A Home Fit For An Ape

[Miss Blonde]

New friends were nice. Well maybe not friends but associates. Associates and contacts were nice, especially on a planet like Honoghr. From its desolate rocky mountains and general wasteland like appearance, the place was practically a badland where nothing grew and natural life generally died out due to harsh conditions. Why anyone would choose to root here was beyond Miss Blonde, but she supposed it had its benefits. You know, from a depressing artistic standpoint. Then again the people she was acquiring the land for weren't really the most artistic of people, if you could classify giant warlike monsters as people that is.

Regardless business was business as usual and there was plenty of work to be done. [member="Malok"] a chieftain or general or whatever the hell he chose to call himself had reached out to the general populace to help his organization find a place to set up shop. But you never could go with the public, all of that stuff was way too official, from builders and contractors there were too many loose lips that of course sunk ships. You needed discretion when creating a new location for your base of operations, and baby Blonde was all about discretion.

"It's over here." The robotic laced voice of Blonde's gas mask spoke.

Standing over a holotable aboard a decent sized corvette, Miss Blonde stood next to a group of her organizations engineers who were of course equally as masked as she was. If Malok wanted to be here for the meeting then he was more than welcome. Blonde was simply explaining the situation.

"She's old but she'll due when you guys spruce her up. It's an gulag plague military disease control base. A lot of them were set up back in the day on fringe worlds to keep select personnel safe and healthy. This one seems to be in good shape. All we need to do is go down, fix up a few things and turn it over to Ape-X and whatever it is they do. I want new appliances of course but keep the existing structures and make sure they are sturdy. These things were built to last hundreds of years so expect they are in working order." Blonde was ready to go on this. She had done her research and just needed to get the ball rolling.

Hopefully the ape would approve.

 

[Darth Metus]

Since their gathering under the mercenary banner, the warriors of ApeX lacked a suitable place to Grow. At first, they lived abroad, moving about within any junker ship they could afford. Then, as funds began to pool, the corporation finally ironed out a trio of static locations. The first was a corner spot on Nar Shaddaa - excellent for picking up underworld contracts, but terrible for housing a full military force. Next was their headquarters within ancient Sith Space...but it just so happened to be built upon a volcanic planet. While it was an excellent spot to lay one's head, growth needed a world with some semblance of natives...some semblance of approachability.

This was where Honoghr came in.

At face value, the entire planet was a poisoned hovel. Ancient toxins still plagued the soil - although the natives had managed to carve out for themselves two aptly named "Clean Lands." It was within one of these areas, at the fringes of a hospitable city, that ApeX decided to take up the training and arming of its personnel. However, with each passing month, the organization began to experience growing pains. Their successful missions, budding reputation, and other factors caused their shack to truly feel tiny.

As such, it was time to relocate.

Now, this wasn't as simple as picking up and choosing a new hole to shoot in. No, ApeX needed a facility that could handle their growing population. So, Commander Malok reached out to an individual intimately familiar with the Hutt side of the Galaxy for aide: [member="Miss Blonde"]. The masked individual had an infamy of her own, and with said reputation came assets. From initial communications came a deal of sorts: Miss Blonde and her collaborators would aide ApeX in securing a new place to rest their heads. In return, ApeX would go on retainer.

A match made in Nal Hutta, no?

"This, I like." thundered the voice of Malok as he gazed upon the holotable. "My men and I will see about getting the defenses back online." To this he then added. "Any intel on what - or who - might be skulking in there?"

[member="Miss Blonde"]

 

[Miss Blonde]

Miss Blonde's reputation was much bigger than she really was, and of course she meant that in physical stature and not infamy. [member="Malok"] was taller than her, much much taller than her. Standing at about five feet even the large Ma'alkerrite towered over her and the holotable that was adjusted so she could use it comfortably. But the big guy didn't seem to mind, he was just enjoying the location apparently. It was almost pure luck that Blonde stumbled upon this location, she had had plans for it for a while but that all got pushed to the side when the main business on Nar Shaddaa came a calling. So the next best option was to pass it along to ApeX and earn their respect and business. You always needed professionals like them around after all.

