An Ascension

[Taeli Raaf]

​

Aurora Industries Secret Development Shipyard
Pluthan Asteroid Field

Not many knew about this asteroid field, what with it being on the very edges of the galaxy. Taeli, when Aurora Industries had first arrived in the area, had theorized that the Pluthan Asteroid field had once been a planet, but some cataclysmic event had ruptured the worlds in this system into the extremely resource rich asteroids that floated by the command center's viewport. Aurora Industries had immediately designated the system as the area where the development and construction of their more secretive ship designs would take place as this place was even more remote than the Centrality.

Off in the distance, the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer the company had obtained in the course of their agreement with the Imperium floated, teams observing and cataloging the different technologies and systems present. That prize would be the basis for Project Ascension, Aurora Industries first ever battlecruiser. However, Taeli knew that accomplishing this goal would be hard for the company to do, even with their resources. To that end, she had invited certain interested parties to meet with her out in the system to help design and build this battlecruiser from the ground up, including ideas for possible technologies that could be developed for it. Taeli already had her own ideas, but she would keep those to herself for now. In return, she was willing to give these interested parties whatever support they might require in projects of their own... no matter how questionable they might be.

To maintain the secrecy of the asteroid field, those she had invited had been directed to Erilnar and then taken by Aurora security to transports with no visible viewports. Any technology that could possibly transmit or record where they were being taken would be confiscated and then returned once everyone went back to Erilnar and their own ships. She was taking no chances about this project or the secrecy of it.

[member="Lily Kuhn"] [member="Arisa Yune"] [member="Valashu Elahad"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Taeli Raaf"]


Aurao Industries was certainly pulling all the stops to ensure that the asteroid field remained secret. Given the sensitivity of the projects they were probably working on, this was an understandable precaution. The days of quantum tunnelling Sith might be over due to the recent, probably temporary return to the shadows, but corporate warfare and intrigue tended to be just as vicious and cutthroat.


For her part, Siobhan did not intend to conduct corporate espionage. While she was probably dark side, she was the lawful sort. The transport had no visible viewport, which was a bit of a shame since it meant she could not take in the vast asteroid field. However, this was a small price to pay if the potential business venture turned out to be as lucrative as her minions told her it would be.


The appropriate clearance codes were transmitted by the Aurora minion piloting the craft, which presumably also informed the CEO of her guest's arrival. Like a bird returning to its nest after a successful hunt, the shuttle gracefully landed in the secret shipyard's hangar. Getting to her feet, Countess Kerrigan retrieved a compact mirro and beheld herself in it, making sure her firemane looked good and there was nothing wrong with her makeup.


It was a viciously scarred, but still attractive and shapely face that stared back at her. Her long red hair was elegantly done up, she was dressed in an elegant and most likely very expensive black business skirtsuit, complete with silk stockings and fancy heels. Her rarely used lightsabre rested on her belt. When she descended down the landing ramp, she walked with a noticeable limp, but still projected a powerful aura and carried herself like a queen, though she was a guest in this instance. She was eager to see what Master Raaf would present. Jedi who went into big business were rare, even rarer were those who built lovely machines of war and climbed the corporate ladder to the top.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"Countess Kerrigan, welcome to the Pluthan Asteroids," Ary Jaxson said, bowing slightly to the powerful woman descending the ramp. A small honor guard of Aurora security personnel were on either side of the ramp, standing at attention for the countess. "I am Ary Jaxson, Executive Engineer of Aurora Industries and right hand to Miss Raaf. She wanted me to personally welcome you to our facility here and bid you to join her in the command center. The men here will escort you there, while I shall be waiting for the rest of our guests to arrive."

The two security guards saluted the Countess and would proceed to guide her through the hallways, making sure per Taeli's explicit instructions, to lead her through a hallway of transparisteel so she and the other guests once they arrived could see the extent of operations here and the beauty of a natural asteroid belt. They also made sure not to even attempt to take her lightsaber, out of respect for the Countess. Reaching the command center, the doors would open silently to reveal a circular table with a holographic display of the outline of a large ship floating above it. Taeli was standing with her back to the door, staring out at the asteroid field beyond the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer that was being swarmed by small craft coming and going. Garbed in an elegant blue dress, she did not have a shred of appearance of a Jedi in her outfit besides the hand-guarded lightsaber on her belt.

