A Witch and a Queen (Ask)

[Boethiah]

The core world of Kuat is not a name easily forgotten. One of the most prestigious shipyards remains orbiting above. A place where an Empire's war machine was founded and from time-to-time was a supporter of The Republic. Now the Sith ruled and thus an opportunity opened itself through the Host Lord's alliance.

Anja had traveled a long way to visit a woman whom she was only briefly acquainted with at the Imperial Ball on Bastion. For many the event was somewhat alien to the more common and accepted culture of the greater galaxy. Perhaps public executions and slave auctions were somewhat less civilized than the affairs of Kuat. Nonetheless she hadn't arrived here to discuss an afterparty. No, the shipyards of Kuat had a lot to offer and in that sense the woman who ruled them was the key to a treasure trove.

Arriving at the Headquarters of KDY, Anja approached the checkpoint and waited to be escorted to the Queen of Kuat and CEO of KDY's office. She had never been here before but the corporate culture reminded her of her meeting with Irani. It seemed business was followed a different clock than the rest of the world's denizens.

What deal they could broker was left to be seen but what was known ahead of time was that The Primeval's fleet was interested in producing destroyers from Kuat's shipyards.

[member="Lorelei Darke"]

 

[Quietus]

Seven years ago, the prospect of crafting anything for a people like the Primeval would be seen as in bad form.

Though the KDY had produced war machines for the likes of Empires and harbingers of destruction alike, if the Ball of Bastion was anything to speak of to the quality and sort of people the Primeval were, it wasn't exactly the sort of clientele Lorelei would seek to bring in. Truth be told, she wasn't particularly keen on this meeting or its purpose, but her research had shown that the One Sith's greatest ally was good for the business.

"If she asked you to fashion her a star destroyer out of the bones of her victims and the tears of the innocent, would you then ask her bleached or baked?" Pheraella lounged in the leather armchair of the study corner within the CEO's office, preening herself with a hand-held mirror.

Lorelei snorted, "That's absurd. Baked bones splinter like rotted wood."

"And you know this because...?"

