Proposals

Posted on Fri Dec 4th, 2020 @ 10:53pm by MegaCorp Owner Ashlyn of Koryndell
Edited on on Sat Dec 5th, 2020 @ 4:29am

Mission: New Starts
Location: Ashlyn's Office, Tassryth Station
Timeline: 247912.26 10:30

Ashlyn looked over her calendar, noting a request for a meeting. She opened the request and raised an eyebrow. The idea seemed... interesting, but she wanted to know more about the person proposing it. She looked up the name, and found that the woman was of an interesting breed, an anamorphic Hyena. Ashlyn had met with many breeds of being in her long life, but she could honestly say that she had not met one of those yet. This fascinated her further, so she sent a message to the woman telling her that her request for a meeting was granted and to be in her office tomorrow.

TIME: 247912.27, 1030 Hours
LOCATION: Ashlyn's Office

Shenzi was escorted to the office and brought in. "Thank you." She said to the secretary as she walked to the desk. She was dressed in a black wrap around skirt that was down to her ankles, with a long sleeve white blouse and a black vest. She did have a cane in her hand. She brought her full 7 foot 5 inch self before the desk and extended her free hand to the woman behind the desk. "Savannah Shenzi, ma'am."

Ashlyn looked the being before her up and down once in an assessing manner. She had never seen a being like this woman, and certainly not seen too many furred beings with quite so many clothes on. That feline she had hired as Commanding Officer had worn more clothes than most furred ones, but he was... different in other ways.

The gesture of the handshake she remembered from dealing with Reanna DeMarr of Phoenix Corporation. Now, they were friends, but in the beginning, Rae had shown her the gesture, and she had not really understood it. Now, she smiled a bit and took the offered... paw?... in a firm grip, gave it a shake, then released it.

"Welcome. Thank you for being prompt. Please, have a seat." She gestured to the chairs on the other side of her desk, very comfortable-looking chairs with mid-height backs. "Can I offer you anything before we begin?" For now, she was keeping it professional; personal questions about the woman's species might come... later.

"Spice tea with a hint of lemon." She said looking at the smaller chair. Then she brought herself to sit, but there were a couple of metallic pops from under her skirt, and she nearly fell into the chair. Shenzi took a few deep breaths before she spoke again. "I make it a point of pride to arrive to business meetings on time."

Ashlyn frowned at the sound as it did not sound pleasant for the woman. The moment of deep breathing afterwards seemed to affirm this. She moved to the Synthesizer on the far left wall of her office. "That is never a bad thing, Miss Shenzi. And if you would be more comfortable on the couch," she motioned to a couch that hugged the wall beside the Synthesizer between it and the wall the door was on, "please go ahead. I apologize that I didn't really take your... stature into account." She had reached the Synthesizer by then and ordered the spice tea with a hint of lemon. When it finished materializing, she took it and offered it to the larger woman.

"Thank you." Shenzi said pulling her skirt to the side, revealing her banged up leg brace. With a grunt she extended her leg. Then she took her tea. "I'm used to people not taking my size into consideration." She said. "Life is hard when you tower over everyone, then make it harder when most of everyone else sees you as nothing more then a criminal." She stated flatly. "My family had it even worse when you have a family member that is a known and wanted criminal." She tapped her leg brace. "With that said, it makes it pretty hard to get proper treatment for injuries." Then she shook her head. "Well we are not here to hear me whine about the injustices of my group of Anamorphics. We are here about my proposed businesses."

Ashlyn frowned. "I didn't see it as whining, more as explanation of a situation of which I was previously only partially aware." she said, moving back to her own chair and sitting once more. "And as far as criminals... this company is made of mercenaries, so I don't really give a rat's ass what anyone else thinks." she added with a smile, indicating to the other woman that she had no such prejudices. "And medical... I can have that leg taken care of if you'd like. I have some of the best medical staff in the Communion here." It was a genuine offer both for the other woman's benefit and for her own if the woman ended up working with her company. It served Ashlyn in some ways to see to the lady's health.

