Cloakinization (Mining Stygium With Siobhan on Maramere)

[HK-36]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"],

Maramere,

A tropical and luxurious resort planet, rich in sun, beautiful beaches, entertainment, and the sought-after stygium crystals for manufacturing cloaking devices. That is what brought the machine to the planet's orbit, his ship, the Siege Tower, appeared from hyper-space with a blink of light. For once the machine wasn't going somewhere to enjoy his retirement, although to HK enjoying retirement usually involved a gun fight or some sort of skirmish.

Either way, the droid stood on the bridge of his ship, clad in his armor, long black cloak cascading down his back, as he sent out a holo-comm to Sio,

"We have arrived, are you ready for the expedition?"

Apparently Sio wasn't currently at the bridge but in her quarters, doing gods know what, probably cleaning her toenails or something gross like that.

The machine looked aside to his Second-In-Command,

"Have the dropship loaded with construction droids and ready for departure."

"Yessir."

Thankfully he was on Maramere before, the planet once belonged to Protectorate and the machine managed to secure a mining deal with the native government, just enough to form two new stygian cloaking mechanisms. Hopefully nothing is going to go wrong!

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="HK-36"]


"We have arrived at Maramere. All teams report to docking bay and prepare for immediate departure," the computerised voice blared out of the intercom when the Siege Tower slipped out of hyperspace, orbiting the luxurious, tropical resort planet.


Siobhan had been doing important stuff. Well, that is, if you could consider reading a magazine about gardening important. You see, dear reader, looking after orchids was serious business. She'd once sacked a servant for not taking proper care of them while she was away.


Anyhow, Siobhan finally put the magazine away and, after examining herself in the mirror, headed out. Presumably she ended up encountering HK somewhere in the hangar. By the time she arrived, the shuttles had already been stuffed with minions and labour droids. Naturally she was fashionably late.


"Hey there. I see we're there at last," the space diva declared. "Maramere's stygium supply has dwindled significantly, but I've got a good feeling about what our surveys dug up. It's a nice planet. Maybe when we're done I'll go check out the beaches!" She felt like she'd earned a spa weekend.

 

[HK-36]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"],

HK was conducting the last of the shuttles being loaded, gesturing with his arms energetically as a stubborn hovering construction droid whirred and beeped at him while slowly moving inside by the time Siobhan found him in the hangar. He turned around to face her,

"Yes, the crystals are slowly running dry, but the local governor gave me a tip on this vein after I promised to back his regime and supply them with arms. Seems they are facing some pirate issues now that Protectorate disbanded."

He motioned for Sio to follow him on board the shuttle as the grumbling construction droid made some space for them,

"Hopefully we will not have to deal with them first-hand, otherwise that might cut our beach time short."

The machine already had to give up on one trip to the beach after that big order of graphite for Mandalorians. He sat down in the shuttle's seat, strapping himself in with a safety bar.

"By the way, do you think people would listen to me more if I started to talk like Yoda?"

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="HK-36"]


Siobhan would be most annoyed if pirates interrupted her planned spa weeekend! Then again, maybe she could save a pretty damsel while lazing around on the beach...and then seduce her. Oh, right, this was supposed to be a serious thread about mining Stygium crystals. She could go get pampered in a resort later.


"No. If you started talking like Yoda, I'd do mean things to your vocabulator," Siobhan said seriously. Back when she'd been a Jedi, one of the masters had insisted on doing a bad Yoda impersonation. It had really annoyed her!


"Personally I think he insisted on talking in that weird way just to troll and annoy people," she added as she boarded the shuttle. A moment later, the transport ship exited the hangar bay of the Siege Tower and soon pierced Maramere's atmosphere. The two friends would get a lovely view of the planet - especially the beautiful, sandy beaches and cerulean oceans - while the pilot steered the craft towards the prospective mining zone.

 

[HK-36]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"],

"I do not know, I think people would find me more approachable if I did a raspy giggle every now and again."

The droid quipped,

"Besides, you did not meet him in person, he was not entirely there, a common trait for a being so old."

Says a droid who's been around since the Ancient Republic, although it did explain his mass of quirks and eccentricities. His body shook along with the rest of the shuttle as they broke through the atmosphere.

HK looked outside of the shuttle's port view,

"Looks like it will be another sunny day in the paradise."

He commented on the weather as their vessel neared closer and closer towards the mining camp, he would look back at Sio,

"When was the last time you had Stygium excavated?"

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="HK-36"]


"Is this your roundabout way of telling me that you're going senile, Iron?" Siobhan could not resist quipping. He better not start forgetting about her! After all, he'd been around since the days of the Old Republic and the Mandalorian Wars.


