Frozen - Tech Union Dominion of Rothana

[Morgan Redeaux]

Morgan would have to ponder his instructions later as self-preservation mode had begun to kick in for the HRD. "Mr. Ardik, I have something to show you."

She beckoned him to follow her to the refresher and she opened the door. "I broke into the panel which hides the controls for the sink and toilet. These electronics are all hooked up to the main system. It wasn't difficult to slice into, because the main system is failing right now. I ran a diagnostic on the vessel and well, it's quite alarming the state that it's in. But anyway..." She leaned over and pressed a couple of buttons. "I rerouted some circuits and now all of the doors to the freighter are unlocked."

It appeared she had been busy in there not only feeling resentful and wounded, but also being productive. These organics with their substandard cerebellum, she thought. Always taking the long way around to do things. She tried not to smile lest he feel even more inferior. Instead she said rather sweetly again:

"Presumably we have unfettered access to the escape pods unless they were built with an anti-droid schema. And in that case, you better go first."

Was she a little worried that her employer would somehow how abandon her on the damaged ship? Very much so, because her behavior had been very undroid-like lately, but as Morgan's programming demanded she would allow Mr. Ardik to decide her fate. Unless a droid held vital information to a Master, it was easier to sacrifice a machine than an organic being. Especially if there was going to be limited space in an escape pod. As she waited Morgan could not find the diagnostic information the Umbaran was looking for. She would ask him about that later.

[member="Gerion Ardik"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

Objective: D - Establish Hegemonic Automaton Presence
Location: Dead Space - Aboard a Superfreighter
Company: [member="Morgan Redeaux"]
Posts: [05/20]

Gerion reluctantly moved back towards Morgan and peered into the restroom. Panels had been yanked from the walls and circuitry now hung out in the open. His immediate thought was that this was a grave safety hazard, but given the context of the situation he found it to be a welcome one. Especially as Morgan explained she had engaged in some clandestine slicing. Eyebrows were raised, but ultimately he found himself nodding along in approval. But this didn't make any sense. Why hadn't anyone come to get them? The only attendant to enter had subsequently tried to lock them inside and denied any sort of problems.

"Good work. I'm impressed." Gerion commented, noticeably without any sardonic undertones for just once in his life. "And I very much doubt a vessel this old has any anti-droid feature on its escape pods. You will be leaving this vessel with me."

He tried not to think about how ridiculous and overly-sympathetic that statement made him sound. It was a droid. An artificially animate object. What did he care if it actually left with him or not? Yet for some reason it mattered to Gerion. For whatever reason, he didn't feel it would be in his good conscience to abandon it on a soon-to-detonate ship in the middle of nowhere. Even if any "feelings" it supposedly had were just routines and modules that ran on for too long. Was there really a difference between simulated sapience and actual sapience in the long run? These questions were so much easier to answer when the droid in question didn't look like a human woman. How aggravating.

The previously locked door opened at their approach, and Gerion waved away the small amount of acrid smoke that filled the room. He started coughing anyway, managing a question in-between spurts. "Do you know which way the escape pods are?"

 

[Morgan Redeaux]

“They are located just outside of the cockpit," she replied.

Morgan wasn’t affected by the smoke and there didn't appear to be too much of it, but she knew that if the corridor became too clouded with smoke, the Umbaran's lungs could be damaged or he could actually pass out. If that happened, the HRD was afraid she may not be strong enough to drag his unconscious body to the escape pod. No one from the ship’s crew could be seen at all. Hopefully they hadn’t launched all of the pods already and left the two of them to alone to perish.

But he wasn’t going to like what she was about to suggest. Nope. Not one bit. Just as she was getting back into his good graces…

“Mr. Ardik,” she said trying to sound helpful. “May I suggest you get down on your hands and knees and… crawl? You are at risk for smoke inhalation. Especially as this corridor narrows. My bioscan module reads that the oxygen is particularly low up ahead. Also may I remind you that along with the lack of oxygen there are chemical irritants which can cause swelling, airway collapse, and respiratory distress.” If she explained the science of it all maybe it would distract from the fact that she was literally ordering her employer to get down on the floor and army crawl across the ship. She didn’t dare touch him so she made motions with her hands as if to say “get down.”

