Mist and Shadow (Lady Preshea)

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum for the first time arrived at Naboo. It was a planet of historical significance, at least that was what the documents he had read stated. He wasn't hear for the history, or the planet's importance in and of itself. He was here for a reason all together more immediate and pertinent to the present.

The Fate landed and he stepped out, ordering the droids to wait for him unless otherwise told by himself. He was to meet with a potential corporation ally. He had heard that the person needed vehicles and Ultimatum needed something to build with his new factory. It was a question of whether they would both agree to the production terms, Ultimatum had few.

Ultimatum had not been given the exact location of the place they were to meet, so he sent a message via the HoloNet. He didn't want to appear to be intruding so he simply stated that he had arrived and requested coordinates to head to.

[member="Lady Preshea"]

 

[Yoru Shakou]

Within moments of the message being sent; Ultimatum wouldn't need to wait long before a reply flashed across his screen. Though it was likely to take him an additional few hours, however it was to be one of ease for him. The simple message contained directions, to the nearest waiting Gian Speeder that had been sent to pick him up. ​

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Waiting at the speeder was an elderly male, and with him two security guards whom seemed to be a bit on edge. It wasn't the same since the Techno Union had popped up on Naboo, and after the stunt they pulled of grabbing the Aristocracy and dragging them from their homes to collect their valuables, the two were not about to let their guard down. The droids that marched through the streets still marked the presence of the Techno Union, and rather than a properly elected Queen, some puppet had been placed on the throne. ​

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The company that the woman he was to be meeting with; was one that could draw the right or wrong amount of attention to those whom considered themselves the rulers of Naboo. How they would view a Mercenary army sitting on their doorstep could either foster the growth of the company, or attempt to destroy it; thus plans were already in motion to secure additional locations provided that should happen. ​

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"Mr. Ultimatum?" ​

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The elderly male asked while holding open the door to the speeder. ​

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"We've a three hour journey to Preshea Lake House." ​

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[member="Ultimatum"]​

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum was not aware of the current circumstances surrounding Naboo, having spent more time focusing on work on Mustafar and LOOM... as well as dealing with the Sith who seemed so intent on the planet under his command. He sometimes regretted this lack of knowledge, knowing that often galactic events caused repercussions that would affect him. Even so, he simply could not drop all of that work he had to run after information that did not necessarily affect him.

He was glad to see that the guards were alert, a little bit overly so. He couldn't tell if it was normal for them to look around so often, it made sense given their job. Always searching for a threat. Ultimatum would have guessed that they were veteran special operations men. He at walked slowly to the man, nodding in response to the question. He found the inside of the vehicle most comfortable, Ultimatum was surprised. He wondered if they knew he was a droid or if they assumed he was a cyborg, it had happened before.

He quietly asked, "I hope you have not been waiting long. If I may be so bold, why the guards? No offense intended."

[member="Lady Preshea"]

 

[Yoru Shakou]

"Our waiting would have been as long as the mistress requested of us. As for the guards, we would prefer that a prospective business associate were not molested before or after the meeting. With the way that the Techno Union seems to be doing business, we would prefer that would were left alone." ​

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The elderly male said with a slight smile, though the two guards spoke nothing, they merely sat quietly in the speeder and watched. Even with the surroundings shuffling pass quickly, they still seemed to be diligent and carefully watching every corner and alleyway that the speeder passed by. Though soon enough the grandeur of Theed would give way to the open plains and sparse forests of Naboo. ​

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With the way that the male was driving however, it seemed that they would be well ahead of the three hour mark that it usually took to get to the Preshea Lake House. For the moment everything was quiet, and that appeared to be how the guards preferred. The elderly male though was no longer the speaking sort, preferring to focus upon his task, and thus he proved his capabilities as the speeder seemed to shift up and kick forward. ​

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Be it as it may, once the speeder finally stopped, the male looked to his wrist. The chronometer resting upon it ticked slightly and he seemed to have a grin swept across his face as he looked back. Holding up his wrist as the two guards slipped from the speeder. ​

