Ask Contacting Contractors

[Newton]

Newton had some plans for new additions to Blackwell Tech's arensal of goods. He has a plan, he knows where to go for this, but as much as he hates to admit, he needs help. Normally Newton would be able to throw droids at the problem he is having, but for this particular occurrence, this isn't an option. It involves antagonizing a competing company, and it outright sending Blackwell droids may not be the most prudent decision. So he arranged for a meeting with a representative of a mercenary group to see if they will tackle this. Newton is willing to pay a good amount of credits for this.

The Blackwell Executive was wearing a nice business suit, he was sitting behind the Corellian hardwood desk in an office room at the Blackwell branch office getting ready for his appointment with the mercenary contact. He had his infomation all ready to go and he would check his chrono and it's almost that time. Newton would smile towards his astromech droid M7, who is at his side. His secretary droid L3 is standing by as well, Newton would look to her. "It's time L3. Please escort my guest here." The protocal droid would then reply "Yes of course sir, right away" she said with a deadpan tone with her female voice.

Newton was ready for his meeting. What was interesting about this contact in particular was that he already has past history with Blackwell. That could be a good thing.

The meeting is ready, the stage is set in the office. L3 would then stand in the lobby of the office to meet the contact and be ready to escort him. The contact was informed that they would need to link-up with the protocol droid that would be in the lobby, then it would show them to meet their prospective employer. Time to see if the contact is one for punctuality or not...

@Taz

 

[Covax]

Covax stood in the waiting room just before the private office of Newton Arden. To his own surprise, the former employee of Blackwell had managed to an entire ten minutes early. He managed to find and even fit into a respectable suit for the meeting with the CEO. In fact it was likely the one he was wearing when he first interviewed for the security position long ago.

The sudden realization would cause him to flashback for a moment. To Eva and Izzy. "Damn it." He whispered to himself, a tear suddenly forming in his eye. Wiping it away, he shook off the memory and looked around to make sure no one noticed. He took a breath. Believing Aska had missed it. (@Tulos )

When he had received the invitation for a possible "lucrative opportunity", Covax passed on the invitation to the sharped tongued female merc. After all they were......a team, a crew? It was still to early in the partnership to give it a name. But he knew Aska would be interested.

As the L3 droid appeared in the room. "Mr. Arden is ready for you now." in her dead pan tone. Covax looked to his partner, "Try not to fall through the floor this time." He joked as he followed in step after the droid assistant.

 

[Aska Ryun]

The lobby of Blackwell’s branch office was exactly as Aska had believed it would be. Grand in design, well lit and everything that the clone despised. It certainly was not the usual dive she would receive her contracts in but that could only mean she was climbing the ladder. The bigger the contracts got, the bigger Klied’s mercenary outfit would grow as well. She wasn’t working for herself anymore but as a moving piece of a bigger operation. Some minor discomfort would be necessary for the greater good of the group as a whole.

One of the men she had met on Devaron had presented her the opportunity and while she still wasn’t sure about Covax, she couldn’t deny that any credits were good ones. What she wasn’t expecting was seeing the burly merc in a suit. She hadn’t seen any reason to alter her own attire however. She was wearing the same leather jacket with it’s cloth hood pulled over the back of her head and her SE-45 hanging nicely from her hip. If you were looking for a merc, you would expect a merc to arrive. The whole “well-dressed contract killer” shtick wasn’t her cup of tea nor would it ever be.

As Covax wiped the tear from his cheek, Aska was making herself comfortable on one of the leather couches that lined the lobby they had been waiting in. Her head was leaned over the backrest but the man’s quiet words caught her ear and she was able to catch the action. Raising an eyebrow and returning back to leaning was her only response. Being in a Blackwell office made her uncomfortable but it was far from enough to have her shed any tears. Still, anyone in this kind of life undoubtedly had secrets and scars that were left undiscussed. She certainly did, recalling the day she had to kill her twin sisters after they became infected with AMS. It was not her business to pry nor comment on his own mental struggles nor on what triggered the memories.

“Mr. Arden is ready to see you now,”

“Try not to fall through the floor this time,”

Aska simply smirked as she pushed herself from the couch and followed the protocol droid into the office.