"That is a nice offer, but I have an odd and ultra rare genetic defect." Shenzi said putting down her cup. "My cells can't be altered or cloned in any way or fashion. Also, my bio-neural makeup prevents the use of cybernetics." She said removing the straps of the brace with a heavy sigh. "Right now I'm waiting on my new brace to arrive."

Ashlyn frowned. She had heard of similar situations, but she had never actually met one of the people thus affected. She watched the woman remove the brace. "I could at least see if one of our medical personnel could get you a better or more comfortable brace." she offered. She would not keep pressing, but she saw an option and was willing to explore it if the other wished. If not, Shenzi could refuse, and Ashlyn would go on with the meeting.

"That would take time." Shenzi stated as she inspected her brace. "I've been waiting for my new brace for nearly 6 months now." Then she grunted. "Crap!" She set the brace down and pinched her muzzle near her eyes.

Ashlyn looked at the woman's injured appendage as she herself did, then glanced up at the exclamation. She knew that there was no defecation on her floor, so she assumed the woman was using the Earth colloquial invective. "What's wrong?" she asked, slightly concerned.

"it is that several of the weight support pins have snapped." Shenzi said looking back at her brace. "That means I'm going to need to get on these people about my new brace."

"Well, in the meantime, I'm sure I can have my people repair this one... if you'd like. They can do it while we talk." she offered. It wasn't as though Miss Shenzi would need to be up and about during the interview. And a broken brace was useless to the other woman, so the offer served them both ultimately.

Shenzi smiled. "That would be wonderful." She said. "Just let me know how much it will cost."

Ashlyn shrugged. "I will be honest." she admitted. "That depends upon the outcome of our conversation. Employees are taken care of. But should you decide not to accept my offer, which is completely acceptable by the way, I would be forced to charge you a small fee for our services. That fee would be very minor, though, I assure you, as I do not make my money through medical devices." She looked at the brace, assessed it as a designer and quoted the woman a price that was extremely low for what would be charged at a medical facility if the patient had no insurance.

"Deal." Shenzi said with a chuckle. "And thank you for repairing my brace." She stated sounding very thankful. Then she shifted in the chair and grunted in pain.

Ashlyn frowned thoughtfully, then reached over and keyed something into her terminal. Her gaze then returned to Shenzi. "I have called one of my medical personnel here to retrieve your brace so that they can have it repaired as well as bringing up some pain killers." she informed the younger woman. "We can wait for them to finish or we can begin now if you'd like."

"I would like to get started." Shenzi said. "I'm sure you have other and more important meetings then this one."

Ashlyn noted the words and frowned mentally, though her outward expression remained unchanged. "I do have others, yes. However, every meeting is important or I wouldn't waste my time with them." she said with a slight smile. "But very well. "Why don't we start then with you telling me about your proposal."

Shenzi grunted at her own stupidity. "I apologize for mis speaking. I've had several other meetings and they took one look at me and cut the meeting short." She said. "Now my proposal. My proposal is three fold." She said. "The first part is a restaurant with attached bar. The second is a place where people could come and dance. The third is a general entertainment center."

Ashlyn actually frowned at the beginning part. "Well, their loss I suppose. Not that I quite understand that." She shrugged. "As to your proposal, are these three separate establishments or a single establishment divided and soundproofed from the others?" she asked, intrigued. Diversification was good; she just wanted to know the nature of it.

"They are separate businesses." Shenzi said leaning forward with another grunt in pain. "The restaurant is the Voyager Lounge. This is where people will go for food, or visit the attached bar to socialize. Now second place is the Star Dancer Club. This is where people can go and dance and socialize, there is also a bar attached here also." She stated with a low moan as she shift in her seat again. "The third is where people can got and see movies, plays, concerts, and sports events from around the galaxy. Now food is available from the Restaurant's kitchens."

