Faction Bad Medicine [UPSS + Friends]

[Makai Dashiell]

LYTHOS IX

Wearing | Gear : X | X | X | X | X | L3-37 | Interacting With : Ra'a'mah | OPEN
​

Not finding an avenue with the High Republic, Makai immediately looked for an alternative source to sell his kolto to. The Corporate Alliance had wanted to focus on Manaan - he did not see the system staying in the hands of the Republic for long. Additionally there was some banter about not selling kolto outside the confines of the Republic, which would effectively shut him out of small-government markets his business had been thriving on. Everyone went for the big guys but forgot others needed resources as well.

With Thyferra behind the Black Wall, demand would soon increase for alternatives.

He had been able to scale his farm quickly using a simple system of ropes. An agriworld, his company was able to manipulate the ocean environment for optimal growth. There were many bumps along the way but medicine did not wait for his company to figure out the perfect system. In time it would be perfected but until then it was making do. Plans were already rolling to hire mercenaries to escort scientists out of Thyferra and bring them for his next project - bacta. A little project he was hoping would entice the United Protectorate.

Waiting near the landing pad of the refining facility on planet, Makai patiently waited for his guests. He had extended an invitation to anyone prudent, eager to learn from what concerns a government had about the operation. Such feedback would only improve his profit margin in the near future.

 

[Zarrah Vex]

ZARRAH VEX

Objective: Evaluate Kolto & Bacta for UPSS Military Use
Location: Aina Holdings Kolto Production Facility, Lythos IX
Attire: Black UPSS Field Uniform
Tag: Makai Dashiell | Ra'a'mah | OPEN

There were certain supplies an armed force could afford to run short of. Medical supplies were not among them. Zarrah Vex had spent enough time around warships, soldiers, and the aftermath of violence to appreciate the difference between what appeared important on a procurement sheet and what became important once people started bleeding. Turbolasers and starfighters attracted attention. Ammunition received careful accounting. Fuel reserves could determine whether a fleet remained operational.

But none of those things mattered much to the soldier lying on a treatment table waiting for something capable of keeping them alive. That was why Zarrah had come personally. She moved through the facility without the entourage that might have accompanied a more formal Protectorate delegation. There was no procurement committee trailing behind her, no collection of aides already calculating costs, and no security detail transforming a commercial visit into a state occasion. This wasn't a negotiation. Not yet. For now, the Protectorate was interested.

Zarrah was here to determine whether it should become more interested. Her attention moved steadily across the operation as she walked, lingering on equipment, storage areas, processing systems, and the people actually doing the work. Makai Dashiell's kolto production was useful in itself, certainly. For the UPSS, however, the significance went considerably beyond another source of medical supplies.

The Protectorate had been built around sovereign systems agreeing that their collective security mattered. Collective security required collective logistics. A military that depended entirely upon distant suppliers was only secure for as long as the hyperlanes remained open and those suppliers remained friendly. That made Dashiell's ambitions concerning bacta considerably more interesting than the facility immediately before her.

When an opportunity presented itself, Zarrah approached Makai. "Mister Dashiell." She offered her hand. "Zarrah Vex. I'm here on behalf of the United Protectorate’s military interests." There was little ceremony attached to the introduction. Her gaze briefly wandered toward the operation around them before returning to him.

"I'm less interested in whether your kolto can compete on a commercial market than I am in what happens when someone starts shooting at the people buying it." A faint smile followed, taking some of the edge from the statement. "Fleet hospitals. Forward surgical units. Emergency stockpiles. Disaster response. Supplying member worlds whose normal routes may have been disrupted." Those were the applications that had brought her here. "If the Protectorate incorporated your product into its medical supply chain, we'd need to know how quickly production could scale during a crisis and how reliably you could keep it moving."

Zarrah paused. Then came the subject she suspected would prove considerably more important. "And I'm particularly interested in what you intend to do with bacta." Her expression remained pleasant, but her interest was unmistakable. "You aren't offering us medicine, Mister Dashiell. Not really."

She gestured lightly toward the facility. "You're offering the possibility of medical independence." Whether Dashiell Industries could actually deliver that was another question entirely. It was precisely the question Zarrah had come to explore.

