Ask Business Acquisitions

[Terra Lanris]

Business had been good. Since she'd fallen in with Astria and Crimson Dawn, things had been going excellently. They'd gathered allies, gained money, and were really getting off the ground. Omega was Omega, but it was starting to calm down enough for Crimson Dawn to wrestle control of most of it.

Omega had started as a mining colony, and it was money waiting to happen. Of course, that didn't mean that things were going to be easy. She wasn't a miner and while there was some old mining equipment still on Omega, a lot of it was old and they had no one to operate it.

So she and Astria had hatched a plan. They'd traveled to Sneeve to recruit their own miners into business. The Sneevel enjoyed dangerous work and space mining certainly fit the bill. Well, kind of... it was close enough. People would probably die because of it, so that was dangerous, right?

Sneeve Interstellar Mining was exactly what Crimson Dawn was looking for, and that meant it was time to turn up the heat. Blackmail, extortion, or good old beatings. Whatever it took, they would do, and they'd brought along some muscle to make sure it worked out.

 

[Astria Jerriko]

When Terra had mentioned a plan to get some real mining operations going on Omega again, of course Astria had been all in. It was a great idea for a multitude of reasons, chief among them that they'd be producing their own product at least in some capacity. That meant even higher profit margins.

Astria herself had been making some moves lately too. While still in the works, her various deals with the ISC and the Mandalorians would prove to be very lucrative when they came to fruition. It was only a matter of time.

For now, though, Astria's attention was focused on Sneeve.

With a name like Sneeve it's no wonder these.. people, Astria spoke the last word with a heavy amount of speculation, she was using the term quite loosely. Are relegated to little else but manual work.

Astria wasn't racist.. per se, though she did find it hard not to consider most of the "lesser" races with a strong amount of condescension.

Do you prefer to lead with diplomacy or beating the Sneeve into submission? Astria asked, inspecting her blaster for a moment before putting it in its holster. I know which I prefer.

Their transport arrived outside of SIM, Terra and Astria's speeder the lead car of the trio. The other two were packed with former Eclispe thugs they'd recently brought into the fold.

We'll definitely need to change the name, If I ever have to say the word Sneeve again it'll be too soon.

Heading towards the front of SIM, Astria pushed through the front door, flanked on either side by Crimson Dawn muscle.

 

[Terra Lanris]

Terra winced slightly and grimaced as Astria talked about the name "Sneeve."

Yeaaaaah, it's... she shook her head. ...it's not really the best, is it? she said. It was pretty much the worst possible name she could have thought of for a people group. It just sounded like they were a bunch of Gollums or something.

Well, the carrot and the stick usually works better when there is a carrot, she said. If he doesn't go for the carrot, then we can move to a more... direct approach, she said. One things he was quickly picking up was the lingo of hyperbole and double speak. Some people - many uncultured swine included - thought that the euphemisms were pointless and useless, but she didn't. They added an aura of professionalism.

She laughed slightly as Astria mentioned changing the name. Calling it SIM sounded much better than... the other thing. She checked her own blaster as well before climbing out and heading inside.

We're here to see Mr. Kronk, she said to the droid at the front desk. The muscle standing behind the two women had dressed somewhat professionally, but they still looked very much like muscle.

Her eyes flicked around to make sure there were no security cameras in here, but this wasn't exactly the kind of place that had those.

Do you have...

No, we don't have an appointment, but we're going to see him anyway, she said, motioning toward the office beyond and hoping Astria would start just... heading inside. She also hoped Astria would know better than actually killing the man here and now. If that needed to happen, a bit more deniability would be good.

She caught herself for a moment, realizing just how nonchalantly she had begun to think about the deaths of others. What had happened to her?

 

[Astria Jerriko]

Of course the Sneevel would be named Mister Kronk. What other kind of name could a Sneevel possibly have? Maybe something like Biff or Og. Maybe a fancy one might be named Cletus. Astria hadn't even met one yet and she was already annoyed with their mere existence. Not something that boded very well for SIM.

You're getting assertive, I like it, Astria said as she pushed by the droid and made her way towards the back offices.

Passing by a few of the doors, all of which looked rather dilapidated and shoddy, Astria scanned the various name plates as they went. Eventually, she found the one they were looking for; the name on the door reading Doinkus Kronk.

She didn't bother to knock. Pushing open the office door, Astria strode in with the air of confidence you usually only saw in pompous house cats. Her golden eyes staring down her nose at the creepy little creature sitting behind a desk that much-too-large for him.

Mister Kronk, Astria said with a smile, however fake it might have been. The muscle they'd brought with them flanking either side of her as they filtered into the room along with Terra. I'm Astria Jerriko, and my associate and I have a.. business proposition for you.

I don't do business with thugs! The Sneevel shouted, slamming his tiny little fist on the desk. You guys don't scare me!

Astria shook her head in disappointment with the way things were unfolding so far. Nothing could ever just go the easy way. People were never willing to just accept the inevitability.

I'd suggest you hear us out, She said, motioning to the muscle to start tossing the office. There might not have been a lot of things to break, but that wasn't going to stop them.

Astria's gaze would turn to Terra for a moment before she shrugged. Maybe she would have better luck explaining to Kronk just how tight of a bind he was actually in. If not, well, Astria was probably going to start shooting things. Or at the very least, punching things.

Punching a Sneevel sounded hella fun.

 

[Terra Lanris]

I wasn't going to last long otherwise, was I? she asked. Projecting weakness in this business was as sure a way to end up dead as pulling the trigger yourself.

They headed back to the office and Astria barged inside with the two pirates close on her heals. Terra closed her eyes and nearly face palmed as she made her way inside. Of course, even on her finest day people found Tiefling to be terrifying, so the responses were always mixed. Did they want to hit that or run from it? Or both. Usually it was both.

My apologies, Mr. Kronk. My partner has spent her life dealing with a particular, unpleasant clientele, she said, shooting Astria a dirty look. It appeared that Terra would be the carrot from now on in their business proceedings...

Wait outside, she said to the two thugs that were already getting ready to start breaking things.

Besides, if the two women couldn't handle Mr. Sneevel alone, then did they really deserve to be here at all.

She took a seat without being bidden to and put on her best charming smile. To be the carrot one had to look like a snack, and that was Terra's plan.

Mr. Kronk, my name is Terra Lanris, and we're interested in extending an offer for your company to come work the asteroid fields around Omega, she said. But his gaze was still fixed on Astria, entirely distracted by the fact that she looked like she was about to jump across the desk and strangle him.

Would you like to have a seat, Astria? she asked, really hoping the answer to that question would be "yes." They could get to the beatings later if needed.