Fast Rode the Knight

[Laira Darkhold]

I followed the Grand Admiral from the dining room, Kira in tow. I had no experience building warships, neither did Kira or Benji, but instead we had experience completing the job at hand, no matter what it was. “We don’t have experience working on or building starships. Our normal operation is significantly smaller than this, and we have yet to branch out into actual vehicle production as it is. What we do have is a crack work force, a GED and a give em hell attitude. Its worked for us in the past, it will work for us again. I have led mining operations from Mandalore to Seltos and have mined Phrik, Beskar, Cortosis, and Stygium throughout the galaxy. All that said, I think it would be best to leave Glith in charge of the actual construction. She knows this stuff a lot better than we do, and it would be best if we stuck to a more supportive role in all this.” I told the admiral as we walked towards his shuttle alongside him. I glanced back at Kira who was simply walking behind us day-dreaming about something. I guess most brilliant people are weird, because her and Benji stare off into empty space all the time. “Kira probably has more experience than me or my workers combined.” I informed the admiral.

 

[Gir Quee]

"But an understanding of metallurgy is a very useful thing to have," mused Gir, as they entered the hangar of the Arendal, "almost everything in a ship is made out of some sort of metal or alloy. I think you and your crew will find that that skill will scale nicely to work on a starship."

He tapped a button on his comlink, and the ramp of the Remember Hast slid down to rest gently onto the heavy cruiser's deck with a slight clank. Gir began to dwell on the nature of metal crafting, one of the key knowledge bases that built up nearly all great civilizations with a few notable exceptions such as the Vong, and one that still was of key importance to this day; an untold amount of millennia that had passed since species had first started tinkering with metallic ores. And yet here they were, still tinkering with the basic concepts, even if their technology and understanding had grown leaps and bounds since the first metal workers.

Gir walked up the ship's ramp and pointed out to Kira a small duraplast box that held several spare sets of unmarked fatigues. He used them surprisingly often. There were frequently times where he liked to move around places in the Republic without having the sometimes overly conspicuous rank of grand admiral sewn on. Great for surprise inspections. He shuffled his way to the cockpit, strapped himself in, and began the preflight checklist. Gir glanced at [member="Draco Vereen"] and gestured at the nearby world of Lantillies.

"Have you ever been to Lantillies before?"

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Lantillies was a fairly important world, one would expect a well-traveled Republic soldier to have been on, but alas I had never stepped foot on the planet, or spent time in the system until now. “I can’t say that I have. Even in my days working for the Hutts they never sent me out this way.” I told [member="Gir Quee"] but I didn’t know if he knew about my criminal past. It was moot now, and seemed like more than a life time ago, nonetheless it was a part of me now.

Kira spoke up, “I spent time on Lantillies with my father while programming some droids for Cybot. It’s a nice place, maybe we ought to consider opening up shop here since we expanded on Taanab.” She wasn’t wrong, but I wasn’t sure if the Grand Admiral was even aware of ArmaTech’s rapid expansion. We had moved from a small research and development facility to a pair of fairly large operations on Taanab and building another on Iego. It would not be long before we continued buying up real estate on Taanab, and I wasn’t sure how the Grand Admiral would react to the expansion. “I would prefer to be closer to the Capitol if we could.” She said.

[member="Gir Quee"]

 

[Gir Quee]

The shuttle glided out of the bay and into the depths of space. He listened intently to both [member="Draco Vereen"] and Kira, taking mental notes down. In truth, the man from Hast had been so busy with his new position that he had somewhat neglected leading Lucerne Labs during its latest corporate expansion. But he knew that Salmakk and his cohort of college friends were well-suited for following up the plan he had laid down for the company's expansion in the wake of the what was being called the Netherworld event. But their own relevations were somewhat interesting.

The Hutts had something of an interesting reputation in Gir's mind. Sure, many of them were associated with some less than savory elements, but there were others who had been especially influential to the Republic's cause, like one of its former supreme chancellors: Popo. That hutt still aided the Republic to this day via supplying the Republic defense forces through the Tenloss Syndicate. He found hutts to have a sort of pragmatic morality in their own way, even if he didn't fully understand it.

