in a single blast. Still, it has other benefits as well.

@Nefieslab @Sreeya

 

[Carrick]

He was already feeling pretty good about this little 'shopping trip' as he had deemed it to be in his mind at this point. The cruisers were something he could immediately start slotting into his plans for the core-ward planets within the ISC. Already their numbers and the number of droids that could be carried within would be a big force multiplier in the densely populated core of the Galaxy and even the Inner Rim. They needed to be able to project power and until their sentient forces were in high enough numbers, the way they could do that was through their droid forces.

It didn't hurt that a hybrid military of sentients and droids had been working well for them so far. During the short ISC/Syndicate conflict, they had proven themselves rather handy. Hard for some of the more underhanded techniques to work on non-organic minds and such.

The destroyer... was interesting.

The ISC Navy currently had its own ship named after the classification, though the TE-1 was more of a cruiser as far as the old Anaxes War College System was concerned so he could definitely see it filling a gap. Certainly between the cruisers the ISC already fielded and the Battlecruiser that was coming out soon.

"You mentioned its capabilities as a carrier. These starfighters... is it equipped to handle only the UXS-211 droid starfighters? Or are the berths more universal?"

It would make sense for the company that designed both ships to support their own hardware first and foremost... but it would be irritating from a military stand point as well so it was something to clarify. Alongside something else.

"What is Blackwell's stance on making any of these products exclusively for the ISC?"

@Sreeya @The Good Doctor

 

[Newton]

"The destroyer can accommodate starfighters of any make and model." Newton would clarify. Newton could have made sure the designers made it to where they could only store droid starfighters,, but people do want versatility and Newton is above such cheap tactics. It's an organic operable ship too, so it's not the same case as the cruiser.

And as for the last question, Newton would ponder. It's true, Newton could probably see Blackwell get more credits if the ships were open market, but very recent events suggest... otherwise. From corrupt senators selling ships brazenly to crime lords, to the Free Worlds Alliance not even needing any help from the Sith with it's downfall as it is collapsing in against itself, Newton decided, it is best to make the ships exclusive to the ISC. Newton doesn't want Blackwell looking bad after finding out his state of the art droid cruisers and being pawned off to random crime lords. No, with the ISC, the ships are indeed in good hands and will use them well.

"Normally we prided ourselves on our neutrality during many galactic conflicts we witnessed in our six-thousand years plus history, not preferring one faction over another. However, during these times, it's only the ISC that can be trusted not to misuse these fine machines. I'm fine with these fine machines being sold exclusively to the ISC. Of course, we will still use the models ourselves" As a mega-corporation with lots of needs, Blackwell needs it's security detail "but they will be sold only to your government." he affirmed. Besides, it's not like the Republic was rushing to buy them either, and the worlds in the FWA probably don't have the budget anymore, and the attempts at FWA having a centralized military failed after Korre was ousted.

It feels like the meeting is almost done, look at the time. Newton feels like he is close to closing the deal. Blackwell and by extension Newton could walk away much richer, and the ISC will walk away from this even stronger.

@Nefieslab @Sreeya

 

[Carrick]

Excellent.

A destroyer that couldn't accommodate the stock of starfighters they already had wouldn't have been use-less but it would have been far less use-full. Knowing that it was capable of handling the more universally sized fighters as a bit of a relief because it meant that they could actually afford to go ahead and place some orders for them. Without the hanger spaces being standardized, they would have had to invest in more of the droid starfighters and been able to buy fewer because of the added cost.

"That is a relief. I would hate to make an order only to realize later it can't actually carry over half of the types of starfighters we use."

It was said mostly as a joke but it probably didn't land very well as one - he wasn't really well known for being overly humorous after all. One thing that was certainly not a laughing matter was the nature of the ships being offered to them. If they were out on the open market it would cause problems but exclusivity was typically a dirty word to contractors such as Blackwell.

So that was why it was music to his ears to learn that Newton was willing to keep the models between Blackwell and the ISC alone. He made a quick note on his datapad that the sales had his authority with that last little detail hammered out. Reaching out, Carrick would offer his hand to Newton to shake.

"Good deal." he agreed with a smile, "We've done a good thing here today. Because of this deal, millions of sentient lives will be saved - you've handed me the shield with which to defend my people and I thank you for it."

/End Thread?

@The Good Doctor @Sreeya