Grease Works (Silencia)

[Cameron Centurion]

Kuat Drive Yards

Visible thrust vectored out the nose of the AlAT/i's reaction control system as the pilot manipulated the spacecraft into position at one of the visiting docking bays. As it had been some amount of time since the vessel's owner made his arrangements with the CEO of Kuat Drive Yards, he'd asked for a courtesy meeting to set a hard-date for the initiating of the necessary modifications and repairs. Likewise, said owner would likely have a much smaller part in the supervision of the project than originally anticipated. Cameron Centurion would have just enough time to see it initiated before needing to return to his duties elsewhere.

"Crusader Centurion, we have arrived at our destination."

The Sith Lord was already on his feet, having sensed their arrival. Adjusting the light collared white and blue tie over the white shirt of his charcoal suit, Cameron made his way towards the airlock. He had no doubt that Lady Lorelei was all too aware of his allegiances and place of employment, but he dressed to blend when it was necessary. In the execution of personal business, it was every bit necessary. The Sith Lord had a tendency to stand out normally, walking around in the dark blue and grey robes of Aatrox would just raise even more eyebrows. Depressing the door release outside the airlock, Cameron casually entered the main arrival terminal of the sprawling Kuat Drive Yards. He recalled his way around from previous visits, but he found himself aided by several signs and holographic diagrams of the corporate office location.

After roughly a ten minute walk and another five going through security, the Sith Lord had arrived at the reception area he remembered from his last visit. After informing the receptionist, whom he did not recognize, who he was there to see, Cameron took a seat and waited patiently to receive further instruction. He expected this particular meeting to be very brief and no doubt Lady Lorelei had questioned as to why he had requested a personal meeting merely to schedule a time to initiate work. There had been an official assigned to handle his particular case, but Cameron had made a promise to someone close to the CEO. He intended to keep that promise.

Well...and to do something for himself.

@[member="Lady Silencia"]

 

[Quietus]

Cameron would not be meeting the Queen and CEO in the grand chamber that was her office today. As a matter of fact, moments after speaking to the Receptionist, the lift that lead to the office rung soundly, obsidian gates opening to spew forth a collection of Heads of Department. Before he had a chance to board, it closed and slowly made the climb again with a muted whirring of mechanisms.

At a second ring, the gates revealed the form of the Kuatian Sovereign and her Direct of Operations, the blond bombshell DiVanca Leonardi. The Queen dressed in her typical black, red, and gold, stately and statuesque as ever, strode from the lift. Her eyes immediately settled upon the dark man waiting in the seating area and settled upon his curiously. Lorelei had received the request for a meeting, though she hadn't a chance to reply one way or another as the meeting let out. Seemed luck was on Cameron's side and he would have those few minutes of her time, by her design of course.

Lady Lorelei approached with unabashed purpose, green eyes honing in on the telltale shimmer of his own flashing gaze. The man now kept the company of her daughter and her great grandson, and so it was that he afforded himself her full and undivided attention.

"Mr. Centurion," the voice that left her lips was smooth, cordial, confident, knowing, "back so soon?"

@[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

The Sith Lord was silent as the first group hastened a quick departure once stepping off the lift. However, when the Queen emerged with a woman Cameron vaguely recalled as the Director of Operations, the Sith Lord came smoothly to his feet. Gazing down at both women with an easy smile, he half-bowed politely. "Your Majesty. Not as soon..." Briefly, the Sith Lord shifted his gaze to DiVanca before settling his silver-green gaze back on Lorelei. "...as I would have liked. My personnel are working to secure a personal workspace per our first conversation. I bring you news and a message from Wild Space. However, I see that you are, understandably busy. Perhaps I might have the pleasure of your company at dinner this evening?"

There was no dissembling in his words. However, there was very little he could convey from Amorella that the Queen no doubt did not already know. Were he a timid man at any point in his life, he might have left his timeframe vague. The Sith Lord gave deference where and when it was warranted, but it was not in his personality to appear without a spine.

@[member="Lady Silencia"]

 

[Quietus]

DiVanca seemed curiously unaffected by the mans glance or his presence. Of course, having worked so closely with the Lady Lorelei, this was no small wonder.

"You might," the Queen replied, gaze growing heavier as she watched him, "I quite prefer the food at my manor to a restaurant, I so rarely get to dine at home anymore. You remember the place, I'm sure, it's only been a few years since my daughter's coming of age party." Her smile was sharp, poison-laced honey.

"We'll dine at 8. Do arrive early and we'll have a drink before."

@[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron's own thin smile lingered as he reached down to gather the datapad he'd left on the arm of the seat he was occupying. "I'm sure it would be simple to find regardless of the accuracy of that statement." To be sure, he had vague recollection of the specific path to the estate. As would be the case this evening, he'd been taken there by hired transport. "I'll see you shortly before 8." The Sith Lord offered Silencia a polite half-bow once more followed by a curt nod to DiVanca.

Turning, the large Sith retreated from the presence of both women in the direction he had come. When he'd re-entered the main corridor, he withdrew his communicator and contacted his crew. "Have we received our assigned berth?"

"Yes. We've relocated as well, Eminence."

It was all Cameron could do not to roll his eyes at the form of address, but it was a matter for another time. His efforts in perpetuating the strength of beliefs among Moross had intensified as of late, and there was a great deal he did that he once claimed...he never would. All in the name of increased efficiency and power - though not his stated reasoning to nearly all that asked. Another fifteen trip and he arrived at the drydock that had been sequestered for their use. It was of modest size, but it contained all of the resources that would be required for the refit process. A vast majority of the parts seemed to be available on hand, but Cameron knew they would spend a modicum of time awaiting others that would have to be shipped. No matter.