As for Kira's comments, he had briefly thought about expanding Lucerne Labs to Lantillies himself. It was a world full of hardworking and honest men and women relatively close to the Core. Their engineers were known for their excellent attention to detail, albeit some of their starship designs were notable for being somewhat plain looking. But he ended up taking his company a little closer to the Rim since Lucerne Lab's other location was even closer to the Core. He thought it would be better to diversify the company's locations for better corporate outreach to the galaxy at large.

He decided to offer up his own commentary to the ArmaTech employees.

"Lantillies is one of those unknown gems of Republic culture," mused Gir, "in many ways, their culture deeply embodies what the Republic stands for. They're well-known for their tolerance and diversity, and for being quiet and reliable professionals in their trades. Those are some of the main reasons I picked Lantillies for the site of the initial construction. With a primarily Lantillian work force, it should be easier to get things accomplished with the wide variety of people that we're bringing into this project. They also have a pretty good history of integrating technologies from various cultures into their own designs. I suppose I haven't revealed it yet, but the Champion-class is actually going to be propelled by engines from Mandal Hypernautics. I've heard that you've met one of their employees before, isn't that right?"

The skeletal shipyard that housed the embryo of what would become the first Champion-class swung from behind the world and into view to the ship's occupants. From this distance, Gir couldn't see much of the ship's initial hull, though he thought he saw microscopic specks which could be workers, droids, or ship construction vehicles floating around in the bay that housed it.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

I hadn’t met one of MandalHypernautics before, I had met their CEO, and commanded a team of ten thousand workers on a mining operation on Mandalore itself. It had been a particularly beneficial visit, not only in the way of credits, but also I had been gifted a set of Mandalorian Iron Armor among other cultural artefacts. “I have met and worked for Rygel Larraq before, yes. He contracted me a while back to command a mining operation for him.” Combining my technology, Lantillies, the Lucerne Labs, and MandalHypernautics equipment into one system would certainly create one heck of a monster. Hopefully it would be able to be the front line ship it was intended to be. Looking out from the viewport I could see the skeletal design of the ship even from as far out as we were. The grandiose size and scope of attempting to mass produce these ships was beyond my understanding. How many millions of people would be employed attempting to build all of them throughout the Republic, and how many more millions would be employed just to supply the raw materials for them, and only them. “This is why I don’t build star ships at ArmaTech sir. It’s just too big a venture for anyone company.” I told the blond man piloting the ship.

 

[Gir Quee]

Gir nodded, letting a thin grin crease his lips. Despite being in the starship production business himself, and despite living on one of them, the massive size of the vessels and their intricate complexities never ceased to impress him. There had been times that he had run across starships run by hostile men, that Gir would have much rather studied in a quiet afternoon than fought to its destruction. But such things were not to be. Gir was almost certain that he would continue to destroy such intricate works of arts as long as peoples fought the Republic. The people of the Republic are why we build such things in the first place...The people are why we fight and die...Everything we do in the military is for them...

The blonde man deftly guided the yoke of the vessel into one of the yard's rectangular hangars. His eyes darted around, admiring the various working craft and droids which populated most of the hangar. They were not needed yet in this stage of the construction, yet he knew that it would pass where they would be needed to construct the Champion-class. Even as the Remember Hast touched down on the deck of the yard, a pair of uniformed corporate guards strolled over towards them, backed by a pair of armored Republic marines. Good to see that security isn't lax. He took off his headset comlink and left it on the dashboard of his shuttle. The man walked over to the ramp of the shuttle and slapped a button, causing it to rhythmically lower down to meet the hangar floor. The grand admiral strolled down the ramp and pulled out his security badge to present to the guards. One of the guards scanned it briefly before looking him in the eye.

"Welcome aboard Grand Admiral, is there anyone else onboard your ship?"

