Abwehran Commander
Inactive Member
Herr Jester's Court
The conference room was sparse. White walls, a long dark wooden table and cushioned chairs. At the head of the table sat an abwehran male with fire-colored eyes with a suitably intense look at the door across from him. His two pairs of hands were steepled and set, providing an almost priestly look.
"Whenever you're ready." Augustus Dietrich growled, ruining a steeple to check a chronometer. "Thirty seconds late."
At that moment, the door would swing open to reveal a pair of women enter the room wearing conservative business wear. The taller one (about 5'11") had chosen a simple black suit and skirt with a white blouse and red tie. Her ivory legs were covered in sheer stockings and her height enhanced by a pair of black mid-heel pumps. "I apologize for our lateness," the woman replied with a hand coming up to tame a few curls of her waist-length, fiery red hair. "Traffic was a nightmare," she explained as her partner closed the door behind them.
The partner in question, was a smaller woman wearing a grey suit and pants instead of a skirt. Her skin seemed to tell the story of long days under the sun and her jet black hair was tied back into a neck-length pony tail. She seemed to prefer a low-heel dress shoe and was grimacing at their arrival. As they both faced the Representative/Business Owner, it was strange to note that both of them had the same emerald green eyes.
Augustus Dietrich was immediately struck with the choice of footwear by the first woman, and was then struck again by the color of their eyes.
"Yes, well, it is Großartige Festung." He said.
But that's why you leave earlier than you need to. He thought bitterly. Schedules were very important to Augustus.
"I assume you know what we're here to talk about today, Ms. ...? And whomever your wonderful companion is as well."
The red-head flushed in embarrassment as he pointed out the obvious. "Of course, Herr Dietrich. I am Anneliese Bürger, Representative of His Majesty's Ministry of War," she introduced herself with a smile as she tried to get over her embarrassment.
"I am Kriemhild Abendroth," the smaller one introduced in a more formal tone. "I'm here to represent Her Majesty's Minsitry of Finance and this has much to do with your new company, yes?"
"Yes, indeed. I took out a million credits in a loan around a month ago... It's helped immensely with the founding of Dietrich Starkwerk. I've spent around half of it purchasing the factories and the headquarters office building you now sit in. The rest I'm going to use to pay the first few months of salary to my employees." Augustus slipped his lower right arm under the table, and pressed a button.
The lights dimmed, and holotank appeared behind him. "Right now, however, I have a special interest in recieving military contracting. To show you that I mean business... Here's a holographic representation of a design I've been working on for years."
Behind him appeared a ship bristling with turrets. At the fore of the ship were too large cannons, giving the entire thing a gun-like feel.
"Not only," Augustus began "Does the Abwehran Armed Forces lack in firepower at present, we lack speed, and we lack any designs whatsoever of capital ships. The Wahrheit-Class Battlecruiser is meant to begin to fill that gap. I'm sure with military design help we could get a true warship design ready within months. A Prototype could be easily reachable within the Quarter."
The holotank flickered and the image dissolved, replaced by a very recognizable design: A missile launcher. "The LANCE Launcher is also meant to fill a gap in the Marine's lack of armor penetrating ability. I'm already tooling my factories to run these. But first, I'd obviously need the Government's approval."
Anneliese listened to the man's proposal carefully as her eyes concentrated on the Wahrheit and LANCE images on the tank behind him. "You seem to have been preparing for this since your Tour of Duty in the AAF, haven't you Herr Dietrich?" she commented thoughtfully.
"Government Approval can be established by filling out the appropriate paperwork," Kriemhild replied dryly. "But why did you need to bring us in on it unless you were looking for something...special." the smaller woman stated as she raised an eyebrow at the Representative.
I'm looking for some bedtime stories by Ms.Kriemhild. Augustus thought with an inner laugh. But he wouldn't say something like that aloud -- and he didn't really want that anyway.
"Well, yes, I have been preparing for my business since my discharge from the AAF. When my father died, the family business was in ruins. Now, you see what I've done with what was left behind. But presently, I need to take it just a bit further." He said, turning off the holotank.
