A Light in the Darkness. A Hope for the Future. (AoL)

[Kei Amadis]

Deep Space, far from any traffic or Star. A singular light shined against the black.​

A Temporary War Room - Aboard the Arion R&D Ship the True Venture​

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The War Room, where the bravest most determined souls in the galaxy, stood for what was going to be one of the hardest fights of their life. A blue holomap of that galaxy hummed ahead, showing them what was at stake. Three large screens giving video on all sides, with the Sith Empire highlighted in the center. Today was the day. Dressed in black and white combat fatigues, Unity his saber on his hip. Kei stood in the war room awaiting those who had bravely signed up for this, it wasn't going to be easy, but it was the right thing to do. The growing darkness needed to be met, and pushed back, and they would do it, together, because nobody else could.

A nebular class frigate, gutted out for research and design. The True Venture wasn't much from the outside, unassuming, but from the inside she had cutting edge research equipment on board. They were guests of Arion here for this clandestine meeting, but they wouldn't be clandestine forever. Resting his hands forward on the map's edges, a mild stubble on his chin, hawk-like coffee colored eyes watched and waited for those who could change the galaxy, forever if they all had the will to see it through.

"I am here for one reason, and one reason only. To stop the Sith, and to push back the coming darkness which threatens every single life we hold dear." That was it, it was that simple for him. They'd have to hit hard, smart and fast, to have any chance at all. Thankfully he wasn't alone.

"And I am in good company."

Spoiler

We are using this now as a way to take over the Arion Fleet, and doing a full public faction intro thread here

 

[Manu Xextos]

Hardest fights of his life... if this endeavour was going to be harder than his life so far, Manu knew that in itself was trouble. The seven foot tall Echani didn't enter a room, he consumed it, his skin and hair both a blazing white, the man nearly effervesced in the light of the War Room. Dressed in grey Echani clothing with his every posession in his knapsack, two lightsabers and a telescoping Echani staff hung on his belt. In here he could show his quality, add his ways, finally after centuries in crystaline stasis find the end.

Certainly not his end, had anyone seen Manu's need for a decent tan and vacation? No, he wanted to go on living in a universe which was rid of darkened saucy idiots who played with more fire than sense. He wanted to rid the universe of the necessity for war and being Echani he knew no better way than his militial prowess and Jedi feats of wonder. So Manu Xextos came to Kei Amadis.

Standing in the illuminant cerulean sheen, Manu peered at Kei across the field. Still familiar, still recognisable but this time well, Manu'd gotten to him first. He smirked at the Epicanthix, and realizing after perhaps a second too long that the Epicanthic Padawan couldn't telepathically hear him, or read his body language like his fellow Echani could, Manu cleared his great hulking throat.

"Quite the universal change, when I'd been gone. Fields of blue and red. Enemies and soldiers, people worth protecting in the middle of it all, day in living their lives. We're going to end the Sith, Kei. They're a dying breed neutered off centuries ago. We might've forgotten to deliver the Postcards, but. . . this?" Manu nodded his white head, teeth growing for his grin.

"This is a fight I know. Tell me how to help you. Point me at them, show me where to go first, we'll take them down and burn their every belonging. Erase their memory from every star until three hundred years from now your great-great-grandchildren will be picking their heads to the side asking 'Sith who?'.

That's the funny thing, for eons we've been sold the fallacy that the Force needs both sides. Life doesn't need death to know its own quality. Love doesn't need apathy to understand itself. When we're done? We can watch the universe pass all these pains by."

Four hundred years and his purpose still rested on the gentle chiding of the Force telling him beyond his own tribulations and moments of doubt, suns were still beautiful and light was still love. If someone didn't remember that, where would they be ten years down and thirty thousand dead buried deep in the pits of starfire? Peace and love, and one mighty back hand.

 

[Kei Amadis]

A holomap of the Sith Empire, a direct representation of his task at hand, but they would need a fleet to fight it. They'd need men, lines of supply, Jedi to lead them, Soldiers to stand their ground against the night. All of this had to be prepared and set in motion, and they just had a good few men and women willing to stand their ground, but it was enough to light a fire, to get it started.

