The Star Orchid

[Blackthorne]

Mr. Maijora:

My posey deliveries have expanded to unexpected territory and I require a different wildflower for the job. I am most pleased with the results of the last specimen and would like to arrange cultivation of a new one - more acclimatized to dry landscapes with a strictly regulated environment at your earliest convenience.

Signed,
Blackthorne


[member="Catalys Maijora"]

 

[Catalys Maijora]

And so a client returns, and one Catalys had not soon forgotten. After all their first meeting proved an oddity.

With some string pulling, a meeting between them has been arranged. The location being an old K-D-Y facility no longer in use, and thus no longer on any official records save for one. The lonesome station had been built in orbit of an old miner's moon, and only the agent's frigate had been docked there, but a second port remained active for the Harrowbane--or any other vessel she might arrive in.

Catalys remains seated at a long table in a makeshift meeting room, waiting for his client's arrival.

[member="Blackthorne"]

 

[Blackthorne]

It was not the Harrowbane that pulled in to port but another frigate Maijora would be intimately familiar with. Unmarked and still without a callsign, aside from its privatized designation it gave no hint as to who or what it transported. Blackthorne departed with a small retinue in tow: one Rattataki named Kiin, one Dathomirian named Ihmoen, and an otherwise unseen pet hssiss.

"What did you think, Kiin?" the Captain asked as they walked while sparking up a Sten.

"It's similar to the mechanics of the Harrowbane," Kiin replied, "and runs several of the same specialty systems. A few things we don't have - the cap drain and GAM system is a nice addition but the reactor runs hot, just like the Harrow."

"Nice enough to put on the new ship?" purple smoke poured from her lips and drifted over her shoulders, leaving a spiced-mint taste on the air.

"Maybe not for a diplomatic envoy," Kiin shook his head with a glance over his shoulder at the frigate as it disappeared form view, "This ship excels at stealth, the Harrowbane excels at smash and dash, neither of which fit the profile for what you need. Additional sensors, bolstered comms, encryption arrays, strong shield defenses, speed - those are what you want. Anything more and you'll tip yourself off to the Orderlies."

"And the engine?"

"Get one a little less volatile. Look into some backup power systems - solar sails maybe. There's some high-tech shields that will convert enemy fire into energy and feed it back into the systems."

"This is it," Ihmoen engaged a door panel and stood back as it hissed open. The three...four stepped inside.

"Maijora," Blackthorne greeted the man with a plume of smoke seeping out through the smirk on her lips, "interesting choice for a rendez-vous. These are my associates, their names aren't important."

 

[Catalys Maijora]

"Good," he replies. "Let's get down to business." Catalys gestures to one of the many empty seats.

"Do your associates need to be in the room?" More faces to remember, more lives to account for. And really accounting is not this Umbaran's specialty. "I can accommodate, I suppose. If necessary." He hints at his disapproval of guests. Of course at the end of the day [member="Blackthorne"] reminds a client even if they both share association themselves through the GenoHaradan. He recognized the frigate immediately upon docking.

He would ask where she got it, but in honesty he didn't care. As long as it was in their hands and not a stranger's. "Oh... Any refreshments?" It would be impolite not to offer.

As for their location... Well, "the moon below us will be fueling a special project of mine. Perhaps we can work something out instead of traditional payment."

 

[Blackthorne]

"They do," Blackthorne replied curtly and took the seat nearest the man. Little regard was spared for his disapproval - if they weren't trustworthy to her then they wouldn't have been there at all.

Kiin sat at her other side, Ihmoen remained at the doorway with his arms folded.

"No," to the refreshments,

"Thank you," Kiin added for her, knowing that gratitude wasn't exactly on the tip of her tongue.

"Project?" Blackthorne leaned forward in her seat, caustic green gaze burning a glance of intrigue at him, "I am open to bartering payment methods - but let's talk ship first." She motioned with a trill of her fingers to the Rattataki seated beside her, gaze never leaving the Umbaran. Kiin produced a datapad of the various attributes they were looking for.

"I am enamored with the Harrowbane and loathe to leave it behind," she admitted with a slight frown, "but where I need to go it breeds too much negative familiarity. I'll be traveling incognito through Orderly space, you see. I need a Wildflower that can play at diplomacy."

 

[Catalys Maijora]

"Who would've thought a vessel armed-to-the-teeth would cause you so much trouble," with his modulator active it left no room for sarcasm to sound off. He sounds the same no matter what he says, or how he speaks it. Adding that to already being an Umbaran gave him--or so he hoped--the advantage of being unpredictable. "Of course, I might boldly say that for what you're looking for you might as well have seen Hadleigh yourself."

