I’ve got the brains, you’ve got the looks. Let’s make lots of money

[Tmoxin Temi]

Tmoxin Temi was still on Anaxes but aboard her private yacht in a secluded docking bay, mostly so she could hide from Darth Carach and catch up on her work that had been neglected for the last 48 hours. The changing of the guard – from the 182nd Legion to now serving the Voice of the Dark Lord - happened so rapidly that she hadn’t the time to make any kind of arrangements for how this new post was going to work. The logistics of switching battalions was normally handled by… well, someone else besdies Tmoxin, and especially for a higher ranking officer, most everything was arranged and handled. But since Darth Carach had literally plucked her out of an Officer’s Club, made her sign some kind of mysterious papers which he pulled out of his sleeve like some amateur magician, she was left to pick up the pieces all on her own. After preliminary contact was made to Sgt. Major Ulysses to let him know she wasn’t dead, he gave her some bad news.

“Commander, the funding for the Morpho Lab has been denied. You spent your entire Inquisition budget in the first quarter of this year.” Damn it all to hell, she thought, cursing herself for investing in these whimsical projects like Crynic and cloning, rather than one of her most precious proposals: The Morpho Center for Imperial Training Laboratory. Truth be told, Tmoxin didn’t quite know what she would do with the lab but those were minor details for the R&D team to figure out.

The Commander used to have a couple of shadow accounts with which she could fund her own projects with but again, she had dumped it all recently into Crynic which appeared to be yielding nothing as far as she could tell. “I sent you a list of potential investors looking for new projects to fund,” said the ever resourceful Sergeant-Major.

After perusing a digital dossier of company names, bankers, CEOs, even politicians all flush with credits, she spent a whole thirty seconds deciding who to pick to solicit funding from first. The Commander was not looking for names she recognized, nor lofty positions, or even if they had a remote interest in science. What the Hapan paid the most attention to on her list was how many credits were attached to their acquisition criteria. And the man on the list with the most credits was named Gerion Ardik.

Provided Darth Carach would allow her to leave this blasted planet anytime soon, she sent a message to Mr. Ardik just to test the waters. After all the Morpho was very important to her as were all of her triumphs on Lok, the horrible dusty rock that it was. Honestly, she wasn’t in a position to turn him down if he was interested, but broke and under Carach’s lock and key, Tmoxin still had her dignity:

//incoming transmission:

To: Gerion Ardik
From: Tmoxin Temi

I’m writing to you because you have expressed interest in providing funding specifically for research projects. I have a laboratory that is in need of funding to continue building upon our vital research. If you would like an example of the type of exciting projects we’ve developed, look no further than the Age Renewal Treatment Chamber.

I welcome your thoughts on the funding opportunity, Mr. Ardik.

//transmission ending…

Short, sweet and full of blatant lies – a perfect start to what may or may not be a profitable business relationship.

[member="Gerion Ardik"]

 

[Darth Adekos]

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

Eyes glazed over, the Umbaran listlessly scanned through his holo-mail inbox. No, he did not want to sign up for U-Date. He really wished Morgan would stop forwarding those to him. Then Gerion remembered he had to be patient while she adjusted her social abilities... Unless by this point she was just doing it to spite him, which seemed more than likely. Another Felcatian prince was requesting a donation of some cr50,000 in exchange for an eventual return of some hundreds of millions. Since Gerion was now a federal official of the Techno Union, the Director of the Department of Law, he was legally required to reply to all of these transmissions, which had only increased since he took office and his other assistant resigned.

Normally this had been his job, but now Gerion had to reply to them all himself with the same vanilla message. "The Department of Law thanks you for your inquest and will be sure to look into it..." blah, blah, blah. This was menial work meant for interns, but until that Z1 he ordered made it to Hypori, he couldn't leave this office until his inbox was cleared. Just as he thought he finished, a new one showed up.

//incoming transmission:

To: Gerion Ardik
From: Tmoxin Temi

I’m writing to you because you have expressed interest in providing funding specifically for research projects. I have a laboratory that is in need of funding to continue building upon our vital research. If you would like an example of the type of exciting projects we’ve developed, look no further than the Age Renewal Treatment Chamber.

I welcome your thoughts on the funding opportunity, Mr. Ardik.

//transmission ending…

Tmoxin? A distinct name. He was sure he heard it somewhere before. Probably while at a gala or some other snobbish Coruscanti affair when he had been working in that sector of space, but he couldn't place it exactly. Whatever the case, he felt moved by some unknowable force to key a response. Age renewal was not something that interested Gerion. Growing old did not frighten him, not when he had the power of the Force coursing through his veins. Besides, his infallible platinum mane could only grow more glorious with each passing year.