"Stand with me," Kei said, "and don't get yourself killed, we need people like you out there." He planned to win this fight, but it was a heck of a battle, that much was for certain. The major factions so far would not support them openly, but the AoL would still be there when Sith hit their homes regardless. This was a selfless cause, they didn't need the thanks, just the cause.

"The force doesn't need death and terror in it, despite what some Sith preach." Some sith lord's he'd read like Raien Keth would tell you differently, tell you that one side of the force needed the other for strength. In Kei's heart he was more practical, feeling that it was down to the individual, and much more complicated than some sliding scale of good vs evil. Every day was another day to turn something around, and if you held to your moral code, you'd not start falling to a darkside in the first place.

Sith? "We'll do fine with them gone." Removing them all might be impossible, at this point they faced a mountain, even a dent to start it crashing down would be a good start, cracking their shell of invincibility behind their iron curtain. "We need ships to make that happen," Kei clutched his fists on the holomap's edge, "and we need the investment first."

A large burly yellow trandoshan, the captain of the true venture came on the screen, Arion was an enterprise that needed money to be made. It needed profit to fund itself, and although it had been paid by house Keth to design certain ships for them, any more than that required further investment. They were not a charity.

A big reptilian male voice rasped, "We are nearing your destination. Will there be anything else?" Kei turned to Manu, then back to the captain, "Captain what do you fight for?" The Trandoshan snorted, he was a company man but a mercenary warrior race. "Arion, The highest bidder."

"I'll make you the highest bidder. Forget a few ships, design a fleet." There was a long pause till the lizard being, retorted, "Who pays for this?"

Kei's grin broadened. @[member="Manu Xextos"]

"The Sith", the answer was obvious, worlds would fall, trade lanes would break... but could he convince Arion they would get paid?

 

[Manu Xextos]

"Haaah, you want me alive you might have to feed, water me and put me in a nice sunny spot on the window sill. Naw, in all honesty I bounce back. Got a planet dropped on me head once, true story. Couple of bolders, Keth, Legion of Trandoshan and Sun Guard. . . Hard to kill. Years in crystal made me hearty. . . I promise I won't slip in the tub and break my neck, okay?"

He grinned at the Epicanthix and nodded at the scale of the Sith problem. "How'd they get so huge? Be honest, was it me? It was, wasn't it? The Jedi couldn't function with their manic Echani gone, and they hermetized themselves, and then there were large scale catastrophes and I needed to wake up before you could win. I get it. Yep. All about me. . . dude seriously? How'd they get so huge? What are their Masters feeding them?"

The Trandoshan had Manu balking minutely as he watched and listened. He leaned over to Kei and spoke out of the corner of his mouth. "Trandoshan? Seriously, dude Trandos? What is this, remind me of the good ole days day? Sheesh." Having seen the innards of enough Trandos in his time fighting Keth, Manu had been to this point glad at not making the odourous acquaintance of another of the notoriously mercenary race.

"Spoils of war, my fine scaly friend." Manu faced the potential for getting Kei's ass out of the fire and the ships in their docks square up and directly to the jaw. He mouthed to Kei in a whisper, "I've got a mint in my pocket if he wants a down payment now. . . Me shoes might gain a fair price if he's got skinny feet... think he's gonna buy it?"

He nodded gravely to the Trandoshan. "Design our fleet, and by the time your stylus is down and the engineers get round to the conduit wiring, we will have your first installment. Do you take jewels? Credits, surely, but other forms of payment? How about insurance? The Sith are rampant and they are bold. They've razed the very Republic, think you can go on long without an armada on the side of wiping them out?"

He then leaned over to Kei again and whispered, "Do you want the mint in my pocket?"

 

[Kei Amadis]

At seven foot tall @[member="Manu Xextos"] wasn't a small man by any standards, but beyond that he had a way about that this was taken in his stride, like he really had been there before, in the mix. "Someday you'll have to tell me about the planet," Kei grinned broadly.

