Setting Up an Outpost [Mining Operation on Bespin With Siobhan]

[HK-36]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"Well if they work, why not make more of them? It is different times we live in now, technology lost due to Plague Dark Age is being re-discovered and re-invented, advances made possible greater production of what used to be more limited weapons. If these tools are available to us, we may as well use them before somebody else equips them against us."
The droid nodded slightly, glancing to Siobhan.

Their disk shook slightly as they broke the clouds, watching the Outpost coming closer as the disk made its way to dock with the metal structure, the construction of the facilities coming along nicely.
"Perhaps we could form a manufacturing coalition in the future? I have been working on a light personal walker, more reminiscent of mechanized armor suit, a weapon that would allow the Gados to enter military service without worry of succumbing easily to injuries during battle. We could modify that, along with new designs for my Shattergun Rotary Cannon, as well as new, heavier version of the Bolt Gun, and field it on a larger scale as heavy support units for our soldiers."

HK would turn to Siobhan,
"Warfare is an ancient art, but there is always room for improvement and innovation. Together we can shake things up, make the Sith think twice of attempting to subjugate the Galaxy when it would be the Eldorai Guardians, Iron Knights, and Gados Technomancers they will have to face."
The droid nodded slightly, looking back to the Outpost,
"Or at least make a nice cut when the renown of our services as mercenaries spreads around the Free Territories."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="HK-36"]

As an old said, only the dead have seen the end of war.

From high above as they broke through the clouds Siobhan watched the joint outpost take shape. There was a strong wind and the disc shook slightly but it maintained stability and was soon moving towards docking upon the metal structure. The Firemane and ARGH workers were more than earning their pay setting things up.

"We should. The NO's a corpse but the One Sith are still a threat, as Teta shows. Then there's the Confederacy, which has a way outdated fleet but might be even more of a mad dog. Varanin's out of Fringe leadership, so there's no telling which course they'll take," Siobhan said thoughtfully.

She would not mention it, but there was a Shadow. Call it instinct, but she was sure he was still out there. Perhaps it was also vanity since deep down she was of the belief that only she could kill him - or rather that she was the only one who should kill. She would never admit it, but he was the one Sith she was actually afraid of, perhaps the only being in the Galaxy. She brutally thrust that thought of the metaphorical airlock.

"Anything that provides a military advantage...and gives us a sizeable profit is good," she said more brightly as she absorbed HK's words. "I'd like to hear more of this light personal walker you're working on. I know way back Blastech created what's like a mechanised power suit, called the Tartaros. Always wanted one of my own. Maybe we could make a joint project out of it. If we give it a heavy bolt gun it would be a potent assault platform. We cut out some of the more exotic ammunition types and make a grenade cannon out of it. It won't come cheap, but the MK1's bolts can already penetrate light vehicle armour, if we increase the calibre it could be devastating. Bolter has a slow rate of fire, but that's what your rotary cannon can compensate. Maybe even give the walker a flamethrower as an optional weapon to burn out enemy positions."

Siobhan liked having the best toys that made things go bang, she also wanted Kaeshana to be protected. "Send me what concept you've thought of so far and I'll bring it up with Tegs. Sure she'll like it. I can visit Abregado-Rae. Firemane has actually made a," at that she paused and pointed towards what on first sight looked like a pendant worn around her neck, "hold-out boltgun. Her idea! Come to think of it, what do you say about naming the walker after the Machine God? About time that fight got honoured. Firemane's already got a Reaver-class tank! Hmm. What was his name again? Something long with too many apostrophes."

 

[HK-36]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"One Sith will probably get reinforcements from the New Order remnants, this brings the war with the Sith even closer to our territory, at least more focus on it. I know the One Sith have a powerful mentalist on their side, so the rumors say of a seer-witch who casts spells on her. I would love to hunt her and silence her visions, much of her powers would be useless against me."

The droid would nod then, looking to Siobhan and her pendant,
"A hold-out bolt gun? That sounds a bit like a contradiction, you sure it works?"
He would quip, looking up from her pendant,
"Anyway, I will send the initial blueprints, sure, and the mechanical drake was called Mag'ladroth, hopefully these walkers would meet a more fortunate fate than the beast, at least skipping the part where he was beaten with his own wings to death."

The droid quipped once more before looking to Siobhan, the offender who battered the metal being.

HK would look up then to one of the transports still hanging about as the materials and crews were being unloaded.

