Private Forging Bonds

[Telis Taharin-Zambrano]

Coruscant. The heartland of Humanity within the sprawling system, held at the bounds of the Corellian Confederation, yet remaining (mostly) neutral from the conflict of light and dark due to the Grayson Imperium and the dark underbelly that infests and fills the lowermost and uppermost levels of the ecumenopolis. Always the epicenter disaster, and yet strong enough to stand back up even after its time and time again. Coruscant was resilient, to say the least, as were the people within - but resilience can turn to bounty, and then to ambition, whether it be in the lofty peaks of the City of Spires, or in the minds of criminals evading cloned, masked guards. Government bureaucracy would never have any hope of monitoring all that happens within its 5127 levels, but they make do with what they can. The investors and business nobility at the top made a good attempt at not only keeping money flowing in the economy and trickling down towards the bottom, but a fair few preferred to make deals that kept their own statuses up, driving a deep and hateful wedge between themselves and those in the levels below them.

Galactic City, with its trillion inhabitants, was a microcosmic representation of the planet as a whole, with untold stories of underdogs and nameless billions looking for ways to shuffle out the bad hand they’ve been dealt. During the evening hours, these people came out of their small crevasses to chance what they could in the city, while others of a more finer kind most often shuffled themselves into more official business. In a lofty skylight penthouse, on one of the many skyscrapers that sat near New Essonia, these concerns were lost in the mind of Telis, one of the countless thousands of CEOs, investors, and inheritors. In his black gold-trimmed vitafiber robes and silken dalliance, Telis found himself to be quite content compared to the discontentment that plagued the city like a miasma. Even through the things he’s suffered, such as the pain he’s endured during his years of training, countless investment failures, and having to have his hand be replaced with a prosthetic, he felt that he was consistently successful. His gold eyes looked out from the large, one-way glass, onto the city below, and occasionally into the ships above, speeding off towards new worlds. Raising a glass to his lips, he took a long drink, sighed, before placing it on the hologram side-table that sat next to his high-backed lounge chair. Truly the seat of comfort. But ambition would suggest otherwise.

As of late, Telis had actually found a new endeavor beyond his fascinations of turning flesh to metal and preaching the power that lives within metamorphosis. Of the many Knights that he’s met and learned about, one that had caught his eye, like bright metal, was also one that seemed as business-minded as him. Not only did they share a similar skill in the same arts, but she, this she being a certain Cara Dorniarn, was not only a skilled fighter and ruthlessly efficient, but a cyberneticist, and the founder of Dorniarn Foundry Works. Sith-based companies never looked good on his portfolio, but he nonetheless had invested quite a sum of money into the business - he could certainly benefit from having such a technological group working alongside his own ambitions, but cheap metal and good engineering was something that the Sith Empire needed as a whole, so to him it was a win in every direction he looked at it. Up until recently he had avoided making direct line of contact with the other Knight, but recently he decided it might be best to introduce himself - a private meeting, and a chance at something greater, if things turned out for the best.

Picking up his glass again, he would take another long drawl from the sweet liquid within, finishing the dram and placing it back on his sidetable, his eyes never leaving the world going on outside. He heard the sounds of ships distantly above him, before winking away as they leapt into orbit, and to new places beyond. Clearing his throat, he would rise from his chair, clasping a hand around his wrist and holding both arms behind his back. He turned his gilded gaze towards the one idle servant in the room, thinking for a moment, before sending them off with a wave.

”I believe the study is prepared for the meeting. When you see Dorniarn, let me know, and let them in without any pomp or circumstance. Is that clear?” His voice was absent of any excitable feelings, but there was a sharpness to his tongue that made the command into an order, rather than a suggestion. With a nod, the servant turned to depart from the study, moving through the halls of the pent while Telis turned to idly and mindless browse the documents that lined the bookshelf-like servers around the study. This is going to be a good evening, he knew it.

 

[Cara Dorniarn]

A long trek from Mandalore to Coruscant, but the former's location on the fringes of Sith space made the distance not so terrible. She kept north of the Hydian Way, making a point to avoid cutting too close near the Silver Jedi border. While called neutral, Coruscant was too close to both the Jedi and Correlian territories. Soon, she surmised, it would slip into either hands.

The modified KR-TB Doomtreader growled into a small port west of her rendezvous. The freighter's spacious cargo hold had been refurbished to be a mobile workshop for the Sith engineer; equipment suited for cybernetic upkeep and modification was onboard, along with a forge for crafting additional parts. It was her home as well; any permanent residence was a waste in the uncertain status of faction borders.

