Into Shadow, Under Shade

[Ultimatum]

Always planets with a developed industrial capability. Ultimatum hadn't been able to visit a planet that was more or less rustic. He simply did not have the time for such a vacation, being leader of a planet tended to have that downside. The advantage that Ultimatum enjoyed was the ability to leave the planet in his aid's care, Legion was getting pretty good at handling himself in that regard.

Of course, he did not have an eternity to spend, he would have to probably return within a couple weeks just to keep on top of everything that had been going on. He still had that elusive enemy who was looking into getting him. Ultimatum would have to sit down and figure out who it was and how to deal with it. That attack awhile ago was too bold to go unpunished. The problem was that he had no target for his ire.

That aside, the Fate was almost finished going to Enigma Prime. He had a guest with him, an old friend. A fire wielder who had been hiding on Mustafar for some time, who Ultimatum had ensured was safe from Sith searching. He had been glad to see her again, a nice change to all the Sith he had been working with recently, little did he know that it was not going to change anytime soon. He wished that he had better accommodations for such a long trip, the Fate was horrendous in that regard. Of course it was the best that he had at the moment, what with the biggest ship he had ever found still being repaired.

The Fate was an old Republic Gunship from the Clone Wars era. Ultimatum had found its more or less intact wreckage in orbit around the planet, hidden within the asteroid field, he looked forward to going through that again. He had known that at some point he might have needed a transport for organics, as the Forerunner was little more than a hyperspace capable version of its original ship. Yes, it had shields, seats, and a working refresher, but that aside it still retained the appearance and the general capabilities of its predecessor. One of the nice things though was that there were two droids to share the main area with and two pilots taking care of that work. It allowed time to enjoy the trip as much as the relatively cramped space would allow. He had hoped that [member="Pyro"] didn't mind.

The planet was supposed to have a couple of contacts waiting, two people who would help in the collection of the crystals.

[member="Enoch Zambrano"] [member="Darth Rapax"] [member="Damien Daemon"]

 

[Rapax]

Rapax waited on the planet for [member="Ultimatum"] to arrive. This would be the second dealing with the machine, he was quite happy with this the droid helped him out alot during his acolyte years and helping him out will help furthure the relationship between them and help better trade in the future. He wondered what it was ultimatum wanted ....itd matter not for he would assist either way in the matter there are rewards in this no matter the task or how small it would be. But for now he must wait and see what happens here.

 

[Pyro]

Pyro played with a small ball of blue fire, anxious to begin the mission. When [member="Ultimatum"] had asked her if she was willing to help find some crystals, she eagerly agreed, her isolation beginning to make her restless. The young Alpha watched Ultimatum, the droid was still fascinating to her. They both had things in common, Sith weren't their favorite, both had been controlled some point in their life, and Mustafar was their home.

"This is sort of exciting isn't it? I mean I haven't been off planet for a year and a half and I'm itching to see this, Enigma Prime. What's it like?"

[member="Darth Rapax"] [member="Enoch Zambrano"] [member="Damien Daemon"]

 

[Kalyn Tal'verda]

Kalyn sat in her ships captains chair, intently waiting for the ship id code she had been waiting for to show up. "why is this guy taking so long... i understand he is flying some old ship and all, but it has been 3 days, why hasn't he shown up yet." she thought to herself. Then she heard a sound that gave her a moment of happiness, she heard the sound that means a ship has come into scanner range, she checked the scanners, and he was here. "so now i just follow this guy around and figure out what he is up too. Easy" ,she thought to herself confidently. She started tailing the target spacecraft, trying her best not to get caught.

@[member='Ultimatum'], @[member='Pyro']

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum smiled at the little fire wielder. He had always found her energy invigorating. He enjoyed her presence, even though only once before had they truly been together for an extended period of time. He felt a connection of their past. He had never been a pawn to the Sith, but he had been a slave to his master and that man had been worse than a Sith in some regards. He also had a distinct dislike for Sith, for different reasons he was certain, but unlike the little one he had to work with them. Apparently his decision of planets to control had been ill-made, Sith were drawn to that planet like moths to a flame...except unlike the moths Sith lived and were not destroyed by coming.

Speaking of which he had better let her kn... [member="Pyro"] asked a few questions, the giddiness almost visible on her face. He responded, "It is exciting, I have never been to Enigma Prime before. The information I have found on it suggests that it is an industrialized planet, lots of factories and what not. Apparently there are a lot of crystals thanks to the volcanic activity, including Stygium crystals. We will be starting in one of the cities and hopefully making our way to the mines. From there, I believe we will hire their services and go mining, however there is the possibility that this will not be an option. In which case we will probably have to find another method of securing a shipment."