@[member="Lady Silencia"]

 

[Quietus]

Cameron would find the KDY personnel at his drydock both friendly and helpful. There was a noticeable amount of respect granted the man, as such it was likely they had been forewarned of giving offense. In this case it was best that the client and the employer remain happy. They wasted no time in staging the plans for the refitting process and, at his word, commenced with the first of what would be several steps to turn his ship into something ...better.

Upgraded shielding on top of what he had already ordered, as he would find, was provided courtesy of the Queen.


The dinner hour approached quickly, much like every day of her life seemed to come and go. Lorelei pondered this during her commute home, but gave it little more than a few moments for thought. At her age these things hardly mattered anymore. She arrived at her home at seven, on the dot, and stepped from her transport at the hand of a servant who took her traveling coat at the door. The manor sat pristine in autumn landscape, bathed in the amber glow of the setting sun. She didn't notice.

What she did notice as she traversed the hall to her bedchamber, was the distinct quiet that permeated each floor and every room. The days of noise had gone with the summer's end and the departure of her daughter, Amorella. This was a curious turn of subjects, given her expected company for the evening, and no doubt it came at the behest of the very girl she'd sent off to Wild Space all those months ago. As she slipped into her evening attire for dinner, the Queen gazed in the mirror of her vanity and peered at the curt smile her reflection showed.

Everything according to plan.

@[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

The Sith Lord found his interactions at the private berth to be very...pleasant. In fact, the degree to which the KDY crews granted him deference actually surprised him to a small degree. Given the fact he'd had very little dealings with KDY, he could not accurately determine whether this was their nomral way of operating...or the result of a request from a very senior official. Fortunately, it was not Cameron's place to contemplate the machinations of the proleteriat. If the work was done expeditiously and correctly, he was satisfied.

After spending a few hours ensuring things were sorted, Cameron departed the company of his subordinates and the KDY personnel shortly after six local to the timezone in which Silencia lived. Having arranged for a suite at a hotel in Kuat City, the Sith Lord rented a shuttle to deliver him to the surface and a driver to take him from the spaceport to his temporary residence.

Shortly before seven-thirty, Cameron emerged from the hotel dressed in a white suit with a black dress shirt and no tie. Greeted by the driver of the hoverlimo, the Sith Lord nodded his head and slipped into the back. Lady Silencia lived approximately fifteen minutes from his own hotel, so he arrived shortly before seven forty-five.

Aftter the door had been opened by the driver, Cameron exited and made the short walk up to the main entrance. Upon arriving, he depressed the door chime and waited patiently, his face a mask of neutrality as his dark skin contrasted with the light color of his suit.

@[member="Lady Silencia"]

 

[Quietus]

The man to greet Cameron at the door was dressed in the finest of Kuati suits. He bowed, uttered a welcome, and showed him in. As far as the manor went it was everything one might come to expect of the Sovereign of Kuat ...if that was all you knew her as. For someone such as Cameron who was privvy to a much more than met the eye, he would see it for what it was: a stage, no more, no less. A stage perfectly made for the setting of a royal; halls and chambers that touted prestige and pomp ... tastefully of course. Fine art and priceless antiques littered polished stone slab mantles and mahogany tables. Vestiges of Kuatian history, notable enough for even a galactic collector met the eyes as centerpieces to the crossing of halls.

His journey from the main entrance to the solar was a short one, however. The niceties were brusque and expertly practiced. When he arrived to the room he was offered a drink before the Queen even appeared. When she did appear, it seemed, she'd already started on her own. Lorelei Darke strode in from a side room through a wide spanning archway, hellfire hair pinned away from her face, the lengths of which fell across shoulders lined by the satin of a two-tone black and white evening gown.

She stopped as she spied him, right hand holding the bulb of a red wine glass, half full, and smiled faintly, wryly. Had she known they'd be a matching set or had it been simple coincidence?

"White looks good on you," the woman remarked as she looked him over, tone svelte, I never took you for one to wear it though... her brow lofted at the last non-verbal words.

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron afforded the man that had greeted him a subtle nod of the head and a warm, practiced smile. Quietly, he followed the man through the halls of the impressive estate. It was readily apparent to the Sith Lord that Queen Lorelei spared absolutely no expense in decorating her home. Of course, Cameron recalled the residence from his first visit a handful of years ago. More to the point, he recalled the practiced ease with which she drifted from guest to guest, fending off admiring throngs of politicians, soldiers, and socialites alike. If the woman had started wearing a mask, it was the most clandestine of masks he'd ever seen. She was, quite frankly, the Queen of Kuat. It was a point that remained uncontested in his mind.

Arriving in the solar, Cameron accepted the offer for a drink, requesting a glass of Whyren's Reserve if they happened to have it. Truth be told, the Sith Lord tended to drink water more than anything these days. The pleasure of sipping on alcohol had all but left his system throughout the years. What little drinking he did now, he did primarily to maintain the appearance of a care-free, successful businessman. In short order, however, he would be effecting an entirely different persona.

At the sound of Silencia's voice, Cameron turned to find himself met with an appealing image. Slowly, the corners of his lips curled upwards into a genuinely amused smile. "Thank you, Your Majesty." Cameron afforded Silencia a brief, half-bow. "I would say the same but..." A purposeful pause was allowed to linger and fill up the room. "...it would be an injustice to the many other colors I've seen you wear with equal poise and beauty."

It's not a particularly functional color for most of my...activities. However, it serves well to stand out when one, perhaps, desires attention for one reason or another... The Sith Lord's silent words were nothing short of or more than the simple truth.

@[member="Lady Silencia"]