The Rebel Faction

Outside the corporate offices of Kuat Drive Yards, a hoverlimo pulled up to the entrance. The door opened, and two men stepped out. The first was John Petroski, CEO and owner of Maverick Munitions Incorporated. The man was tall, nearly 6'3", broad-shouldered, with naturally handsome and rugged features. He was immpecably dressed in a dark suit, tie, and perfectly styled dark hair. On his lapel was a small golden MMI insignia. Most usually underestimated his resolve because he carried no weapons, but he was far from helpless. He'd been attacked once or twice before, and those foolish souls quickly found themselves regretting the decision.

The second man was Maladwen Shadowlurker, MMI's VP. He was a bit shorter than Petroski, 5'11" with black hair. Like his boss, he dressed in a dark suit, but the suit jacket was duster-style, to conceal the weapons he always carried. On his right hip hung a rare weapon, a blast sword only used on the planet of Adumar. Maladwen had picked it up on a trip there years back and quickly took a liking to thier traditions and weaponry. The second weapon he carried, on his left hip, was a vibroblade. Adumari traditionally fought with both in thier duels, as Maladwen had since his trip.

The two entered the building, and an aide guided them to a room where they could go over any last minute details while the board prepared for thier presentation. Petroski placed his briefcase on the table there and took a seat. He drew his datapad from the inside pocket of his jacket and began going over the notes for thier meeting. Stopping for a moment, he saw they had about fifteen minutes till they were scheduled to appear before the Board of Directors and Stockholders.

OOC: Interesting that the details of the business meeting between MMI and KDY has somehow gotten out BEFORE the meeting has begun, or KDY even informed of MMI's intrests, but oh well.

IC: A few minutes after Maladwen returned with his drink, the Kuati aide returned. "Mr. Petroski, Mr. Shadowlurker? The Board is ready for you. Please follow me."

The two businessmen rose and put away thier things, following the aide. The woman lead them from the room down a short hall to a pair of huge doors, each decorated with carvings and large KDY logos. As they approached, the doors slowly swung open, revealing a huge conference table and the board members and stockholders within. Petroski walked in, unfazed by the architecture that was designed to impose inferiority on all who entered. He made his way directly to the speakers podium, taking his notes and other important documents from his briefcase which he sat on a shelf built into it.

Shadowlurker took the empty seat nearest Petroski and looked over the room. Both the board members and stockholders were predominantly human, only a few aliens were present. This Maladwen thought to be most likely a carryover from Kuat's Imperial days, and almost everyone in the room had an old-school Imperial look to them. The conference room had been neatly organized. Along the back wall with a seperate table were the stockholders. The main table was set up with the board and KDY's subsidiaries, including KSE, which had bought it's way back into the company after finally having a successful stint on its own.

Clearing his throat as the noise in the room died, the MMI CEO began. "Ladies and gentlebeings. I'd like to introduce myself first as John Petroski, CEO and Owner of Maverick Munitions Incorporated. My partner there is Maladwen Shadowlurker, Vice President. As you know, we requested this meeting some time ago, and requested the utmost secrecy. Now as can be seen, the security isn't quite what we'd like, and the rumor of a buyout and KDY being bankrupt has been circulating for some time now."

At this point several images came up from the holoprojectors around the room. "The rumors are rather unfortunate, starting a very noticable dip in KDY stock prices, actually to a levelnot seen in years. I personally have always found it fascinating what a rumor or two can do to a perfectly stable company. Now, those of us at MMI have been doing some studies, and this is what our research shows, and I'm sure your analysis is fairly similar. As the graphs show, if something isn't done, the rumors of bankruptcy will be more than that in less than a year."

I personally, as well as the rest of my associates at Maverick couldn't just sit back and watch a great company like this fizzle and fail because of false rumors." Petroski checked his chrono, which showed five-thirty in the afternoon. Therefore, as of half an hour ago, myself, Mr. Shadowlurker, and Maverick Munitions are the proud owners of over 7 million shares of Kuat Drive Yards stock, more than enough for a controlling intrest in the company." Gasps of shock and even exclaimations of anger were heard throughout the room at this declaration, and the MMI CEO had wait a moment for silence to resume. "I assure you though, we have nothing but the best intrest for KDY, and I think you'll find us quite accommodating."

"My associate Mr. Shadowlurker here will now go over our plans for the company, and the actions we intend to take to return from this financial precipice. I ask you all to respectfully listen to him, and if any of you would like to get out of your shareholdings now or afterwards, I'd be happy to do that for you, buying them for thier full value before the rumors began. So, with nothing more, I present you Maladwen Shadowlurker, Vice President of Maverick Munitions Incorporated as well as other titles." Now with his speech completed, Petroski collected his notes and placed them back in his briefcase, moving to take the seat just vacated by his friend and business partner.