A Swift blow to the Phrik

[Kana Truden]

Rendili
Kana found herself staring through the window as she waited for her meeting with [member="Camellia Swift"] to begin. She had almost lost track of why she had come here. She fidgeted with the cuffs of her jumpsuit as she tried to remember. It wasn’t as easy as she would have wanted but she could remember it had something to do with safety… Armor perhaps?

Yes, of course! Armor was the thing! She was here to discuss how to obtain more of that metal Noriko had talked about, phrik was it? While her padawan had certainly made a promise of hardware during their adventure in that cave adventure of theirs she still wanted to explore other options. She was after all not looking for a complete set of armor as much as a set of protective plating to be worn underneath whatever robe or jumpsuit she was wearing.

Would Camellia be able to provide both phrik and the knowledge on how to form it? Kana certainly didn’t know how. Then again, this wasn’t exactly for just Kana’s benefit either. From what she had heard Swift’s company would benefit from this thing they were about to do as well.

However she had no idea what it could be. For now she waited for the woman to receive her.

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Kana Truden"]

And receive her Camellia would.

It was actually rather convenient that Kana Truden was making her arrival on Rendili when she was. Especially for the reason that the Jedi was apparently making the trip for. An armor made from phrik to be specific. The durable and stiff ore was one of the few materials in the galaxy that could withstand blows from the legendary lightsabers, along with Cortosis and Beska, and there just so happened to be a deposit of phrik on Rendili. Mining was highly regulated, it was a finite and valuable resource after all, not to mention expensive. All the same though, Rendili Stardrive had put in funding for the collection of an amount of Phrik in order to create a quality combat armor for the military unit of Rendili Battlemasters who were the closest the planet had to an elite fighting force. After the fighting on Zeltros had gone so poorly, a bit in part to a number of enemies in phrik armor that couldn't be gunned down easily, it had been deemed necessary to improve some of Rendili's fighting capacity.

So the mining operation for enough phrik to arm the company of elite soldiers had been put into effect. Kana Truden was really a lucky woman to have decided to show up now of all times. If some phrik armor was what the Jedi Knight wanted, then it wouldn't be too difficult to add in the request for just a little extra to be mined. Heck, Camellia even felt like showing off the site where the work was being done, along with where the armor was being crafted for the Rendili Battlemasters, just to give the force user a show of how amazing Rendili was.

So she didn't keep Kana waiting long as she entered the room shortly to check on her. "Lady Truden, its a pleasure to meet you. I hope your trip was well, I hear you have some business with Rendili today."

 

[Kana Truden]

The wait wasn’t as long as she would have expected. Then again [member="Camellia Swift"] wasn’t a senator, was she? Just that was a huge bonus for her. Though maybe Kana was being a little unfair to the politicians. She could tolerate them and they did good work, but there were just so many of them who seemed to have their own idea what the idea of a jedi was. Mainly bodyguards and persona errand boys.

She shook her head and to her surprise found herself approached by a woman she had not seen before. She called her ‘Lady Truden’, this must be Camellia.

“Thank you, Miss Swift.” Kana bowed in a greeting. “But please, my title is Knight Truden.”

“I thank you for receiving me. Yes, my plans was to discuss the possibility to discuss armors or similar. I know you do ships but Rendili - from what I’ve gathered - has access to the metal ‘phrik’. My padawan told me of it’s uses and I came to the conclusion that it’d be a good idea for me to look into ways to get myself some protection in case I find myself on a battlefield or similar.”

She gave the woman a smile and hoped she would understand.

“Now, I have an idea and it’s nothing too serious. Mainly a few plates that could be concealed underneath a robe or jumpsuit. I could have serious plate armors and all that but my way of combat requires the kind of grace that a suit of armor like that would hinder.”

“That is of course to say you have to possibility to help me with this. I shouldn’t let myself get carried away like that.”

