The Banquet

*Ting* *Ting* *Ting*

The sound of a glass being struck three times rang through the dining room. All of the conversation taking place among the diners ceased within a second. While everyone here had power in their own right, whether it be political, financial, or physical, no one dared to be lacking when it came to showing the Kuati Sovereign some face.

I glanced over towards the head of the table after ceasing my conversation with Dina. She happened to be the Vice President of Galactic Sales for the Kuat Drive Yards (henceforth KDY). Much progress had been made and we were even beginning to discuss setting up a meeting between my people and her Director of Engineering and sales representatives. Although this wouldn't be a deal on the same scale as the Republic, several hundred million credits would still be changing hands.

Upon laying my eyes on the head of the table, I noticed that Samira Kuat was glowing with her gentle smile. Despite my lack of attraction towards her, I couldn't help but mutter to myself. "Wow…"

The sovereign swept her royal gaze across the dining room, observing each of the faces present for this celebratory banquet. "Tonight, I'd like to make a toast. I understand quite well that this action taken by the Republic was motivated by her own interests just as much as it was by defending a member system. However, this does little to discount the value of each and every life that was laid down in order to expel the treacherous Empire from this system."

"It wasn't that long ago that we joined the Republic and became its primary source of naval power. However, this relationship has truly been fruitful for both sides. Many people have worked hard to get us to the position in which we sit today. In addition, many lives are sacrificed in order to maintain the democracy and humanitarian standards we know and love throughout this Republic. Thus, I dedicate this toast not to Kuat, not to the Republic, but to the people who have fought for our peoples day in and day out whether it be from behind a desk or on the battlefield. TO THE PEOPLE!"

"TO THE PEOPLE"

*Clink* *Clink* *Clink* *Clink*

Everyone echoed this sentiment throughout the room, knocking their glass of wine against those around them. After a few seconds of everyone exchanging strikes of glass, I noticed that the locals began to consume the contents of their glasses at a rapid pace. By the time they were half way through the glass, I realized what a toast really meant in this galaxy.

I quickly followed suit, along with my two guildmates, downing my glass of wine. It was actually a pleasant red. The bold flavors and deep aroma profile were not overpowering, allowing my tastebuds to keep up with the torrent of grape's nectar flowing over them.

A slight buzz overtook me as the glass was emptied. I even struggled to keep a burp down, merely covering my mouth with my fist and silently burping internally before exhaling it through my nose.

Dina then called out from next to me. "More wine!"

Evidently, the Kuati noble families loved to drink. Being both Italian and Jewish, I could definitely get behind this tradition.

I turned to Dina while my glass was being refilled by a servant. "Quite the speaker, right?"

Dina giggled while nodding. "Indeed she is. I have no idea why, but House Kuat has a certain tradition. Each generation, they have three children. One of those children always comes out with a prolific talent for business, leadership, and speaking. Then, that generation has three children of their own. Whoever comes up with the talent is the one that shall inherit the title Kuat of Kuat."

I smiled, glancing at Samira before turning my focus back to Dina. "That is quite interesting. I've been meaning to ask, but is Kuat a matriarchal society?"

Dina nodded. "Indeed we are. Very rarely will a male inherit the talent. When this does happen, that generation becomes patriarchal."

I sighed, glancing at some of the gilded portraits that lined the walls of the dining hall. "Has it ever happened that more than one child has this talent?"

Dina chuckled. "It has only happened twice since we have started our company. Each time, a new subsidiary is born. So far we have Rothana Heavy Engineering and Kuat Leisure."

I smiled and nodded. "Fascinating. It seems that the potential of this corporation is limitless."

Dina raised her brow with intrigue as she gave me a teasing look. "Hmmm, it sounds like you're quite interested in us."

I shrugged. "Please, I do not have the capital to even consider such a thing right now."

Dina chuckled as she raised her now full glass. "To the future, then."

I sighed, picking up my glass, getting ready to be drunk. "Indeed. To the future."

-GE-

Coffee is my friend. Bacta is my best friend. Thank the force.

Those three sentences kept racing through my mind as I pushed back the piercing headache that ailed me. This was no time to have such an issue. A hangover would not do me well for a meeting with my uncle.

I was on my third cup of coffee. No sweeteners, no cream, I took it black. The bitterness seemed to help a bit so I kept with it. In addition, I had a bacta stim ready to go for when I was about to connect to the call.

Several minutes later, I found myself standing outside of a conference room aboard the Republic cruiser that I was on. Half of the fleet that had broken the blockade of Kuat was with us along with nearly all of my guildmates.

In… Out… Okay, I got this.

