To Help a Jedi

[Laira Darkhold]

The Durasteel Dragon shook as it entered the atmosphere of the planet Voss. Home to the Silver Jedi Order, the planet was known for its native mystics and their natural talent to see visions through the Force. I don't know much about the Force other than it let the Hand of the Sith smack me around and leave me in a bacta tank for over a week like it was nothing. But what I did know was that if it hadn't have been for my tech, I would be cold and dead, a long time coming. Having experienced Crab armor up close and personal, I had set Benji, my associate and business partner, to create a technological counterpart, something that could assist those fighting the Sith and their armies without hampering them. I had some other ideas about working against the Vonduun armor even.

But that was in the future for now I had arranged a meeting with [member="Coci Heavenshield"] to attempt to sell her order the ACS-002 Tempest All-Purpose armor. I descended the boarding ramp of my old YT-2400 toting a fairly large case, held aloft on repulsorlifts. At the bottom of the ramp an aide greeted me and guided me to a small conference room, "You can wait here Mister Vereen. Lady Heavenshield will be here shortly." She said as she closed the door behind her. I had brought some other things, and had several ideas to pitch to her, including whether or not I could be allowed to expand into Mon Calamari, as it was so close to their territory I felt it would be polite to ask since I am here

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

On behalf of the Order of the Silver Jedi and Grand Master [member="Thurion Heavenshield"], Coci had agreed to a meeting with [member="Draco Vereen"]. She had been informed he had developed a suit of armour that would match anything the Sith had in their manifest. The idea of a suit of armour that could combat anything the Sith could throw at them appealed to the Master of the Silver Jedi and to the grand master as well.

They all knew that war with the Sith would come eventually and the Silver Jedi needed to be prepared so they could fight along side their brothers and sisters of the Jedi Order. Coci and Thurion had recently completed talks with Grand Master [member="Corvus Raaf"] and Master [member="Kian Karr"] and the relationship between the two Orders looked bright.

Coci was duly informed that Mister Vereen had arrived and awaited her. Without any further hesitation, Coci made her way to the conference room in which she would find him.

"Mister Vereen, I am Master Coci Heavenshield, Master of the Silver Jedi. It is a pleasure to meet you", she offered a bow and her hand in friendship. "I trust your trip to Voss was pleasant?". She extended her arm toward the seating for him to rest if so wished.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

When [member="Coci Heavenshield"] entered I snapped to attention, and greeted her with a polite bow. "It was pleasant, Master Heavenshield. I do like it here on the Outer Rim much better than the Core and Mid Rim near the border." I answered her initial inquiry. I noticed her hand extended to the seating and politely refused. "No thank you, I would prefer to stand." I turned to my tote and opened the seal. "I assume the Silver Jedi Order has an associated standing Military or Paramilitary force aligned with it or under its control so I would like to establish a proper working relationship so that when I am able to expand my production capabilities I might supply them in addition to the Republic Military." I slowly pulled unloaded Vanquisher and Executioner rifles from the case and set them down at either side of the woman. Then I pulled the main event so to say, a suit of neatly polished silver colored armor from the tote and unfolded it in front of her.

"This is the ACS-002 Tempest All-Purpose Armor. It consists of interlocking segmented chest plates so as not to reduce mobility, and numerous separated plates covering the most likely areas to be struck. This was done to decrease weight and when compared to the Jedi Shadow Armor used by the Order it is several degrees more protective and just as mobile, if not more so. It is lighter and tougher, rivaling Yuuzhan Vong Crab Armor favored by Sith in durability. What it has that the Crabs don't is the ability to rapidly regenerate being crafted of Laminanium plates." It was a marvelous sales pitch if I do say so myself, hopefully it would have the desired reaction.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

[member="Draco Vereen"]

"Yes, we have paramilitary in the Antarian Rangers", there is the legion of the Silver Shadows as well, but that is classified. "We have a manifest for them, but more weapons are needed, more updated. Also the Silver Jedi do not only use sabers and they will be most interested in what you have to offer".

