Ask Serenno Moving Product

[Nahri Nalju]

Now that Nahri was once again the CEO of her company, there was work to be done. Her Sith duties as 'Vex' had consumed the last few months of her life, but it was time to shift to a more balanced life. It was time for NalTech to begin its growth. Right now, it was a small company mostly concerned with repurposing droids and refurbishing them into more modern models. But Nahri had a dream of a company that rivaled Blackwell Technology. And while she knew this goal was a long way out, she would never reach it if she didn't begin the work.

Nahri's first target was the Hutt Cartel. While the galaxy at large liked to pretend it didn't deal with the Hutts, it did. They all did. They just did it in a way that allowed them to turn a blind eye when others got caught. Nahri knew this well. She also knew the Hutts were looking to muscle out the Zann Consortium, a rather troublesome pest that had emerged recently. This presented an opportunity she could not afford to miss. Nor'baal the Hutt was secretly one of her investors. But it didn't hurt to strengthen their ties. If she supplied the Hutts with droids, they got rid of the Consortium—and thus, the Empire's interests were preserved.

And if she should get richer in the process? All the better.

On that logic, she discretely summoned a representative of the Hutt Cartel to Nalju Manor on Serenno. From what she had heard, this man was a smuggler and knew how to get her weapons and droids into the right hands without arousing suspicion. As before, she laid out a feast to welcome him. She wouldn't have him return to his master and report that she had been anything less than a gracious host. When he arrived, he would find droid servants to greet him and usher him into the banquet hall. It was there they would finally get down to business. @Nor'baal

 

[Kallixus Ranjir]

If you had asked him to pick Serrenno out on a map, Kallixus would have been unable to.

He wasn't entirely convinced it was a real place before he had seen it with his own eyes. "Princes and Counts?" the gun-runner thought out loud as he paced the lounge of his personal ship, winding its progress down to the landing pad "- I didn't think that was still a think people believed in." he sighed, pausing to admire his own reflection in the mirror. Despite his nonchalance at the location of their meeting, the businessman had made sure to do his research, filing through the press releases and coverage of 'Nalju Tech', an up-and-coming company that had recently had a change of leadership.

A family firm, now back in the control of the family that had established it.

As the ship touched down, he waved away his fussing protocol unit and exited the vessel. An entirely fake smile spread across his face as he walked down the stairs and extended his right hand to greet his (hopefully) new business partner. No doubt, a suited and booted man, smartly shaved and well presented was not what she was expected from someone who had presented themselves as a smuggler.

But, in this business, appearance was everything.

"Kallixus Ranjir." he flashed his dazzling smile at the young woman in the banqueting hall, not taking his seat until she had done so. "You've built quite the reputation for yourself," he addressed the woman who, according to the holos, was the CEO of this company, Nahri Nalju herself "- reputation is a good thing to have in this game, not that I need to tell you that." he added, a devil-may-care laugh on his lips as he made his introduction. Kallixus liked a business partner that knew how to impress, and he loved it when the unsuspecting, for example, heiresses, took people by surprise.

"So," he would take a seat at her invitation "- how can we help one another?" he removed a business card from his top pocket with practised ease, and slid it across the table, enabling for a swift data transfer of his name, and the licenced 'Independent Military Materials Broker' status, accredited across the Corporate Sector, and a veritable litany of other Governments, a status he enjoyed.

 

[Nahri Nalju]

Nahri took his business card with a practiced smile. A business card. How quaint. But she knew who he was. She never invited anyone to Nalju Manor without having done extensive research on them. "Mr. Ranjir," she said pleasantly, "Thank you for accepting my invitation. I hope your flight was pleasant."

She took up her goblet of wine and sipped lightly at it before setting it down and getting to work. "I'll get right to the point," Nahri continued. "As you must already know, I am rebuilding my father's company and am looking to expand my operations. And my clientele." I'm looking to sell weapons and droids to the Hutts, was what she didn't say. Out loud, at least. How to play this? How to make a tenuous deal sound promising, and more importantly, lucrative. "Word through the pipeline is that some of your... customers are seeking to take on the Zann Consortium. Big job, that."

Actually, it wasn't a big job at all. The Consortium had ransom credits, but it had been embarrassed by the recent scandal with Kuat. Still, its members were brazen. Nahri wouldn't put it past them to try something in Sith space, and she couldn't have enemies of the Sith pirating the supply lines Sith troops needed to keep the war effort alive. "I believe I can help these customers of yours," Nahri said. "And I believe you can help me to do that. But some discretion is needed. NalTech cannot be seen to be directly supplying weapons and droids to what is essentially a large-scale gang war, if you catch my meaning." She paused to scan his face to see if he understood her meaning. "I was hoping you could help me with this, as well." @Nor'baal

 

[Kallixus Ranjir]

Nodding as he continued the pre-business small talk, Kallixus replied "I got here without any disturbances, quite the feat these days." he remarked, referring to the continued state of unrest in the galaxy, which made it all the riskier to travel alone, and across inter-government boundaries. Listening intently as she went into the opening details of a proposal, Kallixus made a mental tabulation as to how much he could charge her, based pretty much universally on how desperate she sounded.

Unfortunately, she sounded incredibly confident.

