Stones Crack in the Frost Night

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum had been to Atrisia a few times before. There was nothing unexpected by the minor press coverage when he left the Forerunner. He was somewhat surprised that they had figured it was him, the last time he had been here it had been on the Fate, a very different vessel. But then again, his appearance was rather unique, he had yet to meet a droid close enough to be mistaken as the 'Lord of Mustafar'. That was an amusing title, partly because he had not come up with it.

The droid had decided to perhaps surprise his Sith ally, the ruler of Atrisia, maybe. He did not know how directly the security of incoming and outgoing starships was to the ruler. Ultimatum was uncertain whether the information on who was going to and leaving the planet was closely watched by the ruler, or if it was considered less important with a few exceptions. Mustafar had a very direct connection to Ultimatum's security. However, he was a droid and had computers that processed most of the information on people coming and leaving so that he had an idea of potential dangers.

He rented a vehicle and began making his way to the castle, he recalled the first visit and was able to replicate the basic path.

[member="Nomkneer"]

 

[Nomkneer]

Nomkneer was in the main hall of the Atrisian palace, rather busy since [member="Lord Mythos"] was on one of his leaves doing training in planets from far away galaxies. Being the General of Atrisia and the second most important figure he also is the replacement for when the king isn't there, Nomkneer gives the orders and calls all the moves. Kida Malgus the princess of Atrisia would walk around the palace as she pleases as Nomkneer would use Force sight to keep an eye on her just in case, she had grown on him in a way.

The general of Atrisia was called to a reunion of Atrisian senators to talk about the economical flow of Atrisia, although people have stopped starving in some places of the world thanks to the arrival of the new king and the advice of the kaleesh from his travels, it was the reason he gained peoples trust so quickly.As the kaleesh was entering the doors, one of the security maintanance called him to report something to Nomkneer.

"Sir, we have something breaching the atmosphere, it seems to be carrying one person and it doesn't seem like its dangerous"
"Scan it, you know that no one passes through Atrisia without the acceptance from the king or myself."
"On the way sir, anything else."
"Just keep an eye on it, report back to me if something off scale happens."

He went inside the room to continue the reunion as his days without the king were busy ones and the structure of Atrisia had always been protected.


[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum made certain that he did not deviate from his apparent course, he did not want to have any appearance of a trouble maker. Also being just one more of the ships entering the planet would make it hopefully less likely that Mythos would identify him. This was supposed to be a friendly surprise. Ultimatum had some ideas about setting up a shipyard above the planet, that would speed up the production and usage of the ships that Mythos had wanted built. The Foresight was an amazing shipyard, but it was rather remote for the needs of the Sith and Ultimatum wanted to see if he was willing to have another one built a bit closer.

He decided it was time to send a message. "Lord of Atrisia, this is Ultimatum. I would like to speak with you if possible."

[member="Nomkneer"]

 

[Nomkneer]

Nomkneer was in the reunion listening to the given speech, it wasn't one of the most interesting speeches, speaking about the incoming and outgoing credit and planet rep. He was disturbed by a soldier opening the door and asking while gazing directly at the general.

"Sir, we have a message sent to Mythos but your his replacement."

Relief came to his mind and a slight smile came unnoticeable behind his kaleesh mask.

"Excuse me, i need to attend this continue on i'll be right back."

He walked out of the room and took the comm and checked the message, as he heard it he was intrigued and for now it seems as if hes not an enemy. He walked towards the main gates slowly with the guard who relayed the message beside him. When reaching the front of the gates he stood front forward facing out, looked to the side and told the guard.

"Relay a message back, this is the general, you'll have to answer to me but i'll be gladly waiting for you."

Nomkneer isn't the type of person who would just interact with anybody but he knew that [member="Lord Mythos"] knew many people and he could me some negotiator or someone whom the king of the Atrisia had made deals with. He decided to at least give him a break, if he seems dangerous the general would not hesitate to attack.

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum soon found himself near the front gates. He made his way there slowly, deliberately. He had been here at least once before and the general layout was recorded in his systems. He could have if needed, walked about with a little confidence. But that was not why he was here. Mythos had not directly responded, so the droid assumed that he was at a meeting or otherwise detained.

He noticed someone apparently waiting at the gate entrance. Ultimatum walked towards it saying when he was close enough for relatively easy speach, "Greetings. I am here to see Lord Mythos if he is available. My name is Ultimatum."

[member="Nomkneer"]

 

[Nomkneer]

Nomkneer stood face foward facing the machine and thinking how technology is so ultimately advance. As he was about to answer one of his men walked forward and asked to give a word to the general, his guards all know about his enhanced hearing so they whisper where they stand and the kaleesh would still hear them clearly.

