A Clean Slate (Ferus)

[Ultimatum]

Mustafar​

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"I am sending you to the Mustafar system in the Outer Rim. It is a volcanic planet. You will be safe there."​

-General Grievous​

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Ultimatum couldn't really understand the sentiment behind Mustafar being safe in anyway for organics. Even the natives to the planet simply couldn't survive on the surface without some form of protection. Even so, the planet had been considered a safe haven for many organics hiding from enemies. It seemed to Ultimatum that those who were here to hide assumed that they could avoid the dangers inherent to the planet, or at least that the dangers were less than those of their enemies. He didn't pretend to understand their logic, few organics had the kind of logical thinking that made sense to Ultimatum.

Such thoughts had been caused by his work with the Mustafarians, who were telling the government of problems regarding travelers to the system. As he had taken control of the planet, Ultimatum had to deal with quite a number of issues. He had been notified, through almost two dozen different sources of the native's complaining. Apparently, the locals were uncertain of newcomers, fearing that the aliens would take their jobs. Ultimatum knew that there were more than enough jobs, this planet required much work to be able to live on, and thus there was no end to the tasks needed for survival. He however also knew that organics tended to freak out at even the most unlikely of possibilities.

He had contemplated, predictably, to simply deport excess population from the travelers, this was obviously not the answer and he dismissed the possibility. Instead, he thought of simply expanding operations to create a massive necessity of more workers. He had calculated that most of the companies on planet were stretched far enough as is, however he realized that he could expand his personal facilities. It would require some work, as his company had been built mostly for droid work, however he could probably built a mining facility for organic workers.

Those plans were temporarily put on hold as he was now busy with greeting a new set of immigrants. It was a tiring job, but one that he had been suggested to do by his advisers, who were also Mustafarian natives. He had finally come across a possible solution and had begun acting on it, picking random flights to welcome the people of. After all, there were far too many immigrants coming on planet to get them all. He had tried and there had been no time for anything else.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Mustafar was indeed one of Ferus's own favorite places. Not to hide of course, but just to walk about. He didn't need the gear most did to be near the lava, for while the molten rock would kill him, the heat wouldn't. His body flickered with a black flame as he walked among the immigrants, uncaring of any peculiar gazes he would get. He was here for business though, not for pleasure. A certain high up official by the name of Tu'grito was secretly funding an anti One Sith terrorist cell within OS space. Ferus was here to kill the dealer, and cut the supply of droids from the terrorists.

With both hands down by his side and he dressed in his Sith Armor, he wasn't really looking to blend in. Tu'grito would know the Sith was coming, and the traitorous scum would know he had no where to run to.

This was going to be fun.

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum stood on a small stand near the exit from the main hangar, he didn't really need the extra height but he had been told it gave an easier view to those farther in the crowd. He had been that he didn't need to be original, these were travelers and they were probably used to hearing an advertisement about a planet's opportunities. They suggested that Ultimatum play it simple and welcome the visitors and give them a brief rundown on dangers and other things to be aware of. Ultimatum had agreed, it would cut down on the unnecessary speeches that he particularly wanted to avoid. One advantage to this was he was able to spot out possible enemies, though he had yet to find any.

From the time he had taken over, Ultimatum had attempted to keep the planet neutral. He was enjoying the safety of being far away from any of wars and what not that were occurring in the galaxy. He knew that this was temporary, but he told himself to enjoy it while it was there. He wondered who would be the first to take control of the planet, it would appear that the Omega Protectorate was the closest to the system. Ultimatum had decided that he wouldn't take part in the problems outside, after all organics simply had to fight one another. Conflict appeared to be their most natural state and he couldn't do anything to change that. He would work to rectify what he had control of.

He gave a few moment before speaking, "Welcome to Mustafar. I hope that you enjoy your time here and that you will be shown the proper hospitality. If an issue arises please notify the authorities through these channels..." Ultimatum continued for a few more seconds, giving a location where those visiting may find accommodations and where more information may be found. This was a boring part to him and he had had his vocals recorded the first few times he did it. From there he just replayed it every time he was to speak. This gave him time to look through the crowd with interest.