But other people? They were petrified of it for some reason. There were people throughout the galaxy ready to commit murder for a chance to maintain their vanity. Some of them actually did. Gerion chalked up this behavior to the fact that they did not have a head adorned with marvelous flaxen locks. Whatever the case, he was fairly certain those muderous enough would be more than willing to spend money on this age-renewal affair. If it turned out to be a legitimate enterprise.

//incoming transmission:

To: Tmoxin Temi
From: Gerion Ardik

I will consider this only if I am sufficiently convinced this is not some sort of preposterous scam. What corporation do you represent? Where is this laboratory based? What technology does this "Age Renewal Treatment Chamber" rely on?

//transmission ending…

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

While it was perfectly justifiable that Gerion Ardik expect more details, Tmoxin wasn’t used to all of this salesmanship and pitch work. The Commander was normally in between these kind of negotiations, bartering for what percentage she would rather have a stake in. Not writing up business proposals for a research laboratory that the Sith would likely confiscate once her misdeeds fully circulated though the organization. But at least she could try to get the lab up and running before her beloved Morpho Center was taken away from her. After a few minutes of wracking her brain and plagiarizing some sales literature from the holonet, she typed out a response to Mr. Ardik:

//transmission incoming

To: Gerion Ardik
From: Tmoxin Temi

A reasonable ask, Mr. Ardik. Allow me to answer your first question: My name is Tmoxin Temi, Stormtrooper Commander with the Imperial Inquisition, a military arm of the One Sith. I run the Morpho Center for Imperial Training planet of Lok, located on the edges of Wild Space. The IM-8005 shield projector garrison has an area for a laboratory which is not yet installed. The space needs upgrades in terms of safety, compliance, modular environments and glove boxes. Not to mention active research projects.

Being a discerning businessman, you are probably aware of the unfortunate state of government funding and sadly my laboratory is in sore need of supplies, staff and materials of which the One Sith cannot currently provide.

My interests for the Morpho Lab lie, not necessarily in Age Reversal. That particular treatment chamber is merely an example of the type of projects I can produce when I have access to the right resources. Did you know the Age Renewal Treatment Chamber can take up to 4 years off of your life and with no damaging side effects? Immortality is within reach for everyone in the galaxy. Can you imagine if these these treatment chambers were mass produced into personal models which could be built into every refresher in every wealthy household all over the Core Worlds?

If you are interested in more, I can certainly tell you where my true passions lie.

Respectfully yours,
Tmoxin

//transmission ending…

Along with the message, she sent him the specifications for the treatment chamber as he requested. Again, Tmoxin only wanted to peak his interest right now since she was stuck on Anaxes under the strict watch of Darth Carach and she couldn’t make a proper arrangement for him to tour the facility. Hopefully Gerion Ardik would indulge her in this dialogue as an appetizer before getting to the proverbial main course of the deal.

[member="Gerion Ardik"]

 

[Darth Adekos]

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

Gerion scanned over the response, furrowing his brow. A stormtrooper commander? On Lok? He couldn't imagine for what exact purpose the One Sith would establish a training encampment on a dead world so close to the fringes of space. Space that was very nearly controlled by a mob of selectivist rabble. If he had to guess, and he was very fond of guessing, she had picked the location herself. Probably because stromtrooper commanders were not generally supposed to be pursuing any enterprise outside of stormtrooper-ing. That made things rather exciting.

He hated exciting.

Oh, but the revenue potential! Not the way she described it, at least. What she wanted to do was outright foolish. Immortality for every wealthy family in the core? A unit in every refresher? Gerion had gotten to know a few members of those "wealthy families" during his time on Coruscant. He couldn't recall a single one of them who would produce any useful developments if made immortal. They would continue to suck air, wine, and hors-d'oeuvres out of the galaxy until the inevitable heat death of the universe.

"Fredrick, run a background check on-" The Umbaran, interrupting himself as he looked up, then remembered that Fredrick no longer worked here. He sighed, then went to pen his response. Background check later. He was still convinced that this was, in fact, a legitimate deal. The enclosed specifications were far too technical to be some sort of a dupe, not to mention that her grammar remained constant. This was no Felcatian prince.

//incoming transmission:

To: Tmoxin Temi
From: Gerion Ardik

I was not aware that Stormtrooper commanders were permitted to operate businesses on the side of their regular duties, nor was I aware that the One Sith maintained a military base so close to the threshold of Rebel Alliance territory. Fortunately I have little respect for One Sith policy these days, especially where they seem to be stifling the commercial ambition of one such as yourself.

