E
Ethereal
Nath Tower
The building was quite a sight, a protruding and somewhat domineering sight from it's surroundings. Nath Tower, a structure of polished glass and shined metal beams glinting in the morning sun.
Nathan Dale gazed upon the impressive curves with a critical gaze as he brushed the few crumbs from his in-flight snack away from the collar of his pressed shirt.
The Nepleslian man was clothed in a rather dashing sky blue suit, blazer slung over his shoulder from a hooked finger as he bent down. With a little grunt, Dale retrieved the reinforced metal suitcase he carried from where it has been set beside his mirror--finished Oxfords.
The flight from the closest IIS office hadn't taken too long, all things considered, the luxury cruiser visible on the horizon as it scooted off to a refuelling station. 'Alright then, enough standing around.' Nathan concluded as he straightened his tie clip casually - the letters 'IIS' engraved into it - 'Lets say hello.'
When Nathan reached the correct floor for the Osman Heavy Industries office, he could see that there hadn't been much effort put into the appearance of the exterior. The door was simple, a sliding automatic metal door with a sign above it which read "Osman Heavy Industries Corperate Headquarters."
'Functional, quaint.' Nathan mused to himself as he gazed at the minimalist entrance. He liked it, reminding him of his days working for start-ups before joining the conglomerate that was IIS.
His heels clacked lightly as he drew closer, taking a moment to pause before the metallic doorway. Should he knock or just go in and announce himself? From the outside each floor seemed rather large so his knock might not reach anyone..
Shrugging physically to nobody in particular, Dale raised his fist and rapped rather heartily upon the metal, his wedding band clinking also, eager to help out.
As Dale approached the door, it opened automatically becaue of his proximity, and his fist sailed through the air.
The Nepleslian raised an eyebrow in surprise, peeking inside to see if anyone had pressed a button or spotted his presence. 'Hmm..' He wasn't sure whether it was particularly secure practice to keep your front door unlocked but he was hardly used to best practices like this.
Stepping gingerly inside, blazer scuffing against the fabric of his shirt as he did, Nathan glanced about. "Hello? Anyone in?"
A human male was sitting at a desk near the front, and they glanced up. "No, there's no one here. We definitely would leave our door unlocked while there's no one to watch the place."
The man tapped on a computer for a moment. "What can I help you with?" He asked.
'Thank the Empress.' The IIS rep breathed an internal sigh of relief that he hadn't come during a lunch break or something. As a professional, he let the remark wash over him like a duck and water, he'd heard worse.
With a nod of greeting, Nathan strode the few paces over. "Good morning, I hope you're well. I'm from IIS, the office should have called ahead?"
"Oh right, you're that representative of the company that ruined the economy and then bailed." The man snarked at Nathan, "What do you want this time? To burn our homes as well as taking our jobs and bankrupting our planet?"
'Great.' The visitor offered a slightly strained smile as he thought, 'Another one.'
"Sir, I'd rather do my job than debate but it was hardly just our fault. If we can both go about our business that'd be appreciated."
"Oh, I know it wasn't just your fault, there's those knuckleheads in that 'section 6' thing to blame too. But I wouldn't want to upset our 'great offworld visitor'. What do you want?"
It took every modicum of self control to not loose a massive sigh at this moment. "Just here to talk to whoever's in that can represent the company, hopefully they should know I'm coming because the office will have rung ahead. Looking to open some dialogues with the company."
The man went over to his desk and pressed a button. "Mr. Gerrick, the representative from IIS is here to see you." There was a momentary pause and then a door opened and from further in the office walked Leo Gerrick. The man was large, about a head and a half taller than the Nepleslian. His build was muscular, and he had clearly done a good deal of manual labor in his life. Gerrick's face was stern, and he looked down at Nathan.
"Hello. I'm sorry I wasn't out here to greet you myself, but I was busy reviewing a proposal for a new product." The man's extremely voice contrasted starkly with his friendly tone.
If Nathan was taken aback by Leo's appearance and physique, he didn't show it. "Ah! Mister Gerrick! I recognise you from your file." A polite smile touched the suited man's features as he continued.
"If you're too busy I can always wait, your time is more valuable than mine." Dale chuckled warmly, "I get paid by the hour anyways!" Taking a quick glance to make sure he was indeed holding the reinforced case, the IIS employee stepped closer.