”I’ve met Arden before. From what I could tell, he’s not the type to deserve that sort of thing,”

@The Good Doctor @Taz

 

[Newton]

"Right this way" L3 would gesture the duo to the door, the door would open as the two would come in. Newton was ready, he would stand up and strode over towards them. "Ah, nice to see you both." he said with a smile.

He is eager to get to business, but first the pleasantries and stuff. It's been quite a while since he saw Aska at that Blackwell conference on Zeltros. Seems she's doing good for herself being part of a mercenary outfit. Newton did find out that Mr. Covax was with Blackwell security department before, although Newton himself never met him. Still, being part of Blackwell security is a pretty big deal for someone's résumé.

To start things off "Pleasure see you again Aska" he would gesture for a handshake towards her in gentleman/businesslike fusion. "Nice to meet you as well, Mr. Covax right?" he asked just to confirm. These two look like they mean business, Corvax was wearing a suit, but Aska was wearing a leather jacket, with a hood, and had a weapon visible on her person. They didn't look like a cohesive duo, but Newton didn't care about what they wore as long as they can get the desired results.

After allowing some time, Newton would then gesture towards the two seats in front of his desk for them to sit in. "Ya'll are welcome to have a seat. Oh, and there is a coffee machine over there." he pointed towards the back of the office. There were plenty of cups too. He would let them get comfortable and what not before they proceed onto business.

@Taz @Tulos

 

[Covax]

Covax kind of rolled his eyes at first as Aska forced herself to get off the couch and fall in step behind the droid. She gave him a smirk, and he assumed it was at his face. However he was caught dumbstruck by her comment about knowing Arden.

"Wait, Wha...?" He stammered confused. Arden quickly driving the point home. Greeting Aska first by first name, while not 100% sure of who the fuck Covax was and the towering merc had actually been on the man's company payroll at one time. "Huh, Oh. Yeah." he babbled.

Trying to recover, the towering mercenary gave a kind of nod with a half smile as he went for the coffee. See the droid had already seen to the needs of their Master. Covax asked Aska simply, "You?" as he lifted the a glass. The entire moment was more then a little weird.

Moving on quickly enough however. He made his coffee, black as the void with a little honey mixed in. If Asks took him up on the offer he'd make hers the very same way regardless. Finally, with cup in hand he returned his attention to Arden. "You seem to know who we are Mr. Arden, so what is it we can do for you?" He asked. Trying to sound a little more professional then how he came in.


@The Good Doctor @Tulos

 

[Aska Ryun]

Aska chuckled at Covax’ reaction of her having met the man who sought to hire them before. The conference on Zeltros had been so long ago but it was a memory that stuck out in the young clone’s memory. Oh how she hated that dress… The drinks, on the other hand, were spectacular. Well, most of them at least.

”Lookin’ sharp, Newton,” Aska countered as she took the marketing officer’s offered hand in a tight grip. ”Blackwell credits seem to have treated you well enough,” she added as she surveyed the office. Her first impression of Mr. Arden had been that he was merely a suit, throwing money at problems rather than taking things on for himself. While she did not truly know much about the Executive, or just how wrong her assumptions were, the current moment drilled the point home in her mind.

”Unless there’s some fine liqueur to spike it with, I’m afraid I’m gonna have to pass,” Aska replied to Covax as she sat herself down in the chair that Newton had indicated. Scanning the top of his desk for anything that may even remotely resemble an ashtray despite her nagging suspicion that he did not smoke, Aska would come up short. ”Empty cup would be nice though,” she called back to her ‘partner’ as she proceeded to pull her cigarra case from her jacket’s inner pocket. ”Hope you don’t mind,” Aska addressed Newton as she pulled a smoke from the case and lit it without waiting for Newton’s consent. Couth and etiquette weren’t her strong suits.

As Covax returned to his seat and pushed the conversation to one of business, Aska would wrap her fingers around the empty coffee cup and ash her cigarra into it before nodding in agreement with her partner’s question.

