Lakeside Property

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli looked out over the lakes that broke apart the surface of Erilnar, the capital world of the old Centrality systems. It was such a peaceful place, picturesque really, and Taeli had decided that this planet would play host to the Outer Rim regional headquarters for her company. Of course, she planned for it to be just as impressive as the Coruscant HQ, perhaps even more so.

Much of the company would actually be operated out of this area, mainly because of the location and proximity to several major Krayt Industries sites. This world was just off the Mara Corridor, a major hyperspace route through the Outer Rim that connected directly with the Perlemian Trade Route. It was also nice and isolated from the busyness of the Core Worlds and certain individuals.

"Do we have everything in place?" she asked her right hand man over her comlink. She personally was going to be heading out soon, taking a very very close friend of hers on a well deserved vacation.

"Everything will be ready to go when you return," Jaxson said, confirming once again his efficiency to her.

"I leave it to you then to get everything in place then, Arys," she replied, closing the comlink and turning to her ship. Something was calling out in the Force, a massive disturbance, and she had received a message of a quarantine beacon going down on Odacer-Faustin. Not good, but maybe Connor would be up for a little adventure before they actually went to relax somewhere nice. Striding up into her ship, she would leave Jaxson to finalize everything and make the new HQ.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

As Jaxson closed the link, he turned back to the human he had been speaking with about purchasing a building within Erilnar's capital city for Krayt Industries. Taeli had left specific instructions that he was to buy a building then convert it into something to rival the headquarters building on Coruscant. He now fully knew what was going on, but he owed his loyalty to his employer and, dare he say it, friend before others.

"Apologies for that, my employer is going on a trip but has left me with full power in forming this deal," he said, crossing his legs and leaning back in his chair.

"Perfectly alright, Mr. Jaxson," the Commissioner of Zoning chuckled. "What exactly are you looking for in terms of real estate?"

"Something large, with multiple levels and access to the underwater transit system," Jaxson replied easily, looking over the small list of features he was looking for. His technicians would add in the more important things, such as the research and development labs and the offices. "A private access to the transit system would be more preferred."

"I think have just the place in mind," the zoning commissioner said, pulling up an image on the projector on the table between the two men.

"What do you think?" he asked, looking pleased with himself as Jaxson looked over the building.

"We'll take it," Jaxson replied after a moment. Bringing up his datapad, and not even looking at the price of the building, he transferred the full amount to completely buy out the building itself. Five and a half million credits had just been added to the zoning board's coffers, to the wide-eyed surprise of the commissioner.

"Pleasure doing business with you, but I have business to attend to," Jaxson said, getting up, shaking the hand of the man, and leaving the office.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Arriving at the building, his team already there, Jaxson couldn't help the grin spreading across his face. It truly was a marvelous and gorgeous building to look at it, and soon it would be a powerhouse for both research and development, far beyond what occurred on Coruscant.

"Alright, let's get to work getting the labs up and running," he said. "Team Two, you have getting offices set up along with all of the communication and data services."

"I thought the boss was personally overseeing this move," one of the engineers asked.

"Miss Rae had an urgent matter come up, so she left me in charge until she returns," Jaxson said, understanding the confusion. It must be truly serious for Taeli to skip setting up the new HQ, and similar thoughts must be flashing through the minds of the others.

Ushering the team into their new building, Jaxson went with the team to set up the offices while directing the other team to set up the labs and other research areas in the subfloors. Settling into what would be the communications hub, he began plugging systems and terminals in that the teams were moving into the building by hovertrolley. It wouldn't take long, but would take a little time.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Sir, the team to handle outfitting the sub hanger in the bottom sub level are here," a voice said over Jaxson's headset. It was the third day of moving in, and he was currently up to his elbows in setting up a massive server that would be able to hold all current Krayt Industries files and easily triple the storage space. The boss had sent a message that she was going to be arriving at her destination soon, but she wanted all files moved from Coruscant to Erilnar.

"Excellent, tell them to patch me through on a video link to what they're doing," he said. "I can't really leave what I'm doing currently."

"Of course sir," the voice said, and he went back to assembling the server for a few more moments. On the far wall, a video feed from down below came up, showing the lead technician in-charge of getting the sub and underwater monorail bay up and running. Jaxson actually enjoyed talking to the Mon Calamari man, he knew his job inside and out. His team consisted of some local people from the city that Krayt had hired for the upkeep of that bay and some Selkath engineers from Manaan that wanted a fresh start away from their homeworld.

"Pollus, always good to see you my friend," Jaxson said. "Just some basic instructions for the bay, nothing major and I leave it to you to get everything working down there."

"What are the instructions?" the Mon Cal said in his gravely voice.