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Kana Truden"]

When it came down to it Camellia knew she didn't have much experience working with Jedi, more often than not the only ones she had worked with before under a business arrangement were masters from the Silver Order. All the Rendili woman was, was a soldier and a someone unfortunate enough to land a position in business. Though at the same time it did leave her with many avenues of options when it came to either job. Kana Truden would be thanking her own good fortune that such was that case, and that she had decided to come when she had. "Ah, I apologize then. I recall you are not a master so i was not certain if using the title as a welcome would have been offensive, but at the same time you're not a Padawan either so I also wasn't sure if being so bland would have been ok either."

The request was exactly what it had sounded like in prior communications. Camellia couldn't help but smile pleasantly at her guest and client as she listened patiently and carefully to the business proposal. "We have the ability to help you. Rendili Stardrive has used its facilities to produce some other products before, though you are right most of our focus is on starship design and manufacturing. You are also right from what you gathered. Rendili does indeed have several Phrik deposits on world, along with other resources such as Tibanna gas, though not to Bespin's extent. Between those, our location in the core, and our shipyards, its often left us worried throughout time how our position is lest we be endangered. Right now though that isn't a concern."

"In fact I believe you will be rather happy with your timing. Rendili Stardrive has recently begun funding a mining operation for Phrik to supplement some of the elite forces in Rendili's Home Defense Force. We were looking to create armor for the Rendili Battlemasters to enable them to more efficiently and effectively combat the One Sith since they've been causing such problems lately. I don't think it would be a problem at all to add one extra suit of armor to the project, and by the sounds of it you'll need less than the soldiers we're equipping. . . . .if you want we can go to the site right now and put in the request for the extra material to be mined. The project is only recent so it may take a while to get everything produced, but I can assure you it won't be an issue. We can work out the design and payment arrangement along the way, sound ok?"

 

[Kana Truden]

She bowed again in courtesy at the apology. There was no need to apologize, titles weren’t one of those things she usually tended to be all hoity-toity about. Well, maybe she would have complained if she got a ‘Sir’ or a ‘Mister’ but luckily that wasn’t the case.

“I guess I’m incredibly lucky then.” Kana laughed. “A tour of the facility sounds great.”

“As it is, the One Sith is the reason I’m getting the plates to begin with. I don’t plan on using it a lot but when it comes to battlefields there is always the uncertainty of what will happen next. So I looked into ways to protect myself. A lightsaber works fine, but a thin layer of phrik to wear underneath whatever it is that I am bringing to the field is safety enough for me.”

She followed [member="Camellia Swift"] along for the tour while wondering what lay in store. Phrik seemed to be easy enough to come by on Seltos, why wasn’t it regulated in the same fashion over there? Kana shrugged mentally and went on with it.

“Is it a big facility?”

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Kana Truden"]

While Camellia was glad she hadn't made such a blundering mistake, though if anyone really could make such an error she would be surprised. After all Kana Truden didn't appear to be someone that a person could just easily mistake for a man. In fact if Camellia did have to give an opinion on the matter, though no outward comment of course, she would say that Ms. Truden was rather cute and had a lovely charm about her. However, that had no influence on business. The matter at hand was the collection of phrik and crafting of several armor pieces for a Jedi Knight who sought to defend herself more effectively against the current menace to the galaxy.

Rendili Stardrive's CEO would begin leading Kana Truden to a shuttle that would quickly carry them over to a moderate facility near a dig site at the base of some mountains outside one of Rendili's cities. As they approached Kana would be able to see hoversleds being led out of the shafts laden with several containers, likely full of phrik, after it had been carefully mined and loaded onto the craft and pulled back to the refining facility awaiting the material to be quality checked and cleaned. "The mine itself is a bit larger than the facility, it would be expensive to build the facility into the region itself. Phrik is difficult to mine and rare to find. If we aren't careful we could run out too quickly or build a facility near a region where the deposits of the material is small and end up spending more than we earn."

As the shuttle landed and Camellia spoke briefly with the foreman on duty, the young woman wondered whether to show how the ore was refined and prepared for delivery to the actual factory that would make the armor, or if they ought to enter the mines where it was being collected from first. By the time she returned to Kana she had decided. "We'll go inside the mines first where you can see where our teams are pulling the metal from the source. After that we can check how they are refining it and then travel to the final destination where the actual armor itself is being produced."

