More Development

[Onrai]

[member="Maja Vern"]

A nod crossed the face of her niece as she motioned to a tray the workers were moving - on it were the molds for several pieces of the framework of one of the fighters. "These are parts of the Eightgun. The most powerful starfighter in the galaxy - gun-wise at least. Eight laser cannons provide more firepower than anything found standard in the Republic or Sith arsenals. We even have them in color schemes for anyone willing to accrue them."

Then again, for something so strong, there hadn't been that many wide-scale orders...

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja was ambivalent when it came to ships. Her current model was a rental - she'd never spent the time investing in purchasing one. But her niece seemed knowledgeable and so she decided to use this information to see what she'd recommend.

"Do you make more...civilian type ships? I need something large enough to travel the galaxy in with comfort but not so large that I can't man it myself with an astro-droid. Any suggestions?"

As she talked, she began to move the equipment around as Vanessa instructed - at least proving some use to her niece.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"If I didn't own it already, I'd give you a Cyracuse. When their drone systems are removed, they make for nice floating luxury palaces, let me tell you..." She slyly ran a finger over her lips before watching as her aunt effortlessly began to maneuver several tons of tooling through the air. "Tell me, what do you know about the ancient art of casting metal?"

It was a fair question, considering how common the technique had been for hundreds of millennia.

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja nodded. "Who would you recommend instead then. Something I can fly myself, maybe a small freighter, you know a smuggler's ship."

"And casting metal? I didn't even know it was an ancient art - which probably gives you an idea of how much I know about it. Sorry."

She paused, clearly the next question was going to be hard for her to ask. "Are you...going to the...wedding?"

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"Well..." She paused. "I'd be willing to offer you a Coryphin-class bomber, heavily modified and mostly disarmed for use as a transport. It's practically the size of a small corvette, not very maneuverable, but ruggedly built and able to take a beating." She smiled. "Casting metal's pretty ancient... For hundreds of thousands of years, cultures, whether primitive or modern, have crafted molds that molten metal can be poured into in order to make a piece. We do it because it's cheaper than welding the thing together."

A factual statement, intriguingly enough.

"Yes, I am."

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja smiled at the offer. “Thanks for the offer, it’s very generous and I’ll keep it in mind.”

Then she listened to the process Vanessa described. “It sounds remarkably simple but I guess cheap comes at a price?.” Not being mechanically or technically minded, she had no idea what it might be. She may have been raised on ships but she didn’t pay their construction a second’s thought. They flew. They carried things. They went wrong and they were fixed. How they were made? Of zero interest – until now.

“The…wedding…um…” She clearly found the subject uncomfortable. “Right. I might see you there then.”

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"The downside depends on how you look at it, truthfully..." She lowered her head before looking back at her aunt. "Chief issue is that it's not easy to repair, or to bore holes in without losing some sort of structural stability. Starships aren't meant to come apart... but still. That's been a consistent issue, and our usage of adamithium in concert with the duranium underneath can be somewhat of an issue, I must say."

She noticed her shying away from the wedding. "What's wrong? You having second thoughts about how good this could be?"

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja shrugged. “If people know what they’re buying, what’s the harm? Plus I guess they choose this option for the cost. If it’s what they can afford, where’s the hurt?”

Her niece lost her with the mention of different materials – ships were something you flew, not took a chemistry lesson in.

But then she wished she’d studied about elements to keep the conversation going as the subject turned to the one she did not want to discuss.

She shrugged and suddenly found the ground very interesting. “Let’s just say the last time we spoke I kind of lost my head. I may have sworn. Once...or twice. Or thirty-four times. It was not as if she’d done anything particularly wrong. I was stupid and spoiled and stupid.” She looked up at Vanessa. “Did I mention I was stupid?”

“You see, I keep changing my mind about going. It’s her day, not mine. But I’m frightened I’ll spoil it all and then she’ll never speak to me again. Or I stay away and she’ll never speak to me again. Or…” She sighed audibly. “You get the idea. Good isn’t on my radar. Just trying to make it not bad.”

“What’s…he like?” Again the ground caught her attention and she stared down at it, her eyes unwavering.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"Thirty-four times?" She smirked. "That's... impressive. The most I've ever gotten in was twenty." She listened further to the woman's dilemma - she felt as though she was damned if she did, and damned if she didn't. "Come to the wedding with me." She smiled. "It'll be good. I promise. Alright?" Stepping forward, she opened her arms up, willing to give her aunt a hug to help make her feel better.

"He's... something that she likes." That was all she would say on the matter about Alric.

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja shrugged. She wasn't proud of how she'd behaved but at the time it felt good. And it had unlocked access to her emotions which she'd failed to be able to do until that point.

"I'm still fifty-fifty about the wedding." This was a lie. She'd bought a dress and was practising wearing high heels and had learned to apply make-up and do her hair. But consciously she was still ambivalent about the whole affair. Her 'conscience' had been trying to tell her something too - but she'd ignored it to date.

"So, what else do you need me to do," she offered, clearly keen to switch the conversation back. She embraced her niece. "And if I go, I'll make sure we hang out together, OK?"

@Enigma

 

[Onrai]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"Be more seventy-five to twenty-five, Aunt Maja." She smiled. "I'd really miss you if you didn't show up." To her offer, she nodded before motioning to part of a mold that two workers were trying to get into position. "Any chance you could help them out? Looks like they need someone to hold the mold in place while they weld it into the framework."

At least, that was what she could tell, anyways. The mold pieces all had to be positioned perfectly - otherwise they wouldn't fit together.

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja smiled weakly. “I’ll be there, believe me, I’ll definitely make it. I owe her that and a whole lot more. I guess I owe it to me too.”

Aware of the help needed, she glanced at the offending would and held it together with the Force. The men were initially taken by surprise but once they realised the Sith red-head was helping them, they set about welding it to the framework.

“Tell me…are you taking anyone with you. You know, a…significant other?”

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"A signi- No, no, of course not. I suppose I'm as single as I'll ever be, all things considered." She sighed. Alicia was out of reach right now, tending to their child - a great-nephew Maja knew nothing about. She couldn't invite her to the wedding, no no - that would be somewhat uncouth. Then again, maybe it was time for a witticism.

"Why, are you offering?"

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja laughed. "Sometimes I don't know if you're joking or not. And the answer goes without saying. No, I was just wondering if I'd be the only one without a partner - that's all."

"I kind of like being alone but then...sometimes I would like to have someone. You know..." she smirked. "To wake up with."

Then she busied herself helping the men with their moulds and weldoing and other stuff she had no real idea she was doing, but she could at last follow orders.

@Enigma

 

[Onrai]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"Well... There's someone I know of that you should check out. But I'll have to get into contact with him." She smiled, pondering over how delightful her aunt was as the moulds were properly installed. "Hopefully we'll be prepared to begin production here as soon as we can. If not, well... Emeritus is making enough money otherwise, I suppose." She grinned. "Anything else I can do for you here? You're being a great help, after all."

Indeed she was...

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja shrugged. She'd found a niece, decided to attend her sister's wedding and gained a potential contact. It was already a good day's work. "Nope, nothing for me. You've already helped me in ways you wouldn't believe. Once I've finished helping here, I'll be on my way."

She smiled broadly. She didn't believe in luck - but this meeting had certainly been fortuitous.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"Sounds like fun to me." She smiled, stepping forward and giving her aunt a hug. "Hope to see you around, Aunt Maja..." Pausing, she pondered over how it felt to really have family - she had parents, sisters, and life seemed good so far as everything mattered. Hopefully it would stay that way.

Then again, this was Circe they were talking about.

FIN