...Good Intentions

[Jairus Starvald]

​

Erilnar, Centrality​

The Magrail Project​

---​

​

[member="Darth Imperia"]​

​

Binary Buddies was a small company all things considered.

It had no locations to speak off and apparently was even run out of a simple freighter. But, and this but was good enough for Tai Fa, Thengil spoke highly of Imperia's analytical abilities. Specifically, her ability to know when to fold 'em.

A meeting was called, then.

BB didn't have the resources to actually produce these droids that Fa needed, but apparently Darth Impy was quite good at designing things. He didn't particularly want to involve big companies into this project, at least not until he was part of those same great companies himself.

It was basic paranoia and security.

So, a meeting was set with Darth Imperia. To discuss a potential contract for aiding with a project concerning the restoration of a planetary-wide railway.

 

[Darth Imperia]

Darth Imperia was not a company woman. Binary Buddies was a side project of hers, something she paid relatively little attention to. The company'd gotten one or two big contracts in the past, but for the most part, Imperia had been happy to keep the corporation fairly low-key.

And then she'd received a message from Fa Holdings.

Tai Fa was a fairly respectable Knight of the Sith, and apparently quite the businessman. But more importantly, at least to Imperia, he was an associate of Thengil's, and any opportunity to gain insight into her pseudo-liege's strengths and weaknesses was a good one. Besides, Imperia needed the credits.

It was for these reasons that Darth Imperia had accepted Tai Fa's invitation, clothed in a sharp black skirt suit instead of her typical robes - in all honesty, she would've preferred to show up wearing her combat gear for dealing with a fellow SIth, but one had to keep up appearances.

"So," began the Knight, seating herself across from the Thirriken. "Starting price for schematics is fifteen thousand credits - another five thousand if you want a prototype made."

---

[member="Tai Fa"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Darth Imperia"]​

---​

The Sith Peacock looked up from his papers and studied Imperia with some scrutiny.

Of course, his associate Thengil had told him about this Sithling in some detail. Apparently there had been some kind of fight between them a few weeks ago- apparently he had executed most of her crew in that ordeal. How dreadful. He truly did not know how Thengil thought he would make allies and friends, if he spend his time bullying the lesser gifted.

But far be it from him to deny the Cathar his little pleasures. As long as he didn't expect him to partake in them, it was all semantics to Lord Fa.

"My friend Imperia.​

Welcome. Thank you for coming.​

Right to business then?​

​

I can respect that.​

Yes, I can. The price is good.​

Very fair, thank you."​

​

He inclined his beak in a token sign of respect.

After this display, his wing fluttered over the controls of his table and a holographic image was projected over the desk. It showed the great tunnels and passageways spread through the underground of Erilnar.

"Quite impressive, no?​

A special droid is needed.
One who can repair.

One who can maintain.
With quite little management.
Keep the train running."


In truth he could probably have left it to the talented Kaili Talith. Yet, the Sith in him knew that it was not wise to put all your chips into just a single individual- no, better to spread it around and diversify your investment.

 

[Darth Imperia]

Imperia slouched in her chair as she listened to the Thirriken speak, not allowing the little glimmer of respect she felt for him to show on her face - Imperia was a woman who knew quite well the value of a carefully chosen word, and coming up with haiku on the fly was something that required an exceptional grasp of Basic. Not to mention his plan - restoring the metro system under Erilnar was quite the ambitious project, not to mention quite lucrative, should it succeed. Business wasn't her forte, but that didn't mean she couldn't respect those who were more adept - business, after all, was just manipulation on a large scale. And manipulation was always a favorite pastime of hers. Speaking of...

"You don't need a droid line. You need two; one model to keep the magrail operational - for that, you'll want an engineering droid, something with higher-level thought than your average astromech. And you'll also need an administrative model - something that can keep the engineering units in line and working smoothly, something that can think creatively, at least for a droid, and adapt to problems as they arise." The Sith Knight kicked her feet up on the desk and leaned back, her expression still one of utter neutrality.

"I can make you both."

---

[member="Tai Fa"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Darth Imperia"]​

---​

​

He knew quite little about Imperia's Master, other than a name and a vague face to pin it on.

