Private Crafting a Heavyweight

[Onrai]

Cara Dorniarn

Vanessa had finally received the information from Darth Carnifex she had waited years to finally hear. For the first time ever, she would be in command of one of the most powerful ships the Empire ever had, a ship that, if built correctly, would be tougher and wield more firepower than any other vessel in the entirety of the Sith navy. But such a design, while able to be manufactured within the region of Nathema, was going to require a good bit more than just raw materials, plenty of which she could salvage from her mining operations over Lehon, from Sith sources, or even from the molecular furnaces that existed in the Imperial Graveyard. It was going to require people who were like-minded, people who could help her craft such a powerful warship.

People like the woman she had invited to join her on the station today. If Cara was every bit the shipwright Vanessa had been led to believe, then perhaps she would be the key to making the most powerful of all Sith warships.

Perhaps.

 

[Cara Dorniarn]

It was unusual news in some ways. A meeting requested by a Sith Lord which Cara hadn't known existed, requesting a business quote and technical advice of the starship variety. Not that it should be taken as an offense, but the planet of Nathema was in a part of Sith space the engineer had never trod, and the vagueness of the meeting details were enough to leave her feeling... wary. There was a Civil War going on, after all.

Cara punched in the coordinates and walked away as the ship shot into hyperspace. Papers, yes those archaic things, were scattered throughout her living quarters in a coded order that only their maker could parse through. She slouched over a certain pile on her desk, the pot of caf in her hand smoking like a cauldron. Her familiar warbled into the room struggling with his box of schematics. The ID10 beeped a complaint of a whining servo.

"Certain it is a servo or is it your inner monologue?" Cara absently tipped the pot to take a sip.

Aidee trilled his shock at the scene, stating in binary tongue that a perfectly clean mug was a mere meter away in the kitchenette.

She didn't turn to acknowledge the outburst, continuing to view the papers with an amused smirk.

- - -
​

The Azure Star boomed out of hyperspace, soon closing its proximity with the station. The ring was impressive and fairly busy. However, more people proved a double-edged sword depending on the mood of the oncoming engagement. Cara hoped this potential Damocles stayed buoyant.

The ship was cleared for docking and she landed the Azure. Aidee whirled out even as the ramp was lowering, the blue Id10 tickled chromatic with the thrill of adventure.

"Aidee, heel." Cara's voice was honed to carry its professionally cold sound. The droid immediately spun mid-vector and returned to her side, nestling itself into the small shoulder harness on her suit coat.

A polite but short nod to whoever was present in the vicinity, "Dr. Dorniarn here to meet Lady Vantai."

Onrai

 

[Onrai]

Cara Dorniarn

The hangar authorities consisted of Darktroopers, several cyborg ones and two taller mechanical units, all of whom observed Cara and her droid as they arrived at the orbital complex. The hangar officer came over and motioned for her to follow. The trio would travel up an elevator that seemed to go through dozens of floors before stopping on a floor that appeared to be nothing but a comfortable room with a view of space, a table, and a blonde woman sitting at said table with a serving droid that had brought appetizers out.

“Hello there, Miss Dorniarn.” She said. “Please, take a seat. I’m Vanessa Vantai. A pleasure to meet you.” Vanessa motioned for her to sit down as the serving droid offered her some appetizers.

 

[Cara Dorniarn]

Cara took but a moment to observe the contrasting space, entering with a mirrored step to the pace of the troopers. When getting closer to the woman she slows her tread, stopping within a respectable distance to give a polite bow, "Lady Vantai, the pleasure is all mine," she rose back to her stiff posture, "And please, call me Dorniarn or simply doctor."

She raised a single brow at the appetizers, the rest of her face impassive. With a professional smile she waved away the droid, but did take the offered seat, "Oh, thank you, but I find it difficult to talk business over food." A partial lie. Truthfully, she wasn't fond of eating foods prepared by an unknown species. Also there was the possibility of poison, but she was mostly certain that was a single incident not due for repeating.

