In The Dark Of The Night

[Jairus Starvald]

Taris, Ojoster Sector.
ArmaTech HQ
[member="Draco Vereen"]

Well, well, well, Vereen had done well for himself over the years. From a little upstart company that mostly supplied the Republic with one of their few functional and efficient tech, to a juggernaut of business in the Galaxy. Cerita had followed his rise with some interest. Mostly because Rave had told her one day: “Keep that one on your radar, he will go far.” and what Rave said came true almost always.

Part of her had wanted to buy a few shares when they were still little, but the biggest part of her hadn’t been ready for that yet. Too busy studying and scienceing to really want to bother with the corporate world.

Things changed though.

And today it was Sarova who got on Vereen’s radar. She wasn’t surprised. A man like him probably had informants everywhere, so when he caught wind of her experiments and what she had accomplished in a small-scale environment? Well, there was a little birdie and contact was made for an appointment.

Taris was slowly being rebuilt by the Mandalorians. It was still a cesspit, of course, but the Dragon of Mandalore had carved out a little piece for himself in said cesspit. A functional city for his workers and scientists, a place where the factories ran day and night by automation, she wondered how their infrastructure and logistics were though. Because Taris didn’t have much in the way of resources itself, so they probably had to import everything themselves.

“I have an appointment with mister Vereen.” Behind her trailed two Qo’saarai Tuk’ata, the only bodyguards she really used these days.

“Of course, miss… Sarova, yes.” The secretary was a cyborg. iBorg hardware was firmly integrated throughout her body and Cerita could almost smell the fresh cybernetics mixed with flesh, very interesting. She smiled, a pretty smile, but there didn’t seem to be much behind it in terms of warmth.

So maybe it was true that people lost something in the progress or maybe the secretary had never been a warm person to begin with.

“You may take a seat. I will call you up once he’s ready for you.”

Ah, the classic wait-scheme. The longer they made her wait, the more prestige they possessed.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco was sitting in a chair off to the side in the common area of Marcus's very large office. The veshok wood desk the man from Tanaab currently sat behind had never been used by the Mandalorian, though Marcus often claimed that the desk had been there from the beginning. Why the man lied Draco didn't much care, he hadn't but a lot of stock into it. He ran the day to day operations very well and he didn't make waves when he didn't have to. He kept quiet the HRD units that sat on the board, even from the other board members, and he was willing to make concessions to fulfill Draco's agendas. Several projects had been pushed through by the man from Tanaab just from a sense of loyalty.

In truth the only downside to his job, despite many of his assets remaining tied to the company and kept from being liquidated, was that Draco popped in without warning, often dragging with him one or more Mandalorians that advised him. This time however he did not travel with the elderly fleet commander, Rach Vizla, or his cousin Aten, the Clan's second in command. This time he came alone and had a meeting scheduled and everything, if scheduled late last night officially.

The comlink buzzed on the desk and informed the two men that the woman they were waiting on had arrived. Business acumen was one thing, but most of the time Draco survived on sheer perseverance. It was how he had succeeded thus far, and so often normal routine was thrown out for whatever he happened to feel like, off the cuff. "Have her sent up. I recognize the beings with her. They are sentient, but we don't have chairs or seating arrangements for them in the office." Not everyone had seen an uplifted tuk'ata, but Draco had seen them many times. On Geonosis. On a ship Rave had been on once when she went by Kash. And with her other apprentice on several occasions. Fearsome yes. But they were more than just beasts that had been taught some rough languages and how to use a gun.

Today Draco felt straight and to the point. In and out as quickly as he felt like and done as he pleased.

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Draco Vereen"]

They would have refused a seat anyway.

Good bodyguards didn’t let themselves be seated and then lulled into a false sense of confidence, and the Qo’saarai Tuk’ata were one of the best these days. Racial traits for one, a distinct sense of paranoia derived from their immersion in the Darkside and still quite loyal to the general cause of the Merrill.

She was gone now, of course, but some still remembered her. Ostanes was one, Verd was another and then there was Cerita.

