Private The Secrets of Mad Science/Hiring for procurement

[Diarch Rellik]

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Location: Orbit of Endor - Aboard the DSD-Vault
Tags: Kallous Helen Lupercal

The search for new agents and wonders of the galaxy were always at the forefront of the Co-Diarchs mind. For their mission of bringing order to the galaxy they would need to utilize as many tools as they could. As time had gone on Rellik had learned of a "Hate Potion" concocted from Sith Alchemy. The original plant for this potion originated from Endor. During his study it would appear that old pirates would smuggle these plants from the moon out to the galaxy. For this purpose Rellik reached out to various pirate organizations hoping someone could decipher an old map he had found. Eventually he landed upon The Rapscallions. A member of their group named Helen would be able to decipher their current map and bring them to the Diarchs Prize.

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Rellik would meet Kallous on the bridge of his current flagship the DSD-Vault. "Watching the planets atmosphere from above? Or just viewing the inner workings of the Command Center?" He asked to the younger man. The two standing above the crew as leaders of this vessel. Anyone who approached Kallous was treading as they would treat Rellik. Something the Diarch figured would take some time getting used to. He knew Kallous did not seek admiration or advancement so quickly.

An officer approached Rellik, saluting him before he spoke. "My Lord, communications from the band known as The Rapscallions are coming over our arrays. Would you like me to pull them up unto the holographic display?"

"Go ahead." He turned around to the center of the room where a large circular table lay. He would stand in a relaxed manner befitting talking to pirates. The screen erupted with a rather large woman in comparison to the Diarch himself. A scar on her left cheek and above her right eye. She was obviously seasoned into her profession by his standards. "Hello there, this is Diarch Rellik. Thank you for your participation in my vocational retreat." He said with a smirk. "I have the map we discussed beforehand. I entrust that with your knowledge this will not be more than a few day stay. I will be coming along for the journey along with my apprentice Kallous." The Diarch stood to the side to allow the sensor to pick up on Kallous as well. Offering the pirate the ability to take him in.

"I assume as with all adventures we will run into some trouble but do not fret about bringing provisions. Kallous will ruck our food and water during the journey and the DSD-Vault my personal flagship you will see in orbit, will stay here as this is unclaimed space." He awaited the women's response to all of his information and for confirmation about her commitment to the job.

 

[Kallous]

Kallous wasn’t altogether too comfy with his new position just yet. He was used to the average soldier showing him deference, he was a force user after all. That had automatically raised him up to the upper echelons of the caste system nearly everywhere. But this was… weird.

Soldiers would have saluted him on occasion before, but now… now they started bowing! It made his skin crawl. He didn’t much care for it. Respect was one thing but this bordered on bootlicking, so he had begun to limit his interactions with crew, only doing as he was required to. And besides that evading human interaction as much as is possible.

“Observing the inner workings, Master.” He said in answer to his instructor’s query. “I may not look forward to it but I know that command will be expected of me in the future, so I intend to be as prepared as I can be for when that day comes. The Diarchy cannot afford any major mistakes considering it is still in its infancy.”

An officer came to report in, their contact had arrived in the system. They were told to patch them through, and Kallous followed his Master into the comm room. Walking up to the large round holo-projector that would allow them to communicate with these “Rapscallions”.

At least they were self aware.

The comm unit hummed to life and sitting there in a command chair in a very relaxed pose, much like Rellik’s own, was a woman that was definitely a rapscallion. The hologram wasn’t exactly to scale but he could tell just by looking that she was big. Likely to tower over both him and his Master in Rellik.

Kallous stepped forward and bowed shallowly at the waist when he was introduced. “I look forward to working with you Miss.”

---

Diarch Rellik

 

[Helen Lupercal]

“Coming out of hyperspace Captain.” Came the Helmswoman’s voice, a rescued Twi-lek by the name of Scylla. “Coming into orbit of the Forest Moon Endor now.”

“Thank you Scylla.” Helen purred sweetly at her friend. “I want everyone on their best behavior. No petty theft this time around. We’re dealing with Sith, and I don’t think we can reasonably fight them so keep your paws to yourself this time around okay?”