Anyhow, the shuttle was getting closer to the mining ramp and began to descend towards a designated landing pad. "Last time Firemane wanted Stygium, I sent Tempest and Kaida to nab some after everything went to hell during that Netherworld mess." She'd just gotten her wife and kid back from hell. It had been a harrowing, frightening experience for all of them.

 

[HK-36]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"],

The droid looked at Sio after her senile comment,

"Mesa is as lucid as ever, muy-muy."

He replied without skipping a beat.

Their shuttle glided through the air, for once they faced no opposition, no enemy fire to weave through in their approach, no missiles chasing after them, just smooth flying and sapphire skies. The ship landed softly on the designated pad with a soft hiss of its engines cooling down and pressure of the cabin changing to adjust to the atmosphere as the ramp lowered, letting them out.

Outside there was already a Mere delegation waiting for them, the local governor and industrial representatives. All of them were aquatic fish-like beings yet covered in fur. Gods, they were grotesque, just absolutely abhorrent in appearance, and they all looked the same. That wasn't HK's judgement of them, it was just my personal opinion of them as a writer. I would not approve of my daughter dating a Mere.

Either way,

"Lady Kerrigan, your Holiness the Witch-King-"

HK glanced to Sio,

"Do not ask~"

"-We welcome you to Maramere, we are so honored you come to bring your business to us."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="HK-36"]


Naturally Siobhan just had to ask! "Witch-King?" she raised an amused, delicate eyebrow. She made a mental note to have her elf servants call her 'Your Holiness' sometimes. After all, she could not allow Iron to have more of a personality cult than her.


As for Mere themselves, they were ugly. Yes, this was Siobhan's personal opinion. The Countess had strong opinions about beauty. She might have also been slightly xenophobic. Anyhow, it was time to be diplomatic. The aliens were being polite and deferential, which was a plus in her book.


"Thank you, governor," Siobhan replied, addressing the guy who seemed to be in charge. It was difficult to tell since they all looked the same, but he was the most well-dressed. "I'm pleased be here. I look forward to doing business and spending some time on your beautiful world."

 

[HK-36]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"],

"Oh thank you, m'lady, you're too kind."

The Mere governor replied to Siobhan at her compliment of his planet, or at least the local region,


HK turned to look at her,

"Remember that time Cira disappeared and then I did too when I went to look for her? I may or may not have started a rumor I was a sorcerer among the more superstitious races."

The droid muttered to Siobhan in explanation, stopping as he realized the Mere were right there, looking at him with raised brows,

"Which I am!"

He waved his arms around in mystical gestures, his palms sparkling up in blue arcs of electricity from his electro-gauntlets, and he made a spooky sound,

"Whoooooo-ooooooooh~"

The Mere backed off slightly, gasping in amazement, Siobhan would probably see one of them bow, HK looked at her with a somehow smug look on his expressionless face before deactivating the gauntlets and putting his hands on his hips, looking back at the Mere,

"Either way, show us to where the vain has been located."

"Yes, of course, your Majesty, right this way~"

The droid would follow behind him, and presumably so did Siobhan unless she decided to stroll off onto her own adventure,

"You have brought the weapons for our militia, your Witchedness?"

The Governor directed a question at the droid,

"Yes, of course, I uphold my end of the bargain."

HK nodded, the Mere lighted up as dark cliffs would soon be visible in front of them, a carved out opening secured with durasteel beams and platform at its base, surrounded by a sun baked beach licked by the waves of the blue ocean,

"Splendid! We are most glad you agreed to help us with our little problem, we would never expect to be attacked by the Confederacy-"

The droid immediately groaned out, muttering,

"Those little chits again."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="HK-36"]


"The Confederacy? They're still a thing? Didn't they, like, rename themselves half a dozen times? Their minions must be confused. Good thing you don't have shipyards for them to drop." Sometimes, Siobhan still suffered from foot in mouth disease.


"I mean, our formidable weapons and combined might will undoubtedly repulse this pathetic collection of raiders and make them rue the day they troubled you. Our weapons will strike terror into their hearts." There, that sounded a lot better and more dramatic. Hopefully the neo-Confederates would not interfere with her vacation. Then again, perhaps she could save some damsels and get the Mere to build a statue in her likeness.


Anyhow, the Mere led them to the stygium vain. "Well, this looks promising, Iron. Let's take a look inside," Siobhan remarked.

 

[HK-36]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"],


HK looked back to Siobhan at her words,

"Well the Techno Union was trying to re-brand themselves, it might be them growing some balls for once."