"Two more. They'll be down shortly," offered Gir, "I will vouch for them since they haven't been issued station badges yet."

"You know the rules sir."

"I know, I'll take them down to security to get them cleared as soon as they're down," said Quee, turning to one of the marines, "Is Captain Herson onboard right now?"

"Yes sir."

"Good, send word to him to meet me at conference room Besh Twelve in about a half hour. I want to introduce him to a few people as we start to go over some design work."

Gir turned his head to face [member="Draco Vereen"] and Kira, "Have either of you ever worked with Duranium before?"

 

[Laira Darkhold]

It was a nice ship, and there were plenty of workers already here. I really hoped we could bring something they didn’t have. Before we disembarked Kira went into the refresher to change into a set of fatigues. They would be a little too large, but it would beat walking around in a cocktail dress. While she did that, the Grand Admiral went to speak with the station officers for a moment. I used the Comm station to send a quick message to my shuttle. “Bring the new set with the work crew.” It was a simple message devoid of any code of encryption. I wasn’t smuggling anything, just they were bringing me a set of armor to wear while on this project. I descended the ramp, with Kira as she exited the refresher. When the Grand Admiral addressed me, I stifled a laugh, “Not exactly a rare material boss. I’ve worked the stuff before, it’s got a good deal more strength than durasteel, but it should be mixed with neutronium to give it more protection from laser weaponry. A good ninety-ten mix alloy is what I normally work with.” I told the Grand Admiral. “My work crew is being prepped, but Taanab to Lantillies is a far run so it will be a day or two before they can get out here.”

[member="Gir Quee"]

 

[Gir Quee]

Gir nodded. Metallurgy was not one of his inherent strengths, though he knew the basics. What he did know was that it was a frequently wise idea to make an alloy using two components, or at least to layer different materials to get new effects. Many of the basic materials had excellent strengths of their own, but combining materials gave new options and at the very least kept opponents guessing about the hull structure of their opponents, and consequently what weapon type to bring to bear against them. Neutronium...where I have I heard that before? Suddenly he realized that he had heard of the metal being used in several recent Nubian designs, notably the Bastion-class that just starting to enter service with the Republic navy. Wasn't it also used in some Clone Wars ship design? He tried to recall it, but could not do so. He filed the thought away to look up later on while he wasn't in [member="Draco Vereen"]'s company.

He turned his thoughts to more immediate concerns as the trio walked deeper into the space station.

"I think that if they arrive in that amount of time," said Gir, "that the paper work should be getting finished just about the right time. Background checks sometimes take a bit longer than I would like for our crews. Security and safety for everyone in the project is paramont, even more so because we had a group of pirates raid one of convoys stocking up the yard with materials. But I think we have sufficiently dealt with that problem for the moment."

After passing a trio of Republic marines, who checked Gir's identification, the group entered the security office on the station. Gir glanced around at the droids and technicians monitoring not only what was happening inside the station, but also the immediate areas around the yard. Eyes and ears are everywhere-

"Can I help you sir?" asked one of the men.

"Yes," replied Gir, "I'm here to get security passes for Mister [member="Draco Vereen"] and...Miss Kira? They are new contractors on the project."

Gir suddenly realized that he did not know Kira's last name. But he figured that she'd supply it soon enough to pass the background check. Still, it probably wouldn't hurt to pay attention what that name was when she said it.

"Ah, yes sir, right away. Mister Vereen, Kira, could I see some forms of identifiation? I'll need to run a preliminary background check before we take your biometrics for the passes..."

"Do either of you have any burning questions about the project?"

 

[Laira Darkhold]

When prompted for Identification I fumbled around in one of the pockets on my suit and produced a small plastiod card, “Draco Vereen, Master Chief of the 18th Special Operations Galactic Republic Military, Serial eight zero nine, two three, four thousand.” It might have been unnecessary to supply all that information but it was helpful for the process of a background check.