We will need to discuss distribution and production policy in person, as I do intend to invest in this product. You will also need to consider forming a corporation, as an operation as extensive as the one I assume you wish to found cannot be run by one person alone. Especially not if the singular person in question is also juggling the responsibilities of a Stormtrooper commander. And operating under the tyrannical weight of the One Sith.

But, please, explain to me what other projects you intend to pursue.

//transmission ending…

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Tmoxin scanned over Mr. Ardik’s message, but the first thing that jumped out at her was “a military base close to the... Rebel Alliance.” This was an interesting tidbit that Tmoxin actually did not know. It wasn’t as if she had scouting missions in the area, obviously for fear of calling attention to the Morpho. And she didn’t consider the Rebel Alliance a particular threat, but the Intel was valuable just the same.

But Mr. Ardik was right about the Commander needing to start a holding company or somehow distance her own interests from the Sith. This is exactly the type of consulting I use on a more regular basis, she thought. After all it was her poor financial decision-making that had her now so strapped for credits and nearly in debt to Crynic. And while Tmoxin at times could be a savvy negotiator with a silver tongue and a penchant for making the boldest lie believable, she was an officer at her core, trained to protect her Queen, crimelords, the Sith, frankly whoever employed her, but most importantly gave her the power to do as she pleased. Her weakness with business was that she tended to wantonly intermingle it will all of her affairs and relationships.

But Gerion Ardik was interested – at least it sounded that way.

The next message was as followed:

“Mr. Ardik, I agree with you whole heartedly about your advice re: forming a corporation. And while I cannot go into specifics, I assure you, my relationship with the Sith will not jeopardize this project.”

He wanted to meet which was very promising, but she needed to further stall him as she couldn’t go waltzing off Anaxes at least not without being tailed by Darth Carach’s Royal Guards and a fleet of TIE Fighters.

"Some of the recruitment and training methods I've used to train soldiers here at the Morpho, while unorthodox have been extremely successful especially the use of IX serum. I'm interested in experimenting with variants to see what they can produce in terms of a compliant and willing militia."

Tmoxin pressed send, hoping she had his utmost interest and didn't sound like a lunatic at the mention of the mind control drug. Then she donned her riding outfit. And although she knew she would be followed by Carach's henchman the entire time, she had dressage lessons at a Sirpar Hills Keffi stable that she didn't want to miss.

[member="Gerion Ardik"]

 

[Darth Adekos]

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

An eyebrow arched on the Umbaran's face. IX serum? He had never heard of such a thing, but if the One Sith (or an estranged stromtrooper at any rate) were running experiments with it... It could only be something utterly nefarious. His first guess would have been biological warfare, but since it was being utilized for training, it was more likely to be a combat stimulant. Gerion found such things to be rather silly. If soldiers were not performing well in combat, the only real solution would be to automate the military. High quality battle droids from high quality corporations- such as Hegemonic Automaton. Fortunately not everyone in the galaxy understood that wisdom. If he invested properly here, he could stand to make a killing off of their lack of vision.

//incoming transmission:

To: Tmoxin Temi
From: Gerion Ardik

Very well. I believe I am convinced enough to make a sizable investment. I will schedule a meeting with you on Lok at my earliest convenience where we may discuss the aforementioned details. You will hear from me again soon.

I look forward to meeting you in person.

//transmission ending…

Gerion looked up, poised to ask Fredrick to schedule the appointment, but caught himself properly this time. He huffed incredulously, powered down the console on his desk, and made ready to leave his office. That was enough responding to spam mail for the day. Profitable spam mail thought it may have been...

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

After the dressage lesson, Tmoxin decided to take her Keffi, a rather spunky mare, out into the more mountainous part of Sipar Hills, much to the dismay of the Royal Guards who were now on foot following her versus in the enclosed and comfortable speeder they normally used for surveillance of the Commander. But most vehicles were banned in this area due to the public transportation restrictions put in place by luxury estates owners, mostly retired Navy top brass. Tmoxin snickered at the Royal Guards who chose not to ride Keffis and stalked around behind her in their flowing red armor, mud caking on their boots.

Tmoxin’s guilt over what she had done to arrive in this situation had an extremely short shelf life and she seethed with rage over the fact that she was trapped here on Anaxes. After all, a wealthy and intriguing businessman was interested in funding the Morpho Lab. Darth Carach, however, was only going to stifle her talents by serving as his what? Personal security guard? As far as she could tell he had no advanced operations planned nor tactical engagements for her to lead. And after the night at the Officer’s Club and his clear body language as he invaded her personal space, not to mention her mind, she was convinced he wanted to keep her around for more inappropriate reasons.

