An Opportunity Or Two

[Jairus Starvald]

Yavin IV

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

Akure Executive Interstellar did some business with the Mandalorians.

It was their aid at Dromund Kaas that allowed the safe and secure excavation of the Sith ruins and artifacts, after the Mandalorians had conquered it in the short engagement called 'Larraq's War' by some. This was all to say that there were certain connections that tied the company to Mandalorian Space in one way or another. Clan Rekali's auction of its investments in the Gordian Reach were well publicized as well, it had come as a great surprise to the other players and movers in the Galaxy.

But then again, the rise of Clan Rekali, Inc. had been a surprise to them as well. So perhaps their opinion was steadfast becoming less important as time passed by.

Some time after the Illum Massacre AEI approached the new owner of Yavin IV. Judah Dashiell received a missive, mentioning the corporation's interest to find a suitable place to invest in on the world.

A few days later a shuttle entered the Yavin system. Transcoder codes were exchanged, names were shared and eventually Cerita stepped foot on the mushy soil of the planet itself.

Behind her a few Qo'saarai Tuk'ata followed her out of the shuttle itself.

The meeting was scheduled to take place nearby one of the Massassi Temples AEI had discovered after a twist of luck and fate. Where better to discuss the possibilities, than at the temple itself, after all?

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Yavin IV - Jungle Ruins


Having a large swath of land on Yavin IV was still something to get used to. An oddity. Salacia Consolidated was used to owning land on backwaters and out of the way planets ; Tabaqui, Ceto, Karideph, Arcadia-N-30 and other backwaters scattered around the 'verse. Yavin IV was becoming a painful learning experience for Judah, one with a sharp learning curve.


Various corporations were interested in land holdings, even after the Mando massacre of younglings. [member="Chloe Blake"] had evacuated most of the main Temple on the planet, leaving behind a handful of teenagers and young adults. Interest had been shown on the Temple. HQ fielded inquiries daily of its sale. No dice.


AEI had come to him with interest in a different set of ruins, one he had no issues working out a deal with. Or a potential deal with. He waited outside the temple, dressed casually in slacks and a long-sleeve shirt rolled to his elbows. Blake laughed at his appearance constantly, stating his over dressed state for a jungle. Somehow he doubted his clients would be impressed with a ragged shirt and shorts for their tours.


Shuttle noise reached his ears and he turned to see the arrival of [member="Cerita Sarova"] .He immediately went to meet the woman half-way.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

Behind them shouts sounded through the jungle, echoing and cascading against the trees.

Employees of Salacia Consolidated and Akure Executive Interstellar. They were already exploring the outer remains of the temple, taking measurements, figuring out how dangerous it was and what the liability would be like, the usual things big corporations busied themselves with to ensure their investments were solid.

"Mister Dashiell," the woman would greet, once she noticed him approaching and Judah was at earshot-distance. Green eyes noted the peculiar dress Judah was in right now- quite... something in the jungles.

She herself had opted to go for clear-cut fabric mixed and matched with leather armor pieces for extra protection. Yavin IV had never been reclaimed from the wilderness, civilization only taking root in remote pockets of stability.

"A pleasure meeting you in the flesh." A hand would be extended for a shake.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Judah was mildly amused by her look of his attire, much more controlled than the one [member="Chloe Blake"] had given him. It seemed [member="Cerita Sarova"] almost was preparing for battle. He wasn't so worried about the jungle. Judah got lost in one several months ago, only to be rescued by Danger Arceneau. Seeing the greenery only made his shoulder twinge, probably some psychological reaction from memories buried just under the surface.


Hand outstretched and he clasped the others firmly.



"Please, just Judah Miss Sarova. A pleasure to meet you as well, I trust the trip was pleasant?"


Salacia and AEI workers continued to scuttle behind them. A pair of Ferroan engineers for Salacia crashed through the underbrush, using laser surveying equipment to get a better idea of what the structure behind them was holding behind her walls. Something about measuring block thickness and structural quality. There were more technical terms but he wasn't educated in such matters.