Kira stepped up and stated her information, “Kira Rauter, ugh, you are going to find some warrants in unaligned systems for slicing, but I wiped the ones that were out for Republic systems awhile back so we should be good, right.” She said handing her plastoid card to the officer and giggling. Of course she had to drop that gem.

I turned my attention to the Grand Admiral, “Forgive her she can’t take anything seriously. But I did have some questions. Neutronium is pretty basic for its energy dispersive qualities, and it should provide some added protection for energy weapons, proton torpedoes, and the like. But what I really wanted to know is what kind of shielding you were planning on installing. I was thinking of designing like the old Mon Calamari ships with redundant shield generators.” I said, trying to gloss over Kira’s early statement.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

She stepped up next to me, “You could also go for a tactical computer like the Anakin Solo had to give it a slight edge in weapon targeting and motion prediction. It won’t stack up to a good tactician well, but against your average pirates or raiders it might work out pretty well.” She said to [member="Gir Quee"] . “I have designed simpler computers with the same basic principles of motion prediction. It works really well the larger, less maneuverable the enemy ship.” That actually could be helpful, but would be difficult to mass produce on a scale that the Admiral wanted.

I pressed my thumb into the biometric machine and my information scrolled in front of the security officer. The two charges of spice trafficking and one charge of assault against and officer in neutral space passed by along with the record of my time spent on Kessel, and my close quarters combat marks with the Eraidu Special Forces. Kira followed suit and several warrants from back water, neutral planets scrolled through for things like slicing into security feeds. She smiled as the information scrolled by. She was either going to get me arrested or booted off this project. “I just want to remark, she hasn’t done anything illegal since joining ArmaTech.”

 

[Gir Quee]

Gir nodded as the two talked. Given [member="Draco Vereen"]'s rank, Gir was not surprised that he passed the background check easily. He was not as sure about Kira. Gir found her to be an interesting character, especially given her criminal background, but he knew that many of those interested in computer technology or droids often found themself in hot water with the law; it was the nature of that beast unless they were working for a government. So long as her troubles were behind her, and as long as she was more of an asset to the project than a liability, Kira would find herself with a security clearance. Still, he made a mental note to inform security to keep an extra eye on her when she was using any of the station's computer systems. Slicers could be tricky. After the security guard handed the ArmaTech employees their new badges, Gir led them towards one of the design

As his thoughts turned to their comments on design, he began to lead them down to one the yard's designing stations. He spared a glance at the other soldier.

"I'll already made an inquiry, while the two of you were being cleared, to the logistics corp about obtaining some neutronium. The droid I communicated with said that they should be able to alloy it at roughly ten percent, and at that level, we shouldn't lose much of the light mass per protection level that duranium should afford the vessel. In fact, I'd be willing to be that we have a test armor plate fabricated pretty quickly here on the station given that neither of those materials are extraordinary uncommon. If they don't have neutronium on the station, it shouldn't be hard to buy some off the market on Lantillies below us..."

They ended up a large blast door along with a data terminal, into which Gir inserted his code cylinder. It took several seconds to verify his identity, but the door soon whisked open to reveal a stark white room with several holo-projectors and half a dozen data terminals. Gir promptly shut the door behind the trio.

"Computer systems are one of the things that's pretty much been decided upon, at least for the standard ships," informed Gir, "partly because they all need to be able to share data with existing ships and computer systems already used in the fleet, and partly to keep costs down. There's only so many advanced systems we can put it the Champion before its costs would soar to the point that we wouldn't be able to mass produce it. So the Champion-class is currently slated to use available off the shelf hardware and programming. but I'd like to pursue such a project separately at some time, because it's certainly something that would be valuable for a command vessel."

He tapped a button on one of the holo-projectors, pulling up a conceptual image of what the Champion-class would look like with its current design progress.