As Draco placed the repeater blaster and carbine on the table, Coci moved to inspect them. She is more a rifle girl but these newly developed weapons looked the part, but she would like to see them in action.

The armour took her attention, as Draco laid it out. His sales pitch very good indeed but also informative. "I assume like most armour there are weaknesses. The joins being the most normal place. I see there is no helmet?", she asked. However one of the main winner factors is it is resistance to sabers and bolts and added to this it's capacity to regenerate. Coci picked up the armour, feeling the weight which she was pleased to note it lightness. "This can be worn under robes?".

"I would like to see a demonstration if that is possible. We have a rifle range here for training where we can go".

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Good to know they have an army that might need assistance and new gear. I wasn't aware of the manifest they had available, but if it was like the Republic it was sorely lacking in ground combat equipment and many of the pieces it did have were in desperate need of updating. "Joints are always a weakness, as are the back of the thigh and inside of the upper arm. Helmets do not come standard, no, but we do sell an advanced model helmet with superior sensors as well, that I would happily include. I have had very limited interactions with Jedi and so I am unaware of their preferences about helmets, jetpacks, and the like so I felt it best to exclude them from standard and have them on hand if they were needed." She picked up the armor. It had some heft to it, but it was only about two thirds the weight of jedi shadow robes.

"Absolutely we can move to a firing range to test this suit out. I have brought a suit of standard Shadow Armor with me for just such an occasion." I took the armor from her hand so that I might carry it to where he would be blasting away at them. He intended to empty a vanquisher powercell into the suit to prove its effectiveness. It would torn up after forty five bolts, but it would also fix itself shortly.

[member="Coci Heavenshield"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

[member="Draco Vereen"]

"We would require helmets as well, if we are to place an order. But from what I have seen thus far your weapons and especially the armour are exceptional". She said placing the armour back on the table.

"Shall we now go to the ranger?", she asked extending her arm toward the door. Coci would wait until Draco was packed and ready before they would leave.

The rifle range is situation within the compound of the Antarian Rangers, passing through security Coci lead Draco through to the practice range, they would have the place to themselves while the demonstration took place. Coci wished to test the weapons herself, as she is a markswoman and deadly with the rifle, she knows the weapons well enough. She will also try on the armour and have Draco fire bolts at her, if she is to give these weapons and armour to the Rangers as well as the Jedi she wanted to be sure everything that he said was delivered and how this would effect them. But first his initial demo.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Entering into the firing range, I laid the re-opened the tote I had brought and set up the armor down range. Placing a Powercell into the vanquisher I began speaking "Alright, so the first model of the Tempest armor offers only minute Lightsaber protection. I don't have an alchemist on staff to attempt anything better at the moment using Laminanium, but where it makes up for that is the ability to rapidly regenerate." I aimed down range and fired a steady stream of bolts into the chest piece until a small hole appeared. "Alright within minutes it will be good as new. I hope Force Users will benefit from the regenerative properties more, as in my experience they are difficult to hit with blasters. This would allow them to recover from mistakes, which is key. The crab armor the sith use, I have seen it up close and personal, is a monster. It does all sorts of things that may take some time to technologically reproduce. But I have the healing down pat, and providing even minimal lightsaber resistance is some help that the Jedi Order doesn't currently have. I don't know about your armory, but ours lacks in the area of protection." I said, trying to clear up any confusion and ensure that honesty was the policy of the day.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

[member="Draco Vereen"]

The demostrations was most impressive, after the round of bolts had hit the armour Coci immediate walked to it to inspect. She wait and watched as the suit did in fact regenerate.

Without taking her eyes off the armour, "Our manifest is somewhat outdated and in need of high capacity technology. This suit will form part of the manifest and give our members an added option", she turned to Draco now with a smile.

"As you will know individuals have individual tastes or likes or needs and this will go far to provide much protection not only to our Jedi members but our Rangers".

