Meanwhile at First Order’s offices in 4 Holes, a few representatives from the Free Trade League are invited over for a sensitive discussion, more because one of the FTLer’s Eeod happens to be the brother of First Order’s director, Edliner.
(log editing for spelling)
Dabblez: One chair?
Dabblez: Cutbacks?
Edliner: I wish we had budget for more furniture
Edliner: Our R&D has taken eaten a lot
Dabblez: Well Eeod of course you know. This here is Senobyte, you probably met at the Omni Board of Director meetings
Senobyte: nods at Edliner
Edliner: yes
Dabblez: And Dr Waggery you probably also know. She is representing Devil Advocate who also are part of the FTL movement
Edliner: and you have brought a lawyer
Edliner: Welcome Lady Callantha
Dabblez: Hello
Callantha: Good evening boss
Edliner: Lady Surfs is my assistant in administrative matters
Dabblez: Pleased to meet you
Waggery: I think I've met all of you.
Edliner: Lady Callantha is our event manager
Waggery: Nice to see you all here.
Surfs: Hello al, nice to meet you
Dabblez: Of course I know Callantha from The Bench
Callantha: Likewise, I'm looking forward to the talk
Eeod: looks nervous
Senobyte: glances su****iously at the giant floating rollerrat
Edliner: I invited Eeod to talk about the FTL because I am worried
Waggery: They say it's filled with helium and notum
Dabblez: He does not like rollerrats
Dabblez: deep-seated fear
Dabblez: I am sure we can lay to rest any worry you have
Edliner: can you explain to me what the FTL wants?
Surfs: offers everyone some coffee. Let's keep the mind fresh
Waggery: Thank you, Surfs!
Edliner: thank you surfs
Senobyte: thanks surfs!
Eeod: hmm coffee
Waggery: spikes her coffee with a small stim from her pocket
Senobyte: I'll answer that one.
Senobyte: The FTL basically wants the trade restrictions placed on neutrals in certain OT shops lifted.
Edliner: can you explain to me why you want that?
Senobyte: It seems unfair that we can go into any one of their stores and buy goods, yet they can't do the same in ours.
Edliner: You are aware that our shops sell at a discount for Omni personnel?
Senobyte: Yes, that doesn't mean the same has to apply to Neutral customers were the situation to change though.
Senobyte: After all we are ultimately a business, and cutting off a portion of the population that could be spending credits with us makes no business sense.
Edliner: May I explain the sense in that?
Senobyte: please do.
Surfs: burns her lip on the hot coffee
Waggery: sips her "coffee"
Edliner: In reform academy we learned about the different motivations that people can have: curiosity, greed, lust, to name a few.
Surfs: nods
Edliner: Omn-Tek uses those motivations to keep her employees and to attract new ones
Edliner: one of the means to do that is shop availability
Edliner: you are proposing to give that advantage of being Omni employee away
Eeod: ehmm
Surfs: would like to add something to that
Edliner: even though the strategy has worked on all planets we work on.
Edliner: Surfs?
Surfs: I would like to point out another matter
Surfs: There are several Omni-Tek weapons. They can be VERY dangerous in the wrong hands. Think about the Omni-Tek Kerans weapon for example
Surfs: These are specific weapons and we wouldn't want those to land into the wrong hands!
Edliner: yes.
Eeod: raises his hand
Edliner: yes, brother?
Eeod: you said something about discount. We could still give OT personnel discounts
Edliner: our shops would have to be completely reprogrammed to do that
Dabblez: I would like to address Surfs point
Edliner: yes
Edliner: please do
Dabblez: It may be that a few years ago Omni shops held weapons which could be seen as dangerous to allow other factions access to
Dabblez: But the recent deregulation of Omni departmental shops makes a mockery of that
Dabblez: I am sure First Order’s own shop has many powerful guns for sale
Dabblez: And there is nothing to prevent Neutral from shopping there
Dabblez: That is inconsistent
Edliner: I agree with that point, maybe we should apply the same rules to privately owned shops
Surfs: nods
Waggery: But that'd be bad for business!
Dabblez: Or maybe its time to move forward
Dabblez: Like Doctor Waggery says, we are a business
Edliner: I still am not convinced that giving away a good thing of being Omni is tactically sound
Dabblez: First and foremost Omni-Tek is about making and selling things
Dabblez: Fair wages keep employees happy, not mind games!
Edliner: there are things more important than profit lady Dabblez
Dabblez: Not for a business.
Edliner: Continuity for one thing, we want to be here for a long time
Surfs: Let's not forget the chance of Neutrals reselling Omni-Tek equipment to the Clans
Surfs: Would profit be worth seeing a Clanner walk in Omni-Armed Forces Armor some day???!
Edliner: I would think RUR would understand the importance of continuity over profit
Senobyte: A clanner in that armour would be impossible.
Senobyte: It has tech built in to prevent anyone that isn't Omni wearing it.
Surfs: It was merely an example
Dabblez: Good profits, a solid business plan...that is the way forward. Turning away customers.. not a good business plan.
Dabblez: Anyone can see that
Eeod: I see it
Edliner: ah, but the planet is, excluding the notum profits, and our gains from the aliens, a closed economy
Edliner: we get their money anyway
Eeod: or the clans
Edliner: yes, their money too, if it is not transferred illegally off planet
Senobyte: Ok, how about looking at the situation like this...
Edliner: listens
Senobyte: Neutral and Clan relations are at an all time low at the moment. By pushing for the dropping of trade restrictions Omni can prove it's the "bigger man".
Edliner: there is a quicker way of doing that, by buying in neutral shops. No need for change of policy there
Waggery: Us buying in neutral shops?