"Sir, we have seen him talk with Lord Mythos a couple of times before, i believe he has negotiations with him."

Nomkneer took a second and faced [member="Ultimatum"] and as he gestured his right hand in front of his chest, he greeted him.

"Welcome, im afraid Lord Mythos is on an absence training in some far away planet but you can come inside and speak your memory."

In his mind he laughed as the irony of the joke as he was thinking if he understood it even though he said it in a respectful gesture. Nomkneer after greeting him accompanied him inside to talk about why he came here and what does he want.

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum was somewhat disappointed to hear that Mythos was gone, but not too surprised. It was bound to happen at some point and he would have to get on good terms with those the master of Atrisia put in charge while he was gone. If anything, this was an opportunity. He was glad to see that this organic was at least willing to see him. The droid was not aware of the information passed between the two.

"Thank you. I am here to bring a plan before Mythos, or in this case before you. Mythos had me produce a series of starships from a shipyard above Mustafar. This is a rather inefficient plan, due to the fact that the ships have to travel quite far before finally being in proper use. I have plans for another shipyard, one that would be built here above Atrisia. It would be of a similar design and output capabilities. Because it is right here the ships produced can be used almost immediately. If Mythos, and yourself, are willing I can have a mining facility built on planet so that most of the resources required by the shipyard will be collected and not require any work on your part." Ultimatum fell silent as he finished. There was more, but take it one step at a time.

[member="Nomkneer"]

 

[Nomkneer]

Nomkneer stood in front of Ultimatum hearing everything he had to say and while having a serious face, he very well agreed that Atrisia needed to have this as through the kaleesh' travels he has seen potential mining sites. He didn't know ultimatum and even if one of his soldiers did say something relieving of him, a warrior will always be sketchy. He shook his head up and down slowly and slightly while preparing to say these words.

"I agree with your plans, I do not need Mythos' permission to do things of this level. I can call out Atrisia to help you with your plans. Lets have a more in dept discussion of this, shall we?"

He said this while ordering the Atrisian men to open the doors to the Mythos' hall where he has his keeps. With much respect he let Ultimatum walk first and followed by into the room, he took a death stick and blazed it as he sat down in the kings chair and Ultimatum in the guest. Gazing
eyes with the robot he was ready to discuss thoroughly about the topic at hand.

[member="Ultimatum"] 'sorry i had a hard week'

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum was thankful for the politeness of his host. It was good to know that his ideas would be accepted in the concept, basically. It would be a question of whether the details would negate the potential positives of the idea. An interesting idea that Mythos had been willing to allow another to have a degree of control, but then again that was how Sith powerbases worked, if he was not mistaken. It was an efficient if somewhat dangerous system. If one tried to rebel it was possible for them to take everything under them against the master. While that was not a problem at the lowest levels, but at the higher points there was a much larger threat should one turn. That was probably why Sith liked to have very obedient apprentices. Then again Ultimatum did not know enough to make informed guesses.

He took a seat in the guest position and then waited a moment before explaining part of his plans. "The idea is fairly straight forward, at least to my eyes. While the factory above Mustafar has a more immediate source of building supplies, I believe having the production facility of the fighters closer would help cut down the waiting period after each fighter is made. Depending on what you would prefer the facility could take raw materials from this planet or have shipments from Mustafar with the necessary materials. Either way will be fine with the work model I have. However, if the production of fighters needs to be sped up for whatever reason, bolstering of planetary defenses, creating an attack force, etc. the model of collecting metal from this planet and sending it up would be a better decision. That is based on what the potential requirements of the facility. The original concept I had was that this would be much like the Foresight, entirely run by droids and a computer system that originates on Mustafar, however I was wondering if Mythos, or now yourself, would want this shipyard to also function as a workplace for natives. It would supply a decent income, coming from LOOM of course, and keep at least part of the population working. Thoughts?"

[member="Nomkneer"] (No problems, it happens.)

 

[Nomkneer]

The general sat interested in the topic, he may be a kaleesh whom are known for not being the smart kind of race, this kaleesh was a special one. He understood quite well and he had some ideas in mind. He took a moment to speak back to it.

"Well i believe that the materials should be best come from Mustafar, i have an idea that i'll be asking your favor if you dont mind. I wish to make a planetary defense cannon on Atrisia, one that would make my enemies think twice before reaching this planet, but that will be talked on another time. I can see you have very well done all the plans for this. Mythos wouldn't have it any other way if i don't listen to you. what type of machines will be done again?"

He kept focus as technological intelligence is not the kaleesh' thing, but he well understands by names, size and power measure. He gestured his hand forward as a way to saying speak.