He would need to do a little upselling. "Expanding your client base is something I am very capable of doing." he rephrased her ask to a more 'politically sensitive' phrase before he continued "We have methods of ensuring our discerning clients get what they need," his face remained calm throughout as if he was discussing something quite normal, which, given his line of work, he was "- we can set you up with a channel of distribution through a Corporate Sector wholesaler, who will be the only party you have contact with. Sales made by that wholesaler, who will also look after shipping, would not appear on your books at all." he added, hoping to reassure her that this was, on her end at least, entirely above board.

 

[Nahri Nalju]

Nahri nodded politely as he explained the mechanisms to her. It all sounded rosy, but she knew the devil was in the details. From what she understood, this 'wholesaler' would purchase droids and equipment from her, and then distribute them to any open parties. But she already had a slew of questions. Nahri was not the type of girl to not want to know the details. She had already sullied the name of her company as a means of taking power. She couldn't allow mistakes on her part to do the same.

"All of this sounds good so far, Mr. Ranjir," Nahri said, sipping again at her wine. "But I do have a few questions about this 'wholesaler'. Firstly, who are they? After all, if this is the side I will be involved in, I should probably know who it is I'm getting into bed with, if you'll excuse the analogy." She sat her goblet down and tapped its rim lightly with a pen. "There is also a matter of their clients. How do I know, for instance, that my droids and weapons won't, say, fall into the hands of the Consortium or any other rivals that could jeopardize my business relationships?" She leveled him a cool gaze, complete with a smile. "One of our mutual partners was a benefactor mine in a recent debacle with some old board members. I wouldn't want this deal to at any point hurt his business."

If Sidious had taught the galaxy anything, it was that there always had to be a friendship between the ruling government and the Hutts. The Hutt Cartel was really the only trustworthy organization to govern the rowdy Hutt Space. And the Hutts, for all their backstabbing and under the table deals, usually respected those who engaged with them in good faith.

Vex could not speak on behalf of the Sith Empire. Not yet. But Nahri could engage with them — business to business. And with any luck, this friendship she intended to build would one day pay off for the Empire. Somehow. "I'm sure you understand my concerns," she added for good measure. @Nor'baal

 

[Kallixus Ranjir]

Now they were getting into the details, which, as far as Kallixus was concerned, was probably a good sign of a smooth-running deal. "There are a number of options available. Either you can go through one wholesaler," he placed a datapad on the table, with a range of wholesalers shown on the screen, the ID Codes of each one not present, so as to prevent Nahri cutting him out of the equation and doing it herself "- or you can go for a range of smaller wholesalers, which would obscure the sales direction further." he added, a slight inflexion in his voice announcing that he preferred the latter option.

"As for who they sell to, that side of the deal would be handled by me directly." he confirmed, hoping to put her mind at ease. "Simply put, you can provide me with a list of people you wouldn't want these products sold to. However," he added a cautionary note " - whilst I can guarantee I won't break that agreement, I cannot say the same for the organisations and people I sell on to. If they chose to sell to a wider market, I cannot stop them." he confirmed, hoping to make it clear that once he had made the final sale, the direction of the product was out of their hands.

 

[Nahri Nalju]

Nahri tapped her finger on the table as she wrapped her mind around the deal. It was a good one, she realized. There were risks, but there were risks with any business venture. The Hutt Cartel would bring in a good, steady flow of credits that she could use to expand business operations and they would help keep a check on a potential rising threat to the Sith Empire. Two birds, one very big stone.

"The latter option is my preference," she said after a moment. And then, to make sure there was no misunderstandings, added, "A number of smaller wholesalers. To further muddy the transactions."

She took out a small slip of paper — paper, rather than a datapad, to prevent a digital footprint being left behind for any potential auditors who might come sniffing around, or anyone else for that matter — and wrote a very small list on it before sliding it over the table to him. "I only ask that you not sell directly to the Zann Consortium or whatever remnants remain of the Zaa Fenn Crime Family. The Pikes are also off-limits." That should cover Nor'baal the Hutt's list of enemies. Of course, one could never be sure with the crime syndicates. "From there, it is out of both of our hands. I understand this."

She glanced up at him. "Is there anything else I should know about this deal before we sign all the necessary paper work?" Nahri asked. "I know you are a busy man. I wouldn't want to take up any more of your time." @Nor'baal

 

[Kallixus Ranjir]

If he was perfectly honest with himself, Kallixus had no idea the Zaa Fenn was still operating in any significant capacity. However, not being one to labour a point unnecessarily, he nodded in agreement to her prohibited customer's list. The Pykes, likewise, were a smaller criminal element, that - as far as he was aware - had yet to claw back their splendour after the loss of Kessel. All-in-all, an agreeable set of terms.

"Your list is fine with me," he confirmed, not taking the physical note and instead of committing it to memory, after all, it was best few records were kept of such matters "- and no, nothing else on my part. Rest assured your product, and your reputation, are in quite capable hands."

 

[Nahri Nalju]

"Then I shall look forward to a productive business arrangement with you," Nahri said, and raised her glass to toast him.

The necessary paperwork would be dealt with over the next hour, then Nahri turned her mind to other ventures as Kallixus left the manor. The Hutts would be valuable business partners, both in her life as a businesswoman and as a Sith. And it was under the latter guise that she would approach them next.

/End Thread