Beyond the Farthest Star

[Miel Tevv]

STATION 51 - VERGESSO ASTEROIDS​

STATUS: UNDER CONSTRUCTION​

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"I'm terrible sorry to bother you, Director Tevv. You requested I notify you when we're about to arrive."

Miel grunted himself awake, blinking stupidly at the emotionless face of his FA-4 pilot droid. The wheeled robot tilted its head inquisitively at him, all the while maintaining seamless control over the Sullustan's personal Shadow-class Transport. It was a far cry from his Luxury 5000 star yacht which had been severely damaged during the recent Mandalorian raid on his homeworld, along with much of SoroSuub's pride and infrastructure.

"Thanks, Number One," it was his nickname for the FA-4 unit, who along with a FA-5 valet model Miel referred to as Jeeves made up his entire crew for this expedition.

His deputy, Nathanos Darksword was back on Sullust at the Centroplex, or what remained of it. It would be some time before Byllurun was restored to its original glory, but with the help of the Sullustan Home Guard they were beginning to pick up the pieces. His mission to the deep rim was twofold, first to oversee the establishment of clandestine manufacturing operations on behalf of their contacts in the exiled Alliance government. SoroSuub was publicly rebranding itself as a neutral Outer Rim broker, leaning on profits from their open market products to make up for the shortfall of lost military contracts with a now defunct superpower. Privately however, behind board room doors, they were just as partisan as ever.

But Director Tevv's second objective was what had him feeling anxious now. Because of the unsanctioned actions of their Supreme Commander, Sullust had provoked Mandalore. His people were not warlike by nature, they were pragmatists in their bones. When you crossed Mandalorians, it was best to deal with an expert. [member="Gilamar Skirata"] was sympathetic to the Alliance-in-Exile's cause, or so their sources had told him, and stood above his people's infighting. It was rumored that his corporation had provided safe harbor for retreating forces from Lothal and Fondor.

"Activate our cloaked binary beacon," he said to Number One once they dropped out of hyperspace, bracing himself reflexively whenever a massive asteroid passed too narrowly across their charted course, "Easy to get lost out here."

"Of course, sir."

When they arrived at their destination, Miel's hands began to tremor. He ordered his pilot to cut all power, save a tightbeam directly at the massive asteroid drifting before them. Sending pulses on a preset interval, Miel could not help but worry after a few moments that they had somehow flown to the wrong coordinates. Then a crevice split apart directly in the asteroid's center, revealing a skeleton of a hidden manufacturing base inside.

"Station 51 control, requesting clearance to land."

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

There was a click indicating someone on the other end had opened a com channel, but a long silence and muffled sounds that could have been whispers or shuffling flimsi was all that could be heard. A short period went by before a woman with a thick Concordian accent answered over the com.

"This is Station 51 control, you have been cleared to dock, we are sending a flight path to you now. Please follow it and do not deviate from the path." It might have seemed strange, for a secret instillation to not have a code phrase or access code, but things had been so hectic one had yet to be set up. With that being the case though the silence still made little sense. However, after the com cut, the ship's sensors would pick up a large ship of unknown class.

The Shev'la Kal, a Mandalorian stealth cruiser, would disengage its stealth and power down its weapons that had been trained on the transport had they proven to been compromised. The ship floated past, keeping parallel to the given flight pattern, an escort of sorts. The asteroids were secluded which was great for the Alliance, but it also meant pirates and smugglers passing through on top of the potential for being found by First Order scouts and spies. It was obvious that even though this wasn't officially his, Gilamar took the security of this place strongly.

The old Mandalorian was waiting in the hangar bay, two Mandalorians clad in their iconic armor stood by his side at attention. Gil declined to wear armor most days now. Being a retired soldier meant some level of comfort after all. He wore a dull, brown plaid button up with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of black pants with an intricate holster that held a blaster on his right and a rather large knife on his left. The old man's eyes watched for the shuttle.
[member="Miel Tevv"]

 

[Miel Tevv]

Director Tevv was grateful for the escort, even if Number One's shrill notification of an unidentified ship in the middle of their docking procedure had nearly given the Sullustan a stroke. Truthfully, he was grateful knowing their escort was out there. Miel had relied on his transport's own stealth suite and supercharged hyperdrive to deliver him out here quickly and quietly, but no sensor dampener in the world would save him if pirates or even worse, Imperials, were staking out his destination.

