Pssst. Wanna buy a sundial? (SSC)

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"] [member="Coci Heavenshield"] [member="Kei Amadis"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] (totallynotanafterthoughtpromptedbyalikedpost) @Whomever wants to show up

After a few intermittent contacts between Clan Father Ember Rekali and the leadership of the Sanctum, Alec had been dispatched to SSC territory in order to make an offer. The Frontiers Corps had a legendary reputation, stemming back to the early days of the Levantines, and Alec had served with Corps members enough to know that the reputation had foundation. Knowing, too, that the SSC had a deep interest in opening up remote worlds, accessible only by distant hyperlanes, the Rekalis had dispatched Alec with a sample case.

Alright, so by 'sample case' they meant a freighter with a cavernous hold full of hyperspace technology and assorted things. Hyperspace-capable escape pods, one-man boarding craft, deployable S-thread boosters for forging new starlanes and escaping interdiction, undetectable hypercapable probes, elite navicomputers, hyperdrives that didn't set off early warning/reversion sensors -- oh, and Light-Side-imbued gun scopes, just in case anyone was interested. Those particular doodads were a collaborative project with Shule's Workshop, the Jal Shey team that made the Levantine Sanctum's captain's uniforms. The rest of it was aaaall Rekali. Red Havod hulls, innovative hyperspace whatnot, all kinds of joy.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

[member="Alec Rekali"] | [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | @And the after thoughts. P a good name for a fighter squadron that!)​

​

It seemed to be that time of the year when everyone was taking stock. Not only of events past but inventories and facilities and all manner of things. SSC leadership was no different, it had been a long time since the establishment of the Silvers on Voss and much had happened in the process, the in space in which they protect had expanded outwardly and so their are some areas that are that require added security in order for them to keep it peaceful to the best of their abilities. Nowhere is every safe, not even Voss. The Order of the Silver Jedi had set up much protection over Voss ensure that any uninvited guess would be detected but with the ever changing galaxy and ever changing technology on a daily bases, their systems are old. It is time for an upgrade.

Of recent times, SSC had expanded to Saleucami and had set up communication lines from Voss to Iego to the outreaches of Saleucami but they need more, in order to fulfill duty to that planet. Talks with the Galactic Alliance had resulted in the start of forming a line between them and couple that with a need to have open communication with the Jedi Order to south the protection of this line is important.

They are to meet in space, and as the SSC ship approached, Coci opened her hail. "Captain Rekali, greetings. Masters Heavenshield requesting permission to board".

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

Afterthoughts, not afterthoughts : [member="Coci Heavenshield"], [member="Thurion Heavenshield"], [member="Alec Rekali"], [member="Valiens Nantaris"]


Categorically dismissing claims of being an afterthought since everything was, like, totally about her, Siobhan was present on the bridge of the SSC ship. The aforementioned ship had probably been made by her anyway. Well, by her company, since as of late Firemane had been building the Coalition fleet. Not that Siobhan was particularly involved in that area since naval combat was not her forte!


Anyhow, a few days ago she had received a holomail informing her that she'd been selected for the Sanctum Council. On the one hand getting another fancy title and more IC power was always welcome. On the other hand, the aforementioned Sanctum was packed with manlings and Jedi. Which, when you thought about it logically, should not come as a surprise, but Siobhan had her biases. Moreover, she suspected that the title would lead to more...paperwork. Oh, the horror.


Regardless, Clan Rekali Incorporated was offering shiny toys in form of what was said to be the latest in hyperspace technology, along with other useful items. Firemane was quite involved in exploration and opening up distant worlds, as evidenced by their efforts on say Tygara. Moreover, a long time ago Siobhan and the Rekali patriarch had torched the 'Sith Council's treasures on Bosph. It was no surprise that one-man boarding craft were also something that Siobhan would find interesting. So the Sanctum's token Dark Master stood alongside Coci, waiting for the hail to be answered.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Coci Heavenshield"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"Masters Heavenshield, you and your guests are welcome to come aboard."

