Meeting the Past

[Ultimatum]

Here came the first foray into a chaotic part of the galaxy. Ultimatum had spent some time near this space and had started to build a company near it. In a sort of irony, the droid had realized that his previous being had made a similar mistake. They had both built up an operation too near to the Sith space. There was no indication, yet, that the Sith would move to Bonadan, and there was no reason for Ultimatum to truly fear it. He was ruler of the world, nor was he part of their political structure. Yet, he realized that it might behoove him to create a working relationship with those that were his neighbors, even if he had been uncertain about them. The fact also remained that he could turn the proximity to his advantage. His companion Upari was still learning about the Force, the Shard had thus far only experienced tutelage underneath a Jedi, but this was an opportunity to learn from the other viewpoint.

In his preparation to communicate with the galactic power of the Sith Empire, Ultimatum had come across a name. The name had meant little to him, until a he discovered it elsewhere within his database of previous associates. He had thought his older self had avoided Sith, preferring, for whatever reason, to maintain a far more neutral entourage. This [member="Mythos"] did not seem to fit that description, and Ultimatum wondered if there was a part of the older droid that he had been keeping secret from the newer Ultimatum. It was something to look into. But dealing with the present, Ultimatum had sent a message to this organic, revealing that the droid had been living on Bonadan for a little while and decided that perhaps reconnecting may be in both their interests. The droid had gone on to prepare for a trip to the world on the edge of Sith space, Cadomai and relayed that much to Mythos as well. Ultimatum decided against public transportation for this one, instead choosing to take his personal starfighter, the Nautilus. He concluded that if worse came to worse, then he could make a quick escape along the hyper route straight back to Bonadan.

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

Now that Ultimatum waited in space above the world, the droid had an uneasy feeling. It was not a premonition from Upari, for the Shard had taken to meditating while the droid was connected to his starfighter. It was a building tension within his circuits, some old and unknown memories or thoughts were locked away and were trying to come to the surface. There was a pressure to remember and Ultimatum could not relieve it at this point, for there was nothing that could allow him to access those memories, they were locked within the confines of his databanks in those parts that had been sealed by his previous self. So he waited, trying to push away those thoughts and concerns that poked at him from beyond the void of time.

 

[Mythos]

The true power of Mythos had always come from the past, from that which had laid dormant under the sands for millennia or in this particular case a few decades ago. Mythos had presumed the death of Ultimatum at the hands of HK and the Galactic Alliance yet for what it seemed the droid was as resilient as Mythos himself, even more so, he had come to Sith Space to meet with him. Naturally Mythos thought he sought to link up, continue the work they had so abruptly left on pause since his untimely demise. But Cadomai? What could be in Cadomai that would be of service to them? His summons left many questions and few answers. Seeing as Mythos once before had to rescue the droid from Pirates, almost costing his life but increasing his power in sith lightning tenfold, Mythos decided to come prepared. At the edge of Sith Space sometimes frigates and freighters traveled, some planets even were allies already, preparing for the inevitable annexation of their homes into the war machine. All would fall before The Sith Empire, All would join or be destroyed.

Mythos jumped out of hyperspace with a small flotilla and a day's warning to their government. He was here on official Sith Empire Business to conduct a routine overview of a space port to be possibly used to logistical purposes. It needed to pass inspections and meet certain certifications, A Sith Lord did not have to do this, any official of high rank would suffice, but Mythos took the opportunity to overview it personally given his experience in construction and shipyards. If it passed the planet would enjoy compensation or better yet, lenience and a smooth transition of power when the red flag flew overhead.

The Magnus Battlecruiser was his capital ship and he flew in with just her and two cathedral ships to flank her. Cleared by the planet to visit an orbital spaceport Mythos directed the fleet to the spaceport as if this was nothing more than a routine examination but extremely high security. Mythos wore his golden armor in the ship and sported the demeanor of a representative of The Sith Empire. His great weapons were close by, in the table center of the command post of the ship, a ship powered by the souls of his enemies.The ship's crew was Anubian and his closest warrior priest, Oracle Aohk-tep, confided in the real reason behind this visit.

"Something is amiss. I think he may have been reprogrammed or replaced by the Alliance. He would have contacted my old network, the old codes we used."

"Perhaps it's a trap"

"Hence the battlecruiser"

"Is it not excessive?"

Mythos thought for a while of the question, mulling it over and considering everything he knew about the droid, if it really was him.