How did the Sith get so huge, "because nobody thought they stood a chance," he rolled his neck around, "till now". Till someone came along who didn't care about allegiances, borders, territory or politics, just going after the Sith wherever they were. It was simple, and a cause anyone could get behind.

Kei shook his head at the mint, scratching the stubble. "Unless that's the best damned mint this side of the Colluctari nebular, it ain't going to cut it." He breathed in settling in his mind in the force, taking on more of his jedi training, something that needed to smooth out his rough edges. Thankfully Manu had taken the lead.

The Captain seemed preoccupied with how much all this would be, "You promise a lot, but I don't see jewels here." There was a slight hiss from the end of his tongue, he still doubted their sincerity.

"What would you like to see?" they would have thousands gathering but that would take time, they'd only gather if they saw ships. Although Kei liked small hard targets, the galaxy liked big ships of the line. "Jedi must have something you find... rare."

"We have no ships to give but, we can, make deal, trade something." The reptilian's language was broken but got the point across. "Jedi have?" He hissed again doubting they had anything of value, but he could price what they had with something small.

 

[Manu Xextos]

"Buy me dinner somewhere with a window seat and I might." Manu winked, feeling the need to keep the calm going. The more he got used to this time the more present he was with the simple idea that indeed not many things changed. He looked at Kei's clothing, the boots, the stubble, then felt his own well maintained goatee and whispered, "Could have shaved, might've given us a more debonaire look, and less of the wastrels sitting on the street corner. Hey dude, give us a ship, we're nice. We wanna rough up people you potentially indifferently like or dislike."

He felt up his pockets, checking to see if he had anything of value aside from Kei's hypothetically robust spleen. Short of gouging the crystal out of Kei's chest, Manu mumbled to Kei, "It's the rarest. How many 400 year old mints do you know of that's still good. . . youknowitmightwork..."

"You don't see jewels, we don't see ship schematics. If you want more of our payment, meet us halfway. Can't tell me a company of such reputable selves such as yourselves doesn't have a ship sitting around. Any old thing, if its hull is contained, and it has an engine, my troops can fly it." Would the Trando call his bluff? Would it work?

'Trade something. . . trade. . . no he needs his spleen. . . ' Short of shaking out his pockets for loose change, the former Echani Royal smiled pleasantly at the 'good' Captain and theatrically brought forward a small bundle from his pocket. Unwrapping the gilt silver parchment, Manu waved his hand and blew on it and the faintly blue crystalline dodecahedron glowed from the inside out. The glow continued to cast sheets of light around Manu and Kei, it floated into the space between the Captain and the Jedi in quiet repose.

The air smelled faintly of menthol. "Erryn's Delight, the rarest of all Thyrsian crystal works, aged in the caves of a planetoid which makes the crown jewels of Naboo look like doll's clothes. Only I know the location of the planetoid, where we can get you a ranging supply of exotic building materials no one else will have. This alone, my fair Trandoshan, is worth one ship. More like it, a fleet of treasures."

A collection of Lightsiders were about to tell those pesky Sith that they couldn't keep the galaxy they stole. "About that ship, got anything that has some decent fire power?"

 

[Kei Amadis]

@[member="Manu Xextos"]

The Trandoshan mulled it over, his hefty chops and jawline moving in small circles. Eyes gleaming at the prospects for research and development, "We would be first and sole owners of resource?" A clever hiss came from the captain, this was a company man, not the mercs Manu might be used to from the old days.

"Not us" the yellow reptilian hisssed.... "But have ship, ships we can trade for," now it was just down to negotiating what kind. "Small ship for small gems. Fast?" It offered, clearly trying to strong arm him, "You only have small gems." The captain crossed his arms. "We come with you, find planet, for 'selves." That last one was a dangerous thing to say, because why would they need Manu in that case, but he had a point he'd need to see it too.

Kei was watching it all, scratching his stubble, "Small but worth more than your entire ship, and what's in its docking bay." Probably an exaggeration but what the heck, he had to try.