See, it was difficult to strike out on your own after being the apprentice of Rave. Because no matter what you did… you felt like you were far less effective and competent than your former Master, especially one so excellent in what she did like Rave. She had build a whole industry around cutting up animals, alchemically treating their skin and selling it to the Galaxy at large. As far as Cerita knew Ostanes was continuing that same line, though with a little bit more caution than Rave used to exercise.

Boring, but perhaps that was the difference between someone pushing the front and someone inheriting said front and trying not to mess up.

Verd… well, he had crowned himself Mand’alor and planted his flag on Bastion. A bit dull and little in the way of imagination, but what can you do? Sarova had thought long and hard about what she really wanted to do with her free time. Dissero was giving her more or less the free rein, he had little to teach her these days - and the things he did have to teach, she really had to learn on her own for it to be effective.

No, she wasn’t interested in pushing the same line that Rave had pushed all those years ago, if Ostanes was happy with that then that was his choice. Neither would she curl herself up with a bunch of yes-men in a corner of the Galaxy, while hoping her betters would acknowledge her achievements.

If Verd was happy with that then that was his choice.

Cerita had an appetite that reached… farther than that.

They strode into the office and Sarova took a measure of Vereen.

A warrior.

Didn’t look much like an intellectual, but he wouldn’t have gotten this far just by punching things in the face and hoping it would work out.

“Mister Vereen, I was surprised to receive your correspondence. Pleased to meet you both in the flesh.” Sarova settled into one of the seats, nodding to Rach and settled in without saying anything else. It was Draco's show for now and she was quite content to listen to what the man had to say specifically. The Tuk'ata ended up near the entrance by the walls, keeping an eye out on things without specifically making their presence all that palpable.

Some people still got unnerved by their presence.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco didn't acknowledge the Tuk'ata. He had been around them, heard their chants, felt their power in larger numbers than two for certain. They were rare, but not immeasurably powerful. Marcus was a bit uneasy having them there, but remained behind his veshok wood desk. The man from Tanaab was more or less here as a consultant for Draco, to keep him appraised of the company's abilities to follow through on his ambitious projects.

"Well, I've taken an interest in some of the things you've done. Back in the day, I delved heavily into the manipulation and creation of Fear as a source of sustenance and power. When other people start revolutionizing something I am intimately familiar with, especially if I am aware of its very dangerous potential." Draco wanted a few things. To ensure limitations on the technology. The Force could only fathom the creation of mind altering weapons and their distribution. It could have severe consequences, which was one of the reason he was interested.

The other reason was because he was a fan of failsafes. His power and presence within the Force had been reduced as of late, his spirit torn and rent, pieces of his soul missing, and his bonds to the Force growing in certain areas, specifically the Control family of abilities, and his powers of altering the minds of others waning ever since he had been impaled on a dark, dark blade that was now locked in a basement. He didn't mind the idea of having ways to amplify his current skill set using this rare and exotic technology.

"I was wondering what the next step would be for you with this technology and why you've been using Emeritus, a corporation that has struggled for so long as your primary source of Funding. I would have thought someone of the same lineage as Ostanes would have access to more, stable means." Draco worked with Ostanes often. The two had shared their bounties from the Blackguard Auction, passing along copies of certain holocrons to each other, the Thaumaturge had shared a great amount of alchemical knowledge with the Mandalorian. Certainly his compatriot would have access to something from AEI if they asked.

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Draco Vereen"]

Reasonable questions, though he assumed much.

"As a self-made man you should understand that sticking too close to familiar territory is… boring and very much kneecaps you when it comes to opportunities."

Oh, sure, she probably could have gotten Ostanes to give her some AEI resources - but for one, AEI wasn’t really in the market of scientific pursuits, as much as it was focused on Force-based gear. They had little in the way of expertise for the things that she needed. Besides, part of her had been interested to figure out if she could somehow take Emeritus for herself.

But with the Primeval Fleet that had become redundant.

That was the beauty of not being tied down by one corporation or the other. You had the ability to change up your plans once the situation demanded it.