A few of her bridge crew sighed in disappointment but begrudgingly agreed that this was the best decision for them. They didn’t want to pick a fight with anyone like the Sith, they were often petty, and never let any slight go unpunished. And normally this wouldn’t be a concern, but these were Sith… and Helen’s crew of lowlifes and hooligans wouldn’t stack up too well in that fight. So, this time, she would make sure that she and her crew behaved themselves…

Mostly.

Her flagship, a frigate named The Hellion, dropped out of hyperspace a short ways out of the Endor’s orbit, and began approaching the moon. They could already see the DSD-Vault above the moon. And as their ships drew closer Helen took a seat in her captain’s chair, leaning one elbow on the armrest and planting her chin on her knuckles, while her right leg swing up to rest on her left knee, her other hand in her lap as her holo-display lit up to show the Sith Lords that were her contact.

Immediately her face split into a grin. “Celia you didn’t tell me they were this cute.”

Celia her comms officer rolled her eyes and muttered, “Here I thought we were supposed to be on our best behavior.”

“Well Lord Rellik I’m more than happy to provide my services!” She told him, her lascivious smile never fading. “The map you provided was quite interesting. You Sith sure to like to find the strangest things to experiment with. But I will not be making any judgements. I am eager to work with you both, see what there is to learn, and hopefully make profits for both of us.”

Kallous’ assessment was correct. She was both a rapscallion, and a giant. Standing at six foot three, and easily bulkier than most. She flaunted what she had, her legs encased in tight leather pants, her top being barely more than a bra and every curve and muscle she had was on full display for all to see. She was big, and she wasn’t at all shy about it.

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Diarch Rellik

 

[Diarch Rellik]

He watched as she spoke, deciphering her character and personality. It seemed like she would be a great fit for their incursion. "As a curtesy, I would like you to know we are not Sith. You wont need to worry about dealing with anything too rowdy on your stay with us. As discussed pay will be 5k credits. Hazard pay will be 8k. Do not be worried about leaving her empty handed. Once we make planetfall the credits will be uploaded to the information you provided as an upfront security. You will be with us, your pay with you. My only advice is to not leave before the job is done." The Diarch gave her time to respond. In majority of his dealings with pirates the transparency of wire transfers was paramount. Where to and what time the money arrived was always on the minds of the underworld at large.

Furthermore he had warned her of what the consequences of bailing would be; even if he did not outright say it. "Now, Kallous and I will be heading for the shuttle. Meet us at the coordinates provided and we will set up a bivouac where we can look over the map, formulate our travel plan and move from there. It has been a pleasure putting a face to the name, Captain." The Diarch motioned to his support technician once her response was given, cutting the feed.

Kallous and Rellik moved directly towards the shuttle bay. Varis Oakertain and the other Diarchy personell had already seen to staging the necessary items for their journey. A large backpack for Kallous with the rations, a tent, equipment to start a fire, rain poncho's and several other various small items they might need.

Upon reaching the shuttle Rellik double checked with Kallous that he was ready. Just a solid "You good to go?" as he sat down. Once Kallous confirmed the Diarch hit the wall behind him. Signaling to the pilot it was time to takeoff.

Once on solid ground they looked around, gathering their baring's as they awaited Helen. "Hey, what a woman. Amiright?" He said while nudging Kallous with a childlike smile. The two joked around for a moment and set up the temporary camp.

Once she arrived they exchanged secondary pleasantries. The Diarch fully acknowledging her personally. "Ah Helen, welcome to our new home away from home. Please make yourself welcome. This might be our last moment of respite for a while." Once together they went over the previously stated information during the call of looking over the map and beginning to form their travel plan. The Diarch heading the advice of the woman before saying anything else.

 

[Kallous]

Kallous said nothing else to the Pirate woman. And simply allowed his Master to take the lead with discussions, this was his expedition after all. Kallous wasn’t entirely sure why he was along for the ride to begin with. Though he supposed as an apprentice he did need to learn directly from his teacher, though he wasn’t sure what sort of lessons would be lined up for him in this scenario.