​

 

[Ra'a'mah]

Ra'a'mah had accepted Makai Dashiell's invitation for a simple reason. When someone invited the Protectorate to inspect an operation before asking it to commit credits, contracts, or political support, she generally considered the trip worthwhile. Thyferra's loss only made the visit more relevant. Ra understood supply chains well enough to know that shortages rarely affected everyone equally. Larger governments and corporations competed for what remained while smaller markets discovered just how far down the list they sat.

Her transport settled near the refining facility without the ceremony of an official state visit. Ra emerged dressed more like the businesswoman she had been for decades than a government representative, taking in the operation as she approached. Production mattered, but so did storage, refining, transportation, and all the less impressive pieces that determined whether medicine actually reached the people who needed it.

She found Zarrah already speaking with Makai and waited for her to finish before offering him a friendly smile and her hand. "Mister Dashiell. Ra'a'mah Numare. Thank you for inviting us." Her glance briefly shifted toward Zarrah. "She's looking at this from the perspective of what the Protectorate may need when people start shooting. I'm somewhat interested in what happens the rest of the time."

A touch of humor accompanied the distinction. "I've spent most of my life in import and export, so I'm interested in whether you intend to serve smaller markets as readily as customers capable of placing enormous orders." Her gaze moved briefly across the facility. "And I'll admit the possibility of another bacta source helped persuade me to come personally. But I'd rather see what you've already built before asking about what comes next." Ra looked back at Makai. "It's your facility, Mister Dashiell. Show us what you think we should see first."

Makai Dashiell Zarrah Vex Vulpesen

 

[Caeritha Sorn]

CAERITHA SORN

◆ ─────────────── ◆ ─────────────── ◆​

Location: Kolto Refining Facility
Cover Identity: Mara Senn — Caldera Commercial Analysis
Objective: Observe

◆ ─────────────── ◆ ─────────────── ◆​

Mara Senn had the unenviable sort of job that became important only after someone else had already decided they wanted something. Executives made introductions. Procurement officers negotiated prices. Lawyers argued over contractual language. Mara wrote reports explaining why none of them should have been allowed to do any of those things until someone had bothered looking beneath the presentation. At least, that was what Caldera Commercial Analysis paid her to do.

According to every record anyone here was likely to check. She arrived without ceremony, carrying a slim datapad beneath one arm and dressed for an inspection rather than a boardroom. Dark fitted workwear disappeared beneath a long slate-blue vest, while practical boots acknowledged the reality that industrial facilities rarely cared what one's tailor charged. Her reddish-brown hair had been gathered into a loose professional bun. Nothing about Mara suggested wealth sufficient to matter or authority sufficient to court. That was intentional.

Mara joined the visitors already filtering through Dashiell's operation and initially seemed considerably more interested in the facility than its owner. Storage capacity. Processing equipment. Loading access. Workers moving between stations. She occasionally entered something onto her datapad, although considerably less frequently than her attention suggested she might.

Commander Zarrah Vex was considerably harder to overlook. Military applications. Fleet hospitals. Forward surgical units. Emergency reserves. Mara listened without appearing to listen.

The woman who followed offered another perspective. Ra'a'mah Numare spoke of smaller markets, regional customers, and the realities of distribution beyond governments capable of purchasing medicine by the shipload.

Two representatives of the same political entity. Two substantially different questions. Interesting. Not because either position was particularly surprising. A government wanted its soldiers alive and its civilians supplied. The interesting part was that both women had considered Dashiell's operation worth examining personally.

And then there was bacta. Medical independence. Vex had chosen the phrase, not Mara. She entered it into her datapad. There was no reason to compete for Dashiell's attention while he already had two potentially significant customers standing before him. Mara waited. Patiently. She examined a nearby processing station, exchanged a few unobtrusive words with one of the employees, and allowed herself to become another corporate visitor occupying the edges of the gathering.

Only when an appropriate opening presented itself did she approach. "Mara Senn. Caldera Commercial Analysis." She offered Dashiell her hand, accompanied by the pleasant but economical smile of someone accustomed to introductions being necessary rather than meaningful. "We advise regional distributors and investment groups considering new suppliers. Several of our clients have been reconsidering how dependent they want to remain on traditional medical supply chains." True enough to sound almost painfully ordinary.

Her gaze traveled briefly toward the facility before returning to him. "I'm mostly here to observe, Mister Dashiell. I'd rather understand what you've actually built before I start asking you what it can become." A slight smile. "So please don't let me interrupt."