An awkward geometry ensued, ships mating as carefully as sex with aliens. Siobhan Kerrigan could, perhaps, take notes. In the end, the vessels settled against each other, docking hatches opened-

Feth, it really had been a while, hadn't it.

Shaking her head at herself, Alec ambled down to meet the Sanctum bosses at the airlock. It didn't take long: the freighter was mostly empty space, allowing for a fairly straightforward route between bridge and docking port.

"Master Heavenshield." Alec's eyes tracked to the statuesque brunetteborg, and widened just slightly. She well recalled the raid on the Sith Council; the story was legend. Zillo Beast and all. "And Master Kerrigan. Welcome aboard, and thanks for joining us. I think you'll like what we have on offer. This way?"

The hold was full of stuff.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

Entering the ship through the air lock, Coci soon found Alec who had welcomed them at the door. "A pleasure to meet you", she returned with a smile. But to business, as the three walked toward the hold.

"I am very interested in what you have. In particular the early warning systems and probes". Coci said on the way. She stopped waiting until Alec would show them in, and being her sales pitch. It is always good to shop with Sio, she being more tech savvy and Coci would use this to form a well educated purchase.

​

[member="Alec Rekali"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Coci Heavenshield"], [member="Alec Rekali"]


And so the two ships mated without encountering any issues, and soon they encountered Alec Rekali. Siobhan, being the vain sort, obviously liked the just slightly wide-eyed look when the Mandalorian locked eyes with her. Vanity, thy name is Siobhan.


"Nice to meet you. I hope Ember Rekali is well. Please pass on my regards to him." Lacking the meta knowledge of her writer, Siobhan was sadly oblivious to Alec's interesting relationship with time!


And so she followed Alec and Coci towards the hold that was crammed with shiny toys. "Your boarding craft design has piqued my interest," she commented. Siobhan being interested in a cool boarding craft was no surprise. Assuming the Coalition forces did not want it, Firemane could use it. [member="Tempest"] could follow her master's footsteps and board battleships to get XP for Master rank. "Same applies to your new hyperdrive and S-thread boosters."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Coci Heavenshield"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"I'll be sure to say hi to my grandfather for you," said Alec with a nod. She rubbed her hands together, because that was what one did. "All right, let's start at the top.

"The hypercapable recon probes are the best in the business, full stop. Here's how you use'em. Exit hyperspace roughly one to ten light-years from the target system. Deploy the Kal'ika, which jumps to hyperspace. The Kal'ika exits hyperspace at the edge of the target system, maybe fifty to a hundred AU from the system primary. This distance and its own innate tininess keep it from showing up on scans after reversion at those distances. Variables would include directional scans, proximity, and how quick it accelerates or maneuvers. Its hyperspace reversion can't be detected by hyperspace sensors unless it reverts very close to its target, which would pretty much never happen.

"The Kal'ika then takes in-depth passive sensor readings of the target system. In the case of hyperspace and subspace sensors, the Kal'ika can get a general sense of the volume of comms traffic and hyperspace travel. In terms of EM sensors, including visual light sensors, obviously the speed of light is a limiting factor. For example, if the Kal'ika is a hundred AU from its target, EM radiation, including light, would take just under fourteen hours to reach the Kal'ika. This means that long-range readings lag by minutes or hours, and more recent developments can't be picked up without using active sensors. Active sensors are not recommended except when time's short, like when you need a few minutes' heads up for a raid or evac. That's because in-depth use of active sensors will always give away the presence of any stealth ship ever made. If the Kal'ika is intercepted in one way or another, it can go very, very fast to escape. It's just that bringing the engines to full burn will light up every sensor screen for a good distance, and sharp maneuvers are a great way to say 'I am not a micro-asteroid.'

"As for early warning systems, what we've got is comparable to your monitoring network, but more focused on the handful of routes that lead into the Gordian Reach. We're actually working on a next-gen system based on the old Imperial Hyperspace Security Net, which was a lot more comprehensive."