With a reckless energy, she suddenly kicked her keffi into a rapid canter and then into a gallop. She heard the Royal Guards shouting behind her and dug her heels sharply into the creature’s side, eliciting an angry huff from the mare. But she quickly put a wide berth between her and the royal guards, enough to find a shady grove and send a response to Gerion Ardik from her datapad acknowledging his request for a meeting:

“I hope you don’t find this an imposition, but can you meet me on Anaxes instead? Docking bay 16 near the Anaxes Citadel. I’m here on business, overseeing a purchase for the laboratory and for security reasons, I’d like to personally accompany you to Lok.”

It was a cryptic message and hopefully didn’t sound like some kind of sketchy shakedown to the businessman. Mr. Ardik could only say no at this point and Tmoxin had nothing else to lose. The Royal Guards finally caught up to her and she made up some incoherent story about losing control of the Keffi and thankfully they believed her. As they escorted the Commander back, she began to devise a more permanent escape plan.

And then if by a miracle, Gerion Ardik decided to arrive in the morning, she knew exactly what she needed to do to evade Darth Carach.

[member="Gerion Ardik"]

 

[Darth Adekos]

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

His datapad buzzed during his commute back to his planetside apartment. Gerion generally preferred apartments to standalone buildings as far as his accommodations went. They were far more discrete than towering mansions or sprawling estates. At any rate, he was surprised at the content. Anaxes? She wanted to hold a meeting regarding her clandestine, unapproved business operations in the heart of One Sith space? Near the Anaxes Citadel? To oversee a purchase she was making with credits he could have swore she mentioned not having, no less. This smelled worse than a sweaty Quarren who had finished sewage diving. Probably a trap.

There was absolutely no reasonable way Gerion was going to fall into a One Sith trap. Not by a long-shot, but he would certainly like to thwart such a thing and interrogate those behind it. It was all but impossible to do son on Anaxes, however.

"I'm not entirely sure it would be in my best interests to travel into the heart of One Sith space to meet with a person who I suspect is violating their regulations." Came his response. "I do not consider that world or the government currently presiding over it to be safe."

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Tmoxin couldn’t fault Gerion Ardik for his mistrust. And he was bloody well right that the government currently presiding over Annaxes was not safe! She was living proof of this on an hourly basis. If the Hapan officer made one misstep, and the maker forbid, went to get her hair done without Carach’s permission she would be summarily executed.

“I understand,” she sent back to Mr. Ardik. “I will meet you on Lok at your earliest convenience.”

The Commander knew what she needed to do. She had to leave that night and there was nothing else to be considered. The fact that she couldn’t go about her normal business and might as well be chained to a boring administrative desk job at the Anaxes Citadel made her blood boil. There would be casualties in her plan but they were unavoidable.

Back on The Sovereign Butterfly II, Tmoxin had Marta, her doppelganger, dress in one of her uniforms and she fixed the girl’s hair and makeup exactly the way she would have done. The resemblance was uncanny, but not perfect, however the Royal Guards didn’t have to get close to this woman after all. They only had to chase her long enough for Tmoxin to slip out of sight.

Marta, who she had bought months ago from the Coruscant Tourism Center Underground (level 8), and who now served as her yacht’s first mate, was very nervous at this new development and quite smartly realized that this was the day she would truly become the reason for which she was originally purchased. Like goading a stubborn mule, it took a few minutes for Tmoxin to get the girl to the exit hatch of the yacht – she finally had to put a blaster to her head. “You either die here, Marta. Or else you go out there, run for your life and maybe, just maybe evade those Royal Guards. You hear me!?!?” Now out you go…” Tmoxin kicked open the hatch and thrust the poor slave girl outside. She waited, watching and sure enough the Royal Guards were fooled and began a foot-chase with the fake Tmoxin Temi.

Tmoxin, knowing she had merely seconds left, quickly slipped into a dull dress, tied her hair up, stepped into basic flats – trying for the life of her to look like a simple Navy wife and she left with nothing else on her but credits in a small hand-held clutch. She couldn’t take The Sovereign Butterfly II as it most likely was outfitted with a tracking device, so sadly she would lose another ship and have to contract out a Sovereign Butterfly III.