And Mara did precisely what she had promised. She stepped away. There would be time for questions. For now, she wanted to know who asked them. Her datapad returned to her hand as she moved with the gathering, another analyst conducting another assessment for clients whose names weren't particularly important. Equipment received her attention. Production figures earned occasional notes. Logistics received several.

But so did people. Who had come. Who spoke to whom. What interested them. What made them hesitate. And, as Makai Dashiell's guests continued to gather, Mara Senn quietly waited to discover who else thought Bad Medicine was worth the trip.

◆ ─────────────── ◆ ─────────────── ◆​

 

[Iandre Athlea]

Iandre had accompanied Ra'a'mah to Lythos IX without pretending she was there to evaluate the finer points of kolto production. She wasn't a procurement officer or pharmaceutical specialist, but she understood the other end of the supply chain. She had worked relief efforts, treated injuries when resources were limited, and seen how quickly adequate supplies became inadequate once fighting, damaged infrastructure, or simple distance stood between medicine and the people who needed it. With Thyferra inaccessible and another potential source of kolto and eventually bacta worth examining, that seemed reason enough to come.

Arriving alongside Ra, Iandre was content to listen while Zarrah approached the operation from its military applications and Ra from her considerably greater experience in trade and distribution. Both were asking questions firmly within their expertise, leaving Iandre free to take in the facility until Ra addressed their host as Mister Dashiell. Her attention immediately shifted back to the man in front of them.

It could have been a coincidence, except Iandre had already encountered one of Judah's sons that way. Balun had introduced himself, she'd innocently mentioned knowing Judah, and That's my father had rather abruptly changed the context of that conversation. Judah had since said he'd eventually introduce her to his sons properly, but apparently the galaxy had decided his participation was optional. If this was Makai, she had now managed to meet both of them without their father present.

The realization brought a quiet flicker of amusement to her expression. Makai, meanwhile, appeared to have no idea who she was beyond another member of the Protectorate party, and Iandre saw no reason to change that by introducing herself through Judah. When Ra had finished, she stepped forward and offered her hand. "Iandre Athlea. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Dashiell." Judah was almost certainly going to find this entertaining later.

"Ra and Commander Vex are considerably better equipped to judge production and supply than I am. Most of my relevant experience begins when something has already gone wrong." Her gaze briefly traveled across the facility before returning to Makai. "I've worked relief efforts where medicine existed, but getting enough of it to the people who needed it was another matter. So I'm interested in what happens between your facility and the patient when normal transportation or infrastructure fails."

For now, that was enough. Whether Makai discovered during the visit that she happened to be dating his father could be left to circumstance. After Balun, Iandre began to suspect circumstance had a peculiar sense of humor when it came to the Dashiell family.

Makai Dashiell Zarrah Vex Ra'a'mah Caeritha Sorn

 

[Muad Dib]

Thyferra was a hellhole of an operation. How the High Republic had managed to mismanage the defense of one of the most important planets in their sphere of influence was beyond him. Then the politicians decided to strip the Jedi Order of its most important tool—the Force. Could the Jedi have turned the tide of the war with their abilities? Muad didn't know. But they never would know.

After departing the planet, they had the opportunity to join one of the larger, retreating High Republic ships. They declined. Rin worried about his abdominal wound, but too many ordinary people needed the bacta. He could heal himself through the Force, which would allow those who desperately needed the now-limited supply of the life-saving fluid.

As Muad checked his notifications, he found an opportunity too great to ignore, especially in light of how Thyferra turned out—an alternative to the Thyferrean Bacta monopoly. So Rin and Muad traveled to meet with Makai Dashiell.

As the couple walked down the landing ramp, Muad still felt a twinge of pain from his side, though his features did not reflect the injury. Rin would have noticed through their bond, so he reached for her hand and squeezed it lightly.

Muad knew he wasn't exactly the ideal picturesque candidate for this endeavor: brown trousers and tan tunic with armored boots. A skinning blade rested on one hip. Definitely not the image of a corporate owner or a member of the Senate. He grinned at the Zorren woman next to him.

"Shall we, ner cyar'ika?"

The pair caught up to the small progression where he recognized two people immediately. One was Ra'a'mah, whom he had known in the past and most recently seen briefly at the festival on Veradune. He offered her a small nod. Then he caught sight of the woman next to her and grinned at Ian.