She turned to Kerrigan. "The Meshurkaan boarding craft is designed for Mandalorian supercommandos and Force users. It's very, very good at getting one person into a ship where they're absolutely not supposed to be. My grandpa developed them based on all his boarding ops, and he's done a fair few, plenty of'em solo. Field disruptor lets you fly through shields, plasma torches get you in. Any number of ways you can use it. Maneuverable little sucker, too.

"As for the S-thread boosters...I love these things." She patted the starfighter-sized array. "Can carry its own short-term power source or hook up to something larger. Makes a clear path through most impassible hyperspace turbulence. We use'em to drill hyperroutes into the Hard Roil and the Denarii Nebula -- and they'd do real well on the Indrexu Spiral in your territory. They're orders of magnitude cheaper than permanent full-sized S-thread boosters like you'd see on the Sanctuary Pipeline or Koros Trunk. We also find they work great for making sure escape pods get away from interdicted ships. Or you can drop one and sail out of any interdiction ever made, if your ship's small enough. They're half a million apiece, same as a real high-end starfighter. We couldn't do what we do without'em.

"Now that's an infodump and a half I've thrown at you. Any questions so far?"

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

The hold, packed to the rafters with all manner of items, grabbed her attention. More so when Captain Rekali began her informative sales pitch on the items of interest to her. Coci walked around leisurely, looking over the hypercapable recon probes as she listened most impressed and the SSC could most certainly use them to great extent. The further ones protected space expands the harder to monitor and keep an eye on said space. Both the items here would go toward helping sure up their current system.

"Captain, the probes are most impressive in their strengths with little to no weaknesses, at least none what would be of major concern. You mention the ability to detect light, and naturally I can see the benefits of that, however, is there the ability to detect heat. Not only of ship engines but with a more aggressive sensor reading to penetrate the hull of a ship to ascertain a 'body count', for want of a better description. This ability would be very handy if the SSC was to come across an opposing fleet for example".

Next was the early warning systems, "The systems we have in place now are good, however when you have developed a more advanced system we would be very interested in taking a look at updating".

​

[member="Alec Rekali"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Alec Rekali"], [member="Coci Heavenshield"]


There was a substantial info dump of tech talk as Alec outlined the sales pitch of Rekali Incorporated and went through some of the items she had to offer. Truth be told, Siobhan was neither a researcher or a tech whiz, as much as this admission clashed with her strong belief in her own magnificence. Pride, thy name is Siobhan. Well, that was probably one of her many deadly sins! She'd make further enquiries with some of the experts at Firemane when she got back home.


However, she considered herself to be a practical woman with an eye for good toys. The boarding craft seemed very shiny, though obviously their use would be quite situational since boarding capital ships was only practical in certain circumstances, no matter how romantic it seemed. Siobhan had learned this the hard way a few times. "Ok. Thanks for the detailed elaboration. You've clearly outdone yourselves with shinies. The Meshurkaan sounds very nice. I can the Coalition having good use for it. Same applies to Firemane, as a matter of fact," she stated. The fallout of the Atrisian Empire's collapse had yielded some shiny drop pods for the Company. The boarding craft would compliment things nicely by giving infiltration and boarding options in space. She could also see plenty of use for the recon probes, but Coci was already enquiring about those shinies, so she did not add to that.


"I agree the early warning systems could use an overhaul. Present system is adequate, but time stands still for no one and complacency is fatal."Unlike the many Alkahest toys she knew, this one did not give her a burn when she picked it up! "Special sniper rifle scope? I feel the Force in it."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Coci Heavenshield"]

"Well, detecting light is something that can be done with passive sensors, which are limited by the speed of light. Full-scale life-signs detectors are a kind of active sensor, and the Kal'ika probe has that; it's just that use of active sensors drastically increases likelihood of detection, so the probe has to pick its moment. So you can absolutely fly a Kal'ika toward a fleet, coast when you're close, turn on active sensors for an in-depth scan, have the probe transmit the data to you, and tell the probe to run. Might sacrifice the probe, but it can absolutely do what you want it to do."

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"The sniper scope? That's a Farseer. The Clan did the machining, and Shule's Workshop handled the Jal Shey imbuement. It'll counter incoming mental attacks and boost focus, and it'll work for anyone, Force-sensitive or not. You can halfway see through some illusions with it. Just a really nice article in general.