"As for the next step. If," And it was a big if, because as it stood Cerita only managed to create two versions of the fear rifle. It was an annoyingly complicated task and automatization was an issue for now.

"If I am able to increase its production to a more function level, then the next step would be completely weaponization."

She envisioned a whole army decked out in fear rifles, grenade launchers, orbital cannons that made capital ships flee from their targets, ship-mounted projectors that would cause the enemy crew to simply descend into rampant paranoia and madness.

It had potential.

But the question was what Vereen wanted at the end of the day, which brought them back to their meeting here. It would be interesting to see how he would try to conduct business with her, even with her connections.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"True, shackling yourself to the existing structure does knee cap progress. But, then again, so does shackling yourself to a failure." Draco shrugged. He hadn't been in the market for as long as many others, and these days he rarely sold any products outside of Mandalorian space. The few deals he had tried to make with the One Sith always fell through. They preferred to steal ideas and concepts to make cheap knockoffs themselves rather than pay sticker price. The Galactic Alliance was still calling itself poor, which made them unlikely business associates. The Republic had been bled dry and was very bipolar. Some days it was a pillar of democracy, other days it was instilling its totalitarian rule on all who opposed them. The Silver Sanctum was one group Draco had reached out to in the past, but their markets were saturated. Mandalore, for all its flaws, was one of the most economically stable major governments there was.

"Ah, production increase. That's easier said than done with technology like that. If I was capable of shelling that type of weapon out expediently, I'd be a much richer man." An arsenal of fear had a great ring to it, though he was wearing a counter to such a device, and there were limitations to be certain. Weaponization on a large scale would be costly, but not impossible.

"I think what you are seeking is attempting to move product from where it is, a very, very select market that is effectively a rumor of a market, and increase production to begin low level sales. Its doable I'm sure given our mobile production facilities. We've designed and purchased mobile factories and dry docks to bear the weight of our small arms and snubfighter production, its incredibly cost effective and allows fleets of production vessels to set up anywhere there are raw materials. Cost risk analysis would have to be run to see if you could actually sell enough to break even or make a profit, however not every venture needs to turn a profit." Several of his own didn't make him any money, or cost him money to continue on, but those projects kept on doggedly working. With enough resources one could afford to ignore the detriments and expenses of some things. Besides, with self-sustaining mobile factories, and minimal locations, his cost per unit was extraordinarily low compared to much of his competition.

"Some times for the right price, the expense can be swallowed."

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Draco Vereen"]

Which was why Cerita did not shackle herself at all. All the designs were hers, the prototypes were hers and the scientists of Emeritus had only known the exact pieces they needed to know to do their job.

The final pieces of the puzzle were only known to her.

Just like she liked it.

The mention of the mobile factory systems peeked her interest. Oh, sure, she was mostly transitioning the Primeval Fleet away from that sort of dependency, but there was a vast difference in terms of technological output when it came to the Primeval horde and the ArmaTech conglomerate. The Fleet would never have been capable of producing such a high-tech product in the quantities necessary to make it cost-effective.

"I think we could come to terms for the purchase of a few of these mobile construction platforms." Cerita replied cautiously. Whilst it could be that Vereen was simply pitching his factories here, something told her that he wanted more than that.

"Specifications?"

It would be interesting to see how exactly these factories worked, what their output was and the cost, of course. Cerita wasn’t yet at that level where she could simply make things without thinking of costs and profits.

Perhaps one day.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Well, they are called Manufacturing Dreadnoughts. These ones are much larger than the Ssi-ruvi manufacturing ships, weighing at three kilometers long and half that tall and across." Draco began digging in his pockets and coming up empty as he described the ships. "Each one has a fairly large molecular furnace in its bowels, as well as a solid production and mining system. We based them off World Devastators of the Imperial Era, however these are less advanced." World Devastators were Argents with about three steps up in technology and weaponized, something that was currently not cost effect for the corporation.

"They carry mining ships, gas barges for tibanna synthesis and collection, fuel production. Everything a factory needs to operate independently." The Argent-class was often deployed with one Ssi-ruvi ship and a mobile dock, visited by A-class bulk freighters as they produced goods for sale and shipment. But that was the normal situation for ArmaTech production fleets.