He looked to Pyro a little intently, to see how she would react to the information. He didn't want to have to steal or pillage anything, that was not his base nature, however these crystals were an important part of the reconstruction of his base of operations, a Hammerhead cruiser that was still in the repair stage in his drydock above Mustafar. The ship was in a fairly good condition, considering its age, but it still was damaged and hadn't been maintained by the pirates that had owned it previously. Fortunately, Ultimatum had a new team of ship engineers, left to die in the engine room by the pirates for reasons that he had not been able to discern at the time. He had been taken prisoner on the small fleet the pirates had amassed. It had been a Sith that had attempted to save him. However, that Sith had probably done so as an expedient measure for the business relation that he and Ultimatum had going.

He looked over to MU-01, the medical droid that was based on the ship for people who were hurt while on the go. The droid had expressed concerns with the little organic's holding of fire and other damaging traits, however Ultimatum had given an explanation that the girl was not harmed by such and she was perfectly healthy. The droid had grudgingly conceded that and had promised to leave her alone unless actual injury occurred.

----------------

PU-01, the main pilot of the Fate, kept a close eye on the scanner, however the planet had enough traffic that a ship following them was not uncommon and therefore, unlike on the battlefield, the ships that were no on a direct crash course were discounted as unimportant by the droid's brain. His job was to get them to the surface and then probably fly them to the mine that Ultimatum had predetermined. He had been told of no immediate dangers so he looked forward to a quiet trip.

[member="Kalyn Skirata"] [member="Darth Rapax"] [member="Enoch Zambrano"] [member="Damien Daemon"]

 

[Pyro]

"Cool." The little flame extinguished as Pyro let the info digest. From what it sounded like, Stygium crystals were a big deal, and they were their target. She nodded slightly.

"Another method might either be smuggling, or flat out stealing, am I correct?" Pyro stood and began to pace in the small area. Then she stopped and smiled at @Ultimatum.

"Do I get to burn something?"

[member="Darth Rapax"] [member="Enoch Zambrano"] [member="Damien Daemon"] [member="Kalyn Skirata"]

 

[Kalyn Tal'verda]

Kalyn breathed a sigh of relief, as it appears that whoever piloting the ship had not noticed her... Yet at least. Though she did understand it would be hard to go unnoticed like this on the ground, apparently the guy she is tailing is some kind of droid, but she didn't think much of it, she's done harder jobs before.

@[member=Ultimatum] @[member=Pyro]

 

[Matreya]

Damien stood still as a statue, his eyes on the skies above. Every so often his body would blink by reflex, from the snow that fell around him. It had been a long while since he saw real snow, a gentle thing as well, not a devastating storm like on Hoth. It was a wonderful thing. Even if he wasn't dressed for the part. Unlike his previous excursions with the Droid known as Ultimatum, where he was armed to the teeth and covered in nigh indestructible armor, this time he wore a simple suit minus a tie. Black crocks, a wrist communicator, and his lightsaber hilt were the only other things evident.

Though hidden beneath the blazer would potentially be found a triple set of Betty Blasters.

Holding out an empty hand, Damien concentrated as he continued to gaze skyward. When he brought his eyes forward though, he slid sunglasses into place - ones that seemingly materialized in his open hand. Sliding his hands into his pockets, Damien left the open space to find a small hotel.

Paying for a room, he moved up the building to the awaiting enclosure. There he pressed a button on his communicator, and spoke a swift message, "Ultimatum, waiting for you on the ground. Find me near the Crystal Caves, at a mediocre hotel. I imagine it might be easier this time if I just pay for the items we want. No need for battle."

[member="Ultimatum"] [member="Pyro"] [member="Enoch Zambrano"] [member="Kalyn Skirata"] [member="Darth Rapax"]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum responded to [member="Pyro"], "Perhaps, if problems arise then yes. If the purchase goes ahead as planned, possibly."

He stopped from continuing when his comm pinged. He picked it up and listened to the message before responding, "We will see you there. I hope to avoid conflict as well." He did not continue on to say that he had extra money aside with which he intended on purchasing their time and having either the miners help the work or otherwise they would work for what they wanted.

He could feel the ship preparing to land, however instead of landing it lifted back up and continued flying. Ultimatum was about to ask what was going on when the pilot spoke over the intercom. "PU here, we have been waved off and given leave to go where we will. They are busy with some other ships and have decided not to service us at this time. They send their sincerest apologies."

