Dear Imperial Remnant

[Velok the Younger]

The Lethewalker, flagship of Akure Executive Leatherworks, was a modified Haran'uliik light frigate. Faster and harder-hitting than it had any right to be, it emerged from hyperspace over the recently pacified world of Crina.

"There we go." Rave smoothed the leather over [member="Fable Merrill"]'s shoulders, adjusted the front of the garment -- not that Fable needed the adjustment; she hadn't been...recruited for haute couture proportions -- and offered her ward a faint smile. "All ready. Not too heavy, is it? Good, good. You look lovely, Fable."

The bridge crew, consummate professionals who'd been with Rave for years, studiously ignored the endearment. At Rave's nod, one handed her a comm.

Rave's soft drawl headed downwell via subspace.

"Crina Orbital Control, this is the Lethewalker. Master Rave Merrill requests an audience with a servant of the Emperor on behalf of Akure Executive Leatherworks."

[member="Mason Deschart"]

 

[Fable Merrill]

[member="Rave Merrill"] [member="Mason Deschart"]

Black leather. A faux saber. It was pretty obvious that Rave was savvy, if uninspired, when it came to marketing. There was even a bit of body armor tastefully included over the particularly vulnurable places. Stylish, functional, and a far cry away from drab black cloaks and recycled trooper armor. In Fable's woefully uneducated opinion, they had a decent product to sell. Pity it was on such a lackluster model.

Replying with a small nod and a sheepish "Thank you, miss.", Fable shifted slightly and adjusted the sleeves of the coat. In truth, she felt it was a bit heavy for her own tastes, but heavy clothing was something a person could acclimate to. Fable doubted she'd be acclimating any time soon. The boots and capris were a nice touch, considering her build, but Fable likewise doubted that they'd particularly appeal to an Admiral. Perhaps Rave just wanted to make a point about how even a waif of an apprentice could look semi-competent at combat (and assumedly be protected) by wearing her ridiculously masterwork leather armor.

Keeping her arms at her sides and her back straight like a good bodyguard, Fable endeavored to try and look at least a LITTLE formidable. Who had ever heard of being intimidating in black capris, though? Stupid girl.

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

Aboard the Victory II Star Destroyer Requiem - Crina Orbit

"Contact. Bearing 2095. Unidentified frigate-class vessel. Incoming communications."

"Crina Orbital Control, this is the Lethewalker. Master Rave Merrill requests an audience with a servant of the Emperor on behalf of Akure Executive Leatherworks."

Mason had been looking over reports from ongoing work at the shipyards, chiefly the work to build the Requiem's replacement vessel, when the announcement of incoming outsiders arrived. If it were Mandalorians it would be possibly expected given their ongoing talks. It didn't appear that was the case, however, as it was instead one Rave Merrill as a representative for a galactic company. This was odd, and Mason couldn't help it as his mouth twitched in slight annoyance. Still, appearances were important.

"Give them clearance to come over and board the Requiem. Have an honor guard escort them to the briefing room."

"Frigate Lethewalker, this is the Remnant vessel Requiem. You have permission to approach and send over a small party. Grand Admiral Deschart will speak with you personally."

With that, Mason turned and departed, heading for the aforementioned briefing room, a detachment of two Imperial Knights in tow. The Emperor wanted to make sure his Grand Admiral was safe, after all.

[member="Fable Merrill"] [member="Rave Merrill"]

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Mason Deschart"]

After proper acknowledgements, a lone Niathal-class shuttle broke away from the Lethewalker. Its cargo comprised Rave and [member="Fable Merrill"], and several trunks of demonstration samples carried by basic labour droids. In due course, they entered the briefing room.

"Grand Admiral Deschart, I'm Rave Merrill. I won't waste your time; I'm an alchemist, and I make things that give my clients a decisive advantage over their rivals. I specialize in low-profile armour, like what you see us wearing -- haute couture leather that can stop a lightsabre, blunt Force-based attacks, and resist a variety of disproportionately powerful weapons." She gestured at her own outfit -- fingerless leather gloves, a thigh-length leather shirt, an ankle-length duster, a complex belt, simple trousers and boots. "I can also provide all the classic warbeasts of the Imperial tradition, up to and including chrysalides. My intent is to offer the Empire the same access to my products at the same one-fifth discount as I give my own employees.

"If you'd find value in your Knights testing the lightsabre- and Force-resistant capabilities of what we're wearing, feel free to so instruct them."

 

[Fable Merrill]

[member="Mason Deschart"]
[member="Rave Merrill"]

Fable had her orders - so to speak. Stand by and be a presentation piece, follow directions. She took her directives fairly seriously, and didn't raise a fuss, hovering just behind Rave's left side like a good apprentice should.