"Mister Gerrick, do you mind if I join you in your office for a quick chat..?" As he spoke, Nathan nodded to the larger man's muscular arms. "If we can both fit that is!"
"Oh, don't worry, I had just finished with my work. Come in, come in." Gerrick gestured towards his office, slightly down the hall. "Can I get you any refreshments?"
"Oh, I'm fine, thank you though." Nathan nodded his appreciation as he began down the hall beside Gerrick. "Just got off my flight, they had some really nice steak and ale pie."
"That sounds nice. Here we don't have much but Algeate based foods. It's not bad once you get used to it."
The suited man seemed somewhat interested by this fact, “That’s a bit strange, it was only a few months ago IIS donated several million tons of food to this planet. That being said, it was all seized by FSC.”
In a few short strides the two had made it to the door to the office, Nathan half a step behind the bulkier man as they drew up to the entranceway. “We can always discuss food services when less pressing topics need to be addressed, I suppose.”
“You’d be surprised by how little that much food does when it comes to feeding an entire planet for any extended amount of time. Besides, we can’t rely on outsiders for everything.”
Gerrick sat down in a chair in his office. “So what is this pressing issue you came to talk about?”
“Very true, in reality what we sent feeds the Avalon - about 16 million people - for a year. You’re right.” Dale swept to the other side of the desk from Gerrick, making sure his blazer’s buttons were undone so he could sit down, having put it on prior to seeing Gerrick for the first time.
Lowering himself down, he made sure to keep his back pressed against the chair in a professional manner, lifting the reinforced case so it rested flat lengthways on his lap. “I wouldn’t call it pressing per se, which I would hope head office made clear when they called. I’m here to discuss potentially mutually beneficial relations between our two companies. In the last half a year or so, IIS has been actively engaging with companies like yours with hopes to help them expand.”
“So far, we’ve even contacted several firms on this very planet and opened up favorable negotiations. We’d like to do the same here, if you are open to investment.”
Gerrick rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “That all sounds well and good, but what do you get out of this?”
“Well..” Nathan smiled warmly, crossing his hands and lacing his fingers across the smooth surface of the case. “Capital isn’t an issue for us in the slightest but.. There are other forms of wealth that we try to pursue. Intellectual, mostly. Favours are another. Friends, however, we believe to be the greatest of currencies.”
The friendly act seemed to put Gerrick off. “Listen to me boy, you and I both know that you wouldn’t be here if it didn’t benefit your company in some way. That means that you’ve something to gain from us, and I’ll be damned if I agree to anything, with you or anyone else, without knowing what I’m getting myself and my employees into.”
Dale’s brows furrowed. Straight and simple it was then. “Sir, we’re in the business mainly of patents. IIS’ production capabilities are immense but our product range always needs expanding. We’re looking to..” The representative gestured his hands generally, “Expand our portfolio. We can make your designs available to our market and offer you royalties for doing so. That’s the ideal outcome however that is one of many possibilities. We can offer.. A lot..”
“And the catch?” Gerrick asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’m no intelectual, just a working man, but if there’s one thing I learned before I started this company, it’s that anything too good to be true is just that.”
Nathan’s fingertips rapped rhythically against the reinforced surface for a moment, listening to what Gerrick had to say as he set the case back down beside him on the ground. “I’ll cut to the heart of the matter as you seem to be a direct man. By being seen to be assist smaller companies like your own, our image and political capital grows. Of course, having friends is never a bad thing either.” The IIS representative laid it all out, smile relegated to the corners of his mouth now that the dry-cut nature of Gerrick’s negotiating style was clear.
Gerrick smiled. “Was that so hard?”
Nathan returned the smile sweetly, though his eyes seemed cast in various shades, cordial all the while. “You’re an interesting one, Mister Gerrick. Most CEOs are glad for the money with little more inquiry.”
“The truth is more valuble than whatever you could offer my company. That said, I’m not adverse to knowing just what it is you were prepared to offer us.”
Nathan nodded, “Traditionalist. I can respect that. So, the cards are on the table now at least, normally I tend to have to beat about the bush but this is a refreshing change.” The suited man seemed to have changed tact somewhat.
“Well, do you have any questions before we continue? Of course, we’ve been looking into your company for some time now so I have none.”
“Not aside from this one; what will my company be doing in return for this aid? I’m sure that we won’t just be going about business as usual.”