"As for the early warning systems -- it's already a high priority for us, but when I tell the boys how interested you are, we'll see about hurrying things along."

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

"That is precisely what we require. A probe may be sacrificed for the information but in an invasion the information would be valuable, it would save lives", she looked over the Sio as they continued talking.

"Lady Sio if there is anything more you think the SSC would benefit from please place an order. I believe we can do business Captain Rekali, I would like a shipment of recon probes sent to Voss to fit out the fleet. And in time, when the early warning systems are developed we can talk again", she smiled with an accord.

"Is there anything further you wish from us Captain?", wondering if there was more on this agenda then a business transaction.

​

[member="Alec Rekali"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Alec Rekali"], [member="Coci Heavenshield"]


Siobhan's eyes swept over the items on display, giving Alec a nod after the Captain had responded to their questions. "I say I'd be interested in seven of the boarding craft for now. Depending on perfomance in the field, we can see about purchasing a larger contingent in the future," she said. Briefly, the redhead looked down, as she was consulting information on a datapad.


"In addition, I'd be interested in a small number of your navcomputers, hyperdrives and those rifle scopes." The first two could be useful for Firemane's phantom ships, and perhaps other projects in the future. The S-thread boosters were very shiny, but she left them out for today, though she made a note to keep them in mind for the future.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Coci Heavenshield"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"Probes, Meshurkaan boarding craft, navicomputers, Dha'karbakar hyperdrives, and Farseer rifle scopes -- done." The numbers and contracts could be hashed out later. "As for the early warning systems, you'll be our first call. I think I can promise something with a higher yield and a much lower cost. Your current network runs off cruiser-sized space stations. We use autonomous, unmanned, much smaller units anchored in hyperspace, so that'll be worth your while once we've fully upgraded the sensors."

Alec blinked at Coci's question. "Well, we're always happy with your business. Since you ask, though, we wouldn't mind permission to start prospecting the Indrexu Spiral -- we're probably the galaxy's experts in opening up impassable nebular regions, and that one's got our attention." The Spiral wound its way through the Tion sectors, touching Coalition territory at several points. Useless space, dangerous too -- to virtually anyone but the Rekalis.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

Coci walked around the hold, her attention on Captain Rekali as she spoke to Sio. Her hands finding the odd item from time to time, looking it over without interest, but when asked permission to begin prospecting the Indrexu Spiral, she smiled. "You have permission of the Sanctum to begin", she said immediately, "But can you tell me what you hope to find there?", not knowing the business or what ore may lay within the Spiral, she is curious on a couple of levels.

She looked over to Sio, and back to Alec, the resources Coci is looking for standing in this hold. Coci is no business woman, more by choice then any lacking but it has been on her mind that the Sanctum needs to 'branch out' in the sense of become self sufficient. As much as their coffers are healthy from donations of governments pleased and see the benefits of their protection, there needs to be a constant flow of credits in order to advance the Coalition's defenses against any attack or have the ability to go to the aid of allies. The Coalition has a great fleet, but more is needed and since they have the ability to 'set up shop' in Dac, it seemed a waste not to not only benefit the people of that planet but themselves as well.

These thoughts she had been having for some time now, and she had to wonder if the opportunity had now presented itself here in the hold.

​

[member="Alec Rekali"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Alec Rekali"], [member="Coci Heavenshield"]


SSC/Firemane got toys, Rekali got fake money. That sounded fair! "Pleasure doing business with you, Captain," Siobhan spoke, then the conversation shifted to the Indrexu Spire. Alas, Siobhan lacked meta insight, so she was not really knowledgeable about the area, and thus she did not receive a flood of sudden knowledge of why the Rekalis were interested in prospecting it.