At least the boots were comfortable for standing in. Hands behind her back, the wide-eyed clone simply kept her mouth shut and waited for the Admiral's no doubt keen eye to look them over.

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

Interesting. They wanted to sell them equipment. Under the circumstances he found it appropriate. Given their propensity for not really being capable of keeping up with a lot of the Force users out there, it might behoove them to invest in gear that could level the playing field. Especially if that gear was low profile and allowed them to blend in. He figured IIB would most definitely be interested in this sort of thing. If nothing else, they could get some good gear for the spies.

At the mention of testing it, Mason jerked a finger at one of the guards. Saber ignited and slashed at the chest of the woman, only to be stopped. Indeed, she hadn't been lying in what she said that her gear could do.

"Very interesting, Ms. Merrill. I'm curious what brought you here, other than selling your wares, but I do say we can submit an order for equipment of this nature. In the future we may have need of beast acquisition, but not at the moment. We have other matters to attend to first. What is your offering price for the lightsaber resistant gear?"

[member="Fable Merrill"] [member="Rave Merrill"]

 

[Garza]

Low ranked as I may be, I was still on the bridge of the Star Destroyer. It was a vessel truly to be tested in battle other than the small ones that we have had with it. Standing there, I was one of the two guards at the doors that lead into the bridge. Standing there in my old Blade assassin armor that had been refurbished and patched up to work like never before. I felt clean for once.

Standing there as I held the blaster rifle in my hand, I kept silent as the Head boss was speaking to the two women who walked in here. One of them, looking younger and more like a teenager, was actually had an appearance of a warrior that knew what she was doing, even if she had only been doing it for a short time.

The idea of Lightsaber, and possibly force resistant material was daunting and rather.... a nice idea. I knew how to fight force users even as one who had not an ounce of the force. Simply because of my cloning, my template allowed for me to be bread as a killer, and a soldier that was not to be messed with. Staying silent as the prices were talked over, I wondered if us assassins of the Imperials would get these items because we would be facing much the same as the Imperial Knights. or would be left out in the dust to try and survive. If not, then I could just go and order some myself from my own pocket.

It's not like they would argue against me right?

[member="Mason Deschart"], [member="Fable Merrill"], [member="Rave Merrill"],

 

[Fable Merrill]

[member="Mason Deschart"] [member="CC-4277"]

There was a man here.

A young man, not far from her own apparent age.

Fable hadn't encountered one in the wild, yet. Who was he? He was pretty young to be on the bridge of a Star Destroyer, right? What was with his EYE? Retinal tattoo? Maybe. Could be a tribal thing. That might be the ticket. Oh! Or a cloning defect!

Was he a clone, like her? That would explain why he was so young. Trained soldiers didn't need to be young and healthy to be effective, but it sure did help. Maybe he was Admiral Deschart's assistant, the same way she assisted Miss Merrill in her daily duties and acted as a general bodyguard. Not that Fable had ever really had to protect Miss Merrill from any real danger... or that the scientist had ever explicitly ORDERED her to be a bodyguard, but still. She'd been made to fight, apparently, and while Miss Merrill wasn't going around and getting into brawls (that she took Fable too, anyway) then she must have a purpose. Without a purpose, what was she?

Fable pondered this briefly, lost in her own thoughts. What about that boy? What was HIS purpose? Did he even know? Would he mind if she asked? No, she couldn't do that. He might not even BE a clone. He could just be a terribly talented soldier, or an important somebody's son. Or maybe none of those at all, and she was being stupid.

Suddenly, Fable realized she had been staring blankly at CC-4277 for almost a full minute, her mind going a kilometer a minute while getting nowhere fast. The young berserker cleared her throat, shifted her feet, and looked down at the floor while moving slightly closer to [member="Rave Merrill"].

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Mason Deschart"] @CC-4277 @Fable Merrill

As Fable did what she currently did best (a nameless commingling of 'brooding' and 'standing while photogenic'), Rave cracked the sample cases and began to present various articles.

"What's just been tested is a Myriad Singlet, pure tikulini leather, treated with a proprietary formula. Custom fitted, works well as an undershirt beneath any uniform. Our standard price is fifty thousand; your preferred customer discount would take that to forty.

"This is a Terentatek Duster, unobtrusive but stylish, available in black. It permits significant resistance to a wide spectrum of Force abilities -- essentially anything that involves direct application of energy. A full-power Force push seems like a strong man's shove; a burst of lightning feels like touching a bare wire; more complex abilities simply can't get through. Retails for one million; your discount would bring it to eight hundred thousand.