Edliner: yes, if you feel so generous towards neutrals, why not?
Waggery: But there is no bonus buying from there!
Waggery: Or selling
Surfs: Please excuse me, I have some urgent business to take care off. Will be right back
Dabblez: Exactly. We want to be generous to Omni shopkeepers and smaller businesses
Waggery: sips her cold, spiked black drink
Dabblez: It is a rare thing when doing the right thing is also the profitable thing
Edliner: let's do that by recruiting more omni personnel and not by squandering the rights of Omni-Tek
Dabblez: We are not touching the rights of Omni employees
Dabblez: We just saying that if the Neutral give us full access to their shops, we should return the courtesy
Edliner: you are devaluating them by giving them to a larger group of people
Dabblez: That is fair
Dabblez: You don’t have hold Omni employees in high esteem, do you?
Edliner: Omni employees are the ultimate
Edliner: we should improve the world by getting more of them
Dabblez: You would recruit people who changed sides just to get access to Miir?
Edliner: smiles
Edliner: I wish people were that easily convinced
Edliner: Convincing people to change sides is hard work
Edliner: Your proposal makes it even harder
Callantha: I would like to add a comment
Dabblez: If Omni needs more people, I am sure it can always hire more. In the mean time small Omni shops and business lose out, we look petty in how we deal with the Neutral community
Edliner: Hiring more personnel is hard in a competitive market
Edliner: lets keep that competitive edge
Edliner: the Neutral community is free to join Omni-Tek at any time
Dabblez: waits for Callantha's comment
Edliner: yes Callantha?
Callantha: The idea we in Omni-Reform will follow is the same as the ancient Romans on Old Earth. Like them we believe in treating the ene... ehm, possible employees with some courtesy. And Omni_Tek already provides this courtesy by allowing Neutrals to travel in our cities. And these visitors will see the benefits of a citizen of Omni-Tek, and they will know that these luxuries are out of reach unless you leave the northern deserts behind. Yes it may sound a bit unfair for the average Jane and Joe shopkeepers, but what they have to understand is that there is a reason to why they are not allowed to sell goods directly to anyone else but loyal Omni-Tek citizens. It is all part of the long-term strategy.
Senobyte: wonders where they put the hose to inflate the rollerrat
Dabblez: But we do sell good directly to Neutral. Implants, tradeskills, map.. all sorts of things. First Order's shop, Omni-Pol’s shop, any departmental shop will sell anything o Neutrals
Edliner: As I said before, good point, we should do something about that
Dabblez: Its only a few vendors which are subject to this obsolete law
Dabblez: Prove you are serious; close your shop in protest!
Waggery: stares at Dabz in shock
Dabblez: But if you say First Order can sell to Neutral but Miir can't, that is double standards
Edliner: We will follow the Omni directives in this regard, but we will work on closing them all
Dabblez: shakes her head
Edliner: to make an end to the double standards
Senobyte: And how will Reform cope with the extra workload that will entail?
Edliner: can you explain that to me?
Senobyte: You prevent the smaller shops in organisations from selling to the neutrals, they lose a source of income, they become disgruntled unhappy employees, some may even consider leaving omni, this increases the workload for Reform as you are forced to "re-educate" a large number of employees.
Dabblez: Now there's a point!
Callantha: grinds her teeth
Surfs: offers some chewing gum to Calla
Edliner: You are right, there should be some compensation for that loss
Surfs: raises hand
Edliner: yes surfs?
Eeod's pet, FTL rocks: here we go here we go here we go!
Surfs: Sir. I just want to state that most Omni-Tek employees do not need or want personal profit over the greater good
Edliner: nods
Surfs: I see no real issue here
Waggery: Good grief! There are those of us who are legitimate business-owners, with responsibilities!
Edliner: not all employees are as loyal in thought as you are Surfs
Waggery: Such as making a profit
Surfs: Thank you Sir Edliner
Edliner: to wrap this up: I see we will not agree on this issue
Edliner: brother Eeod I ask you not to be on the forefront of this movement.
Senobyte: May I make one final point?
Edliner: If Omni-Prime finds it contra-productive in the long run there may be consequences we cannot oversee at this moment.
Edliner: yes Seno?
Senobyte: So you're saying that by offering aid, as it were, to the neutrals we are being Anti-Omni?
Surfs: chuckles
Edliner: I am not saying that. I am saying that Omni Prime might view it like that
Edliner: I am convinced your motives are pure pro omni
Edliner: but the road to hell is paved with good intentions
Senobyte: Well it's just that you're sat under that big ol' picture of Boss Ross.
Edliner: looks up
Senobyte: and i can't help remembering that he helped out the Neutrals in the past.
Edliner: yes, we haven’t received a new picture yet
Dabblez: Yeah, he cost RUR a big fat contract with Newland City but offering his own money to pay the new guards
Dabblez: you know, the Militia that replaced the Mercs
Dabblez: Not that I am bitter
Edliner: Brother Eeod can I count on you to make the right decision?
Dabblez: The point being Ross policies were always Neutral-friendly
Eeod: I think I’ll stick with the FTL brother, even if it means you’ll withhold my allowance
Dabblez: You could think of FTL as a tribute to the great man
Edliner: I would not go that far my brother, but remember I warned you
Edliner: To quote a big man Plautus:
Eeod: oh, ill remember
Edliner: What has been said was enough for any sensible person.
Eeod: To quote the grate singer Lee Towers...
Eeod: I can see clearly now the rain has gone
Edliner: nods
Eeod's pet, FTL rocks: i can see all obstacles in my way!
Dabblez: rocks gently to the tune
Edliner: I thank you all, and I'm sorry I have failed to convince you. I fell like I have failed you all.
Dabblez: Likewise