Yet, his neutral regard for her -- reserved for most Sith Lords backing their little Order -- started to go down almost immediately. This humanoid was taking quite a lot of liberties without so much as a second-thought. She was also less charming than she believed she was, not nearly enough plumage. It did not help that she did not have a finely groomed beak either.

But Lord Fa was a diplomat and simply inclined his little head in acknowledgement of her expertise.

"Refined expertise.​

I trust your ability.​

Time schedule for this?"​

​

Kaili had promised a week, but she was an expert at mechu-deru according to Rash.

There were no illusions that the other individuals under his employ would be far less prompt with their attributions. Which was quite alright, because at the end of the day they would have to clear out the tunnels, before they could actually start repairing the ways themselves. It was going to be quite the undertaking.

 

[Darth Imperia]

Imperia could sense, vaguely, the distaste pouring off of her Thirriken business partner, but she didn't much care. Tai Fa could, frankly, think whatever he wanted about her, so long as he did business with her - and it seemed that that was all but guaranteed.

"If you want prototypes, I can get you what you need in a month. Without prototypes, three weeks. You're welcome to critique my work or make recommendations when you receive the finished product, and I'll adjust the designs free of charge - but that'll take time, of course."

Throwing in the free after-purchase modification wasn't, strictly speaking, the most pragmatic business decision she'd ever made, but Tai Fa was a fellow Sith - and, more to the point, she needed this job, whether she admitted it or not. Her usual work -repairing and modifying droids after-market - could keep her afloat, but she needed a massive influx of credits to fund any of her grander plans.

The Sith Knight took her feet off the desk and straightened her posture, hands clasped in front of her. "If those terms are acceptable to you, then we have a deal."

---

[member="Tai Fa"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Darth Imperia"]

A month... a month... yes, they could work that out.

Within that month they could clear out the tunnels and start the progress of making them usable. They'd need trains to ride them, the rails to be restored and much more. But it was all coming together on schedule and that was all that truly mattered to the Thirriken. For things to be done in proper order, with structure and according to agreements made.

"Within a month, yes.​

This is quite agreeable.​

Thank you very much."​

​

Fa pondered on it for a moment, before rearranging the fabric of his silk robe.

"Do you have any questions?"​

​

It would be better if they settled any other questions she might have right here and there. Instead of having to come back on the hologram later, not that they could avoid it completely. After all, things might come up in the middle of the designing, but Lord Fa believed in efficiency.

This was efficient.

 

[Darth Imperia]

"Just one," responded Imperia, leaning forward in her seat. The dark haired Sith Knight still had a small grin on her face - despite her repeated insistence that she just wasn't interested in corporate work, she was enjoying herself here. The fact that she was getting paid probably helped, admittedly. "Do you have any interest in keeping this design exclusive to Fa Holdings? It's no problem if you do, of course. I just need to know ahead of time."

Darth Imperia learned early on in her career that people, especially the rich and powerful, liked to feel special. They wanted the only copy of this album, the original painting by famous artist X. For some of those people, as silly as it was to Imperia, that also applied to droids - so it was best to learn ahead of time if Tai Fa was going to get his delicate little feelings hurt it Imperia, perhaps, sold her design to his competitors.

---

[member="Tai Fa"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Darth Imperia"]

This time around it had little to do with his personal feelings on the matter.

Even though he was a Thirriken who enjoyed exclusivity and the allure it brought, it wasn't about that this time around. It was about security and what would happen if other parties had access to a design that was currently being used. True, it was most likely that Rash, his Echani Engineer with a Degree (capital D) in Mechu-Deru, would change around a lot of things in the schematic before it would actually be produced.

But one could never be careful enough.

"Yes, Imperia.​

That is quite... imperative.​

For security."​

He offered a little beaky smile in addition to the little name joke.

 

[Darth Imperia]

Imperia nodded. That was it, then - there was nothing more to discuss. And if anything came up, well, neither of them were exactly hard to contact. The Sith stood up slowly, offering another small nod in parting to her Thirriken business partner.

"You'll have your droids in a month," Imperia began walking away as she spoke, her gait confident and casual. "I'll expect my payment shortly before delivery - just so I know I'm not being cheated. It's nothing personal, of course. Just a precaution." It wasn't something she typically did, requesting payment before a job was finished - but she was dealing with a fellow Sith, this time. One couldn't be too careful.

---

[member="Tai Fa"]