"Speaking of which," the metal fingers clinked as they were steepled, "I am surprised you sought out my expertise. I am qualified but regrettably not very... influential. There are those who hold greater ties than I, Lady Vantai." If this was an attempt of the Empire to take stock of loyalists then Cara wasn't one to play with fire. She much preferred to sink her hands right in.

But by the balance, she truly hoped it was truly business.

Onrai

 

[Onrai]

Cara Dorniarn

Vanessa nodded in response to Cara's initial introduction. "Gladly, Dorniarn - unless you'd prefer that I simply call you Cara." She said, before noticing the stiffness and tension of the cybernetic knight. "Relax - while the matters at hand are important, there's no reason to continue to spread the seeming tension in the room." She pondered for a bit before considering, without attempting to read the woman's mind, what her potential worries were.

She thought for a moment about the food, before shrugging. "Very well." She would grab another appetizer from the plate and enjoy it. "In short, I sought out your expertise because I would like to assist someone with a passion for the development of warships and starcraft in making a name for herself. The fact that you aren't influential means little to me, and in fact makes the use of your services even more appealing." She answered. "Particularly with this whole business between the loyalists and secessionists." A holographic form would appear, that of the Eclipse, the ancient dreadnought once crafted by Palpatine as the ultimate warship, a took that would be capable of annihilating all that stood before it. "I assume you recognize this ship. I have already produced smaller iterations of such a vessel, the Sovereign-class battlecruiser, but the Emperor has seen it fit to provide me with a dreadnought-scale warship. Suffice to say, I intend for this ship to be grander than his own. Not insofar as opulence goes - there's no reason for such, after all - but with regards to sheer firepower. We're going to be creating a warship capable of attacking and destroying anything that comes across it. Fighters, bombers, warships, and above all, other dreadnoughts." She said, popping her knuckles.

"The vessel is going to have numerous methods of attack. Beam weaponry for anti-fighter use and anti-warship use is of course a given. Solar ionization cannons to deal with lighter warships and their pesky shields... and viral attack systems. I also intend to have Sith in meditation chambers who are experienced in the use of telekinetic powers. They should sense that which the sensors cannot and can crush smaller vessels or sabotage the internal systems of larger ships." She said. "We're going to remove the dreadnoughts of our enemies and leverage the power in our favor."

 

[Cara Dorniarn]

"Apologies. I have a natural stiffness about me," intentional or not, she rolled her metal shoulder in their sockets before continuing, "Dorniarn will do fine, Lady Vantai..."

As the blooning hologram steadied its matrix Cara stretched out a hand to trace the silhouette of the dreadnought. She walked about the projection with a steady gait, nodding her head as she listened to the Sith Lady speak.

"This dreadnought was an ancient masterpiece," she spoke while studying the hologram, "Of course, opulence has n... little place on a ship meant for domination." She was close to saying a dreadnought had no room for opulence, but a complete contradiction of the emperor's opinion wasn't the wisest move.

"You have great vision for this vessel, and so far I see everything as a possibility. The placement of meditation chambers will be minor challenge, as the size of the dreadnought may demand a higher number of them. They would possibly be more "exposed" than average rooms depending on the hull composition as well. In honesty I know little of telepathic abilities, so we will see."

"As for viral attacks that I would handle myself directly. Many individuals hire companies that employ independent contractors and it's perfectly ridiculous. Who knows how many digital pass-keys they would create then sell." The doctor sounds ruffled at the thought, a small amount of agitation breaking through her otherwise chilly exterior.

"My company would be honored to have the chance to work on such a prestigious project, Lady Vantai," She turns to face the woman and give the slightest bow.

Onrai

 

[Onrai]

"I... appreciate such." Truthfully she thought Cara with the mechanical arms looked very nice. "It is true that the ship will need to be more spartan. My whole purpose for creating this ship is conquest, to annihilate and devastate all enemies of the Empire to such a degree that no other warship has ever been able to do before." She thought about the challenges Cara had put forward previously. "The meditation chambers could be aligned centrally down the hull, flanking the main beam arrays. The warship will have a pair of the most powerful beam weapons I have ever constructed on a warship, comparable to the power of the Emperor's dreadnought's own superlaser. Of course, I'll be able to engage multiple targets if need be, since there are two arrays. As for the viral systems... if you wish, those are your specialties."