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

A planetary defense cannon, that would be a useful weapon. Not a good idea for Mustafar with its heavy cloud and ash cover. Of course, the cover of the planet could hide the location of such a cannon from orbiting ships. It would take resources, but that was not something that would bother Ultimatum, Mustafar was rich in the necessary materials. However, the potential of building such a cannon on Mustafar was unimportant at the moment. There was the question of what would be built on this new shipyard.

"There are two ship classes that were requested by Mythos. The Yovshin and the Freighters of Mythos Brigade. The initial number was been reached, but parts, replacement ships, and future ships. I assume that either you or he will want newer vessels to increase the strength of your fleet?"

He had wondered about that for so long. It had been awhile since Animus had spoken with the droid, Ultimatum had wondered if there would ever be a need to continue the ships' production. He had continued the line work anyways, after the work on the Sovereignty had been finished, he had even built a number of the vessels in advance for replacing the destruction or loss of some. The numbers had been quite small, though truth be told the shipyard hardly had any work at the moment so the numbers appeared smaller than they were at the time.

"As for the defense cannon, I believe it is possible. I would be most interested in speaking of this more once the current subject is finished."

[member="Nomkneer"]

 

[Nomkneer]

Nomkneer sat down half way through to his death stick as he inhaled more smoke he puffed it forward as he prepared to speak to the droid. He remembered the many battles in the past involving the ships of Atrisia and the General being the one ordering the fleets around he knows more well than anyone else in Atrisia.

"I believe i mentioned that the defense cannon would be for another day as i need more people to work with landscaping and the establishment of it, making new fleets of fighters and ships for battle would be excellent. I believe Mythos knew this coming since all the wars in the past, i conquer with everything but if i ask, do the best you can to make great ships for us as we will be thankful. We can help each other like you used to do with Mythos."

He spoke with sincere words to the machine, he let him process everything and speak for himself what would be the best for these suggested plans.


[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

The droid was pleasantly surprised at the sincerity of the words. Ultimatum had dealt with Sith in the past, Mythos being perhaps the second or third, and always the AI was skeptical of their words, promising mutually beneficial long term pacts and what not. This struck him as less far in the future and more immediate. Was that because this man was more of a soldier than some manipulative Sith ruler? How was the droid to know? He did not know much about the Sith, but that was likely to change, with his plans it was almost a definite.

He put the cannon into a memory file to be brought back to the forefront at a later time, storing pertinent information with it in his mind. Turning his attention to fighter construction and the shipyard, "I believe that this is the beginning of a friendship that will lead to many changes. I will begin the work on the station then. Do you have ideas for any new ships that can be produced? There will be a decrease in activity from the shipyard as there is really very little to do once a fleet has been established beyond simple part replacement and the occasional ship rebuild." It was always nice to see a new ship coming out of the shipyard, it was like seeing the birth of new life. To him it was more, each ship was like a child, especially those with computers or droid brains, he could communicate and expand their knowledge. It was a joy that he wondered if any could share.

[member="Nomkneer"]

 

[Nomkneer]

Nomkneer was having a pleasant conversation with a robot. Strange feeling since most droids seem to be as in this world as this one. The general had a few ideas and so he was readying himself to ask of something that was true work. After letting the robot finish his sentence he took another puff of his death stick and began to say the following words to it.

"The one thing we need after these fleets is a star destroyer. We had a battle not long ago where i led two star destroyers wyyrlock class to victory. I wanted to re-create them with a few enhancements so that i can make sure that they wont suffer as much damages as before. These star destroyers and the planetary defense cannon were the only thing i had in mind apart from the fleets. I know it is much work but not impossible and i am here to help as much as i can."

The general of Atrisia felt quite happy at the fact that now he would remake what he had lost in that war. Many dogfighters, gun ships and even a star destroyer was lost that day. The general relived memories that he was wishing to be long gone.

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

"Star destroyers, they are quite a useful class of vessel. Tell me what you wish done and I will have the shipyards accomplish it to the best of their abilities. As you say, it is not impossible, thus we can handle it. What did you have in mind? I can get my computers at least working on design restructuring and basic preparations during the travel back to Mustafar." The droid had already sent word for the Acavus cruiser to begin loading all the necessary constructing materials for the shipyard. Time was always a problem with these things, his droids simply could not move any faster than they were able.

Time ticked by, never again to be used or seen, every second washed away as history. There was only a finite amount of time in the universe and even less for every person, yet so many did not see it passing them by, not realizing that opportunities would never arise again. The history was set and there was no way to go back and rewrite it. A person could fight time all they wanted, they would still grow old and die. The less time spent waiting the better, yet at the same time, to act with haste was equally unacceptable. There was a fine balance, one that was difficult to perceive and even more so to tread.