So he simply waited for the discussions to be over and to make his way over to the shuttle with all of their gear on his back. He wasn’t particularly hard done by this arrangement. He hadn’t done that many ruck marches so he needed the practice, and he was strong as it was, so he had no issue with carrying their gear. Anything that would make him stronger he would do.

They would land and begin to wait when his Master commented on Helen their contact. Kallous, for his part simply shrugged, not really having thought about it beyond base observations. She was large, strong looking and clearly didn’t have many boundaries. “I suppose so Master. I didn’t really think about it much.”

---

Diarch Rellik

 

[Helen Lupercal]

“Not Sith?” She questioned with a cocked eyebrow, her smile never fully fading. “Curious. You sure look the part. Nevertheless, you don’t need to worry about me cutting and running. We have an accord, and one’s word is their bond. I would never go back on a deal.”

It was a fair deal. They gave her the payment up front while keeping her nearby so she wouldn’t be able to just run off without doing what she was paid to do. She didn’t fault them for being cautious either. She knew that many of her peers would take any opportunity to run with the money without any thought to honor or integrity. Thankfully her own reputation for honorable conduct had made it so people were more willing to hire her and her crew for these sorts of jobs. Which had lead her to this rather unique opportunity in the first place.

“Likewise Lord Rellik. I look forward to our continued cooperation.” She told him with a grin as the transmission was cut. She stood up and stretched, popping some of the kinks in her back. “Alright. Keep the ship in orbit, and keep an eye on their ship. If it looks like they’re going to try to bring you down jump to hyperspace and go home. If I am still on the moon then leave me behind and save yourselves. Don’t do anything to provoke them. If all goes well this should be an easy search and recovery job, and we should have ourselves an easy payday.”

With that she made her way to the Hellion’s hangar, and boarded her own ship, a small little thing called The Songbird. And flew herself down to the surface to meet with her clients. She had with her a set of pistols for defense but nothing else in terms of weapons. Other than that she just had a small canteen also on her hip and a flashlight. Not much.

Her ship came in to land at the rendezvous point that Rellik had set for them. And she disembarked, marching over to the two men with a lazy saunter. “Lord Rellik. And Kallous I think it was. Good to meet you in person.” She gave a bow to the both of them, being both respectful of their position with the gesture, and also clearly very informal… somehow. “Now let’s see if little ol me can help you out with this map.”

She sat down with them and began to inspect the map they had brought her here to look at. It was old, that’s for sure. Drawn on old parchment, a proper relic this, and faded with time. Definitely not something many people in the modern day would know how to use. It took some more… old school training to know what to look for with these kinds of maps. You went by landmarks and deductive logic, not computers and coordinates. That made it hard for a lot of people, who simply weren’t used to it.

“Yeah… makes sense to me…” she mused as she looked it over. “Some of it is a little too faded to make sense of but there’s enough here that I should be able to get us where we need to go without too much trouble. Might take some time to find the spot though. Mind telling me what exactly you’re looking for?”

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Diarch Rellik

 

[Diarch Rellik]

The presence of Helen was enjoyable to say the least. Cordial yet informal. Professional and a scoundrel in the same breath. These were the types of traits that Rellik could say he had himself at times. As she went over the map he would watch her mannerisms to ensure she knew what she was talking about. He could formulate the pathing well enough but the markers, use of codewords and signs were beyond his education. Helen though appeared to do well, as if reading an book written in ye old galactic basic.

Once she completed there was a request to divulge what we were on Endor for. "I myself am looking for an old plant. Endor has a rich history of growing it and I believe smugglers and pirates alike were using the imperial remnants here to trade/move them off world. If we do not find them within the bunkers I fear they be lost to the forests of Endor with no real way to track them down directly."

The information was relayed directly and prompt. There was no need to try and hide or deceive their new partner. For himself Rellik would begin to pack the camp up. If they wanted to move out and get this done than they should begin now.

"I will be ready when you two are" He spoke as the two finished their dialogue in regards to Kallous's goals for the stay.