Ashlyn considered the proposal in silence for several moments. "And do you plan to have them connected, clustered together? Or spread out over the Arcade?" She was not oblivious to the woman's pain, but she had already summoned medical staff, and there was no more she could do at this point.

"I was hopeful to have them above each other, with a simple elevator that connects their kitchen, slash, bar areas." Shenzi said, being hopeful that she was explaining her idea correctly.

Ashlyn thought about the proposal. In the midst of that moment of thought, a chime came at her office door, and she looked to her terminal at the security feed. This deep inside Tassryth Station, it was unlikely to be anyone but her staff, and yet she couldn't help the streak of paranoia that made her look anyway.

Seeing that it was a medical officer, she keyed the door to open. As the tall, slender woman with slick black hair and bright rainbow-colored eyes entered, Ashlyn motioned her toward Shenzi. "Savannah Shenzi, this is Fareena. She will see to your pain and take that brace to be repaired."

"It is a pleasure Mz. Fareena." Shenzi said with pain in her voice and offered the woman her hand.

At the sound of pain underlying the woman's tone, Fareena frowned, and her eyes showed compassion. She placed a kind hand on Shenzi's shoulder. "The pleasure is mine, though I do wish we were meeting for reasons other than you being injured." she said sincerely as her mind assessed the being she was touching and told her what to use for this being's physiology. She then leaned over with an injector that seemed to come from nowhere. "This will ease your pain." she assured. "And it should have no ill effects; it was calibrated for you specifically." She waited a beat to be sure the lady gave her consent.

"Okay." Shenzi said. "I'm not a huge fan of heavy pain killers, but go ahead."

Fareena smiled. "This one isn't... heavy as you put it. Since I designed it for your physiology, it does not have to be potent to be effective." she clarified as she put the injector to Shenzi's arm, and the medication was released into her system.

Shenzi sighed as she felt the pain disappeared. "Thank you. It has been a long time since I've not been in pain." She said leaning back into the chair.

Fareena frowned in sympathy. "May I ask what happened to cause this?" she asked with warmth and kindness.

Ashlyn just sat and listened for now. If this stated to go on too long, she would step in, but Fareena usually knew when to leave a room, so she wasn't too worried about that.

"Several former Peacekeepers." Shenzi stated. "I had bounced them out of my parents bar, they hit me with their vehicle, twice. That shattered my pelvis and broke my leg in 6 places. Since I have an unusual genetic defect, my insurance company refused to pay for the reconstruction surgery." She was enjoying being pain free. "My genetic defect prevents my cells from being cloned, and my neural pathways can't handle cybernetics." She answered the next question the woman was going to ask.

That may have been the next logical question for Federation doctors, but it hadn't really been for Fareena. She exchanged a look with Ashlyn then looked back to Shenzi. "Understood. None of this would hinder my healing, though." she informed.

"I understand." Shenzi said. "But I still need my leg brace repaired so I can leave this office under my own power."

Fareena heard both the words and the underlying meaning and nodded. "That is easy enough. I shall return momentarily with it repaired." she assured before moving to exit the office temporarily.

"While we wait for her to return, have we covered everything you had in mind for your establishment?" Ashlyn asked. They had gotten somewhat off track, but that was all right; she would always do the best by her employees.

"Yes, do you have any questions?" Shenzi asked with a smile. She felt that, if this was the medical care that this company offers, she will be a happy Hyena anamorph.

Ashlyn looked at the schematic drawings once more, studying them for a few minutes. During that time, Fareena returned with the perfectly repaired brace in her hands. She smiled and handed it over to Shenzi. "I noticed that its design would make it uncomfortable for your physical design, so I altered it just enough to make it less painful to wear but just as supportive." she told the Hyena woman. "Please make sure it is to your liking?"

Ashlyn looked up and watched silently. She had finished with her perusal, but would allow the other two to finish their business first.