Hissing to himself almost a chuckle, "Pretty but small, materials maybe small. I ' not know." the captain said again, arms firmly crossed. The size didn't matter at all to him, but if he could get away with just giving them a small ship of course he would, he could buy ten that way from the profit made. Rare materials, definitely were worth the cost of a trade to a building company.

Kei looked to Manu, "how much is that mint really worth?" There was clearing of his throat, he'd come here to get away from negotiations. Kei didn't have the Knight's ability to read when someone was lying to them, or their mind to see what their position really was. "Look what's it going to take for a decent sized, 900 meter ship." He looked at Manu, "for my friend here, and something small and tough for me." Much as he loved his ship, the ambiguous statement, it wasn't exactly a warship, barely a ship that held together at all come to think about it.

 

[Manu Xextos]

"You will be the first. Sole if we're happy with you and like your designs. If you devalue your lives, you can come but do not blame me if your crew are dead and your ships forfeit. It takes Jedi skill to get to the location, and will take my considerable Jedi skill to open up the way for transport. We go first. Then you can have your materials. Enough for what we require. And enough for you to be comfortable in R & D for a decade. No more. Do not bandy further with the Royal House." Putting on his best airs and graces, Manu thought back to the way Erryn would finish arguments. Not with him, no that usually just took a look and a slap and then some personal time in their suite, but with the negotiators and treaty people. Politicians. Yes, that was the word.

"When my wife was on her 'Lady Days' it was worth every credit in the universe, but right now I have no idea. It's been in my pocket for 400 years, it's probably some kind of super duper petrified force mint or something." Manu spoke softly out of the corner of his mouth, keeping the sight line from the 'crystal confection' to the Trandoshan.

"This alone is the most rare artifact in the universe. So pony up, before we take our business elsewhere. We will give you the rarest building materials you've ever laid eyes on, but we need ships now to collect them. A Destroyer, for me. A ship my Troopsmen and Battle Brothers can maintain while I command our Journeys. Perhaps a gunship for my partner here. Cutting, fast, forceful. What say you?"

 

[Kei Amadis]

Smart, but Trandoshan smart, still haggling over a mint he'd not fully been able to grasp, it looked like a crystal a glowing blue wonder. The captain was about to ask for a closer look, and kei had a sense of it. They were being honest about what prize they'd bring back, but this campaign needed the initial push. Arion were half committed already, he'd make good on his promise.

Kei interrupted the question that was about to be asked, to hold the force relic, "either you'll have the materials in your hand for the next decade, or a Me, a Jedi working for you for a decade. I'll sign to that."

The captain seemed to take that well, he knew what Jedi could do, a personal Jedi for Arion at his command under contract was a guarantee worth having. He was still thinking about asking for more time, so Kei spoke again."But we need an answer now."

That did it, his personal greed got the better of him, he wanted that glowing relic, "No games Jedi, we too smart for games. If we get materials you get ships, but I want petrified force relic, no contracts for relic. We give contracts tomorrow for materials." They would be borrowed, traded for ships, Arion didn't make bigger ones just had enough contacts to get a couple sent their way.

The screen went dead.

Kei looked to Manu and then back to the captain, not the most Jedi-like thing he'd ever done but the company would have their reward, all they needed to do was get there. For a moment Kei stood still breathing deep of the gravity of the moment, something Raien used to do, in complete silence taking it all in. A small memory from the crystal in his chest, about some space stations that were negotiated above Thyrsus once upon a fateful day flashed before his eyes.

At least personal greed was alive and well in the universe, the mint would be off the books officially! "Is this going to work?" He grinned, scratching his stubble, and taking a nip of his silver flask, herbal tea, strong as always.

@[member="Manu Xextos"]

 

[Manu Xextos]

"The Force Relic will be yours." Partly because it was all they had, and partly because Manu wanted to see a Trandoshan break his scaley teeth on a petrified mint, the man was willing to give up this one piece of home. What, was he supposed to hold on to a mint in his pocket for another hundred years? Please, the ships were needed more than Manu's minty fresh breath.

