Omega Thrax walked calmly through the station, having gotten past customs easily since he didn't carry any weapons. Omega Thrax didn't need weapons, his very voice was a weapon for it spoke for something deep, dark, and powerful lurking in the shadows of the galaxy. His own life didn't matter anyways, he'd been quite successful and smuggling aboard several additional bodies if this one got destroyed and there was no jamming field stopping transmission. But then again, why come here without having an impression? Two large, rather mean spirited looking bodyguards followed along behind Thrax, both in black suits just like his, though he stood out easily with his odd two tone mask.

Currently, Thrax was heading to a private meeting at a restaurant the Union was establishing via a Belgardi subsidiary, Meltoc Luxuries Inc. Thus, the restaurant was called Meltoc's Lounge, named after the Duro who owned and operated the company as well as the restaurant. As Thrax walked past him, Meltoc shifted in a small bow and pointed them to the table, before Thrax finally sat down, the two guards disappearing.

"Did this Vasuki recieve the invitation, Meltoc?" Thrax asked, turning his calm, cold gaze to the Duro.

"Oh... yes... of course, sir, I made sure of it personally," Meltoc said, his voice as oily as any a matre'd should have.

"Good, pull up some Corellian wine for him, lets make this Vasuki feel comfortable, before we change his world," Thrax said calmly.

"Of course, sir"

Meltoc snapped his fingers and a server droid ran off as Omega Thrax sat alone in the empty restaurant, waiting for Vasuki.

Barely a minute had elapsed since the Union representative's arrival before Vasuki similarly made his way into Meltoc's Lounge -- although, unlike the other man, he appeared to be traveling alone. His pale blonde hair was slicked back into a short ponytail and he was adorned in a dark grey business suit, but his delicate facial features and slim build were contrastingly feminine; had Omega not been informed otherwise, he may have easily confused the Severe operative to be a woman, given the distance between his table and the main entrance. As he approached through the empty restaurant however, his shoes clicking audibly against the marbled tiling of the floor, Omega could discern no expression behind his dark eyes, even though his mouth smiled politely.

"Mr. Thrax, I presume ?" he asked, extending his right hand and gripping Omega's own in a surprisingly strong hold. To the Union member, it may have seemed like a foolhardy, even laughable mistake on the young man's part to have ventured into a meeting such as this all by himself. Vasuki, however, knew full well that he was far from being alone; his unseen "bodyguard" existed in the form of a rather bored Sith Master who wouldn't hesitate to think twice before intervening, should the situation at any point become awry and favored negatively against Vasuki, her darling protégé.

He stepped aside to allow room for one of the server droids to pull back a chair, directly opposite Omega. "Your invitation was rather lacking in terms of detail," he commented matter-of-factly, lowering himself onto the seat and clasping his fingers together on the table. Vasuki then fixed his gaze on the masked envoy before continuing, "So, how may I help you ?"

Omega Thrax regarded the man in front of him with the same cool gaze he gave everyone, sizing up this human as if they were just another piece of property. It wasn't Thrax's job to be kind or pleasant, merely to be the messenger and his methods worked. It was why he was known as the Voice within the Union, because no one could question his authority as he spoke for the Chairman.

"Let me put aside the pleasantries, Mister Vasuki, I'm here representing a rather large and influential organization that wishes to incorporate your little drug cartel into our own runnings."

A server droid arrived and poured Vasuki a glass of well aged Corellian wine, though Thrax took nothing for himself. He didn't see much use in such human indulgences. Thrax continued on in his same cool tones as he let the first statement sink in.

"Perhaps you feel the urge to laugh at my statement? I would suggest against it as this is a most serious situation for you. You see, we hold a very large influence over a great deal of the galactic underworld, however nothing here on Astoria. You can join us and reap the benefits or learn the unfortunate consequences of refusal. No one has ever said no to us"

Thrax's only visible eye became more of a slit, merely to emphasize since the facial motion meant nothing to Thrax personally, he only did it because he knew it meant something to humans. It said very clearly he was serious and his calm, cool tone never once cracked, never once changed, always just unnervingly calm.

"What do you think of that, Mister Vasuki?"

"Benefits, you say ?"

Vasuki raised the wine glass from where the droid had placed it in front of him, two fingers supporting the thin stem as he swirled the dark liquid around in its crystalline vessel. He hardly seemed daunted by Omega's harsh demeanor and indirect threats, and instead waited patiently until the man was done speaking before finally taking a small sip of the drink and returning it to the table. The Union agent's very appearance looked as though it was specifically designed with these sorts of "negotiations" in mind -- the kind which valued intimidation and fear above good old-fashioned diplomacy.

The Severe member leaned back in his chair. "I'm sure you realize that a decision such as this is not mine alone to make, Mr. Thrax," he began, his tone and visage a perfect display of nonchalance; it was anyone's guess as to how he managed to appear so unaffected, given the nature of Omega's less-than-friendly offer. "That said, however, I am most interested to learn more about these <i>benefits</i> you speak of …"

His mouth twisted into a smirk. "… As well as all the <i>unfortunate</i> consequences, should we choose to decline."