Shenzi took the brace and looked it over. She was so familiar with the Damn thing, she spotted the modifications and repairs. "Thank you." She said starting to put it on. She noticed that it fit better and strapped on easier too. Once the brace was on, she stood, with the aid of her cane. "It does feel more comfortable. Thank you both for the repair."

"Of course." Ashlyn said easily. "I try to take care of those in my employ and those I contract with."

Fareena studied the woman before her for a moment. "Is there any discomfort caused by the brace now? I can further modify it if needed."

"No it is perfect." Shenzi said with a smile. "It is very comfortable now. Then she turned her attention back to Ashlyn. "You are approving my business proposal?" She asked the woman.

Fareena smiled, pleased that her work was what the lady needed, and with a small nod to Ashlyn left the room. Ashlyn, for her part, nodded. "I am indeed. It looks like something that would greatly benefit those living on my FarVoyager." she said with a smile. "But we do need to take care of some paperwork before any real work can begin. Since you are approaching as an independent business owner, I am giving you the standard Contractor's set of contracts. If you would prefer to be an employee of ShadowDragon, I can certainly accommodate that too." she told the young woman. She had pulled the Contractor's contracts out but hesitated to see what Shenzi would say to that before handing them across the desk.

"I would like to be independent as a contractor." Shenzi said with a smile, as she retook her seat. "Thank you for this opportunity."

Ashlyn nodded. "Of course. Your plan seems sound, and you have so far demonstrated clarity of thought and purpose." She stood and moved to hand the contracts to Shenzi. "I will give you time to read them over, have a lawyer read them if you like; and we can meet again in a day or two for signing. Acceptable?"

Shenzi smiled at the woman. "I do have a bachelor's degree in Law." She said getting back on her feet. "I'll get these back to you soon."

Ashlyn smiled as she handed the papers to the other woman. "I was not questioning your ability." she assured. "I, personally, tend to be a bit... over-cautious -- I often get second and third sets of eyes on something -- and sometimes forget that not everyone is. Do you need one day or two?"

"Two days should be more than enough to go over the contracts." Shenzi said.

"Excellent. I will put you on my schedule for the same time in two days,. Agreed?" She pulled up her calendar on her desk terminal and entered the details. She could always change them, of course, if they didn't work for Shenzi. "And if, for any reason, you need more time or less, just call, and we can reschedule."

"Of course." Shenzi said. "I do look forward to this opportunity."

"Very good. I will see you in two days' time." Ashlyn said, giving the woman's hand a final shake and watching as she left her office. That one was an interesting individual; Ashlyn was sorry that she would not have as much time to get to know her as her crew would. But that was the nature of the beast, she figured, returning to her work.

TIME: 247912.29 10:30 Hours
LOCATION: Ashlyn's Office

Ashlyn was deep in the insane pile of paperwork that running a business the size of ShadowDragon Enterprises entailed when her eyes caught sight of the time on the desk terminal. Cursing softly at herself for losing track of time, she closed the many open items on her terminal and took one of the wrapped pens from her desk. Setting it in front of herself, she sat back to wait.

Shenzi had arrived early for her appointment. She waited to be called, so she reviewed the contracts, once again.

When her time arrived, Shenzi was escorted to the office. "Thank you." She said to the Secretary. "Good day ma'am." She said after closing the distance and offered her hand.

Ashlyn stood, taking the offered hand again. It really was an odd custom, but she accepted it for what it was and gave the hand a firm shake before releasing it. "Welcome back, Miss Shenzi. Have you reviewed the contracts, and is all to your satisfaction? Or are there any points you wish to negotiate?"

"Everything seems straightforward on the contracts. My lawyer and I couldn't find anything wrong with the arrangements." Shenzi said with a smile. "So I'm ready to sign these and get my businesses going." She said pulling them out of a hidden pocket on her skirt. "I just wish I had known about your company when I did my internship."