The protocol droid grabbed a fire extinguisher off of the corridor wall and began to spray it ahead of them to clear some of the smoke and help to get them to the escape pod more safely.

[member="Gerion Ardik"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

Objective: D - Establish Hegemonic Automaton Presence
Location: Dead Space - Aboard a Superfreighter
Company: [member="Morgan Redeaux"]
Posts: [06/20]

Ultimately the decision he made to crawl around on the floor after Morgan like a beaten stepchild was an easy one to make. Gerion could either humiliate himself with the display, or die an early death from smoke inhalation. It was a decision he had made quite a few times in different contexts- humiliation or death. Somehow when weighed against whatever the afterlife held in store for him, embarrassment didn't seem so bad. Besides, he was still going to be filthy rich by the end of this- not to mention he still had an expensive gift to deliver to Kuat's lovely monarch.

Provided he got out of here alive. From all the hacking coughs he gave, the floor wasn't working out much better for him, but he pressed on regardless. Morgan and a fire-extinguisher took point, vanquishing any flaming obstacles that might have blocked their escape route. Gerion still could not properly grapple with the fact that this entire freighter's crew decided to abandon both of their passengers. These people had an outstanding record, otherwise he wouldn't have hired them.

As they made for the cockpit, Gerion caught sight of a viewport. It couldn't hurt to at least see exactly where they were. Maybe it wasn't dead space- maybe they were inside of a system along the Quiberon Line. The Umbaran peaked out, just in time for the freighter to shudder several times and Gerion to bear witness to an assortment of escape pods tumbling free from the vessel. Not too far from their ship, an Interceptor IV frigate loomed. It disgorged two menacing looking shuttles, possibly boarding craft.

"Morgan-" Gerion peeled himself away from the window, coughing and crawling rapidly to catch up. "-How many escape pods are on this vessel?"

 

[Morgan Redeaux]

After Morgan had extinguished the fire in the corridor, she turned around to help Mr. Ardik up. She felt bad for him having to crawl around especially with the tendonitis in his elbow and reached down with her hand so he could grab it and hoist himself up. After he asked about the number of lifepods on the ship, she began to check around. Most of them had already launched away and Morgan frantically searched to see what was left if anything because it did appear they were now alone on the ship.

“There’s one more!” she shouted suddenly, spying a small escape pod hatch that was still latched to the ship. She checked the model number and said, “It might be cozy in there, but it looks like it will hold both of us." And like the Umbaran had suspected, when the HRD opened the hatch, the pod didn’t appear to prohibit droids and she was allowed entry.

This particular survival craft was only designed for two beings and two small beings at that. The confines were more than cozy - they were downright claustrophobic. But as Morgan pulled Mr. Ardik in and shut the hatch, she turned on the air filter and the smoke immediately cleared, making it easier to breath again. Luckily for her employer she had actually piloted one of these vessels before, so by recalling her memory of that sequencing, she began engaging the launch procedures.

“Are you ready?” she asked him, making sure he was getting himself strapped in. The escape pod would be padded but as it was a simple survival craft there was a chance that either of them could still get injured as they disengaged from the ship.

[member="Gerion Ardik"]

 

[Chaos Maxtor]

Objective C
--
Elgyn nodded; Raziel had a point. While he’d considered leaving a small explosive surprise for the terrorists when he left, now was not the time. Once upon a time he’d played terrorist for the Crimson Order, so the rules of the game were well known to him. But that had been another lifetime.

“Aw, shucks. My own Seal Team Six? I could blush.”

