Ask Serenno Down from the Sky

[Darth Caelestis]

It was still winter upon Serenno, but the rains had come and much of the snow of the past few weeks had been washed away, to leave a cold crisp chill in the air. The heating was working harder than before as it looked to keep Castle Wessex at a reasonable temperature. Though Artorigas himself was not enjoying the warmth, his mind was running with desires and dreams, ones that could not be kept still within the confines of a chair and a desk. So he had made to walk the ramparts looking out upon the lands below, the lands which were now his. It still felt weird, his father had been gone two months nearly, but it was still hard not to expect to see him or his brother walk around every corner.

Artorigas checked his watch and looked out over the horizon, he has asked a businessman, an investor to visit him here. For like always Artorigas had work to do, he would not be safe, not be sound, not be calm until he had secured his ability to be truly free and that meant more of everything, power, prestige and wealth.

@Nor'baal

 

[Solomon Hawk]

Once again Solomon was on the move. These days he seemed to spend more time skipping from world to world than he did kicking back and enjoying himself. The person he had come here to meet was a member of the Serenno elite, and that in and of itself was a solid reason to make the trip. Sat in his cabin, Solomon watched the planet sweep up to meet them as his yacht plummeted down to the landing pad below.

As the ship touched down, he walked across the landing ramp stopped at the bottom, taking in the view.

In a smooth motion, he removed his sunglasses and eyed the man he was here to meet up and down as if trying to get the measure of him. He was a well-built individual, confident in his surroundings and clearly so. "Solomon Hawk," he extended his hand to greet the man "...it's a pleasure to be here."

 

[Darth Caelestis]

He was on time, that was a positive for the man. He often had to wait on his Sith colleagues always believing that arriving late showed dominance or importance, to him it only meant they were lazy. Turning to face the man he held out his own hand giving it a firm shake. "Lord Artorigas Wessex, you are most welcome." Releasing the mans hand he turned slightly holding out his arm towards the ramparts that surrounded Castle Wessex. "Shall we walk and talk. I have been stuck inside to much today."

Mist formed from his breath as they began there way around the Castle. "So Mr Hawk, I understand you are an investor and are looking to expand your portfolio. Tell me what have you invested in so far?"

@Nor'baal

 

[Solomon Hawk]

"Quite a range," Solomon responded as he kept pace with the Serenesse Noble "...initially I was a wildcatter, looking for fuel deposits in asteroids and other celestial bodies. Struck a deposit, and sold the rights on to one of the Corellian corporations. Since then my interests have seen me all over the place." he took in his surroundings, the Castle commanding a respectful view across the vistas.

"Presently my interests are in across resources, finance and shares. The usual - reasonably uninspired I must admit, but it works. Now, I am looking for things with a more," he paused, mulling over the words "...hands-on approach. I've looked into Casinos, Health, Technology, and more." he remarked. "Look," he stopped and faced the Noble "...it isn't the business you invest in, it's the people behind it. That's why I wanted to meet in person. Tell me about yourself, what are you looking for in life. I mean..." Solomon gestured to the castle.

"Let's be honest, money - you've got it. So, what else is there driving you? Tell me that, then we can talk shop."

 

[Darth Caelestis]

"A shrewd approach, though sometimes the man is only a front for what truly lies beneath." Artorigas replied in purposefully convoluted tones. The turned past the Eastern most turret giving them a view out South across the valley acres of land all owned by the Wessex family. "Though it seems it, I am not as rich as some of my colleagues. My father almost bankrupted our House. You see that vineyard?" He pointed out about five miles ahead of them and slightly to the right. "That is the edge of the Wessex holds, we once owned the entire valley." He said with a downhearted voice.

"I wish to change that, so I need both greater wealth and greater power. I do not like asking for handouts or relying on other people. How much do you think it would take to start up a Weapons manufacture?"

@Nor'baal

 

[Solomon Hawk]

Solomon turned away from the man briefly as if looking to take in the view, allowing him to suppress a smirk. Truly the other half had a different understanding of wealth, they seemed to want land and materials, the more traditional forms of opulence, rather than some of the more modern approaches. However, despite his own disparaging view on it, Solomon could not deny that it had, in this instance, and indeed in many others, worked wonders.