"Countess Kerrigan, as Jaxson might have said, welcome to the Pluthan Asteroid Field," she said, turning to face the red-headed woman famous... or infamous depending on which circles one ran in. "My apologies if our security measures were extreme, but we value our privacy for this location."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Taeli Raaf"]


Siobhan appreciated the fact that none of the guards tried to take her lightsabre away from her. Admittedly she never used it anyway, but she was still attached to it and it was a matter of principle. Especially since she was remarkably prideful. The honour guard was a nice touch, too. She exchanged cordial pleasantries with Jaxson, then was on her way as he guided her to his boss. Siobhan's shiny high heels click-clacked on the finely polished transparisteel ground.


Finally she arrived at the command centre. Awaiting her was Master Raaf herself. Siobhan strongly approved of her lovely dress. It fit her well and was very fashionable. The lack of Jedi robes was a definite plus. Perhaps later on she should ask her where she'd bought it from. Her eyes took in the holographic display of a large ship, along with the asteroid field and the Resurgent behind them. The display had to be a projection of the ship Aurora wanted to build.


"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Master Raaf," Siobhan said cordially, giving her host a one-over. Word was that Taeli had killed a Sith during the Galactic Alliance's offensive. Of course, Siobhan probably did not know any details about the duel, lacking her writer's meta knowledge. She approved of cutting down Sith though. That was always the best way to prevent them from committing evil deeds, since the risk of reoffending was low...unless they cheated death by body-hopping etc.


"I'm a rather private women as well and like to keep my toys safe. You have an impressive installation here. I'm interesting in hearing about your proposal. Based on our communications, I understand you're working on a battlecruiser. By the way, I must say, I like your dress." Nothing wrong with complimenting someone's sense of fashion!

 

[Matreya]

Valashu exited hyperspace, at the helm of a JBC Recon Cruiser. His men guided the craft behind him, while his gaze was on the stars ahead. He knew his craft would not be allowed to find the location he sought to reach, so quickly he disembarked then moved onto the next. From there he was sent to the asteroids where upon he left the ship behind, walking among the jagged rocks of the large stone asteroids. He was clad in a suit of finely woven silk, showing his status as executive, strictly by the cost of his suit. It could finance a decent sized raid. Or the efforts of a man to assassinate another, other things even if he wished it.

He paused, standing in the middle of nowhere.

Eyes slowly traversed the space around the husk that the new building was on. There was a beauty about it, eyeing the stars that seemed so near, though really they were billions of miles away. It was majestic and beautiful. Arms folded against his chest in the wait for a representative.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"Your reputation precedes you, Countess," Taeli said, giving a cordial bow in response to Siobhan's greetings. She had heard a great many tales about the woman in front of her, and if even half were true, she was someone to be respected and feared in some circles. "That is indeed the battlecruiser that we wish to build, with design inputs from both yourself and our other guests once they arrive. And thank you for both compliments, we take great pride in this facility as not many in the galaxy are even aware of the existence of this asteroid belt. It certainly helps keeping everything nice and secure."

Looking down at herself, Taeli gave a small half smirk.

"And the dress comes from a boutique I frequent on Erilnar," she added. "I, unlike my sister, have never been one to wear Jedi robes if I could help it. I much prefer dresses, and elegant ones at that."

[member="Valashu Elahad"]

While Taeli was speaking with Siobhan, Jaxson would be making his way to where Mr. Elahad had arrived and was currently observing the beauty of the asteroids moving slowly through space.

"Mr. Elahad, thank you for coming and being such a good sport about our security measures," Jaxson said, giving a small respectful bow of his head. "My name is Ary Jaxson, Executive Engineer for Aurora Industries and right hand to Miss Raaf. If you will follow me to the command center, both Miss Raaf and Countess Siobhan Kerrigan should be there. I must further add that we are quite grateful that yourself and the countess would come such a distance to help provide ideas and design choices for the project we are working on out here."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Taeli Raaf"]


"Likewise. I've been impressed by many of Aurora's designs. Your company does good work," Siobhan smiled broadly. Compliments always put the Countess a in a good mood. "I was never one for Jedi robes. They're so...bland and not even practical when you're in combat," she said. Suffice to say she'd been eager to get out of her robes after Tegaea recruited her for Omega Pyre.