She smiled, looking at Cara's acceptance. "Splendid. Shall we get to work?"

Cara Dorniarn

 

[Cara Dorniarn]

It'd been months since any word of the doctor's whereabouts was heard. Having disappeared after the battle of Muunilinist Cara Dorniarn was thought to be dead, however her closest peers considered she perhaps took an impromptu sabbatical. It wasn't unusual for the doctor to disappear on her own journeys for research. The only loose thread in the theory was the utter silence of it all. The doctor would never have left without instructions, last minute papers, or even the favored caf maker in her office.

Where in the system was Cara Dorniarn?

- - -
​

Smaller in stature, appearance changed, the doctor walked down the hall at a clipped pace. The work on the dreadnought had continued during her absence much to her approval, but now she sunk her freshly cybernetic hands back into the schematics. Fingers drummed against the datapad in hand, and one might dare to say the doctor was in a...good mood?

Aidee bobbed behind in a faithful path, warbling a tune he'd heard over the radio during their flight. The dreadnought was coming along nicely, so well in fact she petitioned for the monthly update to take place in-person aboard the behemoth vessel.

She glanced about the bridge, extending her will to woo the electronics for smoother installation. Close to completion she wished to be present when they activated the controls for the bridge. The ship still had time before it could sail, but this was a momentous occasion during construction.

Why not share it?

Onrai

 

[Onrai]

It had been months since Cara Dorniarn had been around the construction site of Vanessa's dreadnought - months indeed. Vanessa had heard rumors of Cara's demise at the Battle of Muunilinist, but presumed correctly that her master would not dispose of her so quickly given her effectual talents in engineering and crafting of archaic constructs. Now, however, Vanessa had received a message from some of the crew working in the bridge that a figure with Miss Dorniarn's identification had arrived at the site and was assisting in the assembly process. It was several minutes before Vanessa herself would appear at the bridge, eying the unfamiliar form that still shared that easily recollected taint of the Dark Side as only Cara had.

"What happened to you?" Those were the only words she had asked. Construction had proceeded onwards regardless of her presence, but Vanessa wanted the details as to why she had gone missing.

Cara Dorniarn

 

[Cara Dorniarn]

Cara sensed the approach of the Sith Lord, having cast an obscured glance over her shoulder before she turned to fully greet the woman, "Good to see you once more, Lady Vantai," she passed the datapad to a laborer and gave him a nod. He returned the gesture then gave a bow to Vantai before going about his new task.

The doctor clasped her hands behind her and lightly kicked a heel. She looked up, now, to speak to the woman, but not an inch of pride had been lost. Her back straight, tone serious, she replied, "War is messy. Casualties happen. When some needed a medic I was in need of a mechanic, but none could understand my personal designs." It was said with equal measures of boast and lament, Cara finding pleasure in the sophistication of her work but not lost to the irony it was what doomed her.

"I'm alive by means more esoteric than my liking but no matter. Progress prevails. Aidee?"

The blue droid warbled at her call, humming as it came to a rest between the doctor and Sith Lord. His secondary camera whirred as it focused a projection of the dreadnought.

"Your craft is close to completion, Lady Vantai. I did issue a few adjustments, minor really. All together construction has stayed consistent to the estimated time frame, and if it continues at current pacing it should have two weeks shaved from the original launch date. I did promise you efficiency with this project."

A metallic hand, similar to what she bore in the past, came forward to present a datachip.

"A copy of the information intended to be loaded into the systems. Planets, locations... and a host of many other things. Customary for such information to first be," censored? "Personalized, by the one holding highest position over a project. That would be you."

Onrai

 

[Onrai]

"It's a sublime piece of engineering." Vanessa responded. "Truly a worthy warship." She smiled, eying as the vessel's internal components were put into place. "You have done so much for me, Cara, in the way of helping to create my wonder-weapon that will bring terror to the enemies of the Empire. Presumably you must have something you want from me in return." She took the datachip, placing it within her own datapad. She would deal with this in due time.

"Please, do tell."

Cara Dorniarn