"These cuffs are alchemized terentatek leather with a durasteel-cable core. The cuffs are for restraining Jedi and Sith alike. The Force cannot be used to remove them; even Force-enhanced strength will lead to amputated hands. Retails for five hundred; your discount would make them four hundred.

"These bracers are made from the hide of the Leviathans of Corbos. Energy resistant, lightsabre resistant, capable of collecting Sith lightning and releasing it with a punch. Retail for one hundred thousand, discounted to eighty thousand.

"For the same price, these taozin amulets are modeled after what the ancient Imperial Inquisitors used to carry. They make the wearer harder to track using the Force.

"These gunbelts and utility belts are derived from an ancient Jedi artifact I...acquired. Courtesy of processes best left unexplained, the wearer generally finds that these belts, shoulder harnesses, and so forth contain a little more ammunition than he or she remembers. Thoroughly field-tested. Retail half a million, discounted to four hundred thousand.

"Along those lines, we've collaborated with Merr-Sonn and BlasTech to make two unique blaster weapons. This is a Lazy Eye Edition Power Five, made of phrik and alchemized terentatek horn, and loaded with sig gas. Eighty thousand after discount. It hits harder than any heavy blaster in the galaxy and is highly resistant to Force interference, as well as fully immune to lightsabres. And this is an Oblivion Edition E-11 rifle. I built these after studying the Mindharp of Sharu, an artifact that erases memories. Even a glancing shot will wipe a second or two of the target's memory. Repeated hits will do more -- and even if armour stops the physical component of the bolt, it does nothing against the memory component. I once put a two-inch beskar plate between this gun and a test subject, and emptied the power pack. The subject experienced complete and permanent amnesia. Same price as the Power Five."

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

Mason listened to what the woman had to offer. There was a great variety of weaponry and gear that she had available. Most, if not all, of it was suited for the ground personnel more than it was to him and his people. In some respects he wished that he had one of the generals on board so that they could figure out what they wanted to order, and how much they could actually afford. The pricing on some of this gear seemed a bit astronomical to him, so he had to think for a moment.

"We'll take two cases of each of the weapons. For the amulets, we'll take three dozen. For the bracers, cuffs, and belts, I think I will refer the generals and their ground forces to work with you directly so they can order what they need. I'm not familiar with their needs, at the moment."

He scratched at his chin and then continued.

"Same goes for the duster, I think. The singlets we'll take a hundred of. Those could be useful as hidden armor."

[member="Rave Merrill"] [member="Fable Merrill"] [member="CC-4277"]

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Mason Deschart"]

"Certainly, Admiral. I have that many of the weapons available on the Lethewalker; I'll have them transferred right away. The amulets and the singlets are available in those numbers, though it may take several weeks. I'll have to double-check with my leatherworkers, but I believe we can provide one quarter of the amulets and the singlets over each of the next four weeks, if that's acceptable to you. I understand you're working overtime to entrench your position here. As for the ground forces, once you connect us, I'm sure the generals and I will be able to come to a long-term arrangement."

 

[Garza]

Well that is..... awkward.

On so many levels.......

I still stood there with my face void of emotion. Wondering why the young woman, who I had taken a small notice of earlier, was starting at me as though I grew another head. Considering how I was a Genetic mutation, I wouldn't be surprised if one suddenly did. The only part of my body that moved were my eyes. Watching her and the two others talk over the prices of items for their gear. I paid some attention to it. The prices were set high, but it was over items that were rather interesting. Leather that could protect against a lightsaber? My armor could not do anything to protect against a lightsaber, and it was made out of metal plates, and armorweave.

That said something.

UGH! once more my attention was pulled to the woman in black. Wondering why she was so young and here. Was she the daughter of this other female? An assistant? Ohh ohh maybe the younger sister? I had no clue. Despite that, I was not going to ask. First of all, it was the wrong place for me to ask. Second, I was commanded to stand here during the meeting. Not to move or do anything. Third, I had no clue on how to talk to her. Was she a person that thought lowly of a clone? or would she be a person who is understanding and listens to others.

That, for now, I wont know.

[member="Rave Merrill"], [member="Mason Deschart"], [member="Fable Merrill"],

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

"That is acceptable. This arrangement is most agreeable, Ms. Merrill."

He waved a hand towards her and her... well, whatever the girl was that was with her. He didn't really know what the relationship was if there truly was one. They did kind of look alike.

"Give me the location where you'd like the credits deposited, and as soon as we see the merchandise you will be paid."

[member="CC-4277"] [member="Rave Merrill"] [member="Fable Merrill"]

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Mason Deschart"]

"First Bank of Muunilinst, naturally -- I'll wire you the account number with the merchandise. Good doing business with you, Admiral."

Exeunt.