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"2 standard hours and thirty standard minutes. A new record." ​

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He let out a slight laugh before he too followed the guards. It was clear now that they were in the heart of the company, the lion's den as it were. More guards seemed to move about the complex, and small squads of soldiers went about training and individual combat exercises. ​

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"Welcome to Preshea Lake House." ​

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The elderly male exclaimed while slowly moved towards the doors of the modest dwelling that sat deep within the lake country. ​

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[member="Ultimatum"]​

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum listened to the courier, that was what Ultimatum thought him as. The galaxy was becoming more and more dangerous as time went on. It was unfortunate and Ultimatum wished it had been otherwise. He had always hated the fact that organics could never seem to work together as a whole for any period of time. He had to deal with it though, in order to work alongside organics he had to accept their failings.

He stayed silent as well, he did not require speech, or socialization for that matter. At least not in the regular sense. Because he had been programmed by an organic sentient and had been given organic emotions there was a need to be with others, to socialize. While this was tempered by being a droid, he still could not stand complete solitude, at least without having some adverse effect on his emotional matrices. What he was glad for then was the ability to communicate with just about any computer system, even the HoloNet. He could accomplish the computer approximate of speaking with these systems and that was enough for him.

He too had been keeping time, though it was for a different reason. He was taking time approximates, taking the galactic standard time comparing it to local time as it passed. He had always been interested to see that the galactic second was almost universal, it didn't seem to matter what culture of planet you went to. It did not matter the length of a planet's day, time was always measured in a single standard. Instead of using certain numbers and manipulating the second to be shorter or longer the organics had gone with a fixed time span. An intelligent decision and very logical, Ultimatum was always proud of the organics for accomplishing something of this sort. What stood important to him was the time differences from Naboo to Mustafar. He was collecting times on various planets in case he needed to plan for some eventuality, or to try and contact someone on Naboo in the future.

He was gratified that the driver was competent, verily so. It was a good indication of the person who he was going to meet. He had expected the leader of the company to be intelligent enough. He was simply glad to see data that pointed towards a good conclusion. He thought of commenting on the military presence, or paramilitary as it were. However he decided against it. Unlike droids organics needed training and that training required space. Of course there were advantages to organics that out preformed artificial life. He of course wondered what would happen if an army were made of AI filled war droids. Would they be equal to organics? There wasn't really a way of testing that at this point.

"Marvelous. Let us meet the overseer of this magnificent organization." There was professionalism here, something he had sorely lacked in his past encounters with a number of organics. He was going over board with the compliments, for him anyways, but he assumed that no harm would come of it.

[member="Lady Preshea"]

 

[Yoru Shakou]

The elderly man began to shuffle into the otherwise expansive home, the doors leading to a sizable greeting hall that had a few others waiting. Of course they didn't seem to have the similar status that the being had when he was brought in as he was immediately ushered from the hall and into the office beyond. It was small, though it was meant only as a smaller ante-chamber compared to the main office in which the meeting would take place. The doors opening as the elderly male bowed his head. ​

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"Good luck. Just don't make her angry." ​

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The man chuckled before stepping out of the room, the doors revealing the much larger office that lay beyond. The woman quietly sitting behind a large desk as she looked towards the doors, her figure motionless as she sat there for a moment. Looking towards her guest before she brought her hand up, motioning towards the large chairs that sat before her and the desk. ​

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Her icy hues fell upon the being, almost as if she were judging and studying him, his movements and his actions as if she were her own computer. The woman though was always careful in whom she was going to meet, and though there showed no security, it would be foolish to believe otherwise. Of course her own capabilities also added to protection, which had aided in keeping her alive over the many years of her short lifespan. ​

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"Shall we begin?" ​

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It was a simple enough question, and one that showed her eagerness to quickly come to a conclusion to ensure that their business was accounted for and completed. ​

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[member="Ultimatum"]​

 

[Ultimatum]

He followed the man as they walked through what Ultimatum would have described as a palace. There was clear opulence here. The droid had seen this sheer space in only one other building. That man had been the ruler of Atrisia, a Sith. This had a different feeling to it though. The palace had been blatant and out of control in its use of the wealth the ruler had. Not so in this place, there was control.

