Building of Pride

[Taeli Raaf]

With the taking of Bilbringi by the Sith, and Taeli working on making sure that the world would be a bastion for Krayt Industries, she had decided this world would be the perfect place to begin the construction of the first Star Destroyer from Project Pride: the Exalt-class Star Destroyer.

Standing in the command center of the main Bilbringi shipyard, her engineers and workers were just waiting for her go ahead to begin the construction . . . but she was waiting on some other arrivals, specifically the woman known as Circe Savan. She had promised to help with this stage, so Taeli had sent her message to come to Bilbringi to help with the project.

"Not much longer," she muttered to herself.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

And lo and behold, Circe came. Exactly as was to be expected. The location in question that had been selected for the initial vessel's construction was, to say the least, an interesting choice. Bilbringi did have shipyards located around the planet, and was a new conquest relatively away from most if not all threats. It was an excellent place for Circe's Cyracuse to land at, the shipyards there proving to be most useful for the task at hand. Once she docked with the main shipyard, finding her way into the facility was hardly difficult, she just needed to follow the Dark Side aura.

"So, you took my advice after all, it seems."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Enigma"]

"At the advice to have a secure site, remote, but with excellent shipyards?" she asked as the lady of the hour made her rather stylish appearance. "Of course, and I plan for Bilbringi to be both a bastion of Sith power and a bastion for Krayt Industries and our allied corporations to use as a primary work zone."

Now that Circe had arrived, Taeli gave the green light for the workers to begin their work on construction the first ship for Project Pride. She could feel herself smiling at the prospect, and was glad that Circe had arrived as promise. Her expertise here would be invaluable.

"But I forget my manners, thank you for coming, Miss Savan," she said, curtsying with her green dress graciously to the woman. "Given the state of things with Corellia, I imagined this project was more important than ever."

 

[Onrai]

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

"The galaxy's tearing itself apart. What would you expect? I currently have to deal with the Protectorate ranks being in chaos. I don't know whether or not the One Sith are feeling the same since something completely insane happened with Corellia, but it doesn't matter. Extragalactic invaders are certainly coming. We need to be ready." She had studied through ancient archives, looking for something that could provide a degree of stability. "How far along has construction gone? We need people working on this ship day-in and day-out if we want it in service."

The rush was normally not something she supported, but considering the circumstances of things, it was necessary.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Enigma"]

"The skeleton and hull plating have mostly been assembled, except for a few patches here or there," Taeli said. "Internal systems and other such things are going to be what are mostly needed to finish the project. My homeworld, or rather the world I was born on, is Corellia, so I've been feeling the pain of what happened. Whoever this extragalactic invader is . . . I want to crush them for what they've done, which is why I put this project a number one priority for my company."

Thinking for a moment, she continued saying, "The One Sith have mostly regrouped and have been busy with operations in regards to our enemies and what is going on across the galaxy. Hence why we now have complete control of the Bilbringi system and its shipyards. We recognized we needed military might for what was coming."

 

[Onrai]

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

"Good to know it's mostly physically intact." She smiled, stepping closer to the fellow Sith Lord. She was admittedly quite intriguing, with the glistening yellow eyes that glared over the ship being constructed. "You should applaud whoever did this. They've given you an opportunity to counterbalance the growth Titan Industries has been experiencing. Nonetheless, I apologize for the many people who likely have died due to this - but if they weren't strong enough to survive, then such is life."

She sighed. "I suppose I should thank you for giving me this opportunity to help out."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Enigma"]

"No, I should be thanking you, Circe," Taeli replied, blinking so her eyes changed back from yellow to purple. "Without your advice, this project would be just a run of the mill Star Destroyer and the lives lost would be mostly in vain."

Smiling a little bit, even as another report came across her datapad that the construction of the skeleton was nearing completion and internal systems were being offloaded for installation. It would still be a long process though.

"I suppose there's no harm in saying I was the person who led the assault to take Bilbringi," she said, a sly grin forming on her lips. "I'm uneasy about how much we rely upon Titan Industries when I don't trust the man who runs it to remain loyal to the Sith . . . well maybe to Vitium, but she doesn't have everyone's best interests at heart. I had to start challenging that hegemony, to show Titan they aren't the only person with skin in the game. So, since the Republic wasn't using this world, and before Titan or any of Vitium's allies led the attack . . . I did it myself."

