Two Sides To The Credchit [OP Dominion of Seltos]

[Moira Skaldi]

[member="Coryth Elaris"]


Meanwhile in her office Nalia was finishing up her paperwork. All the funds had been transferred and Archangel/Saelari Mining could look forward to a profitable relationship with the Protectorate. For the short-term at least. Whether the once powerful nation would get back on its feet or become the Sick Man of the Outer Rim was another question. Nalia prided herself on being practical.


Speaking of Archangel's...partners, Gordian Saelari chose this exact moment to return to her office. The man was obviously in a bit of a mood. "I hear the transaction was concluded smoothly. Ms. Alderana, I must protest at being sidelined in this manner. It is plain and simply beneath my dignity. I do not even recognise most of the people working here and I must strongly and categorically reject this treatment. My family created this mine and this company. Need I remind you that dear Aurelia is Consul..."


Nalia looked indifferent but calm, letting rant on as if he were a child. "She was Consul. Or Chief of Government as the case may be. She has been lost since the...event began and has been presumed dead even by your Family. You had your time running this place and were found wanting. Corruption flourished, rioting amongst the miners was common."


Gordian's face flushed red with anger and he looked like he was about to slam his fist on the table before he composed himself. "How dare you? Aurelia was...is a great woman. I invested a fortune in this mine! We are partners...no, you just supply...droids!"


"And you think this gives me power over me?" Nalia asked softly. "Your money and infrastructure were useful, but adjustment is needed. I pride myself on being well-organised and your embezzlements have not gone unnoticed. Or your offshore accounts," with that she suddenly produced a folder and passed it over to him.


Gordian flipped through the pages, then in a rage tossed it aside. "Lies, slander! You just want to steal my property. Do you think anyone will believe this?!"


"I am certain of this. As a matter of fact, some of your bankers are, how shall we put it, unsavoury. Such acts can easily be misconstrued. Within two weeks, there will be a meeting of the board of Saelari Mining. Or what is left of it. The recent tragedies have hit your company hard, after all. I shall be attending. And then I will buy the company. Guaranteed employment for all its workers, a slight reshuffle of the board. As a matter of fact because I'm a generous woman I will be amenable to you retiring in peace with enough credits to your name to live comfortably."


Gordian grit his teeth in anger. "You...backstabbing queen! You really think I'll accept that and go quietly?"


While he ranted Nalia calmly took a sip from her cup. "Yes. It is the best offer you'll get. Aurelia was a woman of remarkable talents. You are not."


"Fine, but there'll be words. This isn't over," and with that Gordian stormed out of the room in an angry stint. Meanwhile the cups and plates on the table were being cleared away. An HRD wearing gloves picked up the cup from which Coryth had drunk from and put it in a plastic bag. Said minion would then quickly leave the office and vanish with it.


((Exiting thread))

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Coryth Elaris"], [member="Jonathan Walsh"]


Behind the visor of her imposing helmet Kaida's features darkened slightly after hearing Coryth's words. "I don't trust droids," she said flatly and left it at that, though she kept her voice low. No point in wasting more time on words when they wanted to leave. At least that was her opinion since she was a stoic, terribly taciturn woman by nature.


Anyhow, the phrik crates were loaded up on repulsors, all the necessary paperwork got the appropriate signatures, and then the two were led out of the warehouse of the mine and back towards the landing area, where the phrik crates would be loaded into their shuttle. At least Archangel was decent or smart enough not to randomly stab them in the back on the way.

 

[Jonathan Walsh]

"Of course, everything is in place to pick up you and any supplies. " The writer didn't know Coryth's title so thus it should be assumed that John addressed her correctly. It was an interesting thing how leadership changed and the world moved. He missed serving the republic some days but the Omega Protectorate had done him well. They had increased his pay and provided him with a home. It was just a shame that it had put him at odds with his own daughter a time or two. Sophia.... where was she now? He waited for the business to conclude knowing that it had to be just a mater of time now. He had everything in order, scouts and patrols guarding the planned routes. he didn't want anything to possibly go wrong, and would show. He had fighters deployed and patrolling as he figured if nothing else it was good practice for his men.

[member="Coryth Elaris"]

 

[Aeron Kreelan]

[member="Noah Corek"]

[ Roger that. Head out ]

The comm would halt its crackle, the call ending as Aeron cut the transmission. They each had their part to do here. Two fingers would slide into her mouth a few seconds later, and then a piercing whistle would cut the low thrum of noise of Pyre personnel around her.

"Alright, head on out!" she would call out an order, gesturing for the gathering of Pyre mercs to head on off towards the closest mine in record. Scout, secure, maintain.

They all had a responsibility here.