"Not at all"

@Ultimatum​

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum found a small Sith fleet in orbit. It would have been quite the coincidence for the Sith to be here after he had sent a transmission to one of them. Therefore, the droid theorized that [member="Mythos"] had received and at least been interested in Ultimatum's message. He was minorly concerned that this might have been a trap, such a large force could be turned against just about any opposing force. Indeed, it could decimate his small fighter. Therefore, he would have to proceed carefully.

The starship, which was directly connected to the brain of the droid for more perfect control, began to meander towards the Sith ships. Ultimatum then sent out a transmission ahead of him, "Sith ships, this is Ultimatum. I have come to meet with the Sith Lord Mythos. Repeat, this is Ultimatum." The robot was uncertain if Mythos, if he were there, would respond or if it would be some underling. Preparing for the potential of attack, Ultimatum began calculating a Hyperjump.

A part of his mind realized that there might be an equal uncertainty on the Sith's side. Perhaps they were not convinced that it was indeed Ultimatum who had sent the messages and were therefore ready for some sort of a fight. Ultimatum followed that he would need to try and prove his authenticity. If he had more knowledge of his older self, Ultimatum might have been able to use some obscure bit of information that was related to Mythos. But, what he knew was only a small collection, with nothing that directly correlated with Mythos. The droid wondered if he should contact Sarah, as her memory of the older days was far more complete. The Maelibus had been with Ultimatum for quite some time and had been a reasonably close confidant, or so the data messages and her personal testimonies suggested.

It was in that moment of uncertainty that Ultimatum felt Upari. The Shard spoke quietly in his mind, "The Sovereignty, the ship of the millennia. He knew it."

The droid would not have questioned the reality of a controlling Force if he had known that Mythos had recently contemplated the meeting aboard the ship, a rescue mission from pirates. Now, where that vessel now existed Ultimatum did not know. He had heard of it in passing in the old databanks from his older self, but never a description of its appearance or history.

 

[Mythos]

The battlecruiser was the largest combat ship Mythos had been aboard in his entire life, he designed it with a single minded purpose: To Kill Capital Ships and to strike fear into the enemy with just it's display of firepower. When it moved it shook the very fabric of reality around it or so Mythos thought, he felt invincible. So when a fighter sent message to approach, without hesitation he personally took the message. This was routine in the past, usually they met in Mustafar or in Atrisia but when not planetside Mythos would board his ship or vise versa... but why a fighter? The first thought was that the Sovereignty was destroyed, but that alone did not answer the question. In detective-like deduction Mythos began to put the pieces of the puzzle together along with his Anubian consort and Oracle, a being he needed to work with on order to make logistical plans. "He flies across the galaxy but not in the ship I know he uses for long travels, a ship with no equal that Personally I went to rescue. On that day I acquired my PT-7 relic."

"Which you then redesigned as a front-line fighter for Anubians due to it's large cabin size"

"Precisely. More to the evidence that something is not quite right."

"The force tells me he does not come alone"

Mythos stopped and narrowed his eyes at that, eyeing his Anubian consort who stared back with the shadow of a smirk and blank eyes with no change of emotion. Even if Ultimatum was accompanied in the past it was always by Legion or another droid yet his oracle told Mythos that the force told him Ultimatum was accompanied. If the force told Aohk that, then his companion must be an organic. More pieces to the puzzle that already has more questions than answers. Mythos responded to the call.

"Ultimatum. My old friend. We have much to discuss. You are granted passage. Did you leave the Sovereignty at the foresight?"

That question had two parts of the puzzle he needed answered. Did he remember either of those things? If so, were they still under L.O.O.M control and Ultimatum? On top of that, rarely if ever did Mythos see it parked in the shipyard.​

 

[Ultimatum]

The droid waited for a few moments, half expecting the first rounds to be fired at him. Then the reply arrived, and Ultimatum could tell that it was a test. The question was too perfectly made to be personal to a known person. It was the sort of offhanded question that was used in intelligence businesses to identify potential fakes. Unfortunately, these were the sort of things not prepared for a person with amnesia. Then again, that did lead to the question of whether or not he was actually the real Ultimatum. A droid could its mind copied into a thousand droids, and each could be made to believe that they were unique and the real one. Therefore, there was no definite way for Ultimatum to know that he was the one and only Ultimatum. However, that line of logic could not be answered. It was a trap of the mind that Ultimatum could not hope to conclude one way or the other. He had to accept one part and live with that. He chose to believe that he was alone in his existence, he was unique. Perhaps it was pride that brought him to this belief, but if so then Ultimatum would live with it.