Perhaps the introduction to the Primeval had awakened a part of Lorelei that had not seen the light of day in several hundred years. The Kuati Queen looked up at the woman over a pair of half-moon spectacles and gave cutting sneer, "Bleached and alchemized bone would be quite formidable, but outrageously uneconomical. They'd be better off asking for Cortosis."


~~~~

In the docking bay a Noghri stood straight-backed, robed in the colors of black marked by slashes of crimson and embellishments of gold - the Kuati royal colors. His name was Kefka, and he was here to escort the Host Lord to her meeting.

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Boethiah]

Having approached the checkpoint, Anja was met by a Noghri; a race she knew little of. Simple enough he was dressed much like an envoy, a servant to a higher authority but not in the same sense her servants were. That was the difference in culture between her world and theirs. So it was to be expected that some culture clash might be brought up in conversations but if those she's dealt with in the past had any insight to give, it's that Anja was surprisingly business savvy despite her otherwise zealous reputation.

The Noghri named Kefka did not hesitate to escort the Host Lord to the place where a meeting was held. The route they took was too much for the witch to truly soak in its details, but one them did stand out: Business as usual. It was almost like a dance, watching these people conduct trade, offer pitches, and some even denied for whatever reasons that might be. This Queen of Kuat as she was referred to as seemed to be a busy and wanted individual.

Remaining silent the entire trip, Anja couldn't help but wonder what kind of woman she might be dealing with. It wasn't necessarily reassuring that they were in Sith space, if she learned anything it's that each is their own.

Finally the journey came to a end, the only thing standing between the Host Lord and her destination was a door.

[member="Lorelei Darke"]

 

[Quietus]

A door that would remain nondescript.

Through the door [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] was led and into an expansive, open, multi-level chamber that housed the KDY CEO's personal office. Kefka the Noghri lead the Witch past a long Council table beset by 13 chairs, situated around a massive holoprojector at the center. Beyond that: several digital stations and further holoprojectors over which images of KDY's varying drive yards hung suspended in glimmering blue. Beyond that: a shallow set of stairs leading up to the CEO's desk area which sat before an impressive wall of duraglass that looked out onto the whole of Kuat and the crown of shipyards encircling it.

Ships gleamed under the star of the Kuat system, coming and going through strictly controlled channels of traffic. In and out through the ports within Kuat's planetary shield system.

Lorelei looked up from a stack of flimsies on her desk, green eyes peering inscrutably over a pair of half-moon spectacles at the approaching woman.

"Miss Aj'rou, welcome," she studied Anja quietly with a smile that did not meet her eyes, "please have a seat."

A second pair of heels echoed in from a side entrance and a young blond woman strode in, silver platter in hand, "Tea, your majesty. Would the Host Lord like anything to eat or drink?"

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Boethiah]

The office was more impressive than the one she had witnessed with Ty'rel but it could be suggested that the state of one's office did reveal some of their personality. Where as Ty'rel was more concerned with making sure every bit of data streamed constantly to one focal point it seemed KDY cared more about appearances, elegance, a certain sense of style that they held all to their own. Naturally; they were a company with a pedigree for aesthetics as well as power.

As she was offered, Anja took a seat. Before she was able to speak what could only be described as a servant of some sort offered drinks. "Water would be satisfactory," she for the most part was not a connoisseur of drink but recently took up quite an interest in Caf when she was first introduced to the beverage on Dubrillion, otherwise water had been her primary choice.

Able to now turn her attention, Anja looked the CEO of KDY in the eyes and began to speak. "It is my understanding that your facilities are capable enough to produce some of the largest starships fielded in the galaxy." The point was a redundant one to make but it did at least shed some light on exactly what the Host Lord was looking for. As far as business went she preferred getting straight to business, as she has in the past with Titan.

[member="Lorelei Darke"]

 

[Quietus]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"] was promptly poured a glass of water.

"Naturally," Lorelei replied to Anja, setting the current flimsie in her hands off to the side, "large ships are one of our specialties. Are you looking to begin playing with the big boys, Miss Aj'rou?"

The Queen's gaze was as steady as her voice, masking any presence of amusement that might've been there. It had been several years, but the very same question had been raised to the leaders of another religious movement: Moross. Though they'd come seeking out the means of producing their own, the end game was just the same. This meant the Primeval was looking to war - or at the very least the potentiality of it. Even if they currently allied themselves with the galaxy's strongest Empire, it was at least good she wasn't relying on them.

Lorelei might've applauded the Host Lord's forward thinking, as it was never good business to trust a Sith, let alone an entire group of them, but she suspected it would mean very little coming from her.

 

[Boethiah]

Anja took the the glass of water in hand, her eyes examined its form.

"There was once a time where people made glass themselves, it was an art. To think that someone spent so much time perfecting one simple object... Of course it serves an important purpose." The sudden derailment was not just the Host Lord's intention to run off topic. She was going to make a point, even if it wasn't necessarily a strong one.

Taking a sip of water she put the glass down, "I want a shipyard that treats starships like... blowing glass. One single production that serves as great a purpose as a container for drinking water." Admittedly, it wasn't a particularly straight-forward metaphor... To compare starships to glass.

Exhaling through her nostrils she paused briefly, "I need something powerful and on a small-scale. A ship with no equal that can spearhead any fleet into enemy territory." It was a tall order to say the least but the technology and most of the design work was already complete on their end. They just needed an experienced shipwright with the talent necessary to complete such a project.

[member="Lorelei Darke"]

 

[Quietus]

"So," Lorelei leaned back in her chair, steepling her hands before her, "you want what every other Leader-at-arms wants. A halfling capital ship with the firepower of a Star Destroyer, strength of a freighter and the tenacity of of corvette. I'd be lying if I said it hadn't already been done - it has been done, but not to the justice and prestige it should be."

It had been the plan for her join project with CEC before the reaping - one that never truly saw the light of day. The building blocks had been collected but had been quietly stacked away after the disappearance of the former Lord Protector [member="Ayden Cater"]. Then there was Circe Savan's lamentable program ... and Rendili she was sure had attempted much the same. Neither of which came to full fruition.

"I dislike assuming anything but it would behoove me not to waste time. If you have designs in the making, Host Lord, you would do well to put them on the table."

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Boethiah]

Anja didn't waste time or a breath, she procured a datachip and slid it across the table where it would slow in arms reach of the Queen of Kuat. "Everything you need to know is on there... The advanced components will be provided by us, of course." She elaborated on chip's contents and nature of them. She may have not been a businesswoman but Anja knew well enough to never give away every aspect of your design, even if she didn't there were those in The Primeval who'd be sure their power is maintained.

In essence the designs were for two variants of the same ship. One was essentially a basic star destroyer using nothing terribly advanced nor strange, and the other was one using the components provided by The Primeval for a far more advanced warship.

If they were going to deal, the Host Lord walked into this room with chips and was ready to make her bet.

[member="Lorelei Darke"]

 

[Quietus]

"Impressive," Lorelei commented after plugging in the chips and bringing them up on the holoscreen to her right. She panned through the ship specs, eyes narrowing upon the Primeval's particular variant. The AI - she'd seen this one before. A rare and highly advanced module such as this would make the ship quite a bit more formiddable than the cleaner, blander alternative.

Something she was rather keen to see in action.

"I've not seen that AI since my time with the Republic. Not at their hands, mind you, but in the hands of their then enemies, the Fringe Confederacy. Takes a special Captain to command a ship of that magnitude, Miss Aj'Rou, make no mistake about that."

She perused a bit further, looking into the particulars of weapon emplacements and tech.

"Nothing beyond our capacity to create here. However, for unique models of this degree ...I would ask for production rights after your project has reached completion."

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Boethiah]

"Of course. The chassis design serves us little use; I only desire the twenty required to hold our tech." She clarified The Primeval's interests.

Kuat Drive Yards... The name still found its way forward in the depths of her mind, the heritage of such a corporation is clearly one that shouldn't be underestimated. If they didn't have the facilities to produce the line of ships she requested then she knew very well no one else did. That wasn't the only reason that Anja desired to go through them, however.

If there was one thing about KDY that she admired, it was their adaptability. How many shipyards have fallen whilst KDY continued to thrive? Even now after being switched from Republic to Sith, the shipyard is still just as active as it ever was.

So if there's anyone she could trust to get the job done, regardless of circumstances, it was KDY.

Anja shuffled quietly in her seat, readjusting her posture. "More questions or are you ready to make a deal?"

[member="Lorelei Darke"]

 

[Quietus]

"Nothing further," Lorelei replied, disengaging the datachip before pressing a button to her side, "Miss Hardt."

"My Assistant will take you through the standard contractual procedures and obligatory paperwork. If you have no further questions for me, Miss Aj'Rou, then I do believe we are finished here. Would a tour of the facilities interest you? I can arrange for Miss Hardt to take you on the VIP galley."

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]