Fine Words

[Ru the Boatswain]

It had taken much persuasion to convince DICE's CEO to allow a meeting, even promising to travel to Obroa-skai. Costa had been allowed to bring his personal secretary and a small entourage of his personal guards. Each one had been accounted for along with employment history as proof of their long standing trust with the company. All of his men carried stun batons, only to be on the safe side. Mr.Costa was an important man after all and could not be left unguarded.

Stepping onto the landing pad, the Cyborg looked to his left and smiled at his assistant. The two had a good working relationship and he'd always been pleased with her conduct, without her many a deal would not have gone so smoothly.

His guards also stepped from the ship and surrounded the two business people. They were not Teo's only protection, a personal shield was also on Teo's person for the just in case reasons.

His business here today was simple, to deliver personally a message to the CEO of DICE. Teo had a feeling that he would be making an offer that could not be refused.

 

[Sreeya]

The secretary remained silent as she walked into step with Costa. As he smiled, she returned it, though no words were changed. She was adorned in form fitting clothing, accenting her curves. Her fiery red hair was tied up with various pins, allowing just a single curled strand to frame her pallid visage. An expensive purse also hung at her side. She was not too concerned about safety, as she was about luxury. There was contrast between them, but together they were very efficient at getting jobs done.

As the two walked away from the ship, she glanced around at their surroundings. She knew this would be a boring event, but something she would need to keep track of. She hoped to eventually get a pay raise, something she had been working towards for a while now.

 

[Dmitri]

A Lamia named Barrel was waiting to greet the envoys from Costas Industries. Glazi Zmeya had warned Barrel to keep an eye out for any funny business. It was well known that the DICE president was paranoid but these people didn't seem that suspicious.

"Welcome, Costas Party," greeted Barrel.

Barrel led the way into the DICE headquarters. The corridors were lightly heated, sending chills to anyone not wearing a coat or had natural insulation. Barrel didn't seem to mind. In fact, he had grown use to the cold.

Finally, after navigating through a maze of corridors, Barrel had reached the conference room. Unlike the majority of cold steel hallways that the group had been walking in, the conference room was more hospitable. Fake windows filled the walls of the room, the screens giving the illusion of a twilight on a tropical planet. The room's decorations were mainly glass, yet filled with velvet tapestries and armchairs that surrounded a wooden, round table in the center of the conference room. Plates had been placed in front of empty chairs.

On the opposite side of the round table sat the white-haired president of DICE, Glazi Zmeya. Despite having the appearance of a teenager, the twenty-year old knew that the first mistake most fools made was to treat him like a child. That was how he gave his first impression of people: by how they treat him. Would Mr. Costas treat him like a child? Would Mr. Costas treat him like a business competitor? Or would Mr. Costas be overpolite, trying to hide his true impression on the DICE president? Glazi was interested in finding out.

While waiting for the Costas party to arrive, Glazi had been messing with a collection of dice, stacking them up, trying to make it as high as possible. This too was a farce to see how Mr. Costas would react. The more abnormal the behavior, the more deviant behavior, the greater the response from the other person.

"Welcome, Mr. Costas," greeted Glazi, abandoning the dice tower. His hand moved to his plate, which was full of treats and sweets. He grabbed the nearest candy and devoured it. After swallowing, he said, "You must be famished, Mr. Costas." He motioned to the platters of food in the center of the table. "Please, eat."

 

[Ru the Boatswain]

As Costa entered the room his guards spread out to examine the room. They were bodyguards after all and their training was to inspect for such things as traps and monitoring devices. Very few things would escape their eyes. Costa and his assistant entered and greeted impolitely. He was not offered chair nor had proper lack of attention been brought to food, which Teo did not eat. Being a cyborg meant he did not eat like normal humans.

"Thank you, I don't eat sweets."

As he politely refused a treat he pulled a chair out for his assistant and seated her. Second he seated himself and took proper stock of the boy. His visual scanners read everything the boy carried on his person along with a few notable features. He was young, which meant that he'd been maneuvered into power rather than maneuvered himself. He enjoyed dice- the boy had an obsession- and sweets.