"She's quite a good girl. Knows her ships to say the least." Although he knew why she came to him instead, less traces, and by this point the Blackthorne had become more infamous due to other 'dealings' of sorts.

"I can make you a ship that does all this. And more. You'll want more."

[member="Blackthorne"]

 

[Blackthorne]

"Please," she waved dismissively, "the Harrowbane gives me no grief."

Only riches. The woman narrowed her eyes at the suggestion to shirk this off on another. A good girl. She snorted, lip ticking upwards in mild offense, glint of a fang showing through. "No," the single syllable came forcefully over a current of swelling irritation. Blackthorne rose from her seat and coiled forward over the table to hook the chin of his helmet with her fingers, "no good girls, just one bald, bad man in a helmet."

Tap tap tap went a sharpened nail on the side of the metal casing around his head, "No one else is fit for the job."

"I can make you a ship that does all this. And more. You'll want more."

"That's what I want to hear," a smile broke her expression that grew into a cheshire grin baring full serrated pearls, she released him and turned away to stand and pace a few strides towards the only window in the room overlooking the moon below, "tell me more."

 

[Catalys Maijora]

Intriguing. He takes a mental note for later.

"We'll use a traditional KDY design, I'll even install diplomatic registrations through the company. If you do get caught they'll trace to a legitimate scapegoat. Someone I don't care about on Kuat," a nice enough gesture for her he thought. "Of course I trust you to keep to 'orderly' business when using this vessel. It will have new and advanced encryption methods, and a high-definition ultra long-range transmitter for communications."

"Necessary defense to ward off other pirates, and a state-of-art power distributor to keep the ship from running hot when you don't want it that way."

All the bits and pieces, really. "Suffice?"

[member="Blackthorne"]

 

[Blackthorne]

"What about Solar Sails..." she peered through the transparisteel while surrounding herself in roiling violet smoke, "I've seen them before but they're not...common, are they," a glance back, she spied Kiin giving a short shake of his head.

"They're usually found more on ships used for deep exploration, as a failsafe should the reactor experienced problems. They can keep your emergency systems running while you make repairs, otherwise they'll simply charge power cells. Delicate things, easily damaged, expensive - some might say ostentatious," the man gave a shrug with his brows, "fitting for a Diplomatic envoy. Mr. Maijora could probably even arrange them into a petal-like pattern to fit the theme."

Blackthorne's brows shot upwards and she turned fully to face the Umbaran again, "Can you?"

 

[Catalys Maijora]

"I've done worse for less. It will be done." He truly has done a lot in his career.

"Solar sails will be added to the design, then, but I'll have to change the hull for arrangement. Nothing major, of course, for the shipyards to produce." They were designed for much larger ships, after all, and gave much room for all shapes and sizes.

Catalys swivels on his chair, not all the way around but just slightly back and forth. "If there isn't anything else, shall we talk about this project? I left the designs in my quarters, if you wish to see them now... Get all this business out of the way so we can go back to what we do best."

[member="Blackthorne"]

 

[Blackthorne]

"Just one last thing," the woman reached into a jacket pocket and produced from within a small trinket; a golden lotus amulet set with numerous tiny rubies. Treasure taken from ... somewhere, most likely. She palmed it briefly, examining the thing before tossing it to Catalys, "keep it pretty."

The mischievous glint couldn't be missed. This was a whole new territory for Dhaldesa Shamalain - getting in touch with her feminine side. First the dresses, now the ship. Next she would create a completely new persona. It was interesting to say the least. A beat later and the Captain nodded towards the door.

Kiin smirked from his seat and stood, "Captain, Mr. Maijora - a pleasure to meet the maker of the Harrowbane." He turned and exited the room with the red-skinned Dathomiri. The doors hissed shut.

"So," Blackthorne looked at the Umbaran from where she stood, "what's this project of yours, then?"

 

[Catalys Maijora]

Catalys catches the trinket in hand, examining it briefly before peering back to her through his helmet. Then watched as the others left.

"If you'd come with me, I believe it's better to show than tell..." He walks to the opposite end of the room where the door opens, beckoning them both to return to his ship. "I trust your vessel won't depart without you, and I'm sure your crew wouldn't question a slight delay, no?" Asking for asking's sake.

He pockets the trinket in a pouch more commonly used for ammo rather than gifts.

[member="Blackthorne"]

 

[Blackthorne]

"One can only hope..."