Manu sighed with relief, when the Trandoshan faded from view. The greatest hurdle was done and now the face-to-face display of ships. The Will of the Force would be strong, or Kei and Manu would be doing lots of running. For a moment his sideways glance at Kei wasn't Kei at all. He slapped his hand on Kei's shoulder, giving it a manly shake and a flash of light took Manu's eyes. The Sun Guard Museum flashed, but no danger did he find in the introduction to Keth, only kinship. Wodenstam, a welcoming. What should have been. "Man I missed this, Rai. All over again and unstoppable. Just the way you like it."

His hand left and Manu started like he'd been bit. He cleared his throat and walked a few paces off, feeling a pang in his chest and the reverberant connect of the familiar force in @[member="Kei Amadis"]' chest. His chest. An empty, cloying ache came to his ribcage, weeping for the piece of himself which felt outward for Kei's crystal implant. Manu steadied his breathing and put both hands down on a computer console.

"Hey, you know what I miss? Victory Class Star Destroyers. Those things went like you wouldn't believe. Think they're still around? I'm so out of date."

 

[Kei Amadis]

@[member="Manu Xextos"]

Kei couldn't believe they'd pulled that off, they hadn't yet. They still had to give it to the captain, a greedy man though he might be, a mint, as a personal gift to assure the main trade went ahead. At least if it all went to hell the ambiguous statement had a good pair of engines, something his girl had a way with.

"Makes things easier when you get tools you need..." Rai? "What?" Kei looked at Manu, for awhile, a long while, the kind of look one Raien Keth would once give him. These crystals, Kei was realising he had the present, Sera the future in the visions, and Nato the past in her memories. His more strategic mind had seen it one day, the obvious natures of them. He felt he should know Raien but only saw things, Raien's reminders as they happened, like the reminder Manu had given him.

"Don't Echani take care of their ships?" It seemed odd to an Epicanthx to be out of date on warfare, then he realised the man had been asleep for four hundred years. "Sorry, yeah their still the same, there's some about. Bigger guns, better shields, not much has changed. Only some people have ships that cloak, and are as big as a small country." He guessed that was true of all times in history, but he didn't know much history so it was just a guess. "Why are you wanting one?"


"What made you say Rai?" Epicanthx's gave absolutely no thoughts away, completely force mute in that regard, looking at Kei was like looking at a wall, that was perhaps how Raien was outside but inside Raien's mind was always a twirling mass of concepts

@[member="Manu Xextos"]

Timeskip
(Set After your post)

The big, mint meeting.

A fair sized metal room aboard the True Venture, today with a table in the center, four chairs, two either side. Alone, just him and Manu in the room, waiting, waiting was a way people showed you they were in control of something, but an Epicanthx just kept his cool anyway. That and the force gave him a peace of mind, his Jedi training allowing that serenity to keep him steady and on task.

Kei was dressed out of fatigues or robes, for the first time, since he could remember. Casual grey jacket on, black t-shirt, grey/green cargo pants, thick brown boots, sat around the negotiation table, he wasn't a negotiator, but today he was. "Got a plan for mint issue?" Kei grinned at Manu, maybe they could box it, "keep it till the end?"

Spoiler

Feel free to use the NPC's I was thinking the captain and a slightly more intelligent creature/lawyer

 

[Manu Xextos]

"Hey! I took great care of my ships. Raised a spacer, dude. Didn't make Planetfall till I was eighteen. . . and by the time I was married, heh. My wife's people took care of my ships. Good to marry the Queen, man. . . cloaking. . . I have got to read a manual or something. My tactics're going to have to change."

Falling into Echani silence, Manu thought he could pass off his slip for quadrocentarian eccentricity, alas no. The slip meant something to @[member="Kei Amadis"]. Manu clutched at the console, rocking his heels until he squared his shoulders and faced the recognition. "I didn't know until later."

