Mine is Mine

[Asharad Graush]

Bespin.
Cortosis Mine.

Over the course of the last few days, A'sharad Graush had led the efforts of exploring the rest of the mine shafts he had purchased on Bespin. He had been forced to bounce back and forth between the 482nd Infantry Regiment, and he was forced to use his stealth ship for transportation. This time however, the High Colonel of the First Order had brought part of the 482nd with him. In the form of a Sergeant that he had encountered in the Dead Nebula.

A certain [member="Rolf Amsel"] was who was coming along to the landing pads to the mine shaft.

They were both on the shuttle heading down to the planet.

Why was the Sergeant accompanying him?

Because the Sith Hybrid didn't wear the standard Stormtrooper armour.

In fact, he didn't wear any armour. On the other hand, the Sergeant did, and there were likely ideas that he had to better the armour. The High Colonel imagined that in the event they encountered hostile Sith, or more likely, Jedi from that New Order in the Galactic Alliance. Lightsaber vs cortosis? Many knew how that turned out, A'sharad personally didn't particularly care in truth, he doubted he'd wear as much armour as the Stormtroopers of his Regiment did.

"Sergeant," he said as they neared the landing pads. "Why do you think I'm bringing you down here?"

Were they there as First Order soldiers? No... Just as... People and advisors. Or something, they were building on the First Order's designs.

 

[Progflaw99]

Rolf felt strange, clad in his civilian attire. A plain white shirt, a muted tie and a gray vest. A little more formal than he needed? Probably. But he knew he looked good. At least, that's what he had gotten from the enamored look he'd gotten from the female flight technician as they'd disembarked from the vessel they'd arrived on. He wasn't here in an official capacity, at least not really. Sure, he'd been invited by the High Colonel, but he had specifically been told, "No uniform". He'd obliged, and surprisingly the trip was much less awkward than he'd imagined with such a large rank gap between the two.

He sat near the Colonel on the shuttle they were taking towards the planet, towards the mines; his posture was impeccable. He'd had some idea of what the Colonel's intent was in bringing him on this expedition however now his thoughts were confirmed as he realized exactly what types of mines they were headed for. Cortosis. He found it somewhat strange that the Colonel had embarked on such a trip, he'd never actually seen the man wear armor, then again, why ask himself along? Because Rolf did wear armor. And often. He didn't know much about Jedi, Sith, or even the Knights of Ren, but he had heard the rumors about this mineral, Cortosis. The rumor was that once a lightsaber of Jedi or Sith alike came into contact with it, whether in its raw form or broken down into a weave with another metal, the blade would short out, rendering it useless for several minutes. Several minutes was a long time on the field of combat, this Rolf knew well. Time seemed to slow at an incredible rate. Twenty seconds felt like a lifetime, an hour, several. His mind was brought back to the present as the Colonel spoke.

"Well Colonel, I would guess that it has something to do with Cortosis." He let the word hang in the air. He'd done a quick once over of the planet on his datapad before they had left for the planet, noting that Cortosis was one of the minerals found in the area. In addition to that, he'd overheard some of the radio traffic as they'd arrived, mining barges and ships heading out of system, presumably to deliver their precious cargo to other First Order worlds. "Given its defensive properties I would wager there's something you've got an idea for and are looking for a footsoldier's input. What that is though, you've got me sir."

[member="Asharad Graush"]​

 

[Asharad Graush]

The High Colonel of the First Order Military remained silent as the ship descended to the landing pad. It was close to the point where it would extend its landing gear and then wait for them to change into the gear they would need for the climate on the planet.

Cortosis was volatile, safety and all that.

He was certain that with the right mixture of techniques within the Force one wouldn't need a suit, but he wasn't too keen on developing an ability that could potentially have him poisoned and dying in the process of... Innovating in the Force. Wasn't exactly worth it if he died, now did it?

I'll just have one of the Off-shoots do it.

The thought crossed his mind as he imagined one of the half-breed humans and Sith Purebloods going through the process of practicing a variety of Force abilities without a suit in the midst of a... Business?

"Yes," he put shortly after the guess made by the Sergeant. At least he's not an idiot. A'sharad didn't like talking too much after all.

"Stormtroopers wear bodysuits underneath their armour, yes?" Rhetorical, it didn't require an answer, but he figured he'd be following along anyway. "Your armour is apt for combating other military forces, but not Force users. Jedi, specifically," he said. "Cortosis gauntlets and a woven bodysuit?" He didn't know the specifics of how it was going to be manufactured, just that it'd happen, but with the 'insight' of some grunt to hurry the process along, he'd appear to possess a sense of 'caring' and other useless traits that didn't allow him to better kill people.

The shuttle touched down to the ground, and the ramp opened up. The High Colonel rose and descended down the ramp.

[member="Rolf Amsel"]

 

[Progflaw99]

Rolf saw where the conversation was going, and he agreed. Ranged combat was one thing, something even the greenest of recruits could learn given time but throw a soldier at a force user, especially one bent on killing you and the armor you wore became almost worthless when faced with a lightsaber. The High Colonel brought up a good point. Gauntlets, that could be crucial in a fight, coupled with a woven mesh suit. Now that would be an unexpected advantage, especially for the troopers. Tie that in with training in hand to hand combat for his men utilizing techniques that focused on using the reinforced gauntlets against a wielded blade.

As the shuttle landed and the High Colonel began descending the ramp, Rolf quickly unbuckled his harness, following in his footsteps. The man held a quick pace and he could respect that. It wasn't often you'd meet a member of the military who walked slowly, walking slow was a luxury they couldn't afford. His black leather shoes clicked against the deck as he continued, beginning to visualize the training regimen he'd have to come up with to accommodate the new equipment as well as the design and distribution. It would take time, but it could be done. Now to see just where they were going.

His eyes wandered, noticing other ships, barges, and workers ambling about. Well, it certainly looked like things were moving along. He didn't even know where to begin in guessing how much cortosis the mine produced daily, much less annually. If the designs ended up being simple, he estimated he could likely have most of the legions outfitted by next season, though accounting for bureaucracy, the safe bet would be by next year with the more important units getting the gear fielded first. He knew the High Colonel was a man of few words and as such kept his mouth shut, preferring to keep the silence for both their sake.

[member="Asharad Graush"]​

 

[Asharad Graush]

The Sith High Colonel exhaled lowly as he stepped upon the landing platform.

On the platform around them were Sith Purebloods. All of them were in black cloaks. All of them bore black armour to match as well. It was to conceal their identities, and the fact that they all bore lightsabres on their utility belts. The reasoning for the heavy cloak was to conceal the lightsabre, though to one without the Force such as [member="Rolf Amsel"], they didn't even need to mask their presences in the Force. They had recognized his presence as their Lord, and Head of his House.

They acted accordingly.

"My Lord," one said as A'sharad and Rolf started down the path leading them off of the landing pad.

"Terentatine," what a superfluous name. A'sharad was surprised he remember his name, but alas, the writer knows all. "Is everything in position?"

"Of course, My Lord," he spoke lowly, as if they were both thieves in the night. His accent was thick, voice guttural, he wasn't even speaking Basic, lest he wasn't understand. It was Sith'ese that the masked Pureblood spoke to A'sharad.

"Good," he answered, in Basic, Rolf was only getting half of the conversation, less than that considering how little the High Colonel actually spoke.

"Sergeant. The members of my security force will give you the equipment to change for the environment of the mines below. There is... Disorderly conduct down below," he said, whilst he turned around. Terentatine stood to his full height, even towering over A'sharad at an easy six foot ten. A'sharad stepped out of the way and allowed the House Graush soldier to lead the Sergeant off.