 

[Sreeya]

She nodded in thanks as her chair was pulled out for her. She was not paying too much attention to her surroundings at this point, pulling out a datapad to collect information from the meeting. Her job was a boring one, but important. She had been brought to make sure everything went as planned, though she was merely an assistant. As the food was placed in front of her, she almost dug in. However, when Costa declined, she grimaced lightly, realizing that it would be rude for her to eat while her boss didn't. She smiled politely, glancing up at the president of DICE.

Glazi's appearance was definitely deceiving. She too was curious to see how Costa would interact with him. This was the only time she chose to look up from her work, taking the time to survey the young man carefully.

 

[Dmitri]

Glazi noticed the datapad in the Costa secretary's hands.
"My deepest apologies, but this room has been reinforced to prevent no transmission from going in or out," said Glazi. "It's for security reasons, so that we're not overheard. If you're trying to contact the outside, I'm afraid it will have to wait."
While that was one of the reasons for isolating the room, the other was to prevent something inside from going out, though he wasn't about to reveal this. He did not want to risk these Costas to plant a virus or try to hack the DICE headquarters. With paranoia as his friend, Glazi had prumed the system so that no foreign systems could access. Secondly, while the visitors were present, all wireless systems were to be disabled. During the course of the visitors' stay, all would be monitored, including the ship, to prevent any transmissions that would attempt to hack DICE computers or some spybot or assassin from leaving the ship. Since Glazi was paranoid to even consider invisible agents, he used a variety of cameras from infrared to motion detectors. Costas was not an enemy to be dealt with lightly.
Glazi grinned. While he openly admitted that he was not the best with politics and games, he still enjoyed them. Would Costa try something or was there another purpose to this meeting. Regardless, were Costa to try something, the holowatch on his wrist, which monitored his blood flow, would activate, causing the room to close off pernamently. Gas would then be pumped into the room. While the cyborg stood a chance at surviving the gas attack, the others wouldn't. It would be up to security to deal with the Costa executive if it came to it.
Glazi Zmeya shrugged off the paranoia and continued his mad tea party.
"So, Mr. Costa, why ask to come here?" inquired Glazi, smirking. He hoped to play the arrogant host, so that he would be perceived as arrogant and lowering his guard. "I doubt you came to his frozen planet for your health."

 

[Ru the Boatswain]

"I understand you are young, you consider yourself intelligent and clever. Your skills are notable. However you run a company far beyond your reach. I'd like to offer Dice a place at Costa industries. My assistant has prepared a proposal that would allow for a seamless integration of DICE into Costa industries."

As he did this he nodded to his assistant to rise and bring the datapad around to the man across from him. On it would be displayed some figures detailing how money would be transferred along with some dates and other details concerning the proposed 'merger'.

 

[Dmitri]

Glazi grinned. "Now, aren't you the ones reaching out far beyond your reach? Haven't you heard? Obroa-skai has seceded from the Republic. It is now apart of the Hutt Empire. Our other facilities are already located in Hutt space. One can look at it as DICE being a Hutt-affiliated corporation, while it's obvious Costa Industries is a Republic-affiliated corporation. While it would seem that this merge is a good idea, the ones who benefit the most is you. In one move, Costa gains a large advantage in the competition going on in Hutt space. Costa in name alone won't bring much business in Hutt space due to your affiliation with the Republic, thus you come to me in hopes of overcoming that. However, I'm afraid that DICE is not your pawn. Besides, our Board of Directors would need to approve this before anything is finalized." He glanced at the datapad the secretary handed him. "I am, however, not stubborn. I will look over this and share this with the Board. It will be then that an answer to your proposition will be found. Is this satisfactory, Mr. Costa?"

 

[Sreeya]

She grimaced as it was obvious that tensions were already high. Costa could have approached the subject differently, in her opinion. Glazi had been quite generous so far and her boss was taking him at face value alone. As she was told to take the datapad over, she rose from her seat. When Costa wasn't looking, she cast an apologetic look over at Glazi's way, mainly to apologize on her boss's behalf. For a moment, the only sound in the room was of her heels, carrying her over to Glazi. She slid the datapad his way, providing him with all the information necessary. Glazi sounded like a reasonable man, and she only hoped Costa could see that.

 

[Ru the Boatswain]

Teo caught the man in a lie. If anyone knew anythign about Dice it was that the board of directors was a front. Glazi was free to do what he wished with the company.

"I wouldn't lie to me, Glazi. I know where the real power lies. You do too. I would not be here now if I didn't know something. I want an answer, that's why I'm here."