 

[Kana Truden]

“That sounds great.” Kana nodded with a smile. “Lead the way.”

Kana calmly followed her guide as she tried to keep the curiosity from getting the best of her. It went against the code to give in to curiosity after all, right? Instead she simply observed as they passed along the landscape of Rendili. It was a beautfiul world. Then again, when you’ve spent most of your time in a jungle for a year or so there is little that was required to be called beautiful.

As they slowly approached the caves there was only one question that popped into the jedi’s mind. She looked at her guide but hesitated for a second. Would it be appropriate? It certainly would probably come across as stupid.

“So phrik is a high risk investment?” Kana slapped herself internally. “You have a very tactical approach to it, I mean.”

“Or maybe there’s other ores around here and it’s the scarcity of just phrik that is the cause for the careful approach to it? Then again, this mine has probably existed for a while.”

[member="Camellia Swift"]

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Kana Truden"]

Heading into the heart of the actual mining operations themselves, Camellia would lead Kana onto a hoversled that was being used as the ferry for the workers into and out of the work zone. They would glide along mostly in silence aside from the echoes of machinery and harsh strikes against the stone and metal that trailed through the tunnels. Rendili was a fairly average world, well fairly average in the terms of being highly civilized while still having a balanced landscape. Unlike worlds like Kuat where everything was dead and rotted or Corellia that was almost all farmland dedicated to agricultural work.

The question finally voiced by the Jedi to break the quiet that prevaded their short travel was actually rather welcome as they came to a stop and Rendili Stardrive's CEO stepped off the platform and onto the ground. The area was lit with lights strewn across the ceiling to give a view of the area where the miners were at work. "There is other ore here and the mine has been around a while you are correct. There are other phrik deposits elsewhere on the planet, but they are all highly controlled. It isn't that its a high investment, after all its expensive to shape and produce as anything and there's so little of it that the price jumps up even more. However, it is such a useful material there will always be some market for it. Being Lightsaber resistant does come to mind as a rather important quality. More of it was around during the Clone Wars, but at the same time its always been scarce. If its all used up then there wouldn't be any to use later. And since its such a vital resource I doubt any planet with a central government and any security presence would allow it to be stolen from them when they could profit it on it or utilize it in their own defense, even as a bargaining chip. You won't find many offworld mining companies on worlds with these resources. The Mandos are a prime example with how closely they protect their beskar iron."

While she spoke they could clearly see droids shifting through rubble looking for scattered ore, workers using energy shovels and picks to chip away at the walls to breach the stone around the precious metals. They were careful to only go so far before either having a droid come in with a precision drill or to move in themselves and slowly work smaller tools on the finer parts. "As you can see it is very careful and calculated work. We don't want to get the wrong amount since as I said the idea is to only use as much as is necessary and hopefully reuse that product until it expires to the point of being unusable. Maybe you'll get a better idea of how much more value goes into this material when you see how tedious it is to refine and then shape."

 

[Kana Truden]

Kana perked her eyebrow. Lightsaber resistance was the secondary purpose, she had to admit. Now blaster negation was the primary. Even jedi can get sloppy and essentially the difference between lightsabers and blasters were that one threw plasma and the other was a lightsaber. Her admiration for lightsabers were one thing, her fascination with blasters another.

“So if it can stop a lightsaber for a short while, can it stop a blaster bolt just as efficiently? They’re both plasma-based weaponry. One has higher velocity than the other, what with coming from a blaster and all that?”

She didn’t mean to handwave the talk about how the mine worked but she was simply a lot more focused on the armor being made. It was all good ethics and clever thinking, of course, but armors were important as well. Zeltros had taught her that much after what only ‘small scrape’ could do.

“What about small blades?” Kana spoke quietly in shame. “Can it stop that?”