"Keep it elegant, smooth, and with enough space to hold three subs and access to the monorail system," he said. "That access needs to be password and passkey encrypted though. We don't want any people sneaking in that aren't supposed to."

"Consider it done," the Mon Cal chuckled and closed the video feed.

Always good to have someone dedicated to his work, and Pollus would make sure everything was exactly as planned. Coupling a couple more wires together, Jaxson smiled as green power lights started to come up on the server boxes. The system would be ready once he finished building the operating system and creating an isolated system that was separate from the Holonet for their data storage needs. No need for secure files to be on the normal network.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Going into the fifth day of turning the building into the new Krayt HQ for the sector, and if he was honest for the company in general, Jaxson was standing in the office that would serve as Taeli's once she arrived from whatever business she was dealing with. It was large and spacious, but he was here to make sure that the holo-projector in the center of the room was operational and to oversee the technicians installing the security devices in the office.

"Alright try it now Chief," the projector technician yelled from where he was currently laying on the ground and half his body was hidden inside the projector.

Flicking a button on the curved desk, the projector flickered into life to show an image of the planet they were on. Everything looked good . . . before the image disappeared into a storm of static.

"Kark it all, spliced image circuitry, I'll get the image back, Chief," the technician said, cursing all the while. Other techs were installing both military-grade transparisteel for the office window that looked out on the city, and concealed security turrets that would fire stun blasts. Jaxson had also ordered some techs to install point defense lasers and advanced security cameras through the outside of the building, with even more cameras inside that would link directly to the CEO's desk and the security office.

The image flickered back into life and stayed stable.

"There we go, all good now," the technician grumbled, getting back to his feet and grabbing his tool set.

"Great, how about the rest of the projectors?" Jaxson asked, turning the projection to display the latest corporate news streaming out of Brentaal IV.

"My team is working on them, should be all set in the next day or two," the technician explained before a datapad started beeping and he groaned from the message on it. "I'm heading back to work, got two newbies that just fried the circuits on a projector on level 3."

"Have fun," Jaxson chuckled as the technician grumbled as he made his way to secure lift.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Nine days in and the office was really starting to take shape, and Jaxson had to say it was even better than the offices they had on Coruscant. They had been constrained by the space that Banshee had used, being cramped even as the company expanded. But now, they had a much larger building and the research labs were far more advanced than anything they had previously. It helped when no limitations had been placed on what sort of equipment they could place within them.

"So no anti-matter research here, but we've been developing several of the other labs to branch out into other areas," the team leader of the lab creation was saying as he gave Jaxson a small tour. "Biological components, cybernetic advancements, weapon and ship development teams to send designs to our other sites, and so on."

"Sort of like the Nightshade station in the Styx system?" Jaxson asked, looking over some of the advanced medical research equipment in the current lab they were in.

"In essence yes, but those also hold sites for anti-matter," the team leader chuckled. "We don't want that in the new headquarters in case of a breach. The equipment should all be moved in very soon, just waiting on the people to get the ship prototype assembly lab done. We had to requisition part of the building that wasn't being converted into office space on the ground floor to develop it. Installing hanger doors and security features takes awhile."

"Keep me updated, we have the first of the people arriving from the Core today to get started working here," Jaxson said. "Will they have everything they need?"

"Oh yes, but why are we moving our operations out of the Core?" he asked.

"Bigger target, out here we're obscure," Jaxson replied with a shrug. He knew the rumors about the real reason they were moving out here had started, and he knew it would just be a matter of time before Taeli either confirmed or denied those rumors. Everyone hired by the company was loyal to it and their families first and foremost after all.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Things were picking up steam now, Jaxson could tell. More personal were arriving to get the office up and running, more scientists and technicians were arriving to work in the labs in sub-levels. Everything was going swimmingly, and now here he was, using a direct link to the old servers on Coruscant to copy all pertinent information from the systems there to the ones on Erilnar.

Anything his superior had deemed unnecessary was to be deleted from the mainframe, which meant a lot of the older ship blueprints and such were to be archived and destroyed, simply for the fact the company was moving on and didn't need that data cluttering their new servers. Jaxson actually took a bit of pride that the new servers, hand built by this new generation of Krayt, had much more storage space and power than the old ones.

"Files successfully deleted or transferred here, sir," one of the technicians overseeing the switch reported. "With the files marked for the Sith Assassins hidden as requested. Although why are we . .?"

"Operational security," Jaxson replied. "With the move to out here, the facilities on Coruscant are going to be extremely undermanned and we wouldn't be able to protect company files and secrets against corporate or governmental espionage very well."

"That is true," the technician admitted. "We'll keep monitoring the servers sir, and the direct link has been severed."