​

"This is currently what the Champion-class is projected to look like, using the classic dagger-shaped hull of the kuati and rendili-built star destroyers to be able to focus on overwhelming amount of firepower in a forward fire arc. Conceptually it's probably more similar to the old Imperator Star Destroyer line with just as much focus on bringing in large amounts of troop and starfighters into the mix besides devastating firepower, in this case brought in with a variety of pulse turbolasers, hypervelocity cannons, and the list goes on. Most of our current design projections show that half of the ship's weapons will be somewhat unconventional or uncommon, but the fact is that many current battleships will outgun it in pure firepower. But that's the price to pay for being something of a battle carrier too.

And that's something I wanted to specifically ask you about. the Champion is currently slated to hold about two dozen dropships to deploy those troops on the battlefield, but I couldn't help but wonder if there would be any better way to get our troops to where they need to be, or if we need to include any special amenities that would help our marines."

 

[Laira Darkhold]

I listened as the Grand Admiral spoke, letting him cover all the subject matter he needed to before contemplating his question. He mentioned marines, and by his context I assume he meant marines to be used in boarding actions, hit and runs, and occasionally assisting in ground action. That was an interesting concept to be sure. Having marines to take the fight to smaller ships would free up the vessel to focus on targets and could possibly lead to the marines securing enemy vessels for our use. It would be nice to have a Sith ship flying the Republic banner through the coming wars, but that was a fantasy for now. “If you are referring to boarding actions the ancient Confederacy of Independent Systems were very adept at such a thing. They built small ships for just that purpose that could pierce starship hulls and unload troops into an enemy ship. Heck stuff like that dates back to the Great Galactic War at least.” I thought for a moment, “But that is another matter. You mentioned layering the hulls thick using the lighter, tougher duranium plating. That is a fairly easy implementation, as in the end its just bolting armor on to armor. A shield generator system will also add to its survivability, and taking a page from the Mon Calamari, redundant shields are probably the way to go.” I said to the blonde man before me. “Tomorrow when my crew arrives we can get a move on towards the construction of this thing working from the inside out.”

[member="Gir Quee"]

 

[Gir Quee]

"I see that you're a student of history too then," mused the grand admiral, "I too like to look back to the past for inspiration. Indeed, we are intending to add back-up deflector shields. If we are to send this ship into close combat, it will need to be well-defended to be able to survive the heavy weapons are almost certainly going to deployed against it. To that end, we're also equipping it with an anti-concussion field generator, not unlike the new Bastion-class or the Noblesse-class that Rendili used to build for us. But unlike those ships, it'll probably have to have a limited charge before we'll have to reroute power from some other system to recharge the capacitors and power cells that will be powering it. But it should last long enough to get the Champion into hitting distance with an enemy..."

Gir glanced at his wrist chrono. It is getting late. I have paperwork to push through to get the ArmaTech crew working too, if they're going to be here to start work tomorrow. The man from Hast made eye contact with [member="Draco Vereen"].

"I'm afraid that I have to leave you now," said Gir, "I have some paperwork to fill out and push through so that your people can get to work tomorrow. But in my absence, feel free to look at the current design schematics to get to know them, and write down any suggestions that you'd like to bring up to the design team. I'll have one of the station's staff here shortly to attend to any needs that you have. We have several staterooms on the station if you need a place to lay your head, otherwise the station staff can arrange for you to visit Lantillies if you'd like to rest or sleep on the ground."

Gir tapped a button on his comlink, "Lieutenant Dro Darl? Good, please come down to the conference room...yes, I know, I'm about to take care of that issue, but thank you for letting me know."

Not even two minutes passed before a stocky Kel Dor entered the room. The alien offered a brief salute to Gir, which he promptly returned.

"This is Lieutenant Darl, he'll attend to your needs while I take care of the paperwork to get your crew onboard."