"Glad you like it. It's well hidden, fortified to withstand assault, and of courts built to last. My teams of engineers and mechanics should get the filtration system and everything else either replaced or repaired. Looting probably would of stripped down most items of value. But if you and your people want to establish defenses you're more than welcome to pull some of my men for assistance." Blonde would then turn off the holotable and dismiss her team.

Giving a quick turn about she looked up at the towering man and gave him a affirmative nod.

"My end will of course tie up any loose ends we find. But don't worry about that. Let's just be off." Time to get to work.

The ship banked down and would soon land as close as it could to the rocky terrain. With her gas mask strapped firmly to her face the ramp descended and the teams of men and herself stepped onto the cursed earth in front of the old base. It's lights were off and there was an eerie coldness about it. But it was to be expected after years and years of abandonment, she only hoped there weren't killer droids inside like the last time she went into a spooky old building. That wasn't fun at all.

"Go ham." She said to Malok while descending the ramp.

 

[Darth Metus]

The news regarding the durability of the facility was welcome to the Behemoth's ears. In fact, the elated expression plastered upon his face seemed to grow with each passing second. Malok was justifiably excited. In fact, he and the men standing about the room were all itching to get down to the planet's surface. This was progress. This was a large step forward for ApeX.

"Alright, I'll take you up on that." he began, addressing the offer of pulling some of her men. Being blunt about it, massive fingers were not the best suited for tinkering with electronics. Malok thrust his chin forward, acknowledging a trio of the engineering crew. "You three, with us."

A few moments later, the vessel touched down. Malok and company quickly disembarked before making their way towards the facility. It was...quite thoroughly abandoned. "After this is done, per our agreement, you'll have to bring me up to speed on your imminent goals. My men will be ready to go whenever you call."

With that said, the swing of Malok's powerhammer brought the frontmost door down. They could, and would, replace it...but first came a perimeter sweep.

[member="Miss Blonde"]

 

[Miss Blonde]

"And I guess we'll be adding 'New front door' to the list of expenses." Blonde commented as she walked through the now gaping doorway.

With her hands stuffed into the pockets of her coat, the crime lord walked along with about six combat engineer Syndicate employees by her side. Their weapons would illuminate the way with tactical flashlights flashlights as Miss Blonde stepped over the now destroyed steel door. Honestly that was a perfectly good door, sometimes she really hated the machismo aspect of men. They were all the same no matter what species they were, always needing to prove their own strength.

"I appreciate your company's services and I assure you that you will all be utilized in the very near future. My organization is planning an insurgency operation and I'll be sure to fax you all the details within the near future." Blonde said as she adjusted her mask slightly to reach and press a particular button.

The mask's sensors would go to work and start scanning as they walked deeper into the facility. Initial scans came back quickly reading that there were a few signs of life within the basement of the base. Nothing huge or humanoid, probably just a few bats or other annoying creatures. Pests that would be dealt with.

"Bravo get the power back on." Blonde said over her comms.

"On it, ma'am. We'll have restored power in ten mikes." The head engineer of the team responded back.

They would be hard at work in the power outlet room towards the back of the building where they were inserted. The job was simple, put a new generator then find the control room to run a system diagnostic to see what needed replacing. Hopefully since this area was in the badlands there wasn't going to be a lot of looting. Even some salvagers had common sense.

"If possible have your men continue the perimeter search. You and I can hit the control room, I'm an engineer myself and I can let you know what needs to be handled so we can best direct our forces." Blonde was sure to have her words play more as a request than an order. The man didn't work for her and she would respect that he was an equal from a separate organization.

Couldn't boss everyone around all the time.

[member="Malok"]

 

[Darth Metus]

"Hmm. A solid plan." came Malok's response.