He stopped for a moment before reaching into his coat and pulling out a sleek metal case, from it he pulled a pair of cigarettes, they looked hand rolled and a bit overstuffed. Other than that it was strange that Teo would smoke, as his lungs were not even real anymore. This spoke to an addiction to the action and not the drug.

"May I smoke?"

He offered one of the cigarettes across the table.

 

[Dmitri]

"If we were outside, I might have tolerated it, but I'm afraid DICE does not allow for smoking inside the perimeter of our headquarters," said Glazi. He grinned. "Never did I say that I alone had power or that the Board of Directors had power. I meerly stated that I'd converse with them. While it's true that most are more interested in filling their own pockets, they occassionally have something useful to say. Still, you are correct. I don't need to speak with them."

Glazi snatched another piece of candy. He then grabbed a die and placed it on the dice tower.

"Corporations are like civilizations. They have the potential to excel and last for a long time, possibly even heralding advances in culture and technology, and sustaining peace."

Glazi placed another die on the dice tower.

"However, if the civilization tries too hard to go past its boundaries, its limitations, it will eventually..."

Glazi placed the last die on the dice tower. The troepaion of dice crumbled, clatter against the table and floor. Of the dice from the tower, only the base remained on the table.

"...fall. That's why it's always good to start with the basics and slowly build up." He picked up a die from the floor and stacked it on the die on the table. He then repeated this. "If you go too fast, all your work will crumble underneath your ambitions." Glazi picked up another die, keeping it between his fingers so that it was visible to Costa and his secretary. "I see no reason to stack my DICE onto your conglomerate only to have it eventually crumble. I shall work with the pace I envision, not someone who can't even be defined as either human or machine. I wonder, which side of you decided to come here? The cold calculative machination or the impulsive, ambitious human inside?"

 

[Ru the Boatswain]

Teo placed the cigarettes away and listened to the child before him. After the boy had finished his statement Teo felt it would be prudent to return his statement in kind. Grabbing a few dice without asking he placed two of them side by side and then grabbed a third one.

"You stack your dice, unwilling to give them any other form. None of your pieces are any different that the other. Because you need visual aid I will provide it."

He rested the pice representing DICE in his palm and then between his two hands crushed it. It wasn't the fastest process, but it represented what he could do to DICE. Glazi thought Teo to be some upstart like himself, not a veteran of a half-century of work. The only thing beyond Teo's reach was Chancellor, even that wasn't far off in his mind.

"DICE is little more than malleable plastic. You would do well to sell your company and retire, I assure you it is the best possible outcome of today's meeting."

At this time Teo had identified the only workable signal in the room. The watch the boy was wearing was transmitting on the only allowed signal in the building, it was transmitting the data of Glazi's heart rate along with a few other bits about the boys blood. Teo began to compile a replicator in his system, he came to the understanding that the watch was a security system to monitor the boy's safety.

 

[Dmitri]

"Now, now, retirement is out of the question," said Glazi. "I'm enjoying myself too much here. Weapons testing is just so much fun. I even have my own private laboratory. No, I won't just surrender that." He paused for a moment, contemplating. "Still, it is true that the Board of Directors is just a front. I myself grow tired of running DICE by myself." He grinned. "Now, I wonder, were I to surrender DICE and its assests to Costa Industries, what will happen to me and my people?"

 

[Ru the Boatswain]

"Your people become my people. DICE will come under Costa Industries and I will allow you to retain a position amongst the DICE laboratories. Here you can tinker away to your content, but I would like to see progress from the likes of you."

Teo stood and reached a hand across the table.

"We have a deal then, young sir?"

 

[Dmitri]

"Progress always come," said Glazi. "The problem is that people don't like the speed of it." He grinend. "Don't worry. I'd hate to disappoint you."
Glazi shook Costa's hand.
"In a week, I'll have all data pertaining to DICE be sent to Costa Industries, to enable a smooth transaction," said Glazi. "Is that satisfactory?"

 

[Ru the Boatswain]

"Yes."

He nodded his head at the man turned.

"Our business is concluded."

His guards and assistant would see his leaving and follow. From there he would enter his ship and leave, his business had been concluded in the preferred manner. Costa industries was about to absorb DICE along with create ties that would be hard to break.