When the man spoke Ultimatum smiled in return, not a bad joke. He entered and his attention was drawn to the center and the singly apparent occupant of the room. He thought that she was looking at him, trying to decide what to think. He was not certain of course, it was just a hunch.

The chairs might have been comfortable, had he the ability to feel such things. He was quick to walk to the chairs and settle himself as he replied. "Yes, let's. Where would you like to begin?" Defer to the organic allow them to make the decisions in such matters, that was what he had learned. They tended to appreciate the treatment even without realizing it. Of course there were those that did not, but they were few compared to what Ultimatum had met.

[member="Lady Preshea"]

 

[Yoru Shakou]

The young woman seemed to shift away from the being for a moment, her attention pulled to the multiple flimplast sheets that were strewn across the desk; though appeared to still be in some form of order. Datapads stacked upon one another were looked over before they were set into various piles, seemingly the order of importance given to each one. As the being stepped into the room, the doors would close behind him as a protocol droid stepped in behind before moving across the room. ​

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Once it reached the desk and in tandem leaned over just as her guest slipped down into the chair, she set a datapad in hand down upon the desk. Slowly leaning back as icy blue eyes fell upon the individual before her. Taking a moment she seemed to study him, though not in any form of judgement or to show that she was greater and he was smaller. Nor was there any hint that she was attempting to belittle him with such a stare, it was merely her own means of gathering information. ​

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"I would offer you a drink, however it would more than likely damage your internal systems more than any organic being." ​

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The woman spoke, sitting forward slowly once the metallic voice filled the room. Her hand reached over along the desk before pressing firmly upon a small button. The shutters over the windows slowly closing as the room grew dim, darkness falling upon it; though in that moment she figured the droid had no problem still seeing her. The room however was soon bathed in a brilliant dull blue light, a hologram projector that had been installed above in the ceiling hummed to life. ​

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Before them began to slowly spin a vehicle of some sort, wheeled which was unusually in these times; though more than common enough. The weapon upon it seemed sizable in its own right, though there was still a few design flaws that could easily be dealt with and needed as such. The woman though quietly chose her words carefully and in a more brazen sense of the word made a simple demand. ​

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"You will build this on contract." ​

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[member="Ultimatum"]​

 

[Ultimatum]

Ultimatum had no problem with being looked over, he was used to organics looking at him in so many different ways. Some would look at him with fear or distrust and others would have outright hostility. Still other organics would be curious and friendly. Then there were those rare few who seemed indifferent, or didn't even seem to notice him. He had grown accustomed to being looked over, and normally he would identify the glances and calculate potential meanings, if they were planning or simply looking over. It had saved him once or twice, not that he believed himself to be a judge of organic mentalities. They were just too complex.

When [member="Lady Preshea"] made the offer of a drink, at least it would have been a joke. He did think however that this organic did not have the same capacity for humor that some of the others he had met did have. There was nothing wrong with that in his mind, as business was just as easy to conduct and tended to be more productive when done without the interruption of humor. He was thankful for the change from the usual organic he had become used to dealing with. The professionalism was appreciated and he wondered if perhaps at some point he could become more familiar with this new associate.

His visual sensors automatically switched to the best scanner to allow him view of the area, it was a process that had become second nature to the AI. When the lights of the holoprojector changed the level of lighting he once more switched his sensors and began taking in the design. It was certainly unique and Ultimatum was surprised at this. The use of wheels was not unknown to him, it was commonly the most efficient method of travel in regards to power consumption, he just had not expected it. His mind was already constructing a list of supplies and parts.

The statement at the end almost made Ultimatum smile, almost. He doubted it was intended as the brazen demand that it sounded to be. Perhaps this was just the way of this organic with people. He didn't know and he was fine with that.

"Very good. Is there anything more you would wish to tell me about this?"