"Perhaps you can give me the name of the boutique. I'd love to see what they have to offer if their wares are that exquisite. I tend to buy at The Lady's Haven on Tygara's Skyport. Maybe I could take you to visit some time." Verily, it sold the finest silks made by space elves.


"Anyhow, to business. What do you have in mind for the battlecruiser? Role in a fleet, armaments and so on. Firemane built the Barsen'thor for the Silver Coalition, before we cut ties with them, so I'm confident we'd be able to help with our designs. The Guild of Hammers, our subsidiary, also has some very potent construction materiel."


Alas, the Nova Cannon was still unique, but the Vortex Cannon, the Colossus Reactor and Aegis Molecular Shielding were on the market. Plus graphite mesh underlay and graphite reinforced durasteel. This post officially has too many hyperlinks.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"We certainly try to fulfill our goal of developing next-generation technology," Taeli replied, taking a seat and gesturing for her guest to take one as well. "Lady of the Lake is the name of the boutique and I may just take you up on your offer to travel to Tygara one day. I have never been to the world before, but I've heard many interesting tales about its inhabitants. But as you say, on to business."

The image floating above their heads would zoom in to allow them greater access to the design, while small digi-pens would emerge from the table in front of them that could interact with the design above and allow quick additions to the ship blueprints or notes for later reference.

"We had envisioned, after taking possession of an old Resurgent-class Star Destroyer, developing something as a sort of evolution of that line of ship and thinking," Taeli explained to the countess. "A powerhouse of firepower, armor, and shielding that can wade right into the thickest of fighting and eliminate the opposition, while also serving as a command vessel. I'm not familiar with the technical side of the Barsen'thor ship that yourself and others developed for the Silver Sanctum... or Silver Jedi Order whatever they like to refer themselves as, but I have heard of its use in battle and that it holds a similar role to what we want to develop here."

A tray with a pitcher of water and glasses was delivered, along with something stronger if the Countess wished to partake, by a protocol droid for them before it departed.

"I have always been a student of history, and the idea of the larger ships that have existed in the past have intrigued me for sometime now," she admitted, pouring herself out a glass of water.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Taeli Raaf"]


Siobhan glanced at the digital manifestation of the proposed warship design. "It sounds like a ship of my own heart," she remarked. She was a groundpounder at heart, but could appreciate a majestic warship that could dish out and absorb a lot of punishment. "It seems it would fill a similar niche as the Barsen'thor."


A more cynical part of Siobhan thought her company had built that ship for the wrong faction. Suffice to say she'd soured considerably on the Silver Jedi since Ruusan. However, hindsight was 20/20 and, moreover, Firemane had been paid a lot.


"I believe we can integrate some of our designs. We have the Vortex Cannons for devastating firepower at long range. It's essentially what happens if you combine a mass driver and a hypervelocity cannon into a turret and has three ammo types. The slug round is a five tonne lump of shaped durasteel accelerated to extreme speed that is very difficult to stop with defence guns. The cluster round is essentially a giant cluster bomb that wreaks havoc on fighters, bombers and light ships and the apocalypse round is a giant thermal detonator loosely inspired by the Galaxy Gun."


She took a sip from her glass of water. "Furthermore, we have the Colossus Reactor and Aegis Molecular Shielding. The former is a powerful hypermatter reactor that's built to power powerful shipborne weapons for capital ships while a conventional reactor handles all normal power requirements. The latter can provide a storage area for damage taken by the ship's shield, so that it can be converted into power. The Colossus is vital for it to work." In other words, the reactor acted as a tank collecting the 'rain' so that it could be used later.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"I'm familiar with the Aegis design," Taeli said, smiling. That certainly brought back some memories. "Back when I was part of the Republic, I was part of the design team that developed the Aegis shielding for... I believe it was Admiral Kyrana Gould. That system, and its corresponding reactor, would definitely be a great boon for this project as it would certainly add a layer of defense to the ship to make it an even tougher nut to crack. I'm far less familiar with the Vortex Cannon, but given your justly earned reputation, I have to believe it packs quite the punch as you say."

She took a sip of her water, mulling over her own thoughts. She was sure the woman in front of her could be trusted with some confidential information of something she was considering adding into the design.

