Caprica City Cosmodrome

Carlo Dellevon exits "Chios 1".

Carlo Dellevon didn't have any baggage to collect, so he made his way towards customs and prepared to go through the song and dance. Though likely not recognizable, Carlo was a higher-up in a well reputed intergalactic hospitality group. From his sleek silver watch to his half-slicked hair, the young man looked every part professional.

"A beautiful day," Carlo smiled at one of the officers. There was something about the way the Aschen kept it high and tight that he liked. They were a well oiled machine. Carlo looked forward to opening a hotel on Langara. But first, paperwork.

The sleek customs desk was manned by several well dressed women tapping at holographic screens, working in unison as if they were a well oiled machine.

One of them looked to Carlo and offered a sickeningly sweet smile.

"Welcome to Langara." She said in a heavily accented voice. "Please approach."

Carlo stepped up to the sleek customs desk with pep in his step. He aimed his smile at the customs woman who addressed him.

"Thank you, a pleasure to be here. Truly," He swiftly fished a gray leather fold from the pocket of his blazer. Inside were all of his papers, so to speak. Carlo waited for the next step. He'd never been through customs here. On Terra they seemed to not even have them, which was concerning.

It would have been an arduous six months of interviews, background checks, constant surveillance, paperwork, visa applications, visa fees, and a bothersome maze of bureaucratic red tape. Fortunately his information was accessed quickly.

"Business visa... Let's see under review, approved by the Ministry of Plenty.."

She craned her neck to peer closely at the screen.

"Your visa has been denied by the Ministry of Defense." The woman said with her sickening smile not missing a beat.

Carlo's smile dropped to the pit of his stomach. Denied? By the Ministry of Defense? It had taken forever to get this far! Forever and a probable mountain of paperwork. So much had been done for this moment... Denied?

"I'm sorry," He shifted from one foot to the other, laughed nervously, and asked, "What?"

The customs agent checked again and then craned her neck. "It was discovered you have an association with a Carmen Dellevon, who was deemed an enemy of the Empire, and has an active warrant of arrest for charges of crimes against the people of the Empire." The agent explained. "The denial was also recorded at the highest echelons of Imperial Government. Fleet Admiral Nagala." She added.

A few more key strokes and she pulled up another dossier.

"You can always appeal. I can grant a temporary visa and schedule a Triad hearing." She entered a few more keystrokes. "You'll just be barred from leaving the city."

"Carmen," Carlo hissed. He hadn't heard that name in ages. He had presumed her to be dead! It would figure she was wanted by the Aschen Empire, of all people. That girl didn't know how to stay out of trouble, did she? Older cousin - and none the wiser!

He barely registered the latter of the custom agent's commentary. Leave it to Carmen to resurface and fuck it all up the literal moment it was good and going.

"Yes, please- is there anything necessary to appeal, that I haven't already provided? Surely," Carlo said with a tight smile, "All can be sorted. I have no association with that woman. Thank you, ma'am. Truly."

Surely there was a way to fix this. Screw Carmen! He'd strangle her himself if he ever got close enough. Carlo was less concerned for her safety and more for his livelihood. Things were going good. He did his best not to crane his neck or appear impatient and stuffed his hands in his pockets, wishing for a nap.

"There you are, Mr. Dellevon. You know it's almost impossible here to buy property, or even get into the place without a sponsor." The strange man said as he came up behind him, resting upon an ornate bejeweled cane, and dressed in a sharp button down shirt, slacks, and an expensive looking designer blazer.

All of the gate agents, and customs officers knew who the man was, and he simply offered a smile.

"I'd like to sponsor his entry." The man said, placing his identification documents onto the counter, while the customs officer nodded. Then she reached out to mark Carlo's passport with it's visa stamp, and hand him an ankle monitor.

"This must be worn at all times, I've scheduled your hearing for nine in the morning, tomorrow, at the Ministry of Law's hall of Justice."

The older man smiled and slapped his hand onto Carlo's back. "Do I have a business proposition for you, one that you can't refuse." He said with a devious grin.

Carlo received the ankle monitor and turned it over in his hands. Like all Aschen tech, it was pretty cool looking.

"Of course," He smiled at the older man, giving a respectful nod to the bedazzled cane, "Tomorrow morning? Name the time, and i'll be there ten minutes early!" With a wink Carlo kneeled down to apply the ankle monitor under his slacks. It wasn't uncomfortable.

As for an irrefutable business proposition... Well. If it meant opening a property on Langara, chances are it was able to be stomached. JHe had come a long way and had gone through way too many motions to be turned off by a classic quid pro quo. That was practically the name of the game, wasn't it?

Carlo stood back up and returned the older man with his own sly grin. He straightened his blazer and held out his hand for a proper handshake.

"Looking forward to doing business with you, Mr. ?"

Hagan thought it was cute that he didn't recognize the president, and CEO of the largest, and most powerful interplanetary conglomerate known to man.

"Miles Hagan, please, call me Miles." He said with a smile, taking his hand in a firm handshake. "Fifty percent stake in the acquisition, Tech Con kiosks in every Dellevon property, and seventy five percent in all net profits, after you pay the taxes." He said, resting on his cane. "Oh and you'll be renting the property from Tech Con group. It's the only way you'll be able to get past the legion of bureaucratic red tape the Imperial government will surely throw at you. Oh and I'd do something about the lady, I can't have the senior fleet commander pissed off at your little group." Hagan said.