She followed him through the door and down the hall. Truth be told she wouldn't be surprised if Kiin decided to take the frigate for a spin. The voyage here had been their first go-around with the thing, and though it had seen some use by [member="Maleagant"] it was still entirely new to them. Blackthorne wouldn't blame him, honestly, she'd probably do the same.

Blackthorne squashed the finished sten under her toe as she waited for the Shipwright to lead the way.

"I wonder...how many people did the KDY lose during the Omega attacks on the drive yards?"

 

[Catalys Maijora]

"I don't know," he answers. "I never stopped to count." Truth-be-told Catalys is not Kuati, he wasn't even from Umbara at that. No... He had been born much further away in a distant, lonely world that birthed more monsters than just he. One such woman's words still echo in his mind to this day, a haunting that he cannot escape no matter what end of the galaxy he vanishes to.

Some time later they finally arrive where he had desired to take them, the quieter confines of his private quarters above his own GenoHaradan frigate parked opposite her's. Of course the overall design remained similar, and he kept his vanilla with no changes to decor or arrangements. He walks over to a simple desk with a datapad, projecting a holographic image of his project.

A rather large and imposing station, in matter of fact. "This is half the reason I brought you here, if you'd like to take a look."

The station didn't seem unusual for the most part, but sported a supersized reactor.

 

[Blackthorne]

It wasn't the number she was after, but what it was could wait.

The woman gave Catalys a curious glance as he presented his project in holographic form. It looked like a station - just a normal space station. Dahl wasn't invested in technology enough to recognize the ... uniqueness of the reactor. Whether that really mattered at all remained to be seen, it still didn't explain how she figured in to things.

"Go on."

 

[Catalys Maijora]

"It's a world healer. Of sorts. Meant to restore atmospheric levels to what they're supposed to be. However, with a little intervention you can alter such a world too. It's a limited terraformer but a mobile one, with hyperspace capabilities. I intend to sell it to the Sith so they can utilize a new means of population control. To gently encourage obedience." He explains it rather simply, of course.

"The means of power would normally require a much larger station, so the reactor will remain dangerously unstable. Which is why I've been fitting many ships with such reactors. To practice." Essentially a compressed battery, dangerously compressed.

"The trick, though, is I need someone to test it out. Someone who isn't K-D-Y and their crew." The catch.

[member="Blackthorne"]

 

[Blackthorne]

"I see..."

Part of her was skeptical but a larger part of her was hideously intrigued to see the station in action. This was perhaps her largest fault - a severe lack of fear and an inability to balance risk with reward. Was this risk likely worth about ten new ships? Probably. But Blackthorne didn't need ten new ships, she only needed one; greed for pirates apparently only ran skin deep.

"And I just so happen to be the first person lucky enough to be offered the opportunity?"

 

[Catalys Maijora]

"And why not?"

"Do you not trust this bad, bald man in a helmet?" He quips. "Of course, if you'd rather not then I understand. I'll find someone else, but you're the first who came to mind; truly. Competence is a virtue." He wasn't someone to go around trying to compliment people, actually, in fact he rarely talked outside of his line of work nowadays. Except when it involved Sith. Sith always held interesting topics.

No, she's not Sith. She just works with them--like him. In a sense that made them more alike than the rest of the GenoHaradan.

 

[Blackthorne]

"Trust is such a strong word," Blackthorne replied, eyes narrowing. She couldn't gauge trust by how far she could throw things because ... well, given the opportunity and desire, Blackthorne was certain she could toss the man standing beside her pretty damn far, which said a great deal considering her slight frame in comparison to his own, armor and all.

"It's more of a skeptical inclination..." a feigned grimace followed, "and a strong self-preservation drive. However, I will do this thing for you because it sounds like a bloody good time. I just have one more thing," the woman fished a datachip from a pocket and held it out to him, "I'm looking for this woman. She was a personal associate for the former Sovereign of Kuat and I have heard rumor that she managed to survive the Omega attack."

 

[Catalys Maijora]

Catalys examines the details of her target from his datapad, replacing the holographic display of his pretty station.

"Dead or alive?" A force of habit, after all the Umbaran spent the majority of his adult life thus far serving as an agent for the Primeval; hunting Jedi mostly. "Unless you're just asking if I've seen her, but I don't know every face from Kuat. I can have someone look into it, though." Still, if she wants the woman dead he'd gladly do it himself.

Setting his datapad aside, Catalys strolls around to the opposite end of his quarters. Finally removing the helmet with detaches with an audible hiss, and placing it upon its stand. The rest of the armour stays on however, bending almost perfectly with his body as if the metal was muscle.

[member="Blackthorne"]