"You would be surprised how effective they are. More so than a standard facility because of their ability to move from resource to resource. Any system with a rock and a gas cloud is enough for it to deploy and produce." Finally, he quit looking through his pockets and pointed at the man behind them sitting at the desk who pulled up the specifications already on a projector.

"There. Normally we station on of them, one Lwhekk-classhttp://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lwhekk-class_manufacturing_ship, and one Mobile Dry Dock. Mobile Dock produces more mining and collection ships, the Lwhekk produces more construction droids, smaller components needed for construction."

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Draco Vereen"]

She crossed one leg over the other, hands rested easily on her lap and Cerita simply listened to what Draco had to say and show. It was an interesting proposal for sure, it offered the possibility of increasing the production capacity in the near future, instead of having to wait until the Primeval Fleet was done forging their new factories in the Juvex - which would take a while, considering how difficult the various Warlords, Nobility and slavers proved to be.

"I like the cut of your jib, mister Vereen." And she did. The mobile factory platforms were not a novel idea, of course, he already admitted that when bringing up the World Devastators. Then there was the fact that the Primeval Fleet was one big mobile factory fleet - but their capacity and technological level sadly could not yet be compared to ArmaTech.

One was a giant of industry in the Galaxy, the other only had a local influence within the Wild Space.

So to upgrade their factories by using the ArmaTech dreadnoughts… would be a good idea for the time being.

"The bureaucrats of my company will have to look at the contracts, of course." The financial department would have to draw up quotas, work together with Logistics to see how viable it was to create mining contracts with local economies and their lawyers would have to figure out just how rock solid the agreements would be.

At the end of the day Cerita was a scientist first.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Of course. I'm not prepared to quote you on the lease or purchase of each unit, so that information will have to be prepared and sent to your finance group." Draco smiled, and waved at a droid in a corner which brought over a pair of glasses filled with a golden liquid and three ice cubes each. Given the fact that he didn't know who was her backing, he assumed she would have to settle for the lease option in order to see to the upkeep and maintenance of the massive Argent-class dreadnoughts while her finances and support grew.

"I like to drink with each successful transaction of this magnitude, and then you can be on your way. I look forward to reading about the success of your project. Your success will in turn make us both money." Mutually beneficial. By providing factories and supplies for her now, they would both benefit and profit off the project. Her more so than him, but he had made money from the Argent-class already and was still shopping the Sovereign-class around to different governments.

Draco downed the drink at once and then returned to his day's work on Taris, waiting until he could return to Alderaan.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Draco Vereen"]

"You want to involve Vereen?"
"Do we know anyone else with the Mandalorians?"
"No. Well, there is Gilamar, Rave always had a fancy for that one."

Cerita snorted.

"I am pretty sure Skirata has merged with the wood of his seat at this point. No, it’s Draco Vereen or making this a solo operation."

She ignored the glance shot at her by the Tuk’ata. Scarra was always complaining about them relying too much on other people, but this time around there was a simple reason for the cooperation she was proposing.

The first thing was that having a Force Master at your side during this… could be beneficial, Cerita was good at what she did, but Alchemy wasn’t a flashy nor strong combative field. She would be overtaken easily if there was any substantial opposition - and taking too many Tuk’ata with her was out of the question, because they did too much for her already. Them dying for her curiosity wasn’t something she wanted to do.

Rave hadn’t had that in mind when raising them up.

"It is near Mandalorian Space. We need someone who is familiar with the territory and who is competent in battle. Vereen is a Master of the Force, is a prominent member of the Mandalorians and can reasonably call in support if something goes wrong."

Cerita looked at Scarra.

"Get in touch with him, please."
"Very well."

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco normally lived on Aldera these days, either in the suite within the Royal Palace or at the homestead he had commissioned for Faith and himself. Tonight, the couple was at their homestead, set well away from the high population areas in the mountains of the planet in the forests looking over a lake. Draco enjoyed living there, so much so that there was an Ankarres Tree in the backyard with a swing hanging from one of the branches.