 

[Glim]

Shotgun in hand, suit only semi-bloodied from his roughhousing of the foreman, Glim made his way towards the aforementioned mine on a 'requisitioned' speeder bike. Unbeknownst to him, however, [member="Noah Corek"] and [member="Aeron Kreelan"] were already there, scouting it out for the Protectorate. If he'd known that he'd have likely hightailed it the other direction. He was a criminal. Not in Protectorate space, but elsewhere.

They probably had an extradition treaty. Probably.

But without that knowledge he went on his merry, masked way. Someone wanted information on unclaimed mines here, and someone was paying him to get it. Which meant finding it, confirming it, and then charting the coordinates. So he sped across the landscape, the mine growing nearer as the bike screeched into his ears.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

On the other side of Seltos, Arceneau Trade Company was also making a stand in expansion. Humanitarian aid was a bridge towards future endeavours, and Seltos was a place that would allow such an interaction.

With phrik mines, a little help goes a long way.

Shuttles from the merchant fleet would start to break through atmo, moving towards a few of the larger cities. With them they brought food, water, and medical supplies.

Along with that came prefab buildings for ATC to make an operating base. From here, they would start out helping the local community while scouting the local phrik mines for potential purchase.

 

[Uriel]

[ Phrik Mines ]
[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

Thunk. Thunk. Every step was heavy, mechanical, deliberate. powerful. The thunderous advance of a man in powered armour was an unstoppable force. Golden-hued and with the laurel-pattern white helmet betraying not his steely eyes behind crimson eyeshields, the imposing figure of Uriel of House Tyrae was not to be underestimated. With the strength in his mechanical arm he could crush a man; with the unerring accuracy of his bolter fire he could scythe down an entire squad single-handedly in moments. A few angry miners were nothing.

He'd received reports of a potential hostage situation; as Master-at-Arms and Captain-Commander of House Tyrae, this could not stand. The lady would be rescued immediately.

Therefore, there he was, cloak swishing behind him as he approached the group frisking Amnell, striding forward with purpose in every step. His implacable advance was masked behind the veil of his helm. His voice was powerful and amplified, a slight mechanical buzz from its vocoder making the huge man in power armour seem even more like a battle droid.

"You ruffian scum. Unhand the lady immediately."

Without hesitation, Uriel partly unsheathed the force sword riding casually on his left hip so his hand rested on its pommel with the blade exposed, the bullpup bolter steady in his other hand. The bulky scope atop the weapon interfaced with his helmet to allow him to draw a bead on the lead man's centre of gravity. Tiny adjustments in his mechanical arm allowed him to ensure the perfect shot, accounting for the movement of his body with every step.

"Or you shall not draw breath another moment." It was no longer a request.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Uriel"], [member="Amnell de Portiers"]


Given the close quarters they were in, not to mention the fact that the thugs were very close to Amnell, a bolter was exactly the weapon not to use. After all, those explosive bolts had a rather large detonation radius. Unless you say loaded it with Firemane-designed APE rounds. Presumably a space marine in full armour was also not particularly subtle and stealthy in movement, and thus easy for the thugs to overhear.


Regardless, while Amnell had apparently once again become very popular, Caerys had been using the time to sneak up. The deceptively fragile looking HRD made barely a sound upon the ground, despite weighing far more than her seemingly slim frame might indicate. Unrest and chaos had taken hold of many mines. Workers were protesting for better conditions, thugs were taking advantage to loot and pillage, as was so often the case in these situations. Whether the supposedly grand Protectorate would claim the planet and restore what passed for law and order was utterly insignificant to her. Much in the same way as the affairs of organics concerned her little.


It would have been ironic if she had made a detour to Archangel's base and met a certain Moira Skaldi, but she had other concerns. Namely a certain Amnell. It was quite a stretch to say that Caerys cared about her because truth was, she did not. However, the woman was useful to her due to being a prodigy at repairing machines and providing upgrades and Caerys found her...interesting.


Out of the shadows she stepped, cold eyes homing in on the distracted thug who was at Amnell, along with his companion. Her shatter gun was out in a flash and without hesitation or wasting time with dramatic declarations, she squeezed the trigger. The weapon fired a miniaturised projectile at high-velocity. Indeed, such was the speed that many beings would only notice a shot had been fired by the time they were hit. Moeover, the gun was also silenced. One bullet made polite conversation with thug number one's cranium and wiped out his meaningless existence. As thug number two was about to drop his guns and throw up his hands in surrender to the space marine, an inhumanely powerful hand suddenly gripped his throat and crushed it.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

The prefab bases would be placed into position. Work crews would work overtime; it wasn't just about the phrik mines but also about the humanitarian aide.