Ultimatum smiled to himself, well that was a stroke of good fortune.

[member="Damien Daemon"] [member="Kalyn Skirata"] [member="Enoch Zambrano"] [member="Darth Rapax"]

 

[Kalyn Tal'verda]

Kalyn went down to the planet, continuing to tail the ship, though now it would be harder to pass it off her tailing them as mere coincidence, but Kalyn had a sneaky idea. She had recently installed a tracker beacon launcher onto her ship and decided to test it out, she launched the beacon onto The Fate and landed, she would wait for the fate to land, and then she would take off again and subsequently land a reasonable distance away from them. Then she would continue on speeder bike from there. On this mission stealth was a major priority, so she couldn't risk detection. If she was detected after she got the images, that didn't matter, but the droid had to complete whatever he was doing.
[Member=Ultimatum] [Member=Pyro] [member=Damien Daemon]

 

[Pyro]

Pyro almost went up in flames in excitement, like a volcano about to explode. She felt the ship land and jumped up and down like a kid about to open presents on Christmas morning.

"Oh! When do we start!"

[member="Kalyn Skirata"] @Ultimatum @Damien Daemon

 

[Kalyn Tal'verda]

Kalyn landed about 10 clicks out from the fade, she exited her ship and removed her speeder bike. She had equipment designed for stealth, and droids, she wasn't expecting much else. So she had a sniper rifle, ion blaster, and blaster pistol. Her mission was to observe, but you never know. She got on her speeder and rode into town. The town was a rustic mining town, so she roles in and found a nice hiding place, waiting for the droid to arrive.

[member="Pyro"] [member="Ultimatum"] [member="Damien Daemon"] [member=darth rapax]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum smiles, "Almost immediately. Let's go."

The ship landed close to the facility, allowing them to walk into the town without much time taken. He turned to the hotel, [member="Damien Daemon"] had been right, this was not the greatest place, but it certainly was not the worst. He stepped inside, not aware that he was being observed. His sensors were dealing with enough people in the vicinity to not be overly concerned with the immediate possible threats. He of course did not expect trouble, he had not done anything wrong by this planet's standards and was not planning on breaking the rules anytime soon.

He however was still armed, the pistol securely contained within his body was enough to hold off an enemy and his body was built of materials that could easily absorb blaster fire. He was not here to fight, he never enjoyed combat anyways. He had come to conduct business, and so he hoped that it would be conducted with little trouble at all. Of course that would be dependent on the manager of the facility. He could remember his original master having accomplished a similar feat on Halm, having set up a mining operation for a few hours. That had gone incredibly well, apparently ending with him having a rare Pontite crystal, which he had never used as far as Ultimatum had known.

[member="Kalyn Skirata"] [member="Pyro"] [member="Damien Daemon"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Damien Daemon"]

Find me near the Crystal Caves, at a mediocre hotel.

In that same mediocre hotel, not so far away, a woman's nostrils flared in fear. The man she'd overheard had mentioned battle, and said something about an ultimatum.

Clearly, Enigma Prime was about to be attacked.

Her mouth went dry as she sat there, clutching the edge of the hotel bar and trying not to look in the man's direction. He wasn't close-close, not here in the bar area, but he might see her watching and know she'd heard and she had to get out of here. Back to her hotel room and the comforting weight of her vibro-axe. And from there, offworld, as quickly as she could manage. That was clearly the best path. Yes.

Force, he's standing by the only door out of this part of the building. He's blocking it. He's blocking me. He knows.

Vesta bit back a whimper. This could still be salvaged. She could still get upstairs to the axe if she moved quickly enough -- but only if she picked the right moment. Her fingernails carved little gouges in the bar's lacquer.

 

[Matreya]

As Damien walked from his room towards the bar, he did as he often was found to do, and opened his senses to those about him. In the similar fashion that those droids that could scan, he was open towards hostility, and often this fact saved him.

Sitting before the porcelain appearance of the polished bar, he chuckled as he thought of the lack of grandeur combined with such upkeep - it was a contrast that one could appreciate. It invoked the ideal that though they had little, the staff would work to keep that small bit shiny and tantalizing.

Just as these thoughts crossed his mind, Damien caught the mental whiff of fear. It wasn't just a simple thing either. There was the basis of a fight or flight scenario... It also seemed directed at himself.

