Chapter 58: Interview

Being more in the spotlight did have its downsides, though. Such as holovid appearances…

“Joining us today is Gangari Holdings Owner and Chairman, Odysseus Gangari. Lord Gangari, thank you for being on the show.”

“Glad to be here, Tom.” I really wasn’t. I much preferred plotting galactic domination, or playing with all the new tech this galaxy had to offer, or doing magic. But Jeeves told me it was important. “And please, call me Odysseus.”

Tom smiled at my scripted reply. His smile was a well-practiced thing, but the man definitely had charisma. He had to, to be one of the top galactic network talk-show hosts.

“Thank you, Odysseus. So to introduce you to those who might not be fully aware of your accomplishments, over the past years you’ve had what many would describe as an amazing rise. In 968 you first became a trillionaire by taking over Naboo’s farms during the Trade Federation blockade. Now, just five years later you have what could legitimately be called an empire. Gangari Interfaces brings in trillions every year, while Gangari Financial, the fastest growing major financial entity, regularly stands at the top of the investment industry for yearly percent profit. Billions, including my son, sign on every day to play your games – and there will be some hard comments about that during the break,” he joked before pausing a moment for the crowd’s laughter.

“But you’re perhaps most famous personally for GSD, Gangari Security Directorate,” he continued. “GSD, which started off as a private military contractor, has been expanding basically as fast as you can recruit and train people. By the end of the year you’re projected to have some thirty-six million sapients on active duty. Just one and half years ago GSD shocked the galaxy by successfully invading Karazak, held by notorious slavers. This year, GSD protected the Mid-Rim Radnori from a bioweapon attack and invasion by their neighbors, the Avoni. Not only did you manage that, but Gangari Holdings have come to practically control Mawan, a core world, after their civil strife came to a rather sudden stop; GSD intervention is strongly suspected by Republic Intelligence.” Again, he paused, this time so that I could reply.

“It sounds very impressive when you say it like that,” I joked.

“And you don’t think it’s impressive?” Tom asked.

I shook my head and grinned. “I’m not that humble. I know I’ve managed to get a lot done.”

He nodded. “I’d say. So, what I want to know, and I suspect a lot of our viewers would agree, is what drives you?”

I leaned forward, drawing him in, and looked at the camera over his shoulder for maximum impact. “I’m going to be really honest right now, rather than telling you the same tired platitudes you normally hear. Do I like to do good? Yes. Do I like to do well by doing good? Also, yes. But really, there are two things that have pushed me to accomplish what I did, and what I will in the future rather than living the life of the idle - if socially conscious - rich.”

Now, I sat up straighter, spoke more firmly. “First, I believe in freedom. For Gangari Holdings, even droids count as employees, not objects, and we refuse to do business with any entity which includes sapient slaves. Second, I like to solve problems. As for where those lead me… well, sometimes that means inventing sprites and pixies, while sometimes it means funding private military contractors to take down slavers.”

I could see that I’d had a bit of an effect on even so jaded a personality as Tom’s. “So freedom and problem solving led you to achieve everything you have.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “That, and the luck and capability to be at the right place and the right time to actually achieve the things I have.”

Tom leaned back a bit in his seat. “But what do you say to all of your detractors? How do you address the various controversies?”

I gave a short bark of laughter. “Which controversy? There’s a lot to choose from.”

“Right. Nabooian landowners, upset that their farms were seized. Those who did business with the Trade Federation, and saw their assets seized and sold off, many of the operations happening days or even weeks after the Chancellor sent orders for it to cease. People calling the Liberation of Karazak illegal, or saying that the rapid trial and execution of so many sapients, criminal or not, represents a war-crime. Those on Naboo, their Queen Amidala included, who feel like GSD violate their sovereignty, or that you took advantage of their need, or who are upset with GSD’s militarism versus the pacifist policies which were preferred prior to the Trade Federation invasion. There are complaints that Gangari Interfaces are a monopoly, and that Gangari Financial is anti-competitive or somehow cheating. Then there are those who say that you have practically carried out a shadow-war to take control of Mawan, turned Radnor into a protectorate, and that you are building a not-so-small fiefdom.”