"Basically, I'd like a direct partnership with the Government on Dietrich Starkwerk products and designs: We turn them out, and what we don't personally manufacture you pay to make runs for. When we manufacture, you buy. We're already punching out Hovercars at Factory 01. We'll turn a profit on them in a few months. But what if I were to modify the Blitzer into a Police Vehicle? A fast Military unit much like the small cars of the past? I'd rather not have to file for government approval every time I create something new. I'd like to have a... License to Kill? Except it'd be for manufacturing and shipping off directly to where the equipment is needed most. Just the military designs and dedicated government equipment, of course."
Both pairs of emerald eyes were now concentrated upon the charismatic Abwehran, only one pair had narrowed drastically. "So you essentially want a path to the 'fast-lanes', Herr Dietrich?" Kriemhild stated.
"I'm already in the fast-lane. I want a place at the top. With or without government contracting, within four Quarters I'll be making more than KW. Within three years, I'll probably be able to build my own shipyard in orbit. Barring an economic crash -- which would destroy everyone, including our precious Imperial Yards -- I'd be the wealthiest citizen in Abwehran History in about half as much time as it took the original Rosenthal to take power." This was all said in a very serious, very calm voice. Like a science professor giving a lecture. Augustus was very sure of himself, and it showed. From the way his eyes half-closed in boredom, to the way he spun to face the wall on his left with his arms lazily held against his chest.
"So, no. I don't want a 'fast lane', Frau Kriemhild. I want the ability to more directly aid my beloved nation. It's my understanding that Yamatai is in the midst of a sweeping war with an organisation known as the NMX over control of the Sector. If you think Khorsovarolor is terrible... I shudder to think what will happen when the NMX wins that war, or when Yamatai looks to us for aid. They're losing out there, from what we can tell. Every Abwehran has thought since first contact 'Oh, Void! Fear Great Yamatai!' and now there's an enemy so terrible to Yamatai that it's struggling... If we're dragged into a war with them, wouldn't you like a few more things to throw at the enemy?"
At the conclusion of his small little speech, Augustus was standing with all four of his arms down and hands pressed to the table in an aggressive posture. "I sure would. How about it?"
The accountant sat there stunned at the declaration the man in front of her had made. The woman from the Ministry of War, on the other hand, seemed to be smiling behind her hands as she rested her nose upon her intertwined fingers. "Herr Dietrich, I completely agree with you." Anneliese replied as she reached into her pocket to pull out a Palm Computer. "Which is why I had my suspicions of this and brought the paperwork necessary." she stated as her partner turned to her with a betrayed look.
"Oh don't look at me like that, Hilde. You're just mad that you lost the arguement before you even started," the red-head stated and Kriemhild grimaced. "Don't mind her, she likes debating a lot. Tends to interfere with her work, though." Anne replied and slid the computer forward.
Augustus' face broke into a smile. "I'd like to think they made me a Representative for a reason."
He slid the palm computer closer to him as he sat down again. He read through whatever was displayed, pressed a few keys and slid it back. "You'd have lost any debate you had with me." Augustus said with a wink.
To this, Kriemhild could only scowl at the Representative. But she seemed to blush a slight pinkish tone as well, much to Anneliese almost sadistic glee. "Excellent. Since you don't have the facilities to build a Battlecruiser, I assume you would allow the Weltraumflotte to construct them on Imperial Yard Shipyards for the meantime, correct?" Anneliese asked with a bright smile.
"Why, of course. What use would I have with a fleet of Battlecruisers? They're rather large and difficult to carry."
A chuckle escaped the Red-head's lips as she shrugged. "In any case, what would you be pricing your Battlecruisers. We can't just expect you to give them to us for free, now can we?"
"Well, as a ship, the Lowenhertz Destroyer costs around Five Hundred Thousand to simply produce -- I won't mention crew wages, and etcetera -- A Battlecruiser is much larger, and so... For the Design itself, I'd say 1.5 Million, and for the next ten years half a million for each one produced. Is that too high?"
This time there was shock on the faces of both women. "Are you telling me, that you are willing to produce these Capital Ships for the same price as a Destroyer for the next decade?" Kriemhild asked breathlessly.