Keeping his eyes forward, he started up a small conversation with the barkeep. Ordering a drink was just the beginning. It went from there to the locale, patriots of the bar; as many topics as could be reached to convey a garrulous output. Meanwhile he also let his Force Shadow move closer to the one that was afraid.

She was so small...

Offering the bartender his payment, Damien stepped away from the bar and wandered closer. Drawing in on himself in the case she was Force Sensitive, he did not want to come off as a bellicose newcomer. For all he knew, she was a regular and was afraid of those from other places. As well, he wouldn't search her mind unless she was an opponent or deemed it acceptable.

He was not his Master. He wouldn't do as Voracitos had so readily done to himself.

"How's it going? Know any scenes around here that could be interesting for a sight seer?" Damien asked softly when he got close enough to speak, yet still far enough she could flee if she so wished.

[member="Vesta the Coward"] [member="Ultimatum"] [member="Kalyn Skirata"] [member="Pyro"]

 

[Kalyn Tal'verda]

Kalyn walked into the hotel and stood near the droid, but not too close, but close enough to overhear whatever he was doing, she was wearing her Beskar'gam, which isn't entirely inconspicuous, but it was effective at hiding her identity. She started recording the surroundings, hoping it would make her look better for her employer.

[member=ultimatum] [member=pyro] [member=Darth Pikiran] [member=Vesta the Coward]

 

[Pyro]

"Alrighty!" Pyro practically skipped her way towards the hotel that Ultimatum pointed out, before remembering why she was here and slowing her pace a bit so Ultimatum could keep up. Then something shiny caught her attention and she stopped and looked in a store window at a little shiny object, vlearly of no value, but shiny whatsoever. After staring at it distractedly for a bit she remembered where she was going and continued to walk towards the hotel.

Why shiny thing why?

Pyro walked into the hotel shortly after [member="Ultimatum"] and stood next to him, now becoming wary her surrounding. Even though she was Force sensitive, she was only able to wield fire and would use it if things went badly. She looked around at the few customers, her eyes landing on a woman standing near her employer and decided to make conversation while they waited for anyone else to arrive. She calmly walked over to the lady and attempted to strike up a conversation.

"Hello there, are you a spacer?"

[member="Kalyn Skirata"] [member="Darth Pikiran"] [member="Vesta the Coward"] [member="Darth Rapax"]

 

[Kalyn Tal'verda]

[member=pyro]
Yeah, but it's a lonely existence, my only friend is an 800 year old droid." she said.
She knew that being a spacer wasnt right for everyone, but she enjoyed seeing new people and places. She had to be careful about what she said though, with the droid nesrby, she could have easily been overheard.
"But i like it, its nice seeing the galaxy, snd i get to meet people." She said continued.

[member=ultimatum] [member=darth pikiran] [member=vesta the coward]

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum noticed that [member="Darth Pikiran"] engaged in a conversation with another organic so he decided to stay put for now. He activated his stationary sensors so that he could keep an eye on the surroundings and the people nearby. He was about to speak to [member="Pyro"], however he found that she was also busy.

That was fine, after all this was a mission with no true time table. He wasn't concerned with security or timing an attack, he was here to accomplish legitimate business, nothing more. There shouldn't be any trouble, not with the simplicity of the task and request. He could ask any time and there was no rush. He could for once enjoy the trip, rather than worrying about being picked up or arrested.

He was interested in the conversation that the other lady had with Pyro, something about an 800 year old droid. That was intriguing, he hoped to learn more, but he would just have to listen and perhaps ask questions later.

[member="Kalyn Skirata"] [member="Vesta the Coward"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"How's it going? Know any scenes around here that could be interesting for a sight seer?"

-Don't panic. Don't break and run. There's more of them over there - flamboyant types, rough around the edges, plus a droid that looks built for violence. I was right. This place is going to come under attack. And this one's pegged me.

-Ffffffff.

Vesta turned to Damien and offered a slightly manic, brilliant smile. She glanced past him at the gathering disreputables. For a bit there, she'd felt cold, but that chill was wearing off, as if a malign presence had withdrawn into itself. A predator taking camouflage before the strike. She struggled to remember what the man had said only seconds ago -- what she should be responding to. "Ah, uh, there's caves. Crystal caves. Some people find them useful."

A test, that. The chill might have been the Force presence of something terrible, and this man might be it. Who knew what might lurk behind that smile. Tentacles, perhaps.

[member="Darth Pikiran"] [member="Ultimatum"] [member="Kalyn Skirata"] [member="Pyro"]