"I've seen you've got a few boots on the ground. We should be given an all clear to enter here in a moment. I'd hate to enter only to have it collapse on top of guests. I imagine there would be a lawsuit or three."

 

[Jairus Starvald]

“Very well, Just Judah,” The woman amended with a twinkle in the eye. Her meeting with [member="Danger Arceneau"] had been a few weeks ago and ever since it ended, it felt like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. If a woman with her history with Savan could look past her connection… then perhaps things weren’t as hopeless as she always had thought.

“Then Just Cerita is fine for me as well.”

She looked curiously at the Salacia employees bustling by with fancy equipment in tow.

“Oh, it was quite fine, thank you.” Hands shaken she pulled hers back while the green eyes refocused on Judah. “Bit of a bumpy ride, with a few sudden stops- the Mandalorians take the security of their territory quite seriously, it seems.”

A shrug followed, before they moved on towards the general sounds of workers doing their jobs at the temple proper.

“Have they given you any trouble yet about Yavin itself?”

She imagined the fact he wasn’t a Mandalorian himself could complicate things.

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Cerita Sarova"]


"Again, a pleasure to have you here Just Cerita."


The Mandalorians did take their territory quite seriously. While the idiots in the Republic were making deals with known Sith Lords, the Mandos certainly swung in the other direction. He found traffic quite restricted. A hassle even considering his time in less restrictive governments.


"Quite a different environment. We had to assist Miss [member="Chloe Blake"] in moving out a group of younglings in case the Mandos became an aggressor once again. Can I say I'm overly impressed compared to other governments I've worked with? Not at all. Clan Rekali has been exceedingly great to work with, perhaps the only bright spot I've seen."


"Do you have big plans for Yavin?"

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

She listened quietly as he responded, while paying attention to the other signs of language displayed. Most things conveyed weren't in the words spoken themselves, just a very small portion was that, the biggest and greatest source of information - at least to those who tried to pay attention - was the body language.

Body language, facial expressions, things like that.

"I confess I don't know much about Clan Rekali." A shrug followed with another smile. "Truth to be told they all blur together for me, same kind of armor, same language, same overly attachment to disproportional violence."

Who could forget the complete and utter genocide of Dromund Kaas. Was it a world of the Sith? Yes. Had the majority of the world's population been as much a victim of the Sith as the rest of the Galaxy? More than likely.

"That completely depends, to be frank, Judah-" The jokes were left behind for now. "Yavin is an investment that could pay off in a lot of ways, but the Mandalorians and their usual reactions concern me."

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Cerita Sarova"]


"You aren't alone with your concerns about the Mandalorian government. Their reactions haven't been the best in my opinion, and I do worry about my vessels moving in and out of the area. Its not an ideal situation to have on one's hands. The only upside is the amount of salvage we've been seeing."


Judah paused and shook his head.


"Nothing I can do to alleviate your fears when I have great concerns of my own. It is something I advise you to take under great consideration while thinking of setting up shop on Yavin."


Glancing back to the workers, it seemed they were given the all clear to head indoors.


"Care to visit this temple or do you wish to turn around now?"

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

"If there's one thing Clan Rekali has, it's luck with timing." It was quite amusing that Rekali had offloaded their assets and such on the auction market right around the time that Ra had taken up the mantle of Mand'alor. Had they known what was to come? Where they worried as well about the direction their Sole Ruler was taking?

Or was there more at play here?

Many questions, not enough answers and Cerita wasn't comfortable being in a position like that. There was little to be done about it now though.

"Oh, no, I came to visit Yavin from quite some distance." A shrug of the shoulders. "At the very least I can look at the temple from the inside as well."

The workers hadn't been inside themselves -- specifically ordered not to, most of her isolation teams were still busy with Coruscant and Elrood, containment teams at Antlean... no, there hadn't been time to send one of her specialists here to check out the temple.

They would probably have gotten themselves killed anyway, too much risk involved when you were talking about a Sith Temple.

"Note, this might be a bit dangerous, Judah. I can protect myself-" She jerked her head towards the lumbering Tuk'ata behind them. "They can protect us, if we come across something nasty, but there's still risk involved."