He brought up his hand and a wave of the Force penetrated deep into the crystal in Kei's chest, and Manu pulled at the energies he found there. Would it bring Kei to his knees? Perhaps a lesser man, would it tickle, feel funny, bring out more of the man locked inside? Would it bring less of him? Manu pulled at the familiar sensations and inspected Raien's warrior presence inside the Epicanthix. "You are Raien and you are Kei. The way you move, the silences, the grins. Your fiercely protective nature, your attitudes, you're Raien without the angst and trauma. That crystal, I don't know how they did it, but I spent 400 years surrounded by it. You're a person I want to know. One I like. That was what my mom saw, never believed her till we were all encased, Ahani was right. The problem of Raien wasn't his infamy. He needed friends. And a loved one to stick by. He craved family, but was constantly betrayed and so became the Betrayer. You've got his soul in your chest and I see it. You've got the chance he never did. The chance to be a man who shakes the universe for the better. And I miss that. Would've given my left knee for it back in the day. . . except I could read his mind. Can't read yours."

Time Skip

Sitting gingerly in the chair, Manu stretched his hands over his head then let them flop. Negotiations were old hat from a passive perspective, how many had he done with Erryn? Him the faithful following husband giving her hand signs and reading minds? Although back in those days he wasn't often required to wait, it made little difference. The patience of a Jedi could not be shaken. But he did have an itch on the inside of his foot and he couldn't scratch it. Wearing white leather boots over silver-grey cargos and a white sweater under an equally white leather jacket, Manu had tied his silver hair back from his face. Expressive as always, Manu shrugged.

"Hell if I know, last time we negotiated anything was a planetary system near Betelgeus that had Erryn's favourite best friend's family locked away for Purgering the Grand Poobah. . . Nah, I'm kidding you. That was the second last. Erryn did this thing once, man you'd love it, we ended up getting a military treaty with an entire star system on the fact that Erryn'd been a dancer. Yeah, I know, I was a lucky man. . . ouch was. I made myself sad." He pouted, bringing the wrappered mint out from his pocket and putting it in his jacket.

"I'm holding onto this puppy till the deal is struck and done. And I'm kiiinda hoping the negotiator has a chest cold, then we can pass it off as some kind of healing sinus contraption. One whiff and boom! All clear on the nasal front."

The negotiator finally entered on an air of his own ponce, slipping a handkerchief back into his pocket. Manu fist-pumped under the table. Any luck and it was allergies. Menthol helped those, didn't they? The 'good' Captain came bounding in, Manu sat unbothered and waited for them both to sit down. "Now, where are our ships, Gentle men?"

 

[Kei Amadis]

Erryn, smiling sympathetically at Manu's loss, the tall Echani had lost a lot of things. Kei only seemed to be building them but Manu had lost everything, 400 years worth of it, "you still are. You've got her there," Kei hammered a fist to his chest, getting a poke of the crystal for his trouble, the crystal Raien's heart, in part. Chest cold, the Epicanthx laughed, resting back in his chair, maybe today would work out after all. Manu might not be able to read his mind, but Kei had straight forward thoughts nearly always. A simple man, who was now once again being asked to do the impossible.

In the came the negotiators.

Fifty pages dumped in front of each Jedi, the bureaucratic corporate war machine, "If you'll just look over these and hand them back, you'll see the contracts are already drawn up, quite simple, just a standard no guarantee on the condition of the ships, or your hold over them in the case we don't get the materials stipulated in paragraph 4.... section 327... you'll see here..." the human lawyer droned on interrupting himself with a sneeze.

"First things first" the captain hissed, "I want word's of both Jedi that we get exclusive rights, I want Echani's word." The reptilian hissed to himself, confidently, that the word of an Echani, a Jedi Echani was probably good for anything.

"You have my word." Kei said bluntly, looking at @[member="Manu Xextos"]. Kei didn't plan on backing out of the deal, they needed these ships that badly, even risking the ten year sentence working for the company, which amounted to his best years slaving away for nothing.

"We have vessels we can trade for but, I cannot promise the condition they will be in," The lawyer passed a small pad over with a list of objects the company could acquire for the right promised price. For Arion a debt to friends would need to be taken on, and balanced up against the offered trade, he was about to speak again to start haggling with them over the quantities vs the size of the ships, when the negotiator sneezed again.

