Hoth: Blood and Ice

Jan had been rather amused to see Drascovina Malveaux of all people was also aboard the ship. She hadn’t thought much of the younger woman when they first met (she being a sith noble and worse, a high schooler) but then they’d blown up those ships together and well, that was a true measure of character.

That and Jan was involved with Luci which meant she could tease both Malveauxs about it.

With a predatory smile the Czerka director stands and goes to find wherever the younger Malveaux was lairing.

The chamber of the Sith were well appointed, while spartan by Drascovina’s standards it was well appointed and spacious with the latest in what would pass for Imperial fashion. Her back was to Jan when she entered and she turned and glanced at a protocol droid.

The droid said in an electronic voice, “Jan Melmoar of Czerka, my Lord.”

“Of course,” she said with a practiced smile. She turned back to what she was working on as she made final adjustments to her crimson ensemble and said, “Proceed, droid.”

The droid verbalized, “You stand in the presence of Lord Drascovina Malveaux, first among the servants of Darth Tenebrous; embrace her beauty and be awed.”

Drascovina gestured for the droid to leave them and said, “Melmoar, is this a business call or social?”

“Yes yes, I am properly embracing and awed and all such appropriate things.”
Jan rolls her eyes at the droid before striding over to the sith, the click of her heels loud in the room.

“A social call your lordship. It’s can’t be business, can it?”
She spends a few moments pretending to admire a rather striking painting of… something black and red.

“We are friends, aren’t we my dear?”
Her lips twitch.
“I love the ensemble if I may say so. Out with black, in with red.”
Jan of course always seemed to be wearing white.

“Why Melmoar what would make you think we are not the best of friends,” she said giving her full attention to the woman. “My sister seems to value your… presence highly and I value her judgment. I can think of nothing in recent history that could have changed our close ties.”

“Are you thirsty?” she said gesturing to her droid who stood near a liquor cabinet. “Or would you prefer tea?”

“You didn’t attend our last anniversary party on the floating beaches.”
Jan flicks her hair back slightly to communicate this wasn’t actually a big deal.
“But we soldiered on.”

There’s a half second pause as she weighs the alcohol vs tea.
“Well, it’s 17 hours into a galactic basic day somewhere.”
To the droid.
“Do you stock and Corellian Brandy?”
And then, almost as an after thought.

“I hear everything is going well for you?”

“And to think I missed the event of the season,” she responded about the party. “I’ll have my assistants flogged for not keeping me apprised of all my important appointments.”

At the mention of brandy she gestured for the droid to prepare a drink and soldiered on, “I always enjoy these little chats, does anyone ever answer no my life is in the gutter and things are not going well? But as luck would have it, yes, everything is going well.”

The droid delivered the brandy to Jan.

“Please enjoy, Melmoar.” She did not partake, as the droid prepared tea for the Sith.

"Sometimes people reply that they are 'doing good' which is a butchery of basic I find unpleasant."
She salutes Dracovina with her glass before taking a sip and pausing to appreciate the flavours.

"But I confess I am overjoyed to hear everything is going well, since I hope that means you have the capacity to do even better."
Jan perches herself on the edge of the sofa a little closer to the sith.

"Perhaps even the capacity for an investment? One with....considerable returns."
She leans forward slightly as if imparting a secret.
"It's only for a select group though, not something for the common riff-raff."

“And the other… boot drops,” she said with mild amusement behind her shark like grin. “Please, do go one I will not be denied the full sales pitch, will there be visual aids?”

She rose gracefully and continued, “Common riff-raff, oh don’t be so harsh to my sister… she can’t help her deficiencies.”

Jan raises a hand to cover her mouth "Ohoohohoho...." then she cocks her head. "Damn it Luci, you got me doing it now."
Before she focuses back on Drascovina, pulling a small holoprojector out and setting it on the low coffee table, the machine whirs to life, displaying a hologram of an exceptionally complicated internal company structure.

