A New Project

[Laira Darkhold]

My recent trips to Mandalore had been very productive. Not only had I been paid very well and signed several very lucrative contracts, the CEO of MandalHypernautics gifted me with a set of Beskar armor and a beautiful pair of Mandalorian Crushgaunts. He had also told me to make them my own, meaning to personalize and customize the set. I had plans to ensure he would not be disappointed, however I would start only with gauntlets, since as of yet my Phrik armor has yet to become obsolete, and is significantly lighter than the Hyperion armor Rygel Larraq had given me. Taking the sets of armor back to Jabiim, I had a plan of attack as it were to customize the gauntlets. I wanted the weapon systems and support systems that my current armor included except for the Phrik blades which would be replaced by the crushgaunts. There just wasn’t enough space for both weapons to be included into the gauntlets and vambraces. I reverted back to real space approaching the stormy world of Jabiim and slowing to a more appropriate port speed as I continued forward towards my home on the world. Soon I would make planet fall and the work could begin.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

I flicked on the comm system and requested permission to land. “This is YT2400807 requesting permission to enter ArmaTech restricted airspace. Authorization code zero zero Aurek niner Zorn.” I said patiently awaiting authorization from Jabiim’s customs authority. They had recently reasserted control over my airspace for fear of me importing massive weapon systems or explosives and staging an assault on the planet from the Razor Coast. I had explained to them that I didn’t have mass quantities of anything on the planet and that the majority of my production took place on other planets, but they weren’t sure I could be trusted. It was a minor inconvience and rarely resulted in any real issues. Only once had they insisted on searching my ship before I would be allowed to land.

The comm hissed and buzzed with static as the customs officer replied, “Authorization pending YT2400807. What is your current haul?” they asked. I guess they would do a pretty nice full scan and judge my reply based on that result.

“Today I am just hauling personal items. Nothing major, just a few minor weapons systems.” I replied to the waiting officer. My ships warnings pinged, alerting me that I was being scanned. So much for trust, but at least I was telling the truth this time. Last time I had lied for the heck of it and been searched.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Once the scan completed the comm system buzzed again, alerting me to a coming reply, “Authorization granted mister Vereen. Please continue on current flight trajectory. Thank you for your cooperation.” The voice said, unapologetically. Security would hopefully lax after a few weeks of kind and cooperative responses. My ship rattled slightly as I descended into the atmosphere. I really needed a new ship, but since I never fought in this old hunk of junk, only ran away, I just couldn’t justify spending millions of credits on a new one. Maybe one day, but not anytime soon. I was still dropping serious money on my personal armor, and had other projects in the works that were far more important. Soon however I would reach the stable area of production and expansion that I desired, where I could produce for the Republic and the Silver Jedi Order enough to properly outfit them and focus on personal projects in the near future. Lightning struck around the ship as I descended into the clouds, passing slowly towards the ground where my home was, on the Razor Coast. There was very little out this far and it suited me to be this isolated. Seconds later the ship touched down on the landing pad and I descended the ramp with my haul of armor and weapons in a repulsor crate.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

With the crate in tow I pulled it into the building I called home. Benji, my partner was waiting for me in the reception area. “What did you go out and get this time?” he asked. The old duros was what drove the company, designing most of the product line and keeping track of the business well enough to keep it up and running properly without having to drag me away from the fighting to deal with it. For the most part he ran the show here, and that was how I liked it. He kept my bank account full and prosperous and he kept the company afloat.

I smirked as I uncovered the armor in the crate, “Just some bonafide Beskar armor, crushgaunts, and weapons I want all put in on it. Do you think you can handle all this?” I asked him, hoping to shock and awe the elderly duros. He had seen beskar before, but he had never had the pleasure of working with it. His red eyes lit up upon seeing the rare and exclusive material up close and first hand for the first time in many, many years. He was obviously going to enjoy a chance to analyze the material and work with the armor for the first time in his life by the way he remained silent and intently studied the armor.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

After several minutes I broke the silence in the room, “Well, what do you think old man?” I asked him, snapping him out of his awe and bringing him back to reality.