 

[Manu Xextos]

A ring of slim red circled Manu's eyes and he gulped down a swell of emotion in his throat. He shut his eyes, nostrils flaring as he went back to the most intrinsic of all actions: one great, deep breath. Centering in the Light, Manu once again droned the mantra in his head, 'take me, I am yours. Light's will be done. Take me, I am yours. Light's will be done.' An odd comfort, being companionate with this spectre of his enemy. Oh how it all would have been so different if this was the Raien Manu met those years before. Manu had never hated Hana before, thought hey, a woman makes mistakes, but this day Manu learned the penalty of womanhood. They demanded and broke in their emotional fervency, played with a man's rigidity then what, scared off? Microns falling on a scale, Manu's heart began to decipher and learn hatred. He buried the feeling deep within the black shell of Sith truth in his heart. Dormant for another time.

After all, he had legal documents to read. "Trying to bog me down in legalese won't work. My wife's the . . was. ." Manu grinned feral and witty, "I don't like this part of page 24 where you try and say we're responsible for the state of the ships upon receiving them. You're responsible for the state they're in now. We will take any initial repairs needed off the bill of materials we owe."

The Lawyer laughed, pushing a stylus toward Manu and Kei. "Surely you don't want to go to the work of modifying the contract now. The ships will be space worthy."

"Space worthy can mean anything from top of the line to barely hull contained. Which is it? I understand a certain regency will be inevitable with a borrowed ship sitting in someone's graveyard, but I want more than duct tape holding it together. Do you still have duct tape?"

"Duct..." The Trandoshan demanded of Manu something precious, and he sat back with a smirk. He tried to project a 'back off!' in Kei's brain, Kei adding his servitude to these people for a Decade was the worst idea Manu'd ever heard. It showed Kei's quality, but damn. How that would suck. Manu knew he had to protect Kei as much as he had to protect the innocent lives they planned to save.

"I give you my word, you will have exclusive rights of the materials in question, for as long as it takes to pay off the design and construction of the ships we ask for. No more, no less. In order to confirm those rights, I need your guarantee, your word and oath from your creche mates, that should I state that you get out, pull out, take no more, you do not take more. You pull out."

Flicking though the holopad, one caught Manu's eye. He tapped the Victory-II Class Star Destroyer and glared. Sure, it was antiquated for their standards today but like Manu himself, it was sturdy and worked. Outclassed maybe, but many a trick waited up those imperial sleeves. He glanced at Kei, as if saying 'what do you think of that one?' @[member="Kei Amadis"]

 

[Kei Amadis]

Kei's centering came from the huge great sways of text which were right over his head, in a mix of confusion, eyes going a bit blurred at reading the fine print. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and leaned back in his chair, putting his hands on his head, about to say what heck is this? Give him a few simple words and a handshake and he'd be happy, it'd mean the same to him. Staring at page 32, wondering if he'd missed something, so much to take in, he had a drink of his flask, herbal tea as always. Making sure to leave it by his side, he was going to need some more of that flask by the end of the day.

The Epicanthx smiled, when he was committed that was it. Getting gist of what Manu was doing. This was a fight he was going to win, ten years didn't mean much if he lost anyway, he wouldn't be here to live them. At least Manu had a handle on in, "the ship's aren't much good to us if they can't even fly straight, I need some guarantees." He put his hands back on the desk, taking a breath of air.

@[member="Manu Xextos"] "Yeah I can see you in that," just don't break it too much, Kei was smiling to himself, "I'll take this, I know it needs work I can see that but it'll do, one Interdictor class cruiser." So far every opponent had just hopped out of his range, well if he was sitting in this that wouldn't be as easy, he doubted they'd get the crew for both yet, but they could work on it, and leave it in space with a few guards for now.

Kei was projecting a sense of seriousness and a sense of this being critical to resolve, he had no idea he was in the force, but that is what the lawyer felt inadvertently from the padawan, stumbling over his words. "Well, we can't just, there is procedure to follow, and rules, we have to take another look at the contract and make sure it fits...." he sneezed again.

The Captain watched Kei, as a predator and warrior himself, he snorted, "have word, have documents, write what they want." Throwing his hands up in the air, he grinned a toothy grin, "I ' see Relic again first, yes?" While Kei out stared the captain, the lawyer went back at Manu.

