Private Learning One's Place

[Bohatei Chorva]

//Location: Tosste, Northeastern Mining Camps
//Participants: Darth Malum of House Marr

To live on Tosste was to bake.

Whether one was a slave or a Sith did not matter, for the searing sun above were indiscriminate. Shade was a premium, air conditioning even more so. A lack of empathy from superiors only exacerbated the issue as water was only given enough to keep someone alive. Even the ones that kept the countless drills and machinery running were only barely tolerated.

Yet somehow, Bohatei felt like he was swimming.

Half of his torso was buried within the internals of one of the drills, the internal components baking with both external and internal heat that might serve an oven if one was patient enough. It had overheated, the sheer heat cracking a number of the pipes that carried lubricating oils across the rattling mechanisms. He had spent the better part of an hour re-plugging all of the various components, a stained rag delicately wiping clean the rotors and sections that were not intended to have oil splattered across their delicate frames.

"Look alive, boys! We got incoming!" The crackle of a commlink on his belt fills the dry air, dampening the Zabrak's mood further than the darkened shirt that clung to his skin. "Our kind rulers are lookin' for an update on that drill. Chorva, how's it looking?"

Pulling himself from the innards of the machine, plucking the small cylinder from his belt.

"Be better if they gave us proper sealant, for one."

"Best get wordin' it better, you'll be the one explaining it."

Exhaling a short series of curses, Bohatei wiped his hands (barely) clean on the rag, and tossed it onto the railing as he starts making his way down the stairs of the platform he had climbed up to work on the machine.

And looked right toward the approaching shuttle, kicking up a spray of pebbles and dirt as the craft landed.

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

Malum was in a mood.

An annoyed mood.

He had been sent personally to Tosste to reinforce and check in on the Tsis'Kaar operations on the planet. He understood the importance of influence on the world, mining worlds were always important, the lynchpin in every maker of war was the resources to make it, and mining worlds provided much of the raw industrial goods necessary.

Still, why was he established to do this?

It was not as if he was allowed to bring Venerandus, Custos, Sibby, or Motus either, that would have at least kept him company and resolved his annoyed mood. But they were all too distinct if paired with him, and it was certainly the way of the Tsis'Kaar to approach unnoticed, and leave unseen.

Thus it was, him on a dropship, making his controlled descent down onto the rocky craggy world.

He breathed out roughly, as he felt the tell-tale sign of the impact onto the ground, the feeling of his position changing, of gravity demanding him fall, yet he stood still regardless, he was a Sith, the apprentice to Darth Ophidia, this mission may be above him, but that did not mean he would allow it to make him lesser, make him fall.

The sound of machinery working, whirling as the ship opened, was a delight to his ears, free from his frankly cramped accommodations, as he stepped out into the frankly too-hot air, with a sweltering sun pummeling down upon him, already making him somehow miss the cold companionship of the dropship. He glanced back morosely at it, before nodding his head and continuing on.

Bringing his hands up to keep the sun away from his eye, he noticed a Zabraak some distance away, glancing at him... with perhaps a curious expression? Seemed that Malum had not been entirely unnoticed then, would this man need to be silenced? Perhaps.

But he should at least investigate first, should he not?

"Greetings worker, have anything to report?" Best to act like his superior, would be harder to convince the man of such if he acted like a subordinate, if the man pushed back, it was simple enough to act in another manner. But moreover, the man was not blind, red eyes meeting blue would easily signify to the Zabraak that the man before him was a Sith, and this was a Sith world after all.

Bohatei Chorva

 

[Bohatei Chorva]

"Well, Feth- How am I supposed to say it? 'Oh glorious ruler mine, prithee grace us with a higher quality sealant'?"

"Quit being a smart-ass."

"I'll see what I can do."

With a small huff of hot air, the Zabrak returned the commlink to its place on his hip. He would keep his distance, standing not too far from the machine and taking a small bottle from the shade. A short sip of the water provided a brief relief to cracked lips and a dry throat, taking a light breath to keep the sensation going for a moment longer.

But like anything on this accursed rock it would give way to the heat before long.

Despite the searing sun above and the rumbling of drills encompassing almost all sound, Bohatei's focus was drawn to the craft and the shadow-clad figure who emerged like a bird from its nest to survey their territory. There was a brief shared gaze between them as he approached, widening blue orbs turning away from the stranger's intense crimson gaze and back toward the drill.

"Yes." The Zabrak responded simply, retaining as best of a formal tone as he could despite the heat. "As I'm sure you've noticed, our primary boring drill is out of commission. Me and the boys have been looking at it, and it looks like the motors are heating up too heavily. The sealant on the pipelines keep melting down on us."

"I know our next shipment ain't-" A brief pause. "Isn't for another few moons, but we really can't keep replacing the pipes every few hours. Any way we could get our manifest fixed up for something with a higher melting point?"