"That would be charitable, but are you sure about such things Herr Dietrich?" her Red-head companion asked.
"Hmm... You're right. It is too low. Two Million for the design, and 750,000 Credits for each produced in the next decade. Too high now? Wait. I think I'm negotiating from the wrong end." Augustus said with feigned confusion.
"Fine, fine, you pressured me. 600,000 Credits for each produced you devils. That's my final offer."
Both women stared at him blankly before Anneliese began to chuckle into her fist and Kriemhild sighed in exasperation. "I think those are fair terms, Herr Dietrich," the smaller woman stated with a sigh. "Once the funds for the design have been forwarded to your company, we will probably commission Imperial Yards to commence with construction as soon as possible. After all, we wouldn't want to be thought of as a helpless nation, ja?"
"Ja. That was the idea. And now on to the LANCE Launcher, beautiful devils? Perhaps you can negotiate me to an even higher price on that." Augustus said, still smiling.
This time, Kriemhild snorted as she pulled out a Palm Computer of her own. "Or maybe we'll do this properly," she parried as her fingers flew over her system. "It's designed to fire Anti-Vehicle munitions, correct? Munitions designed by your company?"
"Anti-Vehicle, Anti-Personnel, and even crowd-control gas rounds yes. The Munitions are indeed designed by my company. Is there an issue with me filling a niche in the AAF that isn't quite yet taken?"
"No, no problem really," the Accountant replied without even looking from her screen as she did some calculations. "It just helps with the pricing, that's all," she stated as she handed her computer over to him. "6000 Credits for the Launcher and 100 Credits per case of munitions." she offered stoically.
"That'd be fair..." Augustus let the statement hang for a moment. He waited for the instant before the accountant could speak, and began again. "IF the LANCE didn't do as much as it did. It's my understanding that this new weapon the Marine's use, called the Squad Automatic Rifle, sold for about the same."
Augustus thought over what he was going to say next carefully.
"...To say the least, their little popgun can't stop a tank at five hundred meters. It also can't take out an entire room with a single shot, nor can it deploy gas -- unless I missed something very critical in the design -- to control crowds. At the very least, it can shoot rather painful rubber bullets. Tanks don't bruise, however. So, how about 8,000 for the design, and we raise it two 150 Credits per case of seventy-five munitions? I think that's rather generous. How about you, Frau Anneliese -- what do you think?"
Anneliese opened her mouth to speak, but Kriemhild was faster when it came to that. "Herr Dietrich. You're launching system may be more destructive and larger, but it also more like a glorified tube with targeting," she stated calmly. "6,500 Credits for the design and 125 for a case of 100 munitions." she countered, causing the Red-head beside her to sigh quietly.
Augustus suddenly grinned very broadly, but the smile quickly vanished.
"You're right, the Launcher is just a glorified tube. 6,500 for the right to produce my munitions. 125 Credits for every case of 100 launchers." He then waited to see how she would react.
"I think that's a goo--" Kriemhild began before pausing to go over that in her head again. "Oh no you don't Herr Jester." she replied with a snort. "6,400 for the launcher and 120 for every case of 100 munitions is--wait," she paused again trying to wrap her head around what he was trying to pull.
"I think 7000 Credits for the Launcher design and 125 for case of 80 munitions will be fine, Hilde. Don't hurt your head over it." Anneliese decided to interject.
"Bah! The beautiful devils have done it again. I'll agree to your offer. Now, this Herr Jester has several more important meetings with his design team today. Perhaps we can meet again in the future?" Augustus said. "I had a lot of fun talking with you both."
Kriemhild seemed to sulk a bit at the entire thing as she took her computer back and sighed. "Perhaps we shall," Anneliese replied as they both stood up. "I know I enjoyed this discussion quite thoroughly." she stated with a smile as they both left the way they came.
As soon as the door closed, Augustus tilted back in his chair with a relieved sigh. It had gone better than he had hoped, and even if it was a small profit, he would be making it for years to come. His children would be making money off of it for years to come. When he had, children, anyway.
"When is that going to be?" He asked into the thin air. A bark of his own laughter hit him. "Bastards like me don't have children. We adopt." His own insane little joke left him smiling the rest of the day.