He looked up at me and replied, “Get this into my workshop and tell me what it is you want done. Keep in mind I cannot work the metal as I have never gotten the chance to learn how. I might could figure it out, but not without making some serious mistakes in the process. If you want it seriously altered you might want to take it back to your friends who gave it to you.” He said still studying the armor itself. “I can’t believe you got this stuff. I thought it was borderline sacred to them.” He walked behind me as we entered the work shop, grabbing tools, then something seemed to dawn on him, “You did get this from the Mandalorians right? They aren’t going to see you decked out in all this and want to kill you for it are they?” He asked. His concerns were well founded, as it had been known that the Mandalorians did not take kindly to others wearing their armor without their permission.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

I laughed a little bit. His concern was touching in a way, but unnecessary. “Yes. They are the ones who gave it to me. I must have impressed them a little bit, or they got a better deal than I thought they were getting for the work we did for them. Rygel Larraq, the CEO of MandalHypernautics gave the whole set to me, minus the weapons which I bought on the way back. They are simplistic weapons, but they are the ones I like to use for my personal gear.” I told the old duros, who relaxed upon hearing I wasn’t about to be near the top of some Mandalorian Kill list.

He started pulling out pieces of the armor and gauntlets and setting them onto a work bench in the center of the shop, laying them out all neat. The helmet and armor were very nice, even though the ones I had currently fit my purposes, these would eventually come into play somewhere down the line. The powerpack was a nice design, but currently my own armor incorporated a power generator which was superior to the pack in terms of output and the length of time it was operational. All in all it was a beautiful set of armor that might very well be the basis for my next set.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Once he had the whole thing laid out I told him what I wanted. “Really, for now all I want is the gauntlets and vambraces modified, personalized, and made to fit with my current set of armor. They need the weapons I like and the support systems I like to make the functional and compatible with the Adjudicator Armor I already wear. Soon I might want more out of the Beskar set, but for now just the Crushgaunts with weapon systems built around them.” I told the elderly duros. Supposedly crushgaunts could crush bones with relatively little effort, and I was anxious about working with them and having them on my armor as an available weapon system. They could provide me with the power necessary to overpower the enemies I might encounter on the battle field.

Benji thought about it for a moment then replied, “I can probably handle the minor, very minor adjustments to do all that. I’ll take a look at what weapons you brought, but I can assume they are your normal load out just by guessing based on your tastes.” He picked up the crushgaunts and laid them on another desk, the vambraces following them shortly afterwards.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

He was right; the weapon systems were my normal choices. An old faithful the DUR-24 wrist laser, since it’s powerful, compact, and lethal when need be. It makes a great choice as a backup weapon to replace my pistols if they get knocked away or lost. A zx-miniature flame projector for clearing bugs, lots of bugs, or any other light or unarmed unit I might come in contact with. It made short work of thugs out on Dredd a while back. Finally, wrapping up the weapon systems is an MM9 rocket system. The system was an oldie, but a goodie, capable of firing anti-armor, anti-personnel, or stun rockets and is a must on almost any mission I go on. The capability of taking out vehicles is a necessity in my line of work, and I don’t always get the benefit of fighting from within a tank. It also scares the crap out of whoever is unlucky enough to have it pointed at them. Building those around beskar vambraces attached to crushgaunts made a perfect well rounded weapon system for me. “Yeah the standard, wrist laser, wrist rocket, and wrist flamethrower. I took out the Velocity-7. It just doesn’t compete well, and space is an issue.”

 

[Laira Darkhold]

“I think if we can add all this stuff to the beskar vambraces and allow it to properly synchronize with my HUD it will be alright. If not, then we are going to have serious problems with controlling the weapons properly in the field. I need to be able to point and fire. Wasting time with weird controls will get me killed.” I told the elderly duros as we sat around the work bench.

He turned the weapons over in his hands. “Yeah, I know that feeling. I could always add one later if I ever get around to designing useful ammunition for the stuff, but as it stands, you’re right about them not being able to compete with the MM9 for space. I think I can work all that into this armor easily enough. I think the hard part is joining the Crushgaunts to the armorweave glove and keeping its hermetic seal.” The old duros said contemplating the next step in the project.

“Well you let me know what you need, and what you need me to do and I will see it done, old man.” I told him, but he was already working. I would mainly just sit around and do any heavy lifting he needed done while working.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Benji worked pretty steadily on the project, installing all the weapons systems and support systems into the vambraces was easy enough. It was very similar to the work done with the Phrik arm guards, but a little more expansive as he was running the systems wirings through the armor and having to make very small cuts and welds into vambraces. He had struggled with the crushgaunts for a while until he put them down cursing saying he would figure it out later, once he had less on his mind. Even still the little details he was working on were proving difficult with the very heat resistant material.

After several hours work Benji had installed all of the systems I had requested, even concealing the control panel and installing a small holo-projected datapad into it so that it could be easily used and its view area could be expanded and condensed when not in combat. The crushgaunts were another story however, having to be fitted over the armor glove and fitted perfectly, and sealed together by the vambrace and molytex fibers, allowing the suit to maintain its hermetic seal and benefit from all the support systems already installed on the armor.