After paying for the freighter's parking lane Cara hailed for a transport. The yellow shuttle pulled close to the platform and the droid garbled out a request for destination.
"A droid allowed to drive? Are these people mad?" She shooed away the taxi, hailing for another with a more organic looking pilot. Only machines with the intelligence of an assembly arm gained Cara's approval; the exception being an ID10 seeker on her shoulder. They had built it together. Every piece supplied by their factory, untouched and unable to be sabotaged by non-Bakuran hands. It was a keepsake, if not a handy tool for her to collect data with.

A bump of turbulence jostled Cara from her thoughts and she mentally rebuked herself. Still slipping. This wasn't a fight she was in route to, if so she would welcome the past, embrace the memories and let them fuel her. But a business meeting did not warrant her fury. She slowed her breath, relaxed her muscles. Her face in battle was the helmet left behind; no one should recognize her this deep in the core, yet she pulled her olive cloak closer. The mechanical arms were her weapons, her tools, and every bit as identifiable as a face.

Arriving at her destination she paid the cab driver and watched as he drove off to rejoin the Coruscant air traffic. She turned to enter the complex. The doorman bowed at the waist and let her in, another came to lead her directly to the office. No small talk, no grandiose welcomes. Simple effectiveness like a machine. This pleased her, a hopeful sign of the mentality Telis had. Speaking of which... Mr. Taharin was an investor in the foundry. It wasn't unusual to have official meetings with a board of investors, a roundtable of holographic businesspeople all fat and stately in their seats with steepled hands and steepled egos. Buts Telis was a different sort, evident from even what little she had seen of him in holograms. There was a spark of clandestine motive in him which may mirror her own, and the possibilities available if such was true was electrifying.

The last servant bowed low at the waist and opened the doors to the office, "Ms. Dorniarn to see you, sir."

Cara entered the office and stood in a confident pose, the edges of the cloak wrapping about the shins of her black breeches. She nods to Telis, the ghost of a polite smile on her lips, "Mr. Taharin, it's been quite the journey to meet you here today. I believe it will all be worth it, of course."

[member="Telis Taharin"]

 

[Telis Taharin-Zambrano]

As the armored Bakuran walked into the front door of his penthouse, Telis received a warning blip from the holographic terminal sitting on his desk. He would be drawn from his musings through the countless stored files of ambitious engineering schematics and mission reports, his head flicking towards his desk as his security system alerted him of the foreign presence in his home. He planted his hands on the metal desk, his organic fingers running over the sharp geometric carvings engraved on the surface and sides while his robotic fingers drummed mechanically each digit clinking as it struck the surface of the desk. His eyes looked towards the camera feed broadcasted on the terminal, tracking Ms. Dorniarn’s journey up until the point where she reached the door to his skylight study.

As he heard the doors open, Telis Taharin straightened his back, his hands returning to his back, clear enough where Cara could see the silvery, metallic hand that substituted where his normal hand should be. He raised his chin and his eyes up, looking out the glass, windows, before turning to face Cara, his eyes digging through her like a serpent’s teeth through flesh. A smile caught on his face and tugged at the corners of his cheeks, his arms out stretching as he saw the Bakuran before they dropped back to his sides. “Ms. Dorniarn! I’m pleased you could make the journey. I know Coruscant is not the most...“ He’d raise a hand to his chin, contemplating word choice. Obviously Coruscant was too close to comfort to Corellian for imperialists like he and her, but making too obvious a statement might sour the mood. Anything less than that, however, might not display exactly the weight of the situation that they were under.

“Well, I guess the only fitting word is ‘advantageous.’ But, let us not harp on the matters of authors and poets; please, wont you sit down? I’d love to hear of your story here before we begin - a good host always entertains his guests before getting into the purpose of the meeting. Join me.” He would usher her along with a hand, stepping towards his chair by the skylight, before motioning to a chair next to the same sidetable, offering to her to take a seat, and only taking a seat after she had relaxed back into the recliner. As he himself laid back, he would let out a heavy sigh, an unnatural rush of color flushing over his cheeks as he did so.

“I’d also invite you to take a look out over the city. The evening view of Coruscant is perhaps one of the most beautiful in the entire galaxy, undeniably.” He waved hand out for Cara to take a look at the technological majesty that was Galactic City. He motioned up to the ships flying above, and then to the shifting populations below. He pointed out the colorful towers, and mentally picked out which ones were advertising, and which ones were simply just being lit up by the incredible parties within. His hands then went back to his lap, smiling as he looked back to the armored woman.