Shouldering his power hammer, the Behemoth thrust his fingertips out, addressing his men. "Fan out, I want a thorough sweep. Any issues, get on the horn and alert me." To this order was given a collective grunt of affirmation, quickly followed by the cacophany of heavy feet upon metal floors. With his men situated, Malok stepped lively behind [member="Miss Blonde"], keeping pace with her as they moved deeper within the abandoned facility.

"Incursions are one of our specialties, I look forward to seeing your plans come to fruition." he began. "And...what's a fax?"

As the question left his lips, the pair rounded a corner and began to move ever closer to the control room.

 

[Miss Blonde]

Blonde resisted the urge to face palm as she continued to walk down the halls of the dark facility. Luckily her mask would cover up her eyes and facial features at the slight embarrassment she felt towards the large tower of a man. She wouldn't try to explain the phrase she used and it was best to just move forward and not get bogged down in out of date lingo. They had a job to do after all and she needed to get her men coordinated on the whole restoration process.

"Doesn't matter. But what does is making sure we get this place up and running. I'll give you a number to a few freelancing underworld mechanics if you need contracted people to maintain the facility. I'm aware of your species predisposition to fitting in enclosed electrical spaces. Or I can loan a few of my boys to you." Blonde kept on point as they rounded a corner.

With her team of engineers following her now off to go locate the bases filtration system, Blonde would have her chief architect check in with her about their teams initial scan of structural integrity when it came to the facility and the surrounding buildings. There were a lot of different things that went into getting the place up and running. Once everything was figured out and itemized it'd only take about a week to have the place at a hundred percent.

"Talk to me, Blue." She said into the comms.

"Everything looks solid. So far we've only detected a sink hole out back where the old sewage system used to be. The pipes will need to be replaced and the refreshers remodeled, but for the most part as far as structural integrity goes it just needs a few patch jobs and a fresh coat of paint to shine." Both her and [member="Malok"] would be able to hear the report.

Good. Very good. And to make things better they reached the control room which was behind a pretty thick blast door. Now before Malok could go swinging, which Blonde was confident he'd do. She raised up her hand to motion for him to not.

"Power will be on in a few minutes. In the meantime could you explain to me the extent of your organizations effectiveness and track record? I do like to hire the best after all." Blonde was of course as serious as ever when it came to this.

 

[Darth Metus]

The masked woman put it bluntly, but at the same time her tone and manner of speaking were professional as sin. One of his species' greatest strengths were their size. However, when it came to sensitive matters - such as tiny electrical wires - their stature was much more of a curse than a blessing. As such, Malok offered a nod to [member="Miss Blonde"] in regards to her offer. "I'll have to take you up on that. If you wouldn't mind, I'll gladly take a few of your men until such time as we can contract out a consistent staff. I'd much rather not have a lapse in coverage, you know?"

Then came the report regarding structural integrity. The communication was loud enough for Malok to hear...and all of it was promising news. A sinkhole wasn't the end of the world - and to be honest, he was surprised that there weren't more pressing issues to attend to.

"That is excellent news!" he began, before taking the opportunity to check in with his own men. "How goes the sweep?"

"Interior is clear, sir."
"All's clear outside."
"Nothing alive on the roof, however, I've found the artillery pieces. They're in bad shape sir."

The Behemoth nodded along with these reports before coming to a halt before the current obstacle. He was about to ready his hammer once more, but his newfound comrade halted him. She then inquired about the track record of ApeX as a whole, wanting to be certain that she was paying for an excellent service.

"Alright. In the meantime, could you send some attention to the artillery pieces? I'd like our defenses up and running as a priority." He then rolled his shoulders and began to recount a number of ApeX's successful operations. From hunting down a fugitive cell in the Core to aiding in a rather spontaneous series of incursions. ApeX had a common theme in that their exploits were...explosive. Vicious, even. When it was all said and done, Miss Blonde would be fully aware of their rather positive track record...and the few blemishes on their report. After all, there was honor among thieves, no?