"If you want to stay outside while I check the things out, I won't hold it against you. We can resume the talks after I reviewed the place."

 

[Judah Dashiell]

Eyebrows slightly raised in the direction of [member="Cerita Sarova"] .Dangerous?Well,he supposed collapsing ceilings and crumbling foundations were a major cause for concern. Somehow he didn't feel the woman was speaking of structural issues. Those were no problem in his eyes, easily fixed. It seemed she was concerned about something else entirely.


Yet he was a single father now. He had different priorities and Makai was number one on the list.....not that he had ever not been.Things were different now. Dying wasn't exactly a possibility considering he was the only one in the boys life now. Well, there was [member="Danger Arceneau"] but the redhaired trade queen couldn't replace the loss of both biological parents.


Business still had to be conducted. Some burly looking guards were supposed to be backup.He would prefer to stay outside, but no long-dead force spirit was going to keep him from entering. Weren't they just supposed to attack their kind or something anyways?


"Alright then, ladies first. I'll be following right behind."

 

[Jairus Starvald]

She was surprised when [member="Judah Dashiell"] reaffirmed his willingness to join her.

But then a small measure of calculation entered her eye. The man wanted her to go first, that was the intelligent move, was it not? First see what the real danger was, maybe soften up the target and threat, before putting himself in danger. This wasn't exactly expected, stories went that Judah was quite the... friendly person.

"Of course." She gave a nod, before eyeing up the entrance to the temple herself. It was large, huge even, she was positive that several grown men could stand on each other shoulders and still not come close to the ceiling.

Twin statues decorated the sides of the doorway. Covered in vines and flora, but it was clear they were representing servants of some sort - holding up something, though the drawing of what had been eroded throughout the time.

"I am honestly not surprised this place has been hidden away for so long." Cerita mentioned over her shoulder as they stepped over the threshold of the temple. She paused for a moment -- the Force was strong here, stronger than it had been just a moment ago... concentrated source?

Very peculiar.

"Yavin is all jungle and mountains, how people find anything here is anyone's guess."

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Cerita Sarova"]


Crossing the threshold, Judah raised an arm to bat away cobwebs and a hanging vine that had somehow made its way into the interior. A bit of air moved, a sign there was an open entrance somewhere else in the Temple. Either some type of window or door to the outside. Wouldn't be a surprised, it looked as if the place had been sitting for some time untouched.


He moved further in, turning on a small battery powered lantern. Light bounced in odd patterns off the walls as he struggled to take in everything plus watch out for danger.


"Explorers, mainly. I should probably hire some archaeologists and scholarly types to run through these jungles and catalog what I actually own."

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Judah Dashiell"]

Definitely a concentrated source, she thought to herself while wandering farther into the atrium. Which suddenly made this location infinitely more attractive than before, because these things were rare -- usually, if there was a Nexus of the Force, especially a stronger one, you felt it.

Easily.

But this one was suppressed somehow. Only when she entered its confines did Cerita detect it in the first place, and within the territory of blood-thirsty maniacs who were running around slaughtering force sensitives...

That could come in handy.

"Could contract parts of it out with AEI," Ceri mumbled over her shoulder, while her green eyes drank in the inscriptions and statues all around the spacious room. "We got some experience with ancient temples and the sort."

Wry smile tugged.

 

[Judah Dashiell]

[member="Cerita Sarova"]


"Hm, How could I forget?" One hand continued to bat away cobwebs and various bits of dirt and dust. The other used a flashlight to look around the various passages. Judah was mostly concerned various predatory animals and cannibalistic natives tribes had taken up residence in the old building. Not so much flesh-eating tribal people but it wasn't something he'd ever rule out. Yavin IV held far too many secrets.


He slowly moved towards a large room with soaring ceilings. Flashlight trained on intricate stonework and inlaid art. Part of him admired the craftsmanship while the more practical part was searching for structural issues.


"Sounds like a plan though, could always divide the forest up and have your teams comb through. Going to take ages though."