Medicine, water, food. All of these were requirements for those in the wake of the Netherworld. Arceneau was known not only for their generosity but for their quick ability to act. So while one crew would set up a triage, another on the far side of the valley would send security forces to secure the local area.

Once secured, they would begin their survey work. How much minerals and ores there were in the valley; were any of them feasible to mine. Using the locals as well as including them in the process would allow for a smooth transition; where Arceneau came, job security would follow.

Arceneau's reputation assured that.

 

[Miles Varden]

1

"Late to the party, that's what you get for wanting to train so mich Miles, now we have to catch up on what we've missed."

Miles spoke to himself as he came out of hyperspace, flicking all the appropriate switches and buttons as he prepared to enter the fleet. A personal ship, he could dock with the FleetComm.

[member="Coryth Elaris"] [member="Aeron Kreelan"]

"Command, this is Varden, where am I needed and what have I missed?"

Mikes pulled his ship into the fleet area and awaited instruction.

 

[Aeron Kreelan]

[member="Miles Varden"]


[ Varden. ] Aeron's command would cut through the chatter.

[ I need to you secure site Cresh of the mines ] she would instruct him, blue eyes scanning the holographic map out in front of her. Her brows would furrow, and she would study what sort of path they should take.

For now, they were already busy securing the local area as well as providing aide relief. Now it was a matter of making sure things went well in the mines. One could never know what manner of unsavory things might have been left behind from when the Nine Hells birthed their demons into the verse.

 

[Miles Varden]

[member="Aeron Kreelan"]. #2


"Affirmative Command, enroute to mines now. Rondesvou with locals or fellow operatives?"

Miles pushed the throttle forward and made for entry into atmos. The nose of his ship began to give off a red aura as the plating heated and began to glow. Upon clearing the atmosphere, what was laid aour beneath the incoming ship, was a vast and beautiful forest world. Mountains at every horizon and greenery for kilometers. The main city lay to the East and Miles' target lay just north of that, in the base of a mountain. He found a clearing large enough to set down, and grabbed his gear to head to the mine. He was about a quarter mile off and awaited further instruction from Madam Kreelan.

"Petty Officer Varden reporting boots on the ground Ma'am."

A proper soldier, Miles preferred the formalities of his job. It simplified things. Dressed in his G-1 Flight suit and with a Ripper SMG and Lazy Eye pistol, the Protectorate pilot hoofed it to the mine.

 

[Veino Garn]

(Post 1)

Veino stared down at the planet below as his ship dropped out of hyperspace. Seltos. Not a planet he knew very much about, except that it had a great deal of phrik, and therefore, inordinately valuable, along with many natural resources as well. Rich world, now in trouble, and the Protectorate was here to fix it up again. He was here to assist in whatever way that may be. He sent out a message to the Protectorate fleet.

Veino Garn here to assist. Where do you need me?

He took a moment to run through his gear. Lightsaber. Pouches of metal spheres. Medical supplies. His amulet. No armor for this one. He had a feeling it would be more important to be less noteworthy than capable of absorbing blaster bolts with lots of duraplast and cortosis. That was for true battlefields with clashes between armies. This wasn't like that. It was more of a local thing. Diplomacy would find a better response than firepower in the long-run.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

Sarge sat in the Tower back on Fondor, brow raising as he monitored the flow of information trickling from Seltos. There had once been days he'd have gone in with them, and there had been other Protectors who would have been there themselves. But Coruscant had taught him the folly of letting Heads of State stand on the front lines. It was a giant target the moment you were recognized.

And once you were gone, well... there went morale.

But what had piqued his interest was Arceneau showing up. Likely looking for a cut of the profits. He could almost smell the greed the moment the name trickled in across his desk.

"Danger." The sound is a breath, a whispered half-mumbling. He blinks.

"Sadly...", he looked up to the Private standing nearby. "There's no Will Robinson around."

 

[Wes Redtree]

[member="Sarge Potteiger"] [member="Danger Arceneau"]

He stood to one side as the Lord Protector spoke to the private. A unlit cigar in his teeth as he stood at parade rest near the bulkhead. "Three years," he thought to himself, "Three years until retirement." whether it was fear or relief of leaving the life of a mercenary and soldier behind he couldn't say but he waited for those discharge papers like a shipwrecked sailor waited for shore. His pale eyes looked down at the man then back up without moving a centimeter. He didn't know who the woman was and he didn't much care but if she was a problem he didn't see the point of being discrete with his thoughts.

"Want me to kill her, Sir?" he said with as much emotion as he would have shown in talking about the weather. Being force dead he didn't worry much about force sensitives, they couldn't sense him, and if this 'Danger' were simply well guarded by other mundane beings he would simply find a way. If the man worried about it being traced, well, there were ways around that too.