He noted a curious organic in the group. He was one of the only not to have some cooling unit on his clothes. The strange fire that seemed to come from him caused Ultimatum to take particular interest in this one. He saved the images he could of the organic for later reference. He would hopefully meet the person again. He also sent a message to Legion to keep an eye on the unique organic. Legion would hopefully be able to do so without killing someone, intentionally or otherwise. The blasted droid had been going through some rather tough mental changes recently and it was becoming difficult to tell whether it was safe to give him command. It wasn't Legion's fault and Ultimatum knew this. He always tried to remember that it was his own fault, not the once protocol droid's. An accident during Ultimatum's first attempt at a mental transfer had created something of a schizophrenic droid who jumped from a polite protocol droid to a sadistic one. It was enough of a problem that Ultimatum had decided against leaving for a vacation again. He had relegated the droid to driving Ultimatum's vehicle, unnecessary to say Legion was less than thrilled at his perceived demotion.

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The droid in question was outside the spaceport, standing near Ultimatum's personal vehicle. He didn't have to be there, after all Ultimatum and his stuff was generally left alone by the population who for the most part were thankful for an understanding leader who also had a favored want to use the planet's resources. Legion was bored, as was often the case. He didn't understand the need of the organics to always need to be talked to. It was like that damned protocol droid, always talking and never really shutting up. This mind didn't really like the quiet, politeness of the protocol droid. It liked hearing the screams of organics, or the sound of organic body parts being damaged in whatever way. Unfortunately he had been forbidden from practicing his hobby, he only listened to the bigger droid because that other one was his creator and therefor worthy of listening to.

He got the message and would have sighed to himself, it seemed Ultimatum enjoyed finding organics to keep an eye on. For Legion that meant following the being on foot or in the vehicle and having to restrain himself from attacking something. It was such a drag.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Ferus had expected there to be eyes on him, but he felt nothing. Droids weren't able to be sensed by the Force after all. A frown settled upon his lips as it became clear no living was watching him. No one to alert Tu'grito? Very well, he'd deal with being unable to strike fear into his target just yet. Unknowing that [member="Ultimatum"] had eyes on him, the Sith Lord would slip off the street and into a more.. Well. A restricted zone. It was the fastest way to get to his targets work camp after all. Both hands kept in his pockets as the black flame continued to flick about him.

The flame was actually releasing the heat that would of been stored within his body due to not having any protection against the extreme temperatures of lava. Just like a dogs tongue or a humans sweat gland, his black flame was used to regulate his heat. Though, in colder places it was fairly difficult for him to stay warm. A large smile formed on his face as he continued to walk. This wasn't a cold place thankfully.

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum stayed for a couple more minutes, his speech was at an end but there were a few curious visitors who asked questions that he had to answer. The most annoying part for him were the holos, a few of the organics in every trip wanted to take a holo with a planetary leader. He didn't like it, a waste of time and little more than a bragging claim. Few of the organics ever stayed around to actually learn about him, thus their pictures were of some stranger that they didn't really know, but was a leader. He had never learned the reason for the organic's weird fascination with leadership. He was almost done, soon he could leave and follow that more interesting organic.

---------------------------

Legion was a little more content than Ultimatum, he was at least doing something that he was okay with. He had never envied his master's job. Personally he found organics distasteful, yet enjoyable. They were not really as logical as a droid, but they were very believing in what they did. He wondered about the organic that he was tailing. It had struck him as odd that the organic had those alien black flames, he had never heard of a species that naturally did that. He assumed that it was therefore related to one of their Force tricks, he didn't pretend to understand their control of it, even after Ultimatum had explained it to him.

It was then noticed that the organic had entered a restricted area. Not to uncommon with visitors, but something to be corrected nonetheless. He thanks the maker that his quarry wasn't running. As a protocol droid he wasn't built to move quickly and he was only just able to speed up to try and catch the organic. He was also glad that that other side of him was not in control, that uncouth, savage mind was irritating in its lack of standards. He got a request for an update from Ultimatum and Legion sent the appropriate information before calling out to the organic. "Sir! Excuse me sir!" He had to get the man's attention before telling him he wasn't really supposed to be here.

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Once he had extricated himself from the organics, Ultimatum began running towards the location that Legion had given him. At the same time he calculated the possible locations that such a direction the organic could be going for. Of course, the organic could be wandering, quite a few did that when they first arrived. But Ultimatum rarely assumed that that was their goal, after all it was uncommon to have one just wander into a restricted area.