"Ideas?" Ultimatum asked Upari, their thoughts moving as fast as the circuits that carried them. Their conversations could be finished within a second, but this time it took longer, the pressure of threat was leading to greater care.

"Open a comm with Sarah?"

"Take too long to transfer questions and answers. It would give us away. Is there anything that the Force is telling you?"

"No, that's it. The Sovereignty was a ship he knew. Perhaps it was your ship."

"I would guess as much. Especially since he seems to state as much. I'll see if Sarah is available, perhaps she can help in the parts to come." Ultimatum sent a message away from the world, back towards Bonadan where Sarah, hoping to catch her in time for later communications.

He then answered the question from [member="Mythos"], "Thank you; we will be aboard shortly. I'm afraid that I do not currently have the Sovereignty or know where it is at the moment."

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

Sarah, who had previously been known as Loyalty underneath the old Ultimatum and a compatriot of Legion, was doing what she did best, singing. While not entirely a surprise, since her species were well known for their melodic voices, Sarah had only begun to use it more often during her time away from Ultimatum. The older droid had left her with orders on Nar Shadda, and while there she had picked up a job at bars and clubs as a singer. She had taken up wearing the cloak Ultimatum gave her, which was itself a relic from the droid's earliest times, to mask her appearance while at these bars. Few of the patrons would have appreciated such a frightening and demonic visage, especially when drinks and spices could addle the mind.

Since being reunited with Ultimatum and the start of the ICLE, she had begun to use her voice as part of a public relations campaign, as well as helping to boost the officer's morale. She was currently at a venue in the business district, performing for the pseudo-aristocracy who had funded an officer's ball a few weeks back. So when the message came through on the receiver, she was nowhere near it. It would be several minutes before this number ended, it was a Bonadan favorite from the inner rim worlds. They didn't understand the language, and it was probably for the best, not all of the song, whose lyrics actually originated from Nar Shadda playing on a tune from the Core Worlds, would have been appropriate for the performance.

 

[Mythos]

Mythos and his Oracle exchanged glares at the answer put forth by he who claimed to be Ultimatum. Tension was rising and as Sith, naturally paranoid creatures they were, Mythos went into overthinking things. The anxious tapping of his boot and golden eyes narrowed was clear body language signaling Mythos to be on edge. Luckily for this meeting Aohk was there to ease his trust. The Anubian did not sense a disturbance, He did not sense betrayal or trickery and Mythos knowing his armor could possibly take a great blast was at ease. Yet still... The Sovereignty was gone, with it Force Knows what else. Aohk used the force to calm Mythos, a reassuring nudge from his oracle and a nod of almost mystic understanding. "I sense no I'll intent. I do however sense confusion and not only from you"

"Ultimatum is a droid, He is a machine Aohk. You cannot be sensing these things from him and myself."

"I did not say i sensed it from you or him. Someone or something comes with him. Whatever it is holds the answers to your questions. You won't destroy him, you won't even turn away from him away knowing this was a trap. You care for the droid. As negatively as you portray the fact he is a droid i believe that is why you feel so like him. I believe that is why your connection to Mustafar is so strong."

There was a silence in the deck, Mythos' eyes met Aohk for what seemed an eternity, they both knew what he was about to say. Escorts lead Ultimatum to the docking bay, they would escort him and his companion to the command center. "Because Like the Lord of Mustafar. You also lack a heart."

His words would have stung if he was wrong. Mythos smiled at that, [member="Darth Prazutis"] would have smiled at that too. At that moment he wondered if Braxus would agree.

Mythos took the command hologram and answered back to Ultimatum one last time before he stormed off to meet him face to face after almost a decade.

"Then we will get it back my friend. Should have come to me sooner. I built the foresight a sister. This too you will have to see. Meet me in the command center, You and your friend are guests in my Battlecruiser for as long as you wish."

[member="Ultimatum"] (God Help me tagging u is impossibruh!)​

 

[Ultimatum]

The final steps in the landing process gave Ultimatum a certain amount of dread. Until he had entered the hangar there had been a chance for escape, even inside the hangar there will still some minor percentage possibilities, but as soon as the landing gear had activated and he was settle there would be no retreating. He would be trapped here, and if things went south, there would be no rescue. The droid readied himself as the craft's belly opened and he lowered himself down into the large ship. He did not fear for his fighter, at least not too much, for its design was such that there were no conventional controls, only a droid could fly it and even then it had been designed to fit perfectly with Ultimatum's mind and would be more difficult for other droids to use. That was still assuming that he was the only true Ultimatum.

