Hunting Treasures

[Laira Darkhold]

Subjugating Ruusan had been Draco's last act as Foreman of the Techno Union. During its subjugation, the Mandalorian warrior had left that station and took control of the Obsidian Order, sectioning the planet off and removing a large military presence. There had been only the Obsidian Order for his time as Archon before the order dissolved after his leave of absence.

Some how, the Imperium had been allowed to take up defenses on the planet during that time, but that wasn't why Draco had come back. During his subjugation of the planet, the Mandalorian had stashed several things in the Valley of the Jedi. Several valuables had bee left hidden in a lock box in the sands of the Valley. Also, his expedition find a wreckage on the planet's moons had been stalled and eventually abandoned entirely. While the Sith Triumvirate was made up of Draco's former associates, at least one had found his way to the highest of horses to sit upon.

Draco's ship left hyperspace with a blink, and in an instant empty space became filled with a thirteen hundred meter war ship. For this trip, he had decided on a Kandosii-type Dreadnought. A classic vessel that screamed 'Don't feth with me, or I will glass your planet' when looked upon, though hardly the most powerful vessel. Plus it had been his command vessel for some time. The ship reverted to real space on the outer system, far beyond the farthest planet from the star, what was considered a polite distance for the Mandalorian warriors aboard the vessel.

"Drop our escorts, put Hecr's in the void just in case doing full scans of the area." The Commander's voice rang out across the bridge, a slight echo heard from his command chair as he barked out the initial orders to his clansmen. Hecr's were used for system monitoring, patrol, and detection capable of picking up just about anything given close enough range, while the escorts were simple Shaadlar-type corvettes. So far, other than covering its own little area of space and putting escorts into defensive position, the Kandosii-type wasn't being overly aggressive.

"Open a channel to Ruusan, tell them I'd like to speak with anyone in charge."

[member="Darth Adekos"] | [member="Darth Carach"] | [member="Darth Orcus"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco tapped on the arm rest of the Command chair, waiting fairly patiently for a response from the planet and its new owners. Draco didn't have any love loss about the Techno Union. He had stolen a huge portion of their fleet before it went under and left with a large number of Hegemonic Droids under his command during his time as Foreman. It wasn't that he cared they took the planet from the Union, if anything he was grateful they had. It was more, there were things in the system he kind of wanted and they were wasting his time. "Well?"

"Still no communications back Commander. They seem to be sitting on their shebs a bit." The communications officer's voice flitted through the air and Draco sighed deeply. The Mandalorian had assumed that years of working for Darth Carach and assisting the Sith Lord in a number of missions and operations would have left the newly risen Sith Triumvirate more friendly towards him. Instead of dallying around looking for one of them to answer his communications. There had been a time when he had the personal contact info for two thirds of the Triumvirs, yet here he was, beyond the farthest planet from the star, waiting for one of them to pick up the comlink and speak to him.

"I've grown bored. Send a squadron of cloaked Caburs to the planet's moons. Hide the whole trip, use stealth and caution. I'm not trying to cause an incident, I just want my things back. I need full scans of each moon so they are going to be quite a while." The flight coordinator nodded and began relaying orders to the single squadron of stealth fighters in the bay. They were good stealth fighters. Baffled engines, full visual cloak, sensor negation, degaussed ultrachrome hulls, gravitic modulators. Comprehensive, the works. No bombs installed though, no need. This wasn't exactly a combat mission they were on anyway. Instead of bombs, they were carrying four probe droids each. Time he had. He just didn't like to waste it sitting waiting for an operator.

"Have they at least put us on hold? I know Adekos is a bureaucrat, but this is ridiculous." Draco's outburst caused a chuckle across the bridge.

"Yes, sir, I just have my headset on. Here, this is what their call waiting music is." The communications officer clicked a few buttons and music came across the bridge's speakers, prompting a roar of laughter from the crew.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ioz53gs6qpA​

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[member="Darth Adekos"] | [member="Darth Carach"] | [member="Darth Orcus"]

 

[Gorba the Hutt]

The gigantic armada over Ruusan was impossible to miss. A stolen One Sith sector fleet, the Primeval remnants and the last of the Fringe, all assembled in one place.