“You will be required to transfer some production and staff to IIS facilities, likely an upgrade in infrastructure for those transferring. You will have the ability to increase your production using our assets up to the quota assigned by the company in addition to your own capabilities, using our construction yards and shipping. Items produced at IIS facilities are sold with a commission of around 10% retail cost to IIS. If the situation in that regard changes you will always have the option to refuse our continued support.“
“As our relationship improves, possibilities will open up to you. Collaborations with our other partner companies such as Galactic Horizon perhaps, which operates on this planet also. Of course, start simple.” Nathan concluded simply, contrary to the company-wide impact this deal might have.
Gerrick thought for a few moments. “I’m willing to agree to allow you to sell our products, and you will receive a 5% commission for the units that you sell. However, Osman Heavy Industries will retain the sole rights to the designs we produce, and be their sole manufacturer. We will also retain the right to sell our own products if we choose.”
Nathan nodded as Gerrick spoke, a finger stroking his chin gently as he did so. “If you’re only capable of providing 5%, that’s fine, we don’t wish to push you beyond your comfort zone in the slightest. However, for that amount we won’t be able to provide your products to our full market web, only a portion. Global USO and Nepleslia will be the two markets opened up originally, given their proximity to this location.”
“What other markets do you operate in?”
“Our main trading partner is the Star Army of Yamatai, so - naturally - Yamatai. Additionally, we have very close ties with Elysia. Following the upcoming IRC we may be establishing relations with various other parties.”
“What percent of an increase in sales would my company see with the entire network available as opposed to just those closest to us? We could increase the commission to your suggested 10%.”
Nathan seemed to hum for half a second in thought. “Raising it to the suggested amount should open the remaining markets to you, though as I’m not an accountant I can’t be certain. Additionally, you should know that the larger the commission you are prepared to pay, the greater the quota of IIS production your company can commandeer, other factors can change this too.”
“I’d rather have my own company set the pace of production.” Gerrick said. “I’d be a bad CEO if I allowed other companies to produce our only source of income. After all, if someone else can make what we can, there’s no guarantee of income for the company or for those it employs.”
That garnered a wide, welcoming gesture from Nathan. “Of course, we’re merely offering a service of increasing your company’s income the more you wish to utilize our services. If you wish, you could use no IIS-based production beyond your requirement to sustain the contract, using us only to access more markets.”
“No, I made it quite clear that for your company to gain the income from the commission, and to get the political capital that this deal would provide you, Osman Heavy Industries would be the sole producer of our merchandise.” Gerrick was clearly not going to budge. “You already gain two things out of this potential agreement, and I would be criminally negligent should I allow my company’s only source of income to potentially be provided by another larger company.”
“Ah, I see your concern. I should have elaborated that the requirement is flexible in the sense that you could potentially move a portion of your workforce to our facilities so that no IIS employee was involved in the quota. We wouldn’t be providing anything to the detriment of your own workers.”
“My facilities will be the only place our merchandise is built.” Gerrick was not budging. “Your reputation on this planet is currently not good enough to allow you any leeway in this deal. Know where you stand boy, and not where you’d like to stand.”
With that, Nathan sighed deeply and stood from his chair. “Mister Gerrick, I do not take kindly to insults. I’ve been rather accommodating on my part and this is the second time you have called me ‘boy’. If I was another man I would have escalated this further by that alone. However, defaming my employers I cannot stand for. Good day, sir.”
Gerrick pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry that you take a statement of fact as an insult, and that you were not willing to be flexible in allowing a company that is providing you with additional revenue as well as good press the accomodation of retaining production at their own facilities, but I will not apologize for keeping my company’s best interests in mind, as well as reminding you of the state of affairs on the planet in order to better inform you as to the situation.”
Nathan didn’t even blink. “I’m amazed you didn’t take a breath at all through that. Perhaps you will hear from us again, if we haven’t moved onto other companies. I’ll see if I can pass this case onto one of my colleagues for another look over, though I doubt you’ll see me again after what I’ve been called. I can respect keeping your employee’s interests at heart, as all companies should, requirements may be changed but it needs to be worth the bureaucratic effort. We came here for a reason, Mister Gerrick, but effort needs to be reciprocated.”
Gerrick nodded respectfully. “Good day then, and have a safe trip. We may meet again, for my company and my employees will flourish, with or without anyone’s help.”
