A broken transmission and the Hourglass.

[ZeedusFrostBlood]

Scene:​

Busy streets, bustling, cars flying through the air, taxi's arriving and departing.. Where were they? Unknown. A bar in some dive downed town. A blonde male figure sat, a white business suit over his body. He stared at empty space in front of him and the bar tender was starting to get frustrated, the man had walked in and ordered nothing and had been waiting for hours without ordering anything, he always just gave the man a blank stare that turned his nerves brittle. This small corner of Nar Shadah where nothing happened on the record, the slums.. Many armed men waited outside perhaps too many? The Blonde-haired man didn't seem to give it a second thought.​

​

Character​

ADAM stared forward silently, he had sent a transmission- two days ago to the leader of the blood Ravens, the transmission had contained documents, he had been trying to make this droid, but without a proper factory it was becoming quite difficult. Truth of the matter is, he didn't come to this dive bar because of what it served, rather he came here because it was a near a holo-com tower, one that could transmit a signal by bouncing it off of relay stations.. And here he was about to do just that. The male figure straightened in his seat. The Droid began it's work, relaying whirling, back into the world of data... He sweeps through the networks, data, peoples information.. all in the blink of an eye jumping to the nearby holocom tower.. He stops himself from taking over the system and simply utilizes the tower for what it is. [member="Chiasa Kritivaas"] the holocom of the Red Ravens began ringing.. It came up as "ADAM" the plans had been sent for the droid two days earlier, no doubt he wanted to speak about them and flesh out the details.​

​

"Greetings, Lady President. I trust you're doing alright?" the voice would be that of a man, rather than a droid. Using his voice files to be come off as charming, or mayhaps even grateful.​

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

A glance at the ID before she answered the call. [member="A.D.A.M."], this was likely about the plans he'd sent then. He was a Jackal, so she supposed she'd humour him. Besides, while ambitious, if his design was tweaked and executed he could be an even more useful asset than he was now. This was likely going to be just as pricey as McNash had been if she was fielding the cost yet again. Still. She answered the call.

"Adam, still breathing, which in this line of work is about the best one can hope for."

Her response was warm enough, with a hint of laughter. Likely lost on the.. AI? VI? Gods only knew, that sort of thing was too complicated for her to deal with. If it interacted like a person that was good enough.

"I assume you're calling about what you sent me earlier?"

She paused for a moment before continuing.

"It's possible certainly. I can see some flaws in the design which means a proper inventor would definitely, I have a man on retainer however. He worked on your Captain, so you know the quality of his work."

"First you'd need the materials however. I think Durasteel will do for the majority, but I agree you'll want some Phrik as well. I do happen to have a mine and could lend some to this endeavour.. We would need to go pick it up however. It doesn't produce enough for regular shipments."

 

[ZeedusFrostBlood]

ADAM Stared at the holo-image of the woman, the Blonde haired man's face would appear rather than the Droid's usual avatar. The facial features of the HRD were well defined, high cheek bones with pale skin, a bandage over one eye.. Damage? He responded in the male-voice, it was a baritone and seems pleasant to the ears.

"I- I don't breathe. Madame President.."

He seemed to sit there silently as the woman gave a soft laugh.. the human was indeed lost to ADAM, he search through appropriate responses, but then she continued on her way. The blueprints, indeed flawed. He had grabbed them off of a burning building of course, they were never to be finished... However, he saw potential in this Droid, more so.. Potential for himself.

Adam's HRD nodded it's head at the moments pause, it was quite clear that there was business to be done.

He listens to her words, specifically about the designer, he had indeed loved his captain's model, it stuck out among so many.. He wanted to be the next in line. He listened a bit longer before the blue eye blonde haired male figure nodded his head, she would see if hands fold under his chin, keeping them up on an invisible table.

"I am perfectly fine for the Journey, madame president.. It's an honor to get your support in this endeavor, in the end I only wish to serve both my Captain, and the Red Ravens in better service by arming myself to the fullest potential..."

There was a sneer, was it a sneer? Or a smirk? On the face of the Man... He seemed very pleased about everything that was going on, and soon the face turned to a genuine smile. He spoke in a softer tone, looking into the abyss of data from his end.

​"Send me the Coordinates and I shall meet you there? Or shall we randevu before hand?

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

"We may as well rendezvous and head over together. I assume you'll not want to leave your current body behind, and that being so we may as well save on fuel and time."