"How much do you think it would take to start up a Weapons manufacture?"

There it was, the ask. Solomon stopped to think, walking toward a set of chairs, a table in between, and calling over the nearby waiting droid as he took a seat. What Wessex wanted to do was certainly a compelling prospect, but the sector was heavily competitive, regulated, and expensive

"Interesting, depends on quite a large number of aspects." he began, drawing a stim from its holder and offering one to Wessex as he leaned back in his chair "The Sector is very diluted, and hard to get into. So it depends on what you're looking for. If you want a large-scale manufacturer, you'll need billions. However, if you want something more bespoke - higher-end clients, controlled stock ranges - that's something we could do on a lower budget, and with the prestige of your house name, that would add to the marketing as it where."

The droid finally tapped over, a silver tray in its right hand. "Drinks, Sirs?"

"Two Corellian Olds." he waved the droid away and continued "There's a lot of options, but my recommendation is a high-end bespoke weapons manufacturer, specialising in custom made, or limited run, weapons. Partner that with leased high-end protection and attack droids, and you've got a business."

"A leasing aspect of the business also provides you with an in-road to larger companies, and high net-worth individuals, I'm thinking secure commlinks, discrete armoured transports, bodyguard droids. All leased at a premium, no questions asked. What do you think?"

 

[Darth Caelestis]

The man was well informed which was good, he did not need to work with someone with little to no knowledge of what Artorigas desired. Though the Sith Noble had some knowledge of the arms industry, he was not an expert and having someone who could at least match his knowledge could only make this venture much more profitable.

As the droid took the man's order he looked up at his master, Artorigas held up a single finger and nodded. The droid would understand, Artorigas was not one for beer or ale, he was a wine man at heart. "I would heed your advice here, though it was in my mind to go down the more bespoke and high-end side of the industry. I could never match the output of some of the more established names out there."

Artorigas walked over and took a seat opposite the man, the droid would return shortly with both Solomon's beer as well as a glass of red wine for its master. "I have some mercenary contacts that can both utilize and test the models which is beneficial." If he was honest it was a morning idea, he had only thought of it shortly before the man's arrival. The combination of the added wealth it would generate for the family as well as the near on demand access to weaponry and security fit both of Artorigas' requirements for his advancement of the House and himself.

@Nor'baal

 

[Solomon Hawk]

"Indeed, to get this going you'll need contacts - make no mistake," Solomon was interrupted briefly as the droid returned and placed down their drinks "...partnership deals with key outfits could net you a tidy return. Effectively, in a bespoke game like this, it's all about reputation." he took a sip of the drink, crudely made, but he paid no attention to it.

"I assume you're reasonably well connected with HNWI," he stopped, realising he would need to elaborate "...high net-worth individuals? People who can espouse your products in the immediate term? If so, you need a place to do business and a few technicians, expensive ones mind."

Lighting his stim, Solomon looked over at Wessex "I can get you the technicians if we push the button on this, you'd need to find a place to set it up - which, well," he gestured to the place in which they were sat "...probably wouldn't be that hard."

 

[Darth Caelestis]

Artorigas swilled the wine around the glass taking in the aroma of the vintage, it was one of his own bottles, he would love to say they were amazing, the best in the galaxy, but unfortunately he had to be humble here. They were an above average vineyard but they had not seemed to create the perfect vine yet. "I know a few however many of them are a little sour to my position." Pretty much every HNWI on Serenno knew of Artorigas now since his dinner the past month, though he knew that at least half hated him and the other half were jealous. So he doubted he could get much support there, though there was the contact on Hapes which could one day bare fruit. "Though I am sure I can play a few off against each other to at least get us moving."

Taking a sip of the wine, checking to make sure nothing had happened in the bottling before taking a full mouthful of the rich red liquid. "There is a small sized industrial estate to the North East, it is mainly used as storage but has ample space to set up a small to small-medium sized factory." It was were the vast majority of his confescated VD-Security droids were held, he only had around a dozen on the estate at one time, the remaining seventy or so were in storage encase anything happened.