He turned his attention to the crate, kneeling to shuffle through its contents. Mostly it was clutter; spent rounds, dead power packs, and the occasional food wrapper, some of which tumbled out of its confines as he dug. “Come on, where are you,” he muttered, arms elbow-deep in junk until at last his hands found a familiar shape among the detritus. Withdrawing his arms he held up his prize: a small pistol case, which he set on his knee while he stuffed the junk back into the box and snapped its lid shut. He straightened, bringing the pistol case to his cheek. “Hello, beautiful. Did you miss me?”

He moved to join Raziel. “I’ve only got room for one pistol and three mags, but if you want the other feel free to take it and the last clip. Have you ever used a Dissuader KD-30?” he asked, drawing one of the pistols from the case and tucking it into his vest’s webbing. He tucked the magazines in on the other side, ensuring all were neatly tucked away, before offering the case and remaining pistol and clip to Raziel.

“And now I must bid you farewell, elsewise I shall be late for a very important date.” He tipped two fingers to the other man, turned on his heel, and was quite quickly speeding out of the cave astride his swoop


--

[member="Raziel"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

Objective: D - Establish Hegemonic Automaton Presence
Location: Dead Space - Aboard a Superfreighter
Company: [member="Morgan Redeaux"]
Posts: [07/20]

While by some accounts he was certainly getting on in his years, the Umbaran wasn't infirm. Not just yet. Gerion was able to avoid the indignity of having Morgan handle the process of strapping in his harness once they clamored into the "cozy" escape pod. It was one thing that he already crawled after the robot. He wasn't about to be strapped into his chair like a toddler into a special speeder seat as well. If Gerion didn't cling to the little dignity he had, then there would be nothing left. Clung to his dignity like he currently tried to cling to focus, that is. Just a little bit of smoke inhalation plagued the Umbaran at present, and he found himself with the onset of a headache and some light headedness.

"Goodness, yes." He wheezed. "Punch it, please."

Despite the subtle fear for his life that was creeping up on him (there didn't appear to be any planets in this neck of space, and those frigates probably had tractor beams), Gerion couldn't help but admire the replica droid's professionalism. No sense of fear- taking right and proper charge of the situation. Programmed efficiency and professionalism. For the most part. That little episode with the refresher and the tacky shirt sort of soured the whole experience, but with his throat feeling rather painfully sore by this point, so he had that to think about instead.

 

[Morgan Redeaux]

Morgan engaged the launch sequence and the escape pod shot away from the ship, tumbling around until the HRD managed to get it under control. It was good that they were strapped in. Because even though she knew the basic controls of the escape pod, she was a protocol droid after all, and not a seasoned pilot. But quickly she seemed to manage the flight control system and the pod's forward motion smoothed out.

She turned away from the console and back to Mr. Ardik. They were so close together in the craft that their knees were practically touching. No wonder all of the other pods had been chosen first, she thought. The vessel left very little room to move around, and while Morgan was fine sitting in it for a long stretch of time, she was almost positive that Mr. Ardik's patience would be tested.

"Are you okay, Mr. Ardik?" she asked, noticing him coughing and sputtering still. "There is a medpac in the ship if you need it. It may have some kind of inhaler to clear your lungs." She used her bioscan module on him again just to make sure he wasn't about to pass out on her. Her artificial retinas momentarily flashed blue and then went back to looking like normal human eyes again. Morgan seemed oblivious to the nearby freighters, although on the console there was a view screen, so the both of them could witness what was going on in space around the escape pod.

"This craft has a sensor that will tell us which planets are nearby," she said. She pulled up the information and read off the planet names to the Umbaran. "Which one should I set a course for?"

[member="Gerion Ardik"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

Objetive A
Five Posts for the Post God’s 20

Being on the shipyards was not the best place for Marek. He got bored. And he wasn’t an engineer. The good thing was that there were drinks here. And sure, maybe he was not an alcoholic, but the man did enjoy the occasional drink. Truthfully, he was afraid the collective hangover would kill him. And with the Force? He could make it so he could operate heavy machinery quickly, not that he was going to do that. Nope, he lived on the fringes of space for a while.