"Has life given you good times, better whiskey, and the best of times?" His smirk revealed he remembered the last words he had spoken to her on a beach on Naboo. Tearing his eyes away, he gave a nod of greeting to both Zarrah and Caeritha before turning his glowing blue eyes, filled with interest, to Makai. "You have a cheeky Jedi brother named Balum?"

Iandre Athlea I Makai Dashiell I Zarrah Vex I Ra'a'mah I Rin Taal I Caeritha Sorn

 

[Rin Taal]

Rin hadn't stopped noticing the injury just because Muad had decided it was manageable. The occasional twinge still found its way across the dyad, a quiet reminder of Thyferra that followed them down the landing ramp. She resisted asking again how his side felt when he reached for her hand, instead threading their fingers together and giving his a gentle squeeze. He knew she was worried, and she knew he knew. At some point, concern became pestering, particularly with a man whose willingness to listen to sensible suggestions seemed inversely proportional to how badly he was injured. "We shall, ner cyar'ika." Her shoulder brushed his as they walked. "Though if that hole in your side starts leaking again, I'm going to become considerably less pleasant company."

There was no real bite behind the words. Thyferra still lingered too closely for that. Too much blood, too many frightened people, and that terrible stretch when the dyad had gone silent remained fresh in her mind. Having Muad warm beside her now, his hand wrapped around hers and even the faint ache of his injury passing between them, carried its own peculiar reassurance.

Rin stayed close as they joined the others, offering Ra a warm smile and nod while extending the same friendly acknowledgment to the unfamiliar faces. She was a member of the Protectorate, but she had not come pretending to be a procurement officer or trade expert. People here were already far better suited to speak for it. Rin's perspective was considerably simpler. She had spent much of her life traveling roads where medicine amounted to whatever could be carried in a wagon or pack, and she knew what happened when weather, raiders, distance, or disaster separated injured people from supplies. Thyferra had merely disseminated that old lesson across entire worlds.

Muad's greeting to Makai drew a quiet laugh from her, but no surprise. Cheeky Jedi brother was hardly the strangest way she had heard him begin a conversation, and expecting conventional introductions from Muad Dib seemed an exercise in futility. Rin merely glanced up at him with fond amusement before turning her attention toward Makai, her thumb moving idly over Muad's knuckles.

She was curious about what Dashiell had built and what another source of kolto might mean after Thyferra, but Rin felt no need to manufacture an official purpose for herself. For now, she was content to listen, learn, and remain comfortably beside the man whose presence mattered rather more to her than whatever title accompanied her membership in the Protectorate.

Muad Dib Caeritha Sorn Ra'a'mah Makai Dashiell

 

[Makai Dashiell]

LYTHOS IX

Wearing | Gear : X | X | X | X | X | L3-37 | Interacting With : Muad Dib | Caeritha Sorn | Ra'a'mah | Iandre Athlea | Zarrah Vex
​

He was mildly surprised by the turnout. Most of these governments sent two. Or it was addressing a bored representative committee.

The half-Galan quickly greeted the group with handshakes, as questions were already being peppered in his direction. Understandable, time was precious and he was positive there were questions for such a facility outside the confines of Manaan and the High Republic.

"Miss Vex, a pleasure. Miss Numare, I've heard a bit about you. Miss Senn, thank you for coming. Miss Athlea, likewise." One asked about his brother instead of giving his name. Or Makai assumed it was his brother - Balum? Wait until he saw Balun Dashiell once again. "Sir, Miss. Welcome."

Introductions over, hands shook, Makai began to answer the questions. Miss Senn was going to be looking over operations - perhaps a regulatory branch of the government? Reducing insurance liability to ensure his facilities were compliant? He had heard of such a thing before. As he began to answer questions, Makai slowly walked backwards along the decking of the refining facility, wanting the group to tour the entire structure.

"Scaling can be done quickly. I've got my eye on another agriworld in the Lythos system to begin production there. Bringing it to worlds without a traditional supply chain will be a collaboration between our various distributors and the Protectorate government. Something that would have to be hashed negotiated."

"As for serving customers, the High Republic was less than interested. There is zero concern about competition in that regard - not that there ever was. Each contract I undertake, big or small, is extremely important. No one gets bumped due to size."

A valid concern. Makai was certain other companies out there would throw a smaller contract under the proverbial public transport. Talk drifted to his bacta project.