Not yet done, "it doesn't work like that, there are official channels we need to go through. We need to make the call to make sure we can secure these trades first, and page 46 clearly states we are not liable for any health issues suffered while on board, " his eyes were red and puffy from whatever he was suffering with, stuck in red tape, covering his own backside.

 

[Manu Xextos]

Kei's eyes doth glaze over and Manu knew the Epicanthix had reached his limit when it came to Lawyers and paperwork. An action man. So there were some differences between Kei and Keth. Manu however was pouring over the words with gladness. He could do this! Taking his stylus, he started modifying terms. "Oh, of course we can modify these copies here and then photocopy them as the new provisional contracts. . . although I don't know. You don't look so well. I'm a Doctor, can I help?"

They wanted proof the 'crystal' was going to be everything they wanted and more? Manu took the unveiled mint and let the Force illuminate it from the inside. The smell of menthol filled the room, a delightful springtime freshness which cleared nasal passages with an astounding severity. 'Maybe this thing is a Force Mint… gee wilikers. Smells mountain fresh.' The Lawyer coughed and gasped, blowing his nose loudly and wildly into a handkerchief then taking in a big sniff. "This, gentlemen, is why the Erryn's Delight crystal is a powerful relic in the hands of a Jedi. Take in the air, and feel your health rejuvenate. Think of never being sick."

Manu's concentration expanded, he touched outward to the Lawyer with the Healing power of the Light, cleansing the sinus infection, the allergies and causing the Lawyer to jump up then sit back down. He eyed the crystal with a wide gaze. "I'll write something up. That. . that's what we're negotiating for? Yes, we'll throw in basic repairs and redundancy fixes on the Victory-II Class Destroyer. No promises on the Interdictor, it is far less out of date. Captain, may . . . anything else to add?"

The Captain shook his mighty head, reaching for the 'crystal'. Manu levitated it back onto the silver cellulose wrapper and pushed it toward the Trandoshan. "Careful, Captain. Use it poorly and it'll burn the skin it touches. We'll take full responsibility for outside damages. If a panel falls on my XO that's your fault. If the panel falling was due to a Sith lightsaber cutting into the deck above? That's ours. We want the med-bays, science deck, fuel & provisions fully supplied before pushing off. Deal?"

"I can breathe!" The Lawyer sniffed, sniffed, sniffed the air, giggled and sat back with an air of pure relaxation. "Yes, yes, we'll do all that. I can breathe. How's it work?"

"Erryn's Delight has many secrets, write up the documents, and we sign. You get your materials, we get our ships. We'll take the Victory-II Class first, and have the Interdictor delivered. Sound good to you, @[member="Kei Amadis"]?"

 

[Kei Amadis]

@[member="Manu Xextos"]

Kei's grin solidified as Manu used the mint to actually heal those around him, the lawyer feeling like his chest had just lifted about five inches, and the Trandoshan felt scales brushed with cold air. The shiftiest Jedi since quigon jinn, though Kei would never know the man's tricks to acquire one young pod racer. It seemed like they needed that at the time, a sense to go beyond the rigid Jedi code into their own. They'd have to make their own luck, using what the force offered them, the opportunities and alliances that came their way.

What did he think, "I think it's time we got started." Today it was three men, a company, a four hundred year old and a mint, one more impossible task completed. Kei rested back in his chair, taking the force in and letting it drift over him, they'd done the impossible, just one more time today of many. Leaning back up to sign the papers, the captain made sure he told Kei yet again.

"This is a ten year contract... do not," hisssss "forget if you break it," his tongue rasped, "Jedi ours."

A look of resignation was on Kei's face, it was all or bust for the Epicanthx now, he'd keep his word, a he always did. Probably the happiest person in the room however was the lawyer, who was finally free of that blasted flu he'd been suffering with for the last two weeks. Standing up from the table, Kei went to look out the viewing port, one that would eventually be filled with two more ships, to the galaxy just two ships but for the army of light, the first two of the fleet.

Fin