The droid followed his escorts silently. His mind, however, was speaking with Upari, "Can you feel anything?"

"I have not tried, but I believe that something has already sensed me."

"Do you think that could be the reason for the test? There were no indications that the old Ultimatum traveled with Force users."

"Perhaps, but then again there is no indication that he avoided traveling with Force users. [member="Mythos"] is one, so perhaps like Sarah, there are some compatriots of Ultimatum in the galaxy."

"Why though? The information hasn't explained why he did all this."

At last, he stood in the command center, and he felt Upari stretching out through the Force. The Shard, built into Ultimatum's chassis for protection and for easier access to the two upari crystals in the armor, was searching, feeling for others who were Force-sensitive.

 

[Mythos]

Mythos arrived at the command center expecting two people yet what he found was just [member="Ultimatum"], in the durasteel and nothing else. He looked at his Oracle before stepping down but the old Anubian simply smiled looking directly at Ultimatum and not even glancing at Mythos who flanked him his left. The command center was Anubian in design, everything was bigger, levers and buttons ect. The design was beautiful, everything was hand crafted and the detail in every single inch of the table was hand crafted by Anubian artisans.

Arms extended to the sides in a gesture of greeting Mythos walked forward with a smile on his face, confidence in his every step. If this Ultimatum was indeed a walking bomb they would have detected it and if it was a bomb that they could not detect his armor would absorb the impact... hopefully. A meter away he stood, gazing at Ultimatum a curious look in his eyes as he tilted his head. Now he felt it, now that he was close he sensed the shard, clear as day and his eyes moved from Ultimatum's visual receptors, or eyes, to his chassis, or chest.

"A Shard..." He whispered, looking up at Ultimatum with a sly grin. "Always full or surprises aren't you my friend?" He said with a laugh, turning and gesturing him to follow. If the shard could truly feel the pain in the Magnus he would feel that the Magnus was fueled by the souls of living organic beings. Entehcment was the technology used, birthed in the Siiruuvi cluster, it allowed Mythos a steady supply of fuel that rarely needed to be replaced but replacing it was very expensive... slaves were more expensive than gas.

"It has been a long time. I must ask you about what happened after I died in Atrisia. How did Mustafar fare? Were you treated fairly?" He stopped himself, getting off track already from the single most important thing at hand. He raised his hand as if to stop himself and tilted his head at Ultimatum, smile gone and a look of anger and determination on his face.

"Do you know who took the Sovereignty or why? Any clues as to where it was taken? I will help you get that ship back again."
[member="Ultimatum"]
​

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum watched intently as [member="Mythos"] moved with outstretched arms. The droid wondered if the organic trusted him, it seemed unlikely given the no doubt unsatisfactory answer to his question. Yet, there was no evident uncertainty, and therefore Ultimatum decided that he had to move on as if he were trusted. He would have put on a smile if his faceplate had allowed it. Instead, he replied, injecting his voice with a touch of mirth, "Indeed. His name is Upari. We've been working together for a little while."

With his thoughts so close to the Shard, Ultimatum felt Upari's recoiling at what he sensed. They were surrounded by pain, not the physical pain that could be blocked out; it was an agony within the Force. Upari did not know of entechment and had no idea where the origin of this suffering was. It had caught him by surprise, and the Shard was now cautious as he pulled himself back from his sensing. He withdrew into his own mind, hoping to avoid feeling the pain for now.

The droid, who was equally shocked by the feelings that had been conveyed, did know about entechment, having come across some mentions of it in the old Ultimatum's writings. He did not allow any visible indication of his thoughts to surface in his posture. Ultimatum was about to answer the initial questions that were posited to him, but stopped when Mythos seemed to change course. The robot mind changed tracks and tried once more to reach Sarah, the advantage to a robotic mind with an inbuilt holorelay. There was still nothing, and so Ultimatum decided to try and work with near truths, "Unfortunately, I do not know the answer to any of those questions. I was... away, when the Sovereignty disappeared. It has been awhile, what happened to you, after your death of course?" Perhaps the organic would be able to detect such an apparent change in subject, but maybe it would be enough to move away from Ultimatum's unknown. He was glad that Mythos had mentioned his own death, it was a fact that the droid was unaware of and hoped that it would cement the trust.