*Ping* *Shwwep*

The door to the conference room slid open, revealing several people sitting around the table while the empty chairs were filled with holograms. There were 20 chairs at the table and only 3 of them were empty.

This was the current leadership of the guild including Galen and myself. Being the owners of the guild, Galen was at one head of the table while I would sit at the other head. Everyone else was shuffled in between with all of my uncle's people, along with him, sitting together.

I waved my hand, enjoying the bacta that was running through me. Was I developing an addicting? "Don't mind me. Galen, start the meeting. You're the guild leader."

Galen nodded, picking up the data pad in front of him. "Sounds good to me. Alright, let's begin with the reports on Kuat. Soryn, what are we looking at?"

I sighed, picking up the data pad in front of me and finding nothing relevant on it. It would seem that nothing that happened last night was recorded for this meeting. Thankfully I didn't blackout from all the drinking.

Placing the data pad down, I started sweeping my eyes across the room. "I had a lengthy conversation throughout the banquet with KDY's VP of sales. I showed interest in their history, which honestly came naturally, as suggested. It was actually fascinating. I got the feeling that the more we spend, the more fruit this move will bear. Dina also mentioned providing us with a line of credit. We didn't get to any numbers but I was assured that there shouldn't be any issues."

Grand Elder Paolo interjected at this point. "Do we have any idea how much each unit will cost?"

I thought about it for a few seconds and then replied. "It depends on the class and model we end up purchasing. A normal cruiser can run us anywhere from 10 to 150 mill. I suggest we keep it in the mid range so we can get some extra numbers."

Paolo nodded, checking his data pad for a moment before looking back at me. "So that means we don't necessarily need the line of credit. However, I suggest we still make use of it within reason so that this purchase becomes more than a simple transaction. Our end goal is a relationship."

I smiled. "Yes, yes it is. Dina seems to have an idea in her head that we are looking to heavily invest in KDY. I didn't directly deny her conjecture but I believe this idea of hers could be beneficial to us. It might even be a good idea to act on that sometime down the line. Anyways, that's all I have. Her people will be in touch to set up a meeting. Who will handle it?"

Everyone looked towards Galen who appeared to be scratching his nose. He jumped in his seat slightly but quickly recovered. "Ummm, money, equipment, and military. That would be Finance, Asset Management, and… Oh! That reminds me. We need a Defense Director."

I nodded and gestured towards Lieutenant General Tyrus. "I nominate Tyrus."

Violet raised her hand. "I second the nomination."

I smiled. "Is anyone against the appointment?" No one said anything so I nodded. "Very well, congratulations, Director Tyrus."

Tyrus closed his eyes and bowed slightly in his seat. "Thank you, Guild Owner."

I turned my gaze back to the rest of the attendees and announced the proposal I had discussed with Sheema. "I also have a proposal. I would like to have a guild secretary of sorts. They would take care of the record keeping for upper leadership such as the guild leader and owners. In addition, they would organize the itinerary for meetings such as this one and act as an executive assistant of sorts. Any comments?"

Galen's eyes lit up but he kept quiet. This would mean less work for him. One of the few things I remember from last night was how much he was complaining about organizing the agenda for this meeting.

Paolo nodded. "That does seem like a good idea. What clearance level would they receive?"

I picked up my datapad and opened up the document pertaining to that. This was a new thing that was actually on the agenda for today. "I think level 1 or 2 to start. Optimally, it would be a conditional level 0 down the line."

Paolo glanced over at Sigurd and he nodded so Paolo looked back at me. "Very well. Who shall fill this position?"

I gestured towards Sheema. "I don't think anyone else could do this better than her. It would be a provisional appointment at first, becoming official after she proves herself. She has the resume for it."

Paolo nodded. "Okay. Let's put this aside for now and we can come back to it at our next meeting. We can give her some of the responsibilities in the meantime as a sort of trial period. Any objections?"

No one commented so we moved onto the next topic. This topic was, of course, the clearance levels that had been mentioned before.

My uncle's personal assistant, Sigurd, was instated as the Intelligence Director for the guild. One of the first things he did was establish a system where clearance levels could be assigned to various things such as documents, discoveries, and operational intelligence.

The levels go from 0 to 6. Each level pertains to the scale of the information or threat as well as the risk of such information being leaked. Most things that are assigned level zero would stay with the intelligence director and the guild owners. The subsequent levels would be restricted to leaders, vice leaders, elders, and so on. However, most of the special positions hold increased clearance levels. That's pretty much the gist of it.

After this item, which was mostly informational, was covered, we got to the last item which was definitely a fun one. The anticipation in the room could be felt.

Galen turned towards Satine with a grin on his face. "Well, tell us about it."