"Excellent," Jaxson said, heading back to finish the decoration of his office. Almost all of the chief engineers had gotten one, a sign that they were essentially the board of directors underneath Taeli. It was nice to have an office with a view of the lakes though, very quiet looking and inspiring.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Just about everything was done with the move, the labs on the sub-levels were still being worked on and staffed, but it wouldn't be much longer. It had taken a bit longer than Jaxson had expected, but just about everyone from the Core Worlds had arrived here or the other facilities in the Outer Rim. Taeli had sent a message that she had gone to Coruscant to finish her packing before she left, but that had been several days ago, and he hadn't heard from her since she had messaged Darth Carach about Bilbringi.

"Jaxson, come in, this is Taeli," a voice came over his communicator.

"Hey boss, everything is just about done out here, you're going to love the set up, and we moved all the equipment from your lab on Sposia to one of the labs here," he said.

"Glad to hear, I just arrived in orbit above Ossus," her voice said. "Took the scenic route there, the Remnant was evacuated to Vjun and I helped them deal with a merc fleet the Sith sent, fought Sophie later while I was exploring Bast Castle."

"How'd that go?" Jaxson asked, closing his officer door and activating the anti-eavesdropping security measures.

"She lost and is lost," Taeli replied cryptically. "I'm going to heading dirtside in a moment, but I need you to make an announcement to all company personal. In light of our move, I think it best we do a name change with the new direction we are taking the company. Aurora Industries, in keeping with the theme Project Radiant and the other Project we are doing."

"I'll make the announcement," Jaxson said. "When can we expect you back here on Erilnar?"

"Might be a little while, no idea how the Jedi will react until I have my meeting with the Council," she said. "You're acting in my stead until I have freedom of movement again."

"Sure boss, I'll make sure we stick to the new direction," he said. "Any idea when you'll be able to negotiate the deal?"

"Probably after I'm free to move around again," she said. "I'll contact you again then."

With that, the call clicked off and Jaxson leaned back. There was no stopping this train now. The new headquarters was just about done . . . it was time to completely finish the job they had begun when they started the projects on Jabiim.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Across a company wide channel, and especially after the news of what was happening with Titan Industries, Jaxson knew this announcement was going to be . . . interestingly met.

"After discussions with the other chief engineers and Miss Rae, it has been decided that Krayt Industries will be undergoing a larger change than previously expected," Jaxson was saying, the other chief engineers arrayed around him as she spoke to the company's facilities around the galaxy. "Krayt Industries will be renamed to Aurora Industries, in a move that Miss Rae felt will help expand our access to other markets. In that regard, and with the unanimous consent of the chief engineers, the newly christened Aurora Industries will no longer provide war materials to the One Sith Empire in light of the attacks on Titan Industries. It is clear to the chief engineers, that while Miss Rae is busy exploring, that Sith space is not safe for businesses that are not state run or controlled. Until such a time that things change, Aurora Industries will be looking to new markets for expansion and business. More changes will be forthcoming in the next few days on how things will be done."

With that done, Jaxson closed the call and leaned back in his chair.

"It had to be done, things are too . . . well, things have changed in Sith space," one man said.

"Indeed, they seem almost reliant on Vong tech and things that they already have from us and Titan," another chief engineer said.

"We must accelerate the other projects as quickly as possible," Jaxson said. "I want security upgraded at all our facilities, just in case. It helps we don't have anything in Sith space anymore."

"True, it will be hard to attack the company, but we can't rest on our laurels," the chief engineer in charge of ship design said. "We should establish ourselves in friendlier space, not just in neutral space."

"Plans are in place for that, we merely need to wait for Miss Rae to get things done," Jaxson said, looking out the conference room window. The employees seemed to be . . . rather happy about the announcement. Most of them had fled the Core Worlds, families with them, to work at the new facilities and escape the insanity that seemed to be gripping the Sith.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Everything is done now, sir," an engineer said later that night. "Security patrols have been doubled, all defense systems are up and running, and all facilities are protected."

"Good, and everything for here?" Jaxson asked.

"Complete, all labs are done, including the boss's, and testing of new technology and projects have begun," the engineer replied with a grin. "I must say, sir, that it is nice to have more free reign in things to develop and for more markets. Things seemed stifled for us by Titan and the Vong ships."

"Indeed, well let's see how things play out, until then, head back to your home," Jaxson said, dismissing the man. Turning to look out his office window, the employees were either walking to the nearby town where they now lived or were taking the underwater transport system to other residencies. The offices and labs of Aurora were going to take Erilnar by storm, and Jaxson knew the next world that Taeli had her eyes set on expanding here in the Centrality was buying the shipyards at Scillal, the biggest in the sector.

They might need to sell a few things first, get a new contract or two, but it would happen.