Ultimatum did not wish to lie, but he wanted to have a better understanding of the thought process and mentality of this person before he admitted to his memory loss. Some might not have believed it and taken it a step further to him being a fake. His potential survival was on the line and Ultimatum played to keep when it came to that.

 

[Mythos]

"Upari" Mythos said pensively, walking beside his mechanical friend,missing the nostalgic sound of his metal feet clanging against the floors of Mustafar, the rhythmic sound of production and turbolasers. Mythos had no idea that Ultimatum would be concerned or even disturbed by the entechment technology, he was Sith, he known Mythos for years. Mythos reasoned to think, for a nanosecond, that Ultimatum would come to expect such acts of brutality just for efficiencies sake, it seemed like common sense. Mythos walked Ultimatum through the halls of the Magnus and to the left and right through transparisteel glass one could see clearly organic beings strapped into the machine being siphoned their life force to feed the battlecruiser. "You know my first idea, instead of organics was shards to fuel the ship" He said, smiling at the sentence, itself a testament of brutality and callousness. "they are smaller allowing me to have more space for more 'fuel'. Shards however are extremely rare to come by, an entirely new chamber would need to be designed and installed in order to be able to use shards as fuel. Ideal, but ultimately impractical."

He stopped to glance at one of the bigger chambers housing several dozens slaves and prisoners to observe the handwork of the engineers and so Ultimatum could see exactly how entechment worked, was installed and operated.. "They remain alive and conscious throughout the entire ordeal. The system uses the energy that all organic and living beings have innately to fuel my battlecruiser. It slowly sucks the life away from it's victims to create a steady supply of power. They feel everything up until the moment they slowly die. As a Sith, a Darkside warrior of the Empire, their pain gives me strength. Being in the ship alone, surrounded by their agony is enough to revitalize me. The force itself moves across this ship in the way I want it to, I feast by just existing here"

His smile was permanent and his arrogance of his macabre and twisted creation was blatant. [member="Nicademus Blith"] was the man he entrusted to build this Battlecruiser and to this day Nicademus received anonymous bank deposits from a very pleased customer. When Ultimatum spoke Mythos narrowed his eyes, these were grim news indeed. The sovereignty is lost with absolutely no clues as to who took it, why, where did they take it or anything of the sort. His face expressed his bewilderment, confusion and his shoulders slumped at the mention. Seeing as how the droid sought to change the subject Mythos did not press the issue, instead he sat across from him in a large seat in the room across from them, the Ammunition corridor. With a sigh and a shrug Mythos told Ultimatum the story. "Before my fall i sealed a part of me in Akhypt. With this i was able to transfer my essence into this clone. At first i was weak but I quickly found that being in the realm of chaos and returning has made me more powerful than I ever was before." He shrugged, that was in essence the long and short of it. Now it was Mythos' turn to change the subject.

"The shard..." He said, low tone a slurred words while pointing without really thinking about it to his chest. "it's force sensitive isn't it? I've heard of some shards than are capable of it but my senses in the force are not as clear as they used to be"

@Ultimatum​

​

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum followed and took note of the various people trapped. The droid wondered at something and asked as politely as he could, "Have you considered using clones created for the specific purpose of powering the ship? It could be integrated into the ship and would be more economically stable." Of course, it would require more labor to build and maintain the necessary facilities to grow and house clones. He had not thought of using Shards as power sources, though it was not necessarily a new idea. It was an idea that seemed to go back to the primordial Rakata, who used the Force itself to power their machines. If this galaxy could discover the secrets to that technology and create their own versions, this galaxy would be very different.

He was unsurprised by the Force-enhancing effects of this method of sourcing power. Ultimatum had been wondering if that was an addition sought after. It was extremely evident what [member="Mythos"] thought of the loss of the Sovereignty. It was a surprising reaction; Ultimatum would not have expected someone to be so emotional over the loss of another's ship. It must have been quite important to him, and Ultimatum speculated as to why it was so. Taking a seat, Ultimatum gazed about as he awaited his question's answer. It was an impressive ship, that was for sure. He might have designed it differently, but as a droid, his priorities were a little different from an organic's, in most cases anyways. The explanation gave Ultimatum hope. This was a clone with the original's mind, just like the droid. Which meant that they shared a common experience and perhaps he would be able to understand. Though, there was the fact that the mind was the same and Ultimatum did not share the same mind as his progenitor.