Kallous Helen Lupercal

 

[Kallous]

Kallous, after his Master finished explaining his half of the plan, would inform Helen of his own. Though she wouldn’t have much to do with that unless she wanted to volunteer her crew for the exercises.

He truthfully didn’t have much to do yet, things needed to be set up by the engineer corps brought with them so that there could be a proper environment in which they conducted their experiments. Providing Rellik with a sterile lab he could safely perform his experiments in, as well as a more permanent structure to house them all while the trials were underway.

He prepared himself to leave immediately afterwards.

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Diarch Rellik

 

[Helen Lupercal]

Helen looked over the map provided in thought. “Well this map certainly points toward known gathering spots, though it is quite old. Thankfully for you wherever it is you’re actually after has a tendency to grow in subterranean environments. And caves don’t like to move much. So some of these locations might not be accessible anymore, but chances are many of them will be. You should have no troubles finding your ingredients.”

Helen cocked an eyebrow at Kallous’ own plans. Military training? Experimental Weapons Trials? That was… curious.

“Maybe I would volunteer my crew. They could use some professional advice when it comes to conducting battle. Us Rapscallions are… well… Rapscallions, and are far from professional soldiers.” She leaned in with a smile. “I’m sure my crew would be delighted to assist you in your experiments, if you would be willing to provide them with some training on the side.”

Helen, it would seem, despite being a lowlife, was well aware of the difference that proper training could provide. So if she saw an opportunity to train up her crew in proper military doctrine, she’d seize it. It could only benefit her after all. Though it would ultimately be up to Rellik to decide if he would take that deal.

She stood up and stretched, one arm clasping the opposite elbow over her head, flexing her physique for all to see. “Well then. Shall we be off? I believe it shouldn’t be too difficult to find you your caves.”

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Diarch Rellik

 

[Diarch Rellik]

Tags: Kallous Helen Lupercal

And so their journey officially began. Overall it appeared it would take about three days and two nights for them to reach every bunker on the map. Kallous, eager to test out his new Hollenbrenner was lagging slightly behind Rellik and Helen. Double checking schematics and theory tinkering. It was good to see him growing. Stepping out of his normal zone into a space of science. Between this and his commanding presence aboard the Vault he was truly stepping above his previous nature.

The three journeyed through several valleys. Helen bushwhacking their way for them. Standing behind her the, Rellik wondered if he should just use his saber but figured having the pirate slightly tired would only work in his favor. If she would even be tired, having a frame much larger than his. Just in case she were to pull anything uncouth, she would not have all of her strength.

Occasionally along their journey Rellik would challenge Kallous. Requesting he make it through entire valleys not touching the ground. Several Geejaws would occasionally fly by. The Diarch requesting his apprentice chop some down for rations. He had read upon Geejaw omelletes and while Kallous was up there he might as well snatch some eggs.

The three travelled for one whole day until a rain storm began to brew in the distance. "Stop, let us all make camp for the night. This is only the first day upon our journey and I would rather not go the remainder wet." He requested his apprentice begin staging up the camp and tent. As the three sat down to cook their new hunted meals the Diarch sparked conversation between them all.

"So Helen, tell me about yourself. How did you become a pirate, what lead you down this path? As a show of good faith I will indulge upon my past as well. I was raised on Taris. My Father a powerful force user and aristocrat. He had many under his service and in many corners of the galaxy. This is why we are not Sith. We follow a different code. The code of the Diarchy. What about you? What code do you follow?"

Finishing with her he turned to kallous. "And you my apprentice. Have you thought about the varying types of materials you wish to test your new rifle against? The other probabilities of its application? Maybe our new friend here Helen could help you begin to move them unto the galactic market once you have finalized its specifications."

The three ate, enjoying the downfall of Endor rain as they became to know each other greater. Rellik taking some time before sleeping to meditate on sources of Dark Energy. Knowing this plant would have given off its own radiance in the force. Looking out towards his target from under the downpour.

 

[Kallous]

Kallous was in fact preoccupied for much of the time they spent walking. He had, since the beginning of this project kept a notebook for his Hollenbrenner design. His Master Rellik had challenged him to do this little science project, to explore the applications of that skill that could prove useful to him or the Diarchy. And Kallous had come up with a weapon.

