The Rebel Faction

"The Empire wishes to see the return of Bespin. I've been instructed to inform you that if these negotiations fail, there will be no further talks and Belgardi Ltd. stands to be nationalized by the Empire."

Like the body blows from one of the champion shockboxers who competed on Pavo Prime, the final statement from the Imperial diplomat rocked Rayard Valoris. His silence, obviously expected, confirmed this feeling. The look on Nell Ondajh's face was of supreme confidence. The situation, from Rayard's prospective, was decidedly one-sided. Only one thought managed to stave off the feeling of helplessness that was slowly engulfing him.

Rico can deal with the situation.

Rico Belgardi was an astute businessman, and used to hard negotations. If anyone could find the slightest silver lining in this deal, it would be him. The big problem was of course, that Rico was not here. He had sent out a distress call, asserting that his ship was under attack.

He'd be back soon.

"Mr. Ondajh, given the gravity of the situation, I feel inclined to wait for Mr. Belgardi himself to be available to review this proposition. If you don't mind making me copies of this document I'll have him deal with it as soon as he is available."

It sounded like bullshit, and Ondajh probably knew it was. Still, Rayard had a valid point- the tone of the agreement left little to be discussed- and Rico would need to sign of on it before any other action could be taken.

Pavo Prime Orbit

The Belgardi Ltd Defense force returned to Pavo Prime a suddenly as it had left. They, however, returned with an extra capital ship, and continued to move with the same sense of urgency in which they had seemed to possess while leaving. The extra capital ship, another Immolator class vessel, showed signs of battle damage. The other vessels maintained a tight cordon around the ship as they escorted it past the Imperial forces (given the as small a bearing as possible to maintain a non-threatening position) toward a high orbit.

When they reached the edges of Pavo Prime's atmosphere, a swarm of fighters was launched. The snubcraft buzzed around in tight formation, close enough that the shuttle that was launched from the Immolator was barley visible as it made its descent toward the surface of Pavo Prime.

Negotiating Room

The Imperial diplomat's tirade went unopposed by Rayard Valoris. He started to open his mouth, but turned what had started to be speech into a cough.

What was there to say?

Then his personal com-link beeped.

Thank the force.

His listened momentarily, and one could see the change of expression come across his face.

"I offer my deepest apologies, but I must be going."

Rayord Valoris ran out of the room like he had just escaped from a rancor pit.

Two Days Later

.Several hours spent submerged in an Eden induced bacta tank had mended Rico's physical wounds well enough. The knife wound would leave on a razor thin scar, and his other injuries were superficial, and with the exception of a few bruises had been healed by his emersion time. Still, to help handle the stress his body had taken, both mental and physical, Rico had spent most of the next day asleep; giving his body time to recover naturally. The delay had caused the Imperial delegation and its accompanying fleet to remain in limbo, hanging over Pavo Prime. The presence of the fleet was causing havoc with the planets lucrative tourism business, and a standoff between the corporate naval forces and the Imperial task force created a sort of palpable tension that could be felt even on the surface of the planet.

Rumors, as they inevitably would, leaked out about the circumstances surrounding the Imperial fleet, and the sudden actions of the Belgardi navy. One popular theory involved an attempted Imperial nationalization plan, centering on a now botched abduction attempt of Rico. Others claimed internal division among the company, and purported that a high-ranking Belgardi employee had tried to kill Rico and planned on distracting the company’s military forces with the Imperials. Within Belgardi itself, there was an element of the unknown surrounding the incident. It was general accepted as fact that Rico had been the target of some action..... but who had targeted him and for what reason was undetermined, even among the highest echelons of the company’s hierarchy. The Imperials, and their motives, also caused some highly contested debate.

So when Rico Belgardi set up a meeting with the Imperial delegation, in the mid-afternoon, two days after being rushed down to Pavo Prime in a heavy protected shuttle, there were many unknowns to be sorted out.

The meeting room contained a long, wooden table, with numerous chairs all around it. Rico sat at the far end of the meeting room, at the head of the table, a large datapad in front of him. To his left sat Rayard Valoris, the man who had conducted the hurried and frantic negotiations in Rico's absence. To Rico's right sat the gorgeous, blonde, Kella Portman, his executive assistant. She had numerous files and datapads, and had been brought along to access large stores of information quickly. One other man sat in the room, to the immediate right of Rayard Valoris. His attire was dark black, almost military, and had an insignia upon it, though when you immediately entered the room the view of the insignia was not clear. A pair of uniformed Belgardi security officers, clad in a very oceanic blue, stood guard at the door.

The Imperial delegation was expected shortly.

A lot of interesting questions were about to be answered.




[SIZE=1]OOC- Sorry for negletcing this thread, but we can cmplete it if you are still interested[/SIZE]

"On behalf of Belgardi Limited, I wish to express our thanks for your patience in this most unusual of circumstances. I would personally like to apologize for being unable to deal with you personally until now, and I hope that you found some way to amuse yourself while I was indisposed."

Rico smiled pleasantly. If there was ever a place where one could disappear for a few days and be totally entertained and content, then Pavo Prime was it.

"I can assure you that my ordeal was just as inconviencing to myself as it was to you."

Rico glanced down at a small datapad on the table in front of him.

"I have been informed by Mr. Valoris of the nature of your mission to this planet. I must say it distressed me, though it is hardly surprising, considering the recent incident involving Bespin.

They way I understand it, the Empire considers Bespin it's soverign property, and I don't deny that it was at one time. The Empire claims that the transaction that Belgardi entered in to obtain control of Bespin was illegal and should be voided."

Rico looked to the Imperials, to see if they had any objections with his description of the situation. Neither objected, so he continued.

"I'm sure you noticed that we have another person here in this meeting. I'd like to introduce you to Ambassador Liam Derris of the Black Dragon Empire. As per the Cuitric-Bespin Protocol, he maintains a liason office here and helps to coordinate BDE's relations between our company and his government. Bespin is one of his primary focuses."

Rico motioned to Derris.

"Ambassador."

"...as we of the Imperium will not rescind Bespin because your Empire once claimed it as theirs in the past...."

Ondajh did not allow his frown to show - he would not have gotten so far in the field had he allowed himself to show what he thought. His face remained steadfastly neutral as the Ambassador from the Black Dragon Empire spoke.

And finally, he offered a slight nod.

"That is not, however, the case, Derris. The Empire does not claim that Bespin was once ours and no longer is. Irregardless of any citizens you might have placed there, the planet - and all of its assets - belong to the Empire.

"This is the case in spite of any accord you two may have reached. Simply put, Sir, you do not have the authority to make an accord regarding the Empire's property."

He spoke slowly and carefully, but his voice conveyed the power and threat that backed him up: the ten ships in orbit could raze Pavo Prime to the ground in less than an hour, if need be.

"You ask for a peaceful solution. Here it is:

"Your Black Dragon Empire can evacuate all of its citizens, within two week's time. They may take with them any possessions they own, so long as they are removed by the time of our deadline.

"You will repay the Empire the full ammount of credits your Empire - and you, Mr. Belgardi - profited a result of your illegal trade of Tibanna Gas (keeping in mind this would be little if anything given the large-scale destruction of both mines/refineries and gas itself following the ORS assault).

"Gentlemen, the Empire owns Bespin. No invasion by any party changes that. Two weeks."

And he waited.