His head tilted slightly to look over the azure idealistic skies,

"But it is probably just an automated ship from Druckenwell days with old protocols, thinking the war is still going on. Or who knows, it might be a force from the old Confederacy, Delila's spacer found himself a Munificent in working condition a while back, might be another relic transport that got reactivated by a stray asteroid or going into a nebula or something."

He would look back to the natives,

"Either way, the two of us should be enough to deal with them, the Galaxy has not seen a decent droid design since the day I reforged my body in Phrik."

HK quipped as he nodded to Sio and motioned for the Mere to go ahead and lead them into the mines.


Siobhan was right and the main already looked promising from the distance, this sentiment was only amplified the closer they got. Eventually they would step onto the metal platform in front of the mine's opening, electric lanterns hanging off of the metal beams illuminated a path leading further into the earthly womb like breadcrumbs marking a route towards the motherload of Stygium.

Taking a step further into the mines HK would bent down to pick up a stygium crystal laying to the side of the tunnel, probably left after one of their excavations. He tossed the Stygium shard to Siobhan,

"This should have enough of Stygium for our projects, and if we would ever need more we can always re-visit it in the future."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="HK-36"]


Siobhan chuckled. "Don't tell that to Moira or Maelion. Come to think of it, I need to melt those bitches some day." Little did the Countess know that she'd soon run into their latest experiment: Her very angry, very mechanical clone. Suffice to say there'd be a lot of bloodshed.


Anyhow, on with the plot. The two BFFs made their way into the stygium mine. The metal platform was a good vantage point from which they could not only take in the mine, but also observe the work of their minions. Siobhan liked to do that since it made her feel like the queen of the realm. She happened to be a rather vain woman. Small electric lanterns illuminated a path further down into the depths of the mine.


Siobhan caught the stygium shard that was tossed her way and examined the small crystal. It had a bit of a glow. "Yeah, this should do nicely. You got a plan for what you want to do with your half?" she queried.

 

[HK-36]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"],

"We can compromise, I will tell them as you melt them."

HK quipped at Sio's comment about the cyborg ladies,

"Although I wonder what Moira is up to. We used to be really fierce lovers back when Omega conducted that investigation into everyone's loyalties."

He looked off into the sunset, musing,

"Her chest was so firm."

HK looked back to Sio,

"Literally, all her assets are made out of durasteel."

Of course probably none of it was true as he was just messing with Sio. Or was he? He was. Or maybe not?


Either way, he picked up another Stygium crystal, looking to Sio at her question as he pocketed the rare material,

"I was going to install a cloaking device into my stealth transport. Turns out it does not have one when I thought it does. How about you?"

He looked to the Mere representatives and nodded, confirming they were good to go. As he stepped aside the aquatic beings motioned to his construction droids, the levitating miners activating their systems as they begun to make a procession through the opening down into the hole, one after another to start digging out the sweet sweet stygium crystals.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="HK-36"]


"Riiiight," Siobhan drawled, giving HK a 'you gotta try better than that' look when he told her tall tales about dalliances with Moira Skaldi. That said, he was probably right about her having a firm chest with fake tits.


For her part, she examined the Stygium crystal while the Firemane and ARGH minions went to work. After all, she was a Countess, and so actually mining the stuff was beneath her. She had subordinates for that sort of thing.


"I'm considering options. I may just build a third Revenant and use the crystals for a cloaking device? I've also thought about stealth armour similar to what the old Galactic Empire's Shadowtroopers wore. Could be useful for covert operations. Or even a stealth warship. Bit outlandish, but apparently cloaked star destroyers are feasible from a technical standpoint. My researchers told me it's actually easier than cloaking a small ship," she shrugged.

 

[HK-36]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"],

The droid nodded to her,

"Oh yes, you have room for a bigger reactor and even the energy requirement of a larger stealth generator on board makes it worth it. The stealth armor seems a bit redundant though, at least when compared to the chameleon cloaks Sarge trained us in back in the day, you get pretty much the same results in the middle of a battle but the cloaks are lighter and you still have room for a suit of armor that is more practical in the middle of a firefight."

HK stepped back to stand next to Siobhan as the sounds of excavation and digging start to emanate from within the tunnels, along with a cloud of rocky dust that begun to churn out from the mine, rising up into the sky.