"How about we head into the transport to discuss the plans and schemes more and come back when the Outpost's construction is finished?"
He would offer a time-skip to Siobhan

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="HK-36"]


Siobhan nodded. "I heard the rumours. A while back I had a chat with Ashin Varanin about the One Sith. Apparently her grandfather was with the original one cult way back - Darth Shule, he was called. They're pretty much a big personality cult based on submission to a Dark Lord to whom all others bow and who's treated like he's all-powerful. From what she said the Dark Lord stays unseen but has a single Voice, who acts as some sort of conduit of his will and exists to guide the rest of them. The rest are all equal under the Dark Lord and they give Darth titles away like candy. Personally I'd be inclined to believe the Dark Lord's just a fiction conjured up to keep the cult in line and distract from the real powers. Anyhow, several Fringers are with the One Sith as well. You know about Kaine, I fought him at Fondor during that skirmish."



She shrugged. "I know it works. Haven't tested it on a live target yet though. Easily concealable though." Tegs carrying it around with her made Siobhan feel her wife was a bit safer. There had been too many attempts on her life for her to take chances with Tegs' safety.


"Those wings were very beatable. You still owe me for freeing you from the Machine God," she quipped. "And, yeah, going back to the transport sounds good. Work should proceed smoothly. Unless monsters randomly spawn here out of thin air." Given how frequently random terrorists spawned on OP planets to perform similarly random terrorist attacks, one could never be sure.

 

[HK-36]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"Not sure which one would be worse, to be honest."
HK quipped to Siobhan as they headed towards their transport on the flying disk,
"Fiction is more difficult to slay than blood and flesh."

And with those words they disappeared in the shadows of the transport's hull as their conversation continued.


Several hours later,

They would emerge on another transport disk, HK continuing some unspoken story,
"Anyhoo, and then I told her, 'No, yours looks like a tumbleweed.' and that was the last time we spoke."

He nodded slightly looking back to the Outpost.

The flags and logos of both Firemane and Guild of Hammers were visible on it already, the workers were just finishing up cleaning the structure and for the final inspection by HK and Siobhan, the building was finished, now it was the time for mining to commence.

The droid looked back to his brunette companion,
"Would you care for some fresh Cortosis, lady Kerrigan?"
HK quipped to her, motioning for the pilot to lower them down back through the clouds towards the lines of mining droids that left the outpost to attend to veins of Cortosis.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="HK-36"]


At long last their shiny outpost was finished after an indeterminate amount of time had passed. As they say, time flies. The banners of Firemane and the Guild Hammers were proudly being put on display. Siobhan liked that sort of fanfare a lot.


"Forsooth, I would indeed, Baron HK. Let us see what riches await us," Siobhan spoke in what was a crude imitation of a prissy aristo accent. Or, as [member="Delila Castillon"] would say, her socialite beauty queen voice. Lines of mining droids were filing out from the outpost towards the veins of cortosis that awaited them. It would take time to mine, but the outpost was ready and they had brought plenty of workers. The metal needed for shiny weapons awaited them!

 

[HK-36]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

As the transport disk lowered they would be able to see the groups of droids break through the layers of clouds and reach the hidden mantle of the planet, their lasers and drills went to work, wounding the metal surface, scarring it as they begun to form trenches and tunnels. Soon enough they would be pulling out long strands and fibers from the mantle, collecting the material that looked like a mixture between rock, metal, and canvas, the extraction of brittle cortosis ore.

The use of conventional drills and picks prevented the ore from exploding horribly, as it had tendency to do when in contact with energy means or organic matter, usually something you would want to avoid.

Soon enough the first wagon fulls of fibrous cortosis ore have been loaded, and so they were lifted up via repulsorlift engines through the clouds towards the loading docks of the outpost above.

"The beginning of or new riches, new tools to use in wars against evil that lurks in this Galaxy."

The droid quipped seeing the transports, with a gesture he ordered for the disk to raise back into the air, breaking through the colorful clouds once more until the Outpost came into their view. The droids would already be seen landing and docking, unloading their cargo of cortosis onto prepared transports, the ore would then disappear into the central forge building where the sounds of smelteries and furnaces powering up to work already resonated through the orange clouds of the gaseous world.

"If the Sith did not fear our armies yet, they will have a reason now."

HK glanced to Siobhan, and so their Outpost was placed, a point of advancement for Firemane and the Hammers in technology the new reliable supply of cortosis would deliver, and new cooperation, opening roads for possible future coalition of the two minor powers.