Station 51's primary disembarkation hangar was an impressive sight, even if it was still very much under construction. Chasms of rock poked out behind incomplete bulkheads, a faint azure shimmer the only indicator of the temporary magnetic field which kept their surroundings filled with atmosphere despite not yet being completely airtight. The Director's Shadow-class was slowly tractored towards an awaiting landing pad, and he could make out three specks through his cockpit's glasteel which slowly resolved themselves into people. Silvia had dispatched a welcome committee.

Upon first descending his transport's loading ramp, Miel's blood froze at the first sign of beskar. He knew logically that these were not the same Mandalorians who had sacked Byllurun and kidnapped thousands of innocent civilians, but all he could remember was the terror he had felt while desperately attempting to evacuate SoroSuub's Centroplex before the bombs came.

"Mister Skirata," flashing a trademark Tevv smile at [member="Gilamar Skirata"], he did his best not to let it get to him while stepping down the rest of the way off his loading ramp, "Or do you prefer Alor'ad? It is a pleasure to finally meet face to face. I hope you will forgive us conducting our initial negotiations through subspace and couriers, under normal circumstances SoroSuub prefers a more personal touch, but then these are hardly normal circumstances."

He was alone. That had been a difficult sell to the surviving members of the Board, but Miel had been adamant that the Mandalorians could not begin to respect them as partners without first displaying some of the qualities Skirata's warrior people found so endearing. Qualities like bravery and duty. In place of his usual silken executive robes, Director Tevv wore a simple tunic and Sullust leather spacer's vest. Hanging from his belt next to some durable work khakis was a DH-17 blaster, holstered but worn openly.

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

He chuckled at the Sullustan before giving a light-hearted shrug.

"Gil is fine, and don't worry about those couriers. I understand what kind of situation you're in. I was in a similar one only months ago now." A survivor of the Mandalorian Civil war, he had seen his people chased into the Outer Rim by Death Watch loyalists and for a long while he couldn't even get a message into Mandalore for fear of being attacked. Now here he was, aiding another enemy of the Mandalorian Empire. Maybe it was destiny that he would never be truly in their favor.

Gil took note of the blaster and nodded before leading the way into the facility.

"Construction is going well. When they told me they wanted a shipyard built into this asteroid field I told them it was easy, when they said they wanted it done at the same time as we were repairing and refitting ships here...Well, to be honest I didn't think it could be done, but your engineers have been a real help. Not sure we'd be nearly as close as we are now without them."
[member="Miel Tevv"]

 

[Miel Tevv]

"Yes, my people have a way with rock," Miel nodded, nevertheless marveling at the progress they had already made, "A cave is a cave, whether its Byllurun or a simple asteroid."

Already he could see corvettes and frigates nearby in dry dock, at last undergoing repairs they had sustained over Fondor, Sullust or Lothal. It had taken some doing, convincing the Board of Directors to back his plans for expansion when the need at home was now greater than it had ever been. Their homeworld was exposed, surrounding by enemies with only the Home Guard to protect Tevv's people. This place was not just an off books shipyard, it was an insurance policy.

If Sullust were to be conquered, it would take wholesale regime change for its citizens to fall in line, and given how inextricably SoroSuub was linked to the political government, that meant no one was safe. Even the Board. This place would serve as a fallback point should the worst ever come, or at least that was how Miel had phrased it to his colleagues. In reality, it was just as [member="Gilamar Skirata"] had described it, a hastily assembled shipyard to serve the dire needs of the Alliance-in-Exile's forces.

"Primo Victorian informed us of your situation before...our falling out," Miel phrased delicately, "Sullustans are a united people now, but we too have had our periods of internal strife. The scars they leave run deep."