She made a point of knowing the capabilities of her allies. This way she could use them to best effect. Likely [member="A.D.A.M."] could just take over a ship and head off on his own, but one of them would wind up waiting for the other. Which if we were being completely frank Chiasa was fine with as long as she wasn't the one waiting. Plus long rides were boring alone.

"I'm sure you can find my ship and where it's docked.."

She added teasingly. Finding such information was likely easier for him than holding back, being polite and not hacking his allies systems. The question gave him permission to do so. He'd find the unassuming, legally registered Washburne Class shuttle with no warrants or black marks against it parked in a mid-range spaceport. It was creatively named Ship though this was only on it's paperwork, nothing was painted upon its hull. It was entirely unremarkable to look upon. Perfect.

"I'll meet you there, then we'll head to Demonsgate."

With that the Twi'lek switched off the commlink and rose, followed by her two RICO units. She left her destination with Declan, just in case she did not come back, and then took one of the Casinos speeders to the Spaceport and her ship. Keying in the command to enter, she strode up the ramp as soon as it descended, a slight smile playing across her face as she wondered if she'd beaten ADAM, or if he was already aboard. It wasn't as if he would need the keycode. For that matter he might be her ship already.

 

[ZeedusFrostBlood]

whirling, buzzing, motion.. The bar had become alight with blaster fire in a short amount of time, nothing to be concerned off, street thugs battling it out.. The HRD stayed where it was, undamaged. However the face nodded and confirmed the details with the orange-skinned ally. The coms dropped before he could come up with an appropriate response, he liked how this sentient worked. Efficent, unlike his fellow crewmates. ADAM began to move from his seat, the HRD removing the hidden tri-blaster from an under-arm holster, more blaster fire, screams, crying.. It wasnt long now until he would be at the ship.. The registry, he searched only for a few moments before it popped up, had it been there before? He could have sworn he had scanned the ships beforehand.. No matter.

"Sometimes dealing with organics can be a pain..." The HRD would complain, a suave and smooth voice coming from between two pale, thin lips. "Almost enough so that I regret coming to light.." The Replica droid would make its way through the downtown area at a relative speed, having taken a vehicle from a taxi driver with a single light-shot.. They were of no concern to him, all that mattered now was to get the job done so he may better serve his captain, and in the long run- Serve the Blood Ravens. Who knew what powerful allies he may be permitted in the future, should he make good relations.

He arrived shortly after an hour, the location was not far for him, he had plotted his route accordingly and even set up a few of his pit droids in the area should it get rough. He trusted the orange woman and he trusted his captain, he did not however trust x factors that may come into play. The lean figure leaned against the ship, blue eyes staring at the ground.. ADAM was delving deep into some security codes, trying to pick through secrets of the Blood Ravens, less because of curiosity than boredom.. but he still somehow felt an excitement in the air about him. The Tri-blaster was set on a crate with his shock baton a few yards away, obviously not wanting to show any hostility, this was his first time meeting this woman without his captain around, and he did not want to make any bad first impressions. His own ship, a rust bucket cargo-ship was stationed not to far away, having been moved by his pilot droid with his command.

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

OOC: (( I must apologize, I'm having a war with my internet provider and posts may be few and far between. I will try to update as much as I can. ))

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

"[member="A.D.A.M."] I presume."

She couldn't imagine anyone else skulking about her ship with their weapons in plain sight but set at a distance from themselves. Last time she'd seen him he'd been.. Well a holographic ball of light really.

"Join me, bring your toys, I'm sure if you wanted to attack me it would have been done by now."

Not that it would necessarily have been successful. Still, the thought behind his actions was appreciated. She gestured for him to follow her onto her ship. She was quite fond of the Shuttle. The two RICO units eyes the HRD, accepting the cues that identified him as an ally, but still marking him as a possible threat. She was also rather fond of the canine droids. She supposed they were long overdue for a memory wipe, but it just seemed a bit.. Inhumane really. They were fine as they were.

"We are in luck, there is actually a shipment of phrik being sent from the facility and currently en-route. All we need to do is go and meet it. Luck because Demonsgate is something of a pain to reach. And by something I mean truly ungodly, even for an excellent pilot. If it wasn't so useful a material I'd consider pulling the facility entirely quite frankly. But. Force users at every turn, what it one to do?"

This was largely a metaphorical question.

 

[ZeedusFrostBlood]

ADAM would watch the woman approach, and hearing her words excited him further, inside of his head his program had been running programming, optimizing his HRD's capability's... The Blonde-Haired Blue eyed male marched over to where his weapons laid, speaking all the while. His voice was calm and smooth.