"Tell me, Countess Kerrigan, have you ever heard stories about a cloaking device that utilizes Adegan crystals to achieve the same effect as Stygium crystals?" Taeli asked.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Taeli Raaf"]


"I believe [member="Phylis Alince"] once mentioned a story about an ancient Sith Lord trying to harness Adegan crystals to cloak an armada of warships. What was the name again? Nox. No, that was the one with the ghost obsession. Malak...no, jawless stalker. Right. Malgus." Siobhan was many things, but not an academic. She was blissfully unaware of the fact that Taeli, along with her sister Corvus, had been there when Phylis received a nice gift of lingerie from her!


"I was told the blueprints didn't survive his downfall. I take it Aurora found a way to follow in his footsteps?" The use Adegan crystals to build a cloaking device ones, not the try to assume direct control over the Galaxy ones. Galactic overlordship looked good on your resume, but despite all the hype it was a remarkably tiring job with little long-term reward.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"Ah Master Alince, I haven't seen her in quite some time," Taeli said. "I hope her experiments into her light version of alchemy are still going well. You know... my sister and I were helping with that before... well... anyways..."

She took another sip of water to cover herself. It was still hard after all.

"Unfortunately, you are correct that the schematics were destroyed when his venture was attacked by the Jedi and Sith of his day," Taeli replied, a slight bitter not in her voice. "However, the most important thing survived. The story itself. In less... reputable years, I uncovered the story of the battle at Ilum and the reason behind the urgency to stop Darth Malgus. Rather um hampering to me is that... certain parties might find it umm disrespectful if I was suddenly to start mining and harvesting Adegan crystals from Ilum. So we had to improvise by getting a select few crystals from the Cularin system to test our prototype, an adapted stygium device that was painstakingly gone over and converted to accept Adegan."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Taeli Raaf"]


Siobhan looked sympathetic when Taeli trailed off after mentioning her sister. Of course, the Countess had heard of Corvus' disappearance. It had to be horrible, to not know what had happened to your sibling. Was she dead? Had someone murdered her? Or had she vanished of her own volition without a word?


Siobhan could probably empathise, for she'd lost her older sister many years ago. She'd been taken from her and cruelly murdered by the Sith. "Phylis is well. Busy travelling across the stars, righting wrongs, pursuing her studies, but she's on Tygara sometimes. She spoke highly of you and Corvus," she said gently.


She felt a bit awkward about moving back to business, but was also uncertain how Taeli would react if she tried to express sympathy for her loss. It might come across as patronising or as pity, and Siobhan always hated it when people did that to her. Moreover, words would be hollow.


So she turned her mind to the matter at hand. Siobhan knew how Stygium fields worked and Firemane had built its own stealth transport. However, the crystals were rare. They were a valuable commodity and the deposits on Maramere and Aeten were almost exhausted. Adegan was more common than Stygium, but Jedi reacted poorly when you mined on Ilium for commercial purposes. She recalled that they could also be found Mygeeto, though. "Well, consider me intrigued by your research. Have you been able to test your adapted device yet? How does its performance compare to the traditional cloaking devices using Stygium or Hibridium?"

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"Not as of yet," Taeli said. "My researchers only just finished their lab tests on the device within the last week, but they are quite confident that the Adegan cloak is on par with the stygium cloaking device and far better than the hibidrium as the double blind effect isn't present. Testing it in the field will require, most likely, a rather strenuous test and the right situation to find. I like, when testing a product, to really put it through its paces in field tests. Many of our ship designs, for example, are usually deployed to some sort of fleeting action to determine their performance and whether they will enter full production or not."

She allowed her gaze to go up to the slowly rotating interactive schematics about the table.

"Our friend up there will be quite the surprise when we begin the field tests, once design and fabrication of the prototype are done."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Taeli Raaf"]


"Practical. I believe you and I think very much alike. As far our toys are concerned, at any rate. I like to put them through their paces and give them a baptism of fire," Siobhan said with a wry smile. So far she quite liked this Jedi. Taeli had a practical mind, battlefield experience and did not lecture her about the One True Code or the Light Side. These were good qualities in Siobhan's book.