[member="Camellia Swift"]

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Kana Truden"]

There did appear to be some questions after all, not that Camellia minded.

Part of Rendili Stardrive's CEO had hoped that the Jedi Knight would have few until they reached the actual manufacturer stage, well at least in regards to the metals abilities. Then again it was the metals abilities, not inherent to just the armor the company would be producing, so it wasn't like this was a bad time either. She had just expected any questions to be about the mining here. "Yes it can stop a blaster bolt effectively. The material itself works well when it comes down to intercepting energy based based. Hence why it is so coveted for light armors and melee weapons when considering lightsaber wielding enemies. It can also handle small blades as you ask, but physical attacks are perhaps more effective on it than say the usual materials. Same goes for Cortosis, though its much more oriented for sharp edges than phrik. Well then I guess that could just be my personal understanding too. I'm not a geologist who knows these things and I'm certainly not a metalworker either."

Heading back to the outward vehicle, Camellia motioned for the Jedi to follow seeing as how it appeared this section of the tour didn't seem to really be taking to the force user's fancy. "Come on, we'll head back to the shuttle and go actually see where the armor the company is making right now is being shaped."

 

[Kana Truden]

“I’m sorry.” Kana let her eyes stray away. “I didn’t mean to diminish the importance of your mining operations.”

She played with the cuffs of the jumpsuit and straightened out the occasional wrinkle. She had managed to come across as impatient, as uninterested or caring. At least so she told herself. That was the negatives of a bad self-esteem, probably.

“If you wish, then I guess we can go check out the processing.” She still tried to smile. She owed her guide that much. “I was stabbed by a sith lord. It could have been prevented by armor. Hence my eagerness to get a hold of one.”

The therapy was at least coming along nice for the poison. Her friends had insisted that she didn’t need it but Kana preferred to be safe than sorry. Which was, of course, one of the many other reasons she got herself a suit of armor.

[member="Camellia Swift"]

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Kana Truden"]

Getting back onto the vehicle as it started moving to return them back to the collection and refinement facility and their awaiting shuttle, Camellia found herself blinking rather confused as the Jedi Knight next to her suddenly began apologizing for making light of the importance of the mining operations themselves. It left Rendili Stardrive's CEO wondering if the stories about Jedi being able to read minds was really true since she hadn't recalled voicing any such disappointment out loud or really doing much more than briefly reflecting upon it.

"Its no problem Miss Kana, I understand these aren't exactly the highlights of any situation. We can try to move faster to the actual manufacturing section then. It is rather pointless to show off this sort of work when its not exactly need to know. We'll get you your armor soon enough though, don't you worry." It wouldn't be long for the return trip to end and for them to be back at the landing platform for the shuttle.

Camellia didn't hesitate climbing aboard the craft and signaling to the pilot to take them in the air so that they could travel to the next location.

 

[Kana Truden]

Stepping onto the second craft she looked over at her guide. She had heard of her, anyone in the republic had and if she wouldn’t remember it all wrong she had been a great help on Zeltros. Good for her. Well, more good for Corvus and Kana probably but it worked both ways in a sense, didn’t it?

“Certainly, and uh, thank you again Miss Swift.” Kana bowed, again. “Me and my friend deeply appreciated the help you provided us on Zeltros. Me personally though, thank you for this opportunity. Thank you.”

Kana threw a quick glance on the ongoings outside of the craft but found little of interest to inquire about. There was only one topic to fall back to in those cases.

“So, uh, lovely weather. Rendili has proven itself quite comfortable so far. Are you from around here?”

She wanted to slap herself a few times internally, what a silly question.

[ [member="Camellia Swift"] ]​

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Kana Truden"]

Camellia found herself staring confused at the Jedi knight beside her for a moment as sudden thanks were directed at her from the other woman. Especially for the battle on Zeltros. The whole thing had been a disaster and Rendili Stardrive's CEO had no real idea why she was being thanked. She hadn't done anything. The only reason the communication hub she had been supporting directly hadn't fell was because a Jedi Knight had chosen to engage that Sith monster who turned her foes to dust. Her soldiers had been actual heroes worth praising. It was the men and women who fought and died in the streets and at the spaceport under her command who deserved any of the thanks for any of the work for stemming the tide. All she had done was bossed a few around vaguely until the dead began to rise and all their efforts were undone.