Once out of her yacht, the coast was relatively clear, the Royal Guards having gone the other way after Marta, so herself on foot, walking quickly her head down the entire time, the Hapan officer made her way to a transport hub and booked passage off of Anaxes on a very modest freighter to the planet Lok. No TIE Fighters followed the ship as it lifted off from the fortress planet and she hoped that Marta had escaped but ultimately she knew how unlikely that was. And returning to the Sith was highly unlikely for Tmoxin as well. She was not only a traitor; she was a deserter, and while probably not important enough to be hunted down, she knew that she needed to make swift arrangements if she wanted to retain any part of her garrison without a drawn out firefight with her own troops.

[member="Gerion Ardik"]

 

[Darth Adekos]

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

SOMETIME LATER...

Lok, Gerion quickly found, was a miserable, barren world. Gerion would go so far as to say it was actually worse than Tatooine- at least that backwater had Arceneau Trade to redeem it. All this rock had was sulfur. The stench of it permeated everything. The air of the whole world was stale and tasted foul to the point where Gerion almost thought he would need a rebreather. He might have even boarded his shuttle to get one if he weren't presently being held at gunpoint by a stormtrooper. It was a real Iridonian stand-off- which was to say there were two more Stormtroopers in addition to Gerion's two bodyguard droids. The TA4s had their weapons pointed at the two Stormtroopers, which the Stormtroopers reciprocated kindly. The Stormtrooper in the middle had his gun trained on Gerion, but the Umbaran had no weapons to point back.

And since he had little desire to murder anyone, much less Stormtroopers who hadn't received notice of his impending visit, Gerion had his hands held up. "Gentlemen, I assure you-"

"Tell your droids to put their weapons down."

"Pah. Why, so you can get away with shooting me? I must not be making myself clear. I was invited-"

"This is your last warning, dirtbag."

Gerion scoffed. "How uncivilized."

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

It was true that Tmoxin hadn’t the time to alert the Morpho Center personnel about the benefactor who had arrived. She was barely able to let her platoons know that she was no longer with the Sith. She hoped that once she broke the news, most of them would want to stay, but it was likely there would be a few soldiers who, for fear of reprisals against the Hapan officer, would leave their service under her command.

With a rap on her office door, the Sgt. Major Ulysses entered. “An Umbaran has arrived, Commander and says he was invited,” he said. “If not, I suggest we apprehend him.” Tmoxin appeared momentarily bewildered and then checked her chrono. Gerion Ardik was early and she had lost all track of time, still recovering from her impromptu escape from Anaxes.

She rose and composed herself, giving a quick glance in the mirror at her appearance. Aside from dark circles under her eyes from very little sleep lately, she didn’t look that worse for wear. She quickly swept her red hair up into a loose bun and then beckoned the Sgt. Major to follow her as she spoke: “No, no. He is an invited guest, Sgt. Major. We will do nothing of the sort.” She would explain her plans to him later, but now she needed to greet her guest and make sure he wasn’t being manhandled by security.

Once Tmoxin gazed out upon the landing pad where Mr. Ardik’s shuttle was, she saw the standoff and she quickly came over, her eyes flashing angrily. “Stand down soldiers at once!” The stormtroopers turned around and did as they were instructed, lowering their weapons. “This is no way to treat a guest, isn’t that right Sgt. Major Ulysses?” Her second-in-command gave a simple nod.

“Mr. Ardik, I’m so grateful you could come. I hope you had a pleasant journey,” she said giving him a coy smile. He was indeed Umbaran and she feared immediately for his extremely pale skin under the harsh, unforgiving sun of Lok. But being Umbaran he would be more likely to keep all of their potential affairs a secret which greatly appealed to her. “I’d like to apologize for the very rude greeting. It appears there was a mix-up somewhere.”

She swept her hand towards the Morpho Center. “Would you like a tour before we get down to business?”

Tmoxin's biggest challenge right now was not to convince him to invest in her operations, because he already made it known that he was interested. She just needed to keep the façade going a little bit longer that nothing was amiss and the Morpho wasn’t about to be confiscated out from under her from the Sith.

[member="Gerion Ardik"]

 

[Darth Adekos]

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

Before the blaster bolts could start flying, a sharp looking woman in an Imperial officer's uniform arrived to defuse the situation. The stormtroopers were ordered to stand down, lowering their weapons. The droids accompanying Gerion, now sensing the danger was passed, lowered their weapons as well. Gerion also opted to lower his hands slowly, as if concerned they would still be gunned down at any concievable moment and his arms were the only thing that would save him. If only all Iridonian stand-offs ended this way- cut short by the timely arrival savvy Imperial officer. Speaking of which, he was surprised it was a woman who came to greet him. If he had a better understanding of Hapan names he might have been able to realize as much during their correspondence.