"Yes. Upari is capable of feeling and manipulating the Force. We are still learning about the Force." Ultimatum pondered if Mythos was the sort of man to teach others.

 

[Mythos]

Animus pondered it for a second and shook his head. Clones could indeed be made to power the ship but it could not be made integral. "Every inch of the ship is tailored to give power to the forward main cannon. It is a capital ship destroyer. I'm afraid there is simply no room."

The way [member="Ultimatum"] awnsered his question made his eyebrow raise, one word to be precise, 'we''. He smiled at that and nodded. "I could teach you of course. You know of my extensive experience in battles, trainings and rituals. Something you do not know is of my new company. It specializes in Shipyards and Military Architecture. I could teach you all i know if L.O.O.M. can help me with a shipyard project."

 

[Ultimatum]

The droid understood that, beyond the long-term requirements, one of the immediate concerns would be rearranging of the interior, by no means an easy task. While cruel and not something Ultimatum would contemplate, at this point, the current setting appeared to be the most effective. At least, until such time as interior modification of preexisting starships became more cost-effective. Ultimatum nodded as these thoughts entered and settled within his mechanical mind. Without reason to continued that line of speech, the droid focused on the other area, the more interesting one.

Ultimatum was interested in this organic's company; if it were capable of manufacturing military grade equipment and facilities, then perhaps it would be worth coordinating in the business sector. While Ultimatum lacked knowledge, and control, of all the LOOM yards and plants, he had enough to handle most projects that he considered reasonable in scope. Since they appeared to be doing little, other than maintaining a regular stream of goods to keep up with previous contracts, which had been put in place by the older Ultimatum. They had the freedom to take up new jobs, and Ultimatum decided that this would be a fair trade. "Of course, LOOM can aid wherever you need it. What sort of project do you have in mind?"

[member="Mythos"]

 

[Mythos]

Mythos considered the proposal even after he said it, Ultimatum being one of his closest friends and with the most deep history. It had been some time since the pair had united and Mythos thought it would be best if they both got down to buissness. His mechanical ally agreed and with a nod to him and Upari he turned in the direction of his command post, leading the Magnus once again. "I wish to build a shipyard as a shadow port in a specific asteroid in the Sii'ruuvi cluster. Supply ourselves with a small personal fleet. It will be a long journey but I have the resources able to begin this operation."

Beside his ship more began to appear, freighters attained from the federation. "I will send all my power ahead, the Sith compensated me well for my creation. With these new resources and the full trust of my peers, I can assure you. It will be like no other and we will upgrade it slowly."

the coordinates were set, the Sii-ruuvi cluster jump would be very difficult and it would take some time but Mythos had plotted the starways there before. Never with so much cargo. It would not be made at once, it would also take time for specific materials to get there but overall the ways were clear and perhaps more allies would come. "Once there our spacer teams will begin the construction. For now the size of ships we will build will be Frigates, we can take our time designing them later"

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

The droid listened intently. Hiding a station, that usually had some very specific purposes. From what he had seen of this organic, which was admittedly little, Ultimatum decided that he was probably not creating an intelligence outpost or something of that sort. As a shipyard, and with the evidence of heavy militarization, the robot surmised that [member="Mythos"] was looking to have a starship production facility with ready access to the Ssi-ruuk, the creators and possibly masters of the entechment technology. If this conclusion was correct, then it would be reasonably easy to fit this one's wishes. The logistics of maintaining the facility, and as Mythos soon pointed out the transporting of construction materials were both fairly problematic. Though, the organic had faith in his work, and Ultimatum began to feel that he had spent much time preparing for this. So the droid did not allow himself to be hung up on those minor details.

"What are you looking to produce from this yard? I would guess military vessels, but of what sort? I would further assume that you hope to take advantage of the proximity to large stores of entechment equipment?" Ultimatum asked these questions to have a better idea of what the shipyard needed to be able to house. He knew the size of the ships, but with a focus on the military as compared to civilian vessels would change the types of construction equipment used. With access to different materials and technology, there would be a need for larger storage facilities to be able to hold it near the factory portion of the station. There was also the question of those areas not filled with constructing and related to work. Would there be visiting areas for organics? That would require a significant change in construction to allow for visible watching of assembly.

 

[Mythos]

Mythos was in command of his ship, personally steering it from the chair that came from the centre as he approached. The course was set and hyperspace was engaged. The trip would be perilous for this ship, the largest ship, but according to the calculations Mythos had drawn it would do, just barely, but it would do.