Eventually, one of the Triumvirates did indeed receive the message.

A hologram of Orcus' face appeared in front of [member="Draco Vereen"].

"Mr. Vereen, you appear to have parked a warship rather conspicuously near our new conquest. To what do I owe this sudden pleasure? Should we be expecting the arrival of a Mandalorian fleet, hot on your heels?"

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco looked up at the whale like creature, feigning hurt. "I didn't think I would need a war fleet. No, I didn't assemble the fleet and come calling on two old friends and their close associate." In truth, he had expected an invitation before too long, at yet he did not receive one, neither was Adekos accepting his calls anymore. Something about a bounty that was so far below his register he couldn't remember how much it actually was for.

"A single command ship is fairly custom for a Commander gallivanting around through space, plus, I required a vessel of significant size to seize what I want from the Ruusan system." Draco's tone became nonchalant about the situation. Besides, its not like anyone thought a single vessel posed a serious threat to a planet or a defense fleet of any relevant Galactic power. "I've come looking for a pair of things in the Ruusan system, one thing I left here during my time as Archon of the Obsidian Order, and another I never got around to dragging out of here when I was Foreman of the Techno Union. You know, red tape, people to do it for me, the like."

During the down-slide of the Techno Union, man power had become increasingly difficult to find, and the former Archon's time became filled with the training of acolytes and neophytes in an attempt to rebuild the Order from its squalor. At one point, his own commandos and clansmen had filled almost half the Order's ranks before he split ways with the Union. "If the Triumvirate has already found and taken what I seek from the Ruusan system, I'll be upset, but that may make things easier to obtain."

It hadn't been so long ago that two thirds of the Triumvirs had been his friends and allies, Draco mused to himself. But, that had been before the death of the Dark Lord, before Carach ran off with a sector fleet. Before Adekos made an enemy of the Zambrano family, for however long that lasted. "Besides, I figured Lord Carach wouldn't mind having me."

[member="Darth Orcus"] | [member="Darth Carach"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Draco Vereen"] | [member="Darth Orcus"]

Carach still considered Vereen part of his close circles of associates, allies and maybe even friends, but once a man takes the step to heist an entire sector-worth of fleets, armies and other assorted resources… well, then said man has a lot on his mind.

Logistics, for one.

Without a steady supply chain from the One Sith he had to improvise quite a lot. So most people didn’t get to see much of Carach during those days, besides his immediate conspirators in the form of Orcus and [member="Darth Adekos"]. Once you are neck-deep into the paperwork it was quite difficult to unravel yourself out of it again.

But that was now in the past.

With the co-option of Ruusan and the surrounding systems into the fold of the Sith Triumvirate they finally had better options. It meant that he didn’t need to spend most nights drawing out lines and cutting unnecessary corners.

“My Lord.” One of the Stormtroopers saluted, before waiting for Carach to acknowledge him.

He continued to scribble a few notes on the papers spread out on his table.

“Yes?”
“A capital ship just exited hyperspace. Mandalorian. Draco Vereen has been on call for the past thirty minutes.”
“I see.”
“Lord Orcus picked up the call a few minutes ago.”

Another scribble was set.

“My Lord?”
“Yes?”
“Vereen mentioned you ‘wouldn’t mind having him’.”
“That’s awkwardly put.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Not untrue, though. I suppose.”
“My Lord.”

Carach sighed and then shrugged.

“Very well, my hand was starting to cramp anyway. I will join the call.”
“Very good, my Lord.”

A few minutes later a silhouette appeared next to Orcus’ enormous face.

“Vereen.” No misters or ma’ams or lords. They had been through a lot, no reason to stand on too much formality. “I caught the tail-end of that. What is it that you seek exactly?”