"I'm currently in the process of extracting several scientists. For everyone's safety, development and production will be left unknown - yet far away from any current Sith territory. Wary to answer any real questions right now, but I'll be eager to inform all of you once the project is live and producing bacta."

Head inclined slightly as he tried to understand the question presented by Miss Athlea.

"So failure of the supply chain? In terms of? In terms of Aina Holdings delivering it to a Protectorate warehouse or drop off point? I'm building far enough away from the Sith its not a concern quite yet but all shipments will have security, all of my shipments do. I also would expect the Protectorate to assist in times of crisis, or meet us at a more neutral drop-off point just outside the action. One has to remember civilians run these cargo haulers."

Maybe that was what she was going for.

"Uh, I have a brother named Balun. Not sure who this Balum fellow is."

Makai offered a smile and spread his arms out a little, as if inviting the next challenge.

"Next questions as we make our way to the start of the intake on this facility."

 

[Zarrah Vex]

Objective: Evaluate Kolto & Bacta for UPSS Military Use
Location: Aina Holdings Kolto Production Facility, Lythos IX
Attire:Black UPSS Field Uniform
Tag: Makai Dashiell | Ra'a'mah | OPEN

ZARRAH VEX

Zarrah listened as the others added their own concerns, finding that she rather appreciated the assortment Makai had somehow collected. Trade, relief work, people who had apparently come directly from Thyferra... They were approaching the same problem from very different directions.

One face among the newcomers was familiar. It took Zarrah a moment to place Rin outside the smoke, cold, and considerably less sophisticated surroundings of Varonat. Once she did, the corner of her mouth lifted. Of all the people she might have expected to encounter while evaluating a potential military medical supplier, the woman with whom she'd once discussed the strategic importance of stolen vegetables wasn't particularly high on the list.

"Rin." The greeting came with a small nod and an unmistakable flicker of recognition. There would be time to catch up later. For now, Zarrah returned her attention to Makai as he began leading them toward the intake section of the facility.

His reluctance to elaborate on the bacta project didn't bother her. Quite the opposite. "Keep the bacta operation quiet until you're ready," Zarrah said as she walked. "If I could arrive here, ask where you're developing it, and walk away with an answer, I'd be considerably less interested in relying upon it."

The scientists caught her attention, but she didn't press on that point either. Getting them somewhere safe and getting production established came first. They could discuss military requirements once there was actually bacta to acquire.

His answer concerning civilian haulers was more immediately useful. Zarrah glanced toward Iandre before looking back to Makai. The question she'd raised about a failed supply chain wasn't really solved by putting more security aboard a freighter. Eventually there came a point where commercial logistics stopped being reasonable and military logistics needed to take over.

"And I wouldn't expect civilian crews to run a blockade simply because their cargo happens to have our name on it." That boundary seemed simple enough to Zarrah. "Get it to a secure Protectorate facility or an agreed transfer point outside the contested area. Once we're asking someone to carry it through active fighting, that's our responsibility." Her datapad came up as she made a brief note.

The arrangement had possibilities beyond individual deliveries. Aina Holdings could maintain the commercial portion of the network while the Protectorate established regional reserves and assumed custody when circumstances required military transportation. A disrupted hyperlane or sudden attack wouldn't necessarily mean waiting for a shipment to cross half the region before treatment could begin. Provided, of course, that kolto cooperated with that kind of planning.

"Which brings me to stockpiling. How long can your kolto remain stored without meaningful degradation, and what does maintaining it require?" Her eyes shifted toward the machinery they were approaching. "I'm thinking less about ordering it after a crisis begins and more about having reserves already positioned throughout Protectorate space."

There was another consideration. "And how flexible is your packaging? A naval hospital, a planetary relief center, and a field unit aren't going to need the same quantities or handling equipment." Zarrah gave Makai a slight smile. "If we're going to find military uses for what you're producing, I'd rather not discover during the shooting that the smallest container requires a cargo lifter."

​

 

[Iandre Athlea]

The slight uncertainty in Makai's response told Iandre that she'd phrased her question poorly. She listened without interrupting, and Zarrah neatly addressed the part concerning who should assume responsibility once transporting medical supplies meant entering active fighting. Iandre certainly wasn't suggesting civilian crews should be expected to run blockades merely because their cargo happened to be medicine, and she gave Makai a small, apologetic smile as they began moving toward the intake section.

