a recipe for success

[Quintus Varro]

A hyperspace lane wasn't a contract, it wasn't a project it was an undertaking of such proportions it could simply seem impossible. Your standard hyperspace lane was simple enough, all it required was a land of travel that didn't come close enough to a gravity well strong enough to knock you out of hyperspace, and a force to patrol it. These perimeters weren't what was being asked of him though for this project. He was to design a number not one, but several hyperspace lanes, create automated patrols for them, secure the sites for local governmental powers, and so this without seeming a threat to local authority.

His first decision was how to patrol them, anything bigger then fighters would cause some looks from local governments, more so in those areas outside of major faction control. Local warlords and systems simply didn't feel comfortable with anything as big as a corvette so he'd have to work with something smaller. The decision to go droid was an easy on for him, it allowed him to do longer patrols, and in the end it was simply more effectiveness per credit. Instead of creating a new model though he decided to go with an one of the more successful combat models of old, the droid Tri-Fighter. It would need some updating, but with its agility and power it would be a strong deterrent for most pirate types. Add to it, its use of discord missiles would enable it to disable larger ships simply by taking out key systems without high causalities.

First he was going to need a facility though, and given his level of funding that part was just fun. Choosing a planet well out of the way, and as close to impossible to spy on as could be Makeb seemed to fit the bill quite well. Constructing the base on one of the stone pillar cities that lie below the cloud level Eamon had originally wanted to construct the base in the oceans of the water planet itself, but given the costs and the already high security of the lab he knew better then to attempt that task, for now. An enveloping shield was used to protect the base given the scope of the project and it's high value of equipment. While the base wasn't made to mass construct war droids, it was more then capable of designing military grade droids and other weapons of war. The real joy for Eamon though was his holo lab, a large room with several hundred holoprojectors which could allow large projects to be displayed and played with at ratio. Several solid-state hologram projectors also allowed the team to literally touch and feel the projects moving pieces around during the design phase.

While worked continued throughout the rest of the base it was this room in which the Tri-Fighter MK II was designed and redesigned. Removing the droid pilot an reinforced droid brain was put in the cockpit the ship itself now the droid agent. Attaching armored photoreceptors to all sides of the fighter along with condensed radiation sensors meant the fighter would be able to 'see' a ship even if it was hiding inside the light of a nearby star. Explosions and even most force user tricks would be rendered pointless as they had no effect on the radiation sensors. The trick had worked wonders for the Droideka models, and in space they would be just as useful.

The next choice had lead to quite the argument amongst the team, the exchange of ion cannons for the laser cannons. Coming to a compromise the center cannon was exchanged for an ion cannon, but the others remained cannons, and with the new energy output of a modern power source they packed a bigger punch. The engines were refitted with modern models, but the triple engine design left to allow the Tri-fighter to keep it's agility in combat. Able to pull maneuvers that would put an organic pilot unconscious the Tri-fighter could nearly twist in space by shutting off one engine and diverting to it's opposite.

The modern droid brain were still limited in functionality though, while it could do all the math in flight and map it all out well enough it had no instinct no understanding of how far an organic pilot was willing to go. To counter that the original model had been slaved into a control ship allowing all the fighters to work in unison with one another, but for a patrolling fighter this was out of the question. Instead a highly encrypted network was built between each wing of fighters, its high level of security made it so that only fighters inside of it's own 'wing' could access the program, but when inside they could work in perfect unison. With the advanced connections the droid brains would work to force a target inside of another fighter's firing zone. While each ship by itself could be beaten out by a seasoned pilot with a comparable ship the droid brains grew smarter due to greater combined processing power as more ships were added to a wing.

Adding on the military grade encrypted communication unit that would allow it to communicate with the hyperspace beacons and RI bases the new Tri-fighters turned out quite well in his opinion. It was an example of a rather excellent design simply updated with modern improvements. Licensing wasn't a problem with this model as no one had used this particular model in hundreds of years, besides his lab was outside of any factions political control, who was going to tell him no?

 

[Quintus Varro]

If trade and commerce was the lifeblood of the galaxy, then these were the arteries that made it possible, but he was being asked to take the concept to the next level. Combat units to patrol it, trade stations to to serve as refuel and supply points, comm beacons to monitor the lanes, and creating a holonetwork for encrypted communications safe from any prying eyes. With the added extra that a new holonetwork could possibly be contracted out to local governments if they could market the idea well enough. Bactoid held quite a few contracts for holonetwork maintence, but they'd never had competition before either.