The droid was well aware that his eventual plans would potentially take years to enact. To reach the pinnacle of his plan among the Sith was a difficult goal. He had one planet in mind, Coruscant. A world of machines and organics relying almost entirely on invisible droids. It was a world that he had learned was very inefficient in its layout. He wished to rectify that and at the same time expand his abilities. However, that would require time, and trust. He wanted to gain the Sith's trust and then work on a project that could very well change the way that world worked. Patience was key.

[member="Nomkneer"]

 

[Nomkneer]

Nomkneer kept on his conversation with the droid as he explained a little more about the star destroyers he used. The wyylock class star destroyer is a potent ship that can clean out your enemies with ease. Not as big as champion class but it has its strenghts, He took out a memory drive that shoots out a beam of information that resonates to the metal of the target and through it sends the information to that specific target.

"this is the design of the Wyyrlock class star destroyer, you can send the designs to your bots over there in Mustafar to analize it, make any upgrades and enhancements you'd like."

He spoke with a little happiness since those star destroyers are special to him. Nomkneer had a pleasant conversation with the droid as he pretty much went straight to business without much talk. Nomkneer didn't know how to be a good host for a droid since he cannot ask for him to just take a glass of something to drink. He sent the information and waited for Ultimatum to gaze on it for a few seconds so he can me up his reply.

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum put the information through his processors, this was an interesting design, not one that most organics would have thought of, Ultimatum guessed. It also seemed to be quite effective, at taking damage, the hull was extra thick at the front and there was a lot of protection to the vital parts. It was a very good decision on the organic's part to have built it this way. It was overall not really in need of enhancement, it was an all rounder and seemed that in order to strengthen it in one role would be to weaken it in another.

Probably the area that could be changed with the least effect, while making it more combat ready, was to lower the amount of cargo the ship could carry. Either that or expand the ship. The former was probably the better method, either allowed for an increase in combat systems. The question became what sort of things did he wanted to add, defensive or offensive capabilities. "'Very nice. What would you like done to them? I can upgrade the basics and what not, increase the targeting computer efficiency, maybe make the shields stronger. If you want more weaponry or more defensive measures then the ship will need some adjustments." The back space was looking quite appealing. From the designs there was not much there, but that meant there was plenty of room to work with there. Of course, the design had been made so that nothing important was in an easy to attack place.

[member="Nomkneer"]

 

[Nomkneer]

Nomkneer agreed as while he laid a short smile, for good things were being done for Atisia. As he laid back he gestured with his hands to the servants telling them to not let anyone inside. The kaleesh and droid are doing important business discussions that cannot be interrupted. As Ultimatum finished answering back Nomkneer prepared to speak back.

"Enhance the shields, cannon. Anything you see that might get bettered. I dont want the same thing to happen to me twice."

The kaleesh remembered the space battle he commanded the fleets in. A champion class star destroyer and two wyyrlock classes throwing rain of fire in order to bring the other one down. Nomkneer thanks to his natural skill in leadership and military tactic, he managed to destroy the champion class star destroyer with the cost of one of the wyyrlock class.

 

[Ultimatum]

So free reign on upgrades, anything that could be changed. That would be easy enough, the designs were a good starting place, but would need work to reach full potential. He looked forward to getting the work done, a new ship design to overhaul and make altogether more effective to the work that [member="Nomkneer"] wanted to accomplish with it. There were areas he could see being easily filled with more mechanisms to allow for a better craft. Perhaps more shields, or generators. Engines were another possibility, or some form of missile launcher for longer range attack or defensive measure.

"This has enough space for many improvements, I will see what can be done." Ultimatum replied to the Kaleesh. There was little else to speak of on that note. The designs would be made, and once put through simulations sent to The General for looking over and deciding if it was ready for production or if there were changes necessary.

 

[Nomkneer]

Nomkneer had not much intellect when it comes to spaceships and such. He just wanted an upgrade and he knew that [member="Ultimatum"] would be the perfect machine to do this. He used telekinesis to serve up a glass of alcohol and as he levitated it to him, he took his shot.

"well, I dont know what kind of things you would give a droid to seem like a better host but. Is there anything i can offer?

He sat back while using telekinesis with his mind to pull out another death stick from his pocket and light it up. As he relaxed a little, he remembered the countless battles he has been in with the Atrisian soldiers. Those two star destroyers really did legendary things before they were busted up like this. He looks at Ultimatum once more.

"I know that both star destroyers are named, Decimus and the other Millenial. I like decimus, but millenial was a horrible name given to the other by Mythos. I much prefer his name, the new ones will be Decimus and Malgus."