”Seems weird to me that a technological giant like Blackwell would be turning to blasters for hire,” Aska added before taking a pull from her smoke, blowing upwards to keep it from the others. ”If you can provide a force capable of combating AMS infected but you need us for something else? Sounds like you’re afraid of tarnishing the company reputation,” Aska waited for Newton’s response. She recognized she was being blunt, as is frequently her way, but she also had no intentions on dancing around the facts. If she was going to sign Raxx’ name onto a deal then she wanted to know everything she could.

@The Good Doctor @Taz​

 

[Newton]

Her grip is tight. Heh, he expected no less. Anyways, no, Newton didn't care if she did light a cigera in his office. The Blackwell Executive could just have L3 get rid of the smell afterwards. Let them feel comfortable around him, he would say. Anyways, it seems they are getting straight to buisness, Asuka is inquisitive, but it seems like she knows how do these kinds of negotiations, while the other one Mr. Covax asked first what he neede done. The former might be more selective of what work they do and the other probably doesn't mind one way or another if the credits are good.

Anyways, Newton would sit down at his desk as he would address those. "You are right that we deploy droids in the fight against AMS, but as you said we are a technological giant. We don't have private armies. We have only have Security" and plenty of it of course, in the form of droids and well-trained specialists. "It is our Founder's wish that we remain a primarily a product and service company." Newton would point to the portrait of Tasha Blackwell hanging prominently in his office, the pantoran lady that started it all. Anyways, While Blackwell, as a large mega-corporation has many droids and specialists for security, they don't possess private armies like other mega-corps tend to do, nor like the corporations during the Clone Wars that formed the CIS. Those are wasteful.

To answer Aska's last remark he would then say "That would be an incorrect assumption." Newton highly doubts what he has planned would even put a dent in Blackwell's reputation even if. Blackwell's reputation is pretty pristine compared to other mega-corps such as the corporations that make up the Corporate Sector for instance, and Blackwell's public relations specialists work hard to keep it that way.

"I'm merely hiring you both because it will not be easy, but from what I hear you two would be able to pull it off."

Now, as for what the former Blackwell employee requested, what is it they could do for them. Newton would clap his hands and then the lights in his office world dim. Then Newton would push a button on his desk, showing a holographic display of a volcanic world. "This is the planet Aeten II, it lies out in Wild Space" So it's pretty far out "My surveyors have discovered a good-sized deposit of Stygium Crystals on the planet. The only problem is, is that Czerka is already there, already looking to get the crystals themselves. They set up a mining facility there. The job is, is to shut down their operation so that we may have it"

Newton would push the button on his desk again to end the presentation. He has a feeling that the target, being a competitor in Czerka declared will lend more weight to Aska's words that he's afraid of hurting Blackwell's reputation. But Newton is readied to respond to that if she insists. No one will bat an eye if Czerka is 'inconvenienced', plus Blackwell has had it's own troubles with Czerka. "Any questions so far?" Newton would let the two potential contractors reply if they had any inquires about the job.

@Tulos @Taz

 

[Covax]

Covax sat in the overstuffed office chair and sipped his coffee. Giving the cup coffee a look of pleasant surprise, He was not normally a fan of dark roast but whatever or where ever this stuff from it was smooth as glass with some sweet flower notes to it. He would never say such things aloud. But it was wonderful all the same.

Of course while he was admiring his cup off coffee he was listening to Newton as she tried to answer their questions. It was true they didn't have armies. In fact if you didn't count the droids at all the living security forces on the payroll numbered in the low hundreds at best if his experience meant anything. But what they lacked in numbers Blackwell more then made up for in high end tech and weapons issued.

Taking another drink of his coffee, he let the CEO continue. Newton was smooth enough the merc supposed but... Before he could finish his thought the lights went down and a holo of a planet popped up. Covax suddenly pulled his datapad from his jacket pocket and started to thumb out a few quick notes. When Newton finished as asked for questions, Covax was quick to jump in.

"The screen shots are a little rough. Is this a major operation or just some old crawler exploring for major deposits. Also, did your droids get any idea about numbers or is that for us to asses?" As the merc ask his questions he put his cup down and started to thumb more notes and crunch a few numbers. While still giving the CEO his mostly full attention, his mind was already working on which ship to take, how much fuel, ammo, slicing tools...