Ultimatum further guessed that he would be there in about two minutes or so. He could move much quicker than the protocol droid fortunately.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Ferus slowed to a stop, his golden eyes glancing over to see a droid. A droid? Well, that explains why he couldn't feel any eyes on him. A frown formed on his lips as he turned to continue to walk, speeding up his pace. Should the droid get faster or catch up to him, he'd fake not knowing Basic. For now though, he'd lead the droid on. It was ultimately interesting that a protocol droid was sent after him though. He expected at least an assassin droid by now.

With his hurried pace he may very well leave the droid in the dust, not so much to hint Force usage, but enough to seem like a normal person running. Appearances and all that, even though he wasn't hiding the fact he was a Sith Lord there was no reason to scream it just yet. His target came into sight, well, the building, after a moment or two, a short two story building. While it didn't look like much there was a turret just out front.

Perfect. And he didn't even know [member="Ultimatum"] wasn't that far away.

 

[Ultimatum]

Legion was becoming upset at the apparent lack of attention to his call the organic was giving him. He didn't know if the organic didn't hear him- well since the organic began moving faster soon after Legion began speaking it was safe to assume that he had been heard- or if the man had simply decided not to pay attention to him. Of course it could also have been that the organic didn't understand him. He didn't know what the answer was and he wasn't concerned with that. He tried to move as quickly as he could, though it was obviously not enough to keep up with the much quicker Zabrak. He called out again, "Sir! You are in a restricted area! Please come back..." He stopped midway through as he felt a command sent through his system. "Please sir, my master wishes to speak with you!"

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Ultimatum sent the command as he moved quickly, knowing that he was nowhere near as fast as a Force user, which Legion had suggested the being was. He could run only a little faster than an average man could sprint, he was slow unfortunately due to the sheer amount of processing components and the agrinium armor that had been used to coat most of his surfaces. It had saved him on more than one occasion, but it still bothered him with the lack of speed. He hoped that the droid's words would at least slow the organic, however he couldn't count on it. He could have called the Forerunner of course, that ship would have gotten him to the organic very quickly, but that was too much. He wasn't that far, a few buildings away and out of sight for the moment. He sent a query through Legion to see where he was exactly and where the organics seemed to be heading.

Well the immediate possible target was a building nearby. That building was obviously not under his command as it had a turret in front, Ultimatum had made it a policy of his that he would have little to no overt combat capable implements in the open, far too many accidents had occurred throughout history that he knew it was a bad idea. However, there were other facilities nearby that could be the target. The hangar for the Forerunner was fairly close, it had to be near the spaceport. Also, there was a mining facility a few kilometers in the general direction. He theorized that this organic wasn't trying to hide his presence and therefore was probably not trying to accomplish some covert mission. That led to a probability that he was looking for a target in a less defended area, which might mean that he wasn't after something like a mine or an important hangar.

Ultimatum didn't know the importance of the building in front, he sent a query through the systems at the government building about this structure. It belonged to one Tu'grito, Ultimatum recognized the name as an official within the government. The man had proven to be helpful giving him advice on how to handle external planetary politics, but at the same time the man had proven himself to be a little too anti-Sith to make it far in his organization. As much as Ultimatum may or may not have liked the Sith or the Jedi, he had made his decision on them and that was to stay neutral. He didn't want to cause trouble, thus far by staying neutral he had avoided such dangers. The building hadn't been checked in quite some time. The last time it had been was with Tu'grito and upon closer inspection the file showed that the inspector had only visited three floors in the five floor building. There were permits for moving large containers to and from the spaceport, these were uncommon as few aside from the local company owners had need of them. This on top of the sudden appearance of this unidentified organic, Ultimatum wondered if Tu'grito had perhaps violated Ultimatum's rules.

He turned a corner, almost slamming into a wall while moving sideways slightly. He looked down the small street, which led directly into the other street.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Legion would only find himself completely ignored as the Human Sith Lord (Sorry about that, forgot to update the character sheet) pulled out a lightsaber hilt. Within a moment, the golden blade came to life and a burst of speed would send him soaring through the air towards the turret. The turret that just began to fire upon him. Even as the Sith's form burst through the air a trail of repeating blaster fire in his wake. It seemed he was just fast enough to stay ahead of the stream.