“It sounds pretty bad when you say it like that,” I joked. “I’ve found that any time you really accomplish something, it upsets someone. Do better at work, a work-mate competing for the same promotion is upset. Rescue a system from slavers, well that upsets the slavers and those who used their services. And a lot of these complaints have been traced back to crime cartels, pirate organizations, expansionist despots butting up against polities that have talked about hiring GSD if necessary, that sort of thing.”

“So, are you telling the viewers that there’s nothing to these allegations?” Tom asked.

“I’d tell the viewers that if someone’s looking to judge me, they should ask themselves whether they prefer the alternative. Should I have let the landowners keep the land, and left the Nabooian people to starve? Left millions in slavery? Allowed bioweapons to decimate a civilian populace, or left a core-world to fall to criminals? My sprites and pixies have boosted galactic productivity fifteen percent; would they rather not have that? You may not agree with everything I do. If that’s the case, I’d advise two things. First, do better! Offer an alternative. I welcome the competition. Second, join a Gangari company. Prove yourself capable of leadership. Argue that your way is better in a planning session, and have that implemented instead.”

Tom laughed. “So your advice to people who disagree with you is to join you?”

I smiled too. “That’s right. If they really know better than my experts, if they’re the best, I want them working for me. Or competing against me, making Gangari do even better in return.”

“Wow. Well, I guess that makes sense. You’ve always been very aggressive about recruiting people.”

“I have,” I agreed. “In fact, the pixies, and all of our games started off as training tools. But people liked the training, and so we though ‘why not offer this as a game?’ Now, we regularly give job offers to top performers, whether that’s in combat, production, R&D, planning, management, or financial services. We’re not the first people to do something like that, but our games are the most realistic. Other companies have started using Gangari Game statistics as part of their hiring too. But I want to emphasize to anyone watching, Gangari is the best place to work. Better pay, better people, and we’re growing fast, so lots of room for promotion.”

Tom shook his head and sighed. “Come on, Odysseus. If you put an obvious recruiting pitch like that without paying my producers for advertising, they’ll get upset,” he said semi-jokingly.

I raised my hands up in surrender. “Sorry, sorry.”

“So, we’ve addressed a lot of your controversies,” he began. “But there are two that we haven’t mentioned.”

“Go ahead,” I offered.

“First, your recruitment of Force-sensitives. The Jedi Temple has released statements that you may not be capable of providing sufficient training for their safety and that of the public. Others are worrying about a concentration of Force-Power outside the Republics control, or that this will reduce the already small number of Force-sensitives available to the Jedi who serve as the glue holding this Republic together. Finally, some parents have complained that their children are being groomed as soldiers. What do you have to say about that?”

I’d been warned by my intelligence services about this question ahead of time. In fact, this whole interview was to try and nail me down on this, and on what I was guessing he was going to bring up next, all in anticipation of it being the first domino in a growing media storm. Paid for by the strangest combination of Jedi PR and Hutt pawns. But I was prepared to counter, and had my own PR efforts ready to roll out in return.

“I think that I’m offering an alternative. I respect that the Jedi hold the Republic together. I really do. But the way they do is, honestly, repulsive.” At this point, Tom would have intervened, ready to debate me, to make his Jedi sponsors look better. But I had magic on my side, and my own Force users, and there would be no such interference. The Jedi wanted me to talk about my recruiting Force-sensitives? I was happy to.

“They are a religion that has gained Republic support to interfere at all levels of life,” I continued. “Children are taken away from their parents, so young they can’t even remember them, then effectively brainwashed into being good, unquestioning members of the Jedi Order. Those who aren’t perfect little monks are sent away as early teenagers, forced to become farmers or do extremely dangerous hyperlane charting work. The Jedi won’t even take those who become active Force-sensitives later in life, worried that they might question or have other opinions.