"It's an opportunity to get in at the ground floor of a major new arms and commercial goods company. There's limitless potential for growth and the clients are already staked out."
Her grin has grown predatory again as she waves a hand at the holo.
"It's going to be quite something, imagine Czerka but with the fat trimmed and the free loaders.....unloaded."

“So essentially Czerka, with new paint, how clever. I presume you would be involved with the leadership and unloading the so-called freeloaders. Did you already rope my dear sister into this brilliant aspiration of yours?” she responded sipping her hot tea.

“Send my droid your projected earnings for the first ten years, list of current investors, and whatever bloated number you determine is needed to get this opportunity off the ground. This does seem a conflict of interest with your current employer. New colors but still the same high ethics corporate culture.”

"Much more than new paint, Lord Malveaux.....it will of course have a new logo."
Jan winks and takes another sip of her drink.

"It would certainly be my duty to guide this new corporate entity and instill some of those high ethics, yes. After all, I do have quite the web of contacts after all these years, friends on all sides."
There's an almost imperceptible softening in her gaze.
"Lady Malveaux is of course supportive of my work, but I haven't made any concrete plans with her. Best not to put the grox before the cart, hmmm?"

Flicking her eyes over to the droid.
"You let me worry about any conflict of interest, conflicts are my specialty after all. I presume the droid is wholly secure?"

“I see, well send me the information requested and I shall see where my dear sister stands on this grox drawn cart you intend to lead,” she responded. A the mention of the droid she nodded, “I have the droid wiped regularly, I have no desire for free will or quirks.”

“When you make these plans concrete to her and she signs off, I may lend my support, we shall see. Going to Hoth seems a bit extreme just to make a sales pitch, but I understand you want only the best on your side.”

"What's a few thousand light years between almost family, hmmm?"
Jan nods her head in agreement to the sith's terms, a long finger stabbing forward to hit the holoprojector, the image vanishing with a quiet 'beep'.

"I confess, I had not expected you to attend the expedition." She makes a show of inspecting her nails for some imaginary blemish.
"As you point out, it's a long way from anywhere. It's good the empire is taking such an interest in these pirates...quite the interest."

She looks up and cocks her head slightly, fishing.

“I don’t care a whit about these pirates, but this seems an easy victory for minimal work. Darth Baras adds another victory to his list, and all involved partake of that. Of course, if it somehow fails, then it could be problematic, but we can turn his potential failure into our victory,” she responded.

“Basically there is a calculated risk, you are familiar with that term, surely.”

"Of course, I have a whole team to do the calculating, I just handle the risk."
As if the idea had just occurred to her.
"Naturally, that does simply beg the question of what would happen if there was a failure. I can't imagine Darth Baras would let everyone just...walk away, particularly if he felt they might use it against him. We are a long way from anywhere. And he does have oh so many serving him unquestioningly, doesn't he?"

She shrugs her wide bony shoulders in a move eerily close to a vulture spreading its wings.
"But such things are the domain of nobles and far above my humble understandings. Surely a quick victory against the pirates awaits."

“Perhaps for you it begs the question, for a Sith there is no question failure begets its own reward. If Darth Baras wants to clean house after such an act, then it is his right. It’s our right to make sure he regrets taking such a course of action. The strongest survive and the free loaders as you so delicately put it, are unloaded,” she replied with a shark like grin.

“Hence why I am not deterred by failure, it is simply not an option.”

“Lord Malveaux, If you ever want a break from the sith life you are well suited to being a merchant banker.”
Jan grins as she jumps off the couch.

“And I mean that in the best possible way.”
She knocks back her glass and drains it in one move before placing it down with a soft ‘chunk’ on the droid’s tray.

“Well, I should be going. Investors to consult, employees to manage. You know how it is.”
With a graceful back to the sith.
“Lord Malveaux”

"Melmoar, do continue your unswerving devotion to my dear sister. She is common riff-raff but she is family," she mused.

"If she is happy, I remain so, otherwise... Until next time."

/Exit Jan (thanks for the scene, Dapper!)