He noted that oftentimes one would need to bring with them specialized weapons into combat in order to deal with particular threats, such as tanks, shielded soldiers, barricades and other such obstacles. Which had a tendency to be complicated and cumbersome. So he had the simple idea of removing that altogether, and just making a more powerful gun. A rifle capable of punching through armor, shorting out energy shields, and turning cover into concealment, not to mention the possibility of giving lightsaber wielding foes a hard time. That was his idea.

Simple and to the point. Honestly nothing all that technically impressive, but the possibility for it to be given out to units on the lines, and giving them the same firepower for a quarter of the weight and an eighth of the logistical cost was an upside that couldn’t readily be dismissed. Especially when they were as small as they were compared to some of the other boxers in the ring with them.

Of course this project was still in its infancy and the only weapons they had of its make were prototypes and limited production variants that would be used for trials. So there was a lot of wiggle room to make adjustments as needed or even explains the project if it was successful. If a hollenbrenner rifle could do the same damage to a vehicle as a rocket launcher and be the size of an average blaster… how much damage would it cause if it was made to be as large as field artillery? Shipboard guns? Who knew?

As they went Kallous met each of his Master’s challenges with verve. He asked for a few Gajeels, he got the whole flock. He told him not to touch the ground across the valley, he didn’t touch the ground again until they stopped for the end of the day. Any challenge given to him Kallous would compound and complete.

“I have no intention of putting them out into the Galactic Market Master.” He told Rellik as they hunkered down for the night. “These will be for the Diarchy to use. It is the Diarchy’s choice if they wish to sell them. But yes… I have thought of additional applications for the weapon. Particularly as a mounted option. Anti tank weaponry or siege weaponry specifically. If it proves to be effective as a small arms weapon then it could potentially be applied to larger things. Make them big enough and they should provide impressive firepower for a larger vessel to use for its gun batteries. Assuming the tests go well. My conservative estimate is that it should be able to reliably penetrate the armor of an ancient imperial AT-ST and other armored vehicles of comparable size.”

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Diarch Rellik

 

[Helen Lupercal]

Helen hefted the machete that had been given to her. It was decently hefty for its size but thin enough to cut through foliage with little resistance. Thankfully Endor was a place of Gigaflora, trees stretching up incredibly high and bushes with leaves so broad that it prevented anything from growing too close together. So hacking their way through wasn’t usually a necessity.

But when it was she hacked her way through without much issue. Though she couldn’t hide her amusement at how cautious he was with a lone woman like her, giggling to herself at his apparent paranoia.

“I see. That is quite a far fling from my own upbringing Lord Rellik.” She told him as they walked. “I’ve been a lowlife from birth. I was a street rat for most of my young years. At fourteen I was taken by slavers and sold. I was a slave for five years until the convoy transporting me to my next owner was raided by pirates. I volunteered to join their crew on the spot, and over the last five years I’ve worked my way up to captain. It’s not a particularly riveting story, but there it is.”

She sat down on a fallen log beside their fire as the day got cold, and even got to cooking them some dinner. Living the life she had gave her that necessary skill, so her food wouldn’t be bad in the slightest. “As far as codes go… nothing too concrete. Take what you need. Kill who you must. And care for your people over any others. This galaxy is a cruel place and you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. I will always prioritize my people over anyone else’s, and if I have to destroy their people to save my own then so be it. I suppose the code is survival of the fittest.”

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Diarch Rellik

 

[Diarch Rellik]

"Fair enough Kallous. I respect your dedication to seeing your craft used for Diarchy purposed." The master laying a hand on his shoulder and nodding his head in confirmation. He relished in Kallous's ability to overextend. He asked him to dip into science - he made sure it was a multifacited edeavour that would help the whole faction. He put him through trials throughout the day and at every opportunity pushed himself beyond the requirement.