The backbone of the encrypted network would be the beacons, by far the most isolated and one of the more important parts of the secure system they needed to be reliable and durable. Standing insde the 'design room' as it had been dubbed Eamon rolled over in his mind several possibilities. “We need something with a smaller silhouette, circular and rectangular designs are out, this things needs to be more a line then a block.”

His small team muttered in ascent, the three senior engineers worked with Eamon in the design room, an extremely diverse team at that. Chosen to a create a very broad range of views and designs each was highly recommended with honors and diplomas that far outstripped Eamon's own accolades, and for the greater part they seemed to not mind. They'd been given the latest toys and good money to play with them, with very little bureaucratic oversight to bother them, in a lot of ways it was a dream job to them.

The senior of the three, a Mon Calamari, one Dr. Tills, simply hummed as his eyes moved seemingly at random from one another. A former engineer for Mon Cal many Mon Calamari designers considered him a bit too geometric for their tastes, to the rest of the galaxy his designs appeared as organic as anything Mon Cal had ever put out. Eamon had grabbed him for two reasons, one he could provide a sense of comfort for civilian models with his organic touch, and two he was extremely experienced in designing warships.

The second was a Dr. Isen, the polar oppisite of Tills if there ever was one. The Givin were about as pure a mathematical race as he'd ever met. A former member of their species ruling council meant he'd already done math Eamon would never understand till the day he died, and called it child's play. He was slightly more indulgent with the group then most Givin would have been due to his diplomatic experience while on the council. He'd come to the understanding that the people of the galaxy weren't rude they were simply, limited, as he put it. While his current comrades he considered a bit more on his level in truth he surpassed them all in pure mathematical abilities. His method of thinning have him unique insight into the thought process of a droid brain. Given this he'd taken to the coding of droids naturally from the most arbitrary to the combined targeting system of the new Tri-fighters he simply saw the complex codes and while the rest of them still had headaches trying to decipher it he was confused at their lack of understanding.

The last member of their team was the odd one out, in fact she would have been the od one out in almost any team. A female Colicoid, and simply brilliant droid designer she had access to information the rest never could touch on. The Colicoids lacked a written language as such it became extremely difficult to even try to steal their technology, match it to the fact that they ate anyone who came to visit their advanced droid technologies were simply beyond the reach of most companies. How RI had convinced this one to quit the Creation Nest and move over to RI was anyone's guess, though rumor had it she was getting her weight in slaves a week. Either way her paycheck was on quite the investment, but without her the Tri-fighter would have taken months longer even for the simple upgrades they'd done. While the staff was simply terrified of her, the three others working in the design room had grown used to her slowly, but surely.

It was the Colicoid who spoke up first as her buzzing accent colored her words. “So, we create a linear design, and leave it with only minor maneuverability to save space. Particle shielding only to save generator room, if someones going to shoot at it, its going down either way. Dual transponders on each end in case of equipment failure we won't lose the signal, and if we do we know the entire unit is down.”

With a nod the Givin pulled at a small in the center of the room that expanded as he touched it. Creating a very basic slim rectangle the heavily robed Givin nodded to himself. Using the solid-state emitters he manipulated the images, his bone like fingers adding parts like pieces to a puzzle inside the design. The others watched in silence as the Givin did the math on the power consumption and other needs in his head throwing in just enough to keep everything running at optimum efficiency but no waste. With that done the Giving swirled away his voice too low to hear as he spoke to himself working out coding in his mind.

As he stepped away from the solid-state lines the Tills stepped in his humming never stopping as he spoke in a deep voice. “Slim yes, but we can bring it in on the ends, if we move these two modules.” Moving a few of the pieces into other spaces he slowly brought the top and bottom into a curve shape, pinching them in as they bowed out. Having a bit of a problem with a central piece that simply wouldn't curve with the rest due to structural needs the Mon Calamari simply hummed a bit more as he moved his hand to his chin thinking.