Faith was in bed, and Draco had gotten up to sit outside and relax after seeing her to bed. He had missed the sunset, having spent the time with Faith inside. Now the dark night sky hung overhead and the moon shone across the lake. The forest was quiet, with the backdrop of frogs from the lake croaking in the distance. As a Mandalorian, one was always fighting, but that didn't mean he could not appreciate the peacefulness of this part of life.

Condensation trickled down the glass he was holding as he gently rocked back and forth on the swing, breathing deeply. He could still sense Faith, sleeping contentedly, pleased with herself, satisfied; and his children's presences within her resting. The warrior took a sip from his glass and pondering going back to bed and laying their awake while he contemplated what to do next, having seen to Vulkan, his Force abilities still returning, and his Force bonds healing. The only ones that were strong and healthy were his bonds with Faith and the twins.

A servant droid, appearing feminine and with synth-flesh covered arms walked through the grass from the rustic porch through the grass. With the Ankarres tree in the backyard, the plant life flourished around it. "Sir, there is a communication for you."

"Alright. Hand it here." The droid handed him a holocom and taking a step back. "Vereen, who is this?"

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

"Cerita Sarova, mister Vereen." Only a moment went by before she decided to supply some more information. "We recently discussed the acquisition of your Argent ships for my new corporation’s project in the Senex."

After Vereen had his brief mental moment to figure out the voice and link it to a face did Ceri continue to speak.

"Forgive me for the strange hour, but I just got some valuable information on a world - Oricron, you might have heard of it - and I found myself in need of someone with good ties to the Mandalorians, considering it’s quite close to the Clans territories."

Again, she could probably have made this a solo operation or even get the aid of the Tuk’ata, but at the end of the day she didn’t want to step on any toes. Neither was Ceri interested in taking too many risks just for the hell of it.

But with the backing of a major Alor of the Clans? That would open up opportunities and chances for the both of them.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"I've heard of Oricron some." Mostly in old texts and holocrons in his possession. Some of these it felt like he couldn't give them away, but there were many secrets in them more valuable than knowledge about the Force. "A lot of interesting things on that particular planet, none of them very pleasant."

Phobis Devices were destroyed, the Dark Staff was broken, the Seeds of Rage? Maybe, Draco wasn't sure what was up with those or if they still existed. Perhaps other things intrigued her. Either way, Draco wasn't exactly aware of the planet's exact location, other than it was somewhere between Clan Verd's holdings and the Mandalorian Clan's holdings.

The Mandalorian warrior didn't care for Force Artifacts at the moment. In the past they had been all he cared for, only the accumulation of knowledge. Now, he had more knowledge than he could learn in a life time, and was intent mostly on finding himself.

"What is it your are looking for on a planet like that?"

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Draco Vereen"]

“Not particularly, no.” There was something like amusement shining through her voice, but there was no laugh or snorting involved. Mostly because it was true. Oricon was a deeply flawed world in the grand scheme of things. Very disturbing history and even more disturbing consequences for what it meant for all the things living on it, but that was a discussion for another day.

“Two things- first, I wish to study the ruins of the ancient Dread Fortress. You already know about my personal project when it comes to fear and if the Phobis Devices were anything, it was palpable fear harnessed through the Force. Secondly, Akure has interests in studying some of the wildlife currently living there.”

A lot of Sithspawn mostly and some of them might possess traits that could become valuable for their exclusive lines.

“You came to mind, mostly because of your interest in my previous project. If you have no interest in Oricon, then it is no problem, of course.”

There were other possibilities open.

She had assumed Vereen would have little issue with exploring the world, but he sounded just a little bit more cautious than she had been expecting.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

The Dread Fortress wasn't as popular an archeological site as the Valley of the Dark Lords, excavated every few months, rebuilt a dozen times, and re-excavated, each time a new thing occasionally popping up. The planet itself was not normally visited and it sat between the Silver Sanctum, the Mandalorian Crusaders, and the Mandalorian Clans on the outer rim, away from all the Hyperspace Routes.