The conference room was sparse. White walls, a long dark wooden table and cushioned chairs. At the head of the table sat an abwehran male with fire-colored eyes with a suitably intense look at the door across from him. His two pairs of hands were steepled and set, providing an almost priestly look.
"Whenever you're ready." Augustus Dietrich growled, ruining a steeple to check a chronometer. "Thirty seconds late."
At that moment, the door would swing open to reveal a pair of women enter the room wearing conservative business wear. The taller one (about 5'11") had chosen a simple black suit and skirt with a white blouse and red tie. Her ivory legs were covered in sheer stockings and her height enhanced by a pair of black mid-heel pumps. "I apologize for our lateness," the woman replied with a hand coming up to tame a few curls of her waist-length, fiery red hair. "Traffic was a nightmare," she explained as her partner closed the door behind them.
The partner in question, was a smaller woman wearing a grey suit and pants instead of a skirt. Her skin seemed to tell the story of long days under the sun and her jet black hair was tied back into a neck-length pony tail. She seemed to prefer a low-heel dress shoe and was grimacing at their arrival. As they both faced the Representative/Business Owner, it was strange to note that both of them had the same emerald green eyes.
Augustus Dietrich was immediately struck with the choice of footwear by the first woman, and was then struck again by the color of their eyes.
"Yes, well, it is Großartige Festung." He said.
But that's why you leave earlier than you need to. He thought bitterly. Schedules were very important to Augustus.
"I assume you know what we're here to talk about today, Ms. ...? And whomever your wonderful companion is as well."
The red-head flushed in embarrassment as he pointed out the obvious. "Of course, Herr Dietrich. I am Anneliese Bürger, Representative of His Majesty's Ministry of War," she introduced herself with a smile as she tried to get over her embarrassment.
"I am Kriemhild Abendroth," the smaller one introduced in a more formal tone. "I'm here to represent Her Majesty's Minsitry of Finance and this has much to do with your new company, yes?"
"Yes, indeed. I took out a million credits in a loan around a month ago... It's helped immensely with the founding of Dietrich Starkwerk. I've spent around half of it purchasing the factories and the headquarters office building you now sit in. The rest I'm going to use to pay the first few months of salary to my employees." Augustus slipped his lower right arm under the table, and pressed a button.
The lights dimmed, and holotank appeared behind him. "Right now, however, I have a special interest in recieving military contracting. To show you that I mean business... Here's a holographic representation of a design I've been working on for years."
Behind him appeared a ship bristling with turrets. At the fore of the ship were too large cannons, giving the entire thing a gun-like feel.
"Not only," Augustus began "Does the Abwehran Armed Forces lack in firepower at present, we lack speed, and we lack any designs whatsoever of capital ships. The Wahrheit-Class Battlecruiser is meant to begin to fill that gap. I'm sure with military design help we could get a true warship design ready within months. A Prototype could be easily reachable within the Quarter."
The holotank flickered and the image dissolved, replaced by a very recognizable design: A missile launcher. "The LANCE Launcher is also meant to fill a gap in the Marine's lack of armor penetrating ability. I'm already tooling my factories to run these. But first, I'd obviously need the Government's approval."
Anneliese listened to the man's proposal carefully as her eyes concentrated on the Wahrheit and LANCE images on the tank behind him. "You seem to have been preparing for this since your Tour of Duty in the AAF, haven't you Herr Dietrich?" she commented thoughtfully.
"Government Approval can be established by filling out the appropriate paperwork," Kriemhild replied dryly. "But why did you need to bring us in on it unless you were looking for something...special." the smaller woman stated as she raised an eyebrow at the Representative.
I'm looking for some bedtime stories by Ms.Kriemhild. Augustus thought with an inner laugh. But he wouldn't say something like that aloud -- and he didn't really want that anyway.
"Well, yes, I have been preparing for my business since my discharge from the AAF. When my father died, the family business was in ruins. Now, you see what I've done with what was left behind. But presently, I need to take it just a bit further." He said, turning off the holotank.