"What is the purchase price for the armour? and how many do you have available to buy?". Her eyes fell over the weapons now and wanted to see them in action, not against the armour but what their capabilities are.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

I was a little surprised by her question. I hadn't checked the stocks in a while. "Currently we have about one hundred sets of armor ready for purchase at about eighty thousand credits each, but as the armor was made for use of your Order, sixty thousand and I would happily accept payment in ten installments without interest. Also if your armory is in need of updating I offer the services of my Research and Development department as well. We have been known to be most helpful with other projects and have access to some rare materials." I explained to her as the armor began regenerating back to its original form. "We have been known to mine Phrik and Cortosis in the past and could easily again, however larger orders either take more time, or require assistance from your members."

"When it comes to weapons, we offer a variety, both blasters and slugthrowers, and my hope had been to be allowed to build a dedicated factory within your space to provide the Silver Jedi Order with its requested arms and armor. This way you don't become dependent on outside trafficking, raids on shipments to you are far less likely, and you have a ready supply of everything I have to offer." I said, confident that this was a good idea. "If you would like, try these two out. Currently these are minor production and the Galactic Republic has requested the majority of them, so I am in need of expanding my facilities as it is."

[member="Coci Heavenshield"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

[member="Draco Vereen"]

"The pricing sounds fine but I will not deplete you of your entire stock, I wish to purchase fifty of your armour. We will also be speaking to Lady [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] of Firemane in regards to purchasing alternative armour as well as arms. I want the Silver Jedi to have to best and to have weapons and armour of choice".

Coci picked up the carbine and let it rest in both her hands before she continued, "Draco if you require assistance in development I am sure there will be members of the Silver Jedi who would help, and we can talk about find you a location to further your industry". Draco is supplier to the Republic as it's allies and the Silvers which would be developed over time and for all concerned.

Lifting the carbine and aiming, Coci fired a round of bolts into the target at the end of the range. Although not her preferred weapon, rifles much more comfortable in her hands, Coci had to admire the weapon as she noted the results.

"Impressive", she said replacing the carbine on the table, she would not need to test the other weapon. "We will need a fair amount of these, I would like to fit out the Rangers as well as the Jedi, war is coming and so we need everything we can lay our hands on".

 

[Laira Darkhold]

I watched as the woman deftly hefted and fired the carbine. When she placed it back down I picked it up, swapped the Magazine feed and fired first a High Explosive round followed by a Dragon's Breath round down range, demonstrating its ability to fire special ammunition, and the effectiveness and visually impressive rounds. "It also does that." I exclaimed looking at the broken chunk of permacrete and the flames immolating the target at the end of the firing range.

"I would love to expand on any planet of your, choice, though I hear Iego is home to some exceptional real estate. I could build a factory there to expand my production capabilities, focusing on the equipment you want made or designed. The Silver Jedi are always welcome at my headquarters on Jabiim. Any of your members seeking customized equipment should visit me. I have been known make excellent equipment for the individual," I said reaching into the tote and pulling one of my pistols from it for her to examine. "This is one of my personal weapons ArmaTech designed and fabricated as an example." I said handing her the weapon.

[member="Coci Heavenshield"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

[member="Draco Vereen"]

The further demostration was impressive as much as the armour and the weapons were. And Coci smiled knowing that these items will do much to help bolster the Silver Jedi armoury and supply them with further fire power as war bit at their heels.

The results of the Dragon's breath in particular required respect and although the results of which would incapacitate any enemy it was not forgiving which always runs counter to Jedi sensibilities. But this is war and war is anything but pretty.

"I would have to consult the Council before I can make a decision of you setting up on Iego, but I don't believe there will be a problem if I recommend it", she said. "If you have concluded with your demonstration all that is let to do is finalise the order and have it delievered to Voss. I thank you for your time Mister Vereen, I will get in contacted with you regarding our order and with an answer on Iego".