“Along with that, I have fresh finger food and drinks ready to be served at your desire, if you need either of both. Just say the word, and I’ll send my good man by the entrance to find it. While you’re here, you are as good as family.” He would smile, though behind such a smile was a veiled threat of venom, locked behind personal history that Cara could only guess included a not-so-happy family.

He reclined back after his vaguely threatening smile, letting out another sigh as he readjusted in his seat, yet kept his posture up straight and formal. With the raising of his prosthetic hand he summoned his servant over to his side and passed to the serving-man the empty glass that was previously on the sidetable. With the flick of his wrist afterwards, he sent to him a silent order that was as clear as daylight: ‘Refill this, and be quick about it.’ With the bow of his head, the servant left in a scurry, Telis’s mechanical hand once again resting on his lap, as he finally was contented enough to devote his attention to whatever story Cara would tell.

Cara Dorniarn

 

[Cara Dorniarn]

She took her seat, giving a silent nod of thanks for the offer. She would rather have stood, feeling restless from the time spent traveling. It would be tempting to explore the belly of the concrete expanse and find all its illicit offerings; however, she felt it was perhaps best to limit her presence to the penthouse. Perhaps.

After hearing Telis offer food and drink she nodded, "Something to drink would be most welcome, thank you." With right hand settled on the arm of the chair she took her left and tapped an almost imperceptible circle on the seeker droid's harness. Bzzt! The blue droid's green camera eyes opened wide then narrowed in focus. Cara leaned forward, allowing the the seeker to float upward. The Bakuran flicked her wrist with two fingers upward then towards the vast windows of the penthouse. Finishing the order with a clockwise rotation of the wrist she nestled back in the chair. The droid wasted no time zipping over to the furthermost corner of the windows to keep a sharp vigil.

She crossed her legs and her left hand clicked to rest mirroring the right, "A precaution. Hope you don't mind."

Receiving her drink Cara tilts the glass in toast to Telis then sips, wondering just what kind of story the young noble wished to hear. She begins by addressing his first remark, "You are correct in that Coruscant is less than favorable for fellows of our association. However, you seem confident in your position here. While I admire your aplomb please be aware Coruscant may soon fall into... unqualified... hands. And I do mean soon." Cara was not shy to prod the unpleasantries of the situation, it was only a formality of business. She quickly adds, "I do appreciate your graciousness with my arrival, and am honored to be hosted at your private residence." Taking a sip she glances about the study, hazel eyes scanning the shelved books and the desk for any thirdhand information regarding Telis's interests. She had taken notice of the noble's prosthetic and wondered if it was gained by necessity or choice; in these days either was an option. She then focuses on the host, holding the glass gently between the rubber pads of her fingertips as she resumes speaking, "I have little to tell of myself, freely I mean. We all have history, as you well know Mr. Taharin. Perhaps a more direct question is in order? I'll tell you anything you wish to know--within reason." A calculated smile and raised brow accentuate the statement.

[member="Telis Taharin"]

 

[Telis Taharin-Zambrano]

Telis would claim his drink with a nod to his servant, shooing them away once more with a dismissive flick of his wrist. The servant was a faithful member of his family, taken from the Enlightenment Centers in the Sith Empire and raised up to the status of a servant for him in Coruscant. He would take a light sip from his glass, swishing the emerald liquid for a few moments in his mouth, before looking up to notice Cara’s drone lift from her shoulder. He was disgruntled at the idea of her distrust, but he shrugged it off for now, letting the pleasant smile touch his face yet again.

”Of course, only sensible for us to take these precautions when possible, especially with Corellian right at the heels of this planet, and the Grayson Imperium slowly gaining power within it...truly a mess, isn’t it? Coruscant just isn’t what it was some 15 years ago.” He looked out over the skylights of the city with a mix of disgust and anxiety. He knew that his comfortable stay in Coruscant was quickly dwindling to an end, though he hoped to be able to keep his estate on the planet for as long as possible. If Corellian were to get their hold on the planet than he felt sure that he could remain in Galactic City, but if the Grayson Imperium rose to power, he faced the possibility of being purged by light-branded feudalists. To him, the very idea seemed so medieval, to the point where he shivered at the prospect of it. He took another drink to his settle his nerves, before laying his hands once more in his lap. “Truly, I do understand the source of your concern, but you don’t have to worry about me, Ms. Dorniarn. I know when my luck is run dry, but I also know an opportunity when I see one. You can count on me to cut my losses as soon as Coruscant falls to the Imperium, if it ends up being that way, though I pray to the Force it doesn’t.”