 

[Onrai]

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

"Where's the fun in run-of-the-mill anything?" She smiled, gasping a bit as Taeli's eyes so fluidly changed their coloration. "I'm very glad I was able to be of assistance to Krayt Industries as a part of this project." Still eying over the frame as it was finished up, the interior structure being constructed, she gave a smile. "One final addendum... Did I suggest that you fit the Star Destroyer with a battle bridge in order to keep it active in case of the bridge's destruction?"

Then she brought up the company made by Silara's new lover. Her future husband, no doubt - and my my, did it concern her. How was it that her mother(technically) would engage in a relationship with a man that her daughter(technically) had never met, let alone knew? It significantly concerned her that this man had seemingly brought her into his arms with money, power, resources, and other such things, tearing her away from Circe. "Titan's outgrowing Krayt - the original company that the Sith have used for nationalized equipment. It's sad, but I doubt Vitium's actively helping do that sort of thing. I know her well enough..."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Enigma"]

"We did indeed, but thank you for the reminder," Taeli said, smiling a bit as she sent a message to make sure it was included and not overlooked. She had noted Circe's reaction to her eye color change, but she felt more comfortable with her normal eye color instead of her Sith eyes. Looking out over the construction, she couldn't stop a smile forming on her lips again as she could see the workers scurrying around the structure.

Hull plates were being double layered now, and one could see the sparks of electricity and welding occurring inside the ship as well.

"Titan has always been larger than Krayt, but that's slowly changing," she replied. "We won't be the little dog for much longer . . . but that's for the future and plans need to be laid for . . . countering that hegemony. I won't allow Kuhn or whatever he wants to call himself when he deals with the Sith to lead us by the nose to his products alone. Sorry, going on a bit of a rant there. Family trait is to ramble a bit when we start on something."

 

[Onrai]

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

"One can certainly hope so. Corporate loyalties are secondary to that of the Sith." She smiled, slipping behind the newer Sith Lord, slowly draping her arms over the woman's shoulders. "It's absolutely beautiful, isn't it?" She smirked. "Like you are, I'd certainly say." Taeli had always had smooth features, with or without the eyes showcasing her corruption, but only now was Circe truly able to understand more about such.

"The rambling's kinda cute. I'm not gonna deny."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Enigma"]

"Indeed, he's only concerned about making a profit," she sighed, then Circe draped her arms over Taeli's shoulders and spoke about her ramblings and that she was rather beautiful.

"Why Miss Savan, are you trying to seduce me?" Taeli said, blushing ever so slightly at the compliments from the other Sith. "I suppose in a way it is cute . . . I mean uh . . . and now I'm nervous rambling."

She chuckled a bit at that, unsure what to make of the situation. Even as the workers continued to slowly make progress, more hull being attached and all that, they had no idea what was happening in the observation room, which was private for just the two Sith Lords. A message popped up about another delivery of the mass drivers arriving for when the weapons would be installed . . . but she paid no attention to that right now.

"I have to admit, you're rather stunning yourself," she said, deciding to play out where this might go. "Powerful, smart . . . uh yeah, definitely beautiful . . . I mean the ship is too, but uh so are you."

She sounded all the world like a nervous university student instead of a Sith Lady, but she was allowed her moments of being human.

 

[Onrai]

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

"I may be, sweet thing, I may be." She sighed. "Those I have interest in rarely return the favor nowadays." The flirting was quite a bit fun, but the more she thought about it, the more she adequately recollected that this ship's completion was more important. Business before pleasure, as the old adae went. "But I suppose that while I'd like to hear your views on what you'd like to do - let's wait for the project to be completed, hmm? I'm eager to watch this thing blow stuff up."

Indeed she was. It had been a while since there had been any live-fire testing.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Enigma"]

"Ahem, yes I agree, such things should be left for after the project has progressed adequately along," Taeli said, blushing again and disentangling herself from Circe's arms. Another ping reported that the engineers were beginning the installations of the bridge systems within both the primary and battle bridges, life support was already operational in several sections of the ship to get more systems up and running while the hull was reinforced.

She could see the weapon systems, loaded in giant crate but fully assembled, being transported towards the ship. They would take a while to install and bring up to operational status, but a great thing about the Bilbringi system . . . there were tons of asteroids to be target practice.