"In return you get access to the Aschen market, and I keep the state off your backs, what do you say?"

"Well aren't you larger than life," Carlo laughed, "A pleasure, Miles."

Oh, wow. He didn't let it show in his face, but Miles got down to business fast. Carlo must have missed the part where the Aschen were not only efficient, but painfully direct. His eye twitched when Miles mentioned 'the lady'.

"We'd be honored to have you a partial owner, Miles, of whatever properties Dellevon Intergalactic is able to open here on Langara," Carlo continued. There were many beautiful locations on Langara, a lot of citizens and a love for living a full life so it seemed.. Yes, Langara could make Dellevon Intergalactic a lot of money.

Carlo liked money, and money wasn't an object here- even so, in the back of his mind, he cursed Carmen to Hell and back. If she hadn't done whatever it was she did to cause whatever problems she was trying to cause, would these figures be more in his favor? Probably.

"Seventy five percent sounds reasonable, if we're talking product profit from your Kiosks. Every jurisdiction has it's own heft of red tape. So long as there are no bans on Tech Con in any of our locations, consider it done. We can sort out the installation details later," The one thing Carlo couldn't do in all instances was override local government. He figured the Aschen had their own process for that and gave Miles Hagan a wink.

"Tomorrow, after the hearing," Carlo exhaled and grabbed his documents when they were done being processed. Business was moving, and that was a relief. Carmen wasn't going to fuck this one up. He would bury her, first.

"Shall we take a tour of what properties you had in mind, for the resort?" His eyes turned sharp despite the smile, "Do any of them, by chance, come with a graveyard?"

"We don't bury our dead anymore." Hagan remarked, it was a practice that had long since been replaced with cremation or burial in space. "And what I mean is all net profits from your properties here on Langara." He offered a nod to the Border agent, and began to lead Carlo out of the customs area of the spaceport, through the gleaming concourses and towering halls that were lined with shops. Hagan didn't let it be known that Tech Con owned nearly all of it, or had a stake in it.

Reaching the arrivals gate, a large limousine and motorcade awaited them, it was lavish, and luxury that was unparalleled. "I'm sure you're absolutely famished after a long flight, so how about I take you for something to eat, Callisto's on the bay has some of the freshest seafood." Callisto's was known for it's fresh seafood, and the highly rated chef that was preparing it.

"And then we can tour a few places that I have in mind."

"Famished, starved- All of the above," Carlo couldn't wait to dip into some of Caprica's finest. He noted in his head that Hagan seemed hungry for profit. Miles had homeworld advantage, and then some. As they made their way through the spaceport it wasn't lost on Carlo how affluent this society was. High tech,

Thus far all the rumors were true- so he figured he'd avoid cutting corners and immediately address that uncomfortable bottom line. 75% of all net profits was a hefty ask. A bold ask. Controversial, some might say, considering the circumstance. This also wasn't lost on Carlo. That's alright, he thought to himself, I love to play ball.

"Best I can approve on the fly is 60% - majority net profit. After all," He chuckled and gestured towards the limousine, "We still do have to staff the place. Dellevon Intergalactic isn't in the business of underpaying it's associates, either. Seafood, you say?"

Slowly sliding into the limousine, Hagan found a place to rest his jeweled cane, and waited for the android servant to seat Carlo, across the large and plush limousine interior from Miles Hagan. The door closed with an audible clunk, and the older man smiled.

"Do you know how hard it is for a foreign business to even open up shop here on Langara? It's almost impossible." The businessman smiled, and even shifted to get comfortable in the seat as the limousine began to move. "You're also not in a position to negotiate. I have to make sure the proper quorum delegates have their campaigns funded, and I have to make sure that the cubits go to the right people to... smooth things over. Part of that seventy five percent is to make sure your people aren't scooped up by the Confessor Cabal because they let their visa lapse."

Hagan grinned almost devilishly.

"It'd be a shame to build such a wonderful hotel in such a prime location only to have the authorities shut it down on some trivial national security concern."

"A shame that would be, indeed." Carlo chose to act as if he were ignoring the threats. Yes, he was fully aware of how difficult it was to open a business here as a foreigner. He realized he wasn't in the best negotiating position, and cursed Carmen again. When he had a moment alone he'd see to it that problem was nipped in the bud before it could bloom into a fart.

"Tell me more about this quorum, and who would be sponsored," He settled deeper into the cushions of the limousine, taking a look out of the window at the scenery passing by.

"They're in favor of business, which means i'm inclined to be in favor of them. I suppose it would look good to have those proceeds made public. We can take that percentage and have it donate directly from the company coffers. The tax write-off alone for the applicable jurisdictions impacts the bottom line enough worth talking about regardless of sixty percent, seventy five percent..." Carlo swiveled his head to look Hagan in the eye, returning his devilish grin with one of his own.

"What do you say we throw a benefit banquet for the grand opening?"

Carlo Dellevon has left the area, heading southwest towards Iter Caprica 1.