Sluis Van - That's a lot of ship. [GUIDE | Enigma]

[Magdalena Lethe]

"Ho-ly ship."

Magda had taken to not engaging with the holonet ever since receiving the first firm investments in what was to become the next Big Galactic Bang since the jumba-pop phenomenon band Ignatious Zuu. If, she surmised, she relied on the directives and definitions of the holonet to feed her knowledge of these planets, well, she'd likely not accomplish much of anything. Distractions were not something she could afford.

Scratch that, she could totally afford distractions now. So many distractions. And a new suit.

The suit was necessary, the distractions were just a ruse.

The Magesteria glided through entering space lanes and passed by security outposts without so much as a peep. This day was the day Magda met face-to-face with the CEO of Emeritus Industries, the HQ being here on Sluis Van. Magda had never been to Sluis Van and so immediately began taking notes of her journey.

Security and Militia forces: punctual, polite, not big fans of the Republic. Use gates 7 - 21 for civilian entry into system.

It wasn't long before her ship's engines were winding down and Magda descended the cargo hold ramp to the greeting of a welcoming retinue.

"Good day," she smiled brightly, tugging the straps of her bag over her shoulder and extending a hand to shake, "I'm Magdalena Lethe. I have a 2 'o clock with Miss Vanessa Kuhn."

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

"Miss Lethe, if I recall..." The receptionist smiled, nodding as she looked over the information on who had appointments with her boss. "Ah, yes, the data mentions your meeting. Take the elevator up to the top floor. Miss Kuhn's office will be on the left at the end of the hallway." She smiled, pondering over a wide variety of options. "She should be thrilled to see you."

Indeed, Vanessa was looking forward to meeting with the woman she had talked to previously - so far as she knew, she hadn't visited anyone else.

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"Thank you."

Following the Receptionist's directions Magda entered the lift and enjoyed the quiet of the ride up. She was here without her brother today - at least, he wasn't attending the meeting. He'd opted to stay back on the ship to do whatever it is teenage boys like him do. At the top she stepped out and followed the long hall, pausing before a looking glass to check her appearance.

Neat, tidy, groomed perhaps not to the same perfection that her twin sister was infamous for, but certainly presentable. Magda licked her thumb to smooth a few stray hairs back into the bun and straightened her suit jacket. Her mother would have fussed more but her mother wasn't here. With that firm reminder of her current situation Magda gave a despondent sigh and made her way to the end of the hall, knocking at the door on the left before entering.

"Hello Miss Kuhn," at least today she didn't have to address two Kuhns. Magda smiled brightly as she approached the woman and offered a hand to shake, "pleasure to meet you in person. Thank you for making the time to see me."

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

"Why certainly, Miss Lethe." Vanessa smiled, looking over the table at her new business compatriot. She had spoken to Magdalena previously regarding a project she was working on, and assumed that the visit related as some sort of aftermath regarding such. Hopefully, the prediliction would be correct - Emeritus could always utilize fresh business, after all.

"So, what brings you to Emeritus, if I might ask?"

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"Well," Magda began as she helped herself to a seat, "as I said during the conference call I would be seeing to each investor in the following months. Your's was the closest locale to me at the time so here I am."

The young woman gave [member="Enigma"] a bright smile, "I understand you were curious to the requirements I had in mind for the transports I requested. Have you already begun work on them or are we starting with a clean slate?"

 

[Onrai]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

"My intent was to, for your project, Miss Lethe, start from a clean slate - to utilize only new technology developed within our corporation's infrastructure in order to ensure your vessels are consistently able to operate at maximum efficiency. I would be more than glad to showcase to you an example of such technology, if you're interested in seeing such a prototype in action."

This prototype was merely a further advance in the development of an ongoing series, after all.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"Really?!" Magda replied brightly, exuberantly, then caught herself and quickly toned down her grin to a mature smile, "That would be delightful."

Oh, this was exciting! She felt so mature in this business suit, standing there in that office, talking to that Corporate CEO as though they'd long done business together. Keep it together, Magie, no loose bolts. Streamline, efficient, clean. Don't muddle up this opportunity!

She gave a gentle cough and tucked her case beneath one arm, "Lead the way Ms. Kuhn."

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

A smile crossed the face of the CEO as she, making sure Magda was following her, walked down a flight of stairs to a simple elevator shaft. Though it seemed for all intents and purposes to be normal, the shaft did have some seats replete with restraints, one of which Vanessa sat down in, sitting Magda down next to her. "Now hold on."

When the doors closed, the chute went down - down extremely fast at a high speed of acceleration, almost like a rollercoaster. When it would stop, the admittedly shaken Vanessa would do her best to help Magda up.

In front of them was a room with a vault-like door - a vault-like door that was slowly opening.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

A curious glance given to the restraints - a seat belt? Magda quietly strapped herself in and upon the sudden drop let out a yelp of surprise. To her credit the yelp turned into a shaky fit of laughter.

"How thrilling!" ashen faced, Magda felt her heart hammering in her chest as she fumbled with unclipping the straps, "Do you do that everyday?" She stood on wobbly, adrenaline filled legs, steadying herself with [member="Enigma"]'s help before straightening her suit and hair. Before them a vault door was slowly gaping open and she peered in curiously.

