[The Wreck, Nova Dawn] The Apple of Ignorance

Tap. Tap. Tap. Went Simon's thumbs in an introspective beat as he briefly indulged the fantasy of gunning down everyone in the room.

Pastries? Really?

Titan, or more specifically Chimera's, interests were neither so broad nor so crude as that of his...colleagues would be the polite term for it he supposed. They had no designs on such rough methods of mass subjugation and the formula, as it stood, was ultimately impractical for use as a chemwep. Frankly it was a niche tool at best and all this tossing around of credits and resources was only so much waving of various genitalia. This wasn't an auction, they weren't competing with each other in any way other than the superficial.

It was, very simply, just a purchase of a moderately exotic compound before it (potentially) hit the general public. Albeit one carried out with a number of the interested parties present simultaneously in an attempt to drive the prospective price a little higher. Simon had to give a small round of mental applause at that, it would appear that not everybody here was a total incompetent. One out of four. Not bad. Not bad at all bad.

Unlike the batarian and whichever slaver organization he represented (dying breed those, strange to see one here) or whatever group that the elcor with all the subtlety of a MA round to the face was here on behalf of, he had no interest in an enduring relationship. All his benefactors truly desired was enough of the material to work with. Enough to develop, adapt, refine, synthesize and, eventually, market in some way, shape, or form.

Simon took his own datapad and quietly placed it on the table.

It definitely wasn't as high as the elcor's, probably not even as high as the batarian's; but Titan had studied the samples provided, they knew its capabilities, they could estimate its market value.

"Five hundred doses. The price on the datapad may be provided in either credits or converted into minerals of equivalent value either in whole or in part."

It was (more or less) fair. Neither exorbitant nor stingy, just plain, simple, and reasonable.

Cole kept her face impassive as she studied the three offers. Ultimately, they were all satisfactory, though the Titan rep was the coolest cucumber of the bunch. Saw right through her ploy for the atmosphere to prompt him to raise his price.

The elcor was as subtle as brick with his offer. Hamilton needed to seriously reconsider his chosen emissaries. The batarian's offer to connect her with other potential buyers had the best potential for increasing their credit growth a great deal over time.

Of course, she still had to run these numbers by her employer, but she was certain he would be pleased.

"My employer will be satisfied with these numbers. Now its only a matter of deciding where you'll want your product delivered. Once its delivered, we'll expect immediate compensation"

To get the required quantity of the compound would require contacting the Garden, and speeding up production a bit, but they could and would deliver. Her employer would expect nothing less.

"Gamma."

She barked for her minion, expecting a prompt response.

Derek entered the room, having stepped out as instructed. Without a word, he opened his Omnitool, downloading the credit data as his employer sent them. As soon as the data was downloaded, a message from Ms.Cole quickly followed. Usually one to do everything and anything she told him to, the large man looked skeptically at his employer before nodding.

"Gentlemen, if you'll excuse me." He nodded to the three businessman before leaving the booth. After a brief nod towards the two guards accompanying Titan's representative, Derek quickly made his way towards one of the specialized booths. After emptying it of it's sole occupant (who was blissfully snoring away), he entered the soundproofed booth, tightly closing the door behind him. The guard did his usual bug sweep, then opened his omnitool, sending a message to an address that Sandra had given him.

A moment later, a hologram manifested, indistinct for a microsecond, before solidifying into the form of an older man. His face, partially obscured by shadow, frowned expectantly at Derek.

"Ah, Agent Gamma. I trust that negotiations haven't broken down?"

The Employer asked, his flinty blue eyes narrowing at Malik.

Derek straightened out as the hologram manifested.

"No, sir. Negotiations have gone well, sir. Ms.Cole has handled them very well, as expected, and the credit information is ready to upload whenever you'd like, sir." Derek opened his omnitool, making sure that the files were ready for transfer at any time. They were. The large man closed his omnitool and returned his attention to his aged employer.

The elder man relaxed a bit, his face crinkling into a pleased smile at the news.

"Excellent news. Upload the information, and I'll peruse it. Inform Ms. Cole that I'm pleased with her work, and our buyers that we look forward to further beneficial exchanges in the future. I'll get things started on my end. Keep up the good work Agent Gamma."

With that, the hologram flickered, and dissipated.

As soon as the hologram flickered out, Derek uploaded the information. With that done and out of the way, he exited the booth, stepping over the drunk he'd simply left on the floor, and re-entered the booth that Ms.Cole had occupied (after knocking, of course). He politely bowed towards the businessmen before looking at Delta.

"Our employer wishes me to tell you that he is pleased with your work, Ms.Cole" Derek looked towards the three businessmen. "Our employer also wishes me to tell you that he looks forward to beneficial exchanges in the future." With that, Gamma quietly returned to his position until further orders were given.

Sandra smiled thinly at the message, before returning her attention to the others.

"On that note, gentlemen, I'd like to conclude this meeting. I look forward to any future business."

And with that, she tipped her head with polite acknowledgement, and left, beckoning Malik to follow as he did so.