 

[Jsc]

Seltos
Lounging outside the Mines (p1)

___

Roberts shuffled her helm and flipped the page. This hilltop was grassy and shaded. The perfect spot to pitch a tent and wait for the blaster fire to stop it's echoing cries. She was glad she brought a book to read. It would be horrible to have to lounge around outside a phrik mine with nothing to do all day. Probably should have brought two.

"Hey. Jedi. ATC just landed nearer Viewport. Com from the port just lit up."

"Who?" Karen quipped and turned a page. She was enjoying her lazy day too much to care about space traffic.

"ATC? The ATC. How do you not... Ugh. Nevermind human. I should have known better. All your kind are insane."

"Shut up and just keep look out. This is your heist remember. I'm just the guide. Oh. ...And keep the traffic reports to yourself. I'm kinda busy over here."

The thin echani male could only shake his head and return to his viewfinders. Keeping watch was a horrible job. Fit for a mercenary or a bird. Not a distinguished elven bladesman. Look out. Hah. What a joke. This was definitely the last time he would ever team up with a Jedi. Or... Ya know. Whatever this passive blue-haired woman was. What a terrible guide to hire. It didn't matter though. His phrik heist was going nowhere with all these Omega soldiers around. Can't fight an army with just twin swords. No matter how good he was. The warrior scowled and adjusted his bronzium matrix armor. Letting his twin swords shuffle on his back. His invisibility shroud he allowed to remain turned off. No danger all the way up here anyway. Omega Pyre was good but they weren't that good.

Yawning. Karen flipped another page of her book and kept right on reading. Enjoying the moment. She didn't have a care in the world for her elven companion or his culture's refined feelings. He was just another thief in a galaxy full of vagabonds and scoundrels to her. Just another employer. Well. Even if he did have better hair than she did. Ugh. Now that thought killed her. Really rustled her jimmies. A white haired elf with better hair than a Jedi Mistress? Inconceivable.

She flipped another page in her book and scowled,

"Ah. By the way?"

"Hmm."

"What kind of shampoo do you use?"

The echani male pulled away from his goggles and turned to stare at her, blankly. Wait... What?

"Nevermind. Keep watching the entrance. I'll tell you when it's clear to enter the mines. Forgot I said anything."

The bladesman raised a plucked eyebrow and somberly returned back to his gazing. Shaking his head and sighing to himself. Yep. Count on it. This was going to be a terrible, horrible afternoon.

___

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

[member="Wes Redtree"]

There was a pause and then a blink, as eyes the color of the void settled on the private who had spoken for the first time in months. Was this what Cira had felt like when he'd spoken? Like she were hearing a novelty in vocal form? A curiosity worth no more attention than the steady rise and fall of his own chest as he breathed? Inhaling slowly, the Lord Protector set the datapad down. "You do realize that [member="Danger Arceneau"] is basically the owner of the Outer Rim, right?"

That was a rhetorical question. The man didn't. Only the Outer Rim would let a woman get so much corporate power that she was essentially a government. Any nation worth its salt would have stamped that out a long time ago, because 'Trade Company' and 'Government' weren't known to work hand in hand when run by one person. Though, mercenary turned governmental ruler had worked out half well. Maybe he was judging too quick.

His gut told him he wasn't. That was enough for him.

"Killing her would literally be killing ourselves. She's got a lot of enemies, but she's got just as many friends. And frankly, either-or... we would barely have enough powerpacks. The sentiment is appreciated, however."

 

[Wes Redtree]

[member="Sarge Potteiger"]

Wes couldn't comprehend one creature being so key to a government's existence as this one woman seemed to be. His pale eyes didn't blink or move as he seemed to stares through the far wall and onto a distant field of battle.

"No offense, sir." He said in his cold hollow voice, "but I'd swallow a blaster bolt before letting one person's life or death make or break my government."

Not a muscle moved as he calmly stood waiting for something to shoot. He meant it but it made little difference. A person, a single person, "owned" the outer rim but Wes was willing to bet that the likely millions of people she employed would find a way to continue to live and work without her. It wasn't his call and he cared about as much as he would if he was late to a dentist but if he had the chance he'd probably plug the broad on principal if he saw her.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

Sarge gave a faint tapping of his finger on the desk as he looked down at its surface, ignoring the private for a moment or two.

Opening up the line to his attendant outside, he sniffed at the air momentarily. "Get me [member="Danger Arceneau"]." He wanted a brief talk. He wasn't sure why.

But he did. Maybe to make sure she wasn't looking to take over corporate interests in his region.