"Alright, who large of an expedition are you planning?" He mostly just wanted to know which ship he needed to bring. A shuttle, a corvette, a Kandosii? Which carried the appropriate amount of supplies. Also he wanted to know how many people she was planning on risking sending out to Oricron.

"Though I'm not sure what would be in it for me." Draco said softly. He had little interest in Oricron itself, it wasn't worth claiming, it didn't have anything particularly interesting that he knew of, and so she would have to bribe him with something.

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Draco Vereen"]

"A small one. You, me, three others who will watch our back while we explore." A party of five wasn't ideal for a world like Oricon, but if they were completely honest about it... there wasn't really a number that would be ideal. Other than a complete invasion force supported by automated constructs with flamethrowers, but other than that?

Better to keep it light and fly under the radar of the more... dangerous elements on the planet.

The more people they had, the bigger the chance they would get the attention of some nasty Sithspawn critter. And Ceri wasn't ready for that particular engagement yet.

"I expected you might say that, yes. I have been made aware by Ostanes that you are interested in the Jal Shey and their crafting techniques. Aid me in this and I will supply you with a repository of knowledge that will teach you everything you need to know."

AEI, Dissero, Rave's later interest in the Jal Shey... there were enough avenues for her to draw from.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Alright I am interested, a party of five I can handle. Me and one of mine, you and two of yours sounds fine to me." Oricron wasn't a good place to be for anyone, but a small dedicated had a better chance than a larger expedition. Too large and they would have to worry about some loosing their minds and have to fight their comrades.

"But, what ever payment you have will need to be upfront. An expedition to that planet is dangerous, and I need some form of reassurance here." Plus if she screwed him, he would have risked a lot for nothing, and if she died he could walk away with nothing.

Plus she still hadn't said specifically what she wanted, which could mean anything. Wildlife, that was basically all bad and dark and disgusting. Enough to get even Jedi Masters and Sith Lord's killed from his history lessons. And there was always the issues of getting to and from the planet. Not every ship could make the landing in one piece.

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Draco Vereen"]

All of a sudden Ceri’s writer was way less interested in the location they were speaking of, because his partner had led him to believe said location wasn’t on any known maps, but then found out that this wasn’t the case. It would be strange and awkward to suddenly pull out of the operation like that, so Sarova resolved herself to press on as best as she could. One action at a time, until they could move on.

"I figured as much." Ceri responded, before tapping a button. A burst of information would be send to Vereen’s datapad containing pretty valuable information on Jal Shey crafting and the sort.

"Prepayment. This information alone will give you a good foundation on the Jal Shey techniques. The rest will be payed when both return alive and well."

She couldn’t give him more, because at the end of the day they were still relative strangers, even with contracts in place. Ceri needed assurances that she would get out alive and giving him an incentive to keep her alive was the best form of currency.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Weeks or months later, possibly never depending on Cerita's writer, the pair would convene above the planet Oricron with their small team, Draco accompanied by Draz, the barabel Force Tracker and hunter. He was good at exactly four things, Force Sense, Force Tracking, Post-Cognition, and Force Smell, which made him good to find things. In combat, Draz relies on his six centimeter long teeth, crocodilian jaws, and crushgaunts ending in vibroclaws, his favored close combat weapons. His tail was fitted with strong beskar plates, which he used like a powerful club sometimes. Draz didn't even bother carrying blasters or the like, just the few weapons on his wrists and his natural ones were enough for the barabel hunter.

Draco wore his own Beskar'kandar, and carried a pack of equipment to take soil and water samples for testing, a kit for field testing and survival, the like. Nothing too heavy as he didn't intend on having to lug something around for the whole trip. He wasn't about to carry Cerita's bags either. "This one iz ready for the hunt!" Draz exclaimed, smacking his lipless mouth, inadvertently gnashing his teeth as he did so. "This one wantz to track the Dark things he can feel below."

"Yeah, me to. Just waiting on our guide is all. Once we get to the surface I'm sure we will be able to get up to something." Draco said cracking his neck one last time while he waited for Cerita and her team to show up for their exploration.

[member="Cerita Sarova"]