Cornering the Market

[Victer Dejan]

Victer looked up to a large array of displays containing market trends of different goods and companies over the past ten years. He was not interested in the short-term. No one with the might economic might of a united Onderon/Hapan treasury would. His investments were always to encourage long-term potential without upsetting short-term stability. It was a difficult job, but his economic instincts had very seldom led him wrong, and he had learned to trust that whisper from the Ether. Or the Force. Whichever. It was telling him to buy... something.

He queued the display to show which goods had either greater than doubled or less than halved their average and median values over the past ten years. Tiabanna was a notable good, with an initial price spike, a leveling, a slight decline and then a steady climb. While it was an important good, the Hapes cluster had its own sources and the two kingdoms could make due with what they had. Other goods scrolled by but the Victer's attention always returned to one: Bacta.

Bacta had a complicated market relationship. Since the companies that manufactured Bacta were under license and under tight thumb by the Galactic Empire, and there was only one source for it, a mix of artificial rarity and production quotas made the price steadier than it should be. He rubbed the stubble on his chin.

In an unusual move, Victer bought an small but noticeable quantity of Zaltin Corporation and Xucphra Corporation stock through his array of proxies. These proxies were roughly fifty legitimate trading outfits that serviced hundreds of other clients and allowed Onderon/Hapes to extend their sphere of economic influence without drawing any real attention to themselves. Victer programmed two initial, immediate buy orders of both the stock and the commodity, and then programmed the rest to follow suit of the following weeks.

[Salem Ave]

Months had passed since Salem Ave had last sat foot on Onderon, but it was as if he had never left at all. The palace guards nodded to him with the same deference. The courtiers still bowed and fumbled their words, trying to remember that he was Ambassador Ave now, not the Prime Minister.

There was a new political power in Iziz City, a middle-aged merchants daughter by the name of Maydla Deenia. In the election that followed Salem's departure, Deenia had narrowly edged out two other candidates, including a younger man with a trace of Beast Rider blood in him – or at least that was what they said in the newspapers. Prime Minister Deenia's term in office would run smoothly, they predicted. Not least of all because of the advisers she had to assist her.

Salem's arrival at Victer Dejan's office was unannounced, but most likely not unexpected. Two guards on duty in the hallway waved him by, one with a tight-lipped smile. In spite of his time away, Ave still wore the greys and greens of Onderon, a half-cloak thrown over one shoulder. The only sign of his travels was the clasp which held his cloak in place: a golden fan, in-laid with sea-blue gemstones.

Victer stood in front of a wall of monitors, studying their readouts intently.

“Captain Dejan.”

[Victer Dejan]

Victer turned around slowly and paused. He found Salem disconcerting. While Salem (and Razielle and Adraudia) gave Victer nearly free reign over the combined economic resources of Hapes and Onderon, he was not completely free. He expected that Salem would show up sooner than later, given the sudden shift in strategy.

It had only taken a week and a half to have Salem visit from Hapes. In person, no less. Likely he wanted more than a simple explanation. He could have asked for that via a message. No, Salem's presence meant he wanted something more. Despite his "official" posting, Victer's knew he was in charge of both governments, but now more than content to rule by proxy. Despite the election, Victer's post was never in doubt. While not booming, there was a steady increase in prosperity of the Onder-Hapan economies.

"Ambassador Ave, what can I do for you?" he asked, noting that he had referred to him by his non-government title.

[Salem Ave]

Salem joined Victer in front of the wall of monitors, letting his eyes wander across the flickering screens for a moment. On one monitor, the ever-fluctuating price of bacta was illustrated by a series of peaks and troughs – though there were many more highs than lows as the Galaxies 'miracle fluid' became a more and more valuable commodity the longer the Civil War went on. Looking away from the almost overwhelming wall of information, Salem smiled.

“Tell me about this new strategy of yours.”

[Victer Dejan]

"In this war, there is only one good that has an effectively single source and is controlled artificially but remains in high demand." Victer explained.

Salem nodded.

"What everyone didn't realize is that despite the Empire's controlling share of the Bacta companies, it's still vulnerable if someone decided to go after both the common stock and the good itself. Right now I'm still playing the goods game, because I need a dip in the market before I pursue more stock. We control 1/32nd of the publicly available Bacta. Real control. It's sitting in warehouses spread through our space."

There was a nearly imperceptible twitch from Salem that only someone who had observed the Ambassador for years would pick up. Victer still wasn't sure what it meant.

"While I've spent a large chunk of funds from the treasury..." Victer began, but Salem cut him off. Salem understood.


"We can bend the Empire and Rebellion over our knee at will."

[Salem Ave]

“In time, perhaps.”

In the past, Salem might have frowned at the thought of Victer plundering the Onderon treasury, but the coffers of the Hapes Consortium were deep. The Queen Mother's wealth was not limitless, though it was close enough to allow Captain Dejan the freedom he needed. More dangerous were the potential political consequences of this new venture.

“As a relatively minor power, remaining neutral in the Galactic Civil War has not been too taxing – but as our control over the bacta market grows, the illusion that we are.. benign and of limited ambition will soon wane.”

[Victer Dejan]

"Correct." Victer agreed with Salem's assessment.

"I have thorough projections and timetables, plus scenarios." Victer shrugged as if unconcerned. Salem knew he was not an impulsive man. A driven, focused one, yes. Victer's keen knack for economics and geopolitical insight was profitable and had been correct during his tenure with Onderon. All his previous moves had extremely limited military and political implications.

Siphoning the galaxy's bacta supply was a dangerous game. The Rebellion would run to the bargaining table with Hapes and Onderon, but the Empire would respond with force. Victer had vivid dreams of orbital bombardments from wedge-shaped capital ships.

"There is a needle that we can thread. One that leaves the Empire with too much uncertainty and enough supply to not move. The situation should be bad, not dire. I've slowed my buy orders over the past several weeks considerably." Victer knew that if he kept it up any longer, someone would start to stick tracking devices in containers. Even through his array of transfer warehouses, someone would be able to track bacta back to Hapes, and that would be unacceptable and dangerous.

"I want to wait three or four months to let the market re-stabilize. Right now it looks like speculation, and our treasury needs a breather. Ideally we produce bacta in our territory, resources permitting. I need to find out which of the two companies is more vulnerable, and take over their board. I suppose it's because of tradition, but having bacta production be anything other than a purely state apparatus is dim, but that's Fascism for you."

"I need your backing, and your help with selecting our board proxies. I don't have the skills required."

[Salem Ave]

Even Salem himself would admit that the intricacies of the Galactic economy were not his forte. That was why he valued men like Victer, who understood the subtleties of the balancing act that was essential to the market. Of course, he had not earned the ear of Queen Adraudia and the backing of the Hapes Consortium without a certain degree of insight and intuition. He could manage numbers and commodities of needs be, but his true talent lay in the management and manipulation of people.

“Let me see the dossiers on the existing board members.”

[Victer Dejan]

Victer passed along the dossiers. Victer's work had been extensive. He'd had consults done by several different academics and professional psychologists, and a few by sociologists, although each one was performed in isolation. It had taken months to compile the profiles. Victer was extremely cautious, as he wanted no trace or clues that anyone had designs on the bacta market.

"We're going to need proxies, but I'm hesitant to use anyone in my circle of contacts."