"Is this your R&D department?"

 

[Onrai]

"Not entirely." She smiled. "Technically, this is our hazardous research chamber." The two of them would step into the chamber in question, revealing a series of small cubicles. Many contained vials of substances - one contained a metal man in carbonite, acquired from the Zeltros outbreak. Others contained samples of yorik coral along with vials of extremely corrosive acid - certainly some sort of sampling. There were Force-base crystals - even a stash of stygium from an old trade she had once made with a short Yodaling.

At the far end of the room was a glass-walled chamber, behind which was a reactor. Two scientists were maintaining it as it ran, augmenting the building's power supply. "A 1.25/1 matter-antimatter reactor. Even more efficient than anything developed before - anything that's remained stable. Scans from one of those old Black Hex ships, combined with data we acquired from the Subach auction, have produced this wonderful package."

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"Brilliant!"

Magda beamed as she gazed upon the men beyond the glass panes, unsure of whether she was getting a strange sense of deja vu or simply too much intrigue.

"So what exactly does this offer then? Greater speed? Cleaner jumps into hyperspace?"

[member="Enigma"]

 

[T. Greg]

he approaches both of them being quite for a few moments eventually opening his mouth to speak " greetings" he was no stranger to working with jedi and rouges of all kind after all he was half human and that human that was his father was a jedi knight so Tristan had a small yet natural connection to the lightside but luckily it was small and only showed itself at rare moments [member="Magdalena Lethe"] @Enigma

 

[Onrai]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

"Extreme fuel efficiency for the power." She smiled. "Matter-antimatter reactions produce more energy than any other power source - it doesn't matter as to whether you fit a hypermatter annihilation reactor into the ship. This will provide more power. Originally, we used a 2:1 ratio for fuel flow. In the event of an antimatter flareup, there would be enough matter to dampen the reaction before the ship exploded. With enhanced moderators, we now can rely on a mere safeguard of plus twenty-five percent matter, drastically increasing fuel economy and decreasing the amount of matter needed for refueling. This makes a much more compact power plant."

She smiled. "Perfect technology for what you desire to work with."

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"Well that sounds...very remarkable," Magda nodded. She wasn't a molecular scientist by any toss of a hat, but the gist of what [member="Enigma"] explained she felt she could grasp.

"But...ah, what about safety? I realize any sort of reactor-based engine has the potential for disaster in dire circumstances, but what about this? It's more compact, yes, but is it still going to give my explorers a fail-safe and chance to escape before incinerating them in an explosion?"

 

[Onrai]

"Antimatter drives rarely if ever suffer spikes. The extra matter fed into the core ensures that antimatter won't surge the area, and self-perpetuating magnetic fields mean that neither substance touches the walls of the reactor, which would cause an explosion. The reactor as well is more than capable of dumping its fuel into the void in the event that containment will inevitably be breached. A myriad of failsafes are inside to help ensure the safety of the crew. We've been working with antimatter reactors for long enough to ensure their safety - no Emeritus ship has ever been destroyed due to a reactor-based problem."

Vanessa hoped her explanation was enough to actively persuade Magda of the benefits of such an advanced power source.

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Magda nodded along as [member="Enigma"] explained the inherent safety measures.

"I see. Now what about cost. Surely advanced technology such as this is not only costly on the initial purchase, but what about repairs and upgrades? As well, how long has this new Antimatter drive been in successful use? Has it already been implemented in other ships currently in use? What's the feedback?"

Say what you will about her youthful vigor and enthusiasm, Magda had luckily inherited the business smarts from her mother.

 

[Onrai]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

"Costly initially, though not so much if the ship is designed around it - the long-term fuel efficiency heavily decreases costs over time compared to other power systems, and knowing what you intend to work on, you want to keep long-term expenditures down as much as you can. Antimatter drives, of which this is the latest variation, have been in use for decades. Feedback has been that they provide similar levels of power to hypermatter reactors while still being ore compact and fuel efficient. Their quality has only increased further over time."

She nodded, smiling. Hopefully this powerplant would convince her of the craft's capabilities.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Magda smiled, "Do you have a ship using one of these latest drives that I could see? Something small, comparable to what I'm hoping to have for The GUIDE?"

 

[Onrai]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

"None yet... this is a prototype, still under testing despite everything being relatively worthwhile. However, these vessels, when constructed, will utilize this reactor. You should be proud - as a part of this deal, you'll have the most efficient power plant. It's absolutely wonderful." She leaned back, pondering over the future repercussions of what was going on.

It would be excellent.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"Mmm," Magda's lips drew thin in thought, brows furrowing low over her eyes. It was an expression inherited from her mother, so it was said, and she could hear her mother's voice of reason in the back of her mind.

"Miss Kuhn...I don't wish to seem ungrateful or doubtful of your expertise, but I'm not so sure I feel comfortable putting my future employees' lives on the line with new, untested, and potentially disastrous technology. My concerns would be much quieter if this was successfully proven safe and tested in the field first."

[member="Enigma"]