50 Contact from Northern Star (2/2)
Valeria followed Ivan's order and sat on the side of the bed next to him. She allowed him to feed her in silence before calmly leaning over and resting her head against Ivan's chest.
Ivan placed the empty bowl beside them and used one hand to play with her ear, the one which drooped over due to the large hole punched through it when she was branded a kivsharr, an outsider.
”Are you still weary?”
”No.”
*****
”President, there is a waiting incoming video call from the representatives on Planet Kav'sall,” The communications officer alerted Ivan as soon as he entered the bridge.
”How long has it been waiting?”
”27 minutes, Sir.”
”This should be interesting, connect it.”
”Understood, President.”
A large holographic screen opened up in front of the bridge and two gentlemen dressed in embroidered suits were sitting in the store that Ivan opened in Kav'sall.
”A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ivan, or should I say President Ivan?” One of the gentlemen asked with a friendly smile.
”Either is fine, what can I do for you two gentlemen?” Ivan responded equally courteous, his true thoughts hidden from the opposite party behind his poker face.
”You can refer to me as Mr. Black, this here is Mr. Bronson, we are but two of many finance ministers under the employ of Northern Star Mining Corporation. We manage the corporation's portfolio of purchases and sales, ensuring everything calculates correctly at the end of the day.”
”Very well, Mr. Black, Mr. Bronson, what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”
”First all, we would like to represent Northern Star Mining Co. in thanking you for your assistance during that invasion. Without your efforts, our company would have made catastrophic losses on this planet. The dark net has only reported attacks from these creatures on the other side of the Delta Quadrant, it was unexpected they would appear here.”
”Think nothing of it, they were targeting my interests as well.”
”Regardless, we naturally wish to show our gratefulness, which brings us to the second matter. This device known as a SubNet Tablet, we are interested in making a mass purchase of the devices. We are prepared to show you full favour by purchasing them all at store price.”
”It appears I don't have to lay down any elaborate plans when the road runner came to me,” Ivan chuckled at his own inside joke while the two gentlemen on the other side of the video looked at one another quizzically. ”Exactly how many are you considering purchasing? You must be aware that we currently have a limited supply of the products.”
”We are looking to make an initial purchase of 70,000 devices. The capability they provide for particular transactions are of great interest to us. But we must have some assurance of the security of these devices, one of your supposed key selling points.”
”Rest assured, Mr. Black, they run on an exclusive network separate from the galactic web. Only these devices can access this network, and both network and device have absolute security. Your privacy using this device is my greatest pride, only those who you wish to know who you are will be aware of your identity.”
Mr. Black and Mr. Bronson looked at one another before curtly nodding.
”Surely you wouldn't mind if we had a test run before complying with this purchase?”
Ivan still had a poker face as he nodded. ”Of course, have my two representatives supply you with one each, free of charge as a sign of goodwill. I will write up a preliminary purchase contract containing all the contractual terms of the sale. It will naturally be sent to you via the SubNet when you confirm your desire to follow through with the purchase.”
Mr. Black took the lead as he stood up an bowed his head respectfully, ”We will immediately send them to our system infrastructure security department for a full evaluation.”
”I expect to hear from you soon,” Ivan chuckled to himself after closing the line and continuing on his journey through subspace to the other destinations on his list to set up Celestial Trade branch stores.