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“And what is it that they want in exchange?” asked Keimann loudly. He knew that kind of deal didn’t come without a high price to pay.
From how hard Kituh winced, it was a bad sign. And all but confirmed when he gave his answer. “First refusal for several exported goods. But they were more interested in our natural resources: ice mined from the Chiller, the ores extracted from the mines on Amagi, the silicon found in the asteroid belt, among other raw materials naturally found in the Mylus system.”
First refusal. The privilege of deciding whether or not to accept or reject something before the seller is allowed to go to anyone else. It didn’t necessarily entitle the privilege holder better prices or any better deals, merely the opportunity to decide whether or not to buy at the offered price before other parties got an option.
At a glance, it appeared to make enough sense. At this early stage in the Alliance’s development, they didn’t have any neutral or allied polities to sell to. But further down the line, if they could sell a metric ton of silicon on the cheap to another power, they’d have to offer the same reduced price to the Teladi.
Further concerning was the absence of duration. How long was this deal supposed to last? There weren’t enough details about the deal before they could either commit or refuse.
Sanada beat him to asking the question, directing a cool look to the Archon of Foreign Affairs. “What else did they have to say?”
For the first time during the meeting, the Bothan looked flustered. “…their representative did mention that they also want to send their agents to oversee the industrial and economic development of Amagi. And offer advice and course correction where they think we could be more efficient.”
Now that was a bridge too far. The mood had immediately soured. Keimann grimaced, raising his hand to quell the gathered throng before they could break out into a fierce argument. “We did not drive the Tof away just to invite a new set of overlords. Benevolent as they claim to be or how supportive of their cause they are.”
“Yeah, but we’re broke,” interjected Aure. All eyes turned towards the Jedi Consular. “Sure, you’ve got most of the Viceroy’s treasury, and all the ill-gotten wealth. But that’s only a flash in the pan after we spent most of it restructuring the planet.”
No one could argue against it, even if they wanted to. A closed economy would only get the Alliance so far. But that didn’t mean that they were willing to jump into bed with a nation analogous to the late Trade Federation. Perhaps it was Kituh’s fault in delivering the news, but there were few people Keimann observed that had anything more positive than neutral regarding the Teladi.
But the offer was very tempting.
And ultimately, one that they might have to end up taking if they wanted something better than a snowball’s chance in hell against a fully militarized Tof armada.
(cont.)