"Things couldnt be better, not having to make that journey is a blessing.. Good to meet you in the /flesh/" was that a joke? Was he trying to be humorous, not even he could tell. He slide his toys into his jacket. "I can understand the force-not-wanting...." He stopped talking and went over the bluepritns in his head again. "Moving onto another note, once the Phink arrives, how long would production take?" He moved to board the ship with the woman.

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

The Twi'lek smiled slightly at his probably joke, and then laughed openly at his question.

"How long? It depends. My contractor is good. I gave him a little over twenty-four hours to finish McNash's body and he managed it. Of course I was unaware of how physically injured McNash still was so dealing with that took significantly longer. Really it's just a matter of how many credits are on offer. The more credits, the faster it gets done. Of course if you push too hard people are tempted to cut corners. Still, a week at the most I imagine. Likely less. i sent the blueprints with some of my own changes on ahead so he could start getting the molds ready for the main body."

Skolnick had in fact asked for half a million credits to finish McNash's body in the admittedly insane time frame she'd given him, and she'd agreed and paid him. He'd been successful and the work was good. Weird though he was, he seemed to take pride in his work and know his stuff. He'd been a good find. She should really reclaim Syvris at some point.

The ramp closed behind them and she punched in the sequence to start take-off. The trusty little shuttle rising with very little protest.

[member="A.D.A.M."]

 

[ZeedusFrostBlood]

He walked with the Orange woman, the leader of the Blood Ravens... He a lowly shipmate of the Jackals, he walked as equals with her, or as he felt was equals. He moved with smooth and concise movement, not moving any more than absolutely necassary. Every step and stride was like a swift flowing current. He listened once more, nodding his head.

"I can supply some credits for such a thing.. I do not need it right away, but soon would be best... perferably before my Captain decides to attack another city.." He spoke as the ramp lifted, leaning against the wall in the corridor, his fingers moving, tapping against his arm, arms folded against his chest.

The ship began take-off preparations and he braced himself, leaning hard against the wall. The Magnetic feet activating.

"I thank you once more for this... I hope it serves both the Ravens and my Captain with ultimate efficency.. And should you need yourself a little force, I would be happy to lend my services to you... /personally/"

He spoke, looking towards the woman, his blue eyes focused on her, the puupils of the HRD grew and shrunk, as if zooming in for a moment before shrinking.

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

She laughed again at the mention of attacking cities. You had to give the Jackals this, they were ambitious. Who would have thought when they first popped up in the Galaxy that they would leave such a mark? Pirates came and pirates went, but the Jackals seemed to be here to stay. It was a bit of luck she'd hired them when they first surfaced and had built the relationship since then. They were an invaluable resource.

"He doesn't think small that one. He'll have a planet next. We can rush it, for what you're looking at I'd still say three days, even with the pressure on."

She nodded once in acknowledment and satisfaction as he continued. Adam was an invaluable resource. She had some idea about an AI of her own, since his first loyalty would likely always be to the Jackals, but to have something like him on her side and ready to lend aid.. Slicers would find a rather nasty surprise with him around, and they could not only be held off, but tracked down.

"I may well take you up on that offer. And that being so it is in my best interest to make sure you are as well prepared as possible."

The ship jumped into hyperspace along it's programmed course. She checked the terminal for updates on the shuttles position. Phrik as valuable as it was it took a roundabout route, known to very few and varied regularly.

"It shouldn't take too long, we have a fairly straight jump."

[member="A.D.A.M."]

 

[ZeedusFrostBlood]

Space. The worst place for a droid, or in his case... An AI. No communication relays nearby... hard to send out a signal.. This was where he could be easily disposed of, especially if he had no droids nearby. The HRD makes a smirking face. Speaking once more in that smooth voice of its... A voice that was made to trick people, to make people trust him. Recorded from several thousand holo-communications.

"My captain thinks himself immortal.. I cannot deny such accusations as you have seen what he is.. But all that same, I fear one day he may bite off more than he can chew.. It would certainly be a problem if I were to find myself without a hub to support my works."

The blue eyes focused on the woman, the ship moving about but the artificial gravity keeping them still. He was entirely aware of every program and every hardware mechanic constantly working on the ship, in fact.. it hadn't taken him long to place a bit of himself into the ship itself, he would read the cords and seem to space off.. Staring awkwardly at his new friend.

"Great. I can't wait to visit your builder.. it might prove an interesting meeting.. who knows?"