 

[Laira Darkhold]

My work crew arrived two days later, ready to begin the long job of putting together this prototype. They were a full set of engineers and technicians capable of installing computer and weapon systems, as well as a group of laborers to begin working throughout the hull of the starship. The superstructure of the vessel was intended to be a labyrinthine, easily defended Citadel, and meant to be difficult for enemies to traverse should they board the ship. The superstructure would be further defended by having massive blast doors to seal every passageway in the ship across several layers, sealing the important systems from outside attacks. While it wouldn’t be impregnable, it would drastically slow any potential boarders from being able to rapidly take command of the ship and turn it against its allies. A good quality to have, seeing as it would be protected by Galactic Republic Marines who were similarly trained to repel and participate in boarding actions against enemy ships. The because of this, the superstructure of the ship would be built like a box and then its interior would be completed. This wasn’t an incredibly difficult task, but it required precision in order to properly execute. Even a few centimeters off and the ship would move awkwardly through space by throwing its center of gravity off.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Luckily for my crews, construction as a whole had become much easier, as a holo-projector was used to allow construction workers to visualize what was being built rather than having to eyeball it or constantly premeasure and re-measure, allowing workers to complete the tasks relatively quickly. The superstructure started taking its multilayer box form rather quickly around the main reactor and the where the bridge would be, taking shape within the skeletal frame that had been erected. Glith and her workers would begin building the hull of the vessel shortly, allowing for weapon systems and sensor conduits to be installed later. I walked aboard the bridge, which had been completed and hermetically sealed already. I stood in my armor, standing proud aboard the bridge. “Status update, mister Darl.” I asked the stocky Kel Dor who followed me everywhere, acting as an aide appointed by the Grand Admiral so that I could work efficiently and he could remain in contact with me. It wasn’t the first time I had been given a babysitter, and I wasn’t upset about it, it was just something I noticed when he had given me the aide. The Kel Dor began rummaging through an equipment pack and pulled out a datapad. It took him a few minutes to scroll through the information to give an informed reply.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

“Everything seems to be going well, and currently we are ahead of schedule. Your labor crews are working faster than anticipated and the citadel should be ready to be sealed and pressurized by this time tomorrow. The exterior layers of the citadel are almost completed. Glith’s workers are finishing the hull on schedule. And the Grand Admiral will be visiting the construction site later today.” He said in his droning melodic voice.

“Good, keep me posted with updates as necessary.” I told the alien. Good, the citadel wouldn’t have accesses through vents or wiring shafts to prevent even diminutive aliens from being able to access it. Only the labyrinth of maintenance passageways and the main corridors would be able to have access into the superstructure. The maintenance passages could be sealed as well, but were much less secure than the massive bulkheads that could be slammed into place over the main corridors. This would allow marines to retake the citadel if it were ever stormed to make it easier to retake, as the enemy would not know to check maintenance rooms for false walls or where to seal them in order to prevent counter attack. Minutes clicked by as I watched status reports and live feeds over the holo-projector in the command salon behind the bridge itself. [member="Gir Quee"] would be arriving to visit and oversee the construction soon, as we were nearing completion. Once the citadel was completed the rest of the ship would follow shortly after.

 

[Gir Quee]

Arendal-class Heavy Cruiser Arendal, approaching the Obi-Wan Kenobi, Lantillies System

"Starting to look like a ship," said Gir, standing at the bridge viewport, "certainly more so than when we had to leave her."

The man from Hast had spent nearly the last month hunting down the pirates who had raided a convoy that was destined with supplies for the very first Champion-class (see No Rest for the Weary). With most of his men and some of the supplies now recovered, and the threat at least temporary suppressed, the grand admiral could turn his attention back to managing the Champion Project. Even while on the run in the Arendal, he had been able to run some of the logistics coordination and talk to various projects leads via the HoloNet, but it wasn't quite the same as being there in person. It was harder to manage people from far away, even if he knew some of them fairly well, such as Salmakk, Glith, or Terrik. Ground truths that he would not have known from simply being there were not immediately apparent thousands of light years away. But he knew that they would all do their jobs. If they had any tendency to slack off, he knew that the assistant project manager, a dowdy-clothed Bith, was perfectly capable of making up for any deficiencies by shifting resources and people around as needed.

"Sir," reported his communication's officer, "it appears that [member="Draco Vereen"] is ready for you."