“Now, bad as that is, the Jedi don’t always do this with the parents approval. I’ve found a number of occasions where resistant parents had their children seized due to local pro-Jedi laws. Other times, the parents have even gone into hiding, only to be tracked down by a local Jedi Watchman, and suddenly change their minds. I don’t think I need to talk about how the Jedi are famous for, among other things, their mind-trick.

“But Jedi aren’t the only Force users out there. Gangari employs hundreds of Master and Knight level Force experts, from a wide variety of Light and Neutral aligned Force traditions. We can give the training needed, and don’t care how old you are when you start. Our students don’t fail out and become farmers, unless they want to pursue farming, but rather are trained depending on their strengths. Finally, when they finish their education, there are jobs available in any part of my businesses. They don’t need to carry a lightsaber and risk their lives unless they want to, and if they do take a combat role we make sure they have armor, backup, medical, and psychological support which is superior to that provided by the Temple.”

“So there’s no truth to these complaints then?” Tom proceeded to ask, still under my own mind-trick.

“None. And I’d recommend to any parent who does have a Force-sensitive child, look into Gangari programs. We offer relocation support, education opportunities, training, jobs, and protection for every member of any family which would prefer to stay together than to lose their young.”

“You’re really throwing a gauntlet down with the Jedi,” Tom noted.

“I think that they’re mostly well-intentioned. But there are some bad apples, and even the best of intentions don’t cause good ends if they’re built on a faulty foundation. At the end of the day it comes down to freedom. And the Jedi are anything but free.”

“Strong words. Now, we have just enough time for this one last question. Two days ago several thousand people wearing Gangari power armor attacked the infamous Desilijic Cartel across Hutt Space. Estimates range into hundreds of thousands of casualties, including women and children. You are suspected to have ordered these attacks as retaliations for assassination attempts against yourself and your political allies on Radnor. Is there any truth to these allegations?”

Yes.

“No,” I lied. “We did supply a number of freedom fighters with export versions of our powered armor and communications infrastructure, as are available to qualified purchasers within Republic space. But their actions are theirs and theirs alone.”

“So you’re saying you disavow their actions?” Tom asked.

“It’s not for me to avow or disavow,” I replied. “I think that such a great loss of life is a terrible tragedy. But I also think that all free peoples exist in a state of perpetual war against those who would see them enslaved. And that any free-slave movement has the right, if not the obligation, to conduct operations against slavers. As such, while I cannot condone their actions, I can’t decry them either. The anti-slaver forces are significantly weaker than their enemies, and it’s hard to fight a really clean war that way. It’s a messy situation, and one I’m not qualified to judge without being involved.”

“But will you be providing them with more support?” he questioned.

“That depends on how they use what they have; as it stands, the initial supply agreement included parts and consumables sufficient for five to ten years of irregular warfare. Right now, a number of Hutt worlds are looking into passing laws partially protecting slaves. I think it’s far too little, but it’s a step in the right direction, and it wouldn’t have happened without the actions of these brave warriors of liberty.”

“And do you think that their choice to hit the Desilijic Cartel was informed by the assassination attempts against you?”

I smiled, enough for everyone to know that yes, that was the case. “I can’t speak to that. Though they may have been grateful for our support.”

Tom nodded slowly. “Right. As a follow up, are you worried about any retaliation?”

I just chuckled. “I welcome assassins sent against me. My security is the best in the Galaxy. They’d have better luck trying to take out the Chancellor. As for any attempts on my friends and allies, well, I’m more than capable of making them regret it. Financially, of course.”

“Of course,” Tom agreed, a bit hesitantly. Then, he rallied. “Well, thank you again, Odysseus, for being here.”

“My pleasure Tom.”

And the interview ended.