@Tulos @The Good Doctor

 

[Aska Ryun]

While Aska had her doubts about Newton being wary of Blackwell’s involvement in eliminating opposition becoming known, she would keep her thoughts to herself. In the end, it didn’t really matter to her what Arden’s reasoning was. The only thing that mattered is that she got paid handsomely for doing the job he needed done. Once it was clear that it was Czerka Corporation that would be culled… Well, she’d heard the stories.

Covax would be the first to start asking questions. Good ones, of course, that she too wanted the answers of. Her first impression of him being a wild card was perhaps incorrect given that he was not only dressed to kill but took the business of killing seriously. She couldn’t say the same for herself, of course. It wasn’t as though she had a clean track record herself but in the end, she never left a job incompleted. That counted for everything in this business.

As for the job itself? The clone had never heard of stygium. What it was, what it would do. Did it matter? Maybe it should have. For now, however, she would play the part of the educated and do her research later. For now, she would allow Arden to answer Covax’ questions before asking one of her own.

”So they’re obviously rare if you’re looking to swipe them out from under Czerka’s nose rather than find your own. I don’t need to tell you that increases the price tag significantly,” Aska smirked as she spoke to Arden, placing the cigarra in her lips. ”Killing ain’t cheap either, but it’s cheaper than us leaving a bunch of witnesses. Where do you stand on that?” Aska would request of the Executive before blowing a ring of smoke into the air over the trio then proceeding to empty the remainder of her lungs through its center.

@Taz @The Good Doctor​

 

[Newton]

"It's a major operation" suffice it to say, as he answered Shane's questions. "Czerka has a moderate sized facility set up. From what I can tell, their personnel is mostly made up of labor droids with a few organic overseers. i don't have exact numbers, but least a dozen security droids as well." After all, this planet is in Wild Space, a dangerous region of space and where pirates, outcasts, or other criminals want to go; Czerka will want to protect their investment that could net them a valuable resource. And Czerka is a major droid manufacture as well, but still second to Blackwell. Normally mega-corps like Czerka don't care about the well being of their employees that much, but even they know a droid-majority workforce would be better suited towards mining on a volcanic planet.

As for Aska's questions, Newton's expression didn't change even when she mentioned twice that the pricetag will or could increase. Blackwell is a rich mega-corporation and even Newton himself is loaded with credits made from bonuses, commissions, royalties, and salary. He merely nodded his head to acknowledge that taking rare goods from Czerka will cause the potential contractors to want more.

In regards to where they stand on killing or not to kill as they go about their mission he would respond "Destroy any Czerka droids. Organic Czerka employees, they can be eliminated." Newton stated. If the contractors don't like the idea of leaving witnesses, Newton won't force a handicap on them. Not like he cares if they live or die.. "Although, if you can capture their overseers, I'll include a bonus." If they can do that, this mission would provide a side benefit to Blackwell, they could provide some intel on Czerka if given proper incentive. That's an optional, secondary objective though. The stygium crystals are the main priority of course.

"Any other questions?" he would ask before they move on.

@Tulos @Taz

 

[Aska Ryun]

As Arden confirmed that they were permitted to go in weapons hot, Aska’s coy expression began to reflect a sinister side. She hadn’t actually expected the Executive to give them the go ahead of full elimination of the Czerka staff but it suited her much more than letting them live and run the chance of their faces being plastered across the holonet. This may well be the beginnings of a beautiful relationship between the Merc outfit and Blackwell so long as the job went smoothly.

”Go in, purge the facility of staff and scrap the droids. Extra cred for Overseers,” Aska recapped as she ashed her cigarra into the empty coffee cup. ”Simple enough,” she added before blowing her bangs from her line of vision. The credits alone would be a huge asset but the clone couldn’t shake a nagging suspicion. Just why were these crystals so valuable?

”One last thing, Newton,” Aska continued before taking a drag from her cigarra. Holding the smoke in her lungs, she proceeded to stab out the burning ember on it’s end before dropping it in the cup and emptying her lungs towards her feet. Turning her attention back to Newton, she leaned one arm across the edge of his desk and moved in closer. ”Tell me what Blackwell’s plans are with these crystals. What do they do?”

If tech giants like Blackwell and Czerka had a need for such crystals, they must have had a practical use. If that use was something that could benefit the mercenary outfit, she’d be remiss if she didn’t jump at the opportunity to secure more assets for themselves.