"Work is progressing quite well, wouldn't you say, Circe?" she asked, smiling as more messages filled her datapad screen.

 

[Onrai]

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

"Business before pleasure, as they say." She smiled. "This weapon of war will truly be spectacular. I may request one for myself once Subach has reached an ample enough size - I know that Emeritus should be able to support such a ship in due time." He certainly hoped they would be capable of doing so. The last thing that she needed was to have something too big for her britches.

"The weapon systems should be nice and potent. When the ship is ready for launch, I can hardly wait to see what the weapons will do to a cocktail of the asteroids here in the system."

Speaking of the asteroids, she needed to develop a sort of asteroid base.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Enigma"]

"I'm sure we could provide you with one, Circe," Taeli laughed. "I think this is the beginning of a brand new era of starship, a Star Destroyer that disregards an enemy's shields with its weaponry is truly powerful, btu we will have to see how that goes once the ship is ready for shakedown cruise."

More messages were flowing to her datapad, informing her and her guest that everything was moving along and technicians were beginning to bring up the lightning systems and the reactors. Slowly, across the massive ship, lights started to flicker on and one could almost hear and feel the hum of power surging through the ship. Even then, exposed areas of the superstructure still showed welding and sparks coming from it as the workers continued to improve the hull more.

Taeli couldn't help but smile wider as another message arrived, stating that the engineers were reporting the reactors were working at top efficiency in their first test and providing all the power they needed for every system, or so they theorized.

 

[Onrai]

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

"It'll be great to have a Star Destroyer again..." She sighed, leaning her head against the other woman's shoulder. "I had a fleet like that once. Then the Fringe stole it from me. My command ship and everything." The last thing she wanted to do was remind herself of the humiliation Rave Merrill had pushed her through.

As Circe peeked at what was on the datapad, she herself smiled, pondering over how capable this warship would be against the many threats it would encounter. Hopefully very much so, to say the least.

Yeeeees.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Enigma"]

"I had heard of the challenges you had faced before," Taeli replied, lightly placing her head against Circe's. "My condolences for that, and I assure you, I'll make sure one of these remain in your possession. The least I could do after all."

Taeli had high hopes about what this Star Destroyer would mean for both the Sith and naval warfare in general, and even now, more messages were flooding in. Reports of tests on the electrical systems, data streaming in from the technicians that were observing the reactors, a message from a foreman asking for additional material for the armoring on the hull. Even a report stating the first mass driver was being moved to be installed and tested, just not a live fire test.

"The rest of the weapons and vital systems will be arriving shortly," she said, noting a message from the convoy carrying the systems. "They were assembed off site to allow faster production."

 

[Onrai]

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

"Perhaps the prototype would do." She smirked, looking Taeli over with a soft grin. "You could always come with me, you know. A supervisor for the in-field testing of the starship?" An intriguing loophole, one that could potentially be exploited. "It would be nice to have you as company for a while." From a viewpoint outside that realm as well - she was the first Sith that Circe truly enjoyed being around - well, One Sith that she had never known previously, anyways.

This Star Destroyer would be precisely what was needed in order to help deal with the troubled times ahead.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Enigma"]

"Already have a target picked out do you?" Taeli, asked, looking Circe over once. "If you want the prototype, that could be arranged once construction on the next of them begins. As for going with you . . . I wouldn't be opposed to the idea, you're actually rather enjoyable company yourself."

Another message pinged, and Taeli didn't realize how long they had been talking as she noted that another few mass drivers had been installed, and test were being done on the shield generators to make sure they would be ready and operational. Work was coming along quite well then, and that was good. She loved how motivated her men could be during a job.

"So tell me something, what form of companionship would this take if I came along?" she asked, an ever so slight coy smile on her lips.

 

[Onrai]

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

"Must I really elaborate, sweet thing?" She smirked, looking out over the prototype that slowly but surely was assembled more and more. "You would travel with me, and we would experience the galaxy together." Thinking over the words she had just said, she pondered what sort of alliance this would turn out to be. She would be the second Sith Lord with true loyalty towards Circe, and one of half a dozen with some degree of connection.

"After all, have you ever wanted to experience the galaxy's hidden places?"