It'll be good to get off this ship. Not that's it's bad, but because it's becoming overly familiar to me...He rose from his command chair, "I'll be on my way then. Captain Hep, you have the bridge and command of the flotilla while I'm gone."

The scarred duros immediately acknowledged the order and brought up the watch officer to take command of the Arendal herself. The duros in the mean time started catching up on the status of the flotilla dedicated to protecting the shipyard. Gir promptly exited the bridge and eventually found himself on a shuttle speeding to the shipyards along with several of the newly freed personnel who were supposed to have been on the ship several weeks ago. The flight itself was relatively uneventful, and the man soon found himself standing before [member="Draco Vereen"].

 

[Laira Darkhold]

As the Grand Admiral strode into the bridge I called out, “Admiral on the Bridge,” to have the military personnel snap to attention as is customary when an officer arrives. Snapping to attention myself, I greeted the blonde man from Hast. He was here and things were going quite well for the ship’s development. Within the week the ship would be receiving weaponry and soon after it would be stocked and ready for a shakedown cruise at the Grand Admiral’s leisure. “Good day, Admiral,” I said through my helmet’s annunciator, “Construction of the ship appears to be normal and on schedule, sir. With any luck she will be ready to leave port in a matter of a few days.” I told the man. The Kel Dor on my right was similarly at attention waiting to be addressed. “Electrical systems are being prepared for, the primary power generator has been tested and is ready for installment, and the citadel is entering the final stages of its construction before we install all of the computer systems in it. Glith has been working on the frame steadily, and soon the ArmaTech crews will assist her in bringing in the weapon systems. Is there anything you need to know, or would like to amend while you are here, sir?” I asked respectfully.

[member="Gir Quee"]

 

[Gir Quee]

Looks like everything is proceeding pretty much on schedule. Not that I've been here to see it all progress, but Mister Vereen probably has a better idea of the actual happenings than I do since I've been away. Gir briefly considered stealing Lieutenant Darl away from [member="Draco Vereen"] to give him a tour, but quickly thought better of it. Vereen probably has a better idea of what's going on in this ship than Darl does.

What he had saw on the ship had been encouraging, even if navigating through the Obi-Wan Kenobi's winding corridors had been a bit confusing. But thankfully, a pair of marines had guided him from the hangar to the conference room where they now stood. Much of what he had seen had been fairly polished, although that new-ship stench of industrial agents still reeked. That'll be gone in a week or so. At least I really hope it will be. But there's still work to be done...and stuff I'd like to see before it becomes completed. He eyed the ArmaTech man briefly before glancing around the room.

"Would you mind giving me a quick tour of the areas still under construction? I'd like to get a general feel for how the job was being done while I was away," said the admiral, "don't get me wrong, I'm sure your ArmaTech crew, Glith and Terrik's people, and the Lantillians working the yard are putting forth their best work, but it'll be helpful for me, and arguably for ArmaTech, when the production analysis paper comes along that will be referenced later on for future government contracts."

 

[Laira Darkhold]

The Grand Admiral addressed me and the staff on the bridge calmly, and without the normal military order. I preferred to keep my workers with a modicum of military order and precision. Respect meant they worked harder and more efficiently and therefore made more money. I nodded when he asked about a tour of the construction. “Is there any particular area of the ship you would like to see, Sir? Only the citadel of the ship has been pressure sealed so far and other areas will require an environment suit with a hermetic seal in order to tour them.” I told the blonde man. I could respect wanting to see the project completed or its construction done first hand, it was a trait I shared with the man from Hast. That was why I was here, in my armor that allowed me to take the space walk when I felt inclined. It was why I got my hands dirty during the work and helped do the physical labor myself. It added respect to the men and left you with a feeling of accomplishment. The CEO who has never touched a machine doesn’t get that feeling, and it grounds you, keeps you from falling to greed. I turned to the Kel Dor, “Bring the Admiral an eviro-suit, ASAP Lieutenant.” The stocky Kel Dor hustled off to rummage through a locker at the guard station.

[member="Gir Quee"]