Once in range however, his blade ripped through the turret's head, severing it in two. Slowly it would fall apart, though it's repeated fire would be over. Shouting could be heard within the building now, and slowly the Sith would turn to look it over.

War had come for Tu'grito.

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum ran quickly, seeing as it was in fact a Sith he called off Legion and told him to return to the vehicle. Further he ordered the droid to put the militia on alert and get them prepared for a fight. He didn't want to have to use them, he was sure that this Sith could overpower almsot anything Ultimatum sent at him. That was why he wanted to try and talk the situation down, it was obvious that the man was upset with one of Ultimatum's people. If it proved that Tu'grito had been helping some faction in the galaxy then he would pay for it.

Ultimatum forced himself to move, but he was nowhere near as fast as the Sith. The organic's quick destruction of the turret was all the more proof that there was animosity between Ultimatum's employee and this dark lord. He didn't know how to try and communicate with the Sith, if he would even listen to Ultimatum's words. As much as he wanted to let the Sith deal with Tu'grito, he could not stand aside and possibly allow collateral damage to occur. That was one of the things most Sith were famous for, collateral damage and the uncaring of the deaths.

Ultimatum called out, "Sith! If it pleases you I would have a word with the executioner of one of my people." He realized that he could have come to assumption, that the man might not have been Sith, though the actions were against such a possibility. He wasn't certain how the Sith would respond, but he hoped that his cordial words would calm the Sith just enough to be willing to speak.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Rather slowly the Sith would enter the building, savoring the fear he could feel from none other than Tu'grito trembled within his hiding space. Just as Ferus would begin the ascent to this room however, [member="Ultimatum"] 's words fell upon his ears. Slowly his gaze turned from where his prize awaited to the interrupter, annoyance clear. But the politeness of the droid didn't fall short, and with a quick flick of a switch his golden saber would deactivate.

"Speak quickly then."

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum took a few more steps until he stopped, the forward momentum carrying him a little further than intended. If he were an organic he might have been huffing from all the running. As it was, all he did was look around for a moment before replying as politely as he could muster.

"Thank you. I simply wish to know what the man you are hunting for has done to upset you. I believe that he might be a problem for me as well, I would like the situation clarified, if you would be so generous." Ultimatum wasn't certain if this Sith was one of those that enjoyed being flattered, so he kept to politeness with only a tint of that. He took a step forward, but that was all, he tried to avoid appearing dominant or attempting to take dominance. He thought that Sith preferred to be in control and Ultimatum wasn't going to break the concept.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"This man has been supplying weapons to arm rebels within One Sith space. Simply put, I am here to put a stop to this. I am not, however, here to kill him. The lightsaber was for show, to instill fear and remind him not to say no to what I have to offer." Slowly golden eyes fixated on [member="Ultimatum"] , the Sith seemingly deep in thought. Then, a smile would form.

"However, I believe a better offer has just reached me. I need.. New weapons and armor for a project of mine. This man has supplied One Sith enemies with such, so I hope you will be willing to rectify such a breach of your neutrality that you will assist." Ferus knew the droid now that he had a better look at him. The leader of Mustafaar, one who preaches neutrality between the many wars within the Galaxy. A neutrality that seemed to have been broken. Ever searching for a better deal the Darth would pounce upon such an opportunity as this, seeming to ignore his mark. One was planning to kill, but not until after he had gotten the weapons and armor he needed.

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum listened intently. So he had guessed correctly. This was to be an intimidation? He had expected assassination, a common Sith theme. Death to all those who opposed them. This was an unexpected turn of events. For some reason, he had trusted the Sith, even though his data and logic processors told him otherwise. At the same time, Ultimatum wanted the man dealt with. He couldn't afford to have a weak link in this neutral zone. If Ultimatum was going to support one side he would have to support all. Mustafar wasn't a planet large enough to support the wars, which ever hunger to destroy all.

He smiled as he replied, "If that will cover this terrible mistake then please tell me what you need. I will have it built personally if need be. Please, take this man, he has proven himself to be a traitor to his people by taking a side." He of course did not enjoy the fact that he would be helping a Sith. He had found it troubling that most of the people he was associating with were somehow Sith. The one that he was most familiar with was fortunately not Sith. He wondered if perhaps he had made a grave mistake in choosing Mustafar as his planet. Was if the placement in the galaxy? Was it its history? Ultimatum couldn't tell, he had chosen a planet relatively far away from other factions, yet somehow they were coming to him. He hadn't asked for this. He didn't mean harm to any organic, yet it seemed wherever he went death would follow.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Very well. I will kill this man, but first. Do you know of the Clone Commandos? I need five hundred sets of arms and armor for these types of soldiers. Or, a cloning facility. I suspect the first will be more in your range than the second, but none the less, I need at least one of those from you. I need it to be better than the normal armor, and much better grade weaponry. Once I finish this.. Upset, I'm sure we can talk in detail."