Ashlyn had opened the drawer in her desk to take the pen out of it but stopped to stare at the other woman for a moment in confusion. ShadowDragon was a huge name across the galaxy, so it stunned her that someone had not heard of it. She recovered quickly, however, and retrieved the wrapped pen. "Well, we have been a major player for some years, though we mostly operate in larger items." she answered, offering the pen.

"As you can see, the pen is still in its packaging. This is because once opened it will take a sample of the user's DNA and infuse it into the ink. This limits the possibility of counterfeit signatures. All ShadowDragon documents will be required to be signed with one of these pens. When this one runs out of ink, another can be acquired easily." she told her newest contractor.

"I can see how that would be useful." Shenzi said looking over the pen, but she did notice the moment of confusion on Ashlyn's face. She unwrapped the pen and signed her name on the line. "You seemed confused for a moment, about my confession about not knowing about your company, during my internship." Once she finished signing, she looked at the other woman. "The Anamorphic Hyenas don't normally go to college, get good paying jobs, or treated with much respect. When I was given a list of available internships, by my adviser, and your company wasn't on it. I only later discovered that I was given a very doctored list because of my animal type."

Ashlyn frowned deeply. Because of some idiot's prejudices, she was being denied excellent employees? That most definitely did not make her happy. "I guess I will have to have a talk with that school then." she grumbled more to herself than to Shenzi. She raised her voice slightly, indicating that the next words were for the female she was currently in meeting with. "That is most unfortunate. With your skills and knowledge, you would have been hired very quickly." she told her even as she took the contracts and signed them with her own pen of the same type. "ShadowDragon does not discriminate because of species. If I refuse someone, it is because their skills or knowledge... or behavior were not the caliber that I prefer in my employees, not because they belong to a specific species." She sighed and took the papers apart, offering Shenzi her copy of the contract. "If I did that, I would be cutting myself off from some top quality people, and I refuse to do that." Besides, prejudice is stupid and backward.

"That is good to hear, and thank you." Shenzi said taking the copies. "This is something I've had to deal with for my whole life. Even my children is having to deal with this prejudice, themselves." She stated. "I would love to see my children succeed in their own chosen fields."

Ashlyn frowned deeply. "What are their chosen fields?" she asked. Prejudice was something that she had always believed was stupid beyond belief. It was born of fear of the unknown or the different. It was as old as the universe, but some had managed to rise above it. She prided herself on running a company that had a zero tolerance policy where prejudice was concerned. And if she could find a place for those beset by it, she would. And if she couldn't. she knew others who could.

"My daughter is a second year college student. She is studying Business Law. Where my son just got accepted into a starship engineering program." Shenzi said putting the paperwork away. She shifted in her seat with a grunt in pain. "My daughter has recently got engaged to her High School sweetheart." She added.

Ashlyn smiled a bit. "It sounds like they are doing well." she commented thoughtfully. "But if you are truly concerned, I would be willing to at least interview them." she offered. There was always room here for both of those fields.

"I will let them know to contact you." Shenzi said with a smile. "I know they are hard workers and would like to get into great paying jobs."

Ashlyn smiled. "I make no promises, but I will interview them." She believed the woman about her children, but she also knew that parents tended to be biased opinions. So she took nothing on faith. She would meet them herself, assess them, and if they were suited to ShadowDragon, then make an offer. But she made no one any promises sight unseen.

"That is all I can ask." Shenzi said picking herself up from the chair. "I just want my children to have some of the chances and choices that I didn't have growing up." She offered the woman her hand again.

Ashlyn stood as well, grasping the hand once more and giving it a firm shake. "Then I look forward to meeting with them, Miss Shenzi. And welcome to ShadowDragon Enterprises."

"Thank you ma'am." Shenzi said. "I'm looking forward to this next chapter in my life." She gave another nod and took her leave of the woman's office.

Ashlyn watched her go, pleased that she had been able to acquire such an interesting asset. And she might acquire the children as well. That also pleased her, and she returned to her work with a smile and a slight humming.