@Nor'baal

 

[Solomon Hawk]

"I know a few however many of them are a little sour to my position." Solomon listened on as the nobleman spoke, nodding every now and then as he did so. "Though I am sure I can play a few off against each other to at least get us moving." he snicked as Wessex continued, liking the man more and more as he admitted to some of his less than orthodox business practices.

"There is a small-sized industrial estate to the North East, it is mainly used as storage but has ample space to set up a small to medium-sized factory." Solomon nodded, putting his drink down as the nobleman concluded. "Well, that would be a good start. There is an opportunity here, one I am certainly interested in looking at." he stopped, tapping out his stim on the side of the ashtray in front of him.

He did have concerns. Chiefly was his worry that this would be a hobby for the young noble, not a going concern. He had worked with nobles in the past and often found them to be a considerable nightmare in the process. Dynastic politics was never his game.

"But I'm not prepared to go all-in at this stage, we need to do it in the proper way, so through funding rounds. To start with I am happy to provide funding to support the renovations of a part of the industrial estate, so we can get the first few products up and see how they fare in the market. Once we hit," Solomon drew a stylus from his top pocket and his datapad, and started writing things down "...a sizable margin, and consistent return business, as well as securing one-tenth of revenues in leasing, we can go to round two funding."

He tapped the stylus.

"Basically, as the business grows, so does the funding. How does that sound?" Solomon asked, waiting to get over this hurdle, before proceeding to the specifics.

 

[Darth Caelestis]

The man was pragmatic that was good, he much preferred to deal with people such as these than those who threw there money around like it was worth nothing. Another sip of wine as the man smoked his spice stick, that habit had never gotten to him, he had tried it like most young nobles but the taste or the addiction had never landed.

"That does sound like a smarter way of handling things." He admitted. "No point throwing money at a dead horse, it wont run." Artorigas continued with a smile. He watched as the man went away on the datapad writing down all manner of things that he could not see and perhaps even if he could had no idea what they meant. "Ten percent seems like an agreeable percentage, I am not here to bargain over money to that degree. At the end of the day we are both here to make profit."

Artorigas had finished the glass of wine, it was his third of the day already, though it was not a good thing to admit the man did have a problem when it came to his drink. As soon as he started working the bottles came out, at least he had his own vineyard to help keep him well stocked. "I assume you will need some time to arrange the transfer of funds and the securement of said talent?"

@Nor'baal

 

[Solomon Hawk]

"Well, if I am stumping up the funding, finding the engineers and supporting on new businesses, with you providing the venue, brand and HNW contracts, I'd view it as a joint venture, with a fifty-fifty split of ownership." Solomon replied "I can provide ten per cent of the funding up front, once the agreement is formally signed."

He was going through stims like they were going out of fashion and lit another "I use a bank on Cantonica, more discrete. However, once the funds are up, we need to get out there and drum up sales and interest. There are two main ways we can do this, firstly is getting some products up we can showcase to potential buyers, and then secondly, issue B stock, non-voting shares, to raise capital."

"Once the funds are transferred, and the engineers arrive, can you get me say, two firearm designs, and a security droid lease? Then I can hit the functions on Cantonica, the Core and the old Corporate Sector planets."

 

[Darth Caelestis]

He has misheard about the ten percent and has subsequently already mentally decided on that being the split. The fact that is was not what was agreed or even spoke about put the Sith Noble on edge, though it was no fault of the businessmen's own. "I understand your comment but I believe a fifty-fifty split is slightly to steep, I would also not like to loose a controlling portion of my venture. But as I said I am not unreasonable."

He fiddled with the empty glass as he took a moment to think. "A simple fifty five-forty five split, but once you get your money bac you drop it to thirty five? I believe that is a fair deal." Whilst he let the man think it over he followed up some of his questions and comments. "The non-voting shares will of course come both splits I am sure." He said with a smile not looking to dilute his stake further. "We already have a small custom design that my father had made for himself anyway, we can see if that can be produced on a greater scale." He called over a nearby servant and whispered in his ear to go get the weapon.

"With regards to the security droid lease, I can perhaps let fifty go by at the moment. Not much but I still need some for personal affairs. I have some harvest profits due towards the end of the quarter I can use to purchase more."