"Basically, I'd like a direct partnership with the Government on Dietrich Starkwerk products and designs: We turn them out, and what we don't personally manufacture you pay to make runs for. When we manufacture, you buy. We're already punching out Hovercars at Factory 01. We'll turn a profit on them in a few months. But what if I were to modify the Blitzer into a Police Vehicle? A fast Military unit much like the small cars of the past? I'd rather not have to file for government approval every time I create something new. I'd like to have a... License to Kill? Except it'd be for manufacturing and shipping off directly to where the equipment is needed most. Just the military designs and dedicated government equipment, of course."
Both pairs of emerald eyes were now concentrated upon the charismatic Abwehran, only one pair had narrowed drastically. "So you essentially want a path to the 'fast-lanes', Herr Dietrich?" Kriemhild stated.
"I'm already in the fast-lane. I want a place at the top. With or without government contracting, within four Quarters I'll be making more than KW. Within three years, I'll probably be able to build my own shipyard in orbit. Barring an economic crash -- which would destroy everyone, including our precious Imperial Yards -- I'd be the wealthiest citizen in Abwehran History in about half as much time as it took the original Rosenthal to take power." This was all said in a very serious, very calm voice. Like a science professor giving a lecture. Augustus was very sure of himself, and it showed. From the way his eyes half-closed in boredom, to the way he spun to face the wall on his left with his arms lazily held against his chest.
"So, no. I don't want a 'fast lane', Frau Kriemhild. I want the ability to more directly aid my beloved nation. It's my understanding that Yamatai is in the midst of a sweeping war with an organisation known as the NMX over control of the Sector. If you think Khorsovarolor is terrible... I shudder to think what will happen when the NMX wins that war, or when Yamatai looks to us for aid. They're losing out there, from what we can tell. Every Abwehran has thought since first contact 'Oh, Void! Fear Great Yamatai!' and now there's an enemy so terrible to Yamatai that it's struggling... If we're dragged into a war with them, wouldn't you like a few more things to throw at the enemy?"
At the conclusion of his small little speech, Augustus was standing with all four of his arms down and hands pressed to the table in an aggressive posture. "I sure would. How about it?"
The accountant sat there stunned at the declaration the man in front of her had made. The woman from the Ministry of War, on the other hand, seemed to be smiling behind her hands as she rested her nose upon her intertwined fingers. "Herr Dietrich, I completely agree with you." Anneliese replied as she reached into her pocket to pull out a Palm Computer. "Which is why I had my suspicions of this and brought the paperwork necessary." she stated as her partner turned to her with a betrayed look.
"Oh don't look at me like that, Hilde. You're just mad that you lost the arguement before you even started," the red-head stated and Kriemhild grimaced. "Don't mind her, she likes debating a lot. Tends to interfere with her work, though." Anne replied and slid the computer forward.
Augustus' face broke into a smile. "I'd like to think they made me a Representative for a reason."
He slid the palm computer closer to him as he sat down again. He read through whatever was displayed, pressed a few keys and slid it back. "You'd have lost any debate you had with me." Augustus said with a wink.
To this, Kriemhild could only scowl at the Representative. But she seemed to blush a slight pinkish tone as well, much to Anneliese almost sadistic glee. "Excellent. Since you don't have the facilities to build a Battlecruiser, I assume you would allow the Weltraumflotte to construct them on Imperial Yard Shipyards for the meantime, correct?" Anneliese asked with a bright smile.
"Why, of course. What use would I have with a fleet of Battlecruisers? They're rather large and difficult to carry."
A chuckle escaped the Red-head's lips as she shrugged. "In any case, what would you be pricing your Battlecruisers. We can't just expect you to give them to us for free, now can we?"
"Well, as a ship, the Lowenhertz Destroyer costs around Five Hundred Thousand to simply produce -- I won't mention crew wages, and etcetera -- A Battlecruiser is much larger, and so... For the Design itself, I'd say 1.5 Million, and for the next ten years half a million for each one produced. Is that too high?"
This time there was shock on the faces of both women. "Are you telling me, that you are willing to produce these Capital Ships for the same price as a Destroyer for the next decade?" Kriemhild asked breathlessly.
"That would be charitable, but are you sure about such things Herr Dietrich?" her Red-head companion asked.
