Thirty Days

[Armand Temi]

Now that Princess Kallisto only had thirty days to replace her workforce after loosely promising the Neskroff governor that she would free the native Gutretee slaves who primarily worked at the Kallisto Mining Company, she needed to speed up the process a little. Crix Meriet, while a long-standing family contact, was a little slow on the uptake. Furthermore his drunken behavior on Muunilinst caused her a little bit of consternation, but she hadn’t kicked him out of the palace quite yet. Let's just say he was now on a trial basis as her main slaver and court confidant.

She had the Palace make contact with a slaving company called Karazak Slavers Cooperative. This company was not in the Kallisto Family Business Registry, so it was unusual that Thais would even think of going outside of her network, but Mr. Meriet’s unpredictable behavior as of late caused her to be more than a little paranoid.

Furthermore, she didn’t want him to find out she was going behind his back and contacting another slaver altogether so, flying The Crystal Siren to Glee Anselm, the Princess went herself to meet the owner of Karazak. Her vessel docked in an above-ground hangar directly outside of Pieralos. She had brought Napo, her loyal Gutretee assistant, and her normal security detail of four Palace Guards. Since she was primarily aligning her company interests with those of the Sith and Primeval, she no longer had to hide herself in a billowing cloak when she went on business trips to these dark-sided worlds. She wore a sharp red dress and shawl with a thick, shiny black belt pulled in tightly around her waist. Her long chestnut locks were down around her shoulders. And today, she decided not to wear anything with crystals on it – not even jewelry. Instead she wanted to showcase her most precious minerals in a different way, but when and how would be apparent once her Karazak contact sent her the coordinates so she could travel to meet him.

[member="Darth Pyrrhus"]

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

Outside of the hangar, Kalisto would find herself met with a small Nautolan guard. It was nothing substantial, and certainly not a threat. They were merely to serve as the princess' escort. She was royalty, after all, and the CEO of Karazak Slavers Cooperative did not want her to feel unwelcome. Flanked by one guardsman on either side, there was a Nautolan dressed in official clothing. Simple, dark blue - nothing extravagant, but decidedly classy. "Your highness. I am to escort you to KSC premises.If you'd be so kind" he said, gesturing for her to follow him into a speeder.

The vehicle was large enough to take her and her own guard, along with the Nautolans set to meet with her. It was equipped with large windows, on either side as well as the roof. She would be allowed to enjoy and be awed by the majestic scenery. She was not being taken to Pieralos, but a facility not far away. Sometimes business was conducted from their office in Pieralos, but it would appear the princess gained the privilege of being taken directly to the heart of it. Soon enough, the slaver's city would come within view.

Unlike Pieralos, it had a protective membrane surrounding it. It ensured that anything within it remained dry. While everywhere else, the aquatic Nautolans were the majority population, here, it was different. This was primarily a slaver's compound, and not a residential area. While there were several Nautolan slaves, captured for political opposition to the One Sith's rule and similar crimes, there were countless of other species present. The idea was for it to be able to serve as a prison camp for slaves of all species.

Interestingly enough, the CEO of the company was not a Nautolan, but a Togruta. It was this Togruta the princess would be meeting with today. Tanek Santii, an upcoming businessman from Shili who had made his fortune selling slaves. The princess would be escorted through the streets, in a direct path towards the main building. While she would certainly witness slaves working - as this little slavers' pearl was still technically under construction - Kalisto had been led away from the main disciplinary areas. Though she was seeking out a slaver, it was ideal to save her some from some of the misery. Mr. Santii's methods were decidedly harsh, and he wouldn't want to see her desire to do business reduced before the start of their negotiations.

[member="Thais Kallisto"]

 

[Armand Temi]

Glee Anselm was fascinating! Thais's own planet of Isis, with its sometimes unforgiving crystal landscape, imported most of its water from other planets. The small tributaries and lakes that Isis contained were fragile and required constant care and protection, or else the ecological balance of the planet was at risk. So Thais very much enjoyed the breathtaking scenery of this water world.

"We are traveling just outside of Pieralos, Your Majesty," said Napo, helping the Princess with the navigation. Inside an oxygen membrane, she would see the slave compound. Deep underwater like this is certainly one way to contain them, thought Thais. It was actually quite clever - escape would be nearly impossible unless a slave was smuggled out or broke through the membrane and knew how to swim. And even still, it was hundreds of meters to the surface.

The Princess had been around slaves her entire life. Thais had an affinity for animals, but sentient beings as slaves? She had been borne and bred to consider slavery a custom that some worlds used and other worlds didn't. On Isis, the fact that they were Gutretee slaves was what vexed the government most. Although Thais didn't condone the meddling, she would do what she had to do to appease the Governor.

Luckily, the compound was free from any nightmarish sights and appeared to be a normal business by all respects. There were signs that some of the construction was pending, but otherwise, all looked good. The Nautolans took Princess Kallisto and her entourage in to meet the owner, who was, to her surprise, a Togruta. A fascinating species to say the least and one which Thais had never encountered.

"Mr. Santii, I present to you, Princess Thais Kallisto of the Kallisto Mining Corporation of Isis," said Napo.

Thais clasped her hands in front of her and said, "Hello, Mr. Santii. You have a lovely planet."

Behind her two of the guards brought in a large metal box, which presumably had something inside that she was to show the head slaver.

[member="Darth Pyrrhus"]