"I might actually come back here to renew the production of those cloaks, we are still using the stockpile from Pyre we have saved up on Abregado. It would be useful to make new ones and equip our new sniper and commando units. Who knows, maybe we will end up making some advancements to their structure in the process as well."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="HK-36"]


Siobhan frowned a bit. She didn't like Sarge at all! For one, he'd broken Coryth's heart and was an overrated jerk in her opinion. In other words, a typical maleling. Still, HK had made a good point about the cloak.


"You have a point. I believe I'll go ahead with the cloaked Star Destroyer. Should be a nasty surprise for the enemy, especially if we load it with lots of heavy guns," she smirked. What would they call it? Presumably Siobhan would want a name that furthered her cult of personality. Further down, the NPC minions were doing their work and mining crystals.


"If you can develop an upgraded version of the Pyre's old cloak, that should come in handy, too. But you'd have to check with the Pyre for that. I imagine they'd want a piece of the cake since it's their tech."

 

[HK-36]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"],

The droid didn't blame Sio for disliking Sarge, he was a hard man to like, from the machine's experience the soldier had little to no sense of humor, and on a scale of humor a droid used that was quite low.

HK nodded at her words,

"Well, what is left of Pyre at least, the Prex is still around, last I heard of Carter, the Old Goat may be dead, not sure where Sarge wandered off to, and not sure if I am still recognized as a ranked officer, but it should not be too difficult to negotiate something beneficial to us. Besides, if they would end up being difficult, it would not be the first time I reverse engineer somebody else's tech and put my seal on it. The Verpines keep sending me letters about royalties from the Shatterguns."

The droid shrugged,

"The cloaked destroyers sound good, it would definitely give your ships an edge over larger forces, even out the field against powers that could pool more resources than us. Although I am planning on introducing Abregado-made starfighter equivalent I am not sure if we would ever be able to manufacture capital ships of our own."

HK turned to look at the mines, bustling with activities now as the black scarab-shaped construction droids busied themselves with procurement and transport of the clear Stygium crystals,

"Our army may be rather strong and the weapons we manufacture only few opponents can stand against, but we may be depending on Firemane to supply us with ships for some time to come."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="HK-36"]


Siobhan nodded. "Aye, true. Last I heard, that Zeison Sha girl was Prex. What was her name again? Oh, right, Aeron. But the Pyre's not that active these days. It's still big and makes a big profit from selling Thyferra's bacta, but it's glory days are for the history books," she shrugged.


"And, yes, I got plenty of letters from the Verpines while you were gone. Fodder for the paper shredder. They whined less after the Republic vented a bunch of their civvies into space during the Mando invasion."


She glanced towards her friend while the NPC droids continued mining. "You'd have our support, no doubts about that. Starfighters and subcapital ships should be feasible for you. That would be a good supplement for us if we focus more on the larger battleships. Good escorts are important, after all, and there's niches outside of that. When the Silver Coalition - that's what the Silvers used to be before they decided to turn into Jedi theocrats - invaded Ruusan, the Sith seriously screwed with their fleet by using e-war."

 

[HK-36]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"],

"Their glory days may be over but like you said, they still have funds and ships at their disposal."

HK glanced to Sio then,

"To both of which I may or may not be still helping myself when a need arises and I do not want to risk my own assets."

He would look back to the mine,

"Perhaps we should send them at least a symbolic amount of royalties. As much as I would love to keep them out of it completely, if what you are saying is true then they got majorly screwed in all of this. Screwing civies and third parties just got in the middle of galactic war is not why I pushed to become the Lord Protector of Abregado. Besides-"

HK motioned towards the droids that busied themselves in excavation and the riches they protruded for them,

"It is not exactly like we need all those credits, especially me."

The droid shrugged,

"It is sad times when it falls to the droids and mercenaries to be the compassionate ones in the Galaxy."


HK would look back to Siobhan,

"E-war? Well the Jedi were never exactly savvy in the ways of technology, at least not most of them, but slicing techniques did come a long way in the recent history. I will look into it and see what we can produce, after all I had to defend myself against such attacks my whole life."

The droid looked back to the mines as he quipped,

"Although I usually did it by finding whoever was trying to slice me in their mother's basement and kicking the chit out of them."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="HK-36"]


Siobhan chuckled. "Hahaha. Indeed. Sometimes, I feel like I'm more 'light sided' than Jedi. A remarkably sad state of affairs," she commented wryly. Verily, it was truly a bleak galaxy they lived in.


She gave HK a nod. "And, no, Jedi aren't tech-savvy. Or really savvy about anything in warfare that goes beyond swinging a glowstick and preaching. I believe the Sith used Fringe and Primeval tech. The Sanctum fleet was able to cope, but it was a big blow, especially for their communications. So if you can look into this, that would be good."