With a slight bow of his head, the Sith Lord would turn from [member="Ultimatum"] and back towards the building. A snap hiss would sound off, and with the golden lightsaber alight the Lord would step right into the building. Words need not describe what happened, for the sudden scream of Tu'grito could be heard from within. Without warning, the form of this man would be thrown from the third story window, followed by the form of the Sith, who landed atop the man and crushed him underfoot. Though it was clear he was already dead, the sickening crunch of bone was still disturbing.

"Now, where were we?"

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum nodded as [member="Darth Ferus"] spoke. He had heard of Clone Commandos. Five hundred armor and weapon sets... One more thing to add to all that he had given to Sith. He wasn't complaining, it was just a fact and he would have to counterbalance it at some point. He knew that someday the enemies of the Sith would capture Mustafar and if Ultimatum were here he would pay for his decisions. At the same time, he wondered if he could even afford the production of so many suits and weapons. He knew he could come up with the sort of thing that this Sith was asking for, more powerful armor and weapons. It was a question of how quickly he could have the necessary supplies created. He had an over abundance of raw materials, it was a matter of whether he could have it built in a manner that fit the Sith's schedule.

When the man left Ultimatum wondered how he should respond, of course he would have to capitulate. There wasn't much of a wait before the sickening sound of the man's body being crushed. Ultimatum forced himself not to do a biological scan, after all he could guess all the vital organs and bones that had been broken in the fall. He responded to the Sith,"Would you like to conduct business in a more comfortable environment? By which I mean one where there are fewer listening ears." He doubted that the Sith was concerned with the heat, he seemed to have held himself fairly well.

 

[Darth Ferus]

Golden eyes glanced about, seeming to take in what [member="Ultimatum"] mentioned about listening ears. With a sigh, he would nod to the droid, already stepping off the dead body to move beside the tin man. "Very well, lead on." There was no hurry in his voice, and similarly there was no hurry for what he had in mind. The armor and weapons would need the clones first, and without any access to it yet, he was simply here trying to get a little head start on the training side.

Not that he would tell Ultimatum of course.

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum nodded and walked briskly back towards the main street from the spaceport. Legion had been helpful enough to have gotten the hovercar running. It was in the street, waiting for Ultimatum. The door to the passenger area opened by itself as Ultimatum stepped up. He took a seat and waited for [member="Darth Ferus"] to do the same. As he waited he spoke, "Thank you. I am sorry if this is an inconvenience, as you have seen security has been falling rather quickly." He indicated the dead man outside the building, soon droids would be sweeping up the remains and dropping them in a lava flow. He didn't feel pity for the man, he had betrayed Ultimatum and had therefore given up any right to be in leadership, much less alive.

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Don't think too much of it. And don't stoop to kissing my rear end. You are no normal droid, especially if you've gained control of this planet. Talk to me as an equal. A business partner, if you will." Ferus moved in to the seat just beside [member="Ultimatum"] as indicated. Both hands calmly rested in his lap as his golden eyes gazed about the clean up crew. "Efficient. Is it often you have to dispose of people here?" A slight change of subject. They were waiting to discuss business until the reached a more hospitable place, but there was no reason to be silent.

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum shook his head, "No. This is the first time that a disposal has occurred. It is actually quite surprising, there has only been a couple of problems within the government and they have been dealt with without need to bloodshed. The people tend to be more or less neutral on the government, obeying what they are told, and revolting when a new government is ready to take over. As of yet, I have found no other competition, however I expect that to change." Ultimatum spoke emotionlessly. He didn't want to betray any feelings on the matter, as he wasn't completely certain how he felt about it.

He looked out the window before asking, "How have the Sith been? I hear there is a war going on and while I don't much care to join in I am curious."

The vehicle was only five minutes away from the facility.

[member="Darth Ferus"]