Now his hands were clean, he was fine with a lightsaber, still using a slugthrower, but he was more for making deals, and credits. Was why didn’t run, and kept the systems safe after the exodus of Verd. When [member="Darell Irani"]’s engineers showed up, Marek looked over at Irys.

“We getting to work?”

[member="Irys Arist'lar"]

 

[Marek Starchaser]

OBJECTIVE B
OBSIDIAN CITADEL
.: PHASE II :.
[member="Asher Valentine"] // [member="Phade"] // [member="Seto"] Du Couteau

Molly was so really not cut out for this. She wanted to help, though, and that could be why she was in her fighter still, doing a slow roll over the site. She brought the Rassilon in for a landing and looked out as she got prepared to meet the leader of the Obsidian Order and her comrades in arms on the rocks. "So, forgive me for sounding lost... but what are the mining for? Or is it strictly to get the foundation set? And is it safe to put a base in the rocks like this?" She knew her sciences, at least the way pop culture referenced them, and this seemed like an unhealthy idea. Living in space? What was next? Psychics? Right, the Force.

She really needed to work on that, learning it, but who knew? Maybe she'd get replaced by someone who could chase down Hutts without even changing out of their pajamas. Still, her wide eyed approach to life here? That was something new.

 

[Darth Metus]

Objective D - 3/20

Well this was certainly interesting.

According to the preliminary scans, that upon which the Mandalorian stood was several hundred meters in length. From the rough image that was provided, there was a point of access that was not too far off. With a click of his tongue, Isley called along his War Droid...for there was no way in Hell he was clawing through snow bare-handed. As such, he trudged along for what felt like a small eternity; yet for one who didn't like cold, three minutes would definitely feel like a lifetime.

Salvation came in the form of arriving before a rather sizeable mound of snow...that was indistinguishable from the other heaps. However, this is where the scans indicated that an entrance into the massive, metal structure was. With but another whistle, a word of Mando'a, and a point, Isley commanded his War Droid to fire. At once, several shockwave generator rods fired off in unison, sounding off with an explosion upon the snow.

Needless to say, the mound was no longer an issue...and Isley saw what he was walking into: a ship.

 

[Caulder Dune]

Objective: D - Get out of Dodge
Location: Dead Space - Aboard an Escape Pod
Company: [member="Morgan Redeaux"]
Posts: [08/20]

Gerion waved dismissively, convinced his state would pass. Or perhaps it was the delirium that made him think so. "Is Rothana within range of this craft?" He could only hope. It would be a rather cramped and time-consuming ride in this cramped escape pod, but there were worse fates.

Their situation was a bit deplorable, but at the end of the day, they still had work to do. Gerion's luggage, and his proper clothes, were now lost on that ship as it finally started to break apart behind them. Not to mention his datapad... Whatever, he had back-ups and he still had his wallet. He could purchase himself a more stable ship and reasonable attire once they got out of here. Maybe not the attire. He would keep the shirt with respects to Morgan, who had been a wonderful help... For the most part. Gerion noted her eyes flash and he realized she might have been scanning him for medical anomalies. Could she do that? His head was still foggy and wracked with pain.

 

[EmKay]

OBJECTIVE B​

OBSIDIAN CITADEL​

.: PHASE II :.​

[member="Molly Rieux"] // [member="Phade"] // [member="Seto"]​

____________________​

​

The asteroid shuddered, cracked, and then split. The droids were doing their job quickly. Their own little thrusters did the work of bringing the two halves of the supermassive rock apart to precise measurements, then they used themselves to chain an anchor to the two pieces via interlocking arms and legs. Essentially, four dozen or so droids became four chains holding two halves of an asteroid together. From there, the process of frame construction was under way, and the durasteel beams were going into place.

In his ship, Asher watched intently and then his comm buzzed. He flicked on the speaker to hear,

"What are the mining for? Or is it strictly to get the foundation set? And is it safe to put a base in the rocks like this?"​

Valentine let himself a little grin, and responded,

"As you can see, they were working to split it. Now they're laying foundations and framework. Any additional mining will be for both mining of any useful materials for use by the Union or the Rothana Prime Citadel, or to set further foundations."