Turning his focus away from the matter of security, he would clear his throat, and turn his attention now on the Bakuran’s request to avoid dancing around subjects, and cutting straight to the point of the meeting. He liked her for that reason - she knew as much as he did that they were here to do something more than chat. “Since you asked for a more direct question, I’ll cut the backstory for both of us, and skip straight to the most important parts - how long have you been in control of Dorniarn Foundry Works? Have you been in the area of business for a while, or are you new to it all?” He turned to face Cara, scanning over her unreadable armor with a mix of curiosity and a desire to know who the woman behind the metal was. He knew that she was no different from normal Humans aside from her species’ fascination with organ replacement, yet still there was the air of mystery about her that entranced the noble evolutionary. She was a puzzle yet to be solved, and he wasn’t sure if he had the cipher to do so just yet, but he read one thing from her, beyond her caution, that would be more important than anything else: Ambition.

Taking another long drawl from his drink, he would recline in his seat, waving his hand to Cara to speak her story, and to weave her tale for him. While there was a brief silence in the room, the sound of the vast array of servers filled the air with an electronic and rhythmic hum, the sounds of blips and beeps filling the open air with white noise and the gentle hum of ships passing above their heads outside. It was almost peaceful and idyllic were it not for the looming threat that both of them faced by being on the planet. Regardless, Telis did his best to preserve a pleasant air for his guest, keeping calm about the whole matter.

Cara Dorniarn

 

[Cara Dorniarn]

Elbows propped on the armrests Cara steeples her fingers, each one meeting its opposite ​

with a muted tick. She listens to Telis, intent on his words and mannerisms. What was he, again? She thought back to his file, aware it gave little if any personal information. Human variant... perhaps heavily modified human base. True aliens fail to reach his amount of influence in the Core. Telis's pointed ears and slitted pupils gave him a predator's appearance, an intimidating visage to the average stockholder and certainly a psychological advantage for the noble. It was a man-eat-man environment in Coruscant's political and business spheres.

She notices his probing eyes and admittedly, his curiosity was an intriguing aspect. Most ​

Sith she encountered displayed a reserved behavior, aloof and indifferent even. But ah, Telis wasn't just a Sith. Like herself he was a business-minded individuals with personal goals to achieve; intimate plans locked away from man and Brotherhood, plans which were being sought to fulfillment within his lifetime perhaps. Certainly to Cara it was an important factor to see everything come to fruition, to savor in the victory. All her goals lead to the achievement of sure retribution for past wrongs and she utilized her patience well to obtain it. Now it was time to set the other pieces in motion.

Nodding to his straight inquiry she replies, "The foundry was a dowry paid to me by its ​

former owner, its previous records label it as Primia Foundry Works, the name of my father-in-law. It was custom in the family to pass it down. I worked for him before ownership as a shipwright. He encouraged me to pursue a higher education in engineering-- both mechanical and organic; the two go hand-in-hand on Bakura." She draws a breath, allowing a necessary pause. One hand reaches into her cloak and she retrieves a holopad, activating it to show a blue haze of information and a small picture of a planet.

​

The holopad zooms in on the picture, "As you may tell it was a small business at first, active ​

in a pitifully populated region of Bakura. It suffered collapse after Mandolorian dogs destroyed our facility. It took time, but I brought it back from the ashes. Now," The holopad flickers to a new image of the planet, accompanied by three others, "It is a competitive force in technology and metal work on Bakura, and soon a monopoly on the planet. I've partnership agreements with similar factories on the planets listed and one unlisted: a facility on Bastion. You can guess why I omit it from the record."

With deliberate motion she clicks off the holopad and returns it to a pocket. Her hand ​

returns into view, joints clicking as she holds up four fingers, "This all began roughly forty years ago," she lowers one finger, "For thirty years I have owned the company," one more clicks down, "And for little over twenty have I been in service to the Brotherhood." She rests a her lazy fist on the armchair, "Business is like breathing to me, Mr. Taharin. And you?