"Hmm... You're right. It is too low. Two Million for the design, and 750,000 Credits for each produced in the next decade. Too high now? Wait. I think I'm negotiating from the wrong end." Augustus said with feigned confusion.
"Fine, fine, you pressured me. 600,000 Credits for each produced you devils. That's my final offer."
Both women stared at him blankly before Anneliese began to chuckle into her fist and Kriemhild sighed in exasperation. "I think those are fair terms, Herr Dietrich," the smaller woman stated with a sigh. "Once the funds for the design have been forwarded to your company, we will probably commission Imperial Yards to commence with construction as soon as possible. After all, we wouldn't want to be thought of as a helpless nation, ja?"
"Ja. That was the idea. And now on to the LANCE Launcher, beautiful devils? Perhaps you can negotiate me to an even higher price on that." Augustus said, still smiling.
This time, Kriemhild snorted as she pulled out a Palm Computer of her own. "Or maybe we'll do this properly," she parried as her fingers flew over her system. "It's designed to fire Anti-Vehicle munitions, correct? Munitions designed by your company?"
"Anti-Vehicle, Anti-Personnel, and even crowd-control gas rounds yes. The Munitions are indeed designed by my company. Is there an issue with me filling a niche in the AAF that isn't quite yet taken?"
"No, no problem really," the Accountant replied without even looking from her screen as she did some calculations. "It just helps with the pricing, that's all," she stated as she handed her computer over to him. "6000 Credits for the Launcher and 100 Credits per case of munitions." she offered stoically.
"That'd be fair..." Augustus let the statement hang for a moment. He waited for the instant before the accountant could speak, and began again. "IF the LANCE didn't do as much as it did. It's my understanding that this new weapon the Marine's use, called the Squad Automatic Rifle, sold for about the same."
Augustus thought over what he was going to say next carefully.
"...To say the least, their little popgun can't stop a tank at five hundred meters. It also can't take out an entire room with a single shot, nor can it deploy gas -- unless I missed something very critical in the design -- to control crowds. At the very least, it can shoot rather painful rubber bullets. Tanks don't bruise, however. So, how about 8,000 for the design, and we raise it two 150 Credits per case of seventy-five munitions? I think that's rather generous. How about you, Frau Anneliese -- what do you think?"
Anneliese opened her mouth to speak, but Kriemhild was faster when it came to that. "Herr Dietrich. You're launching system may be more destructive and larger, but it also more like a glorified tube with targeting," she stated calmly. "6,500 Credits for the design and 125 for a case of 100 munitions." she countered, causing the Red-head beside her to sigh quietly.
Augustus suddenly grinned very broadly, but the smile quickly vanished.
"You're right, the Launcher is just a glorified tube. 6,500 for the right to produce my munitions. 125 Credits for every case of 100 launchers." He then waited to see how she would react.
"I think that's a goo--" Kriemhild began before pausing to go over that in her head again. "Oh no you don't Herr Jester." she replied with a snort. "6,400 for the launcher and 120 for every case of 100 munitions is--wait," she paused again trying to wrap her head around what he was trying to pull.
"I think 7000 Credits for the Launcher design and 125 for case of 80 munitions will be fine, Hilde. Don't hurt your head over it." Anneliese decided to interject.
"Bah! The beautiful devils have done it again. I'll agree to your offer. Now, this Herr Jester has several more important meetings with his design team today. Perhaps we can meet again in the future?" Augustus said. "I had a lot of fun talking with you both."
Kriemhild seemed to sulk a bit at the entire thing as she took her computer back and sighed. "Perhaps we shall," Anneliese replied as they both stood up. "I know I enjoyed this discussion quite thoroughly." she stated with a smile as they both left the way they came.
As soon as the door closed, Augustus tilted back in his chair with a relieved sigh. It had gone better than he had hoped, and even if it was a small profit, he would be making it for years to come. His children would be making money off of it for years to come. When he had, children, anyway.
"When is that going to be?" He asked into the thin air. A bark of his own laughter hit him. "Bastards like me don't have children. We adopt." His own insane little joke left him smiling the rest of the day.