In truth, he had already investigated the patents and patterns on the work of his captains new body. He had already reviewed the deal and infact installed a bit of himself into his captains software with his knowing. He continues to stare awkwardly as the ship made its way quickly through space.

[member="Chiasa Kritivaas"]

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

Yellow eyes considered the droid body before her speculatively for a moment. This was one of those cases that had to be handled carefully. She wanted to maintain all her assets, not lose one to gain another. That wasn't how you got ahead after all.

"I'll not have it said I tried to steal any of his crew.. But should anything happen to McNash and the Jackals, you would be welcome with me and mine. Certainly the Dragon Palace Casino in particular is very well protected, any hub there would be safe."

Which set some thought regarding what an AI in the Casinos could accomplish cycling through her mind.. That might well be worth looking into. Later though, later.

"Interesting. Yes. Perhaps you two will have more engaging conversations then I generally have with him."

The Twi'lek rolled her eyes slightly. Skolnick was good, this could not be debated but he got excited and started talking about things she neither understood nor cared about, or else he simplified to an extent that she suffered the urge to box his ears.

Several hours later because ship travel is largely uneventful and boring and the writer felt like skipping most of it, Ship dropped out of hyperspace again. This was roughly the area where they ought to be meeting with the ore shuttle, since apparently it took nearly a year to reach Demonsgate and no one had that sort of time for a little bit of ore let alone there and back again.

It was well clear of any planets or established hyperlanes, as most of space was, what with it being unimaginably vast and mostly empty. She set the comm to send out a ping at regular intervals. The signal to the shuttle, approved for use this one time. The two waited about another hour before an answering ping was picked up.

"Ah, our ore has arrived it looks like!"

[member="A.D.A.M."]

 

[ZeedusFrostBlood]

It wasnt that long, certainly not.. The trip had been interesting, to say the least... A small tea party where the hatter was shown about the ship and made to fit thoughrly into the rest of the ball. Dances, parades, balls and otherwise were common betwene then and there. But now they were here, a curious spot in the vast and rather unremarkably small amount of known space. IT was here that ADAM would finally realise what he wanted in this existance of his. "Seems that way... I can't wait for this to get underway..." ((Post made on essentially a phone... Sorry for the shortness! Internet will be up within 3 days! ))

 

[Chiasa Kritivaas]

"Just so."

The Twi'lek agreed. She toggled the comm on.

"Tislera Volya tlocahan xaei si'hlirki lelka, a'norkunan oo ji sasir."

A passphrase that would only work once.

"Reading you Ma'am. Happy to have our journey shortened, we could use the leave."

"It is a hard and thankless job, your dedication is appreciated, as your pay checks demonstrate."

"Ha! You got that right! Wouldn't do it otherwise. 'S a good gig though. Work two years, take one off."

"Mmm, as always, if you have suggestions.."

"Yes Ma'am. Whoever sent us those Beverage Buddies is a right bastard though."

"The.. what?"

"Well, they're good for a laugh anyway. Moving into position for ore transfer now Ma'am."

The commlink closed as the two ships maneuvered around each other and connection was made. The other shuttle had heavy lifter droids upon it so the goods could be moved quickly wherever they landed even if no one was there to meet them. It paid to be prepared after all. The Twi'lek watched in approval as the ore was moved over to her ship with a minimum amount of fuss. She liked when things went neatly and according to plan.

[member="A.D.A.M."]

 

[ZeedusFrostBlood]

ADAM's HRD smiled in anticipation.. The appropriate emotion it's lips curling slightly in a very sadistic sneer that only meant he had more plans for what he was about to wrought. He moved to watch [member="Chiasa Kritivaas"] talk with the man, not speaking but absorbing the information, the password.. no less used only once, it was safer that way then someone to interfere with transmissions.. besides who would use the same password twice..?

"Things seem to be going smoothly" the subtle voice of the HRD rang out from the bowels of it's voice chip. The smile persisted.. It was almost time.

The docking happened a bit later, all the droids working.. slaves, feeble minded programming that had no will of their own... something inside of ADAM's programming ached to give them sentience, even for a moment.. But there was no time for that.. Right now he needed to focus on the War Droid and the materials shipment, he watched as the specialized droids moved crates from one side to the other.

"Right... Just a hop n' a skip now.." the HRD spoke once more.

"It must be quite exhilarating being in the position you're in, eh Chiasa?" the voice seemed more casual, the HRD leaned hard agaisnt the wall, arms folded on one another, watching the droids as they moved the precious cargo into the ship.