"Ms. Temi, the pleasure is all mine." He replied, as august sounding as ever. This was a business meeting after all. "No need to apologize. An honest mistake, I'm sure."

His tone matched those words, but it didn't compliment the momentary sideways glance he gave the two Stormtroopers that accosted him as he shook her hand. Gerion liked stormtroopers, all things considered. The One Sith would have been better off if they paid as much attention to fielding professionally trained Stormtroopers, like the one Commander Temi here trained, instead of their barbaric Vong monsters. But he didn't quite appreciate it when they pointed guns at him regardless of that.

"I would be delighted to see the rest of the facility." Gerion said, waving off one of the droids to return into the shuttle. The second one would accompany them, ostensibly because it also frequently acted as his temporary assistant in regards to this meeting.

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Tmoxin strolled with Gerion Ardik towards the entrance of the facility. The Sgt. Major and her stormtroopers falling in line behind them, along with the Umbaran’s security droids.

“You can see for yourself that this is a standard garrison with the highest security,” she said. As if on cue an AT-ST passed in front of them and they paused to let it finish its patrol route.

“But I won’t bore you with all of the details about the shield generator and defense turrets. We will make a quick detour into the main facility and then I’ll take you straight to the laboratory.” As they walked through the Morpho’s main building, Gerion would see offices first and then a common area, cafeteria and a small med bay with three 2-1B surgical droids at work. While they didn’t go past it, he would also the sounds of a cantina nearby with the faint rumbling of male conversation and the clink of glasses.

“The laboratory is in the back of this building,” she said as they wound their way through the corridors. While trying to appear as if she wasn’t, Tmoxin tried to mentally size up her new guest from the available visual cues. He was tall and dressed rather stately with long platinum hair. And of course to the Hapan, being Umbaran made him quite unusual looking, but he wasn’t unattractive. In fact, he was quite a handsome man. Not at all gregarious which suited her just fine. Tmoxin wasn’t one for small talk either but the lack of conversation made him difficult to read. When her surreptitious assessment could yield no more details she asked: “Mr. Ardik, what kind of business is it that you do?

[member="Gerion Ardik"]

 

[Darth Adekos]

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

The base was stocked and built as he expected. Gerion imagined they had to be largely self-sufficient considering the incredible gap between Lok and the One Sith-controlled galactic core. Despite that, the accommodations appeared to be comfortable enough. There was even a nearby cantina, though they didn't venture very close to it. Arguably that was for the best. Gerion did not look favorably upon those sorts of establishments or the behavior that took place within them. These were One Sith soldiers, probably conscripts. Whatever they had to say to one another was definitely not pleasant.

They eventually entered Morpho's main building. It was here, in the back, that the laboratory was located. Gerion found it strange that they were being trailed the whole time by these stormtroopers, but ultimately they dismissed it. Maybe the TA4 was just that threatening of a droid that they felt they need to accompany her if it was present. As they walked, Tmoxin began to strike up a conversation. Thus far the Umbaran had paid more attention to the tour than the Hapan commander, but now that she was asking him directly...

"I'm a representative for Hegemonic Automaton, a droid manufacturer based out of Lianna. I've also operated several government posts over the years, first as a Senator, then as a Viceroy, and now as the Director of the Techno Union's Department of Law. More recently I've taken to investing and holding, which brings us here, I suppose."

Gerion paused briefly as they rounded another corner, then continuing. "Have you been a commander here for very long?"

Idle small-talk, although he was a tad curious. She appeared to be rather young.

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

“I’ve been the Commander of the Blood Monarchs for a little less than a year,” Tmoxin replied and then she added,“One of my previous posts was serving the Queen of Hapes as her Royal Guard.” She hoped that would impress him a little bit and offset the fact that she hadn’t been in her current leadership position for very long. After all, he himself had been a politician and Viceroy and was likely connected to the Rootai on Umbara. An important post serving a highly visible noblewoman would be something of which he would take note.

They finally arrived at the back of the facility and paused at an automatic door. She noticed Gerion Ardik eyeing the security escort, so before they entered the laboratory, the Commander said in a lofty tone which rivaled the Umbaran's: “Sgt. Major, please escort these soldiers back to their posts. Again, Mr. Ardik is a guest of the Morpho.” If Mr. Ardik wanted to keep his droids close by, that was perfectly fine. They were mechanicals after all and unable to gossip or reveal sensitive information. Yes, he could have programmed them to record their conversation, but again, Tmoxin needed to forge some trust between her and her benefactor. Relieving him of his droids may make him feel uncomfortable and right now she needed him to be at ease with all that she would share. With her second-in-command and the stormtroopers gone, they were alone now.