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco looked up at the other face as it appeared in front of him. The face of one Darth Carach. Now with two of three Triumvirs on the line, he assumed something would be done quickly. Either telling him to get lost, or giving him what he wanted, one or the other. Not that it mattered greatly. There were ways to get what he really wanted without their help or approval, but given his long standing relationship with their number, the man assumed it would be easiest and most beneficial to attempt it this way. Through words.

"Lord Carach." Draco said with a nod at the new face appearing before him. "Well, to cut to the meat of the matter, I left a lock box in the Valley of the Jedi when I subjugated the world for the Techno Union, and I kind of want it now." The box had been buried there with the intention of the Obsidian Citadel being moved over the Valley of the Jedi and secured, but the Obsidian Order had collapsed to just him and his people shortly before that was able to happen. It was meant as a contingency if what little the Order had was stolen. With the Order now defunct and his own goals no longer aligning with the Techno Union, and so, he wanted those contingencies for his own people now.

"And the second, there is a listening post on one of the moons of Ruusan. In its wreckage are the schematics of something I want. Mostly because I want it." Technically it had several things worth having on it, but Draco wasn't concerned with all the bells and whistles the station had installed in it. Besides, when it came to early warning systems, nothing beat the Hyperspace Security Net, and if that was unavailable or too expensive, his own Vigilance Mines were second best.

"And Third I wanted to talk about setting up a forge inside the Valley of the Jedi. As you probably know, using a Force Nexus when crafting or imbuing items with power adds to the craftsman's ability, and I need all the help I can get." He smiled, waiting to hear about what they had to say. Personally, the Mandalorian didn't NEED the third thing, but he wanted it nonetheless. He may not have been the best Alchemist, but with the assistance of the most powerful Force Nexus in existence, his own specially crafted tools, the few artifacts he had, and the holocrons he had studied from, he wasn't half bad on his own.

[member="Darth Orcus"] | [member="Darth Carach"]

 

[Gorba the Hutt]

"Ah, for the third option I'm sure we can come to an agreeable arrangement," said the cetacean, dark eyes alight with sudden avarice. "Say, personal orders free of charge? And a 10% cut of all profits from the forge."

Ten percent for a forge on a Force nexus was a small fee. Perhaps he should have asked for more, but Vereen was a close business associate. Wouldn't do to gouge out his eyes over something so easily done.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Ah, you may misunderstand Lord Orcus. I am not like Akure Leatherworks. Granted, the Forge would be in your basement and open to your people's use, I wouldn't pull much of a profit off of such an endeavor as I very rarely craft things intended for even limited quantities. More or less, I build a forge there, the Triumvirate lets me use it, and I remember to make a duplicate of whatever I am working on to add to the Triumvirates collection. I'm sure that is at least somewhat agreeable." Draco had actually never created anything in larger batches than five, and that had been a small series of knives, and his alchemy was rudimentary, with Force Imbuement of a specific property of the bonded he often shared with the recipient. But, of his works the Kandosii'beskad and his own Drahr'kandar weren't bad.

"And as for the other two things, I presume that if I'm being allowed to set up a forge in the Valley of the Jedi, I would be allowed to recover my items left here. As for the schematics, I noticed how it was conveniently avoided." Draco smiled. So they probably knew about Skytop. Not a problem, just meant they were listening to many, many conversations in their work to securing the system. "Perhaps a trade is in order for access to them. I recently built an early warning system and a planetary shield. Ruusan's defenses aren't shabby, but certainly you could spring for something your enemies might not expect." Draco clicked a few buttons and sent a readout of the shield's technical specifications, enough to understand what it did, not the schematics to reproduce it, though they wouldn't need many. So far only two planets were graced by its presence. Perhaps a third would grant him what he sought.

[member="Darth Orcus"] | [member="Darth Carach"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Draco Vereen"] | [member="Darth Orcus"]

He didn’t really want to interrupt the exchange between Orcus and Vereen too much.