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

Malum's annoyed mood very quickly turned to confusion.

So the man thought him some sort of inspector, to see how his manual labour was going, that much was fine, it was a story he could play into easily enough.

No, the confusion was more concerning the matter behind the man. It was as the figure said, the drill was in bad shape, he doubted that it could do much in the excavation of minerals, but the problem with that was the drill was not allowed to be in bad shape. This was a mining world, an unaligned mining world within the Sith Empire, that meant to Malum that it must be allowed to function at full efficiency. It was not a Kainite or Eternalist world, which first served their own factions and masters, before service to the greater Sith Empire, those could be sabotaged, at will in his mind, and no doubt he had been given assignments to do as such.

Still, it would not do at all on Tosste, not on his watch.

Malum did not give the man a verbal response, instead twirling his cloak as he returned back to the dropship, entering its cool occupancy, and immediately feeling thankful for what he had, taking in his hand a flask of icy cold water, he returned, tossing it towards the man, noticing the sweat trailing his cheek, and his chapped lips, he did enough hard labour out in this sun, to deserve better than warm water.

He then turned his hand to his lips, opening his mouth, "Bring to the North Eastern Mining Camp, at my coordinates a state-of-the-line boring drill, something that can survive the heat," Malum said, receiving a word of acknowledgment, that was at least confirmation that the Tsis'Kaar network on the planet was working as intended he supposed. He then turned towards the Zabrak.

"Do you require anything else to complete the mission objectives here?"

He may need to speak to the manager of this area, such failure would not do... perhaps he should look into finding a governor for this planet, it had operated without one for far too long... perhaps Trayze or Cygnus would be interested.

Bohatei Chorva

 

[Bohatei Chorva]

'They've always got an agenda.'

Familiar, self-taught lessons clawed their ways to the front of Bohatei's mind as the Sith's expression furrowed. For a split second, his muscles tensed up and awaited a invisible hand around his trachea or a mere gesture sending him into a nearby rock. What he had not expected however, was a flask that had already started to condensate to be sent spinning in the air toward him.

The Zabrak fumbled, very nearly dropping the container but managing to secure it's almost heavenly coolness upon his dried palms. The droplets slip down his fingers and arm, every instinct he had screaming to drink down every last drop.

But, Bohatei thought he knew better.

His thoughts were quickly scattered to even greater confusion when the Sith's words graced his ears. A replacement machine was ordered to his location, despite the fact all it really needed was some repairs to be brought back into operation. Was that not enough? Had their failure been enough to bring in an entirely new drill?

Malum could practically feel the confusion radiating from the surface of the Zabrak's mind, a gaze moving between him and the flask. He could see the dry lips mouthing out the doubts present, a soft 'The hell..' escaped his lips, barely aware that he had even put words to his confusion.

The calm and steady tone from the Sith immediately brings the Zabrak back into the moment, snapping into an upright and alert stance.

"No, sir. I'm.. just not sure I understand. It requires repair, not replacement."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

Malum tilted his head in confusion, his brow furrowed in thought, glancing at the drill again, was repair really all it needed? It was covered in dirt and dust, he thought even the drillbit looked rather blunt, rust seeming to cover the entire apparatus. It truly did not need to be replaced?

Or was such equipment what they were being forced to work with, with no other options?

"Well, two drills will work better than one, no?" Malum said, hiding the slightest bit of embarrassment, as it fully dawned on him of little he knew of drilling and mining, attempting to leverage his pride to protect himself from the Zabraak finding out, "If you do not have the manpower to spare to use both, then keep the broken one as spare until you get your shipment," Malum continued, as he walked past the Zabraak to examine the drill further, yes indeed, the question went, why was he using such a drill, that seemed to have been given so many quick fixes, that the slightest wind could have broken it apart.

He turned to look at the Zabraak again.

"Do you need anything else to complete the mission objectives here?" Malum repeated, he wanted to resolve this as quickly as possible so he could get onto his objectives.

Bohatei Chorva

 

[Bohatei Chorva]

"True, but we've only the space for the one drill in there." Bohatei's hand raises into a thumb, letting go of the unopened flask and pointing the finger behind him. The quarry behind them was quite big, but only had enough room for one of the machines. Lowering his hand, it was almost immediately back to clutching the flask as that sweet relief cooled the callouses and eased broken skin across the Zabrak's overworked hands.

As the Sith stepped closer, he would take two steps back to give him a wide berth as the man inspected the drill. The extent of the patchwork was almost immediately recognized. Most of the wires were completely uninsulated, the motors in various states of disrepair and loosened from their cases.

At Malum's question, the Zabrak's lips purse and he hesitates. Fear crippled his ability to make any further requests from the Sith, responding with a shake of his head.