 

[H3xle]

OBJECTIVE B
OBSIDIAN CITADEL
.: PHASE II :.
[member="Asher Valentine"] // [member="molly rieux"] // [member="Seto"] Du Couteau



Phade slid back into the pilot's chair after climbing into his ship and out of the heavy suit. The benefit of flying alone, was being able to fly in your underwear when it was more convenient than getting dressed again. Phade brought his freighter up off the asteroid, clearing the way for the mining teams to take over. They had the expertise in this, Phade did not, so he didn't have any issue letting them do it. He did synchronize his ship with the spin and orbit of the asteroid so he could watch the mining happening. He didn't really have anything else to do for the moment.

 

[Morgan Redeaux]

Objective: D - Enroute to Rothana
Location: Dead Space - Aboard an Escape Pod
Company: Gerion Ardik
Posts: [09/20]

"This pod has hyperdrive capabilities," answered Morgan after a quick check of the console. She programmed in the coordinates to Rothana and set the course. "We are now on route to Rothana."

The HRD was really keen to ask Mr. Ardik what was inside his head. It must be a cybernetic implant, but she really tell and honestly that was just a guess. The Umbaran still looked a little worse for wear, but she stopped worrying whether he was going to pass out. If he did, now that they were on autopilot, she knew she could confidently manevuer the escape pod to Rothana without his help.

Morgan shifted in her seat a little trying to give him as much room as possible. Being this close to her employer made her feel a strange sense of reassurance, but she didn't sense that back from him, although he seemed so exhausted, she probably could have climbed into his lap and he wouldn't have minded.

"Oh by the way, Mr. Ardik, I have your itinerary memorized. So just let me know if you need to review it again."

And before he could answer they made the jump through hyperspace and would be able to discuss his important schedule once they were in the Quiberon sector.

[member="Gerion Ardik"]

 

[Darth Metus]

Objective D - 4/20

What the heck was this ship doing here?

Sure, Rothana was a frozen wasteland...and Isley just so happened to be thousands of miles away from all the lovely business talks...but he didn't expect a random ship to just be buried under the snow. Regardless, this was an opportunity. He came for scans, so he would get them. Now that the entrance was clear, the Mandalorian motioned for his Bes'uliik to follow before venturing within the belly of the beast. To hope that some sort of auxiliary power still existed was a far off delusion...it was pitch black.

Fortunately, Isley had night vision. Well, his helm did anyway.

Stepping lightly, the Mandalorian made his way about the ship, moving along what could only be described as an air lock. His voyage took him deeper into the vessel still, until he came upon a rather...bridgesque area. This was evident by the presence of a "commander's chair" and large monitors adjacent to one another. Although the power was off, there were still ways to get what one needed. So, the Mandalorian made his way over to the central console.

Crouching, he took hold of an access panel and wrenched it open. A cord was then produced from his person which was then plugged in. This would feed power from his armor's systems to the central computer, but he wouldn't dare do it for long. After all, he needed to stay warm right?

 

[Hira Mitsae]