“This door has a retinal scan security feature, but as of now it’s non-functioning,” Tmoxin said and the door hissed open as she pressed a button. Gerion Ardik would see darkened laboratory mostly bereft of equipment save for a few cabinets and some storage units.

Her mind wandered to Mr. Ardik’s credentials. Hegemonic Automaton was a familiar name to the Commander, and while she wasn’t intimately knowledgeable about the operations, she felt certain it had a good reputation. And like his company there was also something familiar about Mr. Ardik too. He was a striking man,very memorable, and suddenly she realized...

“Mr. Ardik I can’t help but feel like I’ve seen you before. Were you on Bastion recently, perhaps at a party?” You know, the one with the naked dancers and executions, she wanted to say but held her tongue.

[member="Gerion Ardik"]

 

[Darth Adekos]

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

"The Queen of Hapes herself? Very impressive, commander. I hope the One Sith have treated you with due respect." Gerion kindly avoided any further acknowledgement of the Blood Monarchs.

The Umbaran knew who they were, ostensibly because they were the one of the few divisions of the One Sith military he considered civilized. Which was to say not composed of Yuuzhan-Vong or Yuuzhan-Vong elements. But that was only because he had an alter ego who formerly hung around that sector. Gerion, on the other hand, generally stayed away from the Core and thus would have no intricate knowledge of famous One Sith batallions. He hadn't known who the commander was. How very quaint that it was the commander of the Blood Monarchs, of all divisions, that wanted to expand her power and influence by entering the game of corporate power-playing. It nearly brought a tear to his eye.

Tmoxin dismissed the stormtrooper escort once they arrived in front of the laboratory. That was good- it meant they weren't going to turn and suddenly capture him the moment the doors opened. It would have been a good plan, probably. Oddly enough, Gerion found himself pleased with the tone she issued that command. Regal, yet with the sort of military professionalism that came from a prestigious career. The interior of the laboratory was stripped almost entirely bare. The absence of light, the destitute condition of the room, the malfunctioning door... Maybe this was still a trap? Oh well. There were worse people to be taken captive by. At least his TA4 was here to pitch a fuss in that event.

But the ambush never came. Gerion was also willing to live with that.

"The Bastion ball?" He recalled with the sort of enthusiasm one would expect from a person who detested zealots, public executions, slave auctions, and... Unnecessary nudity.

There had been some rather unattractive servers. It was a personal complaint.

"Why, yes, I was present. Unfortunate affair that it was. Were you also in attendance?"

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

As Tmoxin suspected Gerion Ardik was suitably impressed by her not-so-subtle name dropping of the Queen Mother. But his Umbaran sensibilities made her unable to tell if he was sincere or not. And with her wounded pride at how her situation turned out with the One Sith she thought about rambling on about how little respect she was given in the organization. But Tmoxin only lifted her dark brown eyes to his and said, "As much respect as any military industrial complex affords its high ranking officers."

When the Commander was building the laboratory she had soundproofing installed in the walls so, not only was the laboratory dim, it was eerily quiet. Their voices wouldn't echo despite the room's hollow appearance.

I knew it, she thought, when Mr. Ardik admitted he was at the Bastion Ball. And while the Hapan officer had been preoccupied with Commodore Vaiden at the odd event, she did recall seeing the Umbaran businessman in out there in her peripheral vision. "Yes, I was there," she replied with a smirk. "And I do remember it as being somewhat unfortunate for those who were meant to be executed in front of a full room of guests in finery and ball gowns." She said this rather dismissively because she couldn't admit to him that she had been very keen to witness the executions. Nothing makes you feel better about yourself than someone else being bludgeoned to death right in front of your eyes. Maybe better wasn't the right word. But putting your good fortune in perspective, she supposed.

"Would you like to see the Age-Renewal Treatment Chamber now?"

It was the pièce de résistance in the otherwise barren Morpho laboratory.

[member="Gerion Ardik"]

 

[Darth Adekos]

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

Interesting. Gerion had been too hung up on Kuat's Queen to really pay much attention to the guests that didn't terrify or agitate him. If there was one thing he remembered most vividly of the evening, it was the constant fear of Cavill or Ovmar or some other uncouth and thoroughly malevolent colleague of his screwing things up for him. Ultimately it hadn't been either of them, but one ancient and eternal Sithling and a writhing mass of tentacles. The latter specifically Gerion didn't want to think back on, lest he lose his breakfast in front of the commander. Despite that and the myriad of other atrocities committed by the Primeval to mark the occasion, Gerion had made it through the night. With no small thanks to all the alcohol he consumed.