"No, sir. You've done more than enough already." Bohatei declined. Resourcefulness was a trait that was needed on Tosste, and to receive a replacement as opposed to resources was strange. He had never quite experienced such generosity from a Sith before, and the confusion had painted itself across his features.

"Is there anything that you require of us?"

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

Malum hated how the Zabraak looked at him, to a degree it was necessary too many of the Sith worlds if they did not fear the Sith, did not fear that the Sith had not only the strength but also the will to annihilate any rebellion or resistance, then such rebellion and resistance would only be tempted to seize the wills of those on the planets.

He also fundamentally did appreciate such relationships, those of the underfoot should fear their superiors, and there should be a sense of urgency in the lower classes being rapt at attention to service the upper classes, lest face punishment.

But the upper classes should be giving them boons to doing so, be it protection, education, or even employment.

This abject fear on the Zabraak's face painted a much darker picture than he would like, of the underfoot being pressed down too hard, so hard that he would soon break. Either fail in his duties or be treasonous in his actions.

Neither could be acceptable in this new Sith Empire.

"Do as I said then, use the new drill until the current drill can be repaired," Malum simply said, returning to his original position, idly noting how desperately the worker was clutching the canteen, it was cold water, he had it often, and yes it would be a godsend in a planet like this, but such desperation, really?

"As for what you can do for me, tell me who your supervisor is, I grow concerned at how this operation is being managed." It would be a slight detour from his original mission, but he felt it was growing more and more necessary for him to undertake this task. Hopefully, this mismanagement was an exception and not the rule.

Otherwise, he would need to crack some more heads.

Bohatei Chorva

 

[Bohatei Chorva]

While he had originally came from Elrood, to say Bohatei's experience with the Sith were limited was a vast understatement. He was a factory worker, for goodness' sake! He would spend more time in the mining corps' workshops rather than anywhere near the foreboding halls of those Force users. Only a rare few bothered to come down to the industrial districts of Elrood, with that small handful consisting of those who had a stake in the mining manufacturer's marketing.

Said meetings often resulted in tours of the facility, the intensity of their dread driving the Zabrak to double down on his work and focus squarely on what he had at hand. The focus had often brought some small degree of influence for his superiors, who would take technician and tech alike to their sites.

And if their products fell through?

Bohatei had seen the results of that first hand, to put it bluntly.

"Understood, sir." He would reply, nodding his head attentively. Finally taking a swig from the canteen after holding it, the cool relief washing down the dry taste and scent of oil and metal however temporarily. His cracked lips being however temporarily soothed by the drink as the Zabrak's fearful features eased out just a little in response to the sensation.

When Malum spoke up again, the words he chose brought panic to the Zabrak's thoughts. 'Concerns' were often a codeword for 'Imminent wall splatter' for Sith, and Bohatei recognized it.

"Kneetso. Rodian fella-" Once again, his tongue is bitten too late. "Rodian. Not the one givin' the orders, but the one speakin' into the intercom. No idea who's giving the orders specifically." Bohatei would explain, taking another sip as he moved to the new drill to take a closer look at the hardware so graciously supplied.

Yes, that will do quite nicely.

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

Kneetso. Rodian.

Malum nodded his head, accepting the useful information with a flourish of his cloak as he walked off.

Walked off a solid few metres before he realised.

He had no idea where this Rodian was. Oh sure he could rely on his contacts, but he remembered his Mistresses' words about wasting resources on lackadaisical projects, or just general overuse of resources without recuperating the costs to her. Now, simply using the Tsis'Kaar network to figure out who a single person was would likely not be such, and would neither be too difficult nor strenuous.

But it would be the second use of the network so quickly, just after he used it to bring a drill which the worksman had just informed him was not entirely necessary. He was particularly not in the mood to explain to Darth Ophidia why exactly he was detracting from his goal to deal with these minor labour matters if for some reason she was reviewing what exactly he was doing at this moment.

He turned around, and met the pale blue eyes of the Zabrak, "You, come with me, you are going to tell me where exactly your overseer is, don't mind your current tasks, this more than deserves a break I think," He glanced slightly downward to the firm grip he had upon the cold canteen, "There'll be more water in it for you, or perhaps something stronger... or sweeter if you prefer." Ah, the carrot versus the stick, truly he knew this game well.

He also had another purpose, more than likely this Rodian resisted his... corrective measures, then he would need to be replaced. Malum himself knew the purposes of hierarchy and appreciated them well, so he would not simply throw the entire food chain into chaos to get rid of a rotten egg, Zabrak for the few minutes he had spoken to him, seemed to have a good head on his shoulders, held a healthy fear of his superiors, and most importantly was honest.

He would make a suitable replacement if need be.

Bohatei Chorva

(OOC: So sorry this took so long, been very busy these last few months).