Rothana Heavy Engineering​

[member="Venussia Sasko"]​

~~~​

[10/20]​

The lift doors opened and admitted a Darell Irani into the underground facilities of the Heavy Engineering, his clothing was strangely disheveled, teeth marks and lipstick on the neck which all came together in one suspicious looking package, when it came to work-relation propriety. Not that Darell was especially concerned about that, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.

Suddenly he wondered what [member="Gerion Ardik"] was up to.

A thought that quickly disappeared as he looked behind him and winked at Sasko, before stepping a few more steps into the facility. He punched the light button and there they go, one by one big lights on the surface of the plafond started to go on, bathing the room in light.

It was a huge storage facility which made Irani immensely pleased, it seemed that they had come to the right spot and that his money hadn’t gone to waste. In the meanwhile Eridium Industrial was very busy in the Rothana System, part of it was aiding [member="Asher Valentine"] in his efforts to give the Obsidian Order an established home here, another part was busy with the shipyards, but the bulk?

They were busy with establishing and repairing infrastructure on the planet itself, it was a world that was rich with minerals, ores and other repositories that would be very valuable towards the rebuilding of the Techno Union and its states.

[member="Marek Starchaser"] was still riding his metaphoric ass to have Eridium as the front line towards the redevelopment of the nations, and that was fine with him. Industrial would do its best to make Rothana into a valuable member of the Union, rails, space elevators and mines.

Heil the Union.

 

[EmKay]

OBJECTIVE B​

OBSIDIAN CITADEL​

.: PHASE III :.​

[member="Molly Rieux"] // [member="Phade"] // [member="Seto Du Couteau"] // [member="Darell Irani"]​

____________________​

​

With the support beams in place and holding, the chain-link droids detached and began the next process of setting permacrete structure around the durasteel beams, to ensure that hyperdrive fuel could not melt them. Or something to that effect. The crews of droids swarmed the area once the supports were finalised, and they carried out all manner of tasks. This was the main construction phase, after all. Two other larger-than-the-others asteroids were brought in, tethered, and secured to the main rock. From there, additional superstructure was crafted and set in place. Mining droids did their thing, and construction droids followed along behind them laying durasteel and permacrete. Standard construction material, and very durable, after all. Hours passed, and the asteroids were beginning to look pock-marked and hollowed, with frames denoting the places of different structures. It was all already planned out, every piece had its place.

Organic engineers began to come in. A handful, to inspect the foundations set. If any impurities or errors were found, they would be flagged and corrected. Following that, a final sweep would be conducted and the next phases could begin.

 

[Corey's OOC]

Objective: A
7 of 20

Of course Marek Starchaser was going to make a huge push on [member="Darell Irani"]. He needed Eridium Industrial to carry the brunt of the workload in reestablishing infrastructure on these worlds. The company had a lot of what was needed and with Irani at the helm? Well, at least Marek knew that the CEO would take his calls. Speaking of, he needed to get ahold of his partner and cued him up on the comlink.

“Irani, how’re we looking planet side?” And he didn't mean with the mines he was checking out in that elevator. Reports from all the groups would be necessary. He knew that Irys was working on the shipyards and that was important, she could handle that. What he was concerned on was the location of his CEOs, [member="Gerion Ardik"] included. He knew they could handle themselves, but he wanted to make sure no one got left in the snowy wastes, playing with rocks, or something.

The next order of business, because he hadn’t gotten ahold of the Net Zillo commander, was to contact [member="Asher Valentine"]. “Are you receiving everything you need?” The builders of the Obsidian Order worked closely with the construction crews of the Techno Union, and one thing Marek needed to do was balance everyone. Make sure everything got where it needed to go. And then he could go back to his drinking and darts.

Or whatever her names was. Hopefully room services cleaned his room of the women he left there.

 

[Hira Mitsae]

Rothana Heavy Engineering​

[member="Marek Starchaser"]​

~~~​

[11/20]​

It would take a lot more work to get Rothana back on track, factories to be set up, refineries to construct, mining sites and underground pipes to transport the valuable resources from this location to that, space elevators were constructed for the general convenience of transporting goods towards the upper echelons of the world and the spaceport of Rothana was being renovated again. All the latest and durable materials used.

Yeah, it was a good day for Rothana and the Techno Union at large, once they were done here Rothana would be known for its real worth. The minerals and mining resources would be dug up, transported and used for the betterment of the nation at large.

Can’t get better than that, no?

Darell himself was walking amongst the crates and pondering on where to start first, this was the storage facility where Rothana had been storing its more critical projects and plans. The things one needed to have when it came to a few certain projects he had in mind.

‘Pretty good, Marek.’ Irani replied over his commlink, while his eyes wandered. ‘The construction and renovating process is good at the moment, pretty sure that by the end of the next few months we will have the beginnings of a good and robust infrastructure going here.’

‘How are things on your end?’