@Taz @The Good Doctor​

 

[Covax]

Arden's answers to his question were mostly not a surprise. Well the permission to kill anything and everything was. Covax didn't expect the suit to want that kind of bloodshed. However it made perfect sense. Dead men tell no tales. It also meant they didn't have to look over their shoulders for bounty hunters after the fact. Like his partner, he also felt that this could all be very rewarding for both the outfit he was now a part of, and Blackwell.

For his part, Covax really didn't have much else. In fact he had the same thought in his head. "Simple enough." So he put the datapad away and reached for his coffee. As he thought the meeting was about over he wanted to finish the cup. It was that good. The cup was to his lips and he was taking a full drink when Aska ask about the crystals. "Hmm..?" He swallowed hard. "No, I'm not going to crash through the ceiling again" he mocked in his mind but didn't say a word.

@Tulos @The Good Doctor

 

[Newton]

So, looks like they understand the job. It's simple stuff, really. Will it be as simple in execution? Maybe, maybe not. But Newton is paying good money for good services. He trusts that the mercenary company will come through. And if not, does Newton lose anything? No, not really. But he does want his hands on those crystals before Czerka can get their nasty hands on them.

And yes, that's a very good question by Aska, why are the crystals so important and what would Blackwell do with them. "The Stygium Crystals are used to power starship-grade stealth technology. With these crystals, Blackwell Driveworks will make their own ship cloaking devices. When the cloaking field is turned they would be unable to attack, they would render the invisible to both the eye and ship sensors." Newton nodded his head, those would be immensely useful. Ship cloaking tech as never really took off, but Blackwell can take it further and make lot of profit off of it. And this deposit is the key.

Anyways, that seems to be the last thing. If there is nothing more to do, Newton would hand over a datapad towards the merc group. "Alright, then here is an outline of the rewards for this job." The mercs would be able to see a high figure payment for the job. For the secondary objective being completed satisfactorily as well, there will be another significant payment boost and the company will receive the first working cloaking device that would be made when they are finished being developed as a compliment. With these terms, this should be enough. "Do the both of you find these terms agreeable?"

@Tulos @Taz

 

[Aska Ryun]

Aska leaned across the desk and snatched up the tossed datapad, offering Newton a confident side glance before scanning the offer. She couldn’t see anything wrong, not a damn thing. The credits alone were sufficient but to get her hands on a piece of such rare and expensive tech alongside? Well, that was the icing on the cake. Such a device would be incredibly useful in their hands whether it be for breaking blockades of systems or simply to lose pursuers. It would undoubtedly see a great deal of use from the mercenary outfit.

Doing her best to maintain a calm and assertive demeanor despite the bubbling excitement to get to work that was brewing, Aska would hand the datapad over to Covax to evaluate before turning back to the Blackwell Executive.

”You're one smart man, Arden. No woman can turn down rocks like those. You’ve got yourself some crystals,” Aska said before offering her hand to close the deal, coming to her feet afterwards and preparing to make her way out of his office. Aska the Spelunker. Not a title she had ever wanted but today, it felt good.

@Taz @The Good Doctor​

 

[Newton]

"Splendid" the executive said with a smile on his face as he would then shake on her hand. With that, it's only a matter of time until he got himself some crystals. Not only will Czerka pay for the transgressions against Blackwell, Blackwell stands to make a lot of profit off of this venture as well.

"You can keep the datapad. It will have other tactical information you can use." And not much more than that. Such as where on the volcanic planet the facility is, some environmental details, images of the faciality, and (just in case) coordinates to where the Wild Space planet is. He would wish the mercenaries well. "Good luck. Pleasure doing business with you both." he nodded and grinned his head as well. If there was nothing else, then this business meeting has concluded.

If there was nothing else, and they did leave. Newton would call L3 in the room. "Alright L3, get rid of this smell before my next appointment." He would then clap his hands twice while ordering the secretary droid. L3 would then audibly shrug "As you wish sir". With that, Newton too would step out of the office "Also take my calls for me." He added. As Newton would step out of the office, his companion astromech droid M7 would follow behind.


/thread?

@Tulos @Taz