After all Orcus had picked up the call before him so it was only fair that he would lead the conversation this time around. When he named his terms when it came to the forge, but ignored the first two points on the list of requests. So the Sith Lord assumed it was his time to pitch in.

The Triumvirate had acquired the wreckage of Skytop station and also took over the new listening post installed by the Union - perhaps an act occurred after Vereen had already left.

Because otherwise he would have known about its presence.

“You know us, Vereen.” Carach replied calmly. “We are never opposed to making mutual-profitable deals.”

Those were the best kind of deals, really.

Sure, in their position they could usually afford screwing people over out of their profits and keep it all for themselves, but what would the point be? All it did was leave a bunch of angry people in their wake that would hold grudges. No, that did not seem a prudent course of action.

Either eliminate the threat or co-opt it.

There was no middle way.

“Are these schematics for personal or mercantile use?”

 

[Laira Darkhold]

All these hoops to jump through, but it was simple negotiations. The Triumvirate wanted to make sure they didn't get screwed or the short end of the deal when opening up their resources to the Mandalorian, and the Mandalorian wanted to benefit from their resources as much as possible. Constructing a forge in the depths of the Valley of the Jedi was risky, but it was also the best place to build one, the best place in the galaxy. The nearly inexhaustible power of the Valley of the Jedi provided anyone they wanted to train in Alchemy or Force Imbuement with an edge.

As for the other things, there were benefits. "Well, the schematics aren't exactly for personal use. I'm working on something, and I'm gathering resources to see if its a viable option to proceed." As with any expensive project, rather than bull rushing through with production, the gathering of sub-systems, shopping around for sub-contractors with beneficial systems. Already they were still looking into the use of some rare pieces of technology that had yet to be obtained. Perhaps the Triumvirate could acquire those technological wonders for his people as well.

"But, I won't lie. In addition to miniaturization and down-scaling for that project, which I'd be willing to share, but, it is likely one or two planets I care about would as well. But, that is why I'm offering those Planetary defenses in exchange for them." Draco liked Carach. Though the Sith always benefitted from the Mandalorian's efforts, he had also provided Draco with numerous Holocrons and artifacts which lead to Draco numerous skills and abilities, and a great deal of his knowledge about various subjects.

[member="Darth Orcus"] | [member="Darth Carach"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Draco Vereen"]

Carach was a firm believer of attempting to make a deal beneficial for all the parties involved. This was simple pragmatism more than a kindness on his part. If people were happy about their side of the bargain then they would return for more and they would be less likely to try and stab you in the back later. That was part of the problem of being part of the Sith Club, in Carach’s humble opinion.

All these people trying to get the better of one another instead of focusing on a common enemy.

So inefficient.

“As a rule I have no issue with this.” the Sith finally responded with a shrug. “You have clearance to land on Ruusan with a single transport, Vereen, let’s talk business in person.”

Far more hospitable. And the Sith Lord would have a slight edge in the department of being able to read people’s minds and mood.

Easier to negotiate that way.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco nodded at the man on the holoprojector, his voice level and calm. "Alright, I'm on my way. Its going to take me a couple of minutes to get planetside." A moment later, the mandalorian gave the kill sign to cut the transmission.

"Alright, pull us to extended range from Ruusan, weapons locked aft. Don't wanna look overly aggressive. Get me a Orar'uliik ready to go in the hangar." He had another stop, in less friendly territory before he could return to Taris with his gains to continue work on the project before he and his people.

Taris was the only planet with significant dry docks at the moment that could handle large scale production of Star Destroyers. Concordia would be close behind, but construction was still ongoing. Eventually the Mandalorian would need to sit down with Rygell Larraq to work on upscaling his mobile drydock stations to ten kilometers.

After a short hyperspace jump into the system, the single gunship, the smallest landing craft currently available within the Kandosii-Type Dreadnought, left from the cavernous hold into the void of space dropping towards the Valley of the Jedi, where the Sith Triumvirate had set up shop.

[member="Darth Carach"]