 

[Miss Blonde]

Accords were reached and Miss Blonde would be sure to leave a detachment of engineers behind. They wouldn't particularly enjoy it, but they would be paid well for their services. Everyone had a price and she would shell out enough money to be able to keep them on a poisonous planet like this one. But when it came to the artillery pieces it was clear that whatever was up there would probably be beyond repair, they would need to replaced all together. Which she could of course accommodate for the apes. If it came down to hardware the woman could handle it.

"We'll replace them. The artillery up there is probably old dark age tech that couldn't fire a t shirt if it wanted to. I'll throw the new ones in free of charge." Blonde would then hop on the comms to relay a message to her teams.

"Yeah just tear them out. We'll throw in a few MACs or whatever their preferred brand is." Blonde relayed the message would get confirmation.

"On it. I'll bring in the fly boys to rip them out." The response was quick and Blonde would lean against the wall of hallway.

Thankfully it wouldn't be for long. The lights flickered on and the facility started to light up in a patchwork display of fluorescent lighting. Some areas were still dark but they knew what needed replacing. The blast door would pull to the side and the two would be able to enter the control room. And from the looks of it the room was pretty clean, while not immaculate or anything it was certainly cleaner than the rest of the facility due to being separated from scavengers.

"There we go." Blonde said as she sat down at the master terminal.

She cracked her fingers and then got to work running a diagnostic.

"Should only take a few minutes."
[member="Malok"]

 

[Darth Metus]

New artillery was good.

The lights turning on was even better.

With but a hiss, the blast doors before them gave way, revealing to them a room initially lit by emergency power. Crimson glares illuminated the panels and consoles, only to be systematically replaced by a series of flourescence. From above, each light was heralded by a pronounced shud before producing a steady hum about the room. This was the very heart of the facility and [member="Miss Blonde"] wasted no time stepping before the master terminal.

Malok grunted in response to her estimate before seizing the present opportunity. It was time to see what all the control room - and by extension the facility - had to offer. He stepped inquisitively about the room, poking his face into close proximity of various terminals and dust-covered switches. "Hmm..." he muttered, before wiping free one particularly dusty label. Primary Shield Generator was emblazoned in gray-tinged letters. Beneath this label was a single light...but it was inactive.

Now, Malok knew it was unwise to touch anything given his size, but sure he could handle flipping a switch, right? So, he did.

And somewhere in the facility, the sound of a backfire ripped through the halls.

"Commander! Something...god, there's so much smoke..."

Ooops.

"Don't suppose you can tack on a new shield generator, can you?"

[member="Miss Blonde"]

 

[Miss Blonde]

Blonde was hard at work going over diagnostic reports. Most appliances needed to be replaced and the barracks would need to be retrofitted to be able to store bunks big enough for [member="Malok"] and his crew. But for the most part everything wasn't terribly bad. The water and sewage system needed to be replaced or given extensive repair, the electrical grid was running at forty percent efficiency, she'd need to have that replaced or fixed. But with the new generator it would allow it to kick up in efficiency once it was taken care of. The weapons on the defense grid had of course all been stripped by salvagers and by the looks of it there wasn't a very impressive one to begin with so an overhaul on that would certainly do this place some good. Now last was the shield generator, and it wasn't good. That thing was terminal with a capital T and needed to be replaced at once.

So Blonde of course looked over to see the gorilla of a man press the one button he shouldn't.

"NO WAIT DON'T PUSH THA-" But she was too late.

[member="Malok"] pushed the button and it pretty much fried the shield generator. With the reports of smoke coming in she gave a tired sigh and of course face palmed her mask. It was like watching one of her kids, honestly. But she kept any rude comments to herself and simply spoke to the man in her calm and professional voice.

"Of course. We brought one with us so we'll have it operating by the end of the day." Blonde would then look back to the terminal.

Plugging in a data recorder the woman copied the itemized list of everything that needed to be repaired or replaced in the facility. It was pretty much set. Their engineers would spend the next week getting everything up and running. The Apes would have their new base and Blonde would of course have the services of her new comrades.

"Everything should be finished in about a week. I hope you enjoy and I've sent over the diagnostic report to you as well as the list." Business was business.