"I'd love to be there when you test this baby. I foresee intriguing possibilities if it lives up to expectations." If it worked out, perhaps Firemane could purchase the stealth tech for its own designs. Maramere and Aeten Two were more accessible now than in the past, but the crystal supply was dwindling. "What are your thoughts on this ship's armour?" she queried the Jedi Lady.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Taeli gave a slight smile as Siobhan agreed with how a product should be tested. To her, it was just another example to reinforce her belief that only rigorous testing and trials on a product, whether it be a weapon, droid, or ship... or something else, was the only way to truly learn its value. There was a reason that she had trusted Siobhan enough to even reveal the existence of the prototype cloaking device, call it an instinctive trust that the woman would appreciate the project and the secrecy around it.

"I'll be sure to extend you the invitation on that day," Taeli answered. "For both the cloak and our project here. On the subject of armor, it truly depends on the role the ship will be playing. In this case, I would say this ship calls to mind the old adage 'the more, the better.' I envision at least three layers of armor plating on the hull, along with crumple zones and reinforced decks and blast doors."

For the Ascension, she truly wanted this thing to be a full upgrade to the Aurora Bastion design... in every way possible. To accomplish that, the defenses needed to be even higher and allow the ship to fully engage an enemy at any range and survive multiple hits even if the impressive shield arrays failed.

"Your thoughts, Countess?"

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Taeli Raaf"]


Siobhan nodded. Very heavy armour might limit the ship's speed and manoeuvrability, but it was supposed to be a slugger able to survive heavy hits even when its shields failed. Besides, even a battlecruiser was not deployed in isolation.


"I agree completely," she said smoothly. "How many of these battlecruisers do you anticipate Aurora building and what's the projected size? For the Paladin-class and the Barsen'thor, Firemane incorporated graphite mesh as an underlay between the first and second layer of plating. It's a very potent wire mesh that can reinforce armour plating from various metals such durasteel and duranium. You could also use it to reinforce blast doors to critical areas in the ship, such as the reactor. The material is available on a limited basis."


In other words, not enough to use for a whole flottilla, but then you probably wouldn't be able to make one composed of battlecruisers anyway. The materiel was obviously not as strong as phrik or beskar, but still formidable.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"I would wager around a handful at most," Taeli replied, gazing at the hologram briefly again before pulling out her digipen. "And only definitely if one of the galactic powers in the galaxy orders them. For some odd reason, battlecrusiers tend to be a strain on materials. Can't fathom why at all. Sarcasm aside, I'm picturing a ship roughly 2300 meters at the current moment, and I believe we can certainly make use of this graphite mesh you talk about in the design."

She would add a small addendum to the designs to note the current length before zooming in to display the interior bulkheads and plating.

"We typically use alusteel for hull plating on our designs," Taeli continued."Turadium also sometimes end up in our ships too, so can this graphite mesh reinforce those materials?"

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Taeli Raaf"]


Siobhan had a rather dry sense of humour, so she chuckled. "Oh, yes. It's annoying. I wanted a big flotilla of them, but accounting told me the costs would be exorbitant and beyond our means for some reason." Damn beancounters suffered from lack of vision. She was still a bit salty about the fact that the Coalition had refused to name their warship after her, even though her company built it!


Seriously, what kind of silly name was Barsen'thor anyway? Well, it could've been worse. They could've called it Skyfall - or Immortal! Anyhow, back to serious matters. "We've mainly used the mesh to reinforce durasteel or duranium, but it would be compatible with the materiels you mention as well. You pretty much make the mesh first and put it into the plate while it's molten, so the metal hardens with the mesh inside it."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"In that case, I would propose we utilize this material at the more strategic locations," Taeli said, highlighting each on the overhead hologram. The command deck, the reactor areas, etc. were all flashing a light green right now. "I'm thinking that, with this material, we make these more strategic locations an even tougher nut to crack than the outer hull. Ray shields in the plating to go with the enhanced armor so no pesky Force Users are carving through walls where we certainly don't want them going or breaching charges and plasma torches are just leaving black smudges on the paint."

Her experiences during the Battle at Dulvoyinn had taught her the valuable lesson that the more strategic areas of a ship needed far heavier defenses, considering the Sith had breached and almost taken the control of the main command center on the flagship of the battle. Luckily other events had made it a pointless target to take, but who wanted it breached to begin with? Much easier to just have them banging their heads against the wall for all the good it would do them.