"I phrased that badly." She fell easily into step with the group. "Commander Vex has covered the transportation side of it. I was thinking more about what happens after the normal local infrastructure has already failed. A relief camp may not have the storage, equipment, or distribution network that a hospital or established Protectorate facility would. If your kolto reaches the nearest secure point, how adaptable is it from there?" That was closer to what she'd meant, and Iandre left the question there so Makai could answer rather than burying it beneath three more. Enough people here already had questions, and disciplined restraint applied just as readily to conversation as it did to a lightsaber.

The arrival of two familiar faces drew her attention briefly away from the facility. Muad's grin was recognizable enough before he ever spoke, and his callback to their parting words on Naboo brought a warmer smile to Iandre's face. "Life has been considerably kinder lately." The answer was simple, but she felt its truth more deeply than she once had. There had been a time when good seemed temporary and the future something she endured rather than anticipated. That wasn't where she lived anymore. She had friends, a Padawan, work that mattered, and someone whose invitations she had become increasingly fond of accepting. She didn't need to explain any of that to Muad for the smile accompanying her answer to be genuine. Iandre nodded back before offering Rin one of her own, the warmth in her expression carrying the greeting without interrupting the business already underway.

Then Muad asked Makai if he had a cheeky Jedi brother named Balum, and Iandre's attention shifted back toward their host with considerably more interest than the question probably warranted. She had suspected the connection from the moment Ra addressed him as Mister Dashiell, but Makai's correction settled the matter with a simple Balun. Her expression remained admirably composed, though the corner of her mouth threatened to betray her. Balun had introduced himself before rather abruptly revealing that Judah was his father in the middle of an otherwise ordinary conversation. Makai had already greeted her politely as Miss Athlea, apparently seeing nothing more remarkable than another member of the Protectorate delegation asking questions about his operation. Meanwhile, Muad had managed, with one slightly mangled name, to confirm the suspicion she'd been carrying since Ra first addressed their host as Mister Dashiell.

It was difficult not to find the situation amusing. Judah had spoken about his sons and about introducing her to them when the time was right, yet Iandre had somehow encountered both independently before that could happen. Makai, unlike Balun, didn't even know there was another layer to their acquaintance yet, and she saw no reason to introduce one in the middle of a discussion about kolto distribution. There would be a time for that conversation, preferably one in which Judah was actually present.

For now, Iandre returned her attention to Makai as he invited the next questions, letting the business at hand remain business. The amusement lingered beneath her composure, however, along with a growing certainty that Judah would find this considerably funnier when she told him than he had any right to.

Makai Dashiell Zarrah Vex Ra'a'mah Muad Dib

 

[Ra'a'mah]

Ra fell into step with the others as Makai led them toward the intake section, listening while the questions moved from production to transportation and storage. His answer concerning smaller customers earned an approving nod. "Good. I'd hoped that would be your answer." It wasn't altruism she was looking for. Smaller contracts could still be profitable contracts, and a supplier willing to maintain them rather than abandoning those customers whenever a larger buyer appeared was considerably more useful to the kind of worlds the Protectorate represented.

His discretion concerning bacta earned rather more approval. Ra had spent too many years in intelligence to ask a man to announce where he intended to hide scientists recently extracted from Sith-controlled territory. "Keep that location to yourself," she agreed. "I'll be perfectly happy learning where it is after you have something there you actually want us to buy."

The mention of another agriworld immediately interested her more. "You said you're already looking at expanding kolto production elsewhere in the system. Is that primarily about increasing capacity, or are you intending the second operation to function independently if something happens here?" Her gaze traveled over the machinery as they walked. "One large source is useful. Two sources that don't fail for the same reasons are considerably more interesting."

Makai Dashiell Zarrah Vex Iandre Athlea Muad Dib

 

[Muad Dib]

"Are you sure his name isn't Balum? Jedi with gorgeous blue robes, about my build, pretty boy with long brown hair, brown eyes you could melt in, and a dazzling smile? Oh, he also has an orange lightsaber and moves like a dancer. Very athletic. You sure his name isn't Balum?" He smirked, then glanced at Zarrah, who had brought up an interesting point about transport. Ian clarified a previous comment he wasn't around for.

"That does beg the question about modularity. Is it compatible with current technology? Can we utilize the same basic equipment, or will we need new equipment? Is it compatible with regular medkits, emergency injections, that sort of thing? And what about full immersion tanks? And about the shelf life? What is the expiration or decay rate in comparison to bacta?"