Telis Taharin-Zambrano

 

[Telis Taharin-Zambrano]

“Business? In the Taharin family? Where do I begin...” Telis Taharin would ruminate with a mixture of pleasantness and what seemed to be melancholy as he thought back to the generations and generations of Taharin capitalism in Coruscant. Look back even twenty years and one could see with clear eyes the clench that the Taharin household had on Coruscant’s business atmosphere, both in Galactic City and the underbelly below. There was influence, fame, glory, riches... they were amazing and brilliant, until the Sith lost Coruscant, and then there was another tragedy. One far more personal.

Telis took a deep breath as he centered himself. If there was one thing he envied about the Jedi, it was how well they could keep a poker face in negotiation. He would settle back into his seat, taking another long drink from his glass and clearing his throat. “My father and my mother both came from very affluent origins. They were both geniuses in their own rights, and while their marriage was almost entirely out of the benefits that they could both draw from, I can’t say that they didn’t work well together. They were professional, and professionally they taught me and my older brother how to navigate the atmosphere of not just Coruscant’s high life, but the high life of the Sith Empire, as at that time the Sith ruled Coruscant. When I was 9, however, my parents discovered that I had a noticeable amount of midichlorians... I was a natural-born force wielder, and while nobody in my family wanted to see me leave home at such a young age, my father knew it was best for me and my entire family to hand me over to the Brotherhood.” He would take another long sip, briefly reminiscing on the missed time he he had with his family, before sitting up, and continuing.

“Now, don’t misunderstand, I was more than happy to go, especially with the influence the Sith had on Coruscant at that time, even though it was waning, but in the end it was purely an economical and advantageous reason for my parents.” Telis motioned to the databanks on the other side of the room, colored a blue color compared to the files closest to Telis’s desk, which were a golden-orange shade. “My brother was able to be molded into a natural politician, and this used to be his offices. I haven’t touched his works, as even now they’re absolutely stunning, with him writing stuff in preparation for a possible fall of Coruscant five years before it occurred. When it eventually did fall, my family lost a lot of credit for our holdings in Sith companies. He sold stocks in Sith-owned companies and started investing in Corellian and independent businesses in order to repair such an image while working his way up to the political heights.“

“I was, of course, training in the heartland of the Empire at that time, in a common coven. Of course, I kept up to date with my family, and still studied business and science when I wasn’t being brought up to be a powerful tool of the Brotherhood. People called me a prodigy when it came to bio-engineering, and I can’t say I developed an image for myself.” He would let his hand motion to the other servers now, containing Telis’s own studies and files, as opposed to those of his brother. He looked out over the city for a second, taking a deep breath and sighing as he turned to Cara. If the woman was correct in her estimates of time, she would easily be over twice his age, and most likely twice as knowledgeable. He scorned his humanness for his short lifespan and over ambitious plotting, and for his plainness. He loved the fact that he had slitted, serpentine eyes and pointed ears, and he didn’t try to hide it one bit.

“Now, Ms. Dorniarn, I don’t want to give a full life story here, but when I say my entire life has been ruled by business, I was not exaggerating. I came across this company shortly after my father died of heart complications in his slumber. I returned home for a few weeks to grieve him, since I never felt anything but a son’s love for my father, but after that my story gets a bit more... exciting. This was nine years ago, around this time of year, where the air is getting colder on this side of the city. I was accompanying my brother to a rally of his to gain support, to try and usher in a Pro-Sith government to Coruscant, when he was killed by a rifleshot, a sloppy undercity assassin hired by political enemies.” He would flex his robotic hand, raising it up so Cara could see clearly the metallic ligament - a permanent scar of the sudden change of power in the Taharin family, from Allek Taharin to Telis. There was no malice or grief in his eyes, just simple acceptance of what’s happened, and nine years worth of moving on. “The ship we were flying in crashed, and my hand was destroyed in it, but I gained the entire empire my brother had built up before his death. The political career of my household died with him, but I vowed to keep our business, and investments, and wealth alive.”

Telis would take a long drink from his cup, finishing it off with a sigh, and firmly planting it on the side table as he let his hands rest back in his lap. “So as you can see, Ms. Dorniarn... business isn’t in just the air I breath, but the tears I cry, and the blood I bleed... and I’ve asked you to come here today because I know that you see things the way I do. You’re a Bakuran, somebody who is so experienced with one small niche that it has become a part of your species, making you different from Human. Metal and machines are great, and yet they are sorely overdone in today’s market... but there’s something else that could get us both very, very rich... and that is life itself. Organ-Splicing.”

Cara Dorniarn