So she listened for now, reserving judgement while Coci and Alec talked.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Coci Heavenshield"][member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"The Indrexu Spiral is impassable, so we only have spectroscopic guesswork, but we're likely talking about the same benefits we find in the Roil. We have specialized equipment that harvests the densest and most dangerous regions, carves out safe routes -- we can find unprospected systems, make secret hyperspace passages, create bolt holes for vaults and ambushes - the One Sith themselves could descend on the Hard Roil in force and they'd never root us out. We have colonies, not just ours either. Refugees from Bardotta and Generis and other places. If we start carving holes in the Indrexu Spiral, for ourselves and for you, it's a whole new level of long-term security. And it pays for itself."

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

"If you wish, set up a launching point out of Raxus. From what I understand of the Spiral it has various gasses and raw materials, you will require warehouses and silos to store the raw materials with security and safety as I will assume the gasses could be volatile. If you find raw material that can be utilised in ship building I would be most interested in your finds and purchasing them for the SSC". Coci had taken note of the idea of a safe haven and considered the suggestion.

"We have a lot of systems under our protection, which as you know means millions of people and if we are overwhelmed and unable to defend them giving them a retreat makes good solid sense. It also makes sense the SSC members could use this as well, if required". If Voss was to fall, they would need a place to regroup and re-establish.

​

[member="Alec Rekali"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Alec Rekali"], [member="Coci Heavenshield"]


Retreat. The word stung more than it should, though that was not the fault of anyone except her own issues. However, it made Sio's mind flash back to what had transpired on Kaeshana. The inevitable apocalypse that no force, no fleet had been able to avert. An entire planet - her homeworld - devastated, staggering casualties, a civilisation wiped out.


She had been damn lucky to escape after rescuing Natoline before the asteroid impacted. Few had been so lucky. Firemane's efforts had saved many lives, but it still all amounted to mitigation. It was why, when push came to shove, her first and foremost loyalty was to her family. Nations died sooner or later. She cast the images of Kaeshana's parabolic descent into hell from her mind and returned to the present. Now that it had been elaborated on in detail, she understand why Rekali Incorporated was interested in prospecting.

"I agree. It sounds like a reasonable proposition. I think Firemane would be interested in opening this area up in cooperation with you and providing logistical support. Having safe places off the map, so to speak, would be convenient for us as well, and we may be able to set up small colonies and retreats for Eldorai refugees from Kaeshana. It would relieve some of the pressure on Tygara. Depending on the conditions inside the Spiral." Suffice to say the exodus was not a shiny and happy affair that had led the elves to the land of milk and honey where everything was harmonious!

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Coci Heavenshield"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"Raxus would be ideal for what we're after, thanks. Warehouse space is always good. The way we work, generally, is to drop waystations with processing capabilities inside the nebula. What gets shipped out of the nebula is generally processed, not raw. That lets us maximize value per shipment, cut down on number of shipments, and make sure we've got enough instinctive astrogators to cover our bases. And we're always willing to sell what we find, absolutely -- though we won't know anything for sure until we start chewing our way through the Spiral. Firemane's logistical support would be great -- especially because you already have experience handling complex hyperroutes, like the one out to Laekia." Before Alec dropped out of the Levantine Astronautical Academy, she'd seen plenty of Firemane ships running the old Silk security contract. "We'd happily contract with Firemane for logistical support.

"As for carving out colonies, that can absolutely be done, depending on what worlds we find. So far we have only an overview of system compositions; there could be whole civilizations in there that nobody's ever found, same as we've dug up in the Roil."

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

After doing her 'rounds' of the hold, Coci stopped to give proper attention of Alec. "I think this is shaping up nicely, and will be of great benefit to all parties involved. I am starting to gather ideas and form plans for a large project in the coming months and this exploration of the Spiral and what might be gleaned from it will help with my project .. at least to begin with". Coci will need to find good engineers and construction builders to build her a shipyard or three over Dac.

"The SSC member I am sure would love to help with establishing the facilities to house refugees and relocate them, provide whatever means necessary to help them settle into yet a new home". A location of safe haven for the Jedi would have to remain a secret and would need to be discussed with Grand Master [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] and his council.

"I do believe we have a deal, and I look forward to doing business with you again", she smiled having concluded her side of the visit, a looked to Sio to see if she had anything further to add or in need of.

[member="Alec Rekali"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]​