"The benefits? Well, you see, we provide financial support as well as protection for our members if possible. We hold a great deal of influence and bribery is always effective, though we also have other means of aid. Extortion, assassination, sabotage, we do what we can to make sure our members are strong. I might add that you get to keep all your profits. We don't give a damn about your money, just your loyalty. If you join us, you work for us. A small price to pay for becoming insanely wealthy and powerful."

Thrax regarded Vasuki calmly, with his usual indifferent stair as he considered probability of gaining the Severe organizaiton. Odds were hard to weigh in the current sitation, but things always changed as time moves along. For now he'd make it quite clear just what would happn to a refusal.

"If you refuse, we shall crush you, Severe will have more problems with security than you could possibly imagine. Perhaps you do not grasp the concept of our power but I shall make it clear. Severe will never be able to push another drug anywhere in the civilized galaxy if you refuse. Your little group is nothing compared to us, but we require a link to this station and we know you operate here."

Thrax let that calmly sink in, his voice never having raised once as he spoke, just still remaining calm, speaking in an almost matter-of-fact tone that made it very clear he was not playing games.

"Join and prosper, or prepare for a war you cannot win."



OOC:

For the Record.

The Union nor Belgardi Inc. Have anything anywhere onboard my Station, at least, not yet.

I am, of course, not against it, and I understand that this is probably due to me not yet replying to your thread. I also understand its frustrating for you to have waited so long, but I did say I would get to it when I am able.

It does not, however give you free reign to just go ahead and decide everything yourself.

It does need to be roleplayed, and I shall get to your post when I can.

I say this, because there are other factors involved onboard the Station.

I apologise for your wait, and for interrupting your thread, feel free to edit and remove this after its been read.

"Am I to understand then, Mr. Thrax," he asked calmly, "that you need us ?"

Vasuki appeared thoroughly amused by all of this, his smile remaining perfectly in place and not shifting in the slightest, despite the rather transparent warning the Union emissary had just administered. Omega had obviously covered enough groundwork during his research to recognize that Severe's chief base of operations was located onboard the Astral Astoria, and that the company's influence pervaded the space-station's each and every level to the extent where it was nearly impossible for any other, related business to try and acquire their own share of the clientele … but he was still far, far from realizing the group's full potential if he truly believed that Vasuki could be so easily persuaded.

"Technically, yes, but if it doesn't work, we'll just establish our own foothold here."

Thrax regarded Vasuki calmly, taking in that smile and not really caring about it. Humans always acted so odd in different situations and this one was giving signals of assumed superiority. Another silly human trait, assuming that they had even an inkling of what they were dealing with when they didn't. This Vasuki had no idea he was dealing with an organization that held sway over over larger crime groups, the Hutts even. But Thrax wasn't concerned, either the Union got its needed extension here via Severe or else they'd just finish establishing Meltoc's Lounge. They'd do that anyways, just since it was a good liason point.

"You would be ill-advised to try and launch any sort of venture on the Astoria that could potentially interfere with our own business," he countered. Vasuki's eyes grew cold and expressionless, and although the smile that was so evidently playing on his lips still lingered, the sentiment hardly extended to encompass any of his other features. This Omega Thrax character seemed to be under the impression that his organization could muscle its way past any given obstacle and doubtlessly emerge the victor, and that Severe was but a mere small-scale operation that would either be convinced now or taken over easily later. While the thought was mildly entertaining, the young executive realized that his warnings were falling on deaf ears, seeing as how Omega clearly viewed him as little more than an inconsequential pawn.

"Let me put it this way," he began again. "My superiors aren't the kind of people who would be readily willing to … compromise … their power, especially not when it concerns their status onboard this here vessel."

(Sorry, wrong account)

"You're a very foolish human, we know all about your little organization, and I do mean little. You don't have the political or business connections to stop us, if we move in. You are nothing, so I suggest recognizing the great galactic food chain of existance before you even think you can handle us. Do you think I'm some sort of con man? That I'm playing some sort of game, Mister Vasuki?"

Thrax snapped his fingers and the two Union bodyguards appeared from around the corner, walking up behind Vasuki.

"I do not grow tired, Mister Vasuki, but I do realize when I perhaps have to make my point very clear to you. You don't even know who we are, but here you are, in our clutches so I'll say this very simply. We don't give a damn what your leaders want, period. I am here, making a very generous offer, Severe will remain autonomous, minus being require to follow an occaisonal order or do something for us, and gets to keep all its money as well as recieve support through any number of means. There is no compromise, there is only the Union, and the Union does not take kindly to little upstarts who think they can get in our way when they should in fact, be joining us."

Thrax regarded Vasuki with his icy gaze as his voice continued to be calm and smooth even as he made threats, even as most people at this point would be shouting, he just spoke. He didn't need to raise his voice when a mere utterance could end a life and now he had given Vasuki a name that he could at least perhaps grasp in some tiniest inkling of the real power behind Omega Thrax, for there were always whispers in the underworld of some great power lurking in the galaxy's shadows, pulling the strings of many organizations, though no one was sure which ones. The name, however, was always the same: The Union.