The Umbaran shook his head disconcertingly at the direct mention of the executions. "A shame the Primeval couldn't reconcile its barbaric practices with Bastion's culture. I find it puts a dampener on any evening, knowing atrocities are taking place only a few rooms away. "

Speaking of balls and war crimes, it was time to move on to the main affair: the Age-Renewal Treatment Chamber that would win the hearts and minds of the galaxy's vain and affluent. And it would also line both of their pockets with an asinine amount of credits, provided they were able to market it correctly. Which they would, because that was why Gerion was here- to make everyone's dreams come true.

"Certainly. But I must ask, given these conditions and your sub-par Sith budget, how you managed to develop such an advancement in technology?"

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

“So true,” Tmoxin agreed. After all she did agree in theory. But in practice, her curiosity would have gotten the better of her and she would have witnessed said atrocities with minimal effect to her psyche.

The Commander didn’t answer his next question immediately and only said, “Come with me.” She then ushered Gerion Ardik out of the main part of the laboratory and down another hallway, again stopping him in front of a door. There was also a glass window where the Umbaran would be able to see the white aluminum treatment chamber.

“I funded the creation of this machine with my own credits,” she said. “I had made some profitable investments and was able to develop this prototype with the help of my brother who is a doctor. I am not a bio-engineer after all. Sadly the endeavor has depleted my funding and I was hoping that the Sith would be interested in helping to support more research in this department. But as you know, the One Sith are only interested in taking life away and not extending it.”

If Mr. Ardik knew the truth of the origins of the treatment chamber he would probably storm out of the Morpho on the spot, taking his droids and funding far away from Lok. First of all, any investments she had, Tmoxin had embezzled from the Red Ravens, Second, she hadn’t developed the Age-Renewal Treatment Chamber at all - she had stolen it from Dr. Armand Temi. And third, she hadn’t even asked the Sith one way or another about it. The only true part of Tmoxin’s story was that she was indeed related to Armand Temi by blood. And finally, to make matters worse, the Age-Renewal Treatment Chamber blueprints were stolen from a bio-company’s laboratory on Coruscant and for some reason her silly, altruistic brother had gotten ahold of them.

The entire piece of technology and the development surrounding it was highly illegal and improper.

Which is where Mr. Ardik would come in and with his credits, power and influence, she hoped, would legitimize the whole entire affair.

“I’m curious to hear your ideas about the treatment chamber, Mr. Ardik. How would you produce and market this incredible machine?"

[member="Gerion Ardik"]

 

[Darth Adekos]

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

He gave a somber nod at hearing the One Sith's preference for taking life. "All too accurate."

Gerion followed after her, greatly anticipating seeing this marvelous piece of technology with his own eyes. There wouldn't be many opportunities to see a mechanical fountain of youth in person. Then again, if the long-term plan unfolded correctly, Gerion would probably be seeing dozens, if not hundreds, produced in the coming years. The area the treatment chamber was kept was separated from the rest of the lab, but a glassteel viewport allowed him to see inside. Like the rest of the area, it was only dimly lit. Gerion could still see inside, though, peering at the posh aluminum room. Far better maintained than the rest of this room.

As Tmoxin explained, she mentioned her brother. For a brief moment he was stuck on that information, but only for a moment. He was, after all, far more interested in the ARTC than any familial relations Tmoxin happened to have. Yet he seemed to distinctly recall hearing of a Temi somewhere before in a medical capacity. Oh well. There were trillions of people in this galaxy, and likely billions of Hapans. At least two families were bound to share a surname. Assuming he had even heard it correctly, or read it correctly, during that time...

For a few moments, Gerion said nothing, and instead scratched his chin in contemplation.

"The wealthy elite of the galaxy, as a rule, tend to be both vain and foolish. Perhaps this can be easily reproduced, streamlined, and condensed to the point it can be placed in a refresher. But no one else needs to know this. This is a product for the aristocracy. If we market it as such, prices are kept higher. We only need produce a few and establish them at clinics only on planets renown for their wealth. The wealthy tend to associate very closely with the rest of their class. We only need produce a few free vouchers and distribute them to those we can identify as being well-connected socialites. Information travels rather easily from there, as you can imagine."

He looked away from the window, back to Tmoxin herself. "But that course of action would have me assume this procedure is not only safe, but actually works. Is that the case?"

It would have been apparent to her that Gerion, an Umbaran, was now actively studying her (admittedly lovely) face for any signs of deception.