Absolving him of the problem Eamon simply removed a top piece of paneling. “The shield emitter can be moved here, it need access to the exterior anyway.” Pulling the shield emitter in placement of an interior power unit he looked over at the Mon Calmari, who gave it a positive hum. Mon Cal ships were things of beauty, and incredible efficiency. However, they were difficult to replicate and not cost effective, and this project required it be neither of those things.

One of the key parts to the comm beacon was the ability to read the ships passing by, rather then give captains access to the encrypted network they could attach an RI communication emission to their communications system. A small datapad sized module it simply kept a track of the ships location in comparison to their charted course. If the ship left its charted course it, or stopped early it simply sent out a transmission to the nearest beacons. The beacons would then send out messages to the nearest resupply station, or patrolling droid wings to check up on the ship. The patrol would stop by to check to see if the ship needed aid, or had simply made an unscheduled stop. Once a ship completed its destination the transmitter shut itself off until another hyperspace lane of RI's was reached, and then via the navigation computer it could be re-engaged. The unit itself was a completely voluntary layer of protection and safety for those using the hyperspace lanes, and no information was stored beyond a single trip.

The final aspect of the beacon would be to act as a hyperspace warning beacon and track extremely large movements of ships. If a beacon tracked a movement of ships larger then whatever the local government considered normal it merely passed on the information to the local government, it was a simple warning feature the local government could opt into. In theory it was all designed, but field testing was an entirely different kind of fun.

 

[Quintus Varro]

The design of the comm beacon was complete and the first prototype already being constructed in another section of the lab. If successful they would then be mass produced on Teth the center for manufacturing for RI, though a branch out would be needed if a project of this scale was completed undoubtedly. The Givin was off working with the encryption team creating a custom language and encryption for the network itself, something the others couldn't claim anywhere near his expertise in.

Instead of getting in the way of that project the moved on to the next piece of the project, the space station for the holonetwork itself. While it was more then possible to create them on as independent satellites there was already a need for a system to refuel and rearm the Tri-Fighters so there was no point in not combining these. The first question was answered by RI itself, the trade station were to be usable to those traveling along the hyperspace lane as a refuel and resupply station, as well the possibility of trade, this brought in dozens of needs and questions though.

In fact they'd come up with literally pages of questions that needed answering, and after some research and interviews with various companies they come up with even more. The most important one was how to keep the companies private sections, such as the rearming stations, and Tri-fighter docks secure from the trade hub. The only answer they came up with in the end was to completely separate the two with a bulkhead, make it literally impossible to access the military grade gear from the interior, and keep the military dock a sealed off no fly zone. Keep the computers running the holonetwork, and company encrypted network within the sealed off section, and then keep it in a near vacuum state.

The trade hub itself would have to have policing droids designed for it, but the bulk would have to be sentient workers. Dock controllers, service workers, evidently the company had obtained control of the McYoda's brand and one would be included within ever station. Trade stations were tricky things, you either went all out and made it a friendly orderly place, or let it run wild and next thing you know black markets were forming in your bays. Given that RI was already producing mostly high end luxury items such as it's yacht there was really no choice about it, they were all in due to the name, and it gave the entire team a raging headache.

”We use full combat model droids to keep the base secure, fear will create order!” Shot out the Colicoid's opinion again, superior force and fear were her baselines of control. Of course it didn't hurt that she was dying to work on their new Droideka updates.

Fortunately in Eamon's mind the Mon Calamari was completely with him on that idea. ”Absolutely not, the local governments will not stand for us having such a strong arm in their space. We aren't contracting out to their military forces, but to increase trade and safety.” His tone still even despite this being the third time around going at this discussion, his eyes' positions were showing a bit of his irritation though. “We can either hire local law enforcement to keep a strong connection, or we need to build a new unit not based on killing anything it sees.”

With a nod Eamon agreed before pointing out one other thing, “Add to it, it leaves the option of trying to win contracts with governments to buy our policing units. We make completely nonlethal units that are extremely capable of capturing a suspect without injury. This isn't a killing machine but a patrol unit you don't have to worry about going wild. We can still update the Droideka model for tactical actions if needed, but this gives it a softer face for the public.”

With a shake of its bug like body, Kriff gave in her position, pleased at least to get the promise of playing with Droidekas. Well she was either happy or hungry, it was hard to tell with her kind. It also left them double the work, ”Now, we need maintenance droids, and something preferably smaller so we can limit access to larger bodies should anyone ever try to infiltrate the more secure sections.”