Mythos responded from his seat as he took control of all driving in the vessel, a trait of Anubian creation. "Combat Naval Frigates. Heavy and able to deal and take hits, a bruiser. As for the entenchment."

His words were cut off as the first hit through hyperspace came through, a few parsects down, eighty to go. A large portion of space opened up where Mythos' men went trough with the smaller ships and now the largest, the Magnus went through.

A blast of light and a rumble through the ship took over everything. A red flash changed the previous one and it blinked on and off. "We shall see if we can make it so"

[member="Ultimatum"]

 

[Ultimatum]

With the ever so faint pushing from the deceleration in between jumps, Ultimatum stepped to Mythos' side and questioned, "What brought you to the decision of where to construct the facility? It-"

The robot was about to continue when a communication came in. It was from Bonadan, Sarah had sent a message.

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

The song had unsurprisingly been a success. The musicians had been superb, and Sarah told herself to remember to ask Ultimatum for a full-time symphony, or at the very least a band. The audience had been hypnotized by her voice, and their emotions had been clay in her hands. The experience on Nar Shadda had helped her hone her suggestive skill, and she had put them in tears by the end of the first piece. Ultimatum had contemplated having her implant suggestions into their subconscious, to help the ICLE grow and receive funding. But the droid had ethics that put many organics to shame. She liked that about him, almost as much as him saving her life. Few could claim to have been shot in the face, ribs crushed, brain damaged, yet still, survive to tell the tale. She never did tell that story though, most of it was lost to the brain damage. Ultimatum had told her once about it, not very pleasant for him it seemed. Now though, Ultimatum was different, he no longer remembered the captain of industry, the armies of droids and goals of economic expansion that had filled him before his disappearance. Some of it remained, but weaker, the droid was more interested in the incorporeal, looking into the Force, philosophy, even ethics. It was such a strange change.

Even for that significant change, she remained loyal to him. The apparent reason was that she owed him a debt more significant than any other, but she also liked the robot. Now that she was more than a mere automaton, devoted to his every whim and willing to lay her life down for him, the alien believed that a real friendship was beginning to grow. Perhaps it was just the facade that Ultimatum created in order ingratiate himself with organics, the better to integrate into society as a whole. But Sarah doubted it; he wasn't like that.

She had a ten-minute break, supposedly for the guest speaker to give a short speech on the local economy, in reality, it was for the audience to recollect their wits and to eat the first course, before Sarah's next song. She took a long swallow of the room-temperature water given her by one of the backstage staff. With an appreciative smile, one which the man returned somewhat woodenly as her hood came down, Sarah whisked past him and stepped into the small room she had been given for her rest. The timer was already going, and she relaxed into a chair with a sigh. Pulling over her datapad, she was about to begin reading when she noticed her holocomm had a message. Within a minute she had a grasp of Ultimatum's situation and sent back a signal reply, perhaps he still needed her help.

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"Ultimatum, sorry I missed your call. I'm here now, have about.... five minutes. Mythos was a compatriot of yours, before. He seemed alright, very pleasant for a Sith. You always seemed a little tense around him though. Don't think you completely trusted him."

It still took Ultimatum some time to get used to being spoken to in both present and past forms. It was slightly unnerving to hear about a part of him that he knew little to nothing about, more so because he did not ever remember being him. Ultimatum replied, the messages going back and forth only within his mind, safe from any intrusion or from being overheard, except perhaps if the organics found some way of tapping into his signal.

"He spoke of the Foresight and the Sovereignty. The old Ultimatum has not spoken of these in his messages."

"I'm not surprised. You sent the Sovereignty, under the command of Legion and the Nekghouls, into Deep Space, I believe they were searching for an exit from the galaxy. The Foresight was LOOM's first, and according to you, the best, shipyard produced. It was located above Mustafar, and you lost command of both when the Sith took over. For awhile you talked about going back someday, but the opportunity never arose, the Sith are still there I think."

"Did he know much about entechment?"

"You? Yeah, you were really gunning for that stuff. Saw it as the future of cyborgs or something. We almost had a Ssi-ruuk join us at one point; he died before you could bring to medical. You beat yourself up about that one for a few days."

"Thanks, can you hold on, I may need you later." The robot glanced towards [member="Mythos"] as he thought through what other questions may need answering.

"Got two minutes, then I'm heading in to sing again. That'll be another fifteen, unless they ask for more. My lines open."