Muad turned his head and winked at Ian. "Considerably kinder is definitely an improvement. My life has also gotten much better." As Makai led the group toward intake, Muad smirked. "My brother would be the sir. I'm Muad Dib. Please, call me Muad. Mr. Dib is too disturbing for everyone. Now, you said something about extracting scientists… the term "extracting" is a very specific word choice. Would you care to elaborate? Or leave it as mystique?"

His glance turned to Rin as he frowned slightly.

Not a fan of the High Republic or Sith. Very interesting.

His attention turned to Ra while he grunted in agreement. Not keeping all your eggs in the proverbial basket made sense, especially in the current troubling times the galaxy faced. But was it technical issues, possible equipment failure, or had Makai earned enemies who sought to undermine, destroy, or take what he had begun to build?

Makai Dashiell I Iandre Athlea I Zarrah Vex I Rin Taal I Caeritha Sorn I Ra'a'mah

 

[Caeritha Sorn]

CAERITHA SORN

◆ ─────────────── ◆ ─────────────── ◆​

Location: Kolto Refining Facility
Cover Identity: Mara Senn — Caldera Commercial Analysis
Objective: Observe

◆ ─────────────── ◆ ─────────────── ◆​

Mara returned the unfamiliar man's earlier acknowledgment with a small nod of her own. Nothing more. He knew Numare. He knew Athlea well enough to greet her with what sounded like the continuation of an old conversation. The Zorren woman beside him was plainly more than a traveling companion. Commander Vex, meanwhile, had recognized Rin almost immediately. None of that had anything to do with kolto.

Mara continued walking. Her datapad remained cradled against one forearm as Dashiell answered questions, occasionally receiving a notation beneath headings sufficiently mundane that anyone glancing over her shoulder would have been disappointed. Production. Distribution. Security. Proposed expansion.

The people were becoming more interesting than the facility. Not because any individual connection mattered terribly much on its own. People knew people. Friends accumulated friends. Colleagues encountered one another away from conference rooms. There was nothing sinister or remarkable about it. But enough connections gathered in one place stopped being incidental. They became structure.

Mara's attention briefly settled upon Iandre when Balun Dashiell's name entered the conversation. There had been something there. Recognition, perhaps. Amusement certainly. Whatever its source, Mara had neither sufficient information nor reason to pursue it. So she didn't. Muad proved less restrained.

Extracting. Mara had noticed Dashiell's choice of word as well. Scientists did not ordinarily need to be extracted from comfortable employment. Combined with the secrecy surrounding his proposed bacta development, there were several interesting possibilities. Not one of them justified Mara Senn asking another question about it. She entered nothing onto the datapad.

Ra'a'mah's question about the second facility was considerably safer territory. Mara looked toward the woman before shifting her attention back to Dashiell. Here, at least, Caldera Commercial Analysis had something perfectly ordinary to contribute. "Miss Numare's distinction is an important one from an investment perspective." Her tone remained conversational rather than challenging. "Additional capacity is valuable, but it isn't necessarily redundancy if both operations remain dependent upon the same infrastructure."

A few movements across her datapad brought the proposed second facility back onto the display. "Would the new site share refining, storage, transportation, or management dependencies with this one? Or is your intention that either facility could continue supplying customers independently if something happened to the other?"

There. A dull question. The sort that belonged in a risk assessment beneath headings like continuity, exposure, and operational resilience. The sort executives generally appreciated someone else asking before an investment was made. It also happened to answer another question entirely.

Mara gave Dashiell an attentive look before allowing her gaze to wander toward the refinery's intake systems as the group continued onward. She had no reason to press him about his scientists. Muad had already done that. No reason to ask about Protectorate distribution. Commander Vex, Numare, and Athlea were defining it between them. No reason, really, to do much of anything except listen.

Aina Holdings was slowly drawing itself into something larger than a commercial supply chain. Production on one world, potentially another elsewhere in the system. Distributors carrying medicine outward. Protectorate stockpiles waiting at the other end. Military logistics prepared to take over when civilian transportation could go no farther. Relief workers considering everything that happened afterward. And somewhere beyond all of it, scientists were being extracted to establish a bacta operation whose location Dashiell quite sensibly refused to disclose. Interesting. Mara made another harmless notation concerning production redundancy. The more important map required no datapad at all.

◆ ─────────────── ◆ ─────────────── ◆​