"It's fine, your a paying customer for this so its no problem, and I'm always happy to help the Jedi and the Republic. If you want to thank anyone thank the crew of Rendili's Shield they were the ones who were fighting and risking their lives." The topic didn't seem to be entirely comfortable for Kana as well since it changed rather quickly, though that could also have been because the trip wasn't exactly rife with thrilling active scenery. "Rendili is a rather standard world. Balanced all around so its nothing special outside its position, resources, and shipyards. I was born on this world, but not near here. I was born in the capital. My parents run a medical practice within the city. My grandfather was a simple dock worker in his early days. He worked his way through the company and that was how I became attached to starships."

Up ahead the factory was coming into view, they would touch down soon, security teams coming out to check them over since the facility was closer to an inhabited area. They had already transmitted proper codes though, else their ship may have been shot down. After all, a military supply installation was certainly going to be unexpectedly well defended.

 

[Kana Truden]

She bowed again. Miss Swift may not have been directly involved with helping but she had given the order, had she not? That meant that in a sense she was to be thanked as well. Oh well, maybe humility isn’t just a jedi trait. The troops had helped drive the Acolyte off along with Padawan Taidarious, it had been of great aide to Kana and Corvus.

“Oh, if you say so. Well, as for me and where I am from…” Kana placed her hands on her hips. “I am originally from Coruscant before the Sith took it. I ran away when I was a teenager to Alderaan where the Order eventually found me six years later. I would tell you more, but the Jedi aren’t supposed to attach themselves to the past. It sounds kinda odd, I know.”

They craft approached the factory and the sheer amount of defenses definitely threw Kana off-guard. She had by no means expected a facility to be this well-protected. Still, it was reasonable considering the type of goods they produced, the proximity to the One Sith’s lurking presence and most of all the war with them.

“That is one really protected factory.” Mild disbelief lingered on her words. “Armor is real important around here, huh?”

A small chuckle as she turned to [member="Camellia Swift"]. A guide who had proven herself very pleasant.

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Kana Truden"]

The past huh?

If there was anything she knew, Camellia knew she was a woman very attached to the past. It defined a person, shaped them into what they were in the present. Not only that, but the past normally determined their future as well. If one could see how life treated someone long enough, they could normally tell how it was going to continue treating them. That probably sounded pessimistic, but then, Camellia Swift was not a person who believed the world was kind or that it was fair, and accordingly was rather worrisome about what it would cause to go wrong next, and how prepared the people going on living could try to deal with it.

Setting aside the depressing talk though, Camellia looked at Kana as the Jedi Knight commented on the facility's level of protection. "It also doubles as the nearest security center for that phrik mine so it is rather well defended. Plus as a military installation providing equipment for Rendili's Defense Force it is reasonable for something as important as it to maintain a sufficient level of security protocols." They would be led inside shortly, their freedom to move about once thoroughly checked for proper identification actually rather unhindered. Then again it wasn't hard to recognize Rendili Stardrive's CEO and a Defense Force officer when she showed up, or a Jedi Knight once the records were checked.

 

[Kana Truden]

Kana nodded in approval, high security was good thing. Maybe not if too tight, but this was certainly nowhere close to what she imagined as ‘too tight’ security. Added to that it was a military installation so the whole thing just sort of made sense. The security details were handed to them and she gladly accepted them.

“So we’re here, huh?” Kana looked spun around as she gave the area a curious look. “Surely you had a project of your own on your mind?”

She offered [member="Camellia Swift"] her most polite smile. The woman would probably be helping Kana a lot more than she knew. Then again, Kana was asking for armor and the Rendili CEO was helping. Anyone could understand the importance of armor, even CEOs.