 

[Mythos]

Boom. Another ten parsects. Nothing fancy just smooth sailing. Mythos loved flying this thing like this, a massive jump to hyperspsce where the speed gave him a little control over the massive ship. "It's far away and removed from the galaxy as well as close to the siiruk, a species i wish to recruit for war, even if only a few dozen"

Mythos perked his eyebrow to the apparent interruption that [member="Ultimatum"] had there, but the concentration he needed to have as the sole pilot of the magnus did not allow him to delve on it. Instead he sought to find where the Sovereignty was. Perhaps he could uncover some clues as to where it might have gone through Upari.

"Was the shard with you when you lost the Sovereignty? Could it be the same pirates we took it from? I doubt it, considering I killed the bastard, damn ship almost killed me remember?" He said, a smile crossing his lips as he dove the magnus into the wormhole like entrance and through asteroids too weak to cause any damaege but big enough to shake the ship.

A warning came through the speakers.

"WARNING. HATCH OVERHEAT"

Mythos scoffed, pulling a large lever and dumping the steam of the entire main thruster via a system of vents over the ship. "Making it a shadowport just makes sure that if the SiiRuuk turn on us for whatever reason they can't get to us that easy"

 

[Ultimatum]

The first question was easy enough to answer on his own. Ultimatum knew that Upari had not been present for the Sovereignty, at any time. The ship had been lost before Ultimatum had awoken and the he had met the Shard after he had awoken. Therefore, the likelihood of the Shard having met the old Ultimatum and knowing the ship's identity, much less its location were slim indeed. "Upari was not with me when the Sovereignty was lost. The pirates-" Ultimatum hesitated for a moment as Sarah filled him in.

"You only told me once about them, and the whole story behind the ship. I don't really remember all that much about it. You were taken prisoner or something and [member="Mythos"] saved you. Along the way, the pirates who owned the ship were largely killed. Don't remember you saying anything about Mythos almost dying, you rarely talk about death really."

"were probably not involved, as you suggest. It would seem you have a penchant towards death then?" Ultimatum tried to pass it off with some macabre humor. Then the alarm went off and the droid wondered if that was normal for this vessel. Certainly if it were so, then the ship would need some maintenance or repair. Then again, the robot theorized that the ship was perhaps not designed for this form of travel and was reacting somewhat negatively to it.

"That seems logical. Avoiding detection for a space station is easy." Truly, the hardest thing to hide were fighters, because they moved, fast, and had to deal with unique stresses that a shipyard would not. It was well known that various materials could absorb the rays from sensors, allowing one to disappear. Often they were too heavy or delicate to be used on a fighter, but a shipyard could take them with no problem.

 

[Mythos]

Again that pause, this second time Mythos raised an eyebrow at it, the ship coming off it's final jump before the massive asteroid belt and the sight of the freighters of the shadowport already building it.

He chuckled at the droid's humour, truth was with him today. "So they keep telling me. I'm much harder to kill these days" He said, flashing the scars on his body as if the droid too knew what they were. Mythos knew that even if he did not, a quick scan of the symbols would show him they were Sith Runes.

"Luckily for you after your first abduction from pirates I took the liberty of devising several contingency plans to recover You, the Sovereignty and Legion. Rest assured, I will not rest until you and the ship are reunited. I just hope that instead of slaughtering pirates I can find it in better hands." He said, a smile creeping into his lips as his eyes narrowed at the memory. "I will kill whoever took that ship. The galaxy will know what is the consequence of touching any ally who calls me friend"

That last part he said to himself, in a low tone in the ancient sith dialect. He had found that in times of anger and fury he reverted to the language he was most versed in, this being one of those times.

When they jumped off hyperspace the crew was on the move, a lot had to be engaged for the Magnus to close distance and begin it's orbit around the rock.

Mythos stepped off and signalled to the Anubians to take control of the ship while he and [member="Ultimatum"] made their way to their ships and headed down there personally. Mythos knew that still the atmosphere of the shadowport was something he could not survive so he decided to begin to remove his armour in favour of spacer suit to allow him to survive.

It would take a few minutes but now more and more equipment, resources and manpower began to arrive. "Not necessarily. There is a lot of special equipment around that could track our location, especially when we are pumping out battle frigates. We must get in contact with the Special Operations and secret operative branch of the Siiruuk empire so they will cloak us further. They are the ones with black scales."

He looked outside the transparisteel dock of the Magnus, The Rock he had chosen for this operation, the freighters coming in in droves, spacer teams already engaging the artificial gravity wells.