He pondered what Kallous was doing. From a squad tactics level the weapon could replace the need to carry large anti-tank recoilless rifles. Creating for much better maneuverability among their men. A great innovation. One he might need to fully talk to High Councilor Nathrax about in the future.

Now for the woman.
"You see, in my line of work Helen. Every bit of information about someone is riveting. For example, your creed is not to far from ours. If money is not all that controls your wills than maybe one day you may find a home among our people. It would certainly be less fun but maybe safer. We believe the galaxy to be too cruel and we seek to end that cruelty. If you are not one for a mission though and seek to stay by your people I understand."

The Diarch ensuring he gave off an aura of light. Even if she was not attuned to the force, normal people would be able to sense its warmth.

The three slept the night away, gathering their strength for the next day. As morning approached Rellik was awoken by what sounding like pecking and quiet squawks coming from the fire place.

He opened the outer lining of his tent and stuck his head out to see three condor dragons nibbling on the leftovers of their meal. Beasts the size of a land speeder carefully nudging around to try and find some food.

Using telepathy Rellik reached out to Kallous. "Awake, we have enemies in our camp. Seek them out and remove them. Feel free to invite our guest upon your hunt. Inform me when it is complete my apprentice." Before sliding back into his tent. Grabbing a holocron and beginning to study. Knowing that this task should be rather menial for a man of his skills.

Kallous Helen Lupercal

 

[Helen Lupercal]

Helen couldn’t help but grin at him as he spoke, looking him up and down as if he were a child that had just said something she found adorable. “Well isn’t that sweet? Trying to fix the brokenness of the Galaxy? How Idyllic, it’s a truly beautiful idea. And I hope you succeed. But You are naive if you think such a goal can be met with lasting achievement. There will always be cruelty, always be chaos, always be disorder, hatred and violence. It will never go away. So no… I will have to disagree with you. We do not have similar codes. You seek to defeat the natural order. I have simply learned to accept it, and try to survive within its confines.”

She gave him a grin, “though I’d be more than happy to get along with you. Enemies are less preferable than friends.”

Eventually she went to bed, sleeping soundly under her tarp of a tent, cozy on the forest floor as they waited for morning. The young pirate woman, being force sensitive, certainly felt the gentleness of the aura he was exuding, though she knew that it was genuine. Even though She knew there was much more black depths than there were bright shallows.

She too would awake to the pecking and squawking, though upon seeing the beasts, simply rolled back over to snooze a little longer. They would scavenge their food and leave before long. Then they could pack up their stuff and get back on the trail.

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Diarch Rellik

 

[Kallous]

Kallous, for his part, spent the evening tinkering with his own prototype of the Hollenbrenner rifle. He had brought with him a carbine variety of the weapon to be tested. After all Endor had no shortage of creatures that were better shot than stabbed, and seeing just how much of it the weapon would vaporize would give them a good idea of how viable it would be against soft targets like humans.

Though he was certain they would be effective enough for use.

The real test would be with the bigger animals. The ones that normally took a whole team to bring down. Like a Rancor. One of those would be perfect target practice. They were big, They were tough and they were dangerous. But they would have ample time to test his weapon while they were here, so he didn’t dwell on this subject for too long.

Though he did get the chance the following morning. His Master telepathically informing him that there were some trespassers in their camp, and that he was to get rid of them. Upon seeing the large creatures he grabbed his experimental carbine, and took aim at center mass. Normally he would light up his saber and begin carving, but he wanted to see how much damage his weapon could do. And that meant seeing just how much flesh it would sear through.

He took aim from his tent, and pulled the trigger. A loud CRACK split the air and echoed across the forest, a long red beam spat from the muzzle of the carbine and bore clean through one of the midsection of one of the condor dragons. The gun kicked back against Kallous’ shoulder, and he took aim at a second one as the two turned to face the direction of the shot. A second shot rang out and a second dragon fell dead. The third took off to flee, only to be split down the middle by a third shot a few seconds later.

Kallous, lowered the weapon and inspected his handiwork. It was not a definitive test for its ability to fulfill its purpose. But it was definitely deadly, leaving gaping holes through whatever it shot. And it didn’t explode either!

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Diarch Rellik