A scattered clicking of her native language brought attention back to Kriff as she remembered to move back into basic. “We already have them, the sabotage droids, or buzz droids as you're kind enjoys calling them were all originally maintenance droids. We simply change the production on some of them to return them to their original purpose. Small, durable and efficient the repair droids can work well in both gravity and the vacuum of space. We create a small network of tunnels that nothing but a hatching could crawl though.” There buzz in her voice was more noticeable as her excited pride showed through, again the Coliciod was worth its weight in beskar... or in her case quite possibly slave flesh.

The entire idea put another in Eamon's head though as he thought over the implications. ”Fantastic, but why not take this a step farther. The discord missiles were already created for the purpose of housing the buzz droid, why don't we include one Tri-fighter armed with repair droids rather then the buzz droid in every wing? We simply change the logic in it's flight path to ensure a good deployment without hitting the target with debris. Repair droids get on and can repair a damaged merchant's ship on the spot without having to haul it in. Repair droids are simply charged to their account and they can keep moving, or return the droids for a refund and only be charged a service fee.”

Humming happily Dr. Tills eyes showed his excitement, his webbed fingers rubbing at his chin. “Good, good we can cut costs for both parties without the need to send a ship to tow a vessel in. Also good for those emergency cases, and will help keep our fighters up in a pinch.” Reaching around he patted the Colicoid on the shoulder in acknowledgment of her idea, and Eamon was almost certain he saw her mouth salivate as she looked at his hand. Brilliantly useful, but as dangerous as an open flame.

Looking over the single lines of solid-state holo projections Eamon grunted as he started pulling them out to create a humanoid droid. Something that looked familiar and that could handle most situations without ever needing to do more then knock a suspect out via stun. Adding sirens and lights for effect on the upper body Eamon stepped away for a moment looking it over. “We arm it with a Stokhli spray stick, a stun baton, and a blaster pistol for emergencies. A recording photoreceptor as well as a condensed radiation sensor to evade any lighting issues. Full audio recording as well, the entire droid can pretty much be a piece of evidence in court if needed. We tie the blaster pistols power directly into the unit, make it a wrist firing weapon like the B2s, that way their weapons can't simply be stripped and used against them or others. Go with plastoid armor on the exterior to keep them durable and easily produced. I'm not sure where I stand on each unit having its own shielding though, hikes the price up a bit much on production.”

The clicking sound the Colicoid gave off Eamon was assuming was agreement from past discussions, and the nod from the Mon Calamari sealed them in agreement for the unit. With a grunt he returned his eyes back to the actual trade station, which they currently still had just about nothing done on. “Anyone else for a coffee?”

 

[Sakerei Karooni]

[ignore]

 

[Chizi Karooni]

This was punishment.

Sakerei knew it, and Kikai knew it, but Chizi was part of the team of Jawas to help set up the hyperspace lane with this "Eamon" and the rest of the team. They had been instructed very precisely, and while most of their Jawaese worked out to camoflaguing any starting dfficulties, they swore to strict confidence and keeping the eyes on the prize. Chizi thought back on her new AN1 droids and sighed pensively, but her team of five Jawa stepped in shortly a few minutes after a coffee break was mentioned. With that they introduced themselves as part of the company (and offered the proper access) the Jawas pulled out a holodisc and set it on the table to expand off the images. Chizi was definitely knew to this new form of solid-state holograms, but she could certainly see their usefulness as the images converted!

She pulled down her hood, revealing the faceplate over her head and the tuft of bright red hair on top, her receptors blinking a few times as they adjusted with the raise and dim of their lighting. "I was looking through the plans, and I was wondering if you had any design details towards the fueling operations themselves-whether it be using service droids or people, hose or launched pods, and if it would be in lanes or brought to the ships as they stopped at the stations and after purchase fueled and invoiced." Her voice was piping and close to her sounded muffled, the voice they were hearing looking to be a form of translator built into the breathing apparatus. "For our own thoughts, with the variety of vehicle shapes and sizes we can have the standard hosing for the starfighters, then for corvettes and frigates we can have fueling ships-the Corellian HT2200 but not a determined thing of course!" She looked to Eamon with a polite looking nod. "Did you see any problems so far?"

[member='Eamon Tragon']