“I mean, if you are at liberty to talk of such things. Maybe they’re secret or something like that?”

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Kana Truden"]

As they made their way down the halls of the facility, Camellia found herself relatively confused when the Jedi Knight beside her asked if there was a project on her own mind. Hadn't she mentioned the phrik being mined already for the Rendili Defense Force elite unit? She swore she had since she had said how lucky the other woman was for coming to request a set of armor for herself when she had. Maybe it had just been offhand though, Rendili Stardrive's CEO wasn't really sure if she had really explained it. Unless Kana was referring to any projects. . . in which case the Noblesse and Imminence designs in the works were on her mind.

"I don't remember if I said so before, but we're already doing this mining mainly to acquire enough phrik to arm the Rendili Battlemaster unit. Its out elite combat forces and after the Zeltros Skirmish and Battle for Alderaan its been clear that without proper equipment they can't be the threat they need to be when dealing with the Sith and their monsters. Especially when those blackblades of the Sith's made it clear how much damage a well trained soldier in well made armor can take, making them much more effective." Soon enough they were entering the main workshop, where various furnaces and and molds could be seen as the refined ore was brought in having been cleaned up and checked for purity after exiting the mine they had visited earlier. "Aside from those Rendili Stardrive is working on several warship projects, two of which are incredibly large scale and taking a lot of our efforts and resources to complete, but which will hopefully help us put the One Sith in their place."

 

[Kana Truden]

Kana nodded as the thought struck her. She had already asked that before and she had already heard about the battlemaster armor. She was walking in circles at this point, wasn’t she?

“The sith are a constant threat and disturbingly enough a constant presence as well.” Kana gave [member="Camellia Swift"] a serious nod. “To outfit them with armor that negates their-... No, our weapon of choice is wise.”

Her mind raced back to ‘Raven’ as Camellia went on to mention the ship prototypes. Kana loved that ship and if she didn’t remember all of it wrong this woman was the reason the jedi had it to begin with. Actually, it was. Rendili, as far as Kana was concerned, was the reason Corvus and her could fly around the galaxy in style. Well, not just style of course, there was comfort too.

“Well, I may not know much about the exact what-withs of a ship but I know how to fly them.” Kana handed her contact information to Cam. “You mentioned ships and I can’t help thinking about the starship the Jedi recently acquired.”

“I take one of those ships everywhere I go. As far as I am concerned I owe you for more than just the armor. If you ever need help with anything then I am your lady. I’d be glad to help.”

[ [member="Camellia Swift"] ]​

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Kana Truden"]

Rendili Stardrive's CEO made sure to note the use of the word our by the Jedi knight next to her. Although she trusted the Jedi Order, at the same time Camellia kept her allegiance to the Republic and her homeworld. So if the Jedi ever came into authority and turned against the ideals of the Republic she was ready as a Republic military officer to do what was necessary, but she hoped it never came to that. She tried not to comment on it either, seeing as how that wasn't really a subject one wanted to go down, so Cam was much happier when Kana brought up the mention of the Protector class ship she assumed the Jedi Order had access to. Seeing as how she was thanking her once again specifically and mentioned the Jedi using such a ship with Rendili Stardrive having just designed one only a short while ago. "There's no reason to thank me again. The Jedi Order is a part of the Republic and Rendili Stardrive has made designs for them before. Repurposing it for modern specifications was really no trouble for the company. I'm happy you and the Order are getting use out of them though, we tried to accommodate the Jedi's need as a consular and diplomat with their role as a protector of the peace. If you're saying you want to repay it then I'm not sure what to say, I don't exactly have much need for much of anything. . . .except more pull with the Republic to clear building a ship for them. I just need clearance to get the senate to hear the proposal for that though."

Shaking her head lightly, Camellia laughed and waved the other woman over so she could see the process of smelting and forging going on below, where the Rendili Battlemaster Armor was being completed. "This would be the point we head over to the chief in charge here and give them your design to throw in for an extra set of armor. They'll make a mold for it and get it down like they are with these, but just for you. Sound good?"